Disneyland Spring 2012 Trip Report Pt 3

Overall, Minnie’s Fly Girls was very enjoyable, but it was way too long for a show in direct sunlight. The production quality and unique nature of the show was great, but we only endured the show because we wanted to see it all. We would never watch it again on that hot of a day, and as we stood there, most of the crowd turned over at some point or another. I’d be surprised if more than a couple other people also watched it all the way through.

That said, we thought it was great that Disney had created a show that wasn’t so Disney character-centric. Minnie was only out at the very end of the show, rather than being the dominant force. This might have caused some families to lose interest in the show, but we enjoyed that it wasn’t the typical character show.

From there, it was on to the Little Mermaid dark ride. While I enjoy this attraction and think it’s superior to most Fantasyland dark rides, I think a lot of Walt Disney World fans will be disappointed that this is the centerpiece of New Fantasyland. Granted, Walt Disney World’s version will feature a superior exterior and early photos from the queue make it look a lot better, too, but unless the queue is absolutely amazing, I think some people will be let down. Personally, I’m excited about New Fantasyland because of all of the lush landscaping and its photogenic appearance (I think it’ll be like World Showcase in the details and eye candy regards), but most guests care about attractions, not wandering around noticing details (even if they do appreciate the details subconsciously).

We wandered through Paradise Pier, and I was able to convince Sarah that I had to ride California Screamin’ for “research” purposes. I needed to get some photos of the Cars Land construction, which is visible as the small speck on the right corner of the photo below.

We also stopped in the shops along Paradise Pier, where you can find the scariest “attraction” in all of Disneyland Resort: the barker. Between his Rollie Fingers mustache and flower lapel (which I suspect was donated by Jack Nicholson following his stint as Joker in Batman), this crazy-eyed barker is sure to scare everyone in your family. He is one last remnant of Disney California Adventure 1.0 that still remains, and I think it’s about time for him to be put to pasture…or wherever clowns go.

Next up was Silly Symphony Swings, which Sarah insists we do just about every time we pass them. Since I had just done California Screamin’ (by myself) I couldn’t resist her request.

Be warned, though, as the photos that follow are exponentially scarier than the barker above. Having just seen that wonderful barker, I was channeling my own inner “creepy” in an attempt to surpass his creepiness. As you can see, mission accomplished.

With these photos on the internet, I think it’s safe to say that any political aspirations I might ever have in the future are doomed to fail. Blackmail material at its finest.

After that, it was over to Disneyland to enjoy a little Bayou Bash!

Our first stop in New Orleans Square was to meet Tiana and Prince Naveen. To my knowledge, this was our first time meeting them; we have “tried” to meet them a few times at Walt Disney World, but the line is always like 30 minutes or longer, which is way too long for us.

Despite the fact that we own The Princess and the Frog on Blu-ray, and despite it being one of my favorite recent animated films, I still had to look up the name of the prince on IMDB just now. Personally, I think they ought to have Tiana appear with the prince in frog form. I know the frog character would be too large (relatively), but I’m willing to overlook this for the chance to meet a frog. The prince, in prince form, just isn’t a very memorable character for me.

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