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mamajosie
03-25-2004, 08:18 AM
I am trying to post a trip report and it wont work. So I am just posting this to see if the length is the problem. Thanks
yup, length is the problem so I will post it in several sections


I wanted to post a trip report and ask some questions as well. This will be long so if I am too long winded for you please skip it. We went to DL and DCA for the first time this past Sun, Mon, Tues and Wed, (March 21-24) we being me, my hubby, and our 3 kids ages 3, 5 and 9 and it was a first time trip for all of us. I will preface this report with the info that we are very outdoorsy people and down to earth types who primarily go camping and to national parks, historic sites etc for vacations. But we currently live in AZ and will likely be moving much further east in the next year and thought this would be a good chance to go since we live fairly close now. Also, my parents offered to pay for our trip and my sister and her dh wanted to help us with the kids and would be there during our spring break visiting his family so we jumped at the chance. I don’t feel I went with any real preconceived notions but it was a trip I would NEVER make without kids and went precisely for them to have a great time. So I guess I am saying I did not voice my more negative observations that I may share here to the kids (except my 9 year old -who did feel like it wasn’t quite what she expected- and I did have a nice talk about advertising, marketing and corporate economics etc). She is a very savvy shopper and totally unprompted she mentioned the word “rip-off” several times when pricing souvenirs. They each had a healthy allowance to get a couple things (20.00 each from grandparents and 20.00 each from us plus I bought each person a t-shirt and she only spent 20.00 total of her money in the park and decided to save the rest.) At any rate, here goes….

We arrived on Sunday and parked in the parking lot as any offsite guest would for our first day. We were one of the first in line and the parking went extremely smoothly. The crowds were bad our whole stay but with fastpass it didn’t slow us down too much. I came armed with all the info on fastpass I had found online and knew we could access more than is typically told to guests because some rides are networked and some stand-alone as far as fast pass distribution etc. My dh basically spent almost the whole trip riding the train with our 3 year old who is obsessed with trains and didn’t want to see much of anything else. Our kids have enough of an age spread that we really had to divide and conquer for everyone to have fun. My sister and her dh were an awesome help to us and they stayed with me and my 5 and 9 year old girls, sometimes splitting up when they had different interests or we sent one adult off to get fastpasses etc. so it went really smoothly with 4 adults total and 3 kids. Our last full day there was really hard with just me and dh and the 3 kids. I was alone with the 2 girls most of the day.

My 9 year liked Adventureland by far the best. We literally spent more than half our total time going on Haunted Mansion, Pirates, and Splash. My 5 yr old liked HM the best and Pirates ok but not Splash. She also liked Pooh and the Tiki Room and Tarzan so was pretty happy in adventureland, new Orleans square and critter country. She also loved the characters and got to visit with Pooh, Tigger and Eyore our first day with almost no wait. We did a visit with Snow White and Cinderella too in front of the castle but she got tired of waiting in line to visit with characters after waiting for those two. I think my 5 yr old would have enjoyed more time in Fantasyland and Toon Town etc and that is my greatest regret about the trip – that I couldn’t spend a couple days with each child individually giving them my full attention. My 9 yr old was a bit more emphatic about what she wanted to do and I felt my younger dd didn’t get to do all the things she wanted because we were following more of my older daughter’s agenda. For example we got my 5 year old to ride Splash and the Matterhorn and both scared her too much. She loved the singing animals on splash but the “drop” upset her a little and the Matterhorn made her cry. We made up for it by riding Alice right after though and it made her happy. Still I hated that we ended up pushing the limits of her comfort zone but that last day I had both girls alone and was trying to keep everbody happy. I feel my 5 yr old is just the PERFECT age for DL and I would love to take her ALONE if I ever could.

Anyway, the first day in the later afternoon we checked into the Grand Californian for a 3 night stay. Our room overlooked DCA and I thought it was a gorgeous and well run hotel. My main complaint was the stupid mini bar fridge packed full of overpriced junk food and liquor with just a tiny little speck of room for a guests personal food items. We moved an item unintentionally and the computerized system charged it to our room and we had to get it taken off the bill. I also had to call housekeeping one afternoon to make the beds and take out the trash because they missed us somehow that day.

mamajosie
03-25-2004, 08:23 AM
But all in all I loved the hotel, the pool was gorgeous and the convenience of being onsite was wonderful. That private entrance to DCA was a nice perk.

Overall, I was somewhat underwhelmed by the whole Disney experience. I do believe that being upbeat, positive and enjoying time with your loved ones is the #1 priority but overall I felt Disneyland seemed extremely antiquated and in need of some updating or just freshening up. The Small World Ride is my favorite example of this. It seems like it is straight from the 60s with absolute zero updating. Just all these ancient crusty retro dressed dolls singing the same numbing toon over and over again. It is a neat theme but wow couldn’t they update it a bit….ok a TON without destroying Walt’s orginal vision? I mean that is a huge ride and a prime piece of real estate all going to a bunch of yammering stinky old 60’s dolls? It smelled so funky in there I wanted to hurl. I feel overall they have remained slavishly tied to keeping everything the same although I know to you die-hards they have changed way too much. But doesn’t some of it seem so old fashioned and almost too quaint for a modern audience? I wish I had had time to read the history of the park and that is one thing I wanted to ask. I think I would perhaps appreciate things a bit more if I knew more about it. I would like everyone's advice on the best book to learn about the history of Disneyland - can either be balanced or feel good pro-Disney. Just something accurate about the building of the park with good photos etc. Any suggestions?

I was also expecting more in the way of use of animation and things from the movies. I realize pirates and HM were both rides at DL way before they were Disney movies. That said, there seem to be almost no references to the Pirates film on the ride and the film is so much more eye catching and high tech. I am just wondering how old that ride is. I mean was it virtually like that when it opened in the 50’s? Because the technology seems like 100 light years behind what they can do in Disney films – almost just like a puppet show or diorama or something. I was just extremely surprised at how homey, old fashioned and in some cases absurdly outdated things seemed. I guess I expected since Disney is primarily a FILM and media company it would have a more high tech STUDIO feel. And many of the newer shows like Lizzie and Kimpossible were not mentioned anywhere - didn’t even see merchandise related to them and my kids would have been happy to spend their money on that. Even Tomorrowland which was supposed to be updated in 1998 seemed really down at the heels. I think Star Wars is a timeless classic but “Star Tours” is too outdated. They need a new Star Wars ride/show. And looking at the vast array of titles and awesome films in the Disney Canon and they still have a huge “ride” or show devoted to “Honey I Shrunk the kids”??? Wasn’t that from the 80’s? I mean they have so many awesome films involving space like maybe they could do more with Buzz or Stitch etc. And my favorite Disney film of all time Beauty and the Beast got almost no attention. Why not do a B&theB ride in place of Small world? I also felt they didn’t try to veil it too well that they basically wanted to gouge us for money. Part of me thinking that is some of these super outdated shows (Honey I shrunk the kids as just mentioned) and rides, the general condition of tommorowland, plus the food was so outrageous and so many of the souveniers just total junk and ridiculous prices. I know they have to make a profit but couldn’t they afford to update some of the ancient rides and have slightly more affordable food without going bankrupt? We did get some lovely t-shirts for the whole family and also a couple of stuffed animals and I also liked the candy shoppes and felt they had some fun things.

Favorite things

* Friendly CMs and guests – could leave stroller without it getting taken, gladly took a return on a broken item in gift shop, honored fast pass from day before when Splash broke. Other Guests friendly when I had to run dd to restroom and then get back in line with older dd etc.

* Characters were very realistic looking and oh so sweet and friendly with my dd. They did lovely ornate signatures in her book and really took their time with her and didn’t rush her at all despite the line.

* Fantasmic looked like a great show. I only caught the first few minutes. I took the girls to the 10:30 pm show and it was just too late and they started melting down so we left a little ways into it but I would love to go back and see it someday.

* DCA- I really liked this park and I think it gives DL some of that much needed “freshness and modern edge” I was speaking of. But it really should be open much later.

mamajosie
03-25-2004, 08:24 AM
I see it as the ideal park for teens and young adults who want to stay out LATE and it should in no way shape or form close BEFORE DL. This just makes no sense.We really enjoyed :

* Soarin - whole family loved this ride

* Alladin show in the backlot was great – one of my and the girls favorite
experiences of our trip
* Bugsland is adorable and a hit with my 5 yr old girl and 3 yr old son. Really cute rides
* Lightparade

Things I didn’t like:

* Too crowded – will they ever go to a reservation system with a certain number of guests allowed in per day? I think they may have to at some point. I think it should have been capped at about 15% less than our most crowded day there to really be enjoyable for everyone. When it is hard to even walk down an open street it is too crowded.

* So many rides without fastpass - especially rides for younger kids like those in fantasyland. My 5 yr old doesn’t have the patience to wait 45 minutes for a 3 minute ride and it spoils the experience for her to have to do so.

* Food too expensive

* Not that great of selection of souveniers. Two things I really wanted to get were a Beast t-shirt for my husband (nowhere to be found) and a cute item like a shirt, mug, notebook or anything really with JUST Snowhite on it (we have an elderly neighbor named Mrs. White and my kids think she is the original Snow White grown old). (yet again nowhere to be found) I also think they need to sell more books, coloring books, history of Disney books, videos, dvds etc. An onsite bookstore would be nice. This is a MEDIA company right?

Tips – many I found here and other sites and used most of them

* Book through AAA (unlimited fastpasses plus preferred seating for shows)- we didn’t this time but will join AAA if there is a “next time” and book through them

* Use fastpass to best advantage (find out which rides are networked which not and collect those fastpasses and use them – pass ones you wont use to others as a random act of kindness) They do run out so think ahead and on busy days grab more fastpasses before you take an afternoon siesta as some will likely not be available later and the ones you get in the early afternoon probably wont be useable until late afternoon/early evening when you are ready to return to the parks. And they almost always honor an expired fastpass, you just cant come BEFORE the start time.

* Eat plenty of chocolate mint fudge (there is a buy 4 get 2 free deal on fudge!)

* Stay at Grand Californian if you can afford it especially if you are there during a time of year when your kids would enjoy swimming. The pool(s) are just wonderful – big kid and baby slides, 2 hot tubs, baby pool etc – all heated!

* Bring your own cooler (ice in hotel) or minifridge or ask if they have one at the desk (I read they do have a few after we got home but we never knew to ask) and ask them to lock the minibar so your kids don’t clean it out and end up costing you 100.00 for a few candy bars and sodas.

* If money is tight or you just don’t want to be robbed, pack in food such as sandwich supplies, cereal/milk, granola bars, snack packs of chips, teddy grahams, fruit etc. Plus water bottles are nice and you can refill them in the parks.

* Bring a stroller for any child 5 or under even if they have been out of one for a while. I bought a lightweight Maclaren umbrella on sale from Albeebaby.com in a bright red (easy to spot) and it saved our lives. Renting is ok but you have to turn it in at the gate and we were able to go all over both parks, to the hotel, parking garage etc with our own. For a little more than the price of renting for 4 days I bought a really nice stroller that goes up to a 55 lb weight limit and has taller handles than your average umbrella. So look into those Maclarens for older kids!

mamajosie
03-25-2004, 08:27 AM
* Bring your own hard bound unlined journal or sketchbook from Micheals or Wal-mart and a couple packs of Disney character stickers for your child to decorate and use as an autograph album. Disney autograph books are flimsy and expensive. Also a good thick sketchbook won’t allow bleeding between pages. We found a neat set of super fat grip sharpie markers that were 3 to a pack - colors blue, orange and hot pink - and my dd liked having a slightly similar color for each character (ie Cinderella used blue, tigger orange, etc)

* .87 ponchos from the camping section at Wal-mart are very handy for grizzly river on a cool day or in case of rain. Normally I would not worry about getting wet but it was cool and overcast one day and we enjoyed the ride without getting soaked. They are cheap enough to throw away when you are done if you don’t want to deal with a wet poncho.

* .99 Biscottis in the bakeries are a nice low cost filling snack for mom and dad.

* Alladin is a great show and I highly recommend the shows and parades. I think the HUMAN element in the parks in the best. Maybe that is why I felt underwhelmed by most of the rides in DL. They seem shabby and old, somewhat quaint just as far as historically speaking like a curiosity but not that interesting or unique. But the characters, shows and parades were what really impressed me and made me feel the magic. My 5 yr old daughter (the BEST age to appreciate Disney out of my 3 kids) seemed to feel the same way. She LOVED the light parade, the alladin show and seeing characters in the park. We didn’t get to see the new SnowWhite show but I wish we did!

* Enlist help with your kids. Single or childless aunts and uncles are awesome helpers. Have at least one adult for each child.

* wear a watch - I forgot mine and had to ask other often for the time

* talk to custodians - the street sweeper guys and ladies cleaning the bathrooms were some of the most helpful pleasant CMs around. I think they probably dont get asked questions as much and all seemed to delighted to help. Also anyone wearing white (custodial) carries maps so if you need one ask them!

All in all it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. I do think I might like to go back one more time though and see the things we didn’t see and also experience it once after reading more about the park and the history of it.

My last comment is the only benefit being there during a crowded time was the parks being open later on Sunday night. I think closing was 8 or 9 for DCA and 10 or 11 for DL. My absolute favorite thing was Disney at night (both parks) Very magical….
So this crunchy country girl who would never choose DL if not for her kidletts might even go back someday….
Feel free to respond to my questions or comments. Please don’t bash me for my negative comments. Those were just my impressions for a first time trip and remember I am not a Disney fanatic and would probably never go if not for my kids.

mamajosie
03-25-2004, 08:44 AM
to say that dh stands for "darling hubby" and dd "darling daughter" I wasnt sure if you used those abbreviations here so wanted to clarify.

Cadaverous Pallor
03-25-2004, 09:58 AM
I mean that is a huge ride and a prime piece of real estate all going to a bunch of yammering stinky old 60’s dolls?Ouch.

I happen to think that attraciton is timeless. I went on it only a couple weeks ago and was again struck by how beautiful that ride is. As for a smell - it's the same smell on Pirates, isn't it? I love that smell, as do many other DL fans (just do a search for "pirates" and "smell" and you'll see what I mean).

What did your 5 year old think of Small World? I would think it still appeals highly to children.

You really want them to update all those attractions? Add stuff from the Pirates movie to the original ride on which it is based? To me this is a twist of logic I cannot follow.


I guess I expected since Disney is primarily a FILM and media company it would have a more high tech STUDIO feel. And many of the newer shows like Lizzie and Kimpossible were not mentioned anywhere - didn’t even see merchandise related to them and my kids would have been happy to spend their money on that.Again, ouch. I have to say, I hope to God that such flash-in-the-pan entertainment doesn't make its way into Disneyland. If you want TV show merch, I suggest you go to the mall.

As for a STUDIO feel - I think what we're disagreeing on is the basic premise of the park. This place is not supposed to feel up-to-the-minute. It's supposed to be homey, comforting, timeless - like Main Street itself. It's supposed to appeal to all generations. There are ways to update the park that can apply this concept today - like the Indiana Jones ride, which is high tech and thrills-based but actually set in the past.

I agree with a lot of what you said, from Honey I Shrunk to the lack of certain merch items, but you're not going to find much sympathy on getting rid of classic attractions among hardcore fans.

mamajosie
03-25-2004, 10:59 AM
my 5 yr old on small world because she was at the hotel asleep. My 9 yr old and I went on it in the evening right before closing. I think my 5 yr old probably would have liked it. I just really feel it could have been fabulous with the same theme but with more updated dolls and scenery. You know the beautiful realistic dolls that can be made now could have looked much more like the people from those countries instead of these identical dolls in different clothing. And the costumes could be gorgeous handmade items from the countries of origin and the ride could feature more realistic or even impressionistic but higher quality backdrops featuring scenes and landmarks from the various countries. I dont know I guess it just left me cold and I think it could be fabulous if redone.

And I dont mean to say I think there should be a Lizzie or Kimpossible ride or anything but just some merchandise from a greater variety of Disney shows and films would have been nice. We live very remotely (at least 2-3 hours from a Disney store) and I was just suprised they didnt have more variety since they own so many more films/shows than were represented in the gift shop. As for "getting rid of classic attractions" well I dont necc. want to get rid of anything but I think they could stand to update the old ones and add some new ones that will become classics. Beauty and the Beast is my all time favorite Disney film and I think there could be a great ride based on that which would become timeless. It is just such a beautifully made film and is underepresented in the park. Although I did like many aspects of DCA I am thinking now it might have been better to just add a ton more Disney themed rides to represent the newer films and not made a more traditional theme park with DCA. What do others think about the DCA decision. And how long has that park been there?

Cadaverous Pallor
03-25-2004, 01:32 PM
You know the beautiful realistic dolls that can be made now could have looked much more like the people from those countries instead of these identical dolls in different clothing. And the costumes could be gorgeous handmade items from the countries of origin and the ride could feature more realistic or even impressionistic but higher quality backdrops featuring scenes and landmarks from the various countries. What I love about this ride is the style of it. The entire point of the ride is that we are all very different, but we are also all the same. Hence, the simplicity of the dolls. I think a "realistic" ride is a horse of a different color. As for impressionistic, well, if I understand what impressionistic means, we've already got impressionist influences. The current ride uses some very starkly representative shapes for certain cultural landmarks.

I agree - a Beauty and the Beast ride, as well as various attractions for all the other neglected Disney movies would be a great idea.

And yes, the park does need new rides and some updating, but I think we'd disagree regarding what needs to be changed. ;)

It's very interesting reading your report. I love hearing what tourists think of the park. Thanks so much for the lengthy posts! :)

u2ugly4nebody
03-25-2004, 07:33 PM
i liked your review. Its a shame you couldnt experience space mountain or indiana jones. oh well. maybe youll be back after the renovating.

TP2000
03-26-2004, 02:44 PM
Very interesting Trip Report! Thank you for your thoughts mamajosie.

This reminds me a great deal of my college roommate. He grew up on the East Coast in an upper middle class family, but his parents had never taken him to Disney World. No one in his family had ever been to a Disney theme park actually, and when they thought of "theme park" they thought of the local grimy Six Flags or Paramount Park. They had no concept of what a Disney theme park was about, and no emotional attachment to anything Disney related. And I being a Disney fan could not understand this type of behavior at all, and I quite frankly considered him and his family to border on being Un-American for that Disney oversight. (How could you never take your kids to Disneyland/World if you can afford it?!?!) I'm sure his first trip to Disney World would mirror mamajosie's experience.

That said, I think mamajosie's observations are extremely valuable because she is untainted by nostalgia or overblown emotion. I adore Small World because it is so 1960's. And they just spent a great deal of money to digitize the original 1960's audio tracks, and they replaced the "updated" 1992 song with the original 1964 audio to great acclaim from the fan community. But for some people it just makes it seem even more hopelessly dated.

I think it's obvious that Disneyland suffered under the last 9 years of Pressler and Harriss. One look at how City Hall turned out and you think "Oh, things can look nice and fresh when they spend money, can't they!" This is not a particularly attractive time in the Park as the new TDA gang tries to play catch up with all of the decay and neglect the previous group brought with them.

Why does Pinnochio have it's own ride? Why isn't there a Beauty And The Beast dark ride in Fantasyland? Why does Ariel just have a revolving clam shell rather than a fun D Ticket ride in the Motorboat Cruise area? Why did a 400 Million Dollar blockbuster like Finding Nemo only get an electric wheelchair covered in a fiberglass fish instead of a breathtaking new E Ticket? Why did they hire mall executives to turn the place into a non-stop gauntlet of carts and pin kiosks selling overpriced, useless crap?

I think mamajosie's experiences prove that the heart of the Park is still there, but for a first time visitor with no preconceived ideas that "heart" is very hard to find through all of the neglect, decay and unbridled merchandising and profit taking. For us who knew where the heart was from decades past, it's still visible through the haze. But for a new visitor who doesn't know where to look, the recently departed Pressler and Harriss has made it very hard to see right now.

pisces
03-27-2004, 01:44 PM
I'm wondering if the Small World does different things at Christmas? Maybe then they jazz it up and make it more exciting?

That's why I plan to go around Christmas, maybe they do different things and it doesn't feel as plain?

But, I'd hate to see them make radical changes. A lot of us don't go regularly but are working off memories. I haven't been in 25 years, and want to know that things will be as I remember them.

So, no changes to the Park, until I've gotten there in December.

JeffG
03-27-2004, 01:57 PM
I'm wondering if the Small World does different things at Christmas? Maybe then they jazz it up and make it more exciting?

That's why I plan to go around Christmas, maybe they do different things and it doesn't feel as plain?

"It's a Small World" gets an extensive holiday-season makeover every year. Holiday-themed decorations are placed all over the attraction and the soundtrack is modified to mix the regular music with "Jingle Bells" and "Deck the Halls". They also completely cover the facade with colored lights.

-Jeff

iwannabeanimagineer
03-28-2004, 08:19 AM
mamajosie, as a long-time Disneyland fanatic, I agree with everything you said, with a few comments on the following:

Updating rides

The Small World Ride…seems like it is straight from the 60s with absolute zero updating.
I think updating old rides is a catch-22 for Disney. People who are fans of the old ride will be disappointed and updating it will not cause more people to ride it or more people to enter the park, so it’s difficult to justify financially. It’s also difficult for me to agree that keeping a popular old ride open in its near-original condition is a waste of real estate. Although closing an old attraction and opening up nothing in its place (Submarines, motor boats, Big Thunder Ranch, etc.) is an absolute waste of real estate to me.

…there seem to be almost no references to the Pirates film on the ride and the film is so much more eye catching and high tech. I am just wondering how old that ride is. I mean was it virtually like that when it opened in the 50’s? Because the technology seems like 100 light years behind what they can do in Disney films – almost just like a puppet show or diorama or something. I was just extremely surprised at how homey, old fashioned and in some cases absurdly outdated things seemed.
Along with the Catch-22 noted above, Pirates suffers from the odd problem of being too successful. By that I mean that 1) people have come to expect too much from it and 2) it revolutionized theme park technology and can’t keep up with its posterity. If you look closely, I don’t think you’ll see better audioanimatronics anywhere, but the show designers have become more savvy about camouflaging the characters with lighting and other set pieces so they get a more realistic impression with the same technology (such as Indiana Jones).

Even Tomorrowland which was supposed to be updated in 1998 seemed really down at the heels.
There’s no doubt that Tomorrowland has been a thematic problem for the Imagineers since the public’s interest in a pristine white utopia began to wane during the Cold War and Space Race. The 1998 update was attempting to push the theme back in time to a Jules Verne industrial-era theme, but it hasn’t been carried out convincingly.

I think Star Wars is a timeless classic but “Star Tours” is too outdated. They need a new Star Wars ride/show.
No argument there. In fact, the show technology facilitates this because the entire experience can be changed with new footage and programming. I was really hoping for an Episode I or Episode II update to coincide with Disneyland’s 50th anniversary next year.

Movie tie-ins

I was also expecting more in the way of use of animation and things from the movies…

I mean they have so many awesome films involving space like maybe they could do more with Buzz or Stitch etc.

And my favorite Disney film of all time Beauty and the Beast got almost no attention. Why not do a B&theB ride in place of Small world?

Although I did like many aspects of DCA I am thinking now it might have been better to just add a ton more Disney themed rides to represent the newer films and not made a more traditional theme park with DCA.
This is also a catch-22, since many people are put off by anything that appears to be a crassly commercial tie-in (anyone remember Disney Afternoon Avenue?). I also enjoy Disneyland for what it has, rather than feeling disappointed for what it doesn’t have. In fact, I love to play the “design-your-own-attraction” game with my kids, trying to think up better ideas than the Imagineers when it comes to updating or replacing rides or designing new ones themed after new movies.

And looking at the vast array of titles and awesome films in the Disney Canon and they still have a huge “ride” or show devoted to “Honey I Shrunk the kids”???
Did you get to see “Honey, I Shrunk The Audience”? Or, as my cousins labeled it to reduce a child’s fears: “Honey, I Blew Up The Movie Screen.”

Park hours and crowds

DCA…really should be open much later. I see it as the ideal park for teens and young adults who want to stay out LATE and it should in no way shape or form close BEFORE DL. This just makes no sense.

My last comment is the only benefit being there during a crowded time was the parks being open later on Sunday night.
Do more people go on open-late days because they feel more certain they will get their money’s worth or is the park open later on crowded days because the extra concessions will make up for the extra payroll? I admit to being just as mystified by DCA’s hours, especially for a park with a winery. Maybe after TOT opens the crowds will justify the later hours. Or is that the egg in search of a chicken?

* Too crowded – will they ever go to a reservation system with a certain number of guests allowed in per day? I think they may have to at some point. I think it should have been capped at about 15% less than our most crowded day there to really be enjoyable for everyone. When it is hard to even walk down an open street it is too crowded.
There are days when they stop selling admissions due to overcrowding. The precise number of guests at which they make this decision is also a catch-22: what if you’re the next guest in line after the last-straw guest walks through the gate.

Merchandising

* Not that great of selection of souveniers. Two things I really wanted to get were a Beast t-shirt for my husband (nowhere to be found) and a cute item like a shirt, mug, notebook or anything really with JUST Snowhite on it (we have an elderly neighbor named Mrs. White and my kids think she is the original Snow White grown old). (yet again nowhere to be found) I also think they need to sell more books, coloring books, history of Disney books, videos, dvds etc. An onsite bookstore would be nice. This is a MEDIA company right?

… some merchandise from a greater variety of Disney shows and films would have been nice…I was just suprised they didnt have more variety since they own so many more films/shows than were represented in the gift shop.
It seems to be a fairly widely held opinion on MousePad that recent Disneyland management has chosen to reserve its precious merchandising space (it’s a small park after all) that walks off the shelf by itself at the highest possible price. In my almost 40-year recollections, I think the variety of merchandise available now is similar to the selection in the 1960’s and early 1970’s, which grew until the 1990’s and is now on its way back down. The merchandising is also a catch-22, with some guests likely to be upset about anything they perceive as crass commercial exploitation of a recent hit movie.

Overall theme

I guess I expected since Disney is primarily a FILM and media company it would have a more high tech STUDIO feel.
The studio feel of the Hollywood Pictures Backlot at DCA fulfills all my needs for this kind of theme, as does Disney/MGM Studios at WDW.

Thanks for a great report, by the way, mamajosie

blusilva
03-29-2004, 08:32 PM
I'm sorry, I can't find the original request (maybe it was in another thread), but I could have sworn Mamajosie asked for recommendations on books specifically about the building of Disneyland. In fact, the request led to my most recent purchase on Mouseshoppe!

I highly recommend the Carlene Thie "A Photographer's Life" series books, all available at Mouseshoppe.

http://www.mouseshoppe.com/directory.cfm?CategoryID=256


I have all four volumes - just got the hardcover one today (ordered it yesterday, talk about terrific service!). They're all photo heavy, text light, showing Disneyland in various stages of construction. A bit expensive, as they were privately published, but worth every penny if you are into the history of Disneyland in it's very early incarnation.

I'm only half-way through my newest acquisition, but I think I'd recommend it highest, as it has color photos and some short antecdotes written by Imagineers. If it's early Disneyland you want, this has it all!

I'd also recommend E-Ticket Magazine. They're still offering old issues on CD-ROM at http://www.the-e-ticket.com/CDROM.html and some in hardcopy at http://www.the-e-ticket.com/ISSUES.html. They go into minute detail about individual attractions, from concept to execution.