(Disclaimer: I am obliged to point out that I am fully aware I am hugely privileged to be doing this. Admittedly, I am having to leave my family behind for five days, but, as most people would probably give their right arm to be along for the ride, it is a small price to pay. So, as you read on, please try not to say 'Lucky %ã"!!*&^' too many times. Those of a sensitive nature are advised not to read further).
OK, we've had a good look round, tasted the tastes and smelled the smells, it's now time to ride the rides. The first thing available is Grizzly River Run, the wild water raft ride. If you look at it one way, this is like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in the water. The whole of Grizzly Peak is themed like a gold mine, and you can have a good wander around and see into some of the River Run before you ride. Walking the Grizzly Peak Recreation Area, some of the clever scenic touches, with mine train rails disappearing into the rocks, various mining equipment (genuine Gold Rush leftovers, apparently) scattered seemingly carelessly around, mountain pines, patches of 'melting snow' and the sheer scale of this 'mountain' - which is at least twice the size of Big Thunder - are a real joy, and there is a real feeling of the big outdoors, partly marred only by the proximity of the Grand Californian Hotel, which is obviously an unusual and slightly inhibiting touch if you are in the park (although it is another bonus if you are staying in the hotel - great view!). Most importantly, however, you do not get an inkling of what the ride has in store for you, which all adds to the thrills.
So, it's time to saddle up in the eight-passenger 'tyres' that are your vehicle for possibly the best water ride around, and you climb the 330ft conveyor to the crown of the Peak, a vertical lift of 55ft. Then the fun really begins. Although I can't be sure, the rafts in this ride seem smaller than the majority, which means there is more bounce, spin and swirl to your journey than most. There is also a good deal of casual spray around, notably in the dark mine shaft which you plunge through to dramatic effect. The real kicker, though, are the two sheer drops which lie in wait for you, both of which come as something of a surprise and which add a delicious moment of anticipated terror as you peer down this seeming watery precipice. The final pay-off is that the second drop - only 22ft but it seems more! - lands you in the middle of a 'geyser' field so there is one last way to get wet. Our intrepid eight got to ride twice without disembarking (and without ponchos, I might add, unlike some of the other media wimps!!), and, of those eight, two were thoroughly saturated (and I mean thoroughly, like down to their underwear
), four more were pretty wet, one was pretty damp and one escaped with only sporadic splashes (I reckon I got VERY lucky 
), but all eight were in fits of laughter at the end. Truly, this was magnificent fun, and rivalled only, in my experience, by Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges in IoA in Orlando, which also gets you obscenely wet. Fortunately, it was still mainly sunny, so our two drowned rats didn't suffer too much from their soaking (although the screams of one as she peered down the two drops were still echoing around the Peak!).
So, high marks all round for Grizzly River Run. The Imagineering of the Peak, by the way, is by Chris Runco and Chris Tietz, plus many of the sculptors from Animal Kingdom's Tree of Life, so the creative aspect of this is pretty high.
Having got so wet, our intrepid river riders decided it was time to try to dry off as quickly as possible. Like, at about 55mph - so it's on to California Screamin' !
Once again, we are extremely privileged to be able to ride with no wait. One of the two loading tracks is being used by TV crews with a camera strapped to the front car to record the riders' reactions ( ), but we still get straight on the other side. The lovely anticipation of this ride is that you trundle down to the waterside of Paradise Bay and peer along the track at the first huge climb. With the on-board music prepping you for the off, it is with a real jolt that you blast from 0-55mph in 4 seconds and hit that first ramp at real speed. The rest of the ride then whistles past in totally memorable fashion, with two major plunges, a loop-the-loop, a wonderful camelback and some screaming curves. For all the fact there is only one inversion, it is one of the best coasters I have ridden, possibly for the fact it thrills without truly terrifying you. None of the drops are huge, but it is a very smooth ride and the accompanying soundtrack is excellent, a kind of fairground rock that is totally apt for this coaster (and more effective in many ways than the Aerosmith backing to Rock 'n Rollercoaster). OK, the theming is relatively minimal, with the steel painted to look like wood and it is not a Hulk or Duelling Dragons or any of the other shock-rock rides, but, like a high-energy version of Big Thunder, it delivers a really satisfying ride, which, at 2min 30sec, is one of the longest around. Full marks here, too, then.
The time has now drifted on to almost 3pm, and I must head back to the Sunshine Plaza to interview one of the Imagineers most closely connected with Soarin' Over California, which, according to just about everyone who has already ridden the rides, is the best in the park. I meet up with Rick Rothschild, a Vice-President of WDI and Executive Show Director-Creative Design, who gives me a bit of background into the park generally and then launches into the full story of Soarin' - how they started, basically, with a blank page and moved through the brain-storming process that quickly arrived at some sort of airborne ride "like ballooning or hang-gliding, where there is no great sense of speed but a real naturistic view of the world." This was then fine-tuned to a new kind of flying experience that needed new ride technology, a novel building set-up and some tough filming. Rothschild co-ordinated the latter while supervising the team over the former two tasks. The technical expertise for getting the riders 'airborne' had them stymied for a while, but they eventually solved that by looking at an old film projector, and then dramatically increasing the scale of their 'model.' There were some incredibly difficult demands for the filming, with a lot of it taking place over environmentally sensitive areas and therefore their time was severely restricted. In the end, however, they arrived at a ride like no other - but you'll have to wait for the next instalment to read about it because this was only the interview!
After concluding the interview (which is always an eye-opening and stimulating experience when talking to one of the senior guys from Imagineering) about 3.45 - and with the park due to close for the day around 4.30 - I headed back towards Paradise Pier but stopped off en route to check out one of my favourites from Animal Kingdom, the It's Tough To Be A Bug show, in glorious 3-D. It is more or less a complete re-creation of the AK version, right down to the amusing/corny* (*decide according to your own sense of humour ) posters in the foyer advertising various Bug-themed films like The Dung and I (featuring the song Hello Dung Lovers) and The Termite-ator. For anyone unfamiliar with AK, prepare yourself for one of the most imaginative 'theatres' in the world, an underground realm of insect proportions where even the music is bug-edged. The foyer is amusing and clever, but the auditorium itself is sensational, so take time to have a good look around and watch out for those seats, they are not as innocent as they seem! The mixture of animatronics and film is superb, and the 12-minute show slips past in a blur of crazy gags and insect fun (although it remains very dark for kids, and youngsters - and some moms! - might be terrified by the large black widow spiders that drop down from the ceiling at one point).I won't give any of their tricks away here, but suffice it to say, ITTBAB is another great attraction, and it fits in quite well with the Bountiful Valley Theming.
Next, I head at breakneck speed over to Maliboomer, the 180ft human slingshot back in Paradise Pier. Yes, you could say it is just a replica of other similar rides around the country (notably Dr Doom's Fearfall at IoA, which is much better themed), but it fits into the fairground atmosphere very well and the CMs who run the 'launch' do it deliciously well. You are strapped into one of the four chairs on your side of the tower (which is designed to look like a fairground ring-the-bell device) and wait for a horribly prolonged few seconds while the CM builds the tension by reading out some fairly obvious safety device at the same time as allowing your seats to undergo a few slight jerks to test your nerve, then, with a one-word warning "Goodbye.....!" you are off at max speed into the cosmos. Whooooooooooofffffffffffff!!!!!!! It is an amazing sensation, and if you can avoid an involuntary swear word or two, you are doing well At the top of the ride, your rear end leaves the seat for a split second as the platform plunges down again at much the same speed you went up, and there is a momentary tinge of pure terror, but then you are boinging-ing your way down again and you can savour a great view - and the fact you had the courage to do the ride in the first place. In this instance, the sensation is so much fun, I stay in my seat and do it again just to see if my mind had played tricks on me. But no, it was just as terrifying - and just as much of an adrenalin rush - the second time around. A big hit with me, but not to everyone's tastes, methinks.
It is now well after 4.30pm and the rides have stopped running, but there is no sign of the advertised Eureka! parade, which was supposed to have started at 4, so I head back to the hotel to freshen up for the evening events. Unfortunately, almost as soon as I get back up to the 6th floor of the Paradise Pier, the parade hoves into view and I am left with a distant look at this new addition to Disney's parade repertoire. From this far out, the music is pretty faint, but the floats look fabulous and the overall theming of salute to California looks to work pretty well. The 80 or so performers are very energetic and the overall movement of dancers, flags, stilt-walkers and acrobats is quite breath-taking, even from a distance. The 5 distinct sections represent Old Town California, the City of Angels (including a sculpted interpretation of the Watts Towers), Pacific Beach, Chinatown (San Francisco - with a stilt-walking Golden Gate Bridge) and the whole of the Golden State itself, with a whirling gyroscopic sundial as the final icon. It reminds me very much of the Tapestry of Nations parade at Epcot in parts, with a repeat of some of the swirling giant-puppet figures, and the music is heavily percussive - another ToN - but there are no traditional Disney images at all, so don't hold your breath looking for Mickey or Goofy. IMHO, it is different, brave and quite artistic but, like ToN, some people might not 'get it' and be disappointed as a result. Some of the other media also felt, close up, some of the dancers looked a little sketchy and under-rehearsed, but I would hope everything is pretty slick by now, with twice-a-day productions.
Having done all the daytime stuff, it is time to revisit Downtown Disney in the evening and get a more all-round flavour of this entertainment âÂÂdistrict.â Walking the length of DD is a thoroughly enjoyable â and extremely well-planned â experience as you enter across the road from the Disneyland Hotel, past the ESPN Zone (didnâÂÂt get to go in, unfortunately, but the outside makes it look like sports fansâ heaven) and the Rainforest Café (which backs on to the monorail station; as an aside, the monorail is starting to look increasingly redundant here, although it still looks good, and very impressive as it goes through the Grand Californian), with the Lego Imagination Center on the other side (not as child-friendly as the Orlando DD version, IMHO).
You are then quickly swallowed up by this wonderfully-designed thoroughfare, with BrennanâÂÂs Jazz Kitchen, Y Arriba Y Arriba and House of Blues the other main landmarks along the way. Most popular venue with the British media group, though, was the outside bar associated with the Catal Restaurant, a circular oasis in the main concourse. For some reason that escapes me, this seemed to have the perfect requirements for an enjoyable beverage by day or night, and so it was easily the most-frequented venue of all. Perhaps it is the barâÂÂs relative simplicity or perhaps it is just because it is the perfect location for a spot of people-watching (what journalists do best, letâÂÂs be honest
), but it definitely drew a Brit-orientated crowd!
Having said that, our evening consisted of wandering hither and thither between the main above-mentioned venues; BrennanâÂÂs (beautiful courtyard, nice ambience), Y Arriba Y Arriba (a bit plasticky and soul-less somehow compared to Bongos at DD or the magnificent Latin Quarter in CityWalk in Universal Orlando; some great dancers, though ) and House of Blues, which had the best buffet food of the three and a live gig that night by The Rembrandts. I am a committed HoB fan from their Orlando venue (brilliant Sunday Gospel Brunch) and think it is a wonderful small-scale venue for many different kinds of music, and this was the perfect example, with a relatively small crowd making the right kind of ruckus to generate a thoroughly enjoyable evening. They wrapped up with their signature song (aw come on, do I have to spell it out??!!) and the last two surviving UK media folks (including Yours Truly, surprise, surprise! Well, I hate to miss out on anything ) plus our two Disney hosts (did I mention our group had four UK Disney reps, plus three additional hosts from the US assigned to us for the duration?) wended a weary but happy way back to the hotel a little after midnight.
HereâÂÂs hoping I finally get some sleep tonightâ¦â¦..
simon.veness@virgin.net
OK, we've had a good look round, tasted the tastes and smelled the smells, it's now time to ride the rides. The first thing available is Grizzly River Run, the wild water raft ride. If you look at it one way, this is like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in the water. The whole of Grizzly Peak is themed like a gold mine, and you can have a good wander around and see into some of the River Run before you ride. Walking the Grizzly Peak Recreation Area, some of the clever scenic touches, with mine train rails disappearing into the rocks, various mining equipment (genuine Gold Rush leftovers, apparently) scattered seemingly carelessly around, mountain pines, patches of 'melting snow' and the sheer scale of this 'mountain' - which is at least twice the size of Big Thunder - are a real joy, and there is a real feeling of the big outdoors, partly marred only by the proximity of the Grand Californian Hotel, which is obviously an unusual and slightly inhibiting touch if you are in the park (although it is another bonus if you are staying in the hotel - great view!). Most importantly, however, you do not get an inkling of what the ride has in store for you, which all adds to the thrills.
So, it's time to saddle up in the eight-passenger 'tyres' that are your vehicle for possibly the best water ride around, and you climb the 330ft conveyor to the crown of the Peak, a vertical lift of 55ft. Then the fun really begins. Although I can't be sure, the rafts in this ride seem smaller than the majority, which means there is more bounce, spin and swirl to your journey than most. There is also a good deal of casual spray around, notably in the dark mine shaft which you plunge through to dramatic effect. The real kicker, though, are the two sheer drops which lie in wait for you, both of which come as something of a surprise and which add a delicious moment of anticipated terror as you peer down this seeming watery precipice. The final pay-off is that the second drop - only 22ft but it seems more! - lands you in the middle of a 'geyser' field so there is one last way to get wet. Our intrepid eight got to ride twice without disembarking (and without ponchos, I might add, unlike some of the other media wimps!!), and, of those eight, two were thoroughly saturated (and I mean thoroughly, like down to their underwear
), four more were pretty wet, one was pretty damp and one escaped with only sporadic splashes (I reckon I got VERY lucky ), but all eight were in fits of laughter at the end. Truly, this was magnificent fun, and rivalled only, in my experience, by Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges in IoA in Orlando, which also gets you obscenely wet. Fortunately, it was still mainly sunny, so our two drowned rats didn't suffer too much from their soaking (although the screams of one as she peered down the two drops were still echoing around the Peak!).So, high marks all round for Grizzly River Run. The Imagineering of the Peak, by the way, is by Chris Runco and Chris Tietz, plus many of the sculptors from Animal Kingdom's Tree of Life, so the creative aspect of this is pretty high.
Having got so wet, our intrepid river riders decided it was time to try to dry off as quickly as possible. Like, at about 55mph - so it's on to California Screamin' !
Once again, we are extremely privileged to be able to ride with no wait. One of the two loading tracks is being used by TV crews with a camera strapped to the front car to record the riders' reactions (
), but we still get straight on the other side. The lovely anticipation of this ride is that you trundle down to the waterside of Paradise Bay and peer along the track at the first huge climb. With the on-board music prepping you for the off, it is with a real jolt that you blast from 0-55mph in 4 seconds and hit that first ramp at real speed. The rest of the ride then whistles past in totally memorable fashion, with two major plunges, a loop-the-loop, a wonderful camelback and some screaming curves. For all the fact there is only one inversion, it is one of the best coasters I have ridden, possibly for the fact it thrills without truly terrifying you. None of the drops are huge, but it is a very smooth ride and the accompanying soundtrack is excellent, a kind of fairground rock that is totally apt for this coaster (and more effective in many ways than the Aerosmith backing to Rock 'n Rollercoaster). OK, the theming is relatively minimal, with the steel painted to look like wood and it is not a Hulk or Duelling Dragons or any of the other shock-rock rides, but, like a high-energy version of Big Thunder, it delivers a really satisfying ride, which, at 2min 30sec, is one of the longest around. Full marks here, too, then.The time has now drifted on to almost 3pm, and I must head back to the Sunshine Plaza to interview one of the Imagineers most closely connected with Soarin' Over California, which, according to just about everyone who has already ridden the rides, is the best in the park. I meet up with Rick Rothschild, a Vice-President of WDI and Executive Show Director-Creative Design, who gives me a bit of background into the park generally and then launches into the full story of Soarin' - how they started, basically, with a blank page and moved through the brain-storming process that quickly arrived at some sort of airborne ride "like ballooning or hang-gliding, where there is no great sense of speed but a real naturistic view of the world." This was then fine-tuned to a new kind of flying experience that needed new ride technology, a novel building set-up and some tough filming. Rothschild co-ordinated the latter while supervising the team over the former two tasks. The technical expertise for getting the riders 'airborne' had them stymied for a while, but they eventually solved that by looking at an old film projector, and then dramatically increasing the scale of their 'model.' There were some incredibly difficult demands for the filming, with a lot of it taking place over environmentally sensitive areas and therefore their time was severely restricted. In the end, however, they arrived at a ride like no other - but you'll have to wait for the next instalment to read about it because this was only the interview!
After concluding the interview (which is always an eye-opening and stimulating experience when talking to one of the senior guys from Imagineering) about 3.45 - and with the park due to close for the day around 4.30 - I headed back towards Paradise Pier but stopped off en route to check out one of my favourites from Animal Kingdom, the It's Tough To Be A Bug show, in glorious 3-D. It is more or less a complete re-creation of the AK version, right down to the amusing/corny* (*decide according to your own sense of humour
) posters in the foyer advertising various Bug-themed films like The Dung and I (featuring the song Hello Dung Lovers) and The Termite-ator. For anyone unfamiliar with AK, prepare yourself for one of the most imaginative 'theatres' in the world, an underground realm of insect proportions where even the music is bug-edged. The foyer is amusing and clever, but the auditorium itself is sensational, so take time to have a good look around and watch out for those seats, they are not as innocent as they seem! The mixture of animatronics and film is superb, and the 12-minute show slips past in a blur of crazy gags and insect fun (although it remains very dark for kids, and youngsters - and some moms! - might be terrified by the large black widow spiders that drop down from the ceiling at one point).I won't give any of their tricks away here, but suffice it to say, ITTBAB is another great attraction, and it fits in quite well with the Bountiful Valley Theming.Next, I head at breakneck speed over to Maliboomer, the 180ft human slingshot back in Paradise Pier. Yes, you could say it is just a replica of other similar rides around the country (notably Dr Doom's Fearfall at IoA, which is much better themed), but it fits into the fairground atmosphere very well and the CMs who run the 'launch' do it deliciously well. You are strapped into one of the four chairs on your side of the tower (which is designed to look like a fairground ring-the-bell device) and wait for a horribly prolonged few seconds while the CM builds the tension by reading out some fairly obvious safety device at the same time as allowing your seats to undergo a few slight jerks to test your nerve, then, with a one-word warning "Goodbye.....!" you are off at max speed into the cosmos. Whooooooooooofffffffffffff!!!!!!! It is an amazing sensation, and if you can avoid an involuntary swear word or two, you are doing well
At the top of the ride, your rear end leaves the seat for a split second as the platform plunges down again at much the same speed you went up, and there is a momentary tinge of pure terror, but then you are boinging-ing your way down again and you can savour a great view - and the fact you had the courage to do the ride in the first place. In this instance, the sensation is so much fun, I stay in my seat and do it again just to see if my mind had played tricks on me. But no, it was just as terrifying - and just as much of an adrenalin rush - the second time around. A big hit with me, but not to everyone's tastes, methinks.It is now well after 4.30pm and the rides have stopped running, but there is no sign of the advertised Eureka! parade, which was supposed to have started at 4, so I head back to the hotel to freshen up for the evening events. Unfortunately, almost as soon as I get back up to the 6th floor of the Paradise Pier, the parade hoves into view and I am left with a distant look at this new addition to Disney's parade repertoire. From this far out, the music is pretty faint, but the floats look fabulous and the overall theming of salute to California looks to work pretty well. The 80 or so performers are very energetic and the overall movement of dancers, flags, stilt-walkers and acrobats is quite breath-taking, even from a distance. The 5 distinct sections represent Old Town California, the City of Angels (including a sculpted interpretation of the Watts Towers), Pacific Beach, Chinatown (San Francisco - with a stilt-walking Golden Gate Bridge) and the whole of the Golden State itself, with a whirling gyroscopic sundial as the final icon. It reminds me very much of the Tapestry of Nations parade at Epcot in parts, with a repeat of some of the swirling giant-puppet figures, and the music is heavily percussive - another ToN - but there are no traditional Disney images at all, so don't hold your breath looking for Mickey or Goofy. IMHO, it is different, brave and quite artistic but, like ToN, some people might not 'get it' and be disappointed as a result. Some of the other media also felt, close up, some of the dancers looked a little sketchy and under-rehearsed, but I would hope everything is pretty slick by now, with twice-a-day productions.
Having done all the daytime stuff, it is time to revisit Downtown Disney in the evening and get a more all-round flavour of this entertainment âÂÂdistrict.â Walking the length of DD is a thoroughly enjoyable â and extremely well-planned â experience as you enter across the road from the Disneyland Hotel, past the ESPN Zone (didnâÂÂt get to go in, unfortunately, but the outside makes it look like sports fansâ heaven) and the Rainforest Café (which backs on to the monorail station; as an aside, the monorail is starting to look increasingly redundant here, although it still looks good, and very impressive as it goes through the Grand Californian), with the Lego Imagination Center on the other side (not as child-friendly as the Orlando DD version, IMHO).
You are then quickly swallowed up by this wonderfully-designed thoroughfare, with BrennanâÂÂs Jazz Kitchen, Y Arriba Y Arriba and House of Blues the other main landmarks along the way. Most popular venue with the British media group, though, was the outside bar associated with the Catal Restaurant, a circular oasis in the main concourse. For some reason that escapes me, this seemed to have the perfect requirements for an enjoyable beverage by day or night, and so it was easily the most-frequented venue of all. Perhaps it is the barâÂÂs relative simplicity or perhaps it is just because it is the perfect location for a spot of people-watching (what journalists do best, letâÂÂs be honest
), but it definitely drew a Brit-orientated crowd! Having said that, our evening consisted of wandering hither and thither between the main above-mentioned venues; BrennanâÂÂs (beautiful courtyard, nice ambience), Y Arriba Y Arriba (a bit plasticky and soul-less somehow compared to Bongos at DD or the magnificent Latin Quarter in CityWalk in Universal Orlando; some great dancers, though
) and House of Blues, which had the best buffet food of the three and a live gig that night by The Rembrandts. I am a committed HoB fan from their Orlando venue (brilliant Sunday Gospel Brunch) and think it is a wonderful small-scale venue for many different kinds of music, and this was the perfect example, with a relatively small crowd making the right kind of ruckus to generate a thoroughly enjoyable evening. They wrapped up with their signature song (aw come on, do I have to spell it out??!!) and the last two surviving UK media folks (including Yours Truly, surprise, surprise! Well, I hate to miss out on anything ) plus our two Disney hosts (did I mention our group had four UK Disney reps, plus three additional hosts from the US assigned to us for the duration?) wended a weary but happy way back to the hotel a little after midnight.HereâÂÂs hoping I finally get some sleep tonightâ¦â¦..
simon.veness@virgin.net
