Trip Reports
10-16-2005, 06:24 PM
* Time of Year: Spring
* Travel Method: Plane, Rental Car
* Resort: Holiday Inn at the Park
* Accommodations
* Ages Represented in Group: Adult
* Disneyland Experience Represented in Group: Veteran
* Comments: This is the documentation of my own 1999 solo trip to Disneyland. It was a rerun to my trip last April, but I had a wonderful time with the West coast ADDers and tons of time just absorbing the atmosphere. I hope you enjoy the report!
General Plans
Like all of my trips to Disneyland in recent years, the main purpose of the trip was to attend a training class for work in Santa Barbara. As long as the time in Anaheim results in a savings to the company, I've never had a problem with making the side trip. Since airfares are always cheaper if you travel over some key nights (it used to be Saturday, but varies now) and I pay for my own ticket to the park, of course, I have no problem meeting the corporate guidelines. This was especially true this time, since my trip wasn't formally approved until just a few weeks before I left, so airfares were steep without the extra time in California.
Like my last trip, I went to Disneyland alone this time. Barb and I just couldn't see any way for her to come out with me, since the trip coincided with several activities that she was involved with at our school. First, she had her annual Bible quiz competition on Thursday night. Also, there is a state science fair on Friday that I actually have run for several years, but we decided that Barb could coordinate things for me this year.
I flew out to LAX on Wednesday. Class, as I've already pointed out, ran on Thursday and Friday. After class got out, I drove over to the Anaheim area (I have reservations at Holiday Inn Anaheim at the Park, my favorite Anaheim motel) to spend the weekend before my return to Michigan on Monday. Like I did during our last couple of trips, I flew back home out of John Wayne (Orange County) Airport.
Pre-Trip Thoughts
On my last trip to Disneyland alone, I really felt a sense of loneliness and missed Barb and Allan terribly. This time I missed them just as much, but I think my experience in the park alone last time helped me know what to expect. I enjoyed my time in the park, but thought of things less as a family time that didn't happen and more like an opportunity to scout the park out and look for details that I might miss with our little two-year-old along for the ride.
I struggled with what, if anything, to buy for Allan and Barb while I was in the park this trip. I did last time, too. Frankly, I had several good ideas this time, but held off and decided to not buy anything. For one thing, Allan is too young to have been trained to expect Daddy to bring him something when I come home from a business trip. For another, I figured he might find something at WDW in a few weeks that he would like to have, and then we'll have some money set aside for that purchase. As far as buying something for Barb is concerned, I didn't find anything I really wanted to pick up for her except a t-shirt and a sweatshirt that I thought she would like, but she told me that she had plenty of each right now. Again, I figured holding on to the money and having it available for the May trip is a better idea. At least that's how I rationalized things...
One last thing, I've learned over the years to buy my ticket at the Disney Store in Santa Barbara before I get down to the park. I did that again this trip, but was dismayed to find that the Flexpasses have changed. Now there is a three and a five day pass, the three day pass costs $13 more than the old five day used to be ($59, now $72). The five day pass costs $40 more than the ones did before ($99).
05MR99 - Friday
On Friday morning, during a break in-between class sessions, my weekend (Disneyland) plans came up in a conversation with the other students and the course instructor. It turned out that he was the step-father of the "kid" (now in his 30's), I don't know his name, that played Pete, in "Pete's Dragon." The whole family has lifetime passes to Disneyland, and they end up going down to the park every once in a while (it's not a day trip for them). The whole thing made me jealous :) Especially after paying for my ticket the night before.
I arrived at the hotel at 5:45 (just about 3 hours drive from Santa Barbara). I got checked in, and got to the room without any problems. As soon as I got in, I called Barb to see how things had gone with the science fair, but she wasn't home (I knew that she had planned a lot of time with her family and other things while I was gone...it was fair, since I was going to Disneyland, afterall.). I left message for her and Allan on the machine, then strolled downstairs to catch the 6pm shuttle bus to the park.
I entered the park without any problems. I knew I was going to be eating in the park, but I wasn't yet terribly hungry, since I'd eaten a decent lunch in Santa Barbara before I left. I decided to scout the menus at the various restaurants and just enjoy the park as I did it.
First, I made my way through Tomorrowland. The wait for the Rocket Sleds was 90 minutes or so, I skipped it since I didn't want to wait that long. I figured I could check out this newest attraction during the Magic Morning early entry tomorrow.
I walked back toward Innoventions, but with a brief look couldn't figure out where the entrance is. I didn't try too hard, because I figured I could always come back later...besides, the dinner idea was getting to be a priority.
I decided to head back to Adventureland, I was hoping for a quick bite at Bengal Barbecue, a place that I'd only discovered last trip. Alas, the Barbecue was closed. I continued along my way and decided to jump on Pirates of the Carribean while I was in the neighborhood. Frankly, this was poetic justice, since Pirates is my traditional first attraction anyway. The bucs were fun, and I had an interesting time trying to identify the old animatronic figures that were moved here from the World of Motion in Epcot a few years back.
Nothing else looked good. Cafe' Orleans was my first stop in New Orleans Square. It was closed. The French Market was too busy, the hotdogs in Frontierland were tempting, but I'd heard about health problems and hotdogs, so I decided to skip that idea. I made my way back to Fantasyland, Village Haus didn't look great because the crowds were large and the menu (simple burgers) didn't appeal to me. Tomorrowland's option at the Spirit of Refreshment was a bit better, the burgers were probably similar to the ones at Village Haus, but the smell of the grills made the food more tempting. Also, I was steadily getting hungrier, so maybe that was part of it.
I finally ended up at Redd Rocket/s. There was a bit of a line, but it was clear that the crowd within the serving area of the restaurant itself wasn't bad. Once in the door, things went smoothly. I picked up the the Tomato Basil pasta, fairly tasty and only $9.68 with pop (soda, for you East coasters). I took my meal outside and sat against the wall of the restaurant right behind the old Viewliner rocket. It kepts spewing steam as part of the Tomorrowland atmosphere, and was a bit obnoxious.
After dinner, I strolled the area some more. I made a point of finding the Disneyland Forever kiosks, and looked over the options on the tracks. The kiosks are a touch screen operated system. First, there's a map of the park so you can select the area of the park from which you wish to select sound tracks. When you've chosen an area, a list comes up with just a few options. It was a few minutes before I realized that there was a "previous" and a "more" button that scrolled the list so you could see more than just those few thare are displayed (just a heads-up for anyone that is considering making up a CD.) I didn't choose to make up a CD right now, but decided to do it later on.
I made my way back to the hub and strolled along Main Street. The smell of the Candy Palace drew me in, and I watched a couple of guys putting chocolate and nuts on toffee bars for a few minutes. I considered buying one, but they cost $2 each and were very small. For $9 you could be 15 of them, but I didn't think I could justify that much money when I had a bag of miniature Snicker's bars in my room that I'd picked up in Santa Barbara.
I continued on through the shops on Main Street, browsing through the West side of the street. Finally, after exiting the Emporium, I went to the train station and looked over Lily Belle and other stuff in the inside of the building. I really enjoyed Michael Broggie's book on the history of railroads at the Disney parks, so I've been on the lookout for artifacts whenever I have a chance to see them (someday I'm going to go to Griffith Park and see the big trains that Walt enjoyed looking over...someday...)
I asked permission of the conductor to watch the parade from the top of the station. I didn't want to stake out my place and be told a few minutes before the parade that I had to move. I got a spot at the very top of the Eastern most stairs, where there is a corner in the rail, and waited there for the Mulan parade to start. I really didn't have to camp out so soon (probably 45 minutes early or so), I found out. I'm used to the huge crowds that form on the station at WDW for Spectromagic. In contrast, even at parade time, there was plenty of room all around the area.
Even though I had a reasonably long wait, I had fun people watching and just enjoying the vistas of the hub and Main Street beyond - the lovely lights that draw an outline of the buildings, the shop signs, the family's and children getting ready for the parade, the cast members working the crowds to make sure that everyone is settled and in good spirits. About a half hour before parade time, Mickey actually came out and spent some time with the kids from the area over by Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and over toward the Railroad Station right beneath me. The kids were great, Mickey was wonderful. There were no crowd ups, everyone was well behaved, and the kids and parents were thrilled to see the Main Mouse. I really started wondering how Allan is going to handle seeing Mickey in a few weeks. Right now he is insisting that he is going to hug Mickey when he sees him...last time, when he was just under two years old, he was frightened and didn't want to have anything to do with the glamourous rodent. Maybe this next trip will be different...
Barb and I picked up our copy of Mulan just a few weeks before we left. I'm glad I saw it before I watched the parade, because I was able to enjoy the characters and music so much more than I would have.
At precisely 8:30, the parade started. The music was haunting - not the arrangements from the actual movie, but purpose-arranged for the parade, I'm sure. The acrobats and gymnists were fun and the soldiers, with their martial arts routine, were very good. I bet those guys are tired at the end of the parade! All in all, I think the parade was was pretty good. It wasn't as glitsy or flashy (no pun intended) as the Main Street Electrical Parade or Spectromagic, but it was fun nonetheless.
After the parade, I walked out on left side of station to avoid the crowds, only to realize that I had to walk all the way back to the right to exit the park. I felt dumb. I knew that! Doh, doh, doh!
O6MR99 - Saturday Morning
This morning I came in for the early entry Magic Morning. I caught the 7:15 bus and arrived at the park shortly after 7:30.
I made a beeline to Rocket Rods, thinking I could cover the popular ride right off, but it wasn't going to open until 10am. I hate when they do that. Since I couldn't ride that one, I just started doing Tomorrowland with a vengence. I spent time on Star Tours (how I hope the add a new tour after the new film comes out this summer), Honey I Shrunk the Audience (pretty much the same as Florida, but maybe a bit louder), Space Mountain (the soundtrack was out of order), and the Matterhorn (right side, same old smell).
When I got off the Matterhorn, I found a pay phone (near Ariell's Grotto, or whatever it's called in California) and called Barb. I found out that things were a bit hectic during the science fair that I'd blown off to be out West, but that everything was going well. Barb's sister, Sandra, was in town from college, so the family had plans for the afternoon and evening playing games (it's an in-law thing) and such. As I was on the phone, I realized that I was getting very cold. I should have brought my jacket, but I mistakenly figured that the overcast skys would clear out by mid-morning like they always do in Southern California. Alas, today they did not.
By that time, I figured I may as well get in line for Rocket Rods. It was about 9:10 or so, and I figured that a fifty minute wait was better than 70 or 90 minutes later in the day. Therefore, I spent a wonderful time "enjoying" the operator's spiel at the Astro Orbiter ("You will be travelling to the planet Frog, where you may be mistaken for a insect by the two story tall frogs that live there. I recommend that you not land, and in fact that you stay away from the two story tall frogs to avoid being eaten...", I kid you not.) I also think that the Astro Orbiter is too close to Main Street. I watched the Disneyland Band march by in the hub at one point. The high tech Astro Orbiter and the Sousa-playing band were clashing themes that I thought was terrible. Apparently I'm too much of a purist. I was also very irritated with many, many rude people jumping the lines. This is enforced much better in FL. I watched people jumping over the WALL that separates the Astro Orbiter queue and the surrounding walkway. There were a bunch of people doing that same thing in the Rocket Sled queue, but all that separated those dolts from the queue was the traditional rope and poles.
I suffered (ok, so I'm in Southern California while Barb is getting 8 inches of snow at home...everything is relative) with all of this until the attraction finally opened. It didn't open until a few minutes after the scheduled start of 10am and then the cast members walked us into the loading area very slowly (I assume that is just good crowd control). The queue is fairly nice, I loved the old throwbacks to old Tommorrowland stuff, expecially the classic old Circarama footage. It was apparent that not an extra penny was spent on this attraction than was necessary to open it to the public, though. Everything was done on the cheap. The old Circlevision waiting area was barely dolled up. The rest was minimal at best.
Then I got on to the Rocket Sled itself. If I was to be underwhealmed in the queue, I hadn't seen nothing yet. The ride was extremely disappointing. I felt like I was in a slightly faster, weirdly seated, WEDway. It did go a bit fast at times, but there was no real anything to it. There was no special effects, there was no soundtrack, there was nothing but a ride along the old peoplemover track. I don't suppose that the fact that I was very, very cold (my fault) helped any, but I was totally and completely disappointed with this attraction. To give you some understanding about how bland this whole thing is, I had made a comment in my notes that the walk up and down to get you up and over to the loading area is cool. THAT'S what stood out!
After I got back to the ground level, I made up my Disneyland Forever CDs ($20 each) and bought a third, with a bunch of ragtime arrangements of Disney park music ($15.98) -- I had them sent to the newstand for later retrieval. The two ones I made up covered the Main Street area tracks and the Disney Gallery tracks (the background music when you're there). Nice music that really brings back memories of the parks. I also added the original park versions of "(It's a) Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" from Carousel of Progress and "Swiskapola" from the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.
After I made up the CDs, I started scoping out places for lunch. I did some of the circuit again, but finally decided that I wanted to eat inside since I was so cold! Believe it or not, I ended up back at Redd Rockets for lunch (combination of inside and sounded good). This time I had the Chicken Fusilli, not bad, $10.75 with beverage.
After lunch I strolled back to the exit. There were still huge crowds coming in to the park at 11:30am, so getting out of the park for the afternoon was really a good idea. I spent some time visiting the California Adventure visitor's center on the way to the bus stop. The new park should be fun, but they could do so much that would be more unique. Frankly, the new park will probably never cause me to add a day to a trip, I'll just squeeze it into the existing time I have available.
After a bit, I walked over to catch the bus for my daily afternoon break and took some much enjoyed R&R.
O6MR99 - Saturday Night
When I got back to the lobby to catch the bus back to the park, I was waiting there with a group of six or maybe eight junior and senior high school girls (along with a couple of sponsors) that appeared to be cheerleaders from the massive group that had flooded the park. I asked the girls if they were, indeed, part of the competiont, and one of the girls said, "Yeah, like I'm a cheerleader", very sarcastically. Apparently not a fan of cheerleaders. It was a funny moment, especially when one of the other girls started defending the breed. It turned out that they were a small girl scout troop that was just on a trip for fun. They were nice kids, well behaved the entire weekend at the hotel.
When I arrived at the park, I made a beeline for the Bengal Barbecue. Happily, it was open tonight, so I spent $12.78 on a chicken skewer, bengal beef skewer, and asparagus-wrapped-with-bacon skewer. Very, very good meal, even if the price was a bit steep. After my meal last year, and this one, I'm hooked on this place. I'm going to have to see if our "Cooking with Mickey" cookbook has any of the sauce recipes...I'd love to try these next summer on my own grill.
After dinner, I walked across the way and entered the line for Indy. It turned out to be a long wait, probably a good 30 to 45 minutes, but I enjoyed the queue very much. The difference between this queue and attraction themeing and that of Rocket Sleds was stark. I really felt bad about how Rocket Sleds turned out, even more so after spending this time in this premium attraction.
After I got out of the Temple of the Forbidden Eye with my advanced age, empty wallet, and lack of common sense intact, I strolled around New Orleans Square for a bit. I entered the queue for the Haunted Mansion, and enjoyed that old favorite, too. Some of the new things were fun to see: the moving table in the seance room (and the lack of a bright spot on Madame Leota's glass bubble) and the shadow piano player in the attic. The soundtrack was very, very clear compared to previous visits, too. Perhaps that was fixed in the last redo.
Next I strolled along the Rivers of America all the way to Big Thunder, only to find the E-ticket attraction down temporarily for technical problems of some sort. I walked slowly back through Fantasyland and ended up back at the Carnation Plaza where I enjoyed listening to a Big Band (I can't remember the name of it at the moment). I particularly loved watching the younger (teens and 20's) folks doing the "old" style dancing (even though my own personal dancing skills are similar to those of Herman Munster, I appreciate those that are light of feet and blessed with rhythm .)
Afterwards, I strolled through the Frontierland and Adventureland shops on the way back to Main Street. The thoroughfare was quite crowded with tonight's episode of the Mulan close to fruition, so I walked back to Toontown to wait for the parade crowds to subside. I didn't have any goals in mind, I just strolled around and enjoyed the park. I love being able to do that when so many folks are busily rushing from one attraction to another...and I'm strolling and enjoying the ambience of the "Happiest Place on Earth."
Eventualy, I made my way up Main Street and went up to the newstand. I picked up my CDs. It only took a few minutes, then caught the 10pm bus back to the hotel for another night's rest.
O7MR99 - Sunday Morning
I got to the park on the 8:30 bus this morning. I had to wait for awhile before the rope dropped at the end of Main Street, then made my way into Fantasyland for a brief tour. I thought I would find many of the rides closed until later in the morning (a bad habit that Disneyland had over the last couple of years) but I found them all running. In just 25 minutes time, I visited every single "dark" ride in the land along with a couple of others. In short order I rode Peter Pan, Pinnochio, Snow White (how I hate that abrupt ending...the dwarfs are climbing the mountain to kill the wicked queen, and you turn the corner to a sign that says, "...and they lived happily ever after."), and Alice in Wonderland (probably the best technical implementation in Fantasyland). I walked over to It's a Small World next, then finished my tour by walking back to Toontown and riding Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin. It was a whirlwind tour, and I was amazed to cover so much in so little time.
After I left the Spin, I walked into the Gag Factory and was strolling around minding my own business when some doofus ran right into me in the store. I looked up to see who the klutz was, and found that it was none other than Andy Dannelly, escorted by the honorable Al Lutz. They'd seen me coming out of the Spin, and followed me into the store without my knowing about it. It was pretty neat to be found, and have someone to hang around with for the rest of the morning.
We walked toward Fantasyland as a group and were joined by fellow ADDer Dave. We rode Big Thunder, at my request, since I'd not ridden this trip yet. Then we walked back into New Orleans Square and bought some Coke (me, I was really thirsty) and pop corn (everyone else).
We made our way back to the hub, and Dave took me on a personalized tour of Innoventions while Al and Andy stayed at the hub to greet the first of the ADD crowd. Innoventions was completely underwhelming. The entrance bit, with Tom Morrow (an audioanimatronic figure with a striking resemblance to the Time Keeper at the Magic Kingdom in Florida (who has a stricking resemblance to Robin Williams, for some odd reason) was good. I especially enjoyed the new lyrics to "(It's a) Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow." When we got into the "entertainment zone," though, the CM tried to present a woefully weak script and demonstration that just didn't keep our interest. It was a group participation thing without the group participation. The CM did a good job given the lack of cooperation on our part, but it really was something that wasn't working. I don't know if the opening bits of the other "zones" were better or not, because I didn't relish going back through the entrance of the attraction again. When we got through the required opening, Dave and I strolled around for awhile. The thing that struck me was how the themeing was so similar to that of Disneyquest, at Downtown Disney. It had several "zones" that were supposed to indicate that type of technology being highlighted. Otherwise, the material on display, and the demonstrations, was very similar to Innoventions at Epcot, but on a much smaller scale. Already the technology on display was old and commonplace. The lesson that Disney was supposed to have learned - that it was almost impossible to keep Tomorrowland ahead of technology - was convieniently tossed aside and Innoventions resulted. Frankly, it's a nice implementation of an impossible goal. Too bad...
Dave and I returned to the Hub where we spent the next hour and a half or so kibitzing with fellow Disney addicts at the ADD meet. I really enjoyed the group, all the more so since I had met some of them last year so my own timidity at hanging with new people was lessened.
We had to decide what to do for lunch. This turned out to be quite a task. I wanted to go to Casa Mexicana, since I'd not yet been there this trip. Others (notably Al) were pushing for Redd Rocket's, which I vetoed because I'd already been there twice on this trip. We ended up compromising. Some of the group went to Casa Mexicana, some went to the French Market, and the majority, including me (blame it on peer pressure, although I did stave off the Redd Rocket's idea), went to the Blue Bayou. I was concerned that Barb would kill me for going to the Bayou without her (when I arrived home the news did disappoint her), but I made up for it by ordering something that was low in cost, and not likely to raise much jealousy in Barb's heart. I had a bowl of clam chowder (I only ordered it after Al ordered his and it sounded good) and a Monte Cristo sandwich (a Disneyland / Blue Bayou classic that I had yet to sample.)
The meal was excellent. I really enjoyed the company and the bread (too much bread). The Monte Cristo was an extremely unusual affair. It's a ham sandwich, in a puff pastry, deep fried, with powered sugar on top. It's served with a raspberry jelly for dipping. Very odd flavor, and interesting. I'm not sure if I would order it again, the blackened steak is sooooo good at the Bayou, but it was great to try a specialty of the park that I'd never sampled before. I ended up eating only half of what is served...I'd eaten too much bread.
After lunch, I abandonded the group to head back to call Barb and to take my daily break. I spent a little more time in the California Adventure visitor center...my opinion from yesterday didn't change.
O7MR99 - Sunday Night
I'd tried to get ahold of Barb from the park earlier, but she wasn't home. After my nap, I called again just before catching the bus and found her there. We talked for a few minutes, we were both anxious for my homecoming, then we hung up so I could catch my next bus.
I made it back to the park on the 6pm bus and spent a good deal of time in the Main Street shops. When I got up to Coke Corner, Rod Miller wasn't yet there, so I walked on to Adventureland and strolled the shops a bit more. I found some things that I considered buying for Barb and Allan, but really hesitated and chose to pass.
Next I walked back to catch the Jungle Cruise. Our skipper was particularly good. He had a good spiel including my favorite "backside of water" comment, but also pointed out the "edge of water." Very informative this navel type was. The best part of the ride was at the very end, though, when we got up past Sam the headhunter, and found a boat being backed up by another cast member. Our captain didn't skip a beat, he just rewound the entire Sam routine (he sounded like a backmasked Beatles album) and then completely reran the Sam routine forwards again...an exact duplicate of the initial run-through. Good job!
After disembarking, I made my way back to Rod's corner and really, really enjoyed listening to him play. Rod's been playing at Disneyland since 1969, so this is his 30th anniversary year. He doesn't read music but plays like he wrote this stuff. I'd always wondered if he played his music exactly as written, until someone requested that he play "Solace, a Mexican Serenade" by Scott Joplin. I am very familiar with Joplin's music and I know very well that Rod added a lot of embellishments to the score. Nicely done, and a bit more flashy and entertaining than Mr. Joplin's actual arrangement. Rod also played "Happy Birthday" for Kathreen, a 12 year old lady that was in the area. We all sang along to Mr. Miller's rag arrangement of that congratulatory song.
At about 7:45 or so, Rod's partner Allen (not sure on the spelling) joined Rod for the last hour of the evening. Allen has been playing for only two and a half years, but previously played trumpet (so he could read music). He's the only person ever trained by Rod, and he practices four hours a day. It shows! Allen only shows up on his day off. I've been fortunate to catch him at the piano with Rod twice now, last April and this night. Excellent show and excellent showmanship by the duo! Four hands on one keyboard by these guys was incredible. Just a sampling of what they played: A patriotic medley featuring "Yankee Doddle Dandy," an arrangement of "It's a Small World," "Maple Leaf Rag," and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." They went strong for an hour and I only remember one repeat number (which was requested the second time.)
Unfortunately, the duo had to stop for the Mulan parade. After spending a delightful hour and a half with these guys, enjoying their playing and talking during and between songs, I was pleasantly surprised to have them both offer their hands for a goodbye handshake. Very polite, and I enjoyed the time very, very much.
With that, my trip was done. I strolled down Main Street, dodged the exiting crowds after the parade, and made my way back to the hotel to pack up for my morning's departure.
I can't wait until May ;) (PS: As soon as I got home I put the new CDs in the player and enjoyed them as we had dinner. Allan, my precious son, really seemed to enjoy the Main Street stuff especially...very fun to watch.)
Brian Bennett
* Travel Method: Plane, Rental Car
* Resort: Holiday Inn at the Park
* Accommodations
* Ages Represented in Group: Adult
* Disneyland Experience Represented in Group: Veteran
* Comments: This is the documentation of my own 1999 solo trip to Disneyland. It was a rerun to my trip last April, but I had a wonderful time with the West coast ADDers and tons of time just absorbing the atmosphere. I hope you enjoy the report!
General Plans
Like all of my trips to Disneyland in recent years, the main purpose of the trip was to attend a training class for work in Santa Barbara. As long as the time in Anaheim results in a savings to the company, I've never had a problem with making the side trip. Since airfares are always cheaper if you travel over some key nights (it used to be Saturday, but varies now) and I pay for my own ticket to the park, of course, I have no problem meeting the corporate guidelines. This was especially true this time, since my trip wasn't formally approved until just a few weeks before I left, so airfares were steep without the extra time in California.
Like my last trip, I went to Disneyland alone this time. Barb and I just couldn't see any way for her to come out with me, since the trip coincided with several activities that she was involved with at our school. First, she had her annual Bible quiz competition on Thursday night. Also, there is a state science fair on Friday that I actually have run for several years, but we decided that Barb could coordinate things for me this year.
I flew out to LAX on Wednesday. Class, as I've already pointed out, ran on Thursday and Friday. After class got out, I drove over to the Anaheim area (I have reservations at Holiday Inn Anaheim at the Park, my favorite Anaheim motel) to spend the weekend before my return to Michigan on Monday. Like I did during our last couple of trips, I flew back home out of John Wayne (Orange County) Airport.
Pre-Trip Thoughts
On my last trip to Disneyland alone, I really felt a sense of loneliness and missed Barb and Allan terribly. This time I missed them just as much, but I think my experience in the park alone last time helped me know what to expect. I enjoyed my time in the park, but thought of things less as a family time that didn't happen and more like an opportunity to scout the park out and look for details that I might miss with our little two-year-old along for the ride.
I struggled with what, if anything, to buy for Allan and Barb while I was in the park this trip. I did last time, too. Frankly, I had several good ideas this time, but held off and decided to not buy anything. For one thing, Allan is too young to have been trained to expect Daddy to bring him something when I come home from a business trip. For another, I figured he might find something at WDW in a few weeks that he would like to have, and then we'll have some money set aside for that purchase. As far as buying something for Barb is concerned, I didn't find anything I really wanted to pick up for her except a t-shirt and a sweatshirt that I thought she would like, but she told me that she had plenty of each right now. Again, I figured holding on to the money and having it available for the May trip is a better idea. At least that's how I rationalized things...
One last thing, I've learned over the years to buy my ticket at the Disney Store in Santa Barbara before I get down to the park. I did that again this trip, but was dismayed to find that the Flexpasses have changed. Now there is a three and a five day pass, the three day pass costs $13 more than the old five day used to be ($59, now $72). The five day pass costs $40 more than the ones did before ($99).
05MR99 - Friday
On Friday morning, during a break in-between class sessions, my weekend (Disneyland) plans came up in a conversation with the other students and the course instructor. It turned out that he was the step-father of the "kid" (now in his 30's), I don't know his name, that played Pete, in "Pete's Dragon." The whole family has lifetime passes to Disneyland, and they end up going down to the park every once in a while (it's not a day trip for them). The whole thing made me jealous :) Especially after paying for my ticket the night before.
I arrived at the hotel at 5:45 (just about 3 hours drive from Santa Barbara). I got checked in, and got to the room without any problems. As soon as I got in, I called Barb to see how things had gone with the science fair, but she wasn't home (I knew that she had planned a lot of time with her family and other things while I was gone...it was fair, since I was going to Disneyland, afterall.). I left message for her and Allan on the machine, then strolled downstairs to catch the 6pm shuttle bus to the park.
I entered the park without any problems. I knew I was going to be eating in the park, but I wasn't yet terribly hungry, since I'd eaten a decent lunch in Santa Barbara before I left. I decided to scout the menus at the various restaurants and just enjoy the park as I did it.
First, I made my way through Tomorrowland. The wait for the Rocket Sleds was 90 minutes or so, I skipped it since I didn't want to wait that long. I figured I could check out this newest attraction during the Magic Morning early entry tomorrow.
I walked back toward Innoventions, but with a brief look couldn't figure out where the entrance is. I didn't try too hard, because I figured I could always come back later...besides, the dinner idea was getting to be a priority.
I decided to head back to Adventureland, I was hoping for a quick bite at Bengal Barbecue, a place that I'd only discovered last trip. Alas, the Barbecue was closed. I continued along my way and decided to jump on Pirates of the Carribean while I was in the neighborhood. Frankly, this was poetic justice, since Pirates is my traditional first attraction anyway. The bucs were fun, and I had an interesting time trying to identify the old animatronic figures that were moved here from the World of Motion in Epcot a few years back.
Nothing else looked good. Cafe' Orleans was my first stop in New Orleans Square. It was closed. The French Market was too busy, the hotdogs in Frontierland were tempting, but I'd heard about health problems and hotdogs, so I decided to skip that idea. I made my way back to Fantasyland, Village Haus didn't look great because the crowds were large and the menu (simple burgers) didn't appeal to me. Tomorrowland's option at the Spirit of Refreshment was a bit better, the burgers were probably similar to the ones at Village Haus, but the smell of the grills made the food more tempting. Also, I was steadily getting hungrier, so maybe that was part of it.
I finally ended up at Redd Rocket/s. There was a bit of a line, but it was clear that the crowd within the serving area of the restaurant itself wasn't bad. Once in the door, things went smoothly. I picked up the the Tomato Basil pasta, fairly tasty and only $9.68 with pop (soda, for you East coasters). I took my meal outside and sat against the wall of the restaurant right behind the old Viewliner rocket. It kepts spewing steam as part of the Tomorrowland atmosphere, and was a bit obnoxious.
After dinner, I strolled the area some more. I made a point of finding the Disneyland Forever kiosks, and looked over the options on the tracks. The kiosks are a touch screen operated system. First, there's a map of the park so you can select the area of the park from which you wish to select sound tracks. When you've chosen an area, a list comes up with just a few options. It was a few minutes before I realized that there was a "previous" and a "more" button that scrolled the list so you could see more than just those few thare are displayed (just a heads-up for anyone that is considering making up a CD.) I didn't choose to make up a CD right now, but decided to do it later on.
I made my way back to the hub and strolled along Main Street. The smell of the Candy Palace drew me in, and I watched a couple of guys putting chocolate and nuts on toffee bars for a few minutes. I considered buying one, but they cost $2 each and were very small. For $9 you could be 15 of them, but I didn't think I could justify that much money when I had a bag of miniature Snicker's bars in my room that I'd picked up in Santa Barbara.
I continued on through the shops on Main Street, browsing through the West side of the street. Finally, after exiting the Emporium, I went to the train station and looked over Lily Belle and other stuff in the inside of the building. I really enjoyed Michael Broggie's book on the history of railroads at the Disney parks, so I've been on the lookout for artifacts whenever I have a chance to see them (someday I'm going to go to Griffith Park and see the big trains that Walt enjoyed looking over...someday...)
I asked permission of the conductor to watch the parade from the top of the station. I didn't want to stake out my place and be told a few minutes before the parade that I had to move. I got a spot at the very top of the Eastern most stairs, where there is a corner in the rail, and waited there for the Mulan parade to start. I really didn't have to camp out so soon (probably 45 minutes early or so), I found out. I'm used to the huge crowds that form on the station at WDW for Spectromagic. In contrast, even at parade time, there was plenty of room all around the area.
Even though I had a reasonably long wait, I had fun people watching and just enjoying the vistas of the hub and Main Street beyond - the lovely lights that draw an outline of the buildings, the shop signs, the family's and children getting ready for the parade, the cast members working the crowds to make sure that everyone is settled and in good spirits. About a half hour before parade time, Mickey actually came out and spent some time with the kids from the area over by Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and over toward the Railroad Station right beneath me. The kids were great, Mickey was wonderful. There were no crowd ups, everyone was well behaved, and the kids and parents were thrilled to see the Main Mouse. I really started wondering how Allan is going to handle seeing Mickey in a few weeks. Right now he is insisting that he is going to hug Mickey when he sees him...last time, when he was just under two years old, he was frightened and didn't want to have anything to do with the glamourous rodent. Maybe this next trip will be different...
Barb and I picked up our copy of Mulan just a few weeks before we left. I'm glad I saw it before I watched the parade, because I was able to enjoy the characters and music so much more than I would have.
At precisely 8:30, the parade started. The music was haunting - not the arrangements from the actual movie, but purpose-arranged for the parade, I'm sure. The acrobats and gymnists were fun and the soldiers, with their martial arts routine, were very good. I bet those guys are tired at the end of the parade! All in all, I think the parade was was pretty good. It wasn't as glitsy or flashy (no pun intended) as the Main Street Electrical Parade or Spectromagic, but it was fun nonetheless.
After the parade, I walked out on left side of station to avoid the crowds, only to realize that I had to walk all the way back to the right to exit the park. I felt dumb. I knew that! Doh, doh, doh!
O6MR99 - Saturday Morning
This morning I came in for the early entry Magic Morning. I caught the 7:15 bus and arrived at the park shortly after 7:30.
I made a beeline to Rocket Rods, thinking I could cover the popular ride right off, but it wasn't going to open until 10am. I hate when they do that. Since I couldn't ride that one, I just started doing Tomorrowland with a vengence. I spent time on Star Tours (how I hope the add a new tour after the new film comes out this summer), Honey I Shrunk the Audience (pretty much the same as Florida, but maybe a bit louder), Space Mountain (the soundtrack was out of order), and the Matterhorn (right side, same old smell).
When I got off the Matterhorn, I found a pay phone (near Ariell's Grotto, or whatever it's called in California) and called Barb. I found out that things were a bit hectic during the science fair that I'd blown off to be out West, but that everything was going well. Barb's sister, Sandra, was in town from college, so the family had plans for the afternoon and evening playing games (it's an in-law thing) and such. As I was on the phone, I realized that I was getting very cold. I should have brought my jacket, but I mistakenly figured that the overcast skys would clear out by mid-morning like they always do in Southern California. Alas, today they did not.
By that time, I figured I may as well get in line for Rocket Rods. It was about 9:10 or so, and I figured that a fifty minute wait was better than 70 or 90 minutes later in the day. Therefore, I spent a wonderful time "enjoying" the operator's spiel at the Astro Orbiter ("You will be travelling to the planet Frog, where you may be mistaken for a insect by the two story tall frogs that live there. I recommend that you not land, and in fact that you stay away from the two story tall frogs to avoid being eaten...", I kid you not.) I also think that the Astro Orbiter is too close to Main Street. I watched the Disneyland Band march by in the hub at one point. The high tech Astro Orbiter and the Sousa-playing band were clashing themes that I thought was terrible. Apparently I'm too much of a purist. I was also very irritated with many, many rude people jumping the lines. This is enforced much better in FL. I watched people jumping over the WALL that separates the Astro Orbiter queue and the surrounding walkway. There were a bunch of people doing that same thing in the Rocket Sled queue, but all that separated those dolts from the queue was the traditional rope and poles.
I suffered (ok, so I'm in Southern California while Barb is getting 8 inches of snow at home...everything is relative) with all of this until the attraction finally opened. It didn't open until a few minutes after the scheduled start of 10am and then the cast members walked us into the loading area very slowly (I assume that is just good crowd control). The queue is fairly nice, I loved the old throwbacks to old Tommorrowland stuff, expecially the classic old Circarama footage. It was apparent that not an extra penny was spent on this attraction than was necessary to open it to the public, though. Everything was done on the cheap. The old Circlevision waiting area was barely dolled up. The rest was minimal at best.
Then I got on to the Rocket Sled itself. If I was to be underwhealmed in the queue, I hadn't seen nothing yet. The ride was extremely disappointing. I felt like I was in a slightly faster, weirdly seated, WEDway. It did go a bit fast at times, but there was no real anything to it. There was no special effects, there was no soundtrack, there was nothing but a ride along the old peoplemover track. I don't suppose that the fact that I was very, very cold (my fault) helped any, but I was totally and completely disappointed with this attraction. To give you some understanding about how bland this whole thing is, I had made a comment in my notes that the walk up and down to get you up and over to the loading area is cool. THAT'S what stood out!
After I got back to the ground level, I made up my Disneyland Forever CDs ($20 each) and bought a third, with a bunch of ragtime arrangements of Disney park music ($15.98) -- I had them sent to the newstand for later retrieval. The two ones I made up covered the Main Street area tracks and the Disney Gallery tracks (the background music when you're there). Nice music that really brings back memories of the parks. I also added the original park versions of "(It's a) Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" from Carousel of Progress and "Swiskapola" from the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.
After I made up the CDs, I started scoping out places for lunch. I did some of the circuit again, but finally decided that I wanted to eat inside since I was so cold! Believe it or not, I ended up back at Redd Rockets for lunch (combination of inside and sounded good). This time I had the Chicken Fusilli, not bad, $10.75 with beverage.
After lunch I strolled back to the exit. There were still huge crowds coming in to the park at 11:30am, so getting out of the park for the afternoon was really a good idea. I spent some time visiting the California Adventure visitor's center on the way to the bus stop. The new park should be fun, but they could do so much that would be more unique. Frankly, the new park will probably never cause me to add a day to a trip, I'll just squeeze it into the existing time I have available.
After a bit, I walked over to catch the bus for my daily afternoon break and took some much enjoyed R&R.
O6MR99 - Saturday Night
When I got back to the lobby to catch the bus back to the park, I was waiting there with a group of six or maybe eight junior and senior high school girls (along with a couple of sponsors) that appeared to be cheerleaders from the massive group that had flooded the park. I asked the girls if they were, indeed, part of the competiont, and one of the girls said, "Yeah, like I'm a cheerleader", very sarcastically. Apparently not a fan of cheerleaders. It was a funny moment, especially when one of the other girls started defending the breed. It turned out that they were a small girl scout troop that was just on a trip for fun. They were nice kids, well behaved the entire weekend at the hotel.
When I arrived at the park, I made a beeline for the Bengal Barbecue. Happily, it was open tonight, so I spent $12.78 on a chicken skewer, bengal beef skewer, and asparagus-wrapped-with-bacon skewer. Very, very good meal, even if the price was a bit steep. After my meal last year, and this one, I'm hooked on this place. I'm going to have to see if our "Cooking with Mickey" cookbook has any of the sauce recipes...I'd love to try these next summer on my own grill.
After dinner, I walked across the way and entered the line for Indy. It turned out to be a long wait, probably a good 30 to 45 minutes, but I enjoyed the queue very much. The difference between this queue and attraction themeing and that of Rocket Sleds was stark. I really felt bad about how Rocket Sleds turned out, even more so after spending this time in this premium attraction.
After I got out of the Temple of the Forbidden Eye with my advanced age, empty wallet, and lack of common sense intact, I strolled around New Orleans Square for a bit. I entered the queue for the Haunted Mansion, and enjoyed that old favorite, too. Some of the new things were fun to see: the moving table in the seance room (and the lack of a bright spot on Madame Leota's glass bubble) and the shadow piano player in the attic. The soundtrack was very, very clear compared to previous visits, too. Perhaps that was fixed in the last redo.
Next I strolled along the Rivers of America all the way to Big Thunder, only to find the E-ticket attraction down temporarily for technical problems of some sort. I walked slowly back through Fantasyland and ended up back at the Carnation Plaza where I enjoyed listening to a Big Band (I can't remember the name of it at the moment). I particularly loved watching the younger (teens and 20's) folks doing the "old" style dancing (even though my own personal dancing skills are similar to those of Herman Munster, I appreciate those that are light of feet and blessed with rhythm .)
Afterwards, I strolled through the Frontierland and Adventureland shops on the way back to Main Street. The thoroughfare was quite crowded with tonight's episode of the Mulan close to fruition, so I walked back to Toontown to wait for the parade crowds to subside. I didn't have any goals in mind, I just strolled around and enjoyed the park. I love being able to do that when so many folks are busily rushing from one attraction to another...and I'm strolling and enjoying the ambience of the "Happiest Place on Earth."
Eventualy, I made my way up Main Street and went up to the newstand. I picked up my CDs. It only took a few minutes, then caught the 10pm bus back to the hotel for another night's rest.
O7MR99 - Sunday Morning
I got to the park on the 8:30 bus this morning. I had to wait for awhile before the rope dropped at the end of Main Street, then made my way into Fantasyland for a brief tour. I thought I would find many of the rides closed until later in the morning (a bad habit that Disneyland had over the last couple of years) but I found them all running. In just 25 minutes time, I visited every single "dark" ride in the land along with a couple of others. In short order I rode Peter Pan, Pinnochio, Snow White (how I hate that abrupt ending...the dwarfs are climbing the mountain to kill the wicked queen, and you turn the corner to a sign that says, "...and they lived happily ever after."), and Alice in Wonderland (probably the best technical implementation in Fantasyland). I walked over to It's a Small World next, then finished my tour by walking back to Toontown and riding Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin. It was a whirlwind tour, and I was amazed to cover so much in so little time.
After I left the Spin, I walked into the Gag Factory and was strolling around minding my own business when some doofus ran right into me in the store. I looked up to see who the klutz was, and found that it was none other than Andy Dannelly, escorted by the honorable Al Lutz. They'd seen me coming out of the Spin, and followed me into the store without my knowing about it. It was pretty neat to be found, and have someone to hang around with for the rest of the morning.
We walked toward Fantasyland as a group and were joined by fellow ADDer Dave. We rode Big Thunder, at my request, since I'd not ridden this trip yet. Then we walked back into New Orleans Square and bought some Coke (me, I was really thirsty) and pop corn (everyone else).
We made our way back to the hub, and Dave took me on a personalized tour of Innoventions while Al and Andy stayed at the hub to greet the first of the ADD crowd. Innoventions was completely underwhelming. The entrance bit, with Tom Morrow (an audioanimatronic figure with a striking resemblance to the Time Keeper at the Magic Kingdom in Florida (who has a stricking resemblance to Robin Williams, for some odd reason) was good. I especially enjoyed the new lyrics to "(It's a) Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow." When we got into the "entertainment zone," though, the CM tried to present a woefully weak script and demonstration that just didn't keep our interest. It was a group participation thing without the group participation. The CM did a good job given the lack of cooperation on our part, but it really was something that wasn't working. I don't know if the opening bits of the other "zones" were better or not, because I didn't relish going back through the entrance of the attraction again. When we got through the required opening, Dave and I strolled around for awhile. The thing that struck me was how the themeing was so similar to that of Disneyquest, at Downtown Disney. It had several "zones" that were supposed to indicate that type of technology being highlighted. Otherwise, the material on display, and the demonstrations, was very similar to Innoventions at Epcot, but on a much smaller scale. Already the technology on display was old and commonplace. The lesson that Disney was supposed to have learned - that it was almost impossible to keep Tomorrowland ahead of technology - was convieniently tossed aside and Innoventions resulted. Frankly, it's a nice implementation of an impossible goal. Too bad...
Dave and I returned to the Hub where we spent the next hour and a half or so kibitzing with fellow Disney addicts at the ADD meet. I really enjoyed the group, all the more so since I had met some of them last year so my own timidity at hanging with new people was lessened.
We had to decide what to do for lunch. This turned out to be quite a task. I wanted to go to Casa Mexicana, since I'd not yet been there this trip. Others (notably Al) were pushing for Redd Rocket's, which I vetoed because I'd already been there twice on this trip. We ended up compromising. Some of the group went to Casa Mexicana, some went to the French Market, and the majority, including me (blame it on peer pressure, although I did stave off the Redd Rocket's idea), went to the Blue Bayou. I was concerned that Barb would kill me for going to the Bayou without her (when I arrived home the news did disappoint her), but I made up for it by ordering something that was low in cost, and not likely to raise much jealousy in Barb's heart. I had a bowl of clam chowder (I only ordered it after Al ordered his and it sounded good) and a Monte Cristo sandwich (a Disneyland / Blue Bayou classic that I had yet to sample.)
The meal was excellent. I really enjoyed the company and the bread (too much bread). The Monte Cristo was an extremely unusual affair. It's a ham sandwich, in a puff pastry, deep fried, with powered sugar on top. It's served with a raspberry jelly for dipping. Very odd flavor, and interesting. I'm not sure if I would order it again, the blackened steak is sooooo good at the Bayou, but it was great to try a specialty of the park that I'd never sampled before. I ended up eating only half of what is served...I'd eaten too much bread.
After lunch, I abandonded the group to head back to call Barb and to take my daily break. I spent a little more time in the California Adventure visitor center...my opinion from yesterday didn't change.
O7MR99 - Sunday Night
I'd tried to get ahold of Barb from the park earlier, but she wasn't home. After my nap, I called again just before catching the bus and found her there. We talked for a few minutes, we were both anxious for my homecoming, then we hung up so I could catch my next bus.
I made it back to the park on the 6pm bus and spent a good deal of time in the Main Street shops. When I got up to Coke Corner, Rod Miller wasn't yet there, so I walked on to Adventureland and strolled the shops a bit more. I found some things that I considered buying for Barb and Allan, but really hesitated and chose to pass.
Next I walked back to catch the Jungle Cruise. Our skipper was particularly good. He had a good spiel including my favorite "backside of water" comment, but also pointed out the "edge of water." Very informative this navel type was. The best part of the ride was at the very end, though, when we got up past Sam the headhunter, and found a boat being backed up by another cast member. Our captain didn't skip a beat, he just rewound the entire Sam routine (he sounded like a backmasked Beatles album) and then completely reran the Sam routine forwards again...an exact duplicate of the initial run-through. Good job!
After disembarking, I made my way back to Rod's corner and really, really enjoyed listening to him play. Rod's been playing at Disneyland since 1969, so this is his 30th anniversary year. He doesn't read music but plays like he wrote this stuff. I'd always wondered if he played his music exactly as written, until someone requested that he play "Solace, a Mexican Serenade" by Scott Joplin. I am very familiar with Joplin's music and I know very well that Rod added a lot of embellishments to the score. Nicely done, and a bit more flashy and entertaining than Mr. Joplin's actual arrangement. Rod also played "Happy Birthday" for Kathreen, a 12 year old lady that was in the area. We all sang along to Mr. Miller's rag arrangement of that congratulatory song.
At about 7:45 or so, Rod's partner Allen (not sure on the spelling) joined Rod for the last hour of the evening. Allen has been playing for only two and a half years, but previously played trumpet (so he could read music). He's the only person ever trained by Rod, and he practices four hours a day. It shows! Allen only shows up on his day off. I've been fortunate to catch him at the piano with Rod twice now, last April and this night. Excellent show and excellent showmanship by the duo! Four hands on one keyboard by these guys was incredible. Just a sampling of what they played: A patriotic medley featuring "Yankee Doddle Dandy," an arrangement of "It's a Small World," "Maple Leaf Rag," and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." They went strong for an hour and I only remember one repeat number (which was requested the second time.)
Unfortunately, the duo had to stop for the Mulan parade. After spending a delightful hour and a half with these guys, enjoying their playing and talking during and between songs, I was pleasantly surprised to have them both offer their hands for a goodbye handshake. Very polite, and I enjoyed the time very, very much.
With that, my trip was done. I strolled down Main Street, dodged the exiting crowds after the parade, and made my way back to the hotel to pack up for my morning's departure.
I can't wait until May ;) (PS: As soon as I got home I put the new CDs in the player and enjoyed them as we had dinner. Allan, my precious son, really seemed to enjoy the Main Street stuff especially...very fun to watch.)
Brian Bennett