It’s a Disney Kind of Day, Part II

As with our arrival in the morning, the first part of our day at the Disney Studios went extremely well. First of all, Monsters Inc’s own Sulley was greeting people and since he can’t speak (he’s not a “face” character, like Tiana) or write (his huge paws don’t allow it), it’s just a minute or two of interacting and a photo op with the big blue guy, so the line advanced quickly. The kids loved meeting him and he chased Thayer around a little bit; they had a good performer in the suit! Then we walked over to the Cars Rally ride, which had virtually no waiting, but Thayer wanted a blue car and bonked right into another child who was also heading full speed ahead and damn the torpedos toward her chosen car. No big boo-boo, fortunately, but some crying before the ride, which is a bit like the teacups, but tamer.

Now, Meredith had requested a showing of Animagique, which is a live-action spectacle that features Donald, Mickey, a bunch of animal friends, and black lights. By animal friends I mean Sebastian the crab, Simba the lion, Rafiki the orangutan, Baboo the bear, and King Louis the chimpanzee. I will let you guess which songs they sang. We got good seats, but had to wait – sitting down, mind you – for about 15 excruciating minutes while we listened to the theme song, Animagique. Over and over. This made both kids extremely restless, but the show finally started and there were bubbles and other diversions for 20 minutes. I do think we waited nearly as long as the show lasted. That’s how it goes!

Back outside, the next item on the schedule was to camp out and get a good spot to watch the Stars and Cars parade. We have never seen this before and I was especially looking forward to it. Two issues: first, I had no idea where we should position ourselves for what would be about a 40-minute wait; second, Meredith noticed that Stitch Live would be starting in English in 5 minutes. And she told Thayer. And then, that was all they wanted to do.

Now, I realized right away that we would have TIME to do both things, that the Stitch show only lasts about 15 minutes, but that we were unlikely to find a decent viewing position for the parade by the time we got finished with the blue guy. But they outnumber me, my children, and really it’s their time at DLRP, so I relented. And in we went, and doesn’t Meredith get picked as the “best monster” and enjoy a brief exchange with Stitch. He asked her where she learned to be such a good monster and she said, “Monster School” – not the kind of response he was expecting, I don’t think! And he took her picture and it appeared up on the screen for all to see. She was delighted; personally, I was glad she responded appropriately – this not generally the kind of situation that our Meredith seeks out or enjoys. Sometimes, the growing up enhances her already engaging personality. I was proud of her.

But lo, it came to pass: when we emerged from the theater, there were TONS of people on the parade route. Right in front of the Stitch entrance, however, there was some open space right at the rope. I suggested we take it. The kids were displeased, but we went for it. We got pressed in pretty well, with about 5 minutes to parade time, when Thayer announced that he needed a potty. So I pulled him out of his spot, barked at Meredith to keep our places as much as possible, and ran him to the closest restroom (at least I knew where they were).

When we got back, there were easily three times as many kids squeezed into the space than when we left. The families who had waited for an hour to make sure their kids were in the front? Suckers! And the parade was pretty much in full swing, with uniformed chauffeurs driving the characters around in custom cars. Then they all got out of their cars and it was obvious that we were in the WORST place to see the show. While each of the characters was on the stage, the others made the rounds (if we had had our autograph album this would have been great), but Meredith was in a terrible state, not even wanting her photo with Remy or Woody or Gaston. Then she turned around and noticed that the stage action was being simulcast on a diamond-vision screen behind our heads. I did not think this was the best way to see the show, actually. Then both kids were happy to leave…

…especially when it was made clear that Playhouse Disney LIVE would be starting in 5 minutes! And since the parade was in full swing, the attendance was pretty light. This is a 30-minute puppet show with one live person who interacts with both the puppets and the audience. There’s a “frame” story that involves Minnie’s surprise party, and then three interior stories that are basically ads for Playhouse Disney shows – Handy Manny, Pooh and Friends, and Little Einsteins. As Gru says in Despicable Me: “This is garbage! You actually like this?” Really low-end for Disney, I’d say, although there was a bubble machine (again with the bubbles!) and other stuff gets floated down on the crowd for effect. I found it painful, however, just as I find the live action Winnie the Pooh show painful.

When we left that theater, you would have never known a parade had come through a few minutes before. These Disney people can be extremely efficient, when they want to be. Not so much for our 30 minutes or more in line to ride the Disneyland Railroad from Main Street to Discoveryland (that’s Tomorrowland for y’all who are keeping track in the States), I do love the train, though, as it takes you past things that are not particularly themed, but also through the Grand Canyon (replete with taxidermied animals) and both the Pirates and Small World rides. Once off and into the future, we went to check out Autopia, the car ride of the future (or something. Why is this in the science fiction part of the park?) Anyway, only 20 minutes to wait, which went by fast, and Thayer and I shared a car and Meredith had her own car, on a different track. And two cars broke down in front of Meredith, which backed up the entire ride for quite some time (good thing the cars don’t have horns!). I just missed getting a photo of a woman talking on her cell phone in the hold-up (really?), but Thayer started to do the pee-pee dance so I was also getting stressed out during the wait. Finally she was able to finish her circuit and we could go (pun intended!).

Then Meredith got one of her wishes: Captain EO. This is a 3D adventure from the 80s that features none other than the late-great Michael Jackson. It was a collaboration between George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, and MJ and it’s quite a hoot. Some of it is very Star Wars-y, so imagine some of the space flights in 3D – pretty cool! And there are dancers and flashing lights and weird alien creatures and Angelica Huston plays the evil lady (good bit of casting there). I don’t know if Thayer could follow the action or not, but even he seemed to enjoy it!

Then we had one last mission: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Back across the park we walked, and the posted wait was 30 minutes. So we go in. The line looks just a wee bit better than last time, when it was more than an hour. I am concerned, but we start snaking our way in and it’s looking pretty good for time when there is an ANNOUNCEMENT in about five languages: the attraction is experiencing technical difficulties and has been temporarily halted. I tell the kids that if we don’t move in 5 minutes, we’re leaving. And so we wound up leaving, getting a couple of Happy Meals (which are far and away the cheapest eats in Disney Village), and taking the RER back to the Big City. It was a dismal way to end the day, but we were all exhausted from the stressful morning, the big crowds, and the long day. In the end, we actually crammed a lot in, but the feeling of being thwarted was hard on everyone. Next time will be better…