Originally Posted By NYthrillseeker Well, I FINALLY made it back. I went to Disneyland this past Wednesday for my first time since August 27, 1988. Like Gaston Lives, I would like to give a full report on my trip, but being I am pressed for time, I will probably have to make it as short as possible. First of all, I must say I had a wonderful time. The park was crowded (well at least it seemed crowded compared to crowds in November at Magic Kingdom). Seeing Sleeping Beauty's castle at the end of Main Street again was something kind of thrilling and yet surprising. I remembered the castle being small (not having seen it since I was 13), but being so used to Cinderella's at MK, I was shocked to realize how small it actually was. Looking down Main Street I almost missed it! Starting with Main Street, I enjoyed seeing the signs reading Penny Arcade and Crystal Arcade on the facades. These are things lost to MK. Main Street in WDW has become one gigantic Disney Store recently, and it was good to see these things still there. We first ventured over to Adventureland and did the Indiana Jones ride. Wow! That was an awesome ride, and I agree with Gaston, this is something MK really needs! Very similar to Dinosaur in Animal Kingdom (as far as the vehicle goes), but different in detail. Very enjoyable and lots of fun! After Indy we moved on to Pirates. Having forgotten almost my entire trip decades ago, I enjoyed the completely different outside and queue for this ride. I loved seeing the Blue Bayou on the ride, and desperately wanted a reservation afterwards, but unfortunately they were booked. I should have looked into that further before going. The ride had a few additional scenes from the one in MK, and I loved it. Then it was on to the HM, which also was different than MK, and seemed to have more going on. Even the crystal oracle was floating whereas in MK it sits on the table! We did the canoe ride around Tom Sawyer's Island which isn't offered in MK, Splash Mountain which was similar to MK, and Winnie the Pooh before finally moving to Fantasyland. We hit all the major rides but unfortunately we were never able to do Nemo's submarine voyage because the line was just so long all day at over 90 minutes. I understand this line gets up to 3 hours, but at 90 minutes I was not going to wait on it while I could be doing other things. I also skipped Space Mountain because of the hour wait. I love roller coasters, but I had only 1 day in the park, so I wasn't going to wait. I did practically every other ride in the park except Roger Rabbit which was down when I got there. The following day we went to DCA for my very first time, and I really enjoyed it. I know other LPers aren't too crazy about it, but I liked it much more than I like MGM in Florida. Many more rides, even if some are carnival style, they were still lots of fun. California Screamin was awesome although I only got to ride it once. We ate at the Wine Country Trattoria, where I enjoyed a nice glass of Chardonnay and watched the Electrical Parade go by. We followed it up with a few hours at Downtown Disney. Overall my trip was very very enjoyable, and I would love to return much sooner than 2026 (another 19 years). Now having Disneyland fresh in my memory, I would still prefer WDW only because it's simply much larger and has more parks, but I think I definitely prefer DL over MK. Great trip! I want to go back!!
Originally Posted By ABBY Sounds like fun! <<Even the crystal oracle was floating whereas in MK it sits on the table>> If my memory serves me the crystal oracle used to sit on the table at DL too. I think that changed sometime after 2003...(?) I really enjoy DCA too. You're not alone : )
Originally Posted By ShivaThDestroyer Abby, Madame Leota starting floating after the make over was completed in May of last year. (when they changed the bride's attic chamber) She was back down on the table during HMH and I've seen her both ways on different trips this year. NYthrillseeker, Thanks for the post. You sounded like you had a wonderful time! I like the DCA too, it seemed like it was missing something the first 18 months it was open but the magic pixie dust has been floating over from DL and it just keeps getting better and better.
Originally Posted By Tiggirl Sounds like you had a fun time! Thanks for sharing! Its always interesting reading from someone who usually frequents WDW to see how they like Disneyland since I was the oposite. ) ~Beth
Originally Posted By NYthrillseeker <Its always interesting reading from someone who usually frequents WDW to see how they like Disneyland> Yes, it was weird. When I go to WDW I almost feel like a 'regular' even though I live over 1000 miles from there. But being that it's 'my local resort' I know what to expect, and my excitement level (although always high) wasn't nearly what it was last week visiting DL for the first time in nearly 2 decades. I was SO excited, and loved every minute of it. My only regret was not being able to do Nemo, but I only had a day for each park, and I just didn't want to wait. I took loads of pictures, and I'll definitely be back, so California people, you'll be seeing me again!
