DL/DCA, very first time

4/29

Sunny, warm, traffic infested LA

Its been almost one year since I met the gf, so what better place to take her than socal. I wanted to inaugurate her to my wacky coaster marathon trips, and if she survived this, I guess we are in it for the long haul. :)

We arrived in LA about 1 in the morning. It took us about 5 hours to drive from San Francisco to Anaheim. Needless to say, I got a speeding ticket some place in San Luis Obispo. Damn that FX45. I pleaded to the gf that she show the officer her boobs. I was in no mood for signing up for traffic school. She declined, and Officer Mendes proceeded to write me a citation. Rat Bastid!

Anyway, I got up early that morning, really excited to tackle both California Adventure and Disney Land. The gf took the usual 2 hours to get ready. Couldn't get mad though, she is so cute :) ! I stopped at Starbucks for my usual, low fat blueberry coffee cake and tall Americano. She had hot chocolate and pumpkin scone. We set out on the freeway, Sean Paul pumpin' from the 'system'. About two seconds on the on-ramp, we hit traffic. Typical for LA I suppose. Friends said that the I10 is much more congested than the I5...lies!! That traffic stayed with us until Downey, then it eased up a little.

Finally, the Disney exit loomed in sight. We parked in the gi-normous parking structure which I heard is fairly new. Immediately I noticed some little things, like how friendly the staff was while we paid for parking, or how immaculate the whole parking structure was...and themed even. Nice touch. I noticed how state-of-the-art their trams were. Not the old jelopies I'm used to at Marine World.

We dashed over to DCA. The gf wanted to take pictures on every letter of the California Sign. o..kaaaayy..I agreed, she is so cute!! After entering the gates with some park-hopper tickets I got from work, We head to Tower of Terror. Having never set foot in a Disney park I was overwhelmed by how well it is decorated. The Hollywood section was outstanding. The only drawback is that it was basically a dead end. Anyway, we head to Tower of Terror.....

Tower of Terror, 10/10

I loved the theming of this ride. I hear o'er and o'er that the Florida version is better. Regardless, I still liked this ride. The preshow was cute. I almost forgot that it was themed from The Twilight Zone, one of my favorite shows of all time. After waiting for about 20 minutes, we boarded. Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems like there are about 4 elevators on this thing. Way to increase capacity. The ride was pretty good. I loved how you thought the ride was over, then all of a sudden you were rushed to the top and dropped again. Plus there is nothing better than having a 105 lb scaredy cat clinging to you :) After that ride we dashed to California Screaming....

California Screaming 8.5/10

So this is probably the quietest Intamin I have ever been on. How did they do it? The ol' sand in track method? We waited about 10 minutes for the front seat. I swear this must have been the fasting moving line ever. The have dual loading stations plus about 6 MCBR's. Anyway, this was a fun ride. My head never touched the restraints once. I love the bunnies in the middle of the ride. Fantabulous airage! We loved this ride so much that we decided to hit it again. The GF wanted a tame ride, so it was a toss up between Soaring over CA or The Ferris Wheel. I have never been on Deno's Wonder Wheel and since this is the closest thing to it, I opted we ride this one.

Sun Wheel...5/10 ack...I got sick

The constant rocking back and forth did a number on me. The gf was giggling with glee while I crouched over in a cornier about to puke. Thank God there were only two revolutions. After this ride I needed some time to recover. We walked around for a bit and then decided to hit the original.

Again I was blown away by the landscaping and theming of this park. Even though many of the attractions were boarded up for the 50th Homecoming celebration, this is definitely the most beautiful park I have ever set hooves in. I had to take a picture infront of Walt's statue holding Mickey's hand. I remember seeing this as a child and always wanting to go. Our first ride was Matterhorn..

Matterhorn, 8/10

OLLLLLL SKOOOOOL!!!!! Man this ride was ol skool. the braking system looks so archaic. I love how the trains would rise when it was fully braked. It was a blessing being able to ride the oldest tubular steel coaster. That ride got some corners though. The gf loved it ... mainly because she kept smashing into my leg at the unbanked curves .... ouch! For such an old ride I am impressed that it ran the way it did. Way to go Disney!!

By this time we were starving. We stopped at the Village Haus Restaurant. They have some really good Pizza there, the best I have had outside of Tony's in the Bronx. Our next ride was Big Thunder Mountain. Since Space Mountain was closed, I guess is the "Thrill Ride" of the moment.

Big Thunder Mountain, 6.8/10

Nice Theming, and that was about it. With three lifts and some nice curves here and there. Matterhorn was more hardcore. ehh!

After that we walked around some more and took some more pictures. The gf being such a big fan of Winnie the Pooh, begged me to go on the ride. Fine!!!

The many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, 10/10

She absolute loved it. Nuff said!

Splash Mountain had a long wait, so we decided to head to New Orleans Square. I've always wanted to go on Pirates of the Caribbean to see what the hoopla is all about.

Pirates 9/10

Outstanding theming. I swore the moving mannequins were real people. I especially loved the battle scene between the two ships. Amazing! Our next ride was the Haunted mansion.

Haunted Mansion - The best Dark ride I have ever been on! 9/10

I just wanna know, did this ride open with all those special effects? The ghosts seem so real....well not real...hehehe, but something I would see on TV. My favorite scene was overlooking ball room where the ghosts were waltzing. Spectacular!! I fell and busted my ass on the moving platform though. That was funny. The kids in line were laughing at me. The little sh!ts :)

Aye, my fingers are tired! But needless to say, this was one of my top experiences at a park..EVER! The gf claims that the California park is better than the one in Tokyo...I leave that up to those who have been to both. I am definitely heading back for the Space Mountain opening.

Next Day, we hit Knotts Berry Farm...

Oh, an Amerie fan now, Tuan? I'm lovin that CD...

I absolutely loved Disney & DCA. I could have spent a day at each. Tower of Terror and Haunted Mansion rival for best dark ride for me.

Matterhorn was 100 for me, so I'll always remember it was at Disneyland while riding with friends.

Glad you had a good time, next time I'm in SoCal, you gotta scoot down and join us.

With the exception of some recent changes Mansion opened with all 999 ghosts, including the ballroom scene. Its actually a very simple effect using glass.

ToT has three shafts, two loading docks per shaft, 6 cars total.

Did you do Indiana Jones?

I do hate to say that, believe it or not, your GF is wrong about the Tokyo thing. All the American Disney parks pale in comparison to the 2 TDR parks....which is kinda sad how much greater they are than the Disney company's parks! (And I LOVE Disneyland in ca!)

For example...the DL Pooh ride cost 40 million. It's a nice ride. Tokyo built one at the same time (Pooh's Hunny Hunt) that cost $160 million. It was the most amazing ride I've ever been on, including IOA's Spiderman!

Hey 'Tuan, "it's just one thing that's got me trippin'". This was your first trip to DL? How long have you been living in Cali? We might have to suspend your coasterbuzz pass. :)

lata, jeremy

Clint: Yes, Amerie is doing it for me right now. I am seriously feeling that new vid she got out. Plus, shorty can SAAAANG!!

Peabs': DL in Tokyo may be better, but when she went she wasnt with me...hehehe :)

Jeremy: yes, I need a beat down for being here 4 years, been to Magic Mountain about 6 times, and Disney only once. Off topic, I loved beating up Paris Hilton on that girlfight link. She annoys me!

Wonderful trip report! I'm glad you finally got to experience the magic of Disneyland! Nex time be sure to ride Indiana Jones Adventure and see the brand new fireworks show, Remember... Dreams Come True. Both are SPECTACULAR attractions that should not be missed by anyone. Have fun next time! :)

Disney Magic! YES!!! Did u happen to use Fastpass? It would have allowed you to enjoy more attractions, like Soarin (the copy of it at EPCOT is amazing!)