That's the first time we had to wear a poncho in Disney! A Mar./April '11 TR DONE 9/5

[Cat0727]

I didn't know RnR had a single rider line! I feel silly now

Oh yea for getting the cowboy! I'm still waiting for my turn.

 

[ksolich]

I can completely sympathize about the rain, seeing as me and DBF were there with you guys the 30-1.

We tried to do DAK on the 31st, and boy was it bad.... we got to ride Dinosaur twice in 10 minutes though, even got our own car. Did a TON at MK that night though!

 

[cbg1027]

Sorry you got rained on! I know that sucks....I got stuck at AK in a downpour once....practically everything there shuts down!

I keep waiting for the Western Scene on GMR too...maybe I'll get it in June!

 

[dancin_princess]

i've never seen a sea of ponchos like that. Sorry you got drenched. I don't think I've had the cowboy on GMR.

 

[ChiCat]

I just read all of your TR. I can't believe you rode that many ride the first day at MK for some reason I thought that wasn't possible and was only aiming for four when we go in September.

 

[Bridora]

Glad you got the Cowboy scene! We had that scene on our very first trip, but got the Gangster scene for the next two or three trips. It was funny trying to figure out what happened, were our memories fading? DH finally asked a castmember and we found out about it and were able to wait a bit and get the Cowboy scene.

Wow! That's a lot of ponchos!

 

[wisblue]

I just read all of your TR. I can't believe you rode that many ride the first day at MK for some reason I thought that wasn't possible and was only aiming for four when we go in September.

Sarah learned her park strategies from a master and has perfected them. It is incredible how many attractions you can see in a short period of time (even on busy days) if you are willing and able to be at the park when it opens and move purposefully (but not frantically) from one to the next for about 2-3 hours. Then you have the rest of the day to relax and stroll around enjoying the sights and sounds of the park and some of the minor attractions.

If you know what rides are at the top of your "must do" list, it isn't hard to get them all done pretty quickly if you know how the lines build up at them. If you have four rides that you really want to do, you should be able to get them all done in an hour or less without rushing too much as long as you are willing and able to do some walking. It gets tougher if you have to push strollers or if there are people in your party who have trouble walking. September isn't usually that busy so it should be that much easier for you.

 

[sandym718]

The poncho thing is such a pain. We had to use them this day too, obviously. Now DD had an actual rain coat, and my coat was pretty good too. So sometimes we didn't use the ponchos, b/c they will let you leave the coats on. DS and DH's coats weren't as good. However, the coats don't go down as far as the ponchos, getting your shorts wet, so I preferred the ponchos.

 

[macraven]

if you want the cowboy and not the gangster set on the GMR, ask the CM that is letting the line in to the other side.
this is after you have seen the movie clips in the first room.

i always do this.


the CM will let you know IF both scenes are being run and if they are, the CM will have you wait for the next group in.

i have only had 3 occassions when only one scene was being used at the time i was there.

 

[Nermel9]

Ugh, that looks like a lot of rain to deal with! I think DHS would be a good park for the rain, since most things are inside!

Yay for the western scene on TGMR! I think next time I go on that, I'm going to request it, I always get the gangster scene!

 

[not_Joanna_eggs]

Yay for the Western scene. I've never seen it, and it will take a miracle (or a nice big rain storm) to get me back on the GMR, but I think it would be really fun to see the cowboy scene. I wish you could get in line for Gangster or Western.

 

[jwwi]

That rain looks heavy, at least there are many indoor attractions at DHS. Is that why you picked that park for the rainy day?

 

[wdwgirl03]

I've heard lots of people say they either get the Gangster scene or the western scene. We got both!, one on each trip. I must be special

Sorry you got drenched, but my guess for the next thing you did is..................Beauty & the Beast or Indaina Jones!

Wow, you are lucky then to get both. Like I said, it has literally been years since we got the western one. Crazy.

Looks a lot like our DHS day in January! Except the crowds all fled so everything was a walk-on! It was great!

Yeah, I think most people just ran for cover. The crowds still weren't bad though.

I'm sorry you had to endure rain. I've been so lucky as to not get caught in it on both my trips (LOL) You still got to go on a few rides luckily. I can't believe you got to enjoy the cowboy scene. They never have the cowboy scene running. I've gone during Morning EMH, it was my first ride and they still had the gangster scene. The cowboy scene looks a ton cooler. I think to see that would be my goal for my next trip. Can't wait to hear more, update soon!

Don't feel too bad for me. It did stink having to put up with some crummy weather but for as many trips as we've been on, we've been pretty lucky weather-wise. But now I know what it's like when there are tropical storms.

Sorry about the rain but at least you were at DHS which is small and there are a number of things you can do inside!!

Very true!

Ahh the smell of plastic...
we haven't done the GMR in so long I don't remember any of the scenes, need to change that and not miss it this trip.

GMR is a classic. Hope you get to do it next time!

Ugh my parents and I hated the routine of taking the ponchos off for every ride too. It was so annoying taking them off, putting them back on, and repeating that like 50 more times Glad you got to see the cowboy scene though!

I know, wasn't it?! Our plastic bags came in handy so atleast we had a place to put them instead of holding them and getting our clothes wet.

If you had my snazzy new waterproof camera this wouldn't have been an issue

Yay for getting the cowboy scene! Boo for all the rain!!

I think you'll head to the Animation Academy next, drawing is fun and a good way to get out of the rain!

haha, even still I don't think I would've brought a waterproof camera out in that! Pluse, who really wants pictures of rain and cloudy skies???

Did you bring another pair of shoes?

I actually got sick and over heated wearing my poncho. I used my umbrella and it kept me dry.

The only other pair of shoes I had were crocs and I didn't really want to wear those.

I just love watching people run and freak out when it starts raining. When it's pouring, there's hardly anyone out walking around, and if they are, they have ponchos. We're the weirdos who don't use ponchos, so everyone is staring at us as we're walking out in the rain. We don't want to miss out on our Disney days!!

Believe me, if it wouldn't have been pouring so hard all day, I wouldn't have worn a poncho either. We really didn't have much of a choice when it didn't stop.

Holyyyyy cow, that is a lot of rain!! I'm glad you guys didn't let it get you down or hold you up, though.

You know, we've never had the cowboy side of the GMR either...I think I'll have to ask for it this time!

It was definitely a lot of rain...hopefully on our next few trips we won't see a drop of rain because I think we've fulfilled our wet quota for a while!

What a bummer with all the rain, but sure looks like you made the best of it. I hate the ponchos more than I can say....I always just use an umbrella, I get far too hot in them and I hate the way they feel I think you're going to do a little drawing......

I would probably get sick of carrying an umbrella around. LOL. Part of me wished I would've had a regular rain coat though because a couple of the ponchos we had were so cheap and with the wind blowing we had to hold them down. Ugh it was annoying.

Hmm, you could be right about the drawing...

The people that I laugh at are the ones who pull out the ponchos with the first few raindrops. They must think they're the Wicked Witch of the West. Especially when it's hot and humid I'm more comfortable getting a little wet than I am wearing a plastic heat shield.

Unless it is really pouring, Id rather just wear a cap and a light jacket and accept the fact that I'm going to be wet. If it's really pouring I move quickly to buildings.

That's why I thought it was hilarious when the one woman freaked out when she thought it was pouring. That was nothing compared to the real rain!

 

[wdwgirl03]

I didn't know RnR had a single rider line! I feel silly now

Oh yea for getting the cowboy! I'm still waiting for my turn.

LOL, really?! I've mentioned it in other TRs.

Hope you get the cowboy side soon. It is cooler than the gangster one.

I can completely sympathize about the rain, seeing as me and DBF were there with you guys the 30-1.

We tried to do DAK on the 31st, and boy was it bad.... we got to ride Dinosaur twice in 10 minutes though, even got our own car. Did a TON at MK that night though!

As annoying as the rain was, it is somewhat comforting knowing other people had to deal with it too. But I totally agree, boy was it bad! I can't imagine being at DAK when it's raining. I wonder if the animals are more active or if they are all hiding.

Sorry you got rained on! I know that sucks....I got stuck at AK in a downpour once....practically everything there shuts down!

I keep waiting for the Western Scene on GMR too...maybe I'll get it in June!

Yeah, I'm glad we weren't at AK that day!

i've never seen a sea of ponchos like that. Sorry you got drenched. I don't think I've had the cowboy on GMR.

haha, and that was just the beginning of the ponchos. Disney must've made a ton of money that week on ponchos.

I just read all of your TR. I can't believe you rode that many ride the first day at MK for some reason I thought that wasn't possible and was only aiming for four when we go in September.

First of all, welcome! Thanks for reading. Oh, you can definitely do more than 4 rides when you go! It really does help to get there for park opening though. The waits are a lot shorter than if you get there at noon!

Glad you got the Cowboy scene! We had that scene on our very first trip, but got the Gangster scene for the next two or three trips. It was funny trying to figure out what happened, were our memories fading? DH finally asked a castmember and we found out about it and were able to wait a bit and get the Cowboy scene.

Wow! That's a lot of ponchos!

I am glad we finally got to see the cowboy scene again. I was always disappointed when all we got was the gangster one. Boo!

Sarah learned her park strategies from a master and has perfected them. It is incredible how many attractions you can see in a short period of time (even on busy days) if you are willing and able to be at the park when it opens and move purposefully (but not frantically) from one to the next for about 2-3 hours. Then you have the rest of the day to relax and stroll around enjoying the sights and sounds of the park and some of the minor attractions.

If you know what rides are at the top of your "must do" list, it isn't hard to get them all done pretty quickly if you know how the lines build up at them. If you have four rides that you really want to do, you should be able to get them all done in an hour or less without rushing too much as long as you are willing and able to do some walking. It gets tougher if you have to push strollers or if there are people in your party who have trouble walking. September isn't usually that busy so it should be that much easier for you.

haha, yes you taught us all well.

The poncho thing is such a pain. We had to use them this day too, obviously. Now DD had an actual rain coat, and my coat was pretty good too. So sometimes we didn't use the ponchos, b/c they will let you leave the coats on. DS and DH's coats weren't as good. However, the coats don't go down as far as the ponchos, getting your shorts wet, so I preferred the ponchos.

The other rainy day, that Thursday, I don't think I wore a poncho either. I'm pretty sure I just wore my coat and a baseball hat because at that point I was just sick of them!

if you want the cowboy and not the gangster set on the GMR, ask the CM that is letting the line in to the other side.
this is after you have seen the movie clips in the first room.

i always do this.


the CM will let you know IF both scenes are being run and if they are, the CM will have you wait for the next group in.

i have only had 3 occassions when only one scene was being used at the time i was there.

Thanks for the info. I didn't realize there were times when both sides weren't running. If that happens which one do they do?

Ugh, that looks like a lot of rain to deal with! I think DHS would be a good park for the rain, since most things are inside!

Yay for the western scene on TGMR! I think next time I go on that, I'm going to request it, I always get the gangster scene!

A lot of rain is almost an understatement. But it was nice to be at DHS where there are indoor attractions. I would have been so disappointed if this was our first park day and we had to put up with that. I'm just glad our first day was great!

Yay for the Western scene. I've never seen it, and it will take a miracle (or a nice big rain storm) to get me back on the GMR, but I think it would be really fun to see the cowboy scene. I wish you could get in line for Gangster or Western.

Aww, come on, the GMR is not so bad! LOL.

That rain looks heavy, at least there are many indoor attractions at DHS. Is that why you picked that park for the rainy day?

No, we had been planning on going to DHS anyway since we usually (or atleast recently) go there on our second day.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Hi everyone!! Sorry for the delay in updates (again)...I'm so bad! Thought I'd get in another update though before the Survivor finale tonight! hehe

Before I get on with our rainy day at the Studios, I thought I'd share the photopass pictures I ordered (since I hardly have any from this day anyway!). As I mentioned, the birthday card I got had a 20% coupon so I ended up getting a couple pictures. I usually just get my favorites. Here's what I picked this time. I'm too lazy to actually scan them so I just took a picture of them.

This was from our first night. The castle looks so pretty!!

Loved the Toy Story display at Epcot for the F&GF!

And one from the Animal Kingdom.

I also saw they had these cute little magnets so I had to get one of those! You can pick from all different ear designs and then put one of your photos on them. I have a feeling this could be a new addiction...though maybe not, it was sort of expensive (but then again, isn't all the photopass stuff expensive?).

That was from our last day, after day 2 of the nonstop rain. As you can tell, it was gorgeous that day which made it super hard to leave.

Now back to the report!

Monday, March 28, 2011 cont'd (part 2)

After our journey through the movies, we braced ourselves for more of the rain. I wanted to get another plastic bag from the Sorcerer's Hat to put our stuff in. Since we were there, I started browsing around, looking at some of the pins. I knew I wanted to get the Rapunzel pin and spotted it there. But, since it was raining I was too lazy to get my money out (my bag was fully protected under our ponchos). I figured I'd be able to get it some other day. Little did I know it would become a quest to find it later in the trip...

When we were done browsing, we headed over toward the Animation Building. So for those of you who guessed we were going to the Animation Academy, you'd be correct! We only had to wait a little bit before going into the drawing room. If you remember from my last TR, my favorite instructor is Brian so of course I was hoping for him. Both Claire and I were a little bummed when we found out he wasn't going to be our instructor. We got some girl instead. She was nice, but her instructions weren't quite as clear as Brian. Then again, I don't think any of the instructors are quite as good as him. So who did we end up drawing? Our instructor decided that because there were a lot of smaller kids in that group, we were going to draw Winnie the Pooh! We were fine with that since we had never done Pooh, and besides, who doesn't like Pooh Bear? And we were both quite proud with how our drawings came out. Here's Claire with her artwork:

And here's mine.

Yes, I kind of rocked the Pooh drawing. I think it's frameworthy.

When we were done drawing, we hung out in the building for a little longer before making our way over to another one of our favorites, the American Idol Experience.

We got there in time to see them filming some of the stuff they'd show one of the contestants.

It still blows me away every time we go into the theater and seeing how realistic the set is. It is almost exactly like the real show! Awesome.

The three contestants for the day were all teenage girls. That seems to be the trend lately. Sometimes we wonder if they ever have trouble getting people to audition each day. Anyway...

Back to the show. Sadly, I can't really remember what any of the contestants sang. But there was a strange connection between all of them. Each time one of the girls came out, they would ask about school and what they did back home. So the first girl came out and mentioned how she played Miss Hannigan in Annie. Then the second girl came out (who happened to be from South Milwaukee, so I knew right away I was going to vote for her...gotta be a homer sometimes!) and she also played Miss Hannigan. I do remember that she sang "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" and she was actually really good. So my homer vote was actually ok then. And then the last girl came out...you know what I'm going to say now. Yes, she was ALSO Miss Hannigan in her school's play. It was so strange. I think she sang some Disney song and again, was just OK. In the end, the girl from around here won. WOO HOO!!! I wonder how she did in the finale. But she was really good and definitely was the best out of the three. Overall, it was entertaining as usual.

Since we had our TSM fastpasses, we went to use those and then grabbed some lunch from the ABC Commissary. It was pretty busy there so we had to wait a looong time for our food. The woman in front of me kept complaining about how slow it was and stuff. I felt kind of bad because it's not like the CMs aren't trying. Hello, it was lunchtime! But I was also thinking about how my sister's going to be doing that in just a couple months. So maybe now, even before she's done it, I have a new respect for the QSFB people. LOL.

I don't think we did anything after lunch, seeing as the rain was still coming down. So even though it was still pretty early, we decided to call it quits and go back to the resort to dry off for a bit.

up next: The rain, rain, rain, (STILL) came down, down, down

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

ugh rain!!!! At least you found things to do and didn't have to walk forever and ever to get to a ride or attraction! I love the Poohs!!!! I don't remember the last time it was I saw AI. We used to go a TON when it first opened when I lived there. After a while it became so hit or miss and they struggled to get decent people in off seasons so we stopped going haha.

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Nice PP pics! Love the DHS one!

We drew Winnie the Pooh in January! The class was so empty that she let us vote! It was so fun! Your Winnie the Pooh's look great! Definitely frameworthy!

 

[Disneyfreak616]

double post...sorry.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Those are some awesome photopass pictures! I especially like the one in front of the Sorcerer Mickey hat, really said "Yeah, we're in Disney and we're having fun! DEAL WITH IT!" Haha And you and Claire did an awesome job at the Animation Academy. I've really wanted to do that since I once spent a summer just drawing disney characters and sadly never got to on my most recent trip That is so funny how at the American Idol show all three girls were Miss Hannigan back at school. I find that pretty funny, but I'm guessing they did that purposefully. And the deal with the teenaged girls is probably because of AI lowering the age limit for American Idol that they are becoming more of a majority. There were many this season though I'm not really keeping up with it since Simon's not there. Ok, moving on... good to hear your hometown contestant won! It usually is always between the last two that the decision comes down to and usually one of them wins. I think they purposefully put the one who pales in no comparison to the last to go first. Its kinda mean, but I think that's what they do. :/ Well, can't wait to read more! Update soon!

 

[Queenofallthings]

You did an amazing job with your Pooh drawing....I'm impressed....and it's definitely frame worthy!

We love how like the show the set is of AI at DHS...I was blown away the first time we went in...we went in to get out of the cold in January and I couldn't believe how great the singers were. We stayed around and waited for the last show of the evening so we could see if our girl won!!