Scott
Former TS Team Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
I've never written a Trip Report before, like ever. So bear with me if this is awful 
I think the reason this whole holiday happened was because of a fairly spur-of-the-moment decision from the parents - who rung me up a few months back and said 'Do you want to go to Disneyland?' Of course, the natural answer is yes, and even more so when you're a huge child like I am! The one and only time I'd previously been to DLP was 4 years ago during the extended 15th Birthday celebrations and so I was very excited to go back and see what had changed and also to see if I still felt the 'first visit' magic.
We started out on Sunday afternoon by driving down to Ashford, where we met some family who live that way, had a meal and stayed overnight at a Travelodge - which turned out to have broken lifts, dodgy stains on the walls, an inhumanely hot temperature and a total lack of pillows. Despite that though it was okay for what it was and the next morning we all woke up, had a McDonald's breakfast and drove to the Eurotunnel at Folkstone. We'd been on it once before, but I had largely forgotten how efficient and easy it was to do! I was also impressed with the terminal building, which was spacious, had plenty of amenities and even had good toilets!
After getting out of the other side of the Chunnel, we began our journey towards Paris - eventually arriving at Disneyland at around 3 o clock. We checked into our hotel, Sequoia Lodge, and unpacked. The room was lovely - plenty of space, nice decor and had good air conditioning. We stayed on a floor that had been recently decorated too, so it was pretty fortunate! After a quick unpack we wandered towards the parks... First thing I noticed was the new bag check at the hotel entrance to Disney Village. A much better idea than before when bags weren't checked until the park plaza. The Village itself wasn't too much different and still looks bloody awful in places, but the new Earl of Sandwich and Starbucks buildings look great and have really improved the look of the whole place. At the park end of the Village there is also the new store: World of Disney which is just about twice the size of the existing Disney store and is finished in a wonderful style with plenty of space inside and a very wide selection of merch!
The park end of the Village is also laid out differently to the last time I visited – with one gate being an entrance and the other being an exit. This means that guests already in the Village are now directed past WoD toward the parks, and having already had their bags checked it means you don’t have to join the large public queue at the gate for Disneyland Park. It’s clever… this also means that everyone leaving the parks must walk past WoD to exit to the station, bus stops and car park, but currently it also means that everyone from those places has to queue up at the security gate for Disneyland Park regardless of which park they are visiting. They are building a new security gate for WDS though and this will probably be finished soon.
Now, I’ve rambled on long enough before actually getting to the parks! We entered Disneyland Park for the first time at around 6 o clock on Monday and I was eager to see if I would feel the magic again… The entrance still blows me away with its beauty, but I was gutted to realise that walking through the turnstiles – I felt nothing. No magic. No awe. Nothing. I later worked out why… It was packed when we walked in and the streets were lined ready for the parade – so the whole thing was just lost on me. At the time though, I was disappointed, and it took until the next day for the magic to grow again…
Despite this, we grabbed a quick hot dog from Casey’s and entered Frontierland to begin our riding! The first ride was Phantom Manor – mainly because it started to rain and we wanted to stay dry! I remember it being brilliant 4 years ago, and after feeling a bit ‘meh’ after entering the park I was hoping that the ride wouldn’t disappoint. It certainly didn’t! The stretching room is still a fantastic little illusion and was the first glimpse of fantastic and immersive Cast Members who played their part perfectly. The ride itself was still brilliant. It’s immersive, fantastically themed and felt really fresh – despite many of the scenes have existed for years upon years! Favourite elements of it would be the little touches like the self-knocking doors or the ghost in the mirror cradling your Doom Buggy. It’s just a fantastic dark ride and proves how well Disney make these rides. I certainly felt a bit more magical coming off it anyway!
After diverting past Big Thunder Mountain (which had an insane queue and an insaner FP time) we went off to Indiana Jones. Well… What can you say about it? I wasn’t expecting much, which was good, as it didn’t deliver anything at all really. Fortunately the queue was short – which was why we went on… A rickety old Intamin which copied a Pinfari design was never going to be a fantastic ride was it? The drop into the loop, as well as the loop itself were enjoyable – however the rest of the ride was poor and I genuinely feel like the whole thing should just be knocked down and replaced with something much better… It’s pretty awful tbh.
We were going to ride Pirates of the Caribbean after that, but it was down for the evening (and had a few downtime problems during our stay) so we had to save it for the next day, which meant we wandered off to Discoveryland to do one of my favourite attractions from 4 years ago: Star Tours. Unfortunately, this ride matched my feelings when I entered the park: ‘meh’. The queue is still fantastic, although feeling tired but the ride itself is so old now that it just doesn’t feel as fun as it should and could. It was still enjoyable, and it was re-ridden by us during the week but it wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be and is crying out for the Star Tours 2 remake sooner than later!
After that it was onto another one of my favourites from the past: Buzz Lightyear’s Laser Blast. I love shooting dark rides, and I remember this being a fantastic example of one and was a thoroughly enjoyable ride! However, it is also starting to feel quite tired. The queue is a prime example of this… The giant Buzz animatronic is hidden behind (what looks like quite an old) curtain – which takes the most magical part of the queue away and doesn’t set the tone for the ride very well! The ride itself is still fun and I found myself enjoying it a great deal – but on the rides we had the blasters seemed unreliable, the targets didn’t all work and generally there were little niggles like that which held the whole thing back from being as great as it should be!
Interestingly, the park’s maintenance seems so incredibly random too! At another point during the trip, we saw somebody from maintenance sanding down and re-painting two of the giant ‘cables’ that ‘plug in’ to the Buzz FastPass machines because they had a few chips… However, none of the others were touched during the week and the machines themselves look tired, let alone the actual ride! It just amazes me that constant little work is carried out, but seemingly not followed up – while bigger things should be getting done. Don’t get me wrong, it’s amazing that these little touch ups are always being done, but it just seems bloody random!
The final ride for the first evening was Space Mountain: Mission 2 – a ride I had heard lots about but never ridden. I knew it was a dark-ride Vekoma with a launch and some inversions but that was about it… I wish I’d known how rough it was though! I found the whole thing entirely un-enjoyable because of the roughness of the track and train. It may be because I was 6ft 5, it may be because I was on the back row, but it was bloody awful at times. I was gutted because the elements of the inside that I could see (as I didn’t have glasses on) were great, such as the explosion video and the neon vortex, however, the rough sensation of the ride has entirely put me off it. Amazing theming and great music – but I’m not a fan at all I’m afraid.
So, the first day ended slightly disappointingly for me. Despite having a great hotel and experiencing brilliance within Phantom Manor, I was left entirely ‘meh’ by elements of all the other rides. Were my thoughts going to change after a good night’s sleep? I’ll let you know if/when I write Part 2…
I think the reason this whole holiday happened was because of a fairly spur-of-the-moment decision from the parents - who rung me up a few months back and said 'Do you want to go to Disneyland?' Of course, the natural answer is yes, and even more so when you're a huge child like I am! The one and only time I'd previously been to DLP was 4 years ago during the extended 15th Birthday celebrations and so I was very excited to go back and see what had changed and also to see if I still felt the 'first visit' magic.
We started out on Sunday afternoon by driving down to Ashford, where we met some family who live that way, had a meal and stayed overnight at a Travelodge - which turned out to have broken lifts, dodgy stains on the walls, an inhumanely hot temperature and a total lack of pillows. Despite that though it was okay for what it was and the next morning we all woke up, had a McDonald's breakfast and drove to the Eurotunnel at Folkstone. We'd been on it once before, but I had largely forgotten how efficient and easy it was to do! I was also impressed with the terminal building, which was spacious, had plenty of amenities and even had good toilets!
After getting out of the other side of the Chunnel, we began our journey towards Paris - eventually arriving at Disneyland at around 3 o clock. We checked into our hotel, Sequoia Lodge, and unpacked. The room was lovely - plenty of space, nice decor and had good air conditioning. We stayed on a floor that had been recently decorated too, so it was pretty fortunate! After a quick unpack we wandered towards the parks... First thing I noticed was the new bag check at the hotel entrance to Disney Village. A much better idea than before when bags weren't checked until the park plaza. The Village itself wasn't too much different and still looks bloody awful in places, but the new Earl of Sandwich and Starbucks buildings look great and have really improved the look of the whole place. At the park end of the Village there is also the new store: World of Disney which is just about twice the size of the existing Disney store and is finished in a wonderful style with plenty of space inside and a very wide selection of merch!
The park end of the Village is also laid out differently to the last time I visited – with one gate being an entrance and the other being an exit. This means that guests already in the Village are now directed past WoD toward the parks, and having already had their bags checked it means you don’t have to join the large public queue at the gate for Disneyland Park. It’s clever… this also means that everyone leaving the parks must walk past WoD to exit to the station, bus stops and car park, but currently it also means that everyone from those places has to queue up at the security gate for Disneyland Park regardless of which park they are visiting. They are building a new security gate for WDS though and this will probably be finished soon.
Now, I’ve rambled on long enough before actually getting to the parks! We entered Disneyland Park for the first time at around 6 o clock on Monday and I was eager to see if I would feel the magic again… The entrance still blows me away with its beauty, but I was gutted to realise that walking through the turnstiles – I felt nothing. No magic. No awe. Nothing. I later worked out why… It was packed when we walked in and the streets were lined ready for the parade – so the whole thing was just lost on me. At the time though, I was disappointed, and it took until the next day for the magic to grow again…
Despite this, we grabbed a quick hot dog from Casey’s and entered Frontierland to begin our riding! The first ride was Phantom Manor – mainly because it started to rain and we wanted to stay dry! I remember it being brilliant 4 years ago, and after feeling a bit ‘meh’ after entering the park I was hoping that the ride wouldn’t disappoint. It certainly didn’t! The stretching room is still a fantastic little illusion and was the first glimpse of fantastic and immersive Cast Members who played their part perfectly. The ride itself was still brilliant. It’s immersive, fantastically themed and felt really fresh – despite many of the scenes have existed for years upon years! Favourite elements of it would be the little touches like the self-knocking doors or the ghost in the mirror cradling your Doom Buggy. It’s just a fantastic dark ride and proves how well Disney make these rides. I certainly felt a bit more magical coming off it anyway!
After diverting past Big Thunder Mountain (which had an insane queue and an insaner FP time) we went off to Indiana Jones. Well… What can you say about it? I wasn’t expecting much, which was good, as it didn’t deliver anything at all really. Fortunately the queue was short – which was why we went on… A rickety old Intamin which copied a Pinfari design was never going to be a fantastic ride was it? The drop into the loop, as well as the loop itself were enjoyable – however the rest of the ride was poor and I genuinely feel like the whole thing should just be knocked down and replaced with something much better… It’s pretty awful tbh.
We were going to ride Pirates of the Caribbean after that, but it was down for the evening (and had a few downtime problems during our stay) so we had to save it for the next day, which meant we wandered off to Discoveryland to do one of my favourite attractions from 4 years ago: Star Tours. Unfortunately, this ride matched my feelings when I entered the park: ‘meh’. The queue is still fantastic, although feeling tired but the ride itself is so old now that it just doesn’t feel as fun as it should and could. It was still enjoyable, and it was re-ridden by us during the week but it wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be and is crying out for the Star Tours 2 remake sooner than later!
After that it was onto another one of my favourites from the past: Buzz Lightyear’s Laser Blast. I love shooting dark rides, and I remember this being a fantastic example of one and was a thoroughly enjoyable ride! However, it is also starting to feel quite tired. The queue is a prime example of this… The giant Buzz animatronic is hidden behind (what looks like quite an old) curtain – which takes the most magical part of the queue away and doesn’t set the tone for the ride very well! The ride itself is still fun and I found myself enjoying it a great deal – but on the rides we had the blasters seemed unreliable, the targets didn’t all work and generally there were little niggles like that which held the whole thing back from being as great as it should be!
Interestingly, the park’s maintenance seems so incredibly random too! At another point during the trip, we saw somebody from maintenance sanding down and re-painting two of the giant ‘cables’ that ‘plug in’ to the Buzz FastPass machines because they had a few chips… However, none of the others were touched during the week and the machines themselves look tired, let alone the actual ride! It just amazes me that constant little work is carried out, but seemingly not followed up – while bigger things should be getting done. Don’t get me wrong, it’s amazing that these little touch ups are always being done, but it just seems bloody random!
The final ride for the first evening was Space Mountain: Mission 2 – a ride I had heard lots about but never ridden. I knew it was a dark-ride Vekoma with a launch and some inversions but that was about it… I wish I’d known how rough it was though! I found the whole thing entirely un-enjoyable because of the roughness of the track and train. It may be because I was 6ft 5, it may be because I was on the back row, but it was bloody awful at times. I was gutted because the elements of the inside that I could see (as I didn’t have glasses on) were great, such as the explosion video and the neon vortex, however, the rough sensation of the ride has entirely put me off it. Amazing theming and great music – but I’m not a fan at all I’m afraid.
So, the first day ended slightly disappointingly for me. Despite having a great hotel and experiencing brilliance within Phantom Manor, I was left entirely ‘meh’ by elements of all the other rides. Were my thoughts going to change after a good night’s sleep? I’ll let you know if/when I write Part 2…
