Disneyland: Fantasyland

 

No matter how many cool things we have already covered, Fantasyland feels like the essence of Disney. Perhaps it is because so many of the rides are tied so closely to the movies, and you can just kind of step into them.

You enter through a castle, and suddenly a carousel is in front of you, and you are flanked by four movie rides, which even though they all reflect and appropriate architectural style for their movie, still seem to belong together, and then more rides just keep popping up. It is a magical place.

Sleeping Beauty Castle: As well as creating the perfect entrance to Fantasyland, you can also walk through the castle and view scenes from the "Sleeping Beauty" movie. While the walk does involve going up and down stairs, there does appear to be a wheelchair accessible version.

King Arthur Carrousel: The spelling bugs me, but apparently carrousel is an accepted variant of carousel. Anyway, it is a merry-go-round filled with white horses. Although the name, and the anvil with the sword stuck in it at the front indicate it relates to "The Sword in the Stone", there are painted scenes from "Sleeping Beauty" inside, and the tune is "Once Upon A Dream". It works.

The next four rides are the movie ones that I mentioned. Honestly, the ones on the right are better, but they all have some sentimental value, and we ride each of them every time. I will go through them from left to right.

Pinocchio's Daring Journey: Ride around the puppet show, Pleasure Island, an ocean with Monstro the Whale, and end up in Geppetto's toy shop.

Snow White's Scary Adventures: Mine cars named after the dwarfs take you through the mine, their cottage, and the scary woods.

Peter Pan's Flight: This is one of my favorites, as the scenes, especially as you fly above London at night, then come in over Neverland, are so beautiful. You ride in flying pirate ships. This one tends to have longer lines, but it's worth it.

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride: Here you ride little cars named after characters from "The Wind in the Willows" through Toad Hall, the town and countryside, and even a brief trip through Hell!

Dumbo the Flying Elephant: One of the cutest Disney characters gives you one of the cutest rides, as you circle around in a flying elephant. You control the height with a lever. The lines stack up for this one too.

Casey Jr. Circus Train: This is a very small train, designed more for kids. Adults can ride, but usually only do if they are taking their children. It can be fun to ride in a monkey cage, but we prefer the full-size train. This one does allow you to get a different view of some of the Storybook Land scenes.

Storybook Land Canal Boats: In mentioning all of the boats of Frontierland, I forgot that you also have two boat rides here (not counting the flying pirate ships). For this one, you get in boats named after Disney heroines (we rode the Alice, decorated with a picture of the Cheshire Cat). Through Monstro's mouth you enter a a waterway with miniature cottages and castles on both sides, depicting scenes from various movies and cartoons. The guide is narrating, but instead of the corny jokes of the jungle cruise, there tends to be more interaction with the guests.

It's a Small World: I know there are people who find this ride annoying, and I'm not saying that the song won't get stuck in your head. When people have other songs stuck in their head, I know singing this one will push the other one out (not that they necessarily appreciate that). Still, I think the scenes are all really cute, the exterior decorations and topiary are interesting, and I am not so jaded that the message of unity and international understanding bothers me.

Mad Tea Party: And here's where you ride in the tea cups, to the strains of the Un-birthday song. You have three levels of spinning, with the main platform going round, three smaller wheels within that platform also revolving (and the cup transferring between them), and the turning of the cup itself, which you can exert some control over by turning the wheel inside. I mention this because if you have any tendency towards motion sickness, this might not be the ride for you. If that is not an issue, and you are wondering about using the wheel, I would say the amount of exertion required does not really pay off in increased velocity, so it makes more sense to lean back and enjoy the ride.

Alice in Wonderland: This is similar to the four anchoring rides at the entrance, in that you ride an appropriate craft (in this case, the caterpillar) through scenes from the movie. It is built on a larger scale though, and is perhaps a little more interesting, and the different time period of the movie is reflected in a different color scheme, where it's just a little more psychedelic. (The movie's art director, Mary Blair, was also the designer for It's a Small World.)

Matterhorn Bobsleds: This bobsled ride roller coaster may not fit in as obviously to the themes running through the rest of Fantasyland, but I am glad they have it. I guess it is kind of a fantastic thing to have the Abominable Snowman show up in the Alps instead of the Himalayas. Anyway, it does kind of go with a Disney movie; does anyone remember Third Man On The Mountain?

Village Haus Restaurant: This is our favorite place for hamburgers on both sides of the park. The interior is decorated with a Pinocchio theme and the food is really good.

This is really the main restaurant for Fantasyland. Otherwise, in addition to snack carts, there is Edelweiss Snacks across from the Matterhorn, where you can get turkey legs and cobs of corn, and
Troubador Tavern, which is in an area where we never really go.

As you head towards Toon Town, you pass It's a Small World on the right, and on the left there is a path to the Fantasyland Theatre. At one point there was a Snow White musical. At another, this was where you got all of your princess merchandise, but now it is the location for Mickey and the Magical Map. It sounds interesting, but we have never seen it.

Princess makeovers have now been moved over to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Yes, they do sell other things there, but it seems to be mainly about the packages. Our love for Disney extends more towards the anthropomorphic animals than the princesses, so we aren't really into this, and we also did not try too hard to check out the Fantasy Faire. To be fair, it seemed like it was still under construction, and probably next time we will look around, but it has a definite target market that we are not a part of. If you want to meet the princesses, though, they do facilitate it.

Disneyland: Frontierland

I'll try not to beat a dead horse, but I wanted to get back to the two things currently in Critter Country that I still consider to be in Frontierland. With the starting point of the old Country Bear Jamboree, I seem to remember that one of the Frontierland attractions was Teddi Barra's; it might have been the shooting gallery.

Also, the canoes existed before Critter Country. The restaurant might have, but the canoes definitely did, and it was significant because Frontierland was all about the boats. Yes, you sort of rode boat-like things in It's a Small World and Pirates of the Caribbean, but Frontierland had water with a riverboat, sailing ship, keelboat, and raft, plus the canoes, all holding their place on the Rivers of America.

There was a strong influence from The Wonderful World of Disney and Disney Movies, some of which is still there. Tom Sawyer Island has been redone so there is more of a pirate influence since Pirates of the Caribbean the movie, but it's not like Tom would never have played pirates.

The raft that carries you there I think is still somewhat similar to the raft that Huck and Jim used, and although you don't ride it, that is a replica of Mike Fink's Gullywhumper outside the cabin. So Frontierland was very much about the boats, even though my favorite ride there involves the train.

Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes: Actually, I have never ridden these. I had a bad experience with a rowboat at a Flintstone's park in Canada once, and so when I see the passengers wielding oars I get nervous. The ride description says the guide does most of the work, and the guests paddle just for fun, but I am skeptical. I still think it's cool that they exist. Maybe someday.

Mark Twain Riverboat: This gives you a narrated tour of the surroundings on the Rivers of America, in the voice of Mark Twain. Around the waterway, visible from the various boats and the train, are scenes of frontier life, with cabins, wild animals, and natives.

Sailing Ship Columbia: Instead of a riverboat this is a three-masted windjammer, and instead of recorded narration, the crew talks to you. Below deck there are displays to give you an idea of crew life, with bunks and a galley.


Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: If you ask about my favorite ride in the park, I will have a hard time choosing between this and the Matterhorn. It is a really fun roller coaster ride set up as a runaway train through the Old West, going through mines and past desert animals and even dinosaur bones. Lots of fun.

Pirate's Lair On Tom Sawyer Island: This has been updated, and some of that has been to increase the pirate feeling, but also they have made this a great place to have your kids burn off their energy. Seriously, it is exhausting just going around the paths and bridges, and kids can also climb and dig.

Frontierland Shooting Exposition: I have only done this one once. I don't like that there is a fee. I can see that it would be necessary to keep any one guest from just staying there and keeping other guests waiting, but I already spend enough money there, and they don't sweeten the pot by giving prizes. With prizes, I would probably do it more.

Big Thunder Mountain Ranch: This is basically a petting zoo, and we haven't really tried it. It's fairly new, after the Hunchback Village with its Feast of Fools didn't catch on (Clopin will be involved in the Fantasy Faire), and it was closed the first time we went there since it opened. Last time we could have gone, but I think we felt out of place as childless adults going to a petting zoo. I like petting zoos though, so next time I should probably just go for it.

Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue: Part of the property, as well as an area for coloring, is this restaurant, which as an all you can eat barbecue seems like it would be a good deal.

Harbour Galley: I know, I have been so stubborn about the location on this one, and I will probably never go to it, because it serves seafood. Still, with all that water in Frontierland, and boats, there probably should be a seafood place.

The Golden Horseshoe: We have been here. The main draw is that along with the food there is live entertainment. They are simple shows, but we had never seen one before and decided we wanted to. It was just a comic sketch with audience participation, but it is nice to relax sometimes and get out of the sun. I think we split a sundae and a rice crispy treat among the three of us, so I know they have desserts, but they had regular food too.

Stage Door Cafe: If I recall correctly, this is similar food to the Golden Horseshoe, but with a walkup window instead of being inside. I believe I have gotten chicken strips here. There are outside tables nearby.

Rancho Del Zocalo Restaurante: I thought this was fine, but my sisters did not like it. Still, their idea of Mexican food is Taco Bell, and this is a bit more authentic than that. The atmosphere was good, and the food wasn't even that spicy, but if your tolerance is low, you should probably go somewhere else. Personally, I think it is good that the area dedicated to the Old West acknowledges the Mexican influence. There is a small area nearby called Zocalo Park, and the Day of the Dead decorations appeared there around Halloween.

River Belle Terrace: We have never been here. It sounds like it would be good for breakfast, but we usually take advantage of the free continental breakfast at our hotel, then eat lunch and dinner in the park. Their lunch and dinner offerings are baguette sandwiches, which are fine, but in this area we are right near the Bengal Barbecue and Royal Street Veranda, which we tend to stick to. Perhaps we need to change it up a little.

Disneyland: Critter Country

I'm being a little rebellious here, but I need to give some back-story to explain why.

Critter Country is relatively new. In the Disneyland of my childhood, the only part of it that was really there was the Country Bear Jamboree, consisting of animatronic singing bears. That entrance for it now leads to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride.

I considered that to be part of Frontierland. There was some reasonable overlap between New Orleans Square and Frontierland. New Orleans straddles the same Mississippi River that Huck and Jim traveled on. If the cultural influences were different, they were still neighbors. Generally speaking, in my mind the attractions on the left were New Orleans Square, and on the right was Frontierland. Therefor, even though you pass the River Belle Terrace just as you are heading into New Orleans Square, and the baguette sandwiches sound like there is a French influence, when the park classifies it as part of Frontierland I accept it. After all, it is on the right.

So, this is where I get rebellious. The web site classifies the Harbour Galley and the Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes as being in Critter Country, and I disagree, and I am not going to write about them until we get into Frontierland next week.

For me, Critter Country (whose existence I wholly support) consists of the following:

Splash Mountain: Actually, going back to my youth, the one big thing that Knotts Berry Farm had that Disneyland didn't was a flume ride, so that was a nice addition. It is a wetter one than the log ride, but as I said writing about the Grizzly River Run, you don't always get soaked on this one. Sometimes you hit certain corners and splash more, and other times you and the current don't intersect quite the same way. Also, you do get much wetter in the front.

One thing that I really appreciate about this ride is that in addition to incorporating the Uncle Remus characters, they also brought in several characters from the old America Sings ride, and it's good that they are still somewhere, because I liked that one.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: This is a simple but cute ride. You get into sideways beehives and go through scenes from various Winnie the Pooh tales, including blustery days, rain coming down, and heffalumps and woozles. It is pretty adorable.

Hungry Bear Restaurant: This is a basic hamburger drill, and the setting is great, but we didn't like it. This surprised us because we like the hamburgers at the Village Haus so much. I think the issue is that they are smokier here, and some people may prefer it that way, but not us.

Critter Country also has some of our favorite shopping. We always go in the one store, at the end of the land. All things Pooh and Tigger are here, but there is also a great candy selection here, and of all the places in the park where you can watch them making candy apples and dipping pretzel sticks, this is my favorite, based on atmosphere.

That shop is huge, but there is another small one that is worth mentioning. I usually don't know the names of the shops, but based on the picture I have, it appears to be called the Briar Patch. I was just amazed by the selection of character hats. If you want Dumbo or Tinkerbell or anything you can imagine, this is the place.

Disneyland: New Orleans Square

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Orleans Square has great atmosphere. It is all stucco houses and wrought iron balconies, Dixieland Jazz and hints of the Gothic. As you leave Adventureland you find the entrance to Pirates of the Caribbean and just before you exit New Orleans Square into Critter Country (having passed a Disneyland Railroad Station) you have the Haunted Mansion.

Therefore, there is pirate themed shopping and there is Halloween themed shopping, with a strong presence from The Nightmare Before Christmas, but there is also a perfume shop and one with fancy Christmas ornaments, giving a feel for the decadence and the French influence.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Yo ho, yo ho! A pirate's life for me. This is one of our favorite rides. We have had trips where we have ridden it every single day, and one tragic trip where it was closed for renovation and we couldn't ride it at all. By boat you start in a Louisiana bayou and head down into ghostly pirate scenes, and then pirate scenes that are not so ghostly, with fun animatronics and a very catchy song.

Unique in having inspired a movie, instead of being inspired by a movie, the retrofitting for the inclusion of more references to Captain Jack Sparrow is a bit overdone.The should have left the dialogue with the well dunking the same, and just stuck to one hiding and one relaxing Jack. It's still a fun ride.

The Haunted Mansion: I have no doubt that the success of the Pirates movie is behind the making of this other movie, but just as you cannot necessarily get four good movies out of one theme park ride, also, not every theme park ride can make a good movie. I will admit the way they worked different bits of the ride into the movie was clever, and it was still better than Van Helsing.

There are a lot of fun details here, with the sinking room, changing pictures, and hitchhiking ghosts, but my favorite will always be the ballroom. I always want a better look at the ghostly figures, and yet part of their allure is the impossibility of getting that look. It is how ghosts should be.

One thing that they do is switch it over to a Nightmare Before Christmas theme for the holidays. The pumpkins on the outside and the overall decor are great, but I like the regular style better, and it is so much more appropriate for Halloween, and yet they make the switch in October. Always with the cross-promotions. I do love that Zero shows up though. My love for dogs is not limited to the living.


Blue Bayou Restaurant: This restaurant is awesome because you are eating in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. The food is fine, but really, you are going here for the atmosphere. It's pretty inside, and people are loading up on boats and heading through the bayou. It is very popular, so you will probably need to make a reservation. Going for lunch instead of dinner helps, and since we like to get the Monte Cristos, which they do not serve at dinner last time I checked, that works for us.

Cafe Orleans: We have not been to this one, but it looks like the menu is similar to Blue Bayou, but presumably without the wait.

French Market Restaurant: We have also not been to this one, but we really need to. They have beignets and live entertainment. Or perhaps we will walk up to the Mint Julep Bar window there and order something refreshing and non-alcoholic.

Royal Street Veranda: Okay, we hit this one every time. This is where we like to get our chowder bowls. You can also get steak or vegetarian gumbo in the sourdough bread bowls, but we have been getting clam chowder since our first trip back as adults in 1996, and it works for us.

Disneyland: Adventureland

 

In the last post I mentioned that as you head up main street there is Central Plaza and Sleeping Beauty's Castle right in front of you. The natural instinct is to go through the castle to enter Fantasyland, but there are three other entrances here. If you turn left you can enter Tomorrowland. On the right is Frontierland and to the right of that is Adventureland, which is where we will start.

Walking underneath the torches, Adventureland may seem small. There is one path, and you don't have to go very far before you have passed through it completely and entered New Orleans Square. However, in that space, you have four attractions, three places to get food, and some great shopping.

Many of the rides exit into gift shops, and most of them are fun to look in, but the theme is carried through very well here. So leaving the Jungle Cruise you find plush jungle animals and rubber snakes, and across from that you can get hats, whips, and jackets like Indiana Jones, and we have always enjoyed ourselves here.

The first stop is the Enchanted Tiki Room, and you get a good idea of the way the entertainment and the purchasing opportunities go together here, because the Tiki Juice Bar is adjacent to the courtyard where you wait for the next show, and so you can enjoy refreshment while you wait (and I believe take it in), but you can also make purchases from outside.

Enchanted Tiki Room: Listen to animatronic birds, flowers, and the building itself sing, and sing along yourself during one part. It's pretty cute. There is only one showroom, so you may have to wait for the next show, but that wait is not lengthy, and as showtime approaches the courtyard tiki figures from Hawaiian mythology begin to move and speak. 

Tiki Juice Bar: Sponsored by Dole, you can get pineapple whip here like you would get at the Dole Pineapple plantation. This should be especially refreshing in hot weather.

Jungle Cruise: This and the Tiki Room are both older attractions, relying heavily on animatronics. In this case, instead of listening to them sing in a room, you are going past them in a boat while your guide tells corny jokes. It is fairly predictable, but the animals look great for the most part, and every now and then they add things. Those piranha did not used to be there.

Tropical Imports: This is another one of those spots where you can buy the healthier snacks, like fruit cups. However, it may be one of the best examples of how they make the individual stops fit in well with the overall design. There is a definite look and feel to the land, and it works with what you are doing there.

Indiana Jones Adventure: Speaking of design, one Disney specialty is giving you a lot to look at while you are waiting in line, and this may be the best example of that, as you work your way through an ancient Bengalese temple. Once you work your way through, you board cars that look like old military transports, and take off through the temple, where after you look in the eyes of Mara, a goddess depicted there, well, everything goes wrong, from darts shooting out of walls, rats, bugs, a giant snake, and a big boulder rolling towards you. Every now and then Indy pops back up to help. The ride is exciting. The cars do jerk a lot, so it is not as smooth a ride as the Matterhorn or Thunder Mountain, but not as shaky as Space Mountain.

Tarzan's Treehouse: This used to be the Swiss Robinson Family Treehouse, and it was a pretty good model of the one from the movie. I was initially not keen on the change, but one thing they have done is turned it into another attraction where your children can tire themselves out. In addition to the steeper climb, there are ropes to pull on and sand pits to dig in, and the occasional scene from Tarzan. You do get a pretty good view from the top.

Bengal Barbecue: This is one of our favorite restaurants in the park, and one we always go to. You will notice that the prices for the skewers they sell seem remarkably low. The skewers aren't really that big. You may find that you want more than one. However, since they are sold in single units, if you decide you want a spicy one and then a not spicy, or both beef and chicken, or you want more vegetables, but not all vegetables, this should work for you. We usually each get a single skewer and then two Mickey pretzels to share, or something like that, and it works out.

The Barbecue is very popular, and there is not a lot of seating here, nor any seating for Tropical Imports. It just isn't a very big land. However, there is a building, Aladdin's Oasis, where they have story time with Aladdin and Jasmine, and one of the park workers recommended it for overflow seating when not in use. We found a table so we haven't tried it, but it's something to keep in mind.

Disneyland: Main Street, U.S.A

I already talked about Main Street a little in talking about Buena Vista Street. Main Street is bigger though, and has more attractions.

Again, it is designed to resemble the main street of a small town in Middle America (Disney  himself was from Marceline, Missouri) in the early 20th century; this is before World War I and the Great Depression. It is somewhat idealized, but it is also beautifully designed, and it is an interesting place in it's own right.

There are a few rides, but there is nothing exciting or fast-paced. At the same time, everyone coming in or out of the park (with the exception of people using the Monorail to get to Downtown Disney) comes through here, so it is always bustling, and not feeling particularly quiet. However, there is a lot of entertainment, so you can sit and let the attractions come to you.

All of the rides are old-fashioned modes of transportation. First of all,  you have the Main Street Station for the Disneyland Railroad. There are also stops in New Orleans Square, Mickey's Toon Town, and Tomorrowland, and you can use the train just to get from one part of the park to another, but we always take a full circuit at least once. You see a few decorative parts that you would not normally see, coming in behind buildings and scenery. You get to cut through Splash Mountain and catch a glimpse of the animatronics there.

Also, and this is our favorite, there is a tunnel where you go past scenes from the Grand Canyon, both in the modern age and in the times of the dinosaurs (specifically, we see triceratops and tyrannosaurus, so let's say Cretaceous). There are more impressive sets and animatronics all over the park, but we have a fondness for this one.

The other rides are classified as the Main Street Vehicles, and they are all different one-way rides going either up or down Main Street. When you enter the park, the first thing you see is the train station, and you can take a tunnel on the left or the right that takes you into a green space where they have character greetings and seasonal decorations. It is like a small park, as is Central Plaza at the other end (right before Sleeping Beauty Castle) where they have the statue of Walt Disney and Mickey. The vehicles run you between these two points.

Honestly, they are all kind of similar, but each with their own twist. So you can tell the horseless carriage from the fire truck, because the fire truck has a roof and the jitney is open. The horse-drawn trolley has the horse, and then the double decker bus clearly two stories. They are smaller than a regular omnibus or trolley would be, navigating a relatively small space, but they are pretty comfortable and make frequent runs.

Obviously you are not riding them for the thrill, but just for the experience. I think we have ridden each one at this point, but we don't prioritize them. We do still get excited seeing horses.

Main Street Cinema: It's been a while since we have been to this one. You stand in the middle, and there are six screens around, and each screen is playing a different classic Disney cartoon. It can be a fun idea, but it can also be a little boring. Maybe that is true for most of Main Street in a way, but I still like it.

The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln: I guess this can seem a little cheesy too, but I love Abraham Lincoln, and it's kind of a nice tribute. It is old-fashioned, but you just have to enjoy the moment. And, in the words of Jay Pritchett, you get a robot president. This is true, and it is cool, but you should know that it starts out with narration and paintings, and you only get the animatronic Lincoln towards the end.

When you are entering the park and having your passes scanned, there are maps and schedules. Grab one and check the entertainment options. It is not foolproof. We wanted to see the Dapper Dans, and they pop up in different spots, so we caught a glimpse of them but they were not nearby. However, we did get a chance to watch the Firehouse Five, right in front of the firehouse, as well as another band, and between the two various characters performed as well, including Chip and Dale, Goofy, and Cruella DeVil. Sometimes it's worth just hanging out.

For food and shopping, each area has it's unique draws, and various specialty items. Facing the Central Plaza, you have several interesting shops on the right. We love the left though. You start with City Hall, which houses Guest Services. This is where you would go for lost children, but this is also where you get your celebration buttons, or work out issues with gift cards, and they always seem to know the answer. The firehouse, where so much entertainment occurs, is right next door.

Next to that is the Emporium, and this is the ultimate store for Disney things. They have a bit of everything. As you work your way up you will also find an amazing candy store that is just fun to look around in. The Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor is also on this side, and no, it's not significantly different than Clarabelle's on Buena Vista Street, but that works well. If you are heading on your way out of the park, but not quite ready to be gone, stopping for ice cream and soaking up the atmosphere is completely reasonable.

And again, I said this before, but pick up some of the Blue Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookies when you get a chance.

California Adventure - Condor Flats

I regret not having any photos for this one. It is a small land, with basically one ride and one restaurant, but both of them are pretty good.

I guess one reason I tend not to take pictures is that everything is set up to look like air hangers, so it is not particularly decorative, but it works with the theme of honoring California's aviation history. This is especially true of the entry line for Soarin', where you have plane parts, along with photos and biographies of famous pilots.

There is also a water play area and a shop, and apparently Minnie Mouse does a number with her fly girls, but we have never seen it.

Soarin' Over California is one of my favorite rides ever. It simulates hang gliding over California scenery. You are in the seated position, but the seats are lifted up, and into a large screen, and aerial footage is shown from a creek in the Redwoods, an orange grove, an aircraft carrier in San Diego, a golf course in Palm Springs, and many other places, finally ending up over Disneyland at Christmas. Scents are piped in too, so you smell the oranges and the cedar. It is one I usually try and repeat.

Taste Pilot's Grill: This is basically a burger restaurant, and a pretty good one, based on the time we did eat here.