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Visit Date: 5/05/12
Steps: 31,688
Parks Miles: 12.0
Time in Parks: 12

 
Trip Log:

Started off this great morning with a detour to the Fullerton Rail Days which were happening just a few miles up Harbor Blvd from Disneyland. The reason for the stop was to see the Lilly Belle and the restored Disneyland Combine Car from the Carolwood Pacific Railroad. After taking my fill of pictures and browsing through the rest of the displays it was time to head south on Harbor to Disneyland. Parking in the Mickey and Friends structure and then walked to the parks. First stop of the day was DCA. Walked through Condor Flats and to Buena Vista Street. Took some pictures then backtracked to catch Minnies Fly Girls Charter Airlines before lunch at Taste Pilots. After lunch walked down Hollywood Blvd and around the Mad T Party set up. Then strolled through Fliks Fun Fair on my way to the Blue Sky Cellar to take some Cars Land pictures. Walked through the Wharf and out to the Pier. There was no line for the Little Mermaid so went for a ride. Then headed out passing Screamin and Toy Story. The line for the Fun Wheel was too long so carried on to finish the loop by going by the Little Mermaid. Walked by GRR and made a quick stop in Redwood Creek before making my way to Disneyland. Wandered down Main Street checking out the newly reopened Gibson Girl, Penny Arcade, and Candy Palace. Walked by the boarded up Plaza Gardens and into Fantasyland on my way to the Big Thunder Jamboree. Roamed around the ranch for a while and took some character pictures then watched the Cowboy Roundup and a Performing Arts showcase group before walking back through Fantasyland and around the Matterhorn to get to Tomorrowland. Went for a one way trip on the Monorail to Downtown Disney where I disembarked to visit the new Lego Store then walked through Downtown Disney and back to Disneyland. Made my way through the Soundsational Parade crowd that had gathered and back to Tomorrowland. Noticed two Monorails running now so decided to go for a round trip ride this time to see the other side of Buena Vista Street. Once back in Tomorrowland made my way back to the Hub and into Frontierland. Walked along the Rivers of America and out to New Orleans Square. Circled through the streets and then back through Adventureland and then Frontierland to the Big Thunder Trail and once more pass through the Jamboree. Walked through Fantasyland, grabbed a bite to eat at the Village Haus and then walked through the Castle to Main Street and made a second pass through the newly reopened shops on my way out of the park and over to DCA. First stop the Blue Sky Cellar patio for some more Cars Land pictures before finding my way out to the Fun Wheel for a spin finally. On the way back gave Mermaid a second pass and then another photo stop at the Blue Sky Cellar as the neon was now on. Walked through Buena Vista Street and Condor Flats on my way to Downtown Disney. Made my way down to the main stage by ESPN and watched a little of the swing dancing before reversing course and heading back to the Esplanade. Stopped by the ticket booths to renew my pass then made a quick trip to DCA and the Blue Sky Cellar patio for some after dark Cars Land pictures. Then headed back to Disneyland and out to Tomorrowland to watch Scot Bruce at the Tomorrowland Terrace. After his set it was time to head for Main Street to find a spot for Magical. Watched the show and joined the crowds exiting the park. Hopped on a tram back to the garage and headed for the car and home.

Other Interesting Stats:
* Moderate Walking Stats (meaning over 2.5mph): 23,394 steps, 206 minutes.


For Comparisons to other trips or more park miles click here to visit our park Miles Section.

Note: These totals may be skewed because the pedometer is zero'd when we start and then left alone and read when we leave. So attractions, and other things may cause extra "steps" to be counted. The pedometer that we use basically measures up/down motion as a step, so if your standing in line and moving up and down it may be counting steps, etc.. so the total distances traveled and steps may be off.. so use these as rough distance comparisons between trips and they may not be accurate in terms of actual distance traveled.
Pictures & Video From this Trip:


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My Thoughts & Observations:

Hello all,

Wow how time flies. It had only been three weeks since my last visit to the Disneyland Resort but it felt like a long time and with the quick pace of change going on around the parks it meant I had a lot of catching up to do. So as you saw in the photo update I did! The crowds in the park felt about average. Wait times were moderate if you timed it correctly.

Jason

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

Thoughts and Observations:

  • Before heading to the parks this morning I made a quick stop in Fullerton at the Railroad Days 2012. The event took play just a few miles up Harbor Blvd from the park and was free. My main reason for attending was to see the two Disney cars that were on display. Disneyland had brought the Lilly Belle up and the Carolwood Pacific group had brought a restored Combine car from the Disneyland & Sante Fe Railroad. I really enjoyed going through the cars and chatting with the cast members and volunteers that were there. It was interesting to note the similarities between the two cars.

  • The cars parking in the Mickey and Friends garage this morning were moving extremely slow. There was no real delay to pay but as you headed up the ramp to the floor things slowed down to a crawl. After being directed into a spot on Mickey I headed for the trams which were backed up too so hiked to the parks.

  • First stop was California Adventure. With only a little under six weeks till opening the bulk of the visible work at both Cars Land and Buena Vista Street is done and they are onto details and finishing touches. Buena Vista Street still has some sidewalks and other smaller concrete and landscaping pieces to go and the buildings exteriors are all nearing completion. Since you cannot see the interiors no clue what the status of those are.

  • I am curious if the Condor Flats radar tower is going to be repurposed or if it was destroyed? Does anyone know? Moving it out did open up the sight lines more and I thought it was odd that it was there.

  • The Mad T Party is taking over the Studios portion of the Backlot and looks to be an impressive set up. It should be interesting to see how this event goes. Each one of these seems to be slightly grander in scale.

  • Cars Land was doing some Cast Member family testing on the Flying Tires this afternoon... too bad no one wanted to adopt me for the day. I am curious how the experience is. Guess I will find out in a mater of weeks! Which seems odd to be saying I remember when the plans were announced thinking how far away 2012 was.

  • Went for a ride on the Little Mermaid to check out the minor tweaks that were rolled out during a brief down down. They swapped out the Ariel figure in the Under the Sea section (or at least her hair). Also the animation is now hand drawn vs CG. Other than that nothing jumped out at me as changed. The new hair seems to work better in the scene to me. I thought the large ice cream inspired hair seemed odd. I know it is that way in the movie but only briefly and it was moving around so it worked better. Here are videos from my first ride through last year and then this weekends:

    May 27, 2011 May 5, 2012


  • Next up it was time to head for Disneyland. On Main Street the Gibson Girl, Penny Arcade, and Candy Palace have all reopened. They look great! The new layouts seem like they should help with the congestion. I was a disappointed to see the indoor seating from Coke Corner has been removed to make way for more candy sales though. On those couple of rainy or hot days it was a nice area to relax in. I am guessing with all the seating next door for the Jolly Holiday Bakery they figured it was not needed anymore.

  • Last weekend marked the end of Plaza Gardens as we know it. The last night of dancing and last performing arts groups wrapped up and the construction walls went up to transform it into the Princess Fantasy Faire. Since a stage was still needed they have re-opened the Big Thunder Ranch for the performing groups. The swing dancing has been moved to Downtown Disney.

  • The Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree opened this week in the festival arena. The event made top billing on the time sheet but no mention in the guide maps yet. The Jamboree is open Friday to Sunday from 10:30am to 6:00pm this week (guessing it will be that way till summer/holiday weekends). Twice a day they perform a Cowboy Roundup Show (noon and 2:15). Throughout the rest of the day Performing Arts groups use the stage. The area is set up along the lines of the Family Fun Days with a character Meet and Greet area, some arts/crafts area for kids, an ODV cart, an exhibit area, and then the main stage. The Cowboy Round Up show is very similar to the Kickin Country Street party (see videos below). I was a little disappointed with the show. I thought it focused too much on the guest participation and not enough on the music and/or dancing, but then again I enjoy country music so I would have been happy with a band playing country music.

    Kickin' Country Street Party
    January 21, 2011

    Cowboy Round-up
    May 5, 2012


  • When I reached the Monorail platform for my first trip around the cast member announced a 20-30 minute delay. Seemed Monorail Orange developed a problem and it had to be taken off the beam way. It entered the park under its own power and made its way backstage, then they dispatched monorail blue from the Tomorrowland station. An hour or so later Orange had returned to service.

  • Stopped by the newly reopened Lego store in Downtown Disney. The store was busy with guests looking around, building things, and of course purchasing sets. I think the addition of the displays outside are a great plus and really help the store out. I thought before it was just a regular store outside. Now with the giant models it really cements the Disney-Lego connection.

  • Took a look at the guide maps and they have not been updated yet. Guessing these are staying until June when summer kicks off? Found it funny to still see ElecTRONica on them and no mention of the Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree. On the time guide I noted that the Dance Crew at DCA has reached the end of its run. I did like seeing the Cowboy Round up times posted for all to see.

  • I was curious how Saturday night would go with Plaza Gardens closed. As I walked around the parks I saw couples dancing at DCA with the Ellis Island Boys in Paradise Gardens, in Tomorrowland Terrace with Scot Bruce/Elvis, and out at Downtown Disney with the swing band. So it appears that the dance night at Disneyland was alive and well, at least on this first Saturday after the gardens closing.

  • I continued to test and evaluate a new method of posting images as I roamed the park. I am now posting directly to the Geeks Blog So those of you who do not use twitter or follow us, you can see the images too. Any thoughts? Is this better/worse/the same as the way I was posting before? If you were not aware as I roam the parks I post some thoughts/pictures throughout the visit. So follow me @disneygeekcom

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.

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
Pictures & Video From this Trip:


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