YodaNick
08-23-2008, 06:52 PM
Travel dates: 10/25/07-10/27/07
Travel method: Minivan
Resort: Best Western Raffles Inn & Suites
Accommodations: 1 room 2 nights 3 days
Ages Represented in Group: 26, 11, 56, and 53
Disney Resort Experience Represented in Group: Disney Lovers wanting to see Disneyland Resort at Halloween Time
Comments: Halloween Trip
Cast of characters: me Nick, Little brother Nehi, Mom Georgia, Dad David
About me: A big Disney fan former College Program Cast Member WDW EPCOT. First time posting in a forum I mainly post to my web site http://rodyoda.home.comcast.net. I Hope readers enjoy my detailed report.
On the way to Disneyland
This time we decided to drive all night so we could get there the next morning. We left around 3:00 when Nehi got out of school. We had a little miss communication with Nehi. He went home instead of waiting at the corner stone (Nate’s (my other brother that didn’t go this trip) Church’s youth hangout place across from the school). We found out that we somehow missed him so went back home and picked him up. My mom was the first to drive on the trip. We made pretty good time to Grants Pass around three hours. We then ate at Elmer’s and before we got the main course I got a call from my Friend Nick Ross that are door was open he closed it for us but we then called Nate and told him to put something in the way so it wouldn’t blow open again. Everything was going fine with the trip until the gas gauge got to about the 1/3 mark. Our van then lost speed slowly and then quit but we got it up and going again. We decided to get gas as soon as we could and when we tried to get gas it filled up a little then quit way before it was full. We tried switching pumps and that didn’t help much got a few cents out of it only. We decided to just drive on for awhile until it looked like it was around a 1/3 again. After that everything was fine tell we got over the Grape Vines where traffic came to a halt we think do to a truck tunnel being close because of a fire ball a few weeks before. After a little bit it cleared up until we got near Los Angeles. It picked back up after we got past Los Angeles and then slowed down again tell we were about in Anaheim. We got there a few hours early so we went to our hotel to see if we could park there since the parking lot wasn’t open yet (we didn’t want to pay anyways). We got to park the car but didn’t get the hotel keys yet. We then went to Denney’s to eat before we headed to the park which opened at 10am. We decided to walk to the park after we ate took around 20 min from where we were. Our hotel was right next to Disney’s Strawberry Fields (might be home of third gate).
Disney’s California Adventure October 25th Day one
We got there a little early still and we started the day by going to Disney’s California Adventure aka Disney’s Second Gate (will be renamed Walt’s California Adventure after construction starts). We got to go in the park up to Candy Corn Acres (was a Halloween themed area). We were one of the first lined up at the Hollywood Pictures Backlot rope. Before they drop the rope the chose one group or family to hold a special rope and sign the Hollywood Tower Hotel guest list. After they were ready they told us to follow the special rope if we were going to The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and for all other rides they just said follow until we pass that attraction. After the rope drop we had to stay on the road area and walk behind the special rope. When we got to the end of the street they moved the special rope. Then they had us make a single file line for The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. This is one of my favorite rides probably is the best ride in the park. It’s different from the one at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando. The difference is the beginning of the ride. The rides line is about the same as the other one but it has two floors and three elevators on each floor. After the ride we headed to Mike and Sulley to the Rescue (the newest dark ride). It’s a pretty good ride it even has a great interactive ending. Next we headed to Muppet Vision 3D (probably will be last time I see before changed into Mickey’s Philharmagic). It’s a fun little 3D show that is also at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Next we went to one of my favorite places in the park Disney Animation. It’s a building that has three main attractions and one changing animation showcase. We first went to see The Toy Story Zoetrope which is a very sweet spinning model watch the video and your see what I mean. We then heard an Announcement that Turtle Talk with Crush was about to start. It’s one of the main Attractions here it’s an interactive show with Crush from Finding Nemo. This is one my favorite shows I first saw this show in Orlando at The Living Seas, now The Seas with Nemo & Friends, in 2004 at EPCOT. After that we went back and watched The Toy Story Zoetrope again. Then we Went through Sorcerer’s Workshop and interactive walk though attraction with things like what character are you most like, how animation is done, and singing with Ariel.
After that we headed towards Paradise Pier and got Fastpasses for California Screaming. We went on the Sun Wheel which takes forever to load and only went around once. It’s a nice big Farris Wheel with moving cabins. We then thought we had enough time to go on the Maliboomer before the 11:45 showing of Golden Screams. Maliboomer is fast launch ride which sends you up fast then drops you back down. We ended up getting to Golden Screams a few seconds too late. Since we missed that we went to use are Fastpasses on California Screaming. This is another one of the main attractions at the park. It’s a great Rollercoaster with a launch takeoff and great soundtrack. After that we headed to Mulholland Madness and we saw the Dream Squad at the exit of the ride for the first and only time. Mulholland Madness is a great Wild Mouse Style coaster.
We then decided it was time to eat so we headed out of the park through Disney's Grand Californian hotel to Downtown Disney. We ate at Wetzel’s pretzels a pretzel and hot dog fast food place. After that we headed back in through the main entrance and went on my least favorite ride in the park Soarin’ Over California. It’s ride that simulates hang gliding over California. Next we headed to Grizzly River Run a very fun but wet rapids ride. I was really worried about going on this ride with Nate’s Camcorder and our camera. We didn’t get too wet so everything was fine mainly because we got lucky by missing the Geyser at the end of the ride. Next we went to the 4:00 showing of Golden Screams the last showing of the day. It’s was the holiday overlay of Golden Dreams (will be A "major ride" based on The Little Mermaid by 2012). It’s was a pretty weird overlay for a movie show. The overlay has a host who is showed us villain clips of villains screaming to vote for the best scream. There was only one character in costume that appeared at the end of the show. In the end a kid, is chosen before the show, won the award.
Next we headed back to The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror to ride it before the park closed at 5:00 for Mickey’s Halloween Treat special event. We though we were going to have enough time to ride Mike and Sulley to the Rescue but it was just about 5:00 when we got done riding. That was the end of our day At California adventure but not end of day Disneyland Was open tell 8:00 so went there.
Disneyland October 25th Night one
We headed to Disneyland right after DCA closed at 5:00. We decided that we were going to go on Indiana Jones Temple of the Forbidden Eye but when we got to the line they had cast members out telling people it was temporary closed. So we kept walking tell we got to Pirates of the Caribbean. This ride is one of my favorites in the park and it had changed since the last time we were there. The charges were very cool they added two full sized Captain Jack Sparrows, one captain Jack Sparrows head, and Barbossa Audio animatronics figures. They also changed the Treasure room to look more like the Aztec treasure cave from the first movie. Another cool addition was a water projection of Davy Jones right after the treasure room. The also changed the audio in three places and added audio to the final scene (which was totally changed). I took video of this but it didn’t turn out right because I somehow change the focus to manual. After we were done with the ride we went on to the Haunted Mansion Holiday (A Nightmare before Christmas, also one of my favorite movies, overlay). The outside of the mansion is very sweet they have pumpkins all over the place and Jack Skellington above the entrance and as a scarecrow. This ride is so cool with the overlay they have different pictures in the stretching room and the Hallway. The whole audio for the ride is different and all the different scenes have different characters then the normal version. Check out the video it’s very sweet I love the original but the holiday overlay makes it even better to me. After this we went to Splash Mountain since it’s the next closest ride. I like this version of Splash Mountain better then the one the Magic kingdom is Walt Disney World. I’m pretty sure it has more drops. It also has characters from the America Sings attraction. Next we head back down to see if Indiana Jones Temple of the Forbidden Eye was back up and it was. We didn’t have to wait very long at all to get on. I like the line themeing of this ride it seams to be about a mile long there and back with lots of cool excavating supports and equipment. It’s a great ride based on one my favorite trilogy’s Indiana Jones (now there are four movies). It’s a great fast passed motion simulator on wheels with lots of giant sets (“Why did it have to be Snakes?”).
After the parks
At the end of the day we head back to the hotel by walking. I wasn’t felling the best as we walked back towards the hotel. We got about 2 blocks from our hotel when Nehi said he was hungry so mom went with him to get some food I didn’t fell hungry so I didn’t have them get me anything. So me and dad walked back to the hotel and got the keys to the room. I sat in the car while he got the keys and then we moved to car closer to the stairs so we could easily take up our bags. I took up my bag then laid down I was ok for a little bit but then I though since my mouth was dry I should take a drink of water. This was also about the time Nehi and Georgia came back. It didn’t go so well for me because I drank the water too fast and somehow slowed some paper. I got pretty sick and went straight to bed after I informed Nehi that the camcorder needed to be charged.
The next morning we had a Character Breakfast at Goofy’s Kitchen inside the Disneyland Hotel. I reserved us a table about two weeks before we left for 7:00 am not knowing that’s when it opened. It took us a little while to get there but we still made it early enough to be one of the first in. It’s a great restaurant that would have cost us over $120 if we didn’t have free tickets from Costco. In the restaurant they have several characters that come around we got see Chip and Dale, Baloo, Peter Pan (only one that could talk), and Goofy. I think chip is the one who wrote most of the stuff seen in the picture of our table cloth. I couldn’t eat too much because of being sick the night before but it was still a great experience and would do again but probably not if we had to pay, unless I won or had a lot of money. The food was great had Make your own omelet, Eggs, Bacon, lots of fruits, Mickey Mouse shaped Pancakes, Pepperoni Pizza and Peanut butter Pizza. After we were done eating we walked around the Hotel looking at a gift shop and pictures on the walls. We thought we could take to Monorail into the park but it wasn’t open until noon or so not sure why. So we ended up walking though Downtown Disney to get to the main entrance and we didn’t get tell after they opened.
Disneyland October 26th Day 2
The first thing we did was get Kaylee (my Sister’s Daughter) pink mouse ears but only my mom and dad did that. Me and Nehi ran, after I took a few video shots of windows on Main Street U.S.A., through Tomorrowland to get Fastpasses on Space Mountain and then headed to Star Tours to wait for them to get back, not knowing that they were in Tomorrowland riding Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters. We then went on Star Tours didn’t take long at all to get on since it was only a little after eight. This is one of my favorite rides has such great line themeing with R2-D2, C3P-O, Rex the malfunctioning droid, and a few other droids. The ride is themed as if you were going on tour of the Forest Moon of Endor but you don’t get there. It’s a great simulator ride that is long overdo for a change, George Lucas keeps trying to push for an update but hasn’t got too far. Next we headed to Innoventions, Which I knew wasn’t spinning but didn’t know the first floor was blocked off; it was being redesigned as the House of Tomorrow. We had to walk up to the second floor which mostly has Xbox 360’s all over the place. There wasn’t much to see right then so went back out after about 20 minutes. Then we used our Fastpasses for Space Mountain. Space Mountain was closed right after we left in 2003 and didn’t reopen until late 2005. They added some pretty cool new effects, a new soundtrack, and new track all without changing the layout of the original track. The Spaceship in the loading bay was also changed and they removed The FedEx Robot (I loved the robot even though it didn’t do much).
After that we headed to Fantasyland to ride the Matterhorn. I tired to video tape it for the first but I hit the zoom on Nate’s Camera by mistake so it looks really odd. The Matterhorn is a great ride that has two different sides in which you can ride each with different drops and turns we went on the left side mainly because we got in that line before we knew there were two lines; Most of the time there is only one line that then divides into two. After that Dave ran to Toontown to get Fastpasses for Roger Rabbits Car Toon Spin. Georgia and Nehi decided to ride the Mad Hatter Tea Party. The Mad Hatter Tea Party is a great spinning ride that theme is from Alice in wonderland. During our vacation Alice in wonderland was under rehab and had big walls all around it. I waited for Dave to come back because I wanted to ride the Storybook land Canal Boats. I like this ride because it unique to the park and there on opening day, It was missing the miniatures when it first opened and it had the nickname of Muddy Hills of the world. I think it fun to see all the miniature trees, flowers, and grass, that they have to cut everyday to keep the scale right. The houses that are along the hillside are recreations of building seen in different animated movies.
After the ride we found out that Nehi and Georgia went to get in line for Mr. Toad’s Wild ride. It’s one of the original dark rides of the park. It is theme after The Wind and Willows movie and it has less 4D characters then any other dark ride. Since we got in line after them we had them get Fastpasses for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We didn’t really plan on were to meat them so we decided to go towards Big Thunder Ranch. Right about when I got there characters starting coming out all over the place so I started taking video of them while moving closer to Big Thunder Ranch. I ran into them as I was filming but it was harder getting back to Fantasyland because everybody was slowly down to look at and pose with the char actors. We then walked thought Fantasyland past It’s a Small World, Wasn’t open another lucky break for me lol, to Toontown. We then used our Fastpasses to get on Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon, the only thing we ever did in Toontown this trip. It’s another dark ride but with a twist has spinning cars to make it more interesting.
After this we headed to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to use our Fastpasses We rode the Disneyland Railroad from Mickey’s Toontown to get to New Orleans Square almost all the way around the park. I like this ride it’s a very fast passed Rollercoaster with three lifts and lots of drops. The idea of this ride is that you are going through an old mining town on a runaway train. We first thought about eating at a taco place but then decided not to because we wanted to see Billy Hill and The Hillbillies and they had food at the Golden Horseshoe Revue. The line here was pretty bad since it was about show time when we got in and I got lucky and found a table it‘s almost always packed since there isn’t a lot of room. We didn’t even get to order our food until after it started since the line was so long. Right after we started eating nobody was in line probably because the show was going on. It was a great show with lots of music with silly jokes and has been going on for many years.
After the show we headed to Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island by Raft (which I’m not sure why they kept the name Tom Sawyer). Georgia decided that she didn’t want to walk around the island so she sat while the rest of us walked around. This area has a few new special effects in the caves. The idea of the caves now is that your looking for a hidden treasure (we didn’t find it lol). They also change the area near the rocking bridge. They added a pump that pumps water out of boat wreak and reviles a Skelton treasure. Nearby there is also a walk in bone cage which looks like it’s hanging from the bridge. Many of the tunnels are very tight and meant for one way traffic. Near the back of the area close the fort (currently only restrooms are open during construction) they have a Pirate meet and greet with Captain Jack Sparrow (the actor is very good acts a lot like Captain Jack in the movies). They also have a pirate band that sings pirate themed songs we didn’t see much of the show so not sure how good it is.
After that we headed back on the raft to go get a good spot along the Parade route for the 3:30 showing. Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams is one of the best Disney Parades I have ever seen. Next we headed to 50 first Years (where Great moments with Mr. Linkin was) a great attraction leftover from the 50TH Celebration. The Waiting room had lots of pieces of info about attractions and park ideas. Some of these ideas near got made. There is also a movie with clips of different times at Disneyland. When the show was about to start we entered the auditorium and sat down. The video was very great had Steve Martin as the host with Donald Duck trying to steal the show. After 50 first Years Georgia decided to go back to the hotel because her feet had blisters.
Next we headed to an attraction that Georgia didn’t really like The Tiki Room. The first Audio Animatronic Show which I like a lot. The outdoor waiting area of the show has Tiki Gods showing there powers off. There is also a video about Dole Pineapples (sponsor) where they come from and how there history. This is one of the longest shows in Disneyland around about 15min. Next we headed to Indiana Jones even though didn’t want to go on it. Next we went through Tarzan’s Treehouse a walk though attraction that was Swiss Family Robinsons Treehouse. It themed pretty good goes though the story of Tarzan which includes many rooms that have the story written on books. After that I think he headed to Pirates again and then we got Fastpasses to Splash Mountain.
After that we walked over to Tomorrowland too see Sandbox a great Nighttime band that sings mostly pop songs. It was great to see they had to main singers Tomasina Abate and Roger Cain both pretty good. Tomasina was a little hyper and sometimes hard to understand. There are two other members of the band Bassist Bruff Brigham and Drummer Scotty Kormos. We didn’t watch the full show because we wanted be able to use the Fastpasses. We rode on the Railroad again to get there faster we got off at New Orleans Square again lol. After we did Splash Mountain we decided to eat at the Hungry Bear Restaurant which is still in Critter Country. I only ate a salad here Nehi had PB&J Kids Meal. As were eating and saw rafts transporting Cast members to the island for Fantasmic. Then he headed to Big Thunder Mountain and while we were waiting the Fireworks were going off which caused the line to move slowly. After that we headed past Fantasyland which was roped off due to the fireworks we were thinking of going on one the rides there but the lines were pretty long at the rope so we didn’t. We decided to head to Tomorrowland to ride the Matterhorn but we changed our minds and decided to wait for Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage instead which always has a long line. It took a very long time to get to on a sub. We heard both the 10 and 11 pm performance of Sandbox but not the whole 11 because we got on the subs before it was over. After that we decided to go to Downtown Disney by using the Monorail. We then headed to the ESPN Zone to look for something for Nate. Nehi wanted to go to Legoland but it was closed. After that we walked back to the hotel.
Disneyland and DCA October 27th Day 3
We started this day a little later then we wanted to because we got up late and had to pack up the car. After we had the car packed up we headed to the closest Parking lot which was right next to Disney California Adventure but it wasn’t being used that day so we had to drive on after we paid for the parking ticket. We ended up parking next to the parking structure. It wasn’t a long walk to the tram loading area (they wouldn’t let you walk since it was about a mile or so). We just missed a tram and they seamed to be only running one so we had to wait a little more. Finally we were off and headed to Disneyland to start off our day in the parks. We used are one early entry to Fantasyland ticket (which comes on the card). We didn’t get to use the full value of the early entry since we where there about 30 min late because of all our delays. Once we entered the park we headed to Fantasyland and saw that many of the rides in Tomorrowland were open. We first headed to the Matterhorn and saw that even though it was still about 20 min before the park opened the line for Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage was already very long. I think we rode on the opposite side this time since the line wasn’t really long.
After that we headed past Storybook Land Canal Boats and The Mad Hatter Tea Party to Peter Pan’s Flight. Peter Pan’s Flight had a very short line just like all the other Fantasyland rides at the time. It’s a good dark ride through the story of Peter Pan. After that we ran past The King Arthur Carrousel (which we didn’t ride this time) to Snow White’s Scary Adventure. It’s a good dark ride through the movie of Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs. After that we headed to Pinocchio’s Daring Journey another good dark ride this time through the movie Pinocchio. After we finished this ride we went to Casey Jr. circus Train (originally a roller coaster but it didn’t work right) I didn’t really care to go it but there was no line. It’s a kind of slow journey on a train through Storybook land on a train. We also skipped Dumbo this trip since the line was always long and we didn’t care for it much.
After this we headed to Big Thunder Mountain. After that we went on the Haunted Mansion Holiday. Next we head to Pirates of the Caribbean. Then we went on the Mark Train river boat which seams to take forever to get started. It was starting to rain and there were only about 4 other people that ended up going on it. The ride is pretty slow and goes around The Rivers of America. It wasn’t much to see they had an Indian camp and a few animated characters; other then that there was only the Burning Cabin. I think they could improve this ride a lot they used to have a waterfall next to a crashed train with animated Ground Hogs but now no waterfall and no animated Ground Hogs. There is a lot of empty space that could be used on the island and the shore. After we got of we headed to Big Thunder Ranch which was themed as Woody’s Halloween round-Up. It was mostly a craft area were they had carved pumpkins (many of which I have pictures of) there were also some goats in a petting zoo. We just walked around looking at the craft tables. There was also a stage show we were there at the wrong time so we didn’t see it.
Next we ran across the park to Tomorrowland to see the Jedi Training Academy a very great interactive show. Before the show we decided to eat lunch at Tomorrowland Terrace which is right in front of the stage. This show is very cool in it they have Younglings aka kids learn how to use lightsabers. First they learn some simple moves and then they get so off what they learned by fighting Darth Vader or Darth Maul. I really like the main instructor he was pretty skilled with the lightsaber (missed taping it by a few seconds). Right after the show I was going to ask what time ASIMO was on, but some else before me ask so I didn’t have to, it was at 1pm so we had a little time before it started. After that we headed to Honey I Shrunk the Audience because the line was short and we had yet to see it this trip. It’s an interesting 3D show that I have seen many times and at both resorts. It kind of fun to see people react that hadn’t been to the show before. We still had a little time after the show before ASIMO started. Dave decided to go see what Woody’s Adventures show that also stared at 1. The rest of walked around Tomorrowland and saw that Buzz Lightyear’s line wasn’t too long so went on it. It took longer then we thought and I tried to run to the show but since I had to run up the ramp to get there I didn’t get there tell right at 1 and they had already closed to door. I had to wait for the next show at 4 (I think they had to recharge ASIMO).
Next we headed to Adventureland and went on the Jungle Cruise which I talked everyone into since they changed a few things. They added water explosions and piranhas. They also moved the elephant that was at Tarzan’s Treehouse to end of the ride next to the head salesman. The park was filling up with people now so the Indiana Jones Adventure had a longer line. I think we went on Indian Jones Adventure again anyways. We then headed back to Critter Country so me and Nehi could ride Splash Mountain but it was shutdown. So we went to where Dave and Georgia were waiting at The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
After that we headed back to Tomorrowland to go on Star Tours again. After the ride I decided to buy a shirt. Next most of us headed to Innoventions so I could see ASIMO and Dave decide to take our tickets and run over to DCA and get Fastpasses for Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Nehi and Georgia decided to hang out at Innoventions while I went to see ASIMO which is a great robot that can walk/run/climb/kick/talk and is made by Honda. It was very cool to see but they didn’t let anybody take video or pictures of it. After the show we went shopping around Main Street U.S.A. while trying to get a hold of Dave. It took awhile to get a hold of him he had our tickets so we had to wait for him to go outside of DCA to give us our tickets.
The line wasn’t too bad at Tower of Terror so Dave asked if he should get Fastpasses or not and we decided not to. After we met up outside the parks and then headed into DCA so then we went on Tower of Terror. Nehi and Georgia decided to go on the Grizzly River Run. Me and Dave decide to go to it Tough to be Bug. Which is a crazy show that I don’t really like but decided why not see it once this trip. Next we headed to a Party Zone on the parade route. The parade was called Block Party Bash which was supposed to stop at Party Zones were the characters get off the floats and dance with the guests but due to the weather they decided not to stop. After the ride we went on California Screamin again. Then we ate dinner at Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill. They had really big tacos there with big pieces of beef in them. This is when I saw that Nate’s video camera had somehow turn itself on and drained the batteries and the tape.
Next we went back to Disneyland we got there right before Walt Disney’s Parade of Dream 6:30 showing so we had to walk though lots of people. Next we headed down Main Street past the crowds trying to get to Indiana Jones Adventure to ride again. After that I think Georgia And Dave were to tired to do much more so they sat down on Main Street while me and Nehi went to the back of the park to ride Splash mountain because we saw it had reopened. On our way we ran into crowds getting ready for Fantasmic’s first showing and crowds leaving Pirates of the Caribbean due to it being shut down. We had to wait at least 40 min to get on was a long wait. I love riding Splash Mountain at night.
After that we headed back to Georgia and Dave through the crowds now moving towards Main Street for the Remember Dreams Come True Fireworks. We still had to wait a little bit before the fireworks started and it was already packed so it was hard to get in the position. My dad tried to take picture of the fireworks some came out most didn’t but I was disappointed because I wanted to film it. After the show which was very very good we headed towards Fantasmic’s last showing that started at 10:30 we got probably about 10 so we had to wait about a half hour. Nehi was complain up a storm while we were waiting the made us stand the whole time even though we let Nehi sit for while. This is about the same as Disney Hollywood Studios version but there’s has stadium seating. I’ll be sure to get a video of it the next time I go. It’s a very great show probably the best show they have every made. After that we left park very slowly and ran into a lot of Costumed people exiting from Disney California Adventure Mickey’s Halloween Treat. There were quite a lot of Star Wars and Captain Jack Sparrow costumes I saw people wearing. I also almost got us on the wrong tram we actuary got on the tram before we realized we were going the wrong way lol. After that we head to the car and then head towards a hotel not to far from Six Flags Magic Mountain it wasn’t a very cheap hotel either. The next night we headed home.
Travel method: Minivan
Resort: Best Western Raffles Inn & Suites
Accommodations: 1 room 2 nights 3 days
Ages Represented in Group: 26, 11, 56, and 53
Disney Resort Experience Represented in Group: Disney Lovers wanting to see Disneyland Resort at Halloween Time
Comments: Halloween Trip
Cast of characters: me Nick, Little brother Nehi, Mom Georgia, Dad David
About me: A big Disney fan former College Program Cast Member WDW EPCOT. First time posting in a forum I mainly post to my web site http://rodyoda.home.comcast.net. I Hope readers enjoy my detailed report.
On the way to Disneyland
This time we decided to drive all night so we could get there the next morning. We left around 3:00 when Nehi got out of school. We had a little miss communication with Nehi. He went home instead of waiting at the corner stone (Nate’s (my other brother that didn’t go this trip) Church’s youth hangout place across from the school). We found out that we somehow missed him so went back home and picked him up. My mom was the first to drive on the trip. We made pretty good time to Grants Pass around three hours. We then ate at Elmer’s and before we got the main course I got a call from my Friend Nick Ross that are door was open he closed it for us but we then called Nate and told him to put something in the way so it wouldn’t blow open again. Everything was going fine with the trip until the gas gauge got to about the 1/3 mark. Our van then lost speed slowly and then quit but we got it up and going again. We decided to get gas as soon as we could and when we tried to get gas it filled up a little then quit way before it was full. We tried switching pumps and that didn’t help much got a few cents out of it only. We decided to just drive on for awhile until it looked like it was around a 1/3 again. After that everything was fine tell we got over the Grape Vines where traffic came to a halt we think do to a truck tunnel being close because of a fire ball a few weeks before. After a little bit it cleared up until we got near Los Angeles. It picked back up after we got past Los Angeles and then slowed down again tell we were about in Anaheim. We got there a few hours early so we went to our hotel to see if we could park there since the parking lot wasn’t open yet (we didn’t want to pay anyways). We got to park the car but didn’t get the hotel keys yet. We then went to Denney’s to eat before we headed to the park which opened at 10am. We decided to walk to the park after we ate took around 20 min from where we were. Our hotel was right next to Disney’s Strawberry Fields (might be home of third gate).
Disney’s California Adventure October 25th Day one
We got there a little early still and we started the day by going to Disney’s California Adventure aka Disney’s Second Gate (will be renamed Walt’s California Adventure after construction starts). We got to go in the park up to Candy Corn Acres (was a Halloween themed area). We were one of the first lined up at the Hollywood Pictures Backlot rope. Before they drop the rope the chose one group or family to hold a special rope and sign the Hollywood Tower Hotel guest list. After they were ready they told us to follow the special rope if we were going to The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and for all other rides they just said follow until we pass that attraction. After the rope drop we had to stay on the road area and walk behind the special rope. When we got to the end of the street they moved the special rope. Then they had us make a single file line for The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. This is one of my favorite rides probably is the best ride in the park. It’s different from the one at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando. The difference is the beginning of the ride. The rides line is about the same as the other one but it has two floors and three elevators on each floor. After the ride we headed to Mike and Sulley to the Rescue (the newest dark ride). It’s a pretty good ride it even has a great interactive ending. Next we headed to Muppet Vision 3D (probably will be last time I see before changed into Mickey’s Philharmagic). It’s a fun little 3D show that is also at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Next we went to one of my favorite places in the park Disney Animation. It’s a building that has three main attractions and one changing animation showcase. We first went to see The Toy Story Zoetrope which is a very sweet spinning model watch the video and your see what I mean. We then heard an Announcement that Turtle Talk with Crush was about to start. It’s one of the main Attractions here it’s an interactive show with Crush from Finding Nemo. This is one my favorite shows I first saw this show in Orlando at The Living Seas, now The Seas with Nemo & Friends, in 2004 at EPCOT. After that we went back and watched The Toy Story Zoetrope again. Then we Went through Sorcerer’s Workshop and interactive walk though attraction with things like what character are you most like, how animation is done, and singing with Ariel.
After that we headed towards Paradise Pier and got Fastpasses for California Screaming. We went on the Sun Wheel which takes forever to load and only went around once. It’s a nice big Farris Wheel with moving cabins. We then thought we had enough time to go on the Maliboomer before the 11:45 showing of Golden Screams. Maliboomer is fast launch ride which sends you up fast then drops you back down. We ended up getting to Golden Screams a few seconds too late. Since we missed that we went to use are Fastpasses on California Screaming. This is another one of the main attractions at the park. It’s a great Rollercoaster with a launch takeoff and great soundtrack. After that we headed to Mulholland Madness and we saw the Dream Squad at the exit of the ride for the first and only time. Mulholland Madness is a great Wild Mouse Style coaster.
We then decided it was time to eat so we headed out of the park through Disney's Grand Californian hotel to Downtown Disney. We ate at Wetzel’s pretzels a pretzel and hot dog fast food place. After that we headed back in through the main entrance and went on my least favorite ride in the park Soarin’ Over California. It’s ride that simulates hang gliding over California. Next we headed to Grizzly River Run a very fun but wet rapids ride. I was really worried about going on this ride with Nate’s Camcorder and our camera. We didn’t get too wet so everything was fine mainly because we got lucky by missing the Geyser at the end of the ride. Next we went to the 4:00 showing of Golden Screams the last showing of the day. It’s was the holiday overlay of Golden Dreams (will be A "major ride" based on The Little Mermaid by 2012). It’s was a pretty weird overlay for a movie show. The overlay has a host who is showed us villain clips of villains screaming to vote for the best scream. There was only one character in costume that appeared at the end of the show. In the end a kid, is chosen before the show, won the award.
Next we headed back to The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror to ride it before the park closed at 5:00 for Mickey’s Halloween Treat special event. We though we were going to have enough time to ride Mike and Sulley to the Rescue but it was just about 5:00 when we got done riding. That was the end of our day At California adventure but not end of day Disneyland Was open tell 8:00 so went there.
Disneyland October 25th Night one
We headed to Disneyland right after DCA closed at 5:00. We decided that we were going to go on Indiana Jones Temple of the Forbidden Eye but when we got to the line they had cast members out telling people it was temporary closed. So we kept walking tell we got to Pirates of the Caribbean. This ride is one of my favorites in the park and it had changed since the last time we were there. The charges were very cool they added two full sized Captain Jack Sparrows, one captain Jack Sparrows head, and Barbossa Audio animatronics figures. They also changed the Treasure room to look more like the Aztec treasure cave from the first movie. Another cool addition was a water projection of Davy Jones right after the treasure room. The also changed the audio in three places and added audio to the final scene (which was totally changed). I took video of this but it didn’t turn out right because I somehow change the focus to manual. After we were done with the ride we went on to the Haunted Mansion Holiday (A Nightmare before Christmas, also one of my favorite movies, overlay). The outside of the mansion is very sweet they have pumpkins all over the place and Jack Skellington above the entrance and as a scarecrow. This ride is so cool with the overlay they have different pictures in the stretching room and the Hallway. The whole audio for the ride is different and all the different scenes have different characters then the normal version. Check out the video it’s very sweet I love the original but the holiday overlay makes it even better to me. After this we went to Splash Mountain since it’s the next closest ride. I like this version of Splash Mountain better then the one the Magic kingdom is Walt Disney World. I’m pretty sure it has more drops. It also has characters from the America Sings attraction. Next we head back down to see if Indiana Jones Temple of the Forbidden Eye was back up and it was. We didn’t have to wait very long at all to get on. I like the line themeing of this ride it seams to be about a mile long there and back with lots of cool excavating supports and equipment. It’s a great ride based on one my favorite trilogy’s Indiana Jones (now there are four movies). It’s a great fast passed motion simulator on wheels with lots of giant sets (“Why did it have to be Snakes?”).
After the parks
At the end of the day we head back to the hotel by walking. I wasn’t felling the best as we walked back towards the hotel. We got about 2 blocks from our hotel when Nehi said he was hungry so mom went with him to get some food I didn’t fell hungry so I didn’t have them get me anything. So me and dad walked back to the hotel and got the keys to the room. I sat in the car while he got the keys and then we moved to car closer to the stairs so we could easily take up our bags. I took up my bag then laid down I was ok for a little bit but then I though since my mouth was dry I should take a drink of water. This was also about the time Nehi and Georgia came back. It didn’t go so well for me because I drank the water too fast and somehow slowed some paper. I got pretty sick and went straight to bed after I informed Nehi that the camcorder needed to be charged.
The next morning we had a Character Breakfast at Goofy’s Kitchen inside the Disneyland Hotel. I reserved us a table about two weeks before we left for 7:00 am not knowing that’s when it opened. It took us a little while to get there but we still made it early enough to be one of the first in. It’s a great restaurant that would have cost us over $120 if we didn’t have free tickets from Costco. In the restaurant they have several characters that come around we got see Chip and Dale, Baloo, Peter Pan (only one that could talk), and Goofy. I think chip is the one who wrote most of the stuff seen in the picture of our table cloth. I couldn’t eat too much because of being sick the night before but it was still a great experience and would do again but probably not if we had to pay, unless I won or had a lot of money. The food was great had Make your own omelet, Eggs, Bacon, lots of fruits, Mickey Mouse shaped Pancakes, Pepperoni Pizza and Peanut butter Pizza. After we were done eating we walked around the Hotel looking at a gift shop and pictures on the walls. We thought we could take to Monorail into the park but it wasn’t open until noon or so not sure why. So we ended up walking though Downtown Disney to get to the main entrance and we didn’t get tell after they opened.
Disneyland October 26th Day 2
The first thing we did was get Kaylee (my Sister’s Daughter) pink mouse ears but only my mom and dad did that. Me and Nehi ran, after I took a few video shots of windows on Main Street U.S.A., through Tomorrowland to get Fastpasses on Space Mountain and then headed to Star Tours to wait for them to get back, not knowing that they were in Tomorrowland riding Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters. We then went on Star Tours didn’t take long at all to get on since it was only a little after eight. This is one of my favorite rides has such great line themeing with R2-D2, C3P-O, Rex the malfunctioning droid, and a few other droids. The ride is themed as if you were going on tour of the Forest Moon of Endor but you don’t get there. It’s a great simulator ride that is long overdo for a change, George Lucas keeps trying to push for an update but hasn’t got too far. Next we headed to Innoventions, Which I knew wasn’t spinning but didn’t know the first floor was blocked off; it was being redesigned as the House of Tomorrow. We had to walk up to the second floor which mostly has Xbox 360’s all over the place. There wasn’t much to see right then so went back out after about 20 minutes. Then we used our Fastpasses for Space Mountain. Space Mountain was closed right after we left in 2003 and didn’t reopen until late 2005. They added some pretty cool new effects, a new soundtrack, and new track all without changing the layout of the original track. The Spaceship in the loading bay was also changed and they removed The FedEx Robot (I loved the robot even though it didn’t do much).
After that we headed to Fantasyland to ride the Matterhorn. I tired to video tape it for the first but I hit the zoom on Nate’s Camera by mistake so it looks really odd. The Matterhorn is a great ride that has two different sides in which you can ride each with different drops and turns we went on the left side mainly because we got in that line before we knew there were two lines; Most of the time there is only one line that then divides into two. After that Dave ran to Toontown to get Fastpasses for Roger Rabbits Car Toon Spin. Georgia and Nehi decided to ride the Mad Hatter Tea Party. The Mad Hatter Tea Party is a great spinning ride that theme is from Alice in wonderland. During our vacation Alice in wonderland was under rehab and had big walls all around it. I waited for Dave to come back because I wanted to ride the Storybook land Canal Boats. I like this ride because it unique to the park and there on opening day, It was missing the miniatures when it first opened and it had the nickname of Muddy Hills of the world. I think it fun to see all the miniature trees, flowers, and grass, that they have to cut everyday to keep the scale right. The houses that are along the hillside are recreations of building seen in different animated movies.
After the ride we found out that Nehi and Georgia went to get in line for Mr. Toad’s Wild ride. It’s one of the original dark rides of the park. It is theme after The Wind and Willows movie and it has less 4D characters then any other dark ride. Since we got in line after them we had them get Fastpasses for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We didn’t really plan on were to meat them so we decided to go towards Big Thunder Ranch. Right about when I got there characters starting coming out all over the place so I started taking video of them while moving closer to Big Thunder Ranch. I ran into them as I was filming but it was harder getting back to Fantasyland because everybody was slowly down to look at and pose with the char actors. We then walked thought Fantasyland past It’s a Small World, Wasn’t open another lucky break for me lol, to Toontown. We then used our Fastpasses to get on Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon, the only thing we ever did in Toontown this trip. It’s another dark ride but with a twist has spinning cars to make it more interesting.
After this we headed to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to use our Fastpasses We rode the Disneyland Railroad from Mickey’s Toontown to get to New Orleans Square almost all the way around the park. I like this ride it’s a very fast passed Rollercoaster with three lifts and lots of drops. The idea of this ride is that you are going through an old mining town on a runaway train. We first thought about eating at a taco place but then decided not to because we wanted to see Billy Hill and The Hillbillies and they had food at the Golden Horseshoe Revue. The line here was pretty bad since it was about show time when we got in and I got lucky and found a table it‘s almost always packed since there isn’t a lot of room. We didn’t even get to order our food until after it started since the line was so long. Right after we started eating nobody was in line probably because the show was going on. It was a great show with lots of music with silly jokes and has been going on for many years.
After the show we headed to Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island by Raft (which I’m not sure why they kept the name Tom Sawyer). Georgia decided that she didn’t want to walk around the island so she sat while the rest of us walked around. This area has a few new special effects in the caves. The idea of the caves now is that your looking for a hidden treasure (we didn’t find it lol). They also change the area near the rocking bridge. They added a pump that pumps water out of boat wreak and reviles a Skelton treasure. Nearby there is also a walk in bone cage which looks like it’s hanging from the bridge. Many of the tunnels are very tight and meant for one way traffic. Near the back of the area close the fort (currently only restrooms are open during construction) they have a Pirate meet and greet with Captain Jack Sparrow (the actor is very good acts a lot like Captain Jack in the movies). They also have a pirate band that sings pirate themed songs we didn’t see much of the show so not sure how good it is.
After that we headed back on the raft to go get a good spot along the Parade route for the 3:30 showing. Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams is one of the best Disney Parades I have ever seen. Next we headed to 50 first Years (where Great moments with Mr. Linkin was) a great attraction leftover from the 50TH Celebration. The Waiting room had lots of pieces of info about attractions and park ideas. Some of these ideas near got made. There is also a movie with clips of different times at Disneyland. When the show was about to start we entered the auditorium and sat down. The video was very great had Steve Martin as the host with Donald Duck trying to steal the show. After 50 first Years Georgia decided to go back to the hotel because her feet had blisters.
Next we headed to an attraction that Georgia didn’t really like The Tiki Room. The first Audio Animatronic Show which I like a lot. The outdoor waiting area of the show has Tiki Gods showing there powers off. There is also a video about Dole Pineapples (sponsor) where they come from and how there history. This is one of the longest shows in Disneyland around about 15min. Next we headed to Indiana Jones even though didn’t want to go on it. Next we went through Tarzan’s Treehouse a walk though attraction that was Swiss Family Robinsons Treehouse. It themed pretty good goes though the story of Tarzan which includes many rooms that have the story written on books. After that I think he headed to Pirates again and then we got Fastpasses to Splash Mountain.
After that we walked over to Tomorrowland too see Sandbox a great Nighttime band that sings mostly pop songs. It was great to see they had to main singers Tomasina Abate and Roger Cain both pretty good. Tomasina was a little hyper and sometimes hard to understand. There are two other members of the band Bassist Bruff Brigham and Drummer Scotty Kormos. We didn’t watch the full show because we wanted be able to use the Fastpasses. We rode on the Railroad again to get there faster we got off at New Orleans Square again lol. After we did Splash Mountain we decided to eat at the Hungry Bear Restaurant which is still in Critter Country. I only ate a salad here Nehi had PB&J Kids Meal. As were eating and saw rafts transporting Cast members to the island for Fantasmic. Then he headed to Big Thunder Mountain and while we were waiting the Fireworks were going off which caused the line to move slowly. After that we headed past Fantasyland which was roped off due to the fireworks we were thinking of going on one the rides there but the lines were pretty long at the rope so we didn’t. We decided to head to Tomorrowland to ride the Matterhorn but we changed our minds and decided to wait for Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage instead which always has a long line. It took a very long time to get to on a sub. We heard both the 10 and 11 pm performance of Sandbox but not the whole 11 because we got on the subs before it was over. After that we decided to go to Downtown Disney by using the Monorail. We then headed to the ESPN Zone to look for something for Nate. Nehi wanted to go to Legoland but it was closed. After that we walked back to the hotel.
Disneyland and DCA October 27th Day 3
We started this day a little later then we wanted to because we got up late and had to pack up the car. After we had the car packed up we headed to the closest Parking lot which was right next to Disney California Adventure but it wasn’t being used that day so we had to drive on after we paid for the parking ticket. We ended up parking next to the parking structure. It wasn’t a long walk to the tram loading area (they wouldn’t let you walk since it was about a mile or so). We just missed a tram and they seamed to be only running one so we had to wait a little more. Finally we were off and headed to Disneyland to start off our day in the parks. We used are one early entry to Fantasyland ticket (which comes on the card). We didn’t get to use the full value of the early entry since we where there about 30 min late because of all our delays. Once we entered the park we headed to Fantasyland and saw that many of the rides in Tomorrowland were open. We first headed to the Matterhorn and saw that even though it was still about 20 min before the park opened the line for Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage was already very long. I think we rode on the opposite side this time since the line wasn’t really long.
After that we headed past Storybook Land Canal Boats and The Mad Hatter Tea Party to Peter Pan’s Flight. Peter Pan’s Flight had a very short line just like all the other Fantasyland rides at the time. It’s a good dark ride through the story of Peter Pan. After that we ran past The King Arthur Carrousel (which we didn’t ride this time) to Snow White’s Scary Adventure. It’s a good dark ride through the movie of Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs. After that we headed to Pinocchio’s Daring Journey another good dark ride this time through the movie Pinocchio. After we finished this ride we went to Casey Jr. circus Train (originally a roller coaster but it didn’t work right) I didn’t really care to go it but there was no line. It’s a kind of slow journey on a train through Storybook land on a train. We also skipped Dumbo this trip since the line was always long and we didn’t care for it much.
After this we headed to Big Thunder Mountain. After that we went on the Haunted Mansion Holiday. Next we head to Pirates of the Caribbean. Then we went on the Mark Train river boat which seams to take forever to get started. It was starting to rain and there were only about 4 other people that ended up going on it. The ride is pretty slow and goes around The Rivers of America. It wasn’t much to see they had an Indian camp and a few animated characters; other then that there was only the Burning Cabin. I think they could improve this ride a lot they used to have a waterfall next to a crashed train with animated Ground Hogs but now no waterfall and no animated Ground Hogs. There is a lot of empty space that could be used on the island and the shore. After we got of we headed to Big Thunder Ranch which was themed as Woody’s Halloween round-Up. It was mostly a craft area were they had carved pumpkins (many of which I have pictures of) there were also some goats in a petting zoo. We just walked around looking at the craft tables. There was also a stage show we were there at the wrong time so we didn’t see it.
Next we ran across the park to Tomorrowland to see the Jedi Training Academy a very great interactive show. Before the show we decided to eat lunch at Tomorrowland Terrace which is right in front of the stage. This show is very cool in it they have Younglings aka kids learn how to use lightsabers. First they learn some simple moves and then they get so off what they learned by fighting Darth Vader or Darth Maul. I really like the main instructor he was pretty skilled with the lightsaber (missed taping it by a few seconds). Right after the show I was going to ask what time ASIMO was on, but some else before me ask so I didn’t have to, it was at 1pm so we had a little time before it started. After that we headed to Honey I Shrunk the Audience because the line was short and we had yet to see it this trip. It’s an interesting 3D show that I have seen many times and at both resorts. It kind of fun to see people react that hadn’t been to the show before. We still had a little time after the show before ASIMO started. Dave decided to go see what Woody’s Adventures show that also stared at 1. The rest of walked around Tomorrowland and saw that Buzz Lightyear’s line wasn’t too long so went on it. It took longer then we thought and I tried to run to the show but since I had to run up the ramp to get there I didn’t get there tell right at 1 and they had already closed to door. I had to wait for the next show at 4 (I think they had to recharge ASIMO).
Next we headed to Adventureland and went on the Jungle Cruise which I talked everyone into since they changed a few things. They added water explosions and piranhas. They also moved the elephant that was at Tarzan’s Treehouse to end of the ride next to the head salesman. The park was filling up with people now so the Indiana Jones Adventure had a longer line. I think we went on Indian Jones Adventure again anyways. We then headed back to Critter Country so me and Nehi could ride Splash Mountain but it was shutdown. So we went to where Dave and Georgia were waiting at The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
After that we headed back to Tomorrowland to go on Star Tours again. After the ride I decided to buy a shirt. Next most of us headed to Innoventions so I could see ASIMO and Dave decide to take our tickets and run over to DCA and get Fastpasses for Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Nehi and Georgia decided to hang out at Innoventions while I went to see ASIMO which is a great robot that can walk/run/climb/kick/talk and is made by Honda. It was very cool to see but they didn’t let anybody take video or pictures of it. After the show we went shopping around Main Street U.S.A. while trying to get a hold of Dave. It took awhile to get a hold of him he had our tickets so we had to wait for him to go outside of DCA to give us our tickets.
The line wasn’t too bad at Tower of Terror so Dave asked if he should get Fastpasses or not and we decided not to. After we met up outside the parks and then headed into DCA so then we went on Tower of Terror. Nehi and Georgia decided to go on the Grizzly River Run. Me and Dave decide to go to it Tough to be Bug. Which is a crazy show that I don’t really like but decided why not see it once this trip. Next we headed to a Party Zone on the parade route. The parade was called Block Party Bash which was supposed to stop at Party Zones were the characters get off the floats and dance with the guests but due to the weather they decided not to stop. After the ride we went on California Screamin again. Then we ate dinner at Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill. They had really big tacos there with big pieces of beef in them. This is when I saw that Nate’s video camera had somehow turn itself on and drained the batteries and the tape.
Next we went back to Disneyland we got there right before Walt Disney’s Parade of Dream 6:30 showing so we had to walk though lots of people. Next we headed down Main Street past the crowds trying to get to Indiana Jones Adventure to ride again. After that I think Georgia And Dave were to tired to do much more so they sat down on Main Street while me and Nehi went to the back of the park to ride Splash mountain because we saw it had reopened. On our way we ran into crowds getting ready for Fantasmic’s first showing and crowds leaving Pirates of the Caribbean due to it being shut down. We had to wait at least 40 min to get on was a long wait. I love riding Splash Mountain at night.
After that we headed back to Georgia and Dave through the crowds now moving towards Main Street for the Remember Dreams Come True Fireworks. We still had to wait a little bit before the fireworks started and it was already packed so it was hard to get in the position. My dad tried to take picture of the fireworks some came out most didn’t but I was disappointed because I wanted to film it. After the show which was very very good we headed towards Fantasmic’s last showing that started at 10:30 we got probably about 10 so we had to wait about a half hour. Nehi was complain up a storm while we were waiting the made us stand the whole time even though we let Nehi sit for while. This is about the same as Disney Hollywood Studios version but there’s has stadium seating. I’ll be sure to get a video of it the next time I go. It’s a very great show probably the best show they have every made. After that we left park very slowly and ran into a lot of Costumed people exiting from Disney California Adventure Mickey’s Halloween Treat. There were quite a lot of Star Wars and Captain Jack Sparrow costumes I saw people wearing. I also almost got us on the wrong tram we actuary got on the tram before we realized we were going the wrong way lol. After that we head to the car and then head towards a hotel not to far from Six Flags Magic Mountain it wasn’t a very cheap hotel either. The next night we headed home.