For the First Time In Forever.....A Disneyland reopening TR, Dark Ride photos and The End 5/8

[franandaj]

OK, I have a few more updates to respond to, but I’m going to take advantage of having the top of the page advantage to update with yesterday’s events.

Avengers Preview

So I'm skipping two updates to post this one, and then I'll go back and hit the others. As many of you know, this week Avengers Campus opened at DCA. I was lucky enough to be invited to one of the various previews that were offered before opening day.

Our time slot was 5:30-7:30, but evidently various different groups were in there all day. We could check in as early as 1PM, and I wanted to leave around noon, but anyone who has followed along knows that what I want to do and what happens are rarely in sync.

It was 1:38 when I finally texted Jenny and Jill that we were on our way. I calculated how long it would take to get there, unload the scooters and take the Tram path into the park and then pulled up the mobile app. Since we would be in DCA for the whole time today, I had planned to tick the Corn Dog/Cheese Dog combo off my list.

We got there quickly enough, but we had a heck of a time finding a parking spot. All the Accessible spots were full and we had to drive around the structure another time. I realized that I better move the time frame of our mobile order cause we weren't going to make the original time. I was able to push it back 15 minutes which should be plenty of time.

We eventually found a regular space at the end of an aisle. You see we need the extra space in the side of the car for the ramps to get the scooter in and out. Finally we were situated and on our way into the park. It was right about the time when our new mobile order window opened up. So we headed straight to Award Wieners and hit the button, “I’m here prepare my order.” Here we are waiting for the screen to turn blue and say, “Your order is ready, please report to counter # “so and so”



I picked up our order and we easily found a table where we could unmask and eat!



Yummy corn dog!





Yummy cheese dog!





Happy Fran!



We decided to try the Carrot Cake Funnel Fries, which really had no taste of carrot cake at all. Fran said that they tasted like churros. I’m not quite sure what they tasted like. They were OK, but Fran finished them up, so I guess she liked then.



Then we went to the check in area to get our wrist bands and vouchers. Our band was purple and at this time they were letting in people with green bands. They said that we could begin lining up at 4:30 so we had some time to kill.







We went back to the area of Hollywood land where we were before to go to the special Avengers store that they had set up in Stage 17.





They were definitely expecting some crowds as they had plenty of places to line up.





There sure was a lot of stuff in there!











It took me a little while to figure out what these were, and then it hit me, Loki ears!



I texted this picture to Jenny and Jill, and Jill’s response was, “That suit better come with Robert Downey Jr for that price!”



They had a few other trinkets that you could purchase for a little cash.









They had some other cool stuff on display from the movies.







Then we decided we might as well go wait in the line to get into the land. There really wasn’t time to do anything else like go on rides or anything. I think it was probably a little bit before 5:30 that they actually started letting us in. My first picture is time stamped 5:33 and we were hundreds of people back in the line. The line started at the entrance to Avengers Campus (where I took the picture earlier with my wrist band) across from the Blue Sky Celler, and stretched all the way past the Carsland entrance, past Pacific Wharf there was a gap in the line so that guests could access Pixar Pier and we were finally led to the area where folks are placed for World of Color, there were people behind us though and they doubled the line back to who knows how far, it could have been all the way to the beginning by the time the line started to move and let us in the land.





We are walking along the ride building for Web Slingers here



Unbeknownst to me, this is the exit for the ride, I was kind of wondering where it went.



Outside the store they were testing these $80 Spidey Bots that you could purchase, but we’ll get back there later.



There’s a look at the main part of the Avenger’s Campus, but we’ll get back there later too. If you don’t want any spoilers on the ride, then I suggest you skip this next update and resume with the third part of this report.




[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]


We literally walked right into the line for Web Slingers. It was extended about 10 ft outside the start of the queue.



Now in all efficiency, we should have checked out the other parts of the land while everyone who was just let in to the Campus was waiting in line for the ride, but just like we did when we previewed Galaxy’s Edge, we went right for the ride itself. Then again we waited less than 20 minutes from the time that we entered the queue until we were actually on the ride, so not so bad.







Throughout the line they had these “Spotlights” on various Engineers and Designers. The only one I recognized was Peter Parker. While I’ve almost seen all the movies and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episodes, evidently my retention and attention to detail is not that good. I probably have to see them all five more times to catch the nuances.



I suppose this was supposed to be some kind of experiment or display to keep us looking while waiting in the queue.





Almost there!



Now we’re finally in the first room of the start of the ride. Nothing really happens in here, but this is where they can at least count off the correct number ofr people for the preshow room. I believe there are two preshow rooms, we went through the door on the left. I’m sure there is another room through the door on the right.







This is the pre-show room. In here you are welcomed to WEB (Worldwide Engineering Brigade) for an Open House. While Peter Parker welcomes you, he demonstrates the spidey bots (seen in the picture in the previous post) self replicating feature. The bot gets “stuck” in self replication and the spidey bots will take over the world, so you have to help eradicate them. Some cool effects happen while all this is unfolding, but I didn’t take any more pictures.



After this room they send you down a corridor (aka queue) to the vehicles where you will save the world. They give you tips on how to sling webs along the way.



And pretty soon you’re in the loading area.



You put on your 3D glasses and there are four seats on either side of the vehicle. It's like TSMM in that you go from scene to scene, but instead of having a pull string shooter in front of you, they have some kind of sensor that translates into webs that destroy the spidey bots. The sensation is a little weird and your first scene is pretty “easy” or sparse with the little bots. I thrust my arm out into the spideyverse and “ZOOM” a web shot out of it and I blew up a box. On my second shot I nailed the little bot thing and it blew up right there. Here’s a couple scenes that I stole off the Interwebs. There aren’t that many since the ride just opened.



I don’t remember how many vignettes there were but somewhere along the way Spiderman shows up and things start to get really hairy in the second or third scenario. The bots get bigger and need to be hit multiple times before they blow up.



At some point you're literally flailing your arms all over the place in front of you aiming at stuff, which explodes when you hit it. At least I was. At one point it was almost like I was pedaling a bike with my hands just to shoot the exploding webs out of my palms.



In the end you get a score. I got the 185,400, and there are little numbers underneath for which of the big bad bots you destroy. Plus there is a scene in there where Spiderman is going to die and you have to rescue him, and you get points for that. I think we got him out in the nick of time, barely.



After the ride was over, this was in the corridor where you get back to the unloading dock.




[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]


As soon as we came out of the ride, we stumbled upon one of these “bars”. This was actually the other one of the two, but they were serving ice cold water and sodas for free!



Now I couldn’t resist getting a shot of this guy, he must really like Captain America! His suit was a full on tailored Captain America Sport Jacket and Trousers.



We decided to visit Dr. Strange’s area next.



It was so strange, all of a sudden I was just standing there….

And then it was like I was falling into an abyss.

I used my superpowers to get out of that one, and we found this doorway.



Not sure what was up with this area, perhaps it will be for meet and greets when that sort of stuff is allowed.



We headed toward the building, but it wasn’t open.



I think this might be where another ride will be located. I found this on the Interwebs.

While not opening at launch, alongside an Avengers HQ experience, fans will also be able to ride in a Quinjet (which is the iconic mode of transport for the Earth's Mightiest heroes). This will be far from a basic attraction though, taking fans on a brand new adventure.​

​

​

It looks as if, from concept art, guests will be transported around the world in the S.H.I.E.L.D. tech to famous locations, like Wakanda, where they will have to do battle with dangerous enemies and familiar foes. It looks to be one of the premium experiences in Avengers Campus.​

We saw this fella hangin’ around



This is the bar area where they serve various cocktails, we didn’t try any. Fran’s stomach wasn’t feeling too great after lunch and we were lucky nothing bad happened on or after the ride.



We decided to head over to Terran Treats and redeem our first voucher for a dessert. I figured that if we waited until after eating dinner, everyone else who had already started on dinner might sell out one of the treats and we wouldn’t have a choice. We ended up getting the Cosmic Cream Orb, and just put them in my basket for later. They were sort of wrapped for storage, we figured we could eat them at home when we were hungry. Pictures later.

The Terran Treats cart was over between the Hyperion Theater and Guardians of the Galaxy. So here’s a look into the area that had been closed off during the construction walking back to use our dinner vouchers.



We got in line to order Dinner at Pym’s Test Kitchen, there was a limited menu that our vouchers would include, but we wanted the Pretzel so it was no problem. We asked if they could pack it to go and the answer was “no”.



It was bigger than Fran’s head! It came with a beer cheese sauce (which I thought was too beer flavored), there was also some mustard as well. She looks like she’s thinking, take the darn picture already, I want to eat this thing.



We ended up eating less than half of this giant pretzel and luckily we had an empty Disney bag in the scooter so we packed the pretzel up to go leaving the sauces. We decided to use our second voucher for the Schwarma cart. That we could take home as it was packaged to go. On our way there I noticed that there was no line for web slingers. Evidently some of the guests rode it as many as 10 times.



We finally located the restrooms, not that we needed them, but it’s always good to know where the Disney restrooms are located!



Fran went to order our Schwarma at the cart, and I couldn’t have timed it better, Mr. Captain America Suit Man walked right into my picture!



We decided to check out this store.



The merchandise was not very diverse. Most of what they were selling were these “add ons” for the web slingers ride. As I understand it, if you get the wrist thingy, your webs generate at three for every one swipe of your hand. There are also add ons for electrifying your webs, and turning them into Iron Man strength.



They also had these $80 Spidey bot, and smaller ones for $24.99.



They had lots of kid’s size shirts.



And there’s those pesky spidey bots again…..



[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]


Still pretty dead on the ride. I don’t think I could have gone on it more than once. My shoulders were sore from all the flailing on that one ride.



Here’s a few more parting shots from Avenger’s Campus, we were tired from a long day (lots to do before Disney) and it was after 7PM. Our preview was between 5:30 and 7:30 and we had seen enough. There were some who stayed and rode the ride until 8:30 when Disney threw them out!



Another merchandise kiosk where you could get the web enhancers.



All evening there were different characters in this space, at one point Thor and Loki were there, and Black Panther and Ant Man. Obviously he was back and earlier Black Widow also did a “show” on the Headquarters building where she apprehended some bad guys. Super heroes were pretty much out all the time, just which ones were out rotated.



I was curious if the entrance from Carsland would still be open and evidently it will be, just not that night.



Captain America was back out again.



Another look at the Entrance to the Test Kitchen.



The bar was a little less busy as well.



Guardians was also a total walk on all night.



These two were out here arguing most all the night. The Dance Parties are probably not allowed during Covid.



Next time we go back (which is less than two week from today) we’re gonna get one of these!



There’s going to be a second Schwarma cart as well.



And this is where we exited. The date stamp on this picture is 7:17PM so I’d say we got our value out of the event. We made the long trudge back to the parking structure, thank goodness for the scooters! It was also getting cold, we’d brought over shirts, but we would have needed jackets if we were staying any longer.



Back home, I started to get hungry again, so I got the Schwarma out and gave it a try. It had some heat (that’s coming from a spicy food wimp). I ate about half of it





I decided the way to eat this is to spoon a little of the sauce/salad onto the sandwich. It was almost like a Tzatziki sauce.



Then I decided to try our Cosmic Cream Orb. A CM told me that it was like a Raspberry Cheesecake and that was totally accurate. It was really good and I would totally recommend this.





We also ate more of our pretzel with Cheese Whiz that I had in the fridge. Both of us liked the Cheese Whiz better than the sauce it came with.

I finished off the rest of the shawarma and my Orb for breakfast the next morning, I’d order them again! That might be tough. Jenny tells me that all the mobile order slots for the places in Avengers campus filled up by 9:30AM on opening Day. Yikes! That’s nuts!


Anyways, that’s a wrap up of my preview day. I’ll be back in a few with my 5th day back in the parks which was back in Mid May.

 

[pkondz]

There. Happy?

 

[franandaj]

Following along! I love that you have a continuing trip report.

Until I have a cruise or WDW TR to post this is the only thing that I can post on and it makes me happy!

That is so amazing that you are Club 33 members. My dream one day is to become a member, but that is on the far off distance lol

I'm actually not a Club 33 member, but I am lucky that I have good friends and am able to take advantage of frequent visits and merchandise!

 

[franandaj]

Ohhh Yahhhhh a big foodie/drinks update!!

Yup! You got it!

Love the matchy matchy!

Thanks!

Pretty sure we had some of those classics, but the "spring into hollywoods" sounds quite tasty too!

I don't even remember, drinks are so hard unless you stick to the same thing!

Love this! Fran "Oh Alison, I love you but..."

Seriously dude

I know....I can't wait for covid to be over.

tzatziki and pomegranates- how was that?

Actually it was a very nice combination. I would do this again, if I didn't have a four course meal planned.

That's indeed what I'd think...

And now I want a Belvedere Gibson cause it does taste different than one with Gin.

Mmmm gin tasting..I love my gins...

I did like the Monkey 47, I even have some in my fridge. I planned to make myself one during the lockdown, but never got around to it. I did make myself a Windex Martini.

At first glance I thought it was an edible flower!

That's funny!

Nice menu! I know what I'd have, and I know which item you wouldn't have!

I just wish they would update it. I guess ingredients are hard to find in a pandemic, but I would really like a change.

D would have this

Didn't we order similarly the last time?

And I would have this- yumm!

And didn't you two order similarly the last time?

I would have this I think and D I'm not sure..maybe the other so we could have both...

We usually like to get both, but sometimes we order the same.

This looks sooo good but...
I'd probably have this...maybe...I LOVE filet..so we'd probably have both..I knew you'd have the filet of course.

Well since I don't like Salmon. And I think I even tried her salmon just to make sure, and no, I still didn't care for it. I really wish I did, it looks so lovely and I would really like to like it. I just don't.

I'm normally chocolate all the way, but wow this looks SO good!

I can't wait to go back because I really want to try this dessert. We were supposed to be there tonight, but we canceled because she's feeling icky. I really hope we can figure out the icky.

bitters are a good tummy "settler" so I wonder if he did?

it was a definite mixture of stuff, but he said it did include bitters.

Nice work you two!!

 

[franandaj]

I did! Through a stroke of luck or a lucky mistake.

Well good hopefully you are safe now!

Oh! I hadn't thought of that. Of course!

They have all kinds of little phone stands that you can put your phone into where CMs used to take your pictures.

I prefer to think of you as agreeably accommodating.

Another word for pushover. We usually don't like to object, especially at Disney where people know us.

Not surprised. It's... a lot.
It's one of the most talked about scenes, but mostly due to the shock value.
However... the scene with the waiter immediately after that is one of my favourites.

I don't remember that, probably cause I was still in the lobby or bathroom. I was in HS when my date took me to that movie. I'm not sure I ever rewatched that scene in adult life. My favorite of that movie is the production number with the Catholic and Protestant folks and the debate of what to wear over his "John Thomas". I love the way it turns into a total production number with dancers in the street and becomes like a full on Broadway production.

I am promising nothing!!

Actually, you'll probably be fine. Working some funky hours over the next few days and I can't see your photos at work.

And still while you didn't interrupt my posts, you got in there.....

 

[franandaj]

There. Happy?

 

[dizneeat]

I haven't been on the DISboards much since the pandemic hit and now I missed the start of this. But I will come back to read all 13 pages tonight. Gets the spirit up to be able to have some new DIS reports

 

[wishing4PA]

All caught up now! You have a lot of nice photos!

-- Re: Club 33 = Wow, what a meal! I'd be happy with just the dessert, but the rest looks good, too. The whole meal looks too good for something we aren't going to be able to eat anyhow, but if we could, that dessert would be gone in 2 seconds flat!

-- Hanging my head in shame for having taken the top of page 12.

-- Fran's Chip & Dale shirt is the cutest! I'd smile too, if I was wearing that shirt, with or without a corn dog.

-- Re: shopping: We might need a checked bag after all, for Avengers Campus.

-- Re: Pym's: I've got to get that pretzel, thought it looks like lunch for two.
We probably won't like that beer cheese sauce at all if it's too beer-y.
I suppose it was experimental after all. We'll just hope Pym can experiment w more cheese next time. Or get Cheese Whiz.

-- Re: Webslinger: Shoulder soreness hadn't occured to me. I guess I should keep up with some exercises. I'd never had shoulder pain in my life, until planning this trip. Not so great timing on my part. Hopefully your sore shoulders recovered within a reasonable time.

-- Re: Shawarma: Uh oh, we're spicy food wimps too. But it looks so good!
-- The cosmic Cream Orb also is on my list. Glad it didn't disappoint! Sounds like we'd better order early though!

To answer your question right off the bat, we're reserved at the Castle Inn & Suites. If I were alone, I'd probably gone for Tropicana or something else closer, but it doesn't look TOO far, and DD liked the castle theme, so that's it, if I don't suddenly change my mind. Thanks for responding about Harbor. I kind of expected it probably would be okay all around DL, but it is out of the "bubble" and lately we've been bubble people at WDW, so I wasn't so sure.

Any more updates/pics on the way? I accidentally lost my place somewhere or I'd probably know, but will be happy to see more!

 

[franandaj]

I haven't been on the DISboards much since the pandemic hit and now I missed the start of this.

Karin! I'm so glad you made it back on the DIS and over here.

But I will come back to read all 13 pages tonight. Gets the spirit up to be able to have some new DIS reports

Don't worry about it! The report will be here! Glad to give you new Disney content!

 

[pkondz]

As many of you know, this week Avengers Campus opened at DCA

I do! You told us!

I wanted to leave around noon, but anyone who has followed along knows that what I want to do and what happens are rarely in sync.

Next time you want to leave at noon, tell Fran you absolutely, 100% no kidding, your lives depend on it... have to leave at 10:30.

That way you should be able to leave only a little late.

We eventually found a regular space at the end of an aisle. You see we need the extra space in the side of the car for the ramps to get the scooter in and out.

Oh, so not a rear unloading.
Still... am surprised given that it was a pre-view, combined with Covid restrictions that all the spots were taken.

Yummy corn dog!

mmmm...
Better, same, or not as good as the wagon?

Yummy cheese dog!

Nope. I can't see that as something I'd want. Of course I'd try it if offered, and might even like it, but... not something that grabs my attention.

Happy Fran!

We decided to try the Carrot Cake Funnel Fries, which really had no taste of carrot cake at all.

Well... that whole sentence is odd.
Carrot cake funnel fries??? That... don't taste like carrot cake???

They were definitely expecting some crowds as they had plenty of places to line up.

I'm sure those were full the next day.

It took me a little while to figure out what these were, and then it hit me, Loki ears!

Oh! I never would've guessed.

I texted this picture to Jenny and Jill, and Jill’s response was, “That suit better come with Robert Downey Jr for that price!”

No idea what that is.

So... you figure that's a movie used model?

We are walking along the ride building for Web Slingers here

I'm surprised by that. I wonder if things have changed. Last I heard, Universal had the rights to Spiderman for theme parks.

Outside the store they were testing these $80 Spidey Bots that you could purchase, but we’ll get back there later.

$80?!?!?

Do they do dishes? Clean the floor?

$80?!?!?!?!?

We literally walked right into the line for Web Slingers.

Was that by design? Did everyone go straight there, or were you free to branch off if you wanted?

Then again we waited less than 20 minutes from the time that we entered the queue until we were actually on the ride, so not so bad.

Not bad at all.

Throughout the line they had these “Spotlights” on various Engineers and Designers. The only one I recognized was Peter Parker. While I’ve almost seen all the movies and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episodes, evidently my retention and attention to detail is not that good. I probably have to see them all five more times to catch the nuances.

You're probably more knowledgeable than I am. I haven't seen any SHIELD episodes.

In here you are welcomed to WEB (Worldwide Engineering Brigade)

Cute.

They give you tips on how to sling webs along the way.

Huh! I wasn't expecting an interactive ride. And certainly not like that!

. I thrust my arm out into the spideyverse and “ZOOM” a web shot out of it and I blew up a box.

Okay, that's cool.

At some point you're literally flailing your arms all over the place in front of you aiming at stuff, which explodes when you hit it.

But I can see it hurting more than TSMM after a while.

Now I couldn’t resist getting a shot of this guy, he must really like Captain America! His suit was a full on tailored Captain America Sport Jacket and Trousers.

Pretty creative!

Watch out, Alison!

And then it was like I was falling into an abyss.

Noooooo...

I used my superpowers to get out of that one,

Phew! Thank goodness for your powers!

Fran’s stomach wasn’t feeling too great after lunch and we were lucky nothing bad happened on or after the ride.

Sorry to hear that. Maybe those "dogs" pre-ride weren't the best idea?

We decided to head over to Terran Treats and redeem our first voucher for a dessert. I figured that if we waited until after eating dinner, everyone else who had already started on dinner might sell out one of the treats and we wouldn’t have a choice.

Good thinking. I wouldn't have thought of that.

We asked if they could pack it to go and the answer was “no”.

Well... okay, then.

She looks like she’s thinking, take the darn picture already, I want to eat this thing.

And yes, that pretzel is huge!

On our way there I noticed that there was no line for web slingers. Evidently some of the guests rode it as many as 10 times.

Wow!

Fran went to order our Schwarma at the cart, and I couldn’t have timed it better, Mr. Captain America Suit Man walked right into my picture!

The merchandise was not very diverse. Most of what they were selling were these “add ons” for the web slingers ride. As I understand it, if you get the wrist thingy, your webs generate at three for every one swipe of your hand. There are also add ons for electrifying your webs, and turning them into Iron Man strength.

Oh, geez. I can already guess that they're going to make a ton of money off those.

My shoulders were sore from all the flailing on that one ride.

Not surprised.

Guardians was also a total walk on all night.

But you didn't go?

These two were out here arguing most all the night.

Back home, I started to get hungry again, so I got the Schwarma out and gave it a try.

You know, I've never had schwarma. We have it here, but... I've just never been in the mood, or hungry enough, or in the right area.

Then I decided to try our Cosmic Cream Orb. A CM told me that it was like a Raspberry Cheesecake and that was totally accurate. It was really good and I would totally recommend this.

It looks terrible/burnt, but obviously wasn't. Very interesting look!

We also ate more of our pretzel with Cheese Whiz that I had in the fridge. Both of us liked the Cheese Whiz better than the sauce it came with.

Huh! Maybe Disney should offer that.

Jenny tells me that all the mobile order slots for the places in Avengers campus filled up by 9:30AM on opening Day. Yikes! That’s nuts!

 

[pkondz]

Well good hopefully you are safe now!

Almost.
I believe it's 2-3 weeks after the 2nd shot that you are as immune as you're gonna get.

They have all kinds of little phone stands that you can put your phone into where CMs used to take your pictures.

Oh! Smart.

Another word for pushover. We usually don't like to object, especially at Disney where people know us.

You say "pushover", I say "kind".

I would much rather be friends with a "pushover" than with an abusive or rude person.

I don't remember that, probably cause I was still in the lobby or bathroom. I was in HS when my date took me to that movie. I'm not sure I ever rewatched that scene in adult life. My favorite of that movie is the production number with the Catholic and Protestant folks and the debate of what to wear over his "John Thomas". I love the way it turns into a total production number with dancers in the street and becomes like a full on Broadway production.

Great scene. Also like the Galaxy song scene:
Galaxy Song - Monty Python's The Meaning of Life - YouTube

And still while you didn't interrupt my posts, you got in there.....

But not at the top of the page.

 

[franandaj]

All caught up now! You have a lot of nice photos!

Thanks!

-- Re: Club 33 = Wow, what a meal! I'd be happy with just the dessert, but the rest looks good, too. The whole meal looks too good for something we aren't going to be able to eat anyhow, but if we could, that dessert would be gone in 2 seconds flat!

It was fantastic to eat such a fancy meal again after a year of being stuck at home.

-- Hanging my head in shame for having taken the top of page 12.

Hey no worries! I wasn't planning on posting an update at that point. Also page 14 probably won't get a top of the page update either. If I post updates too frequently people get overwhelmed and don't comment.

-- Fran's Chip & Dale shirt is the cutest! I'd smile too, if I was wearing that shirt, with or without a corn dog.

She likes that shirt a lot and doesn't get to wear it often since most of our days are spent at home and doing ho hum activities.

-- Re: shopping: We might need a checked bag after all, for Avengers Campus.

They were very strategic to make sure all the good shopping experiences were open to all park guests and not just inside the Campus.

-- Re: Pym's: I've got to get that pretzel, thought it looks like lunch for two.
We probably won't like that beer cheese sauce at all if it's too beer-y.
I suppose it was experimental after all. We'll just hope Pym can experiment w more cheese next time. Or get Cheese Whiz.

From what I understand they are limiting access to Avengers Campus, you either need to have a Webslingers Boarding Group or there is a queue. Someone said it was a 4-5 hour wait just to get into the land. I'm assuming it's a virtual queue. They tried the same thing with Galaxy’s Edge, but everyone stayed away due to the over hype, and there was no social distancing back then.

Hopefully after a few months the hype will calm down. Then again maybe not.

-- Re: Webslinger: Shoulder soreness hadn't occured to me. I guess I should keep up with some exercises. I'd never had shoulder pain in my life, until planning this trip. Not so great timing on my part. Hopefully your sore shoulders recovered within a reasonable time.

It just depends on how into it you get. I found myself caught up in the action and couldn't help myself.

-- Re: Shawarma: Uh oh, we're spicy food wimps too. But it looks so good!

I'll have to try it again, maybe when we go back in 10ish days.

-- The cosmic Cream Orb also is on my list. Glad it didn't disappoint! Sounds like we'd better order early though!

Well that came from a cart and I would imagine that by the time you visit the hype will either be over or they'll know how many they sell per day.

To answer your question right off the bat, we're reserved at the Castle Inn & Suites.

I haven't heard anything negative about that place. It's pretty basic, but sometimes that's all you nneed. It has a cute facade and it's not far at all. Maybe just a 5-10 minute longer walk than the Tropicana.

If I were alone, I'd probably gone for Tropicana or something else closer, but it doesn't look TOO far, and DD liked the castle theme, so that's it, if I don't suddenly change my mind.

It's not going to be bad at all. You're still North of Katella. There are many more hotel that are much farther away.

Thanks for responding about Harbor. I kind of expected it probably would be okay all around DL, but it is out of the "bubble" and lately we've been bubble people at WDW, so I wasn't so sure.

Actually there is a different bubble in Anaheim. There is of course the "on propety" bubble, which I love being a part of when we stay at the VGC. But there is another thing I've heard referred to as something akin to a "Disney price altering vortex". It has somewhat of an effect for around a block or two all around the Disneyland properties. Like the McDonald's you'll see on the map, you won't find the same "dollar deals" there. If we want McDonald's or a snack on our way home or on the way there, we stop at the one on Harbor and Lampson, which is out of the price vortex.

I haven't checked out many off campus food/retail things available on Harbor Blvd. but anyone without a car is limited to that area and their prices are higher than just a few blocks away.

As a result of the higher priced retail establishments, you'll pretty much only find other tourists in the area and not many nefarious characters and I'm sure the homeless and other unpleasant folks are nowhere to be found.

Any more updates/pics on the way? I accidentally lost my place somewhere or I'd probably know, but will be happy to see more!

I've got plenty more updates to come, although they may become more boring as I will eventually tick most everything off my list of things to do. I have two more updates (one is basically a repeat of a previous one). And then we are out once a week for the next four to five weeks. So I'll keep posting as long as people keep reading!

 

[wishing4PA]

It was fantastic to eat such a fancy meal again after a year of being stuck at home.

Ain't that the truth! We've been out once, but are not going to go crazy overboard until DL.

They were very strategic to make sure all the good shopping experiences were open to all park guests and not just inside the Campus.

Very smart.

From what I understand they are limiting access to Avengers Campus, you either need to have a Webslingers Boarding Group or there is a queue. Someone said it was a 4-5 hour wait just to get into the land. I'm assuming it's a virtual queue. They tried the same thing with Galaxy’s Edge, but everyone stayed away due to the over hype, and there was no social distancing back then.

My crystal ball broke with the pandemic, so I don't have any idea how that's going to work out. We're there for 4 nights, so 3 full days, with 2 of them starting at DCA as well as our last part day. I'm pretty sure if we don't get a BG I'll end up with DD in the SB line for the land at least. I could be wrong and she'd say "no webslingers, no need to go into AC", but my bet's on us making our way into it, one way or another. She's really excited about that ride though, so we'll be trying for it as often as possible. It is sad though that you can't ride multiple times. Practice makes perfect after all!

It just depends on how into it you get. I found myself caught up in the action and couldn't help myself.

I'll get into it. And I'll bring some Aleve.

I haven't heard anything negative about that place. It's pretty basic, but sometimes that's all you nneed. It has a cute facade and it's not far at all. Maybe just a 5-10 minute longer walk than the Tropicana.

It's not going to be bad at all. You're still North of Katella. There are many more hotel that are much farther away.

Good to hear!
Thanks!

Actually there is a different bubble in Anaheim. There is of course the "on propety" bubble, which I love being a part of when we stay at the VGC. But there is another thing I've heard referred to as something akin to a "Disney price altering vortex". It has somewhat of an effect for around a block or two all around the Disneyland properties.

The vortex!
I totally believe you! We're prepared for expensive Egg McMuffins or whatever.

 

[Steppesister]

I have another date with one on July 15....

Lucky girl!!!

If I found cat puke in my room, I would be mighty pissed!

The Disney cats know who loves them best, though.

We're wimps in the taste bud department.....

I'll take your too-spicy portions.

Including Trader Sam's?

Yes, including TS's.

I don't remember that time period. I was probably too busy focusing on rides back then.

This was back in the day of no cell phones, so when we had to meet up with the folks, you sat. Marigolds were often in the planters we'd sit at, so lots of scented memories from that.

Sometime, I want to try just sitting back and not doing anything and see what happens.

I'd LOVE to see that!!! LOL!!

I may jump ahead and do my updates out of order to sneak in my pictures and thoughts for what I did today. It was pretty cool. Not life shattering cool, or nearly as cool as I thought Galaxy’s Edge was, but we had a good time, ate some neat food, rode a fun ride, and had a cool photo op or two.

Looking forward to it!!

A Penthouse for me!

Well once the server puts down the drinks he tells us that if there is alcohol on the table we need to have a food item as well.

Say what? I've never heard that before. Can't they bring you a piece of bread? Pull a cracker out of his pocket? What?

Unfortunately pretty filling.

UGH, huge.

Behold my overdue Gibson with Monkey 47.

And lovely it is!

Fran had a hurricane. I like how the umbrella is blowing away!

Super cute touch!

I used my bread to mop up the sauce, and I'm not someone who normally does that.

The Italian scarpetta!!!

When I got back to the room I was still full, but I wasn't "Bring me a bucket" full anymore.

Never heard that expression before!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Lovely!

Well once the server puts down the drinks he tells us that if there is alcohol on the table we need to have a food item as well.

Seriously?! That's maddening.

Do you know if it's a covid thing, or a general rule? Last summer in NYC they had a rule for bars to open, they have to serve food, so bars starting offering things like "Andrew Cuomo Chips" for $1 and you got about 6 potato chips!

Served with a Special Decaf coffee.

I just LOVE that!! What a great meal. I'm sure it felt nice to be back!!

evidently my retention and attention to detail is not that good. I probably have to see them all five more times to catch the nuances.

I'm the same way. Joe and Henry are always explaining things to me when it comes to Star Wars and Marvel, even though I've seen most / all the movies and know the story lines.

I thrust my arm out into the spideyverse and “ZOOM” a web shot out of it and I blew up a box. On my second shot I nailed the little bot thing and it blew up right there.

That technology fascinates me! But it really does sound like a work out, like Toy Story Mania is.

It was so strange, all of a sudden I was just standing there….

And then it was like I was falling into an abyss.

That is pretty cool!!

As I understand it, if you get the wrist thingy, your webs generate at three for every one swipe of your hand. There are also add ons for electrifying your webs, and turning them into Iron Man strength.

I wonder how popular these will be. This kind of "cash grab" thing always bugs me... do you recall the price? Not something I would likely ever purchase myself unless it was only a couple bucks. I'm just too cheap.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

She wanted to take a shower, and once she was done, I convinced her to dress for dinner. I did as well.

Thanks for doing that. Nobody wants to eat with naked people in the room.

You see today I had a preview of the Avengers Campus which opens to the public tomorrow. I may jump ahead and do my updates out of order to sneak in my pictures and thoughts for what I did today. It was pretty cool. Not life shattering cool, or nearly as cool as I thought Galaxy’s Edge was, but we had a good time, ate some neat food, rode a fun ride, and had a cool photo op or two.

Pretty cool sure beats "incredibly disappointing" though.

Unfortunately pretty filling.

Those are some big meatballs.

Fran had a hurricane. I like how the umbrella is blowing away!

Cute touch.

We were given the bread service around this time and for some reason there was only one piece of bread in the basket. We did get more later, but I think I only ate my ½ piece of bread. I’ve learned not to fill up on bread.

That's probably why they only had one piece.

Fancy Schmancy!

She had the same English Muffin that I had fixed her the day before while I had toast with butter and peanut butter.

Finally, some food I recognize.

We decided to try the Carrot Cake Funnel Fries, which really had no taste of carrot cake at all. Fran said that they tasted like churros. I’m not quite sure what they tasted like. They were OK, but Fran finished them up, so I guess she liked then.

That looks a little weird. Not a huge fan of carrot cake--please keep vegetables out of my dessert. Thanks.

They were definitely expecting some crowds as they had plenty of places to line up.

Wonder why.

I texted this picture to Jenny and Jill, and Jill’s response was, “That suit better come with Robert Downey Jr for that price!”

She's certainly not wrong!

The line started at the entrance to Avengers Campus (where I took the picture earlier with my wrist band) across from the Blue Sky Celler, and stretched all the way past the Carsland entrance, past Pacific Wharf there was a gap in the line so that guests could access Pixar Pier and we were finally led to the area where folks are placed for World of Color, there were people behind us though and they doubled the line back to who knows how far, it could have been all the way to the beginning by the time the line started to move and let us in the land.

Well, enjoy your evening in line!

If you don’t want any spoilers on the ride, then I suggest you skip this next update and resume with the third part of this report.

Ah, go ahead and spoil me rotten.

I suppose this was supposed to be some kind of experiment or display to keep us looking while waiting in the queue.

It's a machine designed to seamlessly remove more dollars from your wallet as you pass by.

It's like TSMM in that you go from scene to scene, but instead of having a pull string shooter in front of you, they have some kind of sensor that translates into webs that destroy the spidey bots. The sensation is a little weird and your first scene is pretty “easy” or sparse with the little bots. I thrust my arm out into the spideyverse and “ZOOM” a web shot out of it and I blew up a box. On my second shot I nailed the little bot thing and it blew up right there.

That sounds like fun to me. I always hated the pull-string on TSMM.

Plus there is a scene in there where Spiderman is going to die and you have to rescue him, and you get points for that. I think we got him out in the nick of time, barely.

Thank you for not killing Spider-man!

This was actually the other one of the two, but they were serving ice cold water and sodas for free!

Free??? At Disney????

Now I couldn’t resist getting a shot of this guy, he must really like Captain America! His suit was a full on tailored Captain America Sport Jacket and Trousers.

Wow. That's certainly a choice.

And then it was like I was falling into an abyss.

Not sure what was up with this area, perhaps it will be for meet and greets when that sort of stuff is allowed.

Apparently there's a Dr. Strange magic show around there.

I think this might be where another ride will be located. I found this on the Interwebs.


While not opening at launch, alongside an Avengers HQ experience, fans will also be able to ride in a Quinjet (which is the iconic mode of transport for the Earth's Mightiest heroes). This will be far from a basic attraction though, taking fans on a brand new adventure.It looks as if, from concept art, guests will be transported around the world in the S.H.I.E.L.D. tech to famous locations, like Wakanda, where they will have to do battle with dangerous enemies and familiar foes. It looks to be one of the premium experiences in Avengers Campus.

Sounds similar to SWGE. They open the lesser ride first and then the big showstopper opens when it's finally ready.

It was bigger than Fran’s head!

I guess the to-go boxes don't come in that size!

We finally located the restrooms, not that we needed them, but it’s always good to know where the Disney restrooms are located!

Spoken like a true Disney veteran.

Most of what they were selling were these “add ons” for the web slingers ride. As I understand it, if you get the wrist thingy, your webs generate at three for every one swipe of your hand. There are also add ons for electrifying your webs, and turning them into Iron Man strength.

You knew there was going to be a cash grab in here somewhere.

There were some who stayed and rode the ride until 8:30 when Disney threw them out!

It would be awesome if the Dora Milaje were the ones kicking people out of the park.

Jenny tells me that all the mobile order slots for the places in Avengers campus filled up by 9:30AM on opening Day. Yikes! That’s nuts!

People are nuts!

 

[rentayenta]

Yay for updates! I was two behind and for some reason did not receive an alert.

Fun fun!!!! I cannot wait for Avenger's Campus in 2 weeks!