Re: SoCal: The Forever Alone Tour July 2012 (Vegas added)
Day 6 - 10th July 2012 - Part 1
Obligatory front entrance sign photo. It's really underwhelming.
I arrived and got my ticket sorted just in time for the 8am opening. As my magic hour plan for later in the week hadn't worked out (they gave me a ticket that I could only actually use on the Sat, and ten it was only valid for the Magic Kingdom, not CaliAdv) I decided to leg it to Radiator Springs and see what the deal was. As I arrived, there was a HUGE queue of epople waiting for fast passes. As I turned the corner into Cars Land, there was a queue pretty much the whole way along the street. I stopped to ask a cast member where the single rider queue was, only to be told that the ride was currently closed. Eugh, I needed a plan B.
Coming back out of Cars Land and heading out toward the back of the park, I stumbled across the Little Mermaid. It was walk on. As in, I was the only person on it. My main reaction is wow! Sure, there's a couple of bits I think they could maybe improve upon, but on the whole it's fantastic. I think the most impressive bit is the Ursula animatronic.
From there I headed across the bridge, and onto my first cred of the day - California Screamin'. I used the single rider queue, and when I eventually got to the platform was disappointed to find some uncharacteristically inefficient batching, resulting in many single seats being dispatched empty. I have to say, this was pretty much the only ride where I found this across both Disney parks, and every host I saw on this ride throughout my time there seemed to be having similar issues (some even worse than others). I don't know what makes this ride seemingly harder to batch than the others? Anyway, I was on soon enough, and off we went. My two main impressions of this ride are that it's stupidly long (which is awesome), and that I really enjoyed the audio. I can't really understand why they bothered with the loop, I don't really think it makes the ride any better (or worse).
As its basically next door, it seemed like the sensible thing to do Toy Story Midway Mania next. I queued about 10 mins. I'd not been on anything like this before, as the mouse one at Phantasialand wasn't quite finished when I was there. I quite enjoyed the ride although I wasn't very good at it - even with the advantage of having all of the targets to myself!
Goofy's Sky School. Plus one.
I then ventured back into Radiator Springs to see if it was worth trying to get on Racers...
That means no then. However, as I was walking away (again, feeling a little bit disappointed) who should be sashaying up the street <3
Flying tyres also had a burdenous queue (at least 90 mins), although it does look quite fun
By the way, I will come on to my thoughts on Cars Land. I'll cover it in detail later on.
I decided to head for the only other ride there I was desperate to get on...
It was walk on. First observation was that it really is pretty much identical to its Parisian counterpart. Whilst I knew that the ride system was the same, I was surprised by the similarities in the theming. Even the sideboard things next to the doors as you go into the library look the same to me.
Anyway, yeah, as this is the same ride cycle as Paris, it's fab. I absolutely adore this ride, and is yet more proof (as mentioned previously on this trip) that - when it comes to tower rides - bigger is not necessarily always better. As I exited, I thought about re-riding, but the queue was starting to build, so I grabbed a fast pass and went to see what else was on offer.
Almost by accident, I stumbled across the Monsters Inc dark ride. I didn't know this existed and, as it's one of my favourites, I did get a bit excited. It's a fairly traditional dark ride and, compared to the animatronics elsewhere, it it does look a little bit low budget. That said, the bit with the doors was still pretty amazing. Oh, and Roz as you come back into the station <3
During my travels round the park, I was amazed at how much there was going on. These guys seemed to be driving round really regularly. They were singing/playing live, and were quite impressive.
Then there was the whole Newsies thing. They'd rock up on their tram, do a whole performance, then bugger off back on their tram again. I didn't stop to watch all of it, but I'm sure it was pretty good if you like that sorta thing/don't think Mickey is a massive burden.
It's also worth mentioning here my impression of the characters around both parks. On the whole (apart from the ones that have their own designated meet and greet "attractions") it's all very casual, yet very efficient. If they're very popular, people form an orderly queue and all take their turn ensuring everyone gets a fair chance and a decent photo. If they're a less popular character and/or in a quieter area of the park, then they may well just be wandering around pretty much on their own, so are easy to catch for a pic. This makes it SO much less stressful than Paris. Not that I really bothered because, well, its one thing to bother when you've got the moral support of someone else, but alone? That really would have been tragic.
Next up was Soarin'. I didn't really know what to expect, but it's quite effective. I HATE the way the video jump cuts from one place to another though. Just as you're starting to get into it and really suspend disbelief, bam! One second you're flying past kayakers on a river, then you're in the middle of a forest, then you're skiing down a mountain, etc. For me at least, it did spoil the experience. I also can't help but wonder how long it'll be before this gets some kind of 3D/4D makeover.
As the weather was scorchio, it had a single rider queue, and I had a few mins left to wait for my fast pass, I decided to wander round to the Grizzly River Run. Whilst I did come of it fairly moist, I fared better than some, and have definitely been on wetter rapids rides. The two drops are awesome, but the rest of it isn't really anything that special.
Tower of Terror fast pass <3 You'll notice a theme start to emerge across the course of my Disney trip reports (also true of my Paris PTR). It should already be becoming apparent! haha! I grabbed another fast pass for it once I got off.
This left me in perfect time to join the queue for "Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular". Apart from overhearing someone in the queue describe it as "A proper musical. You know, kinda like The Lion King" I had no idea what to expect. I have to say, that description was pretty accurate. OMFG, it was actually AMAZING. I have honestly seen West End musicals with less spectacular sets, smaller casts, and worse quality performances. The whole thing was stunning from start to finish - and it was about 45 minutes long. Some of the puppets, props and sets really are mindblowing. The guy playing the Genie clearly stole the show though. Whilst he wasn't in any way playing it as a Robin Williams impression, he did manage to capture the same essence that made the animated version a classic character. I also wonder how often they re-write that script, as there were quite a lot of reasonably topical gags (pantomime style) thrown in to keep it fresh and very funny. I absolutely loved the show and would highly recommend it to anyone visiting the park, even if you're pressed for time.
Popped into Muppetvision 3D after that. It was ok, but I'm not really a muppet fan, so couldn't get that excited. The animatronics and stuff in the theatre are pretty fab though, and definitely raise this a notch above your average 3D/4D attraction.
I don't think I even need to say what I rode next.
That left me with enough time to stake out a spot for the Pixar Play Parade. I quite enjoyed it. The water is unnecessary (albeit refreshing) though. Some of the acrobatics and stuff they have one some of the floats is pretty spectacular though, and very unexpected. Main memory of it though is the theme song which, as ever, welds itself inside your head and refuses to leave for days (weeks?) Main thing though is I swear they were singing "Big big gay parade!" Hmm, maybe not.
As you can see, I'd chosen to stand by the entrance to Cars Land. This was tactical. My plan was to leg it to Radiator Springs Racers as soon as the parade passed to try and beat the rush. Thankfully, it paid off. I joined the single rider queue as the sign said 45 minutes. No more than half an hour later, and I was on the ride. I also got talking to this old woman in the queue. She definitely would've warranted a massive "She's FAAAAAABBB!!!! <3" from Jake! hehe!
I'm sure you've all seen the POVs, and can understand why I was stupidly excited by this ride. Much to my relief, it is every bit as spectacular and awesome in real life. The on board audio is fantastic, and really brings another dimension to the ride, especially the very first section. The animatronics indoors are amazing. Once it split, I got Luigi's tyre shop. White-a wall-a tyres!
The race is really excellent. The "launch" is effective and the way the cars are neck and neck all athe way round works really well. I was also amazed at how excited all my fellow riders seemed to be once they realised what was going on and clocked that we'd be having a race against another actual car with actual people in it. Our car won!
Once I got off, I spent a while at the viewing area just kinda taking it all in. I genuinely found it very hard not to forget that it's all manmade, has not been there forever, and that, beyond the horizon is other buildings and stuff, not more mountains! I know there's been a lot of hyperbole relating to this area, but I can honestly say that Ornament Valley is absolutely without doubt the best bit of theming I have ever seen in my life. As I say, I was honestly struggling to remember it wasn't real.
Then I found an excellent example of why Disney is the absolute master when it comes to theming
The whole sign includes various car references (some more subtle than others) and also talks about the history of Radiator Springs, the caves (which you see on the ride) and local plant life etc. The way its written and presented, again, make it hard to remember than its not real. The level of detail, and the complexity of the back-story surrounding the area is astounding. I stood there for ages reading it all, and totally had to scrape my jaw up from off the floor at several points.
As for the rest of Radiator Springs, that's also fantastic. It really is like being in the film.
You know how I'm a sucker for anywhere that themes their bins and benches...
There was another random little show thing going on which I stood and watched for a while
I then went into the Blue Sky Cellar which has been transformed into a museum for Radiator Springs.
There's a nice amount of stuff about the imagineering process (concept art etc)
Then they were showing an animated short starring Mater, describing how Stanley met Lizzie and founded Radiator Springs. I then looked around me and realised that many of the items mentioned in this short were actually sat in the room.
The short film also shows the fountain that's in the Racers queue line. If you join the main queue, it also takes you through the building referenced here -
I also adore this
I mean, honestly, who other than Disney would ever bother to go to all that effort just to pad out their back story? Again, I was completely in awe at the whole thing.
After that, I popped back to the hotel for a quick nap and some food before coming back to tackle the evening. Part 2 to follow!
Ride/Attraction count (part 1):
Little Mermaid
California Screamin' (back row)
Toy Story Midway Mania
Goofy's Sky School
Tower of Terror
Monsters, Inc.
Soarin' Over California
Grizzly River Run
Tower of Terror
Aladdin Musical Spectacular
Muppetvision 3D
Tower of terror
Pixar Play Parade
Radiator Springs Racers
Blue Sky Cellar
To be continued...
