The Moist Exhausting Free Trip Ever - Link to Part II Thread pg. 244

[Millie12591]

I actually lived in Grand Junction when I was little, just thought I would throw that in there. Your going to love the drive! It's probably the most beautiful state besides Cali. that I've ever lived in or driven in. Hope you don't get car sick driving through winding roads, if your not sure take some meds with you. Sounds like a great time! I can plan my tushy off for Disney but I've never planned a trip any where else, the kids think Hawaii should be our next destination, but I've never been there. I need to have someone who's been there help me plan it out like I would go to Disney by knowing what I'm getting myself into and all. I might have to hit you up for plans going the the GC.

Way OT but since you asked.......
Hey just noticed this Glenn......we have never been either. Eric really wanted to do this for his 40th birthday. We are totally ripping off the Adventures by Disney Southwest Splendors itinerary. We are flying into Grand Junction & driving to Utah to stay at The Red Cliffs Lodge. We can access Arches from her & they are right on the Colorado River too. Then we are driving & spending a night in Monument Valley before heading on to the Grand Canyon. We are staying at the Thunderbird Lodge right on the rim of the GC & we are decided to do 4 nights there. We just really don't want to be rushed & want to be able to see everything. Not sure how long of a road trip it would be to Cali...we looked at driving to Vegas to fly back but it was pretty far from the GC so we are flying back from Phoenix. Have several guide books & need to start reading since we are getting closer.

 

[glennbo123]

Rock on, Mr. Potato Head!

Well, somebody definitely needs to Rock On. Might as well be Mr. Potatohead.

Oh man, that's just WRONG!!!

Don't you know you should start stuff like this with a "Spoiler Alert!" (now pass me that list of valuable information)

Well, I was sitting here wondering...how did jenbear improve her score so much? And I suspected, maybe she found some hints online somewhere. I'll be very curious to see if she has a confession to make.

Spoiler Alert

Here's what I looked at, a thread right here on the DIS. (And I see one of my thread subscribers posting on it. One who has achieved a very respectable score, even though she has yet to beat her DH.)

Link to DISboards TSM Hints thread

Some people would complain if you hung them with a new rope!

I've always thought that this was a pretty strange expression. I think I'd complain, for as long as I could, which wouldn't be very long I guess.

Nice snag on the celebrity FPs!

Well...more on that later.

Marlene obviously learned her skill watching you take those Candi pictures......

You're right. I hadn't thought of that!

I'm taking it she doesn't read along when you're on TGM...

Nope.

Wow, just missed RD and already 11:55!

Yeah, well we did mess around with those celebrity fastpasses for a little while. Then by the time we got to TSM the line was huuuuge.

Guess they were trying to save some A/C for later in the day!

Yeah, apparently so.

Either you and Judy are getting shorter, or the kids have really grown since last summer!

Darned osteoporosis.

Obviously you spent too much time PTRing and not enough time studying your notes. You tried to be sneaky and STILL couldn't top Jenbear's score???? I'm not sure which is sadder, that or drowning your sorrows with the satisfaction of beating poor little James.

I know, I know, Mr. Potato Head was hungover.......

Of course, I told myself that I didn't have to admit to the hints. I could just write that I didn't beat her score and leave it at that. But what fun would the TR be then?

Mr. Potatohead definitely had a rough night.

That picture of the family is a great one though!

The previous night was a Saturday night, and them taters like to go out and get mashed.

Thanks Kelly!

great update.

Love the part about red t-shirts. Girls don't like the color and men just take the t-shirt and don't care what color.

Even tho you didn't beat jenbear you did get a good score. You got some nice pics in there.

Yes, I didn't really care as long as it wasn't too much of a pastel color.

Thanks!

Great update Glen !!! TSM is a huge favorite of mine even if I suck at it !!!Had they updated the games for TS3 !! The girls are hoping they do soon !!!

Thanks, I like the ride. It's one of Judy's favorites.

Lynn5700 was there a couple of weeks before us and reported that they did have some games related to TS3, but I didn't see any during the times we went on it. I wonder if they have the ability to change the games since you're essentially playing on a large videogame?

Please don't humor Marv's humor!

Red shirts work for me being from Texas Tech!

Well I suppose so, the color is mentioned in the team name, "Red Raiders"!

We saw Mr. Potato Head pull out his ear a few times but the line was so slow the kids in the area got tired of him. When he asked them who do you love they all screamed "We hate you Mr. Potato Head!" which he then responded with "You are so Cruel!" and stopped entertaining for ten minutes or so.

Wow! I didn't know he would do that.

I didn't notice it but what was the standby wait time you had? Ours was right at 2 hours and it was painful! You still scored fastpasses for later so you will get a chance to look over those hints.

I went and looked at the date/time info. on the pictures. The picture of the fastpasses was taken at 9:24. The one of James, just before we got on the ride was taken at 10:15. So, 50 minutes.

My score was 117,000 but I was riding with my DS8 who really wasn't aware of any tricks and only scored 68,000.

Up next: It's so hard to pick a favorite Chewbacca quote

My favorite is Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrgh! After Artoo makes a spectacular move in 3-D chess.

Oh yes, that's a great one!

Great update. I love TSM. Nice family shot in front of Mr. Potatohead.

Thank you, me too, and thank you. I posted on your thread that it was great to see that picture of Mark. Looks like he's doing great.

OK Toy Story Midway Mania to quote an a buddy from our Adventures by Disney trip to Disneyland......Toy Story Midway Mania=Pixar Crack. I love this description because it's so true....I could ride it over & over again. It's addictive.

Great family photo with Mr (I've had a rough night) spud!

Yes, Pixar crack! It's quite popular, for sure. Thanks!

DH and the kids saw Mr. Potato Head take off his ear, but DH didn't have the camera ready. I missed him completely this trip, since the one time I rode it we used Fastpasses. Judy's sunglasses give quite the effect - woah!

I don't think I was hurrying at first, and then I thought I'd better hurry before he puts his ear back!

One of my sisters was at WDW last week and rode TSM for the first time. I told her to ride it standby at least once so that she could see the queue.

I couldn't get over that they had a queue (ropes and all) to get a Fastpass!! DH is going to want to see that list of cheats for improving your score, though...I'm sure he's Googling them right now, since I told him about it!

I put the link higher up in this post.

Enjoying your trip report!

jane2073! I'm happy to read that you're enjoying it, and thanks for posting!

I believe your wife's sunglasses are polarized. That could be why Mr. Potatohead's digital (?) eyes look odd.

I think you're right. I had some polarized sunglasses once and I thought that they made driving difficult. The road, especially patches and tar, looked really strange. (And we have a lot of patches in PA. )

Way OT but since you asked.......
Hey just noticed this Glenn......we have never been either. Eric really wanted to do this for his 40th birthday. We are totally ripping off the Adventures by Disney Southwest Splendors itinerary. We are flying into Grand Junction & driving to Utah to stay at The Red Cliffs Lodge. We can access Arches from her & they are right on the Colorado River too. Then we are driving & spending a night in Monument Valley before heading on to the Grand Canyon. We are staying at the Thunderbird Lodge right on the rim of the GC & we are decided to do 4 nights there. We just really don't want to be rushed & want to be able to see everything. Not sure how long of a road trip it would be to Cali...we looked at driving to Vegas to fly back but it was pretty far from the GC so we are flying back from Phoenix. Have several guide books & need to start reading since we are getting closer.

Wow, that sounds like a great trip. Vegas is a much shorter drive than Disneyland, and I've thought about that too. My wife doesn't have any desire to go there though.

My 2 yo LOVED all the potato head pictures. Both my kids LOVE Toy Story, and love to see the ride pictures on the computer. The picture with your family is GREAT!

That's great feedback -- I'm glad they liked the pictures. Thank you!

Can't wait to see what you do next on your DHS day.

Me too! Er, I mean, good to hear you'll be back for the future chapters!

Wonderful family shot with Mr. Potato Head. We rode stand by just so I could see the line, but Mr. Potato Head wasn't there. I guess he was hiding behind the red curtain. I was so disappointed.

Thank you! Oh, what a bummer that Mr. Potatohead was taking a break when you went standby just to see him! That's tragic!

I would sure love those secrets too if you're sharing.

I put the link further up in this post.

 

[lovegrumpy]

Just got done reading your last trip report. I thought your wife selled Pamered Chef. I love that stuff so much that my friends think I should sell it. I don't think I have the people skills but my friends all think I do. My consultant also went.

Can't wait to hear about your trip.

 

[glennbo123]

Wow, Glenn! Now that I've read through all your posts....it's funny to see/hear the differences of someone else's experience in the same place. When we stayed at CSR we didn't have nearly the beautiful scene's you did, although I didn't really look around our "area," where we stayed either. I really only went from the front of the resort to our room (and not by way of the court yard-just the side of the building to get to our room) when we got there and then from there to the pool, and from the room to the bus stop which was a hop skip and a jump from our room. We did however have regular ceramic coffee mugs, never used them for coffee, but we had them.
Our rooms looked exactly the same, which i loved! I made good use of the neck roll pillow by putting it under my pillow to keep my feet elevated (I can go into more of that later...I didn't have such a good physical response to the heat)
Our building was right next to the dig site-just behind the slide and to the right, just so you have an idea where we were staying while there. (I'm having a brain glitch moment so I can't remember the name of the building)

Hi Camille! Thanks for your comments and the experiences you shared. It's funny how different people can stay at the same place and have different experiences. I thought the area we were in was quite pretty, but I didn't like being so far from the big pool. The one nice thing about trying to seek out some good photo ops, is it makes you look for the beauty in the resort. In the architecture, landscaping, etc. Sorry to read that you had a bad time with the heat. It can be rough.

Looooove the picture of you all standing in line for Toy Story ride! You have such a beautiful family. Funny....I had fast passes to ride Toy Story and never did get to ride it the whole time we were there. I think it was the only think I didn't get to do while there in the parks that I wanted to do, pretty good in my book. Between my last trip and this one, I've pretty much done ever ride I wanted to do. Hands down my favorite is RnR!!! Only got to do it once though.
Sorry if my spelling is off, I just don't have the energy to look up what I think is mis-spelled.

Thanks for the compliment. Too bad you didn't get to do TSM, but sounds like you did pretty well getting in all that you wanted to do. I love RnR too!

No worries on teh spelling. I honestly didn't make that typo on purpose, but I left it so you don't feel bad if you have some.

I actually lived in Grand Junction when I was little, just thought I would throw that in there. Your going to love the drive! It's probably the most beautiful state besides Cali. that I've ever lived in or driven in. Hope you don't get car sick driving through winding roads, if your not sure take some meds with you. Sounds like a great time! I can plan my tushy off for Disney but I've never planned a trip any where else, the kids think Hawaii should be our next destination, but I've never been there. I need to have someone who's been there help me plan it out like I would go to Disney by knowing what I'm getting myself into and all. I might have to hit you up for plans going the the GC.

I'm just in the thinkin' stage right now. Definitely not an expert, at all! But I'm seeking them out.

 

[glennbo123]

Just got done reading your last trip report. I thought your wife selled Pamered Chef. I love that stuff so much that my friends think I should sell it. I don't think I have the people skills but my friends all think I do. My consultant also went.

Can't wait to hear about your trip.

Hello lovegrumpy and !

I'm so glad to hear that you liked the last one and decided to keep on reading this one!

One nice thing about the business is that there's basically zero risk to try it out. Believe me, when my wife wanted to start I read all of the fine print looking for "the catch". There wasn't one.

 

[Flossbolna]

Great update! Mr Potatohead does look really strange. Unfortunately I have never really seen much of his action since I never spent a long time in the TSM queue... I am too efficient at rope drop (managed one day to be the first person at the FP machine!!!!), so we just walked passed him. And then later on I did not want to stand in line for 60 minutes or so...

The effect of the really long outdoor line in the mornings is something that I have seen quite often. I have no idea why they do that. I think they ought to know that TSM will fill up very quickly, so they could have the indoor switch backs open from the beginning...

 

[All7OfUs]

THANKS for a GREAT update. The fact that I have to have a partner who knows what they are doing in order to get a good score takes me out of the running during my solo time- significantly dropping my odds at beating either you OR Jen. Crap. Plus, you 2 are pros having played lots-

So, Tate needs to have a few before he meets Papa Patty?? Hmmm.... I guess then, he'll have to go to La Cava with me.

GREAT photo! She did do a nice job on getting you all in focus and framed!

I'm pretty sure Chewy's voice is a camel. I"ve been around a few in my day, and they sound EXACTLY like him.

 

[glennbo123]

Great update! Mr Potatohead does look really strange. Unfortunately I have never really seen much of his action since I never spent a long time in the TSM queue... I am too efficient at rope drop (managed one day to be the first person at the FP machine!!!!), so we just walked passed him. And then later on I did not want to stand in line for 60 minutes or so...

You are reinforcing that stereotype about Germans and efficiency. You should go through the queue at least once to see all of the giant-sized games and things, and Mr. P.

The effect of the really long outdoor line in the mornings is something that I have seen quite often. I have no idea why they do that. I think they ought to know that TSM will fill up very quickly, so they could have the indoor switch backs open from the beginning...

I have too! I don't get it. I almost forgot -- I'll have another one of these stories on a different ride, but not until almost the end of the TR.

THANKS for a GREAT update. The fact that I have to have a partner who knows what they are doing in order to get a good score takes me out of the running during my solo time- significantly dropping my odds at beating either you OR Jen. Crap. Plus, you 2 are pros having played lots-

You don't have to have a partner to score big. In fact, somewhere I read that they have confirmed that it's easier to get big scores when you are a single rider. It's just that there are a couple of high-value targets that are easier to get as a team.

Played lots? Maybe Jen, but I think that was my 4th ride ever. I'll have 2 more before the trip is over.

So, Tate needs to have a few before he meets Papa Patty?? Hmmm.... I guess then, he'll have to go to La Cava with me.

He doesn't have to....I'm just sayin' if it's the day after payday he might want you to keep the noise down and let him sleep in.

GREAT photo! She did do a nice job on getting you all in focus and framed!

I'm pretty sure Chewy's voice is a camel. I"ve been around a few in my day, and they sound EXACTLY like him.

Thanks.

I'd heard that his voice was a mix of several animals. According to Wikipedia, it's a mix of walruses, camels, bears, rabbits, tigers and badgers. Rabbits? What did they add, a whisker-twitching sound?

 

[mickeyfan71]

Great update. I love TSM! Going to check out the tips! When we went in Oct there was a 70 min wait and the same ques were not open! Wonder if they ever open all of them up! I would love to go during Star Wars weekends one year!

 

[Aristocath]

Great update! I got hooked on your report trying to figure out how you got 5 people in CSR (we are a family of five) and remember your trip report from last year. What a great picture of your lovely family.

Cathy

 

[glennbo123]

Great update. I love TSM! Going to check out the tips! When we went in Oct there was a 70 min wait and the same ques were not open! Wonder if they ever open all of them up! I would love to go during Star Wars weekends one year!

Thanks. The Star Wars weekends are a lot of fun, if you've got Star Wars fans in the house. They're busy and crowded though, but still a good time.

Great update! I got hooked on your report trying to figure out how you got 5 people in CSR (we are a family of five) and remember your trip report from last year. What a great picture of your lovely family.

Cathy

Aristocath!! Love your screen name! Thanks for coming over.

Maybe I should have worked that into the title, a lot of people have said they were trying to figure out how we did that. Maybe something like, "Five in a room at Coronado Springs, and other Disney rarities".

 

[Believeinfairytales]

I can't believe the CM made you walk all the way around to a non-existant line. I would have felt so silly!

Love the Toy Story Mania update - you're right, too - the family picture in front of Mr. Potato Head was really great. And how wierd that Judy's glasses made his eyes look so funky. And he took out his ear? I've never seen him do that, either!

Can I just say that your little boy is adorable? He cracked me up hiding those tips from his sisters!

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

that line for celebrity FP's that friday we were there was all the way down the area to the boat launch then back to the parking for the buses, it was huge.

i dont think i have ever seen them use that other queue area in TSM, never seen it weaving even though they have people outside, not sure why, but maybe it gets peoples hopes up when they get inside and see not everything going around.


i also have some sun glasses like that, when you pull up on a car with window tinting, it has a diamond pattern that you can see with the sun glasses on. it is pretty cool, i bet that is kinda like what judy had in hers.


dont want to ruin the suprise, but i have beaten that ever eluding score you are talking about of 179,000.

 

[marvali]

You are reinforcing that stereotype about Germans and efficiency. You should go through the queue at least once to see all of the giant-sized games and things, and Mr. P.

The queue IS pretty cool, and brings back a lot of childhood memories. I have noticed the "Barrel of Monkeys" and the Scrabble board on the ceiling, but until I was looking at your pictures, I'm not sure I ever realized that the red and black squares were a checkerboard. I may have, but I don't remember it for certain.

 

[glennbo123]

I can't believe the CM made you walk all the way around to a non-existant line. I would have felt so silly!

It made no sense! Not at the time, anyway.

Love the Toy Story Mania update - you're right, too - the family picture in front of Mr. Potato Head was really great. And how wierd that Judy's glasses made his eyes look so funky. And he took out his ear? I've never seen him do that, either!

Thank you. I was really surprised when he pulled out his ear!

Can I just say that your little boy is adorable? He cracked me up hiding those tips from his sisters!

Yes, you may. He keeps us laughing.

that line for celebrity FP's that friday we were there was all the way down the area to the boat launch then back to the parking for the buses, it was huge.

I'm sure their system made sense for that situation. But at some point you need to use your heads.

i dont think i have ever seen them use that other queue area in TSM, never seen it weaving even though they have people outside, not sure why, but maybe it gets peoples hopes up when they get inside and see not everything going around.

I don't think I've ever seen it used either.

i also have some sun glasses like that, when you pull up on a car with window tinting, it has a diamond pattern that you can see with the sun glasses on. it is pretty cool, i bet that is kinda like what judy had in hers.

I didn't realize they make tinting designs that can only be seen with polarized lenses, but I belive it.

Yes, I think so.

dont want to ruin the suprise, but i have beaten that ever eluding score you are talking about of 179,000.

I believe it. It's doable.

The queue IS pretty cool, and brings back a lot of childhood memories. I have noticed the "Barrel of Monkeys" and the Scrabble board on the ceiling, but until I was looking at your pictures, I'm not sure I ever realized that the red and black squares were a checkerboard. I may have, but I don't remember it for certain.

Yes, I noticed the checkerboard too. There are a lot of things in there to bring back childhood memories.

 

[glennbo123]

Let me ask you folks this, regards to the last chapter:

1) What's the first picture you see Judy in?

2) How many sightings in the chapter?

 

[All7OfUs]

I think I finally get to score a point! Juhu for me! Is that her right between the girls in the light colored tank??

4 total sightings.

 

[Tribilín]

Awww! All7OfUs beat me to it... I got the exact same answer!

 

[All7OfUs]

Awww! All7OfUs beat me to it... I got the exact same answer!

Sorry bout that Trib!! But hey, by the time you all got done figuring out the rules, I was just figuring out that there was even a GAME!!



With a rule book longer than the MAN-ual.

 

[Tribilín]

Oh and on the subject of Mr. Potatohead I once saw him without his ear... I guess it sometimes fails to reattach it Creepy! Hahaha!

And I knew there were some strategies for high scores in TSM, but I didn't know some of them required team work. although I think I wouldn't even try... the game is funny enough to just blast away without thinking.... and I don't remember the score but I always end getting the funny blue cat.