Our 3rd Annual Holiday Trip to DL in November - November 22nd - 25th, 2013 Post #3416
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mvf-m11c
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Day 4 May 30, 2011 Part 4
Back to the aerial photos from MFW.
When I got off MFW, it was time to head on back to DL and do my Music/Sound Quest. On the way, I went through TSMM and see what the lines is right now. It was already at 40+ minute wait and the queue were crazy.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3065/5838471728_57252a8484_b.jpg[img]
The park started to pickup with more and more guests already at the park. So I head on over to TLMAUA to see what the wait time is at.
[img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2731/5837922797_9c3d613c5a_b.jpg
At TLMAUA, the line was already at 40+ minute wait that morning. Can't believe the queue from Saturday was a walk on while Monday was at 40+ wait time. The queue already was extending towards the stroller area.
On the way out of DCA, I had to get some different pictures on the way out.
Monorail Blue passing Soarin
The theater is still in progress.
I head on out of DCA around 10:45am that morning and I was on my way back to DL.
I will get back to the other part of my day on Monday since I need to write up my PTR for this coming Monday.
mvf-m11c
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Day 4 May 30, 2011 Part 5
On the way over to DL, more and more guests are now showing up at both parks. Luckily, I was there to do some picture taking and also a surprise.
At DL, the park was a little busy but not that bad. I head on over to MTT for some pics for the Music/Sound Quest since I havent been there the whole trip. It is always fun to walk over to MTT and see the buildings.
Over at MS Hub area, the park was nice and beautiful that morning. I then head on over to FL.
Over at FL, the queues for most of the good rides at FL were kind of long that morning. PP was at 30+, while Dumbo was at 25+ wait time.
When I got to MTT, it was not that crowded and now on my way to get pics for the Music/Sound Quest.
You can see the bell on top of the Firehouse
While I was right next to RRCS, the wait time was already at 25 minute wait.
A lot of different Music/Sound objects on top of City Hall
Musical instruments in the fountain
The horn and whistle from Donalds Boat
The bell on the Jolly Trolley
On the way out to MTT, I head on over to TL to see what the wait time for ST was at.
It was around 11am and the time did not show again.
On the way over FL, I had to get more different pics on the way towards TL.
Over at TL, it was crowded with a lot of people heading on ST that Monday afternoon. The day was very nice and sunny. It was perfect to walk out there.
Since I ran out of pics for this post, I will get back to you with the last part of the trip.
mvf-m11c
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I am pleased to announced that I have booked my annual Holiday trip to DL with my DA. I was kind of surprise to see that the Holiday season is starting on Monday instead of the usual 2nd weekend of November. But at least I will be there before the Holiday season starts. We will be there on November 18 to 20 and will be staying at BW Anaheim Inn. I mostly would have stayed at BWPPI, but the price is way too high and it is only a few buildings down from the hotel we are staying.
skiingfast
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Holiday trip sounds good. But are you ever going to wrap up this TR before you get on the road back to DL? I probably won't know until I return. See you there.
mvf-m11c
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Thank you Michele. It was very nice that Monday morning from the top of MFW.
I am almost done with this TR. I just need to tell what happened at TL. I also have also have another part of this TR I had to do. I will be done with this TR and get my PTR up before I leave on Sunday. I will see you out there.
mvf-m11c
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Day 4 May 30, 2011 Part 6
Now here is my last post of the Soundsational Weekend.
When I got to TL, I head on over to ST to see what the wait time is at that time. I got there and see that the queue was extended right by the Star Trader store. The CMs let the guests in the park to be in the queue for ST. Not like those other days during the AP Sneak Peek which was great.
It was about a 55 minute wait around 11:10am. This was nothing compared to what is happening right now at ST. I wished it would be like this next week. But that is not going to happen. Even the FP was all the way towards 5:55pm to 6:55pm at that time. Talk about a long time to get on ST with the FP.
When I past ST, I went over to the Hub and took some more pics. Not really, it was time for me to renew my Premier AP. Good thing that my AP expire date is on June 11, 2011, I could go to the Plaza Pavilion AP Center to renew my AP which was inside 30 days. So I head on over to the Plaza Pavilion and it was quite crowded around the Hub.
I head on over to the Plaza Pavilion and I walked straight into the building and about to renew my AP. Renewing my AP took so long then I expected since the CMs are having some trouble renewing it since they barely do it over here at DL than at WDW. I had to pay around $722 to renew my Premier AP. Luckily I have renewed my AP that weekend instead of waiting until this week since the price has increased last Sunday. $49 addition to the Premier is a lot of money. I am glad that I got to renew my AP and now is time to head back to the park.
On the way out of the park, it was almost time for me to head on out and go home. But before I do that, I decide to head on over to the Tiki Juice Bar and get another Dole Whip. I dont know why I love these treats so much, but I will expect to get one this upcoming trip. So count on that this coming trip.
I was enjoying my Dole Whip as I head on out of the park and walking down MS.
The park started to pickup with more and more guests coming in. Good thing that I am done and on my way out of the park. This is a sad part of my trip since I am leaving. But it has been awhile since I have been at DL for 4 days. I believe my last time that I have been to DL for four days was back in June 2010 during the debut of WoC.
It was around 11:45am that I have left DL and on the way back to BWPPI and get my car. Luckily, I was able to leave my car at the hotel until 3pm that day.
I got into my car at 11:55am and now I am on my way home. Whoops, I forgot that I left my brother at his GF apartment in Irvine. So I head on over to Irvine and picked him up. So it was time to head on back to Sacramento.
It took awhile for us to leave LA since we got caught in traffic around 2pm until we got out of it and on the Grapevine.
We stopped at our grandmother house in Livingston to have dinner with her. She was happy that we have stopped over there and have dinner.
When we have finished, we were on our way home to Sacramento. We got home around 9pm that Monday night. And that concludes my TR during Memorial Day Weekend.
This was one of my best trips in quite some time. I got to ride the new ST 11 times & TLMAUA 7 times. Got to watch Mickeys Soundsational Parade twice, see Magical and the updated WoC show. I got to meet up with my friend, the band teacher and the kids. I enjoyed being with them and doing these different activities at DL. The weather was great and got to try some new food during my visit.
Now my next trip is in a few days on Monday June 20 to 21. This is a short trip to DL and the main reason for going to DL is that my dad is visiting a friend from Houston and is at DL. He wants to have some fun with him so he booked the date to come here and I am on my way for another trip to DL.
mvf-m11c
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I just concluded my DLR trip last month [post=41278373]May 27 - 30, 2011[/post] during Memorial Day weekend which I got to ride on ST and TLMAUA during the soft openings. Plus I got to hang out with my friend, the band teacher and the kids from my middle school that weekend. This is one of my best trips in quite some time.
I got to do my usual nighttime events like Magical fireworks and the updated WoC show. I got to videotape both shows during that weekend and also got to watch Mickey's Soundsational Parade which was great.
The best part of my trip was being with my friend and the band group that Sunday. I got to meet a lot of nice young students and got to know more about the band teacher. We got to go on rides together and have lunch & dinner that night. This was by far the best part of the trip.
It was great to get selected for the ST AP Sneak Peek for Sunday May 29. Got to ride it 9 times that day and got all the scenes during my visit. The lines were kind of short and was long later on Monday.
TLMAUA was great and exciting to ride. Even though it is almost similar to The Seas w/Nemo & Friends at EPCOT, it feels like I am under the sea with Ariel and her friends.
Enough talk about the last trip, it's time to get my pre-trip planned for this month.
Cast: Me Bret 29 & my Disney Dad, plus my dad's friend family and I will meet a DISer during this trip.
The reason I am doing this trip is that my dad is going to visit his old Army buddy from Houston. He and his family will be at DL on Monday and Tuesday. He thought it would be a good idea to go down and see him while he was in Anaheim. He asked me if I wanted to go and I couldn't refuse. Even though it was only 3 weeks ago since I was at DL, but I want to go down and spend some time with my dad. We will join up at DL on Monday and Tuesday. I know that they will need me for buying merchandise and getting food cheaper. I am going to do all the planning and I will be using Ridemax for all the rides and shows. We plan to watch WoC on Monday and watch Mickey's Soundsational Parade that day. This is going to be tricky to watch WoC and get FP that Monday since my dad friend children are very young and will want a railing view for the show. So I have to plan very well for getting a spot. We plan on getting blue FP that day and hope everything goes well.
On Tuesday, I will meet a DISer on Tuesday morning and have breakfast at the Plaza Inn during MM. This person wants to remain unknown until I write my TR for Tuesday. But we will meet at DL Tuesday morning for breakfast and head on over to ST to get our FP so we won't have to wait in the long line during the day. We plan to do some rides and other activities at the DLR.
I will be doing my usual plan to Anaheim. I will be driving down from Sacramento to Anaheim like my DA and I always do on our previous trips together. As you know for the readers that follow me, I don't like to fly and just drive while I can carry extra stuff with me than spending a lot of money towards a flying. It just not worth paying the extra money for extra bags and getting a rental car. This time, I will be driving with my dad in his Ford Saleen. I didn't want to drive that car down to SoCal since it doesn't give out good mileage, but he wants to drive it so I can't argue with that. Originally, I was planning on leaving Sunday night and head on over to my grandmothers house in Livingston and rest up that night and drive straight to LA. But now, my dad wants to drive straight to LA and see his BF who lives in LA. So we will leave straight to LA and meet up with his friend and then later tomorrow night, we will head straight to Anaheim and check-in at a hotel.
I will be staying at Motel 6 on Katella on Sunday night and then on Monday, we will be staying at BW Anaheim Inn. I didn't plan on being in Anaheim on Sunday so my dad got a good deal on Motel 6 on Sunday. I picked BWAI because it was right across the street from DL and way cheaper then BWPPI. As some of you readers know that I like to stay at BWPPI, but the price wasn't right, so I choose BWAI instead.
My goal for this weekend to have a great time with my dad and his friend from Houston. We plan on watching WoC on Monday as well as Mickey's Soundsational Parade. Since my dad friends kids are young, we will be riding on small rides during our visit. So I am thinking of doing the popular kid rides like PP, IASW, Dumbo, SLCB, TLMAUA etc. for the little kids. But the adults want to ride the big rides, so I have to pick which rides to go on. We will be using ridemax for the trip. Also, I will meet the DISer on Tuesday morning for breakfast and we will have a great time. I will tell you later who it is.
I'm only just 2 days till I am at the Happiest Place on Earth again.
Thank you for reading my PTR and hope you can follow it.
I got to do my usual nighttime events like Magical fireworks and the updated WoC show. I got to videotape both shows during that weekend and also got to watch Mickey's Soundsational Parade which was great.
The best part of my trip was being with my friend and the band group that Sunday. I got to meet a lot of nice young students and got to know more about the band teacher. We got to go on rides together and have lunch & dinner that night. This was by far the best part of the trip.
It was great to get selected for the ST AP Sneak Peek for Sunday May 29. Got to ride it 9 times that day and got all the scenes during my visit. The lines were kind of short and was long later on Monday.
TLMAUA was great and exciting to ride. Even though it is almost similar to The Seas w/Nemo & Friends at EPCOT, it feels like I am under the sea with Ariel and her friends.
Enough talk about the last trip, it's time to get my pre-trip planned for this month.
Cast: Me Bret 29 & my Disney Dad, plus my dad's friend family and I will meet a DISer during this trip.
The reason I am doing this trip is that my dad is going to visit his old Army buddy from Houston. He and his family will be at DL on Monday and Tuesday. He thought it would be a good idea to go down and see him while he was in Anaheim. He asked me if I wanted to go and I couldn't refuse. Even though it was only 3 weeks ago since I was at DL, but I want to go down and spend some time with my dad. We will join up at DL on Monday and Tuesday. I know that they will need me for buying merchandise and getting food cheaper. I am going to do all the planning and I will be using Ridemax for all the rides and shows. We plan to watch WoC on Monday and watch Mickey's Soundsational Parade that day. This is going to be tricky to watch WoC and get FP that Monday since my dad friend children are very young and will want a railing view for the show. So I have to plan very well for getting a spot. We plan on getting blue FP that day and hope everything goes well.
On Tuesday, I will meet a DISer on Tuesday morning and have breakfast at the Plaza Inn during MM. This person wants to remain unknown until I write my TR for Tuesday. But we will meet at DL Tuesday morning for breakfast and head on over to ST to get our FP so we won't have to wait in the long line during the day. We plan to do some rides and other activities at the DLR.
I will be doing my usual plan to Anaheim. I will be driving down from Sacramento to Anaheim like my DA and I always do on our previous trips together. As you know for the readers that follow me, I don't like to fly and just drive while I can carry extra stuff with me than spending a lot of money towards a flying. It just not worth paying the extra money for extra bags and getting a rental car. This time, I will be driving with my dad in his Ford Saleen. I didn't want to drive that car down to SoCal since it doesn't give out good mileage, but he wants to drive it so I can't argue with that. Originally, I was planning on leaving Sunday night and head on over to my grandmothers house in Livingston and rest up that night and drive straight to LA. But now, my dad wants to drive straight to LA and see his BF who lives in LA. So we will leave straight to LA and meet up with his friend and then later tomorrow night, we will head straight to Anaheim and check-in at a hotel.
I will be staying at Motel 6 on Katella on Sunday night and then on Monday, we will be staying at BW Anaheim Inn. I didn't plan on being in Anaheim on Sunday so my dad got a good deal on Motel 6 on Sunday. I picked BWAI because it was right across the street from DL and way cheaper then BWPPI. As some of you readers know that I like to stay at BWPPI, but the price wasn't right, so I choose BWAI instead.
My goal for this weekend to have a great time with my dad and his friend from Houston. We plan on watching WoC on Monday as well as Mickey's Soundsational Parade. Since my dad friends kids are young, we will be riding on small rides during our visit. So I am thinking of doing the popular kid rides like PP, IASW, Dumbo, SLCB, TLMAUA etc. for the little kids. But the adults want to ride the big rides, so I have to pick which rides to go on. We will be using ridemax for the trip. Also, I will meet the DISer on Tuesday morning for breakfast and we will have a great time. I will tell you later who it is.
I'm only just 2 days till I am at the Happiest Place on Earth again.
Thank you for reading my PTR and hope you can follow it.
tksbaskets
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Only two days?? 
I think it's great that you get to spend time with your dad and his friend at DL.
Can't wait to see who the lucky mystery DISer is.
I think it's great that you get to spend time with your dad and his friend at DL.Can't wait to see who the lucky mystery DISer is.
tksbaskets
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deejdigsdis
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Hi Bret,
I see you're back in DL and I haven't finished reading your Soundsational Weekend TR yet.
I just finished reading through the Sunday night part of your trip. I can't believe how many rides you were able to fit in on Star Tours! That's great. I'm glad you were able to see all the scenes you were interested in.
Sounds like you had a great time meeting up with your friend and the folks from the band. That's too bad about the girl losing her wallet. How nice of her friends to buy her a new one. It was also nice of you to help out the others with your discount.
I enjoyed seeing Splash Mountain up and running again. I sure missed it during my last 2 trips.
I need to go read about the last day of your Memorial Day Weekend trip. I will probably finish just in time to read about your current trip. After that I hope to be reading about TK's cruise.
(Hint, hint TK!)
I see you're back in DL and I haven't finished reading your Soundsational Weekend TR yet.
I just finished reading through the Sunday night part of your trip. I can't believe how many rides you were able to fit in on Star Tours! That's great. I'm glad you were able to see all the scenes you were interested in.Sounds like you had a great time meeting up with your friend and the folks from the band. That's too bad about the girl losing her wallet. How nice of her friends to buy her a new one. It was also nice of you to help out the others with your discount.
I enjoyed seeing Splash Mountain up and running again. I sure missed it during my last 2 trips.
I need to go read about the last day of your Memorial Day Weekend trip. I will probably finish just in time to read about your current trip. After that I hope to be reading about TK's cruise.
(Hint, hint TK!)
tksbaskets
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Hi Bret,
I see you're back in DL and I haven't finished reading your Soundsational Weekend TR yet.
Sounds like you had a great time meeting up with your friend and the folks from the band. That's too bad about the girl losing her wallet. How nice of her friends to buy her a new one. It was also nice of you to help out the others with your discount.
I enjoyed seeing Splash Mountain up and running again. I sure missed it during my last 2 trips.
I need to go read about the last day of your Memorial Day Weekend trip. I will probably finish just in time to read about your current trip. After that I hope to be reading about TK's cruise.
Deej I promise I will do a report after our Alaskan Cruise. We leave 2 weeks from today!! Have I packed? Have I thought about what we are doing in Vancouver for 3 days?
You'll have to read to find out
I think I'll just post a link on my last couple of trip reports. You all probably don't frequent the DCL message board.I bet Bret is out having a blast at DL with his dad right now!
deejdigsdis
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Deej I promise I will do a report after our Alaskan Cruise. We leave 2 weeks from today!! Have I packed? Have I thought about what we are doing in Vancouver for 3 days?
You'll have to read to find out
I bet Bret is out having a blast at DL with his dad right now!
I can't believe you are only 2 weeks away! Is this your first Alaskan Cruise? I didn't know there was a Cruise section to the boards until you mentioned it. Definitely let us know how to find you!
OK Bret, I just finished reading your Soundsational Weekend TR. It sounds like you had a really great time. I've never tried a Dole Whip myself. I always go for the fresh pineapple spears. (Could really use one of those right now on this hot first day of summer!!!)
Are you doing another quest this time? Maybe you are just focusing on spending time with your dad and his friend (and family). Sounds like you'll be riding some things that you haven't ridden in a while. Can't wait to hear about your trip!
mvf-m11c
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Just got back safely this morning at 2am Pacific time. Boy it was crazy this weekend. It was a little bit crowded then I expected. I should not been surprise since these were the last days for the SoCal AP holders to go to the park before they are blocked out. This TR will take some time since I didn't do some of my usual rides this week. But I did enjoy being with my dad and his family friend.
Hi Bret,
I see you're back in DL and I haven't finished reading your Soundsational Weekend TR yet.
Sounds like you had a great time meeting up with your friend and the folks from the band. That's too bad about the girl losing her wallet. How nice of her friends to buy her a new one. It was also nice of you to help out the others with your discount.
I enjoyed seeing Splash Mountain up and running again. I sure missed it during my last 2 trips.
I need to go read about the last day of your Memorial Day Weekend trip. I will probably finish just in time to read about your current trip. After that I hope to be reading about TK's cruise.
I was kind of surprise that I was able to get on ST 9 times that day. Since I was around TL all day on Sunday and solo. I went on the ride very quickly. At least I got all the scenes I wanted to see during my 11 flights that weekend. But I wish I was able to see more of the Darth Vader and Stormtroopers scenes then the Stormtroopers and Droid scene with the Millennium Falcon. It is a great scene, but it would be nice if it was even when I rode ST.
I had a blast with my friend and the band group on Friday and Sunday. After what happen to that young girl losing her wallet in the Emporium that Sunday night. My friend had offered to buy her something so she wouldn't feel miserable going back to Sacramento. I would help too, but her friends have bought her that nice wallet for her. I'm glad that she was happy that her friends bought her that wallet. I talked to my friend and asked how she was doing a few days and she was great during the trip back home.
It was nice that Splash was back up and running. No surprise that the lines for Splash were very long during Memorial Day Weekend as well as this week. That will be another story.
Can't wait to read about your Alaskan Cruise TK.
I bet Bret is out having a blast at DL with his dad right now!
I did have a great time at DL with my dad this week as well as with his friend and family. I got to meet that DISer yesterday morning and I will disclose who it is during my TR for Tuesday morning.
OK Bret, I just finished reading your Soundsational Weekend TR. It sounds like you had a really great time. I've never tried a Dole Whip myself. I always go for the fresh pineapple spears. (Could really use one of those right now on this hot first day of summer!!!)
Are you doing another quest this time? Maybe you are just focusing on spending time with your dad and his friend (and family). Sounds like you'll be riding some things that you haven't ridden in a while. Can't wait to hear about your trip!
I'm glad that you enjoyed my TR Deej. This TR was long and enjoyable. Got to do the soft openings of TLMAUA and ST. Watched Mickey's Soundsational Parade, Magical, and the updated WoC show. Got to hang out with my friend and the band group. I love the Dole Whip and was kind of surprise that I have not got one in years. Maybe it was that long line which could take up to 10+ minutes. The Dole Whip was great, but I almost got the Float on those days. The Whip was way enough for me during my visit. The pineapple spears looked good at each of these different stands at DL.
I didn't do a Quest this time since I was being a guide to my dads friend family this trip and I didn't take as many pictures as I have thought. You are right that I have went on rides that I haven't went on in quite some time at DL. My dads friend family is here for the first time when the DL parking lot was at DCA. That was a long time when they were at DL. My dad friend family group was two grandparents, a single mother and a grandson. This TR will be awhile when I write it and remember what I have done all those days.
Thank you Stubby for joining along my Soundsational TR. The new TR will take some time for me to do and it will be good. I will tell you and everyone if I had a Dole Whip on this trip.
I got to go on your PTR and read your plans for your upcoming trip.
mvf-m11c
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After finishing [post=41278373]A Soundsational Weekend May 27 – 30, 2011[/post], it is time for my 2nd trip this summer with my dad and his old friend family. This trip is all about for my dad old friend family as they are here for the first time when DCA was a parking lot back in the 80s. This is a special trip for them, not only is this there first time to be back in DL in years, this was there grandsons first time to DL. So I have to make his first trip to DL very special for them. The group that came down to DL is my dads old friend when they were in the army, his wife, his daughter and there grandson which is 6. So lets get started with “A Reunion with an Old Friend at DL” TR.
This day doesn’t count since I didn’t go to DL on Sunday, just to Anaheim.
Well actually this day doesn’t count since my dad and I were driving all the way from Sacramento to SoCal. The two of us have left Sacramento around 12pm on Sunday. We took I-5 and I told my dad that I didn’t want to go down that highway since there was some construction. He thought it wouldn’t affect the drive, but it did when we got half way towards our trip. We only had to wait in a traffic jam for 15 minutes and got back on track.
We first stopped at his BF who lives in LA. So we got to his BF house around 6pm. We got there so quickly to LA and I was so impressed by the time to get there. My dad and I had dinner with his BF and his family that night. We all talked until it was around 9pm that night and decided it was time to go to Anaheim and check-in our room.
On the way out, we did not have to worry about traffic since it was late that Sunday night. I originally wasn’t planning on coming to Anaheim late Sunday night, but my dad made a reservation at Motel 6 on Disney Way. He only got it for $50 that night which is a great deal. It would have been easier if I made another reservation at BW Anaheim Inn which we were staying on Monday night. But you can’t beat that deal for one night right by the DLR.
We got to Motel 6 around 10pm and we check-in to the hotel. We unpacked all of our bags and brought it in the room. I’m sorry that I didn’t take pictures of the room. I did remember seeing the pictures of the room thanks to Goofy_Mom during her Holiday trip last year. This first gave the impression of the room and I wouldn’t be surprise what it would look like.
Where have you been lately Kirsten?
We hit the hay around 10:30pm that night and it was going to be a very long day at DL tomorrow. So I will get to the next part of the TR since Sunday doesn’t count as a day.
My dad and I got up at 6am that morning since we plan to join my dad friend family for breakfast that morning. We left Motel 6 around 6:30am and we got in the car and head on over to the parking structure. That Monday morning as always is so cloudy in the morning. So I wasn’t surprise with the weather that day. I told my dad that we can check-in at BW Anaheim Inn and get the park pass. But he didn’t want to walk around the other side of the park, so he wants to park at Mickey’s Parking Structure.
When we got to the parking structure around 6:45am, it was not open on the side heading in towards DTD & the DLH. I was kind of surprise to see that the back side entrance was not opened that morning. So we decided to head into the DTD parking lot. I did not like parking in DTD since you have to pay after 3 hours. So I have to remember to come back to the car and get the car out of DTD before I have pay later. You will find out later what happen.
Since my dad friend family were staying at PPH, we head on over to the PPH and meet up with them. We got to the hotel around 7am and we met up outside of PCH Grill. I got to meet my dad old friend when they were in the army, his wife, his daughter and his grandson. They asked me at the hotel that I would be their guide for there trip. Since I am the most experienced person at DL, it did make sense. They trust my judgment on what to do and not to do, so we head on our way out of the hotel.
They want to have breakfast, so we head on over to La Brea Bakery since it is a quick counter restaurant and we only have a little time to eat. When we got our breakfast, it was around 7:30am that morning and we had to finish fast so we can get to the park that morning. We chose different plates for breakfast, but I had the Classic Platter plate that morning. I don’t have the picture, but the food was really good.
It took so long to finish breakfast since the family were slow eaters and want to take there time. I told them that we need to get to the parks at 8am since we can do a lot during that time.
We left La Brea Bakery and were on our way to DL. When we past through the security check point, there was barely anyone outside since most of the people were inside the park. Over at DCA, the Pan-Pacific Auditorium-inspired main gate is almost done. It looks very nice without the tarps and I can’t wait to see the finished gate.
On the way to DL, we didn’t get in the park until 8:15am. I was kind of worried to see what time we can get FP for ST that morning. So I told everyone to head on over to TL and get the FP. On the way, I had to get some pics of MS TS on the way.
One of the DISers asked me if the American flags, colors and banners were still on the poles in MS. They were still up since Memorial Day weekend.
We had to hurry over to TL and get FP since it was almost 8:20am that Monday morning.
The queue for ST was extended towards the Plaza Inn and some over to the Little Red Wagon. That was the time on my last trip that DL has extended the queue towards there. But I didn’t see it during my last trip and hope to not see it during this trip. The entrance for ST is right by the Plaza Inn entrance. So this is where you start to get in the standby line.
While it was crowded in TL on the right side thanks due to the ST queue, we had to go on the left side to get the FP for ST.
I told everyone to give me there tickets since it just requires one person to get them and they don’t have to clog the line. I had to wait about 5 minutes in the ST FP queue and get the FP. So our time was at 11:10am to 12:10pm that Monday. It worked out perfectly since we will be in DCA that morning. When I was around the area, the standby line for ST was already at an hour wait time around 8:30am that morning. I was not that surprise to see the ST queue that long. But my group was not planning on going in the standby line anytime during our visit since we could lose a lot of time in the queue.
So I asked them what ride they want to do, they want to go on PP. I know that PP would be at least a 20+ minute wait. But they had no problem with it, so we head on over to PP in FL. We head on over to FL and went through SB castle and on to PP.
The wait time for PP was at 25 minute, so we had to wait awhile in the queue to get on PP. They were all impressed with PP and wanted to do it again tomorrow.
When we left, some of our group had to use the restroom while the other half of us decided to go on Pinocchio Daring Adventure while we waited for them. When the part of my group got back, their grandson wanted to go back on Pinocchio Daring Adventure, so he went on it again with my grandparents. While the rest of us waited for them, we went to the bathroom as well.
After that, we head on over to AiW. It took quite awhile for us to get on AiW. I believe it was about a 20 minute wait that morning until we got on it. Sorry for not having too may pictures since I was a guide for the group the whole time. I did feel frustrated when I got back home and see that I didn’t take too many pictures. But it was worth it for my dad friend family that I helped them with all the planning.
After that, I told them it was time to head on over to DCA so we can get the FP for the 9pm WoC show. They wanted to see that show the most, so I took no chance and we all head on over to DCA. On the way over, the sky is started to clear and all nice and blue. When we were walking down MS, the park started to pickup. I know that this is the last week for the SoCal AP to get in the park before they are blocked out for the summer. So I took precaution and made the crowd level a level 9 instead of level 5 as predicted on Touring Plans.
It was close to 9:30am and we head on out of DL and on the way towards DCA. On the way out, we looked at the Pan-Pacific main gate and it looked very nice. Luckily, most of the guests are already in the park, so we got through the main gate with no problem.
On the way in, the Carthay Circle Theater has improved a little since I was there a few weeks ago. It also sucked that the other walkway towards the left side of GRR was closed due to the construction around the Carthay Circle Theater. So everyone had to go on the right side. This would be a really pain during the whole trip.
On the way over to GRR, the group wanted to go on Soarin and we decided to stop at Soarin FP. The wait time for Soarin was already at 20 minute. So we wouldn’t be planning on riding Soarin right now. So we got FP instead. Good thing that the return time is around 10:20am to 11:20am. We got all 6 FP for Soarin and now time to head on over to GRR for the FP.
At GRR, there was barely anyone in line and it was around 9:40am. So we got our FP and got the 9pm Blue FP as expected. Even though there were a lot of people, I didn’t believe that the blue FP would be gone around that time.
We left GRR, and head on over to the rope drop area at PP. Very interesting that the rope drop area was not right by TLMAUA, it was close to the bridge right by the light tower. I read on the thread that DCA has extended the rope drop since they are letting guests ride TLMAUA that morning during the rope drop. This made a big difference and a huge pain. The first is that it is nice that you can ride TLMAUA before the parks open. The bad part is that the crowd around the light tower got twice as crowded then the single walkway where the line used to be.
When the parked opened at 10am, most of the guests were heading on over to PP and for TSMM. So we walked as fast as we can over to TSMM. This was a pain since there were a lot of people walking on over to TSMM.
The walked took awhile with all the people around us. As expected, 9/10 of the people were heading on over to TSMM while some went to CS. When we got in line, we only had to wait about 25 minutes to get on TSMM.
When the ride was over, I had the highest score on the ride and I had a disappointed 189,900 points. The grandson had 22,200 points while the others had around 30,000 points on average. For the first time, it was not that bad.
After the ride, they were all impressed with TSMM. They said that they want to do it again. But when we got off the ride, the wait time was at 40+ minute after 10:30am. So I don’t think that we will be riding TSMM after we got off.
Our next ride is TLMAUA. So we head on over to TLMAUA. On the way, I had to get some pics on the way. More and more people are coming on over to TSMM that morning. I mostly would go on MFW and get my aerial photos of the DLR, but since everyone didn’t want to go on MFW. I decided not to go on it. I did regret of not going on it that morning, but we will wait and see if I got on MFW this trip or not.
We got to TLMAUA and the wait time was around 15 minutes and they wanted to go on the ride since we are in the area and we still had enough time to go on Soarin and use the FP from10:20am to 11:20am. The queue was extended towards the walkway outside the queue so it took longer then the wait time was listed at. It took almost 20 minutes to get on the ride. One of my group members loves Ariel so much that she was excited to go on this ride.
My group had enjoyed the ride so much. They were really liked the fist Ariel AA during the ride and the ending was a great way to finish the ride. When we got outside, it was almost 11:05am that morning and we needed to head on over to Soarin and use our FP before they are not good.
I will get back to you another time since I am out of pictures. Thank you for following along the Reunion Trip.
This day doesn’t count since I didn’t go to DL on Sunday, just to Anaheim.
Well actually this day doesn’t count since my dad and I were driving all the way from Sacramento to SoCal. The two of us have left Sacramento around 12pm on Sunday. We took I-5 and I told my dad that I didn’t want to go down that highway since there was some construction. He thought it wouldn’t affect the drive, but it did when we got half way towards our trip. We only had to wait in a traffic jam for 15 minutes and got back on track.
We first stopped at his BF who lives in LA. So we got to his BF house around 6pm. We got there so quickly to LA and I was so impressed by the time to get there. My dad and I had dinner with his BF and his family that night. We all talked until it was around 9pm that night and decided it was time to go to Anaheim and check-in our room.
On the way out, we did not have to worry about traffic since it was late that Sunday night. I originally wasn’t planning on coming to Anaheim late Sunday night, but my dad made a reservation at Motel 6 on Disney Way. He only got it for $50 that night which is a great deal. It would have been easier if I made another reservation at BW Anaheim Inn which we were staying on Monday night. But you can’t beat that deal for one night right by the DLR.
We got to Motel 6 around 10pm and we check-in to the hotel. We unpacked all of our bags and brought it in the room. I’m sorry that I didn’t take pictures of the room. I did remember seeing the pictures of the room thanks to Goofy_Mom during her Holiday trip last year. This first gave the impression of the room and I wouldn’t be surprise what it would look like.
Where have you been lately Kirsten?
We hit the hay around 10:30pm that night and it was going to be a very long day at DL tomorrow. So I will get to the next part of the TR since Sunday doesn’t count as a day.
Day 1 – June 20, 2011 – Part 1
My dad and I got up at 6am that morning since we plan to join my dad friend family for breakfast that morning. We left Motel 6 around 6:30am and we got in the car and head on over to the parking structure. That Monday morning as always is so cloudy in the morning. So I wasn’t surprise with the weather that day. I told my dad that we can check-in at BW Anaheim Inn and get the park pass. But he didn’t want to walk around the other side of the park, so he wants to park at Mickey’s Parking Structure.
When we got to the parking structure around 6:45am, it was not open on the side heading in towards DTD & the DLH. I was kind of surprise to see that the back side entrance was not opened that morning. So we decided to head into the DTD parking lot. I did not like parking in DTD since you have to pay after 3 hours. So I have to remember to come back to the car and get the car out of DTD before I have pay later. You will find out later what happen.
Since my dad friend family were staying at PPH, we head on over to the PPH and meet up with them. We got to the hotel around 7am and we met up outside of PCH Grill. I got to meet my dad old friend when they were in the army, his wife, his daughter and his grandson. They asked me at the hotel that I would be their guide for there trip. Since I am the most experienced person at DL, it did make sense. They trust my judgment on what to do and not to do, so we head on our way out of the hotel.
They want to have breakfast, so we head on over to La Brea Bakery since it is a quick counter restaurant and we only have a little time to eat. When we got our breakfast, it was around 7:30am that morning and we had to finish fast so we can get to the park that morning. We chose different plates for breakfast, but I had the Classic Platter plate that morning. I don’t have the picture, but the food was really good.
It took so long to finish breakfast since the family were slow eaters and want to take there time. I told them that we need to get to the parks at 8am since we can do a lot during that time.
We left La Brea Bakery and were on our way to DL. When we past through the security check point, there was barely anyone outside since most of the people were inside the park. Over at DCA, the Pan-Pacific Auditorium-inspired main gate is almost done. It looks very nice without the tarps and I can’t wait to see the finished gate.
On the way to DL, we didn’t get in the park until 8:15am. I was kind of worried to see what time we can get FP for ST that morning. So I told everyone to head on over to TL and get the FP. On the way, I had to get some pics of MS TS on the way.
One of the DISers asked me if the American flags, colors and banners were still on the poles in MS. They were still up since Memorial Day weekend.
We had to hurry over to TL and get FP since it was almost 8:20am that Monday morning.
The queue for ST was extended towards the Plaza Inn and some over to the Little Red Wagon. That was the time on my last trip that DL has extended the queue towards there. But I didn’t see it during my last trip and hope to not see it during this trip. The entrance for ST is right by the Plaza Inn entrance. So this is where you start to get in the standby line.
While it was crowded in TL on the right side thanks due to the ST queue, we had to go on the left side to get the FP for ST.
I told everyone to give me there tickets since it just requires one person to get them and they don’t have to clog the line. I had to wait about 5 minutes in the ST FP queue and get the FP. So our time was at 11:10am to 12:10pm that Monday. It worked out perfectly since we will be in DCA that morning. When I was around the area, the standby line for ST was already at an hour wait time around 8:30am that morning. I was not that surprise to see the ST queue that long. But my group was not planning on going in the standby line anytime during our visit since we could lose a lot of time in the queue.
So I asked them what ride they want to do, they want to go on PP. I know that PP would be at least a 20+ minute wait. But they had no problem with it, so we head on over to PP in FL. We head on over to FL and went through SB castle and on to PP.
The wait time for PP was at 25 minute, so we had to wait awhile in the queue to get on PP. They were all impressed with PP and wanted to do it again tomorrow.
When we left, some of our group had to use the restroom while the other half of us decided to go on Pinocchio Daring Adventure while we waited for them. When the part of my group got back, their grandson wanted to go back on Pinocchio Daring Adventure, so he went on it again with my grandparents. While the rest of us waited for them, we went to the bathroom as well.
After that, we head on over to AiW. It took quite awhile for us to get on AiW. I believe it was about a 20 minute wait that morning until we got on it. Sorry for not having too may pictures since I was a guide for the group the whole time. I did feel frustrated when I got back home and see that I didn’t take too many pictures. But it was worth it for my dad friend family that I helped them with all the planning.
After that, I told them it was time to head on over to DCA so we can get the FP for the 9pm WoC show. They wanted to see that show the most, so I took no chance and we all head on over to DCA. On the way over, the sky is started to clear and all nice and blue. When we were walking down MS, the park started to pickup. I know that this is the last week for the SoCal AP to get in the park before they are blocked out for the summer. So I took precaution and made the crowd level a level 9 instead of level 5 as predicted on Touring Plans.
It was close to 9:30am and we head on out of DL and on the way towards DCA. On the way out, we looked at the Pan-Pacific main gate and it looked very nice. Luckily, most of the guests are already in the park, so we got through the main gate with no problem.
On the way in, the Carthay Circle Theater has improved a little since I was there a few weeks ago. It also sucked that the other walkway towards the left side of GRR was closed due to the construction around the Carthay Circle Theater. So everyone had to go on the right side. This would be a really pain during the whole trip.
On the way over to GRR, the group wanted to go on Soarin and we decided to stop at Soarin FP. The wait time for Soarin was already at 20 minute. So we wouldn’t be planning on riding Soarin right now. So we got FP instead. Good thing that the return time is around 10:20am to 11:20am. We got all 6 FP for Soarin and now time to head on over to GRR for the FP.
At GRR, there was barely anyone in line and it was around 9:40am. So we got our FP and got the 9pm Blue FP as expected. Even though there were a lot of people, I didn’t believe that the blue FP would be gone around that time.
We left GRR, and head on over to the rope drop area at PP. Very interesting that the rope drop area was not right by TLMAUA, it was close to the bridge right by the light tower. I read on the thread that DCA has extended the rope drop since they are letting guests ride TLMAUA that morning during the rope drop. This made a big difference and a huge pain. The first is that it is nice that you can ride TLMAUA before the parks open. The bad part is that the crowd around the light tower got twice as crowded then the single walkway where the line used to be.
When the parked opened at 10am, most of the guests were heading on over to PP and for TSMM. So we walked as fast as we can over to TSMM. This was a pain since there were a lot of people walking on over to TSMM.
The walked took awhile with all the people around us. As expected, 9/10 of the people were heading on over to TSMM while some went to CS. When we got in line, we only had to wait about 25 minutes to get on TSMM.
When the ride was over, I had the highest score on the ride and I had a disappointed 189,900 points. The grandson had 22,200 points while the others had around 30,000 points on average. For the first time, it was not that bad.
After the ride, they were all impressed with TSMM. They said that they want to do it again. But when we got off the ride, the wait time was at 40+ minute after 10:30am. So I don’t think that we will be riding TSMM after we got off.
Our next ride is TLMAUA. So we head on over to TLMAUA. On the way, I had to get some pics on the way. More and more people are coming on over to TSMM that morning. I mostly would go on MFW and get my aerial photos of the DLR, but since everyone didn’t want to go on MFW. I decided not to go on it. I did regret of not going on it that morning, but we will wait and see if I got on MFW this trip or not.
We got to TLMAUA and the wait time was around 15 minutes and they wanted to go on the ride since we are in the area and we still had enough time to go on Soarin and use the FP from10:20am to 11:20am. The queue was extended towards the walkway outside the queue so it took longer then the wait time was listed at. It took almost 20 minutes to get on the ride. One of my group members loves Ariel so much that she was excited to go on this ride.
My group had enjoyed the ride so much. They were really liked the fist Ariel AA during the ride and the ending was a great way to finish the ride. When we got outside, it was almost 11:05am that morning and we needed to head on over to Soarin and use our FP before they are not good.
I will get back to you another time since I am out of pictures. Thank you for following along the Reunion Trip.
tksbaskets
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2002
- Messages
- 4,457
Hi Bret,
The pictures you did take were great! I always enjoy going along on your adventures. It is really nice that you could help your dad and his friends navigate through getting the fastpasses and avoiding huge crowds! I'm sure they appreciated all your help. I think you could wear the red and blue plaid vest and work for DL at this point!
Was it fun to ride some of the attractions you don't normally wait for (Peter Pan for example)?
Looks like your partner on TSMM wasn't a big help unlocking the Easter Eggs
All the new attractions and construction is getting me very excited for December!
Looking forward to more....
The pictures you did take were great! I always enjoy going along on your adventures. It is really nice that you could help your dad and his friends navigate through getting the fastpasses and avoiding huge crowds! I'm sure they appreciated all your help. I think you could wear the red and blue plaid vest and work for DL at this point!
Was it fun to ride some of the attractions you don't normally wait for (Peter Pan for example)?
Looks like your partner on TSMM wasn't a big help unlocking the Easter Eggs
All the new attractions and construction is getting me very excited for December!
Looking forward to more....
mvf-m11c
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2009
- Messages
- 9,320
Hi Bret,
The pictures you did take were great! I always enjoy going along on your adventures. It is really nice that you could help your dad and his friends navigate through getting the fastpasses and avoiding huge crowds! I'm sure they appreciated all your help. I think you could wear the red and blue plaid vest and work for DL at this point!
Was it fun to ride some of the attractions you don't normally wait for (Peter Pan for example)?
Looks like your partner on TSMM wasn't a big help unlocking the Easter Eggs
All the new attractions and construction is getting me very excited for December!
Looking forward to more....
Thank you TK. I could have easily just parted way from my dad and his friend family and do my usual rides at DL. But since this could be their only trip to DL in their life, I thought I could help get them best out of the trip. It was crazy that Monday morning when ST FP queue was long as well as the ST queue. This is the first time in a long time since I seen a queue at DL this long during the morning. They did appreciate everything I did for them during this trip and I have to write it down on the other posts later. That is a very nice compliment that I could be a DL Tour Guide, but I just don't have that much info about everything like those CM Tour Guides.
Definitely. I have gone on some rides at DL that I haven't done in quite some time. Most of the rides that we did during this trip was mostly at DL. We did a few at DCA, but not even close to DL. I believe we went on only 4 rides at DCA and at least 20+ different rides at DL. I'll post which rides that we did during this trip.
I rode with the grandson on TSMM. Its not the Easter Eggs which was the problem, but the Plate Breaking and Ring Toss stage. I didn't come close to unlocking the secret targets. I was disappointed that I got under 200,000 points during that ride, but what can you do if I can't hit the targets.
The Pan-Pacific main gate finally got the tarps off the entrance and it looks go good. The Carthay Circle Theater got started on some work, just barely since a few weeks ago. The main gate should be ready when you get to DL later this year. Buena Vista Street won't be ready by that time. I am still wondering where DCA will have the entrance/exit when BV Street is under construction?
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