Elk Grove Chris
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2011
- Messages
- 5,701
Drove my Daughter back to school on Saturday the 17th. Still not comfortable letting her drive the 400 miles solo, and since her apartment is so close to Disneyland, why not. Last trip on this AP, expires today.
Made it down in pretty good time, pretty light traffic. One stop for some eats and stretches and switch drivers. Hit Costco in Long Beach to gas up and stock her up on fruits and veggies. Slept on the futon we got her last trip, ew my back and a MIGRAINE.
Figured we better leave a little early because of the racers and potential big crowds. Yeah, not so much. Got a late start out of the gate and then ran into a ton of road closures. We knew about the race, but figured Google maps would be our friend-nope. After circling half of Garden Grove or Anaheim, not sure, it all started to blend together, we finally made our way to the giant parking structure.
Could not shake this pounding in my head. Would affect me most of the day, off my game on taking pics. So this is going to be kind of a shotgun approach to the day, sorry, not a real coherent trip report.
First time for me using the Mickey and friends parking, so used to staying across the street somewhere and just walking by, sure missed that. Could have used a serious break today. Considering the number of cars queued up, I was actually surprised how quickly we got to a parking spot.
Did not get into the esplanade until 9:35, soon after we were in Disneyland. Looked like a lot of others were late this morning as well. They showed up soon in force-pun intended. Plenty of racers walking around, some pretty cool outfits.
We headed to Space Mountain first, 20 minutes or so and we were on.
Star Tours was next, standby line also about 20. Got my favorite combo-Darth Vader-Wookie Planet-Naboo. The next couple of hours started to blur together shortly after this.
I grabbed us a FP for Space Mountain-return time of 1:20. We then decided to head over to California Adventure to grab a FP for Racers, hoping to get something in the evening. Success, return time for racers FP was 7:00, pulled right at 11.
We then took a stroll around the Pier to check out Screamin. Standby was at 55 minutes, eh no thanks. Single rider line was packed too, took about 30 minutes to get on.
Little Mermaid had about a 15 minute wait. Really like the improvements, especially the lighting.
Stopped for a snack at the Cones, tried the chili in the cone for the first time, actually pretty good. Popped a few more motrin. Some mini churros too-chocolate dipping sauce way too sweet for either of us. Stopped by Tower, 60 minutes there too-no thanks again.
We headed back to DL before 1, grabbed a FP for BTMRR, return time of 2. Yes, we are gluttons for punishment, I guess we would rather walk around than stand in line for an hour, plus we have been so many times in the last couple of years, we could miss something here or there and it was ok. Especially when there were so many people in the parks.
Grabbed FP for Fantasmic in case we stayed that long, otherwise we would give it away. Which we did later.
Headed over to NOS and hit Pirates, about a 15 minute wait. Seemed brighter than normal for most of the ride. Had some really blown out pictures. Other bright spot, sorry, was that no one used a flash or sang on our boat. First time I recall either of those not happening in some time.
The drop:
We did single rider for Indiana Jones next. Wait wasn’t too bad, maybe 25 minutes.
I am thinking they did not give this poor guy any eyes, or maybe they are closed:
Made our way over to Tomorrowland and used our FP for Space, pretty quick through the line. Standby was at 75 minutes now. With FP return times of 7. I had to start taking notes on my phone of what we were doing-still in a fog but having a relatively good time otherwise.
Ducked into Innoventions for a few minutes to get away from the crowds, DL was getting quite packed. Thought about waiting to see Captain America, but we decided against it, 60 minute waits seemed to be the common theme today.
Made our way to It’s a Small World, wait was about 25 minutes pretty close to 2:00.
First time on this ride with a stoppage, we had just made it back outside, when the water stopped moving. I was thinking of the people inside, they must turn off the music after a while, right?
After sitting there for about 10 minutes. They evacuated the boat that was two ahead of us. Then we sat there. A CM came by and let us know they would be restarting the ride soon. After another 5 minutes went by, the water came back on. As we were exiting I muttered to my Daughter that I was glad we were not stuck on the inside. CM overheard and playfully said they could get us right back on for another ride if we wanted, we passed.
Headed over to Frontierland via the train via NOS. Not exactly a straight line, but we wanted to see the dioramas.
I can never get this guy just right.
Used our FPs for BTMRR, pretty short wait.
Ripped another FP after we got off, return time of 5:10 at 3:00. Noticeably larger crowds now. All of the ride closures plus the Holiday weekend, plus the racers equaled up to some packed walkways. But we knew what we were in for, still got to do quite a bit of what we aimed to do for the day.
We had a reservation for the Blue Bayou-checked in a bit early to try for a table near the water. They were quite busy, not taking up any walk ups. I could not get a dinner reservation a week out, only lunch. I was hoping to do the Fantasmic deal, but it wasn’t meant to be-turned out to be lucky as we would have missed the show anyways. Wait for the water side table was right at 45 minutes. As my daughter waited, I wandered about NOS trying to clear my head.
We were sat in the table closest to where POC loads/exits. Noticed something for the first time from that vantage point. On previous visits we have seen CMs walking over the kitchen door before but never saw where they were coming from. This time we could see the walkway on the back side of the bayou, as we noticed several CMs go by as we ate. Where do they enter at, anyone know? Would have to be somewhere behind the control booth for Pirates.
Behind the far foliage.
My Daughter chose the chicken and I chose the flank steak, both were really good. Bread service included the rosemary biscuits we had last time and we gobbled those up real quick. I am actually a huge fan of sourdough, but we wished that the whole basket was filled with the other biscuits. We both started with the salad, also very good.
After resting in Frontierland for about 15 minutes, we were ready to move on. Made the short stroll to BTMRR and used our FPs.
Only real bad CM and guest interaction for the day, all in the queue. As we were entering the FP line, the group in front of us was having issues with their passes. They had passes for IJA not BTMRR. CM started off by saying let me give you an English lesson to the group, which we thought was quite rude, they did not, and just walked away. I should have wrote down the CMs name and said something but I guess I was too tired and my head was still pounding to really think it though. English was obviously not their first language, but the CM went about the situation very badly. It was crowded, he was probably tired of all the people, but bad form. Fortunately, all of our other CM interactions were quite good (and this one did not happen to us directly).
Worst guest interaction happened shortly thereafter. A group of 6 pre-teen boys was now in front of us after the other group left. They were throwing ice at each other, and spitting water at one another, just plain annoying. Nothing got on us as we gave them a plenty of space, but they were getting the stink eye from the group in front of them as well. They did not care. They only stopped the serious horseplay when I said something to the CM collecting FPs. Fortunately, most of the day we saw everyone around us having a good time, without bothering other guests.
As we got off, we grabbed another FP, return time was 9:00. Ended up giving those FPs away too. Got right back in line-30 minute wait.
We then headed back over the California Adventure to see if the crowds were any lighter over there, not really, but the wider walkways do help.
We checked out the Frozen Fun for a bit, did not stay long. Headed over the TOT, 60 minute wait, no thanks. FP machines were covered.
We knew Toy Story would be a long wait too but decided to check to see it was 40-45 minutes or so. Nope, 60 minutes there too.
So we made our way over to Carsland and sat down for a while, had about 20 minutes before we could use our FPs for Racers. When we finally decided to go over, the FP line was around the corner, standby was at 120 minutes. It took about 25 minutes to get on the ride, much quicker than I anticipated when first looking at the line.
As we got to the CMs checking FPs out front, a man was being denied entry into the FP line because he didn’t have a FP but his 3 little kids did (sounded like a parent swap half way through the day). Seems like the CM could have maybe let it slide, it was pretty busy. Fortunately, someone else overheard this too and offered him an extra FP they had, cool beans.
Right after we got off the ride, my Daughter’s roommate called. Her ride from the airport fell through, so we told here we could pick her up. We were both pretty beat anyways. Pretty packed parks today, but we had fun. My AP expired oday, not renewing at this time. Got 6 visits out of this one, a new high for me for a 12 month span. This year won’t be near that much as we are hitting WDW for the first time in December. But we will probably get in at least a few days in August. Cya then.
Made it down in pretty good time, pretty light traffic. One stop for some eats and stretches and switch drivers. Hit Costco in Long Beach to gas up and stock her up on fruits and veggies. Slept on the futon we got her last trip, ew my back and a MIGRAINE.
Figured we better leave a little early because of the racers and potential big crowds. Yeah, not so much. Got a late start out of the gate and then ran into a ton of road closures. We knew about the race, but figured Google maps would be our friend-nope. After circling half of Garden Grove or Anaheim, not sure, it all started to blend together, we finally made our way to the giant parking structure.
Could not shake this pounding in my head. Would affect me most of the day, off my game on taking pics. So this is going to be kind of a shotgun approach to the day, sorry, not a real coherent trip report.
First time for me using the Mickey and friends parking, so used to staying across the street somewhere and just walking by, sure missed that. Could have used a serious break today. Considering the number of cars queued up, I was actually surprised how quickly we got to a parking spot.
Did not get into the esplanade until 9:35, soon after we were in Disneyland. Looked like a lot of others were late this morning as well. They showed up soon in force-pun intended. Plenty of racers walking around, some pretty cool outfits.
We headed to Space Mountain first, 20 minutes or so and we were on.
Star Tours was next, standby line also about 20. Got my favorite combo-Darth Vader-Wookie Planet-Naboo. The next couple of hours started to blur together shortly after this.
I grabbed us a FP for Space Mountain-return time of 1:20. We then decided to head over to California Adventure to grab a FP for Racers, hoping to get something in the evening. Success, return time for racers FP was 7:00, pulled right at 11.
We then took a stroll around the Pier to check out Screamin. Standby was at 55 minutes, eh no thanks. Single rider line was packed too, took about 30 minutes to get on.
Little Mermaid had about a 15 minute wait. Really like the improvements, especially the lighting.
Stopped for a snack at the Cones, tried the chili in the cone for the first time, actually pretty good. Popped a few more motrin. Some mini churros too-chocolate dipping sauce way too sweet for either of us. Stopped by Tower, 60 minutes there too-no thanks again.
We headed back to DL before 1, grabbed a FP for BTMRR, return time of 2. Yes, we are gluttons for punishment, I guess we would rather walk around than stand in line for an hour, plus we have been so many times in the last couple of years, we could miss something here or there and it was ok. Especially when there were so many people in the parks.
Grabbed FP for Fantasmic in case we stayed that long, otherwise we would give it away. Which we did later.
Headed over to NOS and hit Pirates, about a 15 minute wait. Seemed brighter than normal for most of the ride. Had some really blown out pictures. Other bright spot, sorry, was that no one used a flash or sang on our boat. First time I recall either of those not happening in some time.
The drop:
We did single rider for Indiana Jones next. Wait wasn’t too bad, maybe 25 minutes.
I am thinking they did not give this poor guy any eyes, or maybe they are closed:
Made our way over to Tomorrowland and used our FP for Space, pretty quick through the line. Standby was at 75 minutes now. With FP return times of 7. I had to start taking notes on my phone of what we were doing-still in a fog but having a relatively good time otherwise.
Ducked into Innoventions for a few minutes to get away from the crowds, DL was getting quite packed. Thought about waiting to see Captain America, but we decided against it, 60 minute waits seemed to be the common theme today.
Made our way to It’s a Small World, wait was about 25 minutes pretty close to 2:00.
First time on this ride with a stoppage, we had just made it back outside, when the water stopped moving. I was thinking of the people inside, they must turn off the music after a while, right?
After sitting there for about 10 minutes. They evacuated the boat that was two ahead of us. Then we sat there. A CM came by and let us know they would be restarting the ride soon. After another 5 minutes went by, the water came back on. As we were exiting I muttered to my Daughter that I was glad we were not stuck on the inside. CM overheard and playfully said they could get us right back on for another ride if we wanted, we passed.
Headed over to Frontierland via the train via NOS. Not exactly a straight line, but we wanted to see the dioramas.
I can never get this guy just right.
Used our FPs for BTMRR, pretty short wait.
Ripped another FP after we got off, return time of 5:10 at 3:00. Noticeably larger crowds now. All of the ride closures plus the Holiday weekend, plus the racers equaled up to some packed walkways. But we knew what we were in for, still got to do quite a bit of what we aimed to do for the day.
We had a reservation for the Blue Bayou-checked in a bit early to try for a table near the water. They were quite busy, not taking up any walk ups. I could not get a dinner reservation a week out, only lunch. I was hoping to do the Fantasmic deal, but it wasn’t meant to be-turned out to be lucky as we would have missed the show anyways. Wait for the water side table was right at 45 minutes. As my daughter waited, I wandered about NOS trying to clear my head.
We were sat in the table closest to where POC loads/exits. Noticed something for the first time from that vantage point. On previous visits we have seen CMs walking over the kitchen door before but never saw where they were coming from. This time we could see the walkway on the back side of the bayou, as we noticed several CMs go by as we ate. Where do they enter at, anyone know? Would have to be somewhere behind the control booth for Pirates.
Behind the far foliage.
My Daughter chose the chicken and I chose the flank steak, both were really good. Bread service included the rosemary biscuits we had last time and we gobbled those up real quick. I am actually a huge fan of sourdough, but we wished that the whole basket was filled with the other biscuits. We both started with the salad, also very good.
After resting in Frontierland for about 15 minutes, we were ready to move on. Made the short stroll to BTMRR and used our FPs.
Only real bad CM and guest interaction for the day, all in the queue. As we were entering the FP line, the group in front of us was having issues with their passes. They had passes for IJA not BTMRR. CM started off by saying let me give you an English lesson to the group, which we thought was quite rude, they did not, and just walked away. I should have wrote down the CMs name and said something but I guess I was too tired and my head was still pounding to really think it though. English was obviously not their first language, but the CM went about the situation very badly. It was crowded, he was probably tired of all the people, but bad form. Fortunately, all of our other CM interactions were quite good (and this one did not happen to us directly).
Worst guest interaction happened shortly thereafter. A group of 6 pre-teen boys was now in front of us after the other group left. They were throwing ice at each other, and spitting water at one another, just plain annoying. Nothing got on us as we gave them a plenty of space, but they were getting the stink eye from the group in front of them as well. They did not care. They only stopped the serious horseplay when I said something to the CM collecting FPs. Fortunately, most of the day we saw everyone around us having a good time, without bothering other guests.
As we got off, we grabbed another FP, return time was 9:00. Ended up giving those FPs away too. Got right back in line-30 minute wait.
We then headed back over the California Adventure to see if the crowds were any lighter over there, not really, but the wider walkways do help.
We checked out the Frozen Fun for a bit, did not stay long. Headed over the TOT, 60 minute wait, no thanks. FP machines were covered.
We knew Toy Story would be a long wait too but decided to check to see it was 40-45 minutes or so. Nope, 60 minutes there too.
So we made our way over to Carsland and sat down for a while, had about 20 minutes before we could use our FPs for Racers. When we finally decided to go over, the FP line was around the corner, standby was at 120 minutes. It took about 25 minutes to get on the ride, much quicker than I anticipated when first looking at the line.
As we got to the CMs checking FPs out front, a man was being denied entry into the FP line because he didn’t have a FP but his 3 little kids did (sounded like a parent swap half way through the day). Seems like the CM could have maybe let it slide, it was pretty busy. Fortunately, someone else overheard this too and offered him an extra FP they had, cool beans.
Right after we got off the ride, my Daughter’s roommate called. Her ride from the airport fell through, so we told here we could pick her up. We were both pretty beat anyways. Pretty packed parks today, but we had fun. My AP expired oday, not renewing at this time. Got 6 visits out of this one, a new high for me for a 12 month span. This year won’t be near that much as we are hitting WDW for the first time in December. But we will probably get in at least a few days in August. Cya then.
I was missing Disney today and needed this! 
