Disneyland

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

While we are on the subject of Nostalgia, at least I am ( I bathe in it daily)(No cracks about my bathing)

Yesterland

I'm sure the Haggis is there frequently.

[El Dingo]

Very slick site. I'm fascinated by Disneyland/Disneyworld (mostly from a technology standpoint).

One thing I remember was visiting the park when I was 5. I thought everything was real. Submarine ride? Real - we were actually miles below the surface. Jungle Cruise? Real - thank goodness the guides had those guns! Matterhorn? Who knows - I was too little to ride and cried until my mom bought me an ice cream.

Now I know it's all just make-believe (except for Mr. Toads Wild Ride, no way you can fake that trip).

[Drunk Monk]

... I can only remember going there as an adult. I remember going there for Grad Night. I remember kidnapping Ken and going there with y'all. I remember going there for ABA with Stacy. And I remember my recent trips with Tara. I know I was there as a kid but my post-pubescent memories have eclipsed those early ones. And you know, going there with Tara is the best, even though I get raped by the mouse, I can barely wait to go with her again. There's just nothing like that kid experience of it, nothing at all.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

Get that spending over with.

Let's see the 2nd to the last time I was there, Zachary threw up all over Star Tours. Good thing we were using the free tickets.

[Drunk Monk]

35 hours in Disneyland was more expensive than 30 hours in Vegas for me. A lot more...

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

And finding nothing. Although our round trip was thirty hours.

[Drunk Monk]

Well, it was a great ride down with G & tQ. I think tQ remembers more details from my book than I do. And good to see the dogs and to eliminate once more in the fine commode of Lynch Manor.

After G dropped me off, I found my car exactly where S had said it would be with the hotel key in the glove compartment. I dropped my stuff off in our room at Paradise Pier, which had an amazing view of the California park (a free upgrade because the parks are so empty this week). Then I hustled down to D-land and met my family, almost at random, at the central hub. They had already done a lot of Tomorrowland & Small World, so it was off to the Tiki room, which remains a family fav. Then we did Pirates, twice in a row, just because we could as there was no line whatsoever. Spent the day in the original park and hit all the major rides - longest line was 10 mins and I think there were less than half a dozen of those. Unfortunately, Indiana Jones was dark, as was my fav, the Haunted Mansion, which is always dark for the Nightmare Before Christmas refit this time of year. It's a heavy price to pay for 5 min lines. Weather was overcast with welcome light sprinkles which gave a delightful cooling effect. We had a front row seat for the parade and then watched World of Color from our hotel room (there's a TV channel that simulcasts the soundtrack). I slept so well. The next day we spent mostly in original D-land, and cut over to CA-land in the afternoon. CA-land is hotter, less shade, and much more expensive. The lines were longer - T&I did one long one - 90 mins for the new Radiator Springs in Cars-Land. It's a good ride and I've never liked Cars. I've always thought that they could have done better with that franchise, tied it to Autopia like with Pirates. There's also a Tow-Mater ride that is surprisingly fun. S got way into Grizzly River Run, which we also rode twice in a row just to get extra wet. S went back and rode it 3x in a row while T&I were in the Radiator Springs line, and then jedi-ed her way to the front to join us for that. We caught World of Color, which is the best water show ever. EVER! And this is after just seeing the Bellagio show in Vegas from the Eiffel Tower restaurant. So #1 was World of Color. #2 was Radiator Springs. #3 was Star Tours, which is still fun. #4 was Captain EO which was such a funny flashback for S&I, and T liked it too. After World of Color, we drove home. S did the heavy lifting, barreling up I5 with a short stop at the Buttonwillow Denny's for a midnite breakfast. I took the pass at about 3AM. We were in bed by 4:20AM and I made it here to work just a little after 9.

I'm fading fast now. Been sucking on a Mountain Dew, but caffeine has lost it's punch. Just a few more minutes here at work, then home to sleep.

[Drunk Monk]

Has it really been 12 years since out last trip to Dland? We were trying to figure it out and were guestimating over a decade so perhaps that was our last trip.

Stacy said we have to do some big trip for my 60th and asked me where I wanted to go. After not much thought, I said Galaxy’s edge, the new Star Wars land at dland. Stacy said later ‘not London?’ & I was like ‘wait.. was that even on the table?’ I dunno but dland it was. By luck, Tara’s school break was the week after my birthday so she and her flatmate Bri joined us. Another, possibly the final, family trip to dland was all I really wanted.

Dland was more bloated than ever. So many more hotels and restaurants around the area. We stayed at the BW across the street. Tara & Bri stayed at the Anaheim which was a block away but we snuck them into our continental breakfast each morning. We were there with 2 day park hoppers.

If you ever do dland again, drop the extra $30 for the lightning passes. That would’ve shaved off several hours of lines. Also, it’s all about the app now. That tells you everything, including line wait times in real time, locates you in the park, holds your tickets as you hop, allows you to preorder food at restaurants, and much more that we didn’t explore. It’s a necessity now.

Thurs morning we made a beeline for Galaxy’s edge. It’s the best. Luved it. So well done from every angle. So fun. 

We rode smugglers run where your in the Falcon and either a pilot, gunner, or engineer, and you fly through this crazy battle. It’s like a wilder interactive Star Tours. You’re on a mission from Hondo, who you’d know if you watched Clone Wars or Rebels - a merc space pirate. Tara & Bri were pilots and didn’t quite get the hang of flying until the end so we crashed into a lot of stuff. Stacy & I were gunners and we also didn’t quite get the hang of how to shoot properly. Two other patrons were engineers and I’m not sure how it went for them. Nevertheless it was fun to fly the Falcon.

We got into the cantina early because there was an opening. Tara & Bri split a funky coffee drink and I had a Jedi mind trick (vodka, citrus, curaçao to make it blue) which was ok. That was around 10 in the morning. The resistance ride was down so we did jungle cruise (some revised characters like a more diverse group being attacked by the rhino and no more headhunters) & the tiki room (of course!) then has some snacks. We did the treehouse formerly the Swiss family Robinson formerly Tarzan now just a random collection of stairs to climb. Haunted mansion was closed for refit. We did pirates which is more woke than ever now but still fun.

We got in line for the resistance but it crashed after we were captured so we had to exit and were issued lightning passes for later. 

Then we some classic rides in fantasyland which have been upgraded with more videos and effects but stay true to their essence. The only experience/ride that hasnt changed that much is the tiki room. We got lunch in Tomorrowland. Tara & I split a veg sandwich that was surprisingly good. Options for the diet challenged were better. Both Stacy & Bri have severe gluten allergies. Tara & Stacy are veg. I’m pescatarian but must watch my carbs & sugar. For once, Tara had the least complex diet, which delighted her.

We saw the Rise of the Resistance was back online on the app so we went for it. Rise of the Resistance is the best ride/experience ever. My fav theme park experience of all time. It’s so good. Totally worth the ridiculous amount of money spent on Disney, all the lines and hassles, everything. Luved every second of it. It’s a massive experience, totally fun, even if it’s Rey, Po, Finn & Kylo. 

We caught a parade in line for Alice in Wonderland which was perfect timing. Did the Nemo submarine ride where I took a short nap only to be woke by the angler fish. Did the Buzz Lightyear blaster ride where I got the high score mostly because the ride stalled a few times but the targets kept registering so I kept blasting. Did Star Tours which is still fun because it’s old school, despite paling by comparison to Galaxy’s edge, and Tara turned out to be the rebel spy with the secret plans. Figures.

We did the Lincoln experience which felt heavy handed. It started to rain lightly and there was an special private event coming is so we bailed for downtown Disney where we had a nice dinner at the Mexican place (I indulged in the ceviche trio which was satisfying) then checked out the Star Wars store (formally the rainforest cafe), the Lego store, and the monster Disney store.

I’ve babbled enough here already and will pick up with Friday’s adventures later. To be continued…

[Drunk Monk]

We planned to start day 2 in the California experience but the way the hoppers worked, we couldn’t enter until 11, so it was back to Galaxy’s edge. Resistance was down but a worker tipped us off that it would be up again. Soon so we hung out in a line that was not an ‘official’ line for well over a half hour until it opened. We got in and it crashed again, just before we boarded the transport. Again we were given lightning passes.

We went to the Matterhorn but the line was over na hour so we did autopia out of nostalgia. Tara used to love that ride and despite driving down (Stacy & I flew) we still went for it. Stacy let me drive which she seldom does irl because it’s too much of an adrenaline rush she says. Dland needs to electrify those cars.

We did a Small World and were annoyed that Japan was so poorly represented, while wonderland had a larger section. The movies are integrated more now with Mushu as the Chinese dragon, Ariel has an under the sea section, and there’s Woody & Jesse doing cowpoke crap, plus more, but only a few figures for Japan. Doesn’t Tokyo have a dland? WTH?!

When Resistance came back online, we went back and were team orange again so we got the exact same ride, but it was still amazing because we had more time to see the details. It really is the best ride experience ever - the highlight of the trip. 

Rey came by and I was tempted to get a selfie but didn’t. She chatted up this cute kid in a Mandalorian costume and it was super sweet.

Tara bought me a 40th anniversary of Empire fannypack for a birthday present. I was debating over a Black Spire shot glass but the jedi mind trick blurred my memory because it was really a Batuu glass, or a lightsaber carrying case but I have so many cases or a lightsaber water bottle because I need a new one but it looked hard to clean. The fannypack is by Herschel and it’s Endor camo with a random gold & red embroidery which will work for festivals so I’ll actually use it.

After that it was over to Ca. We checked out the Avengers campus, which was cool, but the lines were long so we did the Grizzly River run. My left shoe got soaked and never dried all day. It was step squish step squish. It was fun tho. 

We ate at San Fransokyo where Tara & Bri got some nice soba and I got a shrimp sandwich. We returned later for Ghirardelli’s sundaes for everyone but lactose intolerant me. 

We went back to the avengers campus for the web ride, which was also fun. There’s a motion detector that senses your arm movements so you can shoot webs and spider bots. Stacy got the high score, followed closely by Bri, who is a major Spidey fan and treated herself to a Spidey cap with the vintage logo. Tara got an Avengers Campus workout shirt. We stayed for the shows - Spidey which was a lot of wire stunts and a surprising bound from building to building, the Dora Milaje led by a women who had decent spear technique, the Black Widow & Black Panther defending the avengers jet which was  a well choreographed long live fight, and the Doctor Strange show which was a cheesey magic show but the actor knew it and worked the crowd well - quite funny. 

There were lots of chance to take pics with marvel characters but after going to so many comic cons, that held no appeal. Seen fan costumes that were on par or even better.

Tara & Bri had dinner at Pyms where the meals were distorted in size. Tara had the pasta with a huge impossible meatball the size of a tennis ball and a tiny fork. Being a good sport, she managed and kept the fork as a souvenir (I kept the coasters from the Star Wars cantina). 

We did some shopping but didn’t buy anything more. There’s this new genre - Disney Eats - which glorifies greasy food. Pizza Mickey ears (no one wore those) churro ears (did see some of those worn) shirts of melted cheese with pepperoni in the shape of Mickey ears (saw some of those work too, all on obese peeps). It was kinda disgusting. Saw one tiny section packed with Wish merch. Since that flopped, no one was buying any and there was so much merch. The worst thing were these bubble wands that flooded the area with tiny bubbles, which was cute at first but after 3 or 4 minutes were annoying af. Every parent who bought one for their kid was soon filled with regret and there were many tears when they got taken away from obnoxious kid wielders. 

Lastly we stood in line for days for the Cars ride. I’m not sure why. Seemed like the thing to do but it nearly broke us. When we finally got in our car, the ride stopped for several minutes because some toddler wanted off and it was a big scene of kid tears and parents at the end of their ropes. But it’s still a fun ride.

We left early, exhausted. I watched the fireworks from the window of our hotel then promptly crashed.

Stacy said she was done with dland. She can’t see ever going back. While we had a lot of fun, it was such a draining experience, draining money and energy. I’d love to go back but I don’t know why I would. I can’t imagine another D00M dland trip and I don’t work for a corporation that might end up there somehow. 

Going there with Tara once more was an absolute delight. Having her school me on lightsabers (there were a few character lightsabers that I didn’t know from the video game and Clone Wars) gave me a weird sense of pride.

 There were still some moments of Disney magic. And Rise of the Resistance was awesome.

[Drunk Monk]

One more note - the blue milk is a ripoff. It’s a weak coconut water slush for like $6. Maybe it was $8. Too much. I bought two, one for me and Tara, but we should’ve just split one. I was really thirsty when I ordered. 
They also have green milk but that’s not canon - wtf is the mouse trying to pull here?

[Greg]

On behalf of the Yeti, shouldn't this be in Travel. This forum is totally off its axis.

Once you get some grandchildren, Disneyland will be yours again

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

On behalf of the Yeti, shouldn't this be in Travel. This forum is totally off its axis.

Once you get some grandchildren, Disneyland will be yours again

Thank you.

[Drunk Monk]

On behalf of the Yeti, shouldn't this be in Travel. This forum is totally off its axis.

Thank you.

Once you get some grandchildren, Disneyland will be yours again

[King Bob]

Our last Disneyland trip was 20 or so years ago, and I swore off it then. Too expensive and too crowded, although probably not that crowded compared to now.

[thatguy]

Our last Disneyland trip was 20 or so years ago, and I swore off it then. Too expensive and too crowded, although probably not that crowded compared to now.

My mother-in-law wanted to take the kids (and us). She'd take my daughter before. They had the whole thing down at the time...buy the 3-day pass from Costco so you get early park access, stay at the hotel so you can ride the monorail in. As soon as you enter the park, go to the Blue Bayou (the restaurant in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride) and put your name down for lunch since they didn't take reservations...

So they decided that the day we should go was the final weekend of the Electric Parade (the original one). We didn't stay at the Disney hotel, some nearby motel...got there and the park was packed...so packed, that they closed the entrance for the first time since the park opened...so packed, that the opened the back lots and guided groups from one side of the park to the other...so packed that the lines for the ride were so, so long and boring. I think we were waiting for the Bear Jamboree in the hot sun for hours. The bathrooms were nearby and smelled horrible. I said "Why do you think they call it 'Pooh Corner'"?

My son must have been ~5 or 6 and was pretty high maintenance at the time. I think we saw Captain EO, but then he and I waited in line for Star Tours. He was winge-ing the entire way. I think we are at 10-past-any-patience-left at that point. He was super scared, but we finally did the ride and immediately he wanted to go again (it was like a 2 hr wait...)

I'd been to Disney World twice when I was a kid, but never to Disneyland. All my friends got to go when I was growing up, so I felt a bit left out and it was nice to finally see and compare the parks. 

We also got to see the Fantasmic show which projected video on water from the fountains in the moat around Tom Sawyer's island. That was pretty spectacular.

Lunch in the Blue Bayou was nice because it was a really hot and crowded day...but I ordered a Monte Cristo which has to be one of the weirded sandwiches ever. 

Overall, I got the gist of what it was about, but it was a grueling day and I probably wouldn't go back unless there was something really special..

--tg

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--tg