Graduated from University, might as well go to Disneyland!-January 2016 Trip Report *Complete*
- Thread starter kickpuncher305
- Start date
kickpuncher305
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2014
Day 3: Universal Studios Hollywood (Clouds + Monday = Empty Park!!!)
After two very full and busy days at the Disneyland Resort, we were off to Universal Studios Hollywood. As I mentioned a few times in the entry from our Disneyland day, a lot of stuff was closing in both Disney parks (but especially Disneyland) so we tried to pack as much of that stuff in the first two days. Also, that is why we decided the Monday following all of the closures would be a good day to visit Universal Studios Hollywood
For pretty every trip that we've taken down to California to visit Disneyland, we take an extra day and go visit USH. While the theming and nostalgia for USH is not as great as Disneyland, we have always really enjoyed our time at USH (hence why we continue to go back each trip). I know some Disney diehards do not like any Universal parks (which is totally fine) so if you are one of those people, you may want to skip down to the end of this entry as we do experience one of my highlights of the trip that is certainly Disney related.
For this trip to Hollywood we traveled with Viator, a travel company whose Anaheim center so happened to be located in the basement of Anaheim GardenWalk. This was super convenient because the Super 8 we were staying at was literally a two minute walk. Normally, they have a smaller bus pick you up from your Anaheim hotel and take you to GardenWalk where you then load on a large Greyhound bus for the full journey to Hollywood. We instead walked over about 8am, got on a bus about 8:30 and were off to USH!
Once arriving at USH (with pre-purchased tickets from aRes) we noticed right away how dead it was. It was probably 10:00am-ish, so the park had been open for a little while but it was extremely empty.
Unfortunately, WWoHP was not open yet at USH but soft openings started happening a couple weeks after we left. We got to see the OG Wizarding World: Hogsmeade on our Florida Trip in 2013 and I was beyond impressed. I am excited to go back to USO and see Diagon Alley as it was under construction on that trip. I snapped this picture while we made our way down to the Lower Lot.
Previously mentioned Lower Lot!
As a HUGE Jurassic Park fan, I was super bummed when I saw that Jurassic Park - The Ride was under refurbishment this trip. However, sometimes closures are nice for repeat visitors as it makes you excited the next time (whenever it may be) to experience the closed rides.
We started at Transformers thinking it would be the longest line of the day (which was most certainly not the case). Always enjoy this one but not quite as much as Spiderman at Islands of Adventure in Florida. Next was Revenge of the Mummy, which is really fun but kinda short. I feel like I enjoyed the version of the Mummy at USF a bit more (mainly because of the appearance of Brendan Fraser). With Jurassic Park closed, we finished up with the Lower Lot (for now) and made our way back up the Longest Escalators in the World (not actually a world record but it feels like it).
The views that you get from the escalators are amazing! The white buildings way off in the distance are the Warner Brothers studio and the more close up buildings are apart of Universal. You could also definitely see the effect of the California drought with how brown the golf course was.
Next up was Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem, which is a really cute simulator ride that luckily was not very busy yet. Since their are very few "kid friendly" rides at USH, Despicable Me can get quite busy. On our last trip to USO, the line got up to 2+ hours (its a fun ride but definitely not worth even close to that long of a wait).
A fun and unique addition that USH has is Super Silly Fun Land, which is interestingly built on top of a parking garage. It has a bunch of carnival games, a couple of kiddie rides and a water play area. The area is nice but nothing really for us to experience so we walked over to get in line for DM:MM.
They have a bunch of funny signs within the queue that every trip I end up taking pictures of.
The first main pre-show area is extremely well themed with family portraits, Gru's Family Tree (see above) and many little hidden secrets.
A really fun and cute ride, we usually only ride it once a trip but I do enjoy it each time.
Next up is the Simpsons Ride, which I really enjoy as I am a MASSIVE Simpsons fan.
While I enjoy the ride a lot (it's probably the funniest ride in any theme park) but it was probably the most inefficiently run attraction I have ever seen! It was well over 45 minutes for a line that was maybe a couple hundred people. It seemed like they were super under-staffed and the staff didn't really seem motivated to move the line quickly.
I really did enjoy the ride as usual even with the unfortunate line issues. My dad seems to always get quite motion sick on this ride which is kinda odd because he doesn't seem to get sick on really any ride (except the Mad Tea Party, he hates them!) so if you do get motion sick easy, this may be one to avoid or take some dramamine before riding.
With pretty much all of the major attractions (at least those who were open), we decided to make our way down to the with out a doubt highlight of any USH trip, the Studio Tour!
Next Update: The Studio Tour, Transformers (again and again) and a Disney experience I have waited years for!
After two very full and busy days at the Disneyland Resort, we were off to Universal Studios Hollywood. As I mentioned a few times in the entry from our Disneyland day, a lot of stuff was closing in both Disney parks (but especially Disneyland) so we tried to pack as much of that stuff in the first two days. Also, that is why we decided the Monday following all of the closures would be a good day to visit Universal Studios Hollywood
For pretty every trip that we've taken down to California to visit Disneyland, we take an extra day and go visit USH. While the theming and nostalgia for USH is not as great as Disneyland, we have always really enjoyed our time at USH (hence why we continue to go back each trip). I know some Disney diehards do not like any Universal parks (which is totally fine) so if you are one of those people, you may want to skip down to the end of this entry as we do experience one of my highlights of the trip that is certainly Disney related.
For this trip to Hollywood we traveled with Viator, a travel company whose Anaheim center so happened to be located in the basement of Anaheim GardenWalk. This was super convenient because the Super 8 we were staying at was literally a two minute walk. Normally, they have a smaller bus pick you up from your Anaheim hotel and take you to GardenWalk where you then load on a large Greyhound bus for the full journey to Hollywood. We instead walked over about 8am, got on a bus about 8:30 and were off to USH!
Once arriving at USH (with pre-purchased tickets from aRes) we noticed right away how dead it was. It was probably 10:00am-ish, so the park had been open for a little while but it was extremely empty.
Unfortunately, WWoHP was not open yet at USH but soft openings started happening a couple weeks after we left. We got to see the OG Wizarding World: Hogsmeade on our Florida Trip in 2013 and I was beyond impressed. I am excited to go back to USO and see Diagon Alley as it was under construction on that trip. I snapped this picture while we made our way down to the Lower Lot.
Previously mentioned Lower Lot!
As a HUGE Jurassic Park fan, I was super bummed when I saw that Jurassic Park - The Ride was under refurbishment this trip. However, sometimes closures are nice for repeat visitors as it makes you excited the next time (whenever it may be) to experience the closed rides.
We started at Transformers thinking it would be the longest line of the day (which was most certainly not the case). Always enjoy this one but not quite as much as Spiderman at Islands of Adventure in Florida. Next was Revenge of the Mummy, which is really fun but kinda short. I feel like I enjoyed the version of the Mummy at USF a bit more (mainly because of the appearance of Brendan Fraser). With Jurassic Park closed, we finished up with the Lower Lot (for now) and made our way back up the Longest Escalators in the World (not actually a world record but it feels like it).
The views that you get from the escalators are amazing! The white buildings way off in the distance are the Warner Brothers studio and the more close up buildings are apart of Universal. You could also definitely see the effect of the California drought with how brown the golf course was.
Next up was Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem, which is a really cute simulator ride that luckily was not very busy yet. Since their are very few "kid friendly" rides at USH, Despicable Me can get quite busy. On our last trip to USO, the line got up to 2+ hours (its a fun ride but definitely not worth even close to that long of a wait).
A fun and unique addition that USH has is Super Silly Fun Land, which is interestingly built on top of a parking garage. It has a bunch of carnival games, a couple of kiddie rides and a water play area. The area is nice but nothing really for us to experience so we walked over to get in line for DM:MM.
They have a bunch of funny signs within the queue that every trip I end up taking pictures of.
The first main pre-show area is extremely well themed with family portraits, Gru's Family Tree (see above) and many little hidden secrets.
A really fun and cute ride, we usually only ride it once a trip but I do enjoy it each time.
Next up is the Simpsons Ride, which I really enjoy as I am a MASSIVE Simpsons fan.
While I enjoy the ride a lot (it's probably the funniest ride in any theme park) but it was probably the most inefficiently run attraction I have ever seen! It was well over 45 minutes for a line that was maybe a couple hundred people. It seemed like they were super under-staffed and the staff didn't really seem motivated to move the line quickly.
I really did enjoy the ride as usual even with the unfortunate line issues. My dad seems to always get quite motion sick on this ride which is kinda odd because he doesn't seem to get sick on really any ride (except the Mad Tea Party, he hates them!) so if you do get motion sick easy, this may be one to avoid or take some dramamine before riding.
With pretty much all of the major attractions (at least those who were open), we decided to make our way down to the with out a doubt highlight of any USH trip, the Studio Tour!
Next Update: The Studio Tour, Transformers (again and again) and a Disney experience I have waited years for!
kickpuncher305
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2014
Day 3: USH and some Disney (adjacent) at night!
After finishing our quick trip to Springfield, we made our way down to the Studio Tour. If you have never been to USH, I personally believe that the studio tour makes the park a must do. It's usually over an hour long and takes you all around the Universal backlot to see some really cool sets as well as some really fun other experiences.
Unfortunately, where we were located on the tram was in the very first car so some of the pictures we a little off. As well, I was right beside a post in the vehicle so I didn't end up taking too many pictures.
One of my favourite parts is the vehicle "graveyard", mostly because of how up close you can get to some iconic movie vehicles. Also, they are continuing to update the different vehicles here so there is always something new to see (this trip, it was the gyrosphere aka rolling-ball-thing from Jurassic World!).
More Jurassic Vehicles (this time from the Lost World)
Another classic part of the Universal Studio Tour is the "Flash Flood". If you were a child of the late 90s/early 00's, you will recognize it from the classic movie "Big Fat Liar" staring Frankie Muniz, Amanda Bynes and Paul Giamatti.
(Again, apologies for the less than stellar picture. This is really where it was unfortunate to be near the front)
Cool Skull Island miniature that you actually get to go right past (even though it surrounded by water...
)
"Earthquake" (only place you will find this at least in the USA since the Disaster attraction at USF was closed for I believe the new Fast and Furious ride)
"War of the Worlds" set (listen very carefully through this area, there is some really cool hidden sounds)
That seems to be the vast majority of my pictures (at least the ones that are good enough to share
). It's also really fun to be surprised by all the cool stuff on the Studio tour (at least that's what my story will be for the lack of pictures 
).
I really can't recommend the Studio Tour enough. If you are at all a fan of movies and how they are made definitely not to be missed. Also, there is a ton of fun "mini-attractions" like Kong, Earthquake, Jaws, etc. that are quite fun as well.
After we finished up with the lengthy studio tour, we made our way back to the lower lot to experience the two attractions (that were open) one last time.
Closed Jurassic Park
Open Mummy (as you can see, it says 15 minutes but it was probably closer to 25-30 minutes wait but even at that long it is still really fun)
So here begins a lengthy (but I think quite fun) story. So once we got on board the Mummy, we were sat beside this younger (I say younger but probably mid-20s...so my age
) couple who were SUPER into the ride in the best way. Really fun to ride with. Right after the Mummy we made our way to Transformers, which has literally ZERO WAIT TIME!!!
The wait time sign said "NO WAIT"!!! So we walked the extremely lengthy queue and made our way right to the vehicles with NO ONE WAITING! This ride can sometime see hour long waits during busier days so to be able to walk on was pretty awesome. Remember the couple from the Mummy? They were literally right behind us and were seated right beside us AGAIN! The ride vehicles holds 12 people (I think) and it was literally just the four of us! We rode Transformers (fun as always) and the team member at the exit asked if we wanted to go again...
Of course! We literally walked through a side door that was open and got right back on the same vehicle we were on before with the same couple (and another two-some) and rode Transformers again! I don't think I have ever been able to literally walk on a ride twice in a row with ZERO wait.
After we had fully experienced the lower lot for the 2nd time that day, we made our way back up to the Upper Lot to have a late lunch at the French Street Bistro. I didn't take any pictures of it but it was really quite good for a quick meal. I believe we had a turkey sandwich (which was so massive we split it) and some chips. We ate in the restaurant itself for awhile before the nearby Animal Actors show was beginning to let people in so we made our way in.
This is one of the cutest shows I have ever seen. My family had recently gotten a new puppy and both my Dad and I were really missing him so we were all too pleased to watch animals run around for about 15 minutes.
After finishing our quick trip to Springfield, we made our way down to the Studio Tour. If you have never been to USH, I personally believe that the studio tour makes the park a must do. It's usually over an hour long and takes you all around the Universal backlot to see some really cool sets as well as some really fun other experiences.
Unfortunately, where we were located on the tram was in the very first car so some of the pictures we a little off. As well, I was right beside a post in the vehicle so I didn't end up taking too many pictures.
One of my favourite parts is the vehicle "graveyard", mostly because of how up close you can get to some iconic movie vehicles. Also, they are continuing to update the different vehicles here so there is always something new to see (this trip, it was the gyrosphere aka rolling-ball-thing from Jurassic World!).
More Jurassic Vehicles (this time from the Lost World)
Another classic part of the Universal Studio Tour is the "Flash Flood". If you were a child of the late 90s/early 00's, you will recognize it from the classic movie "Big Fat Liar" staring Frankie Muniz, Amanda Bynes and Paul Giamatti.
(Again, apologies for the less than stellar picture. This is really where it was unfortunate to be near the front)
Cool Skull Island miniature that you actually get to go right past (even though it surrounded by water...
) "Earthquake" (only place you will find this at least in the USA since the Disaster attraction at USF was closed for I believe the new Fast and Furious ride)
"War of the Worlds" set (listen very carefully through this area, there is some really cool hidden sounds)
That seems to be the vast majority of my pictures (at least the ones that are good enough to share
). It's also really fun to be surprised by all the cool stuff on the Studio tour (at least that's what my story will be for the lack of pictures ).I really can't recommend the Studio Tour enough. If you are at all a fan of movies and how they are made definitely not to be missed. Also, there is a ton of fun "mini-attractions" like Kong, Earthquake, Jaws, etc. that are quite fun as well.
After we finished up with the lengthy studio tour, we made our way back to the lower lot to experience the two attractions (that were open) one last time.
Closed Jurassic Park
Open Mummy
(as you can see, it says 15 minutes but it was probably closer to 25-30 minutes wait but even at that long it is still really fun)So here begins a lengthy (but I think quite fun) story. So once we got on board the Mummy, we were sat beside this younger (I say younger but probably mid-20s...so my age
) couple who were SUPER into the ride in the best way. Really fun to ride with. Right after the Mummy we made our way to Transformers, which has literally ZERO WAIT TIME!!! The wait time sign said "NO WAIT"!!! So we walked the extremely lengthy queue and made our way right to the vehicles with NO ONE WAITING! This ride can sometime see hour long waits during busier days so to be able to walk on was pretty awesome. Remember the couple from the Mummy? They were literally right behind us and were seated right beside us AGAIN! The ride vehicles holds 12 people (I think) and it was literally just the four of us! We rode Transformers (fun as always) and the team member at the exit asked if we wanted to go again...
Of course! We literally walked through a side door that was open and got right back on the same vehicle we were on before with the same couple (and another two-some) and rode Transformers again! I don't think I have ever been able to literally walk on a ride twice in a row with ZERO wait.
After we had fully experienced the lower lot for the 2nd time that day, we made our way back up to the Upper Lot to have a late lunch at the French Street Bistro. I didn't take any pictures of it but it was really quite good for a quick meal. I believe we had a turkey sandwich (which was so massive we split it) and some chips. We ate in the restaurant itself for awhile before the nearby Animal Actors show was beginning to let people in so we made our way in.
This is one of the cutest shows I have ever seen. My family had recently gotten a new puppy and both my Dad and I were really missing him so we were all too pleased to watch animals run around for about 15 minutes.
kickpuncher305
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2014
After watching Animal Actors, we noticed that the Special Effects Stage was letting people in as well. I think we've seen this show in pretty much every iteration (both in the Lower Lot were Transformers is now as well as were it is now in the Upper Lot). We recently saw it in 2015 so it was pretty similar but definitely a few changes had been made (including a really cool fire-portion). A really enjoyable show but definitely doesn't need to be experienced (it just worked out well timing wise for us this trip). We had pretty much experienced all of USH (except Shrek 4D but we were more than happy to miss it) so we walked around Springfield for a while and got some pretty good pictures of the relatively new area.
Moe's Tavern (wish we could have gone for a beer but it was closing right when we were walking up
)
MMMM...Donughts
"Worst Theme Park Ever..."
We were waiting for our bus to leave so we quickly did a lap of CityWalk before boarding our bus back to Anaheim.
Since it was a rush hour on a Monday, it was super slow getting back to Anaheim (1.5 to 2 hours) so I plugged in and listened to some podcasts (probably Disney related
) and fell asleep. Once back in Anaheim we got dropped off at the Paradise Pier Hotel.
But wait, that's on the otherside of the parks from your hotel? Why would you be going there? Two words...
TRADER SAM'S!!!
We tried to go to Trader Sam's in 2015 but we forgot it was Valentine's Day, so it was crazy busy
. Luckily it was pretty empty tonight at about 7pm so we finally got to experience it!
Like Disneyland itself it was still close enough to Christmas that the decorations were still up, making Trader Sam's even cooler!
We sat down in at a corner table, which had so much cool stuff to look at! Honestly even before we got our drinks and food, I was absolutely in love with Trader Sam's
!
We ordered a couple of Hawaiian Beers (I think it was the Kona Longboard Island Larger, which was really good!)
We also ordered the Pu Pu Platter (Sweet and Spicy Asian Wings, Glazed Portuguese Sausage Bites, Panko-crusted Chinese Long Beans, Tropical Slaw and Sriracha Aïoli for $17.00) which was a great size for both of us. It was really tasty (especially the Beans!) and super reasonable for two people to share.
Trader Sam's was honestly a highlight of my trip and I will make it a top priority to go back every trip to Disneyland in the future.
We then had to walk through Downtown Disney (both getting stopped at security) and stopped in D-Street for a vinylmation (each trip I try to get a new one, this time it was a Star Tours one!) and in World of Disney to grab presents for our family (scarf for mom and chocolates for sister) before heading back to our hotel for the night.
Steps: 17 575 steps (almost an off day!)
Distance Walked: 11.05 km/6.87 miles
Next Update: LAST DISNEY DAY...FOR NOW!
Moe's Tavern (wish we could have gone for a beer but it was closing right when we were walking up
) MMMM...Donughts
"Worst Theme Park Ever..."
We were waiting for our bus to leave so we quickly did a lap of CityWalk before boarding our bus back to Anaheim.
Since it was a rush hour on a Monday, it was super slow getting back to Anaheim (1.5 to 2 hours) so I plugged in and listened to some podcasts (probably Disney related
) and fell asleep. Once back in Anaheim we got dropped off at the Paradise Pier Hotel. But wait, that's on the otherside of the parks from your hotel? Why would you be going there? Two words...
TRADER SAM'S!!!
We tried to go to Trader Sam's in 2015 but we forgot it was Valentine's Day, so it was crazy busy
. Luckily it was pretty empty tonight at about 7pm so we finally got to experience it! Like Disneyland itself it was still close enough to Christmas that the decorations were still up, making Trader Sam's even cooler!
We sat down in at a corner table, which had so much cool stuff to look at! Honestly even before we got our drinks and food, I was absolutely in love with Trader Sam's
!We ordered a couple of Hawaiian Beers (I think it was the Kona Longboard Island Larger, which was really good!)
We also ordered the Pu Pu Platter (Sweet and Spicy Asian Wings, Glazed Portuguese Sausage Bites, Panko-crusted Chinese Long Beans, Tropical Slaw and Sriracha Aïoli for $17.00) which was a great size for both of us. It was really tasty (especially the Beans!) and super reasonable for two people to share.
Trader Sam's was honestly a highlight of my trip and I will make it a top priority to go back every trip to Disneyland in the future.
We then had to walk through Downtown Disney (both getting stopped at security
) and stopped in D-Street for a vinylmation (each trip I try to get a new one, this time it was a Star Tours one!) and in World of Disney to grab presents for our family (scarf for mom and chocolates for sister) before heading back to our hotel for the night.Steps: 17 575 steps (almost an off day!)
Distance Walked: 11.05 km/6.87 miles
Next Update: LAST DISNEY DAY...FOR NOW!
kickpuncher305
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2014
Day 4 (Last Day 
): Park Hoppin' and Magic Morning Madness!
Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay in the updates on this trip report. Work has gotten very busy and I've been trying to balance this report with the WDW March 2016 report (which you can find right here: http://disboards.com/threads/crazy-...p-report-update-may-26.3502296/#post-55851573). Also, this is the last day of my awesome trip to Disneyland so that makes it a lot sadder to write this report but we still had a lot of fun this last day of are trip so let's get started!
We started our morning nice and early to use the Magic Morning for Disneyland. As useful as these early admission mornings can be, you have to be really smart in how you use them. Since on our first full day at Disneyland we motored to Fantasyland (and more specifically Peter Pan's Flight), we decided to start our morning in Tomorrowland.
Another benefit of Magic Mornings is how close you can get to Sleeping Beauty Castle for pictures.
After we were finally released from the end of Main Street, we beelined over to Hyperspace Mountain along with approximately 50% of the other guests who were at Magic Mornings.
I had to included this picture because I was trying to get a picture of the top of the Space Mountain building from the queue while walking when I rammed right into one of the silver posts
. Apparently I am not multi-talented enough to take photos, walk and avoid large metal objects at the same time.
After Hyperspace Mountain, we decided to stay in the Star Wars Universe and go on another trip to Jakku with Star Tours.
REX!!!
By the time we were finished Star Tours, it was already crazy busy in Tomorrowland so we headed over to Matterhorn to ride single rider on the Fantasyland side (I believe). Single rider at Matterhorn is not very well advertised so it was only about a 5 minute wait (the odd number of riders in each sled also helped).
I absolutely love Matterhorn (especially after the updates they recently made) but it was such a rough ride for taller people that we could only do it twice this trip. I am really happy to hear that they added padding to the seats as this will definitely allow me to ride a few more times per trip.
By the time we finished Matterhorn, it was almost done Magic Mornings and DCA was about to open. We decided that we would see Disneyland later that afternoon and enjoy one last morning in DCA.
Super blue skies for our last day were greatly appreciated! As soon as the park opened, I went into line to grab Fastpasses for RSR (what morning at DCA doesn't start this way?)
After our fastpasses were successfully obtained, we went over to battle it out one last time on Toy Story Midway Mania...
Which I Won AGAIN!!! (But my dad was way closer this time for sure)
After TSMM, we rode California Screamin' one last time as well before exiting Paradise Pier for the last time this trip. We realized that with how quickly we had been going over the past three days that we actually didn't have any pictures of ourselves! We made sure to change that in possibly our favourite place in DCA not named Radiator Springs.
After we had somewhat successfully gathered our pictures, we made our way to Tower of Terror for one last trip to the Twilight Zone before riding Radiator Springs Racers one last time as well! We were really happy with how much we had gotten accomplished at DCA that morning so we decided to head back to Disneyland Park but not before grabbing one last picture of the DCA...
): Park Hoppin' and Magic Morning Madness!Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay in the updates on this trip report. Work has gotten very busy and I've been trying to balance this report with the WDW March 2016 report (which you can find right here: http://disboards.com/threads/crazy-...p-report-update-may-26.3502296/#post-55851573). Also, this is the last day of my awesome trip to Disneyland so that makes it a lot sadder to write this report but we still had a lot of fun this last day of are trip so let's get started!
We started our morning nice and early to use the Magic Morning for Disneyland. As useful as these early admission mornings can be, you have to be really smart in how you use them. Since on our first full day at Disneyland we motored to Fantasyland (and more specifically Peter Pan's Flight), we decided to start our morning in Tomorrowland.
Another benefit of Magic Mornings is how close you can get to Sleeping Beauty Castle for pictures.
After we were finally released from the end of Main Street, we beelined over to Hyperspace Mountain along with approximately 50% of the other guests who were at Magic Mornings.
I had to included this picture because I was trying to get a picture of the top of the Space Mountain building from the queue while walking when I rammed right into one of the silver posts
. Apparently I am not multi-talented enough to take photos, walk and avoid large metal objects at the same time.After Hyperspace Mountain, we decided to stay in the Star Wars Universe and go on another trip to Jakku with Star Tours.
REX!!!
By the time we were finished Star Tours, it was already crazy busy in Tomorrowland so we headed over to Matterhorn to ride single rider on the Fantasyland side (I believe). Single rider at Matterhorn is not very well advertised so it was only about a 5 minute wait (the odd number of riders in each sled also helped).
I absolutely love Matterhorn (especially after the updates they recently made) but it was such a rough ride for taller people that we could only do it twice this trip. I am really happy to hear that they added padding to the seats as this will definitely allow me to ride a few more times per trip.
By the time we finished Matterhorn, it was almost done Magic Mornings and DCA was about to open. We decided that we would see Disneyland later that afternoon and enjoy one last morning in DCA.
Super blue skies for our last day were greatly appreciated! As soon as the park opened, I went into line to grab Fastpasses for RSR (what morning at DCA doesn't start this way?)
After our fastpasses were successfully obtained, we went over to battle it out one last time on Toy Story Midway Mania...
Which I Won AGAIN!!! (But my dad was way closer this time for sure)
After TSMM, we rode California Screamin' one last time as well before exiting Paradise Pier for the last time this trip. We realized that with how quickly we had been going over the past three days that we actually didn't have any pictures of ourselves! We made sure to change that in possibly our favourite place in DCA not named Radiator Springs.
After we had somewhat successfully gathered our pictures, we made our way to Tower of Terror for one last trip to the Twilight Zone before riding Radiator Springs Racers one last time as well! We were really happy with how much we had gotten accomplished at DCA that morning so we decided to head back to Disneyland Park but not before grabbing one last picture of the DCA...
kickpuncher305
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2014
Once we were back in Disneyland, it was much less crowded than when we left Magic Mornings thanks to the rest of the park opening up. We actually went back to Tomorrowland (go figureright?) to grab a Fastpass for Hyperspace Mountain before heading to Star Wars Launch Bay and Super Hero HQ for the first time!
Kylo Ren's Lightsaber
Rey's Speeder
Boba Fett's Ship
Iron Man's Hall of Armour
I probably have almost a hundred pictures between Launch Bay and Super Hero HQ but didn't want to take about a dozen entries in this trip report. Needless to say, as a big Marvel and Star Wars fan this place was an awesome mid-day experience.
Another great bonus about Super Hero HQ is when you exit you can get some really good pictures of pretty much all of Tomorrowland from a cool elevated spot.
View attachment 173549
View attachment 173550
We then made our way out of Tomorrowland and over to Fantasyland but first I had to take yet another of photo of Sleeping Beauty Castle. The updates that they made for the 60th Anniversary make it look even better! I know some people like to make fun of how small the castle is compared to all the other Disney parks (which it is) but its still extremely detailed and really cool to look at up close.
We rode Snow White's Scar Adventure and I always forget how straight up scary this ride is. The little boy in the blue of this picture definitely was not excited about riding it and I can't really blame him! Between this, Mr. Toad's and Pinocchio, the Fantasyland dark rides are really creepy and way scarier than I remember from my childhood (with one exception but that will be discussed next update).
After surviving that scary adventure, we were getting a little hungry. However, we had plans for a relatively big dinner so we decided to skip out on a full lunch and opted for a frozen lunch of sorts.
My dad's favourite ice cream treat when we go to Disney parks is the cookie ice cream sandwich and I got my mom's favourite ice cream treat the Frozen Banana. We took some time in Fantasyland to enjoy our refreshing frozen treats and people watch for a while.
I think I'll end my update here and I'll have one last update for this trip report next time!
Next Update: Full night of Disneyland fun (along with some crazy walking just for one last souvenir)!
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kickpuncher305
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2014
Day 4 (Last Day) and Final Trip Report Entry
Hello once again! This will be the last entry into my trip report to Disneyland from January 2016
I'm not going to include our travel day afterwards as it was extremely uneventful and very sad (as is any day when you are leaving a vacation) so we will make the best of it for this last part of our final true vacation day.
When I last left off, my Dad and I were enjoying some nice frozen treats in Fantasyland. With our snacks/lunch all finished up, we walked along Big Thunder Trail to BTMR.
I'm really sad that Big Thunder Trail is now closed due to Star Wars Land construction as this was such a convenient way to walk around the park in a way that wasn't totally swamped with people. It was also super pretty at night when the Christmas lights were up as well.
I'm also really happy that we rode BTMR at this time because it would be closed from pretty much the entire evening, so we at least got one last trip on the "Wildest Ride in the Wilderness!"
Probably the best I have ever timed the shot of the train going past the Dinosaur bones!
After riding BTMR for what would be the last time this trip, we headed over to Pirates for what would unfortunately be a low point of the trip.
While floating past the Blue Bayou, both my Dad and I noticed that the row behind us was being kinda loud. "Whatever, I'm sure they will quiet down..." is probably what I said.
How wrong was I!
As soon as we went down the drop ("Dead Men Tell No Tales"), there was probably a small child about two years old in the row behind us who got scared. So, the mom brought her phone out with full brightness to do who know what with it. She continued to play a game (or something with relatively loud noises) THE ENTIRE TIME!!! At one point, both my Dad and a woman behind this extremely rude mom said something to the effect of "TURN THAT OFF!!!". But she pretended to not understand or not hear them and continued on her merry way ruining Pirates for the full boat with not a care in the world. This was the first time a ride was legitimately ruined for me because of another person acting so selfishly. Maybe a two year old shouldn't go on Pirates if they are likely to be scared!
Also, the back up of boats in the end scene before ascent upwards was at least ten boats long. SO we sat in the last scene for probably ten minutes as the back up was not moving fast at all.
Overall one of the worst experiences I've had on any ride, which is really too bad because I adore Pirates (especially in Disneyland) and was having such a great time on the trip. It by no means ruined the entire awesome trip but was extremely annoying.
Anywho, I'm glad I was able to vent about this trip to the Caribbean because the rest of the was awesome!
After leaving Pirates, we headed to the Sailing Ship Columbia (which was docked where the Mark Twain usually picked up its passengers).
I had never been on the Sailing Ship Columbia in all the trip to Disneyland I have taken. It was a really cool experience to not only just be on the Colombia but to get to go underneath the deck as well!
I have a ton of pictures of the many different compartments and areas of the Columbia. I would highly recommend at least exploring the Columbia if you ever have the chance to!
As we were making our way back up to the main deck, we heard some music that sounded really close by...
The Bootstrappers (at least, I believe so...don't take away my Disney Geek card if it isn't them)
We've seen them all the time around New Orleans Square but have never really stopped to listen to them. It was a really cool and unique experience to be standing on a sailing ship with the Bootstrappers singing some sea shanties.
After we left the Columbia, we headed back over to Tomorrowland to ride through Buzz Lightyear for the first time today and rode the Monorail to Downtown Disney and then back. We were trying to kill some time before our dinner reservation at...
Carnation Cafe!
We had never eaten here before so I was super excited to try out a new restaurant out!
My dad had the Main Street Cheeseburger with Fries and I had the Sourdough Bacon-Cheese Melt with Fruit (although we both shared the sides). I really enjoyed the bacon-cheese melt and it was super filling for a reasonable $16 and my Dad enjoyed his burger as well! It worked out really well that we had dinner at Carnation Cafe this day because we ended up watching the Disneyland Forever fireworks very soon after this.
After our delicious meal at Carnation Cafe, I went to go look for a 60th Anniversary mug at Starbucks while my Dad waited on the curb to grab a spot for the fireworks. The line at Starbucks was insane so I decided to wait to grab it later (what a mistake that would turn out to be...but more on that later!)
Hello once again! This will be the last entry into my trip report to Disneyland from January 2016
I'm not going to include our travel day afterwards as it was extremely uneventful and very sad (as is any day when you are leaving a vacation) so we will make the best of it for this last part of our final true vacation day.
When I last left off, my Dad and I were enjoying some nice frozen treats in Fantasyland. With our snacks/lunch all finished up, we walked along Big Thunder Trail to BTMR.
I'm really sad that Big Thunder Trail is now closed due to Star Wars Land construction as this was such a convenient way to walk around the park in a way that wasn't totally swamped with people. It was also super pretty at night when the Christmas lights were up as well.
I'm also really happy that we rode BTMR at this time because it would be closed from pretty much the entire evening, so we at least got one last trip on the "Wildest Ride in the Wilderness!"
Probably the best I have ever timed the shot of the train going past the Dinosaur bones!
After riding BTMR for what would be the last time this trip, we headed over to Pirates for what would unfortunately be a low point of the trip.
While floating past the Blue Bayou, both my Dad and I noticed that the row behind us was being kinda loud. "Whatever, I'm sure they will quiet down..." is probably what I said.
How wrong was I!
As soon as we went down the drop ("Dead Men Tell No Tales"), there was probably a small child about two years old in the row behind us who got scared. So, the mom brought her phone out with full brightness to do who know what with it. She continued to play a game (or something with relatively loud noises) THE ENTIRE TIME!!! At one point, both my Dad and a woman behind this extremely rude mom said something to the effect of "TURN THAT OFF!!!". But she pretended to not understand or not hear them and continued on her merry way ruining Pirates for the full boat with not a care in the world. This was the first time a ride was legitimately ruined for me because of another person acting so selfishly. Maybe a two year old shouldn't go on Pirates if they are likely to be scared!
Also, the back up of boats in the end scene before ascent upwards was at least ten boats long. SO we sat in the last scene for probably ten minutes as the back up was not moving fast at all.
Overall one of the worst experiences I've had on any ride, which is really too bad because I adore Pirates (especially in Disneyland) and was having such a great time on the trip. It by no means ruined the entire awesome trip but was extremely annoying.
Anywho, I'm glad I was able to vent about this trip to the Caribbean because the rest of the was awesome!
After leaving Pirates, we headed to the Sailing Ship Columbia (which was docked where the Mark Twain usually picked up its passengers).
I had never been on the Sailing Ship Columbia in all the trip to Disneyland I have taken. It was a really cool experience to not only just be on the Colombia but to get to go underneath the deck as well!
I have a ton of pictures of the many different compartments and areas of the Columbia. I would highly recommend at least exploring the Columbia if you ever have the chance to!
As we were making our way back up to the main deck, we heard some music that sounded really close by...
The Bootstrappers (at least, I believe so...don't take away my Disney Geek card if it isn't them
)We've seen them all the time around New Orleans Square but have never really stopped to listen to them. It was a really cool and unique experience to be standing on a sailing ship with the Bootstrappers singing some sea shanties.
After we left the Columbia, we headed back over to Tomorrowland to ride through Buzz Lightyear for the first time today and rode the Monorail to Downtown Disney and then back. We were trying to kill some time before our dinner reservation at...
Carnation Cafe!
We had never eaten here before so I was super excited to try out a new restaurant out!
My dad had the Main Street Cheeseburger with Fries and I had the Sourdough Bacon-Cheese Melt with Fruit (although we both shared the sides). I really enjoyed the bacon-cheese melt and it was super filling for a reasonable $16 and my Dad enjoyed his burger as well! It worked out really well that we had dinner at Carnation Cafe this day because we ended up watching the Disneyland Forever fireworks very soon after this.
After our delicious meal at Carnation Cafe, I went to go look for a 60th Anniversary mug at Starbucks while my Dad waited on the curb to grab a spot for the fireworks. The line at Starbucks was insane so I decided to wait to grab it later (what a mistake that would turn out to be...but more on that later!)
kickpuncher305
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2014
FIREWORKS TIME!!!
Last time we were in Disneyland, the 60th Anniversary entertainment was still not ready so the only fireworks we had were Fantasy in the Sky (which was pretty short and not the most technologically advanced fireworks). However, Disneyland Forever was legitimately amazing!!! I am by far not that emotional of a person in general but I was super close to shedding a few tears when "When You Wish Upon A Star" started up. The projects were amazing as well and we had a great spot in the middle of Main Street so we saw all of the castle projections as well as the projections down Main Street. The only main piece we couldn't see perfectly was the Nemo scene with the Matterhorn but overall it was one of the best experiences I had the entire trip. Now, less words about the fireworks and some blurry phone pictures of the fireworks!!!
I can't overstate enough how much we enjoyed these fireworks but as many people were heading for the exit, we still had some hours to go before the park was closing!
Also, the castle looks absolutely gorgeous at night!
Unfortunately, we were waling quickly (not running!) around trying to get one last ride on our favourites in before closing time so I only have a few pictures of our last few hours in Disneyland. After I took this picture of the Partners statue, we went over to Hyperspace Mountain for one last ride through (this time in the front seat!) before crossing literally to the other side of the park for one last night time ride on Splash Mountain (also in the front seat!). We tried to get on BTMR but this is when we found out it would be closed for the rest of the night. We then rode our last two dark rides of the trip, Pinocchio (which I was terrified of as a kid because of Monstro) and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (which is still pretty terrifying no matter what your age...jail and then hell? Okay Disney).
By this point in the night, a lot of attractions were either broken down or under refurbishment so I decided to try and get the Starbuck's 60th Anniversary mug.
THIS MUG (not my picture)
However, when we were making our way back to the hub we saw this...
Paint the Night??? It wasn't scheduled for that night. However, we were told that it was the taping of Paint the Night for the ABC special for Disneyland's 60th Anniversary. This meant that Main Street was completely closed unless you were apart of the taping (which we weren't) and I couldn't get to Starbucks...or so I thought. A really nice cast member suggested that I take the back way behind Main Street to by City Hall and then do the same thing on the other side and try to sneak into one of the shops and make my way back (confusing I know!). However, this actually worked and I got into Starbucks and was able to get my mug!
After all this walking, we decided for some more walking back to Indiana Jones Adventure to use fastpasses we picked up earlier in the afternoon! Luckily, it didn't break down this time and we were able to ride our favourite attraction one last time!
After IJA, I remembered that I hadn't had any Dole Whip this entire trip! This had to be changed before I could even think about leaving the park!
I scarfed down the Dole Whip in record time because the park was only open for about another 15 minutes and we had to go save the galazy with Buzz Lightyear and the walk on line!
Luckily it was such a walk on the first time we did it that there was about 30 seconds for us to make it from the exit of the ride back to the entrance in order to be the last people riding Buzz Lightyear for the entire day!
After our mad dash to and around Buzz Lightyear we walked nice and slowly out of the park, enjoying our last few moments in Disneyland.
And we exited the park for the last time this trip...
Thank you to anyone who was read though my trip report! I really appreciate having somewhere to share my trip with other Disney geeks!
JSYK, I am currently writing a trip report for a super quick March 2016 trip to Walt Disney World here: http://disboards.com/threads/crazy-...p-report-update-may-26.3502296/#post-55851573
Also, I am moving to Germany in September for my Master's program. Which means Disneyland Paris is just a train ride away...
Until next time!
Last time we were in Disneyland, the 60th Anniversary entertainment was still not ready so the only fireworks we had were Fantasy in the Sky (which was pretty short and not the most technologically advanced fireworks). However, Disneyland Forever was legitimately amazing!!! I am by far not that emotional of a person in general but I was super close to shedding a few tears when "When You Wish Upon A Star" started up. The projects were amazing as well and we had a great spot in the middle of Main Street so we saw all of the castle projections as well as the projections down Main Street. The only main piece we couldn't see perfectly was the Nemo scene with the Matterhorn but overall it was one of the best experiences I had the entire trip. Now, less words about the fireworks and some blurry phone pictures of the fireworks!!!
I can't overstate enough how much we enjoyed these fireworks but as many people were heading for the exit, we still had some hours to go before the park was closing!
Also, the castle looks absolutely gorgeous at night!
Unfortunately, we were waling quickly (not running!) around trying to get one last ride on our favourites in before closing time so I only have a few pictures of our last few hours in Disneyland. After I took this picture of the Partners statue, we went over to Hyperspace Mountain for one last ride through (this time in the front seat!) before crossing literally to the other side of the park for one last night time ride on Splash Mountain (also in the front seat!). We tried to get on BTMR but this is when we found out it would be closed for the rest of the night. We then rode our last two dark rides of the trip, Pinocchio (which I was terrified of as a kid because of Monstro) and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (which is still pretty terrifying no matter what your age...jail and then hell? Okay Disney).
By this point in the night, a lot of attractions were either broken down or under refurbishment so I decided to try and get the Starbuck's 60th Anniversary mug.
THIS MUG (not my picture)
However, when we were making our way back to the hub we saw this...
Paint the Night??? It wasn't scheduled for that night. However, we were told that it was the taping of Paint the Night for the ABC special for Disneyland's 60th Anniversary. This meant that Main Street was completely closed unless you were apart of the taping (which we weren't) and I couldn't get to Starbucks...or so I thought. A really nice cast member suggested that I take the back way behind Main Street to by City Hall and then do the same thing on the other side and try to sneak into one of the shops and make my way back (confusing I know!). However, this actually worked and I got into Starbucks and was able to get my mug!
After all this walking, we decided for some more walking back to Indiana Jones Adventure to use fastpasses we picked up earlier in the afternoon! Luckily, it didn't break down this time and we were able to ride our favourite attraction one last time!
After IJA, I remembered that I hadn't had any Dole Whip this entire trip! This had to be changed before I could even think about leaving the park!
I scarfed down the Dole Whip in record time because the park was only open for about another 15 minutes and we had to go save the galazy with Buzz Lightyear and the walk on line!
Luckily it was such a walk on the first time we did it that there was about 30 seconds for us to make it from the exit of the ride back to the entrance in order to be the last people riding Buzz Lightyear for the entire day!
After our mad dash to and around Buzz Lightyear we walked nice and slowly out of the park, enjoying our last few moments in Disneyland.
And we exited the park for the last time this trip...
Thank you to anyone who was read though my trip report! I really appreciate having somewhere to share my trip with other Disney geeks!
JSYK, I am currently writing a trip report for a super quick March 2016 trip to Walt Disney World here: http://disboards.com/threads/crazy-...p-report-update-may-26.3502296/#post-55851573
Also, I am moving to Germany in September for my Master's program. Which means Disneyland Paris is just a train ride away...
Until next time!
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