LisaT91403
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2011
We did a quick, 2-day trip this past Tuesday and Wednesday. It was myself, DH, and DS(7), and we've been annual pass holders for several years. We typically do day trips, but wanted this to feel more like a little vacation...so we stayed at GCH for the night. Our goals were to see the new Yeti, Hatbox Ghost, do F! dining at Blue Bayou, and ride GRR (never done it because DS doesn't like wet clothes!)
Upgraded at GCH!
We arrived Tuesday morning at around 9:15. We had reserved a Woods/Courtyard view room, and had requested 2 queen beds. Upon check in, we were upgraded to a 1-bedroom suite on the 6th floor...with a view of Soarin', ToT, and Grizzly Peak. Not a bad way to start the trip!
New Yeti & Ghost
Our first order of business was to check out the new Yeti. DS wasn't thrilled about the idea of single rider, so we waited in line. The posted wait time was 25 minutes. When we were about 5 parties away from getting onto the ride, it broke down. They took everyone off the ride, but said that those of us in line were welcome to wait since they anticipated it would be running again in about 20 minutes. Some people left. That was a mistake, as it was running again in about 5 minutes. We all like the new Yeti a lot...much better than the old one!
We went to HM a bit later, and were disappointed that the HBG was not working. As previously posted, his face was there, but the hatbox effect wasn't working. We were told it had been down for about 3 days, but can't confirm this. We went back on Wednesday, and it was working...so, hopefully, they are just working out the kinks at this point.
Meeting Oscar
We had lunch at Carnation Cafe because DS loves the fried pickles. We got to chat with Oscar, and DS (who plans to be an Imagineer when he grows up) really got a kick out of this encounter.
GCH Pool
In the afternoon, we took a swim break since this is not something we normally get to do on our day trips. DS didn't like the GCH pool as much as the DLH pool. We will have to factor this in on future trips; it's a tough choice, as our family MUCH prefers GCH to DLH...except for the pool.
Accidentally Sneaking into DCA
When the bellman brought us our luggage in the afternoon, he told us about a "secret" exit to quickly enter the park. he told us we could take the stairs instead of the elevator, and we'd come out in DTD. We must have taken a wrong turn, as we ended up in purgatory...not in the hotel, but not in DTD. We had to walk into DCA through an open gate, as there was nowhere else to go.
We didn't want to be in DCA, so we just walked to the entrance and left. But we were shocked at how easy it was to get into the park without a ticket. I can't believe that security wasn't alerted when we opened the gates. Strange, isn't it?
Fantasmic Dining
We had 6:30 reservations at Blue Bayou, someplace we've never eaten before. I checked in at 6:05, and asked for a waterside table. I was told it would be a 30-40 minute wait, and was given a pager. We were paged at 6:40, and were taken to the very last waterside table...all the way by the bussing area (closest to the Pirates waterfall). It was a terrible table. You couldn't see the water because it was blocked by the shrubbery, and the noise from the dishes being bussed was terrible. Before sitting down, I asked the hostess if we could wait for a different table. She took us back to the front, and we waited an additional 5 minutes or so. She then took us to a center table with a fantastic view. She said she completely understood, and wanted to make sure we had a great experience. We all enjoyed our dinner. DS ordered chicken, and was thrilled to be able to swap out the pasta with marinara for mac & cheese instead. He also had lemon sorbet instead of the chocolate dessert. DH and I had surf & turf. He enjoyed his gumbo, and I had the shrimp cocktail (but wish I'd had the salad instead).
We had a great viewing location for F!, and we are happy to have done the dining package. I missed having chairs, as with the old dessert package...but this was a better value for the money. The only disappointment is that the fireworks were cancelled due to weather. It's strange, as the weather seemed fine...no wind, and just the tinniest bit of drizzle (more like mist, really). We were pretty bummed, as we don't usually stay late enough for fireworks. Guess we will try again later this summer.
"New" Soarin, and Walking Off RSR
On Wednesday, we got up early enough to get into DCA about 15 minutes before park opening. We headed straight for Toy Story, which had a 15 minute wait. We then went to Soarin' (also 15 minutes) to see what the cleaned up version looked like (it was much better...very clean compared to the old version).
RSR was closed for all but the first 15 minutes of early entry, and didn't re-open until later in the morning (maybe around 9:30, but I'm not sure of the exact time). I think this pushed a lot of people to the other rides, making for longer lines in general. When we went over there at around 10:00, the single rider line was less than 5 minutes long. DS, just having turned 7 a couple of months ago, was a little apprehensive. But for a 5-minute wait, he was convinced...and off we went. As it turned out, he and I were in the same car, with him in the front row and me in the back. And it's a good thing, as the ride broke down right before we entered the paint shop. We've stopped on RSR in the past, but I could tell this was different. All the sound immediately turned off, and the lights came on. We waited about 5 minutes before a CM came to escort us out of the vehicles. We got to walk through the entire ride...from the paint shop, all the way back to behind the train tracks. It was very cool, and DS was thrilled to get to walk through the attraction! We were all given fast passes to come back later. This was actually a highlight of the trip
Grad Night
Wednesday was a grad night, and did feel more crowded to me than Tuesday. I also noticed quite a bit of cursing, and some line cutting. Maybe it was just coincidence, but I normally don't notice much of these things on a typical visit.
We had a great trip. Thanks for reading
Upgraded at GCH!
We arrived Tuesday morning at around 9:15. We had reserved a Woods/Courtyard view room, and had requested 2 queen beds. Upon check in, we were upgraded to a 1-bedroom suite on the 6th floor...with a view of Soarin', ToT, and Grizzly Peak. Not a bad way to start the trip!
New Yeti & Ghost
Our first order of business was to check out the new Yeti. DS wasn't thrilled about the idea of single rider, so we waited in line. The posted wait time was 25 minutes. When we were about 5 parties away from getting onto the ride, it broke down. They took everyone off the ride, but said that those of us in line were welcome to wait since they anticipated it would be running again in about 20 minutes. Some people left. That was a mistake, as it was running again in about 5 minutes. We all like the new Yeti a lot...much better than the old one!
We went to HM a bit later, and were disappointed that the HBG was not working. As previously posted, his face was there, but the hatbox effect wasn't working. We were told it had been down for about 3 days, but can't confirm this. We went back on Wednesday, and it was working...so, hopefully, they are just working out the kinks at this point.
Meeting Oscar
We had lunch at Carnation Cafe because DS loves the fried pickles. We got to chat with Oscar, and DS (who plans to be an Imagineer when he grows up) really got a kick out of this encounter.
GCH Pool
In the afternoon, we took a swim break since this is not something we normally get to do on our day trips. DS didn't like the GCH pool as much as the DLH pool. We will have to factor this in on future trips; it's a tough choice, as our family MUCH prefers GCH to DLH...except for the pool.
Accidentally Sneaking into DCA
When the bellman brought us our luggage in the afternoon, he told us about a "secret" exit to quickly enter the park. he told us we could take the stairs instead of the elevator, and we'd come out in DTD. We must have taken a wrong turn, as we ended up in purgatory...not in the hotel, but not in DTD. We had to walk into DCA through an open gate, as there was nowhere else to go.
We didn't want to be in DCA, so we just walked to the entrance and left. But we were shocked at how easy it was to get into the park without a ticket. I can't believe that security wasn't alerted when we opened the gates. Strange, isn't it?
Fantasmic Dining
We had 6:30 reservations at Blue Bayou, someplace we've never eaten before. I checked in at 6:05, and asked for a waterside table. I was told it would be a 30-40 minute wait, and was given a pager. We were paged at 6:40, and were taken to the very last waterside table...all the way by the bussing area (closest to the Pirates waterfall). It was a terrible table. You couldn't see the water because it was blocked by the shrubbery, and the noise from the dishes being bussed was terrible. Before sitting down, I asked the hostess if we could wait for a different table. She took us back to the front, and we waited an additional 5 minutes or so. She then took us to a center table with a fantastic view. She said she completely understood, and wanted to make sure we had a great experience. We all enjoyed our dinner. DS ordered chicken, and was thrilled to be able to swap out the pasta with marinara for mac & cheese instead. He also had lemon sorbet instead of the chocolate dessert. DH and I had surf & turf. He enjoyed his gumbo, and I had the shrimp cocktail (but wish I'd had the salad instead).
We had a great viewing location for F!, and we are happy to have done the dining package. I missed having chairs, as with the old dessert package...but this was a better value for the money. The only disappointment is that the fireworks were cancelled due to weather. It's strange, as the weather seemed fine...no wind, and just the tinniest bit of drizzle (more like mist, really). We were pretty bummed, as we don't usually stay late enough for fireworks. Guess we will try again later this summer.
"New" Soarin, and Walking Off RSR
On Wednesday, we got up early enough to get into DCA about 15 minutes before park opening. We headed straight for Toy Story, which had a 15 minute wait. We then went to Soarin' (also 15 minutes) to see what the cleaned up version looked like (it was much better...very clean compared to the old version).
RSR was closed for all but the first 15 minutes of early entry, and didn't re-open until later in the morning (maybe around 9:30, but I'm not sure of the exact time). I think this pushed a lot of people to the other rides, making for longer lines in general. When we went over there at around 10:00, the single rider line was less than 5 minutes long. DS, just having turned 7 a couple of months ago, was a little apprehensive. But for a 5-minute wait, he was convinced...and off we went. As it turned out, he and I were in the same car, with him in the front row and me in the back. And it's a good thing, as the ride broke down right before we entered the paint shop. We've stopped on RSR in the past, but I could tell this was different. All the sound immediately turned off, and the lights came on. We waited about 5 minutes before a CM came to escort us out of the vehicles. We got to walk through the entire ride...from the paint shop, all the way back to behind the train tracks. It was very cool, and DS was thrilled to get to walk through the attraction! We were all given fast passes to come back later. This was actually a highlight of the trip
Grad Night
Wednesday was a grad night, and did feel more crowded to me than Tuesday. I also noticed quite a bit of cursing, and some line cutting. Maybe it was just coincidence, but I normally don't notice much of these things on a typical visit.
We had a great trip. Thanks for reading
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