The theme of my A to Z Challenge posts this year is "Blogging Buffet." In celebration of recently posting my 1000th blog post, I am revisiting posts from the past. This post originally published on June 3, 2011.
Camera-savvy youngest daughter took this photo on our trip to Disneyland on Monday. But wait, you say--doesn't Star Tours officially open today? That's true, but before a ride officially opens, Disneyland often has "soft" openings. Monday was such a day, when Star Tours had a "sneak preview" and was open to everyone. Thanks to short lines early in the day, and the use of fast passes, we were able to ride four times!!!
The ride lived up to its hype. Each time we rode, we experienced something different than the previous times. We never knew where our journey would take us. Each ride visits multiple locations, so even though we visited the same place on more than one ride, we never had the exact same experience. Sometimes we met Darth Vader, other times Yoda, other times Jar Jar Binks. One of my favorite scenarios is the underwater adventure. I won't spoil it for you, but the imagineers really put a lot of humor into the situation.
We will definitely return to ride again!
Thanks for family fun!
Camera-savvy youngest daughter took this photo on our trip to Disneyland on Monday. But wait, you say--doesn't Star Tours officially open today? That's true, but before a ride officially opens, Disneyland often has "soft" openings. Monday was such a day, when Star Tours had a "sneak preview" and was open to everyone. Thanks to short lines early in the day, and the use of fast passes, we were able to ride four times!!!
The ride lived up to its hype. Each time we rode, we experienced something different than the previous times. We never knew where our journey would take us. Each ride visits multiple locations, so even though we visited the same place on more than one ride, we never had the exact same experience. Sometimes we met Darth Vader, other times Yoda, other times Jar Jar Binks. One of my favorite scenarios is the underwater adventure. I won't spoil it for you, but the imagineers really put a lot of humor into the situation.
We will definitely return to ride again!
Disney's California Adventure park also had a soft opening on Monday, for Ariel's Undersea Adventure. It would fit right in at Fantasyland in Disneyland. It is a cute, gentle ride, filled with music and animatronic characters from The Little Mermaid. It has its dark moments, but overall I find it less dark than most of the Fantasyland rides. We all enjoyed it, but I don't think it is on our "must see" list for next time. If the kids were young or big Little Mermaid fans, that might be different.
Oh, this didn't happen on Monday, but here's a funny Disneyland story: Everyone is probably familiar with the "gets-stuck-in-your-head" song, "It's a Small World." I never thought it could be worse, until one day I heard a little girl singing it on the tram ride back to the parking lot. Instead of singing the whole chorus, though, she sang: "It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all"...breath....then she repeated that much!!! Over and over again. She never got to the "...it's a small, small world" part!
In case you hate me now for sharing that story, maybe I should tell you about our visit to "the tiki tiki tiki tiki tiki room." ;-)
Thanks for family fun!
I love reading about your trips to Disneyland. I've never had the opportunity to go.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever go, I'd be happy to play tour guide. :-)
DeleteI didn't know that about the soft openings for rides at Disneyland. Been there many a time, but never was lucky to catch one of them :) Glad you guys were able to; looked like a fun trip!
ReplyDeletebetty
Soft openings are hit or miss; I've been there for a couple of them, but more often than not, just have to wait until the official opening.
Deletelooks like fun times.
ReplyDelete:-)
DeleteKyle was in LOVE with the Little Mermaid when he was a little guy. It was the first movie he saw in a theater (the summer he was 3). He had Little Mermaid bath tub toys and he had one of those child rakes that he used as his trident and would wave it through the air and shout "Shine!" He was King Tritan, making the rainbow at the end of the movie. So yes, I would ride that ride over and over again!
ReplyDeleteWe have ridden it again, and I do enjoy it. I just wouldn't wait in line as long as we did that first day. :-)
DeleteI've never been to Disney Land, or Disney World or Disney World Paris... and I guess I never will, but I love your stories about your trips there.
ReplyDeleteWell, if you ever change your mind about Disneyland, I'm a willing tour guide! :-)
DeleteI've never been to Disney Land, or Disney World or Disney World Paris... and I guess I never will, but I love your stories about your trips there.
ReplyDeleteOh the Tiki Room! You just gave me such a nice flash back memory! My Uncle Walt loved the Tiki Room and it is always the first place we would go when he took me. He is gone now but the memory certainly isn't! I almost don't mind having the song stuck in my head.
ReplyDeleteWe just returned from Walt Disney World, and it was interesting to me to compare the attractions. WDW's Tiki Room didn't have the song with the water fountain, and they cut the "Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing" song short. I prefer Disneyland's Tiki Room. :-)
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