Disneyland and a Most Disturbing Trend

It may be small but there is a disturbing trend that is beginning to surface around Disneyland and DCA (and other Disney parks) - a trend so disturbing that this week's park updates in both MiceAge/MiceChat (Andy Castro) and MousePlanet (Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix) felt compelled to write about it. When Buena Vista Street opened in June, it was hailed a masterpiece in imagineering and design projecting the bygone era of Hollywood in the 1920's and 30's. Great detail went in to making the architecture and the storefronts really look like something Walt Disney may have seen when he first stepped off the train in southern California. Great care was used installing the window displays for each of the shops on Buena Vista Street. Disney went so far as to post YouTube videos on just how much effort went into finding just the right period pieces for the windows that came from that era. The windows on BVS were works of art.

That is until now.

For Disney, there was a problem. The storefronts and windows on Buena Vista Street have so much detail that they really don't look like Disney retail stores whose primary goal is to sell you things. The window displays looked so good that it possibly couldn't reduced to something like "shopping" for casual park visitors. It doesn't help that Disney wants the doors to the stores closed for a green initiative aimed at energy conservation and costly air conditioning doesn't collide with summertime heat. For casual park visitors, the storefronts look like the fake facades that have existed over in the neighboring Hollywood Backlots area for the last decade. Of course, most people only give a cursory look at Buena Vista Street as the race by on their way to Cars Land. You see, the stores on Buena Vista Street just haven't been raking in the dough that Disney had hoped. So what does Disney do?

They have now taken the artistic windows and began stuffing them with Disney merchandise and not necessarily the good unique collectible type of Disney merchandise but stuff they peddle around a dozen other places in the parks. Beautiful period props have been removed and replaced by displays or shirts, hats, kitchen utensils, and other dreck. 

The windows still look nice because care is taken to display the merchandise creatively but again, the object here is to get you to walk into the store and buy something rather than present the detail that Disney parks are noted for. The same type of thing is going on over in Disneyland where the fun Holloween decorations in the Main St Store windows is being deluded with an ever growing display of retail items.

But it gets worse as being reported by MiceAge/MiceChat's Dateline Disneyland.

You see those soft drink cups at the top of this page - they are cups from Disneyland's 50th Anniversary celebration. What currently is happening is "Disney" logo cups used for soft drinks are in the process of being replaced by the generic red and white Coca-Cola cups that are served up at thousands of other places that don't serve their drinks in Pepsi cups. The new cups don't say Disneyland or Disney Parks or have any references to Disney whatsoever. Things like Disney vended turkey legs and hot dogs are now served in something labeled as a "Hot Food Bag" And to take it a step further, after that $12 Disneyland lunch you may have just enjoyed you now get to wipe off your  face with a plain brown napkin - yep, napkins with Disney Parks printed on them also appears to be a thing of the past. 

So why is the question. Generic cups and napkins are just plain cheaper in the quantities that Disney deals with. Cheaper dispensing items leads to higher profit margins and that seems to be what it is all about these days. Admission and pass holder prices have gone up enormously over the last few years and Disney seems compelled to give less even if the less that is being given is just minor details. Details are what separate a Disney park from the rest of what's out there. The gap may be closing.

The Selling Of Frankenweenie

Frankenweenie Plush Merchandis
A Disney Parks Blog Photo

Disney is making a big park push to promote Tim Burton's Frankenweenie film scheduled for release on October 5. An exhibition of Tim Burton's Frankenweenie art will be displayed at Disney California Adventure beginning this month along with movie previews shown in the Muppet's 3D Theater in the evenings. And of course, Frankenweenie merchandise is hitting the store shelves. Am I the only one who finds this to be a little too weird and unsettling to actually be enjoyable? I've seen a couple of previews for the movie including what is being shown in theaters in 3D and I have to admit there is a bit of sad sweetness to what I saw on the screen but overall - unsettling seems to be the word, at least for me.

Poor Luigi - Flying Tires Struggle To Have Fun

Luigi's Flying Tires - Cars Land - DCA
Beach Balls Now Removed

As predicted by many, the Luigi's Flying Tires ride in the new Cars Land is experiencing growing pains. Over the last week or so, the colorful beach balls that were added to the ride when it opened in June were gradually removed. Now the beach balls are gone entirely.

The beach ball element was added as means in inject some energy into the slow moving and slow loading ride. Kids loved the beach balls but as kids have a tendency to do, tracking down a colorful ball of their very own became job one when boarding the ride. Strapping in and taking off were secondary so what was slow to begin with just got slower with the beach balls distracting attention from keeping the ride moving.

Luigi's Flying Tires with Beach Balls
The balls have now been removed from the ride.

And of course with people madly tossing large plastic balls around there were a few "incidents" according to Disney as getting unexpectedly whacked in the head led to some minor injuries and complaints here and there.

So the balls are now gone. Disney is looking at alternate ways in bring energy to the attraction starting with removal of some weight from the underside of the tires for a joy stick controller that was never implemented which, in theory, should make the ride move a little faster. Other things are being discussed as well. No one yet has said this ride is a complete failure but that certainly remains a possibility.

MiceChat's Dateline Disney (link here) posted this video this morning. Keep in mind before this ride ever takes off, guests will likely have been waiting 60 minutes or more to get on. And this is what you get:

Blue Sky Questions & Comments For Disney

So while I have a few minutes, here are a few questions and comments for Disney (while I'm thinking about them).

• Your parks are great. You know it. Your fans know it. Can we please get a break from price increases for awhile?

• I'd love to get an Annual Pass again but its gotten really expensive. Can you at least make the meal & merchandise discounts permanent? It's really an important factor in the consideration process

• I love staying in Disney owned hotels but $$$$. Can we get some discounts? I mean real discounts.

• Note to California Adventure. It's summer. You need more shade.

• Can you please stop beating me over the head trying to sell me something by passing it off as something that I really need to have? No... I don't need a glow in show hat, vinylmation dolls, Duffy the Bear, or even pins for that matter. I can make my own decisions. Thank you.

• Can you please post scheduled ride refurbishments when you have the dates set and not when you feel we have a right to know? Because of the cost of major refurbishments, closure dates are known for months if not years in advance.

• Here's an idea, add two more entree items to every table service and counter service dining facility. 

• Disneyland is a spectacle at night. Stop selling things that light up and annoy people trying to enjoy the view.

• Do something with Tomorrowland - tomorrow!

• It's getting better but can you have Disneyland and DCA keep the exact same hours? 

• I'm old school. No more garish outdoor street parties like Mad T Party. DCA does have some unused buildings you can stick them in, granted you would have to seek out the spots selling outrageously priced alcoholic cocktails rather that having them planted in plain view for everyone.

• Captain EO has got to go. Bug's Life and Muppet's 3D just need some new state of the art films.

• Speaking of films, can we get a new one for Soarin' Over (and it doesn't just have to be California)?

• Toy Story Mania really does need a fast pass distribution machine.

• No more balloons! Sorry kids.

• A couple of specialty food vendor trucks is actually a good idea in select locations.

Well, Disney has gotten back to me with my thoughts and questions. They pretty much said NO.

A Time Lapse Tour Through Disney California Adventure

Often mentioned in this blog is the Disneyland/DCA video work of Asianjma123 available on YouTube. This past week he posted an excellent time-lapse video of the sights of Disney California Adventure Park - mostly the nighttime scene. This is a really nice piece. Enjoy!

Raining On The Radiator Springs Racers Parade

Radiator Springs Racers - An L.A. Times Photo

Imagine, if you will, that you planned a couple of days at the Disneyland Resort - say last Thursday and Friday for instance. Suppose your planned trip down there was primarily to experience the highly publicized Cars Land and all it has to offer. Suppose you are not a Southern California local and your trip involved the cost of an airplane flight and the booking of a hotel room. A little trip like that would not be inexpensive.

Now suppose you get over to Cars Land and found out that Radiators Springs Racers had just shut down and they don't know when the giant attraction will reopen (though you could be getting different information depending the case member you spoke with). Suppose it never reopens in the 2 days you are at the park. It just happened. For the most part, Radiator Springs Racers was down for the count last Thursday and Friday. A freak Southern California summer rain storm didn't help and as a sudden power outage shut down several attractions in Disney California Adventure. But the Racers was the one ride that wouldn't come back up to normal operation the way it should.

Outages on Radiator Springs Racers have been common since the ride opened less than a month ago with some outages being relatively short and others being several hours. But an outage of almost two days? Not good.

The Disneyland veterans and frequent visitors to the park over on MiceAge cut the ride some slack the first couple of weeks saying that new rides frequently have break downs while thay get dialed into regular operation. They point to the problems Indiana Jones had when it first began taking on passengers. But now you begin to sense the forgiveness sentiment is turning as problems with the Racers continue on a fairly regular basis. They forum posters are starting to let their frustration and displeasure come out. Was the ride really ready for prime time summer operation? Some still are in the forgiving mode saying the ride is new and give Disney a chance to continue to work out the bugs but Disney veterans question why should there even be bugs at this point since the ride is base on existing technology (EPCOT's Test Track attraction) that has been in operation for years.

One thing is for sure, Disney does not make any guarantees when it comes to ride operation. They have a way out when a big ride shuts down unexpectedly. But what about the guests who had their lofty plans to come down and enjoy the wonders of Cars Lands at Disney's invitation through its massive media campaign? Well....sorry about that, there's plenty more to do Disney will say. For some people, they are not going to feel any better.

Disney California Adventure Finds Elegance

Carthay Circle Theater and Fountain - Disney California Adventure Park
A Disney Parks Blog Photo

Look at that stunning picture above. Disney Parks Blog posted the photo with a piece about what to enjoy in Disney California Adventure Park. Forget about that - Disney Parks Blog is pretty much an effort in self-promotion and merchandising. Look at the picture. When was the last time you could use the word 'elegant' when talking (or writing) about DCA? Probably not ever. I never went into Wolfgang Puck or Robert Mondavi's restaurants when were around when DCA first threw open its doors open. Maybe they were elegant. DCA was so badly ridiculed back then that nobody ever thought of elegance no matter how nice the high end restaurants were. Those restaurants were gone within a year after it became clear that DCA was something of a joke and a far cry from grand park that Walt built across the way.

It's all changed now. Cars Land is fun and charming and Buena Vista Street oozes with nostalgic elegance. Good job Disney not that they need a pat on the back from me. It's been noted that this past week (not by Disney of course) that attendence for DCA has exceeded Disneyland on certain days - something that has never happened before which must have executives dancing in their offices and sleeping well at night.. I can see why. I could just stare at that picture all day (but I'm at work and it would probably not go over very well unless I worked for Disney).

Main St. Ponderings

I'm a morning person in general unlike Mrs. DisneylandTraveler who is still sawing logs in bed. I especially love Disneyland mornings. It doesn't have to be about a mad dash to get to your favorite ride as soon as you make it through the turnstile. Sometimes you go and grab a cup of coffee, find a nice bench and soak in the atmosphere as people file in. The picture above is the Disneyland Railroad station. At the top the stairs before entering the station there are some nice benches that overlook Main St. It's a good place to sit, enjoy your coffee and ponder all things Disneyland. I'm not there but I can pretend. Here are a few ponderings.

Man did I get tired of the Cars Land beat down. Yes, the opening of a new "land" is a special event but the hype got tiresome after awhile. Can't wait to see it and ride Radiator Springs Racers but I also know that it is probably a place Mrs. DLT and I aren't going to spend a lot of time. We're grown-ups and maybe not the best candidates for a land themed for kids.

I'm still struggling with dill flavored popcorn, especially if you have to wait a half hour to get it from one of the cozy cones.

A lot of the exclusive merchandise sold at Cars Land is sold out until later on this summer. Stuff was gone in a week. Not sure if they guys that run Disney Consumer Products are happy about this or kicking themselves in the pants.

Disney shopping. I don't get it. Not everything is a collectible. Some of it is junk. But I guess it keeps a lot of people in China employed.

Over at Disneyland, the Matterhorn looks great and the list complaints about the new sleds grows every day. Why did they change to a new seating design? Oh yeah, mandated safety. Apparently wedging people in theirs seats so tightly that it would be nearly impossible to fall out is a good safety measure.

Next time you go to Disneyland with a group, start a pool as to what attraction breaks down first. Indiana Jones is a smart bet. It's due to have a major refurbishment. If it happens during a time for one of our trips, it may be a deal breaker for Mrs. DLT. She loves that ride.

How can Disneyland enforce fast pass return times when its a 50 - 50 chance that the attraction will be temporarily closed when you return for your window?

I sure miss not seeing Billy Hill and the Hillbillies for awhile now. Of all the crap we have bought at Disneyland, why didn't we ever buy one of their CDs? 

What's a great day? A corn dog from the Little Red Wagon, a safari skewer from the Bengal BBQ, and a Pineapple float from the Tiki Room stand - that's a great place to start.

There are so many new places to eat and menu items to try that it would probably take a two week stay to get to them all. Exactly what Disney wants.

Will I ever beat Mrs. DLT at Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters? Short answer - No.

Well my coffee cup empty. That's enough pondering for now. Time to move on to other things.

DCA Buckles But Doesn't Break During Cars Land Opening

Cars Land - Opening Day - June 15, 2012
An O.C. Register Photo

Disney won't do it. They are very secretive when it comes to numbers reporting but MiceAge's Al Lutz put the numbers out there (based on inside sources). Disney California Adventure broke its all time attendance record with the Buena Vista Street and Cars Land Opening on Friday. Some 43,000 people passed through the turnstiles. The record fell again yesterday (Sunday) when 45,000 people entered DCA. And most of them headed right to Cars Land. Attendance will continue to be high through this week with the possibility of more records next weekend before the summer blackout period begins for Southern California pass holders. 

Yes it was crowded as evident by some of the pictures coming out. And while Cars Land was near impossible to navigate, most felt the rest of Disney California Adventure handled the record crowds quite well. DCA did flex and bend with the crowd levels but did not break into chaos gridlock as some had predicted. Disney could be on to something. They may finally have made California Adventure into a very nice, thematically rich, full featured, full day theme park, and a park that can be enjoyed by high numbers of guests.

The passes through Buena Vista St.
An O.C. Register Photo

Care to ride on Radiator Springs Racers? Here is the back of the line.
You are hours away from the Cars Land and the ride itself.
An O.C Register Photo

Mrs. DLT Sets Me Straight On Glow With The Show

Glow With The Show Lighted Mouse Ears
A ThemeParkInsider.com photo

As she is not shy about doing, Mrs. DisneylandTraveler told me I was missing the point about the Glow With The Show events at the World of Color. It's an enhancement to the show where now the spectator is part of the show itself rather than a distant viewer. My point about 4000 people all wearing the same night light on their heads removes the individual spectator and replaces it with a mass ensemble of sheep was, well... all wet.

Here is the one thing we did agree on. Twenty-five bucks for the ears? My niece and her husband go to Disneyland quite often. She has four kids. Let's see...mom, dad, kids X 4 - sounds like $150. Ouch! 

Here is another problem that has surfaced since my original post yesterday. Most of the video of the World of Color Glow With the Show out on the internet came from a press preview event last Thursday. Everyone watching World of Color was given a set of ears to put on. No one had to lay out the $25. When the regular World of Color shows ran over the weekend, only a few people in the audience were actually wearing the lighted ears. There's a big difference when there are only 40 people with lighted ears on viewing the show compared to a couple of thousand. It loses a lot of impact, a lot.

And someone else pointed out another issue. You are spending $25 to watch other people's heads. You can't see your own. How do you know your own head is glowing with the show?

Disney is holding special Glow With The Show events for select annual pass holders later in the month. Once again, Disney will distribute the expensive ears for free. The hope is that if they can get annual pass holders to return to the park with the ears and participate in glow events then maybe the idea will catch on and everybody will want the ears. Seems like a stretch, a really big stretch...

Cars Land Opens - Dude, You're Stepping On My Toe

Cars Land Opening Day - Morning
A Fishbulb MiceChat Inside the Parks Photo

What could you do with six hours of your life? I'll answer that question shortly. So yesterday Disney California Adventure, with pomp and circumstance, re-opened to the public. Yes, the walls were all down and Buena Vista Street and Cars Land were finally opened to thousands of eager Disney fans, many of whom waited all night to get in. For most of those people, Buena Vista Street is a place to pass by on your way to Cars Land. Yes, Cars Land was the place to be yesterday for seemingly everyone in DCA. The rest of the park was busy, but manageable. Cars Land was a mad house and will be that way for awhile, especially for the next week or so. 

How bad was it? Well, as anticipated, the lines for the two smaller rides - the controversial Luigi's Flying Tires and the surprisingly fun Mater's Junkyard Jamboree almost immediately jumped into the 90 minute wait time category. 90 minutes for rides that are less than 2 minutes long? That's nothing.

Yesterday it was all about the public (and I would be willing to bet that the majority of these people are annual pass holders) getting their chance to get on Radiator Springs Racers. By reports, within 15 minutes of park opening, the stand-by line to get on was 3 hrs. MousePlanet reported that fast passes for the entire day were completely distributed by 9:55 am. No more - the machines were closed. About 20 minutes after the ride opened, it had to be temporally shut down, and people continued to line up with a line that extended back to the Paradise Pier bridge. How long was that line? I saw estimates that it was five and a half to six hours long! What could you do with six hours of your line standing life back? I read a post from someone that they could hop on a plane, fly the 3000 miles to Orlando, take the bus to WDW, check into a hotel, go over to EPCOT, and get on Soarin' in about six hours. A bit of a stretch but not a big one.

Later in the day and through the evening, the stand-by wait time posted 240 minute wait times - about 4 hours. According to MousePlanet, the wait time of 240 minutes was still posted when DCA closed at 11:00 pm. As Disney practice, if you are standing in line for a ride when the park closes, you get on. I guess that means the ride finally shut down for the night about 3:00 am. There might have been some overtime for cast members here.

It will be interesting to see how the crowds progress through the summer. I'm keeping my distance for now. My feet hurt bad enough from walking on a trip to Disneyland. I don't need my toes stepped on as well.

It's Good To Be Bob Iger These Days

Disney Chairman & CEO Bob Iger and Friends
A MiceChat / Dateline Disneyland Photo

Why is the man in the picture above smiling? That's Bob Iger the Chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company, the big man over all of it and he has every reason to be smiling.

On March 9th, Walt Disney Studios released the movie John Carter a movie that was already known to be a bomb. Iger had already called the Chairman of Disney Studios Rich Ross into his office then in a probably a stone cold business like fashion, showed Ross where the door was. Right after the release of John Carter, Disney issued a press release saying Disney would take a $200 million dollar write off for the epic failing of John Carter, the most expensive movie ever made, and a huge financial failure. 

But Iger didn't lose any sleep over it even though he still had to go before his shareholders at the annual public meeting and facilitate the quarterly profits conference call with the business media. He confidently pointed to Disney's success with other aspects of the Walt Disney Company (notably the huge money maker that Disney's ESPN is along with the Disney Channel) and also held a couple of aces up his sleeve. Who else had reason to smile after releasing the biggest movie flop of all time?

May 4th, the Disney owned Marvel Entertainment and Studios releases the movie The Avengers. It becomes the 3rd highest grossing movie ever, kicking the pants off that Harry Potter kid and delivering a beat down to the Dark Knight. Only the James Cameron movies of Avatar and Titanic have made more money than The Avengers. Iger smiles all the way to bank as the movie, still in release, has made some $1.4 billion dollars and just wait till the DVD / Blu-ray release comes out somewhere around September. Yep, The Avengers, a reason for Iger to smile since buying Marvel was pretty much all his idea. Ever the standard bearer of cross-promotion, Iger is determined to get Avengers attractions in his theme parks where he his permitted to do so (sorry WDW fans, you're going to be left out on this one).

And then with hype and fanfare second to none, Iger re-opens the new and improved expanded Disney California Adventure yesterday which caps off about 5 years of planning and effort to remake the Disney Park that fell flat on its face when it opened in 2001. Yesterday the people came and came. The people will continue to come this weekend, this summer, and what Disney hopes is well into next year and beyond. It's going to be the biggest summer ever for The Disneyland Resort. More smiling from Iger.

Man of the people, Iger mixes with the public at the opening
of Cars Land. A MiceChat / Dateline Disneyland photo

Iger along with Chairman of Disney Parks and Resorts Tom Staggs and Pixar boss (along with about a half a dozen other Disney titles) John Lasseter have been quite visible in DCA this past week, and especially for Iger, that is a sight not often seen. These guys have been like expectant fathers about to give birth to a child. Yesterday Iger, Staggs, and Lasseter were seen talking to regular park guests. Last week they were riding the rides of Cars Land along with a group of annual pass holders. Yep, Bob Iger, just like Walt Disney, a man of the people. Well, not quite.

Storytellers Statue - Buena Vista St. - Disney California Adventure
A MiceChat / Dateline Disneyland Photo

The just unveiled statue of Walt and Mickey on Buena Vista Street represents Walt when he first came to California in 1923 (we'll ignore the historical fact that Mickey came along about 5 years later). According to Walt himself through interviews, he stepped off the train in Hollywood with about $40 in his pocket and a brain stuffed with imagination and dogged perseverance. I don't know if Bob Iger has $40 in his pocket. He probably doesn't need any cash at all. Through assorted compensation from Disney, Iger is estimated to make around $30 million dollars a year. Man of the people? Iger doesn't need to be. He is one smart business man. Not bad for someone who started his career in media as a TV weatherman.

Walt and Mickey Arrive In DCA

Partners - DCA
A Laura Gilbreath - AllEars.net photo

Finally out from under wraps, we have our first look at the Walt and Mickey Partners statue in DCA thanks to Laura Gilbreath of AllEars.net. Just a wonderful addition to welcome you into the park. I have a friend who said he was going to miss that old Sunshine Fountain that was the focal point of the old DCA entrance. Huh? This new entrance is stunning. Just like over at Disneyland, the Partners statue welcomes you to something special and carefully watches over all the smiling faces as people pass by. I have a thousand pictures to take on my next trip. It all starts with this.

Buy A Ticket...Go See Cars Land...Not !

That's a wonderful picture of the Route 66 main drag of Cars Land just after nightfall. Do you see something missing? If your answer is 'people' then you win the prize (no prizes actually given). Lots and lots of people. A crushing load of humanity is expected.

How many people are going to Cars Land this weekend when the place officially opens Friday morning? Disney will be allowing people to begin line up Thursday night then putting them into groups of about 1000 then letting the groups into one at a time. This has trouble written all over it. Maybe its just me though.

But if your idea is take take your ticket or annual pass and walk through the turnstile on Friday then head right on over to enjoy the sights and rides of Cars Land, I think you got another thing coming. With so much promotional hype (L.A. Times this morning called Radiator Springs Racers Disney's first F-ticket attraction) its hard not to imagine everyone, I mean everyone, not showing up to DCA this weekend. The closing of the front gates of DCA and No Parking are real possibilities.

Does this sound like fun? Look on the bright side, Toy Story Mania and Soarin' Over California may have some of their shortest lines ever (I doubt that would be true but I'm holding out hope for any piece of positive news here).

Early Votes Are In - Cars Land Is A Hit

You know when you watch election returns on TV (do people still do that?) and as soon as the polls close a whole bunch of votes come in from the already counted absentee ballots of people who voted early? Well, the early votes are in on Cars Land and I think we have a pretty clear winner. The place is a hit though not without faults (like most politicians).

The Clear Winners

Radiator Springs Racers - One of the best attractions ever built by Disney. Fully immersed in theming and fun for the whole family, RSR delivers in a big way. The only complaints I read about were those who wished there were more indoor dark rides scenes or thought maybe the car was just a little too quick going by them. 

Cars Land at Night - Dripping with multi-colored neon with the flood-lit Cadillac Mountain Range in the background, the place looks absolutely stunning at night. It will be an absolute DCA must to catch the moment of the day when they turn the lights on with "Sha-Boom, Sha-Boom, Life Can Be a Dream" playing in the background.

Positive Plusses

Flo's V8 Cafe - The new counter service restaurant is large and spacious with indoor and outdoor seating. Most have commented how much they have enjoyed the main course entrees (beef, turkey, or pork) and really like the apple - cheddar pie. Flo's also serves breakfast though I saw a few negative comments with the breakfast offerings, the most common being what was supposed to be a hot meal came out a little cold. Any DCA restaurant that will serve Racer 5 IPA on tap is OK in The Disneyland Traveler's book. 

Mater's Junkyard Jamboree - This little ride has proved to be quite enjoyable for people of all ages and provides a pretty good jolt of fun as it whips you around. It's a keeper. Not a fast loading ride though. There will be an always present fairly long line.

Cars Land Exclusive Merchandise - The merchandise being sold that is exclusive to the Cars Land area was flying off the shelves. It was being purchased so fast in fact that Disney had to pull some of the hot sellers back in order to have stock for the opening this weekend.

Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time

Luigi's Flying Tires - This was supposed to be the successful return of the Tomorrowland's Flying Saucers attraction of the 1960's. Well that ride had to be taken out after only about 5 years of operation. It was extremely slow loading and required a large operational and mechanical staff to keep it running. Guess what? Luigi may face the exact same problems. Only about 400 people an hour can ride the 90 second ride. It requires a staff of cast members to be on hand to tell people how to operate the thing and the tires get stuck in corners requiring cast members to dangerously go out and physically push the stuck vehicles. Those who get the hang of operating the ride kind of like it, but the operational overhead may just not be worth it. Most complain the queue line moves excruciatingly slow but has nice theming. Unless the wait is 30 minutes or less, it just doesn't seem to be worth it and once it goes into full operation this weekend, it will NEVER be less than a 30 minutes wait. Trouble.

Cozy Corn Motel Food Stands - Looks nice and may still work out OK but having 5 separate cones each selling a different food item and specialty drink has proved to be a problem with the large number of guests in Cars Land. Lines to get the food, even something as simple as popcorn or churros, move extremely slow and then there is the problem of what to do when members of your traveling party can't agree what food items to get. Jumping from cone to cone for different food items proved to be impossible. Once you pick a cone, you are pretty much committed to what that cone has to offer because the wait could be a half hour or more. Ugh!

This Could Be Bad

It's Hot In Here - MiceAge started a thread with some people complaining about the lack of shade, the high numbers of people, and the absorption of heat. Getting overheated is never a good thing. Inside at Flo's enjoying a Racer 5 might be a popular past time.

Don't Forget About Buena Vista Street

While a lot of the noise on Disney forums and discussion boards coming out of this weekends preview days was about Cars Land and how great it is (with a few issues here and there), the talk about Buena Vista Street seems to have fallen into the background. That area of the park was also allowed to be previewed by a select few, so few in fact that those who purchased the 4 hour preview time were allowed into Buena Vista Street anytime as opposed to the scheduled block of hours you were committed to for Cars Land. For many, it was all about Cars Land.

Well there will be a few of us that when we do get to see the expanded Disney California Adventure first hand, the majority of our time will be spent right on Buena Vista Street. While I do look forward to seeing Cars Land, day and night, and look forward to the amazing Radiator Springs Racers attraction, I just know that when it comes down to it, probably most of my time will be spent on Buena Vista Street just like over at Disneyland where I'm a Main St. kind of person. I visit the other "lands" in Disneyland but my heart lives on Main St. And that's how I picture myself on the new Buena Vista Street, at least that is my hope.

Mrs. DisneylandTraveler is a shopper. Me, not so much. But now there are wonderful sitting areas around the stores, shops, and restaurants as opposed to the concrete slabs of the old Sunshine Plaza. There's a fountain and the soon to be unveiled statue of Walt and Mickey circa 1920's. I see myself spending quality time in these seating areas watching people and soaking up the atmosphere. For me, it's as good as any ride.

The Carthay Circle Restaurant is absolutely beautiful inside based on the pictures I have seen. I am still working the angles to get Mrs. DLT in there when her first glance at the menu turned out to be not so inviting. The new Fiddler, Fifer, and Practical Cafe looks stunning and quite spacious inside, but again a menu which features horseradish on the roast beef sandwich and sauerkraut on the turkey sandwich would not come up on the good side of Mrs. DLT. They do have a Starbucks though, a Mrs. DLT favorite. I would hate to think that of all the new dining adventures in the remodeled front part of the park we ended up at Taste Pilot's Grill for a chicken sandwich. It is certainly possible.

I'm not sure about the walk around characters or the "Newsies" semi-impromptu singing performances, I don't need any of that to add to my enjoyment. Just like over at Disneyland, I can take or leave the Dapper Dans and certainly have little use for the Mad Hatter running around like he runs the place. A view from a nice bench, hopefully with some shade from a nearby tree, along with some pleasant music looping in the background is all I need. I'm pretty easy to please. 

Starbuck's Beverage Pricing in DCA

Starbuck's Menu - Disney California Adventure
A Dateline Disneyland MiceChat photo

I was curious just how much Disney was going to tack on to the price of a Starbuck's beverage at the new  Fiddler, Fifer, and Practical Cafe (still can't get over that name) on Buena Vista Street in Disney California Adventure when it opens to serve the public next weekend. To be honest, knowing Disney, I was expecting them to add on a buck or two to the standard price of your local Starbuck's down the street. Surprisingly, it's not that bad. MiceChat's Dateline Disneyland snapped a picture of the posted menu board at the annual pass holder preview yesterday. Although sizing of the picture is a bit of a challenge with this blogging software, the jacked up prices only look to be about 50 or 60 cents higher than your regular neighborhood Starbucks. I certainly can't complain about that. Go over to the new Ghirardelli Fountain and Chocolate Shop in DCA and price a sundae. The price of one of those is an eye opener.

First Video Look - Mater's Junkyard Jamboree

Here is the fist video look of Mater's Junkyard Jamboree in full swing so to speak. This video was created by MiceChat's Dateline Disneyland. By most accounts, this little ride is surprisingly a lot of fun (if you can get by the rather hick-like music). Even those who can't do a ride like Tea Cups because of motion sickness are saying this ride, while it does have a bit of kick when the trailer whips out, is not affecting them in an adverse way. (i.e. "I need to sit down. I think I'm ready to toss up lunch").

This might be the little gem of Cars Land. For me, still depends on how long the wait is to get on.

  

First Video Look - Luigi's Flying Tires

Here is the first video look of Luigi's Flying Tires in Cars Land. The video was shot yesterday and uploaded by MiceChat. Personal opinion. Ponderous and slow, this is primarily a ride children might enjoy. Adults and parents might be bored to tears. The beach balls were added as an afterthought since test riders once in the floating tires, didn't know quite what to do to have some fun with the ride.

As previously discussed, this might be the slowest loading ride in either Disneyland or DCA (it's debatable but Peter Pan's Flight and Dumbo currently run neck and neck for the slowest rides to load guests). It is estimated that Luigi's line might extend an hour or more over the summer and the ride is only about 90 seconds long. Maybe if its a walk-on with a very slow day in mid-winter the Disneyland Traveler may have to give this ride experience a pass by - just not worth any kind of wait.

First Video Posted Of Radiator Springs Racers - Full Ride Through

Radiator Springs Racers - Official Disney Photo

And just like that we have the first full Radiator Springs Racers complete ride-thru video this one coming from wdwinfo.com and posted to MiceChat. Disney kept photos and videos of Cars Land at bay as long as they could but with Annual Passholders paying anywhere from $75 to $500 for an early admittance and a few hours in Cars Land (benefiting Children's Hospital of Orange County) I guess they thought best to lift the photo and video restrictions that were in place for the Cast Members preview days last week.

Get ready for a very long wait to get on this ride - the best Disneyland attraction probably since Indiana Jones Adventure.

** Update **
I've added a second video that was posted to YouTube shortly after the first. The first video is from the left side track and the second is from the right side track. There is a slight difference between the two tracks inside the show building. The left side passes through Luigi's Tire Shop before entering the race track and the right passes through Ramone's Body Shop. I think the first video is better overall but the second video does a better job filming the interior show scenes.

Enjoy the ride (mega spoiler alert).