Favorite "Hidden Gems" at DL and DCA

[AFMom]

Ok - so where and what are the secret magic places at the two California Parks?

[ghost1000]

I'd like to know that too. I plan on getting the Imagineering Field Guide to Disneyland from Amazon, but I need a minimum order to get free shipping, so it won't be in the near future.

[newjerseynick]

I'd like to know that too. I plan on getting the Imagineering Field Guide to Disneyland from Amazon, but I need a minimum order to get free shipping, so it won't be in the near future.

It's a good read, Rita.

We like to get Dole Whips and sit in the Enchanted Tiki Garden, and watch the "Gods" before the Tiki Room show.

Nick

[MatterhornMiss]

It's a good read, Rita.

We like to get Dole Whips and sit in the Enchanted Tiki Garden, and watch the "Gods" before the Tiki Room show.

Nick

If you get there right after the previous show has gone in, you can watch a video about growing pineapples. This is shown on a TV right above the dole whip stand (on the Tiki Room side) and starts before all the gods are introduced. It can be hard to see when it is bright outside.

[MatterhornMiss]

I'll keep saying it until it catches on--I love Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. The show is in the Golden Horseshoe. I particularly love the gold Billy team (there are three different sets of Billys that perform throughout the week) because they have 3 of the 4 original members. (The show, while still funny, just isn't the same on the days without Kirk as the head Billy.)

If you stand around the queue area to the Casey Jr. Train, you can see Tinkerbelle slam into a mattress during the fireworks show. She takes off from the Matterhorn (which is taller than the castle) then makes it all the way to this little treehouse up above the Pinocchio ride/Snow White's Scary Adventures. Two guys hold up a mattress to slow her down. I had read about this on the internet and made sure to catch it one night. It is hilarious!

[MatterhornMiss]

I got lots more.

If you ride the Winnie the Pooh ride, look back behind you after you leave the room with Heffalumps and Woosels (at least, I think that is the right room). On the wall above you (right after you pass through the doorway), you can see the busts of Buff, Max, and Melvin. The Pooh ride took over the space of the Country Bear Jamboree, and the ride imagineers left the three heads hanging in tribute.

[MatterhornMiss]

I prefer the side of the Matterhorn with the queue starting in Tomorrowland. I think it is a more exciting ride. Unlike a lot of rides with two tracks, the two tracks on the Matterhorn are different (although they use the same lift hill).

Be sure and check out the newly reopened diorama inside Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

If you go to the side of Sleeping Beauty's Castle, there is a little area with a wishing well, and Snow White characters up on the hill. If you hang around it long enough, you can hear Snow White singing.

Disneyland has spitting fountains like Journey into Imagination. They are on a path leading to the meet and greet for Ariel. Watch out--they may just get you wet!

[MatterhornMiss]

The weather vane on top of the HM is a ship--an allusion the bride (around whom the story of the HM is centered) is waiting for her bride groom to return from sea.

If it is sailing at the time you are there (and it is only used seasonally and generally early in the day because it has to get ready for use for Fantasmic in the evening), go aboard the Sailing Ship Columbia. It is a replica of the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe. If you go below decks, you can see a mock up of the ship's quarters from 1787.

Ride the Mark Twain and poke fun at all the guests struggling to paddle the canoes around the lake :silly: (actually, I generally never see guests doing any work--it is always just the CM paddling).

[idratherbeinwdw]

Wow great stuff MM!! I think my buddy Elaine and I will be going to DL for my Bday, so I have to copy all of your info to impress her (and for me too of course!).

[MatterhornMiss]

I don't know if they are still doing it, but around the 50th anniversary of DLR, they started having climbers scale the Matterhorn again. Apparently this was a tradition when the ride first opened, but hadn't been done in a while. When they restarted it, they even had Mickey climbing, and had everyone around the area cheering him on to reach the top.

I love Disneyland, the first 50 years (in the location where Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln used to be). I think it is a hilarious show, with Steve Martin (a former CM!) competing with Donald Duck to be the host. (I wish I had sent a picture in when I had the chance to be included in the end of the presentation). The queue area also has lots of great items from the history of DLR.

[MatterhornMiss]

Somebody stop me! It just keeps coming! :silly:

[MatterhornMiss]

Ride the train all the way around the park. It goes through the outside of IASW, through the inside of Splash Mtn, and through a "Primeval World" with AudioAnimatronic dinosaurs first seen at the Worlds Fair in 196something.

I don't know if it is still there or not (I've read rumors it is gone), but there used to be a bronze apple and a book at the queue entrance to Snow White. When you touched the apple, the evil queen would cackle at you.

Again, I don't know if it is still there or not (I've also read it is gone), but in the queue to Indian Jones, once you enter the temple, you'll go through a narrower, lower area (kinda like a tunnel) with lots of bamboo rods on either side. Find the one that moves (it's on the left hand side) and spin it around and you'll get a surprise!

[MatterhornMiss]

You'll get your picture taken on Buzz Lightyear. At DLR, you can actually email the picture to yourself, for free!

I've read that the organ in the dining room at HM was the one originally used in the movie 20,000 Leagues.

While you can't enter without a member, you can see the entrance to Club 33. When you exit the POTC ride, turn left on that street. Look for the plain door with the number 33. That's the entrance! (If you're on the ride, look up above the dining area for the Blue Bayou. That seating area is part of Club 33).

If you go to the queue area for the train station at New Orleans Square, you can hear a morse-code transmission of Walt's opening day speech. (I read this one recently on the Disney Insider newsletter).

[MatterhornMiss]

At the end of Tarzan's Treehouse is a play area for children. Be sure to look for the tribute to another Disney movie--Mrs. Potts and Chip from Beauty and the Beast!

I always try to ride the Jungle Cruise at the very end of the day. If you are the last boat for the skipper, they tend to be really goofy (but this doesn't always work, and I've had some really good skippers in the middle of the day, too).

The Tiki Room is the only attraction with it's own restroom. The attraction was originally intended to be a restaurant with AudioAnimatronic entertainment, but the idea was scrapped.

My favorite place to sit for the Tiki room is on the left side near the exit door, in the middle or next to back row. If you are standing in the entrance looking straight head, pretend straight ahead is north. The area I like is essentially to the east, behind the fountain in the middle of the room. There really is no way to see everything that is going on in the room, but I feel this area has the best view, and the easiest exit to beat the rest of the crowd to the door at the end.

[MatterhornMiss]

Whew, let me take a break before starting on DCA.

Oh, I forgot. I've heard that the flags on the castle predict rain. If they blow in a certain direction, CMs swear that means rain is coming. Apparently it is pretty accurate.

Every 15 minutes, the Observatron in the middle of Tomorrowland (up where Astro Orbiter used to be before it was moved to the entrance of Tomorrowland), begins spinning and moving to music.

I love catching the clock in front of IASW go off (it marks the time every quarter of an hour).

[newjerseynick]

MM, do you by any chance love Disneyland?

I'm right there with you. I keep meaning to explain why I prefer the MK at DL of WDWs, and, I have to say it, as controversial as it may be, DCA is better than the DHS!

Nick

[MatterhornMiss]

MM, do you by any chance love Disneyland?

I'm right there with you. I keep meaning to explain why I prefer the MK at DL of WDWs, and, I have to say it, as controversial as it may be, DCA is better than the DHS!

Nick

DLR resort has a special place in my heart. I think overall I love WDW better, because when I go there I generally stay several days, and onsite, so I get totally caught up in the magic and can forget about the real world for a while. But when I lived in SoCal, DLR helped me make it through my first year in school out there (and overall helped make SoCal bearable--I'm a country girl at heart). Plus, I'm still amazed to think, "Walt was here! Walt rode the Matterhorn, too!"

I spent so much time there, I was always looking for new and exciting things, you know, to keep it fresh. So I tried to find out as much "hidden" stuff as I could.

[newjerseynick]

DLR resort has a special place in my heart. I think overall I love WDW better, because when I go there I generally stay several days, and onsite, so I get totally caught up in the magic and can forget about the real world for a while. But when I lived in SoCal, DLR helped me make it through my first year in school out there (and overall helped make SoCal bearable--I'm a country girl at heart). Plus, I'm still amazed to think, "Walt was here! Walt rode the Matterhorn, too!"

I spent so much time there, I was always looking for new and exciting things, you know, to keep it fresh. So I tried to find out as much "hidden" stuff as I could.

I'd say overall that I prefer WDW for the same reasons you stated, but as you said: "Walt was here! Walt rode the Matterhorn, too!", and that gets me every time.

Nick

[MatterhornMiss]

Okay, some of my favorite "hidden gems" at DCA.

I love Disney Animation. When you go in the big room, there are lots of different areas to explore. In the Sorcerer's Workshop, you can take a quiz to find out which Disney character you are most like. Keep moving on, and there is a super cool area where you and your friends/family can provide the voices to a famous Disney movie clip. I absolutely love this part. My friend Julie and I were the voices for the scene in Bambi where Bambi meets flower. It was so hilarious, I just about wet my pants laughing. You can choose to either speak a part, or to be in a musical number.

If you do the Mission Tortilla Factory tour, you get a free, freshly made tortilla at the end. If it is your birthday, they give you a whole stack!

Francis' Ladybug Boogie is a teacups-esc ride. Except that you can't make it spin by turning the wheel in the middle.

I find a really good place to watch the Electrical Parade is along the path from Sunshine Plaza to Flik's Fun Fair, along the rocky side of Grizzly Peak. Because there's really nothing in this area, people pass by but don't stop. There are even some benches on which to sit, if you get there early enough.

[MatterhornMiss]

There are great views from the top of Maliboomer.

Speaking of Maliboomer, it, and several other rides in DCA, have scream guards incoorporated in to them to block the noise from disturbing nearby Anaheim residents. California Screamin, for example, has scream guards covering many of its drops.

I've read PUSH also exists at DCA, but I've never seen him there. Then again, I just saw PUSH for the first time at WDW this past September.

[MatterhornMiss]

There are two stops on the Disneyland monorail: Tomorrowland in Disneyland park and DTD. The DTD stop used to be right outside the Disneyland Hotel. While it may seem the stop was moved, actually several of the hotel's buildings (including the original buildings from 1955) were demolished to make room for DTD when it was constructed in 1999.

While the monorail passes through DCA and Grand Californian Resort, it has no stops in either. The monorail also passes along Harbor Blvd.

[MatterhornMiss]

So, do you think you have some hidden gems to help you out? ;)

[MatterhornMiss]

I can't believe I forgot this one! If you actually walk through the outdoor queue for Indiana Jones, look in one of the tents. The idol statue looks like a certain namesake and founder for one very successful worldwide corporation that "all started with a mouse". . .

[DisneyGeek]

I've read PUSH also exists at DCA, but I've never seen him there. Then again, I just saw PUSH for the first time at WDW this past September.

What is "PUSH" ???

LOVE your thread, BTW! :D

[MatterhornMiss]

What is "PUSH" ???

LOVE your thread, BTW! :D

PUSH is this super cute trash (he looks just like a regular trash can--his name comes from the letters PUSH on the hinged receptacle door) can that travels around (at least he did at WDW) making comments about guests and they trash they threw in and stuff (he was really hitting on this one girl sitting on the curb on Main Street waiting on the parade ;)). I don't know if he is stationary at DCA or not.

[MatterhornMiss]

I keep thinking of more!

HM at DLR has a real pet cemetery. You can view it around the side of the attraction.

The Matterhorn has "changed" locations in DL without every being moved. Technically it stands on the border between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, but over the years it has been listed in the guidebooks as being located in either Fantasyland or Tomorrowland.

The Matterhorn was the first tubular steel roller coaster ever built.

When Indiana Jones was first built, AT&T (the sponsor at the time--I don't know if it still is or not) gave out cards to be able to translate the Mara-glyphics. Apparently, there is still a copy of these cards that a CM has available to help guest decipher the code.

In the Indiana Jones ride, CM will often put a set of Mickey Ears with the name "Bones" on one of the skeletons. As this gets moved around, the ride moves quickly, and there are lots and lots of skeletons, I have never been able to find it.

Another hidden gem on the Indy ride I've never been able to find--the ride was built over what used to be the Eeyore parking lot. Up on the ceiling in the room showing the movie on how to be safe in your ride vehicle is supposed to be a parking lot row plaque. That room is very dim and the ceiling is high, but I saw a pic of it posted on some website, so (at least at some point) it did exist.

[ghost1000]

I've read PUSH also exists at DCA, but I've never seen him there. Then again, I just saw PUSH for the first time at WDW this past September.

I saw PUSH once in Tomorrowland (just like the Magic Kingdom version), but never over at DCA.

I've seen Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater at their meet and greet area (Condor Flats) at DCA.

[simbasmom]

I don't know if they are still doing it, but around the 50th anniversary of DLR, they started having climbers scale the Matterhorn again. Apparently this was a tradition when the ride first opened, but hadn't been done in a while. When they restarted it, they even had Mickey climbing, and had everyone around the area cheering him on to reach the top.


I remember that-it was so much fun to see! I remember that going into the Snow White ride, right outside there was a window where if you watched you'd see the Wicked Witch peeking through the curtains. And I loved the live performance they'd have for the flag lowering ceremony, but I'm not sure if they still do that.

[ghost1000]

PUSH is this super cute trash (he looks just like a regular trash can--his name comes from the letters PUSH on the hinged receptacle door) can that travels around (at least he did at WDW) making comments about guests and they trash they threw in and stuff (he was really hitting on this one girl sitting on the curb on Main Street waiting on the parade ;)). I don't know if he is stationary at DCA or not.

When I saw PUSH at Disneyland he scooted around like the one in the Magic Kingdom.

[ghost1000]

HM at DLR has a real pet cemetery. You can view it around the side of the attraction.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y77/ghost1000/dvcnews/DSCF0221.jpg


http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y77/ghost1000/dvcnews/DSCF0220.jpg

[MatterhornMiss]

I'm trying to remember--doesn't Mr. Toad have a tombstone in a cemetery somewhere on Disney park property? I guess it would have to be at WDW, since the ride still exists at DLR.

[ghost1000]

Mr. Toad has a grave marker in the Haunted Mansion Pet Cemetary at WDW. I'll see if I can find my picture of it.

He's also handing over the deed to the property to Mr. Owl in the Winnie the Pooh Ride at WDW.

[MatterhornMiss]

The weather vane on top of the HM is a ship--an allusion the bride (around whom the story of the HM is centered) is waiting for her bride groom to return from sea.

I think I need to correct this statement.

I went back to my old Disney Magazine files (remember that periodical? I got it free as an annual passholder at DLR) and looked up where I originally thought I read this: "The sailing ship weather vane on the cupola at Disneyland's mansion is a holdover from the mansion's original storyline, developed in 1957, about Captain Gore."

So, not a lot of information.

Then I did a search on the internet (which we all know comes up with the most accurate information available :silly:), and found this more: "The ride was planned as a scenic journey on foot in the house of Captain Gore under the direction of his butler. But the master is actually the pirate "Black Bart" and the spirit of his dead wife haunts the house and forced the captain to commit suicide. His body should be visible at the end of the ride, hanging in the entrance." I think the intent was that he either murdered his bride or had her murdered or she was killed in some way and her spirit left captive in the mansion or haunted the mansion, then he hung himself (maybe the guy hanging in the stretching room???).

But Walt thought this was too horrific, so the concept was changed.

[MatterhornMiss]

Speaking of the HM, at Disneyland, the stretching room goes down like an elevator, whereas at WDW the ceiling goes up. At DLR, there had to be a way for guests to pass under the railroad to the actual ride area (not inside the mansion) outside the bounds of the park.

[madoka]

I have seen PUSH in DCA. He was hanging out along the path towards Paradise Pier near the replica of the Palace of Fine Arts.

MM, thanks for all the gems you've posted! We'll have to look for them when we go to DLR in a couple of weeks.

[MatterhornMiss]

I have seen PUSH in DCA. He was hanging out along the path towards Paradise Pier near the replica of the Palace of Fine Arts.

MM, thanks for all the gems you've posted! We'll have to look for them when we go to DLR in a couple of weeks.

Now, I haven't been to DLR in over a year and a half :boohoohoo:, so I hope these things are still there! :blush:

[dwelty]

OK, here are my contributions:

The Courtyard in New Orleans Square with the sweeping staircase. It's always empty and relaxing.

The fountian square between the Hauted Mansion and the New Orleans Train Station.

The Waterfall near the exit of Pooh. A nice quite corner of the park.

The bottom floor of Hungry Bear resteraunt there is a large shaded place that is right on the water. You can watch the ships going by and it faces toward the quite part of the river.

The Queen from Snow White that peeks from behind the curtian above Snow White's Scary adventure.

The highly detailed Fairytail village feel of Disneyland's Fantasyland. The WDW version was created to handle crowds, and as a result is really one big corridor that runs from Tomorroland to Liberty Square. It is missing the "Heart" of Disneyland's version.

The quiet trail that goes from Fantasyland to Frontierland. You can see remnants of the Rainbow Caverns Mine train attraction (a Walt original)

The interactive features of Toontown like the mailboxes, doors and other items that trigger responses to suprise guests. Toontown as a whole blows Toontown fair out of the water.

The intimate stores on Mainstreet. as well as the Carnation Cafe in the middle of the street. Mainstreet is much like it has always been, and much like the Original WDW version before it was transformed into one big mall.

DCA:

The walkway in the Golden State are that goes behing Grizzly River Run. Quite and secluded.

For more DCA hidden gems, ask me in 3 years.

[mwehttam]

One that I liked and I don't think was mentioned was all the original park rides that opened when the park opened has a special emblem at the entrance. I think I have a photo of it that I will try to post.

Can't wait to go back. Looks like DW and I will spend our 5th Anniversary in DL in Sept.

-Matt