Hi there everybody
I am getting ready for my trip in next week and will now start my trip report.
I am going with my friend Kristian - we also went together last summer in the exact same week and we hope for a trip just as great as that one.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202010/IMG_0060.jpg)
We are leaving Aalborg on monday afternoon with Eurolines arriving in Hamburg monday evening, where we board the bus to Paris with estimated arrival at Gare Gallieni 9.30 AM. The plan is to head straight to DLP and check in at Hotel Santa Fe where we will be staying for 4 nights leaving on saturday the 30th of July late in the afternoon.
We plan to take an afternoon in Paris just as we did last year using the EMH before and then heading back to the parks in the evening. In Paris we will probably visit Avenue de Champs Elysees and Montmartre.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202010/DSC_0288.jpg)
Otherwise the plan is just to make use of our 5 days as much as possible using EMH and queueing for Studios each morning at app. 9.30 in order to get to Crush before the crazy waiting times. One night will be used for night time photography of the Disneyland Park and the Enchanted Fireworks and probably the other nights will be used to try extra attractions when people watch Fantillusion and the Fireworks - last year we watched the fireworks while riding BTM - a truly magical moment.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202010/DSC_0106.jpg)
The highlights for me will be:
- To see some of the beautiful refurbished areas and check up on those still undergoing refurbishment.
- Enjoy the atmosphere for peak season with some great entertainment comebacks like the Disneyland Band and The Tarzan Encounter
- Retry my favorite attractions like Pirates, Phantom Manor, BTM, ToT, IaSW
- Relive the magical memories this place has given me
- Revisit the city of Paris for a quick but great afternoon trip.
- Just to enjoy some time completely away from every day life :)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202010/DSC_0506.jpg)
I plan to update my twitter with atmosphere photos, observations and simply just Disney magic throughout the trip. Follow me here: //http://twitter.com/#!/nclka90
(Photos in this update is from last year's trip)
Have a magical stay :-)
Have a magical time. I look forward to reading your trip report and seeing your amazing pictures. I am now following you on twitter (tracey75_xl4l) :)
totally envious, have never been able to stretch the budget for high season ! hope you have the best trip ever.
Have a great time, I look forward to reading your trip report as you always take such brilliant photos.
Have a brilliant magical time. Cant wait to read your trip report.
Well I am back from an awesome trip filled with magic, memories and lots of attractions.
It also included some "news" for me including some restaurants and being evacuated from an attraction. We had a great time and to see some of the refurbished Main Street buildings and of course the castle were the truly magical moments for me.
The only real negative aspects were caused by guests, whose behaviour sometimes is a mystery!! But in 90 % of the cases Disney can do very little or nothing to prevent this. (I will explain more through out the trip report.)
I expect and hope to be able to upload the first two parts of the trip report tonight :)
I'm looking forward to reading it! :D
Part 1 - 25th & 26th of July 2011:
So the trip started in Aalborg, Denmark on Monday the 25th of July at 2 PM, when me and Kristian met up getting ready for the bus trip to Paris with Eurolines which includes a bus change in Hamburg. We did the exact same trip last summer, so we knew what we were getting into with this bus trip - at least we thought so, because once again the busses and especially the drivers would surprise us and give a both bad and still funny trip.
THe first thing we noticed when boarding the first bus in Aalborg, was that it was incredibly hot inside, but we figured it would help when we got on the free way, so decided not to say anything. Having been on the road for 5 minutes the driver put on a CD with Reggae music playing it so loud that the entire bus could hear it - it was indeed so loud that you could still hear it even though you listened to music on your iPhone/iPad! We were having a hard time not bursting into laughter when the driver started to sing a long! :lol: (On this 7.5 hour trip to Hamburg we would be taken into a whole new dimension of music as we listened to at least 10 of his CD's - he had a very diverse taste in music and most of it was extremely weird and almost trancelike) Regarding the heat, it only got worse during the afternoon - it turned out that not only was the Air Condition out of order the heat system was also turned on and broken, so it couldn't be turned off. The bus must have been more than 30 degrees inside and especially my legs were burning placed right up to the heating system. Luckily we had to change in Hamburg!
After almost crashing in to a crazy driving car in central Hamburg we arrived at the bus station 15 minutes late and hurried into the other bus only to sit in it for 45 minutes before leaving 30 minutes late! Not a good start as we remembered how we were 2 hours late in Paris last year! The air condition worked but the bus was otherwise quite uncomfortable and for a guy of my size (2.05 meter) it was a hard night with only a couple of hours of sleep. When we were awaken at 4 AM (5 hours before our planned arrival in Paris) and we had only come to Duisburg in western Germany I was getting really worried about how late we would be... Luckily we didn't have to stop in Bremen, Eindhoven and Antwerp - so Bruxelles was our only stop before Paris. When we arrived in Paris just before 11 AM we were "only" 1.5 hours late... We got off the bus and into the train system to get to the Nation RER-station and boarding the RER A to Marne-la-Vallée Chessy. I (we) was finally going home again! :D :ears:
We arrived at Hotel Santa Fe just before 1 PM and got our room immediately... For the first time I was asked if we needed more than one bed, which of course we did, but I actually didn't believe they had any single bed rooms and I have never been asked this previously when have been there only two people (2001, 2009 and 2010) - is this something new? Anyhow, we were situated in building 25, which is straight opposite La Cantina and we were given breakfast tickets for 7 AM for all four mornings - we were in for a hard trip with not much sleep and complete use of the parks' opening hours. Why not use this? :)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0002.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0003.jpg)
After dropping of our luggage in the room we quickly went towards the parks with Disneyland Park is our first destination. However, we decided to have our lunch in Earl of Sandwich - having not been given the time to have any real breakfast (I had a piece of bread on the bus) our stomaches were quite empty. I had the Chicken Caesar Salad and Kristian had the All American Sandwich and the food was very delicious but we could also feel it fall very deep into the stomach - the food here is not the lightest on the planet and not "typical" sandwich style. I do not know if the other Earl Restaurants are themed as this one but it was greatly themed and fitted into the Disney setting by not just being a random sandwich restaurant - the order system also seemed very smooth and way quicker than the one used in both parks!
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0004.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0005.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0007.jpg)
We couldn't push it any longer - the time had come and we entered Disneyland Park through the lovely summerly Fantastia Gardens and when I noticed the beautifully repainted castle at the end of the refurbished (and still undergoing refurbishments with painters actually working during opening hours on Harringtons and Walt's and Gibson Girl still under scaffolding) Main Street U.S.A the goosebumps kicked in. WE WERE FINALLY BACK!
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0010.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0014.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0016.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0017.jpg)
The first attraction was my all time favorite - Pirates of the Caribbean. I had to try this as many times as possible as it might be last possibility for me to try it without the addition of Jack Sparrow and the change of story included in this proposed addition. The queue was 40 minutes with all of the outside queue area being used - no one talked about Jack Sparrow or the movies, so maybe it really isn't necessary to make this addition although the AA's are very well done??? I adore this queue line, which is only beaten by the BTM and ToT queue system IMO. This is one of the great things about Disney - you do not mind queueing for 40 minutes or more, because the queue lines tremselves are attractions you could look at for ages.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0019.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0023.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0026.jpg)
On the attraction itself everything seemed to be working - except the swinging pirate, which is deliberately turned off after the BTM accident and the sword-fighting Pirates who were completely hidden by the shades. (IMO it would be way better to see these great Paris-only AA's being refurbished for the 20th than to see Johnny Deep popping out of a barrel ;))
We walked towards Frontierland and I did a nerd check-up on the Galley. It looked like they were preparing it for demolishing making a pattern of cuts into the wood. I guess you would normally demolish a thing like this using controlled explosives, which is most likely not a possibility in this case - in stead it looked like they are going to cut into very small pieces bits at a time.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0031.jpg)
In Frontierland we wanted to get Fastpass tickets for BTM but it was closed and the fastpass machines were closed as a result of this. Heading for Phantom Manor in stead I noticed the Hillbilly Trio being out playing some great music in from the Rivers of the Far West. This is Disneyland for me - quality "unplanned" street entertainment. It was clear that they had just arrived (probably because of the closure of BTM) and it quickly brought a great atmosphere to the area, which was filled with people having been let of BTM. We stood listening to them for some time and just captured the essence of Frontierland and Disneyland atmosphere.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0037.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0038.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0042.jpg)
In Phantom Manor every effect was working properly so it was a stay as magnificent as it can be. It is just filled with so many details that you keep noticing new things inside eventhough you are on your 12th trip - I feel this was the first time I really noticed the little model of the Manor at the very end of the ghost town scene. This effect was brighter than ever! A great revisit!
When we got out the first thing we noticed was the sound of the lift hill chain on BTM, so we went straight towards it to get a Fastpass for later that afternoon.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0043.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0045.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0062_2.jpg)
Between this and the time for our fastpasses we went to Dicoveryland to change the world along with Captain EO. On the way I noticed people sitting and climbing on the rocks and grass fields of Discoveryland - this behaviour still surprises me, but as it turned out this would be a very little thing compared to what guest behaviour we would experience later on the trip! :( Captain EO became a favorite of ours from the first we saw it last year. It is a must see for fans of movies, WDI and/or Michael Jackson. Even though it is 25 years old it still changes the world and sends a message to us all, which will never loose its importance. The floor was working very well, so everything was top class here as well! As was Orbitron, which was shining and looking fantastic with all the planets spinning as fast and smoothly as ever!
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0063.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0064.jpg)
It was time for our first of 9 rides on BTM on this trip. I love using the fastpass for this attraction as it is easily the attraction with biggest advantage for you. The waiting time was at least 75 minutes and we used only the time it takes going from the FP Entrance to the station before we were seated in our train. The repainting had given the island a much needed spark of color and life and every effect seemd to be working (even the smoke on the island) besided the effects turned off as a result of the accident of course (the waterfall, possums and moving rocks in final lift hill) - sad to see these effects turned off and I very much hope they will be back soon. It was getting close to 5.30 PM and we decided to head over to WDS for the last 90 minutes of opening hours over there. We went past Lucky Nugget noticing yet another "wet paint sign" (they were literally everywhere :D) and went through the Liberty Arcade, which is so lovely as it offers you equally as beautiful themening as MSUSA without the huge amount of guests of "Disneyland late afternoon rush hour".
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0066.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0068.jpg)
In the Studios we decided to visit Toy Story Playland as the first thing as I was excited to see it with more flowering greenery than the first time I saw it in December. Although it definetely made it a better experience and added some much needed greenery to WDS it didn't change my overall thoughts of this land as being a mistake. I will comment more detailed on each parts during the trip report. This time decided to try one of the two attractions we would try here: RC Racer. It had a 45 minutes waiting time and we got into the waiting area and noticed how few people there was compared to waiting time the first issue with TSPL was clearer to me than ever. The loading times are HORRIBLY LONG and several times none of the attractions was in action for several minutes - I understand that the security has to be high on RC and TSPD, but they should have taken this into account as a problem when they placed this in WDS (which already has some low capacity rides and was screaming for a large capacity ride). As for the attraction itself it was actually really funny, but still not worth the wait due to the very short ride time and only lightly themed queue line, which I will comment more on later. BUT great and funny ride!
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_00721.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0079.jpg)
The last attraction before WDS closed would be our favorite of this park - Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. The first of 8 times on this attraction. Everything was working and I must say that this is easily the best addition to the Paris resort since the opening of the original Space Mountain. It has everything that you expect from a true WDI E-Ticket attraction: creativity, thrill (yet not the main thing), imagination, state-of-art technology and most important: STORYTELLING. I am so happy that I decided to try this last summer, as it is now easily on my top 7 attractions in the resort!
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0082.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0086.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0095.jpg)
We headed back to the hotel for a quick change of clothes (the weather was nice, but the sun wasn't shining so the evening would be a bit cold (app. 15 degrees) and to collect my tripod.
Tomorrow I will be back with part 2, which will include the evening of the 26th of July (including the main attraction of the night - The Enchanted Fireworks)
To be continued....
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0234.jpg)
Great report so far.
Can I ask what Tower of Terror is like as a ride. We chickened out on it last time. What are the restraints like? I heard they are just pull across seatbelts.
Hope you can help me.
Martin :0)
Quote from: "Martin B"Great report so far.
Can I ask what Tower of Terror is like as a ride. We chickened out on it last time. What are the restraints like? I heard they are just pull across seatbelts.
Hope you can help me.
Martin :0)
Hi Martin
and thanks... Yes, the restraints are just pull across seatbelts..
[spoiler:3egxxbnn]The ride itself is divided into two parts
1. The storytelling part where you travel in your elevator to two rooms building the story of your elevator being taken into the twilight zone. These two scenes include fantastic special effects and WDI storytelling as you know it from classics like Phantom Manor, Pirates of the Caribbean and Big Thuner Mountain.
2. The actual drop ride part, which is very thrilling and gives you an adrenaline kick. Each drop part is different but they consist of a drop at first then an "upwards drop" then another drop followed by the floating drop, where you are pushed up only to be dropped right away. During this drop you really are weightless and you can feel as everything in the elevator lifts from the floor/seats - this is a thrilling but fantastically funny feeling. It ends by going up once again allowing the second view over the park before the final drop and end of the story.[/spoiler:3egxxbnn]
I was close to chicken out last summer too and my heart was pounding the first time I tried, but I have not regretted it once since then :D
Hi Nicolai.
Thanks for your answer!
Look forward to reading part 2.
Martin :thumbs:
Awesome trip report - nice pictures, the tiltshift one of the Toy Story playland is really good. (Y) Can't wait for part 2. =]
Part 2 - 26th of July 2011:
After the quick walk back to the hotel to collect the tripod and some clothes we were back in Disneyland Park for a night, which would most of all be about taking photos. To this purpose I had taken my new wide angle Nikkor lens, which offered me fantastic possibilities for the night time photos of the fireworks, the castle and Main Street U.S.A.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0100.jpg)
However, we were getting quite hungry, so we headed towards Bella Notte at 8 PM. We remembered that last year this was the only restaurant in Fantasyland and Adventureland that was open at this time of the day, due to these lands closing on 10 PM for the fireworks. It turned out later though that this was not the case this year. I got the Pizza Royal and Kristian the Pasta Napolitaine - not a gourmet treat, but a solid fast food meal ;)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0103.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0102.jpg)
I wanted to explore a bit with my new lens before getting in front of the castle for the fireworks and we ended up visiting my two favorite Fantasyland attractions: Alice's Curious Labyrinth and It's a Small World. First we were off to visit Alice and trying to get to the Queen's Castle. The labyrinth looked quite bright and it reasonable state and it had a special feeling as we were walking it at dusk with some special light coming through the bushes creating a true Wonderland atmosphere ;) All the effects were turned on and quite a few people actually walked around in it with queues evolving at several of the photo points.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0110.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0115.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0123.jpg)
After a lovely stroll in the labyrinth we went to try Pinocchio and Snow White as we hadn't tried them last year and I really feel you should try them once every trip for a trip to be complete. While in line for Pinocchio it closed due to technical difficulties, so we only managed to try Snow White at this time, which of course got a lot bigger queue when Pinocchio closed. The attraction was looking really bright and all effects were working except the mine cart driving towards you in the mine scene - I suppose this too was a result of the BTM accident, although I then wondered how come the the "tipping rock" in the final scene was turned on - this is practically the exact same effect as the one involved in the BTM accident. Hmm, weird - but I was happy to see this effect working.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0129.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0130.jpg)
Now it was time for It's a Small World - I love this attraction. It's an original Walt Disney creation, a colorful storytelling journey with a simple yet very important message.
[spoiler:axh89f8v]For one thing I actually found it more important than ever riding it just 4 days after the horrible events in Norway, which were done by a man, who wanted to "save" the world from mixing cultures. This attraction is about the exact opposite - we can and we should learn from each other - when all comes down to all we are the same :)[/spoiler:axh89f8v]
Well, that spoiler was getting a bit too political for a magical trip report ;) The attraction looked really bright and I was immediately absorbed into the atmosphere. I actually believed that many of the dolls had been given new clothes and uniforms - I have now seen on older pictures that this wasn't the case. Yet this is still a sign of how bright and shining it was.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0104.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0151.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0164.jpg)
When we got out the time was about 9.40 PM and we decided to find a spot to watch the fireworks from. The hub show had just finished so the space around the stage was almost all clear and I got a fantastic spot from which I could take photos of the fireworks. We wouldn't be able to see Fantillusion, but decided that this was okay as we had seen it last year. As it was getting darker and darker the amount of guests increased with several people standing next to us expecting to see the parade going right in front of them. One poor CM was given the task of keeping people away from the stage and flower beds surrounding it - let's just say she had quite a task to complete as people kept trying to stand in there - luckily they were removed very quickly each time.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0181.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0183.jpg)
As the parade was emerging people (not just children) were standing on the benches right next to us. I could accept it for the parade as they were unable to see it otherwise and at one time a little boy was up there and I noticed how he just looked around Central Plaza with the biggest smile on his face - he was totally taken away to another world and as was I as I remembered my childhood memories and imagined the hopefully future ones with my own family. The same sights bringing that much joy to both a little boy and a grown-up as me - Disneyland has no age-limit!
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0187.jpg)
The parade was rolling by with wonderful soundtrack and I got to see top of each float and the simple yet beautiful use of the tower in the parade show stops. When the parade ended people naturally were gathering closer to the Central Plaza stage in order to see the Enchanted Fireworks. The children and grown-ups next to me (remember they were first in line) was still standing on the bench disturbing both my photos and more importantly the view of those people standing right next to them - I tried to make it clear that maybe they should just stay on the ground and the people behind them said very loud and clear "I cannot see a thing with them standing there". However, they didn't move at all and stood there through the complete fireworks display - UNBELIEVABLE!!
This was the second time I watched the Enchanted Fireworks - last year we too saw it on the first evening and then saw it from aboard BTM on the rest of trip. Last year we were hard to impress having just seen a huge record-breaking fireworks display in our home city of Aalborg - but this year I was able to fully appreciate the show. It is not a very big display but the finesse and beautiful score from Alan Menken still makes it a fantastic Disney worthy show, which for me outclasses Wishes and in many ways the New Year's Eve display I saw in december (of course that was bigger, but in no way as classy as Enchanted Fireworks) - A magical way to end the first of four amazing nights :D
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0199.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0204.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0205.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0211.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0216.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0220.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0222.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0224.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0229.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0234-1.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0236.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0239.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0241.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0242.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0248.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0249.jpg)
Before exiting the park I walked around Central Plaza, Main Street U.S.A and Fantasia Gardens to take some photos - Disneyland is a very beautiful place at day but it is even more beautiful at night. You get goosebumps at every corner and people who are not getting in a good mood by seeing these sights, should go get themselves checked :lol: ;)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0252.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0257.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0259.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0263.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0264.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0268.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0269.jpg)
Back at the hotel, however, the day got a sad end, as I noticed I had forgotten my iPad on the bus in Paris. I contacted my parents and asked them to contact Eurolines in Paris as I had no number to call them on. Since Paris was the last stop and we were some of the very last people to leave the bus I was still quite confident it would be found, and I wouldn't let it ruin a perfect first day!
Hopefully the next update will be here already later this evening :)
To be continued with part 1 of the 27th of July including a fantastic comeback of Tarzan among many other things...
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_03731.jpg)
Great report and photos as always :-)
Hope you got your ipad back.
Your photos are amazing!!
What do you have your camera set to to get the night time castle and DLH shots?? I have a slr and can never get it right. Think i need to do a photo course.
Quote from: "jackieann"Your photos are amazing!!
What do you have your camera set to to get the night time castle and DLH shots?? I have a slr and can never get it right. Think i need to do a photo course.
Thank you very much :)
Well - you can get the EXIF for the last photo of DLH:
iso100 - f/11 - 20.0 seconds - 14.0mm
Basically the following three things are essential to get good night time shots:
1. Use a tripod - you have to use a very slow shutter speed, so this is the most important thing.
2. Use a ISO-speed as low as possible in order to create the best lighting.
3. Use a remote control or the "timer", so you do not have to touch the camera when taking the picture. This prevents shaken pictures.
(4. When taking photos of fireworks, use the "bulb" feature so you get complete control of your exposure.)
I hope this was helpful - please ask if you want advice on anything else :D
brilliant thanks
I have a tripod and never thought about using the remote to do a photo. thanks for that!! Cant wait to book our next trip now!! fingers crossed for halloween.
Cant wait to see the rest.
PS also love the toy story land pic!!
Quote from: "jackieann"brilliant thanks
I have a tripod and never thought about using the remote to do a photo. thanks for that!! Cant wait to book our next trip now!! fingers crossed for halloween.
Cant wait to see the rest.
PS also love the toy story land pic!!
Your welcome - hope you get your holiday booked and get to take some great photos - the halloween season is great for night photos :)
With a tripod you have the most important accesory... Do not know which camera you have, but most (all) producers have both wired and infrared remote controls at reasonable prices :)
Fantastic trip report so far and some great pics. Can't wait to read the rest. Glad you had a good time, and thanks for paying attention to the entertainment!
I really love that last picture of the castle, it all looks so bright and shiny :D
I can't wait to go next year and can't wait for you to get the 3rd part up here :P
Great report so far and really very beautiful pictures.
But what a journey to get there, how many hours did you have to travel before you arrived in Disneyland? One whole day?
Absolutly wonderful night shots! A great trip report so far. Looking forward for more!!
Did you get your iPod back?
Aurora1
It has always been a pleasure to read your trip reports :thumbs: ! Can't wait for the rest of it.
@davewasbaloo: Thanks - I always pay attention to the entertainment, which has always fascinated me in Disneyland. And I saw several signs of the good old atmosphere of the streets of Disneyland. We're not there yet, but it is slowly getting better :)
@Overdose: Thanks - the castle was absolutely stunning by night. I too am already looking forward to next year - I have to go!
@magic katy: Once again thanks - it is a very hard trip and this year it lasted app. 22 hours including the trip from central Paris to Disneyland.
@Aurora1: I love Disneyland at night and could spend every night taking photos :P Regarding my iPad - let's make this the first trip report with a suspenseful cliffhanger ;) :lol:
@The Helmsman: I would expect the next part to be uploaded late tonight.
once again your trip report and photos are brilliant. thanks for posting.
Unfortunately, there will not be an update tonight - I have been busy relaunching my website (//http://www.nka-photo.com)...
BUT, I have been able to get the time to make a little teaser for the video that will follow after the Trip Report. In fact I just used this to explore the new iMovie trailers... Enjoy! ;)
[youtube:28j0l73q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOvTdmINZSU[/youtube:28j0l73q]
Quote from: "forza_united"Unfortunately, there will not be an update tonight - I have been busy relaunching my website (//http://www.nka-photo.com)...
BUT, I have been able to get the time to make a little teaser for the video that will follow after the Trip Report. In fact I just used this to explore the new iMovie trailers... Enjoy! ;)
[youtube:3p7vm2xa]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOvTdmINZSU[/youtube:3p7vm2xa]
Haha, Hollywood Tower Awards 2011 :P
Looks great, I can't wait :D/
There will be no update tonight, I'm afraid - too tired after 4 days of work directly after the holiday.
BUT I promise loads of updates in the weekend starting late tomorrow evening :D :mrgreen: :ears:
Waiting for the next bit.... :thumbs:
Part 3 - 27th of July 2011
First of all I realised I forgot to include a photo of my Chicken Caesar Salad from Earl of Sandwich (taken with a different camera) - shame on me! Here you go:
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/P1010252.jpg)
On with the trip report and day 2 - our first full day of the trip... We were having breakfast at La Cantina at 7 AM and I knew I needed to do some shoulder exercises before breakfast, so I was waken by my iPhone at 6.15 AM - a little more than 5 hours after falling asleep. Normally this would be straight forward impossible for me to do, but when you are in a place like Disneyland it never seems to be a problem getting up early - I always sleep FANTASTICALLY well here, so while there 5-6 hours of sleep is more than enough.
Well after a bath and completing the exercises (to (re)train my shoulders) off we were to La Cantina for the first breakfast of the trip. Although the continental breakfast only just offers what's necessary it did seem like a breakfast sent from heaven after tuesday mornings lack of breakfast. The plate was filled with two croissants and a pain au chocolat (YUMMY!) and with a ball of fruit salad and a cup of tea for me and coffee for Kristian we were all ready to use the EMH as we headed towards the Disneyland Park at 7:50 AM - it was a stunning, sunny morning that promised really good weather for the day :)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0270.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0271.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0273.jpg)
At 8.10 AM we were in Disneyland Park and not many people had found their way there so early - one of the reasons I love EMH. Main Street is very charming filled with people, but there is also something very charming about an almost deserted Main Street and Central Plaza. Of course we also used the time to try some of the opened attractions starting with Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast - I got a decent score of 135k - not great, but also not bad considering it as the first go of the trip. This was a walk-on and as was SM:M2 which we tried afterwards. We were seated in the back, which is pretty rough, yet I still enjoyed the ride. With the recent discussion of Mission 1 and Mission 2 on here I can say that I am very sorry for not having tried Mission 1 - the ride itself is the same I know, but it sure does seem as if the Mission 1 had the story and details that would make it an absolute top class WDI attraction. Mission 2 still seem a bit shallow, although some of the effects are quite nice.
After using 15 minutes to try two attractions which would normally take up to 2 hours we went towards Fantasyland passing by the castle in the beautifully refurbished Castle in the morning sun... Pictures show it better than words say it - it was just so BEAUTIFUL:
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0282.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0285.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0286.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0287.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0289.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0291.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0294.jpg)
After studying the castle and visiting the dragon we headed to Peter Pan's Flight and as we got into the queue and near the loading station we both said that it smelled really burned and it was really warm just around the place where the ride vehicles "enter" the show building. We didn't think more of it, but noticed it the other mornings too. The ride itself was way too dark this morning, in London you could only see Big Ben and the details of Neverland were also hard to spot. These two scenes are - for me at least - a huge part of why this attraction outclasses Snow White and Pinocchio, so it was a bit sad to see them in this state. We slowly started to walk towards the exit as we just as last year wanted to get in the queue for WDS when they open the gates at 9.30 in order to get into the queue for Crush (crazy that this is necessary still - a clear result of low capacity rides). While walking out of the park I took some time to photograph details in both Fantasyland and once again on the beautiful Chateau de la Belle au bois Dormant. I was especially glad to see the Sleeping Beauty fountain inside the gallery working - it is a great little detail that really adds to the finesse and elegancy of the Gallery.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0298.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0304.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0306.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0314.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0318.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0322.jpg)
Before heading into the studios I had to stop by the Cable Car Bake Shop for the delicious Chocolate Cookies, which are by far the best cookies I have ever tasted (sorry Mum! ;)). I have to get those on a trip in order for it to be complete! I felt really sorry for the CMs in there, because their counters were filled with wasps - I think about 10 wasps were inside the counter buzzing around between cookies, doughnuts and cup cakes - it must really have been like paradise for them ;) But poor CMs who - understandably - seemed rather scared....
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0325.jpg)
We were in queue for the Studios at app. 9.20 AM and found the smallest queue, which of course was the slowest moving when the gates were opened 10 minutes later. When we arrived at Crush they had already opened the first part of outdoor queueing (the rope-queue that has taken over the beautiful oasis of the carpets making it a crammed queue line :() They were openening the queue line in 4 stages up until 10 AM sharp when the first people came out of the attraction. I tried this for the first time last summer and again this summer we would notice how different each ride is - this makes the attraction worth trying each morning. I am very sorry that the dark ride part isn't longer as it is very beautiful - I guess it would allow more cars on the tracks as well creating a bigger capacity, which is the rides main problem. I noticed that the amount of people before us in the queue actually wasn't very big - yet it still took us more than 20 minutes from the attraction was opened and we were seated in a shell. Big problem!
We went to Twilight Zone Tower of Terror to get a fastpass and for the first time of many we were behind people who wouldn't accept that their tickets (and/or the machine) didn't work. In stead of asking the CM for help they just kept trying and trying and trying creating a huge queue - each time people asked the CM it took them less than 2 seconds to print a fast pass ticket and the queues were kept at a minimum. But we got our fastpass tickets and some time to kill - off to the one tour in STT that you need on each trip. You only need this trip to see Catastrophe Canyon however, which is still an impressive set that makes the attraction worthwile to try, because it is not due to the rest of the ride, which gets worse and worse for each time I go... To name a few problems:
- Going to and from CC you see the same props
- The costume building has been gone for a long time, yet they haven't bothered cutting it out of the on board movie yet
- The removed RC Racer photo location prop is now placed among the "real cars" from movies - this is just a joke towards the seemingly real prop cars still there.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0332.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0339.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0350.jpg)
Before using our ToT FP we went to Toy Story Playland to take some video for the trip video - we decided to come back after ToT to try Toy Soldier Parachute Drop - the other attraction we wanted to try in TSPL. First of all it was time for ToT however - the CM at the entrance warned people about longer waiting times due to technical difficulties, but we decided to go on it still. It turned out that only one of the three shafts were working creating some massive queues in the boiler room - I didn't complain as this gave us loads of time to study this beautifully themed story building place - we had never been in a more fitting mood when placed in our service elevator. We already felt as being a part of the twilight zone! :lol:
After this thrilling drop it was time for the childrens' drop - Toy Soldier Parachute Drop. We knew about the single rider line and weren't really in need of sitting together. However being the first time on the ride we decided to go for the 45 minute "normal" queue line so we could see this. It is the best of the three queue lines in TSPL creating the best story of being in the soldier's training camp and especially the Pixar produced boarding video was really good and funny. However, the guest behaviour once again was not. How people can stand by watching their kids climbing on, beating at, falling from and wrecking the sets, which are placed behind bars, I still fail to understand. This is not just thinking about the sets but also the children - several children could have hurt themselves real bad falling from some of these sets! As for the ride itself it was quite smooth and offered a decent view of the park, but it was way more uncomfortable being afraid of heights than ToT is - this was clearly due to the fact that you are out in free air with your legs hanging under the seat. This combined with the fact that we didn't find it worth the wait meant that this was our only go on this ride. A decent part of TSPL, but not something that will make people come back (or at least I do not think so).
As we exited the ride the Green Army Men streetmosphere was on - this was easily the best thing about TSPL. Streetmosphere of high class with the three army men taking their time to entertain both children and grown ups. The only issue was that the entire Playland was blocked while the "show" was on, but it was really popular and rightly so!
That was a wrap for the studios for this time as we headed back towards Disneyland Park with Toad Hall as the first stop and with Tarzan le Recontre at 4.15 PM as the main attraction. While walking towards Toad Hall I was made so happy by two sights of great quality:
1. Main Steet Vehicles out in the middle of the day - I am so happy that this is now even more possible with the moving of Dance Express to the Castle Stage area. Nothing is better than walking down Main Street seeing the beautiful old vehicles coming slowly towards you with the Castle in the background. That should be the comeback of the Barber Shop Quartet if anything!
2. Scaffolding coming down on Col. Hathi's revealing a bright and amazingly coloured building which fitted into the greenery to perfection. Unfortunately the rest of the scaffolding didn't come down while we were there!
Once in Toad Hall we treated ourselves with the lovely Fish'n'Chips - I am always surprised at how early they close this restaurant (app. 7 PM) - in it's opening time it is always one of the most packed restaurants and I can easily understand why. Some of the best fast food available in both parks.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0353.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0354.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/P1010280.jpg)
We had about 1.5 hour before we had to queue up for Tarzan and decided that BTM was the right ride for this amount of time. Another great ride on this fantastic attraction. But our heads were somewhere else - or at least my head was: The Chaparral Stage, where Tarzan awaited.
Although being an old show given comeback this was still a fantastic addition to the programme in my opinion as it a top class show which is based on a Disney story and with Disney music, but most of all showcases some amazing acrobatics and elegant circus tricks done by top class performers. I love the set too and as we waited for the show to begin I remembered my memories from the show from when I was younger - the fondest memory I had was the time I joined the Trashin' the camp session, but after seeing it on this trip the fondest memory is without a doubt the amazingly talented performers, who were absolutely terrific. I heard rumours earlier that the acrobatics had been made even bigger, better and more dangerous for this comeback season and one thing is sure - every muscle in the performers' bodies was used during the show! Fantastic!!
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_03551.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_03581.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_03591.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_03681.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_03691.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_03731-1.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_03741.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_03761.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_03771.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_03861.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_03871.jpg)
Afterwards both me and Kristian quickly agreed that we needed to see it again later on the trip! Still filled with energy we decided to once again switch parks in order to use the last hours of opening time in WDS to avoid the biggest queues and then head back to the hotel afterwards. On our way to WDS we noticed that BTM was once again closed due to technical difficulties - this time it seemed more serious than on tuesday as all trains were taken off the track and cast members were unable to tell people when it would be back on.
In the Studios we went to check the information board and according to the times we would be able to try Tower of Terror one more time and still manage to see Cinémagique at 5.45 PM. However we quickly realized that the queue was way longer than what the board had said. Being in the queue already we decided to stay put for another drop into the twilight zone and save Cinémagique for later. After ToT we had time to try RC Racer one more time - once again it was a boring 40 minutes waiting in the almost empty queue line and once again I got to think about the lack of attention to detail regarding the RC spare parts in the queue line. [spoiler:lkmyp6bc]One would assume that they are meant to be spare parts to the Racer, which is on the hot wheels track. However, none of the spare parts are of a size similar to the vehicle. Also some of the spare parts aren't even on the vehicle (for instance the felloes). I like the idea of using spare parts as props in the queueing line, but I would expect a bigger attention to detail from WDI. It's the same thing about the Barrel of Monkeys, which is no where as big as Rex, Buzz or RC in real life sizes, but in TSPL it is way bigger than all three. It can seem like minor details, but it is those who make the "Disney difference", when they have been made properly[/spoiler:lkmyp6bc] The following pictures are from monday and shows the queue for RC:
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0073.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0074.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0076.jpg)
Well it was time to head back to the hotel and by now the high sun of the morning was gone and it started to rain heavily!!
Part 4 coming tomorrow - including the first night ride on BTM, a first time restaurant experience for me and an amazing late night visit to Phantom Manor!
Great Trip Report, I'm really enjoying it. & about the smell at Peter Pan, it's from the smoke from the chimneys, I only realised this as my old theatre group used the exact same smoke in their shows.
Great photos again, looking forward to part
Quote from: "15MagicalYears"Great Trip Report, I'm really enjoying it. & about the smell at Peter Pan, it's from the smoke from the chimneys, I only realised this as my old theatre group used the exact same smoke in their shows.
Nice to know although it is a very strong scent though - and as a matter of fact I could have sworn the chimneys weren't working. Well they must have been... thanks for clearing that up!
Part 4 - 27th of July 2011:
Time for part 4 of the trip report and part 2 of day 2. This evening I didn't bring my camera, so this update will be quite text heavy. Having left the studios at closing time in heavy rain we were heading back to Disneyland Park at app. 7.40 PM - and now, luckily, the rain had stopped and the sun was shining a bit again - perfect timing!
We were looking for something to eat as we were getting hungry and we ended up in Frontierland and in front of Last Chance Café where I had never eaten before even though it was my 12th trip. We spotted some chicken on the menu, which would be a good yet quick meal allowing us to make the most of the evening. The café was very small but also very charmy filled with the Thunder Mesa atmosphere inside - the recently added/rebuilt outdoor section was a bit more plain but added some much needed seating, because the café was close to being full! After eating we had app. 3 hours left of opening time and as you will be able to see in this part of the report I think we managed quite a lot during these hours :D
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/IMG_0229.jpg)
We knew that Adventureland and Fantasyland would close at 10 PM due to the fireworks, so we decided to start the evening in Adventureland with another lovely trip to the caribbean - it was a bit more of a walk-on this time and it was clear that this corner of the park was getting empty - presumably also because both Toad Hall and Au Chalet de la Marionette were closed already. As on all other times on both POC and IaSW we sat in a boat queue for some minutes at the end of the ride. This makes for the huge capacity in the middle of the day, but in the end of the day when half of the boats are empty it feels a bit unnecessary to sit there with an empty boat in front of you and an empty boat behind you. This "problem" is way bigger on IaSW though as the area you are stuck in inside POC is way better themed!
We decided to stay in Adventureland a little longer heading for our first expedition with Indy - we went through Adventure Isle which will hopefully receive some attention too before the 20th - this was especially visible due to the low water level and turned off water fall. Weird to say but Adventure Isle was actually more beautiful back in december than now in July where you would think of it as being in blossom and very green, lush and beautiful. I beg for this to be refurbished - combined with the ongoing refurbishments of the galley and Tree House this would once again make Adventure Isle the most beautiful place in any Magic Kingdom style park in the world!
Indiana Jones was in contrast to this looking really good - it seemed like the queue line had been given some attention. Many of the ruins, sculptures and little details seemed brighter and clearer than ever making it a much better overall experience. As a matter of fact the ride itself seemed smoother than for a long time too, so all in all a very positive expedition with the world's toughest archeologist!
We knew we wanted to finish the day in Frontierland to try and see the fireworks from aboard BTM as we did three times last year. Heading to Discoveryland we noticed that it would be possible to try BTM one time before heading to Discoveryland, so in to the queue we went. Right behind us was a very "pushy" man, who with crossed arms kept bumping in to us sort of applying "move faster, move faster" at one point I was close to saying something to me when it was not just his elbows but also his stomach which was bumped in to my back. I somehow switched places with Kristian half way through the queue and he had the exact same experience with him. In the end it just gave us a good laugh and something to think back on when queueing on the rest of the trip :lol:
After having been let loose in the wild west on BTM we were ready to be let loose into space in Discoveryland and Space Mountain Mission 2. This would also be the only night with us doing silly on-ride photos like last year. Kristian had a hoodie on which could be zipped all the way over the face and he did this in both BTM and SM:M2 for the photos. In the end we didn't bother to keep doing this on the trip. This time we were placed on row 1 of a car in the middle of the train (row 9 I think it was) and these were without a doubt the best seats we had on SM:M2 during the trip - in fact it wasn't rough at one single point allowing you to enjoy the ride and the details inside the mountain - GREAT!
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/IMG_0230.jpg)
Exiting Space Mountain we were greeted by the beautiful sight of Discoveryland by night - the beautiful lake with Nautilus, Space Mountain and the newly refurbished Orbitron created a stunning sight for which I would have wished I had had my camera with tripod! Unfortunately I didn't and the time was close to 10.25 - the time for the start of Fantillusion and the last chance to cross over Main Street by Gibson Girl. We got there in time and was ready for some magical 30 minutes of night time Frontierland, which was almost completely empty. As we wanted to see the fireworks from BTM we headed to Phantom Manor and what would turn out to be the best CM experience of the trip...
When we arrived to the front door we were the only people there and when the doors opened we were just 7 people who were let in. The elevator opened and inside he stood! A seemingly hunchbacked CM wearing complete costume and tall hat with a silly yet true PM grin on his face. It was clear that he was meant to switch with the CM who had opened the door, but he just said to him "let me have this one" and the doors to the stretching room closed and we were in for a treat. He took his time creating the right mood for the show and interacting with each of us, before starting the pre-show with a perfectly timed snap with the finger. During the pre-show he creepily walked around playing with the 7 of us, but he stayed by the edge of the room with the 7 of us standing close together in the centre. By the time the light went out we knew he would want to scare some or all of us, but nobody had expected him to sneek his way in to the very centre of the 7 people group without any of noticing it. When the light went on there he was staring straight into the eyes of one the girls who was scared out of the stretching room. A magnificent CM and great to see at a time of the day when most CM's (understandably) looks like they want to go home!
We arrived at BTM with 20 minutes to the fireworks and a announced 30 minutes of waiting time - this however was more like 10 minutes, so we didn't see the fireworks on this time. However, we got to get an even funnier guest behaviour experience than previously that evening in the BTM queue - this time on the ride itself! We were seated in a car along a family of four with the son and father right in front of us and it was quickly clear that the dad would be hilarious to sit behind as we left the station and he started to make "whipping" gestures and make "whipping" noises. The son seemed to understand it equally as much as we did = no understanding at all! :lol: When the dad then screamed "Come on, Baby!!" while "whipping" the train we simply bursted into laugh - it was unbelievably funny although we were kind of sorry for the family as he was clearly embarrasing them, which was emphasized by the mum asking him "what the h*ll?!?" afterwards - his very honest response was simply "Oh, come on, you have to do a bit of screaming" :lol: :lol: Yeah, screaming - not encouraging the train to go faster by whipping it and screaming at it haha!
It was 10.55 PM and we queued up in hope of catching the fireworks - we were the very last in the queue meaning a very long waiting time as all trains except one would be taken off track during these minutes. When we were in our train the clock was 11.10 PM and when we exited the first lift hill all we could see was smoke and a lit-up castle. The first of three times trying to watch the fireworks from BTM wasn't a success! :(
We headed back to the hotel through Liberty Arcade and was probably in bed at 0.30 AM and once again we had breakfast at 7 AM. A fantastic first full day in the parks had come to and end giving us great experiences, funny guest behaviour, beautiful sights and one of the best CM experiences of all times!
We were completely ready for day 3, which would include an afternoon in Paris :)
To be continued.... (later today)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0462.jpg)
I very like your report style, words and very nice photos! Thank you!
Part 5 - 28th of July 2011:
**WARNING** Photo-heavy update coming up!
Up at 6.15 in order to get a bath and do my exercises - sorted!
Watch a couple of minutes of the annoying yet addictive "10 things to know before you go" film - sorted!
Breakfast at La Cantina at 7 AM - sorted!
Getting to the park for the EMH - sorted!
Yeah, the morning went according to the quickly established usual setup and we entered the worlds of history, discovery and ageless fantasy just after 8 AM. I noticed Minnie and Mickey in front of "Mickey's House" on Town Square but with no guests near them and when I got closer I could see just to children playing around with them and a professional photographer taking loads of photos using softboxes and more.. CM's guided people through Liberty Arcade and when at Central Plaza it was clear that the entire Main Street U.S.A had been closed off for this photoshoot - could it have been an initial session with Hugo Burnand or at least regarding this special limited offer?? Who knows and we quickly found our way to Discoveryland and started off in Buzz, where I got another decent score of 198300 - still not satisfying... When we wanted to try SM:M2 it was closed - probably due to early morning tech. difficulties... We went for another spin on Buzz where I got the amazing score of 10.000 due to the fact that I was filming the attraction this time ;)
The Columbiad was still not firing anyone to outer space, so we decided to enter the world of ageless fantasy - Fantasyland. A lovely flight with Peter Pan was followed by a walk around Fantasyland in the cold and lightly rainy morning hours of this late july thursday - one would have expected better weather. Despite the weather I got to take some photos of lovely places like Les Pirouettes du Vieux Moulin, the new and very detailed Alice photo location and the cozy italian corner featuring Fantasia Gelati and Ristorante Bella Notte...
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0390.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0391.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0394.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0396.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0397.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0401.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0409.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0411.jpg)
And of course I once again had to photograph the beautiful Castle - this time with the equally as beautifully refurbished Castle Stage - I really wish they would use this for a top quality show next year for the 20th and get rid of the Central Plaza stage. That would be truly amazing!
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0415.jpg)
We were well on our way to the queue up for WDS and Crush and noticed that Space Mountain had openend, so we decided to try it - oh how I wish we wouldn't done this... Remember how we yesterday agreed that row 9 was the best in the entire train? Well, this morning we were seated in row 10, which was just as bad as row 9 was good - in fact it was much worse... When I got into my seat I had quite a struggle fitting in my long legs, but I just succeded in stuffing them down in the train and getting the restraint locked and off we were. During the first loop my legs were forced down in the seat due to the pressure and this was not a good thing! When we arrived at the station I was unable to stand up - it took me more than a minute and some heavy struggling before I got out - it was quite unpleasant, but I got out and after a good stretch I was ready to keep going! People out there who are bigger than 1m60 - stay away from row 10 in SM:M2!!!!! :lol: ;)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0417.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0420.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0423.jpg)
We got to the studios and once again we were in one of the shortest queues, which turned out to be the slowest moving of all 7-8 queues and we were in an app. 20 minute Crush queue. This morning they opened the queue system at a quicker rate and at 9.50 the first persons were already coming out of the attraction, but then the inevitable happened - it had tech issues and the queue was not moving for 20 minutes at least. Once it got moving we oversaw a situation with a large woman that had me feel so sorry her. She was in a vehicle struggling to lock the restraint - the cm's (yes more than one) were pushing all they could to try and lock it, before getting her out only to make her try another seat! She had the same problems here and the entire queue overlooked this situation due to the fact that the cars had stopped. In the end they had to ask her to leave - I know it is stated that people of certain body shapes and sizes might not fit, but I just felt so sorry for her - it must have been so embarrasing in front of a filled queue line and your family :(
10 minutes later we got seated and we were in for the wildest surf we had yet experienced! We were seated in the front row - two rather tall grown-ups - and behind us was seated one little boy who was app. 7-8 years. As you all know the spinning is highly controlled by the weight distribution, so as you can imagine once the roller coaster part started the shell was spinning faster, wilder and crazier than ever before - it actually wasn't that funny and almost reached a state of being uncomfortable (at least for us, who deliberately stay away from attractions like the Tea Cups, Orbitron and Slinky due to their spinning :lol:)
After getting our heads back on track we left WDS - it was time for Paris!
First stop was Gallieni International Bus Station in order to visit Eurolines and hear if they found my iPad - my mum had an ongoing conversation with them from home, but we agreed it couldn't ruin anything dropping by and asking them. I had however not foreseen them being so unkind and unhelpful as they proofed to be... After waiting in line for app. 10 minutes I got to the counter and informed the lady about the situation including bus number and when we arrived in Paris and she said she had to make a phone call only to come back literally 10 seconds later saying: "I've talked to them and they didn't find anything - maybe some one has stolen it. Have a good day!" First of all, she never called anyone and secondly she could have at least told me if there was anything else I could do... I informed my mum who kept the conversation with going (via e-mail that was) and I decided once again not to let this ruin anything. Me and Kristian quickly got back into the metro with the first stop being Montmartre and Sacre Cæur!
I had only been there once I believe when I was very little and Kristian had never been there before - we both knew that it was a very beautiful place though filled with atmosphere and of course a lovely view over Paris. Let's just say the place didn't disappoint. At start it was quite cold and grey, but still the place was buzzing with tourists, locals and of course the inevitable street artists/tricksters of both good and bad kind.
- The people trying to lure money away from people with their stupid "where-is-the-white-dot-trick" honestly cannot make me angry. If people get cheated by those, they almost deserve it as their cheating is so easy to spot and easy to stay away from.
- The people who come up to you trying to attach some thread to your finger or "get your signature for a petition" on the other hand - they can really irritate me. The first mentioned because they are so pushy - one of them grabbed my hand and wouldn't let go! I was quickly named "Hey-tall-guy" by these "tricksters".. The people trying to get your signature irritates me, because they ruin it for people with an actual cause!
- There was many street artists of the bad kind, but certainly also many of the good kind. The many musicians and living statues help creating this special atmosphere. Especially one harpist (playing The Beatles, like you've never heard them before) and a living statue by Sacre Cæur were great experiences.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0463.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0481.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0482_2.jpg)
The Sacre Cæur itself was a very beautiful church on the inside and on the outside as well. It was filled with people and unfortunately photography wasn't allowed - on the other hand this allowed me to view the beautiful details of the church to the fulliest. The view over Paris was breathtaking as well and only got better after we exited Sacre Cæur and the sun came out - the place was now really hot all of sudden!! We enjoyed a sandwich at the foot of Montmartre before going on.. Just as parisian a lunch as last year, where we enjoyed a sandwich with a view to the Paris Wheel, Louvre and Place de Concorde... Paris is a lovely city!!!
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0426.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0432.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0434.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0440.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0446.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0447_2.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_04491.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0453.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0455.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0465.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0468.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0470.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0481.jpg)
Before heading to the Champs Elysees we went past Moulin Rouge and down the boulevard on which it is located. Let's just say that this boulevard is not a place to bring your kids ;)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0489.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0493.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0494.jpg)
Once on Champs Elysees we started some hours of shopping only stopped by rainy 10 minutes by Arc de Triomphe (the only minutes it rained on Champs Elysees - typical!!)
The shopping included: Paris SG (I bought the France National Team Away Jersey), Nike Store (huge!!), fnac, Virgin Megastore, Disney Store, Adidas Store and the Nespresso Store, in which we were given true VIP treatment. I bought two sets of cups as presents for my parents and my sister and her husband - in total "just" 50 €.. However, while they were gift wrapping them we were asked to take a seat in the "Club Nespresso" even though I'm not a member.. We were offered free coffee (I didn't take as I do not drink coffee - they must have been a bit confused :lol:) and sat there for 20 minutes in designer chairs along a few other customers, who were members of the club and spent at hundreds of euros buying new stuff during their "stay". I received the wrapped gifts which were carried all the way to the exit by the CM. A wonderful experience although it almost was too much considering what I bought and us just being "stupid" tourists! :lol:
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0506.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0516.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0519.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0520.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0524.jpg)
Before going back to the metro station to get "home" we ended up visiting a small yet very exclusive arcade on Champs Elysees filled with rather special sculptures and pieces of art. Inside the arcade was a beautiful little courtyard, which could easily offer a wonderful getaway from the sometimes stressful atmosphere of Champs Elysees - the shops and cafés were a bit out of our budget and interests though...
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0532.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0533.jpg)
The ride back to DLP went smooth while the rain was falling heavily outside! When we arrived at the Marne-la-Vallée train station, however, the rain stopped, and we could walk back to the hotel. We had ended up having a really hot and quite sunny afternoon in Paris, but it was clear that it had rained heavily in the parks as people were heading back to their hotels either soaked or wearing rain coats. We had clearly chosen the right afternoon for our detour to Paris. Back at the hotel we dropped of my shoppings and got ready for an evening in both parks...
To be continued with the evening of the 28th of July, which includes a encounter with our all-time favorite ToT CM, another new restaurant experience, an evacuation and much much more...
Good God,
I love reading this report :P
Keep it coming please :D
What a fantastic trip report! I am really enjoying it! I currently have one of your night time pic's of the castle as my screensaver on my pc as I love it so much! :) Fabulous photo's!
Great report again.
How big was the woman on Crush.
I'm quite a large bloke so I'm worried about not fitting on to crush because I heard it was a bit of a squeeze compared to other rides.
Martin
Lovin the report, and lovin the photos. Noticed a few that have been tilt-shifted slipped in here and there. :thumbs:
Great report and photos Nicolai, as always. I really enjoy your writing, you make me feel that I am there too :D
If you don't mind, could you tell us please what kind of camera do you use (you might told us again before), I am interesting of buying a new one and I would appreciate your suggestions (camera, lens, etc).
I love it!!! I feel as though Ive just been back! Excellent photos and amusing report. Brill.....looking forward to the next one!!!
@Angel_Ariel: So glad to hear that! :) Please tell me which photo it is and I will send you a high resolution edition for you to use. The photos in this report have a very low resolution...
@MartinB: She was VERY big - way bigger than the "average overweight" person. However, I would suggest to ask the CM at the entrance - mainly to avoid standing in the queue for up to 2 hours only to turned down at the loading station...
@Pete's Dragon: Thank you very much - yeah a few quick fake tilt-shifts have found their way so far :)
@traveller: Thank you - that is what I like in a trip report and it is also what I aim for, so I am so happy to hear that... I use a Nikon D90 with 4 different lenses in total: a 18-105mm standard lens, a 35mm f/1.8 lens, a 70-300mm telezoom lens and my newest addition a 14-24 wide angle zoom lens. For my night shots I use a tripod and remote control :)
@minnieme: thank you very much - I still have to do 4-5 updates + a trip video so lots still to come :)
I will finish day 3 (the 28th of July) later tonight :)
Part 6 - 28th of July 2011:
Once again I didn't bring my camera this night... So almost no photos..
Leaving the hotel at app. 6 PM we decided to head into WDS first and maybe just try Tower of Terror once. We got into the queue and after app. 10 minutes there we finally saw Cedric - our favorite ToT CM. He was so great last summer and I remember him from New Years as well and I know some on here has noticed him too. We had actually agreed that we were going to get a photo with him if we saw him, but he was waay to busy looking busy! :lol: We had our hopes now that we might be able to finally have him as our last CM before the drop as we are sure he will make a terrific "final speech"!
However we didn't get him and didn't see him inside the tower, but when we exited after a great drop he was at the entrance and the clock was 6.59 and he kindly asked everyone nearby to stop inside as this was the definitive last chance of the day for a drop. We - of course - couldn't withstand this offer and headed straight into the lobby with Cedric closing the gates just behind us - we were the very last in the queue and during the very long time in the lobby considering the small queue we witnessed the closing down of the outdoor ToT area - interesting to see and to stand in the lobby with the doors closed was a special feeling too. It just added to the being in a hotel illusion. They stuffed all of us into the library and when we exited the library Kristian and me got seperated with one of the last people to leave. The CM kindly asked us to use the lower floor service elevators as this would be to our own good compared to the upper level that we actually queued for - Kristian however didn't hear that message and we ended up standing respectively on the upper and lower level queueing for the final drop of the day. The CM proofed to be very right as I had been brought to the Twilight Zone and back for ages when Kristian finally exited the tower on 7.20 PM! The CM's outside were clearly getting impatient wanting the rest of the guests out of the park. We were some of the very last people to exit the park, when we left with Disneyland Park as our destination.
We started by visiting BTM to get a fastpass, which we easily got. It was time to eat and we decided once again to try a restaurant in which I had never had dinner before; Hakuna Matata. We both had the lightly spiced chicken with hakuna fries and I have to say that it was really tasty and that the size of the meal was much better than that of Last Chance Café the evening before, which was a bit too small. I liked the atmosphere inside the restaurant as well and would prefer if this was made the character based jungle restaurant and then Col. Hathi's could be turned into Explorers Club again. Two so similar restaurants are to much for such a small area - with the addition of the Rythms of the Jungle photo location this restaurant could be rethemed to fit in both Lion King and the Jungle Book should they insist on having both movies represented with a restaurant.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/P1010309.jpg)
After this lovely meal it was time for Pirates of the Caribbean, which once again didn't let us down - as great as always. And we continued with Pinocchio which we had wanted to try the very first evening, when it closed with tech. issues. This time it didn't altough we had to wait for some time, because of the sweetest little girl in a wheelchair who was helped by the CMs in such a great way. Seeing people with such disabilities always brings a lump in my throat and then it always make me so happy to see the special treatment they get in Disneyland - the CMs do everything possible to make her stay the most magical and unforgettable ever and to make her forget about her state and this makes me so happy. Very nice to see!
When we left Fantasyland going back to Adventureland and Indy I saw something I had never seen before - a couple walking with a push chair surrounded by 3 body guards. It actually looked as though the body guards were concentrating fully on the push chair. I saw the same couple a few other times on the rest of the vacation with people getting their pictures taken with them - still with body guards. I however didn't recognize them at all, so I cannot help any gossip hungry people out there. Indiana Jones had more then 20 minutes of waiting time and it was around 9 PM - long time since I have experienced that and once again I had to say that the ride was way smoother than on my latest visits... If this can stay that way and they would some more and better effects to the queue area and attraction itself, it could be fantastic!
We wanted to check out Discoveryland before using our BTM fastpasses and as we walked through Adventureland I really regrat not bringing my camera - mist and a beautiful sunset created a magical lush atmosphere around the all of a sudden very green Adventure Isle and shores of Hakuna Matata. It was so beautiful and I did film it, so keep an eye out for this in the final movie (actually you can catch a glimpse of it in the teaser trailer). On our way we caught the back of the finale of Mickeys Magical Celebration[spoiler:lu1ee9t9], where it looked like Mickey fell very akwardly during the "disappearing"... Since I haven't read anything about an accident I suppose this wasn't the case.[/spoiler:lu1ee9t9]
In Discoveryland we did the one thing that we would come to regret the most on the entire trip - we tried Star Tours. After trying it last year we had agreed never to do it again before an update had been installed, because of it being so rough, but one way or another we decided to forget about this and try it....
Firstly we had quite a laugh over the extremely hilarious boarding video, which just looks so dated and so 80's that you have to have seen it in order to understand. The starspeeders themselves are so dated too - but not in a funny way. The seats are ripped, the cabin falling apart, the heat system not working and most importantly the movement is so rough! I have never been happier for restraint on an attraction as we were thrown around the cabin and mechanical and rough turns and movements. I'm sorry to say but at the moment I cannot recommend this to anyone - not even hardcore star wars fans. :(
It was time for our BTM fastpasses and once again it was a FP-walk-on - a great feeling when the waiting time is still 45 minutes. The ride was as enjoyable as ever with us even getting a bit wet by the on-ride photo location. However, we had no funny guests onboard the train this time, so the train didn't have to worry about being whipped ;)
Remembering our amazing CM experience in Phantom Manor the night before we decided to try this great attraction one more time before trying to time our final BTM ride for the fireworks. This evening in Phantom Manor the CM from the night before stood by the gates and the CM within the stretching room almost fell asleep while giving the safety instructions - hence, no CM experience like the night before this time :( The ride however was still as enjoyable as always - the only thing that irritated me this time was:
[spoiler:lu1ee9t9]That the scenes where they use glass walls for the illusions (infinite hallway, ballroom) the glass walls were very clearly visible this time. I guess they won't be for a first timer, but for me they were and although I on one hand found it quite fascinating it was a little irritating.[/spoiler:lu1ee9t9]
Time for the last BTM ride of the day and we thought we had timed it better but no - when the clock was 10.50 we were leaving the station for a great funny ride in the dark. However, when we arrived back on main land the train suddenly stopped. I figured that we just had to wait for them to take another train off the track as the night before, but we kept sitting there when some very bright lights came on and two CM's rushed to us asking if everyone was okay (standard procedure) and I realized that we were going to be evacuated - another first for me... Nerdy as I am, however, I would have preferred my first evacuation to be more access-giving than having to leave BTM in front of the station two seconds before the end of the ride :lol: Well, luckily nothing serious had happened - but once again we didn't get to see the fireworks from BTM this night either with just one night left - hope was running out.. We decided to see the fireworks from the corner by Casey's and once again the fireworks display was very enjoyable. Unfortunately the humid weather prevented the smoke from clearing, so by the time the show had reached its climax the entire Main Street U.S.A area was filled with smoke!
We slowly exited the park getting ready for an hour of shopping in Disney Village - we didn't have that much to shop, but you just simply have to take an evening to visit all the shops of DV. In the Disney Store I witnessed a little girl getting the biggest Minnie plushie available - it was bigger than her. When the CM gave her the huuuuuge bag this girl went completely mad doing a celebrationary dance that I had never seen anything like before. Me, the CM and her dad was smiling and laughing a bit while she just kept dancing. :lol:
Having finished the shopping and getting to "our bridge" by Santa Fe we bumped into four teenage girls only wearing underwear and loose t-shirts looking quite embarrased. I didn't think the hotel pools would be open at this hour (00.00) and I wandered what they were doing going towards the Cheyenne then.. On the other hand it must be the only logical explanation or would it? ;) :lol:
Off to bed we went - ready for yet another early morning with breakfast at 7 AM once again.
To be continued...
First update of day 4 (29th of July) coming tomorrow - once again I went without camera, so another text heavy update coming up ;)
Quote from: "forza_united"@Angel_Ariel: So glad to hear that! :) Please tell me which photo it is and I will send you a high resolution edition for you to use. The photos in this report have a very low resolution...
Thanks so much Nicolai! It was this photo, I absolutely love it! :)
(//http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a311/angelnikita007/album2/castle.jpg)
A great installment once again!!
Quote from: "forza_united"Unfortunately, there will not be an update tonight - I have been busy relaunching my website (//http://www.nka-photo.com)...
BUT, I have been able to get the time to make a little teaser for the video that will follow after the Trip Report. In fact I just used this to explore the new iMovie trailers... Enjoy! ;)
[youtube:22rlz6zo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOvTdmINZSU[/youtube:22rlz6zo]
That's brilliant! =D
What music did you use? It's beautiful.
Quote from: "burntsienna"Quote from: "forza_united"Unfortunately, there will not be an update tonight - I have been busy relaunching my website (//http://www.nka-photo.com)...
BUT, I have been able to get the time to make a little teaser for the video that will follow after the Trip Report. In fact I just used this to explore the new iMovie trailers... Enjoy! ;)
That's brilliant! =D
What music did you use? It's beautiful.
Thanks, Laura...
The music was made specifically to iMovie '11 and is performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Prague. Unfortunately I do not know more about it other than it was made for the "Documentary"-trailer-template of iMovie.
Part 7 - 29th of July 2011:
The morning routine was the same as the first two mornings except I didn't do my exercises due to my neck, which was a bit "tired". After the breakfast we left for EMH - I didn't bring my camera this morning as I wanted to bring it in the afternoon/evening. The weather was looking good when we had breakfast so I went for the summer outfit with a light t-shirt and a pair of knickers.
In Disney Village we noticed the new facade of Planet Hollywood featuring the newest "stars" of Hollywood: The Jonas Brothers, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and also characters from Avatar and Iron Man. The only real stars remaining are the founders Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis - Sylvester and Bruce also with new character shots from The Expendables and Die Hard 4.0 respectively. This is a real shame although it real didn't shock me... You could call it the "toonification" of Planet Hollywood ;)
During the EMH you know the drill:
Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast (196k score)
Space Mountain: Mission 2
Peter Pan's Flight
I have two things to add regarding PPF - it was much brighter this morning and for the first time London was clearly visible and you could see the cars moving. Great! The other thing was that the woman on the row behind us was screaming! And not for fun - she was literally screaming each time the ship turned or went downwards. I had never experienced this and do not expect to experience again any time soon either :lol:
We decided to try Space Mountain once again and didn't regret. In front of us were 4 danes (two fathers with their sons), who clearly had never tried it before - let's just say the were very enthusiastic and it is always fun when they are of the same nationality as yourself. Inside the mountain the fathers were screaming like little girls and when we stepped out of the train they simply couldn't stop laughing - their very first comment was: "Where are we? I think we were turned upside down!" And when the sons asked if they should try it again they got a short answer: "no, not now" followed by "or ever again"... :D
On our way to WDS I once again visited the Cable Car Bake Shop for one of their lovely chocolate cookies - YUMMY!
We once again started the day in WDS by queueing up for Crush and while standing in line I noticed how desperate Studio 3 (Animagique) needs a repaint and refurb - it seems like the facade is falling apart. Not very nice to see...
... The same thing can be said about a situation we witnessed in the Crush queue. Just inside the building by the stairs leading you over the track there is a spot from which wheelchairs can get out of the queue. Here a woman moved into to take some photos - moving past one family. This caused the father of the family to go crazy on this woman - he was yelling at her, gesturing and at one point threatening to hit her!!! I had never seen such behaviour in Disneyland and it was caused by a woman who had moved 2-3 metres ahead of her spot in order to photograph - the rest of her family was still in their spot, so she was in no way queue jumping. And this father... How can you behave like that in front of your children - they were frightened by their dad who threatened another guest. The CM on the unloading side of the station tried to calm him down and he almost threatened her too before heading up the stairs... When we reached the end of the stairs on the other side 3 security guards were in place taking the father to one side - he was furious and quickly pointed out the woman, who too was taken aside. Three security guards and 3 CMs had to use their time on this idiot.. We didn't get to see the end, but I really hope that he was sent out of the park and asked not to come back! Crazy behaviour in every place, but especially in Disneyland in front of your family and lots of kids!
After getting out of Crush and forgetting about this situation we went to get fastpass tickets for Tower of Terror - done! We went to Toy Story Playland in order to try RC Racer before we had to use 45 minutes or more in the queue line - success! We only queued for 15 minutes and enjoyed the ride although we agreed it would be great if it had a longer duration, which of course would be impossible as it would create an even longer waiting time... It was time for Tower of Terror, which was as enjoyable as ever...
We went to Rock'n'RollerCoaster to take Fastpass tickets - I had never tried it before and considered fastpass to be the right way to avoid overthinking it in the queue causing me to doubt whether I dared to try or not. We headed for Cinemagique - our WDS favorite - which we had yet to try due to bad timing on wednesday! However it was closed due to tech issues - we wondered what that could be and ended up agreeing it must have been the movie projector as we would expect it to run even without the special effects, should they have been out of order.
We were then a bit unsure of what to do as it was to early for our fastpasses, all the other queues were too long to match our fastpasses and we didn't want to eat just before RnRC. So, we ended up just queueing up for RnRC although it was 35 minutes. I liked the start of the inside queue with all the guitars, droms and other signed artifacts - nice to see them span from hard rock over The Beatles to modern punk - celebrating all kinds of rock as the queue for Rock'n'RollerCoaster should do. I was a bit disappointed about the recording studio - I do not know why, I just think I expected something more than this... Inside the loading room everything just went so fast that I didn't get to think more about it before we were seated in the very last row of a train - my restraint was pushed just one tick to far and didn't have any breathing space or moving space for my shoulders - bad start!
I feared the acceleration the most and I have to admit that I didn't fancy it that much - I guess sitting in the last row and too tightly restrainted didn't help. As for the coaster part itself we had no music, no smoke effects and the lights were quite bright allowing you to see the track clearly - so it was just a regular roller coaster and I must say that I wasn't that impressed! I am sure that it would have been better with working effects - although I do not quite get the story in our version. [spoiler:36aiqnkm]I didn't see any street signs or anything related to the Los Angeles highway as I've seen in the US versions. Is our story different?[/spoiler:36aiqnkm]... I do not think I will try it again - mostly due to the lack of space in the train though!
We once again went to check on Cinémagique, but once again it was closed. This was the second cancelled show of the day and more people was outside this time. But nothing to do of course...
We went for a quick lunch in Blockbuster Café - a very confused restaurant. What does it want to be? Pirates of the Caribbean and High School Musical - they couldn't have picked two movie series more conflicting with each other... The bright, sterile high school room and the dark, wooden Pirates-room - it is a very weird experience eating in here :P The sandwiches were pretty ordinary but provided us with a nice and quick meal...
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/IMG_0231.jpg)
The weather was no where as good as in the morning and we decided to take our hotel break early in order to get more clothes on and pick up my camera as I was starting to feel abstinences :lol: We joked that now the weather would probably be extremely good when we returned to the parks...
To be continued with 2nd part of our last full day in the parks including a very special Jack Sparrow encounter, the most crazy and reprehensible guest behaviour I have ever seen and much much more ;)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0621.jpg)
:thumbs:
Again - very enjoyable read!! and again...waiting for the next bit!!! Brill :thumbs:
Part 8 - 29th of July 2011:
We left off with us taking an early afternoon break in order for us to change clothes (due to cold weather) and me to collect my cameras.
We were back in the parks in time to get a BTM fastpass just before catching the 2 PM Tarzan show on the Chaparral Stage. The waiting time to get fastpasses were much longer than the actual FP queue for the attraction and the clock was 01.58 PM as we got our tickets - we were walking as fast as possible to the Chaparral Stage and luckily the CMs had opened the exits in order to fill the theatre even though the main entrance was closed. We sat down on the very last row just seconds before the amazing acrobats arrived on stage - perfect timing!
This time I didn't film it and didn't take any photos - I simply wanted to enjoy this show one more time - it could well be my last time seeing it ever, unless it is back for good now. My hopes are they create a brand new show of Tarzan quality for the Chaparral Stage, but I am realistic and with that in mind I hope they stick with this for a couple of years - it is way better than no show or the Goofy show a couple of years ago (from what I've seen of that one on video). Tarzan once again blew our minds with its daring stunts, beautiful coreography, catchy soundtrack and pure quality. Easily one of the highlights of the entire trip!
When exiting the theatre our joke about the weather becoming good when we changed clothes was coming closer to reality as the sun started to show itself! We went into Adventureland and Indiana Jones, which surprisingly only had 15 minutes of waiting time - it quickly showed however that this was way more. As a matter of fact I had never queued so long for this attraction - great as it gave me a lot of time to photograph all the great details along the queue line, which many people sadly seemed to ignore. I also saw a little rabbit for the first on many visits - I remember old times when they were all over the place! The ride itself was once again as smooth as the other times.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0534.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0538.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0541.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0542.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0544.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0547.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0549.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0552.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0554.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0557.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0558.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0560.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0568.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0570.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0571.jpg)
Having tried all attractions and our favorites many times we now had the luxury of taking the time to really absorb the Disneyland atmosphere - first stop the caves of Adventureland and to be more precise a check-up on the roots of La Cabane de Robinson in La Ventre de la Terre. This place is actually way more a maze than Alice' Curious Labyrinth is and you could spend aged exploring all the caves of Adventure Isle. This time we only visited this one - very big - cave :)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0574.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0575.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0577.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0578.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0582.jpg)
And now it was time for yet another great experience with special attention towards disabled people. We were in queue for Pirates of the Caribbean and just before reaching the loading dock a buzzing hit the station and I heard what sounded like someone sliding into a boat - when I looked I - much to my surprise - saw Jack Sparrow entering a boat very much in character. He sat down on the first row and a disabled lady got into the row next to him and he started to point and tell. This lady and her family were all shining of joy and excitement and I cannot say how they met up with Jack Sparrow as it was nowhere near his meet'n'great times, but seeing him on an attraction was a sight to behold and once again a great example of the magnificent care and attention disabled people get in DLP. Great to see! On our way to Fantasyland we headed through the Agrabar part of Adventureland which was very bright and shiny following the repaint just a little amount of time before our trip. On our way to Fantasyland I of course couldn't resist to get more photos of the castle as weather was now getting even nicer - I started to regret changing to my jeans!
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0590.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0591.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0597.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0599.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0602.jpg)
Next stop on our enjoying-the-Disneyland-atmosphere was Fantasia Gelati, where I got an ice cream while Kristian collected one of the free coffees you get when buying food and drinks throughout the day. I had 3 scoops - raspberry sorbet, lemon sorbet and some vanilla-cookie flavored ice. Y-U-M-M-Y - wow, it was delicious and the setting couldn't be better. A great summer day, the sun was shining, we could look back on an amazing trip so far and still know that we had one day left. Amazing!
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0604.jpg)
After taking our time we left for Discoveryland through the "backdoor" by It's a Small World and after easily deciding against Star Tours (:lol:) we just as easily decided for Captain EO - just as with Tarzan it is hard to say whether this trip was the last possibilty to see it or not, so we just opted for a chance to "change the world" for the second (and last) time of the trip. Once again a great ride and it does not feel nearly as dated as Star Tours!
It was time for our BTM FP and we headed to Frontierland only to discover the most horrible and reprehensible guest behavoir I have ever experienced in Disneyland (and any other theme park for that matter!) as we walked past Space Mountain. On the grass fields standing near a light post were two asian children and their father. The boys (probably aged around 8) had their pants around the ancles and they peed up against the light post with the father doing a very bad job of hiding it. SERIOUSLY!!! People was staring and looked disgusted as each other as they passed by - for the second time in one day I hoped some guests would be sent out of the park! A good example of the fact that it not always is very easy to keep the park clean when people actually uses the grass fields as urinals.. SO SO SO SO BAD!
While getting to BTM one attraction was still hunting our minds as we hadn't been able to try it yet; Cinémagique - one of our top two favorite WDS attractions, which had been closed for the first two planned shows that we had wanted to attend today. We then decided to head over to WDS after BTM in hope that it no longer had techical difficulties! After another wildest ride in the wilderness sitting in the very first row, we were heading over to WDS with just two Cinémagique shows left of the day with the first just 10 minutes away at 5.45. We entered WDS and to our joy we saw that people were getting in to the theater still - finally it was time to celebrate the movies as edited by WDI and performed by the great Martin Short. We simply love this show and I for one could watch it over and over again. I'm sure that the fact that both of us are huge fan of movies in general just makes our love for this show bigger. It is also always nice to see and hear the expressions of first timers through out the movie. Just great!
After our quick - compulsory - just-before-closing-time drop into another dimension we were back in Disneyland Park and Adventureland as we were getting hungry. We went into Col. Hathis Pizza outpost and I had the Pizza Royal and Kristian the Pasta Napolitaine - just like tuesday evening in Pizzeria Bella Notte. The remaining Explorers Club themening inside is very nice but also quite conflicting with the Jungle Book theme. As stated in an earlier update for me it would be perfect to bring back the Explorers Club and have Hakuna Matata as the only character based restaurant in this area. *Snapping out of that dream*
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/P1010329.jpg)
We walked by the Rhythms of the Jungle photo location and eventhough I see no reason for adding Kaa and Zazu I have to say that they fit in rather well and doesn't ruin anything as they are placed far away from the main road and I would guess that quite a lot miss out on them.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0605.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0606.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0609.jpg)
We were still doing some kind of absorbing-disneyland-atmosphere theme this evening as we headed to Fantasyland and I convinced Kristian to go on IaSW once more. Another checked box on the classics list that have to be part of an evening with this overall theme. We wanted to continue with another go on POC but it was closed due to tech. issues - I wonder if Jack Sparrow had gotten loose during his time inside as mentioned earlier?? :lol:
In stead we went to Indy, which now was down to a maximum of 15 minutes of waiting time - and this time this was the case too. We then decided to go for two of the three remaining walk-through attractions while La Cabane des Robinson is down for refurb: Fort Comstock (Legends of the Wild West) and Les Mystères du Nautilus.
I actually think I have never really taken the time to explore Fort Comstock fully so this was a 50 % new for me! Unfortunately it was during dusk, which made it quite difficult to see much through the windows to the "show rooms". From what I could see however, it looked like this very much could and should be the next walk through attraction to receive a long refurbishment following La Cabane des Robinson - the figures looked dated and very much in need of attention. Besides that I think the attraction do a good thing combining entertainment and education in to one attraction - this being one of the great capabilities of Disneyland attractions.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0616.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0617.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0620.jpg)
The exact same thing can be said about Les Mystères du Nautilus - unfortunately this attraction is very little, BUT the amount of details inside is mindblowing when thinking about it. Without a doubt one of the most detailed if not the most detailed attraction of DLP. Unfortunately this time the star - the octopus - wasn't working and the water wasn't very clear. [spoiler:m30nscb5]So when it was supposed to attack you could only glimpse it far off. Too bad as it is an impressive AA and the lack of it takes away the climax of the attraction![/spoiler:m30nscb5] On our way to Les Mystères du Nautilus we - of course - had to go past the castle and - of course - I had to take a couple of photos as the sun was setting ;)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0621-1.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0624.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0625.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0631.jpg)
After the Nautilus we just walked around Discoveryland a bit buying a drink and waiting for the dark to come to once again see the beautiful Discoveryland by night and for me to take a couple of night time photos although I didn't bring my tripod and I had used all of the battery in my remote on tuesday night. I succeded however in finding a couple of plain surfaces to put the camera and then use the timed shutter mode to get these shots:
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0637.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0639.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0642.jpg)
We headed back towards Frontierland with this being our last chance of watching the fireworks from aboard BTM. A magnificent sight which we had the pleasure to have on three nights last summer, but still had to have on this trip. When we entered Frontierland it was not looking good as all the spotlights were turned on on the BTM island :( Once again it was closed - we headed into Phantom Manor hoping to see BTM up and running when coming out of the Ravenswood Manor - this however wasn't the case. As a matter of fact when we got out of PM I noticed an ambulance backstage. For a second I feared another accident had happened, but luckily the paramedics then came slowly towards the backstage area with an unused wheelchair looking to take it quite easily. As we walked up to the entrance it was clear however, that the attraction wouldn't reopen this evening as the entire cast was assembled outside and the queue line was completely closed off. (I overheard a family, who received special fastpasses, saying that they hoped to see them again the on saturday, so I was then sure that no serious accident had happened, when they handed out FPs for the day after.)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0644.jpg)
The Fantillusion hadn't started on Central Plaza yet, so we decided to walk out and finish our last night in the parks by viewing this parade, which is great, but just as Nautilus is a bit too short. Once again I didn't knew whether this was the last summer season of this or not, so I did everything possible to enjoy it and store any memories of it. One very good thing was to see Maleficent now being a face character - it always seemed weird to me why she would have to wear that ugly green mask and I thought about this as recent as my New Years trip. We weren't able to see all floats that good, but it was good enough to absorb the atmosphere of night time parade time! When we couldn't finish our last night by watching the fireworks from BTM this seemed like a fitting finale :D
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0647.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0653.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0675.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0678.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0679.jpg)
We walked halfway down Main Street to see the fireworks and while waiting a little boy was clearly getting a bit too tired as he kept using his Bolt plushie to kiss both me and Kristian :lol: - I remember how I ran on the very last reserves on these late summer evenings when I was his age, so I couldn't bother although his parents kept trying to make him stop :) The fireworks themselves were just as magical as always, but once again the ending was partly ruined by the large amount of smoke which wouldn't emerge into the humid night sky! I had clearly chosen the right night for my night time photos (tuesday) as all other nights had been as humid as this one!
We finished the evening in Disney Village doing a very little bit of shopping and enjoying a refreshment in Starbucks. I had an amazingly refreshing Frappucino Citron The Vert and Kristian had a plain coffee, which of course is of high quality in Starbucks! :)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/P1010346.jpg)
We were back on the hotel and the sadness of leaving was starting to appear - we had no more evenings left in the parks and this would be the last sleep in the great room 25115 of Hotel Santa Fe. :(
To be continued with the final day of the trip, which included amazing summer weather, a collection of all our favorite attractions and a dramatic train tour from Marne-la-vallée to Paris including lots of police, security and chaos!
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0686.jpg)
Was hoping to find the next installment tonight!
Keep up the good work!!
Martin :0)
Thanks Martin!
So a little update:
Tomorrow will see the update of the last day being uploaded with a trip conclusion following on sunday (incl. a complete photo album with ALL photos)
Then hopefully next weekend I will be able to upload the trip video, but that is very unsure...
Part 9 - Saturday the 30th of July 2011:
Time for the very last part of the trip report before a final part 10 tomorrow including a trip conclusion featuring souvenirs, highlights, negative experiences and a complete photo album with all photos from the trip...
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/IMG_0233.jpg)
You know the morning routine so let's skip to after having breakfast. We went back to our room and sadly we had to pack and store the luggage in the Baggagerie before leaving for EMH - it was leaving day :( After storing the luggage and leaving my MacBook in the concierge we were heading straight to Disneyland Park in the most lovely sunny weather - by far the best weather on the trip and it was clear that it was going to be very hot today! We got to Disneyland Park even faster as they were playing Justin Bieber in Disney Village making us want to run as fast as possible to get to the lovely tunes of Fantasia Gardens and Main Street U.S.A. :lol:
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0683.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0685.jpg)
Of course we started the day in Discoveryland with Buzz Lightyear Laserblast and this morning I got the score of 772.300 - however, this was mainly due to a stop which caused us to stay by a very good and easy target for a couple of minutes.... Goodbye to Buzz... Afterwards it was time for Space Mountain: Mission 2 and after another quite good journey to outer space it was goodbye to the Columbiad Cannon too... Before leaving for Central Plaza I took some photos of the beautiful Discoveryland in the sunny morning light! A truly stunning place :)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0687.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0688.jpg)
In stead of heading for Fantasyland and Peter Pans Flight we ended up using quite some time in Central Plaza and Main Street U.S.A enjoying the weather and capturing the magic of a Main Street U.S.A. awakening. This morning had everything - even horse drawn vehicles down Main Street. A magical morning and a great way to spend the very last morning in the parks for this trip. I will not do anything but letting the pictures tell the story of this gorgeous place :D/
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0691.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0693.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0694.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0695.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0700.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0697.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0703.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0708.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0710.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0712.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0715.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0716.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0720.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0722.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0724.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0725.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0729.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0733.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0736.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0738.jpg)
Heading towards WDS - of course with a cookie in hand - we noticed that almost nobody was queueing up to the left, was this to be our lucky morning regarding the WDS queues? It sure was as we got to a queue and found just two people in front of us - from here we could see the opening ceremony with a child from the crowd, who opens the park using a clapper. A great little ceremony, which we hadn't been able to see the other mornings. Within the park it was clear that it was a saturday and they expected many people as all attractions were being tested already at 9.30 allowing us to queue for Crush immediately and get off at 9.50 already - 10 minutes before the official opening time of the park! We even got to take a ToT FP too before queueing up for TSPL and a last go on RC Racer - all before the park opened :mrgreen:
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0739.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0740.jpg)
When they opened TSPL it was clear that not only does the attractions within have a long loading time, so does the land ;) However we got to RC Racer and at 10.15 we were off for a last playing around in Andy's garden aboard the only attraction that made us return. That being said it was clear that the weather of this morning, was the type of weather in which TSPL is peaking. The bright colours of the over-sized toys and the greenery was very fresh in the corner of the otherwise concrete dominated Studios. However, as I have mentioned within the previous updates the land just has too many flaws in order for me to really be happy about it. BUT enjoy some of the fresh and sunny pictures of it - after all this made it a completely different place from when I saw it the first time in december!
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0746.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0749.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0751.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0752.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0754.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0756.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0761.jpg)
With everything going so fast we had to deal with quite some waiting time before our ToT FP tickets were valid. With the attraction queues being too big by now it was obvious to once again take advantage of the weather and take some lovely photos of Hollywood Boulevardand La Terrasse. Two of my three favorite locations in WDS (the last being Front Lot - Place des Frères Lumière) - they have the quality I would expect of Disney themening - only a shame Hollywood Boulevard isn't any longer!
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0764.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0768.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0771.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0776.jpg)
We also took the time to go back to Toon Studio for some photos...
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0785.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0787.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0789.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0789.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0794.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0795.jpg)
Heading into ToT for one final drop of the trip we planned to visit Cinémagique at 11.45 as the farewell attraction of WDS. It being our favorite it was the only let down attraction wise on the trip that we only got to try it two times! Before the last viewing we went to Front Lot to take some pictures of this beautiful place in the sunlight. This really is the spot in WDS where I feel at a Studio the most - the old fashioned studios with a big, beautiful and prestigious front lot to welcome its guests into it's working world.
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0800.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0801.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0803.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0808.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0814.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0815.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0817.jpg)
Before heading into Cinémagique we went to the final corner - being Backlot - to get some photos there too and when we arrived at Cinémagique the Hit Daddies were playing so of course we took the time to listen to them playing a couple of tunes before queueing up for Cinémagique. A shame the hit daddies didn't have many viewers - I think this sort of entertainment is important for the parks - especially WDS - but I also think it could have been better placed inside Studio 1, where you already have a buzz going around. Production Courtyard is a prette "dead" place with three show attractions which means that most people simply walk through it disappearing into a show. A nice rethemening á la Hollywood Boulevard would be nice with the obvious choice being the old rumour of a theatre district!
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0821.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0824.jpg)
Cinémagique was once again magnificent and a great way to say goodbye to the studios for us!
Back in Disneyland Park for the very last hours of the trip and it was time for lunch with Toad Hall being our destination. At first however we stopped in Town Square to listen to some of the tunes from the Disney Marching Band (well at least some of the members) who was there for scheduled Disney Fanfare. Always great to have them there and a pleasure for your ears!
Collecting BTM FPs on our way we got to Toad Hall for a great lunch - the Fish'n'Chips here are probably the best and most satisfying fast food meal available, which makes it perfect for leaving day when you don't really know when you will be getting your next meal. It was now time for the very last round of favorites - starting with Pirates of the Caribbean. Just as with Fantillusion, EO and definetely Enchanted Fireworks, I didn't know whether this would be the last opportunity to enjoy the original POC in our park. Taking in any detail from the attraction I was more sure than ever about how much I hope they will not add Johnny Depp and other characters from the movie franchise. Not because of the quality of the AA's which are perfect, but simply due to the change of story that has been given to all other updated versions of POC. Please don't let this happen [-o<
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0827.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0828.jpg)
We decided to actually squeeze in a new attraction on the afternoon of favorites - the newly refurbished Molly Brown. Unfortunately she wasn't open due to some technical difficulties, so we only got to enjoy the sight of her from the dock. It was quite a sight - what a beautiful refurb and rethemening! It has been under development for a loong time but it was well worth the wait I must say - a proof that some rethemenings can be quite good ;)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0829.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0833.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0834.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0842.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0844.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0845.jpg)
We went for a walk on Boot Hill which really is an attraction in itself, before heading into Phantom Manor for the very last time. Looking at the geysers or the remains of them, I always get a bit sad - one of the greatest "live" details of the park and it has been out of order for so long and it also looks more and more forgotten for each trip. For my sake they could use the entire 20th budget to fix this ;) (Well, maybe not, but it would be an absolutely AMAZING fix-up if they did fix it to next year)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0848.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0849.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0850.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0855.jpg)
It was time for our fastpasses for BTM, which would also be the very last attraction of the trip. A fitting finale in the wonderful weather even getting a bit wet during the on-ride photo drop. We went to Bella Notte to use our last free drinks tickets for a cold soda and simply sat there enjoying the atmosphere and looking back at a terrific trip for the second year in a row. This was also the first time we talked about retuning next year :P
Slowly heading towards the exits we did the final shopping and enjoyed the final minutes of the Disneyland atmosphere before standing in New York Style Sandwiches ordering our meal for the bus trip - a simple baguette sandwich. In one of the Disney Village shops I noticed that they had an all knew box of Star Wars Vinylnation, which had been completely sold out during the entire trip. I simply had to get one! Kristian had to buy a couple of t-shirts for his brothers, but they didn't have them in the right sizes in any of the DV shops. He had seen them earlier this day in WDS however, so after collecting the luggage he quickly headed into WDS and got the t-shirts! :D
And now for the very dramatic finale! We were sitting on the RER train from Marne-la-Vallée to Nation when we (app. 7 stations from Nation) was given a brief yet alarming message in french - all we could understand was the words accident and police and then we could see the locals reacting with both shocked and irritated gestures. Everyone was taken out of the train at the next station causing complete chaos - there were no information people on the platform and still no information in english. We decided to walk up on the upper level hoping to get some information and/or find a quick way to Gallieni (this was app. 90 minutes before the bus leaving and we were a long way away from Gallieni). We talked to a british family who had gotten the same two words from the message as we had. On the upper level the chaos was even bigger with lots of security and police and only a few metro workers, who could just inform us to go outside an take a special bus. We were waiting outside for app. 20 minutes seeing 4 busses leaving after the police had had to use their batons in order for people to stop boarding the busses - complete CHAOS! None of the busses was going to the end station we had been told, so we decided to ask another informer, who could give us the great news that we could now use the RER train again. This was great to hear as it would give us enough time to catch the bus and also meant that no serious incident had caused the sudden closing of the RER line.
We catched the bus and had a mysterious encounter with the driver regarding my lost iPad, but I will save this story for tomorrows trip conclusion...
The END :)
Great report and pictures as always :-)
Sounds weird with the accident you talked about.
WOW! Awesome trip report - lots of amazing details, I also LOVE your photography. I'm jealous! =P Glad you had a good time. :thumbs:
Trip Conclusion
So time for the trip conclusion... As you all probably have been able to see from the report we had an absolutely amazing time and 5 days packed with magic. I will try and sum up the positive and negative aspects:
Positive:
- Being back at Disney and all that comes along with that.
- Seeing the beautiful finished and ongoing refurbishments. It really looks like most of the park will be back in the visual glory from the early days when the 20th anniversary is kicked off. That would be a very fitting celebration and considering the state some of these attractions and places has been in for many years it is better than using the budget on attractions.
- Seeing more streetmosphere (Hillbilly trio, Disney Band, Hit Daddies) and more vehicles out on Main Street. With the comeback of a REAL show like Tarzan the entertainment has too taken a step into the right direction and I am intrigued about the new upcoming night time show for the 20th.
- Great CM experiences like the ones we had in Phantom Manor on wednesday evening.
- Reliving the memories of all my previous trips.
- Taking complete advantage of each and every day being in the parks from 8 AM to 11 PM with no more than a 30 minute break.
- Seeing the great special treatment for disables guests.
- A delightful afternoon in Paris visting the lovely Montmartre area and getting a good walk down Champs Elysses.
- The atmosphere, the joy and everything else that isn't mentioned below ;)
Negative:
- Guest behaviour. The two incidents from friday with the furious, threatening dad in Crush and the peeing-in-the-park-boys in Discoveryland as the major examples. But also other inconsiderate behaviour from the guests including smoking inside queue buildings and ashing in the plants, on wooden panels, etc.
- The oversensitive reaction from guest safety following the BTM accident. It has taken away some of the very good effects on attractions like BTM and POC and has closed La Cabane des Robinson completely until december :(
- Us missing out on Molly Brown - I really would have loved to end the trip by taking a relaxing journey on the Rivers of the Far West.
- My first time on RnRC being without music, light and smoke effects ...
- The lack of english information on the RER train going from Disneyland to central Paris (one would think many tourists used this exact line)
- Me losing my iPad and especially the fact that I am sure the driver took (read: stole) it. On our way home we had the same driver as on the trip from Hamburg to Paris on monday/tuesday. So I decided to ask him if he had found it as we were some of the very last people who had left the bus and I would think he should have found it when cleaning the bus. However, he denied having been the driver on our way out although both me and friend were more than 500% sure that it was the same guy... This in itself doesn't proof anything but is very mysterious in my opinion!
As you can see the positive aspects are waaay bigger than the negative and all in all the trip was amazing!
As promised I have made a complete photo album containing all photos from the trip.. It can be seen here:
//http://gallery.me.com/nicolaika#100057&view=null&bgcolor=black&sel=4
Tomorrow I will post pictures of my souvenirs and hopefully the trip video will be up next weekend, but I will not promise it ;)
@Nicolai
There are some very unique photos in there. You did a great job. Here are the ones that I think are the best.
(//http://gallery.me.com/nicolaika/100057/DSC_0050/web.jpg?ver=13133192810001)
(//http://gallery.me.com/nicolaika/100057/DSC_0072/web.jpg?ver=13133193140001)
(//http://gallery.me.com/nicolaika/100057/DSC_0290/web.jpg?ver=13133196040001)
(//http://gallery.me.com/nicolaika/100057/DSC_0625/web.jpg?ver=13133202030001)
(//http://gallery.me.com/nicolaika/100057/DSC_0840/web.jpg?ver=13133205590001)
i agree alan i love the toy story one, the colours look amazing. and the one of BTM is great!!
Thank you very much both of you :mrgreen:
As promised, pictures of what I bought. I usually buy a WDCC figurine too, but due to a combination of lack of space and no figurine really being irresistable I ended up without buying one. This is what I got:
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0988.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0989.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0990.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0991.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0992.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0993.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0994.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0995.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0996.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_0997.jpg)
Hiya,
The mickey figure is lovely, what shop did you get this from and if you dont mind me asking how much was it?
Thanks
X
I got it in the Disney Gallery among their Christmas ornaments - I also saw it in the Castle Shop... It was 5.95€ :-)
Working hard on my trip video I have too been playing around with some "tilt-shifting" of some TSPL pictures as it is a very obvious effect for this land... Some of the initial results:
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_07461.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_00791.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_07491.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_07514.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_07561.jpg)
(//http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k377/forza_united/Disneyland%202011/DSC_07581.jpg)
Great report!!
Thankyou for sharing.
Quote from: "littlemermaid83"Great report!!
Thankyou for sharing.
Thank you very much...
First sign of the video is here!!
The entire trip compressed down to 9 minutes in a photo video.. The real trip video will - hopefully - be uploaded by this time tomorrow! :D:D (I recommend to watch in 720p)
Enjoy:
[youtube:19bu8p92]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCYiVLeVYgk[/youtube:19bu8p92]
One day gone, one step closer to "releasing" the trip video...
Another sneek peak today - "Magical Lamps of Disneyland Paris":
[youtube:2pn6fyuq]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoMh2jzRAS0[/youtube:2pn6fyuq]
Enjoy the video very much, some wonderful pictures!!
The Trip Video is here:
Part 1:
[youtube:1b0381t7]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DByIgZOQzY[/youtube:1b0381t7]
Part 2:
[youtube:1b0381t7]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sOzsnbFa3s[/youtube:1b0381t7]
Part 3:
[youtube:1b0381t7]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-birN52uEKY[/youtube:1b0381t7]
Part 4:
[youtube:1b0381t7]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wbVDu6k_Y8[/youtube:1b0381t7]
Enjoy! :-)