Day Three of this trip report is going to be short and sweet. Or as short and sweet as I can make it. 
A couple reasons for this. First and foremost, we took hardly any pictures and no notes so while I know generally what we did, the details escape me. Second, I am getting on the train to the airport in less than an hour 
scared1 to go back to DLR. 
Sunday morning found me all on my lonesome at the gates of DL for Magic Morning. If I'm going to shell out the big bucks to stay at the Grand Californian, I'm going to use my Magic Morning. In retrospect, the was a bad idea as the lack of sleep and being sick definitely caught up with me later in the day. But for that wonderful hour of riding Buzz three times in a row (and finally beating DW's score), and both sides of the Matterhorn, it was an amazing choice.
I also discovered that I am probably not a solo DLR traveler. I know many people do solo trips and love it but it felt a little awkward for me. Sometime after Magic Morning, I walked over to McDonalds on Harbor and picked up breaky for DW and I. When I got back to the hotel, folks were rolling out of bed. DFM+C decided to go for a run and a dip in the hot tub. DW and I dropped our bags of with bell service and headed to DCA through the private entrance. Aren't we swanky? It was about 10 minutes after park opening and the line for Toy Story looked like this:
We grabbed FPs for Screamin' and jumped in line. The line moved really fast and it certainly felt like no time before I was showing DW how it's done.
I'm only allowed to gloat about this ride because she beats me every darn time we ride Buzz. Not sure what we did after that, maybe took a spin on Screamin'? We definitely collected another set of Screamin' FPs because when DFM+C called us to say they were coming to DCA, we had 4 FPs in hand.
We met them at the entrance, grabbed FPs for Soarin' and ate at Taste Pilots Grill. I don't know why we ended up there and not at Whitewater snacks. The food is blech, IMHO. DFM+C told us that they wanted to ride Screamin'. We were kind of shocked after their experience on Space Mountain. But who are we to stand in the way of their wild side? We had them sit in the very front car thinking it would be slower and they would see more. See more they did, every terrifying climb and drop. DFC cackled like a madwoman the whole time. She has since posted our ride pic as her Facebook avatar with the caption "Scariest five minutes of my life". To sum up, they loved it!
Not sure of the order of the day but here's what we did:
Rode Grizzly River Rapids twice in a row wearing ponchos. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a poncho dork, especially in Jan. It was cold! A good tip to remember is that there are FREE two hour lockers at GRR to the left of the fastpass machines as you face the entrance.
Spent some time in the animation studio visiting with Crush. DFC couldn't get enough of this. An enjoyable experience for all ages. Oh, and definitely check out the Zeotrope (sp?).
We took a flight on Soarin' over California. Here's a heads up for those of you with fears of heights. DFC told us she would be fine on Soarin' as she is only afraid of "real" heights. Upon exiting, she told us that the ride felt VERY real.
All in all, it was a wonderful trip. DFM+C were so incredibly brave about trying new things and letting us drag them all over the parks. We made some magical memories for sure.
A couple reasons for this. First and foremost, we took hardly any pictures and no notes so while I know generally what we did, the details escape me. Second, I am getting on the train to the airport in less than an hour scared1 to go back to DLR. Sunday morning found me all on my lonesome at the gates of DL for Magic Morning. If I'm going to shell out the big bucks to stay at the Grand Californian, I'm going to use my Magic Morning. In retrospect, the was a bad idea as the lack of sleep and being sick definitely caught up with me later in the day. But for that wonderful hour of riding Buzz three times in a row (and finally beating DW's score), and both sides of the Matterhorn, it was an amazing choice.
I also discovered that I am probably not a solo DLR traveler. I know many people do solo trips and love it but it felt a little awkward for me. Sometime after Magic Morning, I walked over to McDonalds on Harbor and picked up breaky for DW and I. When I got back to the hotel, folks were rolling out of bed. DFM+C decided to go for a run and a dip in the hot tub. DW and I dropped our bags of with bell service and headed to DCA through the private entrance. Aren't we swanky? It was about 10 minutes after park opening and the line for Toy Story looked like this:
We grabbed FPs for Screamin' and jumped in line. The line moved really fast and it certainly felt like no time before I was showing DW how it's done.
I'm only allowed to gloat about this ride because she beats me every darn time we ride Buzz. Not sure what we did after that, maybe took a spin on Screamin'? We definitely collected another set of Screamin' FPs because when DFM+C called us to say they were coming to DCA, we had 4 FPs in hand. We met them at the entrance, grabbed FPs for Soarin' and ate at Taste Pilots Grill. I don't know why we ended up there and not at Whitewater snacks. The food is blech, IMHO. DFM+C told us that they wanted to ride Screamin'. We were kind of shocked after their experience on Space Mountain. But who are we to stand in the way of their wild side? We had them sit in the very front car thinking it would be slower and they would see more. See more they did, every terrifying climb and drop. DFC cackled like a madwoman the whole time. She has since posted our ride pic as her Facebook avatar with the caption "Scariest five minutes of my life". To sum up, they loved it!
Not sure of the order of the day but here's what we did:
Rode Grizzly River Rapids twice in a row wearing ponchos. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a poncho dork, especially in Jan. It was cold! A good tip to remember is that there are FREE two hour lockers at GRR to the left of the fastpass machines as you face the entrance.
Spent some time in the animation studio visiting with Crush. DFC couldn't get enough of this. An enjoyable experience for all ages. Oh, and definitely check out the Zeotrope (sp?).
We took a flight on Soarin' over California. Here's a heads up for those of you with fears of heights. DFC told us she would be fine on Soarin' as she is only afraid of "real" heights. Upon exiting, she told us that the ride felt VERY real.
All in all, it was a wonderful trip. DFM+C were so incredibly brave about trying new things and letting us drag them all over the parks. We made some magical memories for sure.
