WonkaKid
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2009
Despite the looming threat of the tail end of Hurricane Hillary on Sunday morning, I decided to go to Disneyland. This also happened to be the day of the CHOC Walk, which meant a nine o’clock park opening. A number of people I know won’t go to the park(s) when there’s a late opening. I understand why but it’s not enough to keep me away.
It rained heavily for my entire drive down I5 from LA. But it didn’t last and at about the time that the gates opened, the rain began to ease. It was sporadic throughout the morning but it never got too heavy.
I arrived at the structure at around 8:05 and there was no line at all. It was clear that it had been open for some time. Indeed, when I finally got to my spot, there were hundreds of cars already ahead of me, obviously for the CW.
I made the park gates a few minutes later and they opened at around 8:30. For the first time in a while, I was the first person in the park. As I moved up Main Street, I noticed that the Adventureland side was open for rope dropping and that the bathroom renovations were finally complete. I saw a CM I know who’d just returned from Hawaii so I went to say hello. As we spoke, I noticed a few guests pass us as they headed towards Indiana Jones. That’s when I realized that there was no formal rope drop. It was like we were given our own half-hour early entry. I’d told a few friends that I’d try to be first on Peter Pan for old-time’s sake so I rushed over. Crowds were particularly light and a first-place boarding seemed within my grasp. Indeed, the entire queue was empty! As I climbed into my galleon, I asked the CM if I was first. “No,” he replied. “You’re second.” It’s no big deal but I feel like I squandered the opportunity. But no matter. Despite the rain, it was a fantastic day because crowds were so light.
After PP, I checked the app and saw that Indiana Jones still had a short line. I made it there quickly – thank you light crowds – and it was virtually a walk-on. Throughout the day, several attractions were walk-ons including Space Mountain! I struck up a conversation with the woman behind me (pic below) and we hit it off immediately. She’d moved to LA recently from Seattle and is from Hong Kong originally. In high school, she and friends would often visit that park after school. We shared a number of Disney anecdotes and generally had a great conversation. I drove and she rode next to me. It was her first time being in the front row on IJ and she loved it.
After the ride, I considered POTC but she pointed out that it would be a wasted opportunity, since lines for that attraction are often short. But M&MRR was only a five-minute wait, so I crossed the park and headed for it. I’ve only ridden it three times so far so it still feels like a new attraction. Just like Indiana Jones and PP, it was a walk-on.
Roger Rabbit was next and I got about halfway through it when the ride broke down and we had to be walked out. As we waited for a cab ahead of us to unload, I took a seat on an in-ride bench and grabbed a pic. I’ve never sat in an attraction before.
For my first ride on Buzz, I scored 2,044,000. But it wasn’t easy. I had about 1,890,000 towards the end when it stopped. I had to score an additional 150,000 just by shooting the final square. That is, I shot it 150+ times! My wrist has never been so tired upon exiting that attraction as it was this morning. But it was worth it. I was a bit disappointed, though, because I’d lost count of my score and thought that I had something more like 2,090,000. As I’ve often joked with friends, I get far more aggravation from Buzz than I do satisfaction. Yes, I know: First-World, one-percenter problem ;-).
A few friends texted me at around 11:30 because an emergency weather alert had been issued. It indicated that driving would be hazardous shortly and was strongly discouraged (“Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order”). They both urged me to leave ASAP. It isn’t often that it rains at DL and crowds are as light as they were and it made it hard to abandon the opportunity. But I decided that it was best to be safe. The 30-mile ride home was a moderate challenge but traffic was also relatively light and I made it in good time. Then as I napped at around 4:30, the 5.1 Ojai earthquake struck and woke me up. It wasn’t particularly big or long lasting, but earthquakes of any magnitude are always unsettling.
I have park maps for anyone that would like a set. As always, simply send me a DM (“Start Conversation”) with your mailing address and I’ll drop one in the mail for you. Domestic is strongly preferred but if it’s important to you to have a set and you’re nice about it, there’s a good chance that I can be persuaded
.
Park pics:
It rained heavily for my entire drive down I5 from LA. But it didn’t last and at about the time that the gates opened, the rain began to ease. It was sporadic throughout the morning but it never got too heavy.
I arrived at the structure at around 8:05 and there was no line at all. It was clear that it had been open for some time. Indeed, when I finally got to my spot, there were hundreds of cars already ahead of me, obviously for the CW.
I made the park gates a few minutes later and they opened at around 8:30. For the first time in a while, I was the first person in the park. As I moved up Main Street, I noticed that the Adventureland side was open for rope dropping and that the bathroom renovations were finally complete. I saw a CM I know who’d just returned from Hawaii so I went to say hello. As we spoke, I noticed a few guests pass us as they headed towards Indiana Jones. That’s when I realized that there was no formal rope drop. It was like we were given our own half-hour early entry. I’d told a few friends that I’d try to be first on Peter Pan for old-time’s sake so I rushed over. Crowds were particularly light and a first-place boarding seemed within my grasp. Indeed, the entire queue was empty! As I climbed into my galleon, I asked the CM if I was first. “No,” he replied. “You’re second.” It’s no big deal but I feel like I squandered the opportunity. But no matter. Despite the rain, it was a fantastic day because crowds were so light.
After PP, I checked the app and saw that Indiana Jones still had a short line. I made it there quickly – thank you light crowds – and it was virtually a walk-on. Throughout the day, several attractions were walk-ons including Space Mountain! I struck up a conversation with the woman behind me (pic below) and we hit it off immediately. She’d moved to LA recently from Seattle and is from Hong Kong originally. In high school, she and friends would often visit that park after school. We shared a number of Disney anecdotes and generally had a great conversation. I drove and she rode next to me. It was her first time being in the front row on IJ and she loved it.
After the ride, I considered POTC but she pointed out that it would be a wasted opportunity, since lines for that attraction are often short. But M&MRR was only a five-minute wait, so I crossed the park and headed for it. I’ve only ridden it three times so far so it still feels like a new attraction. Just like Indiana Jones and PP, it was a walk-on.
Roger Rabbit was next and I got about halfway through it when the ride broke down and we had to be walked out. As we waited for a cab ahead of us to unload, I took a seat on an in-ride bench and grabbed a pic. I’ve never sat in an attraction before.
For my first ride on Buzz, I scored 2,044,000. But it wasn’t easy. I had about 1,890,000 towards the end when it stopped. I had to score an additional 150,000 just by shooting the final square. That is, I shot it 150+ times! My wrist has never been so tired upon exiting that attraction as it was this morning. But it was worth it. I was a bit disappointed, though, because I’d lost count of my score and thought that I had something more like 2,090,000. As I’ve often joked with friends, I get far more aggravation from Buzz than I do satisfaction. Yes, I know: First-World, one-percenter problem ;-).
A few friends texted me at around 11:30 because an emergency weather alert had been issued. It indicated that driving would be hazardous shortly and was strongly discouraged (“Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order”). They both urged me to leave ASAP. It isn’t often that it rains at DL and crowds are as light as they were and it made it hard to abandon the opportunity. But I decided that it was best to be safe. The 30-mile ride home was a moderate challenge but traffic was also relatively light and I made it in good time. Then as I napped at around 4:30, the 5.1 Ojai earthquake struck and woke me up. It wasn’t particularly big or long lasting, but earthquakes of any magnitude are always unsettling.
I have park maps for anyone that would like a set. As always, simply send me a DM (“Start Conversation”) with your mailing address and I’ll drop one in the mail for you. Domestic is strongly preferred but if it’s important to you to have a set and you’re nice about it, there’s a good chance that I can be persuaded
.Park pics:
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. you probably should have ridden a few more times 
