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We made our way
around Paradise Pier, and into The
Golden State. We swung back around
to ride the Grizzly River Run. If
you’ve been to any other theme
park, you’ve seen something
like this. Guests crowd into circular
rafts, for a rough ride down a river.
For as basic as this attraction is,
it was surprisingly well done. There
were enough small drops and turns
to make everyone on board think about
getting wet at least once…and
with the main drop and water geysers,
I can’t believe it’s possible
for someone on board to escape without
getting wet. Verdict: a quality ride,
but not really Disney. However, I’m
the kind of person who loves these
kinds of rides, especially when you
have people on board who think being
hit with water will melt them.
Next was “It’s Tough to
be a Bug,” a 3-D extravaganza
based on “A Bugs Life”
(but, of course). This one was actually
pretty good. Nothing groudbreaking;
every step of the way I was reminded
of “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience,”
but it was different enough to keep
my interest. There are a couple of
surprises (I won’t say, for
those of you who haven’t experience
this attraction yet), but they aren’t
exactly ‘surprises;’ meaning
you can tell when they’re coming.
All in all, a quality attraction;
far from what we experience next.
As we entered Hollywood Pictures Backlot,
I couldn’t help but think of
the Disney MGM Studios in Florida.
Can’t Disney come up with anything
new, I asked myself? Surely, Disney
copied Space Mountain and Big Thunder
Mountain Railroad. But then again
there were brand new attractions like
the Indiana Jones Adventure which
were very successful (copied in some
ways in Disneyland Paris; imagine
if Disney tried to copy the old Eureka
Parade, and put it in Idaho or something…scary).
The Superstar Limo and Muppet-Vision
3-D were embarrassing. Superstar Limo
suffers from being rather boring (especially
if you have to wait a half-hour for
it); not to mention being less than
groundbreaking. Muppet-Vision 3-D,
copied from Walt Disney World, might
have been special back in the Captain
EO era (circa 1986). But guests these
days should demand a lot more, especially
when they pay $40-plus to enter a
DISNEY theme park.
We had dinner at the ABC Soap Opera
Bistro. The food was delicious, and
we got what we paid for. There was
a pretty hefty bill sitting at the
end of the table by the time we were
done, but the atmosphere and the skits
we enjoyed while we ate were worth
it.
After dinner we walked over to the
tour de force of Hollywood Pictures
Backlot, “Who Wants to be a
Millionaire, Play It!” The waiting
area was pathetic, reminding me of
Universal Studios: a zig-zag queue
in between two big buildings. Of course,
I told myself, the backlots in Hollywood
look like this, so I guess the atmosphere
comes with the territory. Once we
entered the studio, I was pleasantly
surprised. The set was extravagant;
the music was right on. It was disappointing
not to see Regis, but I can forgive
Disney for this. Our host did a great
job, but I couldn’t help but
feel the applause she received was
disingenuous. I can see how Millionaire
the show will flop (if it hasn’t
already) when Regis hits the road.
Then, we headed for the exits (and
Disneyland). We did all of this in
less than six hours. That’s
kind of disappointing in a way; I
remember when I was a kid we’d
spend all day at Disneyland, 16 hours
sometimes, and still feel like we
were forgetting something as we headed
for the exits. I didn’t feel
that way, the park seemed very small.
Overall, I had fun; I cannot deny
that. But I’ll bet anyone this
park won’t have the same reputation
Disneyland had after 45 years.
The impatience of Eisner and Pressler
scares me.
Send comments or questions to moutain_geek@disneygeek.com
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