Disneyland - Trains, Boats and mini Automobiles
Written: Jan 08 '05 (Updated Jul 15 '06)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Gentle ride, no height restrictions.
Cons: Boring narration, blah scenery, no Disney magic, horrible waiting area.
The Bottom Line: This is a boring ride with a long, crowded line. I only recommend it if you have seen everything else.
|
|
|
| modernmarvel's Full Review: Storybook Land Canal Boats - Disneyland |
When we first visited Disneyland, I was intrigued by the Storybook Land Canal Boats because there is no equivalent ride in the Florida parks. Going on a Disney ride for the first time is usually exciting because you don't know what to expect.
From outside the Storybook Land Canal Boats, you can see that the ride enters the mouth of Monstro, the whale that swallows Pinochio. After that, there isn't much visible from the main pathways. My kids were pretty excited to float into Monstro's mouth, so we got in line.
WAITING
I have to say that this is one of the most painful waiting areas at Disney. The line moves back and forth, single file, through several lines. The pathways are so thin that it is impossible to stand next to someone. This makes conversation difficult if you are in a large group and it makes it hard to watch your children if they are spread out in front of you or behind you. To make matters worse, the line is not separated by landscaping or props. You simple walk up and down in the same, small area and this is very boring for adults and children. The only thing separating the many adjacent lines is a chain. There is no railing. So, children, and some adults, swing on the chains and bump people around them. This area was so tight, claustrophobic and boring that I almost left before we got on the ride. To make matters worse, apparently they were not running enough boats and we waited over five minutes for each boat to appear to be boarded. Thus, the line moved painfully slowly.
THE RIDE
The ride occurs in small boats. There are no bench seats lined up. Everyone sits on the edge of the boats which have a flat, uncushioned edge like a bench. You are facing toward the inside of the boat and looking at other guests. Also, the boats are not stabilized so they rock quite a bit as people get on or off. You have to manage several steps to board. This might be difficult for handicapped or others who find it hard to manage uneven surfaces. Our boat held about ten people. There are no age restrictions so we brought our five month old baby on board.
The guide sits just above the guests on the back of the boat. The guide uses a script to narrate the ride. There are a few corny jokes but the narration was surprisingly boring, especially when compared to other rides in Disneyland, such as the Jungle Cruise.
The ride takes off from a small dock and you float on over to Monstro's mouth. The whole boat floats through Monstro's mouth which is, essentially, a red cave and exits out the back. There were no special effects or anything scary.
After that big start, you float along a path filled with small vignettes that look like dollhouse villages. You can see the Dumbo ride as you float by. You can also see the Casey Jr. train ride several times during your ride. I found this to be distracting and a huge negative for the Storybook ride.
The vignettes all had a storybook theme but were not necessarily from Disney stories. For example, you see a miniture village where Alice of Alice in Wonderland supposedly grew up. You also see the village with Geppetto's woodshop. The English village and the Italian village looked very similar. In short, my children found this incredibly boring. We went past the mini-villages too quickly to enjoy the details and the kids didn't really process what we were looking at because they were distracted by the Casey Jr. ride rumbling by.
The ride lasted a few minutes and was a little longer than other Fantasyland rides.
RECOMMENDATION
The whole family gave this one a thumbs down. The ride was quite boring and the line area was painful to stand in. I can't recommend this one because there are too many other, better attractions to check out at Disney.
MY REVIEWS OF THE DISNEY THEME PARKS IN CALIFORNIA
Disneyland
Disney's California Adventure
MY REVIEW OF THEME PARK HOTELS IN CALIFORNIA
Disney’s Grand Californian
Marriott Suites Anaheim
Residence Inn Anaheim
MY REVIEW OF THEME PARK RESTAURANTS
Storyteller’s Cafe
Blue Bayou
Wine Country Trattoria
Goofy’s Kitchen
MY REVIEWS OF INDIVIDUAL RIDES AND ATTRACTIONS IN DISNEY’S CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE
Soarin’ Over California
Grizzly River Run
The Sun Wheel
Orange Stinger
Mulholland Madness
Jumpin’ Jellyfish
Playhouse Disney Live on Stage
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Monster’s Inc. Mike & Sully to the Rescue
Jim Henson’s Muppet Vision 3D
It’s Tough to be a Bug 3D
Princess Dot Puddle Park
Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train
Tuck and Roll’s Drive ‘Em Buggies
Flik’s Flyers
Francis’ Ladybug Boogie
Misson Tortilla Factory Tour
Boudin Bakery Factory Tour
MY REVIEWS OF INDIVIDUAL RIDES AND ATTRACTIONS IN DISNEYLAND
Pirates of the Caribbean
Indiana Jones Adventure
Storybook Land Canal Boats
Snow White’s Scary Adventures
Pinocchio’s Daring Journey
Peter Pan’s Flight
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
Alice in Wonderland
Matterhorn Bobsleds
It’s a Small World
Tarzan’s Tree House
Aladdin’s Oasis
Splash Mountain
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Autotopia
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience 3D
Astro Orbitor
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
MY REVIEWS OF OTHER THINGS TO SEE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Legoland
SeaWorld San Diego
Birch Aquarium at Scripps
The San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Wild Animal Park
Balboa Park
Cabrillo National Monument
San Diego’s Old Town
The Museum of Making Music
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
Recommended:
No
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
modernmarvel
|
 - Top 50 |
|
Location: Basking in the Sun
Reviews written: 504
Trusted by: 340 members
About Me:
Can anyone recommend a western family dude ranch for a vacation this summer?
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.