Paint the Night

A little over a month ago I finally had the opportunity to see the Paint the Night Parade. I am not a huge parade person, so it really has to blow me away to get me to watch it repeatedly. So far, the only Disneyland parade that has flipped my switch is Soundsational. Paint the Night is enjoyable, but I won't be fighting the crowds to see it again. Here are some shots from that chilly November evening.



Plenty of Peter Pan:



and Tinker Bell, too.



Tigger:



The Genie from Aladdin:



A ton-o-Pixar:









A little break with King Triton and Ariel:



and then right back to Pixar:





No Disney parade would be complete without a little Princess action:





Surprise! There's a float for Frozen:



Between Star Wars and Frozen, it's hard to pick which one I am more tired of having crammed down my throat. Must appeal to masses…must appeal to masses...



And then the classic characters, such as Donald:



Minnie:



And naturally, Mickey Mouse himself!





More Paint the Night photos at my main website.

Peter Pan and Cinderella on Main Street

One of the highlights of the 60th Anniversary at Disneyland have been the revitalized windows of the Main Street Emporium. The two scenes that have been installed so far are for Peter Pan and Cinderella. The Peter Pan scenes give a nice teaser to the attraction in Fantasyland. The star thingy in the background still baffles me; it just doesn't seem to fit. I will need to get out the original animated film to see how it matches.



Plenty of detail to keep the eye busy as you marvel over the miniature scenes and figures.



Nana the dog is not receiving much benefit from Tinker Bell's pixie dust since her leash keeps her grounded.



The nursery scene:



A dresser on the left of the scene:



Zooming in for a closer look:



It wasn't until I zoomed in that I noticed the fiber optic lights along the wall acting as Tinker Bell's pixie dust.



These two shots from 2008 show the vintage felt figures that previously served as the window displays for Peter Pan and Cinderella:





The Cinderella scene today, where you can see our heroine and her Prince waltzing the night away:



Jaq and Gus the mice are doing their own little dance:



A garden fountain:



Castle details:



In the background, you can catch a glimpse of the alternate Cinderella scene showing Fairy Godmother transforming Cinderella into her ball gown attire. The effect wasn't working that day so I will have to rephotograph it on another visit.



Overall, I think the windows are beautiful. Some of the special effects may be a bit modern for vintage Main Street, U.S.A. but that hasn’t stopped the Disney Corporation from making other decisions so who am I to say anything. The felt figures still have their charms, though. Perhaps the whiz-bang-wow style windows would be more in place in Fantasyland and not on turn-of-the-century Main Street. Just my 2 cents.

More Emporium Window photos at my main website.

Off To Neverland 6.0 Pt. 2

I know I am in the minority, but I was not as "wowed" as I thought I would be when I took a spin on the newly refurbished Peter Pan's Flight. I can't quite put my finger on it, but unlike the Alice dark ride, this one just doesn't seem to have integrated the new digital effects as well.



It's cool to see the pixie dust effect in the nursery, but it now makes the static nature of the children seem odd.



I did like how it now appears that you are following Tinker Bell's light as you soar over London.



What I didn't like was how bright all of the tiny lights below seemed. For whatever reason, it killed the magic feeling I used to get as the ship sailed over London and Big Ben. The red lights seem much brighter; what the heck at that time would show up as a bright red light in the sky?



A closer look at Big Ben:



and a closer view of the Hidden Mickey:



On all the lights below, it just seemed like a lot of noise. Too too much.



And then there was some kind of digital effect on the wall that looked like something from Star Trek; I didn't capture it this time, but whatever it was, it just did not seem to have any place on this attraction. Call me stupid…I just didn't understand the need for it. Flying over Neverland was fun though; the digital effects here are integrated in a way that is subtle and enhances the scene.



The new rippling water effects around Tiger Lily are also effective - yay!



I didn't notice much new in the Walk the Plank scene.



Still cool…still difficult to photograph!



Poor little Wendy looks mighty scared.



Have no fear; the gang is sailing home as soon as you round the next corner.



The digital effects are nice here, but the little fiber optics coming out of Tinker Bell's hand look cheap now.



Another tough scene to catch as your ship zips by. Time to invest in a new lens!



I did enjoy all the instances of the digital water.



Again, I know I am in the minority. Overall it seems like most are very happy with this refurbishment. While I still rank this as one of the best Fantasyland dark rides, I would have to say that I now put it much closer to Alice and Snow White.



More photos of the refurbished Peter Pan's Flight at my main website.