Thursday, February 25, 2010
I woke up feeling good but then began to deteriorate as the morning progressed. After eating as much garbage as I did, I’m not surprised, I just wish it didn’t happen on day 5 of our trip, my mom’s birthday. Even though I was feeling bad I took some meds and was able to go to the parks. We left only 20 minutes later than planned so we didn’t miss much and there reached a point where I thought the moving around would make me feel better than just lying in bed suffering.
We left, and got to Disney’s California Adventure in the standard 30 minutes it usually takes to go 1 mile, went through the turnstiles and made our way around to Soarin’ Over California. The wait was too long and so we decided to each get FastPasses and come back later. We instead moseyed our way to Paradise Pier to ride Toy Story Midway Mania. It’s quite the trek to the back of that park. When I think about it it I’m always amazed that the park was built on this giant parking lot. I remember going in 1993 and having to walk from what was then the Saga Inn and now is the Ramada Main Gate to and from the park and just thinking how expansive the parking lot was. Now, it’s a theme park.
We had to wait a little bit, but you know what? The wait time to get on Toy Story isn’t as long as it used to be. I remember going when the attraction first opened and seeing the line at 70+ minutes and the line stretching around to almost to the entrance to Paradise Pier. I don’t think the ride is any less popular, I’m sure it has something to do with attendance. The attraction is so well made and designed that once you ride it you can understand why it’s so popular.
The first time through I was skilled enough to land me in the top 3 for the day with 200,700. Throughout the ride I thought I was doing terribly but that’s a pretty high score for me. I suppose I don’t pay close attention to where I usually stand at each of the different games I come across, but that makes these kind of victories all the more exciting a satisfying. The second time through… I should mention that I continuously take pictures of Mr. Potato Head with each time I go through the line. As I was saying, the second time through I was completely knocked off the leader board, but not by much. If I had grabbed another 5000 points I would have been back on the #3 spot. The thing is, I’m never disappointed, as it just feels nice to have been on the leader board at all. Both my mom and I can only handle two rides on Toy Story because our arms can only take so much constant and furious action. By the time we get off the ride we are in agony. Disney should post stretching exercises that guests can do prior to riding. I would imagine people would be in less pain.
After pausing for a quick bathroom break I suggested we go on Mickey’s Funwheel. I was wondering if my mom would even consider it again after her first time on it the day before. Surprisingly she agreed, and we made our way down the boardwalk. We got in line for the non-swinging gondolas and got on the attraction. My mom was nervous but as we rose to the top she realized it wasn’t as bad as the first time she rode. The important thing to remember is that you should focus in something else if your doing something way out of your comfort zone. She focused on taking pictures, as did I. I’m always looking to take that perfect picture up there and I don’t even know what it looks like, I’m just hoping to hit it one time. It’s difficult because they put that grating around the cars. With my other camera, the lens is so small that taking the picture through the grating was easy, with my new camera it became increasingly more difficult so I had to mess with things on the camera that I’m not used to and don’t really understand how the work. I think I’ve got some decent photos but what do I know.
We got off the ride continuing our way around Paradise Pier over to Mullholland Madness. We weren’t going to ride it if the wait was too long. This ride reminds me very much of a ride in an amusement park here in Oregon. I think they’ve since taken the ride out to add more thrilling coasters in it’s place. We basically walked right on and I had forgotten just how cozy the ride vehicles were. The seats literally hugged every inch of me. Before I let anything get that close to me I usually have to ask if they’re a cop and get cash up front. The ride was rough and we both agreed that this would be ridden only once.
At this point we were both feeling a little hungry, but because we remembered how full we felt, we wanted to take it easier this time with the food. Rather than get another meal we decided to instead go to the Mission Tortilla Factory to get my mom another 3 tortillas. The factory was practically abandoned and nothing seemed to be in working order. I think we only went through and appreciated the exhibits once, but I’m pretty sure the little video-people in the wall moved and talked. They weren’t alive this time. Also, the cast members were cleaning one of the machines so they were not in full production of tortillas; however, they were handing out corn tortillas.
We took the tortillas and sat outside at some picnic benches to eat them. Once we finished we thought we would go into A Bug’s Land and take some pictures of The Hollywood Tower Hotel. An interesting tid bit of information for you, when you are in A Bug’s Land look up at The Hollywood Tower Hotel and it will feel like you are the size of a bug standing in the “front yard” of the hotel. It’s a really interesting feeling because how the imagineers planned it, it does make you really small.
We walked completely through A Bug’s Land. It was nice that they opened up the back end of the land so you could walk through into Hollywood Studios. I don’t know why it took them so long to do it because A Bug’s Land was always this giant nightmare walking through. The thing is, there really was never anything there that an adult would really enjoy other than the interesting theming and seeing for yourself the incredible shrinking feeling. While there still isn’t anything for an adult to see, it’s a nice little shortcut to Tower of Terror.
My mom and I don’t ride Tower of Terror anymore because, it isn’t fun. We used to ride it every time we went, but there reached a point where we just didn’t want to do it anymore. We weren’t having fun and that was a time when we thought that we had to ride everything to get the most out of our trip. No longer, and so Tower of Terror was one of the rides we “dropped”.
To our delight as we were walking past Aladdin: The Musical we saw that it was going to start in 15 minutes. We had originally planned to see it on the first day we arrived, but were too exhausted to wait for it to start. This time though, we took the opportunity to see it. Originally we were placed in the Mezzanine, but because my Mom has trouble climbing stairs they stuck us in Orchestra. Like being stuck in Orchestra is a bad thing. This was the closes we had ever been to the stage and it was a different experience than we usually have. We typically are placed in the Mezzanine so we normally get to see the flying carpet sequence. This time we didn’t get to see that aspect of the show very well, instead we got a close-up of Aladdin on the elephant.
It’s kinda weird to be able to make out distinguishing characteristics of the actors. In addition, and I’m going to ruin some magic, you see cables a lot easier, you see the actors fall through the floor, you can tell the difference between the Aladdin that’s on stage and the Aladdin that is on wires, and you can see that the actor who plays the character at the very beginning also plays the Sultan. With all these different things that you notice, it in no way ruins the experience. It’s still a well produced and well acted show and should be a definite must see when you visit, while it lasts.
After Aladdin we walked over to Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sully to the Rescue! This was one of the best experiences we had that day and probably one of the most memorable one of the trip. We get in line behind a father and his sons and what appear to be friends of the father and their children. One of the father’s son, Jackson is freaking out, crying and begging his father not to make him get on the ride. this literally goes on throughout the entire time he is in the queue. They try and try to convince him that it isn’t scary, but Jackson wasn’t having any of it. He apparently only wanted to see plays and didn’t want to go on rides. My mom and I both wondered what ride he rode that made him so terrified of rides. The friend of the family told him it was a play and Jackson believed him and calmed down, literally a few seconds later they told him it was a ride and he began freaking out again. This child was so scared that I thought he was going to literally die of fright. His father asked him if he wanted to go home as a threat to get him to comply with just getting on the ride and stop making a big deal out of a ride that wasn’t scary. Jackson, so frightened that he said he did want to go home and his father laughed, bluff called. Good for you Jackson! We get closer to the loading area and cast member comes around asking if there is a group of two, I raise my hand and we were ushered to the front of the line. We were a little disappointed because we wanted to see how Jackson experience played out.
Once we got off the ride, we hung back and waited for them to disembark to see if little Jackson survived the frightening world of Monstropolis. He was smiling and hopefully it made him less frightened of rides in the future. As for my mom and I? We walked over to Soarin but stopped into Taste Pilot’s Grill to see about some lunch. It was too crowded in there and so we opted to use the FastPass for Soarin’ we got earlier. It just reaffirmed my belief that even with a FastPass your wait time is considerable. Regardless of the wait, we got some premium seats, Gate B, Row 2. I don’t know what they call it, but we were in the middle section, B in the second row. I know this is debatable, some people think that being in row 1 is better because you don’t get feet, but I contend that in row 2, you don’t get the curvature of the screen. I think you get a better wrap-around experience.
Getting off the ride, we again checked in to Taste Pilot’s Grill so if the line had gone down, it didn’t and with that we headed over to Disneyland to find some. We debated on what we wanted to eat. We had to make the decision fast because we were running out of time before we had reservations for Big Thunder Ranch and the feast they were preparing just for us… and everyone else. We talked about getting a hot dog at Refreshment Corner, but we were dying for something green and salady. We knew they had salads at Red Rockett’s Pizza Port, we made our way through Tomorrowland and saw the mass of people eating there. I suggested we see Captain EO first and then eat but my Mom said then it might be too late to eat and still be hungry for Big Thunder Ranch. She was right, the day was moving fast and it was already only a few hours before our reservation. Having lunch now was pushing it.
Pizza Port was crowded but we got and shared a Chicken Caesar Salad. It was the best thing I had ever tasted, and I think it was the same for my mom. It had been so long since we last ate a salad that it felt good and right. It was like the planets aligned and everything in life was finally becoming clear. I’m not even sure how good the food actually was, it probably was the worst tasting salad of all time, but I had no frame of reference, but it was what we needed at the time.
After lunch we took on Captain EO again. We just can’t get enough of this movie, it is just so corny and funny and people’s reactions to it starting are boisterous as well as the first time they see Michael Jackson on screen. Plus, the movie is amazing!!!! We got some great seats this time; we were in the middle of the theater and and there were absolutely no one in front of us. It was the best showing yet. The theater was full and it has been consistently full for each of the showings. After he movie finished my mom and I did something that we’ve been wanting to do for a couple of days, see back to back shows. We walked out of the theater, went around the corner in to the entrance and saw the next showing. What surprised us was that I think we sat in the exact same seats as we did the first show. If not, they were really close. The only difference this time was that there were some people in front of us. Considering we had no one in front of us the time before, it was acceptable.
We went to “it’s a small world” and rode that again. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I love that ride. I love it more than ever. This time however I am now madly in love with it because I discovered something that I never noticed before. While riding in the second room we passed Alice and the White Rabbit on the right side and I heard something that was very familiar and then it hit me, Golden Afternoon was subtlety playing in the background. I told my mom and she listened for a song from Cinderella on her left immediately following Alice and she said she heard Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo and then Pinocchio had I’ve Got No Strings. Later on there was A Whole New World playing when you come across Aladdin, Jasmine, Carpet and Abu. I think those were the only four we could hear. I thought there would have been more, considering there were so many characters. I was expecting something from Mulan like Reflection, and something from Toy Story when you come across Woody, Jesse and Bullseye. Maybe we are just missing them because of the strong “it’s a small world” theme playing over everything and children crying or talking. There are just so many levels to that ride now.
We got off the ride with something else to be excited over “it’s a small world” about. But the day had to progress. We were running out of things to do, and quickly so we thought that maybe the folks at Celebration Round-up & Barbecue at Big Thunder Ranch would take us early. The important thing is we had reservations for dinner and we weren’t sure when that actually started. We didn’t want to be stuck with the lunch menu because it didn’t have polish sausage, and I loves me some polish sausage. We get to the Ranch and and make some small talk with the host and they checked us in and we only had to wait a few minutes before they showed us to our park bench.
The show was already going on and I could tell immediately what this was going to be like. We sat down and watched the show, there were very big on audience participation and I told m,y mom that this was very similar Hoop-Dee-Doo Part 2. Even though Hoop-Dee-Doo was more of a production and this was just 3 people singin’ some country songs and tlaking with the audience, it was nerve wracking cause I didn’t want to be a part of the show, I just wanted to watch it and eat. It was a while before our serve came to get our drink orders and tell us what we wee going to be eating that evening.
Everything was served family style, meaning they would bring buckets of food and you would serve yourself. On the menu was, ribs, chicken, polish sausage, baked beans, cole slaw, corn and corn bread. The menu was very reminiscent of Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue nearly exactly the same except for a few minor things. It even tasted the same to me, they must have the same supplier. The show continued and they brought up some kids to join the show. What they did I can’t remember, so it must not have been that awesome. We got our food and the iced tea we ordered quickly and it seemed the show was over. It wasn’t one of the performers came around the tables and interacted with everyone, our worst nightmare was going to come true and there wasn’t anything we could do about it. You don’t come to these things without the expectation of having to talk to people, and that is something I hate. I don’t want to interact with someone everyone in the place is paying any attention to.
There was a guy playing the guitar and going from table to table grabbed a couple of kids and brought them up to the stage to help him with his song. He had one of them hit the triangle at specific moments in the song. The kids did very well and it was hysterically funny because the kid kind of knew what he needed to do, but wasn’t quite understanding that he wasn’t supposed to hit the triangle until the pause in the song. He would just tap it repeatedly, then he understood and started getting really into it and was doing a really good job. There was a woman taking pictures with a serious looking camera, a Nikon D3. This thing was no joke and it is for the serious professional. From what I could gather, she was employed by Disney, because after the kids came off stage a cast member with a clip board came to that family’s table and talked to them. I’m wondering if they are going to use those pictures for any promotional material.
We continued to eat and the guy with the guitar once again made his way around the tables and eventually came to us and asked if we were hungry. I honestly don’t want to go into the whole conversation because it is one that I don’t really want to remember. Thankfully the interaction only lasted a few moments and he was on to some other sucker out there. We finished eating and we ordered a couple of Cowboy Cone Cakes. These are cupcakes in a waffle cone. More specifically they take a waffle cone, put some sort of frosting at the very bottom, put in a spoonful of cherry pie filling then add the frosted cupcake. They bring it out in the giant, GIANT metal display holder that looks like a present that’s been opened and these Cowboy Cone Cakes come springing out with streamers. It looks ridiculous and more than a little embarrassing. It didn’t matter how embarrassing the whole spectacle looked, the Cowboy Cone Cakes were delicious and sine this was going to be the only time we would be doing the Celebration Round-Up & Barbecue, it was worth the extra expense to get them.
While everything about the experience was good, the cost of it all was not worth what you might get out of it. For the both of us with tip and tax including out 10% annual pass discount came to $80. That is a lot of money and probably would have been better spent towards the Fantasmic Premium Seating package. My mom and I did that last year and it was awesome and if Fantasmic was playing during our visit this year, I know I would have preferred that more.
After the barbecue we were both spent and full and we wanted to leave. So we walked around Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and took some pictures with the moon. While walking, I spotted a plane flying overhead and I thought that was unusual because after 9/11 I thought that was no fly zone. This was no small plane this was a commercial airline flying overhead, so I grabbed a couple of pictures…why? I don’t know, I just thought it was interesting. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen planes or helicopters flying over Disneyland, it happens more than I would have thought. But we continued to walk out of the park. I wanted to pause and take a picture of Enchanted Tiki Room while my mom continued to the front of the park. I caught to her and we were right in front of City Hall and that is when we were snagged.
We were snagged by a cast member wanting to survey us on our experience in the park. It was tough cause we had only been in the park for a couple of hours and so many of the questions we were asked we had to say, “Did Not Experience.” That was one of the options. I know this isn’t all that interesting but the next bit is. I look past Dorothy, the cast member that was conducting the survey and I notice there is a woman older, I wouldn’t say elderly but maybe in her 60’s lying on the ground. I inform Dorothy and she turns and you can tell that she felt torn about what she should do.
I spot another cast member helping the woman and say, it looks like she is already getting assistance. Dorothy seemed relieved but I know she was wondering how this was going to impact our experience. I mean she is surveying us on our experience. She continued the survey and then I hear a faint, “DOROTHY” coming from over where the woman was lying on the ground. I tell Dorothy that she is being called over and Dorothy turns to the woman and then turns back to us and thanks us for our time and runs over to the woman.
My mom and I turn and walk to the exit talking about what had just happened. Dorothy was clearly in a predicament. I’m trying to think what I would have done if I were in Dorothy’s position. I think I would have ended the survey and went and helped the other cast member deal with the fallen woman. I would hope that a guest would understand that helping someone who was hurt would be the priority. I don’t fault Dorothy for her decision to continue with the survey, she probably thought the other cast member had everything under control and if she was needed than she would be called. It seemed logical.
My mom and I thought about another time we witnessed someone take a spill in Town Square. It was about the time Finding Nemo Submarines had opened and everyone and the grandmother, which was literally the case for my family, was there to ride the attraction. There was always a mad dash to get there and I think they didn’t even do the rope drop but you were just able run to the ride when you got through the turnstiles. Well, this woman was running, in flip-flops no less, and took a dive head first. I thought this was funny, even though she got hurt because she was doing two things she shouldn’t have been doing, running in the park and running with flip-flops on.
That’s is my general rule, if someone is doing something they shouldn’t be doing and they get hurt doing it, then it’s funny. If they are seriously injured, then it isn’t funny. This lady wasn’t seriously injured she got right back up and continued on so everything was fine, but dude, if you’re going to break the rules you are going to have to suffer the consequences, getting hurt and having people laugh at you, it’s just the reality of the situation.
We exited the park and suffer the tram debacle. I freaking hate the trams, and I know I’ve said it a thousand times. It took us two trams to get back to the car and when we finally I felt a huge relief. I was feeling better, I had some vegetables during the day and it turned out be a good day.
