Let's see how much we can cram into 2 1/2 days: Photo TR 8/14-8/17

[DLR29]

Hello, thank you for reading my TR. I'll start with a little intro to the characters and setting of this trip.

Pre-TR: This TR involves mostly 5 people:

Me: I love DL, WDW, and everything Disney. I know every little trick and tip of DLR. I have been visiting DL my entire 14 year old life and I never get tired. I am a super planner and need to know what is next or I'll go crazy. I also can't just sit around doing nothing at DL. I feel the need to be constantly doing something.


My two friends: Mark and Whitney. Mark is like me in that he knows a ton about DL and all the secrets. He's a super planner, but also likes to play it by ear.


Whitney loves Disney, but she is not a super planner at all. She likes to go with the flow and do whatever she feels like. She also needs rests every once in a while because she's not used to going from opening to closing. I do believe this trip was her first time not staying onsite.


My friend's parents: Nice and they like Disney too. They often came in the morning, left for the hotel to work, came back for dinner, and left for the night. My mom would have come if this trip hadn't been so soon after our major road trip we took for 6 weeks, returning only 3 days before leaving on this one. We visited WDW and many other places, and my mom needed a rest, but I was ready to go!

We decided a couple months ago to buy a Good Neighbor package at the Desert Palms Hotel and Suites. Mark, his mom, and I were in one room, whuile Whitney and her mom shared another. The rooms were ok, a little small, but we had a great view of DCA and the surrounding area from our balcony. It was also very close and only took 5-10 minutes to walk to and from the parks.

We all packed up the mini van and started off for DL from Nor Cal just after 1 on Tuesday afternoon. We drove and drove until finally reaching Anaheim around 7. We checked in and immediately set off for DTD. It was crowded, but not too bad. We had dinner at Naples, where all 5 of us split a family size pizza. It was very good and a huge pizza! After dinner, we explored the World of Disney store and other shops in the area. We walked back to our hotel and went to sleep for an early morning the next day.

Day 1 of the parks coming up next!

 

[Just2DisneyKids]

Did you just get home and are already posting???!!! That's great! As you are writing your TR, if you could share all of your tips and Disneyland secrets, that would be so helpful! I grew up in Orlando and know a lot about WDW, but now I need to learn all about Disneyland! Thanks!

 

[DLR29]

Yes, we got home late last night and I'm typing from my home computer. And throughout the TR, I'll mention some tips that worked for efficient park touring. Update later tonight.

 

[DLR29]

Morning (I'm splitting it up into mornings and afternoon/evenings because it will be long) of Day 1: Wednesday, 8/15. We got to the park around 7:30 and got in the line which wasn't actually that long. We loved calling out "Nemo!" every time the Nemo monorail passed by. I didn't get a great shot of it.


I loved the new "dream" letters at DCA


Entrance plaza looked nice


Then we ran to Nemo where they were having technical difficulties, but we still got in line. We stopped just before the FNSV official sign.


The lagoon looks amazing!


We got on and off the ride by 9, which is really good after hearing horror stories about the line. If you don't get in line within 15-20 minutes of park opening, the line will be almost guaranteed 60+ minutes. It's crazy! And don't go towards Tomorrowland, head to the Matterhorn, where CM's will point you in the right direction. If you head to Tomorrowland, you will have to pass the entire line to get to where it starts. While waiting, I took the tickets and got Space FPs to use later in the day.


A view into the sub's window


We met up with the parents after we got off. Then we rode Space Mountain and BLAB with very short lines because everyone was over at FNSV.


We headed across the park and got Splash FPs and rode MAoWtP. I tried to get a good picture of the old CBJ heads, but it didn't turn out great.


We waited maybe 10 minutes for HM. We got stuck in the graveyard scene for about 10 minutes. It also was a little uncomfortable with 3 in our doom buggy.


We only waited about 25 minutes for Indy around 10. What we found to be very true throughout our entire trip is that the left side of the park (Adventureland, New Orleans Square, Frontierland, Critter Country) didn't get overly crowded until early afternoon. Mark got to drive


We rode the Zambezi Miss through Jungle Cruise with an ok skipper, nothing special, and then we headed back to Critter Country to ride Splash with our FPs. Whitney's mom didn't ride, but the rest of us (4) got our own boat, so I sat in the very back.


Then we ate and early lunch at the Hungry Bear Restaurant around 11 where we saw the boats pass by on the Rivers of America




Then the parents left to do work, while the three of us rode Pirates! We then got Indy FPs for later (we still had Space also) and dole whips for an afternoon snack, and we hopped to DCA.

 

[DLR29]

Evening of Day 1: Wednesday, 8/15.
When entering DCA, I went to get GRR and Soarin FPs (GRR is disconnected from the system ), but GRR was temporarily closed and was not distributing FPs, so I only got Soarin. I met the other 2 in Disney Animation, where they had both figured out their character. Mark was Woody from Toy Story and Whitney was Tinkerbell. We wanted to see Turtle Talk, but it was a while away, so we walked across the way and waited about 5 minutes for MI:M&SttR (that's a long abbrv. for the Monster's Inc. ride). Then we returned to see Turtle Talk. It was both Mark and Whitney's first time seeing it, but my third. They loved it and I thought it was still great the third time around. Then we rode ToT with almost no wait. We actually never waited more than 5/10 minutes for this ride throughout the entire trip.


GRR had since opened, so I ran and got FPs for later. We walked down to Paradise Pier and stood in line for Screamin for only about 35 minutes.




Mark sat in the special seat. The one in the green train with no seat next to it.


As we kept walking down the pier, we rode Sun Wheel and got some good shots from up top.






Whitney was freaking out during the rocking


Then we literally walked onto Maliboomer and Orange Stinger. Whitney then needed to take a rest, so we grabbed an ICEE and sat down in the shade. It was nice and relaxing. Then we hopped in the MM line which didn't take long at all. It was fun, but way overbraked and was very slow through the last part. We continued along and rode Soarin with our FPs. We met Erik, a CM, who was really funny and made us sing and dance when we asked for the top row, middle seat. Still one of my favorites!

We wanted to ride ToT one more tiem before dinner, but we were blocked off by Block Party Bash, so we watched a little. Some of the floats looked really big and detailed, but all of us wanted to ride ToT more than see a bunch of CMs "sing" and dance. ToT had zero line and our preshow room was not very full, which was a little creepy, but we enjoyed another ride.

We left the park and met up with the parents at Tortilla Jos, which was decent Mexican food. It was one of the more memorable dinners of our trip. After dinner, we all returned to DCA and the three of us used our GRR FPs and got soaked! A little tip, if you sit on the edges, you will get soaked. If you sit in the middle, you will get wet.

Mark lost his phone and had to go to Lost and Found, while Whitney, her mom, and I joined the Soarin line. They joined us just as we were about to get on. His phone was at the bottom of our GRR raft, so it was wet and not working. This time, we couldn't request a specific seat because it was too close to the park closing, so we were assigned bottom row on the left. They were not great seats. Oh well. We watched most of the Electric Light Parade because it was around 8:45. I didn't realize until yesterday, that my camera has a night shot, so these pics aren't as good as they could be. (funny. I only have pictures of mushrooms)






Then the parents left, and the three of us went back to DL. We rode Space with our FPs from the morning and skipped a decent sized line. Then we carefully crossed the hub while the fireworks were going on because we wanted good seats for Fantasmic. Neither Mark, nor Whitney had seen it, so I made sure that we got decent seats. Even at the 10:30 show, it was packed and the good seats were taken within 10 minutes of them reopening the seating area from the 9:00 show. They both loved the show and I loved it too.

Then we used our Indy FPs from after lunch and skipped a really long outside line. We walked over to Matterhorn for a night ride. Whitney wanted ice cream, so she thought it would be a good idea for Mark and I to stand in line, while she got ice cream. It took her forever and we couldn't enter the overhang area with the swtichbacks because she hadn't arrived, so we stopped and chatted with the CM there, Kevin. She returned and we ate our ice cream, still talking with Kevin. When we were done, he escorted us through the exit and onto the ride immediately. Very nice! After the fun night ride on the Matterhorn, we reported both Kevin and Erik from Soarin at City Hall. We even got Honorary Citizen buttons! We walked back to the hotel and crashed.

Day 2 tomorrow with EE and fireworks

 

[DLR29]

Morning of Day 2: Thursday, August 16th.
Early Entry today. We arrived at the gates at 6:45 and here was the line.


Fortunately almost everyone was heading for Nemo (including the parents who didn't ride it with us the day before) and we had already ridden it so we focused on Fantasyland. It's amazing how many people will use their EE to ride 1 ride when we rode 7. We walked right onto Peter Pan (the picture's kinda blurry).


Then walked onto Mr. Toad, Alice in Wonderland, Mad Tea Party, and broke our walk on streak by waiting a whole 3 minutes for Matterhorn Fantasyland side.




Then we waited a minute for Pinocchio and 2 minutes for Snow White, while Peter Pan's line had grown to about 15 minutes at around 7:45. Whitney had to get coffee, so we left Fantasyland and waited for the rope drop for Frontierland. Castle pic!


The rope dropped and we got on the first BTMRR train of the day in the back. There was no line, so we rode again.


The parents had just gotten off Nemo and we met them at the entrance of Adventureland, where they were holding dole whips! Yummy!


Yeah the three of us!


The parents left and we almost walked onto Indy. Then we got Splash FPs for later and rode HM and PotC with very little lines at both. We got a CM to lead us back to the secret pet cemetary in the back


Then we took a little break and rode the train from NOS to Tomorrowland. DL really needs rethink the smoking section because there's no way around it when exiting or entering the Tomorrowland Train Station.

We joined the Autopia line which was pretty long and boarded within 30 minutes, but they were also running only 2 tracks. After Autopia, and getting Space FPs, (which Whitney called "Autotopia" ) we almost walked onto BLAB (it was definitely not 20 minutes)


Then we entered the never ending Star Tours line that weaved forever through the building on the side. It took us amost an hour to reach the pod, but it was a fun ride. Needs updating. Whitney ran over to DCA and got GRR and Soarin FPs for the afternoon, while Mark and I browsed the Main Street shops. When she returned, we rode Splash with the FPs from the morning. Some shots from the ride




We met the parents at the Blue Bayou, where we had 1:40 ressies.


The Monte Cristos were delicious, as was the Flying Dutchman cookie that we all split for dessert. Whitney got the Pirate Punch with light up Tinkerbell


Afternoon/evening later today.

 

[DLR29]

Afternoon/evening of Day 2: Thursday, August 16th
As we let our stomachs settle from the filling lunch, we all rode PotC.


Some shots of NOS




Then we got Indy FPs and hopped over to DCA. I ran ahead and got Screamin FPs and then I met everyone else at ITtbaB. Mark is terrified of this show and had to leave the theater when he was younger because he was so scared, but we all convinced him to see it. He did end up freaking out, but he did last the entire show.

Then the parents left again and the three of us rode ToT again as well as GRR and Soarin with the FPs from before lunch.


Then Whitney needed a rest so we saw the 6:00 Aladdin show. None of us had seen it before, and we enjoyed it (though I could have fallen a sleep a couple times in those comfy chairs). The show lasted almost an hour. We even saw Erik from Soarin the day before and we said hi.


Then the parents came back because Mark's mom wanted to ride Screamin, so we rode with FP for a great ride!




Here's a shot of one of the many Toy Story Mania signs plastered on the construction walls down on Paradise Pier.


Then Whitney's mom wanted to ride Orange Stinger and we walked right on. Then we took Mark's mom on ToT, which she loved, as did we. The parents left for the night and we hopped over to DL for the fireworks. Mark ran and got BTMRR FPs and Whitney and I got a chicken dinner from Plaza Inn. Since we were still full from lunch, we all shared dinner at 9:00. THen we found ok places in the hub and watched the fireworks. I would have gotten more(and better) pics if I had found the fireworks setting on my camera a day before.




It was the first time that I had seen Remember and I loved all the different ride audios. Then we had a night ride on BTMRR with FP and also Indy with FP. We still had Space FPs, but we opted to take a night Jungle Cruise. I'm so glad we did. Our skipper, Hector, was HILARIOUS! Whitney was laughing so hard throughout the ride. Actually, our whole boat was like this during the whole cruise! Even Hector was cracking up! What a way to end the day. On our way out, we gave away our Space FPs and we reported both Hector and Tim from BB. We got back to our hotel around 11:30.

 

[DisDancerina]

This is a great TR, it's making me go bonkers I HATE ITTBAB!!!!! It freaks me out oto much.

 

[Danauk]

Excellent trip report, can't wait to read and see more.

 

[lulubelle]

Wonderful report - and I love all the pix!

 

[karin6996]

Great report! Thanks for sharing

 

[Just2DisneyKids]

Great TR! I have a few questions for you... We will have an EE for a Sat morning and regular entry with everyone on Sunday morning, when would you advise doing Nemo? We will be in the parks from a Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon and have young children so we can't stay too late.

Also, is Blue Bayou the restaurant that looks out on Pirates? Is all of the seating out there or is there more inside somewhere?

Looks like you've seen almost everything already, looking forward to the rest!

 

[DLR29]

Great TR! I have a few questions for you... We will have an EE for a Sat morning and regular entry with everyone on Sunday morning, when would you advise doing Nemo? We will be in the parks from a Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon and have young children so we can't stay too late.

Also, is Blue Bayou the restaurant that looks out on Pirates? Is all of the seating out there or is there more inside somewhere?

Looks like you've seen almost everything already, looking forward to the rest!

With young kids, and your situation, I would recommend getting to the park 1/2 hour+ early on Sunday and heading straight to Nemo as fast as possible. Maybe carry them on you shoulders . Since you only have 1 EE, use it on Fantasyland where you can ride (and reride) many attractions that the little kids will want to ride. Our EE day was more crowded at the gates than our two non EE days. I don't know about you, but I would rather ride all of Fantasyland at least once than stand in line for 1 ride.

Yes, Blue Bayou is the Pirates restaurant. All of the seating is in the bayou, though there was a (with reservations) 30 minute wait for a waterside table and a 10 minute wait for a table not on the water.

Sorry about not updating yesterday, I hope to have the last half day up tonight.

 

[Hound 109]

With young kids, and your situation, I would recommend getting to the park 1/2 hour+ early on Sunday and heading straight to Nemo as fast as possible. Maybe carry them on you shoulders . Since you only have 1 EE, use it on Fantasyland where you can ride (and reride) many attractions that the little kids will want to ride. Our EE day was more crowded at the gates than our two non EE days. I don't know about you, but I would rather ride all of Fantasyland at least once than stand in line for 1 ride.

Yes, Blue Bayou is the Pirates restaurant. All of the seating is in the bayou, though there was a (with reservations) 30 minute wait for a waterside table and a 10 minute wait for a table not on the water.

Sorry about not updating yesterday, I hope to have the last half day up tonight.

Great Trip Report DLR29 & Fantastic Pictures.

(& I agree with DLR above......if you only have one day EE & if you have "little kids", you should definitely do FantasyLand during EE. Just as DLR did.

As he said....why waste EE on ONE ride, when you can ride 7-9 Rides? & all or most of these rides are rides that the kids will love & would take HOURS to ride on mid day.)

Looking forward to more of your TR & more great pics, DLR 29.

 

[DLR29]

Morning of day 3: Friday, 17th.

We woke up early again and got in line at the gates around 7:45. We wanted to ride Nemo again, but it was having technical difficulties again! So the parents got Space FPs and we met over there and rode through the stand-by. Space doesn't get busy for maybe an hour now that Nemo is the main morning draw. Waits were under 20 minutes for a long time, but by afternoon they reached 45/50.


Then we rode BLAB and I got 230,100.


Then the parents left, so we bought churros and headed for the back of the park and rode IASW.


Roger Rabbit had almost no line so we walked through the long, detailed line and boarded within 5 minutes. I still love this ride, especially the portable hole part. Then we went over to Pirate's Lair. Ten times better than TSI. I loved the interactive stuff outside and the caves were much creepier than TSI's. I just wonder what they're going to do with the old Fort Wilderness area.








Then we met up with Mark's cousin and cousin's friend and we got Splash FPs. Here's a pic of Splash's last drop from the island.


We waited maybe 30 minutes for Indy and then rode Splash with FP. Then we all rode Space one more time with FP. For our last ride, we took the train from Tomorrowland to Main Street through the Grand Canyon and Primeval World dioramas. We shopped for a bit and then had to leave. We had one last lunch at DTD at the Jazz Kitchen before we left and drove until 11 when we arrived up here in Nor Cal. Thanks everybody for reading!

 

[DLR29]

Small wrap up. In the 2 and a half days we spent we:

-were at the park for a total of 38 hours.
-rode Indy 5 times; ToT and Space 4; Splash, Soarin, BLAB, PotC 3; Screamin, GRR, BTMRR, HM, JC, Matterhorn, Orange Stinger 2; and most everything else once. A total of 58 rides
-ate at Blue Bayou, Jazz Kitchen, Tortilla Jos, Naples, Hungry Bear, Plaza Inn
-also ate churros, dole whips, ice cream bars, and ICEEs
-reported 4 very nice CMs
-saw Fantasmic, Remember, Electric Parade, Aladdin, Block Party Bash, Turtle Talk
-used 13 sets of FP (could have been 14)
-Had a BLAST!

We all definitely want to do this again next year when Toy Story Mania is open. Thanks again for reading!

 

[GailT]

Great trip report...that sure got me excited, I'll be reading that at least once a day before I go. Thanks so much for sharing