Somebody's Gonna Pee in a Cup, West Coast - Link to new TR 1/21

afwdwfan · May 29, 2015

RGirl said:
In all our visits, we have never managed to see this. As you may know, it is beyond difficult to get Willow to see a show, and if we don't happen to be right there at a time it is starting, it's just not happening. I console myself with having seen the Aladdin musical on the Fantasy.

Oh Willow... if only you realized how much you'd love it... :sad2:

RGirl said:
Oh, this is so true for the DCL show as well. Genie is just the show-stealer for sure!

Absolutely. The entire cast was awesome, but Genie really made it work.

RGirl said:
Adorable! CarsLand at night is one of my favorite things on earth.

RGirl said:
This is good to hear - I'm glad the meal was so tasty. We have never eaten here, just stopped in for a drink in the heat or maybe a glass of wine....

That's funny. I so never would have even thought about going there for wine. :rotfl:

RGirl said:
Your family's love of this ride will never cease to crack me up!

Hey, I'm just waiting for them to part it out and put it on Ebay. I'm sticking it in the backyard and I'll always know where the kids are! :rotfl:

RGirl said:
This is SUCH a great shot! We have never encountered a PP photog here. I sure wish we would have - it's an ideal CarsLand-at-night photo spot!

They seemed to always be there when we went by. It was a great angle for a picture. Although Carsland is just photogenic from any angle.

RGirl said:
You kill me! We actually love the low-season hours - it's the only time we ever slow down in life. There's just no hurry at all!

You know, I did like it. I mean we were in bed early and up early and didn't feel exhausted. But it just felt like there was so much to do and so little time!!!!

RGirl said:
This sounds so cool - I would love to see pics of this!

Oh, wait......

RGirl said:
Hilarious! I can't believe he could RUN in it!

He might not have been running so much as waddling or walking. But either way, he had to cover over 3 miles in that thing. :faint:

RGirl said:
*sigh*

RGirl said:
We have never bothered to do the DL version of this. I don't like the MK version at all because it's so hard for an adult (well, an OLD adult) to get in and out of, and it's on top of a building. But the DL version is just silly - I mean, I hate that the MK version is on top of a building because I don't like heights, but I get WHY it is up there.

Those rockets aren't all that comfortable and easy to climb in and out of. I definitely agree with you there. I think the DL version would be fine, if I didn't expect it to be higher... if that makes sense.
:lmao:

RGirl said:
I have never seen this one before - it sounds cool!

RGirl said:
This is AWESOME!!! You really should have purchased the shirt.......

I know... I just keep kicking myself.

RGirl said:
So, when I read this, all I could think was Corporations class in law school. All semester, all I heard was the Charlie Brown teacher. It was just one of those things that my brain could not take in and turn into something I could understand. So you sound very knowledgable here, but I have no idea what you are saying.....

Got it! Theres a tool that has knifes on it that cut a trench between the corn rows. Behind the knife is a rubber hose. The rubber hose injects anhydrous ammonia (a gas) into the soil. 2 big wheels run right behind it to shove dirt back over the trench and hold the gas in. If the soil is too wet, then those wheels can't get enough loose dirt to seal the trench and you lose some of the gas before it has a chance to absorb into the soil. :thumbsup2

RGirl said:
Gorgeous pic!

Thanks!

KatMark said:
It has been rather wet the last couple of weeks...really wish that nonsense would end. Today was the first really nice day in a while.

I hope it dries up for you soon.

We've had a few nice days in a row. We actually were able to get back to applying nitrogen yesterday. :thumbsup2

pkondz · May 29, 2015

afwdwfan said:
The hill where we live is actually called McCrea Mountain if you look it up on Google maps. I know we've called it that before, but I totally had no idea that was a formal name for it.

I tried to Google Map it but I didn't find it.

afwdwfan · May 29, 2015

lilpixiebabe101 said:
Finally caught up! Told you I was working on it!

Hi! Welcome!

lilpixiebabe101 said:
Looks like y'all had fun in WDW but even from just reading y'all seemed rushed like you said you felt. Looks like y'all had a much for relaxed and nice experience at DL this time!

It really did feel rushed. More than any other WDW trip I've ever taken. I just want to pare it back next time and have it just be our family, but it sounds like we could potentially be taking a bigger group. :faint:

amazingact21 said:
Yeesh, it was like DL did not think about the fact that people would be driving on race days. It kind of baffles me, because I know at WDW, they leave papers in all the resort rooms with specific road closures and alternate routes. I guess they are more used to those kind of events.

Exactly! And they did leave a paper, but the paper itself even had conflicting and unclear information on it! It just really felt like they didn't have a clue.

amazingact21 said:
Ugh, some people. Like, by letting you through that lady just knew she'd have to wait an extra 5 minutes at Buzz or something. Makes me sad at the ridiculousness of some folks.

It really didn't hold us up much, so whatever. But really???? :confused3

amazingact21 said:
Hmm, I think I know what you werehoping to do at park opening, and if so, you guys deserved the chance after 2 duds of Extra Hours.

It's not a morning at Disneyland if you don't walk through Radiator Springs. Riding an attraction is optional. If you're lucky. :rolleyes1

SarahDisney said:
Yay! A farming update!

It's interesting, because I wouldn't have guessed that rain is so bad for farming - like you said, you need the rain - but there really seems to be so much that you need to get done that I'm starting to understand why rain is so bad at this stage.

I hope the rain lets up and you can get the rest of the nitrogen in there!

Well, it really isn't a bad thing. We aren't exactly up against any big time restraints at this point, so if we have to park the tractor for a week or 2, it isn't a big deal at all. The corn is about 4 or 5 inches tall right now and we can apply anhydrous ammonia up until it is about 3 feet tall or so. Plenty of time and no big deal. And that corn definitely isn't going to grow without rain!

Too much rain definitely can be a bad thing though. We are certainly not in that position. IN fact, we're a little bit low on our total rainfall this spring compared to our averages. The timing of the rains is what has slowed us down. We'd get a rain and then about 2 days later when it dries up again we'd get another one. The ground is by no means saturated. But soil that is too wet can hurt the plants too. A really wet spring means corn roots don't tend to grow down as deep into the soil. They do more branching out at the surface. Around here, we always hit a dry spell of a few weeks around mid- July. Having shallow roots makes it really susceptible to drought when that happens. It also means that the corn will have a harder time standing if there's a strong wind. This is just one of many examples, but everything is a fine line. Too much rain, too little rain, too much heat, too little heat, getting rain a week too late, hot dry weather a week too early. These are all somewhat insignificant things that can have a huge impact. So if you ever wonder why farmers talk about the weather or complain about the weather, it is because it is definitely a big deal and more often than not, it isn't giving you what you need.

lilpixiebabe101 · May 29, 2015

afwdwfan said:
It really did feel rushed. More than any other WDW trip I've ever taken. I just want to pare it back next time and have it just be our family, but it sounds like we could potentially be taking a bigger group.

I'm worried we will feel that way next fall. It will be DF first trip, so I want him to see everything but not overload the trip. I also have the unknown of "will DD10m be as awesome of a 2 year old as she has been a baby". I'm telling you this kid will sleep anywhere if she's tried and left alone. So I'm hoping a break won't be needed if I can get her to sleep in the stroller like that.

afwdwfan · May 29, 2015

Por Favor Manténganse Alejado de las Puertas

When I last left off, we were headed out of DL after experiencing an early entry hour. We trekked across the vast expanse between the parks and made it inside DCA just prior to Rope Drop. We made it through the turnstiles and paused only briefly at the square near Carthay Circle before the hoards were turned loose.

As it was during the prior 2 days, we joined the masses heading towards Radiator Springs. This time we were a bit farther back in the crowd, but still not too bad.

We entered scenic Radiator Springs.

We followed the direction of all the CM’s telling us to keep right if we want to ride RSR.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we’ve got it.

We passed Ramones and ditched the stroller.

We rounded the corner to the entrance of the ride.

The Heavens opened and angels sang!

IT WAS OPEN!!!!

I can now say with 100% certainty, that RSR is only open 1/3 of the time at Rope Drop.

It is an undisputable fact.

Numbers don’t lie.

DW and DS headed into the queue and procured the much needed Rider Swap pass. DD and I had some time to kill. We took a spin on Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree and then headed over to Luigi’s for another ride on his flying tires, both walk-ons. By the time we finished riding, DW and DS were standing at the exit waiting for us.

I grabbed the rider swap pass and DS and I headed off to ride RSR.

In no time, we were through the queue and loaded into a car. We headed out, and got to the seat belt checkpoint. The car in front of us left. We pulled up.

I’m grabbing the yellow strap trying to show the CM that my seat belt is properly fastened.

The CM walks over and instead of telling us to pull the strap, she says “Hi, how is everyone.”

Um, Hi. Great, thanks!

“I’m sorry, but somebody broke down in Radiator Springs. We’re going to have to hold you here until they get the street cleared.”

DOES THIS RIDE EVER WORK???????? :crazy2:

No, I didn’t actually say it. The voice in my head did though.

I feel horrible, I don’t remember the CM’s name. But she was awesome. I had been disappointed in DL CM’s as a whole over the early part of the trip, but this is where my opinion definitely began to turn.

She stood there and just chatted with every one of us in that car. It started with general chit chat. The guy sitting with DS and me was from Texas. He’s a frequent visitor to DL and was actually there the day Carsland opened. He chatted with her about what a mad house it was that day.

In front of us was his son with a couple of guys who are college aged. One of them started asking her questions about working there… And she really opened up.

By far, one of the most memorable moments of the trip for me. I was in Disney nerd Nirvana listening to her stories.

She told us about how she’s a morning person and loves working park opening, but that it is a pain to get there on time. She said she lives 40 minutes away, but always has to allow a lot more time for traffic, because she never knows how bad it will be. She said that morning there was an accident and then race traffic and it took her over 2 ½ hours to get there. She barely made it to work on time.

All I can think, is how bad is the commute if you regularly allow enough time that you made it to work on time after being delayed nearly 2 hours????? :faint:

I’ll admit, some of the stress about leaving the next morning started to creep back in.

She continued to say that she likes working mornings, but was considering asking to move to an afternoon/evening shift so that she wouldn’t have to leave as early and deal with traffic.

We then tried to shift the conversation to the traffic we were experiencing… she was pretty candid with us about everything. She told us that a car stopped at the split track where you either go to Ramone's or Luigi's. She said they had to get the car off the track and then get the ride back online and that it would probably take 20 - 30 minutes. She informed us that this was something that happens a few times every day and that they have it down to a science now. She mentioned that it used to be worse early on. The ride would break down a lot more than it does now, and it took them longer to clear it and get it back online.

We were a captive audience until the ride was back up and running. She was talking with us and even pausing to let us know what was going on and how they were proceeding to move people around inside the attraction as she was hearing the calls over her radio.

The guy who started this conversation about employment went on to tell her that he wants to work for Disney. She told him where to go online and how to apply. He literally sat there and did it on his phone while we were waiting. He’d find a listing and ask her what kind of role it would be for and she’d explain it to him.

All the while, she was basically telling us her Disney story. She grew up a Disney fan and had dreamed of working there from the time she was a little girl. She wanted to work in attractions at POTC so she applied when she saw them hiring for attractions. She said it was a few months before she got the call, but she interviewed and was offered a CM position. She said that she started about 8 months before Carsland opened and she was originally placed in Bug’s Land.

When Carsland opened she moved over to Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, and then eventually over to RSR.

It was really cool hearing her story and getting to hear her perspective on things. If it hadn’t been for the fact that RSR never works like it is supposed to, I’d have probably never had that opportunity to chat with her and find out how awesome some of the DL CM’s really are. She made our 20 - 30 minute wait seem much, much shorter.

Eventually though, it was time for the CM’s to rotate to a different position. She introduced us to her replacement, who she said had been there almost as long as Walt Disney himself.

He’d actually only been there for about 8 years, but he apparently was among the longest tenured CM’s working at RSR. He was a nice enough guy, but not nearly as friendly as she was.

Again I feel horrible for not remembering her name, because she was just an awesome CM.

Anyway… it wasn’t long after she left before the ride was back up and running. We took off and it was great to finally be moving. We got inside Radiator Springs… and we were in for a bit of a shock.

It wasn’t exactly night inside the ride building.

The lights were still on, so it definitely left something to be desired. I’m just glad it wasn’t our first ride on it. I would have preferred to have the full effects of the ride since this was only my second time on it, but being the Disney nerd, I did think it was kind of cool being able to see all the things that we aren’t supposed to be able to see.

We made it through the track split, and once again, we got new tires at Luigi’s. We exited and lined up to race against… well, a ghost car I guess.

We were unopposed, so that makes me an official 2-0 in RSR races.

We made it back to the station and exited. I was kind of freaking out because I really didn’t know how long we had been gone. You know, since I don’t have a phone to look at to see the time… and I’d had no way of letting DW know that it was going to be a while.

Thankfully we found her sitting on a bench outside the exit. She and DD had apparently had their fill of the Flying Tires and were taking a break wondering what was taking us so long.

Since we were in the area, DS requested another ride on the Flying Tires.

We took one last ride there and at Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree before saying our goodbyes to DCA.

We set off towards DL, and we had just enough water left in our water bottle to sustain us for the hike. Looks like we made it back at around 9:30.

We had some Disneyland must do’s left on our list, so we really wanted to make sure we did them first. This was the beginning of our crazy-what-are-they-thinking back and forth treks across the park.

We started off in beautiful New Orleans Square. POTC had been down when we’d tried to ride before. Thankfully it was up and running and we were able to check it out. And I’m so glad we did. It is amazing. I love it. The loading area, the cruise through Blue Bayou, the 2 drops, the extra scenes. It is just awesome. Basically everything the ride at WDW is… and then some. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

Next, we headed back across the park to Tomorrowland. The kids wanted to ride Autopia so we grabbed some FP’s for later. It was going to be over an hour before we could ride so we hopped on the monorail to kill some time. DW took this picture looking out over the Nemo subs as we waited.

It turned out the DL monorail was a little bit of a disappointment. I realize this exact monorail was Walt's dream and his doing. And I'm sure it was something in his day. But as it stands now, unless you’re trying to save half the walk to DLH, or you just have time to kill… don’t waste your time.

Monorails are cool. But this one. Well, it’s hot.

There’s no AC.

There’s no spiel - If you want to hear it, you have to say it yourself.

And people will look at you like you're crazy. :rolleyes1

The doors are shut by a CM on the platform!

It is just an entirely different experience. And as for the views from the track… eh, there’s not much. I mean, I guess I’m glad we did ride it since we had the time. But I’ll take the WDW monorail through Future World over DL monorail through Tomorrowland any day of the week.

When we got back to Tomorrowland, we exited and still had some time to kill before our FP. We really didn’t have anything else in Tomorrowland that we needed to do so we decided to trek back to Fantasyland. We still needed to ride Mr. Toad. It had consistently been around a 20 minute wait the whole time we were there, and the timing would work out perfectly for our FP.

It was great to ride Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride once again. I’d ridden it at WDW so it was once again, one of those nostalgic attractions. But I can’t say that I’m all that sad that it’s gone. I’m glad I could revisit a ride from my childhood, but Winnie the Pooh is a much better attraction.

And it doesn’t send you to Hell.

Which is always a good thing.

Looks like the kids weren’t too traumatized by the experience.

By the time we returned from Hell, it was time to use our Autopia FP. We trekked back across Tomorrowland, and soon got our car. This was an interesting experience, one that I kind of had to re-think what happened after hearing a similar story from @RGirl .

DD and I had a car behind a guy who apparently seemed to either be unable to reach the gas pedal, or didn’t know how to use it. We were released from the loading area. He took off, drove about 20 feet and stopped. Consequently, I had to release the pedal and stop.

Unfortunately, he did this for the… whole… entire… ride.

It got to the point where I just didn’t push the pedal all the way down. I just held it about halfway and we just putted around. At one point, the car in front of us came to a stop like normal, only he didn’t accelerate as quickly as normal. Like I said, I’d just slowed down to a speed I could maintain rather than doing the abrupt start/stop routine he was using. His prolonged stop threw our timing off and I bumped into the back of him.

This is when my road rage kicked in.

Come on. Show of hands. Who hasn’t been behind a slow driver on the highway that they just wanted to push out of the way?

I floored it.

I figured if he was having trouble, I’d simply use my car to push him around the track. I’d be lending him a helping hand.

As soon as I did that, my car died.

We sat there for probably 30 seconds, unable to move.

Cars backed up behind me.

I tried pumping the pedal.

I held it to the floor.

Eventually, I heard the motor turn over. It coughed and sputtered and we were off!

Well, at least we’ll be able to enjoy the rest of the ride going full speed!!!!

About 2 turns later, I caught snail man again.

My theory was that there are sensors in the bumper and some kind of computer controlled ignition on the cars to shut them down if you bumped another car???

Anyway, we finally made it back to the station. Autopia is a fun ride. I mean, it is basically like Tomorrowland Speedway. But Autopia is much longer. and the track is kind of hidden among some hills and trees. You really can’t see what’s around the next bend and it is a much longer ride than I expected. Maybe not a must do Disneyland attraction, but definitely worth checking out if the line is short or you can get FP.

By now, it was time for lunch, so we decided to grab something from Tomorrowland Terrace since we were right there. DW and I each had burgers and the kids had chicken nuggets. The food was fine, and I thought that Disneyland quick service food was probably a step above that found at WDW overall.

But I’ll put a Pecos Bill burger against a DL burger any day. :thumbsup2

The best part of lunch though, was that we were sitting down to eat just in time to see Jedi Training Academy. DS doesn’t seem to have any interest in doing JTA so it hasn’t ever been a priority for us. This is the first time I’ve ever seen the entire show from start to finish so I enjoyed getting to watch it while we ate.

But unfortunately, no padawans went to the Dark Side. :darth:

By now, it was just after noon. We’d had just completed 2 back to back RD to close days. Today was a much earlier morning with a later evening so we decided that naps were in order. I walked back to GCH with DW and the kids so that they could lay down for naps.

What? You didn’t really think I was going to sit around the room and nap, did you?

pkondz · May 29, 2015

afwdwfan said:
We made it through the turnstiles and paused only briefly at the square near Carthay Circle before the hoards were turned loose.

You realize of course... you are part of that horde.

afwdwfan said:
We followed the direction of all the CM’s telling us to keep right if we want to ride RSR.

Yeah. I already know where this is going to wind up...

afwdwfan said:
IT WAS OPEN!!!!

What?!?!?

Really wasn't expecting that.

afwdwfan said:
I can now say with 100% certainty, that RSR is only open 1/3 of the time at Rope Drop.

It is an undisputable fact.

Numbers don’t lie.

True. It's a maxim now.

afwdwfan said:
“I’m sorry, but somebody broke down in Radiator Springs. We’re going to have to hold you here until they get the street cleared.”

Of course. It was too good to last.

afwdwfan said:
No, I didn’t actually say it. The voice in my head did though.

Which one?

:rolleyes:

afwdwfan said:
She said she lives 40 minutes away, but always has to allow a lot more time for traffic, because she never knows how bad it will be. She said that morning there was an accident and then race traffic and it took her over 2 ½ hours to get there. She barely made it to work on time.

two and a half hours commute?

Nope.

afwdwfan said:
All I can think, is how bad is the commute if you regularly allow enough time that you made it to work on time after being delayed nearly 2 hours?????

No kidding!

afwdwfan said:
She mentioned that it used to be worse early on. The ride would break down a lot more than it does now, and it took them longer to clear it and get it back online.

It seems like the more technology, the higher the likelyhood of a breakdown.

afwdwfan said:
The guy who started this conversation about employment went on to tell her that he wants to work for Disney. She told him where to go online and how to apply. He literally sat there and did it on his phone while we were waiting. He’d find a listing and ask her what kind of role it would be for and she’d explain it to him.

That's pretty convenient! :laughing:

afwdwfan said:
She made our 20 - 30 minute wait seem much, much shorter.

afwdwfan said:
He’d actually only been there for about 8 years, but he apparently was among the longest tenured CM’s working at RSR. He was a nice enough guy, but not nearly as friendly as she was.

So you all got together and stoned him.

afwdwfan said:
Again I feel horrible for not remembering her name, because she was just an awesome CM.

So she's awesom and your horrible.

Got it.

afwdwfan said:
We were unopposed, so that makes me an official 2-0 in RSR races.

Still counts.

afwdwfan said:
DW took this picture looking out over the Nemo subs as we waited.

Nice pic!

afwdwfan said:
There’s no spiel - If you want to hear it, you have to say it yourself.

And people will look at you like you're crazy.

So.... like they always look at you then?

afwdwfan said:
The doors are shut by a CM on the platform!

No way!

afwdwfan said:
It was great to ride Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride once again. I’d ridden it at WDW so it was once again, one of those nostalgic attractions.

I've never been on it, so I obviously don't miss it.
Still, would've been nice to have tried it at least once.

afwdwfan said:
Come on. Show of hands. Who hasn’t been behind a slow driver on the highway that they just wanted to push out of the way?

Just yesterday, actually.

afwdwfan said:
I floored it.

I figured if he was having trouble, I’d simply use my car to push him around the track. I’d be lending him a helping hand.

That's being very helpful.
Very neighbourly of you.

afwdwfan said:
About 2 turns later, I caught snail man again.

Full speed ahead! Ramming speed!

afwdwfan said:
My theory was that there are sensors in the bumper and some kind of computer controlled ignition on the cars to shut them down if you bumped another car???

I think it's just someone watching with a kill switch.
But you never know.

afwdwfan said:
But unfortunately, no padawans went to the Dark Side.

Is that possible?
I've never seen it.

afwdwfan said:
What? You didn’t really think I was going to sit around the room and nap, did you?

Nah. Too much Disney out there.

afwdwfan · May 29, 2015

pkondz said:
You realize of course... you are part of that horde.

No I'm not! I'm better than all of them! This is Disney for crying out loud! I paid good money to be there and it doesn't matter what anybody else wants! :rolleyes1

pkondz said:
Yeah. I already know where this is going to wind up...

My expectations were low.

pkondz said:
What?!?!?

Really wasn't expecting that.

Me neither!!!

pkondz said:
True. It's a maxim now.

I have scientifically and mathematically proven it.

pkondz said:
Of course. It was too good to last.

pkondz said:
Which one?

All of them.

pkondz said:
two and a half hours commute?

Nope.

Just ridiculous. And it just goes to show how much she does indeed enjoy working there.

pkondz said:
It seems like the more technology, the higher the likelyhood of a breakdown.

And I can tell you from experience with equipment we use on the farm, that's just the way things work. New technology is fantastic. When it works. But when it doesn't, there's no putting a Band-Aid on it and limping by until you can make proper repairs.

pkondz said:
That's pretty convenient!

pkondz said:
So you all got together and stoned him.

We're not that tough of a crowd. And we're kind of a captive audience too, so...

pkondz said:
So she's awesom and your horrible.

Got it.

Pretty much sums it up.

pkondz said:
Still counts.

A win is a win.

pkondz said:
Nice pic!

Thanks.

pkondz said:
So.... like they always look at you then?

Well, of course!

pkondz said:
No way!

My mind was blown.

pkondz said:
I've never been on it, so I obviously don't miss it.
Still, would've been nice to have tried it at least once.

True. Any Disney ride is worth riding at least once. Except for maybe Stitch. :rolleyes1

pkondz said:
Just yesterday, actually.

It happens to all of us...

pkondz said:
That's being very helpful.
Very neighbourly of you.

I thought so!

pkondz said:
Full speed ahead! Ramming speed!

I was tempted. But if I'd done that I'd have hit him a heck of a lot harder than it was the first time.

pkondz said:
I think it's just someone watching with a kill switch.
But you never know.

Who knows. But if it was someone with a kill switch, they must have been screwing with that guy in front of me. :rotfl2:

pkondz said:
Is that possible?
I've never seen it.

There was a viral video a few years ago of a kid stepping up to fight Vader and then just bowing down to him. :rotfl:

pkondz said:
Nah. Too much Disney out there.

SarahDisney · May 29, 2015

afwdwfan said:
When I last left off, we were headed out of DL after experiencing an early entry hour. We trekked across the vast expanse between the parks and made it inside DCA just prior to Rope Drop.

Wow, you must have been walking really fast! I know it usually takes forever to get between the two parks ...

afwdwfan said:
As it was during the prior 2 days, we joined the masses heading towards Radiator Springs. This time we were a bit farther back in the crowd, but still not too bad.

You know ... the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

afwdwfan said:
IT WAS OPEN!!!!

Well apparently the world is insane. But at least it worked out well for you.

afwdwfan said:
I can now say with 100% certainty, that RSR is only open 1/3 of the time at Rope Drop.

It is an undisputable fact.

Numbers don’t lie.

Statistics don't lie. Statisticians do.

afwdwfan said:
DOES THIS RIDE EVER WORK????????

APPARENTLY NOT!
Although ... I rode it twice, no problem. Maybe you should try riding at night (after waiting for 2 hours...)

afwdwfan said:
She told us about how she’s a morning person and loves working park opening, but that it is a pain to get there on time. She said she lives 40 minutes away, but always has to allow a lot more time for traffic, because she never knows how bad it will be. She said that morning there was an accident and then race traffic and it took her over 2 ½ hours to get there. She barely made it to work on time.

Yeah. As a New Yorker, 2.5 hours wouldn't be a record commute for me (darn subway traffic), but that's definitely rough.
(And also, incidentally, one of the things stopping me from looking for a job at Disneyland ... I'd want to live in LA, and assuming I learned to drive, that hour (plus traffic) drive every day would kill me).

afwdwfan said:
I’ll admit, some of the stress about leaving the next morning started to creep back in.

Oh no

. And so soon after you finally found someone who actually knew what was going on. So sad.

afwdwfan said:
We then tried to shift the conversation to the traffic we were experiencing… she was pretty candid with us about everything. She told us that a car stopped at the split track where you either go to Ramone's or Luigi's. She said they had to get the car off the track and then get the ride back online and that it would probably take 20 - 30 minutes. She informed us that this was something that happens a few times every day and that they have it down to a science now. She mentioned that it used to be worse early on. The ride would break down a lot more than it does now, and it took them longer to clear it and get it back online.

So, here's my question ... what happens to the people in the car that stopped? Do they get on the next car or have to go back through the line?

afwdwfan said:
The guy who started this conversation about employment went on to tell her that he wants to work for Disney. She told him where to go online and how to apply. He literally sat there and did it on his phone while we were waiting. He’d find a listing and ask her what kind of role it would be for and she’d explain it to him.

2015 ...
Back when I was a kid, nobody had cell phones. And if you did, you weren't on them at Disneyland applying for jobs.

afwdwfan said:
We were unopposed, so that makes me an official 2-0 in RSR races.

Undefeated. Very impressive.

afwdwfan said:
The doors are shut by a CM on the platform!

I always thought they did that at WDW in the olden days. I could have sworn I saw it on a TV special. But I might be mixing it up with Disneyland.

afwdwfan said:
It was great to ride Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride once again. I’d ridden it at WDW so it was once again, one of those nostalgic attractions. But I can’t say that I’m all that sad that it’s gone. I’m glad I could revisit a ride from my childhood, but Winnie the Pooh is a much better attraction.

I like that you can do both at Disneyland.
But yeah, like you, I feel that Winnie the Pooh is better and I don't mind that they had to get rid of Mr. Toad to build it.

afwdwfan said:
DD and I had a car behind a guy who apparently seemed to either be unable to reach the gas pedal, or didn’t know how to use it. We were released from the loading area. He took off, drove about 20 feet and stopped. Consequently, I had to release the pedal and stop.

That probably would have been me.

afwdwfan said:
As soon as I did that, my car died.

We sat there for probably 30 seconds, unable to move.

In 15 years or so, when your DD learns to drive, she will not have any road rage issues. Because she will remember what happened to Daddy when he had road rage on Autopia.

afwdwfan said:
What? You didn’t really think I was going to sit around the room and nap, did you?

After reading the WDW part of this report ... yes, I did.

Leshaface · May 29, 2015

afwdwfan said:

This is beautiful!

afwdwfan said:
IT WAS OPEN!!!!

afwdwfan said:
I can now say with 100% certainty, that RSR is only open 1/3 of the time at Rope Drop.

afwdwfan said:
Numbers don’t lie.

Those are not good numbers at all.

afwdwfan said:
She stood there and just chatted with every one of us in that car. It started with general chit chat. The guy sitting with DS and me was from Texas. He’s a frequent visitor to DL and was actually there the day Carsland opened. He chatted with her about what a mad house it was that day.

In front of us was his son with a couple of guys who are college aged. One of them started asking her questions about working there… And she really opened up.

By far, one of the most memorable moments of the trip for me. I was in Disney nerd Nirvana listening to her stories.

She told us about how she’s a morning person and loves working park opening, but that it is a pain to get there on time. She said she lives 40 minutes away, but always has to allow a lot more time for traffic, because she never knows how bad it will be. She said that morning there was an accident and then race traffic and it took her over 2 ½ hours to get there. She barely made it to work on time.

All I can think, is how bad is the commute if you regularly allow enough time that you made it to work on time after being delayed nearly 2 hours?????

I’ll admit, some of the stress about leaving the next morning started to creep back in.

She continued to say that she likes working mornings, but was considering asking to move to an afternoon/evening shift so that she wouldn’t have to leave as early and deal with traffic.

We then tried to shift the conversation to the traffic we were experiencing… she was pretty candid with us about everything. She told us that a car stopped at the split track where you either go to Ramone's or Luigi's. She said they had to get the car off the track and then get the ride back online and that it would probably take 20 - 30 minutes. She informed us that this was something that happens a few times every day and that they have it down to a science now. She mentioned that it used to be worse early on. The ride would break down a lot more than it does now, and it took them longer to clear it and get it back online.

As I was reading, I kept waiting for you to say, "and then we finally started going!" but it came so slowly. Wow can't believe you were there for that long! At least you got a very talkative and fun CM to pass the time.

afwdwfan said:
The lights were still on, so it definitely left something to be desired. I’m just glad it wasn’t our first ride on it. I would have preferred to have the full effects of the ride since this was only my second time on it, but being the Disney nerd, I did think it was kind of cool being able to see all the things that we aren’t supposed to be able to see.

That would have been really cool to see actually!

afwdwfan said:
We made it back to the station and exited. I was kind of freaking out because I really didn’t know how long we had been gone. You know, since I don’t have a phone to look at to see the time… and I’d had no way of letting DW know that it was going to be a while.

Thankfully we found her sitting on a bench outside the exit. She and DD had apparently had their fill of the Flying Tires and were taking a break wondering what was taking us so long.

And this makes me think, what did my parents do back in the days without mobile phones in these situations :confused3

afwdwfan said:
We started off in beautiful New Orleans Square. POTC had been down when we’d tried to ride before. Thankfully it was up and running and we were able to check it out. And I’m so glad we did. It is amazing. I love it. The loading area, the cruise through Blue Bayou, the 2 drops, the extra scenes. It is just awesome. Basically everything the ride at WDW is… and then some. We thoroughly enjoyed it

I do love DLR's POTC except for the end. I think i've said this before, but when standing in line, watching the boats come up from that long hill, everyone looks so tremendously bored :rotfl:

And it does take forever it feels like.

afwdwfan said:

This is the only thing the monorail is good for. For this view. Seriously.

afwdwfan said:
It turned out the DL monorail was a little bit of a disappointment. I realize this exact monorail was Walt's dream and his doing. And I'm sure it was something in his day. But as it stands now, unless you’re trying to save half the walk to DLH, or you just have time to kill… don’t waste your time.

Monorails are cool. But this one. Well, it’s hot.

There’s no AC.

Yep the monorail sucks and it can take FOREVER!

afwdwfan said:
And it doesn’t send you to Hell.

You end up in Hell. The End. Enjoy the rest of your day at Disneyland children! What a freakin' ending.

afwdwfan said:
I figured if he was having trouble, I’d simply use my car to push him around the track. I’d be lending him a helping hand.

Was it an older guy?? Shocked it wasn't a woman doing this :duck:

afwdwfan said:
As soon as I did that, my car died.

We sat there for probably 30 seconds, unable to move.

Cars backed up behind me.

I tried pumping the pedal.

I held it to the floor.

Eventually, I heard the motor turn over. It coughed and sputtered and we were off!

Well, at least we’ll be able to enjoy the rest of the ride going full speed!!!!

That is pretty funny though.

afwdwfan said:
Anyway, we finally made it back to the station. Autopia is a fun ride. I mean, it is basically like Tomorrowland Speedway. But Autopia is much longer. and the track is kind of hidden among some hills and trees. You really can’t see what’s around the next bend and it is a much longer ride than I expected. Maybe not a must do Disneyland attraction, but definitely worth checking out if the line is short or you can get FP.

Perhaps if that man wasn't in your way, you would have liked it a lot better. I like that it's longer and when you're able to go full speed, it's a lot more fun :car:

afwdwfan said:
What? You didn’t really think I was going to sit around the room and nap, did you?

Atta boy

khertz · May 29, 2015

Good Lord, you just couldn't catch a break with RSR, could you?! But at least the great CM made up for the wait.

The monorail definitely doesn't have the same appeal as its WDW counterpart. We have never actually used it as a mode of transportation, just made a round trip like you did to say we rode the monorail.

Oh my gosh, that Autopia experience sounds infuriating!!! I can't imagine what it must be like to be behind that guy on an actual road if he can't handle a kiddie driving attraction.

ursalita · May 29, 2015

afwdwfan said:
IT WAS OPEN!!!!

Yay!

afwdwfan said:
I can now say with 100% certainty, that RSR is only open 1/3 of the time at Rope Drop.

It is an undisputable fact.

Numbers don’t lie.

Disney math! :thumbsup2

afwdwfan said:
DOES THIS RIDE EVER WORK????????

What a pain!

afwdwfan said:
She said that morning there was an accident and then race traffic and it took her over 2 ½ hours to get there. She barely made it to work on time.

I could not handle regular 2+ hour commutes. :sad2:

afwdwfan said:
She said they had to get the car off the track and then get the ride back online and that it would probably take 20 - 30 minutes. She informed us that this was something that happens a few times every day and that they have it down to a science now. She mentioned that it used to be worse early on. The ride would break down a lot more than it does now, and it took them longer to clear it and get it back online.

Wow. It sounds like a great attraction but that's a lot of break downs. Maybe we got lucky but I didn't see any rides break down at WDW.

afwdwfan said:
The guy who started this conversation about employment went on to tell her that he wants to work for Disney. She told him where to go online and how to apply. He literally sat there and did it on his phone while we were waiting. He’d find a listing and ask her what kind of role it would be for and she’d explain it to him.

That's funny - applying for a Disney job while sitting on a broken down ride. I hope he gets a job. :thumbsup2

afwdwfan said:
He’d actually only been there for about 8 years, but he apparently was among the longest tenured CM’s working at RSR. He was a nice enough guy, but not nearly as friendly as she was.

I can imagine there's a lot of turnover with those jobs.

afwdwfan said:
The lights were still on, so it definitely left something to be desired. I’m just glad it wasn’t our first ride on it. I would have preferred to have the full effects of the ride since this was only my second time on it, but being the Disney nerd, I did think it was kind of cool being able to see all the things that we aren’t supposed to be able to see.

Talk about taking the magic out of it. It must have been like 2 different rides.

afwdwfan said:
Since we were in the area, DS requested another ride on the Flying Tires.

I love those tire trees in the background. Oh, and the kid's cute too.

afwdwfan said:
It was going to be over an hour before we could ride so we hopped on the monorail to kill some time.

I had no idea DL had a monorail. I'm so surprised at how many attractions are in both parks.

afwdwfan said:
And people will look at you like you're crazy.

afwdwfan said:
And it doesn’t send you to Hell.

Which is always a good thing.

afwdwfan said:
DD and I had a car behind a guy who apparently seemed to either be unable to reach the gas pedal, or didn’t know how to use it. We were released from the loading area. He took off, drove about 20 feet and stopped. Consequently, I had to release the pedal and stop.

They should make you pass a test before you can drive one of those things.

afwdwfan said:
What? You didn’t really think I was going to sit around the room and nap, did you?

Yes?

MissMaryQC · May 29, 2015

afwdwfan said:
IT WAS OPEN!!!!

Victory!!

afwdwfan said:
I can now say with 100% certainty, that RSR is only open 1/3 of the time at Rope Drop.

It is an undisputable fact.

Numbers don’t lie.

These are the facts! Noted for my future DL trip!

afwdwfan said:
DOES THIS RIDE EVER WORK????????

Seriously! What the cuss is up with that?! :scared:

afwdwfan said:
By far, one of the most memorable moments of the trip for me. I was in Disney nerd Nirvana listening to her stories.

Yay!! I'm so glad she was kind and entertaining. I got stuck on Splash one time with a wet mop of a CM "entertaining us" awful. :sad2:

afwdwfan said:
I’ll admit, some of the stress about leaving the next morning started to creep back in.

Yeah... That would have freaked me out too.

afwdwfan said:
He literally sat there and did it on his phone while we were waiting. He’d find a listing and ask her what kind of role it would be for and she’d explain it to him.

Haha! I hope he got the job! What a great story, " so I was stuck on this ride and..."

afwdwfan said:
We were unopposed, so that makes me an official 2-0 in RSR races.

Well done! Even if it was a ghost car. :teeth:

afwdwfan said:
Since we were in the area, DS requested another ride on the Flying Tires.

Hes a cutie.

afwdwfan said:
We set off towards DL, and we had just enough water left in our water bottle to sustain us for the hike. Looks like we made it back at around 9:30.

I'm so glad you guys made it! I know what a rough walk that must have been...

afwdwfan said:
Basically everything the ride at WDW is… and then some. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

Jealous! I love POTC, not only will it be closed when I go to WDW in September, but now I know DL has a better one! :sad:

afwdwfan said:
And people will look at you like you're crazy.

Something tells me this happens to you a lot...

afwdwfan said:
And it doesn’t send you to Hell.

Awe, come on! Who doesn't love to end a family ride in fiery brimstone?! It's classic Disney!

afwdwfan said:
Unfortunately, he did this for the… whole… entire… ride.

afwdwfan said:
About 2 turns later, I caught snail man again.

I got really excited for you guys, then this...

afwdwfan said:
But I’ll put a Pecos Bill burger against a DL burger any day.

LOVE Pecos Bills!!

afwdwfan said:
But unfortunately, no padawans went to the Dark Side.

I know it's wrong but I have hopes that DD will not only be psyched for Jedi Training but will choose the Dark Side!

afwdwfan said:
What? You didn’t really think I was going to sit around the room and nap, did you?

Never!

pkondz · May 30, 2015

afwdwfan said:
No I'm not! I'm better than all of them! This is Disney for crying out loud! I paid good money to be there and it doesn't matter what anybody else wants!

I believe you!
At least I've heard that refrain before.

afwdwfan said:
My expectations were low.

As are my morals.

afwdwfan · May 30, 2015

Hey everyone. I was out working in the fields this evening when I got a crazy idea. Why not make a video? I took some pictures and a video explain a little bit about what is going on on the farm. I thought I'd post it this evening but it is taking too long to upload. I'll try to get it posted tomorrow sometime so if you want to hear a redneck talk you'll definitely want to check it out.

Thanks for all the comments on the last update. I read through them while I was driving the tractor this evening. Seriously. Replies are a little bit harder to do though and I'll get to you all later.

pkondz · May 30, 2015

afwdwfan said:
Why not make a video? I took some pictures and a video explain a little bit about what is going on on the farm.

Great idea!

Leshaface · May 30, 2015

afwdwfan said:
Hey everyone. I was out working in the fields this evening when I got a crazy idea. Why not make a video? I took some pictures and a video explain a little bit about what is going on on the farm. I thought I'd post it this evening but it is taking too long to upload. I'll try to get it posted tomorrow sometime so if you want to hear a redneck talk you'll definitely want to check it out.

Thanks for all the comments on the last update. I read through them while I was driving the tractor this evening. Seriously. Replies are a little bit harder to do though and I'll get to you all later.

Great idea!

DIS'ing and driving?? Living on the wild side :cool:

afwdwfan · May 30, 2015

Here are some pictures and videos from last night. I was putting anhydrous ammonia on the corn in the field at my house. We had some problems so we had to stop and work on it for an hour or 2, but got things back up and running. I tried to explain a few things in the video below, so check it out if you're interested.

This is a picture of the knife that injects the anhydrous ammonia into the soil with the closing disks that push the loose soil back over the trench.

A picture of a frozen line... this was taken probably 45 minutes after we started bleeding the lines out and it was 85 degrees outside. The metal fittings were a block of ice.

A couple of pictures of the lines being bled out. The white cloud is anhydrous ammonia. It is boiling - a vapor - yet it is freezing cold. You don't want to let that cloud touch you. And you don't want to be downwind where you'll inhale it.

To show you how strong this stuff is, if you notice there is a spot in this picture where the corn is darker. This was taken this morning and that dark corn is where the tool was parked when we had to bleed the system. Even though it was blowing in an upward direction, about 5 or 6 feet above the corn, it still managed to burn all the corn in the area. The corn shows signs similar to frost damage in the area that looks darker than the rest and it will be dead in a few days.

The corn needs Nitrogen to grow, but this anhydrous ammonia is some nasty stuff. It's perfectly safe as long as everything works like it is supposed to, but if things go wrong with this stuff, it can get really ugly, really fast. I kind of wonder if the meth users know how potent this stuff is? It is an ingredient in meth and one of the biggest crime problems around here is people trying to steal anhydrous ammonia to make meth. They make makeshift contraptions to get it out of a big tank into something smaller. Usually a propane tank from a grill. But as nasty as this stuff is, trusting a garden hose and duct tape to get it from one to the other is sheer stupidity. And they're apparently drugged up and don't worry much about the risks they take to get their hands on it. The Ag Supply place had a Sheriff deputy there every night a few years ago with his car parked right there among all the tanks they had on hand. He dozed off one night and anhydrous ammonia was stolen from a tank not 20 feet from his car. I had 6 tanks parked at my house last night. Which is one very good reason why I own guns. We've never had any problems here (knock on wood) but my uncle had some anhydrous, and the hose that connects to the tank's valve stolen from behind his house a couple of years ago.

And a picture from the Ag Supply this morning getting tanks filled back up.

It didn't rain, so Dad and I were up early this morning getting tanks refilled. Right now we have enough Anhydrous here at my house to get us finished. My uncle is running the rig right now and I had a moment so I thought I'd get this posted. Dad is spraying corn right now, I've got to work on something in the shop and then I'll go take my uncle's place in a few hours.

pkondz · May 30, 2015

afwdwfan said:
I tried to explain a few things in the video below, so check it out if you're interested.

I did! And it was great, but....

You sound absolutely nothing like I thought you would! :laughing:

afwdwfan said:
This is a picture of the knife that injects the anhydrous ammonia into the soil with the closing disks that push the loose soil back over the trench.

So that's what those are for! I've seen that before, but didn't know how they were used.

afwdwfan said:
A picture of a frozen line... this was taken probably 45 minutes after we started bleeding the lines out and it was 85 degrees outside. The metal fittings were a block of ice.

Wow.

afwdwfan said:
Even though it was blowing in an upward direction, about 5 or 6 feet above the corn, it still managed to burn all the corn in the area. The corn shows signs similar to frost damage in the area that looks darker than the rest and it will be dead in a few days.

Really!

afwdwfan said:
But as nasty as this stuff is, trusting a garden hose and duct tape to get it from one to the other is sheer stupidity. And they're apparently drugged up and don't worry much about the risks they take to get their hands on it.

Yup. Not surprised. Druggies will do anything for their fix.

afwdwfan said:
He dozed off one night and anhydrous ammonia was stolen from a tank not 20 feet from his car.

Does he still have a job? I imagine the boss wasn't too happy with him.

Thanks for all that Andy. For a city slicker like me, it was really interesting.

natebenma · May 31, 2015

afwdwfan said:
Thanks! That's cool. So for the historic farm do they work some of the ground using historic methods, or do they just simply rent it out to modern producers?

Thank you for your important job and for sharing your farming stories with us. Fascinating.

The company I work for is a historic preservation organization. We don't do any actual farming ourselves, but we lease our land to local (modern) farmers.

We do teach about some historic farming methods and our barn, which was built in 1775, is full of all sorts of antique tools. For the next two days we have a science-based program, "Farm Tech" where we talk about simple machines in farming, we do some soil testing and the students plant a kitchen garden that they will monitor throughout the season.

We were supposed to have a big festival today, our "Draft-Plow Match", but rain is forecast for the first time in about a month and it was not safe for the horses and mules in the demonstrations. I haven't heard if the sheep shearing will still be happening- they really need it though!

Did I tell you the joke I made up?

What do you write when you want to break up with a tractor?

A John Deere letter.

It didn't kill in the preschool crowd, either.

:rotfl2:

natebenma · May 31, 2015

My family does not "do" shows, so I went to Aladdin solo. I was not going to miss it after all of the raves I have read.

Aladdin is such a fantastic show. Visually amazing and Genie is so cuttingly funny! He did some Harry Potter material that really cracked me up!

I almost felt guilty that I saw it and nobody else did. Almost but not really!

What fantastic nighttime pictures in Carsland! A couple off really great family pictures in front of Flo's and Monument Valley.

It has been years since we have done Tough to Be a Bug at AK. We took the boys and I didn't clue them into the special effects. They are still traumatized. The most amazing thing for me about this show is the amount of crying and screams of horror from the audience. Really, Disney? This attraction may be scarier than Stitch, maybe because it is from such a cute movie with friendly characters that people are not expecting the show to be so intense.

Good job shielding your daughter from the atrocities.

I bet you have your own nightmares about bugs.

::yes::

Somebody's Gonna Pee in a Cup, West Coast - Link to new TR 1/21

DIS Dad #460

Brace yourself for immediate disintegration

DIS Dad #460

DIS Veteran

DIS Dad #460

Brace yourself for immediate disintegration

DIS Dad #460

So ... Yeah

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

Brace yourself for immediate disintegration

DIS Dad #460

Brace yourself for immediate disintegration

DIS Veteran

DIS Dad #460

Brace yourself for immediate disintegration

Beach Club Dee

Beach Club Dee

Share this page