rocketman23
Posts: 429
Registered: 12/20/2001
Rank: Silver Critic
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 7/5/2004 8:07:00 PM
West Coast Coaster Trip: 6/13-/6/24/2004
The plane arrived at LAX at around 9am on Sunday, June 13th. On the flight, a Thunderbirds episode featuring small gators attacking puppets caught my attention for about 20 minutes, but otherwise I was thinking about the parks ahead. After getting the rental, driving (no traffic) to the Disneyland Resort, and checking in, my Dad and I walked to the front gate of California Adventure with a 3 day park hopper in hand at around 12:00.
The plan was to get a Tower of Terror Fastpass and ride it, but it wasn’t exactly in operation when I strolled up. It looked to be closed for awhile so instead I got a Soarin’ fastpass and headed towards Screamin’ (they don’t like the letter “G” here). Screamin’ was about 40 minutes at the time, but since we have yet to ride anything, decided to wait. I really had no expectations for Screamin’ coming into the ride, which I suppose was a good thing. The launch is fun along the faux beach. In fact, on a later ride, I actually was splashed by a wave waiting for the launch. The run is long and filled with high points sparsely placed throughout. The bunny hills were the best part of the ride, and quite extreme in the front row. Fun ride, nothing spectacular. Best ride here ended up being in the front row; worth the wait if you are visiting for the first time. Next on the Paradise Pier was the unique ferris wheel patterned after the famous Deno’s Wonder Wheel. Obviously I picked a swin’in’ (no G’s) cabin. You basically get one spin on it after they load everyone, and they put you in cabins with other people. Luckily, we got paired with normal people. The ride was scenic and light-hearted fun. I’m surprised more parks don’t opt for this more original, and crowd pleasing, version of the classic. The Maliboomer looked like trash, so I skipped it for the time being and moved to Orange Stinger. This ride was ok, but the cycle was too short for swings and why they put it inside a giant orange is just confusing and slightly tacky with a dash of unnecessary. I know it’s supposed to represent something about California, but oranges could’ve been better used elsewhere as it blocked my view on the normally scenic swing ride. With the Zephyr closed, Mulholland Madness at 40 minutes, and about 20 minutes until Soarin’ Fastpass was good, I opted to visit the less visited DCA attractions.
The tortilla factory had no line walking up, so I got in for the next “show”. The preshow for the tortillas was annoying, especially the twitchy kid with ADD in the video. It was funny how they portrayed the Spanish as being nice towards the Aztecs though. The small factory that followed was somewhat interesting, but the free fresh tortilla at the exit made this well worth the visit. A little more time allowed for the sourdough tour. Since Rosie O’ Donnel nauseates me, I moved past the screens and gave myself a tour of the factory. Neat, but the free sample wasn’t as delicious or fresh. Soarin’ was next with the use of the magical Fastpass. The preshow here included swooshing locations in California as well as a preflight debriefing by David Putty, The Tick, and Joe (Patrick Warburton) which I thought was somewhat entertaining. The actual ride is incredibly relaxing. The seats were comfortable, the movement was fluent, the view was incredible, and the golf ball almost hit me. Soarin’ is an original and satisfying ride, but does not hold the same enjoyment upon multiple rides as any simulator would.
The Tower of Terror appeared to be open, so the hike over was made. The wait time was around 45 minutes at the time, so I got a Fastpass and waited in stand by, which would allow for essentially 2 consecutive rides. The lobby is similar to ours and I liked the abandoned doll on the lobby couch, nice touch. It’s nearly the same as the Orlando version until we get into the elevator load. There are two floors and three doors per floor. I liked the loading at this version better than o
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sfo1
Posts: 5359
Registered: 7/22/2003
Rank: Platinum Critic
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 7/5/2004 9:18:00 PM
All I can say is Wow! That is the best TR I've read so far. Very in-depth, descriptive, and detailed.
Sounds like Disneyland is pretty good. Too bad SFMM is that bad though, as the park holds alot of potential.
Glad you had a good trip!
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chooke
Posts: 139
Registered: 7/2/2004
Rank: Bronze Critic
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 8/8/2004 3:09:44 AM
i agree! wow!! sounds like a gr8 trip!!!! and such a fantastic report thank you so much!!! ive bin 2 disneyland, orlando, klnotts, universal, vegas as well but im going 2 magic mountain next year im so excited....2 bad about the service and stuff....im from australia by the way
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Roller coaster nut!
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