The $6,688.00 Disney World Trip - It's a wrap 6/30, Has it really been a year? 3/2 Link to new TR 4/18

[pkondz]

While I would like a break (workloadwise, I would still like the money)

Don't we all.

Let's see if this works.....This was my first puzzle

Worked! Fun!

Believe me, my cats don't give a rats butt.

But if they saw a rat's butt... that would be a whole other story.

Awwww. you're sweet, likewise.

In fact I may have a suggestion for you that I'll post on your thread. I may be the only one interested, but I'm very curious......

Oh? Curious.

Because you mail so many packages.

It was actually Fran's idea.

Oh?
Very nice of Fran. Thoughtful.

Actually the day that "everything went down" Fran and I were dealing with vacancy stuff. We were out and about and were getting all our news about what was going on through my Jill and Jenny text thread. We were only home for about an hour when we watched some of the stuff going down and had to leave again for a doctor appointment. We ended up coming home around 5PM where we got the wrap up of the day.

Busy day... so the obsessing came later.

Most places, I can get that many shrimp for half the price.....

When I was about 14-15, my mom took me to a Bonanza or Ponderosa. They had a "Steak and all the shrimp you can eat" promotion (battered, deep fried popcorn shrimp)... I took advantage.

I think they will have to temper it with the fact that most people haven't had jobs for a while.....

I think there'll be lots of deals in the short/medium term to get people back, but... soon...

I know! Right now I take most of our pics of food before I serve it to her!

"Hang on... just gotta... oops, auto-focus wasn't on, okay... just... hold on, there's a shadow... okay, that's... no... need to rotate it a bit... that carrot is a bit askew... maybe a flash..."
Fran: "Just give me my food!!!!"

 

[franandaj]

Yes, it's time to be nearer to them and spend more time with them as they get older and less able. I hope to be in Kentucky by next Christmas.

Makes sense. I can understand that. Especially with the incident with your mother at the Poly.

 

[Steppesister]

Makes sense. I can understand that. Especially with the incident with your mother at the Poly.

For sure, and they both had Covid. No lasting effects thank Goodness, but it did remind me that time here in finite and it's best to make the best use of it.

 

[missjackiemcg]

Gawd, I miss cocktails made by others! We ordered Mexican food the other day and got 32oz of Margaritas, but I still had to salt the rims and pour it in the glasses.

ME, TOO!!! In Chicago, all of our bars and restaurants are closed for dine-in, and it's just not the same taking it to go! I miss being able to hang out and people watch, sitting at a bar, where someone serves me!

I know there are clearly more pressing things to spend my time worrying about, but what a simple pleasure!

 

[franandaj]

Worked! Fun!

That's probably another thing that was keeping me away from the DIS, too many hours solving puzzles.

But if they saw a rat's butt... that would be a whole other story.

I have a whole nother story.....since I did an update on what I'm not doing, I thought maybe I might do something on the few things I have done.

Oh? Curious.

I'll try to get over to your thread....in the meantime (after I post a quick update), I have to get over to the vacant apartment so that I can finish preparing it for the painter....

Because you mail so many packages.

For years we just took them to the Post Office......

Oh?
Very nice of Fran. Thoughtful.

She can be that way.

Busy day... so the obsessing came later.

The obsessing started in 2016.....

When I was about 14-15, my mom took me to a Bonanza or Ponderosa. They had a "Steak and all the shrimp you can eat" promotion (battered, deep fried popcorn shrimp)... I took advantage.

Kinda like Su-Lynn's husband at 'Ohana?

I think there'll be lots of deals in the short/medium term to get people back, but... soon...

Well they just cut DME and EMH.

"Hang on... just gotta... oops, auto-focus wasn't on, okay... just... hold on, there's a shadow... okay, that's... no... need to rotate it a bit... that carrot is a bit askew... maybe a flash..."
Fran: "Just give me my food!!!!"

I can hear her hollering at me right now!

 

[franandaj]

For sure, and they both had Covid. No lasting effects thank Goodness, but it did remind me that time here in finite and it's best to make the best use of it.

Well I'm glad they didn't have any lasting effects, and good that you'll be there for them.

 

[franandaj]

ME, TOO!!! In Chicago, all of our bars and restaurants are closed for dine-in, and it's just not the same taking it to go! I miss being able to hang out and people watch, sitting at a bar, where someone serves me!

When debating where to have dinner (back when), I used to say, "Somewhere they bring me the food and put it in front of me!"

I know there are clearly more pressing things to spend my time worrying about, but what a simple pleasure!

It's the little things that we really start missing.....I have a feeling I will be much more appreciative for all the fun things, when we can do them again!

 

[franandaj]

I felt really compelled to post this update today as FB reminded me this morning in my memories that this day was one year ago today. Back when we could have fun!

So our 2020 visits to Disneyland began fairly early on in January, we had a double bonus on our first day out in that not only had we signed up for an event to meet Don Iwerks, Imagineer in his own right, and son of Disney Legend Ub Iwerks, plus we were going to preview the new Rise of the Resistance which was opening a little less than a week later!

We arrived bright and early for our breakfast presentation and sat down to a lovely table filled with pastries, charcuterie, and a yogurt parfait.



We were served some coffee, and I thought, what a perfect little breakfast!



To my surprise that was only the starters. Next we were served delicious crepes filled with ham, spinach and cheese, all topped by Hollandaise sauce. I heard some people complaining about it, but not Fran and I!



Once we were finished with our meal, Don Iwerks got up to give his presentation which went along with his newly released book.



For those of you who don’t know him, Don Iwerks was born in 1929 and followed his father, Disney Legend Ub Iwerks, to Disney, joining the Company in 1950 as a laboratory technician.

After being drafted into the Korean War, he immediately went back to work at Disney. He transferred to the Studio Machine Shop, where he was eventually offered a camera technician position and went to work on his first film for the Studio, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. He eventually headed both the Machine Shop and Camera Service Department, as well as the Technical Engineering and Manufacturing Division.

One of his biggest achievements was to assist in developing the 360-degree CircleVision camera that was first used in Circarama, U.S.A.; building the film equipment used at the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair; Captain EO; and the projection system for the wildly popular Star Tours attraction. He also had a hand in the technology that could combine painted backgrounds, traditional animation, and live-action foregrounds to create the unforgettable cinematic experience that was the Academy Award®-winning Mary Poppins. After a 35-year career at Disney, he went to his own projects and company. His Daughter Leslie Iwerks was there “directing” him, just as she directed the series on Disney Imagineering featured on Disney+.

After his presentation he signed copies of his book that we were given. Wow! look at me there, bothering to put on jewelry, let my hair down and everything!





Following our lovely breakfast and presentation, we were given boarding groups for RotR. We were boarding group 12.

******** S * P * O * I * L * E * R A * L * E * R * T !!!!!!! *************.

​

There will be spoilers coming up ahead, so if you haven’t been on the Rise of the Resistance ride yet and don’t want to know about it, wait til my next update which will be food related.
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We got to the ride entrance and there were a ton of people standing around. If you're familiar with Rise of the Resistance you know that the ride goes down.

A lot.

And it was down now. But this was the only real plans we had for the day, so we waited. It was probably about 20 minutes before we were let into the queue. They scanned our passes and then our boarding group cards. Eventually when the ride opened to the public this was all done via the Disneyland App on your cellphone.

We entered into the cave where the Resistance Base was located. We were impressed with how they laid out the queue as Fran had no difficulty navigating the switch backs in her scooter. In a lot of lines she'll have to do a seven point turn to get around the corners.













I was really impressed with the feel and how they really made it seem like you were going deep inside the mountain.



In this chamber, we waited to enter the briefing room.



Once we were in the briefing room, we awaited our mission.





Inside the briefing room, lots of familiar characters/species communicate remotely with you. Rey gives you your orders before you embark on the rest of your mission.



You exit the briefing room and go out into the Rebel base where you wait to board your transport.









And soon you take off from the planet, with your pilot at the helm.







What fun would a stint in the Resistance be if you didn't get captured? Soon you are being pulled into a ship under the command of Kylo Ren. Forgive me, I don't know the technical names of all the different ships. Your vessel is boarded by officers of the First Order who are demanding and somewhat intimidating. As you leave the Rebel vessel this is what you see.



Now for all of the "in character" performances of the CMs, they also identify any guests with disabilities and make sure that they go on the correct side of the queue for handicapped access. The right side of this hall is the one with no step.



When you get to this point they start to separate you so that you can be placed into interrogation rooms.





You wait on a colored strip, four for each color, to enter the interrogation room. The guards are constantly on you asking what color you're standing on and other such nonsense. It is meant to be somewhat intimidating, but not so much that you feel really threatened. I thought it was all in fun.



My last picture from the ride is the interrogation room. Kylo Ren comes to talk to your group, but is called away.



After that, if you can guess, you are rescued and the rest of the ride begins. I’ll leave that to surprise since I decided not to take pictures and risk losing my phone. This is the best part of the ride and the most thrilling. I will tell you some things I know from the threads I followed and what I’ve seen on the several times I rode it. There are lots of different experiences that happen on the ride. Not all are functioning at all times (not intentionally, I don't think). They have what some call the “A” ride experiences, and if the “A” ride experiences are down, the “B” ride experiences kick in.

Let me give an example. There is one point in the ride where Kylo Ren cuts through the ceiling to “get you” with his light saber. However, I have been on the ride when this feature is down, you still pass through the room where his light saber would have been cutting through the roof, it just doesn’t. The roof remains in tact, instead of a light saber sawing through it. If you had never been on the ride, you wouldn’t know that you were missing it, but since I had been on it before, I did know. There are other “back ups” that happen when the “A” feature is down, I’m not exactly sure what they are, but I have some guesses from the four times I have been on the ride.

It’s fun to look for Finn on the ride, he shows up in quite a few places. It’s a really thrilling ride at the end, and if you’ve heard about a “drop” don’t worry, it’s nothing like ToT or GotG, it’s just a little blip. Gosh I can’t wait for DL to open again so I can ride it again. I have no idea when I’ll get to WDW again. So my hope is when DL opens again.

Once you complete your mission you end up back at the Resistance base.



After our stint with the resistance, we decided we needed a Millennium Falcon french fry holder.



And ate the French Fries that came with it.



After that we headed home.

It was a good day.

 

[pkondz]

That's probably another thing that was keeping me away from the DIS, too many hours solving puzzles.

I did about 6 of them after you posted that link!

I have a whole nother story.....since I did an update on what I'm not doing, I thought maybe I might do something on the few things I have done.

Will read the update a bit later.

For years we just took them to the Post Office......

I remember that too.

The obsessing started in 2016.....

Kinda like Su-Lynn's husband at 'Ohana?

Just like that.
But I doubt I could eat now, like I could when I was a teenage boy.

Well they just cut DME and EMH.

Saw that...
DME... sad.
EMH... Not sure how I feel. 30 minutes early entry at all parks might be a good thing. Before you could either take advantage or avoid the park with EMH. Now... you can still get in early and not worry about the park being over-saturated due to EMH.

I can hear her hollering at me right now!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Wow, your breakfast meet-and-greet sounds pretty incredible. I'll bet he had some amazing stories.

I still have yet to experience Rise of the Resistance! Getting a boarding group has eluded me for three trips now. Sigh. I'll have my next shot in December. Can't believe I still have to wait that long, but everything I've seen and read sounds like it's so worth the wait!

 

[NancyLuvsMickey]

What an amazing and interesting career Don Iwerks has had... I bet he has some really good stories to tell!!!

 

[franandaj]

I did about 6 of them after you posted that link!

I end up doing half a dozen before i get out of bed!

Will read the update a bit later.

I remember that too.

You do?

Just like that.
But I doubt I could eat now, like I could when I was a teenage boy.

I can't eat now like I could when I was a teenage girl on the swim team. I'm constantly discouraged by how little I can eat now.

Saw that...
DME... sad.
EMH... Not sure how I feel. 30 minutes early entry at all parks might be a good thing. Before you could either take advantage or avoid the park with EMH. Now... you can still get in early and not worry about the park being over-saturated due to EMH.

We never used EMH, but the loss of DME is huge. Do you know how hard it is to wrangle four suitcases and four carry ons riding a scooter? Then the question is, "do we rent a car?" Whatever we decide it makes a WDW vacation much more expensive than before.

 

[pkondz]

we signed up for an event to meet Don Iwerks, Imagineer in his own right, and son of Disney Legend Ub Iwerks,

No way! Cooool!

Next we were served delicious crepes filled with ham, spinach and cheese, all topped by Hollandaise sauce.

mmmm.... Hollandaise...

I heard some people complaining about it, but not Fran and I!

Complaining???? About what for heaven's sake?

he was eventually offered a camera technician position and went to work on his first film for the Studio, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Oh, man... this is... I have no words...

One of his biggest achievements was to assist in developing the 360-degree CircleVision camera

Impressive!

He also had a hand in the technology that could combine painted backgrounds, traditional animation, and live-action foregrounds to create the unforgettable cinematic experience that was the Academy Award®-winning Mary Poppins

Really!
Man... to be there in those times.

If you're familiar with Rise of the Resistance you know that the ride goes down.

A lot.

I may have heard that a time or two... hundred.

We were impressed with how they laid out the queue as Fran had no difficulty navigating the switch backs in her scooter.

I'm both surprised and not surprised. Surprised that they'd plan for that, and yet... it is Disney, so not surprised they planned for that.

I was really impressed with the feel and how they really made it seem like you were going deep inside the mountain.

Well, sure. It's another planet, you know.

What fun would a stint in the Resistance be if you didn't get captured?

Well... if you were really in the Resistance... I'm betting... probably not so much fun.

You wait on a colored strip, four for each color, to enter the interrogation room. The guards are constantly on you asking what color you're standing on and other such nonsense. It is meant to be somewhat intimidating, but not so much that you feel really threatened. I thought it was all in fun.

There are lots of different experiences that happen on the ride.

Really? I had no idea. I thought it was either working... or not.

Let me give an example. There is one point in the ride where Kylo Ren cuts through the ceiling to “get you” with his light saber. However, I have been on the ride when this feature is down, you still pass through the room where his light saber would have been cutting through the roof, it just doesn’t. The roof remains in tact, instead of a light saber sawing through it. If you had never been on the ride, you wouldn’t know that you were missing it, but since I had been on it before, I did know.

Ah! Okay. Get it now.

After our stint with the resistance, we decided we needed a Millennium Falcon french fry holder.

Where do the fries go???

 

[pkondz]

I end up doing half a dozen before i get out of bed!

I was working on one today in the few minutes I had to spare before work.

There, you see? I did read it!

You do?

Oh, yes. You've mentioned a few times how you'd make trips to the post office.

I can't eat now like I could when I was a teenage girl on the swim team. I'm constantly discouraged by how little I can eat now.

Time to hire someone to be a spare stomach.

We never used EMH, but the loss of DME is huge

Yes.

Do you know how hard it is to wrangle four suitcases and four carry ons riding a scooter? Then the question is, "do we rent a car?" Whatever we decide it makes a WDW vacation much more expensive than before.

I get that. I'm hoping that Mears will step up and offer a "Magical ride" to Disney or something.
Or... something.

I agree it's a big loss.

 

[tiggrbaby]

What a lovely breakfast with the bonus of meeting such a fascinating man!

The ride sounds amazing, but with all of the changes at WDW, I'm not sure I'll ever get to experience it.

 

[DnA2010]

I dont think you ever sent it.

Well ****e...coming asap!

Hopefully next time, whenever that will be.

Ya...whenever that will be...we will be back as soon as we can...whenever that will be...apparently Canada is to be all vaccinated by Sept, but who knows...

I know! Right now I take most of our pics of food before I serve it to her!

Love it as it's been giving me dinner ideas...tired of all the regs

I'm not a huge "cold meat for breakfast" person, but this all looks quite nice.

Next we were served delicious crepes filled with ham, spinach and cheese, all topped by Hollandaise sauce. I heard some people complaining about it, but not Fran and I!

I'm a weirdo who only likes a little Hollandaise sauce as I don't like it to make things too mushy, but can't imagine I'd complain over those!

After his presentation he signed copies of his book that we were given. Wow! look at me there, bothering to put on jewelry, let my hair down and everything!

Very cool! I bet it's a good read?


Thanks for getting back to updates, they are a cheer-up

 

[Steppesister]

I heard some people complaining about it, but not Fran and I!

How could anyone complain about that?!! WOW!

You wait on a colored strip, four for each color, to enter the interrogation room. The guards are constantly on you asking what color you're standing on and other such nonsense. It is meant to be somewhat intimidating, but not so much that you feel really threatened. I thought it was all in fun.

I loved that part of the "ride"/experience the most I think. I LOVE the role playing they do! Disney cast them so perfectly.

 

[franandaj]

Wow, your breakfast meet-and-greet sounds pretty incredible. I'll bet he had some amazing stories.

It was kind of funny, he would get really into one of his topics and start talking more in depth and go off on tangents, and from the back of the room, his daughter would be giving him signals to hurry up, or get onto the next topic. At one point he acknowledged her and said thatbshe was "keeping him on schedule."

I still have yet to experience Rise of the Resistance! Getting a boarding group has eluded me for three trips now. Sigh. I'll have my next shot in December. Can't believe I still have to wait that long, but everything I

Back when DL was open and I still had an AP, you could actually "play along" and practice getting a boarding group. Of course since I hadn't scanned into the park, I couldn't get past a certain point, and I'd get an error message like, "please make sure everyone in your party is in the park." But you could at least familiarize yourself with the process so when it came down to it, I had an idea of what was going on.

 

[franandaj]

What an amazing and interesting career Don Iwerks has had... I bet he has some really good stories to tell!!!

He had some great stories, and kept wanting to tell them in detail. His daughter had to keep putting him back on track.

 

[franandaj]

mmmm.... Hollandaise...

Fran ordered eggs benedict for breakfast this morning....extra Hollandaise. And then we sat in the parking lot in our car and ate breakfast.

Complaining???? About what for heaven's sake?

No clue! I thought it was one of the best breakfasts we have had at one of these morning events.

Oh, man... this is... I have no words...

I remember you saying you were a fan of 20,000 leagues.

Really!
Man... to be there in those times.

Must have been amazing!

I may have heard that a time or two... hundred.

I'm both surprised and not surprised. Surprised that they'd plan for that, and yet... it is Disney, so not surprised they planned for that.

It's good that they are planning for this because a lot of times, she has a hard time going through the queues and our scooters are small.

Well, sure. It's another planet, you know.

Well... if you were really in the Resistance... I'm betting... probably not so much fun.

You're probably right.

Really? I had no idea. I thought it was either working... or not.
Ah! Okay. Get it now.

The things that you learn on these DIS forums.

Where do the fries go???

There was a little flap that you could open up, but I didn't push it, I was afraid of breaking it. I saw a kid who got one and his mother poured the fries into the little compartment. Instantly losing it's value.

I was working on one today in the few minutes I had to spare before work.

What category do you solve? I like the kitty puzzles.

There, you see? I did read it!

Oh, yes. You've mentioned a few times how you'd make trips to the post office.

Makes sense.

Time to hire someone to be a spare stomach.

Or learn bulimia....

I get that. I'm hoping that Mears will step up and offer a "Magical ride" to Disney or something.
Or... something.

I agree it's a big loss.

I hope that they do something, but the fact that they picked up your luggage was awesome. I know you didn't have that option, but we loved it!