Park news from 3/3/19 - Buzz scores, CA National Guard flyby, etc. + park pics

[WonkaKid]

I'm in a hurry so just a quick post for now. In short:

• Once again, the path on the left side of the castle was marked as closed yet a number of people came streaming into Fantasyland by way of it moments after rope drop. Fortunately, we were well ahead of them so we beat them to PP. But it still drives me nuts that they’re not consistent with it. Either it’s always open or it’s always closed... and the CMs are duly informed.

• Scoring on Buzz was better yesterday (i.e., most of my pics came through with their associated scores), although I think that was simply due to chance rather than any actual fix being made. Only my first score of the day didn’t come through. That was annoying since it was ≈ 2,050,000. I also exceeded 2,096,000 three times, which in each case meant that my score was reset.

• At 3:10, the California National Guard, 144th Fighter Wing did a brief flyover of DCA to mark the upcoming released of Captain Marvel.

• I ran into several Japanese tourists and was able to help with directions, etc. Some of you may recall that I took two years of Japanese in college.

• Oddly, as I made my way towards the bathroom to the left of Plaza Inn, there was a family embroiled in a very loud, very nasty argument. I’ve never seen anything like it at DL before but as I got there (they were at the PI gate near the bathrooms), it was like an episode of Cops or Cheaters. Really angry shouts and the tone was simply ugly. Three or four security CMs were on the scene. I've never seen anything like it at DL before and hope to never see it again.

• Yesterday was Adventureland Day (the first I heard about it was at the park yesterday). Dozens of people were dressed as Indiana Jones to celebrate the day. I’m not sure, but that may have been the first one ever.

Pics --

 

[WonkaKid]

More pics:

Adventureland Day-
















"MAT" showed up sometime in the early afternoon. It's always odd to see a single very high on its own. But props to him/her for a strong showing!


California National Guard, 144th Fighter Wing.

 

[rowan1813]

Thank you for your updates Rob! I always enjoy coming to the DIS on Mondays and seeing what you have been up to and any new changes to the parks. Since the major change to the podcast, you are now my source for updates to the park.

 

[WonkaKid]

Thank you for your updates Rob!

Always happy to be of service .

 

[tarheelalum]

Great pics as always. You had the Evil Queen putting on a show!

 

[SeiterClan]

I'm in a hurry so just a quick post for now. In short:

• Once again, the path on the left side of the castle was marked as closed yet a number of people came streaming into Fantasyland by way of it moments after rope drop. Fortunately, we were well ahead of them so we beat them to PP. But it still drives me nuts that they’re not consistent with it. Either it’s always open or it’s always closed... and the CMs are duly informed.

• Scoring on Buzz was better yesterday (i.e., most of my pics came through with their associated scores), although I think that was simply due to chance rather than any actual fix being made. Only my first score of the day didn’t come through. That was annoying since it was ≈ 2,050,000. I also exceeded 2,096,000 three times, which in each case meant that my score was reset.

• At 3:10, the California National Guard, 144th Fighter Wing did a brief flyover of DCA to mark the upcoming released of Captain Marvel.

• I ran into several Japanese tourists and was able to help with directions, etc. Some of you may recall that I took two years of Japanese in college.

• Oddly, as I made my way towards the bathroom to the left of Plaza Inn, there was a family embroiled in a very loud, very nasty argument. I’ve never seen anything like it at DL before but as I got there (they were at the PI gate near the bathrooms), it was like an episode of Cops or Cheaters. Really angry shouts and the tone was simply ugly. Three or four security CMs were on the scene. I've never seen anything like it at DL before and hope to never see it again.

• Yesterday was Adventureland Day (the first I heard about it was at the park yesterday). Dozens of people were dressed as Indiana Jones to celebrate the day. I’m not sure, but that may have been the first one ever.

• I was able to connect with @Christin82 and her charming family at Buzz Lightyear in the morning and share a number of tips. They’ve got one last day at the park today. Looks like they had a great time!

Pics --
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Thank you for the updates @WonkaKid
They are my favorite seeing all of your pics.
Curious to know which path you are referring to for PP? Is the one to the right of the castle past the Matterhorn? Also since I know you are always at the front for rope drop & park in M&F I need a timeline/advice from you if you're willing. We will be at DL in less that two weeks & planning to do PP first during our one MM on either Thursday 3/14 or Saturday 3/16(not sure which one yet...thoughts???) but we are unfortunately staying a mile away so we have to drive & park in M&F. Both days MM starts at 7am! My question is how early does my husband need to line up at M&F to be first or close to first so he can meet us at the gates? Also he will drop us off early at DTD drop off area before that to get in line at the gates so how early should he drop our family off to be very close to the front of the gates? Sorry for so many ?'s...we have never driven & parked before! TIA for your help

 

[tarheelalum]

Thank you for the updates @WonkaKid
They are my favorite seeing all of your pics.
Curious to know which path you are referring to for PP? Is the one to the right of the castle past the Matterhorn? Also since I know you are always at the front for rope drop & park in M&F I need a timeline/advice from you if you're willing. We will be at DL in less that two weeks & planning to do PP first during our one MM on either Thursday 3/14 or Saturday 3/16(not sure which one yet...thoughts???) but we are unfortunately staying a mile away so we have to drive & park in M&F. Both days MM starts at 7am! My question is how early does my husband need to line up at M&F to be first or close to first so he can meet us at the gates? Also he will drop us off early at DTD drop off area before that to get in line at the gates so how early should he drop our family off to be very close to the front of the gates? Sorry for so many ?'s...we have never driven & parked before! TIA for your help

Take an Uber that way you are all there early together without the stress. Parking at M&F and taking the tram is very time consuming.

 

[jormom1030]

We will be there next week. I am so excited!

 

[WonkaKid]

Thank you for the updates @WonkaKid
Curious to know which path you are referring to for PP? Is the one to the right of the castle past the Matterhorn?

Yes, that's correct. The path near the Fantasy Faire is to the left of the castle as you look at it from the hub. Sometimes it's open, other times not. But every time we've asked cast members minutes before rope drop, we've always been given an incorrect answer.

Also since I know you are always at the front for rope drop & park in M&F I need a timeline/advice from you if you're willing. We will be at DL in less that two weeks & planning to do PP first during our one MM on either Thursday 3/14 or Saturday 3/16(not sure which one yet...thoughts???) but we are unfortunately staying a mile away so we have to drive & park in M&F. Both days MM starts at 7am! My question is how early does my husband need to line up at M&F to be first or close to first so he can meet us at the gates?

Good question. Unfortunately, I'm not the best person to answer it because I rarely go to the park on MM days. The best I can do is suggest that you arrive at the parking structure as early as possible. Many people I know get there long before it's open and simply wait in a car queue outside of the structure. As a poster suggests below, Uber to the park might be the best idea, if for no other reason than to avoid the $25 parking penalty. Oh, sorry: I mean fee ;-). [/QUOTE]

Also he will drop us off early at DTD drop off area before that to get in line at the gates so how early should he drop our family off to be very close to the front of the gates? Sorry for so many ?'s...we have never driven & parked before! TIA for your help

Again, I'm no MM expert, but if it were me, I'd arrive at the gates at or before 6:00, if that's possible. Especially if you aim to be first on PP.

If you'll be at the park on a Sunday, feel free to find me and say hello. Almost always, we're to the right of the hub (as you look at the castle) at rope drop.

 

[pennym]

A question Rob, how do you actually put your name in if you get a high score on Buzz?

 

[BrianL]

Thanks, for the report. I was there, and I didn't get a chance to look for you. We were rope-dropping CA and I was fiddling with a missing screw from my sunglasses. Anyway, we also missed the fighter jets but did see some uniformed Airmen passing by at CA.

 

[WonkaKid]

A question Rob, how do you actually put your name in if you get a high score on Buzz?

You find your ride photo at the BL exit/photo kiosk. If your score is in the top ten, it'll automatically prompt you to enter your three-letter name/initials. I'll try to make a quick video this Sunday to show how it's done .

 

[jbh275]

If your score is in the top ten,

I was trying to add my photo here of my buzz score. I think they updated the scoring again, I've never gotten this close to 9,999,999. I can't seem to get it uploaded. Does the picture have to be loaded onto a personal site and then linked?

 

[WonkaKid]

I was trying to add my photo here of my buzz score. I think they updated the scoring again, I've never gotten this close to 9,999,999. I can't seem to get it uploaded. Does the picture have to be loaded onto a personal site and then linked?

You should be able to upload pics directly from your phone or PC. I believe, however, that photo uploads are limited to 1MB. To get around that, I’ll often email pics to myself (the email software usually presents size options, which will thereby make them smaller). I’ll then retrieve and download them to my phone once again. You should, then, be able to upload them to the site.

 

[WonkaKid]

This may also help:

Click "Upload a File." In the resulting dialog window, select the desired pic.

In the next window, select "Full Image." This may be the step you've missed. See illustration below.

 

[jbh275]

Thanks, I didn't even see those buttons down there.

 

[jbh275]

his may be the step you've missed.

Zurg's forehead has a 500,000 hidden score target. Just above his red eyes.

 

[WonkaKid]

Zurg's forehead has a 500,000 hidden score target. Just above his red eyes.

500,000? 50,000, surely -- no?

@jbh275 Did you, in, fact, score 8,956,800 at Disneyland? If so, when? The score cap of approximately 2,096,000 has been in place for about two years. In fact, I exceed that two or three times last Sunday, at which point my score was reset. Moreover, I was told last week by Disney corporate that there were no plans to remove it.

 

[WonkaKid]

I just spoke with my contact at Disney corporate who's looked into the various Buzz scoring issues for me in recent weeks. He tells me the cap has not been removed.

 

[WonkaKid]

Didn't make it to the park this week but managed to crush it on Buzz.