Well we got the free tickets for helping clean up some trees in Fresno last month and decided to make the trip down. I was fighting a cold and feeling a bit under the weather but we still decided to go. This by far was the worst trip to Disneyland I have ever been on.
When we got there we decided to head towards the Indiana Jones Ride. It is a favorite of my wife and I and our older kids were excited to ride on it. As we were getting in line some Disney employees told us to go back because the ride was broken.
No big deal. Next we went on the Pirates of the Caribean Ride. The changes they made for the movie were not too bad and actually made the ride a little more interesting.
Then we headed over to the haunted mansion ride. It broke down while we were on it. It didn't make the younger kids happy to be stuck in the ride for a few minutes.
I then took the little kids on the Winnie the Pooh ride while the wife got a fast pass for splash mountain. Then we went to lunch.
We like to eat at the Blue Bayou resturant. It is the nice place inside the Pirates of the Carribean ride. We figured out in the past that if we eat the fast food in the park we pay almost as much as if we eat in this nice sit down place. We made our reservations in advance and sat down for lunch. Low and behold the prices have jumped by nearly 1/3 since last time. That and the kids menu was stripped. It used to have things like spighetti and chicken nuggets for the kids. That was gone but now they could get a nice broiled Salmon or baked chicken breast. Salmon on a kids menu? The only thing that was even for kids on that menu was the Mac and Cheese which all the kids ordered. We ordered the Monte Cristo sandwhich which in the past has always been a winner. Except this time the portions are about half what they used to be. 1/3 more, half portions, and a crummy kids menu. We won't be going back to what has been a traditional part of our Disney visit again!!!! Also, the Pirate ride broke down for about an hour while we were eating.
After lunch the wife and older kid rode Splash Mountain then they all rode the spinning rocket ride in Tomorrow Land. Due to my cold I was feeling pretty poorly so they drove me to the hotel where I slept for about three hours.
On their way back to the park they were riding the tram from the parking to the park when a Lesbian couple in the seat in front of them looked back at my kids and then decided to do a full on make out session with the wife and kids trapped on the tram. Before anyone accuses me of being homophobic I don't want my kids to be subject to hetero couples pawing and slobbering all over each other. My wife tried to distract the kids but really people, do you need to subject a two year old, a six year old, and a nine year old to that kind of show. Thanks for that!!!!!
Well back in the park and off to the Buzz Lightyear Ride which also broke down while they were on it. Does Disney even do maintenance anymore? Finally it started again and next up was the Roger Rabbit Ride. My oldest daughter went on that one by herself because the younger kids were nervous. If you had been trapped already on two rides you might be a little nervous also. Guess what, the Roger Rabbit ride broke down also....for 45 minutes. So my wife waited for the oldest daughter trying to entertain kids for 45 minutes. She asked the ride people a couple of times if they would let her off and they kept assuring her it would only be a few more minutes. So five rides broke down that day, four with us on them. Add to that the major construction re-vamp on Tom Sawyer Island, the boats, and the Paddle Wheeler and the park got really crowded on what was left. Oh an the Tarzan tree house was also closed even though that wasn't listed on their list of closed attractions.
I think the villians are running Disney right now.
The next day we went to Universal Studios Hollywood and the difference was night and day. Universal has a deal going on where if you buy one day they automatically upgrade you to annual passes. Plus my wife purchased our tickets in advance online and they came with some extra tickets to bring friends along and included free parking with the annual pass. All for less money than the evil mouse with his broken rides is charging. We get there and everything is working and they have a meal deal right now. About $20 for adults and $15 for kids all you can eat as many times as you want. Well theme park food isn't cheap anyway but for the at least two meals we would be eating this would more than cover it. You are limited to about six different resturants in the park but the selection is huge. Panda Express, Pizza Hut Express, and Mels Diner are all included along with a couple other places. If you have kids like mine that are always hungry this is a real deal. We ate lunch, a mid afternoon snack, dinner, and an after dinner snack which we mostly took home.
While Universal has fewer rides oriented to little kids there was still plenty to do that interested them. They also have a kid swap for parents of small children and an area in each ride with a kids movie playing and are to play in while one parent rides the ride. This greatly sped things up and gave the wife and I a chance to ride the big kid rides. The Studio tour tram ride was a big hit with the kids as well.
The staff seemed friendlier there too and because all the shows and rides were operational, there were not the long lines. Even without the year long passes we now I have would definitely return to Universal. Disney, err it's going to be a while before I go back there!
