Disneyland Spring 2012 Trip Report Pt 3
Granted, it wasn’t a veritable canvas of colors like is common at Walt Disney World, but it was one of the better sunsets I’ve experienced at Disneyland, with great light shining on Main Street and the Hub just prior to the sunset, and then a soft pinkish-orange sky as the sun set. It was perfect for photography. The only problem I had was finding a location to photograph the sunset. The smart pick would have been the Rivers of America (outside of heading to Disney California Adventure which seems to be a lot better for shooting the sunset), but I had tried that during “One More Disney Day” and had failed, so I wanted to try something different.
After a bit, I resolved defeat and decided that heading to Disney California Adventure to shoot the sunset there was probably a much better idea. The only night we had a good sunset on our more recent (Grand Re-Opening) trip was the very last night of the trip, at which time I was on a bus back to the airport. But shortly before heading back I did some shooting while the light was starting to get good, and I noticed that there were a lot of opportunities to photograph the sunset. I can’t wait to get back to Disneyland to take advantage of those opportunities!
This would be our last-ever chance to experience elecTRONica, and Sarah wanted to give it a fond farewell. By contrast, I’m allergic to dance/techno music, so I continued wandering around Paradise Pier even after the sun had set. Paradise Pier has a bunch of “spinning stuff” and a relatively open sky, so I decided to focus on photographing things in motion.
I wasn’t having much success with the photos, mostly because I was just going around shooting everything hand-held and not really taking a whole lot of time or effort to produce a good shot, so I decided to head over the the Hollywood Pictures Backlot to make sure Sarah wasn’t “partying her face off” too much. I don’t know how, exactly, one parties their face off, but I’m pretty sure I saw it happen in Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was not a pretty sight.
This table made for a great “natural” flash to give nice lighting to my photos.
Smart remarks aside, I really did enjoy elecTRONica. I thought it was better than Glow Fest, mostly because I think film tie-ins work very well for these dance parties rather than original concepts (shocking to hear, I know). It was a fun extension of the film, and it really lent itself well to a dance party thanks to the Daft Punk soundtrack from Tron: Legacy, even though the music from the film wasn’t quite the same as what was played at the dance parties.
That said, elecTRONica had run its course, probably even had overstayed its welcome. I’m not sure I’d feel this way had it not been released as a promotional tie-in forTron: Legacy, but it was released as such. It’s difficult to say. If Mad T Party is still being run two years from now, I suspect that I’ll be ready for a change. Dance parties aren’t quite the same as fireworks show or other entertainment that rotate less frequently. Dance parties need to be refreshed more frequently since they are so dependent upon guests’ energy. If guests are just going through the motions “enjoying” the same ole party, the atmosphere just isn’t as good.
We’ll miss elecTRONica, and I hope to someday see a new Tron dance party concept, but it’s good to now have a new dance party.
After our faces were sufficiently melted, we decided to wander back to Paradise Pier to take some night photos!
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The pictures are amazing! I really love eating at Hungry Bear!
I’ve stayed at Alpine 3 times on trips to Disneyland. While not the nicest of hotels I’ve stayed in it served its purpose. I literally crashed there overnight. The price was perfect for the amount of time spent in the room. I’d stay there again for the price and proximity (unless for some reason i come into more money and can stay closer, lol)
Just want to add that I stayed at the Fairfield Inn on my last trip in April. It was fantastic! HUGE rooms (at least compared to Disney hotels), right across the street from the esplanade, and even had a nice Disney theme. It was a bit more than other hotels in the area, but it was so much nicer. And here’s a tip: I got a great deal on it by doing the “flight + hotel” option on the Marriott website. I think I only ended up paying like $65/night for the Fairfield that way!
And Tom, I LOVE these pictures of the attractions as silhouettes with the sunsets behind them!
At least if your legs stopped working and you were stuck on the monorail you wouldn’t have to worry about seeing where it “turns around” because it’s on a loop. Good luck with “training.” we still have over a month. Plenty of time.
Wow, you guys… amazing photos… as always! I also really enjoy your trip reports. Since you were close to Boardwalk Pizza, you should have hit up the Greek Salad at nearby Paradise Garden Grill. Looking forward to your next adventures and follow-up pics/stories.
It looks like you have the training aspect down for the 10 miler but be sure to eat some cupcakes from Starring Rolls before the race because you’re definitely going to need the carbs for such a long run.
Wow! I am always blown away by your photos. Everything about them is just incredible!
This really makes me want to take a trip to Disneyland with my ‘nice’ camera.
I always enjoy reading your trip reports. Thanks for sharing!
I love your marathon training ideas. We too are planning on taking the Barney Stinson route: “Step one, start running. That’s it, there is no step two.”
I never knew about the “mini world of color” before, I’ll definately be looking for it on my next trip in June. Nice to know your thougts on the Alpine too, I was thinking about it but now maybe not so much.
I thought Alpine was fine, especially for the price.
Awesome and magical!!!