Second All in One Disneyland TR Thread - Guardians of the Galaxy Mission: Breakout Review 5/30-6/2

The parade looks like it is really nice. You captured it well in your pictures. What a long wait. Did you feel it was worth the wait. Did you enjoy the fireworks?
 
I finally made it here! :yay: So glad I made it in time to see the 60th anniversary stuff since I will be there this September!!! :banana: Nice to see Princess and Alison here too! Sorry to hear Fran is not feeling up to going to Disneyland.. Hope she gets some relief soon!

Thanks for posting all these pictures and telling us what's going on down there! 2 hours to wait for the parade and the fireworks! :faint:

Thanks also for the tip on the Blue Bayou/Fantasmic! dinner package to get the best seats for F! Those were GREAT seats!

You are so lucky you get to go so often!!
 
Great pics of the parade and fireworks. We enjoyed both on our trip.
 
Thanks for the preview. I can't wait to get back out there. Fran is still in dire straits and went to bed at 8:30 tonight. She is feeling awful both physically and mentally and I don't know what to do. Hopefully somehow she will feel better soon.
 


Thanks for the preview. I can't wait to get back out there. Fran is still in dire straits and went to bed at 8:30 tonight. She is feeling awful both physically and mentally and I don't know what to do. Hopefully somehow she will feel better soon.

Alison,

My thoughts are with Fran and I hope she feels better soon.
 
Thanks for the preview. I can't wait to get back out there. Fran is still in dire straits and went to bed at 8:30 tonight. She is feeling awful both physically and mentally and I don't know what to do. Hopefully somehow she will feel better soon.

:hug: :flower3: :hug:
 
I got back safely last night around 11pm. It was a fun trip and it was fun to go to the DLR during the Diamond Celebration. Even though the parks were busy with the Grad Nite and the regular crowds, we have enjoyed the three days at the DLR. I was able to enjoy it with DAW and also got to see my cousin at the park on Saturday which we were able to see Paint the Night and Disneyland Forever. I will get to that later on when I posts some pics from World of Color - Celebrate.


You make me absolutely WANT to get there this year to check out both the parade and the fireworks show.

I suspect that Paint the Light will be one of those absolutely hits where Disney is concerned. It is drawing rave reviews in HKDL and I had originally thought I would see it there. Maybe I'll have to push for a trip to DLR afterall. ;)

I would be the same thing if I were in your shoes PiO. Hopefully you will be able to come back to the U.S. this year and see the new nighttime shows.

Paint the Night is a huge success with people waiting over 4 hours after Mickey's Sounsational Parade is over to get a curbside spot for the first parade at 8:50pm. I was one of those people on Saturday which my group waited 4 hours to see the parade. Luckily, we had four people watch our spot which last time when I went last week was only by myself for 2 1/2 hours. If you do come, we will stake out a good spot on MS to see it.


The parade looks like it is really nice. You captured it well in your pictures. What a long wait. Did you feel it was worth the wait. Did you enjoy the fireworks?

Thank you TK. The new parade lived to it's expectations. The 2 1/2 hour wait last week was nothing compared to the 4 hour wait this past Saturday. I had no problem waiting that long for a new show since it was new and I had something to keep me occupied until it was time for the parade. Disneyland Forever is a nice new firework show as well which you can watch it from any part of DL from IASW Plaza, by the RoA, Matterhorn facade from MS and of course MS which you can see the buildings which projects on them.

I finally made it here! :yay: So glad I made it in time to see the 60th anniversary stuff since I will be there this September!!! :banana: Nice to see Princess and Alison here too! Sorry to hear Fran is not feeling up to going to Disneyland.. Hope she gets some relief soon!

Thanks for posting all these pictures and telling us what's going on down there! 2 hours to wait for the parade and the fireworks! :faint:

Thanks also for the tip on the Blue Bayou/Fantasmic! dinner package to get the best seats for F! Those were GREAT seats!

You are so lucky you get to go so often!!

Nice to see you make it over to my trip report Denise. It won't be too long until you are at the DLR during the Diamond Celebration. It is likely that the wait times to see the new nighttime shows will be shorter than during the summertime.

Your welcome. 2 hours is nothing compared to those people who wait over more than half a day to see a show like during the 24 Hour event, New Years Eve, etc. I spent 4 hours with my group to see the parade and fireworks on Saturday night.

Glad to read that the info on the BB F! dining package helps out. It was interesting to do the F! dining package. I would not do it again in the near future since I have seen F! a lot unless it is updated. But for a first time person seeing it would make sense and I would do the BB over the other restaurants.


Great pics of the parade and fireworks. We enjoyed both on our trip.

Thank you Angela. It was fun to go during the Diamond Celebration and I would like to read about your experience during your trip.


Thanks for the preview. I can't wait to get back out there. Fran is still in dire straits and went to bed at 8:30 tonight. She is feeling awful both physically and mentally and I don't know what to do. Hopefully somehow she will feel better soon.

Thank you Alison. Hope you will be able to experience the new nighttime shows at the DLR. Hope Fran is getting better.


Here is my review of the new World of Color - Celebrate that I watched on Wednesday 27th and seeing it again on Sunday 31st. My first insight of the new WoC Celebrate is that it was exciting to see another version of the show. There have been two different variations of the show from the original one with so many changes to the segments and WoC Winter Dreams. I can understand that the original WoC is so amazing and I still say the same thing when I see it. WoC Winter Dreams is a nice version for the holiday season. For the new WoC Celebrate which is dedicated to Walt Disney's legacy and shows his greatest works from the characters, movies, and Disney parks. The show is hosted by Neil Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse. I talked to some people after the show on both days including DAW about it and they said that it was a nice tribute to Walt Disney but they didn't feel it was better over the original WoC. For me, I thought it was great which talks about Walt Disney legacy and showed the characters, movies and park attractions. This show is not better over Paint the Night or Disneyland Forever, but it is a nice new addition during the Diamond Celebration at DCA which it can take some of the pressure away from DL with the new nighttime shows.

Would I see WoC Celebrate in the near future? Yes, I always enjoy watching the nighttime shows at the Disney parks especially WoC.

Here are some pictures from WoC Celebrate on Wednesday 27th.




















The scene from Frozen "Let It Go" was in this show just like WoC Winter Dreams.
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After getting some rest after the long two weeks in Vegas and at the DLR, I will get started on my trip report during May 30th to June 1st.
 


Thanks for the pictures Bret!!! :flower3: Is there a screen or something in the upper middle/right? Seems like the images are a lot sharper in that circle.
 
I can't wait to see all three shows. I don't know when we will get out there because we need to "clean up" some things in real life, plus Fran needs to feel better. Maybe at some point she will let me just go out there and see some shows, but I doubt it.
 
Brett:
Wow, I am finally caught up, your images are amazing!
I have never seen WOC but I am for sure seeing this one!

The fireworks are super too! I am super excited to be coming to DLR in Sept, after labor day weekend!!!!!!
How early should we wait for the parade then?

Looking forward to your Trip Report....

--Lori
 
Great pictures!! Thanks for sharing.

Thank you TK. Hopefully you will be able to go to the DLR this year during the Diamond Celebration. You will love seeing the new nighttime shows.


Thanks for the pictures Bret!!! :flower3: Is there a screen or something in the upper middle/right? Seems like the images are a lot sharper in that circle.

Thank you Denise. The facade of Mickey on Mickey's Fun Wheel is where the projection screen is. They put up a screen in front of Mickey and use that as the screen for WoC - Celebrate show.


I can't wait to see all three shows. I don't know when we will get out there because we need to "clean up" some things in real life, plus Fran needs to feel better. Maybe at some point she will let me just go out there and see some shows, but I doubt it.

Hopefully you will be able to see the three new shows this summer Alison. Hopefully Fran will get better and you will be able to go.


Brett:
Wow, I am finally caught up, your images are amazing!
I have never seen WOC but I am for sure seeing this one!

The fireworks are super too! I am super excited to be coming to DLR in Sept, after labor day weekend!!!!!!
How early should we wait for the parade then?

Looking forward to your Trip Report....

--Lori

Hi Lori. Thank you and glad you are enjoying the pictures during my first trip in May. I am surprised that you haven't seen WoC. But you will have to see the original one first before seeing the new WoC - Celebrate which is great but not as better over the original one.

Hope you will have a great time when you go down in September. Good thing that the Diamond Celebration will go till next year and you will be able to see the new nighttime shows. Even though I am not excited that "A Christmas Fantasy" parade and "Believe...In Holiday Magic" fireworks will be replaced by the new nighttime shows at DL during the holiday season but I understand why Disney is doing that just like with RDCT fireworks in 2005.

It only depends on how long are you willing to wait to see Paint the Night. For me during the first trip, I waited 2 1/2 hours and didn't get a curb spot on MS. I would have guess that the guests must have got that spot when the 4pm Mickey's Soundsational parade was over on MS and they got it immediately. That would be at least 4 hours. But since you are going in September, the wait time should be way less and you should get the spot in less than 2 hours with a curb spot. I would watch the parade on MS since you will be able to see fireworks on the streets. Remember that the facades of the buildings on MS will be part of the show so you should watch it from that area.

The first part of my May 30th to June 1st trip report will be posted shortly. So stay tune.
 
Day 1 – May 30, 2015 – Part 1


Flying Down Again and Ready to see the Diamonds Again​


It is now time for the first day of our trip “Back to the Diamonds at the Happiest Place on Earth” to Disneyland in May. It wasn’t too long ago when I was at the Disneyland Resort before and after the Diamond Celebration started on May 22nd. I was able to go on the 20th before I head to Las Vegas since I was working a basketball tournament. This was the longest week of my life on the 20th when I was working in Vegas. I was in Vegas since Tuesday the 26th. I was able to go to the DLR before this trip on May 26th to 28th for three days and I was glad that I was able to make a quick trip. I know that it didn’t make any sense to go back to SoCal in a couple of days which I drove back home to Sacramento and flew a couple of days after. But I was tired and wanted to come back home for one day and be back in SoCal with DAW. I was also trying out a Nikon 70-200 f/4 telezoom lens during the trip in which I wanted to get some up close shots of the Diamond Celebration from the Paint the Night parade, World of Color – Celebrate, Sleeping Beauty Castle, etc. (you know what I mean). I’m not doing a report on my solo trip but I will do be doing this last trip with DAW. Boy we had a blast and had fun. Even though it was crowded during Grad Nite. We also were able to see some family during the trip as well which was a surprised.

Here are posts from my trip report thread during the Diamond Celebration on the 20th, 26th, 27th and 28th when I was at the DLR.
Quick look at the Diamond Celebration and Grizzly Peak Airfield 5/20/15

Paint the Night parade 5/26/15

Disneyland Forever fireworks 5/26/15

World of Color – Celebrate 5/27/15

Let’s get back to the trip report.

Just like when DAW and I were able to get the $49 deal on Southwest Airlines during the March 2015 trip, she was able to get tickets for the May trip as well. Luckily, I was able to go a few days before the trip and able to buy the merchandise that I wanted to get from the popcorn buckets, hats, pins, etc. during the 60th Diamond Celebration. Since you are limited to bring back stuff when flying then from driving, it was fun to fly instead of drive after all of that driving to Vegas, Anaheim and back to Sacramento. DAW loves to fly over driving which is why we got the tickets.

We will be staying at our favorite hotel which is Best Western Park Place Inn. I still love going to this hotel every time I come down to SoCal when going to the DLR. It is the closest non-Disney hotel to the DLR which makes a big difference. Since we were flying, we didn’t have to pay the extra $10 a night for parking which saves us some money.

The reason we did this trip was that DAW Premium Annual Pass is about to expire in late June which she renewed it last year which was a shocker. But this will be her third trip to use the AP which will get her usage out of the AP. Paying for a Premium AP is not cheap and you have to get the amount of days and trips in order to pay for it. I also renewed my AP when I was at the DLR on the 20th. I enjoy going to the DLR which I did went a lot this past year and this year.

It was the day of the trip in which we were planning on flying down to SoCal instead of driving. I mostly never like to fly since I drive most of the time when I go to SoCal. But DAW didn’t want to drive down to SoCal and we were able to get great deals on SWA for $49 one way which is a really good deal. For this trip, we were able to get early flights to Orange County John Wayne Airport. Our flight to OC was at 8am and get there at 9:55am which was perfect timing. On the way back, we had a flight at 9:25pm and back to Sac at 10:55pm. So we were able to get almost 3 full days at the DLR during the trip.

During the trip, I rented a Nikon 70-200 f/4 telezoom lens. I don’t own any telezoom lens since most of my photography is with wide angle, standard and prime lenses when I am at the parks. But this time, since I was able to use my lenses during the first trip (May 26th to 28th), I wanted to get up close shots of everything so when you see my pictures most of the shots were from the telezoom lens.

Now let’s get to the updates after all of this writing.

I was picked up by Cousin C to get DAW. It was nice of him to take us to Sacramento International Airport (SMF)

We got to SIA around 6:30am and our flight was at 8am. I really like to fly SWA since it is a reasonable price and all the seat assignment are the same where we can sit anywhere we want.

Our flight was heading on over to John Wayne Airport Orange County which is one of the closest cities to the DLR. I have flown to OC a lot of times in the past and it is nice to fly to OC over LAX which I don’t like to go since it is so busy and takes a while to the DLR.

It took an hour and ten minutes to get from Sacramento to OC. When we got off the plane, we head on down to get our baggage and head on over towards the SuperShuttle area. I was suggesting DAW to use the Disney Express Bus but DAW wanted to use the SuperShuttle instead. It took a while for the SuperShuttle to pick us up and take us over to our hotel which was BWPPI.

We rode the SuperShuttle to BWPPI but we had to stop a few times since there were other people riding the bus that day. I always enjoy staying at BWPPI because of its location to the DLR which is the closets non-Disney hotel.

We got to BWPPI around 11:00am which was really quick from John Wayne Airport. When we check-in at the front desk, our room was not ready so we just left our bags at the lobby at BWPPI and on our way to do our first thing in SoCal.

When we left BWPPI, DAW and I started to feel hungry so we went to this one restaurant that we go almost every time I go with DAW. The restaurant that we had for lunch is Mimi’s Café on Harbor Blvd right by Howard Johnson (HOJO). DAW loves eating at Mimi’s Café which we do have one in Elk Grove.

I wasn’t able to get any pictures during our meal since we have eaten at Mimi’s Café so many times in Anaheim and Elk Grove. I remember that DAW got a West Coast Reuben while I had Chicken and Waffles since they were still serving breakfast.

After we at Mimi’s Café, it was now time to head on over to the DLR during the Diamond Celebration.

While walking down on Harbor Blvd, Disney is already promoting the D23 Expo in August with banners on the poles.



The new sign on Harbor Blvd is very nice and colorful which represents the 60th Diamond Celebration.


When we got to the DLR and about to pass by the baggage check area, there was the Disneyland Diamond Days Word of the Day Sweepstakes. The sweepstakes is every day during the Diamond Celebration with a chance to win prizes at the DLR. You have to do is text the word in and hopefully you will be able to win. I didn’t do any of the texting during the two trips since I was enjoy my time at the DLR.


The old DCA banners have been replaced with the Diamond Celebration banners.


We entered DL first since there was more to see over there over DCA.


I did like the 60th Celebration sign right in front of the Main Street Railroad Station.


We walked down MS, and it was a little crowded that afternoon. I am not talking about summer crowds or Christmas break crowds but it was a little busy walking up on Main Street.

Since I had the telezoom lens, the first thing I wanted to do was get pictures of SB Castle with the 60th Diamond Celebration decorations. It was nice to see the castle all decorated during the Diamond Celebration. Since I don’t own a telezoom lens and rented the f/4, it was so great to rent it where I was able to get up close shots of the castle during the daytime.












After getting some shots of the castle, the first ride that we tried to do first was the Haunted Mansion. I was able to see the new Hatbox Ghost during the first trip and I knew that DAW would love seeing the new Hatbox Ghost.

When we got to the HM, the wait time was already at 35 minutes. But we were able to do the handicapped scan of our AP’s since she was in an ECV during the trip and we had to come back about 30 minutes to get in the handicapped queue. The HM FP system was up and running. Since the Hatbox Ghost was added to the HM, it did make sense for Disney to run the FP system which is used for the Haunted Mansion Holiday during the Halloween/Christmas season. So it was great to see it up and running.


After getting our AP’s scan and to come back later to ride the HM, DAW wanted to ride the Mark Twain. So I had no problem with it since we had to wait and when we got off the Mark Twain, our return time to ride HM will be ready.

Just when we were walking on over to the Mark Twain dock, I saw the mine car popcorn bucket. I did forget to pick up the mine car popcorn bucket during my first trip and I knew that I was going to get it and had to carry it back home with me. This is the third different type of popcorn bucket that I bought during the Diamond Celebration from the Mickey Shape Balloon Popcorn bucket and Cinderella Pumpkin Coach bucket.


Luckily, the Mark Twain was at the dock and we boarded it in less than one minute. We sat on the first level in front of the Mark Twain and on our way on the Rivers of America. The park did look busy especially at New Orleans Square where it was busy at Pirates of the Caribbean.


Different pictures while riding on the Mark Twain.








I do miss the old Keel Boats where it was a ride back in the old days.








DAW did enjoy riding the Mark Twain around the RoA which is always fun to do. She had no problem riding the Mark Twain with me that afternoon since the park started to get a little busy with most of the rides are now having long queues.

After we got off, it was time to head on over to the HM to get in the queue. But that will be on the next post so continue on to the next post below.

 
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Last Installment on the Trip Report

Day 1 – May 30, 2015 – Part 2

Hatbox Ghost is finally back at the Haunted Mansion​

After riding the Mark Twain around the Rivers of America, it was now time to head on back to the Haunted Mansion to use the handicapped return time. It was nice of not going through the queue and be up there in a few minutes. DAW had to transfer our of the ECV so it would take some time.

It did felt a little busy but not like super crowds.


I am looking forward to going back to the DLR and see the Hatbox Ghost at the HM. I was able to go on it twice during the last trip in which I wasn’t able to get good pictures. But I was able to get them and this time I was planning on improving on the quality of the Hatbox Ghost.

It didn’t make any sense to use the telezoom lens so I attached my 35mm f/1.8 lens for the ride. I haven’t used the 35mm lens for quite some time since I have the Tokina 11-16mm but it was nice to use it for the HM. I will have to consider getting the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens one day or the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 lens which is the ultimate prime lenses.

Walking down the handicapped queue.


Here are pics from inside the HM that day.










Finally got to the Hatbox Ghost area and I was taking pictures like crazy. During that one run, I must took at least over 30 snaps of the Hatbox Ghost. I had to choose which ones were the good ones.




Rest of the HM after the Hatbox Ghost


The Hitchhiking Ghosts are still the same like always looking for a ride.


DAW was impressed with the Hatbox Ghost where you saw his head box and reappear on his head. I was able to see a version of the Hatbox Ghost at the D23 Expo in 2013 and glad that Disney added it to the HM this year for the Diamond Celebration. It made my time that afternoon and getting pictures of it.

Just when we got off the ride, it was time to head on back to BWPPI and check-in to our room. It was around 2pm and it was likely that our room would be ready. We needed to get some rest so we can stake out a spot at Main Street to see Paint the Night parade at 8:50pm.

While on the way out, I got the mine car popcorn bucket at Frontierland which is the only place in the park to get it and on the way out, we had to get the Cinderella Pumpkin Coach popcorn bucket at the Main Street Hub stand. I was surprised that it was located at the Hub instead of being at another place. I remember the popcorn stand at the Hub had the blue Mickey shape balloon popcorn bucket during my earlier trip and this time it was at a different location. We picked up the Cinderella bucket for DD4. I knew that buying it would cause extra baggage but luckily DAW didn’t bring a second carry on so she was able to use the bag to carry the popcorn buckets as her second carry on when we got back to Sacramento.


When we give DD4 the bucket, she was so ecstatic and loved it so much. We were glad that she really enjoyed the bucket that we got her during the trip. After she got the bucket, DD4 asked DML when can we go back to Disneyland. It might be a while for them to go back to the DLR which DAW and I go often.

After getting the bucket, we head on out of the park and back to BWPPI to check-in to our room. When we got back to BWPPI, our room was ready which we got a two double bed room which was perfect for two people. The room was big enough to put the ECV in which was great.

We got settled in our room and we just rested up until it was time to head on back to the park that day and stake out the spot for the parade. During my first trip, I staked out a spot for the first Paint the Night parade around 2 ½ hours on MS. That was behind another group of people at the curbside. So this time, I was determine to get a curb spot for the parade. So the wait time will be even longer than my first attempt. You will have to find out on the next update.

 
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OMG Bret, not sure how I got so behind but your photos of the 60th are amazing!!! And I need that Cinderella popcorn bucket. Gabby will be there next week so she better get me one. LOL! The mine car bucket is so cute too.

The pics taken from the Mark Twain? Fabulous!!!
 
So excited about seeing your 60th anniversary pictures!!! I must have the mine car and the Cinderella popcorn buckets!!! :yay: Thanks for taking the time to do this trip report!!
 
Fantastic shots of the Hatbox Ghost. Well done!

I bet you had fun with the telezoom.
 
OMG Bret, not sure how I got so behind but your photos of the 60th are amazing!!! And I need that Cinderella popcorn bucket. Gabby will be there next week so she better get me one. LOL! The mine car bucket is so cute too.

The pics taken from the Mark Twain? Fabulous!!!

Thank you Jenny. It was a fun time to go during the 60th Diamond Celebration at the DLR. Even though the crowds were busy due to Grad Nite and the locals but we had a great time. The Cinderella and mine car popcorn buckets are very nice and hope Gabby gets you the bucket.

Thank you. It's always fun to ride the Mark Twain.


So excited about seeing your 60th anniversary pictures!!! I must have the mine car and the Cinderella popcorn buckets!!! :yay: Thanks for taking the time to do this trip report!!

Thank you Denise. Hopefully you will be able to get them during your trip.


Fantastic shots of the Hatbox Ghost. Well done!

I bet you had fun with the telezoom.

Thank you TK.

It was fun to use the telezoom lens during the trip. It was hard to get wide angle shots with it and try to get as much in it but it was fun to get up close shots where I don't get too often with my regular lenses.


The next update during the trip report will be up shortly.
 
Last Installment on the Trip Report

Day 1 – May 30, 2015 – Part 3

Waiting for 4 Hours for a Parade?!​

DAW and I went back to the Best Western Park Place Inn to relax until it was time to head on back to Disneyland in order to get a spot for the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade. PtN parade is a new parade part of the 60th Diamond Celebration at the DLR and it was one of the three new nighttime shows. I was looking forward to seeing PtN parade when it debut in Hong Kong Disneyland last year. I was prepared of how long to wait in order to see the parade which I did wait a long time during earlier trip (May 26 – 28). That time I was there 2 ½ hours early and didn’t get a curb spot so this time we were planning on getting there early. I know that waiting for a parade that long is crazy but it is new and I wanted to get a good spot without people in my way when watching the parade.

Also during that trip, I had heard from one of my cousins that she is there along with her BF one day before us and were in DL that day. This was perfect since they have no problem waiting and staking out a spot for the parade that day. DAW was wondering if they were willing to wait that long with us or go off while we are watching the spot. But I talked to my cousin and she has no problem with it. DAW had no problem waiting that long as well since she will be on her ECV for most of the waiting time and she can also talk to her niece as well while we were waiting. My cousin is also a big Disney fan where she has gone to the DLR a lot of times and she was excited to be there during the 60th Diamond Celebration.

I brought my heavy duty camera bag which had my tripod, blanket, etc. (you know what I mean for staking out a spot for a long wait time). I have staked out spots for a long time and this might be the longest for me ever at any Disney parks from the DLR and WDW. I have waited as long as 3 hours for a show at the Disney parks. This does not include the wait times where I was in the queue for the D23 Expo mornings which were close to 3 hours.

Plus with the parade, Disneyland Forever fireworks will happen a few minutes after the end of the parade when we watch it on MS. When I watched the first parade during my solo trip, all the people that were on the sidewalk on MS that watched the 8:50pm parade will have to go on the street after the last float went by. Since the buildings on MS will project video images on the façade, all the guests will have to be away from the buildings so it won’t affect the projections. This was also a problem when I was thinking about it since DAW was using an ECV and we had to find a ramp to get the ECV on the street. While I was thinking about the spot, since my cousin came with her BF, maybe he could help me get the ECV off the sidewalk and on the street where DAW won’t have to find a ramp. So if you are planning on watching the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade and have an ECV, I would get a spot by a ramp or handicapped area on MS so you will be able to get a street spot for Disneyland Forever fireworks.

DAW and I rested for about an hour after we got back from Disneyland that afternoon. It was nice to get some rest until we head on over to Disneyland for Paint the Night parade.

We left around 4:40pm and on our way to Disneyland. I knew that Mickey’s Soundsational parade was going on at 4:30pm so it will be a little busy when going on over to Disneyland so we waited a while until the parade was close to the end.


When we got inside DL and on in MS, the last float from Mickey’s Soundsational parade was already right by the Emporium and we just followed along the backend of the parade until we get to the one spot that we wanted to watch the parade that night. The spot that we wanted to watch the parade that night was right next to the Penny Arcade. Since we wanted to be in the middle of MS and also see the Matterhorn as well for Disneyland Forever fireworks. I have read online that watching the parade right by the Penny Arcade for Paint the Night and then go on MS where you can see the Matterhorn which will project video images like the buildings on MS is the best spot to watch the fireworks from.

When we got to the spot, there were already people got the spot that we wanted and we were right next to the Penny Arcade entrance/exit. The spot was nice but not the spot where we could see the Matterhorn when on the streets. But we just went along with it.

We got there around 4:50pm and we will be staking out a spot for 4 hours. Yup 4 hours just to see a parade that night along with the fireworks. This is by far the longest wait time I have ever stake out for a show at any Disney parks. I set up my blanket and tripod so we can have our spot while DAW used her ECV to block off the spot as well.

A few minutes later, my cousin and her BF saw us and they joined us as well. We were all excited to see each other and glad that they are willing to wait as long as us to see the Paint the Night parade.

While we were waiting, I took some pictures with the telezoom lens around the area to kill time. We also got too talked to a lot of great families around us that were also staking out as well for the parade that night. There were some locals and one from Fresno that came out here to see the new shows and rides.


The Disneyland Band passing by and on their way to Main Street Town Square.








As time goes by most of the sidewalk spots to see the parade are already filled with people, blankets, etc. This is what happed during my solo trip in which the whole area was already filled up on MS for the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade.














It was good to have other people instead of me or my other aunt when staking out a spot for the nighttime shows at the Disney parks. While we were waiting, we exchange turns to go out and use the restroom or get food that night. We didn’t go on any rides when we got back in the park and stake out the spots. My cousin and her BF were able to go on a lot of rides that day that they had no problem waiting that night.

While we were waiting, we asked each other where we should have dinner. We went back and forward with all the different quick counter restaurants at DL. We were about to have dinner at Carnation Café. Some of you are wondering why would we have dinner at Carnation Café when it is a sit down restaurant. But there is a way to eat at the CC which is to go. Yes, my cousin have to go orders at CC in the past where you wait to be seated and ask for the food to go. This is another good way to get food on the go instead of sitting down at the restaurant. The only problem is that the wait time to eat at CC was over 30 minutes.

So we forget about that and the other place they were thinking is the Plaza Inn and the fried chicken. The only problem with the Plaza Inn is that it is also another sit down restaurant where you barely see anyone take the food out. There is a way to take the food out to go and eat somewhere at the park. This was great where we were able to get our food from Plaza Inn to go and had fried chicken on the streets of Main Street.


The time went by really quickly than I originally thought. I think it was due to talking with other people around us and time goes by very quickly. There were times that night where there were people trying to squeeze their way in our spot and my group and others told those people to find another spot since they were coming in inside one hour until the 8:50pm parade. I always hate those kind of people that try to force their way in while other people have waited hours in order to see something.



During the night, my cousin and her BF went to the Jolly Holiday Bakery and got the new 60th Diamond Celebration treats which looked very appetizing and amazing. I mostly never buy the treats at the DLR but after seeing that, I might have to reconsider. Here is the link that talks about the Six Scrumptious Desserts Debut for Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration

The Disneyland Park Diamond Lemon Cupcake and Raspberry Macaroon






After waiting a while for 4 hours, the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade was about to start. But the parade started from It’s a Small World Plaza so we had another 10 to 15 minutes until it arrives. So we just relaxed until it came down on MS that night. Everyone was so excited to see the parade while I was looking forward to seeing it again after a few days from my solo trip. This time, I was using the telezoom lens instead of the other lenses.

That will be it for this post and continue on to the next posts to see pictures from the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade on May 30th, 2015.

 
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Last Installment on the Trip Report

Day 1 – May 30, 2015 – Part 4

8:50pm Paint the Night Parade Part 1
We have waited on Main Street right next to the Penny Arcade for 4 hours in order to see the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade. This was by far the long wait time I have ever stake out a spot for a Disney park show. Even though it was a long wait time, we had no problem with it since times goes by quickly when you have other people with you. That one time where I watched the parade when I was solo (May 26 – 28 trip), it was difficult to wait that long without leaving the spot to use the restroom, food, etc. This was the second time for me to see the parade while it was the first time for all my party members.

During the parade, I used the Nikon 70-200mm f/4 telephoto lens for the parade to get the up close shots. Last time I used my regular lenses to take pictures of the parade. I was happy to use the telephoto lens that night where I was able to get some nice up close shots of the floats and characters.

I will be showing pictures from this trip and also pictures from my solo trip (May 26 – 28) on the other side of Main Street.

The opening unit is the Tinker Bell float where she is flying. Also there is Fiber Fairies and Pixel Painters. Peter Pan, Rosetta, Iridessa and Silvermist are part of the opening unit.








Peter Pan on top of the drum like unit.




Next were the puppets that was from the World of Color Preshow back in 2010. It was nice to see the puppets back from the WoC preshow in 2010 before WoC started.

Tigger




Genie


Lumiere




The next unit was Monsters, Inc. which has Mike and Sulley.






Mike at the end of the float


The next unit from the movie Cars. Lightning McQueen








Mack




DJ at the end




That is it for this post and continue on to the next post with more pics from Paint the Night parade.
 
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