The Disney Doc

For the first time in forever... International Flower and Garden Festival

Has Disney ever completely changed your mind about something? I used to have some very solidly-built opinions on certain Disney topics. But thanks to Imagineering Magic, I have been converted to an avid fan of these franchises that I previously disliked simply because Disney parks built an entire “land” around them. I’m going to start with my favorite “new” land...

Cars Land, Radiator Springs

Cars was my LEAST FAVORITE of the Pixar movies at the time this land came out. I thought it was dumb concept just to have cars that could talk. So I wasn’t entirely thrilled to have an entire section of DCA dedicated to it. And when it first opened, I feel like it didn’t have much going on for it besides its major thrill ride, Radiator Springs Racers, which always had a long-ass line and a Fast Pass Distribution that not only had a long line of its own, but also ran out of Fast Passes almost immediately after rope drop. It was just one ride and a bunch of very specifically themed Cars stores. I don’t think Luigi’s Rockin’ Roadsters was open for a very long time due to the trackless technology at the time and Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree was still a “kids ride” to me back then.

I don’t remember the exact moment when I fell in love with Radiator Springs. I think it happened gradually during the year I was a local Annual Passholder. I was in SoCal for 1 year to get my graduate degree and I only lived about 30-40 min from Disney, so I thought it made sense to finally get an AP again after nearly 2 decades. I ended up spending a lot of time going as a solo AP adventurer, going to Disney almost every weekend by myself just to wander and have fun. There have been several times that I have gone to Disney just to study (believe it or not) with my notes and my iPad, bumming off the new guest wifi hotspots they had just installed. One of the best wifi hotspots was at Flo’s Diner in Cars Land. I remember one day, I brought my homework out there and finished a group project on Google Slides out on the patio. They were playing my favorite vintage music from the 1950s and 1960s on a loop. There was an ice cold beer at my side and every few minutes, I would see the Radiator Springs Racers zoom by the beautiful butte next to me. I remember that’s when I realized Cars Land was one of my favorite places to be. 

Radiator Springs Racers is a fantastic ride when the wait times aren’t outrageous. But two of my favorite DCA rides are actually Luigi’s Rockin Roadsters and Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree. During my year as a local, I also came with some regular friends. I don’t remember exactly which friend convinced me to try it first, but after we rode them for the first time, my friends and I always make it a point to ride them every trip. The wait times are usually 5-15 min long and they have enough spin and fun to them that it’s always entertaining. On Mater’s the momentum of the spinning is strong enough to whip you around and cause you to squish your unsuspecting friend into the side of the cab. On Luigi’s you usually get a different musical dance every time and depending on which car you choose, you could end up as the star of the show. And there’s always a spin at the end! My friends and I all know when the spin happens in each number, so we always throw our arms up just before the car twirls us around.

Cars Land also has an AMAZING Halloween overlay that started a few years ago. Before then, DCA has never dressed up for Halloween! I love all the themed decorations. There are spider gas cans and a spider car, a zombie car, a sugar skull car (who I affectionately call Dolores), Jack-O-Lantern traffic cones, and the Cars Land sign gets this “Happy Haul-O-Ween” makeover with a adorable little witch car in the front for Photopass Opportunities. The punny car movie posters across from Fillmore’s snack stand also change to holiday themed films! Something similar happens for Christmas with Cars-themed decorations, lights, and a winter makeover with a snowcar for the welcome sign. And no matter what time of year it is, Radiator Springs always has a special neon-lighting ceremony at sundown, just like in the movie. When you hear “Sh-Boom” over the loudspeakers, you’ll know. 

I went back and rewatched Cars with a newfound appreciation. Maybe I was just too young to appreciate the story before, but now I understand the nostalgia and the small town beauty that the film focuses on. I think just being on the streets of Radiator Springs and having such good, nostalgic memories of my own there have really made the Cars franchise special for me. 

I have another land that has completely changed my mind about that franchise, but I’ll save it for later! Any guesses?

🚀Spaceship Earth🌎

🚘Stop for a quart at Flo’s🛢

I recently became a fan of the Lost Bros Co’s Oh Boy! The Podcast. I’ve been learning a lot of great things about Walt Disney World (WDW) that I have never heard before, and I am loving the recommendations, tips, and bits of knowledge and nostalgia that they share. Since Disneyland (DL) is my “home park,” it’s always fascinating to learn more about how the other park lives. The Lost Bros also play some pretty entertaining “games” on their show that incorporate their opinions and creative ideas. In one of their first episodes, they play something like West Coast vs. East Coast, aka DL vs. WDW, where they compared the same attractions and rides from each park. To them, DL took the cake on the majority of rides, even though the Lost Bros themselves are WDW locals. After my 2 trips to WDW in 2018, I’ve been comparing the parks myself as well. So as a DL native, “let’s get down to business” and find out what the West Coast thinks as well.

I’m going to go land by land and space each post out, because if this were just one whole post, you’d be reading a full book at that point.

Adventureland (TL;DR Disneyland wins!)

Adventureland is my favorite (follow up post on “Lands That I Love” to follow). When you first walk into the park and go up Main Street USA, you first hit “the Hub” (with or without grass to sit on, depending on your park) where the road spikes off into different directions and your journey begins depending on which land you run to first. Well, I always veer to the left and begin my day at Adventureland, so I’m going to start here first. 

WDW: The biggest advantage WDW has is space. There’s TONS of it in Florida, unlike in tiny Anaheim, CA. So it’s great that they have more to work with over there. One of the things I do love about WDW’s version is that they have a whole Pirates of the Caribbean dedicated section (Caribbean Plaza) with this AMAZING scavenger hunt quest game that I will cover in a later post. And they have a whole restaurant devoted to the Jungle Cruise and its dad joke puns, which is one of my favorite things ever. That being said, I still think DL is the winner here.

DL: While smaller, it has much more of a jungle adventure vibe with towering, lush tropical plants and trees than WDW, which is much more open and goes with the desert Bazaar feeling instead. I definitely get the feeling that I’m isolated in a mysterious jungle somewhere, and I’m just a sucker for that old-timey, vintage adventurer and tiki aesthetic. That feeling is just missing for me somehow at WDW. Plus we now have one of the best snack spots ever, The Tropical Hideaway! It’s no Jungle Navigation Co. Skipper Canteen, but I can’t complain. Dole Whip is my favorite Disney snack and I’ll admit that I stan that exclusive chile-mango whip real hard. We also have the major advantage of being home to The Indiana Jones Adventure, which I won’t compare with WDW since it doesn’t really have an equivalent ride. But in my opinion, just having Indy alone puts the DL Adventureland wayyyyy in the lead. Now in terms of comparing similar rides and attractions...

The Enchanted Tiki Room: While I have to agree with the Lost Bros Co and say that the inside show is pretty much the same, I have to say that the DL version still surpasses the WDW version because of its pre-show and its new Dole Whip snack service at Tropical Hideaway. At DL the preshow allows you to eat a Dole Whip and sit down while you watch each of the enchanted Polynesian god totems come to life. The totems each share their name and a little backstory about their part in the Polynesian mythology while giving a specific animatronic performance. The fun part, especially for kids, is the scavenger hunt feeling you get when you follow the totems around the preshow area and try to find out which totem is speaking and from where. Plus the detail inside Tropical Hideaway, from magic lamps and carpets to the infamous missing Rosita telling corny Jungle Cruise-worthy jokes, is top notch. In contrast, the WDW world version has you standing in a little amphitheater setting to watch two animatronic birds share their personal story of the Jungle Cruise with you, which is a little more meh for me. And there’s hardly any space for you to sit and enjoy your Dole Whip. 

The Jungle Cruise: This one is a little tough. This is one of my favorite rides ever, not only because it serves me tons of that vintage exploration aesthetic vibe I love, but also because I an unashamedly obsessed with the dad joke script. I’ve ridden this thing so many times, I can recite any version of the script and be your Skipper myself. In fact, if I worked at Disney, one of my dream roles is to be a Jungle Cruise Skipper. I love love love the DL version and its classic scenes, like the ambush from the natives and the piranhas. Plus I’m used to seeing our version of Trader Sam and was shocked to see a completely different guy at the WDW one. According to the Imagineering backstory, they actually ARE 2 different Sam’s! They happen to be cousins who each opened up their own trading business on opposite coasts. There’s also almost never a wait at the DL one, averaging at about 10-15 min whenever I walk by (30-40 min is maybe the most I’ve ever seen). The queue is a little cramped and small, but I love waiting in the 2-story building and looking at all the Jungle Cruise memorabilia on the walls and the cute rooms/scenes set up inside it (reminiscent of Swiss Family Robinson Tree House back when it used to be at DL). It also has a bomb Jungle Cruise logo sign on the front. In contrast, the WDW queue is a more open and airy, allowing those huge, life-saving fans on the ceiling to do their work. There is some interactive element in the line, but less so than many of the other, more entertaining queues at Magic Kingdom (MK). I remember something about a hissing tarantula in a cage near the end of the line, but it was broken when I visited. I also loved the witty menu and accident signs on the dock right before you board your boat. But the wait time always seems outrageously longer than it should be for this ride, and somehow FastPasses distribute quicker than I would have expected. On the ride, I also really liked the temple tunnel at WDW that we don’t have at DL. For those who have never been on it, there’s a decent stretch of river that goes inside the ruins of a temple through an enclosed tunnel. It allowed for some cool effects and scenes in the dark, but cuts off the flow of the Skipper’s script. The Skipper literally has to stop talking because the microphone would echo too much. In addition to the ride, they have claim to a very fun and punny restaurant overflowing with Imagineering secrets and Jungle Cruise memorabilia. Not only is the atmosphere and theming on point, but the menu is DELICIOUS at the Skipper Canteen. Finally, they regularly get a Christmas overhaul for the Jingle Cruise, which is fantastic. I’ve never been to the WDW Jingle Cruise, but they did it only once (maybe twice) at DL that I can remember, and I loved the Christmas decorations both inside and outside the ride. The Christmas puns were also a nice change. But overall, in terms of the ride, I have to give it to DL’s Jungle Cruise for the overall immersive experience and aesthetic, but I might just be biased because that’s the one I grew up with. I also think there’s a richer opportunity for jokes at the DL one.

Treehouse: Ok, when I was a kid, DL is the one who used to have the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse and it was one of my favorite things to explore. I was obsessed with playing house and going adventures as a kid, so I loved seeing how someone could build a home in a tropical tree. Then it became the Tarzan treehouse walkthrough. The theming is very cool and the storytelling is great, but as a child afraid of loud noises and jump scares, that stupid jaguar, Sabor, and his snarl scared the shit out of me and has traumatized me good. I still don’t like him and have to scoot quickly around him with my fingers stuffed in my ears. But otherwise, the treehouse is a good little cardio climb. So, again,  I am a little biased because of a nostalgia factor, and WDW wins since they now have the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. But objectively, I can see how that’s really boring to many people without a history like mine, so I will give DL the point for taking advantage of the already existing treehouse structure and turning it into a self-paced story walkthrough based on one of their popular films (kind of like Sleeping Beauty’s Castle).

While Pirates of the Caribbean lives at Adventureland in WDW, I’m going to leave off comparing that one for when I discuss “America Lands” next time.

So that’s part 1 of many many comparisons to come. Again, take my opinions with a grain of salt since I grew up at DL, but you’ll see that there’s a lot at WDW that I love more than DL too. See ya, pal! 

🧞 Poof! What do you need?🎩

Back in the days before it was outrageously expensive and extremely fashionable, my parents and I were OG Disneyland Annual Passholders. We lived 15 minutes from the (then singular) park, and we went almost every weekend we could manage it. This was how I grew up at Disneyland.

It was before the days of Disney California Adventure and Downtown Disney, back when all of it was an outdoor sprawling parking lot. I remember that because I was young, I had less adult nonsense to fill my brain, so I always remembered where we had parked. There were more creative characters marking the lots back then, like Pinocchio and Simba. One of my earliest memories is of my parents bickering over where they had left the car, when I spoke up: “Simba 5C!” Or something like that. They looked at me with such surprise, and asked me how I could remember that. I shrugged, and said, “It’s easy.” I never understood how they could forget where we parked until I grew up to be an adult myself. After that, it was always my special job to remind them of the specific combo marking where our big red van was parked.

Disneyland is where I have a lot of special memories from my childhood. I vaguely remember the day when I no longer needed a stroller to survive a whole day at the park. My parents were so proud and excited. And then they promptly sold my favorite stroller in a quietly emotional (it was emotional for me at least) garage sale. I remember when they started shutting down parts of the parking lot and putting up big fences. I remember the wonder and curiosity my mother and I had as we watched the skeleton of a roller coaster and then a ferris wheel begin to rise above the tall fence line. I remember watching the old Lion King parade, then the Hercules and Mulan parades as each movie came out. I shook hands with Hercules himself on two separate occasions during those parades, and I’m pretty sure I had my first little Disney crush right then and there. I used to watch Aladdin and Jasmine tell stories at Aladdin’s Oasis in front of the great Cave of Wonders. I saw the Hunchback of Notre Dame Festival of Fools at Big Thunder Ranch. My favorite ride was the original Submarine Voyage because I was obsessed with mermaids and I loved to spot the animatronic ones from my porthole as we cruised by. When Disney California Adventure opened, my mother brought me on opening week. I rode the Tower of Terror and survived, earning myself a commemorative sticker that is still, to this day, stuck on the hat I wore that day. I rode the Orange stinger and Soared Over California. I got a road rash from riding Mulholland Drive.

I knew Disneyland and DCA inside and out by the time we had to move farther north. We had a final weekend at Disneyland with our annual pass, and then we left. After that I would come back twice a year, once for my birthday and once for spring break when they had 2-fer ticket deals. It never lost its magic. But the farther away I was from Disney and the more I grew up, the more I forgot about it. When I finally moved 6 hours away for college, I didn’t even miss it anymore. Fate, and probably even something more divine, finally helped me rediscover Disney when I moved back to LA for graduate school. I splurged on an Annual Pass again, and the magic hit me HARD.

I had rediscovered Disney right at the beginning of a new Golden Age for people in my generation. I joined the Disney small shop community and began using my passion for crafting to create Disney magic for others. I met several new friends and created lasting friendships through the Disney community. I began on a new journey to imagination that I didn’t realize was waiting for me.

Rediscovering Disney as an adult has been life-changing and so much more exciting than it was when I was a kid. I’m here to share both the old and the new magic I’ve discovered with you, just so I can get all that pixie dust off my mind and on to the page. So... “To who all who come to this happy place: welcome.” Let’s share the magic together.

🎇Happy Spaceship Earth Sunday🌏