10 April 2008
After months of planning and waiting has the big day arrived. We left Belgium early in the morning to Newark Liberty Airport in New York. There we had to queue for almost 1.5 hours just for the borders and customs procedures, but the great view on the New York skyline as seen from the terminal made up for that. When taking off to LAX, our pilot flew over the one and only Statue of Liberty which appeared as tiny as a Lego toy from above.
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We arrived at LAX where our two good friends Keith and Francisco picked us up in a real American Dodge rental car. Disneyland Park was open until 11pm, so we decided to go straight to there as there were only a few hours left. Indiana Jones Adventure would be our very first attraction here, but when we crossed the turnstiles in Main Street, U.S.A. we noticed how busy it was! A waiting time of 55 minutes was announced at the attraction, so we decided to walk around and look for a less busy ride. This proved to be hard as almost every attraction had a waiting time of around an hour... on a Thursday... at 9pm... The Haunted Mansion however was a walk on, something that would remain throughout our stay, so this would be our first attraction in the Californian resort. The outside building looks great, and much better than the building in Orlando. However its location, right next to Splash Mountain makes it look a bit silly, a few more trees between the two attractions would make it look better. The actual ride is a far improvement on the Orlando version which we did 2 years ago (that was before its refurb). The pre-show was respected, unlike in Orlando where everyone was pushed in the elevator as soon as possible.
The attraction, which was refurbished a few years ago with new additions, was a great experience. However, the floating Leota scene looked a bit ridiculous because the wires were clearly visible. The newly added "attic scene" is eerie and well themed, with the exception of the bride, an animatronic with the projection of an actress, looked too flat.
We headed over to Fantasyland, without much paying attention to our surroundings. Too dark and too much people in the way. We ended up at Alice in Wonderland, a great ride that includes projections, classic dark ride elements and an outdoor track. A large number of the animatronics used in the ride are the same used in our Labyrint. It was also good to see how well maintained everything was.
Remember... dreams come true, the nightly fireworks display at Disneyland Park was about to start, so we hopped to Main Street to find a good spot to tape it. However, this was the occasion for us to meet the most unfriendly Cast Members we've ever encountered. A large chunk on the hub and throughout Main Street were roped off where no one was allowed to stand still, not for a picture, not to find someone or any other reason. If you did, a Cast Member would send you away, but unfortunately, not every CM was as Disney-minded in doing so. I've heard several of them *scream* and *yell* things like: "Didn't I just say you have to keep moving". Even during the fireworks, once in a while a screaming voice would tower over the soundtrack. Welcome to the happiest place on earth?!
The fireworks display itself was amazing. It combined large and small fireworks shells, simple projections on both the Castle and the Matterhorn and an amazing Tinker Bell flying over the Castle. It was the most magical fireworks we'd ever seen.
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After the fireworks we were fed up with the crowds so we checked in at Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel, located across Disney's California Adventure Park. When we checked in, the Cast Member at the reception noticed that we were from DLRP so she offered us a room higher in the hotel for a better view over DCA! A great start of the wonderful service in the hotel. Arriving in our room we were amazed by the great view we had on the 12th floor! Most lights of the attractions remained on after park closure, so we left open the curtains when taking our well deserved sleep after a long flight...
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To be continued...
Great report, looking forward to reading more. As you know, I adore DL, hold the MK in contempt, and ride with the rough and the smooth with DLP. I look forward to hearing a European fan's perspective of my 1st love. (and speaking of such things as love, congratulations!!!!).
Remember is an awesome fireworks display, my favorite world wide. And the maintenance at DL is awesome. As for the cast members, some can be less than magical, but overall I find I have much better cast and guest encounters in DL than any other Disney park.
Glad you enjoyed PP. I keep thinking of going, but we get drawn back to the Grand again and again. Look forward to hearing the rest. Also, when you finish, I would love to hear your favs at DL vs. WDW vs. DLP. I think that can make for a very interesting debate.
Great trip report raptor.
I hope it was not too bad to get into the country and that the officers at the boarder treated you nicer than us last year.
Can't wait to read and see more.
Fantastic beginning to the trip report Raptor, can't wait for the rest of it :)
Great first part Kristoff!! And i think that there is much more to come ;)
Stunning view by the way..... :shock:
Woooopieeeedooooooo thanks for the great trip report! The fireworks are amazing!!! Love it!
Thanks Raptor, for sending that brilliant report :wink: I look forward to reading the rest. :D
Fantastic fireworks display I must say... :D I also love the night shot across the park :D/
11 April 2008
Day two of our Californian Adventure. Our plan is to go to Hollywood today with our friends. They were going to pick us up at the hotel, but we got up a bit too early (our bio-clock was still a bit upset) so we decided to walk to Downtown Disney for a bit of exploration. The walk from Paradise Pier Hotel to the entertainment district is pretty short. We only had to cross over a road and we were already on the backside of the AMC Theatre.
The overall design of Downtown Disney is a much improvement over Disney Village in Paris, with not just more buildings, but also a more classic, timeless style. (Very similar to "our" Imax building). However, of all the stores and restaurants there were about only 3 Disney-operated facilities, which included the gigantic World of Disney Store. We bought our postcards here but it took us a while to find them.
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After the shopping we hadn't hear from our friends yet, so we walked towards the parks. First thing I noticed, something I didn't the night before because of the darkness and the crowds, was how small and tiny the "resort hub" was! It's about the size, if not smaller than our Fantasia Gardens. :shock:
Since we had visited Disneyland the night before, we decided to go to Disney's California Adventure Park for a stroll around the different zones. We passed the gigantic letters that spell out "California" and entered the Sunshine Plaza. We suddenly understood the criticism on the park. The entrance plaza did not gave us a "welcome" feeling, like it does in the Magic Kingdom-style parks, or even at the other Disney Parks like Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Walt Disney Studios Park. The buildings on each site of the plaza were decorated with 2D coloured signs that form a "postcard" when looking from outside the park, but that effect does not work in the park.
We walked under the scaled Golden Gate Bridge (although it still looked big to us) and ended up on the park's hub with at the end a large metallic structure representing the sun. No Castle, no Spaceship Earth, no Tree of Life, not even a pin trading cart covered by a large Sorcerer's Hat.
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We noticed another irritating feature on the plaza: the music. No grand orchestral themes but songs by the Beach Boys, Scott McKenzie and The Mamas & the Papas. Again, it did not make you feel welcome, it felt like we walked into a Sixflags.
On the central plaza we bought a cinnamon churros, you can only find delicious ones like these in the States! We now had to choose which direction we would go to. The hub connects from left to right Hollywood Pictures Backlot, Golden State and Condor Flats.
We headed over to Hollywood Pictures Backlot and soon found us in the mid of a Hollywood Blvd. Not that kind of boulevard that's supposed to be the real deal (like Main Street), but a blend between fantasy and a movieset.
At the end of the blvd. was a gigantic clouded sky located with the forced perspective of the blvd going to infinity. We recognized quite a few buildings that were recently added to our Walt Disney Studios Park, although with a different colour scheme and different signage.
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Hollywood Studios is a small area located within Hollywood Picures Backlot and represents the "studios" part of the town of Hollywood. Muppet Vision 3D and Monsters Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue were the only attractions located here. Sorcerer Mickey's statue (from "our" Front Lot) was build in front of the Monsters Inc. darkride not so long ago.
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An empty soundstage was located at the very end of Hollywood Studios and featured a water tower next to it, but without the classic Mickey Ears.
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We excited the land-within-a-land on the other side, only to discover The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in the distance. We were shocked how the building was plumbed in a small corner of the park, without any area development around it.
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We didn't get too close to it yet, as we were still waiting on a phone call from our friends. So we kept on walking and headed over to Condor Flats, an area themed after the aviation industry. Soarin' is the main (and only) attraction here. We loved that one in Florida and couldn't wait to ride it the coming days.
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As we walked into Grizzly Peak Recreational Area, we started noticing how well themed everything was here, especially compared to the entrance plaza. We really felt walking in a national park with appropriate trees, signage and props all around us. Grizzly Peak, a large mountain shaped as a bear (or a coyote if we had to believe a guest in the park) is the centrepiece of the Golden State area. It looks really impressive and realistic as well.
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We walked by the river with soaked guests in rafts and ended up in... San Francisco! A few buildings build in the typical San Francisco-style were located as a transition between the national park area and the Paradise Pier area where we got a couple of pictures of the main attractions.
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By that time our friends had arrived, so we directed ourself to the exit of the resort and drove to the one and only Hollywood.
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We parked the car on Hollywood Boulevard, not far away from the start point of the Walk of Fame which we walked from beginning to the end! Quite a few buildings we saw along the road served as the inspiration for buildings in several Disney theme parks. Can you recognize a few of those below?
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After reaching the end of the blvd. we turned around and went to El Capitan for a delicious ice cream and milkshake in Disney's Soda Fountain and Studios Store. It's a bit overpriced, but we got a lot in return and free refills of our drinks (something we still had to get used to, even after 2 WDW trips).
We returned to the car for what was the highlight of the day: getting close to the Hollywood letters! Our friends knew a nice path on a hill near the letters (the Hollyridge Trail) which gave a magnificent view not only on the letters, but also over Hollywood.
Driving back I noticed a building that looked very familiar and asked Keith to stop the car. It turned out to be the former entrance gate to "Hollywoodland", which was rebuild at Disney's Hollywood Studios (the restrooms in front of their Tower of Terror).
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Next stop was at Santa Monica Beach and its pier. The attractions were pretty expensive, so we decided to just enjoy the sunset over the ocean and went shopping on 3th Street afterwards.
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Our night concluded at Rainforest Café in Downtown Disney, which turned out to be a disappointment. Staff was rude, food was cold and a CM discount was promised at the entrance of the restaurant, but when the bill was brought we got told there was no discount during the weekend (although it was a Friday...)
Looking back on our visit to Hollywood we were kinda disappointed. It's not the glamorous town you see in movies or on television. In fact, it's just dirty, homeless people are sleeping everywhere and most former theatres now house cheap gift shops or adult shops. We definitely prefer Disney's version of Hollywood, the one that never was...
Great trip report again. Thank you for sharing it with us.
I think I have recognized most of the Hollywood buildings. Although most of them are rebuilt at the Hollywood Studios in Florida, there are also some of them in Paris. I can imagine that it is really cool to see all the original buildings. I hope I will make it to Hollywood during my next USA visit.
QuoteThe outside building looks great, and much better than the building in Orlando.
Interesting I much perfer the Gothic look of the MK's Haunted Mansion. Disneyland's to me just looks like a normal house, it certainly doesn't give me the impression sinister things have gone on inside during the past.
QuoteHowever, of all the stores and restaurants there were about only 3 Disney-operated facilities, which included the gigantic World of Disney Store.
We could really do with one of these inside our Paris Resort. Althrough I would imagine most would have trouble being able to find a certain item, but it would be a good way to count away the hours on night when the park closes at either 6 or 7 pm.
QuoteWe noticed another irritating feature on the plaza: the music. No grand orchestral themes but songs by the Beach Boys, Scott McKenzie and The Mamas & the Papas. Again, it did not make you feel welcome, it felt like we walked into a Sixflags.
I think this was WDI's clever idea to try and make the park appear more hip and edgy compare to its Sister park. Maybe when the entrance gets torn out and replaced by a 1920's - 1930's California the BGM may be addressed, I would hope anyway.
QuoteAs we walked into Grizzly Peak Recreational Area, we started noticing how well themed everything was here, especially compared to the entrance plaza. We really felt walking in a national park with appropriate trees, signage and props all around us. Grizzly Peak, a large mountain shaped as a bear (or a coyote if we had to believe a guest in the park) is the centrepiece of the Golden State area. It looks really impressive and realistic as well.
I absolutely agree with you on the theming here, its beautiful and one of the reasons why when I read people constantly criticise the park, I tend to just nod my head. Don't get me wrong some areas of the park deserve the criticism, but not all areas do. Thank you for offering a fair and balanced review of the areas of DCA.
QuoteOur night concluded at Rainforest Café in Downtown Disney, which turned out to be a disappointment. Staff was rude, food was cold and a CM discount was promised at the entrance of the restaurant, but when the bill was brought we got told there was no discount during the weekend (although it was a Friday...)
I enjoyed a meal here back in 2005 and I'm sorry to read about your experiences, as my meal was fantastic. Althrough it was 11.00 am on a Fri ay afternoon. I've eaten a lot of meals at this Restaurant chain over the years, with Tokyo being the worst.
QuoteLooking back on our visit to Hollywood we were kinda disappointed. It's not the glamorous town you see in movies or on television. In fact, it's just dirty, homeless people are sleeping everywhere and most former theatres now house cheap gift shops or adult shops. We definitely prefer Disney's version of Hollywood, the one that never was...
Sorry to read about you finding Hollywood a bit of a disapointment, but I am really enjoying your trip report very much. Look forward to the next day.
Good stuff Kristoff, I am enjoying. I agree with your reviews of DCA in the main. I love Condor Flats, Grizzly Peak and the Winery/Wharf areas - some of Disney's best work. Hollywood Pictures Backlot is ok, in fact I really like some elements of it. And Paradise Pier's main attractions look great too. when they get rid of the entrance and the Route 66 area, I think people will have a much better perception.
As for Hollywood, I think this is something everyone has to do at least once. I always advise Europeans not to bother, so they can enjoy the fantasy. But they always do, and always come away disappointed. You should have seen Hollywood before they cleaned it up a few years ago. eeeewwwwww. It's 50 times better these days!
Looking forward to the rest of the report.
Another great report Kristof, roll on day three :mrgreen:
Oh and about Downtown Disney, DL's is my favorite of all. Well themed, live entertainment all the time, great food choices, and a great size. Now if only they had an Adventurers' Club and a show like Buffalo Bill's, it would be perfect!
Great report. I would have stopped by in New York for a day or two, though!
12 April 2008
We got up a bit too early today, 6.30 am! Our bio-clock is still a bit confused, but it's a good opportunity to head over to Disneyland Park, which opens at 8 am already. We arrived at Downtown Disney at 8am and hopped on the monorail. The security check and turnstile is located at the station so when getting off at Tomorrowland, we didn't need to go through everything again. The monorail offered a good view over the Submarines and the Matterhorn for a few nice pictures.
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First attraction we did after the monorail was Space Mountain! It was still very early, so there were hardly queues anywhere, compared to the previous few days.
Space Mountain is very similar to the one in Walt Disney World, with the exception it feels more safe... really! We got terrified each time we did the one in Florida. In California the track feels more stable (it was replaced in 2005), there's onboard music and a starfield effect (no other effects like we have). It was fun, very comparable to Big Thunder Mountain. The only thing that bothered us was the onride picture flash which comes very sudden at the end of the ride in the pitch black.
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Our next attraction was a no-brainer: The Indiana Jones Adventure. It had long queues everyday, so getting in the park was a big advantage for doing this attraction.
We passed the Cast Member at the beginning of the queue line and walked through a short bit of jungle, passing by props and a smaller version of the same snakes found at Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril. We entered the very same temple located in Paris and walked into one of the most detailed queue lines ever, which was separated in several rooms filled with gags and references to the movies. The last room before the loading station was a projector room with the safety video hosted by John Rhys-Davies (Sallah in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). The ride vehicle resemble jeeps and took us through various scenes based on the movies and new scenes contribution to the story. The highlight of the ride was rushing over a suspended bridge with a large statue of Mara shooting out green beans on the side and fire erupting everywhere around it. I won't reveal too much, because this is one of those rides you HAVE to ride at least once in your life...
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After our adventure we hopped to the Jungle Cruise, located right next to the Indiana Jones Temple. The experience is the same as in Florida, only shorter, and funnier (but that depends on the skipper.)
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Next attraction was The Enchanted Tiki Room. We were surprised how much fun it was. It seemed shorter than in Walt Disney World, but that was probably because we weren't getting annoyed by Iago's terrible voice...
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The next attraction to check on our list (yes we really had a list :lol: ) was Tarzan's Treehouse, previously known as The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. The entrance was located on the other side of the road with a short suspension bridge leading to the actual tree. The Tarzan props and decorations all looked clean and well maintained but for some kind of reason, they stood out too much. Too bright, too cartoony.
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When exiting the Treehouse, we noticed how tiny Adventureland is here, compared to ours. It's just one street stretched from the Tiki-Room to the Treehouse.
After the Treehouse we walked through New Orleans Square to Critter Country.
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Here we rode the Winnie the Pooh darkride. Cute for young children but that was it. We never saw a queue line here. (Onride pictures on a different day)
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In Frontierland we got a few pictures and stopped at Big Thunder Ranch where a petting zoo is still located! We could just walk in the animal pens!
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Next destination was Toon Town!
Toon Town is a big walky "world" where the Toons live (they work at our Toon Studio). There's a huge line up of buildings with lots of gags.
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We rushed to Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin but left a bit disappointed. The queue line is highly themed and so are the several show scenes in the actual ride which you go through in a spinning cab. But we just couldn't connect to the ride like we can with the Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain or even with Snow White's Scary Adventures.
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After walking through Minnie's and Mickey's House we queued for a meet 'n' greet with Sorcerer Mickey in his movie barn.
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We continued our walk through Disneyland Park and ended up at Tomorrowland Terrace for lunch. We waited for a long time before it was our turn to order and we got our food, we had to look for a free table in the blistering sun. All tables were occupied with guest eating their lunch from outside the park (we recognized that situation).
After lunch (they have a really good vegi-burger) we strolled through Main Street (and had a quick stop at the Main Street Cinema were they play 6 classic animated Mickey Mouse shorts at the same time) and stepped in the First 50 Years theatre to escape from the heath.
The pre-show was an interesting exhibition with concept art, costumes, models and photos from the past 50 years. The centrepiece of the exhibition was an enormous scale model of Disneyland Park how it was on opening day.
An elderly Cast Member told stories from when he started to work at Disneyland, before the actual theatre doors opened where the movie was presented. Hosts were Donald Duck and Steve Martin, who revealed he started his career at the Magic Shop on Main Street! The movie was very well put together and gave a really nice window to the past of the park / resort.
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The park started to get really busy now, so we hopped to DCA for a stroll around Hollywood Pictures Backlot for a few pictures before we got a phone call from our friends to meet up again.
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They took us around the area again and visited a Cast Member store where they sell discounted merchandise and we had dinner at Souplantation (lots of good food for a great price).
We ended the night with more shopping at The Block, a shopping district near the Resort.
To be continued...
I'm really getting into reading your trip reports Raptor, it's as though I'm sitting on your shoulder as you have fun, seeing everything you see, you're very descriptive. I've never been to any other Disneyland other than DLRP and I think that's partly what I love about your report, reading what I'm missing. 8)
I noticed in your report for the Past 50 Years Exhibition, who better for the two hosts Donald and Steve Martin. I would love to see one of those in DLRP, obviously for the 15 years, that would give us all some nostalgia to remember. :D
Love the scaled model, I'm well into those sort of things. :wink:
I await the rest of your report with excitement :mrgreen:
13 April 2008
Today, we got up early again, but htis time for a visit to a non-Disney park: Universal Studios Hollywood. We had previously visited Universal Orlando twice, so we knew what we kinda could expect. How wrong were we.
When we arrived at Universal, we had to park in a parking structure and we walked through City Walk, their version of Downtown Disney. The design and feel was similar to the one in Orlando and looks better in our opinion then Disney Village / Downtown Disney. It feels more enclosed, more colourful and somewhat more fun to explore.
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At the entrance of the park, near the famous Universal Globe, we bought our entrance tickets. The price was about the same as in Universal, but we got a $8 discount, thanks to a flyer we got in Hollywood 2 days before.
A real red carpet is located in front of the park's main gate, a really nice touch which we appreciated. Entering the park we passed by a small plaza with a fountain and statues of a movie crew.
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When then started to explore the streets of interconnecting streetsets representing well known towns. It was like wondering around in Alice's Curious Labyrinth, it's quite hard to find your way around on your first visit.
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We decided to go from Upper Lot (located on top of a hill) to Lower Lot, located on the hill's foot. The only way to go there is by using several escalators. Several platforms are located between each escalator and offer a great view on the actual studios' backlot and over Burbank.
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On Lower lot there were 4 attractions located: Jurassic Park: The Ride, Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride, Special Effects Stages and Backdraft.
Our first choice was... Jurassic Park, of course. It's the only reason why I wanted to visit the actual park, since I'm a huge JP fan.
The entrance of the attraction is a recreation of the famous gate from the movie.
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The attraction is a cross over between the Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain. Your boat takes you on a tour through Jurassic Park but gets knocked of by a dinosaur (a Parasaurolophus). You then enter the quarantined area, infested by all the carnivores from the movie. When a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex lashes out to the boat, you make a splash down and exit Jurassic Park safely...
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A similar attraction is located at Islands of Adventure in Florida, but is located there in an area entirely themed to the movie with several related attractions.
The version in Hollywood was on the edge of ridiculous. A lot of effects were not working, broken dinosaurs were covered with scarfs and pieces of fabric.
(Here's a video of the attraction which I uploaded to my Jurassic Park account on YouTube.)
[youtube:1zepwsds]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGLnJ17_CKY[/youtube:1zepwsds]
We exited the attraction (dry) and moved over to Backdraft, a special effects show similar to Armageddon - Les Effets Speciaux. A pre-show was shown first which basically recapped the movie and featured a few of the main actors. It was a bit too long and boring. We were then moved to a "real working set" for the movie were they showed some fire effects. Nothing spectacular and not worth travelling down the escalators for.
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An employee pointed us the Special Effects Stages show out, but we declined and went on Revenge of The Mummy. We were getting more and more disappointed. Nearly all the great effects from the original one in Florida were cut!
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We decided to have lunch next at Panda Express, a Chinese restaurant. No vegetarian food here (nowhere by the way on Lower Lot) so I just let our friends eat.
Before moving back to Upper Lot, we rode Jurassic Park one more time and bought a few souvenirs in the Jurassic Outfitters shop. They have a service similar to Disney's Shopping Service which offers free delivery of your merchandise at the entrance of the park.
Next was the highly anticipated "World Famous" Studio Tour. Which is basically Studio Tram Tour but with real (and fake) sets.
We had to take an escalator down again but got a nice view in the mean time of their real Backlot, used in hundreds of movies.
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After boarding our tram, we first drove by the Streetsets. Our tourguide explained in his webcam how they were recently used in Bruce Almighty, Transformers and many more.
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Our first "fake" set was the well known one from King Kong.
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Next we stopped at a "set" for The Fast and the Furious but it ended with two cars dancing on a robotic arm. Boring, really.
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Highlight for me was going through the props boneyard from the Jurassic Park movies were all kinds of props and vehicles were stored.
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Next stop was at a Mexican village were we got a special weather report in our tram warning us for floods on the Mexico set in Universal Studios... (I know...)
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We then drove by the Western sets. The guide explained how they have 6 Western streets connected with each other, each with a saloon, jail and church.
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After following John Wayne's footsteps, we crossed a pond that split open for our tram to drive through. An actual miniature set from the recent King Kong movie was located on the left.
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Ancient Rome, Little Europe and the Earthquake fake set were next. The latter one is a bit similar to Catastrophe Canyon, but located in a metro station.
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Our tour guide then took us through Amity Island, the small town from Jaws. After some bad interaction with the (animatronic) diver, Jaws jumped out of the water and chased our tram. But we got out safely and well.
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The tram continued to wind through the Universal Backlot and arrived at the entrance for the well known Wisteria Lane set. However, crews were preparing the set for a new season of Desperate Housewives, so we couldn't drive through it. We did see some buildings on the outside of the set. One of those was used in Murder she Wrote with Angela Lansbury.
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A bit further away was the one and only Bates Hotel and Manor located. Unfortunately, they were surrounded by an ugly Dr. Seuss set.
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A recent set from War of the Worlds was next. No interaction here, besides smoke.
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The tour ended with a drive through "The Tomb from Imhotep", which was basically just a turning pipe we drove through. We didn't get it...
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After the tour we rushed to the Waterworld stunt show. It started with some of the stunt men throwing buckets filled with water over the audience... The show recaps the story of the movie.
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After the show we went looking for some shade in the House of Horrors, which turned out to be one of the better attractions. You start off with a small exhibition of real props from Universal horror movies (an original Chucky doll was among them) and then continued in a walkthrough with several scary scenes and live actors.
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Our final attraction was Terminator 2: 3D. The concept was very similar to Cinémagique and HISTA combined together.
After picking up the stuff we bought we headed of to LA in search for the La Brea tarpits. We drove by the Hollywood Tower, the building that served as the inspiration for Tower of Terror in Florida and I managed to get a good shot through the window will driving... :D
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Arriving at La Brea, we wondered around the nice park that surrounds the several tar pits. The largest pit is the one with the mammoth statues and has been featured in several movies and television series.
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Our friends dropped us off at our hotel again where we left our stuff, including my camera's (so no more pictures for the rest of today), and headed to Disney's California Adventure where we rode the Maliboomer, our first drop tower ever (ToT is not really a drop tower, is it?). We thought it was pretty tame and rode it a few times during the rest of our stay since it never had a queue line.
DCA was about to close so we decided to hop to Disneyland Park, which was open until midnight! Pirates of the Caribbean had no waiting time and was our first attraction here today. The queue line is a bit weird, but not in a negative way. It goes by the outdoor seating area of a restaurant and there are animatronics in the queue line. No dungeon like in Florida and Paris. The ride itself was great and much much better than in Florida. I like the movie tie-ins, but I would have enjoyed the ride without as well.
When we exited POTC, we saw that Fantasmic had begun so rushed to the viewing area and found a nice spot behind the crowds. We missed the first part, but saw the rest starting with the Jungle Book. We saw the full show a few days later, so I'll write a review later.
After the show we had the "pleasure" to encounter the CM cow/crowd handlers who pushed everyone out of the area.
Our next destination was Fantasyland, which was nearly abandoned. We rode Snow White's Scary Adventures and Pinocchio's Daring Adventures, both which are nearly identical to the ones in Paris, including their façades.
After those, we jumped on board of Casey Jr, but since we were located on the first row, we got all the exhaust fumes in our face (and lungs). Yes, Casey is powered by a Diesel engine and actually has a driver on board... While in Paris this ride is a kiddy-coaster, here it's a slow moving train ride among the Storybookland scenes.
Time had gone by fast by now as it was already 11.30pm. We rushed to the Matterhorn, which has long queues throughout the day, but found it nearly empty! A great opportunity to discover a Classic Disney ride.
We had to board our own bobsled which can hold 4 persons: 2 with 2 in their lap. We decided to have our own seat, but regretted this right after the ride started. Forget Space Mountain Mission 2, you really get thrown from one side to the other in this one. Although it's a great ride with nice theming (and it's a classic!!!), I do not recommend riding it on your own without someone in your lap. (New trains are on their way, but in the mean time I suggest you follow my advice... :wink: )
Park was about to close so we ran to the Submarine voyage, another very popular attraction with very very very long waiting times, but again, almost no one queueing here!
Now this was a great attraction! The underwater view on a great themed underwater world and the high quality Finding Nemo projections really make this a wonderful experience.
When we exited the ride, the park was already closed, so we wondered back to our hotel for a well deserved sleep...
To be continued....
Again a great read and pictures Kristoff!! As if being there myself when reading it, thanks for sharing your adventures!! :wink:
Yeah, thanks for sharing your experiences again. Really detailed as ever... :D
Looking forward as ever to the continuation.. :D/ :D/
Wow, I am so surprised with your USH experience. Last time we were there (2002) we thought it much better than USO. I love Backdraft (and Armageddon), and I think the tram tour is awesome. As well as the shows and films. Different strokes.
As for DL, I do find it hard to say whether I prefer PotC in DL or DLP. I think I love them both equally and differently. Also, I love the Matterhorn, my first coaster ever (and my 2 year old daughter's 1st too). Did you ride on the left or right side? The left is faster and bumpier.
As for Finding Nemo, it is ok, but I do miss the old sub journey. I prefer my sub rides without toons. But it is still great fun, and going at park closure is the best way to do it.
14 April 2008
Our trip continues with an early visit to Disney's California Adventure. We got in the park around 10am, through the Grand Californian entrance, which is only open for Disney Hotel guests.
Arriving in the park, we noticed that all attractions were still closed and Cast Members informed that all rides would open at 10.30 am (what's the point in announcing park opening at 10 am??)
Anyway, it gave us some time to walk to Paradise Pier were we queued for California Screamin'. It turned out to be a very nice coaster, a typical Disney-one, nicely balanced between thrill and experience. Only thing we did not like was the level of theming. There was none. The coaster is surrounded by dunes and typical dune plants, but that was the only themed aspect of it. Why didn't the Imagineers put in sand castles or other typical beach things? Something with a wink to the beach or whatever...
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Our next stop was at Hollywood Pictures Backlot were we would ride Tower of Terror for the first time (at least here in California). We took our time to look around the area surrounding the Tower a bit. Well, there's really not much to see. A dead end road leads from the Hyperion Theatre to the Tower and is fenced off at the end. A nice drawing of the Hollywood Tower Hotel in its heydays are the only real theming here. On one side of the road is the Fast Pass distribution located, themed as in Paris as a busstop, and on the other side the actual building. There were a lot of palmtrees surrounding it, giving it more of a Hollywood feeling compared to Paris, but as we all known, trees like these would die in the Marne-la-Vallee weather.
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In the external queue line (which we never saw being used) there was nice wooden roof, providing shade under the hot Californian sun. This was the only real advantage their version has.
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We walked in nearly empty lobby and waited in front of our elevator (the one on the right) and saw some differences with the Paris Tower, but this was mostly esthetic and construction-wise, like a door at a different place, different furniture, etc.
In the library room we noticed a big difference: there were hardly props on the bookshelves! And we noticed another difference in the boilerroom: no spiderwebs!!!! With the exception of two which I noticed on a later visit, but I think these were real...
The experience is of course the same, even the Cast Member spiel is similar. However, the view is NOT! It's just ugly (same in Florida by the way) compared to our beautiful view over WDS, Disneyland Hotel and DLP.
We exited the attraction and noticed again something different. No gardens! Our Tower is surrounded by green planters and old statues, but these were not part of the original Tower here (only in the queue line).
We walked back to the Hollywood Studios area for a ride on Monsters Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue!
As you enter the colourful (but still boring and flat) façade you enter somekind of a terminal. I'm still not sure what it's supposed to be, but there are television screens and phones...
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The ride starts in a cab with a build in screen that starts off with special newsreport about a child on the loose in Monstropolis. You the move forward through the town and buildings following Mike, Sulley and Boo. Randall, the sneaky lizard, is watching us from every corner but gets beaten (yes beaten) by boo at the end of the ride.
The personalized Roz at the end is great, while I was taping the onride video she said: "Cheeese, be sure you get my good side... Heeey, you left your lenscap on..." :lol:
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We liked the ride a lot, but were surprised how sloooooooow it goes. Not something you'd expect from a cab ride.
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After a phone call with our friends we decided to meet up on Sunshine Plaza and while waiting for them, High School Musical 2 was about to start so watched it.
Our friends had arrived by then and they pointed us out how old some of the Cast Members in the show are. Some of them rather looked like a highschool teacher than a student... (pictures on a different day!)
At the Farmers Market we had a quick lunch (mozzarella sticks with hot sauce =P~ ) before we went to explore A Bug's Land.
The area is themed okay with lots of nice plants and flowers growing all over the place (although it's not such a fun place if you have hay fever...)
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Over at Flik's Fun Fair (another sub-land) we rode Flik's Flyers, Heimlich's Chew Chew Train and Tuck and Roll's Drive'Em Buggies. The last two went so slow that we hardly noticed we were going forward.
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It was time to hop over to Disneyland Park, because we had a reservation at the Blue Bayou (their Blue Lagoon) at 3.40 am.
We still had some time left so we got a bunch of pictures in several lands. (Enjoy them below)
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After filling up my camera with pictures, we quickly boarded a raft to Tom Sawyer Island where the Pirates' Lair was recently installed.
We liked what we saw on the island, although we had expected a lot more pirates stuff. One of the coolest effects was when you tried to grab a treasure, it disappeared before your eyes. These props and effects would be PERFECT for our Adventure Isle caves.
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After exploring the island, we boarded the next available raft and headed over to the Blue Bayou.
I liked my meal (the portobello mushrooms), but Flor did not like the potatoes he got with his steak. However, I was not too pleased with the service here. The price of the food was pretty expensive, so I expected a higher standard of service compared to the other (table) service restaurant, but it was not. I was really bothered by this one thing... I had used my knife to eat my starter, a salad. When the Cast Member came to clean up, she took my used knife and placed it back on the table. I was nearly insulted (with a wink though, don't worry) as the most polite thing to do is to bring clean cutlery for a new course, but no... they did not. My American friends explained that this was not very custom to do in the States, so I just excepted their explanation... lol. The dessert, a large cookie with ice cream and shaped as a ship was delicious. However, don't eat the sail, it's disgusting! Just keep it as a souvenir :lol: Overall we, including our friends, thought it was a bit overpriced, especially for what you get in return. We didn't even see the bateauxs from POTC...
Sadly, it was now time to say goodbye to our friends who returned back to Florida. We walked them back to our hotel where their rental car was parked and waived them an European au-revoir and headed back to the hotel where a surprise would wait for us... And not a pleasant one!
After using the restroom (I blame to generous free refill's at Blue Bayou) it flooded over! (don't worry, it was clean water...) The water didn't stop running so we had to call in maintenance to come over and fix it. A lovely Hispanic Cast Member showed up with a bunch of towels (!) and used them to soak up the water. She asked if we were staying in the room, but we assured her that we were just about to return to the parks.
We had to return to Disneyland, because DCA was already closed, so we just wondered around a bit in Fantasyland and decided to pay Storybookland a visit. In the boat a woman started talking to Flor about Disneyland Paris because she saw his DLRP pin lanyard.
In this version of Storybookland there's a Cast Member driving the boat and he or she comments on the different miniature scenes.
The attraction is definitely longer than the one in Paris and features larger sets from other movies (Pinocchio, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, ...)
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We strolled around a bit more through the park without doing other attractions (it was busy) and then went back to the hotel where we found a clean and dry restroom.
To be continued...
Another wonderful section of the report as ever, brilliant photos. I eagerly await the next continuation :D/
Quote from: "raptor1982"Next attraction was The Enchanted Tiki Room. We were surprised how much fun it was. It seemed shorter than in Walt Disney World, but that was probably because we weren't getting annoyed by Iago's terrible voice...
Sorry, but I don't think Iago's voice is terrible at all.
I think it's rather funny.
Aw, so many great pictures :)!
First I didn't look into this topic because I always thought: "DL California Adventure surely isn't as exciting as WDW"... but the pictures you've taken speak an other language ;)!
I love the photo of this skull cage of POTC 2 :)! It's cool that they have a Tarzan themed tree house, and I like the A Bug's Life themed area - really cool!
The night shot of the parks is amazing... :shock:
Do you also have any more pics of the characters? Love the Mickey Sorcerer's one though :)!
I've just read through you trip report Kristof and i love it :D I didn't have time to read it when you first posted it.
I've never been to Disneyland Resort myself but from your report it looks great, and the Jurassic Park ride in Universal looks great :D
Thanks for the great trip report so far Kristof, your doing a great job =D>
Wow, awesome trip report Kristof! I'm really enjoying it, its rare to get a good TR of California so this makes for an interesting read (very tempted to save up and go there myself).
Can't wait to read about the rest of your holiday.
EDIT: I forgot to ask before, on the Universal tour (which was featured for about 5 mins in CSI last night :P ) do they still have the Munsters house? Or was that taken down ages ago or on another lot somewhere else.
Quote from: "Nala_84"Aw, so many great pictures :)!
First I didn't look into this topic because I always thought: "DL California Adventure surely isn't as exciting as WDW"... but the pictures you've taken speak an other language ;)!
I
Nala, to me Disneyland Resort is the best of the Disney resorts where English is spoken. Better than DLP and WDW IMHO. WDW has some very interesting experiences, with EPCOT and DAK being amazing. But if DLP is why you fell in love with the parks, then DL is the better American resort to go to. Bigger does not always mean better.
Quote from: "peep"Wow, awesome trip report Kristof! I'm really enjoying it, its rare to get a good TR of California so this makes for an interesting read (very tempted to save up and go there myself).
Can't read about the rest of your holiday.
Here is my trip report to DL including some pictures if you follow more links.
viewtopic.php?f=25&t=4270&p=57167 (https://forum.dlpguide.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=4270&p=57167)
15 April 2008
First park today was once again Disney's California Adventure. We noticed how often we go back there. Maybe it's because it's less crowded? Or because there are more open spaces or more thrill rides? We're not sure yet...
We headed off to the Paradise Pier area where we still had to do a few rides. And the first one was... Jumpin' Jellyfish!! Yep, the ride is as silly as its name. You're seated under a big parachute resemblin a jellyfish and then goes slowly up and down. The Cast Member who did the loading of the ride offered to take our pictures which I posted below.
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Next was another "marvelous" attraction at Paradise Pier: The Mulholland Madness. Now this is one big Imagineering mess. It has even less "theming" than Primeavel Whirl at Animal Kingdom.
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The Sun Wheel was now next. We started queueing for the swinging gondola's, which follow a rail when the wheel is turning. But we were waiting for over half an hour already without really moving forward (loading/unloading goes very slow), so we decided to quickly leave the line and went to the other queue line for the steady gondola's. And got on board of those after a couple of minutes waiting. The view from above is really nice (at least if you watch in the direction of Disneyland). We noticed how badly the swinging gondola's move, so we were glad we took the right decision.
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After the wheel we got a bit hungry, so we walked in the direction of the farmer's market but stopped first at the Mission Tortilla Factory. We first had to enter a very very very small lobby were a short introduction on an lcd tv was playing about the history of the tortilla. We were then moved into a larger room where small interactive diorama's explained even more history about the tortilla (there's a lot to talk about you know) after which we were welcomed in the actual factory, well at least the part that looked nice. A Cast Member offered us each 2 warm tortilla's, which tasted actually pretty good!
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We were still hungry so we went to the neighbouring Boudin' Bakkery. The cast member at the entrace offered a small piece of sour bread, which was nice as well. Here we got to see inside the bakery as well which was guided by overhead screens with Rosie O'Donnell and Colin Mochrie (we recognized him from Who's line is it anyway?) The level of humour was about the same as our old Television Tour (it was as boring as that one too...)
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Obviously, 2 tortilla's and a small piece of bread was not enough for our appetite, so we went looking for more food. Since the Food and Wine Festival was going on during our stay, we felt we had to eat at least something special, and so we did. For just a few dollars we got 2 appetizers (I had the risotto with mushrooms and Flor got the Californian kebabs) and a glass of wine. The food and wine (both Californian specialities) were really nice.
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Walking back, we stopped at a performance of High School Musical 2 for a few pictuers
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After that we went (once again) to Hollywood Pictures Backlot for our first visit to Disney Animation. A Snow White meet 'n' greet was located outside the building and in the main lobby was an exhibition about the Fairiest one of All, in honour of the movie's 70th birthday.
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The attraction here in California is completely different then the one we have at Walt Disney Studios Park. In the main lobby there are seperate entrances to the different rooms, which were Turtle Talk with Crush, Animation Academy and The Sorcerer's Workshop. We went in that last one first. There are 3 more rooms in here: Yen Sid's palace, the Beast's library and Ursulla's grotto. Each had their own interactive workshops about animation (the same ones we have in our AODA post show). The theming in all three rooms was very immersive.
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After we escaped Ursulla's tentacles in her grotto (too much fantasy, I know) we went to another sea creature... Crush! Not a coaster here, but a live interaction with the animated figure, similar to Stitch Live! The show totally rocked... ! (Any Turtle Talkers here?)
After walking back passed the golden elephants over Sunshine Plaza, we headed in the direction of Condor Flats to one of our favourite Epcot attractions... Soarin' over California! We were smart enough to get a Fast Pass earlier during the day, because there were always long lines here.
The ride was beautiful as always and truly a wonderful experience thanks to the Jerry Goldsmith soundtrack and the incredible Californian sights (if you don't count in Michael Eisner...)
We got hungry once again (didn't have a lot for lunch) so we started looking for a table service restaurant. The Golden Winery caught our eye, so we went to search for a vegetarian meal here. A friendly Cast Member greeted us and pointed all the vegi-suggestions out. We chatted a bit with her about Disneyland Paris and Belgium and then got a nice table on the outdoor terrace. We started with a salad each and then ordered the Alfredo lasagna for Flor and a tomato/mozarella sandwich for me. The meal was concluded with a very delicious tiramisou (Yep, you got it right, this is an Italian-style restaurant). We promised to each other to come back here again.
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When we walked away from the restaurant, we heared the announcement spiel for the Pixar Play Parade, so we looked for a nice spot near the Golden Dreams theatre. The announcer warned that we could get "splashed" a "bit" with water, and boy he was right. If you have expensive camera material, don't try to use it when watching this parade, the performers DO NOT care about this. At one moment, a performer looked me right in the eyes, then looked at my camera and splashed me and my equipment with water. I was not amused...
The parade itself was very colourful and the designed reminded me a bit to Kids Carnival. I was a bit bothered by the fact it lacked the fab 5 (Mickey & co. ), maybe they should have based it more on the Tokyo Disneyland parades.
Enjoy a bunch of pictures I had to take at my own risk...
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We then walked to Disneyland Park and looked for a spot for another parade: Parade of Dreams. The parade route was pretty much occupied so we tried a trick we learned at DLRP: go look at it's a small world, where the parade starts. And yes, it works here as well! Before we sat down, a woman came running to Flor, it turned out to be the same person from the evening before in Storybookland. Her family had won a stay in the Dream Suite, which also gave them a spot in the pre-parade. The family was placed in an oldtimer and was accompagnied by a few dancers and Disney characters.
After the Family of Honour, a never-ending spiel announced the start of Parade of Dreams. The parade gates opened on "Welcome to our Family" from Brother Bear and introduced the beloved fairies from the classic Disney animated movies. They were followed by the Disneyland Station with Peter Pan and Tinker Bell. We noticed how small it was!
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Beauty and the Beast and Pinocchio were next.
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After those came The Little Mermaid and the big Ursulla.
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The Alice in Wonderland was the only float we really liked. Alice and the Mad Hatter both had microphones so they could interact with the guests.
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When the Lion King float came closer, we couldn't stop laughing. The Simba puppet looked just terrible (unlike Nala).
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The parade was closed by the Princesses unit.
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We were a bit troubled when the last float drove by, maybe we had too high expactions, but we did not like the parade... Most floats are really small and the music (similar to our Once upon a Dream parade) is a mish-mash of different soundtracks. We definately appreciate DOUAD a lot more now, but we could see that POD was the inspiration for it.
We walked next to Tomorrowland were we saw the Observatron come to life on the theme from Le Visionarium! How magical is that for a DLRP fan?!
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We concluded our evening at Inventions where we learned how to ride a Segway!
To be continued...
Another brilliantly written time piece, with the usual fantastic array of photos... :D Talking of photos, I hope you camera wasn't too water damaged after the 'Pixar Play Parade' :roll:
Looking forward as ever to the next epilogue. :wink: :D
Thanks for the great report and pictures! I just love the original Disneyland and it's wonderful to be part of your experiences in and around LA =D>
Cheers,
Flounder