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Visit Date: 07/23/10
Steps: 23,652
Parks Miles: 8.9
Time in Parks: 9

 
Trip Log:

Started off this comfortable summer afternoon with a decent parking spot in the garage and a slow tram ride to the parks. Strolled into DCA first and walked through Condor Flats and around GRR to reach the Pier. High School Musical was being performed on the Palisades Stage (the one in the new Paradise Park) today, so caught a little of the show before continuing on past the Zephyr and Swings on my way to the Fun Wheel. The line was way too long (almost all the way up the exit) so I kept on walking around the Pier and then through the Wharf and farm area on my way into Bugsland. Made the circle there and then decided to head to Downtown Disney to check out the Action Sports demos. Walked through them and then out to the Disneyland Hotel to see how the rennovation is moving along. Wandered around the grounds for a while then doubled back to Downtown Disney and hopped on the monorail. Was ushered into the rear cab, a lucky feat, and headed for Disneyland. Walked around the Matterhorn and through Fantasyland and the Big Thunder Trail on my way to NOS. Walked through NOS, checking out the longer than I had patience for lines for Pirates, the Railroad, and Haunted Mansion so I walked back through Adventureland to Main Street. Spent some time visiting the shops and then went in to see Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. After the show made my way back up Main Street and into Frontierland to watch the Billys. After their set wandered around the Castle, Fatnasyland and the into Tomorrowland by way of the walkway near the subs/Matterhorn due to the Street Partty going on. Spent some time in Tomorrowland before heading back to the Castle to catch the 4:20 set of the College Band. After their set some of our group wanted chicken from the Plaza Inn so we stopped then caught the 5:10 Flag Retreat before going back to DCA and Taste Pilots for the rest of the groups dinner. After eating walked out to the Pier and went for a spin on the Fun Wheel (about a 15 min wait). Once back on the ground finished the loop of the Pier and headed for Disneyland and the 7:00pm College Band set at Plaza Gardens. After their set wandered back to DCA, walked through Bugsland again and then out to the Pier to find a spot for World of Color. Watched the show from the backside and then joined the masses heading for the exit as the Disneyland fireworks were going off. Had no real probablems getting onto a tram and headed for the car and home.

Other Interesting Stats:
* Moderate Walking Stats (meaning over 2.5mph): 18,859 steps, 168 minutes.


For Comparisons to other trips or more park miles click here to visit our park Miles Section.

Note: These totals may be skewed because the pedometer is zero'd when we start and then left alone and read when we leave. So attractions, and other things may cause extra "steps" to be counted. The pedometer that we use basically measures up/down motion as a step, so if your standing in line and moving up and down it may be counting steps, etc.. so the total distances traveled and steps may be off.. so use these as rough distance comparisons between trips and they may not be accurate in terms of actual distance traveled.
Pictures & Video From this Trip:


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My Thoughts & Observations:

Hello all,

Friday was a much cooler day at the parks than last Saturday, temperature wise. The crowd seemed about normal for the summer with decent wait times around both parks all afternoon/evening. After just being at the park a few days ago I had no real agenda and just wanted to relax a bit and roam around, which I accomplished.

Jason

Trip logs and mileage reports are in the Park Miles section.

Disneyland & DCA Thoughts and Observations:

  • I glanced at the stage show and live entertainment guide as I walked under the Golden Gate bridge (as I usually do) and noticed that the High School Musical show was slated to be at the Palisades Stage at Paradise Park. As you saw in the pictures the show was using the stage and a couple of the speaker rigs from World of Color. Overall it seemed to work out and one thing was for sure the sound was much better than the rolling stage. Also it seemed that more guests could see the show thanks to the terraced viewing. It will be interesting to see if this happens more often. There were quite a few (counted over a dozen) TDA/manager types roaming around the show I watched, so it seems it will be a well studied test.

  • Walked through Downtown Disney to check out the Action Sports Weekend. I noticed a webpage on the Disneyland site about this earlier on Friday, first mention I saw of it. As you saw in the pictures there was a small sign near the bakery and that was about it. The event was concentrated on the area between the Rain Forest Cafe and AMC and extended out past ESPN toward the parking lot. The event consisted of just over a half dozen tents/displays, a DJ/MC with a couple speakers who was standing on the Rain Forest stage, and a small skate park set up in front of the AMC. When we walked through it was not crowded and nothing was really going on. There were some people testing out the skate park and an area for guests to try out some of the equipment but not a whole lot of activity. Maybe later in the evening things picked up, but in the early afternoon it was a dud. I am assuming Saturday when the big named talent was scheduled to be there the crowds would be heavier.

  • Took the monorail to Disneyland and was lucky enough to be directed into the rear nose cone. It was nice to have some A/C and the unique views this space offers.

  • Took in a couple sets of the College Band, they only have 3 weeks or so left in their summer run, so if you are heading to the park soon, be sure to check out a set or two.

  • I thought I read somewhere that the entertainment at Glow Fest was supposed to be switched throughout the summer. As of Friday the acts looked to be the same rotation, nothing different, but then again I did not stay in the area and watch, just walked by a couple of times. There was a new food truck (as you saw in the pictures).

  • As I waited for World of Color I had my first chance to really listen to the new background music on the Pier. It is ok, not as memorable as the old music, which is probably a good thing since it is background music.

  • It was odd to watch the Carnivale of Color from across the Bay with no real sound, every now and then you could hear a little. I guess its a tough call as to whether it makes sense to pipe the sound throughout.. for those guests waiting for World of Color it makes sense but for everyone else enjoying the Pier it probably does not.

  • In my continued exploration of the World of Color viewing options, this evening I decided to watch from the backside. Strolled out to the Pier around 8pm and found a spot out near the Hot Dog stand that looked to have a fairly unobstructed view of the show. Watching the show from the backside was an interesting experience. From where I was I was able to see/make out what was being projected on the back screens most of the time and the front screen some of the time. The laser effects were slightly visible, but not as impressive as they should be. I thought it was great that the back of the Fun Wheel had the lighting effects going, a nice touch. You could hear the show ok, but it was using the regular park speakers. Seems the audio could use an upgrade. The most interesting thing for me was watching how some of the water screens/effects were created with the various fountains. (Note: In the World of Color reviews thread in our forum I embedded three clips of the opening sequence of the show from the main viewing area, under the swings, and the backside for comparison - click here )

  • After the show I talked to some of the others who had waited around us and as with the other viewing locations, those who had not seen the show before were very impressed, those that had from the viewing area were a little disappointed.

  • In the pictorial update I mentioned Screamins lighting, I went back and looked at my shots and it was that way from day 1 more or less. I had a picture from the AP preview in 2001 and the lighting package looked about the same. So it was not done for WoC.


  • Interesting Web Finds/Notes:
    Below are some interesting links, notes, and rumors I found/stumble across/or have been informed of since the last Geekspeaks column.

Be sure to check out the picture update that goes with this Geekspeak column, it can be found in our Disneyland Resort Pictorial Update section

Stop by the Geek's Forum to discuss this and other Disney topics.. click here

Send comments, questions, any other email to: disneygeek@disneygeek.com
Pictures & Video From this Trip:


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