The World Report
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The Downtown Disney area benefits from being planned and built at one time. Unlike its Florida counterpart which has been added onto and changed over the years, there is a nice wandering feel to it without having the feeling that you need to walk forever. And without Pleasure Island to duck around at night it was a very enjoyable area. Like Florida it has become a place for friends to meet and hang out. The variety of the shops was nice but I have to admit I missed my favorite store from the Florida Downtown Disney…Virgin Megastore. Crazy I know, but as a CD junky I always can use a Virgin fix. Onto Disneyland.

It seems silly to share with you all the great things about Disneyland that you are already aware of so I thought I would hit some of the new things I experienced and some of the highlights of my trip. One of the first things I wanted to do was visit Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln. I grew up in New York City and my first Disney theme park experiences were during the summers of 1964 and 1965 when my family made almost weekly trips to the New York World's Fair. There are several things I remember about the Fair very well. The first was Belgium Waffles (you had to be there to understand), the Unisphere, It’s a Small World, The Illinois Pavillion (Mr. Lincoln), and the Carousel of Progress at Progressland. When Mr. Lincoln stood up during our first visit to the Fair you could hear the gasp from the audience. I still remember it. People thought he was real. Amazing. So my first stop of the day needed to be the new show with Mr. Lincoln. The preshow is an interesting mix of Walt Disney and Abraham Lincoln. It was nice to see Walt’s other office having just seen the one now in residence at the Disney-MGM Studios. The use of the ear phones for the preshow and show was interesting at first. The idea of using Matthew Brady as a character to move the story along was nice, but I really could have done without the audio tricks of the haircut and stuff. It takes away from the dignity of the show. And I would have like to been asked to remove my headphones for Mr. Lincoln’s Gettysburg address. Hearing the voice come from the Animatronic figure would be much more moving. And while the Gettysburg address was a good thought, I felt the speech wasn’t as moving as the original script used. And I missed the Royal Dano as Mr. Lincoln after so many years. But I also want to give Disney a nod for updating the show instead of closing it. It’s a shame that during this time of increased patriotism that more people aren’t visiting this classic show. Makes you proud to be an American.

Do you people in California know how lucky you are to have your Main Street U.S.A.? From the Music shop (great CD’s) to the Magic Shop, to the Main Street Cinema, to the Penny Arcade your Main Street U.S.A. is great! Our store selection in Florida is not as varied and many times ours has a shopping mall feel to it instead of a Main Street feel.

Our next stop was Tomorrowland. A lot has changed here since my last visit. The Orbitron at the entrance to the land is strange and seems out of place for me. And it made it seem that there is no main entrance into Tomorrowland, just a couple of paths. The emptiness of the old Circlevision theater, Rocket Rods and Submarine Voyage being shut down, Star Tours being very slow was very sad for me. Not because I missed any particular thing but because of the lack of vision by Disney for this area. Add to that Honey I Shrunk the Audience and Innoventions which we have here in Florida, the only saving grace for me was Space Mountain. It is still a great coaster and the sound system in the car is a nice touch. We also liked the Autopia. Nice rehab. It would be nice to see Disney take another look at this area. It is a shame to let a whole land go to waste.

"it's a small world" holiday and "Believe...In Holiday Magic"

The "It’s A Small World Holiday" show is great. The addition of Christmas lights, costumes and lots of small details make this a wonderful change. Why can’t we get this at WDW? Add to it the round of Christmas music and the Small World song and you have a nice attraction that gets you into the holiday spirit. The amazing part of the change for me is like seeing an old friend through new eyes. It gave new a renewed appreciation for Small World. Again, you are very lucky to have this show.