Yesterday I went to Disneyland for the first time in several years, this time with my wife, and we had a blast. Thinking (rightly) that most people would be home watching the Super Bowl (yawn) we hit the Happiest Place on Earth and went on every major ride except for Space Mountain -- the line for which never dipped below 65 minutes even as the park was closing. I tried by hardest to find a discounted ticket deal, but there doesn't seem to be any way to get in for less than $59 per person -- ouch! As Southern California residents we were able to get the "Twofer" deal that lets us now attend California Adventure for free within the next 30 days, so I suppose that's a nice deal. Still, I would have preferred a straight discount.
The whole park was cleaner and sharper than I remember, so they must have been doing some painting. As for rides, my new favorite is Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. The ride is pretty tame, but you get to control the spin of your own car and each rider gets a laser gun with which to shoot at targets that surround the ride on every side. You get your own personal score at the end of the ride and can see how you compare with everyone else. Basically a high-tech shooting gallery, but loads of fun.
Star Tours was as good as ever, though Rex's claim that every flight is his first is getting a bit old. In the scenery before the ride were displays announcing new destinations "coming soon" to Hoth, Dagobah, and Tatooine, but those have been there for years, right? Why hasn't Disneyland put in some new shows? It would seem that the Star Tours ride could handle any number of "destinations", and it's past time to change things up.
The Indiana Jones ride was a lot better than I remember it being. Reading some of the ride history online makes me want to go back and ride it a few more times to get more of the flavor. Apparently there are three (or more) different sets of scenery that you can ride through that are selected randomly when you board, and it would be fun to see them all. The ride was a lot less jerky than I remember it being, which is good because when I first rode it ten years ago my neck was aching for a week afterwards.
I went on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride for the first time and enjoyed the colorful scenery. The Hell room was actually very neat... I wasn't expecting the furnaces. Some of the other explosion effects and so forth were well done. Thunder Mountain and the Matterhorn were great, but the latter is starting to show its age and is feeling a little loose. I wish we could have ridden the new Space Mountain, but alas, we didn't have the patience and couldn't even get a Fastpass. (The only Fastpass we did get was to the Indy ride, and we didn't even need it.) Pirates of the Caribbean was as fun as ever and looked like it had been updated; most of the scenes were the same or similar to what I remember, but the cannonball/water explosions were far larger than in the past and actually got some riders pretty wet. It's amusing to see old attractions simply renamed to suit new marketing needs, like Tarzan's Treehouse née the Swiss Family Treehouse. When will Tom Sawyer's Island be seized by Pocahontas?
One thing I only now remember missing: there were no characters walking around! I don't think we saw a single Micky, Minnie, Donald, or anyone!
Now I'm interested in learning some secrets about Disneyland. Does anyone have any information or pictures of the employee tunnels that run under the park? Any stories about the security measures or hidden control rooms? I'm sure the park holds a lot of secret goodies, so someone cough them up!
Lucasfilm is working with Disney on a new STAR TOURS. Not sure about any details or timing.
Sounds like you two had a lot of fun! I've been to DisneyWorld a few times but never DisneyLand. I suppose I ought to go sometime now that I'm in the area.
This is the only Disneyland "secret goodie" I know of:
http://snopes.com/disney/parks/matterho.asp
(Warning: Super-annoying MIDI music).
More at
http://snopes.com/disney/parks/parks.asp
(Warning: Somewhat annoying MIDI music)
Bernardo
There's an invite only club next to the restaurant inside the Pirates of the Carribean ride. The first time we ate there I went to pay for our tickets (you have to get them a day in advance) and I accidentally took the wrong door.
There was a well dressed guy behind the counter who informed me I couldn't be there, and he escorted me back outside.
Rumor has it Walt invited select guests there for investment solicitation purposes, and the park has retained the establishment and all it's traditions to this day, or so I'm told. I never did get to see what it looked like beyond the entryway.
Not sure how much I want to share since you have such a large readership.
1. Above the pirates of the Carribean is the Walt Apartment. Tours available, and usually some cool art and or details of how various set were built.
2. Right out in plain sight is the Horseshoe saloon. Good food at almost reasonable prices, but the shows are fantastic. It is the very best thing at Disneyland. But somehow people don't go, so there is usually plenty of room. Show up 20 minutes ahead of the show or so.
3. You can (at least we did) get out on the canoe platform during the Fantasmic. Nobody does, but nobody stopped us.
4. The Lincoln show has been changed (4 years ago, I think.) It is so cool. I won't tell you anything else, because it will spoil the special effects.
The only "secret" thing I know about Disney Land/World is a memo went around all of the employers telling them to stop calling the place "mouse-witch". Within minutes, they started calling it "duck-hau".
There is no tunnel complex under Disneyland - that is Disney World. (At Disneyland there is one tunnel that runs underneath Tomorrowland, however.)
Walt's Apartment is over the Firehouse on Main Street, not over Pirates. Over Pirates is Club 33, the exclusive private club that Jim referrers to.
Walt did have an apartment over the firehouse also. However, I will assure you, having visited it the last five times we've gone, that there is a huge apartment above pirates. It included an all weather outdoor patio with heating and air conditioning. Yes, he entertained up there. But while I know nothing of club 33, the facility over pirates is several rooms of art that changes periodically and a (what else) gift shop.
Take a tour of Walt's apartment:
http://www.ocregister.com/multimedia/disneyapartment/
The 'apartment' above Pirates (known today as the Disney Gallery) was designed as apartment for the Disney family, but it was never used by them. The apartment above the Firehouse was used by Walt personally for many years, which is why it is called "Walt's Apartment". Apart from that, I would recommend visiting the Disney Gallery to anyone who has never seen it.
DISNEY NEVER ENTERTAINED IN THE APARTMENT ABOVE THE PIRATES OF CARRIBEAN,BECAUSE HE DIED BEFORE RIDE WAS FINISHED.THE APARTMENT IS NOW BEING USED AS A DISNEY ART GALLERY.
I went into club 33. Its really nice. Its not for investors only. My Uncle designed the little cars that take you from the parking structure to the park. He gets these weird passes and hes been going there for about 20 years(he says). But when i went in there, there is this old elevator its made out of like brass and wood(soo pretty.) and they take you upstairs(above pirates) and there are pictures of all the rides while you walk up stair you can enjoy painted pictures of your favorite rides. Oh yeah and by the way Walt never went into club 33. It was his "dream" to build it, but they build it like 5 years after he died. Its an amazing place. i think you can call and ask to be put on the waiting list to purchase the "pass" but i think its s along list.