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times now, including on holiday weekends, I must say the notion that the crowds swarm on Saturdays is probably a bit outdated; crowds swarm daily, and the passholder blockouts on Saturdays probably help.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:
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.
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