Disneyland

This week I went on the Google West Coast Trip. Previously, there was a company-wide ski trip each winter, but for reasons not relevant to this post, we went to Disneyland this year (this Mon-Wed). The logistics for the trip were quite amazing: several thousand googlers, lots of planes, lots of hotels, buses, etc. They did a really good job, from what I could tell.

I didn’t take too many pictures, but here are a few:

The Matterhorn at Disneyland

I prefer to read this as the park imploring me to “WASTE, PLEASE”. Take that, Earth!

Adjacent to Disneyland is the California Adventure park, which contains some more typical roller coasters and a bunch of stuff that’s similar (or identical) to MGM in Florida. The big white coaster in the back of this picture was fun, but definitely not as intense as what you’d expect at a Six Flags or something:

The classic ride that takes you up in a seat and drops you was there, but it had this strange transparent shield that covered your upper body (a bit hard to see in this picture).

I’m not quite sure why.. it wouldn’t really prevent people from dropping things, since your hands are outside. I hope it’s to further punish and mock people who vomit on the ride.
Gross, sorry.

We got all-day passes to the parks yesterday, so John and I showed up early to Disneyland to catch some of the more popular rides before most people arrived. It never got terribly crowded, but the lines certainly did get longer. After dinner time, they closed both parks to the general public and it became a big google event, with lots of free food and open bars in California Adventure. They also did the fireworks display, which was quite impressive. My favorite ride was Soarin’ Over California, a ride that basically simulates flying over a variety of California scenes as if you were in a hang glider. The immersion on the ride was really good, as the screen practically filled your field of view, they blew air to simulate wind gusts, and pumped in different aromas as you passed over orange groves or evergreens. The immersive nature can also be slightly enhanced through use of the aforementioned open bar. Also, it has Patrick Warburton in the instructional video before you get on, so you know it has to be good.

It was definitely a good time, I’m glad I went… it’s too bad more people from my team didn’t go.