PTR-Cheating on Mickey w/Harry!...OMG! Only a month to go!

[dgbg100106]

Thanks!



I think you should, by then it will have calmed back down, although I hear that the only place that is super crowded is Carsland the rest is pretty much OK.



I finally got through your RSR pictures. You got some really good ones on the ride! We had just been down the street and back, and I had been on MJJ when we met up.



I saw on your PTR you're thinking of staying at the Ayres. I'm sure the VGC is totally booked up. Too bad on your timing, we will probably be on our cruise then.

I'll try and take a pic of the D&B before I send it.



It's been so long since I rode TT that I'm not sure. But you don't stop and start with all the "tests". The only time you stop is when you are getting ready for the race. I'm sure you can go through the queue and do the chicken exit. You might not be able to go past the point where they put us off into the HA loading area and everyone else to the other loading area, but you'll have seen most everything by then.




Yes, today was the day. We emerged unscathed. Turns out the flags were 1) the huge losses on our business, 2) the fact that Fran has no W-2 wages, and 3) she had Schedule A deductions (which are usually business deductions for people with W-2's). Her schedule A deductions were appraisal fees for all the property she inherited, lawyers fees related to her father's death, and accountant fees related to her father's death.

We had all the papers that we needed except for he wants us to account for all income to the business, which we can do by adding up all the deposits on our bank statements and typing them into a spread sheet. We have a monthe to do that.

So now that that is overwith I will try to get your purse in the mail today.

And for those of you who aren't lasters, or read this elsewhere, on top of all this Fran gets to go in for another debridement surgery next week. Yippie!

I am so glad the the audit was not more complicated and that everything is good to go..

Hope Fran's leg gets better once and for all

No rush on the purse, I know it will get here... I am so excited... Can we do this again when you go back?

 

[PrincessInOz]

^^^^^^^^

Me too. Really glad that the audit is nearly over and that you can concentrate on getting Fran healed up.

 

[Pinkocto]

I'm so glad everything worked out relatively smoothly, and that he's not asking for the spreadsheet sooner.

Is this a new development with the leg or had they been planning to do it again? I hope the healing process has been working properly. Hugs to Fran, I'm sure she's not happy about it.

 

[franandaj]

I am so glad the the audit was not more complicated and that everything is good to go..

Hope Fran's leg gets better once and for all

No rush on the purse, I know it will get here... I am so excited... Can we do this again when you go back?

To tell you the truth, we haven't even taken our stuff out of the bags either, we've been so focused on everything going on, and boy do I have stuff! Wait until you see it, I'll be posting it here! But I will try and get it out to you soon.

^^^^^^^^

Me too. Really glad that the audit is nearly over and that you can concentrate on getting Fran healed up.

Thanks, I hope we get this figured out and the paperwork done. Tomorrow we find out about the surgery.

I'm so glad everything worked out relatively smoothly, and that he's not asking for the spreadsheet sooner.

Is this a new development with the leg or had they been planning to do it again? I hope the healing process has been working properly. Hugs to Fran, I'm sure she's not happy about it.

One of the nurses thought that they were going to have to do this back when we had the appointment where we decided to cancel the last trip. She had noticed how the wounds kept tunneling. Since Fran didn't really have doctor until a little over a month ago, no one else could make that determination.

He decided that after a month of watching new holes open up in her leg that he needed to just go in and get out everything. Then she can heal. At least he gave us an idea of what will happen. He said that she will lose some skin and there will be a lot of digging and some large holes, but he hopes to get everything.

 

[Pinkocto]

Oh my goodness, that sounds like a lot more work has to be done. I hope he finally gets it all out.

 

[franandaj]

So back to our day at Carsland....

The best place for shopping is Ramon’s. I’ll go into the other places as the pictures come up, but this is the only place in Carsland where you can get adult merchandise (and I don’t mean in a pornographic way). I’m just sayin that there is only one shop in Carsland to get good stuff that isn’t for kids or is pins.

So here’s some shots from inside Ramon’s and some of the stuff they had to offer.

I thought this is cool, the cash registers were like Craftsman tool boxes.

While Fran was paying for more of her purchases, I went out to take pictures of the town. Lightning McQueen was on his way to a photo op. I thought this was really cool, but realized that at least during the preview it happened all day. I don’t know if that’s how it is on a daily basis.

I was hungry, but no one else seemed to concur with me, I checked out Flo’s

The menu looked pretty good to me if I could eat the kid’s Mac and Cheese

We headed out to explore.

This is the pin shop, if you're looking for pins, candy snacks or stuffed toys, this shop is OK, they had some Towels and T-shirts, but nothing that seemed really exclusive to Carsland.

Here are the Cozy Cones

McQueen was doing his meet and greet

Here are the cones, each one has it’s own menu and long line to go with it. I have a feeling on opening day this was not a good thing. The popcorn place had flavored popcorn. Bret said that he waited almost an hour for his popcorn and souvenir cup.

This one served Pretzel balls with cheese sauce and a signature drink. I got the pretzel balls since this had the shortest line and I was the only hungry one.

This had Chili Con Queso with Fritos Corn chips mixed in, they also had a Chili Verde. I wanted one of these, but didn't want to wait in the line. Eventually I will have to try it.

Loved this planter!

I guess I didn’t get shots of the cones that had ice cream and churros.

Mater was heading towards the photo op area

[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

So we headed down the street of Radiator Springs, Doc Hudson’s place is actually part of Flo’s Café.

This is Sarge’s hut which is full of kid’s toys. Unless you’re looking for kid’s toys, (which we were not) this place should be avoided. There is no adult merchandise in this store.

I don’t know what this building is for, it seems no to have an entrance for the public.

Here’s where you can stock up on fruits, snacks and water.

Next up I was headed to

Of course the yard was filled with Junk!

Here are the little tractors that pull you around

This shot is from the waiting to load area once you have gone through the queue

Here are some shots of Mader’s Junk

More shots of the ride vehicles

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[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

Here’s me running to my ride vehicle

My view of the tractor pulling me

My “hold the camera out and shoot picture”

A couple shots mid-ride

A lot of people say this ride is similar to the teacups. Having never rode the teacups, I can’t compare it. I was feeling a tiny bit nauseous after, but not too bad. You certainly swing back and forth. It was fun, but I wouldn’t wait more than five minutes for this ride. It was almost a walk on. During the ride, Mater sings, kind of like square dance or hoedown. It was cute and he had all sorts of funny things to say about “junk”. It was definitely worth the short wait that I had.

We headed back into the town for our next ride. Luigi’s flying tires.

This sign caught my eye.

 

[Pinkocto]

I must get out there to see everything for myself. Looks like September or October 2013 will work out best. Everything looks so fabulous. Thank you so much for all the pictures.

 

[dgbg100106]

I love the picture of yourself and the caption makes it perfect!

So glad you were having a great time..

 

[tksbaskets]

Loving your report. Great break down on what is in each store. Thank you for taking the time to post the wonderful pictures. I feel almost like I was there too.

TK

 

[PrincessInOz]

Loving all the pictures. This place looks huge!

I'm all for the mac and cheese too.

 

[rentayenta]

So is the Mater's Tractor Pull like Francis' Lady Bug Boogie in Bug's Land? The tracks look the same.

Love the Cones that sell different treats. They really didn't miss a beat with the theme did they?! I am just dying to go!!!

I'm glad you explained that you weren't looking for adult adult merchandise.

 

[Leshaface]

The Flo's menu looked pretty good. I, too, would probably go for the Kids Mac and Cheese.

Is Mater's something I could ride? We may be going in July!

 

[ACDSNY]

So is the Mater's Tractor Pull like Francis' Lady Bug Boogie in Bug's Land? The tracks look the same.

Love the Cones that sell different treats. They really didn't miss a beat with the theme did they?! I am just dying to go!!!

I was thinking the same thing about Mater's Tractors which aren't as bad as the teacups for me.

I agree the theming is spot on, I don't know how I'm going to wait until May to see CL. We're already way behind, we haven't seen the Little Mermaid or Star Tours yet.

 

[kmedina]

Excellent shots, Alison. I love that it looks unpacked. It must be nice to see it that way. Hopefully, the crowds die down a little after it has been open for a while. Covered in chocolate milk, I tried to find a shirt at Sarge's. Luckily, I quickly learned I could not shop there. I found a suitable one at Ramone's. The lines at the cones did not seem that bad when we were there, so I think the lines already died down for that. We ordered from all five cones for dinner one night. There was only one person in front of me for the popcorn cone. The longest line was at the ice cream cone, but I was through that line in about 10 minutes.

 

[franandaj]

I must get out there to see everything for myself. Looks like September or October 2013 will work out best. Everything looks so fabulous. Thank you so much for all the pictures.

It's REALLY cool. I can't wait to get back there myself.

I love the picture of yourself and the caption makes it perfect!

So glad you were having a great time..

Thanks! I've gotten pretty good at taking "those" pictures, since I'm often solo on the rides.

Loving your report. Great break down on what is in each store. Thank you for taking the time to post the wonderful pictures. I feel almost like I was there too.

TK

Well, I'm sure glad we made it there and got some of the special merchandise, because from the Al Lutz report I read today, they are running short. Had no idea how popular the merchandise would be and now they are evidently begging their Chinese suppliers to hurry up and send more.

Loving all the pictures. This place looks huge!

I'm all for the mac and cheese too.

I didn't think (at least the guest walking area) was huge, yes the track and RSR ride is, but evidently they can fit a ton of people in there. 30K was the highest attendance figures ever for DCA and they have been hitting 40+ and even as high as 50 on peak days. Evidently they are pulling off that capacity without a hitch, no need to close lands or anything.

So is the Mater's Tractor Pull like Francis' Lady Bug Boogie in Bug's Land? The tracks look the same.

Love the Cones that sell different treats. They really didn't miss a beat with the theme did they?! I am just dying to go!!!

I'm glad you explained that you weren't looking for adult adult merchandise.

I haven't been on any of the Bug's Land rides, so I don't know. Why would I look for adult merchandise in a Disney park.

The Flo's menu looked pretty good. I, too, would probably go for the Kids Mac and Cheese.

Is Mater's something I could ride? We may be going in July!

I really don't know. But by then I imagine you'll look pretty pregnant, the operators I'm sure will make the decision for you.

I was thinking the same thing about Mater's Tractors which aren't as bad as the teacups for me.

I agree the theming is spot on, I don't know how I'm going to wait until May to see CL. We're already way behind, we haven't seen the Little Mermaid or Star Tours yet.

OMG!!!! You haven't seen Star Tours! You need an intervention, you MUST come down here before that May Trip!

Excellent shots, Alison. I love that it looks unpacked. It must be nice to see it that way. Hopefully, the crowds die down a little after it has been open for a while. Covered in chocolate milk, I tried to find a shirt at Sarge's. Luckily, I quickly learned I could not shop there. I found a suitable one at Ramone's. The lines at the cones did not seem that bad when we were there, so I think the lines already died down for that. We ordered from all five cones for dinner one night. There was only one person in front of me for the popcorn cone. The longest line was at the ice cream cone, but I was through that line in about 10 minutes.

I can't imagine what it was like when you were there. I heard that they ran out of the souvenir cups, I bet that was a big draw for the lines there. If people couldn't get those, I bet they didn't care about waiting in the lines. I'll post a picture of mine in the next update (or maybe two).

 

[ACDSNY]

OMG!!!! You haven't seen Star Tours! You need an intervention, you MUST come down here before that May Trip!

I agree! Our last trip was Jan 2011. The upcoming surgery and our Hawaii trip are making it difficult to find a time to go that's not a weekend.

 

[franandaj]

I agree! Our last trip was Jan 2011. The upcoming surgery and our Hawaii trip are making it difficult to find a time to go that's not a weekend.

Oh, yeah that could definitely throw a wrench into things. I keep forgetting what having a day job does to a vacation schedule!

 

[franandaj]

So back to the DCA Preview

Our next stop was Luigi’s Flying Tires. I didn’t get a shot of the front of the building, but here are his “tires”.

Now all day they were filming here. I’m not sure who any of the people were, probably Disney Channel stars, but I thought I might as well take a picture of the filming process.

I also liked this side wall for the Curio shop

I thought the brand names of the tires was quite cute.

We know how Luigi and Guido love their Ferrari’s.

Now take a look at this line. If it is this long or longer….just walk away. The ride is fun and all, but not worth standing in a 40-45 minute line fun. If the line extends into this show room, you’re just going to be waiting too long. Especially if there are people in wheelchairs or have trouble loading are ahead of you. We were one of those people and it almost doubles the loading time when you have people in that situation.

Here’s where they prop you up to get your new tires.

And more of the tires with the funny brand names

More artwork in the queue

And more tires

Now we move into a new room. The queue takes you past a wall full of “scrapbook” style pictures from various periods in the movies. I believe this one is just sort of a scrapbook of Luigi’s life, showing highlights and great moments for him.

This is once he moved to Radiator Springs, and after Cars 2 because if you look at the middle picture in detail, it’s a dead giveaway.

Obviously this is from once Lightning McQueen is famous and a winner.

Again from Cars 2, the gang as world travelers.

Here is Luigi’s office

Finally we make it outside to more queue, but at least we can watch the ride.

The balls add an extra dimension of fun on the ride

Looking ahead we are almost to the front of the queue

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