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

[natebenma]

But the one that really made me do a double and then a triple take was a guy dressed as a Starspeeder from Star Tours.

He had what must have been a huge box, shaped and painted like a Starspeeder. There was a hole in the middle for him to basically stand in it and it hung from straps on his shoulders. It stood out to me for a few reasons. One, you just couldn’t miss it. Two, it was unique. And three, I couldn’t believe that they’d let someone run in something so… big and bulky.

Cool!!!

We decided that we’d to ride the Finding Nemo subs before it got lined up this morning.

Smart move!

Nemo Subs were under refurbishment when we visited in July.

So instead, we went to Astro Orbiter.

The only ride at WDW that ever made me queasy.

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.

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.

I'm sorry to say this, but I'm glad to hear it. Our biggest regret from Disneyland was not riding the monorail. Every time we tried, the line was too long or it was shut down. One time we had the perfect plan- we were going to ride it to DTD and then grab something to eat by the Disneyland Hotel and we were so disappointed we couldn't do it!!!

Now let’s see if a regular park opening at DCA is more kind to us than the early entries had been.

Another smart move (I hope)




You did much better on your DL early entry than we did. We spent 30 minutes of ours in line at Peter Pan.

 

[natebenma]

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.

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.

Glass definitely half-full (maybe even 3/4).

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.

That really is the downside- not having any way to let her know what was going on.

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

Awesome picture!

The best part of lunch though, was that we were sitting down to eat just in time to see Jedi Training Academy.

That's the way to watch it. It can be darned hot in the sun watching at HS.

My son Ben did Jedi Training once. And I was not there because I was back at the room with my older son who was dehydrated. It was Year of a Million Dreams (2008) and afterwards the characters asked Ben if he wanted to have a picture with them. My DH took exactly one picture but it is one of my favorites.

 

[afwdwfan]

Reposting the picture of the corn we killed.



And here it is 24 hours later.

 

[natebenma]

Reposting the picture of the corn we killed.



And here it is 24 hours later.

Very impressive!

Isn't there a story like this? Jack and the Beanstalk?

 

[Gracefulskinny]

your fam is beautiful and the stories you share from it are fascinating!

The Heavens opened and angels sang!






IT WAS OPEN!!!!

Huzzah!

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.

Everyone seems so anxious for them to bring this ride to WDW and I just don't get why. Between all the trip reports that complain about how frequent it is broken down and the fact that it sounds an awful lot like Test Track with a different story line, I don't see the value of that much space being taken up.

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????????

Oye!

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

Don't blame you. I thought it too and I'm just reading your experiences.

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

How cool that a potential downer got turned into a magical moment of the trip.

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!

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

don't blame you.

She informed us that this was something that happens a few times every day and that they have it down to a science now.

again, why is everyone so anxious for a ride that is always breaking to be brought to WDW?

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.

Well that is one way to do it.

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.

It wasn’t exactly night inside the ride building.

Ooops.

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.

Not sure how I would like that. One one hand its like you said it would be interesting to see that stuff, I would just be afraid it would ruin some of the magic.

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

There’s no AC.

And it doesn’t send you to Hell.

Which is always a good thing.

Not going to Hell is always a bonus!

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

By the time we returned from Hell,

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

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.

I was wondering how successful this attempt was going to be.

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???

I think that might be it. I think I heard a CM warn someone to that effect on Tomorrowland speedway.

But unfortunately, no padawans went to the Dark Side.

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

It's hard to do when there is so much fun right there isn't it.

 

[SarahDisney]

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

Thanks for sharing - I definitely enjoyed the video and hearing you describe your experience with the anhydrous ammonia ... and I'm glad to hear you didn't freeze your finger off!

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.

Crazy.
As a former scientist (aka I have a science degree), I kind of theoretically knew that ammonia is cold, but it's still pretty incredible to see the effects.

It is an ingredient in meth

So, what you're saying is that if you have some extra anhydrous ammonia left over, you can start cooking meth.
Is this TR about to become "Breaking Bad Meets Disney"?

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.

Ouch. And I'm guessing it's also not cheap (or else the meth factories would just buy it) so you take a bit of a financial hit if you have some stolen.

And here it is 24 hours later.

What's cool about these pictures to me is that not only can you see the effects of the ammonia, but you can also see the growth of the corn in the same time frame.

 

[pkondz]

Reposting the picture of the corn we killed.



And here it is 24 hours later.

It's dead, Jim.

If I had a city garden (I don't. No room, and I have a brown thumb. Every plant I touch dies) a loss of that size would be devastating.
But for you, it's insignificant, no?

 

[afwdwfan]

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

No... a full out sprint.

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

There's a difference between "expecting" and "hoping."

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

Statistics don't lie. Statisticians do.

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

I would have liked to have ridden it at night. But yeah, that wait was definitely a deterrent. And it wasn't even 2 hours when we were there.

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).

I just can't even imagine. I mean, I've got a 15 minute commute if I hit traffic.

Oh no . And so soon after you finally found someone who actually knew what was going on. So sad.

I just made a mental note to push our departure time up a bit and tried to just forget about it.

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?

I don't know... I'd certainly hope that they would get put on a car back in the station or at least get an FP.

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.

No kidding!

Undefeated. Very impressive.

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.

I would assume that likely could have been the case at one point. I always remember them being the automatic doors though.

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.

More rides is always better, but I feel like this one was a good sacrifice.

That probably would have been me.

Outta my way!!!!!

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.

No... remember, she liked slamming into things on the flying tires...

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

But that was different. We didn't have as long of a time for a break there and it would have taken half of our break time to travel to a park and back. But at DL... Have I ever mentioned how much I love the proximity of everything????

This is beautiful!

Thanks! I love going up there. Even if I'm mowing.

Those are not good numbers at all.

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.

I have no idea how long it actually was. But she said 20 - 30 minutes so there was definitely plenty of time to chat.

That would have been really cool to see actually!

It was. But it was also only the second time I'd ever ridden and likely the last time I'd ride it during this trip. It kind of took away from it in this case.

Now if I'd already ridden it a few times and knew the ride as it is supposed to be a little bit better, I'd have loved to have seen it with the lights on.

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

Stay together? Send up smoke signals?

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 And it does take forever it feels like.

I hadn't really thought about that. But you're absolutely right!

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

Yep the monorail sucks and it can take FOREVER!

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

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

No. Not that old. 40's maybe. A stereotype would certainly fit... but see the discussion we've been having in your TR about offensive things.

That is pretty funny though.

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

It definitely seemed much more fun than the Tomorrowland Speedway. It's still a car on a rail that goes like 5 mph though.

Atta boy

 

[afwdwfan]

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

She definitely made the wait seem much shorter than it actually was.

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.

I know. I can see where it might be handy if you're staying at DLH to save a little bit of walking. But that's about it. It's kind of one of those things you just have to ride for the sake of riding it, but it's just not as "magical" as the monorail at WDW.

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.

It's just a good thing those Autopia cars don't have horns.

Yay!

Finally!

Disney math!

You can make the stats say anything you want them to.

What a pain!

I could not handle regular 2+ hour commutes.

That would be brutal. I just can't even imagine...

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.

Sounds like you got lucky. RSR seemed to break down a lot. Frustrating, but it is an absolutely amazing ride!

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

I know! I thought it was cool that he was able to apply while getting some input from a current CM.

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

Especially if it takes 2 1/2 hours to get there!

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

I mean, it was ok. We could still see all the characters and hear everything. But there was nothing "hidden" around the next corner in the shadows.

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

The tire trees were pretty cool. I really liked the whole courtyard area behind Luigi's where the Flying Tires were.

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

Well, unlike WDW, DL's really is not much more than an attraction. You can board in either DTD or Tomorrowland. But since you can get off inside the park, you have to have a ticket just to board it.

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

Yes?

I have a hard time sitting around on vacation. I want to be doing things! The amount of napping in the room that I did in WDW was definitely an anomaly.

 

[afwdwfan]

Victory!!

It's about time!

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

I've got the data to back it up. I did the legwork so you don't have to.

Seriously! What the cuss is up with that?!

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.

Yeah, that's just brutal. I kind of feel for the CM's in those positions. It can't be easy. But then again, it sounds like RSR gives them some practice with it so she started chatting us all up and never really missed a beat.

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

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

I know! I thought it was awesome that he sat there and did that.

Well done! Even if it was a ghost car.

A win's a win.

Hes a cutie.

He does have his moments...

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

Oh, you have no idea. I wasn't sure we were going to make it at one point.

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!

Sorry.

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

So much that I hardly even notice.

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

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

Yeah...

LOVE Pecos Bills!!

It is always a must do.

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!

No. It isn't wrong. That would be awesome!!!!

Never!

I can sleep when I get home!

 

[afwdwfan]

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

You sound absolutely nothing like I thought you would!

I'm sorry to ruin the illusion.

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

Well, if I taught someone something, I guess I did my job for the day.

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

It is something that has become a pretty big problem around here over the past 10 - 15 years. It used to just be the potheads cutting down corn to grow their marijuana out in the middle of the corn fields.

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

It actually was just another farmer who works as a deputy. There were a few of them who were just coming in and parking there when they were off duty. And yes, from time to time they would catch up on sleep while they were there. They were just trying to be present to be a bit of a deterrent during a season when there seemed to be a LOT of anhydrous ammonia theft going on. Clearly it didn't work.

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

I'm glad that someone actually found it interesting.

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

Glad to share. It is something I thoroughly enjoy and always like talking about!

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.

I won't lie... I was hoping it would be some historical methods and machines.

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.

Sounds like a great program.

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!

Ok, so you're at least doing some demonstrations? I think those are some good programs and neat things to see. Makes me wonder how they used to do it back in the old days.

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.

That's bad...

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!

Definitely nothing to feel guilty about. If they don't like shows, then they aren't missing anything.

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

Thanks!

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.

They really did go a little bit over the top with the effects on this one.

Good job shielding your daughter from the atrocities.

Well, I tried. And I did leave off that one important detail. She woke up in the middle of the night yelling about the bugs and came and laid in bed with us. But she went back to sleep and that was the extent of it.

I bet you have your own nightmares about bugs.

Sometimes.

 

[afwdwfan]

Cool!!!

It was. Having never been to a Star Wars Weekend, it just kind of gave me a glimpse of how awesome they must be.

Smart move!

Nemo Subs were under refurbishment when we visited in July.

It worked out well. I know when we'd gone through Tomorrowland the afternoon before, that line was LONG.

The only ride at WDW that ever made me queasy.

I can kind of see that. It feels like it spins quite a bit faster than the other spinny rides.

I'm sorry to say this, but I'm glad to hear it. Our biggest regret from Disneyland was not riding the monorail. Every time we tried, the line was too long or it was shut down. One time we had the perfect plan- we were going to ride it to DTD and then grab something to eat by the Disneyland Hotel and we were so disappointed we couldn't do it!!!

I think we'd have been disappointed if we couldn't have done it also. It is well worth checking out. But if you're a fan of the WDW monorail system, it is kind of a reality check.

Another smart move (I hope)




You did much better on your DL early entry than we did. We spent 30 minutes of ours in line at Peter Pan.

Well, you know, we'd done that the day before so we already had that wait out of the way.

Glass definitely half-full (maybe even 3/4).

That really is the downside- not having any way to let her know what was going on.

Well, she at least knew where I was.

Awesome picture!

Thanks.

That's the way to watch it. It can be darned hot in the sun watching at HS.

My son Ben did Jedi Training once. And I was not there because I was back at the room with my older son who was dehydrated. It was Year of a Million Dreams (2008) and afterwards the characters asked Ben if he wanted to have a picture with them. My DH took exactly one picture but it is one of my favorites.

I can see why that is a favorite. Awesome picture!

Very impressive!

Isn't there a story like this? Jack and the Beanstalk?

Something like that.

 

[pkondz]

Well, if I taught someone something, I guess I did my job for the day.

It is something that has become a pretty big problem around here over the past 10 - 15 years.

Pretty much everywhere.

It used to just be the potheads cutting down corn to grow their marijuana out in the middle of the corn fields.

That must've been something.
You'd take out the harvester and have all these long haired hippies scrambling out ahead of you.

Clearly it didn't work.

Clearly.

I'm glad that someone actually found it interesting.

I did! I even told Ruby about it.

 

[afwdwfan]

your fam is beautiful and the stories you share from it are fascinating!

Thanks! It is definitely a lifestyle that I enjoy and I'm just glad I'm not boring everyone to tears.

Huzzah!

Victory at last!

Everyone seems so anxious for them to bring this ride to WDW and I just don't get why. Between all the trip reports that complain about how frequent it is broken down and the fact that it sounds an awful lot like Test Track with a different story line, I don't see the value of that much space being taken up.

I've been on the business end of the break downs first hand. But it is worth every bit of the frustration. It really is an amazing ride. And while the technology is similar to that of Test Track, I think RSR is a much better ride than TT. The outside track is longer and it is more than just a loop. And the show building portion is amazing. I think I'd be fine with them bringing it to WDW. Or if they come up with something else that is new and spectacular, I'd be fine with RSR just staying out west.

Oye!

Mater must have been out tipping tractors. Took him a while to get it cleared.

Don't blame you. I thought it too and I'm just reading your experiences.

I almost laughed when she told us.

How cool that a potential downer got turned into a magical moment of the trip.

No kidding!

That would just be brutal. No way I could handle it!

don't blame you.

I tried to just make a note to leave a little bit earlier and forget about it. At that point there wasn't much else that I could do.

again, why is everyone so anxious for a ride that is always breaking to be brought to WDW?

Because it is that awesome. But really though, there are rides in WDW that break down on nearly a daily basis. Splash Mountain comes to mind for me. The last 2 trips we took, it seemed to be down quite a bit.

Well that is one way to do it.

Great way to make productive use of that time!

Ooops.

Not sure how I would like that. One one hand its like you said it would be interesting to see that stuff, I would just be afraid it would ruin some of the magic.

I'm a Disney nerd. I love stuff like this. So yes, it was interesting.

But honestly, I prefer to see that side of things after I've already ridden the ride a few times and know the ride as it is supposed to be, well. I'd have definitely preferred my second, and possibly last, ride to be the way it was intended.

Not going to Hell is always a bonus!

Definitely!

I'm glad I'm not alone.

I was wondering how successful this attempt was going to be.

Well, it seemed like a good idea in my head. But a lot of stupid things I do start off that way.

I think that might be it. I think I heard a CM warn someone to that effect on Tomorrowland speedway.

It just seemed like it had to be based on the way it happened.

It's hard to do when there is so much fun right there isn't it.

 

[afwdwfan]

Thanks for sharing - I definitely enjoyed the video and hearing you describe your experience with the anhydrous ammonia ... and I'm glad to hear you didn't freeze your finger off!

Thanks. That's the thing. I know how dangerous this stuff is and always take precautions. And then I do something like that. I just hate working with it.

Crazy.
As a former scientist (aka I have a science degree), I kind of theoretically knew that ammonia is cold, but it's still pretty incredible to see the effects.

So you could probably do a better job explaining why it is so cold on an 85 degree day than I can. I just know that it is.

So, what you're saying is that if you have some extra anhydrous ammonia left over, you can start cooking meth.
Is this TR about to become "Breaking Bad Meets Disney"?

Well, I guess. Although, I want nothing to do with it! We actually never have extra, we just take the tanks back to Ag Supply and let them worry about it.

Ouch. And I'm guessing it's also not cheap (or else the meth factories would just buy it) so you take a bit of a financial hit if you have some stolen.

Not cheap. But there's really no way they could buy it. They've got the supply pretty much controlled. The amount that they steal typically is somewhat insignificant though. Maybe a few gallons. You'd barely notice it. The problem is that they need a certain specific fitting to screw onto the tank's valve to let it open so you can get some out. That fitting costs a few hundred dollars and they've been known to cut them off of applicator bars to use them to get their anhydrous ammonia. And then you've got to wait until you can order a new one and get it in because nobody wants to keep extras sitting around on hand and invite the idiots to help themselves.

The biggest thing is that it is just dangerous. They don't know what they're doing and could easily cause a whole tank to leak out which is a safety hazard to them and anyone downwind.

What's cool about these pictures to me is that not only can you see the effects of the ammonia, but you can also see the growth of the corn in the same time frame.

Very true. Once the ammonia is applied and it gets a little rain it usually just takes off. And remember my comments about being too wet to work last week? Well, we could really use some rain now.

If I had a city garden (I don't. No room, and I have a brown thumb. Every plant I touch dies) a loss of that size would be devastating.
But for you, it's insignificant, no?

I hate to say insignificant. Every little bit counts. It kind of kills me to look at it. And it is right behind the house, so I'll be able to see that bare spot all year long.

Pretty much everywhere.

Well meth is, yeah. But anhydrous ammonia thefts?

That must've been something.
You'd take out the harvester and have all these long haired hippies scrambling out ahead of you.

It is typically gone before then. I've heard of a few cases where it was found while harvesting, but that is very rare. I'm actually friends with the head of the Indiana drug task force with the IN National Guard. They work with the police agencies and fly over the fields during the mid to late summer.

The growers like to use corn fields because it is already fertilized and good for growing conditions. And they seem to think that a green plant growing out in the middle of the corn fields in the rows of green corn isn't anything that can ever be detected. Truth is though, they say that from a helicopter, you can see the different color with the naked eye, but with infrared cameras and other technology they have no problem finding it.

I actually was walking a corn field a few years ago and when I came out to my truck, there was a police car parked next to it and I had to convince him that I wasn't out there caring for a marijuana crop.

 

[SarahDisney]

No... remember, she liked slamming into things on the flying tires...

There's a difference between tires and cars. Really.

So you could probably do a better job explaining why it is so cold on an 85 degree day than I can. I just know that it is.

Um ... sure. Let's just pretend I didn't forget 95% of what I learned in chemistry.

Well, we could really use some rain now.

Great, I'll send you some of ours. I don't need it. This is New York, we have sprinklers!

 

[MEK]

I love your crop pictures. I love watching crown grow and I am blessed to ahve a field right by my nouse (I'm sure I've mentioned this more than once). It it just amazing to watch it get a little higher every day.

I loved your great CM story. Funny how a broken ride can lead to such a memoralbe experience. It was really cool that the CM was so candid with you. But- I honestly can't imagine having that kind of commute in the morning. Definitely puts any of my traffic complaints to shame.

I think I would have bumped the slow guy on Autotopia, too! I admire you for showing restraint for as long as you did. I probably would have bumped him sooner!

I have to agree that Pecos Bill makes one HECK of a burger!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

RSR really sounds cool - but such a bummer that it has so many technical issues and is so often down. Would really suck for people that don't have as many opportunities on a trip to ride it and just aren't able to because it is down.

I do enjoy seeing the working parts of attractions (e.g., Space Mountain with the lights one) but agree with you that for people riding it for the first time that kinda hurts the illusion.

That trip on autopia sounds ridiculously frustrating. I do like the set up of the DLR version and would like to check it out when there

Mr Toad's is definitely one thing I definitely want to get on (do recall going on it as a kid in WDW) - but as big a fan of it as I am it is hard to argue against the change over from a business standpoint. How many kids even know what book/movie that is for? And I've read bits of the Wind and the Willows to my daughter and it isn't exactly as pleasant reading before bed as most Winnie the Pooh stories.

**********

Really interesting reading about the farming!

A picture of a frozen line...

... you can tell I DIS too much when I was expecting a picture of a line of people waiting to meet Anna and Elsa

 

[pkondz]

Well meth is, yeah. But anhydrous ammonia thefts?

Okay, I'll give you that one.

It kind of kills me to look at it. And it is right behind the house, so I'll be able to see that bare spot all year long.

Well, that'll learn ya. Next time fix it on your neighbour's farm.

The growers like to use corn fields because it is already fertilized and good for growing conditions. And they seem to think that a green plant growing out in the middle of the corn fields in the rows of green corn isn't anything that can ever be detected. Truth is though, they say that from a helicopter, you can see the different color with the naked eye, but with infrared cameras and other technology they have no problem finding it.

Interesting.

I actually was walking a corn field a few years ago and when I came out to my truck, there was a police car parked next to it and I had to convince him that I wasn't out there caring for a marijuana crop.

"But officer, these are my crops!"
"Uh, huh. Sure. I bet they are. Just what exactly are you growing? Now show me some I.D."

 

[glennbo123]

Nice update Andy. It's always great to get some time to really chat with some cast members, I'm just sorry that RSR had to break down for you to get that opportunity.

Now I just have to comment on this picture. Is it just an unfortunate perspective, or is this guy smoking the world's biggest hookah pipe?