…is another man’s treasure! Such a true statement…
A while back, I went to a garage sale in the San Fernando Valley. I was looking through a shoebox filled with old Christmas ornaments and something caught my eye. A plastic bag holding a few ornaments looked awfully familiar. I reached in the box, pulled out the bag, and I then realized why it looked so familiar. It was a classic 1980s Disneyland bag! I remember those bags so well from the park in the good old days! They have so many great park images on it from Pirates of the Caribbean to the Haunted Mansion! I took the bag that no doubt would have been thrown in the trash after the sale and it now sits in my Disneyland collection.
On July 22, 1994, Walt Disney World unveiled a brand new attraction that would redefine what an E Ticket really is. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror opened that summer and blew guests away. It has the detail of rides like Pirates of the Caribbean and the thrill of rides like Space Mountain. Tower of Terror is a truly unique attraction and it is a prime example of Imagineering at its best. Here are some photos I took from my last trip to Walt Disney World in December 2010.
July 17, 2011 marks the 56th birthday of the happiest place on Earth: Disneyland! I had to be there!
Unfortunately, there seemed to be a lack of celebration for the park’s birthday. The only thing that gave a hint that the park was celebrating an anniversary were the buttons Cast Members were wearing. I did hear that earlier in the day there was a little event involving nearly all the park’s walk around characters!
July 17, 2011 also marks the first time we enter Disney California Adventure through the new Pan Pacific turnstiles! It really looks beautiful and even better at night! I’m so happy with it.
During the Day
At Night
The first thing we decided to do was Goofy’s Sky School, but it was closed unfortunately. We had asked a Cast Member why the ride was closed and if he knew when it would reopen. He gave the most robotic and rehearsed response we have ever heard. It was kind of funny.
So instead, we went to the Paradise Garden area of DCA and enjoyed some pizza and pasta. As I said in the last trip report, the area is so wonderful. It is such a welcomed addition to DCA. And the food was pretty delicious too. I like that flat bread pizza much more than Disneyland’s Pizza Port.
Pizza & Pasta!
Pepperoni Pizza
After dinner, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom. We decided to see the Magic, Memories, and You presentation displayed on the facade of it’s a small world. We had yet to see the show and it was quite enjoyable. The projections on the small world facade were top notch and looked wonderful. I just wish that they displayed images of Disneyland rather than people’s home movies and pictures. I don’t quite understand why people would want to see someone else’s home movies. Even so, the show was fun and it even had a fireworks finale!
Projections on the Facade
Then it was time to see the new fireworks show for the summer: Magical. While nothing can compete with the 50th anniversary fireworks show, Magical was still really good. It did a great job interweaving different Disney tales and the appearances of Tinker Bell and Dumbo flying over Sleeping Beauty Castle were breathtaking. I got so emotional when Dumbo was flying over the Kingdom. It was one of the best Disney moments I had ever experienced.
Fireworks over the Castle
It's Dumbo, the Flying Elephant!!!!
It was then time for Pirates of the Caribbean and it was quite the experience. While in line, a highly intoxicated girl started to chat us up. She decided that we were all best friends and she insisted that we ride with her. I was a little upset because I wanted to enjoy the ride and not have her babbling throughout. My Girlfriend, Inthia was seated right next to her. The Drunk Girl talked on and on about hidden mickeys and how her sister was eating at Club 33 and spending a “million-bajillion” dollars. On the drops, the girl held tightly onto Inthia’s arm and basically hugged her throughout the ride. She also kept insisted on getting pictures with Inthia. She was very annoying, but it was a good story worth telling. At the end of the ride, she just ran off like she had never met us before. She was a very strange girl. Even with the intoxicated girl, the ride was great. The guy in the middle waiting to be dunked is still missing. Everything else looked as good as can be.
Inthia and Her New Best Friend
Mark Well Me Words Mateys...
We then went over to the Haunted Mansion hoping we would not run into that girl again. Thankfully, we didn’t see her. The ride was great as always. Everything seemed to be working well and I didn’t see any changes from the previous visit. And Madame Leota was still floating.
Grim Grinning Ghosts Come Out To Socialize!
The night ended with a trip on the Disneyland Railroad through the Grand Canyon and Primeval World. The train is one of my favorite things to do at Disneyland and it is the perfect way to end the night. We caught the train in New Orleans Square and sat in the back. I love the Grand Canyon and Primeval World. I love the amount of detail and the wonderful backdrop painting. It is one of those timeless things that does not seem to change with time. On this particular trip, the T-Rex vs. Stegasaurs scene was covered up for a refurbishment. It was really strange to see all the great dinosaurs and not have that incredible finale. Oh well… As long as I get some dinosaurs, I’m happy.
The Grand Canyon
Primeval World
The train made its way to Main Street where we departed and exited the Magic Kingdom. It was a fine birthday for the park, even if it was low key. Happy Birthday Disneyland! I can’t wait to visit you for many more years to come!
Sunday afternoon we arrived to the Disneyland Resort and made our way to Disney California Adventure.
The entrance to DCA is really coming along and it should be ready within a week. I must say it really looks great. It makes me very excited for all of the changes coming to the main entrance of the park. I can’t wait to see Buena Vista Street completed with Carthay Circle Theatre looming in the distance.
The first ride we went to was The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure. The line was posted at 20 minutes, but it only took about 10. I love how many people can get through the ride. It really is one of the best loading situations Disney has ever produced. The ride was great as always. I can look at those animatronics all day!
Look at this stuff! Isn't it neat?
We then went over the the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, but the wait was 50 minutes. So instead of riding, we just went inside the gift shop to look around. Then something strange happened. As I was walking through the shop, all of the sudden all of the lights turned off and the music stopped. It was pitch black inside. After a few seconds, the lights flickered back on and the music followed soon after. It was so eerie. It really felt like the Tower was losing power (which it was). It really was a great unintended effect. Unfortunately, all of DCA lost power at that point. Everyone was evacuated from the Tower and it remained closed for at least an hour.
The Hollywood Tower Hotel
Bellhops mark the entrance to the closed attraction.
So we walked over to Goofy’s Sky School, but that was closed too due to the power outage. The Little Mermaid ride was closed as well. So we went to the new Paradise Garden section of Paradise Pier. It really looks great. The amount of detail is terrific and there are many plants and trees, which DCA badly needed. It felt like Main Street at Disneyland. The menus look good at the new restaurants too, but we did not try any of the food. That will have to wait till next time!
The Band Stand at Paradise Garden
Paradise Pizza!
Then we walked over to the newly themed Redwood Creek Wilderness Explorer Camp. The camp is themed after Pixar’s Up. It is pretty much exactly the same, except you now do these activities to earn merit badges. When entering, you are given a map of the area and after you complete the activity listed, you scratch off the badge. It was a fun time and kids really seem to enjoy it.
The Camp Map
Earn Your Badges!
We then went back over to Goofy’s Sky School to see if it was open and it was! This would be my first trip on the newly themed attraction. While it is a fun ride, it is pretty much exactly the same as Mulholland Madness. They just added new billboards featuring Goofy. The only thing I wish they did was put speakers in the cars and have the classic Goofy “How to” narrator speak as you “fly” around. Oh well… It is still a very thrilling little ride, however.
Finally Open!
Take Flight!
After our flight with Goofy, we walked over to Disneyland and headed for Pirates of the Caribbean. The middle guy waiting to be dunked in the well is still missing, but the ride was excellent. The lighting really seemed to be perfect on this particular trip through the Caribbean.
We Wants the Red Head!
It was now dinner time and we went to the French Market for some roast beef. It was near the end of the night, so I didn’t get the best roast beef. It was a little tough, but still good. And those mashed potatoes are a masterpiece!
Roast Beef
After dinner, we went to the Haunted Mansion to visit some spooks. I didn’t notice anything different about the ride during this visit. Everything seemed to be working great. The ghost we got in our doombuggy was Gus (The little guy with the beard). And yes, Madame Leota was floating!
The Haunted Mansion
We then took a walk around the park going through Tomorrowland and ending up at Casey Jr.’s Circus Train in Fantasyland. We rode the caboose of Casey Jr., as that’s the best seat in the house! I can’t say enough about how much I enjoy this ride. I really love it. I love how close you get to the little mountains above Pinocchio’s village. That might be my favorite part of the ride.
All Aboard! Let's Go!
It was near closing by this time so we just took one last look around Fantasyland and headed home having spent a wonderful night at the Magic Kingdom.
The Disney History Institute just posted incredible video involving the infamous Hatbox Ghost at the Haunted Mansion. Up until now, no one knew if the Hatbox Ghost existed within the walls of the Mansion.
Watch the video below to see the history of this amazing figure. (Also notice those great bronze plaques on the Mansion!)
A few weeks ago, I went to the Walt Disney Family Museum for the first time. I had been wanting to go for the last several years and I finally made it! And boy did it pay off.
The Walt Disney Family Museum
The Museum lies in an old historic building in the Presidio section of San Francisco. The surrounding forests and national cemetery make this location a perfect spot for the museum.
Right around the corner is the National Cemetery.
Banners show the way as to what building the museum is located in. Another hint is on the front lawn: There sits a life size portrait of Walt Disney surrounded by Mickey Mouse dolls. And guess what? One Mickey doll’s face is cut out so you can place your head inside! See below:
Greetings from the Museum!
Inside the lobby of the museum is the only place where photography is allowed. There one finds portraits of Walt and Lillian Disney along with hundreds of awards Walt has won in his lifetime. One glass case holds dozens of Oscars Walt has won including the special Oscar Shirley Temple presented to him for “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”.
And the Oscar goes to...Shirley Temple presenting Walt with the Oscar(s)
For us Disneyland fans, a special treat is located in the lobby. There, they have set up a replica of Walt’s apartment above the firehouse on Main Street at Disneyland. From the pictures I have seen of the original, it looks perfect.
Walt's Apartment
The Museum itself was incredible as it really is about Walt: the Man. There are many artifacts and photographs from his childhood days, his film and television days, and finally Disneyland. It was exciting to see cameras that Walt actually used to create his Alice shorts and other remarkable stories. When we get to the feature animation section of the museum, we find maquettes and artwork from “Snow White”, “Pinocchio”, and “Bambi” among others. It was really great to see these props that were so important to the production of these classic films.
The Disneyland section of the museum has some very neat things including a bust of Lincoln, which Blaine Gibson created for the New York World’s Fair (which later came to Disneyland), the animatronic torso of Lincoln, and an original Autopia car.
Then came the center piece of the Disneyland section. The Museum created a huge model of Disneyland, but this is Disneyland like you have never seen it before. This model included every attraction that Walt worked on personally, including those that he was not alive to see finished. What I really liked is that the Space Mountain which is displayed on the model is made to look like the John Hench concept artwork. The concept is all Walt saw of Space Mountain, so that was what was included. I also really loved how there are little figures (some animated) on the model. Behind the Pirates of the Caribbean building, there were little figures of the pirate on the barrels, the pirate on the cannon, and the Wicked Wench. Splashes were molded into the water and red lights would shine from the inside of those splashes. The Haunted Mansion had the hitchhiking ghosts, small world had children of the world spinning behind its facade, and Nature’s Wonderland had the spinning rocks! It was really one of the most incredible and detailed models I have ever seen. That alone is worth the price of admission.
Just a hint of the incredible model
Then came the conclusion to the Museum, which is heartbreaking. Old fashioned televisions and radios announce the death of Walt Disney and there is an entire wall of artwork from different newspapers announcing the death of Walt. Also on that wall were condolence telegrams from countless celebrities of film, television, and politics.
The World Cries for Walt
The Walt Disney Family Museum really does a remarkable job on giving us the story of Walt himself. Many kids forget that Disney was an actual person. This Museum helps remind us that Walt was real and that he touched the world. I highly recommend that every Disney fan visits this Museum. We all need to keep sight of one thing… It was all started by Walt.
Dusk was upon us on a Sunday in June. Disneyland of course was in store!
When we got to the park, we decided to enter in a unique way. We took the Monorail at the end of Downtown Disney! I love taking the Monorail into the park. It’s a nice way to avoid lines of people, plus you get a great trip out of it! I love gliding above Tomorrowland and looking at the abandoned tracks of where the People Mover once traveled.
Here Comes the Monorail!How I wish these were in use.
Taking the Monorail was really just for fun since we decided to go to DCA after arriving to Disneyland. We went to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and boy was it a great ride. The first scene, when your elevator is backing up, seemed to be freshly painted. The door looked great with its drybrush technique of Black Light paint. Also there seemed to be a lot more Black Light paint for the starfield effect on the doors. Of course the little LED lights were still there as well. The rest of the ride was just as great as it always is.
TOT
After the Tower, we made our way to Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train. It’s the funniest Disney ride I have ever been on. It is so short and simple that it makes it hilarious! For some reason, I really love it though. From the dripping watermelon to the smell of animal crackers, the Chew Chew Train is very memorable.
The Chew Chew Train!A Dripping Wet and Delicious Watermelon!
We then went to see if Goofy’s Sky School was doing a soft opening, but it wasn’t unfortunately. It looked like there was a vehicle on the tracks that was stuck and a family was being evacuated. That’s too bad. I haven’t been on Goofy’s Sky School yet, but I have been reading negative reviews of the ride. I don’t really understand why though. What do people expect? It’s the same exact ride as Mullhullond Madness except they put Goofy billboards up instead. I’m sure it’s a fun little ride and I don’t think it hurts the atmosphere for Paradise Pier at all. I think it looks nice.
Goofy's Sky School!
It was now time for Disneyland and our first stop was the Disney Gallery. We noticed that they changed the little room that was filled with Pirates and Haunted Mansion artwork. It now has drawings of different Disney characters which are for sale. I was a little upset with that as I loved the artwork that was in there previously. They also put a sign in the Mary Blair exhibit explaining what it was all about. Unfortunately, the put the sign where all those pictures of Walt and Mary were.
Inside the Disney Gallery
After the Gallery, we were hungry so we made a stop at the Bengal Barbeque. It was delicious. I love the chicken skewers with the green onion!
Chicken Skewer for me!
Then came a ride on Pirates of the Caribbean. It was pretty much the same as the last visit. The middle guy waiting to be dunked in the well is still missing. One odd thing that happened on this trip was that the boats were all the way backed up to the “Pooped Pirate” scene. I had never seen it backed up that far. I thought that the ride was going to break down and we would be evacuated. But our boats slowly moved along through the burning city and me made our way up the waterfall.
The backed up boats helped us take this wonderful picture.
We went on The Haunted Mansion after that and as we were walking up, I could already hear the Ghost Host’s narration from outside. I hate going in once the Ghost Host has started his dialogue, so we stayed behind and waited for the next show. I don’t like it when the Cast Members force you inside when the narration has already started. That’s like missing a good portion of the ride. People don’t understand that, but if you’re a Disney nerd like me, you will get it. The ride ended up being great. Everything looked good and we got the tall skinny guy (Ezra) as our ghost to take home. Also I had noticed in the last few visits that an owl had been missing on a branch in the graveyard. For the longest time, only one owl was on the branch and I had sworn that there were supposed to be two. Well, the second bird is back and guess what? He has real feathers on him! It looked kind of funny like he was molting though, especially because the other owl doesn’t have authentic looking feathers. It’s still good to see those “love birds” are back and hooting away though.
A Big Old Mansion
We ended the night with a trip on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. It is such a fun and enjoyable ride. Of course, I always have to give a nice wink to the Buffalo and Moose from the Country Bears.
The Rain, Rain, Rain Came Down, Down, Down.
Here are a few pictures we took while walking around the parks:
The Majestic MatterhornThe sun pierces its way through the Matterhorn.Roses for your loved one?So Tasty!GRRGoofy's Fastpass MachinesTower QueueNew Cars Themed Paintings in the GalleryPainting in New OrleansA Stretching RoomHitchhiking GhostsThe ColumbiaThe Mark Twain
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is one of the premiere rides at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. It is a marvel in engineering, detail, and overall imagineering. But which Tower is better? Let’s take a look…
Disneyland ResortWalt Disney World
The Tower in Florida is more ominous and full of detail. It is 199 feet compared to DCA’s 183. But what adds to the overwhelming structure is that it is built on a hill as well.
The queue in Florida is perhaps the best I have ever experienced. You enter an overgrown garden that winds its way to the Hotel lobby. In DCA, we do not get this. Most of the outer queue in DCA is in a little section on the side of the Tower where you go back and forth.
DCA's Outdoor Queue
WDW's Winding Garden Queue
The lobby is better in Florida as well. The spider webs look more authentic and there are a few more things to see like a concierge desk. The detail that I love in DCA’s lobby is the little doll on the couch. It is very creepy and a great addition.
Notice the Doll in DCA's LobbyWDW's Lobby
Then comes the library. I think DCA has the better library. Visually, they look nearly identical, but DCA has the better audio quality.
DCA's LibraryArtifacts in WDW's Library
The Boiler Room is up next. Walt Disney World’s boiler room is amazing. It is very dark, eerie, and realistic. The noises coming from the generators also add to the authenticity. The DCA boiler room is unique as it has two levels, running water dripping from the pipes, and the chalk door outline leading into another dimension! But I gotta go with Florida’s boiler room.
The Door to Another Dimension in DCA's Boiler RoomDetail in WDW's Boiler Room
Then comes the ride itself and without a doubt, Walt Disney World has the better ride. I’m not going to explain in detail what is on the ride as I don’t want to spoil it for the people that have never been, but it is perfect. Not only does it thrill and scare you with its faster than gravity drops, but the overall feeling is that you really are entering the Twilight Zone and being haunted by these ghostly inhabitants of the hotel. Again, what DCA has over Florida’s is the better audio quality.
Take a Terrifying Ride into Another Dimension!
So while DCA’s Tower is great and one of my favorite rides at the Disneyland Resort, it just doesn’t compare to the original. Walt Disney World’s Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is perhaps the greatest single ride ever created.
Which one do you prefer?
Editor’s Note:
And once again, a big thank you to Daveland for use of their pictures!
