The SO and I are going to Disneyland in Aneheim sunday and I’m rather excited. Haven’t been there in like 25 years. We live maybe an hour from the park so it’s just a daytrip.
I know tons of things have changed in that time so the question for you dopers is, what should we absolutely not miss while there?
Disneyland is my heaven. I was planning on going on Sept 3rd, but I’m instead going to Washington DC on Sept 13. Anyway, I am the Disney master-- if you have any questions, I’ll be happy to field them :).
Anyway, the Blue Bayou (the restaurant in Pirates of the Caribbean) recently reopened with a more upscale menu. It’s a bit pricey (at about $20 a person, give or take), but the food is pretty good and you simply can’t beat the atmosphere! Ask for a table by the water- so fun! You’ll be stuffed too, so if you are a light eater, you can split a plate with someone for a $5 fee (you split the entree, but you both get full sides, salads, and bread). If nothing else, pop in for dessert. For the Bayou, it’s best to make reservations. 714-781-DINE is the number.
The monorail is closed for renovation, but everything else is open!
Check out Space Mountain, it recently reopened after a long renovation. The track is much smoother and the ride is much fun. Pirates of the Caribbean was also recently redone.
If you haven’t been in 25 years, you haven’t been on Indiana Jones! If there is a long line, ask the cast member for a decoder map- that way you can pass your time translating the inscriptions on the temple.
Also, make sure you take advantage of Fast Pass. I usually grab one for Indiana, Big Thunder Mountain, and/ or Splash Mountain. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to get one for Space Mountain.
If you have any specific questions, I can help you out. So, ask away!
I just went, for the first time in 5 years. The upgrades for me were Pirates (nice job!), Space Mountain (yay!) and Tower of Terror, at Disney California Adventure. ToT is *extremely * cool.
I was there on a Sunday, Monday & Tuesday in August, and the longest line I stood in was 40 minutes (for Space Mtn) – without Fast Pass. I was pleasantly surprised.
The bummer: the fireworks, which are by all accounts spectacular (for the 50th anniversary) were cancelled all 3 nights, due to “high winds”. I also have a feeling that their standard for “high winds” is driven by cranky neighbors who resent having ashes fall on their cars.
The lines in Fantasyland tend to thin out a bit around sunset as the little kids start to crash.
It takes forever to get on Dumbo. Don’t bother unless you REALLY can’t bear to miss it. Ditto on the boat ride through storybook land. Ditto the Astro Orbitor.
On the other hand, the line for It’s a Small World goes really fast. Don’t be daunted by it. Go see Mary Blair’s masterpiece.
If you have a park-hopper pass, wander next door to California Adventure and ride Soaring. It’s the best ride in the park and better than a lot of the rides in Disneyland.
Blue Bayou is definited the best food in Disneyland, but you MUST have a reservation. The Plaza Inn on Main Street is decent and since it’s on the way out it’s a spot for dinner. The food in Torrowland sucks.
Oh please, don’t let them scare you off with that hooey. Sundays are pretty slow days- plus most schools in CA started last week.
Sundays are a GREAT day to go- I mean, it wont be as dead as a Wed, but it’s fine. I can get on every major ride within 2 hours- it takes skill :), but if you’d like, I can give you my Master Disneyland Plan through email (it’s just a pain to type out. . . and it involves diagrams:) ).
Think about a season pass while you’re there…even one of the lower-level ones. Jakeline and I love (although we haven’t done it all that often this year) to run down there first thing Sunday morning. Last time, we went down in time for Disneyland to open, rode the new Pirates of the Caribbean, rode the Haunted Mansion, and maybe one other ride that I’m forgetting. Then we sat down to a nice breakfast, strolled over to California Adventure just before they opened, and then rode the rollercoaster (twice) and a couple of other rides and called it a day. We didn’t encounter a line on anything we rode. There’s no need to feel like you have to make an entire day of it with the pass, and it’s a very pleasant way to pass a weekend morning before the crowds take over.
If both you and he can get your Sunday mornings free, it could be completely worthwhile for you.
I would actually disagree with this, because many of the activities that are sunlight dependant begin closing around sunset as well, so I’ve found that people flock toward Fantasyland–and since none of the diorama rides are Fast Pass (IIRC), you have to ask yourself, “Do I really want to stand in line for an hour for Peter Pan/Pinocchio/Snow White/Mr. Toad/etc.?”
The answer is probably No, since the most psychadlic of the diorama rides is the newest one the OP will not have seen–the Winnie-the-Pooh one in Critter Country.
If it’s been 25 years since you’ve last been there, there’s one thing you should know off the bat: Back then, it was perfectly possible to see/do just about everything you wanted to do (i.e. most of the park) in one day, if you managed your time and went from Opening to Closing. Now, it’s absolutely impossible, so if you’re only planning on putting in a day’s worth, start thinking ahead about what’s on your Priority List. Also, Tomorrow Land feels more like Yesterday Land now and is probably the most expendable of all the areas.
Since you don’t have kids, I’d also argue that there’s little in California Adventures that’s worth visiting (unless you want to go on all those generic Boardwalk Rides). There are a few interesting novelty rides (Tower, Soarin’) but I think most of the rest is not really worth the trouble (and are similar enough to other rides elsewhere that you’re not missing much).
And I’m going to agree with ArchiveGuy about California Adventure. I went there once because I had a two-fer pass (for So Cal residents). Tower of Terror was good (not as good as the one in Disneyworld, I’d argue) and Grizzly Rapids was fun. So was the roller coaster (I was surpised it was so fast. . . I mean, it’s DISNEYLAND! lol). Other than those things ,though, there wasn’t a whole lot to do.
I’ll also agree on Tomorrowland- the only reason I go there is Space Mountain. If we’ve already hit all our favorite, bigger stuff, then we go on Star Tours. Other than that, I find Innoventions sort of lame, as well as the Autopia and Honey I shrunk the Audience.
And again, I agree with Fantasyland. I save Fantasyland for last, because those are the rides that I consider fun, but not crucial to a visit. I usually try to hit one or two of the diorama rides, just for old time’s sake.
My favorite land is New Orleans, followed up with Adventureland, and Frontierland. Critter Country is fun, although it is lacking (and missing the wonderful Country Bears!!). In fact, I pretty much stick to that end of the park.
As far as the Pooh ride in Critter Country- it almost never has a line. You can just pop right in and right out. Now, Pooh is no Country Bear Jamboree (me? Bitter? Nah!), but it it sort of funny because it is like Pooh on acid.
A rant for another day, but you’re right. The Tomorrowland remodel was a disaster, both from a thematic sense and a fun sense. The old (circa 1970) TL was all excited about American know-how & technology. The new one went with a Jules Verne retro look, looking towards the past, instead of the future. They ripped out: CircleVision, Monsanto Ride, Carousel of Progress and People Mover, and put in Rocket Rods, which was a technical fiasco until it had its plug mercifully pulled.
The new Buzz Lightyear ride is kinda fun, though. That, and Space Mountain, are about the only reason to go to TL.
Diosa, I think you’d have to fight my brother for the title of Disney Master.
The monorail isn’t quite closed; it just does one way trips between Tomorrowland and Downtown Disney. But since those were the only two stops anyway, it’s not much of a change.
Indiana Jones is a definite top of list. It’s the only ride where I don’t mind standing in line, because the line experience is almost as cool as the ride.
I sense a Disney-off coming on. . .
And Antinor01, I’ll pop that email off to you today. I got distracted by shopping last night (for instance, were you aware that if you go to the meat counter at closing, they’ll give you ground beef for like, 60 cents a pound? Score one for college students).
Some of those Fantasyland rides are fun and actually mean more to adults than to kids. For instance, in the Peter Pan ride I’m now much more aware of what it means to be flying over, specifically, Victorian London than I was as a tot, so that part of the ride is more enjoyable. I think what I most enjoy doing at Disneyland, with regard to the older rides with more primitive FX, is to suspend my disbelief and enjoy it as I would live theater.