Disneyland review and pics

[Reanimated35]

First review so go easy in the comments This would make it my 2nd trip to Disneyland, the first was in 2003 when I was younger and before I was really in to rides. We got to LA on a Friday and we were supposed to be spending the day recovering from jet lag but as we weren't feeling the effects and we had settled into the hotel room we decided to spend half the day at Disneyland (~1pm-11pm). We made the right choice visiting then, the longest we had to wait for a ride was 20mins. On to the park and the first thing we did was jump on the train. It was a nice ride around the park and I must say the Grand Canyon segment was excellent. Not really much more to say - it's what you'd expect from a train ride. I really don't remember what we did in what order after that so I'll just post overall thought from here on. Autopia - my wife's favourite ride now. She isn't that big on themeparks but some things she will go on. Autopia is like the vintage cars at Dreamworld except you have a bit of freedom in the steering of them. Those cars are surprisingly hard to steer assuming you don't just want to bump off the rail for the whole circuit (which can also be quite fun!). The whole ride took about 5 minutes. Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters - Pretty good fun and I like the idea of it being a non-stop ride. The cars never stop moving and you board and depart via a moving walkway. You then sit in a little car and shoot targets with a laser gun (not like laser tag - you dont see beams) It seems easy at first to score points, then it's all down hill from there, I scored 20k in the first room you get to then by the end of the ride only managed to score 41k total. I must have been doing something wrong, but it's hard to target something with 6 or so other people pointing their dot at the same place. Monorail - Yep it's a monorail, what more can I say? Indiana Jones. Now that's a ride. I went on as a single rider and asked the guy at the start of the queue what to do as I'm a single rider. He gave me a card and told me to walk all the way down the exit path to the ride. He wasn't kidding when he said "all the way down". That's a good hundred meters of queue. No wonder the queue itself was 2hrs. It was a rather good, bumpy ride in the dark. If I had time I would do it again. Now you might say I did have the time as I was there 4 days, but we went with relatives who had kids so we ended up running out of time sometimes. Jungle Cruise - a nice family ride, so basic yet so entertaining just sitting there looking at all the animatronics as you cruise past. It's a small world...... is still stuck in my damn head! It was nice and entertaining even if the ride got stuck (we went on during the fireworks and there was a total of maybe 6 people on the ride then when we came out 15mins later the queue was packed). Dunno what happened but all the empty boats jammed and there was a couple of staff in there trying to hold them back and separate them without falling into the water. Matterhorn bobsleds - It's alright but I don't really think the massive queue is necessary as far as coasters go it doesn't really do much but spiral down to the bottom of the mountain, but I guess it's a classic. Finding Nemo - Wasn't too bad for a semi-submersible ride, however I'm a fairly short person but you can tell this is for kids because I found I had to duck to be able to see out the portholes of the ride. The smell on this ride is horrible but I guess you get that with all those sweaty people in such a confined area. Pretty decent effects and storyline although some was a little confusing and seemed rushed at the end. Almost like they made the ride, got to the end and though "oh crap we forgot half the story". Car Toon Spin - This for some reason I really really liked, the queue theming was awesome and was in excellent condition. The queue does actually wind around a surprising amount but it didn't seem all that bad due to the impressive theming. Star Tours - We were not supposed to be on this one. When we tried to get into the park in the morning they couldn't work out how to process our pre-purchased tickets so they gave us a 'attraction re ride voucher' or something - basically lets you skip the queue for one ride. We took it to the ops of Star Tours who were supposed to be only letting people on with annual passes. A couple of us were carrying cameras (2x DSLR & a video camera) and we heard the op say to the trainee as they let us on "they must be media and got the pass to check it out" thought it was pretty funny. It was an excellent ride and I would have done it a few times if I wanted to stand in a 3hr queue (some days was open to public). Storybook Land Canal Boats - Simple little ride, nice for the kids. You cruise through the water passing little mini buildings while being told a story about them all. Food - We had lunch at the Big Thunder Mountain BBQ which was awesome. It was all you can eat ribs and chicken along with muffins and drinks. All for about $22pp. It's no wonder american's are overweight lol. It was actually pretty hard finding a food shop you'd expect in a park in OZ. Overall experience and feelings toward Disneyland: Theming 10/10 Wait Times 7/10 - even at 45min+ the queue theming helps Food 8/10 Rides 9/10 Overall 9/10 - I think it needs more rides for adults (yes I know that's what DCA is for but we'll get to that review later. And now for some pics which had to be done via photobucket as the Parkz attachment system doesn't like me

[MickeyD]

Thanks for the update and great post-card style pics:) There is definitely an art to navigating Disneyland Park and some of the best people to watch and follow are the local AP holders who know the place as good as there own back yard! Heck I'd be one of these guys too if I lived in their neighborhood! Single rider queues are great aren't they? It'd be nice if Space & TOT had them as well but then I guess lining up every now and then does make the whole experience seem that bit more worthwhile You didn't mention riding Space, Big Thunder or Splash Mountain? I hope you didn't miss these! The Matterhorn bobsleds might have been cutting edge back in the 50's but as the oldest of the Disney 'Mountains', today it is anything but the best. Next year the Matterhorn is going to get some much needed T.L.C to finally bring it into the 21st century. With a plan to have it down for half of next year, I hope they do this major upgrade justice because it has so much potential Oh and I really hope you rode Pirates and the Haunted Mansion - 2 of Disney's most beloved dark rides! My advice to anyone planning a trip to Disneyland California for the 1st time: - Wear good comfy shoes! - Arrive early! - Grab as many fastpasses as you can muster! - Give EVERYTHING a go so that you don't miss out on what could be your favorite thing! - Avoid buying lunch at lunch time! - Do all Etickets 1st thing before everyone else gets their hands on em! - The Fantasmic & World of color are Disney showmanship at their best! Don't miss them - Disney Parades are the best Parades - Ride Haunted Mansion, Pirates & Mermaid when lines everywhere else get too much! - Take your time to enjoy Disneyland's incredible beauty, richness and depth Time and time again, people visit the Mouse House for the 1st time & are left wondering what all the fuss is about? A shame really since they have no idea what they are missing and if they did I am sure their opinion would be wildly different. Whilst there is always room for improvement, the original Disneyland is 10/10 for me

[Jeremy F]

Great report! Thanks for taking the time to write it.

[gauge]

Fantasic report and great pics, it has put a spring in my step before starting work in a minute.

[Reanimated35]

You didn't mention riding Space, Big Thunder or Splash Mountain? I hope you didn't miss these!

I did actually. Lets start with Splash, it was cold. It's a water ride. End of story lol. Although it did have probably the shortest queue in the park. Space mountain - The first day I was there with my wife I didn't want to be running off to all the coasters and leaving her waiting around by herself and when we went back to Disneyland a few days later I mostly forgot about it but then figured nothing was going to top how much I loved Ghostrider and Tatsu so I didn't mind missing it too much. BTMR - I swear this is the ride I am not allowed to ride. I take you back to 2003, we go to disneyland and there was just something about that ride then that I wanted to ride it. Unfortunately we went there just a few months after the accident and it was still closed. This time as with Space I didn't want to leave Steph standing alone in the park so I didn't go on it. As we were walking past the ride later that day, there was no queue so she told me to go ride it so I went to the queue only to discover the ride was broken down. Bugger. So that's ok, I was going back in a few days I'll do it then. Turns out the guy I spoke to on the phone from Disneyland before I left was wrong, BTMR was scheduled for more maintenance this year........ right from the first day we were back in the park. *I was going to post a review of Knotts tonight but ran out of time, so stay tuned hopefully tomorrow.*

[westical]

I think you got Jungle Cruise and It's A Small World confused.

[Reanimated35]

I think you got Jungle Cruise and It's A Small World confused.

lol nah there was just supposed to be a space. but i cant seem to edit that post now. it should be:

Jungle Cruise - a nice family ride, so basic yet so entertaining just sitting there looking at all the animatronics as you cruise past. It's a small world...... is still stuck in my damn head! It was nice and entertaining even if the ride got stuck (we went on during the fireworks and there was a total of maybe 6 people on the ride then when we came out 15mins later the queue was packed). Dunno what happened but all the empty boats jammed and there was a couple of staff in there trying to hold them back and separate them without falling into the water.

[Reanimated35]

Present for you

edit- assholes blocked the video because of the music I chose. feel free to watch through a US proxy though I'll see if I can upload it somewhere else Interesting they emailed me this but I can still watch it As a result, your video has been blocked in these locations: Australia, New Zealand - edit: just tried once I was logged out and I can't look at it. Uploading to photobucket now in the hope that works Edited July 2, 2011 by reanimated35

[Reanimated35]

OK, so youtube didn't work, and I though this was a video sharing site too, but it's not. So if you want to see it, a ) Download it here http://www.4shared.c...xY/Autopia.html b ) Tell me a youtube alternative

Edited July 3, 2011 by reanimated35

[Gazza]

C) post without music, or superimpose ambient noise to throw off the content filter.

[Reanimated35]

But without the music it's meh lol. I wasn't sure how the filter worked if it just checked for ID3 type tags or if it checked the actual music. Stupid copyright. I'm still looking for an alternative edit - trying Dailymotion now - should take about 3hrs to upload so I should be able to show it here later. It's really not all that great lol, it's just a full onride of one of the Autopia tracks with some music.

Edited July 3, 2011 by reanimated35

[Gazza]

Ooooh, thats my other free tip. Taking POV of slow/boring things, then speeding to make a timelapse them up turns something mundane into something interesting. Eg, on the Subway in LA i did this:

Edited July 3, 2011 by Gazza

[Linus1995]

Looks awesome! And Gazza that's such a cool trick, I've honestly never thought of it... But was it filmed with a calculator?

[Gazza]

But was it filmed with a calculator?

Calculators don't have cameras.

[Reanimated35]

Version 1 - Just the normal ride http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xjooqh_autopia_travel Other versions coming soon assuming I can work out how to use the program properly

[Reanimated35]

Ooooh, thats my other free tip. Taking POV of slow/boring things, then speeding to make a timelapse them up turns something mundane into something interesting. Eg, on the Subway in LA i did this:

As per your suggesting, I am currently rendering a video comprised of all the footage I took from the trip.... at 600x and will be uploading it to this post later today or tomorrow depending on file size and upload times (no music added yet though)