I went down to my parents' house for the weekend. On Saturday and Sunday I went to the 2nd Arroyo High School All-Class Reunion. It was well organized, and I'm glad that I went. There weren't a lot of people from my age group though, mostly older people!
On Sunday I went to see my sister for a massage. It turns out I was pretty broken after all! I knew I had tightness in the back of my thighs, but the knots in the back of my calves and in my upper back were news to me! Irma suggested that I go back to see her once a week, and I think I will. She leaves you pretty beat up, but it feels better afterward... Not soon enough afterward, though. For future reference, do not get a deep tissue massage the day before going to a theme park!
On Monday I took my parents and Irma to Disneyland. We actually saw pretty much everything that interested us, because as a group we weren't interested in the things that have a long wait and because the few things that did have a wait we went to the front of the line for because my dad uses an electric scooter when we go to theme parks. Mom refused to have any pictures taken unfortunately!
In the evening, Charles met us at Disneyland and we went to preview the new Nemo ride. (Only Charles and me, it was limited to cast members and dependents at this point.) They took the submarines that were there before, repainted them, and converted them from diesel to electric. Then they added a bunch of new show elements. Overall, it's really cool. The best part was how everyone else was looking at us in line when they couldn't go on!
My impressions of the ride (SPOILERS AHEAD!):
- The pre-ride area isn't particularly Nemo-ish, making it a bit too obvious that it's a re-theme. Same goes for the view from the windows before you depart and in the first few minutes of the ride. Although, what I would do if I ruled the world would be to theme the pre-ride area to some "explore the lost city" excursion in the style of the Jungle Cruise.
- I love love love the sea gulls on the buoy (you can see them from the line area). Mine! Mine! It's the perfect bridge to get people into the movie mood, and they're a good match to the movie as I remember it.
- The queue and loading area are fast and efficient. The cast members got people moving and ready to go, very clear and well organized. If you had twice as many subs in the water, the people would be ready waiting to board before they came around. Well done, cast members!
- There's a male and a female character talking to each other over the speakers. Everyone knows there are no women on submarines! =P
- I would have liked to see the two human characters in the water be at least a little bit animated. Kick of the flippers, maybe a small wave at the big yellow submarine that's floating by at close range?
- Once or twice I felt like the glass a feature was behind was too visible, but it might not have been if I didn't know there was glass.
- Soon after the point we identified as when you went into the cave (the light suddenly got very low), there were three voices talking over each other: the narrator talking to us about something to do with remarkable advances in some such, along with the male captain and female crew member having a conversation with each other. I don't know what happened here. Is one of them cast member activated and one is activated by where you are on the track, perhaps? It was very distracting trying to figure out which one to listen to though!
- I wasn't quite buying the volcano thing until near the end of that story arc when you finally see it. Even then, it didn't elicit a word from our captain or crew characters, so it must not have been dangerous!
- Most of the animated features were awesome. A few of them were not bright enough, making them look a tad translucent. Translucent marine animals = fake marine animals...
- The mine field was awesome. The anglers were awesome.
- My husband Charles was sitting under the forward hatch and some water fell on him mid-ride. The cast member said that wasn't supposed to happen and that she'd alert her lead about it. My guess is that condensation from inside the cave area dripped on the hatch, and since it doesn't go underwater it doesn't seal water-tight.
- "Why's that whale eating that yellow submarine, dude?" Hehehehe. Cute, maybe even a little clever, however someone had to point out to me that we had been eaten. Need a visual here! (There's a visual when you get out of the whale, but not when you get in.)
- "We better take her up before we have a run in with a sea serpent or encounter a mermaid!" Nice!
- I would have liked the two characters to guide us through a bit more of the voyage toward the end... the captain and female crew member are conspicuously silent as we go through a mine field, anglers, jellyfish, eaten by a whale, pass an erupting volcano... then they just come back to say "We better take her up" like they've been there all along!
Longest I'd wait for this ride (barring the "I have to see it all in one day" factor of visiting out of state, etc): 45 minutes.
