Incoming Longgggggg post
1) Traffic in LA....is such a joke I left 120 mins before parking opened and still didn't make it because Traffic is clear but by 6:15 it starts backing up like crazy in so many spots
2) Disney wifi was great
3) While Alice got a 10+ min line at rope drop so had to skip it (last time I went it was walk on for at least a few mins)
4) While the tone was darker, I think I prefer the new Snow white because of the Ending and Mine update
5) Mickey ride was down until 10 AM and had some parts still not working
6) Small World Holiday is so cute, i know HMH gets talked about more but both are really amazing rethemes (also no streaker when I went)
7) Didn't eat there bit Tia's place is cute, will try it next time
8) Had extra time to kill so got into the Cantina and tried the Blurgfire, it was good would get again
9) Universal needs a show like "Disney ¡Viva Navidad! Street Party" its a mini parade and street party and doesn't require that much room,, so think if they can find a way to have a show like this USH should since they refuse to use any locations for shows any more
10) At DCA I saw Disney ¡Viva Navidad! Street Party, Mickey's Happy Holidays Parade, The Mistletoes, Mostly Kosher, Blue13 Dance Company,
Holiday Concert featuring Phat Cat Swinger and WOC. I would highly recommend most the shows all of them have a great energy about them and people either sang along or danced at each show
11) At Disneyland I saw The Heartbeat of New Orleans (fine), Queenie and the Jambalaya Jazz Band (pretty good, worth it), Wintertime Enchantment at Sleeping Beauty's Winter Castle, A Christmas Fantasy Parade but the fireworks got cancelled due to winds
12) Disneyland costs a lot.......but if you take advantage of ALL they have to offer during this time of the year...it's worth it. I saw 11 shows, only 3 of which didn't have live performers. So just the shows alone my ticket was like 12-15 bucks a show and thats just for the shows I did. I also got on 10 dark rides (Ranging from Pooh/Mosters to Mickey and Minnie/Small World), along with HMH, Pirates, Matterhorn, Soarin, Mater's Flast Ride (themed for the Hoildays). I got to go into the every land at least once if not twice for most, did the Walk on attractions like the inside of the Castle and Adventureland Tree House, saw many characters out and meet Boba Fett and Eeyore and also took a break watching Mickey Philhar Magic......Does Disneyland cost? No doubt but a Full day can break down into a great value if you really keep moving and have a good Schedule.
13) The Adeventure Land Tree House at Night is really great. The Imagneers clearly got to go wild with this little attraction and it paid off. Tarzan was fine but this is a pretty big improvement
14) WOC Wish Pre Show was really great and the Holiday show was also great, I think it's one of the better WOC shows Ive seen
15) Left my first CM complaint on the app, Thank you Mike for getting me on the Train right before it departed
Next section is my thoughts on Blogging at Disneyland for the first time
1) You kinda need two phones to really make the best out of it, because you need to use the Disney app but also live stream/video.
2) No clue why but they kept putting me in the front row on Fantasyland dark rides...then putting people with me when I clearly have a Camera out, I would recommend asking to not sit with someone filming if that happens to you, no idea why they would do that
3) Most other rides like Pirates and SM I asked to be in the backseat since I would be filming the entire ride. Also the Matterhorn is insane to try to film on, lol.
4) On rides like HM and even Pirates I tried to cover my screen at times because I didn't want to make the ride too bright for people.....and then many people who are cleanly not bloggers just filming with LIGHTS on their phones, lol but no one said anything to them so maybe people were ok with it
5) Shows that I would not be blocking anyone I would film from up close while, WOC, the nighttime parade and so on I tried to be behind people because I didn't want to block the view of people who waited a long time for a show.
6) Chip and Dales little coaster was the only ride I was told not to film on, lol
7) Boba Fett and Eeyore seemed fine with being on Camera but.....many other characters kinda avoided me when I was coming up to meet them, not complaining but noticed it with mostly face characters.
8) Hear comments every now and them about how I'm a blogger because I had some equipment, Kids sounded like they thought it was cool some adults seemed interested but mostly the people didn't sound happy. Man Bloggers have a bad rep at Disneyland with the the common quest it seems, no one ever came up to me but....I heard the tones and word choices they seemed to be annoyed I was filming anything. But I truly did my best to be out of people's way
Anyway Great trip was there from 7:30 AM on Main street until about 11ish when I got to my car. CM's were great as usual, most guests were also great with a few exceptions like a Women who bumped into a CM blocking off the back of a parade, the woman didn't say sorry and did it a second time after being told to move back.
I also want to point out both the CM and actors/entertainers KILL it with guest interactions and especially with people with special needs, I saw more then a few examples of cast going out of their way for children and people with special needs and those people, man you could tell it made their day to be felt included in the magic and it's part of what Makes the Disney difference. While we might not agree on Disneyland and WDW are run the cast do care and most are just doing their best to make your day as magical as can be.