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MotorBoat Cruiser
02-22-2004, 11:14 PM
All of the threads concerning rain recently left me nostalgic for a rainy day at Disneyland. Today seemed the perfect day to bundle up, pack the ponchos, and head to Anaheim. We arrived a few minutes after the park opened, greeted with a minor downpour, just what we had hoped for.

As we had expected, the crowds were light. The new location of the bag checks really seemed to lighten the entrance traffic as well. We headed towards Peter Pan, hoping for a short wait. It took about 15 minutes, which is the shortest time I have waited for that ride in a long time. Afterwards, we headed to Casey Jr., hoping for the caboose. There were only two people ahead of us in line so we felt our chances were excellent, until they headed directly for the back car. Oh well. We sat directly in front of them and a light rain began to fall as soon as the train left the station. “Perfect”, we though to ourselves. I was able to get some decent photos of Storybookland, which made me happy.

Next, we headed to the Matterhorn. It was almost a walk-on, which most of the attractions turned out to be today. Unfortunately, the rain let up and the sun came out. Realizing that there were other ways to get wet, we headed to DCA and Grizzly River. We got soaked, which helped give us our rain fix a little. We got on the coaster to dry off and then got a free tortilla. Much to our surprise, we found the sourdough bread factory. Somehow we had overlooked this tour in the past. The bread was yummy but the tour was boring.

Being a little chilly at this point, we headed back to Disneyland for another first for us, the Golden Horseshoe Review. We got our chili bread bowl and sat in the balcony. The chili was great but the portion turned out to be too small for two people to split. Regardless, once the show started, we forgot about the food. We were quite entertained by the show and really enjoyed ourselves. Next, we took a ride on the Mark Twain and it was really pleasant and peaceful.

Other highlights of the day included some really yummy coconut cashew crunch from the candy store, riding monorail blue for the first time, and seeing them test the fog for Fantasmic. Shortly afterwards, it started to rain pretty hard and I would imagine that they cancelled the show. Since the rain was falling again, we ended our evening on the Matterhorn, in a pretty heavy rain. It was cold but wonderful.

The day was everything we had hoped for, even if it didn’t rain as much as we wanted. We still had very light crowds, short ride wait times, and the opportunity for some cool pictures. You can see some of them here if you would like:

http://photos.yahoo.com/motorboatcruiser

All in all, it was a great Disney day and boy are my feet tired. Rainy days at Disneyland are the best! :)

blusilva
02-23-2004, 06:47 AM
Thanks for the TR! I love the Matterhorn in the rain!

mad4mky
02-23-2004, 07:51 AM
I liked your foggy picture over the Rivers of America. :)

MouseWife
02-23-2004, 09:46 AM
Me, too.

Thank you for sharing the photos. Ah, it looks like it was a very nice day.

GeminiAngel
02-23-2004, 09:47 AM
Wonderful Photo's!!!! I was just there second wk of Feb. thanks for the memories!!!

CarlieB
02-23-2004, 10:42 AM
Great photos - thanks for sharing:) I particularly liked the "Foggy Frontierland" one - very pretty. Great to see some recent photos of the park:)

MotorBoat Cruiser
02-23-2004, 11:02 AM
Thanks for the kind comments, everyone. :)

DalOwnerx3
02-23-2004, 11:35 AM
We were there in the rain also. We sat out the first storm eating lunch under an umbrella in Toontown. We spent the first part of the second shower on the Monorail (but the windows were open) and the second part in Innovations.

What was better was on Friday - the newscasts all said it was going to rain all day. This scared away some of the crowds and the day turned out just to be cloudy - perfect for a day at the Disneyland and DCA.

Cadaverous Pallor
02-23-2004, 12:56 PM
We were there on Sunday as well.

Highlights:

A short enough line to ride Pan

The exit signs on Pan are gone!

Pinocchio's refurb went well, exterior is gorgeous

Saw the Twain cruising around, looking beautiful

Got innerSpaceman on Mullholland Madness, which we all enjoyed (especially because it was raining)

Ducked into the AP lounge (oops, I mean the Grand Cal) for some warming drinks

Took off our shoes on Soarin', hammed it up

Crossed the esplanade again, stayed until closing, ran around the last hour in an empty park hitting Dumbo, Pan, Mr. Toads, Matterhorn, and Small World

As our Small World boat pushed off, the clock hit 10:00pm precisely, and got to see it strike 10:15 when we got off (of course). They actually turned the music off during the "doll parade" and we all groaned so loudly they turned it back on to finish off the display. :)

The park was empty, the wet streets reflected the lights, and all was right with the world....

You know, every time I start thinking "we don't really need these passes" I have one of the best days ever.

:cool:

Cadaverous Pallor
02-23-2004, 06:24 PM
Also - many characters were doing a meet and greet inside Lincoln's exit foyer that evening to avoid the rain. Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, and Chip 'n Dale were all in there.

Earlier, when it was drier, we saw Chip 'n Dale posing for pics by their statues in the hub. Very cool.

Gr8Scott
02-23-2004, 09:14 PM
I was there too. The only disappointment was the cancellation of Fantasmic.

NirvanaMan
02-23-2004, 10:31 PM
Mulholland in the rain was ridiculously fun.

MotorBoat Cruiser
02-24-2004, 12:42 AM
Originally posted by Cadaverous Pallor
The park was empty, the wet streets reflected the lights, and all was right with the world....

You know, every time I start thinking "we don't really need these passes" I have one of the best days ever.

:cool:

I couldn't agree with you more :)


Speaking of which, I liked how Pinocchio looked as well. They did a nice job.

One thing though, did anyone else catch a really strong chlorine smell in various areas of the park? I noticed it most in the water by the treehouse. I understand the need for it, I just had never smelled it quite as strongly before anywhere in the park.

Hamradio
02-24-2004, 02:54 AM
Thanks for sharing the photos!

wendybeth
02-24-2004, 10:16 AM
Thanks for the great pics- I love the 'First Sun' - it looks like a scene right out of Paris. I've only seen DL in the summer, with blinding sun and 90+ temps. It's really quite beautiful in the rain.

UncleGDogWord
02-24-2004, 12:21 PM
Great photos!

I love the Foggy Rivers of America!

Cancer Norm
02-24-2004, 01:49 PM
MotorBoat Cruiser,

Those are some very nice pics......Thanx for sharing them.

Question: What kind of camera did you use?


thanx

Mary Jo
02-24-2004, 02:54 PM
Great pictures! Thanks for sharing. Now I want to go to Disneyland and play in the rain. :)

MotorBoat Cruiser
02-24-2004, 03:50 PM
Again, thanks to everyone. :) I'm really happy that you liked the pictures. I actually have some better ones from other trips. If I get a chance, I'll update the album.

The camera that I use isn't anything that special or expensive but I like the shots it takes. It is an Olympus D-380, 2 Megapixel.

Cancer Norm
02-25-2004, 05:44 PM
MotorBoat Cruiser:

Don't knock your Olympus camera! It takes very nice shots! I have a HP C618, and while it takes great outdoor pics, the indoor shots leave a little to desire.


You would be suprised how varied the quality of pics are among cameras of similar cost.

SweetAurora
02-25-2004, 07:32 PM
This post is great--few people agree with me on how beautiful Disneyland really is on cloudy, dark days. It's so lovely, and plus no one is there! :)
I love going to work in it in the early hours of the morning. I feel at such peace.

PsychDoc
02-25-2004, 09:47 PM
Again, cool pics. DL is the best in the rain. Less people and it's just so much fun running to the rides in the rain. I'd rather it be raining than too hot.

MouseWife
02-25-2004, 09:53 PM
I have to agree with the theme of this thread~ Disneyland is awesome on a rainy day. :cool:

People think I am a nut when a cloudy day makes me whine for Disneyland. Everyone says that a sunny day is the best day to go.

Nah!!

{well, any day at Disneyland is better than a day at work/schoo/home doing chores...}

danyoung
02-26-2004, 11:32 AM
The concept of actually enjoying a rainy day at a Disney park is kind of strange to me, but cool (no pun intended). I'm not local to any of the parks, so a visit is usually a long-awaited, very special event. I've always looked at a rainy park day as being something you had to suffer thru, as opposed to something you'd go out of your way to experience. Perhaps I'll attempt to change my attitude the next time the opportunity comes up. Thanks for the thread, and the great pics!

Cadaverous Pallor
02-26-2004, 01:59 PM
Originally posted by danyoung
The concept of actually enjoying a rainy day at a Disney park is kind of strange to me, but cool (no pun intended). I'm not local to any of the parks, so a visit is usually a long-awaited, very special event. I've always looked at a rainy park day as being something you had to suffer thru, as opposed to something you'd go out of your way to experience. Interesting. If you're there to squeeze every moment out of your day, it's going to be more of a nuisance than anything. But if you can relax and act like a kid in the rain, you can have a blast.