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Visit Date: 10/18/19
Steps: 28,444
Parks Miles: 13.4
Time in Parks: 12

 
Trip Log:

Arrived at the Disneyland Resort around 7:30am and found no waits to enter the prking structure or at the toll booths. But then everything slowed to a crawl. It took nearly 15 minutes to reach a parking spot due to a backup all the way down the ramp as cars were being merged into a single lane and then a slow crawl through Mickey and Friends and over to Pixar Pals to park. Took a look at the couple projects around the tram plaza/parking structures then walked through security and took a tram to the parks. First stop today Disney California Adventure. I arrived just after park opening. The rest of my group had already arrived and they were on Soarin so I met them at the exit and we all walked out to Pixar Pier. Picked up a FastPass for Toy Story and literally walked onto the Pixar Pal-A-Round (they held the car for us and we just kept wakling). After my spin it was time to use the Toy Story FastPass. Continued the loop of Pixar Pier then Paradise Gardens. Walked down the parade rout to Carthay Circle then Hollywood Blvd. Took a look around the area by Guardians of the Galaxy then reversed course back to Buena Vista Street. Headed across the Esplanade to Disneyland and roamed around Main Street USA and the hub before deciding to head to Fantasyland. Alice in Wonderland had a 10 min wait posted, it was really closer to 20, but waited anyways. Continued on to the small world mall area and then Toon Town. Visited the Miss Daisy to get a good view of the missing mountains then returned to Fantasyland and walked around the Matterhorn to Tomorrowland. Tried out the new centralized FastPass distribution and picked up a FastPass for Buzz Lightyear. It was for a nearly instant return so made my way to the attraction and used it. Walked by Sleeping Beauty Castle to check out the snowfall then headed for Frontierland and a cruise on the Mark Twain. Once back on shore decided to grab some lunch at the Galactic Grill. After lunch spent some time on Main Street USA watching the Disneyland Band and characters then returned to Tomorrowland and went for a spin on the Astro Orbitor. After my flight returned to Main Street for a performance by the Dapper Dans at Refreshment Corner. After their set walked through Frontierland and out to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge to take a look around. Strolled through Black Spire Outpost outskirts then the Markplace and forest area. Continued on to Critter Country then New Orleans Square. The plan was to visit Fortune Red but that area was really busy as the entrance to the Jack Skellington Meet and Greet so skipped it again. Walked through Adventureland and back to Main Street USA. Found the rest of my group and enjoyed a performance by the Dapper Dans in front of the fire house. We decided to return to Disney California Adventure. Just missed the 3pm Coco performance so took our time walking through the park and out to Paradise Gardens. Relaxed there for a bit then found a spot for the 4pm Musical Celebration of Coco. After the show grabbed a bite to eat from Corn Dog Castle (the others walked out to the Jazz Kitchen Express in Downtown Disney). Once I had finished eating walked through the Grand Californian Hotel and out to Downtown Disney to meet up with the rest of my group again. Found a spot for the 5:30pm SCAREolers performance then walked out to the west end stage for the MoonRays performance at 6:00pm. After their set strolled through Downtown Disney and took a look around World of Disney. Returned to Disney California Adventure and spent some time taking in the Halloween sights on Buena Vista Street then in Cars Land. Made a quick walk through Hollywood Land before returning to Disneyland. Roamed around Main Street USA, the hub, Adventureland and then into Tomrrowland. Took a look at the Villains Dance Party and the FastPass distribution area again before deciding to call it a day. Returned to Main Street USA and headed for the tram, parking structure, car, and home.

Other Interesting Stats:
* Moderate Walking Stats (meaning over 2.5mph): 22,453 steps, 199 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!

I spent a full day at the Disneyland Resort on Friday. Arriving at park opening and spending just over 12 hours exploring the parks and enjoying some of the entertainment. The crowds were heavier than my past several visits and felt back to normal for this time of year. By nightfall the parks felt busy as you would expect on a pleasant October night. The weather was mile starting off in the 60s and climbing to the upper 70s before falling again as night fell.

Thoughts and Observations:

  • I arrived at the parking structures around 7:30am, we arrived in Anaheim early and went to breakfast then I drove over to park. No delays at all entering the structure nor at the toll booth. I used the new booth to the far right, it is a really awkward location, wonder if the plan is to remove the wall to integrate it more at some point or just keep it off by itself. Then my luck ended with cars backed up all the way down the ramp to the 5th/6th floors. We crept along at a snails pace up the ramp, merged into a single lane, then crawled along the back side of the Donald level and over to the Finding Nemo level in the new garage where I was directed into a spot in the furthest aisle about a handful of spaces from the back of the garage. It was almost 15 minutes from toll booth to parking spot. Not a good way to start your visit to the parks. Why do they not have more lanes or levels open for arrivals? There were plenty of cast members. I counted almost a dozen clustered around each other near the end of an aisle in the Pixar Pals Structure, they were just standing there waiting.. parking is not very efficient and seeing so many cast members not parking cars added to the poor arrival experience today. Wonder what the goal is in terms of getting cars into spaces? I would assume 10-15 minutes is substantially longer than the goal/plan.

  • Halloween Time continues to roll along in the parks, the season seems so long now a days. Christmas is starting to arrive with some visible changes like snow on Sleeping Beauty Castle as well as smaller light installations around the parks. Monday it's a small world closes for its annual changeover

  • As we walked around the parks today I observed quite a few instances, several dozen, of groups of 3 or more cast members clustered together talking to each other or just standing there waiting. Usually you see some. Sometimes they are waiting to be sent somewhere, sometimes training, or for a number of other purposes but today there just seemed to be quite a few just talking and it stood out. So much so that others in the group that do not visit the park as frequently asked me if that was the new normal.

  • Started my day at Disney California Adventure today, which worked in my favor in terms of entrance lines. Disneyland was long and DCA was no line. First stop was Pixar Pier and I was able to literally walk onto the Pixar Pal-A-Round. They held it for us and we walked right into the gondola, sat down, and our ride began. The ride was not smooth today with at least three backups for people to exit early. The line grew quickly behind me as the Incredicoaster went down around the time I entered the wheel. Also it appeared Racers were done, I saw no cars during our spin.

  • Around 10am made our way to Disneyland. The lines were still long to enter the park but they moved quickly. The scanners for passes seemed to be reading more efficiently today. Did they change something recently, or just good luck? They were scanning tickets/passes from a good distance and it was reading on the first try. Maybe I just had good luck today.

  • Alice in Wonderland showed a 10 min wait in the app and on the sign, but it looked longer. We still waited and it turned out to be closer to 20 minutes. While in line encountered several guests that just make you shake your head. One group thought it would be a good idea to help their kids stand on the railings and then take pictures. To add to the delay instead of having the kids move forward so they could get the picture they just backed into the group behind them and pushed them backwards into us so they could get a wide enough picture. Another somehow was separated and the second half of the group decided to push through the queue to join the first half. The Alice in Wonderland queue is barely wide enough to stand in.. trying to pass in it is a very tight squeeze for two adults.

  • Spent some time in Toontown taking in the new view. The hills that stretched from the Gag Factory behind the downtown area and out to Minnie's house have been removed. These were hiding a backstage building that has also been removed. This is the first stage of construction for Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway opening in 2022. Form the Miss Daisy you get a fairly clear view of the Team Disney Building (the large office building adjacent to the I-5 freeway). From what I have read the new building will have hills or something to hide it and add a backdrop to Toontown again once it is completed.

  • The Miss Daisy received a fresh coat of paint on the ground level overnight. The area still smelled like paint and had several wet paint signs up. It looked nice and clean again though.

  • Tomorrowland is testing a new FastPass distribution system. There are a trio of kiosks set up in the former queue space of the Tomorrowland Theater. As you approach the area there is a sign (one of the Galaxy's Edge boarding group signs) that lists the three Tomorrowland FastPass attractions and the current return times. You go to any kiosk, scan your park ticket and the same information is displayed asking you to choose which you would like a FastPass for. You select the one you want and the screen shows a digital version of your FastPass. No paper reminder is printed. You need to remember the time, check the Disneyland Ap, take a picture of the digital one, or scan your ticket to check with a cast member. This system seems very similar to what Shanghai Disneyland opened with, clustered FastPass distribution for each land. The system seemed to work efficiently on Friday the couple times I used it and walked by to see.

  • If you are an annual passholder and use mobile order at select locations you can pick up a free button. For lunch we ordered from the Galactic Grill and the Tiki Juice Bar and received buttons at both locations. The Galactic Grill was efficient and when they prepared your order they put the button on the tray for you. The Tiki Juice Bar you had to ask and the cast members took a moment to figure it out. I still wish the mobile order would allow you more choices to customize. For example I wanted a plain burger. I could get no cheese and no sauce but I could not get it without the lettuce and tomatoes. I really think it needs a plain option. Also if you do not want a side, just a burger, there is no option for that. My burger and fries were slightly better than the Hungry Bear last visit but still not good.

  • Throughout the afternoon enjoyed some entertainment around the parks including the Disneyland Band & Character march to Town Square, a couple Dapper Dan performances and the Musical Celebration of Coco. The Dapper Dans were enjoyable as always. I still think it would be helpful if the app or printed guide would tell you where their set is.. vs having to remember, guess, look around, or find a CM that knows. If you were curious the ones I noticed on Friday were - 12:30 was with the Band marching and performing in Town Square. 1:15 was at Refreshment Corner, 2:30 the Firehouse, 4:30 Flag Retreat.

  • For dinner grabbed a corn dog from Corn Dog Castle and remembered why I am not a fan of them there. For some reason they just do not taste as good as the ones on Main Street.

  • Spent some time as the sun was setting in Downtown Disney. Enjoyed a performance by the SCAREolers as well as the MoonRays. Both groups were entertaining and the sets were long which was great.

  • Walked by the Villains Dance party in Tomorrowland a couple of times and it seemed to have less characters. On previous visits the overlap between Villains seemed to ensure 3-6 on stage at a time. At one point there was only one, the Queen of Hearts. There was still a good size crowd on the dance floor and milling around.

  • After night fall the parks became much more crowded, as normal on a Friday. The Halloween offerings drew good size crowds. At one point the Haunted Mansion Holiday had a posted 120 minute wait. FastPass distribution for the day ended before sunset so that added to the longer waits. Most other attractions were well under an hour. For example out in Black Spire Outpost the wait for Smugglers Run was 25 minutes at that time.

  • I left the park around 8:15pm and full tram loads of guests were still arriving. They had the queue set up for tram loading and were already directing guests to tram load zones. The process worked really smoothly given the number of guests leaving.

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

D23 Expo 2019 Summary Page - Links to all the announcements so far and will eventually contain links to all of our coverage

Geek's Blog Postings Recap September 10-25, 2019

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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