I had to WONDER about the Panama Canal and Disneyland.....until now!!!COMPLETED 9/4

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Intermission-just lots of words and no pictures

I had three days and two nights back at home. Got home Saturday night and left late Monday (not my original plan). Since I had done most of my laundry on the ship it wasn't necessary to do much at home. Think I only had one and a half loads that were easily mixed with my parents. I had already packed for my "second" trip and only needed to add my toiletries. It was rather cool weather while I was back home. But sunny. On Monday the weather forecast for the next morning was calling for snow. I wasn't too concerned as I didn't expect it to be much. Our flight was scheduled for noon and I planned to leave as I did for the cruise, right around 6;30 or 7:00 am. I was going to park at the hotel with my parking rate and we would take the 9:30 a.m. shuttle. Mom asked if I thought I should head down that night. I said I have driven in snow before and don't expect much. I made dinner around 6 p.m. (Spaghetti) and after we ate I settled in for some television. Watching the news they said they expected up to 20" of snow!!!! Okay, now I am thinking we should head down that night. I text my friend and ask her if we left right now was she ready. She replied she was but it was up to me. I hate to make decisions. I was now looking for available hotels at a decent price because I had not budgeted this. The Marriott I was leaving the car at was just under $200 then with taxes would be over. All the airport hotels were either close to that or filled. We tried some closer to the west side of Denver (were I would be coming in at) and they were all booked. I got a LaQuinta a bit out of the way for $88 and grabbed it as I thought that might be the best. There was the option of staying with my brother in Wheat Ridge but his son is 17 and my friend is 19 and only one bathroom didn't seem like the best option to throw her into. Heck, I didn't even enjoy it the one time I had to stay as they only have the sofa for company to sleep on.

So at 7:30 I am running out the door just barely saying good bye to Mom and Dad and wondering what I am doing. Once I picked up Kat she told me she had actually already been in bed in her PJ's when I texted. She did think it was better to be leaving tonight though. Halfway to Denver it started to rain pretty good and was raining all the way until we reached the outskirts of Denver. Of course it is dark by now and I hate driving in the city at dark. I wasn't real sure where the hotel was but had the general idea. I drove right to it just fine. Let me just say it reflected the $88 rate. The room itself was OK but the guests left one feeling on guard. Kat hopped right in bed while I took a shower. I went to charge up my tablet and then realized I forgot to pack the charger. Fortunately one of Kat's worked. I had just got in bed when a car alarm started going off. Actually it wasn't steady and sounded more like someone just laying on their horn. It went on for quiet a while then stopped. Then the neighbors had a screaming child that sounded like they had locked him in the bathroom!! When that stopped the horn started again. I travel with earplugs and even with them in I could hear all this. For poor Kat who had no earplugs it was unbearable. I think the horn stopped between midnight and 1 a.m. I had drifted i and out of sleep til then and then a solid sleep until 6 a.m.

We went down for breakfast, each getting a bagel and coffee. The coffee was NesCafe like WDW used to have. Kat could not stand it. I have to admit I sort of like it. That morning in the lobby it seemed to be a lot of truckers that stay there. The front desk staff was on first name basis with a lot of the guests. So maybe I over reacted to the "type" of guest as things feel different late at night in the dark then in the light of day.

It was raining and I had checked the webcam and saw a fair amount of snow at the Eisenhower tunnel. And though I think we still would have been OK with the weather it did cause at least one accident that closed the Interstate for a good half hour so just good we were already in Denver. But still away from hotel with the shuttle. We packed up our stuff and that is when I realized the switch the light was on also controlled the outlet I had plugged my tablet into last night!!!! So it had only charged for about 20 minutes last night. I was getting a bit stressed now. And we had the rain back to drive through. I hate driving in rain more than the snow. Plus my windshield was leaking. I was wondering if things would get any better.

We made it to the hotel in plenty of time and I charged my tablet there for about 15 minutes. From then on it went pretty smooth. We got to the airport in plenty of time. No flights were delayed that I was aware of. Ours was right on schedule. We got to the gate in plenty of time to get a set with the charging stations and we had 40 minutes until boarding so things got charged up just fine. Of course this waiting did not go too well with Kat as she is a teenager still.

I should explain how I am friends with someone young enough to be my daughter. I was friends with her mother in high school and though her mom unfortunately passed away early Kat has been in my life a long time. Disney meant a lot to her mom and since I am the only one of Kat's friends and family (and ditto for my friends and family) that like going to WDW over and over we have become traveling companions. She has been to Disneyland once before and so I thought it was time I get out there.

Next up we finally arrive.

 

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Disneyland: Day one

OK it should be called California Adventure day one since we only went to that park today.

Flight went smooth and we landed at John Wayne just fine. It was on the cool side low 70's but warmer than Colorado. I had not pre-booked a shuttle but we just went out to find the shuttles. Everything I had read said they were right outside of baggage claim. I guess not if you arrive Southwest. It was a little bit of a walk but we found them and got right on SuperShuttle. We had a bit of a wait as they waited for others to arrive, more than five but less than ten minutes. Everyone was heading to a hotel by Disneyland but we were the last ones to get dropped off. We got there at 2:30. It was the Tropicana because I wanted to be as close as I could. It was just a hotel room and at least it was ready for us. Unfortunately it was toward the back of the hotel so even though the hotel was close the walk was twice as long as if we'd been towards the front. This is how Kat felt by the time we arrived.



Oh I forgot to mention that I had left my travel pillow at the LaQuinta. I had only got it just before the cruise and had to now replace it with the one you see on my bed. Another $9 spent on this trip that shouldn't have been necessary except I was not in my right mind.

We turned in our vouchers for our tickets. I had Mater on my ticket and I think Kat had Cinderella. She definitely had a princess. Appropriate.

I wasn't really taking it all in yet. I think I was just glad to be there and focused on getting into the park. I know people say you should start at Disneyland park for your first visit but it was closing early tonight at 7 and it was already 3 so I had planned on DCA since it would give us more park time. I really liked it as soon as we walked in the gates. We saw Chip & Dale almost right away in these really cute baseball costumes but the line had already closed. We were so sad but figured we had four days. FYI we never saw them again. Oh well.

Part of the condition that I pay for Kat's trip was she had to ride ToT. She has always chickened out at WDW. She likes the drop ride at Elitch gardens though so I told her she would be ok on ToT. It had to be our first ride.



Well she did it!!! She didn't want to do it again though. I wasn't too sad not to ride it again as I decided I prefer the WDW version.

We HAD to head to Carsland next.



Both of us were hungry by now. We had eaten more at DIA but that was close to six hours ago now. So I wanted to try Flo's V-8. I had a terrible time deciding what to get and wound up getting probably the worst thing on the menu. Beef n Cheddar.



The coleslaw and pickle were good. Kat got a really good cranberry turkey salad that was huge. We should have just split that.

It was nice sitting here though.



Kat really wanted to go ride the Racers but I told her we would get in line last thing at night. I wasn't wasting park time in an hour long line. She was typical of a teenager in that she wanted to do it now but didn't want the line either, just wished there was no line and she could do it now!!! She knew I had a plan and we would be sticking to it. Maybe not a plan but an idea. I did ask what she though we should do and she said Grizzly Peaks so that is where we headed. It was a bit of a line listed at 30 minutes. Made worse by the fact it didn't seem to move. It really took about 40 minutes. But excellent themeing.





Now Kat had remembered this as being MUCH better than Kali River Rapids in AK. And she always would say that while we rode Kali. But now she said she must have been remembering wrong. It was better than Kali just not THAT much better.

We walked on towards the Paradise Pier area. The Parade route was being taped off. It was way less crowded in this side of the park. We got on the Silly Swings. We both really liked those in other amusement parks and the same went for here. It is just so fun to swing. Then we decided to ride the Golden Zephyr. The parade was going by so no one was riding and we got to stay on for a second ride. And you could see the parade just fine from the ride vehicle.







Once we got off the parade was past and the ride had a line backed up. Kat had been saying we need to do Goofy's sky school as she remembered it being fun. "Like that ride in Animal Kingdom" she kept saying but niether of us could think of its name. Primevel Whirl!!!! Of course with the parade over there was quite the line so we grabbed a FP for it and went to Toy Story Mania. I liked being able to use the old paper FP system. There are things i like with FP+ though. Anyway we got to TSMM and if too had a line of course because the parade just got over. Not horrible though at only 40 minutes for right after the parade. As we waited Kat kept watching the Screamin' Coaster. She wasn't sure if she was up to it but she knew she had to try. Our friends had been in Disneyland the week before and all three of the boys (ages 15,13 and 10) rode it so she knew she had to be braver than them. We only went on TSMM that once. For Kat is a one time experience. I could do it over and over again until my hand fell offI did beat her though I am not all that good 132,300 to her 84,600. Her accuracy was better at 51% to my 27%

It was time for the Sky School FP. It was a fun ride. Scarier than I thought it would be. I really felt we would fall off the track though I knew we wouldn't. I liked it better than the Primevel Whirl.

The time was getting to be close to 7:00. I felt we'd done pretty good knocking out a lot of the ride it once attractions. Kat bit the bullet and said lets ride Screamin'. There was only a ten minute wait and that made her glad because she said if she had to wait too long in line she might back out. She LOVED it. It is now her favorite coaster. Expedition Everest used to be. We rode it again right away.

After this I wanted to head back to the front because I wanted to ride the Monster's Inc ride. It was actually a bit hard to find as they were sitting up for the Mad Tea Party and had some walkways blocked off. And since we were not familiar with this park I think we walked past it at least twice before we got it. Another line that was longer than I thought we would encounter on a Tuesday. But it makes since as now DL was closed so people with hoppers were over here now. I liked the ride but I think Kat was put out I made her walk all the way back for it.

Only one goal left to accomplish today and that was Radiator Springs Racers so we headed back to Carsland.

 

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It was dark now and the lights were on. But I didn't take pictures until we left.

It was just about 8:00 and I still did not want to spend that much park time in line for our last ride of the day. DCA was closing at 9 and I had really wanted to get in RSR line just before 9 but we were getting tired. The fact that the line was still at 70 minutes made me decide to ride the little Mators Jamboree ride. We thought it looked quite silly but people were laughing when they got off. So we waited 30 min in line for it. It was much funner than we expected!! It has a tilt a whirl spin to it. Hard to describe. One of our favorite rides we decided.

So it was still about 8:30 when I broke down and decided we might as well just get in the RSR line.



Have I mentioned my sister owns a tire shop. I took this for her. She replied if I am not certifiable yet I soon will be!!!! Guess she has been super busy.

The wait wasn't too bad at 40 minutes. Soon we were racing. It was everything says about it. Excellent themeing and a pretty neat little ride. Glad we made it. We were walking out of Carsland at 9:20







It is pretty neat just to walk back to your hotel at night vs getting on a bus with a million others or driving when your dead tired. Even getting on a boat or monorail can be stressful. Since I can't afford the Contempory I know I will never be walking back to the room at WDW. Though you do see the real world on the way it was maybe a touch better than I have seen by some Denver hotels.

We had to unpack and organize. Maybe it was just me that had to do that. Kat can live out of her bag. I let her take the first shower and then by the time I was all ready for bed it was 10:50. What a LONG day. But really fun. And tomorrow I would finalyy be going to Dinsyland

 

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Disneyland: Day two

Today we would actually be going to Disneyland. The original park. Yippee!!!

I had not slept too well though as I woke with a really bad cough. I was a little concerned. I do suffer from bacterial bronchitis and so I wasn't worried about being contagious. By the morning I was not coughing and actually felt really good despite lack of sleep from two nights now.

It was a Magic Morning hours for the park and with a four day ticket we were eligible. It was really the only day we had for Magic Morning as I think the next day was regular opening and then Friday was going to be at 6:00 am for all. So I was awake at 6:30 and got Kat up at about 7:00. We went to get myself a Starbucks and her a Jamba Juice in Downtown Disney first and were in Dinseyland right at 8 am.



Not exactly sure of the course of events as I said I lacked the notes now and am just going off my memory and photos. I know we must have ridden Space Mountain right away. I must say the only place I really got turned around in the park was in Tommorowland. For a WDW vet the layout just felt so different. The rest of the park was different but Tommorowland just felt really odd. And Space Mountain felt way back there. I liked the queue bettter though as it was mostly outside. I dislike the tube feel of WDW's. I prefer the coaster at WDW though. I liked the two seat coaster well enough but disliked the track. It just wasn't what I was used to I guess. Still fun though.

I think we may have ridden Star Tours then I had to get to Fantasyland to ride Mr Toads Wild Ride!!



We did all the dark rides except for Alice because it did have a rather long ride. I know we got on the Tea Cups. I liked the set up better as the teapot opening in WDW really gives me the creeps. This was more open too. But I did not car for the tea cups themselves as I felt the ones in WDW spin easier.

I think we must have headed over to Adventureland next. I am almost positive we rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I liked the themeing on the train better here but prefer the track in WDW.

I think we may have run over to DCA right around 10:00 to get FP for RSR later in the day. As the line wasn't too long for Screamin' we rode that while over there.

We got back to DL and ate lunch at Rancho del Zocalo. We split a burrito and both wound up satisfied. I think we got a Splash FP and rode Pirates. With time left before the Splash FP we waited to meet Tigger and Pooh.









Eeyore was meeting too and we did meet him and even got a picture but I have no idea where that disappeared to. Maybe I only had Kat take it on her phone and she has not sent it to me. But I KNOW I had a picture with him and was happy as he is rather rare to meet. So I was super excited but I have no proof.

Then we rode Splash and I am NOT a fan of the DL version. First off I did not like the log single seating. Kat doesnt like the seats either as she feels she will fall out without the lap bar. Then I just felt the ride was shorter. Kat had warned me I wouldn't like it in comparison to WDW and I read others dislike it so I wasn't caught off guard and had been prepared to not like it.

Just a side note that even though this side of the park is laid out different than MK I never flet off over here like in Tommorwland.

I think we rode Pirates again. I am not a huge fan of Pirates and could care less if I ride though I usually ride every day I am in MK. I really liked the DL version though. I enjoyed going through the Bayou restaurant before going into the Pirate part. I liked some of the scenes better. I liked the fire scene before you head back up. I was happy to ride again and know that made Kat happy as she LOVES Pirates.

I cannot recall riding anything else on this side of the park. I know I got a Dole Whip (Kat skipped that) and we went to Tommorowland. We may have ridden something over there but for sure we grabbed a FP for Space. It was probably arond 3:00 now and I know that FP return was for around 7:30. As our RSR FP time was around now we headed back to DCA.

Now we would be riding RSR in the daylight. Even in the FP line in was about a half hour wait. This sign is not quite in the right place as it was at the very beginning of the line!!!!

 

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We finally made it on.



It was fun in the daytime too. We went into the tire room today. Last night had been the paint room. So if we had no other ride on here I think we got the entire experience. Well except for winning the race as we lost both times.

We saw Mator pulling out to go over to his meeting location so we followed and were only second in line. Kat did not want a picture with him but I did. So as I passed her my phone she unintentionalyy took this picture which turned out pretty neat and now we each have it assigned to one another on our phones.



My Mator picture.



Some of the Carsland details.



Then I had to get one with the little tractor guy.





I am sure we rode that ride again too. We loved it and the line was much shorter even today as they had both sides running. And I am positive we rode Screamin a few more times!!!

Back in DL we went to our FP on Space but Space was down. So we went to ride the Nemo submarine. Kat was not thrilled about riding this but I really wanted to try to ride everything at some point and I figured now was as good as anytime. She was worried Space would come back up and we'd miss our FP time. I said I was pretty sure they will honor a return at anytime if it was down at any point during our return time. Nemo had a line of about 40 minutes and sure enough Space was back up just as we were getting on the sub. Kat wanted to bail right then but I pushed her on. Maybe a bad choice on my part nut she never said before she was a bit claustrophobic!!! She endured even though her seat did have a slight drip. I was proud of her.







I enjoyed it for a one time ride. And sure enough we were able to use our Space FP after that.

We grabbed dinner at Tommorrowland Terrace. This was a veggie sandwich and pretty yummy though I only ate half the bread as it was a ton of bread!! And the fruit as my side to be extra good though I REALLY wanted fries.



We thought of riding Small World but both of us were tired so we headed back to Main Street and did some pre shopping. On the cruise Aunt Connie saw me wear my Mickey shirt I had got at WDW last year. When I first put it one she said "That's a nice shirt" A bit later she said "I like the way that glitters" About an hour later she goes "Where did you get that?" Another hour later she says "That really is a nice Mickey shirt. And you got it at WDW?" Finally I asked her if she wanted me to look for one for her in DL. I just don't know why she couldn't bring herself to ask!!!! Anyhow I could not find one like mine but asked if she wanted this one.



She wasn't crazy over Minnie. Neither were I or Kat. But she said if I saw nothing else she would take that. I never did see anything neater and got it for her in the black color later. Both Kat and I looked at all the 60th stuff but it was pricey so we thought we should wait until the next day before committing. So we spent about an hour browsing and bought nothing but had ideas.

We then headed back to the hotel. I was last to bed at 11:00. I thought DL opened at 9:00 the next day and had my alarm set for 7:30. I wanted to hit DL first to get the rides done we hadn't and spend the afternoon at DCA. Good thing I looked before falling asleep as it would open at 8:00 so I reset the alarm for 6:30.

 

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Disneyland: Day Three

I awoke not feeling too great. I had more coughing that night and now my throat was sore. But I still had enough energy. Kat was getting a bit worn out with these early mornings and she was dragging a bit. We didn't make it to Downtown for our coffee or Jamba Juice. But we were inside Disneyland by 8:00. We rode most all the rides we had not made it on yet. First was Small World. Not sure Kat thought this was worth Rope Drop but I did. I liked it much better than WDW version.






Disneyland put in some Disney characters into the attraction here and some like it but some don't. I think the ones that were done well looked nice. I did not care for Woody and Jesse however. And they are the only ones that I got a decent picture of. Go figure.





We rode Alice next before the line got too long again. I had noticed Alice kept a pretty long line all day yesterday. It was a fun ride. The Matterhorn was scheduled to open tomorrow. We did see several sleds running today and some even with people on them so it looked like it might open later today. Never did but made it more realistic that the opening for tomorrow would happen.



Creepy Buzz with no face!!!! Must have gone on Astro Blasters next.



Then we made it back to Toon Town.



We went on Roger Rabbits Car Toon Spin. This part had just opened like 10 minutes ago and there was no line but they made you walk all the way through the queue. That was scary as it went on and on with lots of turns and it was dark. Sionce niether of us had ever been on it before we were beginning to wonder if we would ever make it. Literally five minutes of walking. And we were not walking slow. But we made it and thought the ride was very fun.



We went further into Toon Town to ride Gadgets Go Coaster. We could've ridden in separate seats and that would've been more comfortable, but Kat wanted to ride together. She said she was scared. This did not help the little boy behind us who was already nervous. He was around three years old. His Dad did manage to get him on and once off the little boy asked if they could ride again. So cute.

We walked through Chip & Dales tree house. That was more fun than I thought it could be. Kat got her picture with Chip & Dale but they were getting ready to leave so I gave up my spot to a little girl behind me as I had plenty of pictures with them from the ship.

I liked this saying and told my sister to put that on her tire shop window!!!

 

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We headed over to DCA now to get a FP for later in the day on RSR.



I wanted to make sure our return time would be after 6:00 and I think they were still distributing for a return of 4:30 to 5:30. We did some store browsing over here and pretty much decided what we would be buying later since we now had seen most all the stores. We got our FP and headed back to Screamin and rode that a few times.

Back at DL we rode Jungle Cruise. The line stopped moving as soon as we got in it. The ride was temporarily down. I was sure it wouldn't be down long and I insisted we stay even though Kat doesn't care for JC. Lots of people left the line in front of us so we moved up pretty far but then did get to a point we just stood for ten minutes. Then a few more moved and we stood somewhere else for ten minutes. This happened another time. Once the ride started again it was about another ten minutes in line which really put us only waiting another ten minutes than the wait time had been listed when we got in the line.



I think we rode the train over to Space and rode that as we had gotten a FP earlier and it was now time. Thenwe rode the train back over to New Orleans Square. I liked that it took you through the Grand Canyon. Don't have that on MK train.

Looking out over the esplanade while stopped at Main Street station. ToT is right over there in DCA.



I had to get some Mickey beignets and a mint julep.



We rode Pirates again.



We headed back over to DCA and rode Screamin a few times then grabbed a FP for after we ate. We went to Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta and found some good salads. This is mine.



I know Kat must have ate something else earlier, I had had the beignets which she refused to sample (she can be very picky). I think we must have stopped at Starbucks in DL before we left it the first time that day. Oh I remember we did and each got a drink and then in DCA earlier we had grabbed some fries at the Smokejumper Grill. So I guess we ate a fair amount that day or at least I did.

Back for our Screamin FP time and then on to RSR FP.







I am sure we rode this once more too.



I wanted to head to bed earlier tonight as we were going to attempt the 24 hours and I was just not feeling too good. I told Kat we might have to be happy with 18 hours. She was fine with that. So then she asked me if I wanted to just run to World of Disney and see if we should do most of our buying tonight. WoD was PACKED. I did manage to get most of what I wanted but it took forever to check out. We had left DCA at 6:45 and didn't get to the hotel until 8:30 with just that one stop. Sure it was in the other direction than our hotel but I knew what I had wanted. It was like the floodgates had already been opened. I guess there was a media preview tonight and lots of people were headed into the parks for that. Most of the traffic was on the resort side and once we got to Harbor side it was quiet. We still made it straight to bed (I took quick shower) once in our room so it wasn't too bad.

 

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Disneyland: Day Four (24 hour day)

I made sure we woke up by 5:30. I was feeling probably the worst of the trip. My throat was on fire from coughing, though the cough was mostly gone today. I had no intention of standing in a huge mass of people waiting to get in right at 6:00 a.m. We had no interest in any give away items or even specialty sale items. We had already bought our items for the 60th Anniversary.

We made our way across Harbor right before 6 and saw the fireworks go off in both parks signaling the openings. From the beginning when I heard of the 24 hour event and how they expected Disneyland to be the busier park and even close for capacity I had decided to start at DCA and the hop over to DL at around 2 p.m. I was thinking we might want to up the hopping time to closer to one when I saw the long backup waiting to still get into DL (knowing they had probably been letting people into the gates already) when we were able to breeze right into DCA. First stop was Starbucks. Not too long of a line and we were out with our drinks in hand in under 15 minutes. I wanted to go on Soarin'. Kat wan't fond of this idea as she wanted to head straight back to Screamin' but we hadn't done Soarin' yet this trip and I wanted to compare to WDW. The ride is exactly the same but the queue is different. I liked DCA queue better as it goes along with the theme of aircraft and pilots. It was about a 25 minute wait so not bad but longer than I expected. After that we went to get a RSR FP. Though the park opened at 6 the FP's didn't open until 7. It was just 7 when we got in line for the FP stretched back to Carthay Circle, but it moved very fast. We got a return time between 8:40 and 9:40 am so they were going very fast. We headed next to Screamin'. On the way past Carsland we got our photo taken. They had these photo ops all through both parks all day.


It was a bit chilly that morning. I think it was only in the high 60's until about 8 am then it got into the 70's. So after riding Screamin' a couple of times we went to ride Grizzly Rapids with NO ONE ELSE



We got to stay on without even getting off. We did get pretty wet but we are mountain girls and did not feel cold. The jeans did take a bit to dry, maybe two hours. I finally got a picture of the open jaws.



As it wasn't yet RSR FP time we went back to Screamin' and rode a few more times and then grabbed a FP before leaving that area. I believe it was for between 9:20 and 10:20. We rode Mators tractors before getting into the RSR FP return. We did the tire room again. Here I am taking a photo of our racing tires. Man I look dorky!!!



And we are off!!!



I think we won that race. I had noticed there weren't any people in the single rider line so I asked Kat if she wanted to ride again that way. She wasn't too keen on the idea but I insisted. When we got up she got in first and i wan't really paying attention so when the CM asked me if I wanted front seat or back I just said front. The back seat would've been in the same car as Kat. And as it turned out we didn't get to race each other either. And we both lost. Oh well. Then Kat was over RCR so we went back to her ride of Screamin' and rode it a few times without FP and then used our FP.

We were pretty much done with all we wanted to do in DCA. The only reason I had thought we might spend longer here was if we wanted to watch Aladdin but we decided to skip that in order to head over to DL to make sure we got in. I said why don't we head through the Grand Californian and Downtown Disney. I really wanted a Jamba Juice. My throat was not getting any better and all this walking was not helping. Not the best picture at all but I wanted some evidence we had walked through the lobby.


We got our Jamba Juice. They had a new drink for summer. The one I got was a lime colada. Oh My Goodness it was SOOO yummy. And felt so good on throat.

So the only thing we NEEDED to do today was ride the Matterhorn. I had told Kat it would mean a long wait as it was its first day back up and the park was going to be packed and there is no FP for it. I had been telling her this all week. For my sake too. So we were prepared for that 90 minute wait. At least it was sunny and warm while we waited. And we watched this little duck family that lived in the Matterhorn grounds. I don't know why I did not get a picture of them. But here is some of the flowers.





It was a cool ride. I didn't mind the wait so much as I knew that is what it would be today.

We decided to get a FP for Space. The return time was already 9:45 pm and it was only just past 12:30 now. That tells you how full the park was.

Then we walked over to Frontierland to get lunch. We went back to Rancho del Zocalo since we liked it so much the first time. It was a good line. That's what we get for waiting until lunchtime to eat!!!. It took about 45 minutes from start of line until we sat down with our food. We each got one of these as we were starving.



After lunch we waited in a five minutes line for the restroom. Thank goodness it wasn't longer as my bladder would have had something to say. But lines for the restroom were the order of the day from here on out.

I wanted to get a FP for BTMRR. The return time was for 5:15. The comedy show in the Golden Horseshoe was going to be in about half an hour and I wanted to watch that. So without anything to do in that amount of time we sat down and did some people watching. I have never been in a park this crowded before as I usually do WDW in May or mostly September. It was something.

 

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We got a pretty good seat for the show. It was cute and I think Kat really liked it though before going in she acted like I was dragging her to some sort of torture. I was a bit disappointed because it was shorter than I expected, lasting only 15 minutes. But I was glad that Kat enjoyed it so much.



To make sure Kat didn't stay happy too long I wanted to ride Jungle Cruise. Well I knew she wanted to ride Pirates and I asked her but the line was 60 minutes so she said no. As we walked by JC it was just 30 minutes so I insisted we go.



I think the line for Indy was at 90 minutes and the FP return was already for like 4 am. Glad we had ridden that our first day.

To keep off our feet I decided to go into the Tiki room. Another attraction Kat frowns on but hey she was stuck with me and we didn't really have a lot of options during the hieght of the afternoon. I had heard through the DISboards that DL was now oficially closed to all due to capacity so if we wanted to stay in we had to make due with what we had. We at least had two FP to take advantage of later. I liked the Tiki room here better than WDW. The seats are more comfortable and you don't have to look up as high or as much. My neck did not bother me like WDW.

After a ten minute bathroom wait this time I managed to get into a very short Dole Whip line and get some to sooth my throat. We then went up to watch go the Lincoln theater. We both were starting to drag a bit and I thought we could get a nice rest in there. I admit I closed my eyes but I heard the whole thing. But I felt much better as we left. Walking through the exit though was something else. The walls were lined with people charging their phones. That was how the bathrooms were too. Our phones were holding out just fine thank goodness.

I asked Kat if she thought we should try Pirates again. At least it would be close to BTMRR and what else would we be doing. So we went and the wait was down to 45 minutes. We were just getting ready to enter into the building after waiting close to 40 minutes when we saw CM's moving people out of the line under the bridge. Then one came out of the building and told us to back up and dissolve the line. She had some urgency in her voice. The guy besides us said it must be something big. Then he said he could smell smoke. We smelled it then too. So then we moved out and away, a bit worried but since there were no real alarms assumed it would be under control.

Then I said why don't we ride the ferrry? Once again not high on Kats excitement list but as I argued once again, what else shall we do? So passin ga frozen lemonade stand I bought one for my throat and then we rode the ferry. We both managed to get a seat but I wanted to watch. She stayed seated checking her phone.







It was now our FP return time on BTMRR so we just skipped right over there. Ok. I think Kat was not in the skipping mood but I was!! Despite my throat. I was loving the experience. I think Kat was just having a teenager day!!



I liked the saying in this window. But the picture did not turn out as well as I would like. I know one said "Bartender Wanted: Must Shoot Good"



We had seen that Pirates was open again so we got in line. So I guess it must have been a small fire. I think I read a small kitchen fire from the restaurant. I am glad we got to go back on as that made Kat happier. And the line was only 30 minutes this time!!

We headed back over to the Matterhorn to attempt that again. We managed to get a good shot of the castle.





Matterhorn was only 60 minutes this time and I think we really only waited 45. But here is a picture of the people waiting for the parade.



By this time I get it. But some people had been in their spot all day since opening!!! To each their own.

 

[canyoncam]

I asked Kat if she wanted to find a spot for the parade but she said she would rather ride the Matterhorn. So we did. Then we went over to Small World and walked right on and got to take a rest off our feet for a bit. Then we rode the Matterhorn again with a 30 minute wait this time as people were really getting set for the parade. We grabbed some fries at Tomorrowland Terrace. Then I asked her again if she wanted to watch the parade. Actually by know I could hardly talk. My throat did not hurt like it did earlier but I was suffering a bit of laryngitis from it. So it was rather comical to watch Kat and I because if i wanted her attention I had to reach over and tap her and then use lots of sign language (which I don't know so it was just a lot of arm waving). She admitted she did want to watch the parade so we went to try and get a decent spot. We were able to see the lights of the floats but not any of the street dancers. I didn't bother to take out my camera and my phone pics are just crappy. I enjoyed it but it was crowded and that bothered Kat. Pkus we were close to the area the CMs wanted to keep clear. I know it was frustrating for them as people wouldn't listen to them. That made Kat nervous so we left before the true end. Here is one decent picture.



We headed back to our Space FP.



It was actually close to fireworks time so we watched those before getting on. They were good. I never event thought of trying to find a spot to watch the show. Which I guess can be seen in more spots of the park now. But the fireworks themselves were good enough for us.

After Space we were going to leave the park. I had read about the ice cream sandwich that was special for the 60th at Gibson Girls Ice cream shop so I made Kat stop while I got one. You know. For my throat. I could hardly talk and the girl had a hard time getting my order over the noise in the shop. But I got what I wanted and it was the best ice cream cookie sandwich I ever had.

As we left they told us we would not be able to reenter. A lot of people were leaving. More than I though would be. They did not have things set up real well outside. You could not walk right over to DCA. We headed to our right but that turned out to be exit only and once you left the esplanade you could not even get back in that side. Fortunately I realized before we left and so then we had to walk all the way back to the Harbor side entrance and cross the esplanade in one specific place. We breezed right into DCA. It felt a lot more crowded over here than DL though. I have to admit thouhg there were obviously a lot of people at DL it didn't feel overwhelming. Here it did. And of course the Mad TEa Party was going on so that made Kat nervous. I wanted to head to ToT to at least get this luggage tag I had seen in the gift shop but hadn't bought earlier. I had hopes of riding it but all FP gone and the line was 90 min. I bought the tag and we left and went through Bugsland. I wanted to ride some of those rides but Kat was really getting over it. We sat down to evaluate our plan of action. I had made the biggest error of all by not rechecking the times guide that am. I had been going off of what had been leaked to the web beforehand and assumed there was a World of Color showing at 1:15 am. Well it wasn't going to be until 3 am. That was the only reason we had come back to DCA. I knew we wouldn't make it. I was sick and Kat was tired. So I asked her if she just wanted to ride Mators Jamboree and then head to the hotel. She said she'd like that. So the line for Mators was about 30 min. Then we had to get a picture to complete the day.



As the photographer gave us back our phones, he was getting the next persons and commented on the mug they had. It was an oil can from the Cozy Cones. I had wanted one of those and knew about them but had forgot. Thank goodness I wasn't out of the park yet and had a chance to get them. My brother is a mechanic and my sister has a tire shop so the best trinkets I could get them I thought. So we went back to wait in one more line. Another 30 minutes. I bought three of them and they cost the same with or without a drink. So the girl tried to get me to get a drink in all three. Kat said she couldn't drink anything and I wan't real thirsty . The girl said she could just put water in them. But I had to carry these back and I was over it. I got one with a coke and the other two empty. Then I got home and realized I should have got one for my nephew so I gave mine up but one of my friends went back in July and got me another one so I have it now.

Our 24 hour day turned into a little over an 18 hour one as we left the parks at 12:15. It was fun and if I had to to it again I would stick to mostly the same plan. Reading the times guide better however. That would've meant staying in DL a bit longer. I think DCA did close to capacity too shortly after we left so either way it may not have worked.

We slept in until 9:00. I asked for a late check out so we could head to Mimi's for breakfast. Kat had never eaten there. I got a mimosa and a huge breakfast. No way could I eat the whole thing. I took some of it to go and gave it to some of the homeless on the way back to the hotel.





We left the hotel right after noon and got a taxi. Worth the expense to not have to wait for others. We had plsnty of time to explore the John Wayne airport before our flight. I really like it. Will definitely try to get a flight through there if I go again. Did some browsing in the shops. Liked this shirt.



Our plane pulling up.



So we get on and have just pulled away from the gate when we head back to the gate. We were delayed on the Denver end because of thunderstorms!! I think it was just an hour delay. I know they at least let us get off if we wanted. I stayed on but Kat went to get something to eat. I was checking the weather and they did predict some snow for the mountains for tonight. I was getting panicky and trying to find a hotel room which was just as hard as before we left. However I thought it still would be best to get home tonight if the weather cooperated at all. The delay just meant it would be more driving in the dark than I had hoped. We did get out in an hour and flying over the mountains the weather looked fine. But this is what Denver looked like when we landed.



It just started to rain once we got to the car. It was pouring. And dark because of the clouds. I was nervous and I know that made Kat nervous. By the time I got to the western side of Denver it was fine though and the drive home went well. I dropped Kat off at her house at 10:15 and got to mine at 10:30. All y travelling over. It did take me a week to feel like myself though.

Here are my souvenirs. I am one of those people who can't bring themselves to wear them when they are new. So I hadn't worn in the parks but have worn the jacket quite a bit this summer in Colorado.





Well that is it!!

Now I have been through the Panama Canal and to Disneyland. I thoroughly enjoyed them. So much so I booked the same cruise next year. I cannot spend the week after in Disneyland though as the cruise ends on a Sunday and my nephew graduates that week. I am glad I did it this year.

Thanks for reading.

 

[wilma-bride]

Hey Cameron, you put me to shame since I started my trip report just after we got back from Disneyland and still haven't finished it. You churned yours out pretty quickly, well done.

Glad you enjoyed the Mixology, I thought the tastings on the cruise were all pretty good. But the Mixology classes were different to ones I'd previously done too. I wonder if it just varies from ship to ship?

I am so jealous that you booked again for next year, I would have loved to do it in 2016 but will have to wait until the following year. There is a lot of speculation as to whether the ship will go through the new locks next year, as they should be finished by then. Secretly (and rather selfishly) I am hoping she won't as I would love to be on the first cruise to go through the new locks. I hope you are going to do another trip report next year too, as it will be nice to live vicariously through you. I assume Aunt Connie isn't going on this one?

I forgot the name of the CM on the right, but she remembers my DH by name from previous cruises. She is great! Your trip report is excellent! Thanks again for sharing!!

Her name is Caryssa and the bar manager is Pablo. They were both fabulous, as well as Mayliss who also worked in the Cadillac Lounge

 

[canyoncam]

Hey Cameron, you put me to shame since I started my trip report just after we got back from Disneyland and still haven't finished it. You churned yours out pretty quickly, well done.

Glad you enjoyed the Mixology, I thought the tastings on the cruise were all pretty good. But the Mixology classes were different to ones I'd previously done too. I wonder if it just varies from ship to ship?

I am so jealous that you booked again for next year, I would have loved to do it in 2016 but will have to wait until the following year. There is a lot of speculation as to whether the ship will go through the new locks next year, as they should be finished by then. Secretly (and rather selfishly) I am hoping she won't as I would love to be on the first cruise to go through the new locks. I hope you are going to do another trip report next year too, as it will be nice to live vicariously through you. I assume Aunt Connie isn't going on this one?



Her name is Caryssa and the bar manager is Pablo. They were both fabulous, as well as Mayliss who also worked in the Cadillac Lounge

Thanks!

I had to get it done as I am running out of "free" time. Winters are busy at a ski resort. And before that starts you can see I have another WDW trip in my ticker. Think I will wind up being solo there.

Even though I am booked on the PC next year I won't know for sure if I will go until December, close to the PIF/penalty date. My sister wants to do a cruise on the Fantasy that same week. Sister is funner than Aunt so I might humor her, though it is the same price for one week on the Fantasy or two weeks in the Wonder!!! Either way will probably do a TR.

Thanks for providing the names. I kept wanting to say Clarissa so I was close. Hoping the group on this years gets together some private mixologies. If nothing seems like it's being done by time I know if I am going I may have to contact you to see how to arrange them!!!! Thanks for doing that.

I am trying to read all the TRs from that cruise. It does let one see how much one missed out on!!!! Looking forward to yours.

 

[wilma-bride]

Thanks!
Thanks for providing the names. I kept wanting to say Clarissa so I was close. Hoping the group on this years gets together some private mixologies. If nothing seems like it's being done by time I know if I am going I may have to contact you to see how to arrange them!!!! Thanks for doing that.

I am trying to read all the TRs from that cruise. It does let one see how much one missed out on!!!! Looking forward to yours.

i am fairly sure that someone will be arranging a private mixology on the PC cruise next year. If not, and you want to find out how to do it, I will be happy to pass along some advice.

My trip report is started so feel free to read what I have got so far (think I am up to Day 10 or 11) - link is in my signature