TR: Disneyland & SFMM 9/24-9/26

[Delirium_Guy]

What do I do on my two days off during the week, why fly to California of course! A good friend of mine was spending 4 or 5 days in Southern California for her birthday. I was unable to get the entire amount of time off due to conflicts at work, but I did manage to make it out for a few days. Flew out late on Thursday, spent Friday at Disneyland, spent part of Saturday at California Adventure with a side trip to SFMM before flying out of LAX at 11PM that night Exhausting? Yes! Worth it? Absolutely!! I don't have time to do a real long report, so just some highlights:

* Disneyland Park always has and always will BLOW Florida's Magic Kingdom right out of the water. So much charm packed in. They also have a considerably larger number of attractions in the park including Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchios Daring Journey, Roger Rabbits Cartoon Spin, the AMAZING Indiana Jones attraction and many others.

* Disneyland pulled out the stops for Halloween this year with the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay at Haunted Mansion, Ghost Galaxy has taken over Space Mountain and for the first time they are offering up Halloween Time Fireworks that are hosted by Jack Skellington

* Ghost Galaxy = AWESOME. Its amazing how a new soundtrack and some crazy creep projections can totally change the ride. The effects are seemless, with the phantom ghost following your train essentially through the entire attraction. In particular, I loved seeing him drifting across the top of the building and following as the train slowly climbs the last two lift hills to the top. There are a few really GOOD scare moments, actually SCARY moments! The best of which is the final turn in station, not one train load of riders would return without screaming....including myself and my group. It was more startling than anything I have encountered at HHN this year. I also forgot just how much better this version of Space Mountain really is than the one here in Orlando.

* Haunted Mansion Holiday. WOW. Disneyland has done this for sometime now, but I had no idea that they bascially re-do the entire attraction to bring Jack Skellington and his crew to life in the Mansion. Incredible! Loved the pre-show room. The Ballroom scene was spectacular. The final graveyard scene was breathtaking, with so many props and added effects that you'd never know what it was like in original form. I could only DREAM that someday the folks in Orlando will bring this amazing overlay to our Mansion.

* Halloween Time Fireworks - hands down the best Disney fireworks show I've seen. Great soundtrack. Zero flies back and forth through the air. There is a huge floating orb that rises behind the castle, on which Jack Skellington's face is projected. With the show focusing on Disney Villains, they too make their appearances through the show. Add in the killer flame throwers on each side of the castle. Kudos to Disneyland!

* Indiana Jones still owns everything. Incredibly detailed attraction, all effects working, action packed ride from beginning to end!

* Fantastmic kills Hollywood Studios version. I prefer the in-park setting of this to the amphitheater style in Florida. Also, Disneyland recently debuted the new Malificent Dragon which was absolutely stunning. Amazing how out of nowhere a 50 foot animatronic dragon appears!

* California Adventure.....well now i know why so much money is being invested. Doesn't feel like Disney at all. No charm, no personality and a serious lack of quality attractions. Tower was great, provides a better ride than the one in Florida however the original is still the best! California Screamin' was a fun ride, nice launch and a couple of great pops of air. I bolted out of the Park after this ride.

SFMM

* X2 is the first coaster that has actually ever freaked me out. The first drop and raven turn combo are, perhaps, the most insane moments on any coaster that I've ridden. While the first half of the ride was amazing, the last half was incredibly painful. It caught me off guard. Quite honestly, I think I'll be surprised to see this ride last as long as say its neighbor, Viper. I can certainly see where maintanance costs could become or already are quite an expense. Not sure what could be done about smoothing out the ride, but it was rough enough that would make me really have to think about taking a second spin.

* Tatsu really is breathtaking. I do like it better than Manta. It isn't so much more intense, with the exception of that HUGE Pretzel Loop, but its the visuals of soaring high above the mountain that makes the ride.

* Terminator is a solid ride, not QUITE Top Ten and I don't like it as well as Evil Knievel, but what a fantastic addition! I enjoyed the theming and preshow rooms, though they'd be annoying after a while for those that want to re-ride. I also enjoyed how the operator in the station was in character and would yell INCOMING as the train went flying through the station overhead. The soundtrack was a nice touch and the tunnels were a nice effect, filled with cold mist. Great, great ride!!

* Thanks to my Flash Pass, I completed my trio of Deja Vu credits. This version seemed to be operating without hitch. I rode the frontseat for the first time. The lift hill was unnerving, LOVED it :-) Ride itself was glass smooth, really really enjoyed!

* Scream - Please see Medusa at SFGAd. Not that that is a bad thing, but seeing as I've ridden Medusa many times, Scream was nothing to write home about.

* Goliath was a huge surprise for me. First drop, while not the steepest, was awesome! Great float ALL the way down and the drop seemed as though it lasted forever! The big speed hill mid ride was awesome too, with a great sustained float all the way over it. The second half was intense, I grayed out several times. While the ride was a blast, with a shorter track length it just seems like its potential was incredibly wasted.

My visit to SFMM was brief, but great. Park was clean, employees were nice, operations were efficient.....just like all my other Six Flags visits this season. That makes me happy, it seems like they have learned lessons at last. Hope the future stays bright for them, I've had some great visits this season. SFMM was much improved since my last visit! Looking forward to going back and spending some more time out there.

- Todd

[gad198]

Nice trip report! How were the lines out there when you went?

I'm glad to hear you say that about Disneyland being better than Magic Kingdom. I never really had the desire to go to the California version, but I'll have to make that a must do park next time I'm out there.

SFMM is a really nice park, and has come miles in a few years. It's definitely on a short list of most panoramic and picturesque parks. You mentioned that your ride on X2 was rough in the second half. Did you happen to be riding in one of the outside seats?

[The Interpreter]

Thanks for the fantastic trip report, as always. I, too, much prefer Disneyland.

And thanks, I think, for reminding me of just how much I need to get back out there.

No mention of my favorite Disney ride (I am only slightly kidding....)???

Terpy...it's a sma...ARGH!

[Delirium_Guy]

Thanks for the fantastic trip report, as always. I, too, much prefer Disneyland.

And thanks, I think, for reminding me of just how much I need to get back out there.

No mention of my favorite Disney ride (I am only slightly kidding....)???

Terpy...it's a sma...ARGH!

I'm glad you mentioned Small Word actually, because I totally forgot! Even it is superior in California. The more recent renovations to include Disney characters in it was fairly well done. The only objectionable one was Woody, Jessie and Bullseye which actually have an entire scene dedicated to them now. It clashes badly, but otherwise the rest of the characters were pretty well done with placement. Anyway, yes Disneyland really IS that much better than Magic Kingdom. Its a no brainer that Orlando is the better resort, but Disneyland Park is just a true gem and a bold statement as to what Disney really originated as!

Gad198, lines at SFMM were crazy....I was there on a Saturday afterall. Of the coasters I rode, Viper and Revolution were walk ons. X2, Tatsu, Deja Vu, Terminator, Goliath all had full queues and Scream was bout half full. Thats all I had time for. I did buy a Gold Flash Pass, which was my saving grace. Well worth the money, but be warned about something.....no Flash Pass includes X2 or Terminator! You have to pay an ADDITIONAL $10 for EACH ride.....so $20 will let you skip the line ONCE for each. That aside, the Gold Flash Pass practically allowed me to walk on the others. I only paid for my X2 ride, I had no idea the Park was as busy as it was and thought Terminator wouldnt be too bad....I ended up waiting an hour which ate a good chunk of my time up!