Staff writer and MousePlanet CEO Alex Stroup responds to some reader mail.
Jack writes in response to the photos of a nearly-empty Disney’s California Adventure park in our February 13 Disneyland Park Update (link):
We all know that DCA is a struggling theme park. But in all fairness to DCA, I don’t think it’s a fair or accurate representation of the attendance level when your photographers stroll into the park exactly at 10 a.m. when the gates open, rush in and snap photographs of the “empty” theme park. Of course it’s going to look empty if they opened their gates 5 minutes ago. Why not go in during the peak hours of the day? Sure the park isn’t going to be packed to capacity with people, but your representation of the attendance levels will be much more accurate. I’ve noticed this trend… the photographs at DCA are usually taken right at park opening, but Disneyland photographs are taken during peak hours to show how packed the park can be.
Well, we don’t often comment on low attendance at DCA since it is what it is and this complaint is always made when we do. But since we were specifically commenting on why not much attention was paid to DCA’s fifth anniversary it seemed an appropriate time to comment. We also noted that attendance at Disneyland was pretty low on February 8 as well (the wait for Space Mountain was only about 5 minutes in the early afternoon).
For the record, the photos presented in the park update were taken at around 1:30 in the afternoon.
Leszek writes:
From two years I’m looking for any copy of “Lorenzo,” which was an extra addition to Raising Helen in theatres… Do you have any information about this short animation and how to buy it? It is impossible that is no one copy on whole world? I tried even to find it on p2p nets, but also with no results…
To date, “Lorenzo” has not been released on DVD or any other format available to the general public. If you didn’t see it when it was in theaters with Raising Helen then you probably haven’t seen it (it may have shown on TV, I suppose).
There is some hope, though, that this may change sometime this summer as there are rumors swirling that at some point this year Disney will begin releasing all of its Oscar-nominated shorts to iTunes (and this would include “Lorenzo”) and perhaps also a DVD collection of the same.
Ami asks about places to view the fireworks without entering Disneyland [for a review of possible locations, see our fireworks viewing guide (link)]:
Hi Alex, I have a question for you. We will be arriving into Anaheim early Sunday evening and had not planned on going to the park until the following morning, however, the fireworks are only run on the weekends in off season time. What is the best place outside of the park to catch the fireworks with two youngsters? Are there any hotels in the area that we could see them from, some say you can see them from the pool deck, is this reliable? Would downtown Disney be an option?
There are many places outside the park where you can see the fireworks. We’ve never explicitly scouted them out, though, so I wouldn’t be comfortable in recommending any of the hotels or anything for this.
Downtown Disney is not generally a good location since the buildings will block most views. You can watch from the Esplanade area immediately in front of Disneyland’s entry gates, which may even allow you to hear some of the music from the show.
Probably the best place I can confidently recommend viewing from is the roof of the Mickey & Friends parking garage, which will offer clear views of all the fireworks (though you will get none of the music and narration). You have several options for getting to the garage.
If you are staying at an area hotel, you can walk to Disneyland and then take the tram over to the parking structure. You can drive to the garage and park (though unless you have a premium annual pass this will require spending $10), or you can go park at Downtown Disney, which is free for three hours (five with validation) and is only a short walk from the structure.
Even if the escalators aren’t running to the roof, feel free to walk up them. Hope this helps.
Mailbag editor Stephanie Wien responds to reader mail, including some letters that have been submitted in response to previous Mailbag columns.
Laura Cherry writes:
I just wanted to thank you and your staff for all of the information you provide us. You have helped reinstill the love for Disneyland I had when I was a child. Now I can’t even imagine going less than once a year (two if we are lucky). You have helped make planning this trips so much easier. With the information to provide I put together a Disneyland book that we take with us. It lists all restaurants and menus, attractions, our hotel information and all of the discounts we get.
Well, back to my point. I rarely read the articles where you post readers emails, but today I did. I was just a little saddened when I read a few emails that were a bit negative towards certain articles that have been written. And the fact that people like to find little things to start arguments about (i.e. the C.S. Lewis email). (link)
I really just wanted to send this email to say thanks for all of your hard work. Thanks for writing the articles and keeping us informed. And I wish people could look past a few words (Christian mythology) and keep reading before they get hot headed, hopefully they will realize the point of the articles. To keep them the readers informed. Thanks for letting me vent, and thanks for doing what you are doing.
Elizabeth writes:
I am writing in response to Leo’s question about smoking policies at the Disneyland Hotel for non smoking rooms (link) I am a non-smoker and have stayed at the Disneyland Hotel three times (Paradise Pier Hotel twice, Grand Californian twice). On two of those occasions at the Disneyland Hotel I have had to call down to the desk because the person in the next room was smoking in a non-smoking room; the smoke was coming through the heater/AC vents. According to the front desk and the DL Resort reservations desk if the smoker is actually caught, that person could have to pay like $250 per day for “clean up” of the room. This also happened to me at Paradise Pier on one of my visits.
What is very interesting, though, is that the hotels don’t seem to really care that smokers are smoking in non-smoking rooms. They like to tell you that it’s “difficult to prove.” I always suggest to them to go walking down the hall by the accused room or go stand in my room… they’ll get a nice whiff of stink. I even had customer service at the Disneyland Hotel tell me that I should have stayed at the Grand and I should consider doing that for my next visit.
I was not a happy camper. I am obeying the rules and I am the one that is being punished and being told to go stay someplace else, so now I do. Believe it or not, because of the smokers smoking in the non-smoking rooms I have stopped staying at the Resort. I have found a cute, adorable little inn that is basically right at the Resort. It’s probably closer to the parks then the Disneyland Hotel.
Anyhow, that is the info that was given to me. And I think it’s great that Leo asked ahead of time about the policy. However, if he can’t get that smoking room I really hope he won’t light up in the non-smoking room or on the balcony (I know there are “smoking balconies” available on non-smoking floors. They are located down at the end of the hall in the Disneyland Hotel) and ruin a non-smoking family’s trip. Some of us are allergic to the smoke and others just don’t like it.
Craig writes:
Your recent article included a question from Steve about how people are selected to open the Magic Kingdom. I do not know how it is done on a daily basis, but I can tell you how it was done when my young daughter was selected back in 1999.
We were simply the first in line before park opening. Soon after we arrived, a cast member let us in the gate, told us what we would be doing, etc… We waited until opening time (inside the gate!). My daughter was given a magic wand and got to select the magic word for the day. Afterwards, we were given a ride down Main Street and had pictures made. Great experience.
Thanks for sharing your story. Sounds like a wonderful experience that created some lasting memories for your family.
McKenzie writes:
My family and I want to go and see the 50th but we don’t know when it ends! We have been looking for it on Google or anything else. Could you please tell us when it ends?
According to a recent response from Disneyland to a letter written by one of our MousePad posters, the 50th-themed decorations will come down in late September 2006. The special parades and fireworks that were added for the anniversary will continue for a limited, undetermined time afterward.
Hope this helps. Have a great trip and thanks for writing to MousePlanet.
Finally, staff writer Brian Bennett answers questions about Star Wars Weekends:
Laura writes:
Could you please tell me when they have this event? My husband and son are major Star Wars fans. They would absolutely love to attend this.
And Liv writes:
Hi, great page you have here. I was wondering where, when and how much these weekends are. I’d love to go and it looks like your boys had fun.
According to StarWars.Com (link), the weekends of May 19, 2006 and running through June 11, 2006 are the dates you’re looking for.
T here is no additional cost other than park admission to the Disney-MGM Studios theme park, but beware that some of the special events, which run only Friday through Sunday, have limited capacity and it’s first-come, first-served in all cases.
