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Visit Date: 8/03/12
Steps: 23,204
Parks Miles: 8.7
Time in Parks: 10

 
Trip Log:

Arrived at the Disneyland Resort just before lunch time. Walked from the Parking structure over to Downtown Disney. Strolled through Downtown Disney and headed for Disney California Adventure first. Wandered down Buena Vista Street and down the parade route. Ended up grabbing a corn dog from the Pier then joining the rest of my group out at Flos for lunch. After lunch roamed Cars Land for a while then made my way to Disneyland. Strolled down Main Street USA. Walked through Adventureland and then over to Frontierland and around the Big Thunder Trail to the ranch area. Pulled up a seat for the Billy Hill show and then continued on through Fantasyland and out to the Small World area. Circled back by the Matterhorn and into Tomorrowland. Circled through the area and then made my way back to the Hub to watch the College Band set in front of the Castle. Made my way back to DCA and watched the College Band on the Backlot Stage. Stopped by Dancin with Disney and then caught the Red Car News Boys in Carthay Circle before going back to Disneyland. Had some time before the Flag Retreat so went for a Grand Circle tour aboard the Disneyland Railroad. Once back to Main Street found a bench for the Flag Retreat. After the ceremony headed for Tomorrowland to grab a bite to eat at the Tomorrowland Terrace then joined the rest of my group at the Plaza Inn. After dinner watched the Preparade College Band sets then hiked through Adventureland and New Orleans Square. Roamed out to Critter Country before turning around and walking back along the Rivers of America and the Big Thunder Trail. Cut through Fantasyland and the Castle to return to the hub. Soundsational was just wrapping up, followed the parade to the Matterhorn where turned to head to Tomorrowland. Watched the opening of the Bolts set at the Tomorrowland Terrace then made my way back to Main Street to watch the final College Band set of the day at the train station. After the set had concluded walked back over to DCA and made my way out toward Cars Land. Stopped by Ghirardelli for some chocolate then spent some time in Cars Land. Strolled through Fliks and then the Backlot on my way back toward Buena Vista Street. Decided to call it a night at this point and head for the tram, garage, car, and home.

Other Interesting Stats:
* Moderate Walking Stats (meaning over 2.5mph): 18,600 steps, 160 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 comfortable day at the Disneyland Resort. The weather was perfect, peaking around 80 and cooling down to the low 70s by the time we left. The crowds were average summer with the traditional long wait attractions hovering around an hour with only a couple of exceptions, like the Racers that were over 2 and Splash that was closer to 1.5 most of the time.


Jason

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

Thoughts and Observations:

  • Walked through Downtown Disney on the way in and thought it felt a little on the crowded side considering it was before noon. There seemed to be a lot of guests moving about. Maybe they were out for an early lunch?

  • Surprised at how slowly the visible progress on Earl of Sandwich is moving along. Really hard to tell too much by looking at building, it appears nearly in the same state as the last few visits.

  • First stop of the day was DCA since I knew I would be at Disneyland most of the later afternoon/evening. The park was alive with activity as guests went about their day the walkways had quite a few people on them. I am still getting used to this.. after all those years of nearly empty pathways.

  • A new Buena Vista Street Bugle is out... so seems they are sticking to the monthly versions, this is great to see! Seems they could use a digital companion for those who cannot make it to the park and want to keep up on the news.

  • Spent some time eating lunch in Cars Land and enjoying the view. The Radiator Springs Racers were running the couple of times I walked by today, I think that is a first. From my table at lunch I could see part of the race and noticed quite a few where the timing was way off (one car would pass with he other a couple seconds behind). But they kept coming which is a step forward.

  • Over at Disneyland walked by the Jungle Cruise hoping to go for a ride and see the tweaks to the boats. Unfortunately the line was longer than my patience so had to settle for some pictures from the Indy Fastpass area. Still amazes me all the effort that has to go into guest proofing attractions because modern guests cannot control themselves or their kids. The Jungle Cruise is the latest example. The attraction opened on opening day back in 1955. Now all of a sudden there is a need for an extra several inches of netting, bumpers to stabilize the boats at the docks, and a change in docking procedure. I can see the netting creating a challenge for shorter guests since it obstructs the view quite a bit. For adults the changes really should not effect the experience.

  • Along the same vein later in the afternoon walked by Finding Nemo and saw the section of railing where it appears they are testing an addition that will try to keep guests from sitting on the railings.

  • As I headed out to the Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree to catch the Billies noticed several signs up along the Big Thunder Trail as well as the dancers, Farley, and a Billy out front of the trail leading a square dance. Looks like they are still tweaking and trying to get guests back to the arena. I like how the Country Bears made the signage. Too bad the Bears are not able to perform out there!
    Here is a clip of the dance number:


     
  • When I first arrived the area was quiet as usual. But by show time for the Billies most of the seats had filled in. It was the largest crowd I have seen so far this summer I think. Not sure if it is the new signage, luck, or because they had a reduced number of shows Friday due to an early closing for a private event.

  • The Billies really seem to be loosening up and making the best of their new home. They had quite a few jokes about the area and interacted with the crowd as well as a passing train quite a bit.
    Here is a video from their performance Friday, not really illustrating this but always looking for a reason to share a Billy clip:


  • The 2012 All American College Band wraps up their run next Friday so I made sure to catch their sets today. Always fun to see how the band evolves over the summer.

  • Back at DCA I stopped by the Dancin with Disney at Stage 17 after the College Band set and it was still lightly attended. The guests who were there seemed to be having a great time though. Too bad more do not find their way in.

  • I stopped by a couple of stores to see if the Attraction Poster Art book was in stock anywhere, it was not. I read that they have been selling out rather quickly. Only another month till it will be available on Amazon. I posted some thoughts on the book in the Geeks Library

  • For those of you planning visits in the near future note the Princess Fantasy Faire is slated to close August 12th, have no fear if you still need a Princess photo they will be set up in the Small World Mall area until their new home in Plaza Gardens is finished.

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
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