Park report from my bday + news, park pics and maps for those that need them

WonkaKid

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Made rope drop yesterday for my birthday. Lots of magic all day. I was actually surprised at how much, especially on Buzz.

Highlights:

• As I left my neighborhood at around 6:00, there was a large bird (a partridge? Peacock?) at the head of my street. I've never seen one of them around my place. Ever. Odd that I spotted one on the morning of my birthday.

• When I arrived at the park gates, I could see that something was being filmed. Moments later, I was told that it was the ABC show The Goldbergs. Moments later, Jeff Garlin came up to our gate (he was in the park) to take a pic. I chatted with him momentarily since we’re both Chicagoans and we’d met in Chicago a few times before. Funny story: the first time I met him was at a comedy club on the near north side. He was doing another event the following evening and I told him I’d be there with a good female friend who had wild dreadlocks and all kinds of crazy piercings (facial, etc). On the following evening, he did a Q&A at the Chicago Cultural Center. There were hundreds of people there. When I raised my hand and was called upon, he looked at me and then at my friend next to me, he said “Oh, yeah. We met last night, right?” That was fun.

• At the rope, I met a nice woman (@YayforMickey) from the board and her family. As I often do when such people are headed for PP, I suggest that they stay as close to me as possible and that if I make it first, they can have my spot. They did very well, actually, and were right behind me. So I swapped places with them. I also met some nice girls at the gate and they were third so then I swapped with them. Good way to start the day.

• Crowds were low all day! Even lower than expected. More bday magic.

• On my birthday a few years ago, a very nice lady I know from the park brought me a gift bag along with a bday pin that indicated my age as 29. I’m not ;-). But I found and wore it yesterday. I got at least a hundred bday wishes, which was nice. At one point, a guy looked my way (he wasn’t close enough to read my pin) and said “Happy birthday. What are you – 28?” Love when that kind of thing happens.

• Friends arrived at around 11:30 and I scored them a pair of the $99 park-hoppers. They hadn’t been to DL in many years so it was fun to show them around and the magic of FPs and single-rider lines. We had a great time. At a late lunch/early dinner, they gave me some good advice (they’re husband and wife) about my recent dating challenges, which was kind of nice.

• On the subject of food, they wanted to eat at Carnation Café. I’d never been before. We didn’t have a reservation but, again, crowds were low and we waited less than ten minutes for a table. At the suggestion of the waiter, one friend ordered the fried chicken (listed on the menu as “Walt’s favorite!”) I wasn’t especially hungry and they had few vegetarian options. So he offered me his veggies (which were good) and asked to have them served on a separate plate. When the food arrived, we were all surprised at how small his piece of chicken was. You’d need at least two or three for it to be a reasonably satisfying meal (we’re all thin and don’t eat more than average). This didn’t sit well with him since it was $19. We talked about it and he estimated that it was likely at 20x markup. That's high even for Disney. We spoke with the manager about it. She was very nice, of course. Disney CMs nearly always are, as we all know. She offered him another piece of chicken, which he accepted.

• When we got some lemon water at Pizza Planet, we chatted with one of the CMs as she tended the drinks station. She was cool and after a moment, offered to walk us on to Hyperspace Mountain. We accepted but when we arrived, the lines were so backed up that it simply wasn’t practical. I didn’t mind – I was happy enough simply with the gesture.

• I did Buzz many times and broke 2M at least five times but scores only came through for two of them. At least twice I exceeded 2,096,000, at which point my scores reset and I lost everything. I was annoyed because the #1 score slot was around 2,070,000, which I’d beaten a few times but the scores simply didn’t come through. In fact, on my first ride of the day, I got something like 2,080,000 myself (I kept track in my head after 1M). It didn’t come through and I was so mad! When that kind of thing happens on Buzz (which, minimally, is a daily occurrence), friends and I joke that it’s like working twenty hours of overtime, getting your check and then being disappointed when you open it and find out that overtime isn’t paid. You simply did all of that extra work for nothing ;-). But I had at twice as much ride karma as usual. Many times we stopped immediately in front in high-value targets, so that was nice.

• We rode Pirates at around 3:30. Even then it was only about a seven-minute wait.

• As noted in another post, the rod/French-fry like golden stones near the entrance of Tomorrowland are partially behind a wall. A CM I know that’s reasonable senior told me that they’re going to get rid of the curb, as they’ve done in other parts of the park. But also that they’ll get rid of those rocks. I don’t have a strong opinion on the matter either way but I know that many people don’t care for them and will be happy to see them go.

There’s probably a lot more but this will have to suffice for now. I’ve got to get moving :-).

Oh. If anyone would like park maps, please message me directly with your preferred mailing address. Unless otherwise specified, I’ll send two Disneyland and one DCA. Domestic only please, unless you’re willing to handle shipping costs.

OK. Park pics:

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The "Goldberg" family moments after their scene.
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Jeff Garlin after they'd finished a scene in which his family ran for the train. I spoke with him briefly. I asked him how early they had to be there and he told me about 5:20. That's not so bad. I have friends that get to the gate every Sunday at that time ;-).
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As far as I'm concerned, this amounts to a score of 2,567,800 ;-).
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Yay! Glad your birthday was great. The crowds this week have been wonderful! I am still amazed at your high Buzz scores. We've ridden it six times and I can't even break 200,000 much less 2,000,000!
 
La Brethla Shona Duit - Happy Birthday in Irish :)

The set of The Goldbergs is part of the Sony Pictures Tour in Culver City. I did this tour in the summer, the guide said we were lucky to see it as its taken off the tour when they film.
 
Happy late Birthday Rob!!! I am glad to know someone gave you that birthday button and made your day special in the way that you made my daughter’s birthday so special in June by sending her a birthday button!!! Enjoy the Jaguar!!
 
I was the "nice woman" at the rope. Thanks so much for letting us be first on Peter Pan.
My pleasure! Hope you all had a blast although it sounds like you did.

And I hope you had a happy birthday! We have loved the crowds this week-- amazingly low.
Had a blast, thanks :-).

Today is much busier. We are relaxing at our hotel pool before we go back for our final evening.
Glad to hear it. Crowds have been great for awhile. Who know how long they'll last?
 
Happy late Birthday Rob!!! I am glad to know someone gave you that birthday button and made your day special in the way that you made my daughter’s birthday so special in June by sending her a birthday button!!! Enjoy the Jaguar!!
Thank you!
 

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