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srfantasmic
04-04-2005, 02:59 PM
Since you guys get to go so often, what do you end up doing at Disneyland? Do you ride rides? People watch? Buy stuff?

MsYumiBr
04-04-2005, 03:05 PM
I think as an AP visitor way back when, I did the same thing as I would going as a once a year visitor, just not feel pressured about time and not feel like I have to stay until the park closed. I'd say back then I would go to DL to see what's new, try things I haven't done before, always looking for something different.

Captain Josh
04-04-2005, 03:11 PM
This is an issue that comes up frequently in my mind.

Just how do I keep from burning out. I get this running through my mind every so often. It's kinda frightening, kinda sad....being a Disney Burnout.

Tell you the truth, I don't go as much as I used to, partly because my access has been reduced, so to speak, but I needed the break.

But when I did go, I was a very keen observer, trying to spot things that weren't always the same-old same-old.

I think I have the most fun when I don't put any thought into it. The days when I just go with the "flow" are the best. I don't pressure myself to get on all the big, bad rides...I just go where I want, and do what I think will be pleasing. Thinking like this actually ended up with me on It's a Small World, willingly, and I didn't complain.

I think the secret to going to DL often is to not do everything. Or at least, not do everything in a set routine. Another fun thing to do is try and find the little things to do. Novelties and such. Watch the Penny Arcade machines, get your fortune told by the genie lamp. The little things.

karl
04-04-2005, 03:20 PM
I view Disneyland as a sort of "Central Park" for the Southern California area. Its a place to go on the weekend, meet up with friends, do some fun stuff.

Southern California, like I am sure many major metros, has "communities of common interest". You may not know your physical neighbors, but there are communities of Disney fans, Swing Dancers, Radio Control Hobbyists, Surfers , and so on.

This is different than a small town where you may know your neighbors but may have nothing in common.

Still, there is burnout. I think I visited DCA for about every night for the first 100 days or so it was open. Closing was at midnight and getting a few rides nightly on Screamin was just a way to handle after work time. But then I burned out and didnt renew an AP for nearly a year.

-- Karl

SCUBAbe
04-04-2005, 03:23 PM
I like to have a nice long sit down lunch. We ride our favorite rides...which are splash, TOT, space mountain (when it was open ) and my daughter likes indy. (I could skip that one. If I'm wiht m,y mother she likes to look in all the stores. I usully don't buy any souviner type stuff. I don;t really people watch, but on our last trip when we were bery tired we were playing "what not to wear."...but that got boring fast...mostly I just find it relaxing to go....sometimes...sometimes we go to ride rides...if it's slow we just go...during busy times we use ridemax....when we go on a day trip we get there in the morning. We aim for 8am, but it usually is around 9am when we get there. We usually leave around 1:30pm or 2pm..:)

I try to do somehting new everytime. next time we will have pancakes at the riverbelle. :)

sdfilmcritic
04-04-2005, 03:45 PM
I ride the attractions, people watch, and take it all very slowly.

DisneyDustin22
04-04-2005, 04:35 PM
it all depends on mood for me. sometimes, its just a trip down for dinner or lunch. sometimes, just because we want to see fantasmic or fireworks. there have been times where my girlfriend and i have been on the couch, watching tv one night and suddenly one of us goes, lets go see fantasmic, and off we go. there have been times where we have gone and just walked around. we once spent a good couple hours going into all the shops and looking at everything. there is a LOT of merchandise in that park. when you have the luxury of being able to go as often as you want, there are things you start to find in the park because you have the time to look for them. as opposed to just trying to fit as much into one day as you can. i do a lot of photography so sometimes its just a trip down to do that. waiting around for unique moments or the right light. i dont think you can really get burned out from disneyland. theres too much to do.

srfantasmic
04-04-2005, 04:40 PM
there have been times where my girlfriend and i have been on the couch, watching tv one night and suddenly one of us goes, lets go see fantasmic, and off we go. .

That is so cool :)

MrsG
04-04-2005, 05:00 PM
We might go for just a few hours - have a nice sit down lunch, do a couple rides, sit and eat an ice cream or strawberry. I like to check out the latest flowers planted. Listen to the DL band, Daper Dans, NOS etc. It is nice just to not have a sense of urgency - we don't have to ride Pirates or Soarin'. We know we'll be back. Going from opening to closing, or even many hours, will burn me out.

jennia
04-04-2005, 05:01 PM
DS is 10 and never approaches anything near burn out!! I love to look at the details. Going often allows you to spot little things like lighting adjustments in POTC or a new paint job on an attraction. I try and spot all the little changes in the Disney magic.

We don't renew our APs every year, we usually let our APs expire and take some time off (get passes for some other attraction in So Cal.) That way when we get APs it all feels new again.

We try and catch the shows. Periodically we make a point to ride the rides or visit attractions that aren't on our "A list". We usually eat a relaxed meal in one of the parks. I **love** the feeling that we don't have to do everything in just one day. It makes our time more relaxed and enjoyable.

BooBooFett
04-04-2005, 05:05 PM
My husband and I visit Disneyland a lot - sometimes several times a week. Usually, we just go for a long lunch break - we take a walk around the park, have lunch, grab an iced coffee at the Blue Ribbon Bakery and then head back home to work (animators = odd work hours). We also take work to Disneyland sometimes - during the off season, there are a lot of really nice, quiet spots to just hang out with your notebook computer and a sketchbook.

I know, I know - a lot of people think it takes away from the magic to mix work and pleasure, but we really like our work and we really like being at Disneyland. After about a zillion visits, I still get shivers when we pass under the tunnel at the main entrance and hear the hiss of the steam from the train overhead and the "booooaard!"

Villains Fan
04-04-2005, 05:51 PM
For me, every time is different. Some trips I just don't want to hassle with long lines for rides, so I'll sit and people watch. Or sometimes, if I haven't been in a while, I like to just wander around and see what's new and different. In the last year, there's been so much going on, that every time I go, there's just so much either newly painted, fixed up, or newly opened. Then, there's those days when I just can't enough of the rides!

BWthespian
04-04-2005, 06:33 PM
lol this just goes to show u i have waaaay to much time on my hands, after school i felt like being on tower of terror, i had my bro drive me and i got on the ride than off in like about 10 minutes,i run fast, i think i rank number 1 in the shortest disney visit catergory lol

srfantasmic
04-04-2005, 06:34 PM
BooBooFett: What type of animation do you do?

Deogge's Mom
04-04-2005, 07:09 PM
i think i rank number 1 in the shortest disney visit catergory lol


Darkbeer and I have you beat. The other day we were headed to DCA. I had just gotten my new Tinkerbelle AP and refused to use it for the first time at DCA. So we walked into DL and right back out. Shortest trip ever to DL.

tarzansgirl
04-04-2005, 07:18 PM
My best friend and I like to walk around and talk or just people watch, we usually have lunch at Whitewater Snacks and go to the Animation place and just take it all in...I however like to critique what people wear, it sounds mean so some poeple but I love fashion so its a hobby for me. ;)

smjoseph
04-04-2005, 07:34 PM
Being in my middle ages, I find that the park brings me back to my childhood. One of my earliest memories is of my father carrying me on his shoulders all over Disneyland. Now that I have children, I get to see the park from their eyes as well. It seems to be both a well worn set of shoes and a fresh new place all at the same time.

I Heart Disneyland!
04-04-2005, 07:34 PM
I love to eat my favorite treats, ride the rides (over and over), shop, people watch. Wander aimlessly too! I guess just about everything! And, the days never seem long enough at DL!

wotruba-disney
04-04-2005, 07:42 PM
In 1990, the 35th year, I entered the park twenty-one times and I live in Washington State! We went for three trips. I will sometimes wait till the third day to go on rides! No Hurries, mate!
I love walking slowly, just being there. Because I always have an annual pass, I will go into the park even when I arrive after 9pm. Same with skiing - annual pass - go to the mountain - snow's not good - go home by noon - no loss!

RemainSeatedPlease
04-04-2005, 07:52 PM
People watch! hang out and enjoy..of course ride rides, mosey around, just have a nice time :D

bassett1976
04-04-2005, 08:16 PM
My wife and I go down to have dinner on Friday nights a lot and just walk around the park. If the lines to rides are not long we go on any ride that we feel like it. Some nights you just want to go on the Jungle Cruise. Other nights you just gotta do the Haunted Mansion. Still others are a Pirates night. Our favorite used to be to go down to watch the Fireworks, until they did away with Believe. We are now waiting for the new show since the last two have been horrible.

BayAreaDisneyFan
04-04-2005, 08:49 PM
OP - love the "Three Amigos" quote - I love that scene and haven't seen the movie in ages.

We first visited WDW two weeks after 9/11. The place was deserted, and we got to really hang out and enjoy the stuff that probably usually gets crowd-swamped - I remember walking into a castle-side presentation of Beatuy reading her storybook to the kids, and being able to sit up front and visit with her after with no thrown elbows.

When we got back to CA we got AP's at DL thinking if we went more often and got the "must-do's" out of our system we'd get more of those smaller more special moments, and to some extent we have. I remember a Christmas visit when my son had just learned "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" on the piano, and Rod was playing it at Coke Corner while we ate a leisurely hot-dog - we went up to talk to him about it and it was really special.

Reality is, we still mostly get caught up in the "must-do's" each time, and have never really had the kind of small-crowd experience we did in 2001.

Still love it though, and will be ther next week (hooray!)

Sad to say that when I told the kids last week my oldest (10) said "Disneyland AGAIN?!?! Luckily I have a four-year-old, who asks me each morning: "Dad, when can we go to Disneyland?" :-)

HorizonsA
04-04-2005, 09:04 PM
I go to Disneyland simply just to be there. I always ride my favroites, Tiki Room, SPlash, Matterhorn, but the rest of the time I just walk around. SOmetimes I just sit down at the Hub adn gaze at the now beautiful castle. Or I go to the Small World Promenade and sit and listen to the Small World music. Just being there makes me feel good.

mkcbunny
04-04-2005, 11:00 PM
I go to DLR or WDW annualy with a close friend on a "girls' trip" for 3-4 days. We do a little of everything: some commado-style riding right when the park opens, some relaxing walks around the park just looking at what's different, casual character greetings, at least one ice-cream foray, and she always needs one round of popcorn. We usually have one "fancy" dinner at someplace like Napa Rose, and we try to plan a nap in the afternoon on days when we'll be at the park at night.

As others have said, we always try to do something new. One year, it was "we have to be in the parade." Last trip, she bought me a backstage tour for my 40th birthday. So there's always something new to try. And mainly, we just have fun. We don't get crazy about trying to too much.

This May, I am taking my husband for the first time [he's never been], and I have to say, I am nervous about how to pare it down and not make it too crazy for him. So many choices!!! It's a little scary.

BooBooFett
04-05-2005, 07:44 AM
BooBooFett: What type of animation do you do?

We both do computer animation - my specialty is character modeling (Jimmy Neutron) but i like to do a little of everything! Thanks for asking!

My husband and I opened our own animation studio a few years ago. It's small (ok - miniscule) but we're having a good time. And definitely getting more use out of the APs!

I think a recurring theme with the AP is the biggie for me too - you don't feel like every time you go to DL, it has to be one of those killer marathon 16+ hour days where you do everything. It's just nice to be able to say "we'll do that NEXT time" and know that "next time" isn't too far away.

And yes - people watch! Fun AND educational! I've definitely incorporated stuff I've seen people do at Disneyland into animations - usually funny little things kids do, like those spontaneous little dances kids break into when they're getting really antsy waiting in line. Oh wait - maybe that was me. ;)