(More than)A FIVE years of Trips! -- TR Started! Day One - updated 6/10

[hurleysweety]

Yeah! One more day

YAY! I can't wait!

 

[hurleysweety]

So on my way home from work I felt a weird burning sensation in my knee, right above my kneecap. Every time I switched my foot between the gas and brake pedal (thank you rush hour traffic), the pain would get worse. It was really noticable about 20 minutes in, and after stopping by the library too, I was pretty much done for. I have ice on it now but I'm really worried about it. I can walk on it fine, it doesn't appear to be the muscle, but the bone...so strange! Its more of an annoyance right now. Needless to say, it makes me anxious about all the walking around DL this weekend.

Being the google-r that I am, I looked up the pain and can't find much. I just want to make sure its not an injury (I workout alot) and if there is anything specific I can do to help it. Here's hoping for a temporary problem, and that 6 hours of rest tomorrow in the car will help too. No pain please!!

Thank you for letting my share my pain. DH should be home soon, which means I'll get my trip binder together and you'll all have a good post to read.

 

[tksbaskets]

So on my way home from work I felt a weird burning sensation in my knee, right above my kneecap. Every time I switched my foot between the gas and brake pedal (thank you rush hour traffic), the pain would get worse. It was really noticeable about 20 minutes in, and after stopping by the library too, I was pretty much done for. I have ice on it now but I'm really worried about it. I can walk on it fine, it doesn't appear to be the muscle, but the bone...so strange! Its more of an annoyance right now. Needless to say, it makes me anxious about all the walking around DL this weekend.

Being the google-r that I am, I looked up the pain and can't find much. I just want to make sure its not an injury (I workout alot) and if there is anything specific I can do to help it. Here's hoping for a temporary problem, and that 6 hours of rest tomorrow in the car will help too. No pain please!!

Thank you for letting my share my pain. DH should be home soon, which means I'll get my trip binder together and you'll all have a good post to read.

Oh no! My best suggestion would be to take Motrin which is an anti-inflammatory pain reducer. It should help. (Elevating your leg probably wouldn't hurt either)

Keeping my fingers crossed that this was just a fluky 'twinge' and all will be well tomorrow!

 

[hurleysweety]

Oh no! My best suggestion would be to take Motrin which is an anti-inflammatory pain reducer. It should help. (Elevating your leg probably wouldn't hurt either)

Keeping my fingers crossed that this was just a fluky 'twinge' and all will be well tomorrow!

Thank you for your concern. After about 2 hours and lots of ice, it went away as suddenly as it came on. I did feel it last night too, just not as bad as tonight. Not sure what is causing it. Oh well, its gone now and I got Disney on the brain!

 

[hurleysweety]

ALLLRIGHT! Who's ready to go on a trip? Its 11 PM, and I will be in the car at 6 AM tomorrow morning!

And here is my trip planning binder. I find it funny that I'm calling the trip, "Going Premier" when we're actually going to wait until May to buy the actual premier passes (no sense in spending the extra $$ now). We'll just get premium DLR passes for this trip.

Oh and I'm such a tired soul right now. Last night when I designed/formatted the pages, I realized that not only did I only include DLR for my wait time listings, but I also only have the first half of the rides. DH noticed before me, but being the good guy that he is, didn't say anything until I noticed! Oh well...We'll rely on the "Lines" App. Love you touringplans.com!

So I didn't start packing until 9:30 - and I think I'm done. We did have a slight problem for about 2 hours, we had no idea where the camera cord was, uh oh. **Story below** Not hard to pack for 3 days and get everything ready for the car. Speaking of which, here are all our yummy treats for the car ride and while we're there.

Going to get my last sleep in before we head to Disneyland!

**Camera Story**OK, so about 5 months ago I bought a wonderful camera off my sister, barely used, about $350 retail. I used it all the time, until one day when I accidentally dropped it and it hurt the zoom lens (it was a compact digital camera, but had like 8x zoom). I couldn't believe it broke so easily. My camera before that (which retired on our WDW trip in May, just too old) went through soooo many drops and bangs over 4 years, and 6 disney trips! Needless to say, I was so bummed that I had broken my first "good" digital camera. Now I'm using one that DH bought before we got married, so maybe 2007? It works off batteries, but it works.

 

[hurleysweety]

Today was very long! But it was successful. I got to go to DLR, we both got our premium APs in record time, and got to see WoC at 10:15 in blue in the spot against the railing as I desired.

My camera was dropped as we were coming in from the hotel. After recovering from that, I think it'll be okay. It works on AA batteries, such a nightmare, and we lost one underneath the car. But since i have no batteries, I have no camera to upload pictures, and no pictures for my very sad start to my LIVE TR attempt.

Crowds were manageable today. Touringplans.com had predicted it as a 6/10, and I think it might have been closer to a 7. DCA's entrance absolutely sucks right now - mostly because many don't seem to understand how it works...apparently its really difficult. LOL.

Only went on 2 rides the entire day - TSMM and PoC. Had FP for Indy and Space but were too tired after WoC. WoC was so magical and worth the freezing waiting and general lack of sleep we endured to be there - well at least in my book. I'm so tired right now. Its 1:05 my time, and I've been awake since 5:15 AM...TIme for sleep.

Oh, hotel is nice. It was ready about 15 minutes after we arrived. If you ever stay at any Holiday Inn or Staybridge, or any of their partners (under Intercontinental Brand), be sure to get a Priority Club. Check-in was so quick and easy because of this, and you can earn free night stays. The room is clean and has a good amount of space. One queen bed, a sofabed, and a kitchen complete with two burners, microwave, apartment-sized fridge, and a dishwasher

We're excited for our hot breakfast buffet in the morning. One less thing to think about. Food has been iffy for us so far. We're hoping for some better dining experiences tomorrow. Ugh - those are my dining comments for the day.

I think we're going to sleep in tomorrow...meaning we'll get to the park when its convenient. Still early, possibly 9:30 or so. But the odds of us getting up to wait in line are slim. We take it easy now and just enjoy our time. No rush, no worries - thats the motto I have to keep repeating at DLR. Now WDW...thats just a whoooole different story!

Ok - goodnight. Need sleep. Thanks for reading!

 

[kaoden39]

I hope you managed to get some rest. I was looking at Mousewait on my phone lastnight and it seemed to me that the waits weren't really bad for a Friday night. I hope you have a great trip.

 

[blackjackdelta]

I love your reports. I am always curious how young people plan, approach and tolerate the parks. Looks like time to re-energize. Have fun.

Jack

 

[hurleysweety]

I hope you managed to get some rest. I was looking at Mousewait on my phone lastnight and it seemed to me that the waits weren't really bad for a Friday night. I hope you have a great trip.

The waits were definitely manageable. I didn't see one wait over 60 minutes all day. Granted...I usually won't wait in line unless its under 30. Buzz Lightyear was the only weird one last night. At 8 PM, when most people are headed over for the 9 pm showing of fantasmic, or securing a spot for firworks, they were waiting in a line with a posted standby of 35 minutes. But looking at how far the line looped around, I think it was closer to 40.

 

[hurleysweety]

Headed to the parks - late but whatever. Its a chill trip. Any of you who know me know this is sooo unlike us to arrive after the park opens. We're usually within the first few at the gate!

Here is our hotel room real quick. Got the camera working!

And the hotel grounds

See ya all on my break!

 

[DLR29]

Glad you got to see WoC in the blue section and that lines were short. And the room looks really nice! I'm glad you have the mentality of having a "chill trip". I had my first "chill trip" this past summer and it was fun! I didn't feel pressured to plan where we had to be at what time or focused on how many rides we got done in a day...ah the glory of APs and being able to visit multiple times.

 

[kaoden39]

The waits were definitely manageable. I didn't see one wait over 60 minutes all day. Granted...I usually won't wait in line unless its under 30. Buzz Lightyear was the only weird one last night. At 8 PM, when most people are headed over for the 9 pm showing of fantasmic, or securing a spot for firworks, they were waiting in a line with a posted standby of 35 minutes. But looking at how far the line looped around, I think it was closer to 40.

No, that isn't bad. I am amazed by the amount of time that people will wait in line for rides that I wouldn't wait a long time for like Buzz. We were there in June they were wrapped around in line for Buzz outside. Craziness.

Headed to the parks - late but whatever. Its a chill trip. Any of you who know me know this is sooo unlike us to arrive after the park opens. We're usually within the first few at the gate!

Here is our hotel room real quick. Got the camera working!

And the hotel grounds

See ya all on my break!

I am pleasantly surprised out how attractive the Staybridge rooms are. Have fun today.

 

[Belle Ella]

So excited that you're there!! Enjoy, enjoy! Too funny that I missed ya'll there by one measly little day, lol.

 

[hurleysweety]

I love your reports. I am always curious how young people plan, approach and tolerate the parks. Looks like time to re-energize. Have fun.

Jack

Thanks! It is definitely a different kind of trip with just the two of us. Not to say I don't look forward to Disney with kids someday, I think that'll be just as fun! Since we've been married, this is our 8th trip to Disney together, so we've got it down to a science for some things. You would think that its super easy and we don't plan much, but we're always adjusting what we're doing almost way more than expected!

So excited that you're there!! Enjoy, enjoy! Too funny that I missed ya'll there by one measly little day, lol.

Thanks! Oh I know...every time I plan trips I always look to see who is going to be there when we're there and I always seem to miss people by a day, before or after! Thanks for reading

No, that isn't bad. I am amazed by the amount of time that people will wait in line for rides that I wouldn't wait a long time for like Buzz. We were there in June they were wrapped around in line for Buzz outside. Craziness.

Today was probably the first time I waited outside for Buzz. It was 15 minutes and still wrapped around towards pixie hallow (not all the way looped around yet). When we had annual passes last time, Buzz was never more than 20 minutes, and FP machines were never activated. It seemed like it was always a 5 minute wait. When we left DL at 12:30 today, it was near 35 minutes again, and wrapped around towards astro orbiter and looped around near pixie hallow. Geesh! And people will wait...

I am pleasantly surprised out how attractive the Staybridge rooms are. Have fun today.

I was too. You can tell the hotel isn't this brand new place or newly remodeled, but for $90/night, its fine with me!

Glad you got to see WoC in the blue section and that lines were short. And the room looks really nice! I'm glad you have the mentality of having a "chill trip". I had my first "chill trip" this past summer and it was fun! I didn't feel pressured to plan where we had to be at what time or focused on how many rides we got done in a day...ah the glory of APs and being able to visit multiple times.

It has most definitely been a chill trip. Its nice to not feel all this pressure to see everything - or be with a group of people where I feel like I need to make sure we have the best day ever and plan plan plan.

 

[hurleysweety]

Well my camera was still without batteries when we were hungry this morning, so no breakfast buffet pics for you. But I will say that it is very good. We weren't hungry until almost 1!

We started our day off late, arriving around 9:30. After getting space FP we rode Buzz, then wandered through fantasyland in case there were any short lines. Nope, already too late. Peter Pan must have already been 30 minutes at 10:30. We went on Pirates, starting our hidden mickey search, which I'll talk about more later, and then BTMRR. Got some Indy FP at some point too. Crossed over to Tomorrowland to ride Space and then back to Adventureland to ride Indy. So I'd say thats a pretty successful ride morning, considering we had no plan. It still amazes me how many people don't know what FP is, or just don't know how to use it. And also those who are so worried about coming back in the right time frame.

Here's Indy with a 45 minute wait...pushing 55 since the line started outside the queue area. I had to grab a picture of this, since FP were available for maybe 1:45 at that time. Just seems silly to wait. Poor quality, trying to keep up with DH.

We debated for about an hour about lunch. What were we hungry for? What sounded good? What wouldn't be too expensive? And after getting Soarin FP, we decided to grab some quick fastfood outside the park. Totally lame and no food porn, sorry! (For those who care, my chicken taco was delicious and 99 cents).

We're back to the room for a break. Headed to DTD tonight for some house of blues. At least I think. There is a concert going on there tonight at 9, doors open at 8. Hopefully this won't effect dinner plans for 5? We don't have reservations, but we might call before we go just in case.

Also, anyone know what this is? Is this rare, or just a marketing thing that everyone gets to get people to visit elecTRONica?

 

[Belle Ella]

We never got any FPs over at DCA but I haven't seen those before. Huh.

 

[DLR29]

I got those on our last trip but at ToT, not Soarin! It's for ElecTRONica, and I don't think they're rare since when I got 13 FP in a row, I got 2 of these special token ones. If you go to Flynn's Arcade, you get a free game!

 

[hurleysweety]

Super tired right now. Could be because I only got about 5 hours of sleep Thurs night and about 6 last night. Poor planning on my part...I am beat!

Quick recap for tonight

• House of Blues started out really awesome and great, and then went downhill every minute forward - never had a meal start so great and end so poorly.
• TSMM closed at some point tonight, we waited for about 15 minutes since rumors around us said it was going to re-open soon. We decided to leave and come back. An hour later, it was still closed. Good decision on our part
• We saw one attraction tonight, animation academy. LOL...I drew a pretty nice Tiger.
• We never did make it back to Flynn's Arcade to use our free token. Didn't seem to important as the token is worth a whopping 25 cents!
• We spontaneously decided at 9:10 to see RDCT at DLR when we were near Soarin and about ready to go on (I can see Soarin tomorrow, I can't see the fireworks though). In 20 minutes we crossed the esplanade, made way through the crowds, and found our ideal spot to see the show at Small World. We left our spot before the firworks were over. The lights that usually show on the small world facade were not working. Fireworks without all the show/lights is just not worth it. We were back in our room, after taking the bus and driving to the hotel, by 10:15. So thirty minutes, small world to room. Ya, we were desperate to leave and sleep.

Will be a short day tomorrow. Packing up and leaving and headed to the parks for a couple hours before we leave around noon. Might not have a chance to update until we get home, so for now, hope you all enjoyed my rather short, picture lacking report.

Goodnight!

 

[kaoden39]

I hope that you tell us more about your HoB meal. I was thinking about going there next month.

Get good rest, have a drive home tomorrow. I look forward to hearing the rest when you finish.

 

[tksbaskets]

Enjoying your trip report. I hope you got a lot of rest and enjoyed your final morning at the parks. Looking forward to hearing about it!