Part III: Coast-to-Coast Disney Trip Report

I wasn’t expecting much of a view up there, and we neither planned much time up there nor were we appropriately dressed for the deck (the sun was beginning to go down, it was windy, and all we had were short sleeves), so we didn’t stay up there too long. It really was a shame, because it offered a view of our land of perfect ambiance, Paradise Pier, during the most beautiful time of the day. The icing on the cake was that the Zephyr was actually operational (seriously, why build an attraction that seems to be able to run about 2% of the time?!), which made for some cool photos.

Next, we made a brief stop over at the Hearthstone Lounge, in the Grand Californian. Henry said this place had terrific ambiance, and he wasn’t lying. Beautifully done and grandiose, it fit well with the arts and crafts design of the rest of the Grand Californian. This design, generally, is something over which I’m a bit torn. I love the Wilderness Lodge at WDW, and I think the design here certainly kicks it up a notch, but for the flagship resort (in name and location, and certainly in price) to have the look of a rustic National Parks lodge doesn’t sit entirely well. For the price, I would think the California equivalent to the Grand Floridian would make sense. Then again, I love Wilderness Lodge and am not such a huge fan of the Grand Floridian, so who knows. I think maybe I just can’t get past my pre-conceived notion that a resort of this status just shouldn’t look rustic, for some odd reason.

Anyway, Henry and I each sipped on a beer, while Sarah enjoyed some weird drink that reminded me of an Ecto-Cooler, at the Hearthstone Lounge as we soaked in more of the incredible ambiance of the Grand Californian. Regardless of whether the theming is appropriate for flagship resort, it certainly is well-done. I know we’d love to stay there someday. Unfortunately, that day is fairly far off given the price of the place!

About this time, we realized we only had about 45 minutes until Remember…Dreams Come True, a highly anticipated fireworks show for us. Normally, we don’t camp out early for fireworks, and that wouldn’t be changing this evening, but we did want to head back to Desert Inn so Sarah could get her coat. When we finally got back to Disneyland, we had 15 minutes until the show. I darted my way up Main Street with a specific spot in mind. While there is typically nothing left this close to showtime, the spot I wanted–an obstructed view–had some room! I set up my tripod and prepared myself, mentally, for what I heard would be an amazing show.

Last summer, I was pretty impressed with Disneyland’s Summer Nightastic fireworks show, “Magical.” I assumed that, much like at Walt Disney World, the Summer Nightastic show was better than the normal fireworks show, forgetting that Team Disney Anaheim actually goes above and beyond year-round. When I returned home, I told tales of this majestical show, and how it was one of the greatest fireworks shows I’ve seen. My tales were quickly met with scorn, as true Disneyland aficionados weaved a yarn about a great show called, “Remember… Dreams Come True.” Although I trusted the judgment of many of these folks, I assumed they were embellishing the greatness of “Remember…” at least a tad. After all, no show can be as good as they made it sound.

Then, we had a life-changing experience (okay, perhaps now I’m the one embellishing). We saw “Remember…”

Words cannot describe the excellence that is “Remember…” Originally premiering for Disneyland’s 50th Anniversary Celebration, the show begins with a moving narration by 50th Anniversary Ambassador and Disney Legend, Dame Julie Andrews. This sets the stage for something special. You can just feel it. However, your high expectations are quickly deflated, as from her introduction, the fireworks cut into a portion of Wishes! Oh well, you think, it turns out Magical was actually better. Just as your expectations have worn off, and you’ve resolved yourself to enjoy the show (after all, Wishes! is still a good show in its own right), boom, you’re hit with more Andrews narration and Tinkerbell’s flight around the Castle (yes, AROUND–view the photo large and you can faintly see it here). Then, it hits you.

Walt Disney’s original opening day dedication speech for Disneyland. The audience, many of whom have probably seen this show dozens, if not hundreds, of times, experiences a collective wave of goose bumps and chills. The emotive experience is so strong that some tear up. Just as the audience is lulled into this state of relaxation and emotion, it’s hit with a train. From the Disneyland Railroad. The Railroad spiel plays, followed by Main Street, USA music and the Baroque Hoedown from the Main Street Electrical Parade.

This is followed by a short appearance from the tiki birds, who fly away after raising the ire of the tiki gods from too much celebratin’. Next, Sallah warns guests not to look into the eye of the idol at the start of the Indiana Jones section. The fireworks then enter the Haunted Mansion, and all of Main Street is brightly illuminated with enveloping bursts as the ‘room’ stretches.

The fireworks continue on, with other stops in New Orleans Square, Critter Country, Fantasyland, Towntoon, Frontierland, and Tomorrowland before Andrews and Tinkerbell conclude the show. The audience stands, dumbfounded and in awe, if only for a few seconds, before hurrying about as the hustle and bustle of Main Street resumes.

Simply put, “Remember…” is a spectacular 17 minute show that, alone, is worth the price of admission to see.

When the sense of astonishment finally wore off, we headed towards it’s a small world to see the Magic, the Memories, and You, for the first time. I will admit, I was a bit skeptical of this when it was first announced. Not vocally skeptical like those who proclaimed, “IT WOULD RUIN THE CASTLE, I’LL NEVER VISIT WDW AGAIN!,” as I had experienced and actually liked the Great Castle Cake Blunder of ‘96 (hey, can ya blame me, I was 11!). I thought it might be a bit gimmicky, and I didn’t really care to see others’ photos on the Castle (at Walt Disney World), but it wasn’t the end of the world. I was just a bit annoyed that the grand promotion for the year centered around some, most likely, pointless Castle show.

When I actually saw it, I was blown away. And it’s not even that impressive on it’s a small world as compared to Cinderella Castle. I’m sure a lot of the Disneyland diehards hate it. Judging by the crowds on the respective coasts, it’s not NEARLY as popular in Disneyland as it is Walt Disney World. Part of this could be due to its location, but not all of it.

The show uses incredible technology–it’s not just as if the facade of IASW is the projection surface, it’s as if it’s a canvas. (Distinction without a difference? I don’t think so!) The projections come alive, and at various points, it almost seems as if someone is drawing on the facade, as if vines are growing on it, etc. I was really impressed. I was much more impressed with the show at Walt Disney World (one of the few things at WDW that’s markedly better!), but I’ll discuss that more later. It wasn’t especially moving or anything, and I still could do without the photos of people, but I am hopeful that this technology will be used in the future for great effect. It has so much potential.

After the show, we were in the neighborhood anyway, so we decided to take a ride aboard it’s a small world. Sarah and Henry attempted to count all of the Disney characters (there are a lot more than I thought!) while I attempted to take an “artistic” long exposure photo while we were moving in the boat. We both failed at our attempts, with them missing at least 4 characters, and with me ending up with about 10 blurry frames of streaking colors (cool in premise, poor in execution).

Next up was the Sleeping Beauty Castle walk-through. Walk-through exhibits normally aren’t my cup of tea, but after hearing the history of this particular walk-through and some positive comments about it from Henry, we decided to give it a try. I’m really glad we did.

The little vignettes themselves were pretty cool, but whatever the technology used to animate these vignettes was really cool. I found myself deeply studying the scenes, captivated by the vibrant animation and wonderful depth. I don’t know why I was somewhat dismissive of this at first, as I love the Emporium window displays (especially the Magic Kingdom’s at Christmas!), and this is like an evolution of those. All in all, a really cool little experience, and just another great detail showcasing why Disney is at the top of its game.

Next up was Haunted Mansion. Nothing new to add here, besides how much better the grounds here look at night. The lighting is really interesting, although I’m not sure I’m sold on the false shadows on the building. I suppose they work in that they give it more of an ominous look, but the discerning guest must realize they’re projections, right? Maybe that doesn’t matter.

Sarah was still tired from the previous day, and the early morning, so she decided to call it an early night. Heresy, I said, and continued on! The night was drawing to a close, so I figured I would take a couple photos in Tomorrowland and outside it’s a small world before calling it a night, too. When I arrived at it’s a small world, a security guard immediately approached me.

Without belaboring the details, because just thinking about them gets me worked up, at this point I had an encounter with an over-zealous security guard on an ego trip who claimed he told me earlier in the day not to use my tripod (I had never seen this man in my life before, and he most certainly hadn’t told me anything about using my tripod earlier) and the ultimate result was that I had to stop using my tripod that night. Suffice to say, it was quite an ordeal and was incredibly aggravating and embarassing, especially since I was incredibly polite and understanding (contrasted with the guard’s air of superiority) and because no one at City Hall seemed to know or acknowledge their own policy on tripods, which was clearly stated on their website. Oh well, I thought, there would always be the next day.

When I got back, I relayed the story to Sarah, who went into a frenzy. I am pretty adept at thinking on my feet and I have a pretty sharp tongue when the need arises, but Sarah still feels the need to defend me when she feels someone has insulted my honor. I think it has to do with her maternal instinct, but it’s cute.

Just the same, I needed the sleep so that I’d be energized for the next morning!