diberry
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 5, 2004
Fri 19th
We both woke up at about a quarter past seven so we decided to get an early start and were at the park when it opened at 8 a.m. There were a lot of people waiting to get in and there was a very happy atmosphere. The band were playing and there were some characters about. However once people had dispersed to the various different areas of the park it was really quite quiet and we were able to get on a lot of rides quite quickly.
First of all we had a lovely breakfast in the Carnation Café on Main Street. The chef Oscar, whos been at Disneyland since 1956 (!!), came to have a word with us, which was nice. After breakfast we went to Frontierland which is very similar in its layout to DLP (or the other way round really as it was built nearly 40 years before DLP!!). When you enter Frontierland there is a sort of Indian village (sorry native American!!), the riverboat landings are in exactly the same place and theres a Golden Horseshoe saloon where DLPs Lucky Nugget stands. I went on Big Thunder Mountain, then over to Fantasyland where we took some photos in various golden vehicles (for the 50th anniversary).
Fantasyland is incredibly like the one at DLP. The layout is almost exactly the same with even the Pinocchio Village House (Chalet de la Marionnette) pretty much identical inside and out. When you walk through to the back of the castle from Main Street the same shop is there on the left and the same little passageway through to Frontierland (Adventureland at DLP) and most of the rides seem to be in the same places. I think its nice that DLP was built so close to the original park in its design. We went on Pinocchios Daring Journey, Peter Pans Flight, Snow Whites Scary Adventures (theres a brass apple at the entrance and if you touch it the witch cackles in an evil way that made me jump!!) and Casey Jr which are all very much like the DLP equivalents. The Storybook Land Canal Boats is also very similar except that you get a guide sitting on the top of the boat to tell you about the ride.
We also had a go on King Arthurs Carousel, Its a Small World (of course!!!) and Mr Toads Wild Ride. I bought 4 golden ears hats with our names embroidered on them though I dont imagine Daves and Martins will get much (if any!!!) wear!!
You can see on this photo that some of the trains have seats that run the length of the carriage instead of facing the front and back. So you get a good view of one side of the track but can't see any of the other!!
Finally we went to the Snow White an Enchanting Musical live show and then back to the hotel for a rest as it was now very hot and very busy in the park and the pool was very inviting!
We went back at about 5.30. Dave went on Autopia in Tomorrowland
while I went to Matterhorn Bobsleds. I think this is the only version of this ride in any of the Disney parks. The Matterhorn is in between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland and there is an entrance from each land if you want a gentle ride you go to the Fantasyland entrance whereas the Tomorrowland entrance leads to a wilder ride. I went to Fantasyland but it was still a bit bumpy and jerky for me!!! After that we both went on the Alice in Wonderland ride (just like the Pinocchio ride but with Alice, Queen of Hearts etc) and then on Splash Mountain, where Dave got absolutely soaked!!!, and then to Buzz. We saw the tea dance starting up by the bandstand and then tried to get a meal at the Blue Bayou but they were fully booked so we wandered through the castle and looked at Snow Whites Grotto with statues of Snow White and the 7 dwarfs plus a wishing well. In Tomorrowland there was an Elvis tribute ban on that we watched (dont know what thats got to do with Tomorrowland!!!??) while we waited for the monorail to Downtown Disney where we tried to get into the Rainforest Café but the wait was over an hour so we ended up in the ESPN zone again where we had some Big Daddies (litre glasses of draught Bud) and meals at the bar which were delicious. The local baseball team, the Anaheim Angels, were playing on t.v. and the crowd in the bar were very loud!!! And then to bed!!!
Sat 20th
Went to the Magic Kingdom again today. We queued up in Toontown. to meet Minnie
and had a look in her house but it was very busy so we decided to meet Mickey on another day. We had a look round the rest of Toontown
and then went across to the California Adventure park which was much less busy. This is the second park which only opened in 2001. The available space is very limited and I think they built it on what used to be a car park dont know where people park their cars now I think they take you by shuttle to another area. California Adventure is a sort of collection of rides from other parks with slight modifications to make them fit in with the California theme.
The main entrance area is Sunshine Plaza. We went to have breakfast at the Pacific Wharf Café and then went to A Bugs Land to see Its Tough to be a Bug which is exactly the same as in WDW and just as good as ever we love it!!
Next we went to the area called Golden State where we went on the Grizzly River Run which was great fun and really a Californian version of Kali River Rapids from the Animal Kingdom in WDW but slightly wilder.
We sat and watched a hillbilly band called Jedadiah Jones and the Miner 49ers for a while as we dried off.
We walked round the Redwood Challenge Trail where Dave met one of the Brother Bears who tried to make him go down a slide, but he resisted!!!
I went on Soarin over California which is an amazing ride where youre lifted up high with a 180º IMAX screen all around, above and beneath your feet, showing images shot from a helicopter, with wind currents and scent machines, making it look and feel as if youre hang-gliding and you see all different parts of California. It was an amazing experience theyve just opened the same ride at WDW.
After that we went to Golden Dreams which is a film with Whoopi Goldberg about the origins and history of California very inspirational and patriotic as these films always are. Finally in this area we had a walk round the Boudin Bakery and saw a film about how sourdough bread is made and were given some samples.
Then we went to the Paradise Pier area which is like a giant funfair.
We went on the Sun Wheel in one of the non-swinging gondolas some swing about all over the place as well as the whole wheel going round!! We didnt actually go on any other rides but we walked all round the area and enjoyed looking at everything.
We went to Downtown Disney and had a nice lunch at the Rainforest Café and a much needed sit down in the cool air-conditioning.
After that we went back to the California Adventure to the Hollywood Pictures Backlot area where we went in the Art of Disney Animation building. First we went to Turtle Talk which is an interactive screen where Crush, the turtle from Finding Nemo, talks to members of the audience, particularly the children of course.
After that we went to the area called the Sorcerors Workshop where there are lots of interactive computer screens, zootropes etc. We both did a sort of quiz to find out which Disney character you are most like. Im like Cinderella apparently and Dave is like Buzz Lightyear!!!
We also did an interactive audition where you decide whether you want to sing or act. We chose singing and sang along with the 7 dwarfs to Heigh Ho then they play it back to you without the dwarfs voices that was good fun. Dave went to see Muppetvision 3D while I got a good spot to watch the Block Party Bash which was a very high energy afternoon parade with lots of character interaction, singing, dancing, acrobatics etc I dont know how they can in that heat!!!
After that we went to see Aladdin a Musical Spectacular which was an extremely professional show. Then we finally came back to the hotel after about 10 hours!!!
In the evening I went back to the California Adventure to watch the Electrical Light Parade which was excellent the original version of SpectroMagic in WDW and Fantillusion, I believe.
Needless to say after a busy and very hot day we were shattered once again!!
We both woke up at about a quarter past seven so we decided to get an early start and were at the park when it opened at 8 a.m. There were a lot of people waiting to get in and there was a very happy atmosphere. The band were playing and there were some characters about. However once people had dispersed to the various different areas of the park it was really quite quiet and we were able to get on a lot of rides quite quickly.
First of all we had a lovely breakfast in the Carnation Café on Main Street. The chef Oscar, whos been at Disneyland since 1956 (!!), came to have a word with us, which was nice. After breakfast we went to Frontierland which is very similar in its layout to DLP (or the other way round really as it was built nearly 40 years before DLP!!). When you enter Frontierland there is a sort of Indian village (sorry native American!!), the riverboat landings are in exactly the same place and theres a Golden Horseshoe saloon where DLPs Lucky Nugget stands. I went on Big Thunder Mountain, then over to Fantasyland where we took some photos in various golden vehicles (for the 50th anniversary).
Fantasyland is incredibly like the one at DLP. The layout is almost exactly the same with even the Pinocchio Village House (Chalet de la Marionnette) pretty much identical inside and out. When you walk through to the back of the castle from Main Street the same shop is there on the left and the same little passageway through to Frontierland (Adventureland at DLP) and most of the rides seem to be in the same places. I think its nice that DLP was built so close to the original park in its design. We went on Pinocchios Daring Journey, Peter Pans Flight, Snow Whites Scary Adventures (theres a brass apple at the entrance and if you touch it the witch cackles in an evil way that made me jump!!) and Casey Jr which are all very much like the DLP equivalents. The Storybook Land Canal Boats is also very similar except that you get a guide sitting on the top of the boat to tell you about the ride.
We also had a go on King Arthurs Carousel, Its a Small World (of course!!!) and Mr Toads Wild Ride. I bought 4 golden ears hats with our names embroidered on them though I dont imagine Daves and Martins will get much (if any!!!) wear!!
You can see on this photo that some of the trains have seats that run the length of the carriage instead of facing the front and back. So you get a good view of one side of the track but can't see any of the other!!
Finally we went to the Snow White an Enchanting Musical live show and then back to the hotel for a rest as it was now very hot and very busy in the park and the pool was very inviting!
We went back at about 5.30. Dave went on Autopia in Tomorrowland
while I went to Matterhorn Bobsleds. I think this is the only version of this ride in any of the Disney parks. The Matterhorn is in between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland and there is an entrance from each land if you want a gentle ride you go to the Fantasyland entrance whereas the Tomorrowland entrance leads to a wilder ride. I went to Fantasyland but it was still a bit bumpy and jerky for me!!! After that we both went on the Alice in Wonderland ride (just like the Pinocchio ride but with Alice, Queen of Hearts etc) and then on Splash Mountain, where Dave got absolutely soaked!!!, and then to Buzz. We saw the tea dance starting up by the bandstand and then tried to get a meal at the Blue Bayou but they were fully booked so we wandered through the castle and looked at Snow Whites Grotto with statues of Snow White and the 7 dwarfs plus a wishing well. In Tomorrowland there was an Elvis tribute ban on that we watched (dont know what thats got to do with Tomorrowland!!!??) while we waited for the monorail to Downtown Disney where we tried to get into the Rainforest Café but the wait was over an hour so we ended up in the ESPN zone again where we had some Big Daddies (litre glasses of draught Bud) and meals at the bar which were delicious. The local baseball team, the Anaheim Angels, were playing on t.v. and the crowd in the bar were very loud!!! And then to bed!!!
Sat 20th
Went to the Magic Kingdom again today. We queued up in Toontown. to meet Minnie
and had a look in her house but it was very busy so we decided to meet Mickey on another day. We had a look round the rest of Toontown
and then went across to the California Adventure park which was much less busy. This is the second park which only opened in 2001. The available space is very limited and I think they built it on what used to be a car park dont know where people park their cars now I think they take you by shuttle to another area. California Adventure is a sort of collection of rides from other parks with slight modifications to make them fit in with the California theme.
The main entrance area is Sunshine Plaza. We went to have breakfast at the Pacific Wharf Café and then went to A Bugs Land to see Its Tough to be a Bug which is exactly the same as in WDW and just as good as ever we love it!!
Next we went to the area called Golden State where we went on the Grizzly River Run which was great fun and really a Californian version of Kali River Rapids from the Animal Kingdom in WDW but slightly wilder.
We sat and watched a hillbilly band called Jedadiah Jones and the Miner 49ers for a while as we dried off.
We walked round the Redwood Challenge Trail where Dave met one of the Brother Bears who tried to make him go down a slide, but he resisted!!!
I went on Soarin over California which is an amazing ride where youre lifted up high with a 180º IMAX screen all around, above and beneath your feet, showing images shot from a helicopter, with wind currents and scent machines, making it look and feel as if youre hang-gliding and you see all different parts of California. It was an amazing experience theyve just opened the same ride at WDW.
After that we went to Golden Dreams which is a film with Whoopi Goldberg about the origins and history of California very inspirational and patriotic as these films always are. Finally in this area we had a walk round the Boudin Bakery and saw a film about how sourdough bread is made and were given some samples.
Then we went to the Paradise Pier area which is like a giant funfair.
We went on the Sun Wheel in one of the non-swinging gondolas some swing about all over the place as well as the whole wheel going round!! We didnt actually go on any other rides but we walked all round the area and enjoyed looking at everything.
We went to Downtown Disney and had a nice lunch at the Rainforest Café and a much needed sit down in the cool air-conditioning.
After that we went back to the California Adventure to the Hollywood Pictures Backlot area where we went in the Art of Disney Animation building. First we went to Turtle Talk which is an interactive screen where Crush, the turtle from Finding Nemo, talks to members of the audience, particularly the children of course.
After that we went to the area called the Sorcerors Workshop where there are lots of interactive computer screens, zootropes etc. We both did a sort of quiz to find out which Disney character you are most like. Im like Cinderella apparently and Dave is like Buzz Lightyear!!!
We also did an interactive audition where you decide whether you want to sing or act. We chose singing and sang along with the 7 dwarfs to Heigh Ho then they play it back to you without the dwarfs voices that was good fun. Dave went to see Muppetvision 3D while I got a good spot to watch the Block Party Bash which was a very high energy afternoon parade with lots of character interaction, singing, dancing, acrobatics etc I dont know how they can in that heat!!!
After that we went to see Aladdin a Musical Spectacular which was an extremely professional show. Then we finally came back to the hotel after about 10 hours!!!
In the evening I went back to the California Adventure to watch the Electrical Light Parade which was excellent the original version of SpectroMagic in WDW and Fantillusion, I believe.
Needless to say after a busy and very hot day we were shattered once again!!
so perfect !!! I really enjoy every word !!!)
and Dave with one of the Brother bears !
Could you please tell something more about the two shows : Snow white and Aladin ? I'm very curious !!!
Are there ...OTHER INSTALMENTS ? I didn't find ? 
