Disneyland Day One

We Made It!!

After flawless road conditions throughout the entire trip so far, we finally encountered dilapidating traffic this morning on our way from Carpinteria to Anaheim. Turned out to be a 5 car wreck on I-5, with car-remains on both shoulders of the road, so at least there was a good excuse. But enough about that, because as soon as we got past it, it was mere minutes before we were pulling into our hotel, where they were gracious enough to let us check in early!

Found our room, which is pretty much opposite in every way from the roach motel we stayed in a few nights ago, and headed out to D'Land, which you should know, IS The Happiest Place On Earth!

For the Saturday after Christmas, and heading in to New Years, I expected it to be crowded. And the sign outside the park warning that it was "very crowded" seemed to back that thought up. But it really didn't seem any busier than it had been three years ago when we were here - in fact, in most areas of the park it seemed less full. So we were off and running, and hit several key rides today.

First up was the Matterhorn's Left Side. I love that ride, whichever side I'm on, but I *think* I like the right side even more. We'll know tomorrow.

Then we hit up Autopia. The irony of standing in line for 30 minutes to pretend to drive at 5 miles per hour, after spending the past few days in the real car didn't strike until right before we got into our car... And with that irony still thick in the air, and some 4 year old driving in front of us who seemed to keep forgetting that you need to push the gas pedal down to make the car go, we decided we probably won't venture on to the Autopia again...

Also making the first day was Star Tours, which even though it looks a bit aged, is still one of the best virtual reality rides ever, anywhere.

New in Tomorrowland since our last visit (It was actually built, but still under wraps back then) is Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. I LOVED THIS RIDE! When we decided to get in line, I didn't even know if it was a ride, a show, or some hokey kiddie hybrid of the two. What it actually is, in case anyone else doesn't know, is an excellent "Dark Room" ride (like all the Fantasyland ones a la Mr. Toad) that adds a Laser Tag element. Your ride buggy (probably some sort of rocket, but who had time to care while shooting the evil Zurg and his minions??) comes equipped with two Astro Blasters, and all the glowing, neon coloured characters in the ride have targets all over them, which you can Blast for points, as well as feedback from the characters, which is pretty much lights and sounds, like shooting anyone in a normal laser tag game. Only cooler. Lots cooler. Unbeknownst to us going in, they take a picture of you during the ride, like so many others... But then they don't try to sell you an overpriced printout, they let you email it to yourself for free! So I present, as a token of our first day in Disneyland, Cindy and I playing Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters!

You'll note from the scores that appear in the corners, that I (as Player 1) was completely whoopin' her... Although when we got to the end and checked our rank, we were both level 7. I really want to play it again now that I know what I'm doing!

We also hit Pirates of the Carribbean, which has received a few post-movie updates, with Captain Jack Sparrow making 3 (or so?) appearances. The Disney Imagineers have really taken the animatronics to the next level, in one of his scenes, it really, honestly looked like a real person popping up out of the big powder keg. Highly recommended!

I think the favorite of the night for both of us was the Haunted Mansion, which once again was taken over for Christmas by Jack Skellington and his gang of merry morbid misfits. It's just so incredibly well done, so many details making it a truly outstanding experience!

But when have I ever been known to end on a high note? As we left the mansion, we saw that Splash Mountain only had a 10 minute wait! I LOVE Splash Mountain! Cindy had earlier said that she didn't want to go on it, but then said she would for me. (Love!! After 5 years of Marriage, there's still LOVE!!) Well the 10 minute wait was an overstatement, we literally walked right on. And it only took the first small drop to figure out why nobody wanted to ride it tonight. They were running the ride in a way that I would call "Very Wet," and after that first little dip, my right leg was more than damp, and both of my shoes were approaching soaked. The next dip finished off my shoes and right leg, and got started on my left leg. Oh, and Cindy, who loves me so much she went on this ride for me, was sitting in the very front of the log, and got hit even harder than me. (Love? After 5 years AND Splash Mountain at Night in December? I Hope So!) But that was all just preperatory for the big drop, after which our coats and hair joined our lower bodies in the "fully soaked" category. They hooked us into buying a picture, since apparantly Critter Country doesn't have the high tech Internet goodness of Tomorrowland. Since the scanner's at home, here's my attempt at taking a picture of a picture of a happy couple riding a log down a waterfall.

After that, our evening was rather abruptly called to an end, as we rushed back to the hotel to take a warm shower and put on dry clothes... But we did get to see the fireworks as we waited for the shuttle to arrive. Now it's off to bed to charge up for day two!