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View Full Version : Things I Noticed this Saturday at DL



amynicole22
09-10-2001, 09:26 AM
Ok, so I finally got myself to Disneyland last Saturday (9/8/01) after a nine-month absence. A few observations:

1) I love the parking garage/tram setup. A quick ride through a tree-lined glen, one stop, boom, you're there. Much better than two years of parking in Simba, waiting until the 4th stop, and then figuring out how they were letting you out of the parking lot this time. Excellent!
2) CM's are cranky in the morning. Not that I blame them really, I'm certainly not a morning person, but I walked through 5 stores before 10a.m., and got one hello and three or four glowering glances.
3) The animatronics in Pirates were having some problems. The auctioneer was bent over at the waist. His arms and mouth were moving, but we wasn't standing up. A couple other of the more advanced AA's were doing the same thing - slumping over. They closed the ride shortly after we were on it, I assume to fix the problems.
4) I'm going to miss the Country Bears, but apparently not as much as some people. When we went, there was a mom and daughter camped out taking pictures show after show. Big Al and I said our goodbyes. Very sad - I shed a tear or two.
5) The Villians Store needs restocking - really pitiful selection compared to years past.
6) The New Mr. Lincoln show is very cool. I do agree though that the 3D sound takes away from the content of the presentation. Several audience members were giggling loudly throughout the show because of the surprising effects. Very distracting.
7) Riding in an ECV apparently makes someone invisible. I found myself having to physically clear a path for my mom so that she wouldn't run over people.
8) The cast member I have a crush on appears to have been promoted. He now wears an earpiece. Sassy.
9) It's time to bid farewell to Parade of the Stars - bad parade, bad bad parade.
10) The Small World Mall is now my new favorite spot to watch the fireworks.

I think that was it - I've purchased a two-park AP, so I'll probably go more often now. It was nice to get back to Disneyland after a longish sabbatical - it did a lot to revive the magic for me.

See you at the parks!

thamnarestan
09-10-2001, 11:29 AM
I didn't work Pirates that day but I heard about the animation problem. Apparently, a contstruction crew was jackhammering backstage behind the Pirates show building, and their work was causing the animation electrical system to short out. It happened three times before they figured out the cause of the problem. Sorry about the inconvienience. At least there wasn't a problem with the ride itself.

hbquikcomjamesl
09-10-2001, 12:13 PM
For a while, Disney's Electrical Parade hadn't quite achieved the level of "magic" present back in 1996, but last night's parade was the best I've seen since 1996. The CMs seemed to be a lot more aware of the crowd than they were in the past two months; Cinderella's pumpkin was back (it had been down the last time I was in DCA); and nobody made any attempt to cut off the "tail" of the parade; I was able to follow it all the way from Sunshine Plaza to the Paradise Pier gate.

Also, last night was (as I've already mentioned elsewhere) my first chance to see the Millionaire show (I liked it) and the new Pioneer exhibit in Innoventions (even though I skipped the intro presentation at the entrance to the building, I still only had time to scratch the surface of the Pioneer exhibit before I had to quite literally run back to DCA for Millionaire, but I like it so far).

amynicole22
09-10-2001, 12:32 PM
Originally posted by thamnarestan
I didn't work Pirates that day but I heard about the animation problem. Apparently, a contstruction crew was jackhammering backstage behind the Pirates show building, and their work was causing the animation electrical system to short out. It happened three times before they figured out the cause of the problem. Sorry about the inconvienience. At least there wasn't a problem with the ride itself.

No worries on our end - we just found it amusing more than anything. We joked that they must be on strike :)

Napsto
09-10-2001, 02:11 PM
yea, in front of small world is a great place to watch the fire works!!!!!!!

splbound
09-10-2001, 02:45 PM
Talked to a friend of mine who is a manager at the park...was telling him of a similar experience we had on pirates.... He explained how that happens...The pirates are electric and Pneumatic/Hydraulic. If the latter system goes down but the electrical says on, some limited movement remains...I thought it was kind of creepy myself.....

In the same conversation he shared with me a similar problem that they have at innovations. It seems that "Tom Morrow's" fingers are electric, most of the rest of him is pneumatic/Hydraulic. More often then they would care to discuss the contacts in his fingers stick and quite frequently he flips people off while he's singing his little tune.....(I died laughing when I heard this) He also said that after the people move on on the attraction, Tom continues to be energized, and looks around, picks his ear (then looks at his hand as if to see what he picked out), etc.

AVP
09-10-2001, 03:07 PM
Originally posted by amynicole22
Ok, so I finally got myself to Disneyland last Saturday (9/8/01) after a nine-month absence. A few observations:

5) The Villians Store needs restocking - really pitiful selection compared to years past.


I have been told that this store is scheduled to close tomorrow, so that might explain the lack of merchandise. I'll know more tomorrow.

Adrienne VP

amynicole22
09-10-2001, 03:31 PM
Originally posted by AVP


I have been told that this store is scheduled to close tomorrow, so that might explain the lack of merchandise. I'll know more tomorrow.

Adrienne VP

Say it isn't so!!! It's my favorite! Keep us posted, please!

MickeyD
09-10-2001, 03:33 PM
Originally posted by AVP


I have been told that this store is scheduled to close tomorrow, so that might explain the lack of merchandise. I'll know more tomorrow.

Adrienne VP

Close for good? Oh man, that would really depress my boyfriend. :crying:

JeffG
09-10-2001, 03:43 PM
If they close this store for good, wouldn't it be at least the third time they have done that?

-Jeff

AVP
09-10-2001, 03:52 PM
Originally posted by JeffG
If they close this store for good, wouldn't it be at least the third time they have done that?

-Jeff

It's Disneyland! I'm sure it's "glowing away forever" for at least a few months. I'm sure something will go into this space, but I doubt it will be villains.

Adrienne

JeffG
09-10-2001, 04:40 PM
Or at least it won't be villains again for another year or two. :)

-Jeff