Disneyland/DCA Trip Report 8/4/12 (I found the crowds, and escaped them in the Carthay Circle Lounge)

If you read my last trip report, about my July visit to Disneyland, you know I marveled at the lack of crowds in Disneyland on a Saturday, and discussed my opinion that right now Saturdays are a fantastic time to go to Disneyland. I posted that on a Friday, and the next day I found myself in Disneyland, ready to eat my words. I've had good luck on Saturdays, but it's still the Summer, and it's still a weekend in Disneyland, and you'll often encounter crowds. This Saturday, I encountered lots of crowds.

Now, let me say right off, I've seen much busier days at Disneyland. But I've had a good run of luck going to Disneyland on Saturdays, so I was getting complacent, and so even if the crowds were far from unbearable, it did put a damper on my day, a little bit, just because of where my expectations were set. My last visit, I expected huge crowds, was surprised by the lack thereof, and had a great time. This time, a typical (actually, probably, still somewhat light by Summer weekend standards) crowd threw off my plans (no lines, ride everything, twice if I want to), and led to disappointment.

So let me revise what I previously said, slightly: Saturday is still a pretty good time to visit Disneyland. Just know it's not a fool-proof plan. Some Saturdays will be extremely busy. But even then, Disneyland knows how to handle busy Saturdays in the Summer. All the rides are open and running at full capacity. Plenty of entertainment is on hand. Crowd control is well-managed. And as I have said before, Saturday crowds are more balanced, tourists spread out across the park trying to see everything, not APers who flock to the best attractions and know all the same tricks I know. For instance, this weekend Splash Mountain had a pretty long line, but I got on with essentially no waiting thanks to the single-rider line; single-rider on a busy day when APs aren't blacked out can often be close to a 30-minute wait, on the busiest days. So there are secrets to getting around some of the Saturday crowds. Combine that with the flexibility of a frequent visitor, who can say, that line's too long, I'll skip it, it'll still be here when I come back, and you can still get a lot of enjoyment even out of the busiest Saturday.

That said, I just wasn't feeling it this trip. Partly because of the crowds, partly perhaps because I've been there a lot lately, partly because things have just been a bit hectic for me lately, or maybe because this is the third trip in a row I went by myself, but I wasn't in full Disneyland mode this trip. Not to say I had a horrible time, and some of the new experiences I had and will discuss below were quite enjoyable, but when you go as often as I do, some trips won't be quite as special as others. Which isn't to say that Disneyland "loses it's magic" if you go too often, it just means that sometimes you have to be patient, and just wait for your next trip for the magic to overtake you.

But just because this trip wasn't legendary doesn't mean I wish I hadn't gone or that I didn't get to do anything. I actually went on most of the rides in Disneyland that I consider the core attractions. I did fail to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which I'm always disappointed to miss. And I missed Pirates of the Caribbean, which I would have gone on had the line been shorter, but frankly this isn't an attraction I need to ride every visit. On the other hand, I rode Splash Mountain (via single-rider), a ride I often miss. And it appeared that most of the broken animatronics have been repaired (one vulture was still broken, but that's all I noticed). And I rode Alice in Wonderland for the first time in a long time. A very enjoyable dark ride, right up there with Peter Pan, but I just am not interested in waiting more than 10 minutes for any Fantasyland ride, so I don't get to see it often.

And I finally got to see the Voices of Liberty! Either I was mistaken about their Sunday-Tuesday schedule, or it was extended. Around noon, I was just leaving Disneyland for DCA and lunch, when I heard the announcement that the Voices of Liberty were about to perform in the Opera House. So of course I made a bee-line to the Opera House. I couldn't believe the crowd for the show, easily over 100 people, around 150, I'd say. I've never seen that many people at Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln before!

I must admit, I wasn't that crazy about the Voices of Liberty. Their voices were fine, and their patriotic songs fit the venue okay. But I found it a bit light-weight compared to the Lincoln performance. Not as bad as the awful song they play as the audience is leaving, but still not quite enough gravitas for the venue. And between the songs and Lincoln, the whole performance took about 35 minutes, which is a lot of time to ask people to take out of their visit to Disneyland. The Lincoln show itself is just about the right length, it doesn't really need a pre-show in the theatre. If the Voices of Liberty help get people in to see Lincoln, by all means, keep them singing. But I doubt they'll stick around after the Summer (except maybe to resurface around Christmas time and do some caroling). There were eleven singers in the performance I saw, and I have to imagine that paying that many singers is not a cost effective means of filling a few seats for Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln.

After Lincoln, I left for DCA and lunch at the Carthay Circle Lounge. The menu for the Carthay Circle restaurant doesn't interest me all that much, but some of the appetizers at the lounge looked interesting, and it seemed a cost-effective way to check out DCA's new centerpiece. After hearing that customers of the lounge were not allowed to use the restroom in the restaurant, I intended to boycott the whole establishment, but as Disney apologized and said their employees didn't understand the policy (I don't believe that--I think they just furiously backpedaled when people responded with outrage), I decided I could try it out (I'm still a bit uneasy about the whole thing--I don't mind an expensive restaurant, I just don't like the idea of it being the focal point of the entire park; it's like if Club 33 was inside Sleeping Beauty's Castle). Seeing how crowded the park was, I was a bit concerned I'd even be able to get in the lounge at 12:30, but I had no problems, it was actually pretty empty. The decor was nice, elegant but not stuffy. A nice quiet place to sit down and relax. I sat at the bar, and ordered a botanical gin & tonic, which had star anise, cardamon, and mint in it. I was promptly served a generous pour of gin on the rocks, with aforementioned herbs, and a separate little carafe of tonic water to mix myself. I added a splash of tonic and gave it a sip. A good drink. The herbs added a nice aroma, but I could barely taste them. At $10.50, it wasn't cheap, but considering it was about the same price as the cocktails sold at the Mad T Party out of a slurpee machine, I thought the price, for the venue, was fairly reasonable. I mentioned I was hoping someone would order a Manhattan, so I could see them make the ice sphere for it, and the bartender was kind enough to demonstrate the process for me. It was really quite amazing. I was expecting a machine akin to a Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine, but in fact it's just two brass blocks, with half the sphere shape carved into either side. The brass, a good conductor of heat, apparently, melts the specially-ordered ice cylinder quite quickly, and a bit over a minute later, the bartender removed a perfectly spherical ice cube. It was completely clear, looking just like a crystal ball. I kicked myself later for not videotaping the process, as I didn't expect much from it, but it was really quite amazing. Well worth seeing, should you get the chance. (Here's a video someone else took of the process)

I thought about ordering an appetizer and dessert, but decided to get two appetizers instead, after noticing the deviled eggs with smoked salmon. So I ordered that and the duck confit sliders. As you can see from the picture, the servings were not exactly generous (though I ate one of the eggs before taking the picture). The sliders were actually slightly larger than I expected, and the eggs were as filling as you would expect three hard-boiled eggs to be, so I didn't leave here hungry, though I wasn't exactly full, either. But both were excellent. The bread for the sliders was perfect, just hard enough, and the apricot preserves went great with the duck. And the deviled eggs were delicious. How do you go wrong with eggs, smoked salmon, and lemon creme freche? (answer: you don't) $10 for three eggs might sound a bit steep, but I would gladly pay it again. I probably wouldn't go here for lunch again, but for an indulgent afternoon treat, I can see myself coming back here for a cocktail and a light snack. The bartenders were very nice, and talkative, hopefully I didn't annoy them too much with my questions. I mentioned that I was torn between my gin & tonic or ordering a Pimm's Punch (I decided the gin & tonic was the classier choice), so later when he made someone a Pimm's Punch, he gave me a shotglass of what was leftover in his shaker, which was nice of him (it was very tasty, and I am sure I will be trying that again). I got the impression that the lounge is rarely that busy, so I think this could be my new retreat when the hustle and bustle of the park gets to me. I generally don't drink when I'm at Disneyland, but a finely-crafted cocktail does give an adult spin to the day. In particular, Space Mountain was a lot more fun with a very light buzz! Though alcohol and marching around all day in the hot sun isn't a perfect match.

So overall, I was impressed by the lounge. Total charge for the food and drink was $41, including tip and 15% Premium AP discount on the food (not alcohol). Expensive enough that this won't be an every-trip indulgence, but I did enjoy it, and hope to return sometime.

After visiting the lounge, though, it was all downhill from there. DCA was even busier than Disneyland, and every time I checked, the single-rider line for Radiator Springs Racers was closed (the stand-by line was steady at two hours, which seems typical for the ride). I rode Tower of Terror with a Fastpass (the third elevator shaft, which has been out of service for some time, was open again, which helped with wait times considerably) and The Little Mermaid, which had a 15 minute line at one point (insanity!), but no wait when I went on it. I don't think I rode any other rides in DCA, though I did enjoy the various entertainment options (Ellis Island Boys, Five and Dime, the Newsies). I thought about seeing Aladdin, but ultimately did not (I assume the carpet's still broken).

And that's basically all there is to say about this trip. As it was obvious to myself that I just wasn't feeling this trip, I decided not to stay too late, and get home at a reasonable hour. I left the park around 7:45, stopped at In-N-Out on the way home, and was back home before 10. I don't mean to sound too negative about this trip, it was nice to just get out of town for the day and blow off steam, and I really enjoyed the Carthay Circle Lounge, a nice new experience for me. But the crowds definitely were disappointing, a reminder that visiting in the Summer can be stressful. I won't be able to go back before SoCal AP blackouts are lifted; I'll probably stay away for a few weeks after that, as well, let some of the pent up demand die down. But I look forward to returning to the park in September. And soon after that, to enjoy Halloween Time. That's the nice thing about having a lackluster visit, there's always next time.

Disneyland/DCA Trip Report 7/7/12 (Where is Everybody?)

So, wow, my triumphant return to blogging has not gone well. What I've put up here seems good, but I just am not in the habit of posting here regularly. It's been almost a month since I've been to Disneyland, and with my next trip to commence in less than 12 hours, I still haven't posted about my most recent trip. Sorry about being flaky, I just had some life stuff pop up, not to mention Comic-Con (which I also am remiss in writing about here - I'll probably say a few brief words, but don't really have that much to personally add to all that has already been said about the enormity and gravitas of Comic-Con 2012, though at the very least I will share some pics of my major purchase, when it finally arrives next week). But I'm going to try to hammer out a few comments about my post-Independence Day weekend trip, because there are things to be said.

Namely, where was everybody? Disneyland was amazingly uncrowded and pleasant. As the day went on, it got busier, but until 1 or 2 in the afternoon, it was one of the slowest days I've seen in recent memory. It reminded me of a Wednesday in January. Lines were reasonable, not quite walk-ons for the major attractions, but still stunning. Take this image from Tomorrowland:

Now yes, there are a lot of people in this picture. But considering the location, and that this is a Saturday on a quasi-holiday weekend (the 4th falling on a Wednesday sort of made things weird-I think the weekend before was when most people observed the holiday weekend), I can't believe how much unoccupied space there was. I think the Standby line for Star Tours was 30 minutes at this time; it creeped up a bit, but not a lot, and Fastpasses for both Star Tours and Space Mountain were plentiful (I think this was only the second time since Star Tours reopened I managed to get Fastpasses for both it and Space Mountain on the same visit).

Since purchasing a Premium Annual Pass, I have been discovering that Saturday is a pretty good day to go to Disneyland. I went on Saturday during last Thanksgiving weekend, prepared for crowds, and found the day bustling, certainly busy, but very manageable. Last year, I think it was Memorial Day weekend when I went up for a preview of Star Tours, and while that day was certainly very busy, I still find the make-up of the customers, mostly out of town tourists, makes the day more manageable, as they tend to spread out. So I have some Saturday visits under my belt, that perhaps should have prepared me for this. But I was just stunned, on my first visit to the Disneyland Resort since Cars Land officially opened, but the lack of crowds.

And others are noticing. Al Lutz's most recent column outlines the changes in Disneyland's traffic flow since Cars Land opened, noting that on the Saturday after my visit, attendance was down 15,000 people versus the year before (though this number is based on the first park visited, so park-hoppers skew the figures significantly). The general feeling from his column (which I tend to agree with) is that by finally fixing Disney California Adventure, they've simply taken the stress off of Disneyland. The typically negative commenter on the Micechat site, however, have plainly laid the blame on the price increases, saying it's to blame. Which is somewhat true, probably, though "blame" is a loaded term. I'd say it did what it was supposed to do, bring in more revenue and keep attendance flat, so that the park functions properly. I think the price increase was a bit too much, but I get what Disney was doing. My theory is that they raised it enough to give themselves plenty of leeway with discounts later. There have been rumors of Disneyland implementing peak and off-peak pricing--I think the new price is the peak pricing, and they will just introduce loads of discounts to serve as off-peak pricing, once Cars Land mania slows down.

So to summarize, if you've heard rumors that Disneyland is slow since Cars Land opened, I can confirm that in my limited experience, yes it is.  Odd thing is, while California Adventure is most certainly not slow, it is still quite manageable. The usual suspects still have long lines (I had hoped Cars Land would take the strain off of Toy Story Mania, but it hasn't helped too much, 40-50 minute waits all day), but moving around was a breeze, even in Cars Land itself. Even Radiator Springs Racers wasn't too bad, rode it twice via single rider, waiting 20 minutes the first time, 45 the second. The wait for Tower of Terror was a little better than last time I went, and I had no trouble getting a Fastpass, even though the third tower is still down (anyone know what's up with that?).

One problem was, even though I've had good luck with Saturdays, I still planned this trip expecting huge holiday crowds. So by the time I arrived at the park, I had braced myself for gridlock, and resolved that this trip was primarily about checking out the new entertainment in the park. So I was surprised to discover I could ride most rides in Disneyland with minimal waits, but at this point I had my heart set on watching performances. So that's what I did. Rather than set a ride-riding record, I just hit up my usual must-rides, and also experienced quite a few shows.

One disappointment hit me first thing after entering Disneyland--the Voices of Liberty don't perform on Saturdays. Only Sundays through Tuesdays, which are days it is very difficult for me to make it to Disneyland, at least in the Summer. So I'm afraid I might not ever see them, unless their run is extended.

So the only show I saw at Disneyland was Billy Hill and the Hillbillies, now performing in the Big Thunder Ranch area instead of the Golden Horseshoe Saloon. I've always found this show a bit hit-or-miss, perhaps depending on my mood. I know a lot of people like them, and I don't hate them, but I'm not a big fan, either. But the show I saw was pretty good. I think the outdoor venue fits them well. And I liked seeing the older costumed characters walking around during the show. This isn't something I would seek out, but if I'm in the area, I'd stop and listen a spell.

The reason I was in the area was, I finally got around to something I've wanted to do for some time: eat the all-you-can-eat BBQ at Big Thunder Ranch. I've long wanted to try it, but been hesitant, for Disneyland isn't really a place I want to eat all I can possibly eat. I certainly don't want to eat buckets of ribs and chicken and biscuits, and then hop on the Big Thunder Railroad (and I'm sure their janitorial crew doesn't want me to do that, either). And beyond that, I'm not really that hungry, generally, when I'm at Disneyland. Probably because I'm running around in the sun all day, but I generally don't have a huge appetite when I'm there, and tend not to eat a lot in one sitting. So I didn't know if I'd get a good value out of the pretty expensive meal.

One other concern: it's served family style, and I was alone. I've floated the idea of eating here before, when I was with people, but either they weren't hungry enough, or I wasn't. So it never seemed to work out. But this day, I was plenty hungry when lunch time came around, so around noon, I decided to jettison my plans of trying the turkey Reuben at the Starbucks in DCA, and had the BBQ instead. I was impressed. It's not going to be a frequent choice in my restaurant rotation, but if I'm hungry enough and in the mood for ribs, I would definitely come back. The ribs were quite tender and tasty, a tad bit spicy, but not killer. By the end, the spiciness was beginning to catch up with me (I think that's how they make sure you don't eat too much), but they kept the iced tea coming, so I was fine. The chicken was just okay, a little dry (I might request dark meat next time). The sides were good, baked beans especially, though the coleslaw wasn't that exciting. I really liked the corn bread, it was nice and moist. It seemed really dense, I was surprised how heavy it was when I picked it up, I'm guessing that's the moisture in it. But it really complemented the meal. It's pricy, but for all-you-can-eat in a theme park, didn't seem unreasonable.

And I should mention, since it was a concern of mine, eating there as a solo diner wasn't an issue. They served it family style, but adjusted the portions accordingly. So I didn't waste a bunch of food, but didn't miss out on anything, as they were ready and willing to bring more, and did bring me a second bucket of ribs as soon as I asked. I would say it's actually a pretty good place to dine alone, amongst Disneyland's full-service restaurants, as they get you the food very quickly and you can get out as quickly as you can eat. Like I said above, my main concern with the restaurant is that all-you-can-eat isn't a great fit with theme parks, at least for me, but for those times when you're at Disneyland, have an appetite, and BBQ sounds pretty good, I would recommend the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ.

After eating, it was time for DCA. As I mentioned, DCA was more crowded, but still quite manageable. I rode Radiator Springs Racers twice, but skipped the other rides. I ate some watermelon while I watched Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, and was excited to hear the "blooper" version of "Welcome to Radiator Springs." Later, I hit up the Cozy Cone, and got the churro bites, with chocolate cinnamon dipping sauce, and took it over to the Paradise Gardens area to listen to the Ellis Island Boys. The churros were good, though the sauce was a bit weird, very watery, more like hot chocolate than the thick chocolate I was expecting. Reminded me a bit of Mexican hot chocolate, in fact, because of the cinnamon. It wasn't bad, though it did mean it would be difficult to eat on the run, as I imagine most people probably do. But sitting and eating, it wasn't an issue. I've mentioned the Ellis Island Boys before, so I'll just say they were great as usual and leave it at that.

One of the biggest surprises for me this trip was seeing the Newsies show in Buena Vista Street. I'd seen clips of it, and it didn't look that good to me. But in person, I really enjoyed it.  I was concerned, from the clips and comments I've read online, that the music was too modern for the show. But in person, that didn't bother me at all. The booming bass is a bit much, but it has to be to be heard in a bustling theme park. In person, it didn't bother me at all. I found the show very endearing and cute, and was very impressed by the high-energy performers. I think they have several different numbers they do in different shows, so I'm eager to see them again. And one great thing about the show--it's short. No chance to wear out it's welcome. Minnie's Fly Girls show could learn from this. I think this show will continue to be a must-see for me for some time.

I wasn't sure I was going to get to see the Five and Dime jazz combo this trip, as I kept missing them, but I finally caught their last show of the day. I enjoyed it, I liked the jalopy they come out on, and they are all talented musicians. But it just fell a little bit flat for me. Possibly because of the sound system; I was standing in the front row right in front of the truck, but it seemed like the sound was split between two different speakers on either end of the plaza, and it just didn't match up quite right. Something just seemed off. But besides that, it also just felt a little too overdone and contrived. I think what it comes down to is, I'd rather hear the Ellis Island Boys. Still, this is hardly a bad show, and I will definitely give it another chance. I just think the Five and Dime will be like the Dapper Dans: if I walk by and they're performing, I might stop and listen, but it's not something I'd seek out.

Goofy's new show was an odd little thing. I liked it okay, though there's not a lot too it. A funny narration makes fun of Goofy for a bit, and then Goofy "conducts" the World of Color fountains. I kept waiting for everything to go horribly wrong and the fountains squirt out of control, but it never happened. Goofy just flailed around a lot. Kind of pointless, but I liked it well enough. Another thing I'd see if I was in the area, but not really seek out.

So there you have it, a trip report hastily assembled just so that I don't have a backlog of trip reports before tomorrow's trip. Sorry 'bout that. I will just add quickly, Cars Land was slightly underwhelming, the second time around. I'm thinking that's just because my first impressions were so positive, it was hard for the reality to live up to my memories. The mountains are still impressive, but the other elements of the land, and in particular Radiator Springs Racers, were a bit disappointing upon my return. So I'm very curious to see how I feel about the land tomorrow. And whatever my opinion, I'll share it here, and try not to take a month to get around to it (that's the main problem with visiting on Saturday: I work Sundays. So I don't get a day to recover before returning to work, like I do when I visit Fridays, and I don't have time to write a trip report right away).

Disneyland/DCA Trip Report 6/9/12 (Cars Land/Buena Vista Street Preview)

So, Cars Land and Buena Vista Street have opened to the public, and yet I am only now writing about my experience with the Annual Passholder Preview night for these two new lands. My apologies, but I just didn't have the time. Or maybe I just didn't want to spoil anything for the rest of you who couldn't get a sneak peak! Yeah, that's the ticket. In any event, there's plenty of reports from the opened lands now, so I won't give an exhaustive retelling of my day, I'll just offer up my general opinions.

Cars Land, the land itself, is incredible. For the preview, we were brought in by the side entrance, over by the Pacific Wharf area, and the sight of Ornament Valley as you walk under the arch and onto Route 66 left me awestruck, to the point where I lost my place in line. I've watched these mountains be constructed; they seem to have been pretty much finished for close to six months, and I'd seen them from afar. I was excited to see them up close, but was shocked by just how impressive they were from inside the land. I highly recommend, if you have a choice, you enter Cars Land by that side entrance, it's really a shockingly impressive image, and an ideal first impression.

I think most elements of Cars Land and Buena Vista Street are very well done, but it is the mountains that truly are some of the best work ever done by Disney. There's pretty much no fault I can possibly find with Ornament Valley. The town of Radiator Springs is also impressive, though not quite as jaw-droppingly so. A bit smaller than I expected, but big enough, it seems, it really does capture the town from the movies, and if it's overshadowed by the wilderness around it, I suppose the town in the movie was, too.

I suppose it's at night where Radiator Springs gives Monument Valley a run for its money. The neon of Radiator Springs is very nice. The mountains also look good lit up at night, but while I had heard before seeing it myself that the mountains really shined at night, I actually preferred them during the day. It's a close call, the mountains look good at night, too, but I liked being able to see all the details as much as possible during the day. But again, I must emphasize, day or night, it's an incredible view.

The town, on the other hand, does certainly look better at night. I will say I was slightly less impressed with the town than I expected, but I think that's just because of high expectations. I think my feeling about the look of the signs was basically, they look like they look, and either they will look that way, or Disney will screw it up. Well, Disney didn't screw it up. The neon is first-rate, and all the reason you need to stick around DCA well after dark.

Now to the rides, in order of hype. Luigi's Flying Tires has not had the best word-of-mouth prior to Cars Land opening. In fact, if you read MiceAge, you probably know this ride is an unmitigated disaster. So I was surprised to find that I enjoyed it. I didn't have too much trouble maneuvering my tire, which I rode solo. I actually got some good speed. And while bumping the other tires isn't as satisfying as most bumper-car experiences, the beach balls add a bit of camaraderie between you and the other tires. I enjoyed the ride, and would like to ride it again. Unfortunately, the rumor about the ride's painfully long loading time and embarrassingly low capacity are quite true. Early on in the preview night, I got on this ride with almost no waiting in line. But wait I did; once I got on my tire, it was easily four to five minutes before the ride started. No wonder it soon had a two hour wait. I liked the ride, but I don't see how it's slow capacity won't doom it. It's funner than you think, and riding it solo it's easy to get a hang of controlling it. But I hope the early negative responses scare off 90% of park visitors, or this is going to have hellacious waits.

LUIGI'S FLYING TIRES VERDICT: GOOD, BUT NOT WORTH MORE THAN A 10-15 MINUTE WAIT.

While Luigi's Flying Tires had bad reviews leading up to the park opening, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree had very good buzz going for it. Personally, I enjoyed it, though I wouldn't let the good reviews get your expectations too high. It's a fun little ride, reminiscent of the Tea Cups, or more reminiscent of Francis' Ladybug Boogie (aka the only fun ride in A Bug's Land), except that instead of riding in the main vehicle, you are being towed behind it, and are whipped around whenever you change direction. It's fun, and Mater's songs make it only more so, but it's still just a spinning ride. A very good one, but don't expect a mind-blowing experience. I will admit, the first time I road it, I was in hysterics listening to Larry the Cable Guy's safety spiel (I'll give Larry credit, I'm not a fan, but he's a good fit for Mater).

So, yes, it's a fun ride, and it can handle a pretty good number of riders for a ride of its kind, but I still have to assume this will have pretty long lines for the next six months or year or so, and I don't see myself waiting in long lines for it. I'd suggest, if the line's long, maybe save it for another visit, if that's an option for you. It's a pretty good ride, but there are better ways to spend your time.

MATER'S JUNKYARD JAMBOREE VERDICT: VERY GOOD, WORTH 20-30 MINUTE WAIT IF YOU'VE NEVER RODE IT BEFORE, 10-15 MINUTE WAIT FOR RETURNING SQUARE-DANCERS

So I guess between Luigi and Mater, I'd give the edge to Mater. Both rides are about equally compelling, but seeing as Mater is the only ride of the two likely to have only a 10-15 minute wait anytime this year, it wins out due to logistics.

And then, of course, there's the E-ticket. Radiator Springs Racers. It's a great ride. How great depends on just what you include as part of the ride. Is Ornament Valley part of the ride, or is Ornament Valley an attraction unto itself, that Radiator Springs Racers just travels through? It's hard to say. On the one hand, to look at an analogous example, I would never think of taking the buttes and mountains out of the equation before evaluating Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. That would just seem silly. But as nice as the rock work in Frontierland is, I don't go there just to look at it (though look at it I do). Big Thunder Mountain needs the ride to sustain itself; Ornament Valley does not. Which isn't to say Disney could have gotten away with opening Cars Land without a ride. People need things to do in Cars Land. But still, just seeing the Cars universe is the star attraction here, and that's why I have a hard time saying definitively whether Ornament Valley is part of Radiator Springs Racers, or if Radiator Springs Racers is just passing through. (It's almost as if, to use a Disney term, the Radiator Springs Racers ride is Cars Land's "weenie," and the ride serves as encouragement to get people out to see the mountain, instead of the other way around)

Why does it matter? Well, the easy answer is it doesn't, really. But it's hard not to rank rides and attractions, and how well Radiator Springs Racers stacks up has a lot to do with Ornament Valley. Simply put, include Ornament Valley as part of the attraction, and Radiator Springs Racers is quite possibly the best thing Disney's ever done. Judge Radiator Spring Racers on it's own merits, without Ornament Valley, and it's another solid Disney E-Ticket, a great ride, but not quite the best. Better than Indiana Jones, probably better than Splash Mountain, probably about on par with Space Mountain but trailing Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean (though of course such rankings are very subjective, and the attractions so different it's hard to compare).

So, it sounds like my final verdict comes down to some rather arbitrary distinctions about where to draw the border around Radiator Springs Racers. My personal opinion is that the ride cannot completely take credit for the brilliance of Ornament Valley, but that excluding it from consideration in evaluating the ride just seems silly. My favorite part of the ride is actually the beginning, before you enter the show building, where you just cruise around Ornament Valley, up to the bridge and waterfall, and just take in the sights. Maybe Ornament Valley is not strictly part of the ride, but the ride is an excellent way to view it (like, say, how Storybook Land isn't part of Casey Jr., strictly speaking, but it still adds to the attraction). The final portion, where you actually race, also gives a good view of the mountains, but here the ride actually might detract a bit, as you have the speed and the banked turns and the "race" with the other car to distract you. I liked the racing part, but not as much as the first, leisurely part of the ride. I think I wish it was a bit faster, a bit more thrilling. But I get why it's the speed it is; it's a good compromise between the little kids that want to ride through the movie Cars, and the adults who want a bit of an adrenaline jolt. I wouldn't call this a thrill ride, but it's an exciting ride, and I did get into the racing element, though I imagine the novelty of that will wear off soon enough.

As for the middle of the ride? The dark ride portion was impressive. The animatronic cars are quite impressive. This portion of the ride is definitely not Disney's best, compared to such classics as Pirates and Haunted Mansion, but it's good, and there are nice little touches here and there. For the most part, though, once I was in the show building, I was just eager to get back outside and see the mountains some more (have you noticed yet that I liked the mountains?).

Overall, Radiator Springs Racers is a great ride. Anyway you look at it, it's the best ride in DCA, and looks to be an instant classic. I can't wait to go on it again (via the single-rider line, most likely, as that seems to be the most efficient way of riding it). The ride benefits greatly from its location, smack dab in the most amazing environment I've ever seen in a theme park. Just as a way of seeing the mountains up close, it's well worth the wait. An E-ticket, without question, and a home run for Disney (though it does seem to break down a lot, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on that for now).

RADIATOR SPRINGS RACERS VERDICT: FANTASTIC. THE BEST RIDE IN DCA, AND AMONGST THE BEST RIDES IN THE RESORTS. IF YOU'VE NEVER RODE IT BEFORE, I'D SAY IT'S WORTH VIRTUALLY ANY WAIT, AND HAVING RODE IT THREE TIMES ALREADY, I'D BE WILLING TO WAIT 60-90 MINUTES TO RIDE IT AGAIN, EASILY (THOUGH SINGLE RIDER LINE MEANS I'D MOST LIKELY HAVE UNDER AN HOUR WAIT)

So that sums up my feelings on Cars Land. As to Buena Vista Street, I'm actually going to be brief (I know I've said that before, but I mean it this time). I was impressed. It's not as awe-inspiring as Cars Land, not the sort of thing you want to spend hours exploring, but it's exactly what DCA needed. I haven't seen it without the construction walls yet, but it does seem to serve it's purpose, letting you know you are in a very special place.

The trolley was not in service when I was there, it was just parked at its stop. It's nice looking, but frankly didn't wow me. The shops are nice looking, inside and out. I was impressed by Elias and Co., and even more impressed by the interior of the Fiddler, Fife and Practical Cafe (i.e. Starbucks).

Disney did what they needed to do, and fixed the entrance of DCA. For the record, I actually liked the original entrance, or at least the murals. But the Sun Sculpture and the shops, once you got inside the gates, were completely forgettable, and the whole place just lacked a soul. I'm glad they seem to have done it right this time, and I look forward to going back and seeing it all without construction walls.

Disneyland Trip Report: May 31, 2012

My last trip to Disneyland was supposed to be my last hurrah, for awhile, a last chance to see classic Disneyland before Carsland/Buena Vista Street opens and the place gets too, too crazy to just drop in, for awhile. But plans changed, largely because of the price increases. A friend's pass was expired, and I figured we'd renew it over the summer, because if you buy a pass in person, you can use it that day, even if it's a blackout day. But a 30% price increase made that plan make less sense. So I snatched up a voucher for her pass at the AAA office, at the old price, and since we could activate it anytime, we figured we'd go now, right before the blackout days hit.

Now, if you read my last Disneyland trip report, you know that I was concerned about the impact of Grad Night crowds on the parks, and actually pushed my last trip back a day to avoid going on a Grad Night. But this time, getting in under the gun before blackout days kicked in required a trip on a Grad Night. So, were my fears justified? Not really; any impact Grad Night attendees had was dwarfed by the congestion and insane lines caused by a deluge of AP-holders getting one last trip in before blackout days. The park wasn't so crowded you couldn't move or anything, but it was definitely more crowded than I am used to. Before noon or so, lines weren't incredibly bad, but they kept building, and when I went to get a FastPass for Tower of Terror around 5, they were out of FastPasses, and the line was two hours long.  For Tower of Terror! Even the Little Mermaid had a line, not a bad one, but I've become spoiled by constantly walking on that ride, so that a ten minute wait now seems like madness. Of course, it's possible that Grad Night students are responsible for some of the crowd, but I didn't notice many potential Grad Night attendees, or at least enough to make an impact, until at least 6 PM. Late in the evening, I did observe a good number of rowdy groups of high school grads, an obnoxious crowd laughing hysterically at every moment of Captain Eo, but overall the groups I saw were in high spirits but as respectful of other visitors as could reasonably be expected. I did see two students loudly shouting obscenities, but within two minutes I heard a middle-aged woman shouting the same obscenities into her cell phone, so Grad Night cannot be given the entire blame for the coarsening of our society.

So to sum up, it was crowded. As crowded as a Thursday has any right being. Which meant I did not ride on Tower of Terror, a ride that is not as compulsory a part of my Disney trips as, say, Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, but a ride I rarely miss. To be fair, I managed to ride both Space Mountain and Star Tours (I usually just pick one, since it's difficult to get FastPasses for both, and still get any other FastPasses, for Big Thunder Mountain, for instance), and while the Haunted Mansion line was quite long at times, by that attraction's standards, I did eventually ride it, as well. I missed Pirates of the Caribbean, which frankly is fine by me, it's a good ride, but not one I feel compelled to ride every visit. And we got a late FastPass for Splash Mountain, but as I was developing a rash after getting a good soaking on Grizzly River Run, I decided I'd rather pass on that. I went on Indiana Jones via the single-rider line, having a longer wait than usual using that shortcut, but still not a bad wait, ten minutes at most. I refuse to ride Indy any other way, both because single-rider saves so much time and because I think the ride is extremely overrated. It always seems like so many effects are broken (if you want to have some idea what a well-executed ride in the Indiana Jones style might look like, try the Transformers ride at Universal Studios, it is incredible). Leaving Indy, a kid jumped out at me, trying to scare his brother, and scared the crap out of me, I just sort of screamed, shoved the kid over, and made a mad dash for the exit; I certainly did not carry myself well in that situation. I did ride Soarin', which I don't ride often, so that gave some variety to the trip. But overall, it was not my most productive visit, rides-wise.

But that's okay. My friend hadn't been since January, and she mostly got all the rides she wanted to revisit (though missing Tower of Terror was a hard pill for her to swallow). And the park had changed since her last visit, especially DCA. In fact, it had even changed since my last visit, as the walls around the Carthay Circle Theatre and its adjacent fountain were down:

I'll reserve full judgement until I can experience Buena Vista Street as a whole, but I was satisfied with the results of this area's transformation, at least so far. It seemed like Disney was doing a thorough job, and the results seem just as high-quality up-close as they did from afar. No one will plan a Disney vacation just to see the Carthay Circle recreation, but it does seem like it will be effective, a la Main Street, U.S.A., in reminding you that you are in a special place.

Standing on the fountain, I could also get a good preview of Buena Vista Street itself, and its shops. I liked what I could see:

Around closing time that evening, I headed over to the Blue Sky Cellar to get a view down into Carsland. It looked good, though not a whole lot had changed. I think the exteriors have pretty much been done for some time now. I did get a better look at Mater's Junkyard Jamboree than I had before, and was surprised by just how large it appears to be. I am very excited to be going into Carsland soon (going to a preview Saturday night), and while Cars as a franchise only modestly appeals to me (I really liked the first movie, and rather strongly disliked the second, though it wasn't as bad as some people make it out to be), I really hope the immersiveness and attention to detail is as well-executed as it appears to be.

I enjoyed seeing the new features of Buena Vista Street, though my friend seemed less interested. But she did seem more taken by the Ellis Island Boys, whom I saw for the first time my last trip, and was able to introduce her to today (Disney, to their credit, had a lot of entertainment scheduled throughout the park; the crowd was not a surprise to them). I enjoyed them just as much as last time I saw them, and this time, they sang, as well.  When Ralf Reynolds took to the mic, I was bit surprised by the softness of his voice. It was a nice singing voice, just not what I expected. I guess I expected something like this.

Katie Cavera sang more like I would have expected her to, having a voice that wouldn't sound out of place coming from a 20's Hollywood Flapper.

 

Overall, it was a very enjoyable set, and I hope they have a good long stay at DCA.

So that was my trip. Considering it was sort of a last-minute trip, suddenly tossed in as a result of Disney's recent price increase, I enjoyed myself. The busy crowds meant I didn't accomplish as much as I normally do on a visit, but I truthfully didn't miss out on much (missing the Tower of Terror was the only truly disappointing loss). I would recommend avoiding the park right before Summer blackouts kick in, but if it's unavoidable, you can still have a pretty good time at Disneyland the last Thursday before blackouts, as long as you're willing to accept that you won't see everything.

So that leaves just one more visit for me, before Carsland/Buena Vista Street opens. I'm going to the preview Saturday night. I didn't get in to the free AP preview, but decided $75 wasn't a bad deal to pay for admission to a preview night, especially as Disney is giving the proceeds to charity. I've read online that if every spot is filled, they will take in exactly $500,000 in revenue, so their $500,000 donation to a children's hospital means they are taking a loss on this, unless they sell a whole lot of churros at preview night.  But figuring that some people are paying $500 a pop for the deluxe experience with dinner at Carthay Circle Theatre, you can see there are not a whole lot of people attending this preview night. The last thing Disney wants to do, after all, is sell people a premium preview experience for real money, then have them wait in line three hours. For a free preview experience, that's acceptable, but people could be pissed off if they feel they didn't have time to experience the whole park they paid to preview. The take-away is, I have a feeling the paid preview days might be a very uncrowded way, relatively-speaking, to preview Carlsland. Expect a full report here soon, and see if I'm right.

Disney Pin: Request for Information

I'll have a trip report from Disneyland up pretty soon, I hope, but I wanted to just post something here now, in case someone online can help me. Anyone recognize this Disney Pin?

The pin depicts Jack Skellington hiding behind a tombstone, with Zero greeting him, and the Haunted Mansion in the background. Above, two bats fly in front of the moon. The back of the pin has a 2012 date, and no marks regarding limited edition or anything, so I'm pretty sure it's an open edition, but I don't see it on PinPics or eBay or anything, and just wanted to know more about it. I traded for it from a little girl for a fairly unremarkable pin (I forget which one, exactly), and just wonder if it was a good trade. I like the pin, so in that sense, I know I did, I'm just wondering how good a trade it was.

So, I throw this out to you, the internet: Anyone have anything to tell me about the pin? If so, comment away!

Hands on a Hardbody @ the La Jolla Playhouse, or "They Shoot Nissans, Don't They?"

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing Hands on a Hardbody, a new musical premiering at the La Jolla Playhouse before heading off to Broadway. I'd been anxious to see the show ever since I heard it was in development, because of the immense reputation of the source material, and the "just crazy enough to work" feeling I had when I heard it was going to be made a stage musical. Now, I have never seen the documentary, so again, my opinions were just based on the reputation of the film. But I had heard a lot of good things, and I had also heard that Robert Altman's next planned project, when he died, was a fictional adaptation, which certainly lead credence to the idea that there was room for growth from this seed.

But once the show started last night, I began to get nervous. I had trouble getting into it for the first ten minutes or so. It just seemed a bit silly, and a bit trapped by it's concept. For those not familiar with just what this show is about, the Hands on a Hardbody competition the title refers to is one of those contests where ten people have to keep their hand on a pickup truck, and the last person not to let go wins the truck. This competition is held in Texas, in Summer, on an asphalt parking lot, in intense heat, so after a few days, it becomes a grueling endurance contest, and ultimately a race to see who can maintain their sanity the longest. High drama, for sure, but the fact remains that all these people are tethered to a truck. When the competition begins in the show, there is some awkward laughter, as we see that all the buildup in the first act has exploded into a scene of ten people standing motionless with their hands on a truck. I had to wonder, where do they go from here? And furthermore, the ten contestants seemed to be more representatives of some downtrodden group (the young unemployed/underemployed, the religious zealot, the troubled soldier, the lower-class shlub looking to recapture past glory, etc.) than real people, which lead me to fear that a strained morality play would be put forth, as each character laid out their lamentations.

I needn't have worried, on either point. The show is phenomenal. While I first feared that the characters were stock characters inserted to make political points, I gradually realized that in reality, the creators of the musical had found in their source material a near-perfect crystallization of the issues of economic vulnerability and despair that are brought to the forefront. The musical does not create or impose this narrative, but only amplifies what is naturally there. My first impression, as the various characters were introduced, was that this was much like a Sam Fuller movie, such as Shock Corridor, where the one-dimensional characters are merely place-holders for political touchstones. But I son realized the more apt comparison is to They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, where an endurance competition that might seem fun or zany on the surface is actually a last chance for escape for people who are running out of hope. With the possible exception of the soldier, whose presence felt a bit contrived, it did not seem at all odd that these people felt not only that a pick-up truck was the answer to their prayers, but that it was the only chance they had left. The fact that it is difficult to separate the character from their economic morass is just more evidence of how oppressive their plight is to them.

As for the matter of being tethered to the car, that was solved by animating the truck. Described in the program as "the 16th character," the truck was hollowed out to be light enough for the actors to move around stage, reinforced so actors could climb on it, and rigged with microphones so it could be used for percussive purposes. So even with one hand on the truck at all times, the choreography didn't suffer much (and the "hand on the truck at all times" rule was jettisoned before intermission, with the actors given some freedom from the truck during musical numbers). It works well, not exactly a jaw-dropping spectacle, but a well-thought out and well-executed way of giving the actors some mobility while remaining true to the concept of the contest.

Overall, the music was great, though no one number quite grabbed me as a standout, the song you hum leaving the theater. I enjoyed "Burn that Bridge," "Joy of the Lord," and the closing number, "Keep Your Hands on It." As a Lyle Lovett fan, I enjoyed "If I Had a Truck," and could definitely feel his influence on that song. Some of the more blues- and gospel-infused songs are rather rousing, but overall I felt the songs were a bit understated; it seemed to have the exact opposite problem as the last musical I saw at the La Jolla Playhouse, Sleeping Beauty Wakes, which was quite good but could have benefited from toning it down a bit.

The cast was uniformly excellent. Keith Carradine was the biggest star in the cast, though Hunter Foster, as previous Hands On a  Hardbody champion Benny Perkins is probably the closest thing this ensemble musical has to a star. Connie Ray and Jacob Ming Trent are also stand-outs.

Some concerns: the troubled marine seemed the most flat of the characters. He gets a good, moving song, but I don't know if it's worth the song to have him in the show. It's a part that should be either fleshed out or eliminated (similar issues are ultimately covered in another character's story arc). I also felt the ending, while acceptable, was a bit too upbeat and perky. It just didn't seem to fit with what the rest of the show was setting up. But it's not a dealbreaker, the ending still acknowledges things are tough, just lets the characters show they still have hope. But the implication seems to be that the contest really did improve all their lives, which seems a bit questionable.

If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend you see Hands on a Hardbody. If you haven't seen the documentary, as I haven't, you should enjoy it. And judging from the clips I've just watched on Youtube, fans of the documentary should enjoy it even more, as many of the things that I assumed were the whimsy of the musical's creators actually are lifted straight from the musical. Like this fellow and his 20-ton air conditioner:

Just watching the trailer, it's remarkable how much of the musical that I attributed to "artistic license" is actually taken from the documentary. Here, watch the trailer for yourself, and decide if seeing a musical version of this slice of Texas doesn't sound like a load of fun:

RIP Kathryn Joosten, television's go-to old lady for the past 15 years or so. I'll remember her most for her appearance on Scrubs, though I think she is best known (by those of us who didn't watch Desperate Housewives, at least) for her ubiquity in sitcoms and such, rather than for any one role.

Disneyland Trip Report: May 12, 2012

Hopefully in the future, my trip reports will pop up here closer to the time of the visit, while things are fresher in my mind. But it seems like sharing my most recent visit to the Magic Kingdom would be a good place to start with this blog, and as I have a few pictures and videos which I would like to have as part of this site, I'm going to do a quick run-down on my recent Saturday at Disneyland [note: after writing this, I now see it wasn't such a quick entry after all - forgive my long-windedness, but hope you find something interesting to take away from it].

I actually intended to go on Friday. If I don't take a day off work to go, I tend to go on Fridays, so I have Saturday to recover before going back to work on Sunday. So that was the plan, until I noticed that that Friday was a Grad Night. I went last year on a Grad Night, and regretted it. The parks closed early, and the Toy Story parking lot (where I prefer to park) was closed so Grad Night buses could park there, so I had to park in the Mickey & Friends parking garage, which I hate. This year, Disney changed how Grad Nights work, so that the parks stay open normal hours, and the Grad Night students get a normal park-hopper pass, so that they share the park with normal park guests. I'm not adamantly against this, but it does seem like it could cause problems, especially the first year it's attempted (I think the plan is to just do it this way this year, and then have a more traditional Grad Night in California Adventure next year), and in any event, all the Grad Night kids meant the day would feel very hectic and not at all like an off-season visit. So I decided to go on Saturday instead. I can't say what Friday was actually like, if my fears were founded or not, but Saturday was a very pleasant day to go to Disneyland, one of the nicest visits I've had in awhile. The park was just the right amount of busy, full of energy and excitement, but functional. Lines were reasonable, traffic flowed reasonably well through the parks, and people seemed very excited to be there. Disneyland always feels special to me, but this day felt extra-special. It seemed like there were a lot of kids there celebrating graduation, I don't know if they were at the Grad Night the evening before or just went on their own, but those I saw were all well-behaved and respectful, and didn't hurt my enjoyment of the park. I used to be scared of going to Disneyland on Saturdays, but having been several times now, including on holiday weekends, I must say the notion that the crowds swarm on Saturdays is probably a bit outdated; crowds swarm daily, and the passholder blockouts on Saturdays probably help. I still like going on weekdays if I can get off work, but I'm taking advantage of my Premium pass' lack of blackout days more and more.

All of which is to say, I had fun. Started off in Disneyland, to see the new developments on Main Street, U.S.A., since my last visit. I saw Alice Davis' new window, next to her husband's, honoring her contributions to such classic attractions as it's a small world and Pirates of the Caribbean:

Then I headed across the street to see the newly-remodeled Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor, Candy Palace, and Penny Arcade. The ice cream parlor looks good, and has more registers and more room for the line. Good news for those who eat here, but personally I'm not willing to wait that long for ice cream at Disneyland, there's too much to see and do, and I can get ice cream anytime. The Candy Palace got a larger show kitchen, and generally more space, and looks good. They were making English Toffee that day, a favorite of mine, but somehow I resisted temptation and did not partake. The Penny Arcade looked good to me. This is probably the most controversial of the changes in this remodel, but the worst changes to this portion of Main Street occurred long before this remodel. They just moved everything around and made things flow better. My only objection would be the popcorn display in front of the organ:

It just looks tacky, and seems designed just to provoke the Disney purists. On the plus side, it seems like it would be easy to remove.

After a few minutes quickly taking in the new shops, it was time for rides, so I went and claimed my FastPass for Space Mountain, and then it was off to Fantasyland. Started the day with it's a small world, always a must-see, and, after noticing the short waits for some of the second-tier dark rides, I went on Snow White and Pinocchio. I prefer Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan, but the long lines reflect their superiority, so I was content to take advantage of Snow White's short wait and Pinocchio's nearly-non-existent line.

Heading from Fantasyland to Frontierland, I stumbled upon the "Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree" in the Festival Arena, where a high school band was performing. There were a couple woodworkers showing off their craft (for entertainment only, nothing was for sale), and I enjoyed the smell of the wood, how that really helped create a sense of place. Chip 'n' Dale were posing for pictures in their western wear (did they ever wear clothes before Rescue Rangers?), but I was far more excited to get my photo taken with Big Al:

(I'm on the right). In the future, would I make an effort to check out the Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree? No, but if you're passing by, it's worth ducking in and seeing if anything exciting is happening, and it is a nice, calm, uncrowded place to take in a bit more of the Frontierland theme (even the high school band was playing some Copeland or something along those lines that seemed to fit the location, though I wouldn't count on that generally being the case), and maybe seeing a character you don't see walking around much anymore.

Again, I'm writing this a few weeks after the fact, so I forget exactly what I did next. I know I planned on riding Pirates of the Caribbean or the Haunted Mansion, but was deterred by their long lines (relatively speaking - about twenty-five minutes for Pirates, and twenty for Haunted Mansion, which is about equivalent to a 90-minute wait for a less efficient ride). I hate to wait for these rides, I can so often experience with only 5-10 minute waits, so I would pass them up many times this trip (spoiler alert: I rode both that evening, with virtually no waiting right before Fantasmic! was to begin). I took in a few more things in Disneyland, I'm sure, then headed over to California Adventure.

I was getting hungry, so lunch was to be my first stop in DCA. But I passed by The Little Mermaid, and decided to do that quickly before lunch. It gave me a chance to see the changes to the ride. The main change was Ariel's hair in the "Under the Sea" portion. It no longer looks like soft-serve:

I was critical of her old hair, but I must admit, I miss it, now. It was a stupid idea, but once it was there, it just became part of the attraction, something I looked forward to seeing. I think it's sort of like Mary Blair's five-legged goat, a reminder (unintentional in Ariel's case) that no artwork is perfect. In any event, I'm usually too busy looking over my shoulder during this part of the ride to see Mr. Limpet to see too much of Ariel.

Two other changes were also made to the ride. The two projections of Ariel, one at the beginning of the ride swimming overhead, and one after passing through Ursula's lair, where Ariel gets her legs, were redone to look more like traditional animation. I was surprised how difficult it was to notice the changes. The first one looks fine, just as I thought it did before, and the scene where she gets her legs looks wrong, just like it always looked wrong to me. I think the problem with it is that it doesn't look like Ariel is being transformed or growing legs, but instead just seems to be stuck mid-transformation. I suppose it is a limitation of the Omnimover system, since riders are going through the scene continually, there's no way to have the scene begin and end without some riders missing out. Overall, then, the changes seem rather small and inconsequential, the new hair being the only thing most riders will notice. The ride remains what it was before, a perfectly competent dark ride that appeals to it's target audience, and which the rest of us will enjoy for the good music and the short lines.

After the Little Mermaid, it was finally time for lunch. I went to the Paradise Garden Grill, which has been a favorite of mine since it opened. I've certainly ate more meals here than any other restaurant in either park since it opened. Reasonably priced (by Disney standards), good quality, and just the right portion size, enough to satisfy, but not so much as to suddenly become an issue when the bottom drops on the Tower of Terror. I tried the baklava for the first time, I wouldn't recommend it. Too big, and the ingredients were out of proportion, so it felt more like a pistachio burrito. The rest of my meal was just fine, however, and I enjoyed it even more listening to the Ellis Island Boys. A friend had highly recommended them, and she was right; I've heard some great music on the Paradise Garden Stage, but they're the best I've seen there. Give 'em a listen yourself:


After lunch, it was back into ride mode, plus a little shopping. Nothing really of note happened, though later, back in Frontierland, I was rerouted by security while it appeared that a bomb-sniffing dog was checking out some lost backpacks.

It wasn't until fairly late in the afternoon that my trip was almost cut short. I was riding Splash Mountain, not much of a wait using the single-rider line. I hadn't been on the ride recently, a bit scared to go back on after getting brutally drenched one ride-through last winter (which was odd, as I rarely get extremely wet on that ride). But the ride went without incident, and I enjoyed the ride even though it seemed like a lot of ride elements were broken (which is odd, as it had a major refurbishment not that long ago). As the ride was concluding, I took off my glasses to wipe the mist off of them, and as I did that, the right lens fell out in my hand. Panicking, I tried to remember if I had a spare pair of glasses in my car. I knew I had sunglasses, but I wasn't sure if I had a standard prescription pair in the car (checking later, it turns out the answer was no). Without an extra pair, I'd have to use the sunglasses, which meant I'd have to leave right away, before dark. But first, I checked in a store to see if they had an eyeglass repair kit or knew where one could be obtained. They did not, so I tried City Hall. There, a very kind cast member got me an eyeglass repair kit, and once it became obvious I was not competent to repair my glasses myself, took the time to fix them for me. So I was able to continue my Disney day. As I was already at City Hall, I of course put in a good report for him.

Once again with the ability to see, I decided it was a good time to get dinner. I had finally got around to trying out Trader Sam's at the Disneyland Hotel, so I decided I would head back to that vicinity and try Tangaroa Terrace, next door to Trader Sam's. I must admit I wasn't completely blown away by Tangaroa Terrace, but if you are already over at the hotel, or if you just want to slip out of the park on a hectic weekend day, you could certainly do worse. I had one of the specials, grilled salmon with tempura green beans and papaya slaw and rice. It was perfectly fine, but not really that remarkable. For dessert, I had the dessert flights tray, which comes with pineapple upside-down cake, some sort of pineapple parfait, and a Mickey-shaped brownie:

All three were quite tasty. The pineapple upside-down cake was a perfectly fine version of a pineapple upside-down cake; perhaps unremarkably so, but since it had been such a long time since I'd last had a pineapple upside-down cake, I quite enjoyed it. The brownie was also good, very dense and fudgy, but moist. The dark chocolate had a coffee-esque quality to it, not bitter, exactly, but it complimented the richness of the brownie quite well (though it was good on it's own, it didn't really go with the other fruity desserts). I had the parfait last, and really enjoyed it, as well. At $7, it might be a bit pricy, and I would pass on it in the future if I was dining alone, and I was this night. But it could easily be shared, and especially if you have one chocoholic dining with someone who likes fruitier desserts, one could take the brownie, one the other two desserts, and as the brownie was the most substantial of the three, both would get a fair shake. Again, though, I think the main downside to Tangaroa Terrace is that there are plenty of great places to eat in the park, so unless you're at the hotel or craving a monorail ride, I might recommend passing on this one.

After dinner, I walked to California Adventure. I planned to ride Tower of Terror, but after my large meal, with all those desserts, I decided that might not be a great idea, so first I rode The Little Mermaid again. After that, my dinner was adequately digested for me to dare a trip to the fifth dimension. I then returned to Disneyland, where the lines for Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean had died down considerably. Especially Haunted Mansion, where I walked directly through the mansion's front door, entered a portrait gallery only 1/3 full, and walked directly to my doombuggie with no line of any sort. After riding those two classics, I did some shopping, watched Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln, and decided to call it a day.

Oh, though I almost forgot one thing: On my way over to New Orleans Square in the early evening, I saw a crowd and a security guard gathered by a grassy area in the Hub, near the Jolly Holiday Bakery. A duck and her ducklings turned out to be the draw. I found it very amusing that the ducklings had their own security entourage:

I took a video of their journey to their home. I was impressed that even on this busy Saturday, the ducks were able to cross the Hub with no real impediment. Everyone wanted to get a look at them, but no one really bothered them, without the security guards having to say anything. Here's the video:


And here's the lagoon that was their ultimate destination:

It's not the most exciting thing in the world, but it's the nice little touches like this that make every trip to Disneyland a little different. That's why I don't think I'll ever get bored with Disneyland. Yes, when you go as often as I go, not every trip is mind-blowingly amazingly magical, but even the most by-the-numbers day at Disneyland is still pretty cool. And this particular trip, which I didn't have high expectations for - it was just a quick trip to get in some rides in the off-season before Carsland opens and the place becomes pandemonium - actually turned out to have a lot of little magic in it.

A good day to you.

On Saturday, October 16, 2010, the insurgent blog Out of Sight, Like a Pumpkin, written by yours truly, reported the shocking death of Barbara Billingsly, at the age of 97, and then promptly went silent. Had I paid the price for foolishly poking powerful forces I couldn't even begin to comprehend? No, I just got bored. A look at the site reveals that the blog had been all but dead for some time; one must assume that, as Barbara Billingsly's death was the only thing I felt the need to post in 2010, my entire year had revolved around Leave it to Beaver. At least in 2009 I tackled issues on a wide variety of topics, from the death of Bea Arthur to the death of Glenn Beck's sanity. But it's not too hard to see what happened; at one point, my blog served two primary purposes: One, that of a personal journal, where I could write for my own benefit (the fact that it was publicly available was not generally the point of these postings, though the fact that some got a fair amount of traffic - and to be clear, by "fair amount" I mean, at most, dozens of people - was just an exciting little accident); and Two, that of a place for me to post interesting stuff I'd come across, to share with a few friends who read the blog, sure, but mainly just so I could find it again. Indeed, even when I stopped posting, I still would return to the blog myself fairly regularly looking for some video or story I was pretty sure I'd posted. So it isn't surprising that it was 2009/2010 that I lost interest, as a little juggernaut called Facebook had me in its grasp by then, and it now served the same purpose. If I found something interesting, I'd share it with my friends; as long as I remember roughly when I posted it, it's not that hard to find, and a good portion of my time on Facebook involves not learning more about my friends and their activities, but looking at funny things I posted myself months earlier.

But what about the first purpose, blogging as journaling? What has filled that need? Nothing, actually. As you might have guessed by the fact that I have started this, a new blog (tentatively titled Mike's Take-Two at Blogging - feel free to suggest a better title in the comments, though I imagine that might be easier when I know what this blog will actually be), I miss this. Yes, I'm giving the blogging thing another chance. Will I still post interesting things I come across online here? Yes, probably, I'll share the sort of things I'd like to comment on here, while Facebook will get the one-line, hey, look at this LOLcat-kind of stuff. But my focus here isn't so much on sharing as it is on writing and learning myself. Sharing my experiences, my opinions, and my reflections on the issues I and others face. Do I want readers? Yes and no.  I'm writing for myself, primarily, but I'm doing so publicly, on a blog that has ads and is indexed in Google et. al., so I'd like readers. But I'm primarily writing for myself, and if a particular post ranks high enough in Google's eyes to attract some readers, so much the better. And if I am able, from my journaling here, to come up with a concept for a spin-off blog that actually might attract regular readers, so much the better.

What will I write about here? Well, as before, I'll write about my experiences, what I do for fun, the pop culture I consume, things I encounter at work, things I watch or listen to or read. What will be different? Well, me, for one. I now work full-time (another factor, no doubt, in the death of my old blog) in a public library. I don't feel like becoming a librarian blogger (surely there's enough), and while I certainly have stories to tell, I tend to find that dwelling on some of the horribly-behaved patrons isn't necessarily healthy. So while there may be some after-work venting here, I'll probably let most of those stories slide. It just means there will be a greater focus on books than my previous blog, most likely.

Another change in me would be my obsession of late with Disneyland. I've long been rather vehemently anti-Disney (my most recent blog post to mention Disney, from 2005, labels Disney as a bunch of douchebags). My feelings about Disney were probably always a bit more complex than I cared to acknowledge. I generally acknowledged that Disney, or at least classic Disney, had good production values, and as a huge fan of Randy Newman, I had to also acknowledge that Disney didn't skimp when it came to music for their films (I had the opportunity to spend a day on the soundstage when Monsters, Inc. was being scored, and saw that no expense was spared).  I imagine a discussion of my evolving feelings in regard to Disney would made a good blog post, so I won't go on too much here, I'll just say that I only had two opinions of Disneyland: It's expensive and crowded. And neither is exactly untrue. But given my now-monthly visits to the park, I've obviously concluded there's more to the story than that. Disneyland is expensive (and far more so with their recent price increase), but I feel it's an excellent value. You get what you paid for. And the crowds are an issue, but they are manageable, with a little planning. In fact, my visits on Saturdays, which I once avoided like the plague, have been some of my favorite trips, the parks bursting with energy and excitement, full of people but, with the right mindset, a great place to be.

So I'll have some things to say about Disneyland here, too. Of course, there's also no shortage of Disney blogs. I'd like to start a stand-alone Disneyland blog if I found the right angle, something to make myself really stand out, but for now, it will just be one of many topics covered here.  Trip reports, photos and videos, my opinions on Disney news and controversies. I'll surely have my opinion on Carsland and Buena Vista Street, when they open next month. But I'm going to avoid just posting news that I read on MiceAge or MousePlanet without context. If you care about Disneyland, you're already reading their columns, you don't need me to tell you about it. But as reading Disneyland gossip is a big part of my daily internet behavior, expect Disneyland to come up here a time or two.

Anyway, that's more than enough of me telling you about what I'm going to blog about and do with this blog. The proof is in the pudding. I am going to set a goal of 5 posts of substance a week. I'd rather miss the goal than just put up a bunch of fluff, so don't be surprised if I fall short, but I'll do my best. Out of Sight, Like a Pumpkin will still exist, though beyond a link to this blog, I don't plan on updating it. Long-time readers will notice I changed it's template, when I was considering just reviving it, but the content itself is unchanged, and I imagine the 2-3 readers a week will probably keep coming from Google searches ad infinitum. But this blog, dear reader, will be where the excitement is! Follow me to the future!