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.
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).
No comments:
Post a Comment