The TCD Gang Goes to Disneyland!

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

I just finished the first page and was so excited to read that you are staying at the Park Vue Inn!!! That's where we stayed both times and had EXCELLENT stays both times!! We found the place as accommodating and friendly as any of the WDW resorts. On our second stay we arrived after being on the road for two weeks touring lots of National Parks. Our rental van was filled with luggage, bags of souviners, food etc. It was a hot mess of disarray!!! Our room was not ready, but they happily offered to store everything for us, when I told them we were returning the rental van in the hour. (We rented the van in Spokane Wa. and had spent over 2k for the rental. There is a large surcharge when you return to a place different from where you rented. Anyway, we had decided to save an additional $500.00 by just returning it once we landed in Anaheim, and just use a shuttle to bring us to the airport.) When I explained our predicament to the workers on duty, they said give us a few minutes and we will see what we can do. less than 15 minutes later we had our room and were able to carry all of our odds and ends from the van right into our room, before we had to return the van!! We also found out on our second trip that you could go into the lobby anytime and get FREE bottle sof water to bring into the park. This was in addition to large containers of lemonade and juice and cookies and fruit that you could help yourself to at anytime! I truly could go on and on, but we loved the Park Vue!! Of course it goes without saying how much we loved the quick walk into the parks!! What a treat!!

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

I have found different translations of the Latin writing on Mr Toad's family crest.  One person says it translates to "Driving with Toad is always absurd."  Another translate it as "Speeding with Toad is always Absurd."

 

Looking forward to Monday!  (How many people say that most weekends?)

[disney4dan 68]

I'm in!

 

Not exactly an early adopter, eh Dan?  

I'm way more than fashionably late! Is there such a thing as page 6 bragging rights?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

I'm really enjoying reading your impressions of Disneyland.

Great photos.

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

I am all caught up and ready for more!!!

The castle is tiny!! We knew it was small before we went, but I still remember that stunned feeling I had when we saw it for the first time!! I remember my husband took one look at it and was said, "what the heck is that??" It did seem strange to have the Matterhorn so close to it and towering over the castle!!

I remember hearing the Morse code at the train station! I figured it was saying something, good to know what it is!

We ate at that French Market and all had great meals!

I know there are a lot of wires around the castle, but seeing Dumbo come out and fly around, is one of the neatest things that I have EVER seen in a Disney park!!! I loved it!

We all loved the swinging car of the ferris wheel. The first time we rode it, we waited forever!!! Funny, because for us, the line was MUCH longer for the swinging cars as opposed to the stationary cars. What "ruined" our first ride on it though, was we waited so long and then they stuck a Mom and son on the ride with us. They were fine, but it was just uncomfortable and we wished we had the car to ourselves.

We all got a kick out of riding Mr. Toad again. I agree, the inside waiting area is so much nicer and more detailed than the WDW version ever was. Our favorite part was looking at the titles of the books on the bookcase on the far wall. The titles all had to do with frogs....."A Tadpoles Adventure" "Little Frog goes to School" we got a good laugh over that while we waited!

The line for Peter Pan was always insane when we were there too. We also went straight there at opening one morning to ride it and thankfully for us, the ride was open and running and we got to ride! The other line that was always crazy long was the Nemo Subs. Another morning, we went straight there to ride first.

Ready for an update!!

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

I know there are a lot of wires around the castle, but seeing Dumbo come out and fly around, is one of the neatest things that I have EVER seen in a Disney park!!! I loved it!

Agreed! The effect that those wires provide are ALL worth it!!

[thegooftroopfla 18]

Awesome so far.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Main street's garland looks really skimpy or thin? I think I agree with you (?) that their Main Street looks wider? Maybe that's why I think it's skimpy looking?

You couldn't pay me enough to ride the sliding cars on the Ferris wheel. I hate them, they rank up there with sky rides in my "scares the crap out of me list". When I worked at Great Adventure one night a really, really bad storm came out of no where and the wind was bad. It tripped a wind sensor in the sky ride and then something broke leaving the people stuck on the ride during this awful storm, you could hear the people screaming. It was awful and took them a long time to be able to manually bring the cars in.

 

I had the same thought about the garland looking skimpy.

 

So, let's compare.

 

Disneyland:

 

 

Disney World:

 

 

 

Although Disneyland gets points for having Mickey wreaths, Disney World wins.

 

Well, not anymore.  Since we don't get garland anymore.

 

That Six Flags story is awful.  I never liked those sky rides, and I'm glad WDW's are gone.

 

Another great update!

 

Thanks for the kind words, Gwen.

 

They're always appreciated.

 

I rode that Ferris wheel once curled in a ball chanting and crying.

 

I would LOL, but I don't think that was a laughing matter for you.  I did close my eyes and hold on for dear life the second time around, but we didn't slide and rock as bad as we did the first time.

 

Y'all are cracking me up about that ferris wheel! I wish WDW would do the Nightmare Before Christmas setup on the Haunted Mansion! Reading this, I'm really wanting to head out that way to experience all of this (and try the ferris wheel)!

 

I think you should make plans to head west and try this all for yourself.  Including the Ferris wheel.

 

I'm in!

 

Attaboy!

 

I knew you'd make it!

 

The early part of this day sounds like our visit in May. Too many things break early in the day. WTF did the maintenance people do all night, sleep?

 

Good question.  We encountered a lot of down rides on this trip, but they were  only down for a short time.  I'm not sure if it's a maintenance issue, or if they periodically shut down the rides for safety drills, or what.  I agree- there isn't a good reason that a ride should be down at park opening.

 

While waiting for the ferris wheel (I chose stationary my dd chose sliding) her side had a big delay because someone got sick in the car. The CMs said it happened often. Glad I chose the non sliding side. My dd said she fell off the seat when it slid.  The rollercoaster fooled me. I thought it was a wooden one that didn't go upside down. We got in and it took off and we turned over and I couldn't stop screaming. I hate upside down rides which is why I sit and read when dd wants to go on those at WDW.

 

I believe that your daughter fell of the seat- we almost did.  It's odd that there are no seatbelts on that ride.  They have seatbelts on rides that barely move, but none on this?  I don't get it.

 

Yes, that rollercoaster goes upside down!  The start is a lot like RNRC at DHS.

 

I am soooooo behind on my trip report reading!! I came on today to do some catching up and see your trip report from DISNEYLAND!!!! Woohoo!!!!!! I haven't read any of it yet and had to comment first!!! We have been twice, first time in 2009 for 8 nights and the second time in 2012 for 5 nights. We LOVE WDW, but we LOVE DL too!!! I hope you enjoyed it half as much as we did!!! Ok, off to read!!!

Heidi

 

Glad that you're here, Heidi.  Eight nights must have been awesome.  But was it too long?

 

I assume that the new stuff was open in California Adventure when you went in 2012.  Did you miss any of the old stuff?

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I am with you....I am anti-wires.

$14 candycane? Good call skipping that one.

Was there lots of empty plastic baggies on the floor of the Alice ride like their is in the WDW Pooh ride?

 

Don't give me too much credit for skipping the $14 candy canes.  This report isn't over yet.

 

I didn't look for the baggies on the Alice ride, but I'm sure they were there.  The place was practically crawling with Dirty Hippies.

 

I just finished the first page and was so excited to read that you are staying at the Park Vue Inn!!! That's where we stayed both times and had EXCELLENT stays both times!! We found the place as accommodating and friendly as any of the WDW resorts. On our second stay we arrived after being on the road for two weeks touring lots of National Parks. Our rental van was filled with luggage, bags of souviners, food etc. It was a hot mess of disarray!!! Our room was not ready, but they happily offered to store everything for us, when I told them we were returning the rental van in the hour. (We rented the van in Spokane Wa. and had spent over 2k for the rental. There is a large surcharge when you return to a place different from where you rented. Anyway, we had decided to save an additional $500.00 by just returning it once we landed in Anaheim, and just use a shuttle to bring us to the airport.) When I explained our predicament to the workers on duty, they said give us a few minutes and we will see what we can do. less than 15 minutes later we had our room and were able to carry all of our odds and ends from the van right into our room, before we had to return the van!! We also found out on our second trip that you could go into the lobby anytime and get FREE bottle sof water to bring into the park. This was in addition to large containers of lemonade and juice and cookies and fruit that you could help yourself to at anytime! I truly could go on and on, but we loved the Park Vue!! Of course it goes without saying how much we loved the quick walk into the parks!! What a treat!!

 

Free bottled water?  I didn't know that.  But, we did get some cookies and lemonade when we checked in.  We never made it back in to the Lobby until we checked out.

 

I heard something about a Happy Hour too, but we were never back at the hotel that time of day.

 

It's funny that we stayed in the same hotel.  I plan to stay there again when we go back some day.  (I didn't say "if").

 

I have found different translations of the Latin writing on Mr Toad's family crest.  One person says it translates to "Driving with Toad is always absurd."  Another translate it as "Speeding with Toad is always Absurd."

 

Looking forward to Monday!  (How many people say that most weekends?)

 

Wow, you're translating Latin for this TR?  Good job.

 

And, it's Monday!

 

I'm way more than fashionably late! Is there such a thing as page 6 bragging rights?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Yes, there is such a thing.

 

But, you don't get those since you showed up on page 8.

 

I'm really enjoying reading your impressions of Disneyland.

Great photos.

 

Glad you like it so far, Ray.

 

As you may have gathered, we liked Disneyland and California Adventure a lot.  They have many things there that are nicer and more special than what's at Disney World.  So much so, that it surprised me.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

The castle is tiny!! We knew it was small before we went, but I still remember that stunned feeling I had when we saw it for the first time!! I remember my husband took one look at it and was said, "what the heck is that??" It did seem strange to have the Matterhorn so close to it and towering over the castle!!

 

I agree.  But, after hearing how defensive the CM's and locals are about their puny castle, we learned to not mention it.

 

Walt was around when they added the Matterhorn.  It's strange to me that he approved it going where it did.  I wonder if he regretted it?  It's interesting to see how the Magic Kingdom was designed so that the castle would be the dominant feature.

 

I remember hearing the Morse code at the train station! I figured it was saying something, good to know what it is!

 

Glad that you learned something.  I love the details that are included in the Disney parks. 

 

We ate at that French Market and all had great meals!

 

We never made it there to eat, but the menu looked good, and I loved the seating area.

 

I know there are a lot of wires around the castle, but seeing Dumbo come out and fly around, is one of the neatest things that I have EVER seen in a Disney park!!! I loved it!

 

I'm sure my opinion about the wires might be different if we got to see any of the flying stuff. But, we got the Holiday fireworks, and nobody flew. That's a good excuse for us to go back.

 

We all loved the swinging car of the ferris wheel. The first time we rode it, we waited forever!!! Funny, because for us, the line was MUCH longer for the swinging cars as opposed to the stationary cars. What "ruined" our first ride on it though, was we waited so long and then they stuck a Mom and son on the ride with us. They were fine, but it was just uncomfortable and we wished we had the car to ourselves.

We almost had a group of two put in the car with us. After waiting about 15 minutes, they announced that to move the line quicker, they would be combining groups of three or less with other riders. That was after we had stood there for 15 minutes watching singles and couples get cars to themselves. Sure enough, when our turn came up, they tried to put a group of two in our car with us. Which meant the three of us would have been very crowded on one side. I told the CM that we had waited longer than the singles and doubles that got their own cars and that we wanted the car to ourselves. The CM didn't like that, but we got the car to ourselves.

 

We all got a kick out of riding Mr. Toad again. I agree, the inside waiting area is so much nicer and more detailed than the WDW version ever was. Our favorite part was looking at the titles of the books on the bookcase on the far wall. The titles all had to do with frogs....."A Tadpoles Adventure" "Little Frog goes to School" we got a good laugh over that while we waited!

Shoot, I saw the bookcase, but didn't look at the titles.

There's another example of those details that a lot of guests miss.

 

The line for Peter Pan was always insane when we were there too. We also went straight there at opening one morning to ride it and thankfully for us, the ride was open and running and we got to ride! The other line that was always crazy long was the Nemo Subs. Another morning, we went straight there to ride first.

Hey, we will be going to the Nemo subs soon in this TR. We must have been lucky, as we didn't have a long wait there at all. We saw how big the queue is, and it was strange that it was practically empty.

 

 

Agreed! The effect that those wires provide are ALL worth it!!

Well, shoot, that is one thing that we didn't get to see.

 

 

Awesome so far.

Glad you like it.

Stick around, we're just getting started.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

An update is on the way, but I need to backtrack a moment to share some of Twin #1's photos from our first day.  She posted these to her Facebook page and I swiped them.

 

This is the very first photo of the twins taken in Disneyland just prior to noon on Thursday, December 4:

 

 

And here they are at the Partners statue:

 

 

Twin #1 in front of the third Disney Parks castle she's seen in person:

 

 

Upon entering Adventureland:

 

 

Excited to see the original:

 

 

Our first lunch:

 

 

A nice fountain in New Orleans Square:

 

 

A photo from the Magical Map show:

 

 

Chip and Dale's house:

 

 

Minnie's house:

 

 

In the Indiana Jones queue:

 

 

Me driving the Jeep in Indiana Jones:

 

 

Dole Whip:

 

 

Twin #1 with her favorite tiki:

 

 

Saying hello to the original Jose:

 

 

 

The fountain in the Tiki Room:

 

 

Before we knew better:

 

 

The special Haunted Mansion Holiday sign:

 

 

I forgot to mention that when we came back in to Disneyland to see the fireworks that first night, we ran right into Santa Goofy:

 

 

A couple of photos from our late dinner at In-n-Out:

 

 

 

I'll have some more Twin #1 photos to share, but those are the ones from day one.

 

An update picking up from where we left off is on the way!

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

I'm anxiously awaiting your next update!

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

 

 

Eight nights must have been awesome.  But was it too long?

 

 

TCD

We're there 8 nights in April, but for the way we tour, I don't think it will be too long. We're not renting a car the entire time, but we may pick up one for one or two days, just to drive around the desert some.

 

I'm also hoping their is not much cloud cover on the flight out there or back. Would love to see the mountains. I flew at night the last time both legs and didn't see nuttin!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I'm anxiously awaiting your next update!

 

It will be here sooner than you think.  Like immediately after I post this.

 

We're there 8 nights in April, but for the way we tour, I don't think it will be too long. We're not renting a car the entire time, but we may pick up one for one or two days, just to drive around the desert some.

 

I'm also hoping their is not much cloud cover on the flight out there or back. Would love to see the mountains. I flew at night the last time both legs and didn't see nuttin!

 

If you're going to branch out in to the surrounding area, then I can see 8 nights.  We were just there for four nights this time, and except for our field trip to In-n-Out, we didn't see or do anything else but Disneyland and California Adventure.  Because of our flight schedule, we got five park days in, and that was just right. 

 

Because this was just a four night trip, the cost of the car rental ended up being less that taking the shuttle both ways would have been for us.  We would have been fine without a car, though.

 

We had a lot of clouds on our flight to LA, but did see a few mountains poking through.  We flew back at night.  Our plane had interactive maps in the seat-back monitors, and there was a setting on there where they would point out the points of interest that we flew by.  I wish we had that when we flew in the daylight.  it was still cool at night, because I could tell what the bright lights off in the distance were from.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

It's Monday, and we need an update.

 

We left off aboard the Alice in Wonderland ride.  We ended up liking the ride more than we expected to.  They have clearly upgraded the technology in there, and it is much better than some of the other old dark rides.

 

We passed the White Rabbit's house as we exited:

 

 

And, the entrance to the tea cups was there, so:

 

 

Look, Ma, no roof!:

 

 

A ride called Storybook Boats was across the path here.  Unfortunately for us, it was down for a refurb the entire time we were here.  The rumor we heard is so they can add a "Frozen" scene to the ride:

 

 

I chose to ride in my own teacup so the twins could be free to spin all they wanted.  And they did:

 

 

There's that Matterhorn again:

 

 

After the tea cups, we headed over to Small World to see how bad the line was.

 

It wasn't too bad, so we went for it.

 

The Merida meet and greet area is over this way too.  We found it interesting how small and simple it is compared to where Merida meets at the MK:

 

 

We saw Small World all lit up the night before.  During the day, you really can't see the special lights:

 

 

Now here's something different- the Disneyland Small World ride loads outside.  And they don't even have the load/unload area under cover:

 

 

Here we are aboard our boat heading in to see the show.  This would have been cool to do at night with the lights on, but we never made it back to do that:

 

 

As mentioned earlier, Small World is another Disneyland ride that gets a holiday overlay.

 

We saw the first evidence of the holiday overlay as we entered:

 

 

 

So there were decorations added.  And there was new music. These dolls were singing a version of Jingle Bells, not "That Song." :

 

 

There was a special holiday greeting as we entered each new room:

 

 

Look, Season's Greetings and a Christmas Tree:

 

 

As we cruised along, we heard a kid shout out, "Oh, it's Tinkerbell!" Sure enough, it was:

 

 

This room had a Happy New Year message:

 

 

In Italy, we found Pinocchio:

 

 

And it was here that we realized that there is something fun here at Disneyland's IASW ride- they have Disney characters hidden in with the creepy dolls.

 

Look, up there on the flying carpet- it's Aladdin and Jasmine:

 

 

And there's Abu:

 

 

Look, it's a Mushu kite (and it was being flown by Mulan) :

 

 

There go Simba and Pumba:

 

 

Here in the Feliz Navidad room, we find the Three Caballeros:

 

 

Ariel and Flounder:

 

 

And Dory and Marlin:

 

 

Here we have Lilo, Stich, and even an Elvis bobblehead on a surfboard:

 

 

This room featured the dolls singing Mele Kalikimaka:

 

 

Woody, Bullseye, and Jessie:

 

 

The holiday decorations were great and plentiful:

 

 

The final room featured the song Peace on Earth:

 

 

Like the Haunted Mansion overlay, the holiday treatment of IASW essentially created a new ride.  It was a lot of fun to see the decorations and to not hear "That Song" over and over again as we rode.  We understood then why Disneyland's IASW had such a long line all the time.

 

Next up, we head to Tomorrowland.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

It is so neat that they decorate IASW for Christmas!  And that they incorporate Disney characters!

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Loving this TR!!

 

I love that they added Disney characters to IASW.  They could do that at WDW.  I wish they would do that and the holiday overlay.

[Northerngirl--Lori 5]

I'm still loving this report! Thank you for sharing Twin # 1's picture! I want an In-n-Out burger now. They looked so good!  I wish the Magic Kingdom would decorate IASW like that, I would love to see it.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Good job swiping the pictures. She got some good ones. 

 

I actually knew they they had characters there in IASW, but I've never seen the pictures of them. I like it! 

[alexwyattmommy 181]

WooHoo, page 9.  I am here.  And man, thanks to you and Ray and I really want to the land of hippies.

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

The IASW ride seems cool.

WDW should do that.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

It is so neat that they decorate IASW for Christmas!  And that they incorporate Disney characters!

 

I enjoyed it much more than I expected to.  They really added a lot of decorations.  I think the Disney characters are in there all the time.  I also liked that they had some new songs in there!

 

Loving this TR!!

 

I love that they added Disney characters to IASW.  They could do that at WDW.  I wish they would do that and the holiday overlay.

 

Yes, they could do that at WDW?

 

Which begs the question:  Why don't they?

 

I'm still loving this report! Thank you for sharing Twin # 1's picture! I want an In-n-Out burger now. They looked so good!  I wish the Magic Kingdom would decorate IASW like that, I would love to see it.

 

I would definitely like to go back to In-n-Out. 

 

I also wish the MK would do a holiday overlay on IASW. It would make it something special to do for the holidays.

 

Good job swiping the pictures. She got some good ones. 

 

I actually knew they they had characters there in IASW, but I've never seen the pictures of them. I like it! 

 

Twin #1 is a  great photographer.  She was just using her phone on the first day.  There will be some swiped photos later taken with her good camera.

 

I probably only got photos of half the Disney characters we saw in IASW, and I'm sure there are some we missed too.  It's a simple thing that added interest to an otherwise dull ride.

 

WooHoo, page 9.  I am here.  And man, thanks to you and Ray and I really want to the land of hippies.

 

Page 9 bragging rights to you.

 

If you go, watch out for the hippies. They're everywhere.

 

The IASW ride seems cool.

WDW should do that.

 

I think we are all in agreement on that point.

 

But, WDW doesn't spend money on stuff guests would like- they spend it on Magic Bands and scanners that don't work and stuff like that.

 

You're a DVC member- you ought to price air fare to Cali some time.

 

TCD

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

A Cali trip and an Aulani trip are both on the to do list.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

A Cali trip and an Aulani trip are both on the to do list.

 

Let me know if you need a tour guide in Cali.

 

I'll get a plaid vest.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I'm going to squeeze in another update today.

 

I have to, or this TR will never get done.

 

We left off as we were finishing with the Small World ride.

 

Despite our slow start with a couple of rides going down early, we ended up doing pretty well in that first hour, and it was great that we got on to IASW with almost no wait. Later today, guests will be waiting an hour to ride.

 

We got in the Small World queue at about 9:05, and were loaded and riding by 9:12.  It was 9:24 as we headed back out past these giant postcards:

 

 

After getting out of the boat and heading out the exit, it was 9:28 by my watch, and something was happening up on the tower with that smiley face. Some doors had opened on the side to reveal a couple toy soldiers:

 

 

Little figures began to parade out of the door under the smiley face.  Something was going on.  Then the big doors under the face opened:

 

 

All of that was to let us know that it was now 9:30 (it was actually a couple of minutes fast) :

 

 

We later learned that this show goes on every fifteen minutes here.  I think the clock at WDW's IASW does this too, but you can't see it unless you're in the queue.  And hopefully you're not going to be in that queue long enough to see that happen too often.

 

From here, we headed next door to Tomorrowland- we had seen that there was a path that went around the back of the Matterhorn and we took that.  The first attraction we came to in Tomorrowland were the Nemo Subs:

 

 

We had heard that these often involved a long wait, so we wanted to check out the wait time before committing to ride.  We headed around the lagoon to the ride entrance.

 

On the way there, we ran into this California Girl (or is it a guy?) with full sleeves of Disney tattoos:

 

 

We found the sub queue and were surprised to see the posted wait time was only 10 minutes!

 

We could see that the queue was huge, with lots of posts  and chains, but it was practically empty.  So in we went, almost all the way up to the place they board.

 

The monorail cruises over the lagoon, and this was our first good look at it.  I still didn't understand at this point how the Disneyland monorail works. There is no entrance for it near the park entrance.  You enter back here in Tomorrowland:

 

 

Hey- do you see that old gentleman there with the "90" on the back of his shirt?  It was his 90th birthday, and his family had matching t-shirts to commemorate that. He was the birthday boy:

 

 

I told the twins that I was going to come here on my 90th birthday and do that, and they would have to remember for me.  They said they would.  I would appreciate it if y'all would remind them when that time comes.  Only 37 more years to go!

 

I remember riding the 20,000 League subs at the MK, but I don't remember them loading in the back and the front like these subs do:

 

 

We were directed to the front of the sub, and got to get a good look at this state of the art 1960's era control panel:

 

 

I got a good look at the sub as we boarded through the forward hatch:

 

 

Guests have to descend down narrow spiral staircases:

 

 

There was a warning out front about not riding if you don't like dark, confined spaces.  It was a bit cozy in here:

 

 

It didn't help matters that the guests next to me had just two seats for their party of three:

 

 

The mechanics of this ride are a lot like how I remember the 20K subs.  A lot of bubbles come up, and the sub starts moving, and tilts slightly while they play audio telling us that we're diving.  When the bubbles clear, we are supposed to be deep in the ocean. Never mind that you can see the surface of the water by simply looking up through the porthole:

 

 

We traveled through the open part of the lagoon, and came across a scuba diver who had a familiar name and address written on his mask strap:

 

 

Then we entered the cave part of the ride, and there were animated scenes a lot like the Nemo ride at Epcot.  The effects and audio were very well done.  They don't play the "Big Blue World" song like they do at Epcot though. 

 

Here's a look at one of the subs as seen from the boarding area- and the Matterhorn again:

 

 

Here's a sub about to enter the dark part of the ride:

 

 

Since we no longer have a submarine ride at  WDW, the closest ride this can be compared to is the Nemo ride at Epcot. These subs blow that away.  It's a much longer ride, and the effects simply work better as seen from a submarine window under water.  We don't have to pretend we're underwater, we are- and you can't see the wires and other apparatus like you can on the Epcot ride.

 

So, how come Disneyland still has their subs and we don't?

 

One thing I vividly remember from the WDW subs is that there was always water in them. The window leaked, and there would be water on the floor when you entered.

 

But, that could have been fixed.

 

In the long run, it must have been cheaper to scrap them and let the land sit empty for ten years.

 

Now we have the Mine Train ride.

 

Big Whoop.

 

I'd rather have the subs.

 

But, that's not going to happen.

 

Time to move on.

 

It was 10;06 as we came to Disneyland's Innoventions.  It's in this big two story cylindrical building:

 

 

You can meet Thor and Captain America in there.

 

You heard me.

 

They have Marvel characters in there.

 

And you can meet them.

 

They can't do that in WDW because of some contractual limitations that were in the contract when Disney bought the rights to Marvel.

 

But, Innoventions doesn't open until 11, and we're early.

 

Oh, and do you know what used to be in that building?

 

The Carousel of Progress.

 

It was on the first floor.

 

And a giant model of the City of Tomorrow (aka EPCOT) was on the top floor.  But, they moved the COP to Florida, along with parts of the model (you can see parts of it on the WDW Peoplemover).  So, now that big building houses Disneyland's Innoventions.

 

Since Innoventions wasn't open until 11, I suggested that we get Space Mountain Fastpasses, and the ride a slow moving ride while we waited for those to be good.

 

And that's what we did.

 

Which meant we had to go here:

 

 

This is just like the MK's racecars.  I thought that the Disneyland version was upgraded and cooler, but I was wrong.

 

They do pass out driver's licenses, though:

 

 

While we were waiting in the queue here, we could see the tracks from Disneyland's Peoplemover, which is no longer in operation:

 

 

 

Finally, we've seen a couple of things that are better at WDW than they are at Disneyland-  we have COP and our Peoplemover works.  So our Tomorrowland wins.

 

We could see the monorail cruising by, and I noticed something strange- you can open the windows on the Disneyland monorail:

 

 

The Tomorrowland Train Station is right here near the Autopia, and it looked like the monorail station was nearby too:

 

 

There goes that sideways facing train again:

 

 

I don't know where I got the idea that Disneyland's race care ride was better than WDW's but it looked to be about the same to me:

 

 

The twins got to go in the car in front of mine:

 

 

The course you ride on at Disneyland has some interesting features, like this Car Park:

 

 

And there's an "off road" part:

 

 

In the end, it's still the same boring ride, with really slow cars on crowded tracks.

 

Yawn.

 

Still, it didn't take us that long to cross this one off of our list.  We still had some time before our Space Mountain return time, so we were going to go and check on Star Tours and their Buzz ride.

 

That's where we're going to head next.

 

TCD