Disneyland 2019

Unlike going to Disney California Adventure, our trip to Disneyland was very much planned ahead of time. Still, planning usually goes out the window as soon as you get to the park. The park was for the most part very manageable throughout the day. We went the weekend after Thanksgiving, so I was hoping that most visiting families would have packed up and gone back home. This only gets you so far, as most of Disneyland is populated by townies. Still, we were able to do basically everything we set out to do. While my wife sat out of Disney California Adventure, she wouldn't miss the chance to go to Disneyland again. Like I mentioned in the last entry, Goober was tall enough to ride almost everything, so it made the trip that much better. He's also older, and wasn't freaking out at every line.

Fantasyland

Peter Pan's Flight

The go-to first stop for Disneyland. If they ever re-do the outside of this ride, I'm sure a Fastpass queue will be the first thing they add, as this ride sorely needs it. We were at the park at rope-drop and we still had to wait a good fifteen or so minutes to get on since this is what most early birds go for first. Goober was still a little bemused by waiting in line, but he put up with it rather well. They added a new animation affect on Big Ben in the "flying over London" scene, so that was really cool. Otherwise, it appears to be extremely similar to the Magic Kingdom version.

Dumbo the Flying Elephant

This would have been a no-brainer last time we went, but they were unfortunately refurbishing it. Dumbo was back this time around, with an updated queue and everything! I haven't been on Dumbo since I was little, so this was a lot of fun to ride with my family. Goober had a blast and loved pointing out Timothy Q. Mouse in the middle of the ride.


Alice in Wonderland

I was disappointed we didn't get to go on this one last time, as it is the only version of this ride in the world. This is probably one of my favorite dark rides. There is so much detail and bright colors, I feel like you could discover something new each time you ride. I also think it's fun you go outside for a small portion and then go right back in for the Mad Tea Party. While some of the other dark rides can be a little too loud (Mr. Toad) or frightening (Snow White), this one is perfect for small children.



Mad Tea Party

My wife had to sit this one out as she is unable to ride spinning rides anymore. Goober was super excited to get on this one, though. He demanded to be spun at maximum level! This is another one I hadn't rode on since I was a kid, and riding it with Goober was pure joy.





Pinocchio's Daring Journey

This dark ride was a little bizarre. Definitely not one of my favorites at the park. It was...too dark? I know it's a dark ride, but everything looked dull. I was surprised to learn that this was added in the early 80's, as it does fit in with the traditional look and feel of the dark rides from the mid-50's. This is another storybook dark ride that kind of yada yada's most of the plot, especially the ending. Like, you go from Pinocchio escaping from Pleasure Island, and then Monstro just shows up and then you're in your house again and the Blue Fairy is there. It's a necessary evil with this movie though, as there are way too many bad things that happen to Pinocchio. I would say if you visit and can't fit this in, I wouldn't worry too much about it. That being said, there is never a line for this ride.

Snow White's Scary Adventures

This ride in Disney World went the way of the dodo, so this is the only way to ride it in the U.S. The title of this ride is not kidding, this ride can be pretty terrifying, especially for young kids. Most of the ride is you being harassed by the Evil Queen in hag form. The ride begins with you seeing Snow White, and then at the end you get a picture of Snow White being carried away by Prince Charming. Anyone expecting a ride full of Snow White will be both disappointed and scared out of their wits. The theming this one is great inside and out, with the exterior made to look like the Evil Queen's castle. You can even see her open and shut the curtain in a window above the ride every once in a while. Inside the queue there is a a barred window you look down from and see the Evil Queen's lab. Very nice touches!  I always got a kick out of this ride, so it was fun to be able to ride again. Goober was not having it, however. This wasn't the ride that scared him the most that day, however.

Matterhorn Bobsleds

This ride wrecked me last time I rode it, and that was because I was not prepared for a rickety roller coaster from the late 50's. This time I was prepared and braced myself the whole way, so I actually enjoyed the ride much better this time around. While I had a good time, Goober was having a much different experience. I might have forgotten to tell him that this ride had a yeti on it, and as soon as you start the ride you go into a tunnel with the yeti roaring all around you. Suffice to say, he had his eyes and ears covered for most of the ride. Yay! Dad of the year! In my defense, he loves roller coasters, though I didn't consider the yeti as a possible problem, so you can still call me dumb. My wife seemed to enjoy it, too, though the ride throat-punched her when it started up. The funniest thing about the whole experience is that Goober is obsessed with this ride. Yes, it scared him half to death at the time, but ever since the trip he only wants to talk about the "geti" as he calls it. I have probably watched the ride-through video of this ride on Youtube a hundred times with him now. I have an album of Disneyland ride songs and he demands to hear the Matterhorn song as soon as we get into the car (it's all yodeling). If I took him back to Disneyland today, I can almost guarantee he would refuse to ride it, but that doesn't mean he can't enjoy it from the comfort of his own home!

It's A Small World 

Our next stop after Matterhorn was Small World, as I knew we needed something to calm Goober's nerves. What's more calming than a bunch of dolls singing the same songs over and over again!? What was neat is they do a massive holiday overlay on this ride, so the outside was completely decked out in lights. Inside they had a ton of holiday themed decorations, lights, and characters. I know this caused a stir for some die-hard Disneyland fans, but I enjoy seeing the Disney characters dispersed throughout this ride. It's like Where's Waldo, except this time I'm trying to find Stitch. This got the job done in calming Goober down, who loved all the songs and lights. The queue and outside of this ride is so much better than Disney World's it's not even funny. Yes, Florida's much rainier than Southern California, so there's a good reason that Disney World's version is covered, but it just doesn't look as good. The outside, even when not decorated for the holiday season, at Disneyland is just so much more vibrant and unique. Yeah, I know some people can't stand this ride, but it's always a must-ride for me.

Storybook Land Canal Boats

This mouthful of a ride is a calming boat ride through areas populated with miniatures from your favorite Disney movies. Did I also mention that this calming ride starts with you going through the gaping maw of Monstro? Seeing this part of the ride on my old VHS copy of Disney Sing-A-Long Songs "Disneyland Fun" always made me jealous that it wasn't at Disney World. This ride and Matterhorn were both sore spots for me as a kid since they were only at this magical park I never thought I would go to in my life. Now, this ride is nowhere near as exciting than Matterhorn, but it's a nice break from the hustle and bustle of a crowded theme park. Goober seemed to like it, too, though mostly because of Monstro.

Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough

Amazingly, one of my favorite parts of the day, and I think Goober's too, was not even a ride. We hadn't really bothered with this last year, mostly because the entrance wasn't as apparent as the ride entrances were. I managed to find it this time around and it's just a fun walk-through of the Sleeping Beauty story. You travel through the castle and look into windows which are populated with beautiful dioramas of different scenes from the movie. Most have some special effects that really make the story come alive. Goober loved every second of it. It's a simple experience, but definitely worth seeing.

We skipped Casey Jr. Train as he rode that last time, and it shows you a lot of the same things as the Storybook Land Canal Boats. We also didn't go on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, as Goober was very frightened last time by the explosions.

Tomorrowland

Star Tours: The Adventure Continues

Our first ride outside of Fantasyland was Star Tours. This one is a favorite of my wife's and mine, and we were hoping that Goober might feel the same. He has only a passing knowledge of Star Wars, so the characters weren't familiar to him. He has seen the original version of Star Tours on Youtube a few times. When he was smaller I would put him in a laundry basket and move it around pretending to be part of the ride. He is unfortunately too big for that now. Goober seemed to like the ride itself a lot, but was still upset when we were walking out of the exit. I asked him what was wrong and he frowned and said, "We left without the captain! Where was the captain?" The beginning of the ride has C-3PO saying that they can't take off yet because the captain isn't aboard, but of course Star Tours takes off without him. That was apparently Goober's takeaway from the ride. We did get to ride this again much later in the day. The best thing about this ride is there are a bunch of different versions, so you usually don't get the same experience. Our first ride involved The Last Jedi, while our second ride was centering on the prequels, mostly The Phantom Menace. Both lots of fun! Goober liked the ride much better the second time around.

Astro Orbiter

A ride in the same vein as Dumbo, this one goes a bit higher in the air. Both times we went there seemed to always be a line just long enough to keep you from riding on a whim. We did wait to ride since we had to wait on our Hyperspace Mountain Fastpass to come up, and it was pretty smooth sailing besides them stopping the ride because it looked like someone was going to climb out? My wife and Goober rode together on this one and I did my best to record the experience, but Goober loved going up and down so much I couldn't keep up! The centrifugal force is a bit stronger than you think it will be on this ride, especially if you aren't holding on like I wasn't. Fun ride if you have the time and if your kids like heights and spinning!

Hyperspace Mountain

If the name looks a little off, it's because this is the Star Wars overlay of Space Mountain. The overlay has been used a couple times at Disneyland, and had come back this past year thanks to Galaxy's Edge opening. I hadn't really heard much about this ride ahead of the trip, so I wasn't too sure what to expect with Goober. Well, the ride for my wife and me was probably the highlight of the day, while Goober didn't seem to appreciate the darkness and loud noises. I swear I'm not trying to scar my kid for life. I honestly didn't think they could make Space Mountain any better, but just adding John William's score and some projections of Tie Fighters and X-Wings battling each other really makes the ride into a whole new experience. I'm a little sad they don't do this in Disney World, but I think Disneyland has to do some special things to keep it interesting for the townies.

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage

This was a last minute choice near the end of the day. We had passed by this submarine ride several times during the day and Goober was always very curious what the ride was like. I decided that we might as well experience the ride since they don't have it anywhere else. My wife bowed out since the thought of being crammed into a small submarine underwater was not her idea of a good time. This ride has an extremely slow load up, so the wait time was very deceptive. Also, the ride is not short, so in all we spent 45 minutes in total for the whole experience. Was it worth it? I would say so. I know a lot of people would rather see this area used for something else than a low capacity ride that costs a ton of money to operate, but it has its charms. It replaced the original Submarine Voyage from 1959, which closed in 1998, so it wasn't like they came up with idea of a submarine ride in 2007 when the Nemo version opened. Goober was utterly fascinated the whole time. You look out of portholes and see a lot of physical props, but also a lot of screens so it looks like Nemo and friends are there with you. The one thing that I can't stand about this ride and also the Finding Nemo ride in Epcot is the voice actor for Marlin. Albert Brooks, like many famous actors, chose not to reprise his role as Marlin and it shows. This is a weird gripe, but it just takes me out of both rides every time Marlin speaks. While Goober loved the ride, I'm not sure I would take the time to ride it again thanks to the large amount of time it takes to ride.

In this section we skipped Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters and Autopia. Goober decided as we were in line that he was scared of Zurg so we got out Astro Blasters quick. Autopia was not a priority, plus don't think we wanted to smell like car exhaust the rest of the day.

Adventureland

Tarzan's Treehouse

This walk-through attraction replaced the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse in 1999 and also exists in Hong Kong Disneyland. I don't have too much nostalgia about Swiss Family Robinson, so I was fine seeing this re-do. It is a very fun walkthrough, with plenty of interactive spots. The trouble is there are so many people taking pictures and instagramming that you can't really get in and experience everything. At least that's what happened to us. Goober was super interested in the life-sized leopard, Sabor. That was, until Sabor roared loudly in his face. Just like the Matterhorn, Goober's fascination with this experience has only grown, though he was frightened at the time. He also requests to listen to the song for Tarzan's Treehouse, though he always calls it "Jungle Cruise".

Jungle Cruise

Speaking of Jungle Cruise, we rode that immediately after Goober and I traveled through Tarzan's Treehouse. Disneyland's version somehow never has a terrible wait compared to Disney World's and I'm not sure what the reason is. No unusual surprises here. It's the Jungle Cruise, and you get the same basic experience with the Jungle Cruise. Some of the jokes may change a little bit, but most have been used for decades. Goober loved riding this again, and this was a nice, pleasant ride in the middle of the day. I will say, because we were in line for about ten minutes versus walking right on like last time, I got to see a whole lot more of the queue, and it is very detailed and fun to poke around.

Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room

My wife does not like this show. It was the first thing I made her experience at the Magic Kingdom and she was not impressed. I wasn't going to force her to see the show this year, but Goober saw the sign as we were getting Dole Whips and demanded we see the tiki birds. One thing I'll say is the waiting area outside of the show room is much better than Magic Kingdom's. You have a bunch of Polynesian gods that take turns telling you about themselves and moving around a little bit. You can tell it's something that's been around since the show started in the mid-60's and it's really fun to watch. As far as I can tell, the show itself is no different from the Magic Kingdom version. It's just a fun, hokey show. I get a kick out of these old rides from a bygone era, especially this, Carousel of Progress, and Country Bear Jamboree. Goober had a great time and requests the Tiki Bird song often, though not as much as Matterhorn or "Jungle Cruise".

Goober was only too short for one ride at Disneyland and that was Indiana Jones Adventure. Even if he was big enough, I'm not sure how he would have reacted. It's a super fun ride, but I don't think small kids would enjoy getting bounced around and surrounded by snakes.

Frontierland

OK, so we didn't really do anything in Frontierland besides sit near the Mark Twain riverboat and eat popcorn. They had both the Sailing Ship Columbia and the Mark Twain Riverboat operating, so that was neat seeing them go down the Rivers of America. We didn't have enough time to go on Tom Sawyer's Island, unfortunately. I don't remember ever going as a kid so I was curious what is over there. Plus, Goober probably would have benefitted from some running around time, but it also may have tired him out prematurely. There is one ride that couldn't miss, however.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Goober had been looking forward to this ride for a long time. For the most part, I think it lived up to his expectations, though. He got a little freaked out by the dynamite at the end, so he covered his ears. Big Thunder is such a fun coaster, and I used to not give it a second thought in the past. Maybe I just like Disneyland's version better? I'm not sure, but this was a lot of fun to ride with Goober, including pointing out the goat chewing on a dynamite stick.

New Orleans Square

Pirates of the Caribbean

This ride kept intermittently closing, so we kept coming back over to it to see if we could finally ride it. Even with the fast load up, we spent probably the longest time in this line than any other. It's all worth it, as this is still one of the coolest rides at Disneyland. Goober had a better experience this time, as he wasn't freaked out by the small drops.

Haunted Mansion Holiday

From September through December, the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland gets taken over by The Nightmare Before Christmas. This isn't a lazy overlay. They really go all out on it. There's a good portion of the Haunted Mansion effects that are still present, mostly in the ballroom scene, but others like the attic are almost completely changed. Is it a good presentation? Yes. Was it entertaining? Yes. That being said, it was probably the biggest disappointment of the day. I love the Haunted Mansion. Like, a lot. I wanted to be OK with this overlay, and I guess I am just OK with it, but I would never go out of my way to ride it again. Goober was very unimpressed, and he likes the Nightmare Before Christmas characters. And this isn't me hating on Nightmare Before Christmas. I also love that movie, so you'd think this is a perfect combo for me. Alas, it just wasn't our thing.

Critter Country

Splash Mountain

Splash Mountain is one of the most popular rides in any Disney Park. Every time I've visited Disney World, the line is always long. I kept looking at the wait times for Splash Mountain at Disneyland and the wait never moved from 5 minutes. OK, so maybe the wait times app is acting up. Nope! Turns out local Californians don't like to get wet if the temp dips below 75 degrees. It was late November and it wasn't the warmest day, so I guess I can't blame them. We walked right on this ride and didn't see another person the whole time. Comparing the Disney World and Disneyland Splash Mountain, the Disney World version is better, honestly. In Disneyland, they took a bunch of old animatronics from America Sings, a recently closed show in the 80's and put them into Splash Mountain. The age shows on some of the characters, and otherwise there were just some animatronics missing. I'm not talking random animals missing either, I mean Brer Rabbit and Brer Bear. One of the last scenes I heard Brer Bear's voice, but didn't see him anywhere, and that's when I realized he had been removed form the scene entirely. That, coupled with absolutely no one else being on the ride kind of dampened (ha) the experience. Also, we got wet.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

I said it last time, but I had slept on this dark ride because it seemed like a cash grab replacement for Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in Disney World. Turns out this dark ride is really fun and has some cool effects! It's one of our favorites at the park and Goober got a huge kick out of it. My only gripe is that this ride took over Country Bear Jamboree, which would have been fun to take Goober to.

Mickey's Toontown

Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin

This was unfortunately all we got to do in Toontown. The wait for Gadget's Go Coaster was too long for how late it was and Goober was too tired to fly through Mickey and Minnie's House or Donald's Boat. We honestly did this ride on a whim since there happened to be a Fast Pass available soon after we did Tiki Room. Car Toon Spin is in the style of a classic dark ride, though you have the ability to spin your car around at most intervals. This is what makes the ride. Goober loved spinning around as much as possible, though it does take a good amount of effort to turn the wheel. Otherwise the ride is nothing spectacular. There seems to be a lot of empty space and mostly disparate goofy scenes. It's definitely not a run through of the movie. No Judge Doom, though the weasels do show up and Jessica Rabbit is near the end of the ride. It's fun enough, but not one that I would go out of my way to ride again.

Galaxy's Edge

OK, so I knew ahead of time that I would most likely not be riding on Millenium Falcon: Smuggler's Run, so I didn't even put this area as a priority. I knew I wanted to at least walk through the land, but I knew there wasn't anything there for us to do as a family. Besides Smuggler's Run you have a very small bar that you have to have reservations for and a few shops. Rise of the Resistance wasn't open yet, either. So, we didn't end up going here until the end of the day, closer to 5 or 6. We got a few pictures and mosied around some of the areas, but otherwise there wasn't too much going on. Definitely a cool area, and I wish we had visited during the day time, but I'm glad we went through it.

After we left Galaxy's Edge we made our way back up to the front of the park. Goober was completely spent at this point, so we knew we wouldn't be getting on any other rides. However, there was one ride that we hadn't done yet that was just passive enough to not agitate Goober, and it was something he loved: The Disneyland Railroad. By the time we got up to Main Street U.S.A., the night parade had started. We got a few good looks at some of the passing floats, but were trying our best to hopefully catch the train before it departed. We also didn't know if it was there in the first place, so this was completely a shot in the dark. Luckily, the train was still there and we got on no problem. It was a very pleasant ride through Disneyland, and not something I had done before at night. Goober was mostly conked out on my wife, but lifted his head to watch the pass through Splash Mountain and the Grand Canyon/Prehistoric Times diorama building between Tomorrowland and Main Street U.S.A. Needless to say, Goober went right to sleep after we finally got back to our car. It was a very full day, but very worth it.

It's taken me much longer to finish these posts than I thought, so this vacation is a few months in the past. Goober is still wants to listen to Matterhorn and "Jungle Cruise" on most car rides. He also likes to take the maps of each park and have me go through the whole day, while he adds in his own commentary on how he felt about each ride. I do hope we can go back again someday, but I'm pretty sure our next Disney trip will be down in Florida instead.

Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress

Carousel of Progress is seemingly a ride that will never close. The ride was Walt Disney's baby and many of his close friends and associates claimed that it was his favorite ride that he ever had a hand in, and that it should never cease operating. If that was Walt's wish, it has been fulfilled so far. While it may not be drawing the same kind of crowds it was when it first debuted, it is still a mainstay in Disney World and offers up some prime nostalgia for the early to mid-20th century.

After Disneyland came into its own after a tumultuous opening, Walt set his sights on expanding Main Street U.S.A. in the late 50's. Walt planned to split the expansion into two distinct districts: "International Street" and "Edison Square". Edison Square would have show that starred an animatronic man named "Wilbur K. Watt" who would talk about the history of electricity in the home. Guests would go from showroom to showroom, with each one depicting a different decade, and look at all the new electrical wonders. This would culminate in a showcase of some fine electric appliances that just so happened to be made by General Electric. This plan fell through mostly due to technology limitations, though GE still wanted to work with Walt on something.

 GE approached Walt a few years later to see if he would like to develop a show for their pavilion at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair. Walt leapt at the offer, especially since GE was fronting the bill for the project. Walt brought up his idea for the history of electricity show that he had planned for his park, and they loved it. Luckily for Walt, his imagineers had finally perfected the audio-animatronic technology needed to make the show come to life. Early on, engineer Roger E. Broggie came up with the idea to have the show instead be a ride of sorts, with the audience moving on a carousel  from scene to scene instead of having them walk to each one. The decades used for the ride would be the late 1890's (Valentine's Day), 1920's (4th of July), 1940's (Halloween)  and 1960's (Christmas). Rex Allen, famous singing cowboy and frequent voice-over artist for Disney, was pegged to voice Father, the main character of the show and narrator. Walt went to the trusty Sherman Brothers to provide a song for the show, something to bridge the gap between the different scenes. Walt explained to the brothers what the show was all about, and with that they came up with a song full of enthusiasm and hope in the future, "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow". The show opened in GE's Progressland in 1964 and was one of the most-visited pavilions at the Fair. With the ride moving every four minutes from each of the six fixed stages, they had 200 people entering and exited at each increment. Even with this steady pace and large capacity, it wasn't unusual to see over an hour wait to get into the show. In the 1965 season, a canopy was built outside the ride to help keep the waiting crowds from burning up in the sun.

The show was such a success at the New York World's Fair, that the decision was made to make it part of the New Tomorrowland expansion at Disneyland in 1967, with GE sponsoring for ten years. Walt unfortunately didn't live to see the attraction open at his park, as he died seven months prior to its opening day on July 2nd 1967. The actual attraction was on ground level and a new theater that was near identical to the Progressland one had to be constructed to house the show. There were some slight modifications to the show itself, including getting a new voice for the mother, updating the "Christmas in the Home of the 1960's, as new technology had come out since it's first incarnation. Any mention of GE's campaign to promote their "Medallion Homes" which were houses built with everything hooked up to electricity (no coal/gas power), were also removed. In this incarnation, after guests were done with the show, they would go to the second story and watch a short presentation narrated by Mother and Father about Walt's Progress City, including an enormous model of the envisioned land. Progress City was based on Walt Disney's original concepts for EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) and the Walt Disney World property. While the show was popular at first for all the people who didn't see it at the World's Fair, attendance started to dip in the early 70's, making GE feel like they weren't getting a good return on their investment. GE correctly surmised that the people going to Disneyland and seeing the show were mostly Californians and they had probably seen the show several times already. GE requested that Disney move the attraction to Walt Disney World in Florida to reach a wider group of people. Disney agreed, and the last showing was on September 9th, 1973, thus ended the six year run of the show's stay at Disneyland.The empty theater was quickly filled up in 1974 by America Sings!, a salute to America and its music.

Walt Disney World's Carousel of Progress debuted alongside Space Mountain on January 15th, 1975 in Tomorrowland. GE again agreed to sponsor the ride for ten years. Extensive changes to the ride were implemented this time around, including a kaleidoscope effect projected on the screens in the loading/unloading rooms being discontinued, a new song by the Sherman Brothers, "The Best Time of Your Life," Andrew Duggan took over the voice role of the father, and the final scene being changed to better fit the home of the 70's. GE looked at the original song and thought it was too much about the future, and they wanted people to buy GE appliances right now! In 1981, the last scene was changed to reflect the future according to people living in the 80's. I've seen enough 80's visions of the future in film, so I imagine the last scene was looking a lot like Blade Runner. GE's contract expired in 1985, and they decided it wasn't worth the investment anymore, so they bailed. Disney had to close the attraction for a short time so they could remove as many references to GE as they could. No free advertising! In 1993, the attraction had its final (so far) refurbishment. Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom was changing the theme to "The Future That Never Was," so the whole area took on a more retro-futuristic look. Gears and other mechanical symbols were featured throughout the land, so Carousel of Progress's outdoor sign was redone to feature gears to have it fit. The name of the attraction was also changed to Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. The biggest changes of the refurbishment was the last scene, which now showed "Christmas in the House of 2000," and the voice cast being somewhat re-done (Mel Blanc is still noticeably part of the cast as Uncle Orville). Jean Shepard, best known as the adult voice of Ralphy in A Christmas Story, now voiced Father, and Rex Allen, who had originally voiced Father, now voiced the grandfather in the Christmas scene. The song, "There's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" returned as the main song, making the focus of the attraction fit more into the promise of the future. A 4-minute pre-show video was also added to show guests how the attraction was built.

After the 9/11 attacks, Disney noticed that attendance was down all over the parks, but especially in Carousel of Progress, so they closed the attraction in October of 2001, saying that it would open seasonally from then on. This caused many frequent park-goers to panic about the ride's future. Luckily, the ride has been consistently open since 2003 and Disney claims it has no current plans to shutter the ride, though it is still listed as seasonal. The most recent change to the attraction was in 2016, when the gears in the front of the ride were changed and replaced with a newer, more traditional sign for the ride. Carousel of Progress is a conundrum in the parks. Disney has shown that they are not afraid to shutter fan-favorite rides in favor of "synergy," otherwise known as putting a Disney character as the main attraction of the ride. Carousel is becoming one of the few in the parks that is not tied to any characters and thus its existence will always be near the cutting block, no matter what Disney says to the contrary. Carousel is not a popular ride anymore. It is a fan-favorite, but you will definitely not see long waits to get inside. The issue with the ride is how fast it becomes outdated, and especially now it will get worse every year. The "Christmas in the House of 2000" scene features such "futuristic" gizmos as VR Games, HD Televisions, Flat Panel Displays, LaserDisc (HA!), and voice-activated ovens. All of those things are now reality, with voice-activated ovens being the newest, thanks to smart homes. About the only thing they could do now is make the last scene more in tune with the "Future That Never Was" theme and make it out there kind of things that are maybe(?) far into the future, but who knows. The likely reason that this ride hasn't been refurbished since 1993 is because no one outside of Disney is helping pay for it. Many a ride has been shuttered due to a loss of sponsorship, but Carousel is inexplicably still here. I've always made it a point to go to this attraction, mostly because I really enjoy the look back into the past, but I think I feel the same way about it as most: if I was pressed for time at the park, I wouldn't bother. That being said, Tomorrowland wouldn't be the same without this attraction, so I hope this is one that will stay open forever, as Walt would have wanted.

My First Disneyland Trip: Part Two

Disneyland

Disneyland was a ton of fun, and was definitely closer to that classic Disney feel I was looking for while visiting the California resort. For this day we went with my brother-in-law and his wife, with this being the first time for both at Disneyland. My brother-in-law and I seperated from the rest of the group later in the day so we could ride some of the more thrilling rides in the park. Here's how the park compares to its Magic Kingdom counterpart.

Peter Pan's Flight

So the biggest difference between the Peter Pan ride at California vs. Florida is the lack of Fastpass. This ride needs a Fastpass, but due to the way the queue is built, there is no way to accommodate an extra lane. This ride is massively popular in both parks, and if we didn't have Fastpass when we visited Florida, I'm not sure we could have rode it. We entered Disneyland pretty soon after the park opened and already the line was up to 40 minutes. Since the ride typically stays busy all day, we had to bite the bullet and stand in the line. Fortunately, this was the longest we ever had to wait for a ride, and it wasn't even that bad. Goober was still bright eyed and bushy tailed, to a degree. Two year olds aren't great at waiting for anything, so any line was not great for him. As for the ride, it appears to be the exact same as Magic Kingdom's.

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

I had loved this ride when it was still at Magic Kingdom, so I was excited to ride this one again. Since it had been over twenty years since I had been on the ride, I didn't remember every little detail of it, so when Goober and I got to the exploding barrels part, he got a bit upset. This ride was definitely a learning experience on what is appropriate for your child, as each one will be different. I wasn't sure if sudden noises would actually bother him or not, but yes, they absolutely do. Dad of the Year over here. While the ride may have freaked Goober out, I thoroughly enjoyed my journey back to Toad Hall. If you're looking for a ride with a happy ending, this is not it, as you end your journey in Hell. Yup, you read that right. Why did I think it was a good idea to take my son on this ride?

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

This ride was surprisingly not very busy in the morning, so we were able to go on twice in row. The version in Magic Kingdom was always too busy to ride, and plus it seemed a little bit too much a kiddie ride by the time it replaced Dreamflight. We had a lot of fun with this ride, as it was a lot easier for Goober to operate the controls for this vs. Toy Story Midway Mania. The only gripe I have with this ride is the fact that you can barely see where you are shooting. I don't know if Space Ranger Spin is the same way at Magic Kingdom, but I was mostly shooting blind. Midway Mania has somewhat the same concept, but a much better ride system. Goober had a good time, though, so that's all I cared about.

Star Tours: The Adventure Continues

This is identical to the Hollywood Studios version, but we got one of the experiences that was from The Last Jedi, so that was cool to see recent footage used in the ride. My wife and I rode the Hollywood Studios version and loved that one too, but weren't able to enjoy multiple ride-throughs to see the difference scenarios. Captain Rex from the original ride is indeed part of the queue, but you have to look for him.

Jungle Cruise

This ride was a necessity, as I had not been on it since I was a kid, and my wife was intrigued by the idea. The ride was as good as I remember it, though some parts including the natives were a little bit outdated and almost cringe-worthy. It was also raining when we went on, so it was a wet experience altogether. Goober got a huge kick out of all the animatronic animals, and I'm sure he could have only gone on this ride for the rest of the day and he would have been completely happy. This ride doesn't seem to be as popular in Disneyland as it is in Magic Kingdom, and I'm not sure why, as it is completely the same.

Pirates of the Caribbean

This is about the only ride that I saw a very noticeable difference between itself and its Magic Kingdom counterpart. Disneyland's version is much longer, with most of that coming from the beginning leg of your journey. The beginning reminded me a lot of El Rio del Teimpo in the Mexico Pavilion at Epcot, which also has you in a boat and going past a restaurant. Something I wasn't expecting, and neither was the rest of my party, to their chagrin, was the two drops before the ride starts proper. In Magic Kingdom I remember there being the one drop, but even that one seemed a little less intense than the two in Disneyland. After the drops the ride is very close to the Magic Kingdom version. I would definitely say that I enjoyed this version much  more than Magic Kingdoms, something I didn't think would happen at this park at all.

The Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Mansion is my favorite ride of any kind ever. That being said, I've only been on the Magic Kingdom version. Paris's Phantom Manor is said to be a more intense version, while Hong Kong's Mystic Manor is completely different from all the others, focusing on exploration and evil spirits.This, the original version of The Haunted Mansion is different from Magic Kingdom's in a few ways. The "Stretching Room" is there to disguise the fact that you are being taken below ground to a different showroom that houses the actual attraction. This was not necessary in Florida, but they kept the beginning scene anyway. I did enjoy having the changing portraits in the hall while going to the "Doom Buggies", as opposed to in the first hall while on the ride. The legendary "Hatbox Ghost" is also only in this version of the ride and the attic scene is a little bit different from Magic Kingdom's, but overall it's the same stuff. The queue is not as interesting, thanks to the somewhat recent refurb at Magic Kingdom, but it still has the pet cemetery. Overall I would still give my preference to the Magic Kingdom version. I like the look of the mansion better and it's honestly the one I grew up with, so if I had to choose, I would go with the mansion in Liberty Square vs. New Orleans Square.

Matterhorn

This is a very popular ride at Disneyland, probably the most popular. Wait times were around an hour when we rode, but we got on in a short amount of time thanks to the single rider line. This is the only version of this ride, so I was excited to finally ride it. All I have to say is that this ride is rough! I felt a little banged up after I got off the ride, something I didn't feel after any of the other roller coasters we rode that day. It's still a fun coaster, what with two yeti sightings and everything! Still, I may consider skipping it altogether if we end up at the park again.

Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye

My brother-in-law and I rode this one and went into the single rider line, but it basically just put us in the regular line, so I'm not sure what that's about. The queue for this ride is extremely long. I thought we were near the end of it about five times. The wait times get pretty long for this ride, so I can definitely see the queue filling up all the way. This ride was one of my favorites in any of the parks. I'm really glad I got to experience it. It's definitely not an easy-going ride. You will get a bit jostled around, but you'll have a blast.

Casey Jr. Train

 Please note that if you have a very impatient child and one that also loves trains, this may not be the ride for your family. I had shown Goober video of this ride a few times, and he was super pumped to finally ride the "Mickey Mouse Train". Unfortunately, the loading time for this ride, plus only having the one train causes the wait times to be much longer than posted. The sign said 5 minutes, but the other half of our group probably waited more than 20 minutes to get on, and every time the train would leave without Goober on it, he would freak. You may have much better luck if you decide to ride, but in this case, it wasn't worth the hassle.

Disneyland Railroad

Some use the train for transport, others for the ride. We did it because we knew Goober would get a kick out of it, and we didn't have to wait in a maddening line like with Casey Jr. The ride is very pleasant with some animatronics and set pieces installed near the track to add a little flair. The real fun happens when you ride the train from Tomorrowland Station to Main Street Station. You enter a tunnel and are then treated to some museum style displays of the modern day Grand Canyon and then to the prehistoric age. Each area is very cool, but the storm during the Grand Canyon scene had an unexpected flash of lightning and crash of thunder. It not only scared the crap out of Goober, who we had to coax into watching the dinosaur scene, but also most of the people in the section with us! Overall a fun, easy ride, but the stops are too frequent for it to be too restful.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

OK, so I may have had a small grudge against this ride due to it being the one that replaced Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in Disney World. I can now say having actually going on it, I enjoyed it a lot. I do enjoy Winnie the Pooh, especially the 80's cartoon, The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. This ride is base on 1977's The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and it is pretty darn charming. It even employs the "pepper's ghost" effect leading into Pooh's dream sequence. This ride still has its detractors, as some are still sore that it took over Country Bear Jamboree. This ride is not very popular in the park, but I think that has more to do with it not being in Fantasyland, and instead at a dead end in Critter Country. Goober loves Tigger so this would have been a good ride to do again, but it was late in the day (for him) and we decided to call it a day.

We rode other rides at the park, but those were clones of Disney World's (yes I know most of Disneyland's came first) so I don't need to go into them here. Unfortunately I missed a few of the dark rides, including Pinnochio's Daring Journey, Alice in Wonderland, and Snow White's Scary Adventure. Both Pinocchio and Alice in Wonderland are specific to Disneyland, while Snow White was previously at Magic Kingdom. Altogether it was a great time and I enjoyed myself just as much as I would have at Magic Kingdom. That being said, the Magic Kingdom is still the best park. It's bigger, feels more thought out, and I feel like it has a better collection of rides, even if Disneyland has Indiana Jones and Matterhorn. Also, Sleeping Beauty's castle looks teensy-tiny compared to Cinderella's Castle. If you have the opportunity to go to Disneyland, I would still recommend it. If you are on the fence about Disney California Adventure, I would maybe skip it, especially if you don't have kids with you. At least wait until Pixar Pier is up and running. If you are considering taking a small child to the park, I would say that even with some of the trouble we had, it was worth it. Goober was free since he is under 3, so that was a big plus, but he had a great time on most of the rides. Sure he won't remember it, but my wife and I will, and we'll always remember the look on his face when he saw some of his favorite characters.

My First Disneyland Trip: Part One

As an avid Disney World fan, I had my doubts that Disneyland could compare. I finally got a chance to visit this last week with my wife and two year old son, and it was definitely a different experience. We went to the both Disney California Adventure and Disneyland, so I'll give you my thoughts on how the experience compares to Disney World.

Disney California Adventure

First off, we all enjoyed this park very much, but compared to Disneyland, or any of the parks at Disney World, it's not great. DCA doesn't have the same feeling of immersion that the other parks give you. You can actually see the outside world and it kind of breaks the Disney magic. While some of the theming in the park is really good, the overall feel of the park is a hodge-podge of ideas. Basically any ride that wouldn't make sense in Disneyland or couldn't fit, was in this park. Cars Land is probably the best area of the park in terms of immersion and theming. Other lands either were under construction (thanks Pixar Pier), or didn't utilize their theme to its full potential. About the only other area that stays cohesive is A Bug's Land, though it takes up a very small portion of the park and is directed at small children. We were lucky enough to go during the Food and Wine Festival, something we enjoyed while in Epcot in 2014. Lots of great food, but definitely not as many options as Epcot. Here area  few thoughts on some of the rides:

Guardians of the Galaxy-Mission:Breakout!

I love the Tower of Terror, so I was marginally disappointed that I wouldn't get a chance to ride it in California, but I have to admit that Guardians of the Galaxy is a great time. I've heard that it's a more intense ride than Tower of Terror, and I believe it! The overlay doesn't make much sense at all, but they took enough care with it to make it an enjoyable experience. Plus, there's always the Tower of Terror in Florida if you really want to ride that version!

A Bug's Land

I unfortunately missed this entire area, as I was in line for Guardians of the Galaxy. Goober (our affectionate nickname for our son) was thoroughly bored with Heimlich's Chew Chew Train, so my wife and him rode Flik's Flyers three times and a row. We attempted to circle back to this area later in the day but Goober ran out of steam.



Toy Story Midway Mania

Nestled in the back of the park surrounded by construction, this ride will later be part of Pixar Pier, but at the moment it looks a little out of place. The ride itself was a lot of fun, though Goober had a bit of trouble operating the controls, as you would imagine. He had a blast, though, and of course wanted to go again. The wife and I haven't been on the Hollywood Studios version, so I can't say if they are any different, but I'm sure the queue must be, as this one seemed to be uniquely themed to the surrounding Paradise Pier. This is a must ride if you have smaller children, but maybe not toddlers.

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure

I didn't know this until recently, but this ride gets a lot of hate from the Disney elite. The main complaint is that the omni-mover ride system doesn't benefit an attraction that just does the main songs from a movie. You can look into all the arguments yourself, but I honestly didn't mind it at all. I haven't been on the Disney World version, so this was my first experience. Was it the best dark ride I've ever been on? Not by a long shot, but it's still a lot of fun and Goober loved it so much we rode it three times in a row. Thank God the ride literally had no line.

Soarin' Around the World

My wife doesn't care for Soarin' and I can definitely see why. It's a short, moving IMAX film with smell-o-vision, but I can't help but be tickled by it. We had previously rode Soarin' Over California in Epcot and it was OK. I rode this alone and had a great time! Patrick Warburton's voice is always welcome and the ride has been improved from the original version. The only thing that I would complain about, and I don't know if the Epcot version is the same, is that people's feet were dangling in my view the whole time! I'm gliding past the Sahara desert and there in my peripheral vision is a pair of stinky Reeboks.

Monsters, Inc. Mike and Sully to the Rescue!

A re-skin of the much maligned Superstar Limo, this ride was a good time, but I wish they weren't limited by the old ride system. About the only part that really made me look around in amazement was the door transport room near the end. Goober loves Monsters Inc, so this was his jam, but unfortunately by this time he was getting super grumpy, so the wait to get in was not great. He was also not pleased when we did not go back in for a second time, because there was no way I was waiting another 10-15 minutes with Grumpy Goober.

Radiator Springs Racers

While I had a good time in California Adventure, for the most part the rides had all been nothing special, or didn't have that special Disney magic that I was used to seeing. That all changed with Radiator Springs Racers. This ride is a ton of fun, and I am very disappointed that I had to go by myself. Part dark ride and part Test Track, this ride is a joy from start to finish. I'm not the biggest Cars fan, but they did such a good job with the story and execution for this ride that I can't help but love the dumb movie. The racing part was faster than I thought it would be and was a thrill, to say the least. This would have been the ride that I would have jumped back into the line again if I had the time. Just ride it for yourself and you'll understand!

We didn't get to the whole park, unfortunately, and there were some rides that we had no interest in, like Grizzly River Run, which incidentally was fun to watch, but kept breaking down. We didn't have time for the rest of Cars Land, as once we stopped for ice cream, Goober conked right out. So, can I make a complete review of Disney California? No, but I really think we hit the main spots and we had quite a full day. Definitely a lot of fun, but doesn't have the same Disney Park feel that the other ones give you.

Disney's Haunted Mansion: Part I

I remember being very scared. So much so that I wouldn't let my dad take me anywhere near the Gothic style house. He must have really wanted me to experience the ride though, as he eventually convinced me that it would be fun. I must have been around 4 or 5, probably during the second trip my parents took my family to Walt Disney World. All my fear melted away when I finally did go inside and experience the masterpiece that is the Haunted Mansion. It filled me with so much wonder and it really wasn't that scary at all, in fact it was a lot of fun! Needless to say, I will be taking my children on this ride someday, and though they may be scared at first, I hope they embrace the ride just as I did so many years ago. My wife and I are leaving for Disney World soon and I couldn't be more excited. I love everything there, but my pilgrimage is always to the Haunted Mansion. I've ridden it up to three times in one trip. I don't think I've had the misfortune of seeing it under refurbishment while we visited. It wouldn't ruin the trip, but I would be seriously bummed. I know what you're thinking, that this "haunted house" ride shouldn't mean that much to me, but it does. I think it's a combination of things. The Haunted Mansion represents a unique part of my childhood. As far as I can tell, it introduced me to all things spooky. It showed me that just because something had ghosts in it, didn't mean it was scary. It could be fun! I embraced that mentality early on, and led to my love of Halloween. The ride also means a lot to me because I associate it with my father. I don't think I've ridden it with him since 2000, but it was our tradition when going to the park-- that and riding Pirates of the Caribbean. No one else in my family went crazy for it, so if anything my dad and I would ride it by ourselves, and a couple times in a row if time allowed. This ride is special to me, which is why I wanted to write about it. The Haunted Mansion has a ton of devoted fans. There's even a website dedicated to it, so I'm not alone in my love for it. Disney did something right with this ride. There's tons of information out there about the ride and its many different interpretations, so it's easy to learn more if you'd like. I'm just going to give a brief background.

The idea for the Haunted Mansion actually predates Disneyland, as Walt Disney had hired a bunch of Imagineers to help him come up with areas for his new park. One such Imagineer came up with a old broken down antebellum manor at the end of a crooked street leading away from Main Street. The idea was to have a whole land dedicated to New Orleans, and it would include a thieves market, a pirate wax museum, and a haunted house walk-through. So it's evident that they first intended the Haunted Mansion not to be something that you could actually ride, but just walk through. Who knows what that would have been like. Walt Disney liked the walkthrough idea, but hated that they wanted to make the house look dilapidated. Disneyland was supposed to be a nice place! He made the rule that the house could be whatever they liked inside, but the outside would look creepy, but not run down. This is in contrast to the other Haunted Mansions, which were designed after Walt Disney's death, they are notably less nice looking on the outside on purpose when compared to Disneyland's. Ken Anderson was responsible for much of the mansion's design, along with Claude Coates and Marc Davis, among others. Coates wanted the attraction to be more scary, while Davis wanted it to be a light-hearted affair, more in line with the rest of Disneyland. They both got their way, as you can see a noticeable shift in tone from the beginning half of the ride, to the latter half. The beginning has more spooky imagery, the stretching room, the hanging body of the Ghost Host, the rising coffin lid, and many other things. The latter half, starting after the ballroom scene, is a bit sillier, with the graveyard scene being filled with many goofy ghosts doing an assortment of gags and tricks.

The Haunted Mansion was announced in 1961, with a opening date in 1963, or so the handbills passed out to guests at the main gate were led to believe. This opening date would prove to be way off, as the Haunted Mansion didn't actually open til late 1969. So what was the delay? There was a lot of confusion on what was going to be in the ride, and how people were going to experience it. The exterior was finished by 1963, which was accompanied by a sign out front that promised an opening of the ride very soon. Rumors began to fly around about what was housed inside the mansion, with the most wild piece of gossip circling around it being Walt Disney's second home. The ride's design was heavily changed after the 1964-65 World's Fair, where Omni-mover technology was introduced. The Imagineers knew they had their new ticket to a hot ride. With a continually moving vehicle, guests to be spun and directed to look at certain things inside the ride, causing more chances for surprise. Though Walt Disney had liked his walkthrough idea, the Omni-movers were an improvement. After some redesigns after Walt's death in 1966, the Haunted Mansion finally opened in 1969, with it becoming a smash hit with park attendees. Stay tuned for Part II coming soon!