"I" Love Mother's Day

On Mother's Day (May 13), Walt and I went to Disneyland and were joined later in the day by both of our sons. What a great way to spend the day.

Indiana Jones Adventure - I've only ridden this ride once or twice before, and it's been a couple of years. I was very pleased - it was better than I remember it. I think they must have made some changes. I remembered it being a very herky-jerky ride, but this time it was much smoother. The sights throughout the ride are reminiscent of Indiana Jones' journey, complete with wild turns, drops, etc. Just getting to the ride is an adventure as well. We enter the pyramid and traverse through a maze of underground tunnels before hopping into our "Jeep."


Innoventions - When I was a little girl, I remember going into the building where Innoventions is now and seeing something totally different, but with the same idea. Back then, an audience was seated theater style facing a stage. On stage, was the house of the future! We'd see a room full of automated machines and gizmos and it was all so amazing. Then, the stage curtain would close and the stage would actually move. The stage was a large circle that rotated to reveal multiple rooms, one at a time.

Today, the attraction is still all about the future, but it's set up quite differently. There are two floors of interactive exhibits. We also attended a demonstration of a household robot that walks and talks and helps you around the house. This is a great attraction for all ages. Take your time here, because there's a lot to see. The video above shows Wyatt dancing to an XBox game. Unfortunately, you can't hear Michael Jackson singing Thriller as Wyatt imitates moves he sees overhead. Look at the screen behind him, there's a shadow image of him dancing in the video.

My next post will be about It's a Small World - one of the best attractions ever!

Grizzly Ghosts? and Hello Students!

Before we get back on the ride, so to speak, I have to send a shout out to my wonderful students. Today was the last day of class, and my last day teaching. What a great send-off my students gave me. Cards and gifts and food and, most importantly, affection. A number of students signed the board, as you'll see in the picture.  Students, I miss you already!

Another side trip...
Do you know what tomorrow is??  It's the opening of Cars Land and the Grand Re-Opening of Disney's California Adventure.  But, we won't be there. As season passholders, we entered a lottery to see it early, but no luck. And I'm guessing tomorrow there will be a million and one people. (Usually there are only a million people. Adding one more just tips the scales!)  But, do you know what this means?  A number of new attractions and I have to update my attraction list. What do I do about the attractions that start with a letter we've already done? Give my your opinion as a comment below.

And now, back to the park for our final "G".  Grizzly River Run at California Adventure. This is much like other water rides. Six passengers get in a round boat and float merrily along the river. But, oh my! There are rapids up ahead. The boat jostles about, the water splashes, and just when it gets calm again, watch out! We drop down thousands of feet to the pool below. (Well, maybe not thousands.)

Ask anyone who's ever ridden a water ride with me and they will tell you I'm a water magnet. I always get soaked, even if other riders in the boat barely get wet. This day was no exception. It's a fun ride, though, and a good way to cool off on a warm day.

Back at Disneyland we had a great stroke of luck. We were walking by the Haunted Mansion just as they took the rope down from across the line entry. It had been closed and just reopened. We were the first ones in! I love the Haunted Mansion! It hasn't changed much since I was a kid. My favorite parts: "There are no windows and no doors!"; the fortune teller with her crystal ball; and the hitchhiking ghosts. (I didn't know until I was an adult that the first room you go in is actually an elevator, and the walls don't stretch up as I thought, but the room goes down.)

Next time: We spent the day at the parks on Mother's Day and finished the I's, J's, K's, and L's. Come back soon and read all about it!

Heimlich's Tough!

Disney's California Adventure opened on February 8, 2001. Which of the following was NOT opened that same day? (Answer at the end.)

1. King Triton's Carousel
2. Jumpin' Jellyfish
3. Golden Zephyr
4. Heimlich's Chew Chew Train
5. It's Tough to be a Bug!

When you enter Bugs Land you are transformed to the size of a little bug. If you don't believe me, look at the picture on the left. We are standing on the ground looking up, and these clovers tower above our heads.

April 20 - Two more attractions at California Adventure round our day:

Heimlich's Chew Chew Train is a ride designed for the little bugs in the family. The train travels through discarded food and wrappers, such as the chewed up watermelon shown here. A fun little ride.





It's Tough to Be a Bug! is a 3-D film and show full of fun and surprises. The theater is inside a giant tree, where we meet creepy crawler critters large and small. To say this show is just a movie is like saying Mickey is just a mouse! The on-screen action involves some awesome 3-D adventure. We also meet a larger than life animatronic Hopper (a grasshopper). During the course of the show we get sprayed by poisoinous creatures, poked by bees, and recoil at the giant spiders climbing down from the ceiling. Skiddish children - be warned. Skiddish adults - man up and comfort the kids! All in all, it's a fun show and shouldn't be missed.

Cindy wears her "bug eyes" while waiting for the show.

  
Answer: Heimlich's Chew Chew Train opened on 10/7/2002. The other attractions all opened the same day as Disney's California Adventure park. 

Golly Gosh Gee G g

There are SIX "G" attractions at the Disneyland resort. Before we get into the G's, though, there's going to be a change coming soon. The new Cars Land is set to open at Disney's California Adventure next month. With that, there will also be some new attractions. I'll have to modify my list. When I do, you'll be the first to know. :)  Because of the the major remodel at the park, we've already had to cross one item off of the list, and I'm not happy about it!

The Mission Tortilla Factory is permanently closed. I loved that place. Where else could you learn the history of authentic Mexican tortillas? Where else could you actually see tortillas being made in a mini, but fully working factory? Where else could you watch cooking demonstrations using the freshly made tortillas? But most importantly, where could you get a free, freshly made tortilla, hot off the machine, every time you walked through??? It was still warm! (Then we'd walk across the way to the bakery, get a pat of butter, and, mmmmmmmmm delicious!)  But alas, no more. The tortilla factory is gone.

There is a small light at the end of this tortilla tunnel, though. It's being replaced by a Ghiradelli chocolate cafe. I don't know much about it, but all you had to say was chocolate, and I'm in!

But let's get back to the G's. During our previous visit (April 13) we went to Goofy's Playhouse and the Games of the Boardwalk. On our current visit (April 20) we went to Gadget's Go Coaster, Golden Zephyr, and Goofy's Sky School.


Gadget's Go Coaster is a great roller coaster for little kids. It's located in Mickey's Toon Town in Disneyland. There's a nice drop and twists and turns, but nothing too harsh or scary. Adult roller coaster fanatics need not apply.

 The Golden Zephyr (Calif. Adventure) is also aimed at a younger audience, but can be enjoyed by anyone who likes to go round and round. That's about all it does - go round and round. And oh yeah, it also goes up and down while it goes round and round.

Goofy's Sky School (Calif. Adventure) is another roller coaster. When the park first opened, it was called Mulholland Madness and was wildly popular. It's still the same ride, but I wonder if they slowed it down. It doesn't seem as exciting as it used to be. It starts with a long, steep climb. The funnest part is when you get to the top. The track makes numerous  sharp "U-turns" back and forth. With each turn, you feel like your car is either going to keep going straight and miss the turn, or while making the sharp turn that it might be too sharp and you'll tip over. Then, you head down and up and down and up and down until you get back to the beginning.

Next up: Haunted Mansion and Heimlich's Chew Chew Train.



D-E-F-G-H-I-aye-aye

Our last visit to Disneyland was on April 20, and it was a great one! We conquered our last D, finished the F's, G's, and H's, (E's were already done), and started on the I's. It's far too much to put into one post, so I'll spread it out over a few. Then, we went again on May 13 and finished the I's, J's, K's, and L's. Buckle in, folks, we've got lots to do!

D is for Duffy the Disney Bear. We had tried to see him a few times back when we were actually on the D's, but he's an elusive critter. We finally caught up to him and were honored to have our picture taken in his presence. So - who is Duffy the Bear? I don't know! But he's big and cute and has his own picture taking "throne" in California Adventure's Paradise Pier area.

Notice in the picture that we are a bit WET! We saw Duffy after riding Grizzly River Run. That's the high-adventure water flume ride in California Adventure. It's your typical water ride with lots of twists and turns and jostling about in the large round boat. It's not the big final drop that gets you wet though, it's the numerous shorter drops on the way there. And of course, like usual, I attract the most water and ended up virtually soaked from head to toe!

But let's back up in the alphabet. With Duffy, we finished the D's. We had already finished the E's. There was one "F" to finish, and that was the Fantasmic show they plays only at night. Fantasmic is an extremely popular outdoor show. People start "camping out" hours ahead of time to be able to see it. Walt and I aren't very patient when it comes to waiting for shows, so we paid for reserved seating. It was expensive, and I don't know that it was worth the money, but it was truly a worthwhile experience. Instead of sitting on the ground, we were provided with folding chairs in a roped off/reserved area with premium viewing. We had "servers" who offered us complimentary (rather, already paid for) coffee, tea, water, or hot chocolate. Then, each guest received a wonderful snack and dessert tray. It included fresh fruit, cheese and crackers, and a marvelous variety of desserts beautifully presented.

The show itself was great. The "stage" for much of the show was a wall of water. The wall of water became a screen for projected images. But there was so much more. As we looked across the water to the island in the center of the lake, we were entertained by Mickey Mouse himself and many others. The show also included boats traversing across the lake with everyone from pirate scalliwags to princesses and virtually every Disney character there is. An entertainment delight!

Coming next... Gadget's Go Coaster, Golden Zephyr, Goofy's Sky School, and more!

"G" - It's Not Supposed to Rain at Disneyland!

After a long hiatus, we're back! And we chose a heck of day to return. True to the song about California, it wasn't raining it was POURING! For hours and hours! By the time we left, we were soaked head to toe. That didn't stop us though, from fitting in a couple more attractions.

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage brings back special childhood memories for me. As a young girl, I was enchanted by the voyage deep under water. And believe me, I was very disappointed when I found out that the submarines don't really submerge. How could they not? I saw the bubbles rising and everything! The ride has since underwent a major remodel and it is now themed around Nemo and his underwater friends. It's still a great journey for all ages, especially if you're a fan of the movie.

The Frontier Shootin' Exposition costs 50 cents, and you try your hand at shooting a number of targets. (Light activated?) I don't think it's changed in 40 years.

Goofy's Playhouse in Mickey's Toontown is just that - a play area for little kids. Nothing special here, but it looks like a great place for Mom & Dad to sit and rest while the little ones expend some energy.

Games of the Boardwalk are at Paradise Pier in California Adventure. They are typical amusement park/fair games, but the barkers aren't scary people with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths. It costs about $2.50 per game, and I think there are only 4 games there. We played three of them, and won something at each one. The prizes are pretty good considering the price paid.

Disney's Aladdin - Finally!

9/23/11

On Friday night we went to see the 6:20 showing of Disney's Aladdin at California Adventure. It was fantastic!! It seems to me that we had seen it years ago and we were unimpressed. Either I'm remembering incorrectly, though, or they've drastically improved the show. This was a first-rate top-quality stage production. I saw the Lion King play in Las Vegas earlier this year, and Aladdin was just as good. Great acting, great sets, great costumes, etc. The Genie character was the best. He was very funny and his jokes were relevant to today's pop culture. And the best part is, once your in California Adventure, it's free! (I don't want to tell you how much we paid for the Lion King tickets.) 

I recommend getting to the theater a little early. We arrived at the theater about 1/2 hour before showtime. We were able to get seats in the orchestra section (8th row) and it was great.

After the show we had dinner at Wine Country Trattoria at the Golden Vine Winery. Unlike other recent dining experiences at the park, we were unimpressed here. Walt had the lamb, and said it tasted too gamy. I had a pasta dish with clams, and the garlic/olive oil sauce lacked flavor. The Caprese salad appetizer, however, was quite tasty and well presented.

We were going to go to the 9:00 showing of Fantasmic next. By 8:30, the viewing areas were already packed. We learned that you can get reserved viewing (on a chair no less) right up front. It includes complimentary snacks and beverage and you don't have to wait in line. The problem, though, is that it costs $60 per person. I just don't know if it's worth it. We'll see....