Anyone Game? 2 Castles and a Road Trip TR! Last Day and TR Wrap Up! #2796; 10/01

[skier_pete]

I decided to play some catch-up before leaving on our trip. Looks like you had quite a first day and its building up to an even bigger second day. No wonder franandaj said you wore them out!

Nice to have a benefactor, too. Our ABD tour they took us into Club 33, but said there was no way to get us in teh 1901 club. One of the few things we didn't get to see.

I look forward to the rest, but might start falling behind.

 

[mvf-m11c]

For me, the best part of the day was spending time with DH, DS, Alison, Fran and you.

You are absolutely correct about that. That was the best part of the day over everything else.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Wow! I go away for a few days and miss about half a dozen pages worth

I can't believe how incredibly lucky you were to get such great perks on your trip! What an amazing way to experience it all

I love your photos of the fireworks and Fantasmic! And Carthay looks just amazing - would love to get a photo of me and DH in Walt's and Lilian's chairs like you did

We were so uninspired by the facade of Monsters Inc when we were there last, we didn't even bother with the ride. DH didn't like Monsters Inc either, so I'm sure that didn't help I think a whole themed Monstropolis area would be great! Having said that though, I'm a big fan of the Muppets, so I wouldn't want to see that attraction go.

Going away in 3D real life for a long weekend with your loved one vs sticking around and keeping up with half a dozen pages of vicarious living. Hmmmm.............that's a tough choice.

Glad you're living life!

I decided to play some catch-up before leaving on our trip. Looks like you had quite a first day and its building up to an even bigger second day. No wonder franandaj said you wore them out!

Nice to have a benefactor, too. Our ABD tour they took us into Club 33, but said there was no way to get us in teh 1901 club. One of the few things we didn't get to see.

I look forward to the rest, but might start falling behind.

Enjoy your vacay Pete. And then when you get back, the Dis World will be a little more restored to the natural order. You writing a TR.....me writing a TR.

(Although I think I'll be falling behind in the TR stakes next year. I'm not sure we have a vacay on the cards next year. )

You are absolutely correct about that. That was the best part of the day over everything else.

 

[Luvchefmic]

catching up slowly but surely catching up my dear friend Love the pictures but that really goes without say OH the 1901 room WOW what a treat

I hope things work out for you in the work area of life The road not traveled , that got me thinking a lot too actually I was ON the road took all the tests for NYPD and had high hopes to be either a canine cop or mounted patrol officer BUT I got knocked off that road when they decided to change the age limit a few weeks before I was to start the academy well that was 30 years ago and guess it wasn't meant to be

Having had so much of my life ( personally and professionally ) involved in either emergency medical/dog rescue/law enforcement as a civilian maybe I should have gone for veterinary medicine Lifes not over yet I'm open to almost anything

Loved your pictures at that aquarium and you reminded me that I have been wanting to get over to see the dolphin named Winter I'm sure you've heard about her amazing story


http://www.hanger.com/prosthetics/e.../winterthedolphin/Pages/WintertheDolphin.aspx

okay back to catching up Love to your boys

 

[TMGosizk]

Caught up finally!!

While I very much enjoyed reading about all your adventures, I was most struck by your retelling of your experience at Mickey and the Magical Map (is that right? I'm not sure now as I'm typing it)! Not only does the show look amazing, and one I want to see now, but I thought it was particularly neat that you had a moment of personal enlightenment in considering your own life situations! Your description just kinda gave me chills!

Oh my! Your firework pictures are just so beautiful! I need to figure out how to take decent ones with my camera!! John had it the one night we were in Magic Kingdom for Wishes so I never got a chance to tinker with it! But your shots are great!

Can't wait to read more about your second day!!

 

[PrincessInOz]

catching up slowly but surely catching up my dear friend Love the pictures but that really goes without say OH the 1901 room WOW what a treat

I hope things work out for you in the work area of life The road not traveled , that got me thinking a lot too actually I was ON the road took all the tests for NYPD and had high hopes to be either a canine cop or mounted patrol officer BUT I got knocked off that road when they decided to change the age limit a few weeks before I was to start the academy well that was 30 years ago and guess it wasn't meant to be

Having had so much of my life ( personally and professionally ) involved in either emergency medical/dog rescue/law enforcement as a civilian maybe I should have gone for veterinary medicine Lifes not over yet I'm open to almost anything

Loved your pictures at that aquarium and you reminded me that I have been wanting to get over to see the dolphin named Winter I'm sure you've heard about her amazing story


http://www.hanger.com/prosthetics/e.../winterthedolphin/Pages/WintertheDolphin.aspx

okay back to catching up Love to your boys

Thanks Ruthie. Yes, I'm working on making a change at work.

Thanks for sharing the link about Winter. I hadn't heard about her at all and was really interested to the the prosthetic tail. Hope you get to see her soon. And yes....I'm a firm believer in "it's never too late....".

Caught up finally!!

While I very much enjoyed reading about all your adventures, I was most struck by your retelling of your experience at Mickey and the Magical Map (is that right? I'm not sure now as I'm typing it)! Not only does the show look amazing, and one I want to see now, but I thought it was particularly neat that you had a moment of personal enlightenment in considering your own life situations! Your description just kinda gave me chills!

Oh my! Your firework pictures are just so beautiful! I need to figure out how to take decent ones with my camera!! John had it the one night we were in Magic Kingdom for Wishes so I never got a chance to tinker with it! But your shots are great!

Can't wait to read more about your second day!!

Mickey and the Magical Map is a very good show. I hope you get to see it with your family. It was a lot of fun.

Thanks....those thoughts had been on my mind for a while. I think that moment was the first opportunity I had to really let them come to the surface and for me to really look at it honestly. It's funny how life works out sometimes.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Far-Flung Fun



Our premium VIP day started in Carsland....and wouldn’t you know it....the Racers were all in 'the pits' lane. I had always known that there would be no guarantees with this ride.....seems like the common complaint on the Dis is that this ride is usually down for the count in the morning.


So, Tim herded us across to the other ride in Carsland that he could get us into quick. It's a junkyard in here!






Carsland opened in 2012 and because of my Mad Dashes to Disneyland, I had yet to get on any other ride in here except RSR. So, I was keen to see what this experience would bring. To look at, this seemingly kid'ish looking ride is hardly the kind of ride that rate too highly on the fun factor.






Really....look at it....it is a teeny tiny Tractor that has this little trailer you sit in (and I will refrain from any trailer trash one-liners!). It’s not as if Tractors are particularly built for speed.

 




Most of us got on.






Because DS decided he wanted to ride with me on this one,






DH got to ride by himself. Seems like he was pretty happy with that move.






This deceptive looking ride started up and we were pulled around the circuit similar to the teacups. And as it got faster, we were flung around with a centripetal force that surprised the heck out of me.






I've been told and have read about how the music on this ride is so much fun.



Music? What music?


The only sounds I heard were the giggles, laughs and wooo hooo's from me and my DS as we crashed and banged into each other.
It sure was music to my ears!


When we got off, it seems like the feeling was mutual. Everyone had smiley eyes!






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[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


All at Sea about the Day




With a guide on hand, we were definitely leaving things in his capable hands for how the day would pan out.


No clammy feeling at all about the state of play for the day.






No one was going to scuttle us out of enjoying the day.






It still felt really novel. Having a guide with us was a lot like having a glass of champagne for breakfast.






No mistaking the outline of the day here.






We were following the leader.






And going to have a happy time hanging out together.






I think I did good at maintaining a dignified manner. But internally, I was doing the Rocky 'Hands in the Air' thing all day....






....and dancing on tip toes.






I don't think anyone saw how relaxed and happy I was.






Afterall, I was usually responsible for running around in circles gathering fast passes.






Instead, I could kick back and just go with the flow.






It was almost like having my own Fairy GodMother watching over me.







(Just go with me and pretend on the above match! It was too good a snap not to include.)



It was definitely a magical moment to savour.






It was like having a happy ever after moment all day.







And having fireworks going off all day.






You see....believe it or not.....this day at Disneyland turned out to be the most relaxed day we've had at a Disney park in a long time. And for those of you that have caught up on Alison’s TR, this represents a completely a different viewpoint to how she and Fran felt about the day. I guess it’s all relative.


Unlike locals, we tourists have to maximise their time at Disneyland. So for us, going commando in a Disney park comes with the territory. Any down time we get is usually when we are waiting in a standby line. Then there is all that backward and forward running around to maximise fast pass collections, plus the to-ing and fro-ing of hitting the attractions around fast pass return windows. Doing Disney commando invariably means walking round and round and round the park at least 3 or 4 times in order to cover it to maximum effect. In comparison, this day was by far a stroll in the park for us.







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[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


Ticking rides off the List




We did stop for a moment to people watch when we re-surfaced from Under the Sea. There sure were some interesting people out that day.






When planning for the day, our benefactor had asked if we had a list of rides that we wanted to get on and I had obliged with a list. Don’t ask me what was on it.....all I know was that Tim the Human Fastpass had a printout in hand and was walking us round making sure we got on as many as possible.



For some reason, I must have put Goofy’s Sky School on it....because we were being directed in here.






This ride is one that we have at the local carnivals in Melbourne. We know it as the Wild Mouse or the Mad Mouse. It’s a very popular carnival ride because it doesn't take up much space to set up and it is one of the more thrilling rides you can find. Yes, as I've found out with Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, looks can be deceiving. All you need to do is take a look at how steep and high you climb!






And then you add twists and turns.






The drops on this ride are pretty decent. I always scream like a girl when we come down on the Mad Mouse. I’m pretty sure I maintained my 100% record on Goofy’s Sky School.








I know I definitely put Grizzly River Run on the list. DS looked it over once and twice and made sure his favourites were there. And as we strolled around the corner, our guide ticked it off the list.







Alison got on this ride with us; Bret and Fran sat it out.








We all got wet but I think that water loves me more than Alison. And I was wearing lighter coloured clothes today so I had to think hard as to what colour underwear I had on today. I sure didn't want to walk round with a wet bottom and feeling see-through!





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[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


Paradise Garden Grill




The Paradise Garden Grill had been on Alison’s hit list for lunch and given the healthy Mediterranean options the menu promised, DH and I were more than happy to oblige. What a great choice it turned out to be.....the food was delicious!


Alison and Fran split the lamb gyros....






....and chicken skewer with tzatziki.






Bret got the grilled beef skewer with chimichurri sauce.






I got the chicken skewer with chimichurri sauce. The chicken had been marinated with lemon and oregano. It was delicious!






DH got the Greek Salad. It contained lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, pepperoncini, olives and feta. If you see anything else, let me know.






The only voice of dissention was DS. He really didn't want anything here....but was more than happy with the choice next door at the Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta joint. They served parmesan cheese!








Our guide? Even here, he was super useful. He found us seats, helped us carry the trays and made sure we had the appropriate cutlery and napkins before letting us enjoy our lunch. We offered to get Tim lunch and for him to join us; but he declined.

 

[AussieDisneyNut]

WOW a human fastpass! What will they think of next!

What a great way to tour the park though ... and to do that with friends even better! I think your day was blessed with quite a bit of Disney Magic!

Your lunch looks fantastic ... I think we'll have kebabs for dinner tonight!

I remember riding the Mad Mouse at the Royal Melbourne Show as a teenager, quite terrifying really!

Looking forward to hearing more.

 

[zanzibar138]

What a great morning! You got wonderful photos of the rides, and the food looks delicious

I love rollercoasters, but I have to say, not much of a fan of the crazy mouse style ones! Definitely looking forward to having a go at Goofy's Sky School though.

And yes, no offence, but I'd much rather have gone to Singapore for a few days with DH than sit around at home reading TRs

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

That's great that Fran and Alison arranged the human fastpass. How kind! Carsland looks so much fun! I love the Under the Sea ride at WDW. Does DCA have the meet and greet with Ariel option also?

I read from Pam's post about the GC entrance to DCA. I thought that was fab. Yum re Paradise Grill but PIO no sweet stuff? Shame on you. I want to see that sticky sweet food porn!

 

[dhorner233]

I am so loving your pictures from Disneyland/CA!!! Since I will be there in like 10 days!!!!! I am taking notes of stuff I want to make sure I do (and eat!!

 

[spiritsim]

Just wondering what it would cost to hire a human fast pass if this was even possible............lol Looks like great fun so nice to see the park that way.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Carsland and what a mild looking ride with Tow Mater and then a w a y you go

Looks like so much fun the picture with the G forces had me I couldn't wait before but now I really am looking forward to Carsland coming to us in FL not soon enough for me !

 

[kmedina]

Such an awesome day. A human fastpass would be amazing. That has to be the best job ever. It makes me want to move their and get a job with Disney. The Garden Grill looks fantastic. We've never eaten there, because I try to find one restaurant that suits all of us. I may have to do what you did though and get adult food from there and kid food from the pizza joint.

Connor was finally tall enough to ride MJJ this trip. He loved it so much that we rode it four times in three days. He definitely had happy eyes.

The 1901 Lounge is stunningly beautiful.

 

[mvf-m11c]

It was a fun start to the morning. It would have been nice if RSR was up as our first ride but it turned out better later that day.

The food at Paradise Garden Grill was great and glad that Alison chooses that place to have lunch. Very nice update.

 

[Pinkocto]

I was pleasantly surprised how fun Mator's ride was so fun!

No vacation next year?

 

[dolphingirl47]

I did not have a chance to try Mater's Junkyard Jamboree when I was at Disneyland in May, but they have a ride that shares the same technology at Walt Disney Studios in Paris called Cars Quatre Roues Rallye which is also surprisingly lively and great fun. I can't wait to see how much you got done in that day. Lunch looks delicious. I love Middle Eastern food so I am surprised that I have not found this on any of my visits.

Corinna