Dateline Disneyland

[Wizzard419]

Looks like it was a worker, wonder how hard the DA is going to go at them?

[GeoffS]

Wiz-
Sorry, didn't see your Surfliner question until today. Los Angeles Union Station is a stop, but the Surfliner runs from San Diego Santa Fe Station up to Santa Barbara, with one train daily running up to San Luis Obispo (and back). The Coast Starlight runs Los Angeles Union Station all the way up to Seattle, and stops at Oakland Jack London Square and Emeryville, with bus transfers to San Francisco. Bakersfield is served by the San Joaquin route, which is separate from the Starlight and the Surfliner, so, yes, you could get there either by connector bus from the south, or from Oakland/Emeryville via the San Joaquin from the north. Bakersfield is not a stop on the way to the Bay Area, though. Anaheim is served by the Surfliner, but not the Starlight, requiring a transfer anywhere in LA to continue up to SF. If you'd like to see how California rail interconnects, visit californiarailmap.com for a neat mapping project of the whole state, including local commuter rail, subways, and trolleys.

[Wizzard419]

I just remember how much of a headache it was trying to commute down to a client in SD County they had a rail stop literally 2 blocks from their office but it was on a different system so taking the train down required leaving the station (if I recall) and having to wait for another train at another station. In the end it took longer and cost more than driving.

[Wizzard419]

Looks like the DLR ticket prices are coming soon/already. The tickets will go up $5 for single park one day passes making it $92 for adults and $86 for kids, parking is also going up a dollar.

[elizabethswann]

And the prices for the premium pass has jumped up about $20 dollars. At this rate I'll just try and apply to be a cast member.

[Wizzard419]

It was all the passes apparently, apparently locals are not pleased with this. Someone was saying they already raised prices earlier this year but I can't recall anything after the last price increase.

[elizabethswann]

http://micechat.com/31027-disneyland-prices/

Latest update from Micechat: Disneyland prices climb as ‘The Lone Ranger’ comes to California Adventure, etc. The new price breakdown for everything is in the update.

[GeoffS]

I may have missed it from a previous update, but is Frontierland doing any tie-in with Lone Ranger? I haven't been recently enough to see if the shops are selling/theming anything.

And dear, old Knott's...I genuinely wonder sometimes how they keep going, let alone have enough to make upgrades/refurbs. I've always liked the place, as a SoCal native, but it just lacks the same nostalgia DL generates. Anyone else been recently?

[Wizzard419]

Last I checked Frontierland hasn't done anything for it, they might have a photo op added.

I wonder if the other premiere were also opened to the public/anyone who wanted to pay for it? It is nice that this one will go to benefit people, and they won't even have to build a theater this time since they are using the Hyperion theater (I think).

The complaints about the new prices are somewhat amusing as some of the people forget that they have a glut of AP holders and it impacts them during the busy times when they are forced to close the gates early. That is still a bit crazy that a family of 4 can expect to spend almost $400 just to park and enter the parks.

[GeoffS]

Hey, they can jack up the prices until attendance dips below profitability. This is the free-market at its most base. I haven't been this year because the military pass went up in price. That's my contribution to demand-side economics.

[Wizzard419]

It is a shame if someone can't go but that was the whole reason the parks were built in the first place, as a way to make money. With the APs it is nice that they have zero interest payment plans for locals so it just becomes a smaller monthly expense, like a second gym membership.

When the news was covering the increases they noted that attendance and spending were up 10% for the quarter and hotel occupancy was up 80% (I am assuming they are meaning year over last not from the previous quarter).

[GeoffS]

My friend took advantage of the monthly payment plan, so it definitely captured him as a customer, since he never had a pass before. DLR really does seem to slant towards passholders, which makes sense in their market.

[Wizzard419]

Since the park also leans towards locals who make more frequent trips it also changes up how timely their updates need to be, which is why we have at least one smaller update each year, ride overlays, etc. and WDW gets larger scale updates spread out over a longer period.

[elizabethswann]

http://micechat.com/31831-summer-at-disneyland/

Latest update from Micechat: Summer at Disneyland is here as Big Thunder Mountain refurbishment continues, etc.

[Wizzard419]

I saw the merch that is going to be offered for the anniversary and it looks like Disney may have started moving away from numbered editions since most of it is now "open" edition.