1 post tagged “july 07”

Uploaded my pictures from DL.  Check out the photos in my album.

Here's what we went on (got into DL about 8:10am):

1. Splash Mountain - no wait.  Just the four of us in a log - my mom was sitting in the 3rd spot, my dad in the 5th, but then he told her to move to the 4th.  So she did which earned her a "please sit down!" from the CM.  It was dark inside the ride, darker than usual.  It was kind of creepy.  The ride was pretty splash-y, but fun as usual.
2. Haunted Mansion - official wait time was 5 minutes, but was actually about 2.  While we and about 10 other people waited in the foyer.  The CM closed the door but then about 1 minute later, shook the door and scared the bejezus out of everyone (on purpose).
   
   I think we went through Main Street to get to Tomorrowland and passed by the wait times board.  I asked the CM if they had any buttons, like the princess one and she said no, the whole resort was out of them.  Bummer.
   
   
3. AstroBlasters - official wait time was 5 minutes, which was about right.  I ended up with the lowest points (19500), Dad was 21500, Mom was 30000 or so and my sis was 36600.  I was sitting on the left side, with my dad, and so I had to shoot with my left hand and steer with my right - but then I couldn't hit anything so I had to cross my hands so I could shoot with my right.
4. Matterhorn - wait time was about 5 minutes.  The CM was asking other parties of two if they wanted to sit together or separate, but he didn't ask us.  He directed me and my sis to lane 3 and my parents to lane 4, so I said "oh, they want to sit separately".  He replied "oh, they're going to have to wait" and then looked around a bit confused, like he was trying to find another party of two so I said "can we sit separately?"  The CM said "oh, then take lane 4."  Naturally.  Lol.
5. Storybook Canal - my dad ran into a coworker and his sons while we waited in line.  The wait time was about 10 minutes.  Some of the guests asked the guide what the name of the boat was and she said Snow White.  What?!  Snow White was the boat in front, ours was Flora (I took a pic of it when it pulled up).  And then she corrected herself and said that the boat she was on was Snow White, that ours was a diff one, but I don't think she actually said what.  When she counted to 3, only a few of us stood up (to disembark) - so the boat was a bit shaky.
   
6. Teacups - virtually no wait.  As soon as we got in line, we were the next group up.  My sis and I were in one teacup, my parents were in another.  We were going pretty fast and then we got a little naseous.  I looked over to my parents and they had stopped turning the steering wheel - apparently they were feeling a little naseous as well.
7. Alice in Wonderland - wait time was about 12 minutes (published time was 20).
8. Small World - wait time was about 1 or 2 minutes.  Afterwards, wandered around the shop just outside.
   
   Then my sis and I headed to Princess Fantasy Faire to get some pressed pennies and get some coloring pages, plus saw Belle on stage.  The voices of the princesses and ladies-in-waiting was a little too much for me - it might be their natural voices but it sounded too baby-ish for me.  Then we went to Toontown to find out how to get those honorary Toontown citizen buttons (but apparently they are just for people who book through Walt Disney travel).  We saw Pluto, Goofy and Minnie.
   
   
9. Mr. Toad - published wait time was 20 minutes, but it was about 13.
10. Big Thunder Ranch - stopped in to look at the animals and get some coloring pages.  We also took some pictures of the strawberries and veggies planted outside.
11. Pirates of the Caribbean - wait time was about 15 minutes.  There was a bunch of teenage girls sitting in the 2 rows ahead of us and they would not shut up.  They were talking loudly, laughing, pushing each other and then started screaming at the top of their lungs when the ride began.  Nothing even happened yet!  Luckily, they pretty much shut up after that (didn't hear a peep out of them afterwards).  Some people were taking flash pics - the CM had to announce over the loudspeaker to stop taking flash pics... of course, that didn't stop anyone.
    
12. Submarine - got in line at about 12:50pm with an estimated wait time of 150 minutes.  2.5 hours - can you believe it?!  I guess the wait wasn't *too* bad, I guess.  There are parts that are under the monorail track and there are a few umbrellas set up so you get a little bit of shade.  There was a photo pass photog who asked if we had a photo pass - I said no, but since we're not big photo people (well, photos of ourselves), I said the "no" in sort of an apologetic way and she just smiled and nodded and move on.  I don't think the ride is all that - the first part is similar to the old Sub Voyage and that part was good.  The Nemo part was boring.  They should just put the Nemo stuff in a separate attraction - in a theater or something.  Why waste perfectly good subs for this?
13. Parade of Dreams - we were trying to get to City Hall to ask about buttons but the parade was going on at the time.  We walked along the side of Main Street to the circular part right in front of the railroad station.  Then when the parade passed and went around the circle, we crossed over to City Hall.  It was pretty funny seeing all those people walking behind the parade.  What's that about?
14. City Hall - no wait.  I asked if they had the princess or pirate buttons (no) and then if they had the little dreamers button.  She asked how many (4) and gave them to us.  Yay!
15. Jungle Cruise - published wait time was 5 minutes, but was only about 3.  It's the shortest wait I've ever waited in for JC.  We didn't even have to go up the stairs.  Our skipper's name was Greg (he was Asian).  He said that we were probably our 2nd to last group for him; as in 15 minutes, he would no longer be working for DL (after 5 years).
16. Splash Mountain - we used our fastpasses.  The wait was about 10 minutes.  It seemed like most groups were of 3 or 4.  They kept calling for groups of 2.  We sat with a middle-aged couple (us in front).  The inside of the ride (brightness-wise) was back to normal.  It wasn't that splash-y this time around, though my jeans did get wet.
    
17. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - my sis and I headed to Big Thunder and my parents went to ride the raft to Tom Sawyer Island.  We had fastpasses so our wait time was only 3 minutes, compared to the 25 min published wait.
    
    Afterwards, my sis went to the shop (Pioneer Mercantile?) right across from the shooting gallery (to get pressed pennies) while I went to the bathroom.  The line was forever long and a CM said there was another bathroom around the corner - I went to that one but as it's only a 1-person bathroom, there was a line for that too.  I ended up joining up with my sis at the shop, without going.  My sis was getting a refund for the 51 cents that the machine ate.  Then she decided to try again (the person who went right after her got two pennies - hers and theirs - half of the image pressed on each penny).  She should not test fate - her penny got stuck again so I had to go get a refund.  I went to another cash register and the guy (Asian-American) was asking all these questions like which machine, etc?  I guess because the machine wasn't right outside of his shop area - though the two are connected.  Then he was finally like "oh, I'll just get you the refund."
    
    
18. Fantasmic - we met up with our parents and picked out a spot - it was about 5:50pm or so.  We sat there for most of the time - except for the occasional bathroom break or water fountain trip.  My sis stopped by the Pieces of Eight store to get the $6 fill-your-bag with silver/gold coins and jewels.
    
    Someone had put out a blanket in the front row, right in front of us.  Nobody came back to claim the spot.  The guy sitting to the left of the spot said that when he came at 3 or 4 (I forget), the people were putting down the blanket.
    
    Everyone sitting around the area thought "hmmm, maybe they forgot?" Or perhaps found a different spot. I thought about asking a CM - to see if maybe another group should sit there (or like for the rest of us to move up so more people could fill in).  We kept looking around, seeing if maybe someone was going to come along and take the spot, but as the minutes counted down to the start of the show, there was not a single sign.
    
    Until 10 minutes before the show started - a lady and her 4 kids came a-blazing, stepping on people's blankets/tarps to get to their spot.  They barely made any gesture of contrition or embarrassment and some of the kids stepped on our spot.  So my dad asked if they could walk around, but the mom was kind of b****chy.  Then my mom was muttering to herself and the lady was like "what did you say?"  My mom said "Nothing!".   Then I said something about how some people are so inconsiderate, the rest of us (everyone else) had been sitting here for at least two hours.  The lady looks back and me and says "What?"  I answered snootily "Oh, I wasn't talking TO you."  The perfect line would have been "Oh, I was talking about someone else, someone who was totally rude and inconsiderate.  Definitely NOT you." 
    
    Apparently (as the lady explained to another lady, I think the kids grandmother, though she kind of looked like a skinny guy), they had gone back because someone was tired so that person took a nap.  Then the mom took a nap and I guess they didn't wake up earlier.  Whatever - seriously the rest of us had to wait, you should too.
    

After Fantasmic, we rushed (well, as fast as possible, considering the massive crowds heading out) to Main Street to watch the fireworks.  They already started by then but whatever.  Then my mom found some people visiting from Taiwan and she suggested that they watch Fantasmic (which they didn't know about).  So we had to walk them back to the Rivers of America (they found a spot just inside of the rope).  Then we had to walk all the way back out to the exit - crowds were still crazy.

We went to the World of Disney shop and milled around.  I got a Minnie doll - a plastic "articulated" doll, which basically means you can move the arms and the legs.  Well, the legs can't really move - just rotate (so she can turn out really well).  She can't sit down though.

Anyway, it was a pretty good visit.  Oh, when I was walking back from the restroom to our Fantasmic spot, I was rubbing my eye (the left one had a bunch of eye boogers all through the day) when I heard someone call out my name.  I looked up and saw one of the moms from ballet (her daughter is 13 or so).  I guess it is a small world after all!