Travel

The Spotlight On SummerSlam Week in New York City

Tom Lynch Reviews, Sports, Travel, Wrestling , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 Hello everyone it is officially SummerSlam weekend!  I have been pretty busy this past weekend as I was a part of a wedding and then literally had a vacation day yesterday in which I spent the entire day catching up on my sleep as I know this is going to be a long and exciting week in the New York City Area and so I am committed to bringing the best Summerslam coverage possible.  I work here in Brooklyn and there is definitely a Wrestlemania esque buzz (and a Wrestlemania esque traffic) in the air.  There are many different events going on in the New York City area as well as television appearances and autograph signings all over the place.  We are lucky enough here at thedailyspotlight.com to be attending several of the different events associated with Summerslam week and will have you covered from pillar to post. Whether it be live coverage or coverage from one of our correspondents, we will have a packed week of content for all of you guys right here.  If you are attending any of the events this week and would like to be a correspondent for thedailyspotlight.com (After all I am only one person, I work a full time job and only have so many hours in the day) you can do so by sending me an email at thedailyspotlight2@gmail.com.  We welcome live event coverage and perspectives and will give full credit your way if you’d like it (you can choose to remain anonymous as well).  With that said let me get into the different Summerslam themed activities and coverage you can expect this week on thedailyspotlight.com

Wednesday: 
 
The Spotlight On Triple H’s NXT Taker: Brooklyn Media Conference Call-  Later today there will be coverage of Triple H’s conference call that he hosts before all of the different NXT Takeover specials specifically for members of the media.  I will be back later today from the biggest highlights from the call this afternoon.
SummerSlam Night At MCU Park- Tonight I’ll be attending the Brooklyn Cyclones’ MCU Park for Summerslam Night.  Prior to the start of tonight’s Brooklyn Cyclones game, there will be a celebrity charity softball game between a host of celebrities and the NYPD and FDNY.  Ryback, Charlotte, Eva Marie and Fandango will all be on hand both playing in the game and signing autographs at the park.  There will also be different prize giveaways and contests from both WWE and Tapout.  I will be back late tonight or early tomorrow with pictures and highlights from that event.
Thursday: 
 
Thursday is an absolute packed day of different events going on for the WWE Superstars and Divas.  Obviously Thursday night is the final stop for WWE before Summerslam but aside from that John Cena will be hosting the 9:00 hour of the Today show and also appearing on the Tonight Show.  I saw some of the highlights from John’s first appearance on the Today Show and thought he came off like a real natural in the role.  I know that Paige and Seth Rollins will be signing autographs at Toys R Us Times Square and Kevin Owens will be signing in New Jersey.  Aside from all of that…
Sam Roberts Live-  On Thursday night in New York City, Same Roberts will be hosting a live podcast and q & a with Corey Graves and Paul Heyman. I’ve been invited to attend and plan on doing so (though I will getting my eyes dilated earlier that day so this will be interesting to say the least).  Sam’s shows are great and I’m looking forward to the event at the famous Caroline’s Comedy Club.  Look for pictures and highlights from that event on Thursday night .
WWE 2k16 Press Conference- Also Thursday night in New York City is a media event for WWE 2k16.  There isn’t much more information that that is out about it but we will also have the highlights of that event, likely Friday morning .
Friday-Sunday-  
 
During Summerslam weekend there are a number of superstar appearances going on at the Barclays center.  Priced at $150 per session you can meet Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns Sting, Paige, Charlotte and Becky Lynch as well as a host of others.  I’ve never done one of these VIP signings but I’ve heard great things.  The Superstars and Divas spend a bit more time with each person who’s paid to meet them and also include a nice professional photo.  If you go check out any of these appearances, drop me a line.
Ranking The Summerslams-  Beginning Friday morning and continuing throughout the weekend, I’m going to be ranking all of the WWE Summerslams in the history of WWE.  From 1988-2014 all of the summerslams will be ranked by yours truly starting from 27 and going all the day down to number 1, the greatest summerslam event of all time.  I’ll also give a first hand account of several different Summerslam events that either I attended live or I remember being around for.  The countdown will kick off this Friday morning.
Predictions-  Summerslam isn’t the only big show this weekend, Saturday night NXT:Takeover comes to Brooklyn.  On Friday I’ll be running down all of the matches scheduled for NXT:TakeOver and giving predictions for that show.  Then on Saturday, I’ll be back to run down the complete Summerslam card with predictions from all 10 of the matches.
Saturday- 
 
NXT Panel-  Saturday morning at the Barclays Center there will be an exclusive NXT Panel Discussion featuring Triple H, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Sasha Banks and many more.  The panel is said to last for 90 minutes and will include a Q & A.  This should make for a good prelude to the NXT Takeover special that same night as the topic is NXT.  I’ll be on hand and will have highlights from the event.
Ultimate Warrior Day-  This Saturday afternoon 3-5 there will be an Ultimate Warrior book release convention in Brooklyn.  Dana Warrior (The widow of the ultimate warrior) will be on hand for a meet and greet and it’s also being promoted that many of the Warrior’s memorabilia including the official Ultimate Warrior Statue will be on display.  I’ll be attending that event and will be back with photos and highlights from that event as well.
NXT Takeover: Brooklyn- Not only am I attending NXT: Takeover live on Saturday night but I’m doing so on a double date. Anyway for the first of three nights I’ll be at the Barclays Center this time, for NXT live.  Be sure to check out my live event highlights and photos.
Sunday-
 
Summerslam– Not since my very first live pay per view (Summerslam 2002) have I been this excited for a Summerslam live.  I’ll be on hand for the four hour mega event so you can expect the usual highlights and photos from a live perspective on Sunday night.
Monday-
 
Monday Night Raw- Gotta Give WWE credit for selling out the Barclays center three days in a row.  Kudos to them for making Summerslam into such a massive event filled with as many events as you would often find solely during Wrestlemania week.  I actually took a half day from work so that I can catch my breath before heading back to the Barclays Center for a third straight day.  I hope this Raw is similar to those post Wresltemania in that it also has that must-see feel.
Closing Thoughts:
 
This is going to be a very fun and long week filled with a number of events.   This is really like a surprising wrestling paradise normally only reserved for Wrestlemania weekend.  Being in New york City, I can tell you that it really feels like Wrestlemania around these parts.  As pictured at the top of this piece, WWE has a number of Summerslam posters hanging throughout the Brooklyn area and the Barclays Center has been decked out with a number of WWE Superstars and Divas featured prominently.  WWE has done a good job in making sure that Summerslam has that big event feel and I’m hoping it stays in New York for the foreseeable future.  That’s going to do it for now but stay tuned for all of the coverage coming up this week on thedailyspotlight.com

The Spotlight On Slipknot’s Summer’s Last Stand Tour 8/1/2015

Tom Lynch Entertainment, Reviews, Travel , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This past Saturday night, I was able to head down to Jones Beach to check out Slipknot’s Summer’s Last Stand Tour at the Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre in Wantagh, New York.  I’ve always loved going to check out shows at Jones Beach, as being a New Yorker, nothing quite says the summer quite like a like seeing a show right on the beach.  I also really appreciate that Jones Beach has done a good amount to improve over the years.  For one, the sound quality is way better now than it’s ever been.  Secondly, in recent years, Jones Beach cleared out the entire front section of seats in favor of adding a standing room only, mosh pit.  Then lastly, Jones Beach continues to partner with different local eateries in an effort to expand the food options for concertgoers.  This is great as in the past, the food as Jones Beach had been quite pedestrian.  I know people will continue to complain about Jones Beach still not serving alcohol, but they do allow for a ton of tailgating while not charging for parking.  I’m sure by not offering alcohol, the amount of drunks on the road getting out of the show is diminished, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  As for the tour itself, it was a really stacked show from top to bottom as Slipknot went out of their way to handpick bands to make this tour one of the heaviest of the summer, this included fellow heavy metal kings Lamb Of God, Bullet For My Valentine and, newcomers, Motionless In White.  Let’s get into my thoughts on the show as it went on.


Motionless In White- It’s interesting to note that despite Motionless In White coming on pretty early in day, 6:00PM, the place was relatively packed for them.  Motionless in white continues to try and differentiate themselves by having their keyboardist dressed as a nun and there guitarist dressed like, as my girlfriend put it, Edward Scissors esque, they reminded me of Mudvayne a bit.  Their seven song set consisted of a setlist including their two biggest hits Unstoppable (From NXT fame) and Reincarnate, which really got the whole crowd into it.  A couple of my other favorite tracks included Abigail and Generation Lost.  Motionless in White seemed literally touched to be apart of the show and when their half hour set was finished, it had me wanting to go see them in a headlining gig, which is the point of an opener, at least to me.

  Bullet For My Valentine- Wow these guys had a pretty big following as there were even more people in the theater by the time that they came out.  We had our seats located four rows behind the mosh pit and the pit for these guys had me wishing I was 17 again so I could be right back in there getting it going.  Bullet for my valentine did a seven song set as well which included my personal favorite song of theirs, Tears Don’t Fall as well as other popular tunes as Scream, Aim, Fire and Waking The Demon.  These guys have a lot of energy and I’d suggest that if you’re a fan of heavy metal, going out of your way to see them.  Had no idea they were from the UK, by the way.
 Lamb Of God-   I won’t lie to you, i wasn’t the most excited for Lab Of God, in fact if Lamb Of God went on first there would have been a good chance that I didn’t show up until the second act.  I have seen Lamb Of God a few times in the past and while I thought their famous “Wall Of Death” mosh pit to be a sight to be seen, i wasn’t really into them.  I remember a time I saw Lamb Of God at Free Ozzfest, where my friend and I were standing towards the outskirts of the  mosh pit and my buddy was literally picked up and launched on the ground for no real reason, just uncalled for.  That said, Lamb of God kicked ass on Saturday night.  I don’t know if there was an energy to their set that I didn’t fully appreciate the first few times I saw Lamb Of God or if it was the fact that many of the people in the crowd were really into them but they were just great.  As I always say, wrestling finds a way to follow me around wherever I go, well between songs lead singer Randy Blythe (who’s a big wrestling fan as he talked about on a recent episode of Talk Is Jericho) asked the crowd to “Give Him A Ric Flair” as the crowd followed with a huge “Whooooooooo!!!!!!”.  A very cool moment and speaking of cool, if you’ve never seen a mosh pit at a lamb of god gig, as I said earlier, you’re doing yourself a disservice.  I was sitting four rows right behind the mosh pit and I think I watched as much of the mosh pit as I did the show, it was just great.

Slipknot- This was my third time seeing Slipknot and they did not disappoint whatsoever.  Seeing slipknot live, in my opinion, is like seeing 9 different concerts going on at the same time and the result is one mega show that is like nothing you’ve ever seen before.  Every member of that band is going 100 miles an hour and give it their all every time out.  I particularly enjoyed how by the time Slipknot came out to do their set it was darker outside so that Jones Beach was able to turn on the screens.  The screens at Jones Beach are great because they allowed for each member of the band to be focused on while on the big screen.  Slipknot performed a 17 song set which clocked in at just over 90 minutes and included a three song encore of (sic), People= Shit and, of course, Surfacing.  If you’ve never seen Slipknot live, I also love the way that they do Spit It Out, as they stop and demand that every person in the arena get down real low right before the final chorus.  Then as the final chorus kicks in they have the whole stadium jump in unison.  From the top of the rafters to the bottom of the mosh pit, Jones Beach was rocking.
 Overall, this was a really good heavy metal show and a lot of fun at an outdoor venue.  Slipknot’s Summer’s Last Stand Tour continues across the US until September 5th so what are you waiting for?  Get your tickets now!  \m/

The Spotlight On Camelback Resort’s Aquatopia 

Tom Lynch Reviews, Travel , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

  I recently got an opportunity to check out a sneak preview of Camelback Resort’s brand new indoor water park Aquatopia. It was a really enjoyable day for my girlfriend, her younger brother and I and we were all in agreement that the new park is a hit & an automatic must see attraction in the poconos. Let me get right into some of the highlights of Aquatopia. 

Highlights

  Fun After The Sun- If you’re a waterpark enthusiast like me than you are probably aware that the only drawback about water parks is that they often close pretty early. Most parks close, at the latest, 7pm & sometimes as early as 5pm. Well this isn’t the case with Aquatopia, because the park is in a weather controlled climate of 86 degrees at all times, the park stays open until 9am which allows you to take your time & stay until after the sun goes down. Furthermore, if you’re a resort guest or have purchased a combo ticket to both parks,  you’re able to make the smooth transition from Camelbeach (the outdoor waterpark located on Camelback Resorts) to Aquatopia if you still want more waterpark once it closes. 

  Fun for the whole family- One of the great things about Aquatopia is that there is something for everyone. This is a really large area for kids that features a number of slides, a basketball area, an aerobics maze & much more. If you’re more into thrill rides there’s some big water slides for both families, body flumes & tube rides, there’s a surfing simulator and a water roller coaster that has to be experienced to be believed.  On the contrary, if you prefer to go at your own pace, there’s a lengthy themed lazy river, a giant wave pool that allows you to lounge on tubes while you ride and even a hot tub. Our personal favorite though, had to be the pool bar for adults. These are often only found at Caribbean resorts & it was a nice touch for Aquatopia. What makes it even cooler is that adults can take their drinks right up to the side table where they can meet their kids who can be seated on the opposite side outside of the pool area enjoying a meal from the snack stand. 

  A Lot Bigger Than You Think- I’ll admit that when I first hear about an indoor water park I immediately think about how small it would probably be. Well this wasn’t the case with Aquatopia. Not only were we occupied with the rides that they currently have, it’s nice to see that their are a number of attractions that are still in the process of being made. Likewise, there is also a lot to do at the Camelback Resort other than Aquatopia. When we first made our way downstairs we saw a state of the art arcade that can only be described as a mini Dave & Busters. From there were a number of other indoor activities available such as mini golf, rock wall climbing, laser tag and a children’s play area. You can easily spend a whole weekend participating in all of the new activities in the inside of the resort.    Closing Thoughts

I was pleasantly surprised with the newest indoor waterpark in the poconos, Aqautopia. From the people I spoke to at the resort, it also really pays to stay at the resort especially if you’re considering going to the outdoor waterpark, CamelBeach. Rooms are spacious  and reasonably priced at $200 per night which includes admission to Aquatopia for the length of your stay and a one day admission to the Camelbeach waterpark. If you’d prefer to make it a day trip, however, you can purchase a combo ticket to both parks for $60 per adult. 

In the end, I think my girlfriend said it best when she said to me that she couldn’t wait to stay at the resort during the wintertime when we can snowboard at camelback mountain during the day, and go to the waterpark at night. That is when CamelBack Resort wil really have a hit on their hands!   That’s going to do it for my review of Camelback Resort’s Aquatopia but I definitely suggest you head out their this summer. If you have any questions feel free to ask and if you do end up heading to Aquatopia this summer, Id love to hear about you’re experience. 

The Spotlight on Nassau Coliseum

Tom Lynch Spotlight On Raw, Travel, Wrestling , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Happy Memorial Day Everyone!  Memorial Day for me will not only be highlighted by barbecues and hang outs with family and friends, as tonight I’ll be spending my memorial day at the Nassau Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum where I’ll be attending Monday Night Raw live. It’s a pretty exciting time as it will be the first ever live event for my girlfriend’s little brother who is only thirteen.  I remember taking my girlfriend to her first show in Los Angeles for Summerslam 2013 and I saw her become hooked on it right before my eyes, it was great to see and so I hope the same happens with her brother on tonight.  One of the reasons why I’m excited for Raw on Monday is because it’s taking place at one of my favorite venues.  No it’s not the most fancy and many of the newer buildings have many more food options, renovations and features but to me the nostalgia of Nassau Coliseum outweighs them all, perhaps with the exception of Madison Square Garden.  The truth is that there have been rumors for years about the Coliseum closing down or going through renovations and losing the Islanders probably only spark those rumors.  Thus, I will be approrpaching Raw tonight like it may be my last trip to the Coliseum and look to make the most of it.  I thought it would be fun in getting prepared for Raw Monday to look at some of my favorite memories associated with Nassau Coliseum.

WWE History-  Other than my personal memories of the building, the Nassau coliseum actually played host to one third of Wrestlemania 2, the first portion of the event took place at the Coliseum which was main evented by Mr. T and Roddy Piper in a boxing match.  From there the Nassau Coliseum has played host to three other WWE pay per views, Summerslam 2002, The Bash 2008 and Fatal Fourway 2010, and 25 television tapings from 1997-2013.  One of the more infamous incidents took place at the Smackdown tapings on October 5, 1999.  In a match originally recorded for Smackdown, D-Lo Brown took on Droz.  D-lo went for one of his signature moves that he had done many times through the years, the sit down powerbomb.  Unfortunately, D-Lo slipped dropping Droz on his neck and leaving him paralyzed upon impact.  It was a sad day in WWE history and a reminder of how dangerous this business could be.

My First Show- My first show at the Nassau Coliseum came on July 9, 1994 and I was only seven years old, it was also the first show that I went to with my mom.  Prior to this show I had only been to shows at Madison Square Garden and I remember thinking how cool it was that we could just drive to a show without taking the long island railroad.  This was a show in which before the show they were looking for a fan to lead Bret Hart down the aisle and we were chosen.  Todd Pettingel came into the crowd and found my mom and I wearing Lex Luger and Bret Hart shirts respectively and offered us ringside seats with me leading Bret down the aisle.  Unfortunately at 7 years old, i thought the bad guys were really bad guys and so I refused to do it out of fear.  It was a big regret for me looking back but I always refused to sit anywhere other than the upper deck section when I was a kid.  What I remember most about this show, other than my lapse in judgment was that it was headlined by a 60 minute Iron Man Match between Bret Hart and Owen Hart.  What’s funny about that match is that it went to a sudden death overtime with Bret winning about 8 minutes in.  This led to me telling my friends at my Wrestlemania 12 party that this was how iron man matches went, they went to a draw and then was settled in an overtime.  Of course, that’s exactly what happened when Shawn Michaels won the title defeating Bret Hart.

Summerslam 2002–  This was the first pay per view I ever attended live as I did so with my buddy James.  This remains my favorite summerslam of all time and when you consider how tacked the show was you’d know why.  On this show you had Shawn Michaels’ return to the ring in over four years, you had Brock Lesnar’s first title win over the Rock, you had a great opener between Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio and you also had Jericho vs. Flair, Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge an Chris Benoit vs. RVD, such a stacked card and a great show live.

High School Graduation–  A little break from WWE, it would be ridiculous of me to mention my nostalgia at Nassau Coliseum without mentioning my high school graduation.  I graduated Benjamin N Cardozo High School back in 2004 and because there were so many students in the graduating class the ceremony had to be held at Nassau Coliseum.  I’ll freely admit that I didn’t care about high school and don’t remember much about graduation other than it was at Nassau Coliseum.  I remember standing on the arena floor, the same spot I saw Bret and Owen tear down the house 10 years earlier.  I remember seeing myself on the big screen and seeing my family up the rafters cheering me on.  It was simply awesome and the highlight of my, way too many students, high school experience.

Pre and Post WWE Shows-  Through the years as I got a bit older, my friends and I attended mostly every WWE TV taping or pay per view from about 2004-2009 at Nassau Coliseum.  What was pretty cool was that I attended Hofstra University so I would usually walk over to Nassau Coliseum from Hofstra and get tickets the day of the show for my friends and I to avoid ticketmaster fees.  Whenever I would do this I’d always see all of the WWE talents walking over from the Marriot, it was really cool.  I remember one time I was stopped at the red light heading back to school and former diva Victoria pulled up next to me looking for a good place to eat.  The same would be said for after a show.  This may be the only venue where I see an area set up for fans to wait and see the superstars and divas leaving.  i always used to make the office folks smile by calling them out like Kerwin Silfies or Freddie Prinze Jr when he was working as a writer.  Usually the superstars were really cool as they’d stop and pose for pictures or sign autographs.  It was a lot of fun.

More than just WWE- Even though I’ve been to many WWE shows at the Nassau Coliseum, thats not the only memories I have at the arena.  I’ve also been to many concerts at the coliseum such as Green Day, Metallica and the Van’s Warped Tour which used to be held in the parking lots of the Coliseum.  Other than that there used to be the Craft Beer Festival held at Nassau Coliseum annually.  This would be a great event where for four hours you would walk around to different vendors trying beers from around the world and even eating Beer Donuts.  I remember one night there was a Beer Festival taking place, the same night as the Disney Stars On Ice so you saw a mass of people coming into the parking lot with a mix of drunks and families with small children.  Not exactly the best planning.

So yes, later tonight will be a lot of fun regardless of how Monday Night Raw is.  Like many shows in the past I’m excited to head back to the Nassau Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum.

The Spotlight On Disney’s California Adventure 

Tom Lynch Reviews, Travel , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hello everyone and welcome to my first travel series here on thedailyspotlight.com. Over the past month I have had the opportunity to travel to both Walt DisneyWorld in Orlando, Florida as well as the Disney Parks in California. Thus, every Sunday I’m going to be shining the spotlight on a different Disney park or something else Disney, related to the theme parks. This 8 part series will attempt to look at both the good and maybe not so good of the Disney parks.  The goal here is to get you geared up if you’re planning on vacationing to the most magical place on earth sometime this summer. So without any further ado let’s get things started with Disney’s California Adventure.

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 My girlfriend and I recently went to Disney’s California Adventure on a trip through California. I always feel that because the parks are smaller, the Disney parks in California tend to be be overlooked but shouldn’t be. California Adventure fell on our sixth day of the trip and it was a real highlight of our trip. We ended up doing California Adventure the day after we went to Disneyland and while we enjoyed Disneyland more, California Adventure also had it’s perks. Let’s get into some of the highlights and some closing thoughts on Disney’s California Adventure Theme Park.IMG_2503[1]

Higlights

1) Ariel’s Grotto- I booked Ariel’s Grotto for my girlfriend’s birthday and I’ll say that she felt just as special celebrating her 27th birthday with the Disney Princesses that many of the kids celebrating their birthday the same day. The restaurant is set up with both an indoor and an outdoor location but I chose the indoor for the “Under The Sea” decor and it added to the experience. The dining experience started with my girlfriend getting a crown for her birthday and a photo/ meet & greet with Ariel. We made our way to our seats when a knight came out to sing some Disney classics and again had the birthday celebrators stand for acknowledgement. From there four different Disney Princesses made there way out one by one, Belle, Tiana, Rapunzel & Cinderella. By staggering out the princesses, it really added to the experience as it kept us guessing who was next throughout the meal. Once they arrived, the princesses walked to each table and were sure to spend a little time with each and every table while taking photos. It was a great experience, not priced horribly at $40 for a meal, drink & dessert, and the food was also really good

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2) Aladdin Live- If you live in NY you know that Aladdin recently went live on Broadway. Well, I haven’t seen the show and now don’t have to because included if your admission to California Adventure is a free 50 minute Broadway like play of Aladdin Live. These are things Disney does that I love and that they don’t have to do as they can easily charge separately for the show but it’s especially great for people who don’t love rides. This show was top notch and they added fun modern tidbits that added to the enjoyment of Aladdin.

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3) Thrill Rides- Whereas Disneyland is about the nostalgia & the classic rides, Disney’s California Adventure is much more about the more modern & thrill rides which is why the park is such a great companion park to Disneyland. From California Screamin to Radiator Springs Racers (my favorite ride, maybe in all of the Disney Parks) to Mickey’s fun wheel and of course The Tower Of Teror, the thrill rides are really a highlight of this park.

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4) Dedication- When we went to California Adventure, the little mermaid ride was down for three hours and the Radiator Springs Racers were down for 11 hours. It would have been easy for the rides to be shut down for the day but the team worked around the clock to make sure the rides reopened and that everyone got to ride them if they stayed in the park for them. Furthermore, there were cast members positioned at the start of the line who were so polite in continuing to answer every time that the ride was being worked on with a smile despite everyone, I’m sure, asking repeatedly when it would reopen.

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5) Anna & Elsa- let me first start off with two pieces of advice 1) if you want fast passes to meet Anna & Elsa get them as soon as you enter the park, we got them at 10am & our return time was for 5:30. 2) if you don’t get fast passes, prepare because this will be your longest wait of the day. The good news though is that your wait will be in a really cool holding area where they play classic Disney videos. Ok Advice over, Anna & Elsa were fantastic. They didn’t rush us at all and had so much enthusiasm, it was infectious. They also have commitment to the character so much so that you can’t help but believe. Kudos to them as well because I’m sure they meet thousands of people everyday, hours on end. Likewise, the cast members were all so pleasant. My girlfriend and I had conversations with a number of cast members who went out of there way to ask how we were and where we were from, they were also sure to wish my girlfriend a happy birthday. They made the wait we did have fly right by.

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6) The Pixar Parade- who doesn’t love a Disney parade? Whether it be the annual Christmas parade on ABC or the midday parade at the magic kingdom, parades are a pretty big part of Disney theme parks. Being that California adventure is focused on newer Disney movies, the parade is indicative of that. Disneys Pixar parade focuses more on the newer classics made by Pixar. While I’m a sucker for the nostalgia of Mickey Mouse, it was both different & interesting to see the characters from Cars & Toy Story prominently featured in a parade setting.    

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Closing Thoughts

1) No FastPasses For MidWay Mania-  Toy Story’s Midway Mania is a great ride that has the longest line throughout the day but for some reason there is no option to fastpass the ride. With such few fastpass options in California Adventure, there’s no reason that a limited number of FastPasses should not be distributed.

2) Only One World Of Color- As with all Disney theme parks there is a fireworks show to end the night in the park. World of Color is, like all Disney fireworks shows, tremendous. However, there is only one World Of Color show each night and it happens at the end of the night a half hour before the park closes. They also need to shut down about half of the park rides in order to make sure that they can put the show on. As you can imagine, this leads to thousands of people clamoring together to see the show and then a major delay leaving the park. Over in Disneyland, literal footsteps away, there are two showings of Fantasmic. What this allows for is people can catch the first show or the second and so it isn’t as crowded. Disney’s California Adventure can easily do this by extending the hours of the park to closing at midnight. One thing I’ve never been a fan of is one park closing earlier than the other. It makes said park, in this case California Adventure, seem less important. When ticket prices are the same for both parks, so too should the hours of operation.

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3) Bugs Land- I should point out that I personally enjoyed Bugs Land. The land itself is aesthetically pleasing & the “It’s Tough To Be A Bug” 4D ride is a lot of fun. That said, it seems that people are over it. My girlfriend & I were able to go in and out of Bugs Land in mere minutes which is great but it also means that more popular areas in the park, like Cars Land are too congested.  It makes sense too as it does seem that the Bugs Life franchise gets as much of push from the people in Disney as other franchises such as Cars, Toy Story, the Disney Princesses or Frozen. I personally don’t expect Bugs Land to be a part of the park five years from now.

IMG_2419[1]That’s going to do it for the spotlight on Disney’s California Adventure but have no fear I’ll be back next week with another disney park to take a look at.  If you have any feedback from your visit to California Adventure I’d love to here it, likewise if you have any questions about California Adventure or any of the other disney theme parks please feel free to ask.