Permanecer Sentados, Por Favor
Every couple of weeks-or-so, my financé and I, with a few friends, head out to the parks. It has become so routine that we hardly think about it. However, there are a few items we NEVER leave home without. Here’s my list of things I either never or rarely forget to leave home without. Continue reading “How Do You Prepare for a Trip to the Magic Kingdom?”
In my opinion, Disneyland’s Mansion has the better exterior. I much prefer the southern style Mansion which fits perfectly in its New Orleans surroundings than the New York style Mansion at Walt Disney World.
But overall, WDW has the better Mansion. Ten years ago, I would have gone with Disneyland, but thanks to some recent updates at Walt Disney World, they are the winner. At WDW, there are new audio effects, an updated sound system, new scenes, more scenes, better special effects, a new interactive queue (which I have not seen yet), and they now have new hitchhiking ghosts effects. (Which I have also not seen.) But as of December of 2010 (My last trip to WDW), the better Mansion lies in Liberty Square at the Magic Kingdom of Walt Disney World.
Which do you prefer?
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Here are a couple videos and pictures of WDW’s Haunted Mansion’s new queue and hitchhiking ghosts. Thanks to Inside the Magic for these great videos and Express Monorail for the incredible picture of the new hitchhiking ghosts animatronics.
The Interactive Queue
The New Hitchhiking Ghosts
I love seeing birds at the park… both live and animatronic. This, however, was a bird I had never seen before! I could just barely make it out in the shadows of the Tiki Room but where more fitting to find a strange bird than the Tiki Room exit?
Stay tuned as we get to the bottom of this and other DLR mysteries in future posts.
Did you know that Disneyland Resort has its own K9 Unit?
These well-trained canines patrol the parks rather inconspicuously while you and your families go about your day. They are well-trained and provided to the parks by the Anaheim Police Department. Keep an eye out for them next time you visit the parks!
We all know the standard hidden mickeys (and if you don’t, check out this book here)
But some of my favorite hidden mickeys are the ones you stumble upon and once you share it, you notice people eavesdropping and then telling their friends. You might say that hidden Mickeys are one of the original viral campaigns.
This one is a favorite of mine.
I recently went on a very strict diet and Disneyland was the one place I allowed myself to “cheat.” One of my favorite things to get at the DLR is pizza from Pizza Planet and a cookie. Actually, the chocolate-chip cookies at Disneyland ANYWHERE went with every meal I got. I suppose I’ll get into my favorite DLR snacks another time (Churros, for example, do not remind me or get me excited for Disneyland).
What I wanted to talk about today was the discovery of the Disneyland Guten-Free Menu! We discovered this 6-page (double-sided, even!) menu when going to City Hall on Main Street to suggest they leave the park’s restaurants open later than 10pm when Disneyland Park guests will potentially be roaming the park for another 2+hours. While looking for food after 10, we continuously were pointed toward the bread-bowl stand for food and while that was a viable option for everyone else in my group, it does not fall in-line with my diet.
City Hall said they would take the suggestion into consideration and went a step further by offering up this awesome menu! One would have never thought that there would be gluten-free buns at most burger and sandwich-eateries! Who would have thunk that while your friends and family were having churros and bread-bowls, you can enjoy something else without having to have brought your own food?
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And while all of the gluten-free options might not fall 100% into my diet (I cannot have corn and other strange things I’d rather not go into), it certainly is a healthier option for someone like me who LOVES Disneyland food and is also trying to “shape up” for a wedding! I’ll be reporting on some of my favorite foods from this menu in future posts but I would love to hear what your favorite healthy Disneyland snacks are! Heathy dining at Disneyland? I back it!
These are ten things at the Disneyland Resort that make me feel like a kid again and marvel at the magic of Disney.
10. Off to Neverland – Even though the line for Peter Pan’s Flight is usually terribly long, there is one moment that everyone needs to experience. Inside the attraction, our flying pirate ships fly over London. It is one of the best uses of miniatures I have ever seen.
9. A Whale of a Whale – Storybookland Canal Boats… It begins in such a unique way that everyone should experience. You board a boat and soon after you are swallowed by Monstro the Whale!
8. Primeval World – A lot of people forget that there are dinosaurs at Disneyland. Ride the Disneyland Railroad from Tomorrowland to Main Street and you will visit the Grand Canyon and fantastic Primeval World. The scene has been basically untouched since it was introduced more than 40 years ago. It is a really special Disneyland moment.
7. Hell Bound – One of the most unique, creative, and unexpected scenes Disney has ever created for an attraction is in Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. The attractionends with us going to hell. The heat is turned up and tiny devils welcome us to our everlasting afterlife.
6. Pound ’em Lads! – One of the recent additions in Pirates of the Caribbean that I love are the cannonball effects. The giant splashes and air cannons really make the scene intense and thrilling. One could really believe that cannonballs are flying overhead!
5. The Smells of Disneyland – The sense of smell is perhaps the strongest of the five senses and there is no better place to exercise a person’s smelling ability than Disneyland. Some of the classic Disneyland smells are fresh churros, the musty water in Pirates of the Caribbean, and the unique odor in the Haunted Mansion foyer.
4. The Sounds of Disneyland – There are several sounds that stand out as magical moments for me. The Mark Twain Riverboat’s whistle, the sounds of Main Street vehicles, and the Disneyland Railroad’s whistle are just the beginning of how audio makes your trip to Disneyland authentic and memorable.
3. Leaving the World of Today – Walking underneath the Disneyland Railroad and entering Main Street is something magical. You have literally left the real world behind and entered a true Magic Kingdom.
2. Tinkerbell’s Flight – Fireworks are fun to watch, but adding a live Tinkerbell performer in flight makes it really special. It is so thrilling and exciting to see Tink fly from the majestic Matterhorn over Sleeping Beauty’s Castle.
1. Fantasmic’s Fire-Breathing Dragon – Sure Murphy had his technical problems, but when the gargantuan animatronic is working properly and he spews his fire, it is the most magical and awe-inspiring moment in all of Disneyland.
Last night, David and I saw the special preview for “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” at Disneyland.
We were both pleasantly surprised to find out that the preview was to be held in Big Thunder Ranch. We had totally forgot about that theater area back there. It was great to see that again!
To start off our Pirate adventure, we were entertained by live actors in the queue. They did a fine job helping you pass the time. Then came my favorite part of the whole experience. An interactive animatronic parrot greets you and has conversations with passerbys. This was the same parrot that used to be out in front of “Pirates of the Caribbean” in Florida. Imagineering decided to make him walk the plank when they added Jack Sparrow and crew in the attraction. But now he is back from the depths of Davy Jones and he looks fantastic!
Once you enter the theater, you take a seat on the ground with your 3D glasses and get ready for a rollicking adventure. Cast members dressed as Pirates introduce the preview and in no time, you are experiencing “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”.
After your preview, keep a weather eye open for Jack Sparrow!
I have been a consistent annual passholder for the past 6 years. My very first Disneyland Annual Pass was back in 1994. It cost only $99 and was not a part of any tiered system. My whole family got passes and we would go down right after school to see “Fantasmic!” at least twice a week!
Those were some amazing times. We had our passes for two years, I think. Then I only went sporadically from 1996-2001. I may have had a pass sometime in there but I can’t remember. Unfortunately, as into Disneyland as I was, I took advantage of things like the Rocket Rods which I was never able to ride, the Skyway which I never got to do “one last time.” Same with the PeopleMover! I never got to take that “last ride” which I am always sure to do now.
I remember when I went to grad-night as a junior at Hollywood High School, I was SO confused because the parking lot had completely changed and we had to walk to the park from some weird area past these huge cones (I guess we parked in the old Lion King parking area? Not 100% sure). I was very confused but excited because I had no idea what DCA was! I felt like such a “poser.”
Grad night was fun but then I started going a lot after graduation. A friend and I got passes from 2001-2002 and had a blast that whole time. I really enjoyed DCA and DL together and made the most of those days.
Fastforward to now and here I am — an adult who tries to go once a week if I can but more commonly once every couple of weeks. I have my core group of people I like to go with, we have the path that we take, we have days where we only do things we have never done before, and we have a blast!
The thing I miss the most today is that they don’t change the design as often anymore. That was always the fun thing: getting a special design when renewing and having it match the theme of that year’s DLR theme.
All of that said, one of my favorite things about the AP is that I still have that picture of myself from 2001 on my pass. I was 18 then and love that just by this little feature on my pass, I can always feel like a kid! I back it!
What are your favorite AP memories? How old is your picture? Let us know down in the comments!
We all know the Jungle Cruise. Whether you love it for the animatronic wildlife, the lush foliage, or bad puns, the Jungle Cruise is a true Disney “E-Ticket” attraction. But having a good skipper really does add something special to your journey through the world of adventure.
So I ask the readers of RemainSeatedPlease.com: What makes a good skipper? Should they stick to the script that we all know and love? What jokes work? Which fall flat?
Stay tuned for a thrilling and entertaining podcast where David and I discuss our favorite Jungle Cruise jokes! And who knows… Maybe we will even invent a new pun or two!