Disney Theme Parks

I did not see a thread devoted specifically to this when I searched, so I might as well start one. :)

Come share funny stories about in park experiences, or just rave about your favorite park or hotel.

Which ones has everyone been too?

Only the California parks. I'm very fond of Disneyland and California Adventure is just that weird place you go to once like every three years.

I rather enjoyed the stage musical of Aladdin I saw at the latter park. That was fun. The Prince Ali Aliababwa number was probably the most interesting. What with the parade marching up and down the aisles and through the audience...

Yeah, I've gone to the Disney Theme Parks, and I saw that show. Prince Ali is really the number that's the most improved by being on stage instead of on film (though I enjoyed One Jump Ahead on stage, too, even if Howard Ashman didn't write it). I just wish they restored some of the deleted content, like the Arabian Nights reprises and Humiliate The Boy and Call Me A Princess (they gave Princess Jasmine a new song in the stage version, but it's not nearly as funny or subversive as Call Me A Princess. Or funny or subversive at all.)

edited 22nd Aug '11 4:59:19 PM by PDown

I've been to Disneyworld Orlando about a zillion times. It's easily one of my favorite places in the whole world.

You love Orlando, eh?

I prefer Anaheim myself, though I've been to both.

I've gone to the California parks numerous times. They still feel like I don't know the park very well, even though I've read several books on Disneyland and currently lurk Micechat.

And that's why I love them.

edited 22nd Aug '11 5:09:21 PM by BaronofBarons

I'm not a professional Disney expert, but I've probably spent a month or two's worth of hours in Disneyland in the parks, not waiting in a hotel or something. And I'm in my early teens.

Been to Disneyworld multiple times; mainly because I live in south florida. My math teacher used to play Alice in the parades when she was younger. She has some... interesting stories. (At first she wore a wig, but then she switched to dye after someone ripped her wig off during a parade.)

edited 22nd Aug '11 7:11:12 PM by Jimmmyman10

I've been to WDW and Disneyland Paris.

Most of the staple rides (namely Big Thunder, Pirates, IASW, Space, Buzz) are FAR superior at Paris than WDW. Their version of the Haunted Mansion, the Phantom Manor, is also SO much creepier than the American counterparts.

Shame the rest of the service is kinda lacking...

There's just something about Disney parks. Maybe it's the way everyone treats you like you are special. Maybe it's the way that all the rides always work, or if they are broken, you know in advance. Maybe it's they way they strive so hard to not break the masquerade.

Whatever it is, they truly mean it when they say Disney is magical; they capture something, a feeling that few other people can.

I also love you for making that connection.

ORLANDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I LOVE YOUUUUUUUU

edited 22nd Aug '11 7:16:35 PM by spasticgecko

Been to all U.S. parks. My favorite, strangely, is the World Pavillian at Epcot. Despite that, however, Anaheim>Orlando, because East Coasters do not know the glory of Churros.

P.S. - Is it just me, or are Disney Parks the cleanest public spaces in the world?! I never see litter, anywhere, and the bathrooms are surprisingly nice for hosting some million occupants per day.

edited 22nd Aug '11 8:31:06 PM by EJSnowden

Disney actually has a crazy system for cleaning up the parks. Trash cans are placed every few feet and there is always janitorial staff everywhere.

I live in Nevada and my family loves Disney, so we generally go once or twice a year. I've also been to Disney World twice, but they were both a long time ago and I really want to go again. That said, I love Disneyland. I love that every time I go there, I seem to discover something new.

In case you didn't know, the entirety of Disney World (and by extension, probably disneyland) is connected underground; this is why you never see staff coming or going, or characters in the wrong places.

^ That's partially wrong.

Only Magic Kingdom and Epcot actually have ultidoors (that's what they call them) running under the whole park. They aren't connected in any away.

(Sorry, I'm like the BIGGEST Disney nerd ever. )

I adore Disneyland (Anaheim). California Adventure is okay, but it still needs a lot of work to be an A-list park. I've been to Walt Disney World once, way back in 1989.

What has always impressed me the most, since well before I had the vocabulary to express it, is the immersive theming. There is a building in Disneyland, right on the boundary between Adventureland and New Orleans Square, that has three different paint jobs in order to make the transition between the two areas seem more natural and gradual. That's just one example.

^The theming is a very, very big part of why I love Disneyland so much. Other amusement parks I find rather dull unless they are so lovingly themed. I also like the occasional little interactive bits of the experience. Like the Indiana Jones ride's wait with its little "Don't step on the diamonds!" thing.

Have you ever looked up to see what will supposedly happen if you step on the diamonds?

I have! The Indiana Jones line is really clever, if perhaps somewhat tiresome to walk through the whole thing every time regardless of how many people are in line since once you get inside the temple there are hardly any shortcuts.

edited 23rd Aug '11 11:27:52 AM by Beorc

No I have not. What supposedly happens?

I WANNA KNOW.

Nothing actually happens, but there are big blocks jutting out of the ceiling above each of the diamonds that appear to be ready to fall on you.

I think that amusement parks suffer from a similar problem to video games: one person got it to work really well (Disney) and noone else ever picked up on what made it work really well. They've figured out parts of it, so they've made amusement parks that work kind of well (Busch Gardens, Universal Studios, Knott's Berry Farm, Six Flags), and they blame their lower success on the original having more financial resources. But the original actually did so much better because they knew what they were doing more than all the latecomers. If I didn't have a larger career plan (writer) I would set up a career path in high amusement park management.

(Incidentally, I think that the real tragedy of amusement parks is that noone has really focused on theme like Disney does and thrill like other amusement parks do. It'd be like if all movies were high-budget Disney musicals or horror B-movies. Why can't amusement parks have an Alien?)

And yeah, the IJA line is one of the best, though I have a soft spot for the inner Space Mountain line, even if it's not so interactive.

edited 23rd Aug '11 11:31:48 AM by PDown

Yeah, Disneyland just feels like it had a lot more thought and heart put into it. Universal Studios is okay, but I love the themes and immersiveness of Disneyland.

It gets better. To the sides of the queue are a few things that look like square pillars, but on closer inspection you can see scrape marks along the sides and cracks in the ground under them. Those are blocks that have already fallen. I think at least one has bones sticking out from underneath. The ones still hanging overhead have wooden wedges pounded in around the sides, and some are being braced with bamboo poles. The level of detail is astounding.