Survived DL/DCA Spring Break/Easter Break Mania!!!

[Husker Mickey]

Finally, I have time to get our trip report in. We were in the parks on Thurs, 4/5-Easter Sun. 4/8. There were 23 in our party on one day, but most days, we had 22. Pretty crazy, but a lot of fun.

Thurs. - EE day - We were dressed in our red Husker shirts and at the gates by 6:30am. Since it was still Spring Break, we knew it would be crowded. The crowds didn't disappoint us! When we have been to EE before, we could be in the gates and to the top of main street waiting for them to drop a rope for all of us to scatter, but not this Thurs. They made us wait until a few minutes after 7:00am at the gates, before they would let us enter. Must have been because they were expecting large crowds and that was a way to slow us down. The lines for each gate extended back to the letters at the entrance of DCA.
When inside and all the Huskers were accounted for, we took off for Peter Pan's ride. It was a great ride to start with for all of the newbies in our party. The kids along with the adults really liked it. The line was fairly long, but it went fast. We did Dumbo next. Several people commented on our shirts (being invaded by the Nebr. Cornhuskers), but they were a lifesaver for that very busy day. We then headed over to the BTMRR. The line was short and we got on fast. From there we went to tomorrowland and rode Buzz. Everyone had a great time comparing scores. Star Tours was next on the list. There was only one little person who wasn't tall enough to go on the ride, so I opted to stay with him, since I had been on the ride many times before on previous trips. The wait was about 35 minutes, but we kept busy looking at all the people wearing Mickey Mouse ears and we did get to see Buzz Lightyear as he walked past us. Space Mountain was next. We really had a number of thrill seekers with us. Everyone who went on it loved it. Nana, my SIL, and I stayed off, since I can't do jerky rides because of my neck. I've been on it before and it bothered my neck. I sure didn't want to take any chances by going on it this time.
From there, we went over to DCA to get our free picture at Ariel's grotto - Disney VISA benefit. Since all of the adults in our party had a Disney VISA, they let us take a group picture. Chip and Dale were our characters. That didn't hurt my feelings because - I LOVE CHIP AND DALE!!! The pic turned out great and each family got one. We saw Mater and Lightening McQeen across the way and the little kids got to see them. We then got fast passes for Soarin'. Took in Bug's Life. A few of the little ones didn't like the spiders or the bugs at the end, kinda freaked them out. Needless to say, we didn't do that one again.
It was time for lunch so Taste Pilot's Grill was the choice. The big guys got the burgers, some other's got the chili fries, others opted for the kid's meals (which is what I did). It came with two large chicken strips, carrots or fries, and a bottle of water, juice, or soda.
The Wilderness Trail was calling the little ones. They were in there for probably an hour. One of my SILs and I sat out front holding everyone's stuff. We had a number of people comment on our shirts while we were sitting there. (Go Huskers!) One gal said that she liked our Senator, even though she wasn't affiliated with the same party. Too funny!
DL was beckoning us back, so we went on the POTC. The line was pretty long, but kept moving. I hadn't been on it since the redo. I like what they added. Everyone who had not been on it loved it! On our way over to the Haunted Mansion, we saw Captain Jack Sparrow. He was signing autographs and doing pics so a number of our party joined in. The CM who play him does a fantastic job of mimicking Jack's mannerisms.
The Haunted Mansion wasn't too intense for our little ones. They did just fine. We had ages from 3-69, so I thought the little ones did just fine.
I honestly don't remember the order of what we did next. I think we kind of split up and did our own thing with our immediate families. That worked out well as it is very hard to get everyone together on the same page. Some of the families with small kids went back to the room early. I stayed until 11:30 and headed back to the room. The older kids closed down the park - big surprise.
Day 2 - Friday
We all got up and ready with breakfast eaten and to the gates by 7:45am. Friday was Blue Jerry tie dyed t-shirt day. It was funny to hear several people in our party say that they first thought that wearing matching t-shirts was a stupid idea, but after the first day, they were sold on it. We could easily spot everyone in our party. (Too bad we didn't plan that for the whole trip - just the first two days) We got in DL park and headed to Tomorrowland to get fast passes for SM, and since the line was fairly short, everyone decided to go on it. Nana and I and a "too short" nephew stayed off. We decided to wait for the group in the walkway as you exit SM. There are 4 or 5 benches there. As we were chatting and people watching, I saw a CM and a group coming toward us. In the middle of the group was a famous person - it was Joey F------io from In Sinc and Dancing With the Stars. (I can never remember his name) He must have been there with family and friends. I wasn't seeing things as one of my DH cousins said that when he looked at his SM pic, he say Joey's pic next to his. By the time our group came out he was gone and we didn't see him again.
Can't remember what we did next, part of the trip are a slight blur now. I know we kept ourselves busy until it was time to go over the DCA for our free pic at Ariel's grotto. (Stopped to get fast passes for Soarin') Once again, since we all had Disney VISAs we had a group picture taken. This time Mickey and Goofy kept us entertained and took a great picture.
We then went to the Mission Tortilla factory tour and the sour dough bread tour for a quick manufacturing lesson and a snack.
We headed over to Paradise Pier to ride the Ferris Wheel. I don't do heights, so I did some shopping and people watching while everyone else went on it. Several got their when the gondola started to move!!!
We all split up for lunch. Some went to White Water Snacks others went to the wharf for mexican or soup. I wanted to go to Dips Chips and Strips, but it isn't open due to the construction of the new ride. I was . Just to let you know, I got over it. After lunch we all met at the Alladin show. We made it at the last minute and for all the people who have been there, you know where we ended up sitting. You do remember that I don't like heights - yup - the balcony. (Commonly referred to as the nose bleed section). The show was great as usual and I coped with my fears fairly well.
One tip - don't use the restrooms in the back lot between Alladin and Monster's Inc. after the Alladin show. The line stretched a long way outside of the bathroom.
We then did the 3D Muppet Show. I love that, and could watch it over and over again. Everyone in our party really liked it and I got some really great pics of everyone with their 3D glasses on.
Turtletalk with Crush was next. We got all of our little grommets to the lily pads and one of them was chosen to talk. The whole show was basically based on us after that. The little one told Crush that Nana brought all 22 of us to DL/DCA from Nebraska. Crush went on and on and then asked to talk to this Nana person. Nana told him that she brought all of us to DL/DCA and we were having a wonderful time. From there, the mic went to the back of the theatre and Crush talked to my BIL. He gave him a nickname based on his real name and talked with him for some time. To have 3 of our party picked to talk was unbelievable!!! We were the last to get into the theater because we had the last seats available.
We used our fast passes on Soarin' and then it was time for the Block Party Blast. Once again, our group was singled out because of our blue tie dyed shirts - the army guy said, "It's a blue day? I thought it was a green day. No one gave me the memo." The parade was as good as it was last year. I caught one of the foam balls that you could keep and gave it to one of my neices.
The big kids asked to go on their own and off they went. Other families decided it was time to take a rest, others decided to do stuff on their own. We got our VISA pictures and headed back to DL for the parade. The park was very crowded and the parade was fun, just a lot of people to get around. We did our best and did lots of attractions the rest of the night. Stayed out until at least 11:30. I like to go back to the room by myself to unwind a little bit from sensory overload. It only takes me about a 1/2 an hour and I'm ready to hit the hay. Of course my kids 17 and 14 and their aunt and cousin stayed until the park closed.

. . . . . . . . . more to come. Have to finish this later!!!

 

[Blndiebby25]

WOW! The trip sounds amazing so far. I thought our family trip was big with 12 people, 23 is huge!

 

[ChrisMouse]

I love your report so far!

Just a question--how did you know when to go to Ariel's each day for the free Visa photos?

Can't wait to read the rest!!!

 

[Husker Mickey]

I see us in the Mountain Time Zone are keeping busy on a Sat. Night. To answer your question, VISA pics are taken from park opening - 10:00-11:30 when Ariel's Grotto opens for lunch. Hope this helps. I'll try to get to the last two days of our trip tomorrow and post here.

 

[momto2nenas]

Great report so far! Glad to see you got to do and see everything despite Spring Break crowds!

 

[kingsdaughter]

Great report can't wait to read more

 

[disneyfanatic4]

Great TR so far. Looking forward to hearing the rest.

 

[dohgusgus]

I really want to do this with my family before my grandparents get too old. We aren't far behind you with 20 (21 next month, my grandma's first great granddaughter). I know we'd have a blast.

But anyways back to you, that sounds SO rad! Can't wait to read the rest!

 

[Adi12982]

What a wonderful (and busy) start to your trip! Sounds like you were able to get A LOT in

 

[Husker Mickey]

I'm back! It's taken a while for me to find the time to get back to the trip report, but here goes! (one reason, my DD wanted me to last night - Man of the Year - she doesn't ask me to do much with her ((she's 14)), so I grabbed the opportunity)

P.S. Day 1 - Forgot to mention that we watced the fireworks. They were great as usual. We were at the parks last fall and were able to see them then. I made sure to grab some as I am an official popcornaholic.

P.S. Day 2 - When our group came out of the Muppets 3D a CM asked us if we were first timers at the park. Most of our group was, so she gave them First timer pins and she gave the rest of us Family Reunion pins. That was special!!!

Day 3 - Saturday
What were we thinking!!! This day must have been a record breaker for the park. Three families with little people chose this morning to do the character breakfast. Nana, DH, me, DD, DS and DA (Aunt), DU (Uncle) headed to the park at 8:00am. Lines were long at the gates. We were used to that by now. Nana wanted to have the huge pecan roll at the bakery on mainstreet. DH, DD, and DS also ate bakery yummies. I didn't as I had my stomach lap banded two years ago and don't eat breads. I found the fruit cart on mainstreet and bought a fruit bowl. It was great. We don't have fresh fruit here in Nebraska at this time of the year, so it was a treat!!! After eating my DS and DD grabbed everyone's tickets and sprinted to space mountain to get fast passes for everyone. If you are traveling with a group, designate someone(s) as the fast pass runner. It saves a tremendous amount of time.
We went over to IJ and the wait time was only 15 minutes so we got in line. It was actually shorter, but that was the last time that day that happened. Crowds grew consistantly throughout the day. We then went on BTMRR because wait time was reasonable. We walked to the Toontown railroad station to take the train back to the front to scoot over the DCA for our free VISA pictures at Ariel's grotto. We knew we had to hurry. Was't sure the times for the VISA pictures. Had to wait for the second train as the first filled up without us! By the time we got to the front and over to DCA I asked a helpful CM when the VISA pic times were and he told me that he didn't know, but there were phone banks by the lockers and I could push the dining button and check with the CM at Ariel's grotto. Bummer we missed the picture time that day. Note to self, VISA pic times are 10:00-11:30. We would have one more day to do take advantage of the great offer.
Off to Soarin' for fast passes. After that we split up for lunch. DH, me, Nana, and DN(niece) went to White Water Snacks for lunch. As we were almost to the door, we saw a Ferral (sp?) kitty cat. We saw it two more times while we were there. I wonder how many other guests have seen them? DH and I waited for our food forever and eventually asked about it. Seems that the printer in the kitchen ran out of printer paper right before our order was supposed to be printed. It had been lost. Nana and DN were finished and we hadn't gotten our food. The CM appologized and said that she would see what she could do for our trouble. She gave us a "No Strings Attached" for a meal for 2 at any DL/DCA restaurant or DL/DCA hotel restaurant. Like idiots, we didn't jump all over this and get reservations at Blue Bayou or some other "nice" place. Instead I put in my billfold and we gave it "too much" thought. It was too hard to decide on just one place. After lunch DH and I went back to the room - BWPPI and put the ton of leftover nachos (my lunch) in the frig. Warmer clothes were called for as the temps were getting chilly.
We called around and some of our group were in DTD shopping. We joined them and shopped at Basin, Fossil, Dept. 56, and WOD. They even took our packages back to the room as some of them were getting cold and needed a change of clothes.
DL was beckoning. We decided to do some shopping and needed to decide where to eat. It was DH, me, DS, Nana, DA, & DU. We chose the Rancho . . . the mexican restaurant. The food was good - a tad bit spicey hot, but good. The best things were the heaters by some of the tables. Nana and I shared the chicken/rice/beans/salad.
Cell phone chat had us waiting there until the rest of the group showed up. We waited and waited and waited and finally called to find out there was a miscommunication and they were going on Soarin' in DCA. When we found that out, we headed to IJ and BTMRR, then over to POTC. By the time we finished that ride the fireworks were going, and we hopped back on POTC and rode it again without a wait.
The crowds were insane. It was Off to SM to use fast passes for most of our group. I hung out by the arcade and people watched. Most everyone in our group had fast passes to use. A bunch of our group headed back to the room with the little ones and gave us their accumulated fast passes , several of us went on IJ, but there was one who was asleep in the stroller. His dad stayed with him until we were out and I volunteered to stay with the stroller and another DN (nephew) while the rest went on it again. We went to get a Dole Whip and visited while sharing it. DN is in 1st grade and has a girlfriend. We discussed pineapple and he informed me that he was going to marry his girlfriend, be in the Navy and live in Hawaii. He said that he hadn't told her the plans yet, but would when he got back home. Too Cute!!!
It was time for Nana, DH and I to head back to the rooms for a 1/2 an hour of quiet time. We did go to DTD and get a huge bag of Kettle Corn - only $5!!! We had one more day to spend and I wanted to make sure we had fun.

Day 4 - Easter Sunday

We had made arrangements (actually the gal at our front desk did all of the work) to get two 12 passenger vans to pick us up at 6:15am to go to Easter Mass at 6:45am. All 22 of us piled in the vans and off to St. Boniface we went. It was a beautiful Mass and a neat old church. The vans picked us back up and delivered us to the motel, everyone changed and we were off to park by about 8:15am.
We were bracing for massive crowds again, but was pleasantly surprised. The crowds were much less daunting. Inside the gates, SIL, DD, & DS gathered all tickets and ran to SM for fast passes. The rest of us met up with another SIL who wanted a pecan roll for breakfast and was just finishing up when we got there. Since IJ was close we went on it because the wait time was short. When we got out we were able to get fass passes for it before going over to BTMRR, rode it and headed over to DCA for our free VISA pics.
We didn't ever have to wait for very long to get our pictures taken. That was nice. This last day, Nana wanted her picture taken with her (grown) children. It turned out to be a nice picture. I'm glad for her. She really wanted to do something special for her kids and grandkids, and that she did!!!
After pics, some of the families who had little ones went over to the bug's land rides. This is an area of the park that is hidden, and the kids had a ball riding the rides over and over again. The rest of us headed over to MM. I don't do that ride because of it being too jerky. I decided to spoil myself and get a cherry lemonade, ooooo that was good. After that ride, some went on it again, while others went on the Orange Stinger and the Maliboomer. By that time it was time for lunch and DH wanted to eat at the Tomorrowland Terrace. He wanted a burger. All of us headed there and ate lunch quazi-together. (As together as 20 people can be) After lunch we all split up again. We did some shopping and then DH and I went back to the room for a nap. I had hit a wall and was just exhausted and knew that if I didn't take a nap, I wasn't going to enjoy the rest of the day.
Nap time was over and we found several in our group shopping in DTD. We also picked up our last minute souvies and had one of the SIL take ours back to their room so we didn't have carry everything. DH and I decided to go to the River Belle Terrace to use our "No Strings Attached" freebie. We both had the bbq platter. It was a very large portion - two ribs, chicken breast, corn bread, beans, coleslaw, and a baby corn-on-the-cob. Needless to say, my DH had his pick of anything on my platter, except the corn. It was really good!!!
The rest of the group ate next door at the Golden Horseshoe so we met up, did a little shoppping in the Christmas store and then used our fast passes that we had collected during the day. We went on POTC, BTMRR (twice) the lines were short, IJ, and SM. It was getting late and DH & I were ready to head back to the room. Nana was ready too, so we started back, but decided to do Buzz one more time since there wasn't a line. What can I say, ya just have a hard time leaving the park on that last night.

So that's my report. The next day was a travel day for all of us. Our plane left at 11:00 got into Denver at 2:30 where one SIL and family got on a plane to Kansas City, and drove an hour to St. Joe and another got on a plane to Omaha, and drove 2 1/2 hours to Sioux Falls, SD. We (14) of us got in our cars and drove 4 hours home to Nebraska.

I know this was a once in a lifetime trip for all of us and will hold these memories close to our hearts. We are all in the process of getting pictures together and can't wait to share them with each other.

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

 

[Husker Mickey]

Ooops!