PDA

View Full Version : More News from Disneyland on 9/29 [Trip Report]



THpoohbear
09-30-2006, 10:50 AM
Hubby and I drove down and arrived about 6pm.

Driving through the booths at the parking structure, after inquiring about a mickey air freshener, I was offered an entire stack of Mickey pumpkin air fresheners (about 30). I declined the stack , but accepted two. :) If you would like one but are not offered, just ask. ;)

We ventured into DCA first because hubby's condition for this short trip was he had to ride Soarin' and he "needed" a free tortilla. :p Anyway, DCA was much more crowded than I expected it to be. I was in DL on Wednesday and crowds vere very low - I didn't think the first day of "Halloween Time" would be so crowded.

Besides the crowd, we moved towards Taste Pilot's Grill, and it was completely closed when we got there, although we could clearly see workers inside. We came back about 40 minutes later, and it was still closed, with the workers still inside, gathered around the front counter. :confused:

We walked over to the DL gates about 7:15. Main street was crazy. I expected some crowd from the parade... but it was much busier than I expected. We made our way up main street to meet friends and nab a spot for the fireworks. Two things about this: 1) All of the front spots on the sidewalk of the hub and the front spoke were already taken - at 7:30!! Disney already had the ropes up in front of the castle making a walk way. 2) Until about 8pm, it was very, very dark around the hub. I don't know if this was intentional for Halloween time, but hubby and I were looking for another couple, and both of us commented on how dark the area was. A few minutes after 8 they turned on the parade lights again and the area brightened up.

A little before 8, they announced an addition of a second showing of Fantasmic.

DL also extended their hours from 10pm to closing at 11pm.

My conclusion: I love the pumpkin stuff around Main Street. Those marketing folks at Disney are doing a darn good job. Good for them, but bad for all of us hoping for small crowds.

I took a few pictures, and I'll try to link those later, although I tend to move slowly on those things, so maybe check Darkbeer's photos. ;)

twokids
09-30-2006, 11:14 AM
Was there yesterday and, hate to admit it, but was a bit dissappointed with the Halloween decorations. Main street looked nice but wasn't what I had expected. To be perfectly honest, I didn't have a chance to "take it all in" because it was too crowded. I'll be there on Tuesday to look around a bit more. Hopefully, it will also be less crowded!!:)

I can't believe that it took us 45 min to enter the parking structure!! It was horrible!!! They looked really short staffed and had 3 lanes merging into one. There also was a lot of security but the security officers looked a bit overwhelemed with the all cars!

Anyways, a crazy day at DL is still better than nothing!! We had lots of fun and always look forward to our next visit.

twokids
09-30-2006, 11:16 AM
Forgot to add, we ran into the same problem with Taste's Pilot Grill. They closed at 5pm, I think. I wonder why so early?

newportbeachbumz
09-30-2006, 11:35 AM
We were there last night as well. I loved all the Halloween decor but was confused about the orange and black tables with Pirates stuff in front of it.

I absolutely loved looking at all the Decor up and down main street. The carved pumpkins on all the building ledges are really cute. We went just to see the decorations and the parade so I wasn't paying attention to ride lines. But was absolutely shocked at the line for Pizza Port at around 7:45. We ended up leaving the park to grab something to eat at La Brea Bakery.

We never got a pumpkin air freshner:crying: I'll have to ask tonight;)

I also rode back to the parking garage on a tram with a driver that spoke through the mike the entire way... :p We got off the tram and she was still talking ... it was kind of funny and annoyed the guy next to me...

I can't wait to see all the stuff I didn't get to see yesterday:)

SDMom
09-30-2006, 11:48 AM
Interesting to hear how crowded it is this weekend. We are driving up from San Diego to catch the fireworks. I guess that's about all we will do if you have to get a seat @ 7:30. Keeping fingers crossed that the wind will be calm!

THpoohbear
09-30-2006, 12:00 PM
SD Mom - there were still spots for fireworks around 8:30/8:45 in the street between the sidewalks, but things were absolutely packed at 9. However, when they made everyone stand up around 9:10, others just started walking in since it freed up a bunch of space. But, if you want your premo spot, get there early. :)

SDMom
09-30-2006, 12:10 PM
Thanks for the advice THpoohbear. Its just me and my DS (8), so we don't need too much room. ;)

THpoohbear
09-30-2006, 12:15 PM
Driving through the booths at the parking structure, after inquiring about a mickey air freshener, I was offered an entire stack of Mickey pumpkin air fresheners (about 30). I declined the stack, but accepted two. :) If you would like one but are not offered, just ask. ;)

Sorry - I realized this part of my post is confusing. I don't have extras at this point to give away - I meant to say that if you are not offered an air freshener at the booth, to ask the parking attendant to see if you can get one/some. I'm hoping to go Sunday afternoon, and if I can snag some to give away I'll let you know. :) Sorry for the confusion.