The TCD Gang Goes to Disneyland!

[Beckers 1,136]

Monkey bread? I can make you some with a can of pillsbury and some cinnamon sugar and butter and I won't charge you $12,000 :)

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

 

 

 

 

 

TCD

They also do smaller shows on that stage (at least they did when I was there). I didn't get to see Fantasmic as it was only performed Fri and Sat when I was there (I was there Sun night-Fri morning), but I remember sitting on that rock to the left of the stage and watching a Captain Jack show. As a matter of fact, the performers rode over on the same raft that I did.

[red...Susan 37]

There are a lot of very wealthy people in LA that would have no problems paying $11000 a year for dues. If you really want to see hippies you have to go to Portland Oregon. Seattle has the grunge yuppies.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

I agree your selfies are much improved!!!

Please no updates on Friday, I have a lot to do to prep for Elizabeth's birthday and our Christmas party Saturday. I can't be distracted by this :)

I agree - your selfies are are really great!

 

I disagree.  I want you to post an update or two on Friday.  I will be driving to the south west side of SC today to visit my mom and to hug and old friend who is sad.  I'll be back tomorrow and am hoping to relax with a few updates.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

That pin guy is special for sure.

 

I think you are getting better at selfies. Have your girls given you lessons? 

 

Yes, that pin guy was special.  I'm sure there's a good story that goes along with him, but he was kind of scary looking, so I didn't ask him what his deal was.

 

You're right- I have gotten better at selfies.  It's only taken me 30 years to show some improvement. 

 

I was aware of some differences between DL and WDW, but you're pointing out so many more!

 

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2014/07/19/first-look-and-photo-review-the-new-club-33-in-disneyland/ has some interesting info on Club 33, including the new pricing structures.  They have several articles about it.

 

Hope you got some great pictures of Fantasmic!  I'm wondering if it was different too.

 

Thanks for that link.  It seems like a lot of bloggers have managed to score invites to Club 33.  I wonder how?

 

Like every thing else we saw in Disneyland, Fantasmic had a lot of familiar elements, but it ended up being a very different experience.  Stick around.  We will get to that part eventually.  We went on Friday night, and we are up to Friday afternoon in this report.

 

I heard $10,000.00/ year but I'm not going to debate over such a small amount of money. Lol.

I also heard they sell booze in there. And that was confirmed by the two guys walking out in my pic.

And there is a long waiting list to become. a member.

Also we have a club at the MK. We just don't want the trailer park people from the Fort to know about it. Lol

 

I've  definitely heard the booze part- that was discussed a lot when people got up in arms about them serving beer and wine in the Be Our Guest restaurant in the MK.

 

So there is a secret private club in the MK?  They're probably going to kick you out now for spilling the beans.

 

That's crazy I'm not sure what they could give me to make that worth it.

 

Agreed.  You pay $10 or $11K just for the privilege of going in there to pay who knows what for monkey bread?

 

Those So Cal folks are as crazy as I heard.

 

Chip and co posted an article it's going up to $12,000 and their perks are getting scaled way back. Would love to know what these people do for a living who can afford this.

 

So, now it's $12K?

 

And the perks are getting scaled back?

 

Did they import some managers from WDW?

 

I agree your selfies are much improved!!!

Please no updates on Friday, I have a lot to do to prep for Elizabeth's birthday and our Christmas party Saturday. I can't be distracted by this :)

 

Thanks.  I didn't notice that the selfies are any better, but they are.

 

No updated today?

 

How about if I just do one or two, and you can read them after your weekend festivities.

 

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth.

 

I can't believe it's been a year already.

 

Great article.

Thanks for sharing.

One thing that confused me is the written on the bottom of the menu.

It says when member is present party enjoys a 20% discount.

Thy as strange to me. How do they get in there if the members not present?

 

It seems like a lot of people somehow manage to get in there without a member present.

 

I haven't read all of the information floating around on the interwebz, but it looks like members can make reservations for guests to be admitted without the member being present.

 

Can you join and put me down for a dinner?

 

Monkey bread? I can make you some with a can of pillsbury and some cinnamon sugar and butter and I won't charge you $12,000 :)

 

I nominate you to be the chef for the private club in the 3000 loop.

 

I like monkey bread.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

They also do smaller shows on that stage (at least they did when I was there). I didn't get to see Fantasmic as it was only performed Fri and Sat when I was there (I was there Sun night-Fri morning), but I remember sitting on that rock to the left of the stage and watching a Captain Jack show. As a matter of fact, the performers rode over on the same raft that I did.

 

A pirate show makes sense.  I noticed that they call their island "Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island."  I didn't realize it at the time, but they did a major redo of the island in 2007, and themed it after the then very popular Pirates of the Caribbean movies.  We are going to look at some of the features on the island as we continue our lap around the Rivers of America, and I'll include some links to information about what's on the island.

 

There are a lot of very wealthy people in LA that would have no problems paying $11000 a year for dues. If you really want to see hippies you have to go to Portland Oregon. Seattle has the grunge yuppies.

 

What do you mean "if you really want to see hippies?"  Who wants to see hippies?  I'll have to make a point of staying away from Portland, Oregon. 

 

I agree - your selfies are are really great!

 

I disagree.  I want you to post an update or two on Friday.  I will be driving to the south west side of SC today to visit my mom and to hug and old friend who is sad.  I'll be back tomorrow and am hoping to relax with a few updates.

 

Thanks.

 

So you want one or two updates, and Beckers wants none?

 

I'll start with one and see how that goes.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

We're still on the Mark Twain circling Pirates Lair on Tom Sawyer Island^TM.

 

Guests get shuttled out there the same way they do at WDW- on rafts:

 

 

I wanted to check out the island, but the twins weren't very interested in that.  They correctly pointed out how much time that would take, and we could see from the boat that Disneyland's island is smaller than WDW's, and didn't seem to have as much on it.

 

I have since done a little research, and found a couple of places with information about the history of Disneyland's island, and what's on it.

 

The official Disney site, which you can find here, https://disneyland.disney.go.com/attractions/disneyland/pirates-lair-on-tom-sawyer-island/ ,  describes the island as follows:

 

Adventure Awaits!

Journey by log raft across the Rivers of America and discover a mysterious place rumored to contain long-lost treasure. Read More

Journey by log raft across the Rivers of America and discover a mysterious place rumored to contain long-lost treasure. Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island recalls the plucky adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn when they ran away to a remote island to live the carefree life of a pirate.

Upon your arrival, wander dusty dirt roads lined with sycamore and oak trees and amble across creaky suspension bridges. Navigate narrow passages amid secret caves and uncover an age-old fort. Along the way, follow in the pioneering footsteps of the frontier’s early settlers, during an era when America was just coming into its own.

Pick Your Path

You’ll find adventure aplenty around every corner of the island—one of the world’s last pirate strongholds. During your self-guided expedition, be on the lookout for some of these legendary landmarks:

• Enter, if you dare, a dark and foreboding cavern haunted by ghastly apparitions inside Dead Man's Grotto.
• Get a scenic view from atop the hideout of Tom and Huck's Tree House.
• Bounce across a rope bridge and uncover hidden secrets in Smuggler's Cove.
• Climb to the peaks of Castle Rock or descend below the surface to find a subterranean treasure trove.
• Unearth a mass of pirate loot at the Treasure Dig.
• Inspect the ingenious gears and inner workings of the Blacksmith Shop.

Easy-to-read, posted maps ensure you always know where you are—and where you’re going—during your island adventure.

 

The official site also provides a little of the history of the island:

 

Designed by Walt Disney

Tom Sawyer Island opened to the public at Disneyland Resort in 1956. Read More

Tom Sawyer Island opened to the public at Disneyland Resort in 1956. The attraction has the distinction of being the only one designed by Walt Disney.

Sharing a strong affinity for the world Mark Twain created in his novels, Walt found himself unsatisfied with the island’s original design. Days before construction was set to begin, he took the plans home and re-imagined the landscape design, creating the inlets, coves and overall shape that the island is known for today.

In 2007, the attraction was renamed Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer’s Island. Today, in addition to the Disneyland Resort, a version of this beloved attraction exists at Walt Disney World Resort and Tokyo Disneyland.

 

 

So, what we see today at Disneyland is different from what Walt envisioned.  I didn't know that there was a Tom Sawyer Island at the Tokyo Disneyland.  I'd like to see that one some day.

 

If you want even more information, here's a Wikipedia article that explains how the Fantasmic stage was added in 1992, and which mentions some of the original features of the island:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate's_Lair_on_Tom_Sawyer_Island

 

I was surprised by that 1992 date.  I didn't know Fantasmic has been around that long, or that Disneyland had it before WDW got it.

 

We could see the entrance to Dead Man's Grotto from the boat:

 

 

That apparently used to be Injun Joe's cave.

 

Next, we passed some kind of playground:

 

 

This must be Tom and Huck's Treehouse:

 

 

Here's something I knew- they have a Fort on their island just like the one at WDW, but they call their Fort, of all things, Fort Wilderness:

 

 

According to the Wikipedia article, Disneyland's original Fort got destroyed by termites, and was demolished in 2007.  They rebuilt it, but it is now a backstage CM area, and is not accessible to guests.

 

They have fake Native Americans at Disneyland just like we do at WDW:

 

 

The twins pointed these canoes out to me.  Did you know that they used to have canoes that they would allow guests to paddle around the Rivers of America?  They even had these for a short time at WDW.  These appear to be some of those old canoes:

 

 

Here's the backside of Fort Wilderness:

 

 

They had a taped narrator describing the things we were seeing as we traveled around the island.  I liked listening to it.  There was a part where they played a recording of an old river boat captain calling out the depth of the water.  Mark Twain is a term used to describe a depth of water.  The writer Samuel Clemmons took his pseudonym from that term.  I knew that, but it was interesting to hear the recording on the boat as we motored along.  The narrator next told us that we were coming up to the cabin of Mike Fink:

 

 

This is Mike Fink's Keel Boat:

 

 

This is Mike Fink's cabin.  According to the Wikipedia article, this used to be a burning settler's cabin.  Now, it's Mike Fink's.  The narrator pointed out that there's a coonskin cap an some other articles of clothing hanging on a peg by the door, which meant that Mike had his buddy Davy over for a visit.  I wondered what might be going on in there that would require Davy to remove his clothing and hang it on the peg outside.  And, I don't even want to know why there was a sock hanging on the doorknob.  California is a strange land:

 

 

They have plenty of plastic Native Americans here:

 

 

There's a whole plastic Native American village on the opposite shore:

 

 

And here's a plastic eagle with flapping wings in a plastic eagle's nest.  I don't think WDW has one of these:

 

 

Here's some moose and a beaver dam:

 

 

They must have gotten a good deal on the plastic, because here's more moose:

 

 

There's some more of the stuff on the island:

 

 

They have a barrel bridge, just like we do.  That's probably our favorite thing to do on WDW's Tom Sawyer Island:

 

 

The lap around the island goes quicker here, as the island is smaller.  Before we knew it, we were returning to the dock.  This view is kind of similar to what you would see at WDW, but at WDW you would also see the Contemporary Resort and Bay Lake Tower in the background:

 

 

I have always heard about how Walt regretted not owning more of the land surrounding Disneyland, as there was so much development that occurred all around Disneyland that he could not control. While we were in Disneyland, I expected to catch glimpses of the outside world, but we never did.  California Adventure is another story, but in Disneyland park itself, you really can't see the outside world intruding.  I don't know how they accomplished that, but they did.

 

There's the Golden Horseshoe Saloon.  It seems much bigger than WDW's Diamond Horseshoe:

 

 

From the where we docked, you could see a bit of the castle and the Matterhorn in the background, so I posed for a photo with that view as a backdrop:

 

 

And so did Twin #1:

 

 

After our riverboat ride, it was time for us to ride Indiana Jones.

 

The Jungle Cruise is right next to Indiana Jones, and we noticed that the wait time there was "only" 25 minutes,  which was the shortest we had seen it. There are no FP's for the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland, so we decided this was the time to ride it.

 

I wanted to take a photo of the wait time, so I could check later to see how long we had to wait.  This lady with a sandwich decided that she needed to step in to my shot.  She must have recognized me and wanted to be in a TCD TR.  So, congrats to you sandwich lady, you made it.  You can also see the posted wait time is 25 minutes:

 

 

It was exactly 3:30 when I snapped this photo as we entered the queue:

 

 

They had plenty of Christmas/holiday props around the ticket window, and as we first entered the queue:

 

 

 

Not long after we entered the queue, we had to climb a flight of stairs, and we found ourselves winding around the second story queue. The queue gave us a view of the loading area and the boats leaving the dock.  There goes a boat heading out:

 

 

So far, we had done a good job avoiding long lines. This one moved quickly enough, but it was the longest line we had encountered to this point in our trip:

 

 

The line never stopped moving, and we continued to wind our way through.  There were some interesting things to see in the queue which we don't have at WDW.  We will start the next update with two of those things we saw.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

With all the stairs in so many queues, how do they handle wheelchairs and scooters at DL?

 

So Tom Sawyer's Island is smaller at DL and has a lot more plastic ... LOL!

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

I'm curious if the wait times actually match what's posted at DL. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

With all the stairs in so many queues, how do they handle wheelchairs and scooters at DL?

 

So Tom Sawyer's Island is smaller at DL and has a lot more plastic ... LOL!

 

I remember from Grumpy's trip report that they don't do such a great job handling guests in wheelchairs and scooters.

 

For the Jungle Cruise, they have guests come in the exit and avoid the stairs.

 

I don't know how they do it on some attractions that have stairs both in the entrance and exit.  I assume they have lifts somewhere.  For some attractions, like the castle walk through, I don't think they can accommodate guests in wheelchairs.

 

Yes, Disneyland's Tom Sawyer Island is smaller and has a lot more plastic people.  I've heard there are a lot of plastic people in So Cal in general.  But, apparently, they don't hang out at Disneyland.

 

I'm curious if the wait times actually match what's posted at DL. 

 

I will have an answer for you for the Jingle Cruise in the next update.

 

Which should be up later this afternoon.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

 

 I've heard there are a lot of plastic people in So Cal in general.  But, apparently, they don't hang out at Disneyland.

 

 

:rofl:

 

Seriously, the wheelchair/ecv accommodations in DL would be a big deal to me at this point.  I need to check Dave's TR.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

 

 

Seriously, the wheelchair/ecv accommodations in DL would be a big deal to me at this point.  I need to check Dave's TR.

 

As I said earlier, we all noticed how many more of Disneyland's attractions have stairs that guests have to climb up or down to get to or from the loading area.  I understood that in Disneyland, as some of those attractions are 60 years old.

 

But, the strange thing is that it was also the case with California Adventure.  it got to be a running joke with us- we would look for the stairs.  Even the brand new Radiator Springs Racers had stairs.  But, they do have a separate load and unload area in that ride for guests in wheelchairs and scooters.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

As I said earlier, we all noticed how many more of Disneyland's attractions have stairs that guests have to climb up or down to get to or from the loading area.  I understood that in Disneyland, as some of those attractions are 60 years old.

 

But, the strange thing is that it was also the case with California Adventure.  it got to be a running joke with us- we would look for the stairs.  Even the brand new Radiator Springs Racers had stairs.  But, they do have a separate load and unload area in that ride for guests in wheelchairs and scooters.

 

TCD

 

Thanks!  That's good to know.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

:rofl:

 

Seriously, the wheelchair/ecv accommodations in DL would be a big deal to me at this point.  I need to check Dave's TR.

I used an ECV for my trip in 2008, of course that was well before the revamped disability rules, and had very quick access to all attractions through the exit. (Especially the older Disneyland attractions). I felt guilty. (I brought it because I was on week 7 after some surgery, and still on leave from work). But then I walked through the Tarzan Treehouse and realized how wobbly that made me, and didn't feel quite so guilty any longer.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I used an ECV for my trip in 2008, of course that was well before the revamped disability rules, and had very quick access to all attractions through the exit. (Especially the older Disneyland attractions). I felt guilty. (I brought it because I was on week 7 after some surgery, and still on leave from work). But then I walked through the Tarzan Treehouse and realized how wobbly that made me, and didn't feel quite so guilty any longer.

 

Yes, the Fantasyland attractions all seem to have guests in wheelchairs come in through the exit.  I assume that they have to make an appointment to come back with the new policies in place.  The park just doesn't seem to be as accommodating to those with mobility issues as WDW.  I wonder if that's why there are far fewer guests in scooters here.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

How about one more update before we get to the weekend?

 

We left off in the queue for the Jingle Cruise.  I don't know if the line would have been as long if this was just the regular Jungle Cruise?

 

We were on the second story of the queue, which allowed us to look down at the boats loading and unloading passengers.

 

I noticed that here, the Skippers had to reload their guns after each voyage.

 

Look in that wooden box down there in front of the controls for that boat- those are brass casings from the blanks they fire:

 

 

We don't have guns like that at WDW anymore.  We have fake guns with stupid recorded shooting sounds.  Why does Disneyland get cool fake guns like this?  Floridians love guns.  I thought those hippies in California hate guns.

 

They also have a nice robot bird in the rafters of the queue.  It moves and squawks.  We don't have any robot birds in our queue at WDW:

 

 

I'll tell you one thing that's good about a nice crowded queue- the people watching.  I saw this guy come by with the most gigantic ear gauges I have ever seen.  Naturally, I needed to get a photo of him, but he was looking right at me.  That hasn't stopped me before, but the twins asked me not to be so obvious.  They didn't want to be embarrassed in front of strangers they would never see again in their lives. So I didn't take the photo.  But, then the guy passed us and had his back to us.  I asked the twins if it was OK to take the photo now, and they let me.  So check out the ear gauges on this guy.  Are those coasters he has in there?:

 

 

 

If you dare, take a closer look at what is going on there:

 

 

What happens when he takes the coasters out?

 

I don't even want to think about it.

 

The boats here have new names for the Jingle Cruise, like Sugar Plum Lady here:

 

 

We were on the next boat, which we boarded right after I took this photo, at 3:52 pm.  That meant we had waited 22 minutes.  That 25 minute wait time was pretty accurate:

 

 

The Jingle Cruise is a new ride overlay.  We had it at the MK last year, but the only holiday decorations were in the queue and loading area- nothing out in the ride itself.  Disneyland had more.  This year, WDW has decorations out in the ride too, but Disneyland, as you probably guessed by now, has more.

 

Here's a tiger and alligator with a bunch of the lost decorations:

 

 

The Skipper to told us to watch out for these poisonous things:

 

 

(those are fruitcakes).

 

Oh, and the snakes are venomous so we should watch out for them too.

 

The gorillas were working on baking some Christmas cookies.  They piped in gingerbread smell here:

 

 

All the elephants had bells on:

 

 

This scene was much more decorated than the similar scene at WDW.  Check out the wreaths in the giraffes' mouths:

 

 

The lions were feasting on plastic deer:

 

 

This scene also has more decorations.  We don't have the green garland or the star on the rhino's trunk at WDW:

 

 

More fruitcake (and more fruitcake jokes) :

 

 

Finally, here's something that's inferior at Disneyland. Their backside of water isn't as nice as ours:

 

 

Sorry for this blurry photo, but they have piranhas in their Jungle Cruise, and they popped out of the water and startled us:

 

 

Their Trader Sam looks completely different from ours.  Theirs was selling champagne for New Year's:

 

 

And he is accompanied by a baby elephant with a Happy New Year's banner:

 

 

 

It was just about 4 pm as we pulled up to the dock.  So we were on and off the Jingle Cruise in 30 minutes.  Our Skipper was outstanding, and we all enjoyed it:

 

 

Next up, we cashed in those Indiana Jones FP's.  There was something wrong with our car this time, and the cool special effect that surprised us the day before didn't work quite right.  I am glad that didn't happen on our first ride.

 

It was getting near 4:30 when we were done with Indy.

 

Yesterday, we noticed that guests were staking out parade spots for a special Christmas 5:45 pm parade around that time, so we headed over to the parade route to see what was going on.

 

Yup, people were claiming spots.  And look how they do it in Disneyland- they spread out blankets.  I've never seen that done at WDW, and I don't think it would fly:

 

 

We found a front row spot over near where we could also see the Small World ride.  We heard that there was some kind of lighting ceremony at 5:30, and we figured we would see that along with the parade.

 

We basically were going to wait an hour for the parade. The girls don't mind this at all. It gives them a chance to update all their social media. 

 

But, there was a slight problem.  They had been using their phones all day, and they weren't going to make it through the night.  Twin #1 had brought an auxiliary charger, but it was plugged in back at the room.  When we left there this morning, we all thought we'd be back to take a break, but we had been going nonstop all day, and none of us wanted to take a break.

 

Since we had an hour before the parade, I volunteered to run back to the room and fetch the charger.  I also wanted to drop off the Monte Cristo sandwich leftovers I was lugging around, and get us some drinks.  So I headed out.

 

More spot claimers:

 

 

Heading out. There were still viewing spots for the parade along Main Street.  The area where we were is apparently more desirable:

 

 

I made the round trip in about 30 minutes.

 

And was back in plenty of time to see the projection show on the Small World building.  That's right- they do that show on the Small World building, not on the castle:

 

 

After the show, they lit up the special lights:

 

 

Not too shabby.

 

Then the parade started:

 

 

You have to buy a ticket to the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at WDW to see a Christmas parade like this.  Here, it's included with park admission, and it's a very good parade:

 

 

Of course, since this was a Disney park, we had to see those Frozen girls.  But they are not shoved down your throat here like they are at WDW:

 

 

Chip and Dale get to drive their own car here.  Which maybe isn't the best idea. They're kind of wild, you know:

 

 

The parade kept coming and coming.

 

And I have lots of photos of it.

 

I'm going to stop this update here, and we will have a whole update full of Christmas parade photos next.

 

And, then we will move on to our evening activities, finishing up with seeing the last Fantasmic show.  It was a long day!

 

TCD

[red...Susan 37]

I rode in the canoes around the island Labor Day weekend. Maybe they are seasonal.

[dvccamper 32]

The guy with the ear gauges baffles me. I just don't understand how people think that looks good...you've mutilated your ears! But to each his own, I guess.

But on a more positive note I love those snowmen in the parade!

[momof3kids-Yvonne 594]

The one time I went to Disneyland back in the early 90s it was with a college roommate. She has a physical disability and uses crutches for short distances and a scooter or wheelchair for longer distances. I pushed her around in her wheelchair. We never had a problem getting on any ride. I was afraid there might be some rides that they would not let her on because I still remember the first time we went to Disney World and my cousin who has CP wanted to ride Space Mountain. They wouldn't let her. They said she had to be able to walk down if the ride broke down. I still remember her crying. Oh and she was small enough that my Uncle could have carried her, but they still said no.

[LONE-STAR 370]

Looks like fun.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

I wish we could have more attraction decorations at WDW!

 

IASW lit up at night is awesome.

 

The parade looks great!

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Excellent updates!

I was trying to think of the place I had a Monte Cristo sandwich before....and you answered Bennigans.

I had one there before....it was so sweet, I only ate about half and felt like I needed to puke afterward........but it tasted great.

Wow. How bad do the people that make decisions at WDW suck?

Looking forward to the parade pics!

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

I was trying to think of the place I had a Monte Cristo sandwich before....

 

It's been about 30 years since I've had a Monte Cristo.  At a small local restaurant.  Man, they were good!

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Cheddars restaurant has a Monte Christo sandwich

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

I was away part of the weekend and busy when I got back, so I didn't get to read the last update until today.

 

30 minute round trip from good parade spot to your hotel room and back?  Sweet!

 

My kids loved the picture of the lit up IASW.  (I did too!)

 

Thank you again for your great TR!

 

Oh, and a friend on Facebook posted about going to DL someday and I linked her to this TR.  Gina, if you are reading along, why not join and comment?  There is always room for more!