Is Innoventions A Waste Of Time Again?

ASIMO - still Innoventions best attraction

A reader made the comment that on their recent trip to Disneyland the biggest disappointment was a visit to the Innoventions Building. I can understand. As we look forward our upcoming trip the question is out there - Innoventions - Yes or No? I think this trip we are going to take a pass on visiting the venerable old building.

When the Iron Man suits moved in, I had hopes. Either the suits represented the first footprint of a Marvel based attraction in Disneyland (rumored) or the beginnings of Marvel based universe within the old and underutilized building. Neither have materialized and for most people, the place is a waste of time after an initial visit.

Yes, Captain America and Thor meet and greets have moved in but regular readers of this blog know my opinion of the now overuse of meet and greets. While popular with young kids, they represent a cheap windfall for Disney. Instead of developing real imaginative attractions, people wait for incredible lengths of time to meet a character in a costume. It's an easy way out to put something new in the park and attract throngs of people with little effort or imagination on Disney's part.

The Iron Man suits a great but only need one visit - been there done that.

My rule of thumb regarding Innoventions is that a visit every 5 years or so is good enough or place to get out of the rain. The single best attraction in the building remains ASIMO - Honda's amazing little robot. The rest of the place is just a corporate shill for Yamaha, HP, Microsoft, along with Disney's feeble efforts to show off its Marvel franchise. 

I do have a feeling that better days are coming for Innoventions, I just I don't think its coming any time soon which is too bad.

Thor movie props - more of these types of displays would be a nice touch.

It Starts With The Harbour Galley Lobster Roll

Round up the usual suspects. That was the gist of the conversation I had with Mrs. DisneylandTraveler when we discussed where we might like to dine on on our upcoming trip to Disneyland. There's the Carnation Cafe, the Blue Bayou, Cafe Orleans, the Plaza Inn, Big Thunder BBQ all on the list of possible candidates for dining but these are the traditional choices.

For the untraditional, for me anyway, it starts with the lobster roll served up at the Harbour Galley along the shores of the Rivers of America. It's only  a little walkup place to eat with limited seating but their lobster roll is a one of a kind unique eat inside Disneyland. Now does it rank up there with the classic New England Lobster Rolls served on the east coast? No, it's not like that. It's more like a lobster salad on a roll but it still adds up to quite a tasty sandwich and a "must have" when I make my return trip in November.

It Tastes Like Disneyland

A few weeks ago Mrs. DisneylandTraveler and I were wandering around Old Sacramento when we stopped by a candy shop to pick up some salt water taffy of assorted flavors. Later that night I opened a piece, popped it in my mouth, and immediately a thought jumped into my head - "This tastes like Disneyland!".

At the time, I didn't know what the flavor of the candy was - I just knew it was familiar and reminded me of being in Disneyland. Later it occurred to me the flavor was caramel corn. It's funny, you think of Disneyland in terms of sights and sounds and in some cases smells, but this time - I could taste the park and what a sweet taste it is.

Disneyland is one of the few places I eat caramel corn so its not surprising that little piece of salt water taffy made my think of walking along Main St. nibbling on the sweet treat but what struck me was just how strong and delightful the taste sensation was. It took me quite by surprise.

I Could Be Wrong About Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy

I posted last week on Facebook that I thought Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy looked "incredibly stupid". I'll stick to that comment because a wise guy raccoon and a walking tree as superheroes don't exactly give me comic book thrills. But Disney doesn't exactly care what I think and Guardians of the Galaxy opened to the tune of $95 million dollars on its premiere weekend - the biggest August opening ever and once again giving proof that Disney CEO Bob Iger really knew that he had a gold mine on his hands when he purchased Marvel for $4 billion dollars.

My own opinion of Guardians has shifted a bit too. I don't won't spend money to see the film at the theaters but at least now I plan to give it a shot on video.

A Christmastime Reservation At The Disneyland Resort

We did it. Yesterday,Mrs. DisneylandTraveler called the Candy Cane Inn and made a November reservation for a week's stay at Disneyland. We like the Candy Cane Inn. If you are staying outside of the Disney's Grand Californian or Disneyland Hotel, it is the best place to stay for a trip to Disneyland. The Candy Cane Inn runs a little more in terms of price than the rest of the Harbor Blvd. "Good Neighbor" hotels but it's overall cleanliness and impeccable customer service more than make up for the few extra dollars. 

So by the time we get to Disneyland in November, Christmastime at the Disneyland Resort will be hitting its starting point and what better way is there to begin the holiday season and get into the Christmas spirit. Even the thought of it makes me smile.

Now, some things have to fall into place for us pull off this trip but it looks promising enough that making a reservation seemed like the right thing to do. And now - three and a half months of anticipation.

Maleficent and the Seven Dwarfs

Those that have read this blog through the years kind of know that when it comes to the history of classic Disney movies, I'm not your expert. I know its sacrilege but I am not a really big fan of the movies Walt produced in his lifetime. Though technically excellent - the stories themselves I never really was able to get into. I'm a Disneyland guy..... not so much a Disney guy.

With that in mind, Mrs. DisneylandTraveler was able to get me out to see Maleficent a few weeks ago. Inside I was grumbling and complaining and wishing we were on our way to Amazing Spiderman 2 but I went anyway.

I figured I was on my way to see a story about a wicked witch who gave Snow White the poisoned apple. In there somewhere I expected to see Seven Dwarfs. Yep, I had the the wrong fairy tale. It took me about 20 minutes to figure out I was seeing a story about Sleeping Beauty and not Snow White. What a putz..... like I said, I'm not a classic Disney kind of guy.

About the movie? The first half was pretty boring but the movie gained momentum toward the end especially when the dragon appeared. Good ending to what is essentially a children's fairy tale. Maleficent was better than I expected but not on my list to see again when it hits the video market.

Return of The Disneyland Traveler

I've got to go back to work. I've been ignoring this blog too long again. Personal life is battling my Disney life and my personal life is winning. But I see the Disney life making a comeback and once again this blog will spring into action or at least I hope it will.

What triggers interest in this poor neglected blog again? Well, a trip to Disneyland is the place to start. And maybe not just one trip but possibly two. Mrs. DisneylandTraveler and I are thinking that just maybe we can pull off a trip for the Christmas holidays. And the extended family is talking about a larger trip next year for Disneyland's Diamond Celebration (that's 60th anniversary for most of us).

So maybe there will be things to write about after all in my Disney blogging world. I hope so anyway.