Data TR #4 (for four!)

[MickeyMousePal]

Wow, it looks like someone had fun. Well at least you took a break from studying.
Great Trip report like always.

[Datameister]

Part 2

With Space Mountain out of the way, we decided to head for Innoventions, but lo and behold, the wait was listed as 20 minutes. Star Tours became our plan B. Gotta say, that attraction hasn't aged as badly as a lot of people say, but I'm looking forward to the eventual change. We were talking about that in line, and I think we agreed it'd be cool if at first they just took out the original film completely in favor of the new ones, but then started phasing the original back in eventually - retouched, of course - as "classic" Star Tours.

Then we hit Big Thunder, during which I managed to forget to have my camera out for the backstage views of Fantasyland, which led to a desperate struggle that didn't result in any particularly amazing shots. Goat trick was awesome as usual, though.

Things got real interesting, though, when we headed back toward the hub. I'd been wanting to take some photos of this area...



...since I have no blueprints of it, the aerial photos are pretty bad, and no one else wants to take photos of it. So I took a variety of 'em. Then I decided to use the secret bathroom, since it was right there, and I'd never done so before.



But the thing is...there's a gate to backstage next to the secret bathroom. And someone...uh...left it open. I was a little surprised, honestly, since I was waiting for the bathroom to be free, and these CMs just left it wide open, but after a little encouraging from my companions, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity. I didn't go in, and I didn't disobey any signage, but I did snap a few shots like this one:



I'd already been back there (legally!), but I hadn't taken any photos while I was there because we were told not to, of course. But when I have a perfectly valid reason for standing in an onstage location and then I happen to be forced to see an unusual glimpse of backstage...it's hard for me not to take advantage of it. Notice how the facade on the upper left just stops below the onstage eyeline - they're like that all across. The bottom of the wall is plain and green, with elaborate facades on the top half.

Then we checked out the castle walkthrough, yet ANOTHER first for me! Honestly, I really liked it. Nothing terribly fancy, but plenty of charm, a classic feel with modern touches, and an interesting look at the inside of a familiar landmark. I enjoyed it. Wouldn't have waited in a long line for it, but I was definitely glad to have seen it...especially Malificent's transformation into the dragon.

Then we went over to Alice in Wonderland - that's when this photo was taken.



I hadn't been on this ride since...oh, I must have been five or so. Really quite a long time. I had virtually no memories of it, except for from a few photos I'd seen. My reaction? A solid contribution to the FL dark ride tradition, but perhaps more similar to Pooh than many give it credit for. It's just that there are some better effects, a few more three-dimensional characters, and a much more cohesive storyline. And the outdoor segments. And the multi-layer nature of it. But overall, the look is quite similar.

Haha, then we did the Fantasyland side of the Matterhorn, and I managed to capture Harold while the strobes were going off. This was not a flash photo!



Of course, my other favorite Harold is this creepy little guy...



On the way to Roger Rabbit, we were all impressed by the new IASW lighting...



...and Roger Rabbit was fun. SeaWolf took control of the wheel and pointed us backwards most of the time. After that...we hunkered down at the south end of the hub for fireworks. It was actually pretty funny...the crowd kept flowing around us like we weren't even standing in their way. And it was a pretty great viewing spot for the show. Now, I maxed out one of my memory cards just with my final viewing of RDCT, so I'm obviously not going to share all my photos. But here are some highlights.



















I loved this show. Afterward, I pretty much had to go - I had a 10 o'clock bus to catch. But first, I snapped a shot of the mass exodus taking place. Note startours1 playing Vana at the bottom right.



And the rest of this TR will be devoted simply to transportation...feel free to stop reading if you like. This is mostly for sediment. Anyway, I rushed to the corner of Manchester and Harbor, where I caught the Metro 460. That was very easy - $1.25 and I was on my way. The trip took about an hour, as expected, and then we arrived at Norwalk Station. I bought a ticket (another $1.25) and boarded the Green Line train, which was already sitting on the tracks down below. This is what it looked like inside:



Toldja, sed! Anyway, yeah, that was very easy. A half-hour later, we were at the Aviation/LAX station, where I quickly hopped onto a free shuttle to LAX itself. There was this crazy dude in there, but he didn't bother me much. At LAX, I had a brief scare when the shuttle people told me they didn't have a van coming for a while, but for whatever reason, that changed, and I managed to get home in a pretty decent amount of time. Overall, an exceedingly fun day, and that was due in large part to the presence of SeaWolf38, the Dark Lady, and startours1! So...thanks a million to all three of you. I like solo trips, sure, but this was absolutely wonderful.

[sediment]

OK, now I can sleep easily.

What shuttle did you take from LAX to Westwood? FlyAway or SuperShuttle/PrimeTime?

[Datameister]

SuperShuttle. I would have done FlyAway, except they don't run that late.

[roxy72]

Nice trip report. Do you live in the LA area? I'm curious, since you also mentioned that this is your finals week. My alma mater (where I currently work at) is also having finals this week! The poor students are so frazzled.

[Datameister]

Yup, I'm living in west LA at the moment.

[ScottG]

Great TR Datameister.
I thought I had a good idea of where the secret restroom was but clearly, I was wrong. That just gives me one more thing to look for during our next trip in Sept.
BTW, What is inside that brown buildings opening (I can see a person in there) on the left side of the first pic in post 47?

[NeverNeverland]

Yay. Glad you had such a great trip!

[Datameister]

Originally Posted by ScottG

I thought I had a good idea of where the secret restroom was but clearly, I was wrong. That just gives me one more thing to look for during our next trip in Sept.

Same here, actually. I only realized it was there because SeaWolf38 pointed it out.

BTW, What is inside that brown buildings opening (I can see a person in there) on the left side of the first pic in post 47?

That's a passage to Frontierland, near Rancho Del Zocalo.

[SnorkletsMom]

Originally Posted by Datameister

Thank you very much, all! Part 2 is nearly ready for posting. (And SnorkletsMom, I'm using the Canon Digital Rebel XT. I highly recommend it for those who want to get into digital SLRs but don't want to pay insane prices. Just make sure you don't skimp on the lenses!)

Ah...my husband has that one, but I haven't used it. I have a smaller Canon PowerShot A650, which I love, but I dropped it in front of the castle at WDW and now it has a permanent dark spot in all the photos. *sigh*
Anyway, fantastic photos and a great TR. Thanks again!

[ScottG]

Originally Posted by Datameister

That's a passage to Frontierland, near Rancho Del Zocalo.

Ah-Haaa! Now I know where it is.
Thanks

[Sir Didymus]

That was ton's of fun!

And I'm surprised and shocked at all of the firsts in one trip for such a "know-it-all."

[Datameister]

Haha, well, I don't get to go to the park every week or anything, and I REALLY like to avoid long lines, so I tend to not hit new attractions for a while after they open.

[RocknGuitar]

Wow, that might be the only thing in Disneyland I have never noticed before! I'll investigate a little more on my next visit for that secret bathroom. Nice TR, I will also miss RDCT.

My feelings on TSM are generally the same. The queue gets you all excited for the detail, then the ride is only decent. It is a fun ride, don't get me wrong, it just does not extend to its full potential.

[Datameister]

Originally Posted by RocknGuitar

Wow, that might be the only thing in Disneyland I have never noticed before!

Have you stood on tippie toes in the Indy exit to look at the first Pirates show building?