Disneygeek - Disneyland Trip Summary from08/13/2010

Disneyland ResortPicture Set

Visit Date: 08/13/10
Steps: 19,804
Parks Miles: 7.5
Time in Parks: 10

Trip Log:

Started off this relaxing trip to the parks heading for DCA. Walked through Condor Flats, around GRR, and out to the Pier. Strolled past Ariels and Toy Story on my way to the Fun Wheel. Waited about 20 minutes for my spin and took a bunch of pictures before spending some time in the Maliboomer area since it only has a few weeks left, then continued on past Burger Invasion and MM on my way to the Zephyr. Went for a spin and headed for the Wharf and onto the Farm Area. Spent some time taking pictures of the area since the Farms days are numbered too. Circled Bugsland before venturing down the Backlot. Finished my grand circle tour of DCA and headed for Disneyland. Walked down the middle of Main Street, around the Hub, and through the Castle to enter Fantasyland. Walked out to Toontown then doubled back and stopped at Small World to avoid the Street Party crowd. After my cruise circled the Matterhorn and walked through Tomorrowland on my way back to the Castle to watch the College Band set. After their castle show walked back around Alice and then to Town Square for the Flag Retreat. Time for dinner at Taste Pilots then out to the Pier for another loop. Finished that circle and wandered back to Disneyland. Pushed through the parade crowd and through the castle to get to Fantasyland. Headed West and walked the Big Thunder Trail and around the Rivers of America. Doubled back to Plaza Gardens to catch the 7pm College Band set there. After the set roamed over to Tomorrowland where Stellar was performing, then returned to Plaza Gardens for the 8pm set. Cut out of the set a little early and headed for the Rivers of America to watch Fantasmic. Got sidetracked into Pirates since there was no line and just barely made it to the Rivers edge before show time. After Fantasmic waded through the masses and found a spot for Magical (missed just the opening number) from Main Street. Then headed down to Town Square to catch the last performance of the 2010 All American College Band. They performed an encore at 10:15 in front of the train station. After the show headed for the tram, car, and home.

Other Interesting Stats:
* Moderate Walking Stats (meaning over 2.5mph): 14,676 steps, 130 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 very relaxing day in the parks as the summer season is winding down. The crowds were average summer with many of the waits pushing the hour mark but not much beyond. The full slate of summer entertainment was happening at both parks. And to top it off the weather was mild again, toping out around 80 only. I ended up having a more traditional summer visit, for me, to the parks, meaning several sets of the College Band, Fantasmic, and fireworks.

Jason

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

Disneyland & DCA Thoughts and Observations:

In case you missed the announcement on the Disney Parks Blog the Maliboomer will close on September 7th, the Bountiful Valley Farm on September 8th and Mulholland Madness will be October 12th. No mention of the SS Rustworthy or Pizza Mow Mow, but I would be around the same time. Also announced the Rapunzel Meet and Greet will open October 15th at Disneyland. (Links are below to all these entries).
First stop of the day was DCA. No real highlights to report on beyond what you saw in the pictures. The rockwork in Cars Land is slowly taking shape and its been great to watch that. Little Mermaid visible progress is a bit slower right now as they are working inside and on some areas that are not quite visible to us.
It was nice to spend some time walking through the Farm area to get pictures. As I did so I realized how empty it was for the most part. The area around the Farmers Market has some guests eating and the water play area had people too, but the rest was almost empty. I have not noticed or read anything, but anyone know what the plans are for the area that will be left of the farm? The entrance to Bugsland and gateway to Fliks? The concept art I have seen really just shows the Cars Land portion.
Over at Disneyland Alice in Wonderland reopened Friday and the line was long every time I walked by. From what I have read the railings that I photographed are temporary and intended to be a band aide to get the attraction open as fast as possible for the summer crowds. They are working on a permanent solution, so look for an extended down time sometime in the off season. The temporary rails and flowers do not look that good and I am assuming really ruin the view from onboard. I think its kind of sad how something that has been in place since 1958 needs to suddenly change. I do not recall this being a major issue with guests or workers being hurt.
Friday marked the last day for the 2010 All American College Band at Disneyland. They played their regular Friday routine which included the Castle set and three sets at Plaza Gardens, then they added an encore performance at 10:15 in front of the Train Station to end their run. It was great to see them get the opportunity to wrap up their season with a large crowd that was really into the show. I arrived just after Magical, 9:45ish, and there was already a good crowd in place. As the performance time neared the crowd grew and it was a lively group. They even cheered for the custodial CMs that came by to sweep the street. The performance itself was a blast and the band was really on and ended on a high note. One of the fun aspects of watching the band every summer is seeing how they the performance grow and improve throughout the run.
Caught Fantasmic Friday, has the band/pre-show been gone all summer? The lift on the island that is used for Mickey and the Cauldron was not working. Kind of weird to watch Mickey run out on the stage at the opening. Also no sign of the eels during the Ursula segment. Other than that everything seemed to be running as normal. The crowd was big as usual.
As I stood there watching the show I could not help but wonder why the team that built the viewing area for World of Color did not use the lessons learned from the Fantasmic viewing area and apply it to Paradise Park. For example the most obvious to me is the mild slope. Along the Rivers of America there is a slight slope to most of the viewing area, this really allows for better viewing and its something you do not really think about unless you stop and look around.
The crowd for Magical did not seem as dense as shows past, not sure if this is a by product of Glow Fest and World of Color drawing some guests over to DCA, or just how Friday was.
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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