Hello all,

Saturday I spent a rare full day at the parks due to some family and friends wanting to go that do not visit that often. We were expecting a fairly crowded set of parks due to the Christmas Season, it being Candlelight weekend, and just a weekend in general, but due to some cooler and threatening weather the crowd did not seem as bad as I would have thought for the day. Now maybe it was just some good luck on my part with planning but the crowd never seemed to be an issue for us as we navigated around the parks.

Jason

Trip logs and mileage reports are in the Park Miles section.

Disneyland & DCA Thoughts and Observations:

• We started our day zero for two in terms of attractions. The plan was Fastpasses for Indy then off to Haunted Mansion and back to Big Thunder before using the Indy Fastpass, but due to some bad luck both HM and Big Thunder were closed due to technical difficulties and had not opened for the day yet. Over at DCA we ran into the same issue with Screamin. So out of the first half dozen or so attractions on our plan three had issues Saturday. How is that for bad luck!
  
  
• Went for a spin on Buzz Lightyear, first one since it had the short rehab a few weeks ago. The only noticeable change was the new carpet in the entrance/exit area. This was nice compared to the bubbling floor, wonder if this is permanent or a placeholder? Also noticed the on ride photos all had the scores flipped. I liked how a ghost beat me (I was riding alone).
  
  
• Over at DCA we joined the masses heading for World of Color Fastpasses and then out to the Pier as the park opened. Since Screamin was down the line for Toy Story grew quite quickly and for some reason was moving really slowly at the beginning. It did pick up the pace to what I would call normal eventually but there were quite a few long pauses in movement near the beginning. Another interesting note we were directed over to the handicap loading area since there was no one there.. first time using that area. It was nice to exit from there. It saved an extra stop/wait and the hike up and then back down the steps.
  
  
• Caught the first Disney Channel Rocks show of the morning. Currently they are only running a couple of these (3 on Saturday) shows each morning/early afternoon. The crowd was extremely light for the showing we went to. From what I hear this is the norm. I am curious if this is because of the show itself or timing. Running it only an hour after opening seems a little too early. Seems like it would draw better in the mid afternoon. My guess for the timing is several of the performers also are in the Dance Crew show which is running later in the day. So assuming they are not alternating days betting several do one show in the morning then the other in the afternoon to make a full day of it.
  
  
• I thought the use venue was great for the show, especially compared to the rolling stage they have been using for years now. The sound was solid and the views unobstructed. Also the lighting on the stage and use of the World of Color fountains were both great plusses!
  
  
• As for the show itself, I think the concept makes sense. It allows them to highlight the Disney Channel shows and address that audience. The show itself is basically a set of musical numbers so if you are like me and not familiar with the music that much it was a little hard to get into it, but then again I am not the target audience in this case. I was disappointed with the quality of the vocalists in the show, they really did not enhance the experience for me, but I do like to hear the live singing vs lip syncing.
  
  
• For lunch some of the group wanted bread bowls from the Wharf Cafe. The line was long as usual, but it was nice to see the attempt to speed things up... they had an express line for drinks and chowder only. In the end it still took a good half hour for them to get their food. I had enough time to walk around, take some pictures, stop by the Blue Sky Cellar, get my food from Taste Pilots, walk back, find a seat and eat about 2/3rd of my meal before they came out with their food.
  
  
• One of my main objectives of the day was to see the Candlelight. We have always enjoyed the show and the Disneyland setting and arrangement are tops in my book compared to Disney World. This years narrator was Tom Skerrit did what I would call an average job. Maybe it was because I was at the first performance of the weekend? I still wish the narrator would look around more, I had one small shot of the front of his face and I was not that far off to the side (I stood in the street about the street car tracks in front of the rest rooms next to City Hall. I was about the 2nd or 3rd standing row behind the seats.
  FYI I heard that both shows on Sunday were cancelled due to the weather... that is too bad for all the performers and guests alike. That is the once challenge with doing the show two nights a year only, there is no margin for error or weather.
  
  
• We strolled through ElecTRONica and I was really surprised at how dead it was. I was assuming for a Saturday evening that it would be on par with Friday nights but it felt less crowded on my brief walk through.
  
  
• To cap off the evening we watched World of Color from the Blue Section, just to the left of the trellis where the programming trailer was parked. As with most first time viewers those in our group who had not seen the show were really blown away by it, but again it really re-enforced to me how good the show is when viewed from the proper location and on the flip side how reduced/lacking/not so good it is from most other viewing locations.

Interesting Web Finds/Notes:
Below are some interesting links, notes, and rumors I found/stumble across/or have been informed of since the last Geekspeaks column.

• Disney Press Releases
  • 12/07/10 - Disney Online Puts Fun and Ease Into Holiday Planning With New 'All Things Merry: A Guide to the Holidays'
    
  • 12/03/10 - Star-Studded Entertainment Lineup & Magical Parade Floats Make the Season Bright During the 27th Annual ‘Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade’ Telecast on ABC-TV
    
  • 12/02/10 - D23 2011 Special Events Schedule
    
  • 11/30/10 - Waking Sleeping Beauty On DVD November 30
    
  • 11/30/10 - Creativity and Innovation Take the Helm Aboard Disney Dream
  • January 2011 Calendar of Events
    
    
• We post some announcements on:
• Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/disneygeekcom
• Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/disneygeek
• Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/disneygeekcom
  
  

Be sure to check out the picture update that goes with this Geekspeak column, it can be found in our Disneyland Resort Pictorial Update section

Stop by the Geek's Forum to discuss this and other Disney topics.. click here

Send comments, questions, any other email to: disneygeek@disneygeek.com