All photos were taken on an Olympus D-600L digital camera, at a resolution of 1280x1024. This makes these photos the highest resolution and largest size (in more way than one) on the Web!
The large pictures are quite large, but you'll find them to be worth the download in many cases. A few were downsized, and some were edited in Photoshop as well. But they're pretty raw, overall. Note that the large photos are upwards of 300k! But they are well worth the download.
As usual, I'll put a to the lower-left of photos I think are first rate.

You can click on the thumbnails to see the larger pictures!

Today was my last DL trip for the foreseeable future. You see, I'm graduating this very weekend from UCSD, and then I'm moving back up to San Francisco. Though I could be back if I get a cool job down here, most likely, you won't be seeing anymore trip reports. I sincerely hope you've enjoyed them, and I invite you to check back once in a while just in case I do come back!

I arrived for a solo effort at 4pm on a cloudy Thursday afternoon. Hopped right on the tram and off I went. Was greeted by a friendly older CM at the door who gave me a high five. And in I went!

Nor surprisingly, I went into Tomorrowland first.

Return to Rocket Rods

Well, as you may have seen in my May 22nd report, I really didn't care for this ride. I was very, very excited about it during construction, and it turned out to be.. well, a big let down. In a nutshell, after Disney's last big super-hyped up ride, the Indiana Jones Adventure, which delivered on its promises, you'd expect the same from Tomorrowland's new thrill ride, right? Nope. I've been on them 3 times now, from the 1st, 3rd, and 4th row, and it's just not thrilling. The theming is poor too (but improving slowly), but that still can't save the ride from mediocrity.

I jumped into the line right by Ariel's Grotto, with the sign saying "2 hour wait". Luckily, as an experience Rods line waiter, I knew this wasn't nearly that long. It turned out to be about 1h15 total. Some new things I noticed included a set of two movies playing in the "blue print room" that were pretty entertaining. Into the "circle of doom" room, I found that they aren't using the whole thing, which was very nice. I only saw 4 movies and I was out of there! Next, the tape room: there was now the same music (Danny Elfman?) playing with a vocal track that was very hard to hear. People leaving were saying "it's not worth the wait!" so I know I'm not the only one who thinks so.

The ride was uneventful -- everything worked, and I was in the back seat. I still don't think the Rods are very futuristic (aside from their cool look), unlike the monorail and peoplemover, which were ahead of their time back in the old days. The Rods are just souped up golf carts, IMO. Now, onto the pictures!

Left: Some people whom I've never met in my life get into a picture at the loading station.
Right: FINALLY a good picture of the sign at dusk!

I next went to burn myself a CD at the Disneyland Forever kiosk. 20 minutes later, and $20 lighter, I had a CD of music from New Orleans Square and Critter Country. Very cool idea-- where's my Indy soundtrack? (Note to merchandise people: I still want my Rocket Rod model). I also had the Chicken Fusilli at the Pizza Port, and it was very good as usual. I hadn't eaten all day so it was gone quickly!

Stroll through Fantasyland

Next, it was time for a little walk through Fantasyland, in no particular order. One interesting thing I saw was rehearsals for the new character show at the ugly Fantasyland circus tent. The show seemed like a mix (in a major way) of recent movies.. one second they were doing Aladdin, then instantly into Hercules, then they "dove into the water" (I heard the splash) and suddenly, you guessed it, it was "Under the Sea"!

	Top Left: Yet another Matterhorn shot, this time from Ariel's Grotto while in line for the Rocket Rods Top Right: Is it just me, or did old Pinocchio get a paint job? Bottom Left: The teacups make people very dizzy!!

New Orleans Square

Here in NOS, I hit the usuals: Pirates and Haunted Mansion. I also climbed up to the gallery to see what was new (not much), and checked out the amazing view from the gallery balcony.

Above: I love PhotoVista! What other program can take three offset photos and come up with this! This is a superb shot from the balcony of the gallery -- and man, I REALLY want to see Fantasmic from up here now! There's one little area in the picture, if you can find it, that's a bit funny though.

Left: Looking back along the Rivers of America....
Right: As the Mark Twain rounds the bend!

Above: I've always been a big fan of the pet cemetary while in line for the Haunted Mansion. While I didn't go to get close to it this time, here's a glimpse...

Quick Peek at Critter Country

At this time, the line for Splash Mountain was way too long, so I just took a picture and left. I ended up on the ride at about 9:45pm that night, with about a 10 minute wait or so. I got DRENCHED.

Above: A nice, distant shot of Splash Mountain.

Walking on Main Street

I retreated towards the train station back in New Orleans Square, hoping to get off in Tomorrowland. Well, silly me, I was so caught up in the serenity of the ride that I forgot to get off! Whoops! So back up Main Street I walked...

	Top Left: The Main Street Cinema -- still showing Steamboat Willie after all these years. Top Right: Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. You know I still haven't seen this? Bottom Left: The Penny Arcade. Notice that the old Light Magic lights were up.. I wonder if it's for a test run of the Mulan parade.. or just for Grad Night...

Back to Tomorrowland

I ended up back in Tomorrowland, where I first got into the Astro Orbitor line, having never tried it before. Well, needless to say, it broke, and I left. Next stop: Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Maynard was handing out glasses (err, safety goggles). I ended up on the far left seat during the show.. and didn't seem to notice the motion base much (how come DL's website says the floor rises 4 feet?? It didn't!), nor did the mouse effect work. Oh well, I've seen it before. The snake still gets me everytime though... the crowd really loved the show, and it was fun to watch their reactions!

It was then onto Space Mountain one last time, then a little photo taking.

Above: Cosmic Waves, with Space Mountain and HISTA in the background. The fountain wasn't the same as opening day-- the water jets were only going about 2 feet up... not nearly as fun.. I guess too many people were getting totally soaked. It's a shame, because it was a lot of fun.

Left: It looks like they added that almost leather-like material around the sign after the Grand Opening.
Right: A nice shot at dusk of the Star Tours spire. They added a strobe effect to the center part, as you can see if you look closely.