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Visit Date: 4/21/17
Steps: 25,599
Parks Miles: 9.6
Time in Parks: 8

 
Trip Log:

Arrived at the Mickey and Friends parking structure just after lunch and was directed into a spot on the Mickey level. Spent some time watching the Star Wars construction then walked down and onto a tram to head to the parks. First stop today Disney California Adventure. Strolled up Buena Vista Street to Carthay Circle. Noticed FastPasses were still available for Radiator Springs Racers so stopped by and picked one up then walked down Hollywood Blvd. Stopped by a music festival in Stage 17 then walked by the Guardians of the Galaxy. Continued on to Cars Land where I was able to walk right onto Radiator Springs Racers using the single rider line (only had to stop for the group in front of me to exit their car). After winning my race continued on Cross Street and through the Wharf on my way to Paradise Pier. Took a quick look around then made my way to Redwood Creek to check out the Earth Week activities. Continued around GRR and through the airfield area on my way back to Buena Vista Street. Next stop Disneyland. Strolled up Main Street USA to the hub and headed west to Frontierland. Took a look at the construction from the Big Thunder Trail then walked along the river to Critter Country to do the same. On the way back passed through New Orleans Square and Adventureland. Enjoyed the Pearly Band in front of the Castle then stopped by the recently opened Castle Holiday Shoppe in Fantasyland. Took a look into the Red Rose Taverne and then walked around the Matterhorn and into Tomorrowland on my way back to Main Street. Returned to DCA and hiked out to Toy Story to pick up a FastPass. Stopped by the Grand Californian to see the pool renovation work and to get something to eat at White Water Snacks. After dinner returned to use my Toy Story FastPass and pick up a second one. Strolled through Paradise Gardens and then walked onto the Little Mermaid. It was already time to use my second Toy Story FastPass so returned and did so. Then stopped by the Wharf for some chocolate from Ghirardelli. Passed through Cars Land and Bugs Land on my way to Hollywood Land. Enjoyed the Pirates of the Caribbean sneak peek in the Sunset Showcase Theater. Decided to return to Disneyland and strolled up Main Street, through the Castle and around Fantasyland. Decided to head for Downtown Disney and watch some of the live entertainment as I waited for my Racers FastPass. Once the time neared I returned to DCA and Cars Land. Unfortuantely the FastPass return line was out of the queue and looked to not be moving so I decided to skip it and instead roamed around Radiator Springs for a while then Buena Vista Street before deciding to catch at tram back to the parking structure and head for home.

Other Interesting Stats:
* Moderate Walking Stats (meaning over 2.5mph): 18,699 steps, 164 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 everyone,

Friday was a pleasant day at the Disneyland Resort. The crowds were moderate almost on the verge of light for the early part of the afternoon at Disney California Adventure. I think the combination of block outs, peak pricing, and 90 degree weather all played a part. Hopefully this means a few week lull with the end of the Spring Break season. Even into the evening at Disneyland it was not overly crowded feeling as I walked around. For example an hour before the Main Street Electrical Parade and only the curbs were filled. Plents of space behind those guests along most of the route.


Thoughts and Observations:

  • The day started off on a bad foot with the Ball Road overpass closed so that meant sitting through the light on Disneyland Drive. I really wish they would have made the overpass large enough to handle two way traffic. It makes it so much easier to get in and out of the structure. The good news is Anaheim PD did not have the entrance blocked and there was no wait at the tollbooths.

  • My first park today was DCA. I noticed they still had FastPasses for Racers available. The return time was 8:40pm but still a sign of a smaller crowd to have them available at all after 1pm. I stopped by the Racers on my tour of the park and decided to give the single rider line a try in the afternoon. I lucked out and it was a literal walk on. I only had to stop to wait for the guests ahead of me to exit the car. Come night fall when I returned to use my FastPass the scene was not as calm. The return line was backed up outside the queue. I am guessing the attraction must have been down earlier in the evening and they were still playing catch up. At that point the single rider line was past the bridge too.

  • Stage 17 was hosting a Canadian Music Festival all day Friday and Saturday. When I stopped by a workshop for a performing group was going on. I thought it was interesting they had it open so anyone could stop by and see. It appeared to be mostly performers and others from their group in the audience, plus a few others who popped in to see what was going on.. The event was not listed on the times guide, app or website (same with other performing arts groups at DCA - where as Disneyland they are listed on the printed guide). There was a sign near Hollywood Blvd and that was all I saw. This time of year there are a large number of groups that visit for their spring break. The new stage in Hollywood Land was hosting a half dozen throughout the afternoon. Disneyland had several listed too.

  • Over at Disneyland in the planters of New Orleans Square there are new sculptures on top of plates and other equipment. Assuming this is part of the infrastructure upgrades to support the new version of Fantasmic. It will be interesting to see what surprises are being added. The statues seem odd to me, especially the ones that stick up that will be in sight lines for the show.

  • The Castle Holiday Shoppe opened in Fantasyland on Thursday replacing the Castle Heraldry Shoppe. This features mostly Christmas ornaments plus a couple other holiday items. The interior of the shop is rather plain with the walls displaying the merchandise and some minor decorations around the perimeter. It had a temporary feel to it to me. Even the window had that feel with a couple holiday items added but no substantial changes.

  • Throughout the late afternoon it was interesting to watch the Toy Story FastPass situation. Much of the time the standby wait was longer than the start of the return time window. The standby time jumped around a lot too. So it seems they are still working on the mix and timing. The one thing I noticed the two times I rode was the standby line barely moves.. it seemed at least 5 to 1 FastPass over standby. FastPass return waits varied too.. one time only a few minutes another closer to ten. The attraction was having some problems. One time two of the games were out of focus for me. The ride stopped for several minutes as I wrapped up one round. Also they had to take one set of trams offline for some reason before the group in front of me boarded. My best advice would be to use the app to check the standby vs FastPass return time. It can work out in your favor if the crowd conditions are right.

  • Stopped by the Grand Californian for dinner. The pool renovation looks to be wrapping up for one pool but still a ways to go for the water slide and far area of the pool. Guessing the push is on to get it wrapped up before the summer season. I am sure guests staying there Friday with the 90 degree weather were disappointing to have to go to one of the other hotel pools. I ate at White Water Snacks. When I first arrived there were guests at two tables. By the time I left I had the place to myself for quite a while. It was really really quiet this afternoon.

  • Paradise Garden Grill has another temporary menu. This time around a lot of deep fried items since Corn Dog Castle is closed for renovation. They offer everything the castle did and then more.. including corn on the cob and chicken skews, both battered and deep fried.

  • A preview for the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Men Tell No Tales film has moved into the Sunset Showcase Theater (former Muppets Theater). The sneak peek opened started Thursday with no end date announced but guessing it will close just after the film opens, which is May 26th. The preview follows the format of other recent ones with banners, signs, photo op, and a couple props/costumes in the lobby. They show a sequence featuring Jack and his crew pulling off a bank robbery in a way you probably have never seen before. It is a big action sequence with the humor we all expect from the franchise. It wraps up with several clips that can best be described as a trailer. Overall the preview did little to really explain the film but it was entertaining and had an energy to it that had many talking on the way out and ready for the film.

  • I found it interesting there was/is no preview for the Guardians of the Galaxy vol 2 that opens in a few weeks nor for Born in China which opened Friday. I am assuming there will be for Cars 3 in the coming weeks.

  • Speaking of Cars 3 merchandise is hitting the shelves in the park with Sarges and Elias and Co having the largest selection I saw.

  • As the sun set the entertainment choices inside the parks started to dwindle. With no bands at Tomorrowland Terrace and no party going on at DCA you had to go out to Downtown Disney to catch a live band. It would be nice to see the bands return for the summer.

  • As I was leaving just after 9pm the trams arriving from the Mickey and Friends parking structure were fairly full. In the structure there were a number of cars circling looking for parking spots. For those of you not familiar with parking, as the evening goes on Disney re-opens floors for parking but you are on your own to find a spot. Most guests head for the first couple of rows and expect to find a spot near the escalator. If there is not one they have to go around again because of the one way traffic flow (unless they decide to ignore the arrows and safety and drive the wrong way down the aisle which is unfortunately common).

Here are some recent posts to the Geek's Blog:

Geek's Blog Postings Recap – April 3-11, 2017

Disney Related Press Releases

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

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

Send comments, questions, any other email to: disneygeek@disneygeek.com
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