"We've gone too far"-A sister trip with surprise guest Irma! Sept 2017 - Completed 4/16

[Lesley Wake]

Day 1, Part 3 "It's like you're [NSFW]!"​

Now we had done all of the other rides (we skipped shows until another day), we decided to head over back to Pandora to at least check on that time (my app was giving weird numbers). Passed by the pod/plant again and I decided to make it spray water…. Well, that’s when my sister whispered “it’s like you’re jacking it off”! Oh boy!

We got to Flight of Passage and it had a posted wait of only 70 minutes! So we decided, why not, lets go ahead and wait so we can see the standby queue! We walked up and pretty much didn’t stop walking at a fast pace until we were halfway into the caves! And large portions of the queue had been roped off. So I realized, hmm, we may not have a full 70 minute wait! [Warning-be prepared for a lot of FoP queue shots upcoming]​

Really thought this queue was so cool!

And we found the hidden mickey in the queue! At least that sure looks like a mickey!

Into the labs… loved the details of notes and avatar drawings!

Mirror selfie with a banshee skull! (Though is it a selfie if you are with someone else?)​

Floating avatar! Such a slowdown in line while everyone takes photos with it! At least we did 1 selfie and moved on, other people were doing a group photo, then an individual photo, then switch camera and repeat! ​

Finally into the final queue room. When it gets busy, are they actually able to fill this up? Or do they never need to because everyone stops to take photos with the avatar? ​

Up the ramp and to the antechambers! I like the red/green lighting and how doors open automatically. We ended up getting room C2, so center row of theater C, with seats far on the right side.

Pre-shows definitely take a while, but I get that they are part of the queue management.

Total wait time from entrance to sitting down: 45 minutes exactly! Lauren and I both agreed, that was the perfect wait time. It was enough time to be able to see the queue and all the detail the imagineers put into it, while not being too long to be super annoying! And I was really happy to be able to see it without having to deal with rope drop/EMH crowds!

Ride itself-LOVED IT! Loved the smells and the wind and the water spray, and especially the breathing underneath you. And the length-awesome! Everytime I figured we were done, another dip and move to another area! And even though we were all the way to the side, we didn’t have any sort of distortion or bad experience because the screen is just that big! We did it again multiple times and I will absolutely make it a priority to do everytime I visit WDW!

Cont..Lunch and hop to Magic Kingdom​

 

[Tom Cottone]

Ok Lesley. On other threads, people have stated there are problems with the lock in mechanism for FoP. Did you find any problems being locked in for the ride?

 

[Lesley Wake]

Ok Lesley. On other threads, people have stated there are problems with the lock in mechanism for FoP. Did you find any problems being locked in for the ride?

Nope. We ended up riding it 4 times. I definitely pushed up as far as I could go because I was worried about it, but only once did the CM come around and have to push in a little bit, which did end up being a bit tight. I don't know if different seats are adjusted for larger sizes, or if certain CMs want it to be locked further into the "green" portion, but all of the other times it worked just fine when the back mechanism came up on its own. I never had a problem with the leg locks, though there was another woman waiting at the bus stop from POFQ who made a comment to her husband that she didn't fit due to the leg locks, while I did, and our calves looked similar in size.

 

[Raeven]

You can see by our faces-not impressed!

You do not look impressed. I've only ridden it once but I just look politely amused in ours

. Well, that’s when my sister whispered “it’s like you’re jacking it off”! Oh boy!

I didn't want to say it but that's exactly what we thought they were going for with that...

 

[disneyAndi14]

I loved your HP themed Halloween so awesome. What a great idea. We love HP in this household as well. I am really enjoying your report and really like the extra DL trip reports too.

 

[Lesley Wake]

I am pretty sure we have walked right by her and didn't even see her. I always forget about her when we were tehre.

When we were there after the hurricane the grocs weren't out. They said the habitat was damaged..

We totally missed the elephants. they weren't out all day.

Too bad about the habitat. We definitely noticed lots of trees down when we took safaris later days! But that's too bad about the elephants!

You do not look impressed. I've only ridden it once but I just look politely amused in ours

I didn't want to say it but that's exactly what we thought they were going for with that...

I'm sure there were some imagineers who planned it, not thinking they'd ever get away with it and then...it gets built!

I loved your HP themed Halloween so awesome. What a great idea. We love HP in this household as well. I am really enjoying your report and really like the extra DL trip reports too.

Thanks for reading along! The holiday season is starting this week at DL, and I'm actually heading there 3x next week (after work)! So I'm sure I'll have more posts about Disneyland Christmas decorations!

 

[Lesley Wake]

(I was going to post a new part here, but my internet keeps acting up at the office... Hopefully it'll get out later today)

 

[Lesley Wake]

Day 2, Part 4, "I think I will name her Irma!"

Once we were done with FoP, we exited thru Windtraders. There wasn't a long line at the rookery, so I decided to go ahead and get a banshee! Because I'm weird, I decided to name her Irma! You may have seen her as part of my Halloween costume! The puppetry is fun! (I don't have a photo of her at WDW, so here she is in the front hallway at home.) I didn't get a perch that day, but after realizing she couldn't sit up anywhere in the hotel, I would pick it up the following week.

So it was now 1pm. We had arrived at AK at 10am, so in 3 hours we explored Pandora, rode Safari, Everest, Dinosaur, and Flight of Passage! Not too shabby!

Now it was definitely time for lunch, but we also knew we had a bigger dinner coming up so didn’t want to get stuffed. I initially pushed for Flame Tree BBQ, sharing the BBQ platter, but Lauren wasn't interested in any of that and would have wanted her own sandwich, so instead we ended up settling on Yak & Yeti Local Foods Café and each got the Teriyaki Beef Bowl [Marinated Beef, Carrots, Snap Peas, Onions Mushrooms in Sweet Teriyaki Sauce with White Rice]. My sister also got a side of Chicken Fried Rice which I took a few bites of.

We both loved this! It was the perfect amount of food for what we needed and it just worked! I am a very picky person, and usually end up leaving a lot of food on the plate, but I definitely ate up all the vegetables here! I would definitely recommend this for anyone who is just looking for a simple counter service meal at AK.

Now it was time to battle the crowds…

And hop over to Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day! This was our first experience park-hopping at WDW (Lauren and her bf didn't get PHs on their previous visit); I originally planned our trip utilizing the express transport option, but unfortunately that stopped a few weeks before we got there. And I really really wish it was still in use! We definitely got tired of the inter-park transport!

This bus was definitely annoying as it took 25 minutes for it to arrive from the time we got in line and we weren’t even the first ones. By the time the bus arrived there were too many people and some didn’t make it on! We didn’t have the best bus luck on this trip-we had our moments, but in general, it could be frustrating! We also had a FP for Talking Mickey from 1-2, which we ended up missing and not bothering to reschedule, so never met Talking Mickey!

Anyways, onto Magic Kingdom!

With an empty security area! (Actually they just rerouted all people using buses/boats to one spot rather than having a separate bus security area.)

We were here!

Cont... how many rides would we experience at MK that afternoon/evening?
​

 

[Raeven]

Because I'm weird, I decided to name her Irma!

I like that for a banshee!

 

[Lesley Wake]

I'm procrastinating working, so decided to go ahead and update this TR again! Oh, and this update is a doozy!


Day 2, Part 5 "We have a fastpass?"

My previous update left off just as we entered MK, but before walking underneath the train tracks. I mentioned that we had missed our Talking Mickey FP. The night before I had been able to book a 7DMT and Big Thunder FPs, also for that afternoon, so we had already entered into the window for 7DMT.

We came out of the tunnel and around the bend, and ... my first view of the big castle! FYI-it was 2:30 when I took this photo... this will come into play a little further down!

(Also notice they had taken down the scrim but not the scaffolding from the shop on Main Street that was currently getting refurbed.)

Of course a stop for a photopass photo, including another magic shot and video

And Lauren wanted an individual photo making the “U” (she’s a University of Utah alum and they had a big football game that day; I think she had some friendly backtalk with the opposing teams’ fans who were also wearing their gear!)

First ride-Mad Tea Party! We were walking by and it was a walk-on (and running half empty, so basically whoever was in line when they started the ride got on). Lauren didn’t get a chance to do it her previous trip, so we thought, why not!

We also experimented with slo/fast-motion videos. I think slo-mo turned out much better!

We definitely didn’t spin it too crazy but more just relaxed and took fun photos/video. This ride is pretty much the same as DLR, just WDW has a roof over it and the teapot in the center. DLR has lanterns and vines hanging over it, which can be fun at night! Though I do think the "stopping" happens smoother at DLR. At WDW it definitely feels like it jerks to a stop, while at DL it glides to a stop!

Aside: a fun experience on teacups I had this spring was at night during the MSEP. The parade route goes right past the teacups and at that point it is so narrow there is no viewing on the other side, so characters on the ride end up paying attention to the teacups. The stepsisters were making fun of riders, Hook and Peter Pan were waving, and then Tinkerbell looked very shocked when everyone started spinning!

We continued around the pathway onto 7DMT, which I was looking forward to experiencing! The standby wait was also only 30 minutes! We did have some issues fitting into the row with both our backpacks and the banshee box (which I couldn’t have shipped to the resort because of the hurricane), but we made it work! You can actually see Irma's box on my lap in the pictures! I was surprised the CMs let me just hold it on my lap, though I guess I looked trustworthy and had wedged it in slightly!

Loved this ride! So well themed! And so much fun! I think this was definitely my favorite ride at Magic Kingdom! The ride also stopped for a decent amount of time by the Heigh-ho dwarf so everyone on our cart started singing the song! The mine cart also stopped by the cottage for a while and we realized all the poppies around there-yeah, they're fake! Very good fakes, but still fake!

Next, it’s a small world, which was another walk-on.

This one is a clear example of where DLR is better. Most people know DLR has loading outside, so the façade is 2-3x that of the WDW version. And then DLR also has the Disney characters, which are super adorable, though the end carnival theme for WDW is cute! But I definitely prefer DLR!

Over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, to use our last prebooked FP. Standby line was only 15 minutes (and that was with it running at half capacity), but we basically didn’t break our stride until we boarded the train!

Another one where I prefer DLR. WDW is much jerkier. And DLR has the cool lighting effects for the explosion at the end. That's not to say I didn't like BTMR at MK, I just have to give the edge to DLR!

While we were waiting to board our wild ride, I was able to grab us a Pirates FP for immediate usage (I used the disboards tips, and first grabbed one that was 60 minutes later, then was able to change to 30 minutes, then was able to change to immediate).

Yeah, that photo looks weird! I didn’t know exactly where it was and my sister didn’t know there was a photo at all! (I think we were also in the middle of saying something to each other too.) Though I think every ride photo I've seen from Pirates looks awkward! I guess I prefer DLR vs WDW as DLR has the 2 drops and more scenes, but I did like the skull rock formation and mermaid skeleton at WDW.

This ended up being our only time riding Pirates, and I'm really glad we did, as it will be closed during my March trip for the auction changeover scene. So, I'm going to voice an unpopular opinion-I actually don't mind the switch ! I never quite was in love with the auction of women, though I knew it fit with the overall ride. But I'm all for the redhead as a pirate! It'll be interesting to see how it all comes out, as well as when DLR also gets the change (refurb hasn't been scheduled yet, though I know my co-worker who does Disney work has been doing a lot of visits to Pirates recently (when ride is off and lights are on), so maybe it could happen early next year?).

Again, once we scanned in at Pirates I was able to grab us an immediate Jungle Cruise FP. There was maybe a 10-minute wait in standby but we walked right on. And it was funny, Lauren wasn't paying attention every time I booked us another FP, so she would start walking to standby and I would have to call her over to the FP queue!

Had a cute skipper, and some jokes were different than DLR which was nice. It’s weird though that they don’t talk at all when they are inside the temple, or explain that they aren’t going to talk! It’s not really my favorite ride, so I usually only go on if someone else wants to. But it was a good thing we did, as it ended up being closed due to hurricane damage for the rest of our trip!

Next, Magic Carpets, another walk-on where they also let people who wanted to ride a second time stay on! My sister controlled height and I did tilt. Of course she accidentally steered us right into the camel spray everytime! But we both really liked this ride, simple but sweet!​

While my sister stopped in the bathroom I was able to grab us another 7DMT FP for after dinner!


So... since arriving in Magic Kingdom we had done Teacups, 7DMT, Small World, BTMR, Pirates of the Carribean, Jungle Cruise, and Magic Carpets. Anyone willing to guess what time it was now?

4:30! Yup, we did all of that in 2 hrs! And it would continue to get less and less crowded as the night went on!

Cont..Where to next? ​

 

[Raeven]

I was surprised the CMs let me just hold it on my lap, though I guess I looked trustworthy and had wedged it in slightly!

I don't know if they care because it's not too crazy of a ride. I know I've had rides start while I was still trying to fit everything in the pocket

This one is a clear example of where DLR is better. Most people know DLR has loading outside, so the façade is 2-3x that of the WDW version. And then DLR also has the Disney characters, which are super adorable, though the end carnival theme for WDW is cute! But I definitely prefer DLR!

Yours looks so much better!

Yeah, that photo looks weird! I

It definitely looks like you didn't know they were taking your photo

So, I'm going to voice an unpopular opinion-I actually don't mind the switch ! I never quite was in love with the auction of women, though I knew it fit with the overall ride. But I'm all for the redhead as a pirate! It'll be interesting to see how it all comes out, as well as when DLR also gets the change (refurb hasn't been scheduled yet, though I know my co-worker who does Disney work has been doing a lot of visits to Pirates recently (when ride is off and lights are on), so maybe it could happen early next year?).

I don't mind either, and I heard they announced the dates recently for early next year.

 

[missjackiemcg]

Wowza, you sure did accomplish A TON in just 2 hours!! I love being able to keep booking FPs as we go. You certainly handled that like a pro!!

 

[Somnia]

Following along! You're now the 2nd trip report I'm following who was there during Irma, but neither of you have gotten to Irma yet!

 

[Lesley Wake]

I don't know if they care because it's not too crazy of a ride. I know I've had rides start while I was still trying to fit everything in the pocket

Yours looks so much better!

It definitely looks like you didn't know they were taking your photo

I don't mind either, and I heard they announced the dates recently for early next year.

I know we have the Pirates refurb dates for WDW, but nothing concrete for DLR yet! I don't know if they will really want to close in the late winter/early spring with all the Pixar Pier changes happening then... We'll have to see!

Wowza, you sure did accomplish A TON in just 2 hours!! I love being able to keep booking FPs as we go. You certainly handled that like a pro!!

Yeah, I love the WDW FP system! So nice to be able to get more FPs so easily. I have become adept at using MaxPass, though you can't search for new ones while holding another one. So you have to be lucky to get a late one for a good ride!

Following along! You're now the 2nd trip report I'm following who was there during Irma, but neither of you have gotten to Irma yet!

Haha! Sorry! We just did soooo much those 2 days! It was pretty awesome!

 

[Lesley Wake]

The Most Surreal Experience Ever!

Yesterday I spent the afternoon at Disneyland (took it off from work since I had a volunteer thing in the morning). I wasn't going to write a mini trip report, because I was mainly going to experience Christmas stuff (I'll write a summary post with pictures later), but turns out they were filming for the Christmas Specials airing November 30th and Christmas morning! So I was able to see Lea Michelle singing during the afternoon and then Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell at night!



That was honestly very cool, and on a normal day, would be the highlight. If not for what happened earlier...


A totally random set of circumstances led to me being on Star Tours around 5pm, and I almost changed my mind multiple times! But thankfully I didn’t (the force must have led me-wait, that’s not how the force works)!

When I got to the front of the queue, I was sent down to Gate D along with other people around me. Something felt weird because there was a group of people standing along one of the walls and another couple of Disney execs (no one I recognized, they just had the aura of authority) on the other wall. I began to think maybe they were famous, but didn’t recognize anyone. I also saw someone with a small professional video camera and a sign for Disney Filming by our gate. The CMs filled up all other rows except for the first one, and led the group of people onto that one.

We boarded and for buckled in, and I realized something was really off because we didn’t have the preshow video at the gate and the doors were already closed on one end of the shuttle. There also was an empty seat, front row center. I also noticed a couple GoPros in the shuttle. Originally I figured, probably some Disney Channel Star they are filming going on rides for the Christmas special. Maybe, at best, it could be one of the performers (Kristen Bell could have been really cool).

A CM stayed up at the front, with a clipboard. I don’t remember his full spiel, but once he started talking more about Star Wars I started to get suspicious. He then pointed out the empty chair and called over our last passenger. Because of where I was sitting I had a perfect view down the front row catwalk and almost immediately recognized Mark Hamill’s silhouette! I definitely gave a loud gasp and my jaw dropped to the floor!

Everyone went crazy! Just sooo many screams and phones being pulled out! I did take a couple quick photos, but wanted to be more in the moment, so didn’t film the whole interaction.



Mark was sooo nice! Constantly making jokes, and just seemed so genuinely happy to make us so excited! He took a selfie and Disney took some more photos. I will have to see if I end up in any of those, but I was sitting all the way to the end of a row, so maybe not! (He also rode it a couple times-I think twice because the CMs at the end said there will only be 100 people who ride with him.)

Some funny SW jokes:
-Said he was an animatronic testing for the new Star Wars Land
-Took a poll about if people thought Luke would have any lines in the next movie
-The rows are numbered 1-5, with 5 being the front row. When he realized that, he said that was weird and it must really be in a galaxy far, far away!
-There was a slight delay getting the ride started, and he turned to us all and said “I have a bad feeling about this!”

Of course Mark was the Rebel Spy! He warned us that is a spoiler for Episode 8! And in case you are wondering, we got Hoth/BB-8/Geonosis as our sequence.

Afterwards, he thanked us and ran out before anyone could take photos or bother him (understandably so). CMs also stopped everyone to get us to sign waivers so they could post videos to social media! I can't wait to see if I show up in any of those!

When I left I was in such a daze! Just absolutely amazing! I honestly don’t know if any experience will ever top that one!

 

[missjackiemcg]

WOWZA!!! I don't even care much for Star Wars, but I can appreciate what an incredible experience that must've been. How awesome for you!!!

 

[Mom2m&k]

That is so awesome! I️ also loved that you only took a couple photos then just enjoyed it!

 

[HumblePie]

Amazing! I just watched that video on Twitter! I will have to go back and see if I can spot you!

 

[disneyAndi14]

How freakin amazing to have Mark Hamil in your SW ride! I love SW so that would be so cool. I love how empty MK was on the eve of Irma

 

[Mich123]

What an incredible afternoon!!! Definitely sounds like the best day ever!