New AP info I heard today!!

[Sherry E]

There are two people in the Seattle news shows who always get to stand outside in the horrible weather. Every time there's something cold or hot or windy or whatevery, I know if I watch the news, they'll be out there in their slickers (and the female newsperson with her outback-style Outdoor Research hat on)!

Given that you live in the Pacific Northwest, I would think that rain would be run-of-the-mill over there, and that the news folks could not possibly milk any drama out of that kind of weather anymore. So something like a heatwave is probably when they really go nuts and send the news anchors out to stand in the hottest possible location, dripping beads of sweat, fanning themselves, hair all askew, gasping for air!!

 

[Canyon girl]

Sherry/LavendarPeach,

You guys can keep your all week rain because by the time it gets to me, it is all week snow! They keep going back and forth...Is it going to be 2 feet, 3 feet, or 4 feet of snow before the end of the week. It's been snowing since about 11am.

Naomi

 

[pixiewings71]

Yep! I assume you also get the dramatic weather people on your local news who delight in telling you that "we are all on Storm Watch," OR they debut their new "Storm Track" graphics. And then, during the worst part of the rain, they send some silly, even more dramatic, anchor person out into the elements in Gorton's Fisherman rain gear to stand there and try to talk into the microphone while being pounded in the face by horizontal rain - JUST so they can let you know exactly "how bad it is out there"!! Hilarious!!! I secretly always hope that some wayward palm from a tree will come swooping down to knock them over!!

So anyone who doesn't mind being in the rain at DLR at all, this is going to be the week for you! Now that the dreaded El Nino has come a-knockin', we will see lots of rain!!

Oh yes! The rain has been very heavy in the last hour or so, as I am sure you have seen, so it gives those silly news people something to play with for a while. It is hard to work the viewers up into a feverish frenzy about the weather when it is merely sprinkling outside. This kind of downpour and blustery wind is what they are praying for! I have already seen pieces of the very, very tall palm tree across the way go flying to the ground as the tree sways back and forth. That is the sort of footage they like to show on...(cue the urgent music again) Storm Watch!!! And then they use the high tech "Storm Track" system to monitor the next few storms that are due to pummel us this week!!

Oh Sherry, you kill me! LOL And yes, it does seem like they have some new high tech "Storm Watch/Storm Tracker" system to watch the storms. I bet it's more dramatic in So Cal tho because it's pretty normal for us to get a lot of rain here. LOL
Naomi, be careful out there!!

DBF and I were watching something last night, oh ya, it was Ax Men or some lame reality show like that. LOL So they are up in the PacNW (or maybe it was MT at that point, the MT guys have a helicopter they use) cutting down gorgeous tall trees (yes, it needs to be done but the trees are gorgeous) and they are talking about windy it is.......guy says something like "it's blowing at about 35 mph right now, it's REALLY REALLY REALLY windy out here". We look at each other and start cracking up, 35 mph is pretty normal for where we are! LOL

 

[LavenderPeach]

Sherry/LavendarPeach,

You guys can keep your all week rain because by the time it gets to me, it is all week snow! They keep going back and forth...Is it going to be 2 feet, 3 feet, or 4 feet of snow before the end of the week. It's been snowing since about 11am.

Naomi

Yeah, I think I would rather have a few inches of rain than that much snow! I actually do live at a high enough elevation that we see a bit of snow once every year or 2 but it's only a few inches at the most. I'm a california girl so I wouldn't know what to do if we had too much snow. Although my backyard is about 70% flooded at the moment which I don't like. I'm just hoping our tortoise is doing okay in his house out there.

 

[LavenderPeach]

Very true.

Some of you may know the comedian Lewis Black. He has a joke DH and I love.

"The easiest job in the world is the weatherman in San Diego, CA. 'What's the weather like today?' 'Nice, back to you.' " ahahahaha! So true. Except about 15-20 days a year. And then it feels like the sky is falling!

That's funny. Wish I had that job!

 

[Canyon girl]

Yeah, I think I would rather have a few inches of rain than that much snow! I actually do live at a high enough elevation that we see a bit of snow once every year or 2 but it's only a few inches at the most. I'm a california girl so I wouldn't know what to do if we had too much snow. Although my backyard is about 70% flooded at the moment which I don't like. I'm just hoping our tortoise is doing okay in his house out there.

I don't know. I can move the snow, at least. It is going to be hard to move the water out of your yard. I hope your tortoise is okay, too. I was feeling pretty good as I typed earlier because the driveway was so warm that the snow wasn't sticking there yet. That has changed, and it is snowing so hard that I can barely see the trees in my backyard. DH comes home in about 1 hr, SO I guess me and my shovel are going to be working in about 30 minutes. We moved here a couple of years ago from the mid west, so I guess I would prefer this snow over the ice we always got there. I'm off to get my outer wear together. Hopefully, you won't have to build an ark!!!

 

[nunzia]

Yes, but it has to rain sometimes so that the news can take a break from reporting about the drought in order to report about the mudslides.

HA! True..

 

[LavenderPeach]

I don't know. I can move the snow, at least. It is going to be hard to move the water out of your yard. I hope your tortoise is okay, too. I was feeling pretty good as I typed earlier because the driveway was so warm that the snow wasn't sticking there yet. That has changed, and it is snowing so hard that I can barely see the trees in my backyard. DH comes home in about 1 hr, SO I guess me and my shovel are going to be working in about 30 minutes. We moved here a couple of years ago from the mid west, so I guess I would prefer this snow over the ice we always got there. I'm off to get my outer wear together. Hopefully, you won't have to build an ark!!!

I think I may need an ark! It's raining harder now than it was earlier. DH came home a little while ago to move the tortoise into the garage so he's okay now. Too bad you have to go out and shovel snow. That doesn't sound like much fun.

 

[Sherry E]

In typical nutty SoCal fashion, the sky is now clear blue and the sun is shining!! In fact, it was just pouring outside not long ago before this sudden sun breakthrough so I bet if I go outside I can probably find a rainbow somewhere. (That is one of nature's finest gifts - rainbows, and also vibrant, colorful sunsets!)

But what will the Storm Watch/Storm Track team (everybody bop your heads along to the urgent, dramatic music) do with themselves during this sudden burst of...nothing? They have to wait for the next storm, which may not roll in by the next newscast!!! I know rain is due all week, but there may be a few hours of nothing!

If LavenderPeach called the local news and said that the backyard was 70% flooded, I almost bet they would send their investigative team out to film it - and film the tortoise too - just because there is not enough doom and gloom yet to report on!!! Might as well shoot someone's soggy yard!!

 

[Sherry E]

Oh Sherry, you kill me! LOL And yes, it does seem like they have some new high tech "Storm Watch/Storm Tracker" system to watch the storms. I bet it's more dramatic in So Cal tho because it's pretty normal for us to get a lot of rain here. LOL
Naomi, be careful out there!!

DBF and I were watching something last night, oh ya, it was Ax Men or some lame reality show like that. LOL So they are up in the PacNW (or maybe it was MT at that point, the MT guys have a helicopter they use) cutting down gorgeous tall trees (yes, it needs to be done but the trees are gorgeous) and they are talking about windy it is.......guy says something like "it's blowing at about 35 mph right now, it's REALLY REALLY REALLY windy out here". We look at each other and start cracking up, 35 mph is pretty normal for where we are! LOL

And they (the news people out here) are always breathless and all discombobulated as they slant to one side to show us the sheer force of the 35 mph winds which are practically knocking them over!!

 

[LavenderPeach]

In typical nutty SoCal fashion, the sky is now clear blue and the sun is shining!! In fact, it was just pouring outside not long ago before this sudden sun breakthrough so I bet if I go outside I can probably find a rainbow somewhere. (That is one of nature's finest gifts - rainbows, and also vibrant, colorful sunsets!)

But what will the Storm Watch/Storm Track team (everybody bop your heads along to the urgent, dramatic music) do with themselves during this sudden burst of...nothing? They have to wait for the next storm, which may not roll in by the next newscast!!! I know rain is due all week, but there may be a few hours of nothing!

If LavenderPeach called the local news and said that the backyard was 70% flooded, I almost bet they would send their investigative team out to film it - and film the tortoise too - just because there is not enough doom and gloom yet to report on!!! Might as well shoot someone's soggy yard!!

Well, it's still pouring here, even harder than it was earlier. The storm is probably moving away from you and over this way. So, the news people don't have to worry about blue skies, they just drive east and they'll find the storm again. I'll let you know if an NBC news van pulls up to my house!

 

[pixiewings71]

In typical nutty SoCal fashion, the sky is now clear blue and the sun is shining!! In fact, it was just pouring outside not long ago before this sudden sun breakthrough so I bet if I go outside I can probably find a rainbow somewhere. (That is one of nature's finest gifts - rainbows, and also vibrant, colorful sunsets!)

But what will the Storm Watch/Storm Track team (everybody bop your heads along to the urgent, dramatic music) do with themselves during this sudden burst of...nothing? They have to wait for the next storm, which may not roll in by the next newscast!!! I know rain is due all week, but there may be a few hours of nothing!

If LavenderPeach called the local news and said that the backyard was 70% flooded, I almost bet they would send their investigative team out to film it - and film the tortoise too - just because there is not enough doom and gloom yet to report on!!! Might as well shoot someone's soggy yard!!

LMAO!!!! Too funny!!! They just might at that....LOL And blue skies here too, while I was on my lunch, but the winds were sooooooooooo high, must have been about 35 mph! Of course that's Benicia, it doesn't get as windy here as it does at my house.

And they (the news people out here) are always breathless and all discombobulated as they slant to one side to show us the sheer force of the 35 mph winds which are practically knocking them over!!

Oh my absolute favorite here is when they send the "poor hapless unknowing" newbie news caster up to Blue Canyon when it's snowing......LOL They always look sooooooooooo confused, like they really don't know what to do with themselves. LOL Even funnier is that Blue Canyon isn't THAT far from Sacramento, you'd think these casters would know it actually *gasp* snows!!!!! 45 min. from Sac. LOL

Well, it's still pouring here, even harder than it was earlier. The storm is probably moving away from you and over this way. So, the news people don't have to worry about blue skies, they just drive east and they'll find the storm again. I'll let you know if an NBC news van pulls up to my house!

You better, cuz I can then say "Hey, I know that lady!" LOL altho I don't think they'd cast it on my news channels.....LOL

 

[LavenderPeach]

Well, I guess the news people will have to use earlier footage of the rain for their evening news because the rain has stopped here now too. The rain has stopped, the sun is out (sort of), and the lake in our backyard is starting to drain. I survived Storm Watch 2010 (part 1)!

 

[HydroGuy]

Not sure what your friends and family did, but whether at DLR or WDW one needs to do some research and planning to avoid the worst of the lines. Even a little effort to understand about early arrival at the parks, when the shows are and how early to arrive, use of RideMax, use of FP, etc., can go a long ways. I know some people I talk to refuse to do any of the above. Then they are surprised and disappointed the lines are so long.

Some people spend thousands of dollars and arrive with no plan at all.

I agree with you, however, some people probably think they are going for a magical vacation destination that will be fun and relaxing -- and it's anything but sometimes. Also, some people just do not want to plan that far in depth or ahead of time. I think that my friends thinking is that if they have to plan that hard just to take a vacation, they'd rather go someplace relaxing and not have to deal with it.

OK, we just this evening got back from a New York City trip. We had tickets for three Broadway shows before we left, had tickets for one tour, and had a beat on the NBC Studio tour at the Rock and three live TV show tapings (of which we did one - if you saw Regis and Kelly last Friday you saw yours truly on national TV win a $500 Amazon gift certificate! - I was on for two whole seconds).

Bottom line is we did not say "Hey, we are in New York and want to relax and not plan anything". We could have, and missed a bunch of stuff.

I say this over and over (and I am preaching to to choir here). Disney is the opposite of relaxation. It is about maximum stimulation. Do not go to DLR or WDW to relax. Go to the beach if you want to relax. If you want every pore of your body stimulated then Disney is for you.

 

[TheZue]

I do find Disneyland relaxing...not sure what that says about my day to day life

 

[Huff]

I keep reading from others noting that DLR has had massive crowds the past year or so. Really? I have been going to Disneyland for decades and found crowds to be much lower than in the past. Sure there have been days here and there that were quite crowded but overall we've had some great trips that were very managable.

Back in the 1980's I remember many trips in the so called off-season where lines were still 45mins to 2 hours on most rides.

I remember Space Mountain que being packed inside the building, weaved all over the outside upper deck, down the old escalator and stretching all the way back to Star Tours.

I remember when Indiana Jones opened and for months had a line stretching all the way back to Small World.

We went to DLR this past July 4th weekend. Historically one of the busiest weekends for DLR. California Adventure was nearly empty. 15 minutes for Toy Story. Most other rides were shorter. On July 5th DL had moderate typical weekend crowds, certainly not the massive crowds of years past.

This year we've made 11 weekend trips to DLR and except for a few busy days have had a blast every time.

 

[Sherry E]

I keep reading from others noting that DLR has had massive crowds the past year or so. Really? I have been going to Disneyland for decades and found crowds to be much lower than in the past. Sure there have been days here and there that were quite crowded but overall we've had some great trips that were very managable.

Back in the 1980's I remember many trips in the so called off-season where lines were still 45mins to 2 hours on most rides.

I remember Space Mountain que being packed inside the building, weaved all over the outside upper deck, down the old escalator and stretching all the way back to Star Tours.

I remember when Indiana Jones opened and for months had a line stretching all the way back to Small World.

We went to DLR this past July 4th weekend. Historically one of the busiest weekends for DLR. California Adventure was nearly empty. 15 minutes for Toy Story. Most other rides were shorter. On July 5th DL had moderate typical weekend crowds, certainly not the massive crowds of years past.

This year we've made 11 weekend trips to DLR and except for a few busy days have had a blast every time.

Fourth of July was not crowded, correct - and that has pretty much already been attributed to the SoCal Ap block out days situation. But the numbers for AP holders are way up - higher than ever - and this last holiday season was the most crowded one in a decade, and there have been enough people reporting on how the crowds were significantly higher in 2009 than previous years (myself included) that I think there is some validity to it, even if certain other people didn't experience it themselves! That is not to say every day is that way. This is more of an overall pattern for the last year, not a commentary on each individual day. I know that when I went in 2009, it was much, much more crowded than at the same exact time in 2008 or 2007. To me, that says, 'more people, higher crowds.'

Yes, I remember the good old days of the '70s and '80 where lines were very long for POTC, Jungle Cruise, etc. It doesn't mean that there were so many more thousands of people in the parks then that are not there now. It means, for one thing, that DLR found a way to load rides much faster, and they also added a lot more things around DLR to attract people so they are not all congregated in one line at one time. Also, people burn out on things over time and disperse elsewhere. The Star Tours line once stretched out to where the Partners statue is, and the Roger Rabbit line was all the way out of ToonTown. Once the initial novelty of these rides wears off, people wander elsewhere.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

OK, we just this evening got back from a New York City trip. We had tickets for three Broadway shows before we left, had tickets for one tour, and had a beat on the NBC Studio tour at the Rock and three live TV show tapings (of which we did one - if you saw Regis and Kelly last Friday you saw yours truly on national TV win a $500 Amazon gift certificate! - I was on for two whole seconds).

Bottom line is we did not say "Hey, we are in New York and want to relax and not plan anything". We could have, and missed a bunch of stuff.

I say this over and over (and I am preaching to to choir here). Disney is the opposite of relaxation. It is about maximum stimulation. Do not go to DLR or WDW to relax. Go to the beach if you want to relax. If you want every pore of your body stimulated then Disney is for you.

Sorry I missed you on Regis & Kelly; that must've been fun! I agree with you wholeheartedly about the planning. When 2 of my friends and extended family members told me after the fact about how horrible their vacation was I was like, "Why didn't you tell me you were going?! I would've helped you plan!" I tried to help my other friends plan ahead of time but they insisted they were going with people who live there and go to DL all the time so they weren't worried about it. Uh yeah, but an AP holder isn't going to be as concerned about seeing/doing everything because if they miss it, they can just go again another day. And her friend didn't have a 2 year old child so probably didn't have a clue what age appropriate rides and attractions would be best for her kid.
I have another friend who is going soon and I'm worried about her too. They haven't even begun to plan yet and are intending to go in April. Her son is 4 and she admits they will probably be more into attractions than rides because her son gets sick on rides. So I told her ROA is down so no F!, no TSI, no Riverboats. In DCA, no DEP, WOC is postponed until May 1 at least now, right? That's a lot of attractions that he could do that will be down. I fear she'll be bummed out after the fact because "everything was closed and there wasn't enough to do with him," when a little bit of planning could fix all of that. <sigh> Unfortunately, some people don't like to plan.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

I keep reading from others noting that DLR has had massive crowds the past year or so. Really? I have been going to Disneyland for decades and found crowds to be much lower than in the past. Sure there have been days here and there that were quite crowded but overall we've had some great trips that were very managable.

Back in the 1980's I remember many trips in the so called off-season where lines were still 45mins to 2 hours on most rides.

I remember Space Mountain que being packed inside the building, weaved all over the outside upper deck, down the old escalator and stretching all the way back to Star Tours.

I remember when Indiana Jones opened and for months had a line stretching all the way back to Small World.

We went to DLR this past July 4th weekend. Historically one of the busiest weekends for DLR. California Adventure was nearly empty. 15 minutes for Toy Story. Most other rides were shorter. On July 5th DL had moderate typical weekend crowds, certainly not the massive crowds of years past.

This year we've made 11 weekend trips to DLR and except for a few busy days have had a blast every time.

Ahhh...that was before they had Fast Passes. I remember standing in a 2.5 hour line for Splash in the 90's in the middle of October mid week. That was nuts! I recall when we were planning the trip and complaining to our TA about how hard it was to find a room for a family of 5 during that time frame, the AAA agent said, "There really is no off season at DL anymore." Those words were never truer than they are now and in the last year. It seems like only the rainy days, or days when there are no new attractions, or a lot of rides/attractions are down for refurb, are slow. If one wants to go there with the majority of things running, one must pray for rain.

 

[Huff]

I still say 2009 and so far 2010 crowds are not as bad as they were in decades past. We just got back from a trip this past weekend over MLK holiday weekend. Definetly not crowded at all especially for a holiday weekend. We weren't there Sunday when it was raining as we went to Universal Studios which was fairly empty as well.

I think some peoples crowd perception is based on what they compare it too. In 2nd half of 2001 crowds at DLR were slim to none because of 9/11. They have increased steadily each year after until 2008 when the economy reduced crowds. Now attendance has been climbing again so it depends on what you use as your reference.

I waited in FAR longer lines and waded through massive log jam crowds during the 1980's that I have not seen since except a couple days during school breaks.

July 4th low crowds have been attributed to AP blackout dates. Maybe so. However, in the 1980's AP numbers were rather small and yet that weekend had massive crowds larger than even the Christmas/New years week.

Maybe it depends on when people visit DLR and knowing what rides to go on and when, how to maximize fast pass usage etc. 11 weekend trips this year, mostly over school breaks and we've never waited more than 30 minutes for any ride and usually less.