Astylla
Disney Fanatic
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2011
- Messages
- 2,791
We left the Bay Area at 6pm Friday night 6/17 after hubby picked me up from work. We got to Ramada Plaza around 1am, very spacious comfy rooms !
We left our hotel about 7:15am and We started with rope drop at DCA , arriving around 7:35am at the front gates with NO lines. We were held by Starbucks to the entrance to Grizzly Peak until exactly 8am. The CM's were doing their best to explain the areas.
Curb by Starbucks/ Fiddler Cafe : STANDBY SOARIN
Middle : SOARIN FP
Left : WOC FP/ Towards GRR
NO RUNNING or pushing occurred , though it was confusing at first where to go for FP. Basically the line for FP for Soarin is wrapped BEHIND at least at rope drop. Go past the attraction past the popcorn cart towards the right and you will see a roped off section with neon tape for the queue for FP. They were metering people in for Soarin FP. It worked well.
We got FP for Soarin for 9:15am- 10:15 around 8:10am then got a cinnamon roll , grapes and waters at Starbucks before walking onto GRR in our own raft, walked onto Little mermaid , rode Soarin (AMAZING BTW!!) , walked onto TOT , grabbed a snack at Award Weiners then got RSR FP around 12pm for 1:45-2:45 return. Then rode Luigis with 20 minute wait.
Frozen FP were still available around 11:15am for both the 4:40 and 5pmish shows!!
We then Rode Screamin with 10 minute wait , let hubby do Silly symphony swings walk on , grabbed waters , got GRR FP for 1:45-2:45 so just ducked into Whitewater snacks about 1:10pm for a cooling break and light snacks. We then went through the GCH entrance to DCA to GRR for our FP. Right after we were let in they shut the lines down but still were loading people. We were confused but found out someone fainted from the heat. It's no joke
The line reopened quickly and after our ride at GRR , booked it to RSR for our FP window where standby was almost non existent at only 30 minutes and single rider was empty!
Afterwards we got more water ( see a trend here? )before our Blue Bayou lunch at 3:30pm. We stopped by our locker and reapplied sunscreen generously before walking into Disneyland about 2:50pm.
We got Hyperspace Mountain FP around 3pm for a 5:30-6:30 return.
Walking down main street it seriously looked like EMH or just opening , it was THAT slow overall.
We had a great lunch at Blue Bayou and even got a waterside table for our 3:30 lunch without even asking!
We took our time because the air conditioned space was so nice but also ordered dessert to just relax. We left around 5pm to go ride Pirates with a 10 minute wait. We then went back to Hyperspace which went quickly.
We headed back to the other side getting Splash FP for 8:30-9:30pm around 6pm. We then grabbed a small snack at Pooh corner , more drinks and I saw a guest with a cool hatbox ghost button and he was so kind to give me one!!
We then walked onto HM , walked around a bit, did Tiki room and got a dole whip and at some point our FP for Splash opened but it was down so we rode Pirates again. Unfortunately I agreed to the last row in the old boats and our feet were drenched by the end. We had to ring out our socks and dry our feet. So we sat on the curb just behind where Columbia is docked and ended up watching fireworks instead of riding Splash before heading out.
We had an amazing time and were shocked how low crowds were. I personally think the heat kept local AP holders away ( we come from the Bay Area). It was worst from 1:30-5:30 for sure but with sufficient sunscreen , breaks and hydration we came out unscathed!
PSA : Frogg togg cooling towels are the best things ever. We both usually are DYING from heat and these helped regulate our body temp so much. Water fountains are plentiful with cold water so re-wetting them is easy and even at the hottest times they would last over an hour.
We are back for 4 nights at HOJO from June 30th- July 4th also. This really helped us prepare for the worst if another heat wave hits.
We left our hotel about 7:15am and We started with rope drop at DCA , arriving around 7:35am at the front gates with NO lines. We were held by Starbucks to the entrance to Grizzly Peak until exactly 8am. The CM's were doing their best to explain the areas.
Curb by Starbucks/ Fiddler Cafe : STANDBY SOARIN
Middle : SOARIN FP
Left : WOC FP/ Towards GRR
NO RUNNING or pushing occurred , though it was confusing at first where to go for FP. Basically the line for FP for Soarin is wrapped BEHIND at least at rope drop. Go past the attraction past the popcorn cart towards the right and you will see a roped off section with neon tape for the queue for FP. They were metering people in for Soarin FP. It worked well.
We got FP for Soarin for 9:15am- 10:15 around 8:10am then got a cinnamon roll , grapes and waters at Starbucks before walking onto GRR in our own raft, walked onto Little mermaid , rode Soarin (AMAZING BTW!!) , walked onto TOT , grabbed a snack at Award Weiners then got RSR FP around 12pm for 1:45-2:45 return. Then rode Luigis with 20 minute wait.
Frozen FP were still available around 11:15am for both the 4:40 and 5pmish shows!!
We then Rode Screamin with 10 minute wait , let hubby do Silly symphony swings walk on , grabbed waters , got GRR FP for 1:45-2:45 so just ducked into Whitewater snacks about 1:10pm for a cooling break and light snacks. We then went through the GCH entrance to DCA to GRR for our FP. Right after we were let in they shut the lines down but still were loading people. We were confused but found out someone fainted from the heat. It's no joke
The line reopened quickly and after our ride at GRR , booked it to RSR for our FP window where standby was almost non existent at only 30 minutes and single rider was empty!
Afterwards we got more water ( see a trend here? )before our Blue Bayou lunch at 3:30pm. We stopped by our locker and reapplied sunscreen generously before walking into Disneyland about 2:50pm.
We got Hyperspace Mountain FP around 3pm for a 5:30-6:30 return.
Walking down main street it seriously looked like EMH or just opening , it was THAT slow overall.
We had a great lunch at Blue Bayou and even got a waterside table for our 3:30 lunch without even asking!
We took our time because the air conditioned space was so nice but also ordered dessert to just relax. We left around 5pm to go ride Pirates with a 10 minute wait. We then went back to Hyperspace which went quickly.
We headed back to the other side getting Splash FP for 8:30-9:30pm around 6pm. We then grabbed a small snack at Pooh corner , more drinks and I saw a guest with a cool hatbox ghost button and he was so kind to give me one!!
We then walked onto HM , walked around a bit, did Tiki room and got a dole whip and at some point our FP for Splash opened but it was down so we rode Pirates again. Unfortunately I agreed to the last row in the old boats and our feet were drenched by the end. We had to ring out our socks and dry our feet. So we sat on the curb just behind where Columbia is docked and ended up watching fireworks instead of riding Splash before heading out.
We had an amazing time and were shocked how low crowds were. I personally think the heat kept local AP holders away ( we come from the Bay Area). It was worst from 1:30-5:30 for sure but with sufficient sunscreen , breaks and hydration we came out unscathed!
PSA : Frogg togg cooling towels are the best things ever. We both usually are DYING from heat and these helped regulate our body temp so much. Water fountains are plentiful with cold water so re-wetting them is easy and even at the hottest times they would last over an hour.
We are back for 4 nights at HOJO from June 30th- July 4th also. This really helped us prepare for the worst if another heat wave hits.
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