Disney California Adventure - Grizzly River Run

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/attractions/disney-california-adventure/grizzly-river-run/

We generally take a very complete approach to rides. At the start of the trip we pick up park maps and check off the attractions we visit, making sure to get them all. Even where there are some that we like less, we have at least tried them, and will sometimes try them again just to make sure we were right.

Despite that, there is one ride that my sisters have never been on, and I had only been on once before this trip. That ride is the Grizzly River Run.

I liked it just fine when I tried it, but you get really wet. That's why my sisters haven't ridden it. They always give in and ride Splash Mountain, despite their misgivings, but there are two differences: Splash Mountain has cute animatronic animals, and you usually don't get soaked.

Splash Mountain will usually get you a little wet, and depending on the water level and how you hit some of the curves, you can get really wet, but there is at least room for hope that you won't get soaked. With Grizzly River Run, there is no hope.

I'm not exactly shy about getting wet, but then your shoes are squelching for the rest of the day, and your socks are riding up, and if your wearing jeans, wet denim is a hassle. Plus, as the only one who is willing to ride it, that is somewhat discouraging, but I really wanted to ride it again.

In a different theme park, many years ago, I rode the Jurassic Park ride at Universal Studios. My sisters had ridden it on a different trip, without me, and did not want to ride it again, because they got soaked. They were going to wait for me, but they were not getting on. In line, I noticed vending machines with ponchos, and got one of those. When I caught up with my sisters, they did not believe I had been on it yet, because I was so dry. Talking to other people in the Backdraft attraction, who had just been on Jurassic Park also, one of them pointed to their party and said "Drowned rat", then at me and said "Not drowned rat."

So when I started thinking about getting soaked, I remembered how well the poncho worked. I had an emergency poncho that had been hanging out in my purse for five years without an emergency; perhaps this would be a good non-emergency use.

That would only protect the shirt and part of the pants, but now I was being strategic. Not wearing jeans was pretty easy to manage, but what about shoes? Well, I also had an old pair of flip flops from 2008 (Maria had bought them in Australia, and then I inherited them) and they had seen better days. I would have them in my purse, change into them for the ride, and let my prissy sisters watch my shoes.

It worked pretty well. Since my pants are black, you can't see how wet they are. The answer is pretty wet. However, that dried easily, I changed back into my sneakers, and was basically no worse for wear. The other obvious question is whether there was a point.

That's harder to answer. For me, just getting back on the ride after so long was something I wanted to do, and it gave good use to the emergency poncho and slippers, but the ride itself is not terribly exciting. The whole point of the ride is to get wet. Little kids love it. I was riding with a man and his two young sons, and the boys were thrilled. They rushed right back into line to ride it again. Okay, they are decades younger, maybe it's more of a thrill. It can be fun, but it's not fun the way the Matterhorn is.

(To be fair, the Jurassic Park ride was pretty disappointing too. I felt like there should be a lot more dinosaurs.)

One thing worth noting, if you are staying at the Grand Californian, the entrance is right nearby, and that probably makes things easier.

Disneyland - Guest Satisfaction

I'm pretty close to winding up this trip to Disneyland.

The last post focused on the Disney commitment to a good guest experience by looking for ways to update and improve rides, but there is more to the park than rides. Fast passes and some of the new wristband functions that they are doing in Disneyworld are a part of that too. The fact that the food is so good, which came up in some of the dining posts, is part of that. Today's post is about three different little things that go along with that.

One happened in the Magic Kingdom, and I don't have a picture for it. We went on Star Tours, which is kind of a good example anyway, when they shot new footage and started mixing it up so that you don't know how the ride will go. One thing that is for certain, though, is that they will tell you that you have a rebel spy on board, and escaping the arrest of that spy is what sets the adventure off.

Years ago I went on the Star Trek simulation ride in Las Vegas that was similar to this. There was an ancestor of someone from the next generation on board (I think Picard, but it was Riker who was filmed as the person talking to you), but they didn't show you a picture, so it could be anyone on board, even you.

That might seem like it's more inclusive, but it's also less interesting. Star Tours shows you which passenger it is. On our ride, it was Maria.

That's only one person, but most people are in groups, so there are more people that are affected by it. Personally, I thought it was hilarious, especially because when they took the picture Maria must have just been looking down, but it looked like she was sleeping. The rebel alliance is in good hands.

Having been on the ride when it wasn't one of us, I never felt like it was non-inclusive, so not being connected to the spy is not alienating, but there is the chance of being connected, which is pretty cool. It's a nice bonus feature.

Also a nice bonus feature was one cast member giving me a Mickey Mouse sticker as I was walking in California Adventure, near the Little Mermaid ride. It seemed pretty random, but there was a little boost in the day that was unexpected.

As you  can see, I am sticking to their terminology of guests and cast members, because you can say customers and employees, and it would be true, but I think that the fact that they use those specific words helps them get in the mindset that they want, and it's effective. They do a good job.

A lot of that job isn't necessarily seen. We didn't know how wearing the birthday buttons would work until we did it. I never knew that you might randomly get a sticker until it happened. I wasn't shocked, but I didn't know. So, having stood in lines for pretty much every ride multiple times, there was something else I didn't know about, until it happened.

We got in line for Soarin' Over California, and a cast member handed me a card on a lanyard and asked me to turn it in at the head of the line. You know those signs telling you how long the wait for a ride is? Those are not guesses. On a regular basis they are timing it and updating.

It's cool that they do all that, and it's cool to get a peek at how it happens.

I love Disneyland.

Disneyland - Changes

These pictures are all random ones that I haven't used, because I don't really have any pictures of today's topic.

I usually don't take pictures on rides. Prohibitions against flash photography make me nervous about taking photos without a flash, and the movement makes it likely that the picture won't come out, and on fast rides I might even lose my camera.

(I think once you have a cell phone camera a lot of anxieties go away, but I wouldn't know.)

Anyway, there were three changes that my sisters and I noticed on rides.

Actually, there were four, because the film characters that had been added to the It's a Small World ride were associated with the Christmas decorations in our mind, but are part of the regular ride now. It had been so long since we had been there when the ride was open that we didn't know.

We have been there for the Haunted Mansion holiday mode many times, so it was easier to see that they had added a moldy gingerbread man, and there was the scent of gingerbread in the air. That was new.

On the Alice in Wonderland ride, video was projected in some parts, including an army of cards. That made for less gaps in the ride's narrative.

Finally, and this was my favorite, there was a change on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

That is one of my favorite rides anyway, but the weakest part of the ride was one part where you are climbing, and what it showed was gravel and rocks falling in silhouette, giving the impression of an imminent landslide. What you have now is combustibles and sparks, getting ready for an explosion, and it looks a lot better.

It would be easy to get it wrong. Big Thunder also has some charmingly low-tech animatronics, and I would hate to lose the turtle or buzzard or snakes. I love the billy goat chewing the stick of dynamite.

If they did a complete overhaul to be all high-tech, there would be something precious lost. The little tweaks improve without detracting, and I am constantly amazed by how well Disney does.

That makes finding this article yesterday even better.:

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2015/04/legendary-hatbox-ghost-comes-out-to-socialize-in-the-haunted-mansion-at-disneyland-park-in-may/

I'm pretty sure that some of being able to revive this ghost relates to improved technology, but also it honors tradition, and the love that guests feel for even the tiniest details of the park.

Disneyland - Fantasy Faire

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/entertainment/disneyland/fantasy-faire/

The Fantasy Faire is an expansion of Fantasyland focusing on princesses. This is a place where there are times scheduled for meeting various princesses. There is some live entertainment as well, but the real focus is the princesses.

This combines two trends. One has been having specific places and times for characters, with less random wandering of the park. There is a spot for Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore in Critter Country, and a space on the way to It's A Small World that I have seen host Disney villains around Halloween and couples around Valentine's Day.

Those are open spaces that get used, but there has also been some creation of new spaces, like a room to the side of Village Haus that has hosted Rapunzel before and Anna and Elsa now.

Sometimes, those spaces get designed specifically to create a certain experience. So before you meet Thor, you can view the Treasures of Asgard. In ToonTown, can see the houses of Donald, Goofy, Minnie, and Chip and Dale, and you wind through Mickey's house before meeting him.

Fantasy Faire is more like the ToonTown experience. You see the castle where the princesses live, and they have their own nooks. Your time there can be integrated with princess makeovers at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, where the children can be part of a procession.

I am not the market for this, but there are people who would eat it up.