Up, up and away we go...

[DISHoppy]

Your word that got starred out..guessing it was something that also means massive dust storm..we had a huge one pass over last Thrusday..maybe the same cell. Odd.
Hve fun!

Yup. Also something involving a wardrobe malfunction or Madonna concert. Learned about those from the weather news last year and a co-worker that lives in/near PHX (plus, I'm a wx geek).

Also, sad about the WEDWAY (I've never called it the People Mover @ WDW). I've always found it to be a great way to unwind/rest with little to no lines. Plus, I love the technology behind it.

-Kevin

 

[DISHoppy]

Glad to hear your having a good time.

I agree Pirates is so much better. Love IASM at night at well! Fantasyland is so much better than MK or at least currently. Love all the dark rides.

I agree on FL. I went into it thinking too small, too cramped, but it's great. I was pleasantly surprised by Alice, Pinocchio and the Canal Boats (didn't remember those from my '78 visit), and I remembered how much I miss Mr. Toad from WDW. Also, Pan is better @ DL. Sleeping Beauty's Castle is lame compared to Cindy's, but it's the history and there is the walk through (which is meh, IMO). Alice and Matterhorn top the list for tomorrow, then need to head over to the other side for HM, JC, Indy, Columbia and BTMRR/Splash if I get any takers from the DDs. I also enjoy the history behind the DLRR and the naming of the trains by Walt (plus his fascination with them). DW wondered about the Skyway, so I had to explain the history, ADA issues and death of a CM @ WDW. Just plagued with fraught/peril and they just don't exist anywhere these days. I especially miss the one @ DL going through the Matterhorn.

-Kevin

 

[nunzia]

Yup. Also something involving a wardrobe malfunction or Madonna concert. Learned about those from the weather news last year and a co-worker that lives in/near PHX (plus, I'm a wx geek).

Also, sad about the WEDWAY (I've never called it the People Mover @ WDW). I've always found it to be a great way to unwind/rest with little to no lines. Plus, I love the technology behind it.

-Kevin

Same here..loved it and so did many others as folks are always screaming to the big wigs at D23 events to get it back.
Whew! Exhausted just reading about your day!. BTW..read somewhere that a deal was made and Cadillac Range can now be called that officially? Can't remember where, but hope it's the case.
Have a great day today
A CM died at WDW Skyway? I never heard why that ride was taken out and loved it at DL.

PS WAAAYYY off topic but here is said dust storm/Madonna ha thing coming into our town

 

[subtchr]

Thanks for the reports!

After reading about a few folks' experiences this week, I think our plan will be to use the EMH this Friday to get into Cars Land (probably using the main entrance instead of the GCH one), and just plan to ride RSR. Originally I thought we would get FPs after riding, but now I think the one ride will have to do, and we'll then move on to Paradise Pier. We'll only do LFT or MTT if the lines are not too long after riding RSR.

The confusion about who is eligible to enter early each day sounds frustrating. It's really not all that complicated, so you'd think the CMs would have a clue!

Have fun, we are looking forward to "joining" you from OH tomorrow! BTW, it's heating up here this week, so we are looking forward to the cool temps!

 

[millerette]

DH SoundGuy and I are APmat DL/CA. Our fav place to eat at DL is the BBQ! Awesome food! Go for it!! Enjoy the rest of your trip. I hope your daughter is feeling better.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Day 3 or 2.5....DCA. Grumbles. Time change catching up to us...first DDs were 'late' in getting up until ~6 or so. Internal alarm clocks adjusting after crashing last night ~11. DW had to check for flip flops @ the Di$ney Store on the way back, so we were later returning than I would have liked. DD5 also woke up with a tummy ache, was quite grumpy for the first hour or so despite it being Cars Land day. Turned around and recovered by 6:30, so off we went (she had a great day and suffered no ill effects all day). Same deal when we arrived @ DL/DCA, but the security check line was longer (possibly due to be 5-10 minutes earlier). Lines @ DCA were a bit longer than DL, and folks were turned away from EMH entry. Wait for MYW tix was about the same, but only after I flagged the lead to do the needful. Commence strange/stupid stuff. She produced the tix, but didn't scan them. I queried about this, and she said it was cool. OK, so we race off to RSR. I flipped the over as we walked...hoppers. Odd, but we aren't planning to hop anyway...maybe some pixie dust that wasn't asked for nor explained. It later turned out that the tix not being scanned meant not good for FPs, which I learned about @ Soarin' around noon, humped my butt to the Chamber of Commerce (after first approaching two CMs near the front gate) and let the CM @ Guest Services have it. They ended up giving me two FPs for attractions other than RSR, which I used for TSM and Soarin'. She walked over with me to the front gate to get the tix scanned and we chatted nicely for a bit. Also, lots of unhappy guests in the GS line...sounded like gripes about CL and RSR. Back to the beginning...arrived in CL. Wow. Just wow. We found the RSR line or it found us...backed up to the traffic light and just beyond. It moved fairly quickly into the ride queue. Fun begins. Cars are running the track riderless. Uh oh. Queue still moving. OK. Then announcements start that the ride is experiencing problems blah, blah, blah. We're about halfway into the shortened queue @ this point and are making slow progress forward. Riders start riding about 30 minutes in or so ~7:45. Line moves again, slowly making progress to where we can see the beginning of the ride. Ride goes down again. So we're stuck again for another 30-45 minutes, but I'm busy taking pics of the range not to be know as Cadillac Range, the butte, waterfall, etc. to note the times. We finally get through to the ride and it is awesome. the AAs in the dark sequence are much better than I expected. The open part is much better than TT, but I expected that considering TT was ~12 years old when it was retired for refurb (noting comments on DIS Unplugged last week, to which I replied duh... ). Anyway, so we leave the ride and the scenery during the exit is awesome as well, and I make my way down to the FP area after a bathroom break (yes, I found one tucked away near Fillmore's) while I leave the harem to ride LFT, which I am thinking is a skip based on reviews. I'm in the FP line for ~10-15 minutes, and we are told FPs have run out @ 9:01. Holy crap, Batman! So back I go to LFT, and the girls have yet to ride it having stopped for photos with Mater or Lightning (they move these in and from the spot in front of the Cozey Cone). Anyway, so we all get into the queue for lFT @ 75 minutes, and when the queue snakes back to the entrance, I note that the wait time is now 105 minutes @ 9:30 or so. Ouch. All in all not a bad queue experience, but a long wait. Instructions are given by a CM on how to load/unload and how to operate, plus over the PA by Luigi. While in the queue I noticed the ride operation is better than I expected, which is heartening. All in all, it is a decent ride. Note that you cannot grab balls while riding (unless they bounce up into your vehicle), and you do feel them hit, as one hit me from behind. Also, the CM running the ride was dazed when one hit them, so the ride shutdown and had to cycle to restart as we approached the loading area. So it was ~ 10:45 and we had ridden two rides and an one m&g. I left the girls to get a pic with Mater while I ventured over to the cones for a chili cone. They were still serving bfast just before 11, so I had a scramble queso cone....good but not worth 6:49+tax. I devoured this and we headed to MJJ, which was ~45 minutes @ time. The queue was unremarkable and uneventful, and the ride was cute. Think The Scrambler. By the end of all that it was around noon and the girls got a snack...first hitch in my plan to eat @ Flo's, which we never did do. Grabbed a snack @ Fillmore's...healthy except for the Cheetos the DDs were allowed to have (Fillmore's was out of pickles, which irked me), quick shopping next door for hats for the DDs and off to the Pier we go after a few grumbles from moi. That's when I left the girls to ride the swings and a few other things while I embarked on the ill-fated FP run mentioned earlier. After taking car of that and finally finding pickles (and buying 5 of them....yes, I love the large pickles for a snack in the parks), I meet up with them just before the parade begins @ 2, and we ride the swings (I do not like swings, Sam I Am) and then the Mickey wheel after some cajoling of DD8 (she loved it and ended up riding the non-swinging gondolas twice). Grabbed some dogs (3 dogs, 1 bag of Doritos and a water was $25), hit TSM and they did the carousel and wheel while I did Screaming. Was the water part removed from Screaming? I seem to recall t being there in the past while reading about DCA, and there were mentions on the signage about getting wet. In any case, it was a decent coaster. After meeting up @ the wheel, we talked DD8 into Goofy's Flying School, and she screamed like a girl all throughout the ride. DD5 was like meh, but had mentioned becoming afraid of heights during the wait for the wheel. SHe rode Splash, BTMRR and Barnstormer @ 3, but DD8's influence is growing on her. Grumbles. Anyway, we hit the restroom and begin discussing the evening plan since the DW thinks the are falling asleep, but it's only ~4:30. I'm not happy about missing Carthay and WoC, but begin to look into alternatives. I was planning a short day/night tomorrow, but this is unexpected. I'm feeling the pain, too, with shin splints beginning in my tina man legs. Long story short after a 'discussion', no takers on GRR (but DD5 is thinking tomorrow when we walk by it), but Soarin' is on, so we do that with the comp FPs/GA pass (first time on the top row for me in ~5 rides), and we end up around Carthay ~6. After a few photos and a quick check my me in Elias & Co. for a Storytellers replica ($155!?!) and Oswald the Mouse (DIS Unplugged reference), we leave DCA and wind up @ Naples. I'm not happy the plan blew up, but accept the deal and the need to adapt. Food was good, service poor, and $106 later we're off to DLH for showers, snack and bed. Meanwhile DW thinks DD8 has pink eye...eyes are red, but the discharge appears to be minimal. :fingers crossed: They were asleep by 8:30, BTW. Good call to end it early and wait for Wed for WoC. Need to check on Carthay Circle for lunch on Wed (DD5 ==> DD6) for WoC package or brave the resort guest FP line early. Not sure on when or where to do that. Plus, we now know that RSR is a crap shoot and possible time/timing killer. I really want to hit that @ night as well as CL. That was a bigger miss than missing WoC, IMO. Oh, and while I began typing this, Magical happened in full view from our room (DW claimed no view of it Sat). How she missed that I have no idea, but she was also in a bunch unpacking and over perceived room issues. Good thing I packed her vino, which she had found and 'uncorked' by the time we returned from the pool Sat. Long story short, a good day that went awry, but we soldiered on and persevered. I'm mixed about DCA. BVS looks very nice, CL is awesome, but the Pier is cheesey (this from a Jersey Shore/OCNJ vet), and the rest of what we saw was a hodge podge. Better than DHS? Yes (with CL and BVS/Hollywood done right), the rest fits in like crop circles in a corn field, IMO. I get the same mixed feeling I have @ DHS, but that's also usually when the Osborne Lights are up, so I give it a pass based on that. Otherwise, DHS is an epic. fail., IMO. Onto tomorrow @ DL, bfast with Minnie & Friends, leaving early...may skip F! and Magical to hit the pool and rest up for DCA part II. Plus, I now know we have a fireworks view as well. Question is what to do about dinner plans, which was @ Orleans Cafe with a possible change to BTR BBQ. When I called late today, everything was boked up until after 8 except Storytellers @ 6:50, and I just haven't studied DtD enough other than Ralph's and now Naples. What I need/want now is a good burger or a steak. Beginning to regret not getting the chef's special bone-in ribeye on Sun @ BB. Thoughts?

-Kevin

Exhausted reading about your day. Don't despair about timid DD. I have a DS12 who was only willing to ride Screamin' for the first time two months ago, and he's been going to DL since he was 5. I'm much older than 12 and still not ready to ride Screamin'. DS10 rode everything as soon as he was tall enough and loved it all except ToT. It sounds like your wife is willing to take the girls a bit so you can ride a few things, so take her up on that. You can speed up the process a bit by using fastpass. For example, use your family's tickets to get one or two for Indy and one or two for Thunder if only one or two of you are going to ride. Then when the latest window opens up, go and get four fastpasses for something you will all ride together if there is anything.

A good burger is hard to find at Disney in my opinion. I have definitely enjoyed the filet mignon burger at Jazz Kitchen; I think it's only on the lunch menu and lunch is served until 4 PM. I've always wanted to try Steakhouse 55 at the DLH. Have you looked into that option for some steak? If you don't come up with any other dinner plan and you're back at your hotel anyway, you may want to consider walking over to the PPH Grill in the Paradise Pier Hotel. I remember the food being ok there and best of all it was never crowded. You might want to call ahead and make sure it's open before you hike over though; we were too soon for dinner once (I think we stopped by before 5 PM) and they weren't open yet.

 

[SeattleRedBear]

Oh, and no takers by the DDs to hit Space, Matterhorn, Star Tours or Indy with me. And one last note...when and why did they shutdown the WEDWAY/People Mover @ DL? Tracks are still there, but the ride is no more.

-Kevin

Yes, the Rocket Rods debacle from 1998 to 2000. I guess one could consider it a proto-Test Track. Took out the people mover and put race cars on the track...was frequently down and wasn't all that exciting when it was up in the first place. I'm so glad I can still ride the People Mover in Florida.

Sounds like you're having a great trip despite your pre-trip concerns.

 

[SeattleRedBear]

I'm mixed about DCA. BVS looks very nice, CL is awesome, but the Pier is cheesey (this from a Jersey Shore/OCNJ vet), and the rest of what we saw was a hodge podge. Better than DHS? Yes (with CL and BVS/Hollywood done right), the rest fits in like crop circles in a corn field, IMO. I get the same mixed feeling I have @ DHS, but that's also usually when the Osborne Lights are up, so I give it a pass based on that. Otherwise, DHS is an epic. fail., IMO.

Agreed. DCA, Day One, EPIC fail! Glad to hear you think it's comparable to/better than DHS...you wouldn't have thought that two weeks ago. The California theming still doesn't work as well as it could, but at least there's enough D- & E-tickets and enough immersive details to make it feel good.

Question is what to do about dinner plans, which was @ Orleans Cafe with a possible change to BTR BBQ. When I called late today, everything was boked up until after 8 except Storytellers @ 6:50, and I just haven't studied DtD enough other than Ralph's and now Naples. What I need/want now is a good burger or a steak. Beginning to regret not getting the chef's special bone-in ribeye on Sun @ BB. Thoughts?

If you can afford it, we had a really good steak at DLH Steakhouse 55. Not as kid friendly as PCH Grill but certainly kid-tolerant. Otherwise, there's a Morton's, Ruths Chris and one other western themed steakhouse all down Harbour. But that might be a little further afield than you want to go.

In terms of hamburgers, we usually go to Taste Pilots Grill (next to Soarin). Decent burger...I'm partial to the blue cheese and A1 burger.

 

[MommyLove]

and folks were turned away from EMH entry

?? Who was turned away? Oh, were there people trying to get in early that didn't have EMH access?

 

[subtchr]

?? Who was turned away? Oh, were there people trying to get in early that didn't have EMH access?

I'm not DisHoppy, but I saw on another thread that he described people other than DL hotel guests trying to gain entry to EMH, and those were who were turned away.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

A good burger is hard to find at Disney in my opinion. I have definitely enjoyed the filet mignon burger at Jazz Kitchen; I think it's only on the lunch menu and lunch is served until 4 PM. I've always wanted to try Steakhouse 55 at the DLH. Have you looked into that option for some steak? If you don't come up with any other dinner plan and you're back at your hotel anyway, you may want to consider walking over to the PPH Grill in the Paradise Pier Hotel. I remember the food being ok there and best of all it was never crowded. You might want to call ahead and make sure it's open before you hike over though; we were too soon for dinner once (I think we stopped by before 5 PM) and they weren't open yet.

steakhouse 55 is good...and they really do breakfast nice too...no wait to get in and no reservations for that one...PPH grill is pretty decent but i would go for pizza as they have a woodburning oven they use..they have several burger options...also they have the "kitchen sink"

Yes, the Rocket Rods debacle from 1998 to 2000. I guess one could consider it a proto-Test Track. Took out the people mover and put race cars on the track...was frequently down and wasn't all that exciting when it was up in the first place. I'm so glad I can still ride the People Mover in Florida.

hey now, i really liked the RR ride.. i always got up front...i realize i was totally getting major pixie dust because it never broke down any time i tried to ride it

 

[DISHoppy]

Have fun, we are looking forward to "joining" you from OH tomorrow! BTW, it's heating up here this week, so we are looking forward to the cool temps!

I've been watching the wx back home since a couple of my Android apps show the 'local' weather for home and not the OC. Yeesh. And cool is right...the marine layer has dominated early every day we've been here. Cool in the AM until ~noon and then it warms up quickly once the sun shows. Not hot by any stretch, but the sun is stronger here. Pavement really heats up quickly. Ouch. Then by 6-7pm is gets much cooler quite quickly. It was chilly tonight during dinner @ 7 and on the way back to DLH ~8. Overall perfect wx, IMO. Also, the wx forecasts here are amazing. Just watched the local NBC 11pm wx and they had like 6 different forecasts for the coast, inland coast, valley, low desert, high desert, and I believe Mars. That's just nuts. Have a safe flight in tomorrow.

-Kevin

 

[DISHoppy]

?? Who was turned away? Oh, were there people trying to get in early that didn't have EMH access?

Non-DLR guests were turned away. Note that not once was I asked to show my room key in three days, but I did have it handy with my MYW tix in hand. It was never scanned....which means tomorrow I will need to have that scanned.

-Kevin

 

[DISHoppy]

Day 3: DL

MM was MUCH heavier than Sun, and we arrived around the same time ~10 before opening. Got the same CM and lead for our ticket exchange, so it went smoothly and the tix were scanned @ entry. Interesting to note that @ DL the lead goes away with the tix and brings them back to be scanned. @ DCA the lead keyed in something on the screen and the tix were produced there. Of course we know how that turned out. Also, hoppers were not issued this time...just comp replacement tix.

As noted, MM much heavier. Stopped for a few PP pics before hitting FL. Lines were much longer and no walk ons except for Snow White. 10-20 for rides like Dumbo and PP. Left the DW and DDs to venture off for Matterhorn and then check on Frontierland. Matterhorn down again for regular park opening until ~11 as best as I could tell. It was closed before our ressie @ Plaza @ 10 and open by the time bfast was over. Frontierland was NOLA Square were dead. Could have ridden everything major several times in 30 minutes or so. I ended up just riding Indy as I looked for an FP for JC, which there is none, but I swore there was and tried to solve the mystery (read the map, moron). Plan was to meet @ Frontierland, but we had a failure to communicate and the girls ended up staying in FL riding Pan, Toad, Teacups, etc. and then we rode Casey after I returned. This got us close to our 10am ressie, so we migrated towards the Plaza and stopped @ PH to see Tink. Afterwards I noticed the fire truck in front of the castle, and we wanted to ride a Main Street vehicle (never done that @ WDW or DL), so with 10 minutes until our ressie, we hopped on and grabbed a car for the return trip from the gate. Awesome. A horse relieved itself in front of us on the way to the gate (not named Rusty and not fed Beefaroni from what I could tell ). More on the later. Bfast was good, but I prefer the CP @ WDW over the Plaza except for Minnie being @ the Plaza (Hook was fun, too...he was teasing DD5, so I told her to go 'tick, tock, tick, tock and his reaction was priceless ). DDs received balloons with bfast, so afterwards the question was what to do with them, which of course was for me to take them back to the room, so off I go. DW calls when I arrive and take a brief rest, and she has some work stuff to do (ALA starts this week), so back I go and she leaves for DLH. Before she does, I hit the Matterhorn for my first ride on it since 1978. Damn that thing is rough. So off I go with the DDs in tow and we head to Toontown. I'm not really into this, as it's getting warm and the crowds are swelling, plus the DW asked me not to do JC or HM, etc. for us to do together. No problem, but I'm not really into TT and my batteries/legs are waning quickly. TT was just bonkers. The DDs didn't want to do the Go Coaster, so we hit the Chip & Dale Treehouse and Mickey's homizzle, and walk around a bit. I finally decided a Mickey bar is a good idea, so we sit for a spell and they proceeded to get chocolate on their outfits (how DD8 did this while inhaling the bar is beyond me)...I'll have some 'splaining to do about this when the DW returns. Anyway I took them to Roger Rabbit and we get in line, but it's broken after waiting ~10 minutes. It also would not produce FPs after we left the line. DW txts she is heading back, so DDs and I ended up leaving to take the DLRR to Frontierland (dad 'rests eyes' during the ride) to meet up. In short, TT @ DL much better than TT was @ WDW by far, but it was too crazy to really enjoy ~1pm. DW returns and we get in rides on HM and JC before the 4pm parade (what time is the 4pm parade? ). After the parade (found a good squat spot near the castle just a few minutes before the parade), we headed over to wait for Columbia, but she's docked for the night, which we find out after waiting for ~15 min while Twain loads and sails. Bummer. Headed over to do Pooh while I check on Splash single rider...decided Splash was too long of a wait and the single rider queue is hidden well. We ended up riding Pooh, which is not as good as the WDW version, IMO. I then ventured back to Splash, find the SR line and ride. So in summary from that area of the park...HM better @ WDW due to the queue (both w/ and w/o the interactive queue). JC is the same. Pooh and Splash better @ WDW. Splash @ WDW has the cannons firing when going up the hill and also down the hill, which also hit the walkway and unsuspecting guests walking outside Splash. Note, this is when the AAs are working properly @ WDW and the ride system doesn't crash. That was it for the rides for the day except for a final trip home on the DLRR and Mona Monorail...CK Holliday has now been our train for three train trips over two DL visits so far. Also mentioned trivia factoid about the telegraph noise @ the station being the telegraph version of Walt's DL opening speech (yes, I am a Di$ney nerd).

Oh, and dinner...ended up sticking with Cafe Orleans. Food was good, service was OK. Had the pomme frites and monte cristo, which were good. Did talk to the server about the Dream Suite since we had a view of that building, and he mentioned they were preparing to start doing a giveaway with it again. Makes me wonder if the Year of a Million Dreams returns in some form, which I thought was a great promotion/slogan. Anyway, DD8 asks about the horse from earlier in the day and how they clean up after it....kids. This of course coming after I explained to her when we entered DL that the streets are steam cleaned every night and might be clean enough to eat off (which she also mentioned during dinner, but I can't get DW to remember where and when dinner, etc. are).

Ended the day watching Magical, which was delayed tonight, from the room. DD5 fell asleep during the show. All in all a good, but trying day. Lots to do on our last DL visit on Thurs.

-Kevin

 

[DISHoppy]

A CM died at WDW Skyway? I never heard why that ride was taken out and loved it at DL.

Yup. Back in '99 @ WDW.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incidents_at_Walt_Disney_World_Resort#Magic_Kingdom

Skyway
Main article: Skyway (Disney)
On February 14, 1999, a 65-year-old part-time custodian was killed when he fell off a gondola. He was cleaning the Fantasyland Skyway station platform when the ride was accidentally turned on by employees unaware he was there. He was in the path of the ride vehicles and grabbed a passing gondola in an attempt to save himself. He lost his grip, fell 40 feet, and landed in a flower bed near the Dumbo ride. He died shortly after arrival at a local hospital. The Skyway ride, which had been scheduled to be closed before the accident occurred, was permanently closed on November 10, 1999.[59] As a result of the accident, OSHA fined Walt Disney World US$4,500 for violating federal safety codes in that work area.[60] This incident echoed a similar incident at Disneyland Resort in 1994, when a 30-year-old man fell 20 feet out of a Skyway cabin and subsequently tried to sue Disney. In this case, however, the man later admitted that he had in fact jumped out of the ride, and the case was dismissed.[60]

-Kevin

 

[nunzia]

Yup. Back in '99 @ WDW.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incidents_at_Walt_Disney_World_Resort#Magic_Kingdom





-Kevin

ohh..sad

 

[disneydreamer74]

What a busy, yet fun day!!! Yes the Splash SR line is well hidden. It is where the riders exit. You just walk up the exit. Did you notice if the Matterhorn ride felt more crowded for an adult? This is what I am hearing from people.

 

[nannyz]

Loved reading your reviews, DisHoppy.
Trying to learn all the abbreviations but can't figure out what DHS is -- Disney High School? (LOL).
I'm sure someone will enlighten me.

 

[disneyfan4ever54]

Loved reading your reviews, DisHoppy.
Trying to learn all the abbreviations but can't figure out what DHS is -- Disney High School? (LOL).
I'm sure someone will enlighten me.

DHS=Disney's Hollywood Studios, one of the parks at Walt Disney World.

 

[DISHoppy]

Day 4: DD6 birthday celebration day! I'll try to make this short since 5am will arrive too soon and today was my first time to close a Di$ney park. Day started off well...in-room birthday celebration for DD6. The Di$ney Perks folks delivered the birthday basket as scheduled Tuesday night, which was hidden until Wednesday AM. Just a simple basket. The thought is what counts. Out the room door close to schedule @ 6:30. DW forgets cell phone. Ooops. Returns to room, can't find it. Bigger oops. Wants to leave w/o it, NFW. Back to room I go to find it. Call it upon entering room and it's in the makeup bag (DW has a habit of losing things and putting things in strange places). Back down to head out. Middle elevator @ DLH isn't working. Makes two stops on 10th floor, door doesn't open. Finally get another elevator to arrive and it's quite full, but I cram in sensing there is a problem (Houston, we have a problem). Sure enough, it stops @ every other floor with lots of guests waiting. Finally gets to the lobby and off we go. Need to stop @ GCH for WoC FPs, so in we go after 'discussion' with DW on this plan (I'm thinking that WoC FPs are difficult to get after the park opens and we're headed to CL right away. TONS of GCH guests headed towards DTD. What's up with that? Head to the lobby and just beyond...there's a HUGE line for the DCA entrance. Now it makes sense. Couldn't find FP location in the mass of guests lined up and blocking the hallway, so back we go to DTD and the main entrance. No big deal here since we're 10 minutes late and the EMH guests have mostly entered DCA. MYW exchange goes smoothly...noted that gates read Special Event something or other rather than MM like Monday. Off we go...first stop @ Chamber of Commerce to get birthday button, which goes smoothly and I run into Courtney who helped me with ticket issue the other (Hey, I remember you she says... ). On to CL. My plan is to have the girls ride while I get FPs. Another 'discussion' w/DW on this plan, and I leave them to go ride IFT while I get FPs and the DDs are complaining about riding RSR (too fast they whine). Grumbling, I'm off to the FP line. Get there and the lead CM is telling folks to go ride it. Wait is 30-40 minutes, the ride is running, and the mass of non-EMH guests will soon descend like locusts on the RSR. So back I go to CL to get the girls after trying to call and text them. They well into the IFT line by this time, which I expected to be much longer. Back I go to the FP line, which is about the same. It's ~7:45 around this time. Line starts moving shortly and briskly. Get FPs close to 8 for 10:40-11:40 return time (I expected later). In the meantime I have texted DW to get into line for RSR ASAP. I return to CL to look for them in the line amongst the MASS of humanity, but no luck. I'm about to head off for WoC color FPs, and she texts back that they are still near the RSR entrance and hurry over. I meet up with them close to that and we're all in line w/DDs still whining. We meet folks behind us who have the same issue with DSs and we talk throughout the wait. They almost bail on the line when an issue with the ride is announced, but end up hanging on. We finally get to the FP junction, and a CM greets DD6 with a happy birthday and DW shows him a pic DD6 took of him. On we go. Then CM Don returns with a return admission/GA FP for us. Pixie dust! We offer our 10:40 FPs to our 'friends' but they decline. We have no intention of riding twice that quickly and now we have one for the evening. Ride RSR and it's just as good as the first ride Mon. Off we go to shop, etc. around CL and I am looking for a family to give the FPs to...end up finding Don and giving them to him to give some dust to anther family and thank him for the FP and buttons he gave the DDs. Shop some more and get breakfast cones with DD8. $13 for two cones, but I'm hungry. DCA has an issue with the breakfast cone signage. Several guests want chili cones (as I did Mon), but they don't serve 'lunch' until 11 (it's ~9 by now). Meet up with DW and DD6 and off we go to the Pier using the arch entrance/exit. Great views form this area. Head to Pier to ride TSM before I get WoC FPs. Wait is 60 minutes, so leave them to ride tSM, etc. and go get FPs. Did that (legs aching already by this time), and then decided to ride GRR since they probably won't (and don't). Ride SR and it takes maybe 15 minutes for line and ride. Nice ride and didn't get wet much @ all. Bonus. Back I go to meet up with them, but decided to rest a bit since text exchange reveals plans to ride carousel and meet Duffy rather than swings and Mickey wheel as previously discussed. Walked around and rested for a bit before we meet up and decide to hit Bugs Land. $100 later after buying two Duffys and three outfits (outfits on 'sale' if you buy three, you see...), we're in Bugs Land, meet Flik and they ride Flik's Flyers and Lady Bugs, and I head off for a snack (yes, pickles) and a beverage. Back and we head over to Hollywood area, which further reinforces the DHS feeling I already have. Pic with Scully and Handy Manny, shop @ Elias & Co. (DD6 wants RSR diecast after complaining about ride that AM...oy). Finally leave park ~1:30 and back to DLH for pool and swimming, which has been shortened due to DW dawdling on the way back and DDs Gone Wild. They head to pool and I follow shortly for time in the hot tub. Back to room ~3:30 and the four of us nap (heaven!) for over an hour. 5:30 and get ready to leave for dinner @ Ariel's and DD8 is a monster waking up. Finally out the door ~6 for a 7:10 ressie. Get to DCA using GCH entrance (no line this time), hit the Pier (again), ride swings and carousel (wait for wheel is 30 minutes), and get to Ariel's ~6:50. Can't check in yet, so go shop. I'm thinking not, so we check out the wharf area and catch CL from the arch entrance, which looks great with the Sun setting. Take a few pics and have a few pics taken for PP (really using the PP card, but the photoshop wasn't open early on Sun, so I never bought the PP+ (more on this after the trip). Go back to Ariel's and check in ~7. CM gives me a pager that she openly questions whether it works. Girls shop @ the Duffy store (grrrrr....), and return wanting dresses for Rap and another princess. Long discussion on wanting things, earning them, $$$ cost, etc. All the while I'm thinking doll dresses. Still waiting @7:25 now (I'm getting pissed), and DW sends me with them to see the dresses. Full-size dresses @ $65 a pop. I suggest list for Santa items, go into lecture about the cost being the same for a big dress vs. tiny dress on the rack (makes no sense to me). Anyway bak to Ariel's and it's 7:30 and no page, so in I go to find out what's up. CM away from the desk asks if I need help before I can unload on the ladies behind the desk, and I proceed to tell him we checked in @ 7 for a 7:10 ressie and why am I talking to you here rather than eating? We're seated immediately after pic with Ariel. Princesses all visit w/in minutes, food is decent, as is service, but it feels cheap, but it ain't. Bill was $160 for us with one glass of wine for the DW. Ouch. Done with meal and head out for WoC ~8:45, which is cutting it close and much longer than I expected. Get to WoC in yellow area pretty far back. I expected I would have to hold one DD for the show and sadly I was not disappointed, so I held DD8 on my shoulder (not shoulders) for the show. Great show, but my back is killing me. C'est la vie. Important thing is they enjoyed it. Exit show and we are directed away from the Pier towards GRR when we want to go to CL to ride RSR. We ended up doing a loop back to the same place and end up getting to CL @ the Bugs/Cars entrance. Off we go to ride RSR with the FP, which takes ~30 minutes with some but no a lot of whining by DD6. Amazing, amazing, amazing ride @ night. BTW, our car won again, so we are 3-0. Bring it, Lightning. After taking many pics of CL @ night, we ended up riding LFT (again for them, first time today...err, yesterday for me). I witnessed the most inept crew of CMs I have ever seen. That's no exaggeration. What should have been a 15-30 minute ride took 45 minutes or more. This crew could do nothing right loading/unloading or operating the ride. Srsly. Anyway, more details on that later. Gotta hit the sack since it's almost 2 and the alarm is set for 5. Overall great day, but long. I may 'nap' again tomorrow on the DLRR. Tomorrow should be another short day with a break followed by dinner @ Napa w/DW and then catching Memories, F! and Magical after with the girls to end our DLR stay. I'll wrap up tomorrow and probably follow up on Sun about our day @ the beach fun on Friday (and my plane trip back alone with the DDs). Tired, but happy....

-Kevin