Somebody's Gonna Pee in a Cup, West Coast - Link to new TR 1/21

[afwdwfan]

GRRR!!!! NO!

We got to the theatre at 2, power was out all over the area. We asked if there was any hope and they said power had been out since noon.



Maybe this coming weekend.

NOOOOOOOO!!!!

 

[ashw100]

Oh man what an awesome end to your trip. I can totally feel your pain holding dd for an hour. My hat goes off to you because man that must have been painful. I'm sorry the fireworks were underwhelming, I wonder how he new show compares? Your ending about saying thanks to Walt gave me goosebumps and now I need to get back there so thanks for that l

 

[Leshaface]

Well I was mowing the yard this evening and thought an updated picture might be appreciated. Here's how much the corn grew in just a little over a week. I parked the lawnmower along the edge of the field for a visual reference.

That's nuts! We live near a corn field and I always feel like when I drive by it, one day there's nothing and literally the next day it's almost full grown!

I am a little bit concerned though. So far we've been getting the perfect amounts of rain. We're getting exactly what we need, when we need it. But nothing more. Which is great. Except we were supposed to get slammed with up to about 2" today and we got .2". That's not a bad thing but it seems to be a pattern. All the big clouds seem to be missing us. That's fine for now but the corn gets awfully thirsty around the first or second week of July when it pollinates. We've got enough moisture for now but I sure hope we aren't dodging rain clouds during pollination. 2012 was the worst crop we've ever had. It was 90+ degrees and bone dry all July. June isn't a make or break month for corn but July certainly can be.

Hopefully you get some rain soon. And hopefully we get some this Winter!

I was surprised to board the train and find that the seats are sideways in the cars, and not like the ones at MK. The cars are actually set up like the ones at AK where you face the inside of the loop as you go around the park.

I love these cars. I get to see everything without constantly having to look to the right or having to look over one of my family members. I do think one of the trains though has cars that look straightforward too. I think

Seriously! I didn’t know this existed. But it was kind of cool. There’s a diorama of dinosaurs and other sorts of prehistoric wildlife. I guess just to give us something to look at while we’re inside the tunnel since it takes almost the whole length of track from Tomorrowland to Main Street. It wasn’t anything super special, but I thought it was kind of cool.

One of the reasons I love the train! And I always forget about this scene too so it's a surprise anytime we take the train all the way around.

And that’s about the time they decided to get up and go find a spot closer to the front of the theater.

The show itself was great. I the premise is that Mickey is an apprentice and gets carried away trying to paint this spot on the magical map and he ends up being taken to visit characters from some Disney movies as a result.

DH and I were lucky enough to see it with Alison and we really enjoyed it. That and eating a Mickey bar helped! I love that it is just long enough for you to relax and enjoy and feel like you're doing something productive, without feeling like it's going on and on.

Never ask your kids what they want to do when you’re standing in view of It’s a Small World.

Something I need to remember for when DS starts to voice his opinion. Or can't I just pretend like I don't hear him??

Even though I’m sure they’re exactly the same things prepared the same exact way. There was just something about the ones I had in DL that just didn’t seem quite the same… Maybe it was the buns?

It may be! I remember a while back (years ago!) people were complaining about the buns at the Corner Cafe, being changed from white to wheat? Or something like that, but people were definitely not happy about the taste.

So no Dole Whip for me.

"

But it wasn’t a minute into the show before another lady 2 rows behind her, leaned across the top of the people in between them, tapped her on the shoulder and asked her to keep the balloon down. There was a small round of applause in the theater at that point.

Did my mom visit without me knowing?! Gaw that's something she would do. I'm not that brave!

Thanks to those fantastic rider swap passes, DS was going to get to ride BTMRR after dark… twice!

I really didn’t expect to get an opportunity to ride BTMRR 3 times. Heck, I was just glad it worked out that I got FP earlier that afternoon so we could do it twice. But here we were going for our third ride. And it was dark!

Yay!

DS picked out a Goofy pin and a BTMRR pin after he and DW rode.

Perfect pin for DS

It might just be me, but I felt like it is just darker in DL at night than it is in the MK.

It's not just you, it's super, super dark. In some areas, I feel like you need a flashlight. Luckily, my phone comes with a flashlight so i'm all set!

It took me long enough, but it finally hit me that we were sitting maybe 10 feet away from the shooting gallery. No better place to teach a 5 year old how to handle a rifle than the shooting gallery at Disneyland.

That's where I plan to teach DS at too

Apparently, she was there before we were even done riding BTMRR. When we returned, the bench was empty. When we went to the shooting gallery, I kept watching the bench to see if she came back and it remained empty. We had been sitting within maybe 100 feet of each other the whole time and we had no idea.

Oh geez

A CM came over and told us we needed to get up because they needed the bench.

What???

What?!?

Apparently, they take all the benches in the area of Frontierland and line them end to end to form a wall for crowd control to keep people leaving Fantasmic! from heading straight to the hub or something? It looked like they were blocking it off so that the crowd would have to cut through Adventureland and go back to Main Street that way. Fantasmic! wasn’t even starting until 8:45 and it was before 8:30 when they made us get up so they could move the benches.

Never heard of this. That's really rude actually for people just enjoying people watching like you two were.

I stood there while DW held our spot down in the street. DS was still out cold. I think we were probably about 15 minutes away from the fireworks starting when I noticed the Goofy Glacier machines in the candy store right there on the end of Main Street.

It was just a few steps away. And I was getting thirsty. And pretty warm from holding a sleeping child.

That was all the justification I needed. I walked on over and grabbed a Goofy Glacier to enjoy while I watched the fireworks.

Grabbing a Goofy Glacier while holding a sleeping kid!? You let nothing get in your way

The CM’s who had been trying to keep people from walking towards Adventureland made themselves scarce. If you chose to go that way, you were just gonna get trampled and it wasn’t their problem anymore. A sea of humanity spilled out of Adventureland and into Main Street.

I always say it, the reason I hate Fantasmic! The crowds are just overwhelming and the spaces just too small. But there's nothing that Disney can really do at this point.

I don’t know, it might have been better had we been farther down MS towards Town Square,

Yes

And I get it. I really do. The park is close to a residential neighborhood. I mean literally if you look across the street from Disneyland hotel there are houses. Who wants to hear a huge firework show being shot off in their backyard all the time?

I would actually love it, pre DS! Imagine going out to your backyard or climbing on your roof drinking a beer, not having to pay nearly 100 a head to see them from inside the park Now with a kid, that's just awful. DS could never fall asleep with all that noise. But i'd imagine he'd get used to it going off every single night.

We exited towards our right and I kind of paused for a moment in front of the Fire Station. I found Walt’s light in the window and took one last look. I don’t know if or when I’ll ever get back out there and I just had to take a moment to thank him for all the good times and great memories he has provided me with over the years.

 

[afwdwfan]

Oh man what an awesome end to your trip.

It was. The whole trip was really a fun experience!

I can totally feel your pain holding dd for an hour. My hat goes off to you because man that must have been painful

It was brutal. I guess I'll say it was worth it. It would have been more worth it if I had been more impressed by the fireworks.

I'm sorry the fireworks were underwhelming, I wonder how he new show compares?

I've heard good things about it...

Your ending about saying thanks to Walt gave me goosebumps and now I need to get back there so thanks for that l

I really love the fact that they leave the light on there out of respect to him. And ever since I heard that story, I thought it just seemed fitting to at least take a moment to acknowledge it as I passed.

That's nuts! We live near a corn field and I always feel like when I drive by it, one day there's nothing and literally the next day it's almost full grown!

It really does just take off once the conditions are right.

Hopefully you get some rain soon. And hopefully we get some this Winter!

Oh... we've got plenty now!!! We're actually in great shape where I am, but there's some flooding along the rivers and the northern part of the state right now. We've had several inches of rain over the past 2 weeks or so.

I love these cars. I get to see everything without constantly having to look to the right or having to look over one of my family members. I do think one of the trains though has cars that look straightforward too. I think

Alison said she thought they were all forward facing except for one.

So here's the challenge... @Leshaface and @franandaj : You need to find a day to meet up at Disneyland and ride all the trains and report back to us. How many face forward? How many face the side?

GO!

One of the reasons I love the train! And I always forget about this scene too so it's a surprise anytime we take the train all the way around.

I thought it was cool. But I found myself sitting there trying to figure out how it fit and why it was there.

DH and I were lucky enough to see it with Alison and we really enjoyed it. That and eating a Mickey bar helped! I love that it is just long enough for you to relax and enjoy and feel like you're doing something productive, without feeling like it's going on and on.

Good point.

Something I need to remember for when DS starts to voice his opinion. Or can't I just pretend like I don't hear him??

See, here's the problem.

Once they start to voice their opinion, they just voice it louder and with more effort when you "don't hear them."

It may be! I remember a while back (years ago!) people were complaining about the buns at the Corner Cafe, being changed from white to wheat? Or something like that, but people were definitely not happy about the taste.

Could be. I remember that from like 2 or 3 years ago at WDW too. Maybe they both changed?

Did my mom visit without me knowing?! Gaw that's something she would do. I'm not that brave!

It didn't look like her... but then again, it was dark in there.

Yay!

I wish they had rider switch for adults.

Perfect pin for DS

It's not just you, it's super, super dark. In some areas, I feel like you need a flashlight. Luckily, my phone comes with a flashlight so i'm all set!

Why didn't I think of that? Mine has one too!!!

Oh... yeah...

That's where I plan to teach DS at too

It's the safest place to learn.

Just make sure you test the guns first. I gave one to DS and he couldn't hit anything. I tried and I couldn't hit anything either. Don't know if the aim was off or the gun was broke, but we switched guns and it worked fine.

Oh geez

I didn't exactly find the humor in it at the time.

Never heard of this. That's really rude actually for people just enjoying people watching like you two were.

There were 3 or 4 of them grabbing benches and lining them up. The way they did it made it seem like it was a normal practice and something they had down to an art.

But maybe it was just for this Friday night with the race being that weekend and everything? I mean, they were out of FP for Fantasmic when we passed the machines and there were 3 shows that night. The walkways were packed by this point, so maybe it was just a crowd control measure for when there's an excessive crowd?

Grabbing a Goofy Glacier while holding a sleeping kid!? You let nothing get in your way

Focusing on a goal and moving towards it helped make me forget about the discomfort.

I always say it, the reason I hate Fantasmic! The crowds are just overwhelming and the spaces just too small. But there's nothing that Disney can really do at this point.

You're right. It's a fantastic show... but everything else about it just sucks.

Yes

Thanks for telling me ahead of time.

I would actually love it, pre DS! Imagine going out to your backyard or climbing on your roof drinking a beer, not having to pay nearly 100 a head to see them from inside the park Now with a kid, that's just awful. DS could never fall asleep with all that noise. But i'd imagine he'd get used to it going off every single night.

You make a very good point...

 

[Steppesister]

A very quick farming update from the PNW before I head out....

It is hot. TOO hot for our rye grass seed, cherries and blueberries. Most, my farmer friends are saying, will be ruined by early next week with everything either rotting on the trees/ bushes and the seed, even wheat, ripening too small. I guess rather than filling out, they will mature and they won't be able to do much or even perhaps get it cut fast enough. Sad day for all of them.

HOWEVER, there is a bright side! The wine crop of our world famous Pinot Noir is in a for a fantastic year with a GREAT crop for bolder and fruitier wines akin to the 2008/12 years. WOOT! Now that's some farming forecasting I like!

 

[afwdwfan]

A very quick farming update from the PNW before I head out....

It is hot. TOO hot for our rye grass seed, cherries and blueberries. Most, my farmer friends are saying, will be ruined by early next week with everything either rotting on the trees/ bushes and the seed, even wheat, ripening too small. I guess rather than filling out, they will mature and they won't be able to do much or even perhaps get it cut fast enough. Sad day for all of them.

The weather can turn on us in an instant. Wheat quality as a whole around the country is pretty horrible this year. The guys around here are having trouble as well. Our quality has been good so far, but the wheat has been ready for over a week and we're getting rains about every day. Wheat takes a bit of time to dry down enough to run it after a rain, which means very little of it has actually been harvested. It's losing test weight and turning to crap every day it sits in the field.

HOWEVER, there is a bright side! The wine crop of our world famous Pinot Noir is in a for a fantastic year with a GREAT crop for bolder and fruitier wines akin to the 2008/12 years. WOOT! Now that's some farming forecasting I like!

Well, there's the silver lining!

 

[afwdwfan]

Thanks for bearing with me, everyone! I do intend to get back and post an update about our departure and a final thoughts type post, but I've been SWAMPED!!! Things have been extremely busy at work the past week or so and I've had little to no free time to goof off on the clock, or at home.

And guess who gets to come in to work all 3 days of the 4th of July weekend.

Granted, it is only for a few hours each day in the afternoon.

But still. It sucks.

So for all of you who don't have to work this weekend, have a safe and happy Independence Day!

For you non US citizens, have a nice Saturday.

 

[pkondz]

I do intend to get back and post an update about our departure and a final thoughts type post, but I've been SWAMPED!!!

Okefenokee or Everglades? Oh, wait. By you I guess that should be Great Black Swamp or Limberlost?

I've had little to no free time to goof off on the clock, or at home.

Good God, man!

And guess who gets to come in to work all 3 days of the 4th of July weekend.

Your cousin? Your BIL? No, wait.... A semi-talented monkey?

For you non US citizens, have a nice Saturday.

I read that more as "For you non US citizens, I pity you. No festivities for you. Have a day."

 

[franandaj]

I completely understand. I think most people on the DIS seem to be swamped, most of my TRs that I'm following seem to have crickets chirping and the mindless chatter threads I hang out on are seeing little to no action.

We'll all be here when you get the time, and it gives the rest of us who are swamped a chance to breathe. That does suck that you have to work over the holiday weekend though, even though we have no celebration plans, it's nice to kick back and flip some burgers on the grill and have a beer or three, hope you can at least get some of that in over the weekend!

 

[Princess Leia]

I'm travelling out today to Orlando with my family. I'm happy to celebrate for you if you like. I've enjoyed following along on your trip report(s). I find work does get in the way of the disboards.

 

[Gracefulskinny]

And guess who gets to come in to work all 3 days of the 4th of July weekend.

Well Boo! That's no fun!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Someone apparently must have been proud that we let him handle his own ticket on the way into the park.

Well, sure. That's a magic document right there.

I think he was loving the rider swap system and the fact that he was getting plenty of rides on this one!

100% of kids report positive feedback on the rider swap system.

I was surprised to board the train and find that the seats are sideways in the cars, and not like the ones at MK. The cars are actually set up like the ones at AK where you face the inside of the loop as you go around the park.

As long as it doesn't go as slow as the AK train.

It wasn’t anything super special, but I thought it was kind of cool.

You know.

Because, dinosaurs.

I can get behind that line of reasoning.

The entire row was empty. 20 rows in front of them was empty. And they chose to sit right in front of the kids.

I can’t blame them. The show was starting, they probably just sat in the first seats they saw. Thankfully our row was empty as well so we just slid over a little bit.


And that’s about the time they decided to get up and go find a spot closer to the front of the theater.

Never ask your kids what they want to do when you’re standing in view of It’s a Small World.

Rookie mistake!

I asked to do something else. It was dark. And there is one certain ride that I always love riding after dark at WDW. I just couldn’t help but wonder if it’s counterpart became a little bit extra special after dark as well.

I like where this is headed!

After his thrilling race, DS asked to use the restroom, once again.

Seriously? I didn’t even know we had that much Sprite left in the fridge!

There's an easy solution here. It involves much discussion, over many years, teaching your son about proper timing and understanding how the bathroom break affects everyone else in the traveling party, and...

It doesn't work. As my son has proven, they will never find convenient times to use the restroom.

Or maybe DL gets grass fed beef. Yeah, I’m going with that theory. Grass fed is the trendy thing, but if you want good flavor it needs to be corn fed.

Give me grass-fed beef any day over those crappy tofu or black-bean "burgers" they keep trying to fool us with.

So no Dole Whip for me.

NOOOOOOO!!!!!

But DS… the kid got 6 rides on BTMRR. And I think he’d have ridden it 6 more times if he could!

Fantastic!

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t last long.

A CM came over and told us we needed to get up because they needed the bench.

What???

Apparently, they take all the benches in the area of Frontierland and line them end to end to form a wall for crowd control to keep people leaving Fantasmic! from heading straight to the hub or something? It looked like they were blocking it off so that the crowd would have to cut through Adventureland and go back to Main Street that way. Fantasmic! wasn’t even starting until 8:45 and it was before 8:30 when they made us get up so they could move the benches.

Well, that's one way to do crowd control, I guess. Weird that they need to cannibalize benches to do it.

And I’ve got to tell you, watching them over Aurora’s castle just isn’t the same as watching them over Cinderella Castle.

Just as riding the Disney steam train is not the same as watching your dad's model train run around a table in the basement.

We exited towards our right and I kind of paused for a moment in front of the Fire Station. I found Walt’s light in the window and took one last look. I don’t know if or when I’ll ever get back out there and I just had to take a moment to thank him for all the good times and great memories he has provided me with over the years.

Great thinking. I would have done the same if, you know, I'd remembered it was there.

 

[franandaj]

Yes, you need to research this and report back!

After some very intense investigative research yesterday, I was ready to throw in the towel and admit that the trains at DL were all side facing. We even rode the train, and then when all hope had been lost, my friend Jenny (who also swore there were front facing train cars), spied this train at the Main Street Station. She was shrieking so loudly, "A front facing train, look! Look! Look Alison!" That her kids and passersby thought she was nuts, but here you have it proof. The time stamp on the photo should show it was taken yesterday and not back in the day.

 

[glennbo123]

Well, first off, I can pretty much tell you why they're dying.
And second, I would think that of the two that are still alive,
it would be exceptionally painful for the people who's rears you planted them in.

I'm not even going to ask since you have 10 trees and 7 rears, who got the shaft more than once!


OMG... I'm dying!

Thank you for that pkondz!

I don't know if you can tell but there is a distinct color difference in the corn across the field. We have a 16 row planter and we're doing a side by side comparison of a couple of different seeds in this field. The 8 rows in the right side were one kind of seed and the 8 on the left were another. Splitting the planter like that gives us a chance to see how each seed variety does over all in comparison to the other but we can also get a good idea how each one stacks up against the other in the various soil types and other conditions like wet or dry spots across the field. We do this on a few fields every year and it gives us some information to help decide what to plant in which fields the following year.

Hopefully the seed from the good guys is proving itself worthy.

Never ask your kids what they want to do when you’re standing in view of It’s a Small World.

​

Oh gosh, that's a scary thought. But I'd say the picture you got made it worth it!

I had just finished eating when DS had to go to the restroom…

The show ended and DS had someplace he needed to go. Wanna guess???

Sheesh! Sprite is officially off-limits!

It took me long enough, but it finally hit me that we were sitting maybe 10 feet away from the shooting gallery. No better place to teach a 5 year old how to handle a rifle than the shooting gallery at Disneyland.

How awesome is that. I looked at the shooting gallery at WDW when we were there (while James was doing a SotMK thing) and was thinking how we'd never done that.

Apparently, she was there before we were even done riding BTMRR. When we returned, the bench was empty. When we went to the shooting gallery, I kept watching the bench to see if she came back and it remained empty. We had been sitting within maybe 100 feet of each other the whole time and we had no idea.

It's a wonder you two ever met in the first place!

Apparently, they take all the benches in the area of Frontierland and line them end to end to form a wall for crowd control to keep people leaving Fantasmic! from heading straight to the hub or something? It looked like they were blocking it off so that the crowd would have to cut through Adventureland and go back to Main Street that way. Fantasmic! wasn’t even starting until 8:45 and it was before 8:30 when they made us get up so they could move the benches.

We reluctantly got up and headed back out to the hub. We were looking for a good place to watch the fireworks. The hub and Main Street weren’t very crowded yet so DW found a CM and asked her where she suggested we should stand. She said anywhere that you can see the castle will be fine, but she suggested finding a spot in the middle of Main Street somewhere. She told us that they’d be roping off the sidewalks soon and we’d be able to find a spot to stand in MS while traffic would be diverted around MS and onto the sidewalks.

No sooner had she said that than other CM’s were out in force setting up ropes and signs directing traffic. We got inside one of the rope corrals on Main Street.


But we still had to wait 45 minutes before the fireworks would start.


And I was holding a sleeping 3 year old with no place to sit down.

I haven't had much luck with firework-traffic-control. I'm always told I can't stand somewhere even though it's out of the way, and then I go to a roped-off area and I get the evil-eye from the park patrons who are already there. Being tall doesn't help.

I found Walt’s light in the window and took one last look. I don’t know if or when I’ll ever get back out there and I just had to take a moment to thank him for all the good times and great memories he has provided me with over the years.

Good job Andy.

 

[afwdwfan]

I read that more as "For you non US citizens, I pity you. No festivities for you. Have a day."

Then it appears that you read it as it was intended.

I completely understand. I think most people on the DIS seem to be swamped, most of my TRs that I'm following seem to have crickets chirping and the mindless chatter threads I hang out on are seeing little to no action.

We'll all be here when you get the time, and it gives the rest of us who are swamped a chance to breathe. That does suck that you have to work over the holiday weekend though, even though we have no celebration plans, it's nice to kick back and flip some burgers on the grill and have a beer or three, hope you can at least get some of that in over the weekend!

I've just been busy lately and haven't had much motivation to be here. I always enjoy my DIS time, but it is just one of the first things that kind of falls by the wayside when I start to get overwhelmed.

We did have a nice 4th of July weekend... despite working. I got to enjoy some family time and see some fireworks, so it was all good.

I'm travelling out today to Orlando with my family. I'm happy to celebrate for you if you like. I've enjoyed following along on your trip report(s). I find work does get in the way of the disboards.

Thank you! I hope you had (or are having) a great trip!

Well Boo! That's no fun!

No. It isn't...

 

[afwdwfan]

Well, sure. That's a magic document right there.

But it is still no Magic Band.

100% of kids report positive feedback on the rider swap system.

It's fantastic while it lasts!

As long as it doesn't go as slow as the AK train.

I don't think it does. I don't remember the AK train being that slow. Although we don't typically go out of our way to ride it.

I can get behind that line of reasoning.

Rookie mistake!

I hang my head in shame...

I like where this is headed!

Figured you would.

There's an easy solution here. It involves much discussion, over many years, teaching your son about proper timing and understanding how the bathroom break affects everyone else in the traveling party, and...

It doesn't work. As my son has proven, they will never find convenient times to use the restroom.

Give me grass-fed beef any day over those crappy tofu or black-bean "burgers" they keep trying to fool us with.

I'm sorry... black-bean burgers?
No... such a thing doesn't exist. It is either a bean or a burger, but it can't be both.

NOOOOOOO!!!!!

Fantastic!

Only wish I could have ridden as many times as he did!

Well, that's one way to do crowd control, I guess. Weird that they need to cannibalize benches to do it.

Yeah, I mean it worked well. But kind of a PITA when you just want to sit down for a while. One of the few times I rarely choose to sit down and relax in a Disney park and they won't even let me. Must have been a sign...

Just as riding the Disney steam train is not the same as watching your dad's model train run around a table in the basement.

Got that right!

Great thinking. I would have done the same if, you know, I'd remembered it was there.

Hey, but at least you got to ride the Matterhorn!

After some very intense investigative research yesterday, I was ready to throw in the towel and admit that the trains at DL were all side facing. We even rode the train, and then when all hope had been lost, my friend Jenny (who also swore there were front facing train cars), spied this train at the Main Street Station. She was shrieking so loudly, "A front facing train, look! Look! Look Alison!" That her kids and passersby thought she was nuts, but here you have it proof. The time stamp on the photo should show it was taken yesterday and not back in the day.

Excellent detective work, Alison! Thanks for putting in the effort to finally put this one to rest! I know it was a huge sacrifice going to Disneyland all those times to try and find this elusive train.

 

[afwdwfan]

Thank you for that pkondz!

Hopefully the seed from the good guys is proving itself worthy.

Um... well, so far... absolutely no difference between the 2.

Oh gosh, that's a scary thought. But I'd say the picture you got made it worth it!

It was a good picture. And a learning experience.

Sheesh! Sprite is officially off-limits!

But still not quite as bad as Mountain Dew.

How awesome is that. I looked at the shooting gallery at WDW when we were there (while James was doing a SotMK thing) and was thinking how we'd never done that.

Not something I'd go out of my way to do... but not a bad way to kill some time.

It's a wonder you two ever met in the first place!

I haven't had much luck with firework-traffic-control. I'm always told I can't stand somewhere even though it's out of the way, and then I go to a roped-off area and I get the evil-eye from the park patrons who are already there. Being tall doesn't help.

I know. Sometimes they aren't really clear about what is ok and what isn't. I have a tendency to find a great spot that just happens to be outside of the rope or tape as soon as they start marking the boundaries. Part of the reason why I always hate to line up early for fireworks or a parade.

Good job Andy.

Thanks. I really loved that part about Disneyland.

 

[FantasiaMagic]

Hey Andy! I am reallllly late to the party. I read your entire first half of your TR when it came out, but then I was gone from the boards for awhile. Very busy with life outside of the DIS. I'm back now, and finally started my own TR. But I read your whole West Coast TR in 2 days. So here it goes........

We stayed at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, and I have to say, it was very nice!

I think this room you and your family stayed at was great - and that view is beautiful. Whenever I do get to go to Cali/DL - I would definitely check out this area. From your experiences it really showed that you all had a good time.

I truly could have listened to him talk about his experiences and the SEAL training program he used to oversee all day long.

I love speakers like that. They keep your attention and just leave you with a great feeling. That is so cool how he was a SEAL!

On the other end of the spectrum, we had Jay Leno. He was the keynote speaker at our closing session. I was really excited to see him, but I was extremely disappointed.

That's too bad. I think I would expect someone who is pretty mainstream to be better. You would think he would try to win over his whole audience with his routine. I personally am not a fan of him, I don;t think on his show he is that funny.

And I posted a picture of this boat to the Disdads Facebook page with a comment about wanting to become a pirat

Awesome, not many dads will admit they want to be a pirate - so I give you props!

Tuesday morning we’d have some time to explore either some more of San Diego or the Anaheim area as we’d be moving from our beautiful San Diego hotel to the Grand Californian!

YAY! very exciting day!

I was really disappointed by the fact that they had no plan in place, and essentially, no way to offer assistance. I mean for the love of God, I was paying a premium price for Disneyland’s flagship resort.

I know this would disappoint me as well. You would think that CMs at the resorts would be very prepared for events like that. In WDW, they would know exactly what to do.

we had a balcony overlooking a courtyard where the monorail went through. Ok… monorails are cool. So I won’t knock the fact that we had a monorail view room!

I consider that cool! Monorails are very Disney!

The lobby and resort grounds are spectacular.

Disney and hotels are a perfect match. Besides going to the parks, my favorite part of a WDW vacation is resort hopping and exploring.

I really wished we would have stayed at DLH. It turns out that our hotel choice did end up being the biggest regret from the trip.

That's the DL hotel I would want to stay at It seems the most "Disney" - which is what I would be going for - being the nerd I am.

As bad as Rope Drops are at WDW… and I’m including the past cluster that was the TSMM frenzy, I think it is crazier at DL. I mean people were flat out running.

As dangerous and probably very annoying this would be - I just vision everyone running, all stressed out, and it juts makes me laugh!

Monsters Inc!

We didn’t get any pictures, but it was a fun dark ride.

Oh gosh - this sounds like so much fun!!!!!!!!! Monsters Inc is one of my favorite movies of all time - I love the Laugh Floor - as did my friends on our past trip, but I always wanted them to make a ride. I'm still hoping for a Inc ride to be put in HS in Pixar PLace. They did say they were going to do an expansion there right?!

You are literally only steps away from the other park once you walk out the front gates. We exited DCA through the main entrance and walked a few hundred feet to Disneyland.

I LOVE THIS! That would be the best thing about DL. You could just run (literally) back and forth between the 2 parks!

This was Walt’s park. You really could feel his presence.

That would be one of the most incredible feelings ever.

because it is certainly a beautiful structure and a wonderful gateway to Fantasyland, but it just doesn’t command your attention as you walk down Main Street the way Cinderella Castle does.

WDW vets have to remember that the park was built in 1955, and nothing had veer been built like that before for a theme park. I would feel the same way though. We are so used to a structure that is the icon for the whole resort, something that we all hold dear to our hearts.

Seriously… WDW vets, can you believe it loads outside??????

THis is very cool!!!! To load IASW outside is awesome!!!!!

We finally got to board the Canal boats, which are a very different, yet interesting ride. You board a boat and set sail only to become whale food as you enter Monstro’s mouth.

I think this sounds awesome - perfect for any Disney diehard fan!

I loved Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Great movie - classic.

I picked it up and the screen still lit up. It was just spiderwebbed from the bottom right corner. Unfortunately, the touchscreen was not responsive, so I was out of luck. Stupid touchscreen phones.

Ahhh that's too bad. It's happened to the best of us - it's pretty expensive to fix, but pretty easy.

I the Fairygodmother was walking the opposite direction and tried to interact with me. I had to give her a quick hi/bye. Gotta run.

Poor fairy godmother, probably just wanted to grant you a wish, and you are just running away!

We had some plans for the evening that were in DCA. We made sure to leave plenty of time for transportation to hop parks.

2 minutes later, we were through the turnstiles and on our way.

Again, LOVE IT!

We had 3 evenings to spend in the parks. World of Color was off the radar due to the fact that it was closed. Clearly we dedicated one evening to Fantasmic! Friday night was going to be the only night we could see the fireworks over Sleeping Beauty’s Castle so we thought this would be a great evening to spend in DCA.

Was it the time of year, or is this just how they do fireworks at DL - only on Friday nights? I had never heard of this before. Again, I'm so used to WDW having fireworks every night, sometimes twice depending on the time on year.

I think the only show I haven’t seen yet at WDW is the Finding Nemo show. But based on my experiences, Aladdin is the best theme park show I’ve ever seen. It is phenomenal!

Oh gosh, yeah I have heard amazing things about that show as well. I am dying the see the Broadway version!

And this isn’t exactly an example of “fresh” material, but it had me rolling. He was chasing after someone and yelled “Get back here with my umbrella… ella… ella… hey… hey… HEY!!!!”

Perfect! I consider that pretty recent, yeah I wonder how often he changes up the material - there are plenty of things in POP culture that you can use today!

I love this picture! You and your family just look so happy!

RS is incredible. Wow, I hve to see this in person one day. It looks like a back drop for you and your family....

It was really cool hearing her story and getting to hear her perspective on things. If it hadn’t been for the fact that RSR never works like it is supposed to, I’d have probably never had that opportunity to chat with her and find out how awesome some of the DL CM’s really are. She made our 20 - 30 minute wait seem much, much shorter.

I love CMs that do this. They can make tough times go by so quick! CMs can keep the magic going even when it seems it is not coming through at the moment.

There’s no spiel - If you want to hear it, you have to say it yourself.

And people will look at you like you're crazy.

WDW monorails at their finest!

After my ride, I needed to start heading back to the room. I had a little bit of time but not much. I considered checking out Mickey’s Fun Wheel, but assumed it would take too long. Instead, I decided to spend just a few more minutes in Carsland. No kids. No camera. Just me. Walking around and taking in the details one last time.

It was fantastic.

Perfect. Alone time in a Disney Park is just so soothing sometimes. You get to soak everything in for yourself and really enjoy the magic in front of you. I love doing this.

Well, DW isn’t going to be in a very good mood, but at least I had a great afternoon.

Everyone needs alone time once in awhile!

The show itself was great. I the premise is that Mickey is an apprentice and gets carried away trying to paint this spot on the magical map and he ends up being taken to visit characters from some Disney movies as a result.

It kind of reminded me of a live action Mickey’s Philharmagic, in a way.

This show looks great - another attraction I look forward to seeing one day.

Never ask your kids what they want to do when you’re standing in view of It’s a Small World.

When it's a fan favorite, you have to do it for the fans!

Aurora’s Castle is actually an attraction itself. You can enter the castle and walk up some stairs and there is an entire walkthrough attraction. You see several dioramas that outline parts of the story of Sleeping Beauty. It’s kind of a neat attraction, but it is very dark in there. DD actually kind of freaked out on us a little bit.

This sounds amazing.

I mean let’s face it… There aren’t many characters that are scarier than Maleficent.

Yup, true story.

And speaking of Maleficent, there is one point in the “tour” where you go around a corner to a hallway. And at the far end of the hallway there is a shadow that goes across the wall every once in a while of Maleficent’s well known profile. Kind of spooky, but really cool!
Love it!

While at the castle, we decided to step out front and take advantage of the PP.

Great photos all around!

We exited towards our right and I kind of paused for a moment in front of the Fire Station. I found Walt’s light in the window and took one last look. I don’t know if or when I’ll ever get back out there and I just had to take a moment to thank him for all the good times and great memories he has provided me with over the years.

This would bring tears to my eyes. Beautiful

We got back to the room and finished packing before going to bed. It had been a whirlwind of a visit to Disneyland with a little bit of a rocky start. But it was worth every minute.

It sounds like you and your family had an awesome trip. A very magical experience for all of you. I hope you are able to go back one day.

 

[MEK]

I don't know whether I ever commented on your last update or not.

I did not know you could walk inside Aurora's castle. It sounds cool.

Interesting that DL seems darker than WDW at night and that the fireworks seem farther away. So odd that you had to give up your bench so it could be used as a barricades. And then the CM's disappear......

Could you move your arms the next morning after carrying DD for an hour???

 

[afwdwfan]

Ok... I hate to skip replies to get my next update posted. But it looks like that's what I'm going to do. I started typing my update yesterday and just finally got a chance to finish it. We're heading out of town next week so I just wanted to make sure I got it posted before we take off. I'll be back later to finish responses and I might try to pop in over the weekend or even next week if I get a chance.


Now… Bring Me That Horizon.

Ok, I apologize for taking so long to get this update posted. I’ve been just overwhelmed at work and actually at home as well the past couple of weeks. I’ve barely been able to keep up around here, but I need to get this thing wrapped up so let’s move on to our departure day.

I woke up at about 4:00 and finished getting things ready to go. Our plan was to be in the car by 5:00 and that would mean that we needed to leave the room just after 4:30.

We actually had no problems making this work. DD rode in the stroller. DS pulled his Ligthning McQueen bag while I hauled the rest of our things. I was so glad I took some of the bags to the car throughout the week as we were done with them.

We walked through DTD amidst a huge crowd of runners heading for the starting corrals. Thankfully they were headed towards DLH as well so we at least didn’t have to fight our way against the crowds.

We made it through the DLH and we were at the sidewalk next to the parking lot. I had DW and the kids wait there while I went for the car since it was basically on the far end of the lot. We’d walked far enough, might as well make it a little bit easier.

I pulled the car to the curb. We saw no other traffic come or go as we loaded up. Within minutes we were in the car and on our way.

We drove past the guard shack.

We made it to the street that was closed to our right, but open to our left, as I’d confirmed with the guard the prior morning and in only a few minutes’ time we were out on the streets.

Really, it was kind of an anti-climactic way to leave Disney property.

I usually kind of take my time at Disney World. I drag my feet leaving because I want to take in those last few precious moments of time.

But in this case, it was a little more stressful. We just walked 20+ minutes from our hotel to the car. We were surrounded by happy people dressed in their finest Star Wars gear.

But I just wasn’t able to enjoy the spirit of all of it.

I wanted to go south when we left the lot, but I could only turn north. That was fine, because there was a gas station that way. I went ahead and filled the car back up and headed south and finally east to get back to the interstate.

Yes, I realize that we filled up with gas several miles farther away from the airport than we should. But I noticed how long it took for the needle to move off of full when we picked the car up. I figured I was safe. I know I see this question come up on the DIS from time to time, but I’ve never had a rental place ask me where I topped off or ask to see the receipt before. I was willing to take a chance to just have it done and not have to look for a station on the way.

As we were passing the parks on our way to the interstate, we got a few last glances of Disneyland. And while I didn’t notice it on the way in, I was really struck by seeing the backside of the mountains of Carslands towering over a 7/11. It was just odd.

We didn’t have any issues with traffic, race or otherwise. The only excitement we had on the way to the airport was me trying to figure out how to open the @#*% lid over the gas cap. I still don’t remember how I did it, but I had DW looking on Google on her phone. I just about reached the point where figured it was a rental and I was about ready to just find something to pry it open with when I finally found out how to get it.

We were flying out of John Wayne Airport. I’m glad we stopped for gas near DL, because we exited the highway and we were literally right there at the entrance to the airport. We drove to the rental return area which seemed surprisingly busy for a smaller airport at an early hour on a Saturday morning. They were busy checking cars in, but it didn’t take long before ours was scanned and I had a receipt. The gas needle was still on F and we were good to go!

We made our way into the airport. Our TA had booked our flights through American, and our flight numbers and tickets actually indicated that we were flying AA. We headed to the AA kiosks to check in.

I entered our information and it couldn’t find us.

Odd…

I walked up to the counter and found a live person. She checked everything out and couldn’t find it either.

Crap.

She asked what our flight number was. I told her.

She did some more typing, and then told us that the reason she couldn’t find us is because our flight is operated by USAir, not American. We’d have to go to the USAir desk to check in.

Want to guess which 2 airlines have their ticket counters at the far opposite ends of John Wayne Airport???

Ok, I’ll give them this. It did say somewhere in our information that the flight was operated by USAir. But I’ve flown flights (for example AA operated by American Eagle regional jets) where you check in at the counter of the airline through which you booked. And it only made sense to me that this is how this one would work since our ticketing material all said AA and AA owned USAir. But clearly, I was wrong.

We’d arrived at the airport extra early, and as it turns out, I’m glad that we left early in case of traffic because we ate up a good bit of that time at the airport.

We’d already walked clear across DTD.

We were walking from one end of the terminal from one ticketing counter to another, all while dragging along our luggage. DS had to walk. DD wanted to walk because he was. And it was just taking a long time!

We finally made it to the USAir counter and quickly got checked in. We headed to security and the TSA agent who checked our boarding passes pulled us out of the line and let us go to the pre-check line. I didn’t see any marking on our boarding passes indicating pre-check, but there was nobody in that line so I think he was just taking mercy on us since we were balancing luggage and 2 kids.

Either way, I was thankful for it and we made our way through security with ease. The TSA agent at the X-Ray machine was also great and talked to the kids while we were getting our bags back off the belt and he had Sofia stickers to give to DD and some Mickey stickers for DS! It was just something special that you definitely don’t expect to get at a TSA checkpoint.

We found our gate and I went to a bookstore to get some reading material. I usually read on the kindle app on my phone during the flight and since I no longer had a phone I wanted to find something. I ended up getting Inferno by Dan Brown. The latest book in his DaVinci code series.

We grabbed some cereal and pastries for a quick breakfast while we waited for our flight. Everything was uneventful and our flight was on time.

We had about a 4 hour layover in Dallas that went better than anticipated. By the time we arrived, we were clearly hungry after our early morning and light breakfast. We went to a Chili’s and just sat around enjoying our meal and relaxing. On our way out of Chili’s we saw a couple who go to our church eating there. We stopped to say hi quickly. They were headed to Colorado to visit family.

We found an area near our gate where there were some seats with an open area in front of them. The kids played with DS’s Planes toys and colored while DW and I read. It really didn’t turn out to be a bad afternoon. The kids played nicely and handled the wait better than I’d have ever expected.

Our flight back to Indianapolis was a full one. I was across the aisle from DW and the kids as I had been on all of our flights. DD was getting restless and kept moving back and forth from my lap to DW’s, but all in all, the kids didn’t do too bad on our return flights.

I was seated next to a lady who was pregnant. And extremely uncomfortable. The flight attendants made a place for her to sit down back in the galley area during most of the flight. She was having some back pain and they didn’t have any blankets or anything that she could use for support.

She came back and sat down before we landed and we chatted for a bit. Turns out we had some common friends... you know, 6 degrees of separation. Anyway, she commented that she was going to be over traveling by the time she had the baby. She had 2 more work trips coming up as well as a spring break trip she was going on with her family. She still had a few months to go and some more time in airplanes and she was already pretty miserable. I really felt sorry for her traveling by herself, especially as uncomfortable as she was.

I offered to let her out before us or to help her with her bags, but she said she checked everything she had and she wanted to let the plane clear out and just take her time getting off.

My dad had driven to the airport to pick us up. We grabbed our bags, and thankfully ours were among the first ones off the belt.

We quickly loaded up and headed for home. The kids were both asleep before we ever made it to the highway and we were home after about a 40 minute drive.



Now for a wrap up:

We enjoyed both of our trips immensely. WDW was a wonderful experience, as always. And despite our rough start it was great to finally see Disneyland in person and get to experience the original park that started it all. While they’re both awesome places in their own ways, it is hard to compare and contrast, but there are just a few things that kind of stood out to me that I wanted to comment about.

CM’s - I’ve always heard great things about Disneyland CM’s vs. WDW CM’s given the fact that they tend to be more likely to be a career CM vs. a college program temporary employee.

But honestly, I think I was happier with the service we had at WDW during these 2 trips. I think as always, you’ll find good and bad in both places. But overall, based on our experience on these trips, I give the nod to WDW.

Hotels - I think I’ve made that crystal clear. I loved the grounds of the hotels, both GCH and DLH, but having only stayed in one of them and not being overly impressed by the room itself I give the nod to WDW by a landslide. I loved our room and the grounds at AoA. I’d honestly pick it over GCH if I had to choose between the 2 of them right now.

And I was clearly much, much happier with the service we received from the staff at AoA than what we received at GCH.

Parks - Let’s not even compare them. They are similar yet oh so different. I absolutely loved DL and DCA but I can’t even begin to compare them to any of the WDW parks in a one on one basis. Long story short, go see them yourself!

Night time shows - Well, we didn’t get to see WoC. So DL would probably win if we had. But while DL has a better Fantasmic, we weren’t blown away by the fireworks. Wishes was a much better show. And WDW has Illuminations going for it too… I’ll call it a draw but DL probably would have received the nod had WoC been running and if we’d been there once this new fireworks show and parade for the 60th had started up.

Live Stage Shows - DL does them better. Mickey and the Magical Map and Aladdin are both phenomenal shows. I like both of them better than any show I’ve seen at WDW. l love Indiana Jones. Beauty and the Beast is good. Lion King isn’t bad. But these 2 fantastic shows are head and shoulders above anything I’ve seen at WDW.

Attractions - Oh boy… WDW wins on volume. DL wins on quality. With very few exceptions, DL attractions tend to best their WDW counterparts. ToT is clearly better in WDW. Star Tours is better in WDW if only due to theming of the area outside the attraction. But aside from that, the attractions themselves tend to be better in DL.

Queues - WDW handles this issue far better. I like the DL queues being outside… to a point. But it does get hot standing outside in the sun, even in January. I remember waiting close to 20 minutes for the Storybookland boats and it was uncomfortable. I’d hate to do that on a really hot day! The fact that WDW has indoor, air conditioned queues for the most part is probably enough to win this battle. But WDW also has better themed queues and they are much wider and give you some room to breathe. With the exception of the Carsland attractions and Indiana Jones, the queues at DL are very tight and pretty boring.

Nostalgia - I’ve been making trips to WDW since I was 3 years old. That’s 30 years.

Dang I’m getting old.

But I digress. WDW has tons of nostalgia for me. I walk by landmarks and have memories going back years.

Yet things change.

Attractions go away and new ones come in.

Sightlines change.

WDW will always be special to me. But memories from those pictures we have of me in front of the 20,000 Leagues attraction aren’t something I can relive when I walk past there anymore.

The new hub looks beautiful and is an awesome upgrade to the park. But it has changed the look and feel of things.

But WDW is built for this.

They have space and they can utilize it. I’m not averse to change. I think if they have a way to make the parks better, than by all means they should. But it means the park isn’t what it was just a few years ago.

And I know that DL isn’t the same park it was when Walt Disney himself, opened it to the public.

And while I hate to use cliche terms, it most definitely is quaint.

No matter what they do to the park, space is limited and it is like you’re stepping back in time. Fantasyland feels older and more warm and welcoming. And this could be said for a lot of the other lands as well. In fact, unless they bulldoze entire lands and start all over I don’t think this element of the park will ever change. It will always have that quaint, welcoming feeling and it will take you back to 1955 when Walt Disney’s dream came to fruition.

And this, is why I’m so glad that I finally had a chance to visit Disneyland in person. It really is hard to put it into words, but a feeling just comes over you in Disneyland that I’ve never experienced in all my visits to WDW. It is like stepping back to a simpler time and I absolutely love it!

Both parks are absolutely special to me. And now that I’ve seen both, they both hold personal memories that I’ll always be able to look back on. WDW will always be “my” Disney park. It will be the first choice for our vacations. It has all those memories from all those trips I’ve taken as I was growing up and now it will be where new ones are made with my family as I watch my kids grow up.

But there’s just something about Disneyland. While I’d never been there and it has a lot of differences from WDW, it just felt so familiar. I enjoyed getting to spend some time there and I really do hope to get back sometime. The feeling of walking in Walt’s footsteps was something that crossed my mind every time I walked down Main Street. Even though I’ve got more personal memories of WDW, I think DL is actually a bit more nostalgic for me now.

It will be hard to go back. It just doesn’t make sense for us from a dollars and cents and time spent traveling standpoint. WDW will always come out ahead. But if I ever find myself back out on the West Coast I’ll definitely figure out a way to stop by Walt’s apartment once again and say hi.