DisneyDreamer2
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2002
- Messages
- 627
My friend and I both flew in to take our Disneyland Leap Day Challenge- do every open attraction (rides and shows alike) and last a full 24 hours in Disneyland, no sleeping allowed.
And we did it!!!
We left the Candy Cane at 530am and joined the long line to get in. We actually entered the park at 617am (and yes we stayed until 617 the next morning too.)
First we went to the Emporium for t shirts. It was like Black Friday in there! One of us got in line while the other waited for a cast member to open a new box of t shirts and he kindly found our sizes for me. With t shirts purchased we made our way down Main Street to the hub. At 650am we took our picture in front of the castle and headed for Fantasyland.
We had a list of attractions by Land and wrote down the time we did every attraction. We tackled all of Fantasyland (except Peter and Alice which we did later that night) and all of Toontown (including pics with mickey and Minnie) by 9am.
We gathered fastpasses as soon as each window opened and never waited more than 35 minutes for anything (until after Fantasmic! more to come on that.) We did lots of things we rarely or if ever have done- We rode Autopia and saw Mr Lincoln, and even took 4 trips down Main Street so we could each form of transportation. We explored Tom Sawyers Island and even walked through Innoventions so that we could cross it off. We had a great breakfast at the Plaza Inn. that night, we watched the Magic Memories and You, and got a great place for the 1000pm Soundsational Parade an hour early. After the parade we rushed over to Peter Pan and then did Alice. While in line for Alice I noticed a perfect Chesire Cat smile moon above. I was tired but so excited for night ahead.
After Alice, it was 1140 and we wandered over to the Rivers of America. Wow! people were laying down fast asleep covered in blankets all across the sitting section facing the mill. We saw an area with 4 people holding down a spot big enough for 15, so we kindly asked if they had room for 2 and they happily let us join them. the view of the island was perfect and we welcomed the hour 15 minute wait to just sit and rest.
Fantasmic was AMAZING! It has been years since I saw it. What a perfect day! We had ridden every single ride except one- Space mountain. It was down the two times we stopped by and by 400 when we tried for a fastpass, they were already gone for the day. so after Fantasmic we made our way to Tomorrowland.
Things had definitely changed in the park after Fantasmic. It was wall to wall people as we exited the show, and it never stopped. Tomorrowland was crazy! We waited 15 minutes to use the bathroom and then saw the line was 115 minutes! Almost 2 hours long!!! But we had ridden everything else and couldn't stop now. So we hopped in line.
It moved sloooooow. The line was 90 percent teenagers and people were smoking in line, and lots of public displays of affection all around us. If we had our families with us we would have left, but we were gonna ride this ride and complete our challenge. As we got closer to where they let you inside we started counting the number of fast pass guests they let inside to the number of standby. It was 66 to 10!!! No wonder the 115 minute line took us 3 hours and 17 minutes!!!!
Every time space broke down they handed out special fastpasses and the fastpass line just never let up.
At 525am we finally emerged from our trip through space and made our way to the West side. It was much much quieter over there. We used a fast pass ourselves to ride Big Thunder again and then went and sat in the hub to watch the sun come up.
We left the park at 620 am. Our minds were still very alert but our bodies felt bruised and beaten.
We were very upset by our experience with Space at 2am. But after reading everyone else's reports, I now think it was a blessing. We were so mad, it kept us awake and the line kept us in the park to complete our challenge. Had we been in the throngs of chaotic madness below, we may have just left. I never thought the park was THAT crowded until after fantasmic. We had great spots for the parade and fantasmic so we missed a lot of the craziness probably happening at those times in the rest of the park.
And of course, good karma came back when we were on the INSIDE during the lock down on Saturday. For 3 hours we had the park to ourselves. Our own submarine and stretching room, choice of rows on Big Thunder and we could ride as many times as we wanted without getting off. A nightmare I am sure for those on the outside of the park, but wow what a memory and dream come true for those of us "trapped" inside the park.
Well, that is my account. We rode/saw it all if it was open. The only thing closed that day was Matterhorn, Monorail, Mark Twain, canoes and Donald's Boat. Otherwise we did it. What a memory.
And THAT is what I did with my One More Disney Day!
And we did it!!!
We left the Candy Cane at 530am and joined the long line to get in. We actually entered the park at 617am (and yes we stayed until 617 the next morning too.)
First we went to the Emporium for t shirts. It was like Black Friday in there! One of us got in line while the other waited for a cast member to open a new box of t shirts and he kindly found our sizes for me. With t shirts purchased we made our way down Main Street to the hub. At 650am we took our picture in front of the castle and headed for Fantasyland.
We had a list of attractions by Land and wrote down the time we did every attraction. We tackled all of Fantasyland (except Peter and Alice which we did later that night) and all of Toontown (including pics with mickey and Minnie) by 9am.
We gathered fastpasses as soon as each window opened and never waited more than 35 minutes for anything (until after Fantasmic! more to come on that.) We did lots of things we rarely or if ever have done- We rode Autopia and saw Mr Lincoln, and even took 4 trips down Main Street so we could each form of transportation. We explored Tom Sawyers Island and even walked through Innoventions so that we could cross it off. We had a great breakfast at the Plaza Inn. that night, we watched the Magic Memories and You, and got a great place for the 1000pm Soundsational Parade an hour early. After the parade we rushed over to Peter Pan and then did Alice. While in line for Alice I noticed a perfect Chesire Cat smile moon above. I was tired but so excited for night ahead.
After Alice, it was 1140 and we wandered over to the Rivers of America. Wow! people were laying down fast asleep covered in blankets all across the sitting section facing the mill. We saw an area with 4 people holding down a spot big enough for 15, so we kindly asked if they had room for 2 and they happily let us join them. the view of the island was perfect and we welcomed the hour 15 minute wait to just sit and rest.
Fantasmic was AMAZING! It has been years since I saw it. What a perfect day! We had ridden every single ride except one- Space mountain. It was down the two times we stopped by and by 400 when we tried for a fastpass, they were already gone for the day. so after Fantasmic we made our way to Tomorrowland.
Things had definitely changed in the park after Fantasmic. It was wall to wall people as we exited the show, and it never stopped. Tomorrowland was crazy! We waited 15 minutes to use the bathroom and then saw the line was 115 minutes! Almost 2 hours long!!! But we had ridden everything else and couldn't stop now. So we hopped in line.
It moved sloooooow. The line was 90 percent teenagers and people were smoking in line, and lots of public displays of affection all around us. If we had our families with us we would have left, but we were gonna ride this ride and complete our challenge. As we got closer to where they let you inside we started counting the number of fast pass guests they let inside to the number of standby. It was 66 to 10!!! No wonder the 115 minute line took us 3 hours and 17 minutes!!!!
Every time space broke down they handed out special fastpasses and the fastpass line just never let up. At 525am we finally emerged from our trip through space and made our way to the West side. It was much much quieter over there. We used a fast pass ourselves to ride Big Thunder again and then went and sat in the hub to watch the sun come up.
We left the park at 620 am. Our minds were still very alert but our bodies felt bruised and beaten.
We were very upset by our experience with Space at 2am. But after reading everyone else's reports, I now think it was a blessing. We were so mad, it kept us awake and the line kept us in the park to complete our challenge. Had we been in the throngs of chaotic madness below, we may have just left. I never thought the park was THAT crowded until after fantasmic. We had great spots for the parade and fantasmic so we missed a lot of the craziness probably happening at those times in the rest of the park.
And of course, good karma came back when we were on the INSIDE during the lock down on Saturday. For 3 hours we had the park to ourselves. Our own submarine and stretching room, choice of rows on Big Thunder and we could ride as many times as we wanted without getting off. A nightmare I am sure for those on the outside of the park, but wow what a memory and dream come true for those of us "trapped" inside the park.
Well, that is my account. We rode/saw it all if it was open. The only thing closed that day was Matterhorn, Monorail, Mark Twain, canoes and Donald's Boat. Otherwise we did it. What a memory.
And THAT is what I did with my One More Disney Day!
I can't imagine waiting in line for Space Mountain for 3+ hours...especially under those circumstances. 
