...for 14 minutes and 23 seconds

Just a friendly warning, though I know you already know this. Cars Land in the afternoon will be packed.

[/2cents]

That it will. Hopefully our helpers will be able to get us a FP or two for RSR which will help some. My original plan was to do the early hour in DL and then beat feet for the DCA opening at 9:00am (which I expect will be a bit delayed due to the race) but I don't think we can get Fanstasyland done early enough beat the crowds at CarsLand. I'd rather see less than have to rush her.

Small note for Moonie: Friday, 8/31 is the first (official) "showing" of Glow with the show of F! Let me know if you want to borrow Susan and my ears for this or if you want to get your own (you may want them for WoC as well).

Thanks, but I think I'll pass on the glow ears.

On a mostly unrelated tangent. Will any of my helpers be sporting a camera that might be used to take a few random shots of me and mom?

I looked into the official photopass but by virtue of being official it's also expensive and rather limited in where they take photos.

Not sure if I'll be able to help.

We'll bring our camera.

Double plus good! Thanks.

I'm willing to help, but asking to take pictures is just too much; how presumptuous of you.

;)

I'll try to remember to bring our camera, but our phones take pretty decent pics.

Oh my god. Just got back from Disneyland date night, sans T.

Mater's (first time), Luigi's (first time), Racers (first time), Tea Party (not first time, but best time), drink at Carthay (....) , WoC (First time seeing it properly), Toy Story (I still reign supreme).

Mind blown.

All hail Heidi, Keith, and Susan. Perfect night.

Ooh, on a Friday evening/night? How were the crowds? The line for Luigi's?

IT was not crowded at all. < 30 minutes for Luigi's. We did single rider for Racer's, that was also around 30 minutes (and we ended up getting to ride next to each other). We were able to get an amazing view of WoC with no fastpass.

That Disney evening ranks up there with the best of them. So many new experiences. RSR was astounding. I finally got to soak up the Carthay atmosphere. All our AP dreams have come true, at DCA! :eek:

I'll be there, camera and a couple lenses in tow. I'm not doing anybody's makeup, though.

I swear, I don't think this trip could get any cooler even if they unfroze Walt and brought us into the apartment for milk and churros with him.

One week to go. Other than the Mansion being 101, I think things are fairly well in hand... Here is our tentative timeline for Saturday which has been substantially revised since earlier in this thread...

7:30am Arrive at DL entry gates.
8:00am Early Entry - beat feet for FantasyLand
8:30am Pan, Dumbo,Toad, and if time allows: Snow,Alice,Pinocchio,Canal boats
9:00am ""
9:30am ""
10:00am Castle walk though/Main Street Vehicle / Head for DCA
10:30am ""
11:00am Red Car to Hollywood Tower Hotel Stop (close to Aladdin)
11:30am Aladdin Show (11:55 start)
12:00am ""
12:30pm ""
1:00pm ""
1:30pm Cathcay Ressies for me and mom
2:00pm ""
2:30pm Head for Cars Land
3:00pm RSR/Tires, etc...
3:30pm "
4:00pm "
4:30pm "
5:00pm Soarin/Cross Back to DL
5:30pm Lilly? and/or Train to Adventureland
6:00pm Splash/Pirates/Thunder
6:30pm "
7:00pm Blue Bayou Group Dinner ressies
7:30pm "
8:00pm "
8:30pm Fantasmic Seating
9:00pm Fantasmic Show
9:30pm Fireworks (from Fantasmic seats)
10:00pm Train to Tomorrowland
10:30pm Buzz/StarTours
11:00pm Exit Park
11:30pm "
12:00am Close

Which works out walking approximately:
1 Mile before lunch.
1.2 Miles between lunch and dinner
and
0.8 miles from Dinner back to the hotel.

We don't make the 4pm parade, but it's still a fairly full (but not to strenuous) day. We will need seat savers for the 11:55am Aladdin plus FP's for: RSR (x2 hopefully), Soarin, Splash, Thunder, and StarTours.

We got ya covered!




Pedantic note: it is the Carthay Circle Restaurant/Lounge, not Cathcay

But this is the Internet. Anything with "cat" in it has to be better.

Just let us know where you need us to run. Only thing I see is the RSR timing. Fastpasses go quickly and I'm not sure what the timeframes are.

Susan and I will be there early Caturday to get the RSR FPs.

So far, people have been let into DCA for early entry an hour before the FastPass machines are turned on which leads to a long, long, long, line at the RSR fastpass machines. Saturday will be the FIRST day at DCA with no early entry since the opening of carsland. So with Kevy and Susan joining you early...

From what I have been able to gather, the return time for RSR is (as with all other FP attractions) not enforced. So the exact times on the passes is not critical. The exception being that return times are sometimes checked after the first WoC until DCA close.

Unless your return time is later than you planned on being there. They don't enforce the END of return times, but they do enforce the BEGINNING. (so if your return time is between 9:45PM and 10:45PM, you can show up at 11:00PM, but not 3:00PM).

This was the potential problem I was trying to point out. It's a crap shoot when you get into line what time you'll end up getting.

With no early entry, there just won't be that many people making it to the machines before you. So I don't think return time will be an issue. But if it is we will just have to juggle our schedule accordingly.

Or are you saying that on RSR FP's (unlike other FP's) the return time is randomly assigned rather than being given out early to late in time based order?

Is your mom comfortable with jumping off if you're taking the train to Adventureland?

Does

"6:00pm Splash/Pirates/Thunder
6:30pm "

mean doing all three? An hour seems awfully ambitions since about half of that is actual ride time leaving only 10 minutes each for walking and standing in line.

No, it means Pirates first then see where we are time wise.... If we can squeeze in Splash or Thunder great, if not that's OK as well.

My only two cents is that RSR seems to go down a lot so that could throw off your pin point scheduling.

But I hope you have a great time.:)

I think I speak for all of us when I say that you are certifiably nuts.

Good luck. :)

It's important to remember that thems are more guidelines then actual rules. Adjustments will be made as needed.

Wait, what? Why did you say that? I'm I missing something? Did I leave out an important attraction? Damn, now I'm going to be up all night going over all the details to figure out what I missed.....

I corrected it for ya.

It's good to know you always have my back.

Dammit! It's the Carrousel isn't it? I can't believe I forgot the freaking Carrousel. Thanks for the reminder! Now to re-work to schedule to fit it in....

Don't worry. Watching the carrousel is more fun than riding it. You can do that while waiting in line for Dumbo.

Personally, I'd rather look at Dumbo while riding the Carrousel.

The Carrousel is more fun when you have 69 friends to share with.

[Disney Geek] I thought it had 72 horses ?? [/Disney Geek]

Personally, I haven't ridden a ride in in that part of Fantasyland for recreational reasons (writing the last MouseAdventure required me to ride Snow White solo repeatedly to improve my feeling of being a pedophile) in a decade so I'll just watch both.

Oh goodie. If you extrapolate a bit based on the time/curve in this graph then it looks probable I'll be dealing with sloppy seconds from Isaac on the day I'm due to fly out to LAX. Nothing like high winds and rain to muck up flight schedules.

The 2003 refurb eliminated four horses (bringing the total down to 68) and added a bench for two to address ADA concerns. Total capacity of 70.

Added to Quotes for posterity.

Damn, I knew I shoulda counted them in 2007 & 2009.

I think you should come out in 2012 to verify.

I went to Disneyland. Waited in line for Radiator Springs Racers, got to the loading area at 10 minutes to 11:00 pm (closing time) and the ride went 101. :mad:

That'll learn ya !!

I've been so busy planning our day at Disney that I never looked at our exit strategy.

It looks like I'm going to have about 17,000 issues getting away from the resort area on Sunday morning.

Ouch. Maybe you need Just One More Disney Day.

Wasn't really planning on this until recently, but I'll be out to run the DL half this weekend.

I suggest going east on Katella to the 710 N to the 105 E to the 110 S to the 91 E to the 55 S to the 22 W to the 57 N to the 60 E to the 15 S to the 91 W to the 71 N to the 10 W to the 605 N to the 210 W to the 2 S to the 124 W to the 5 N to the 118 W to the 23 S to the 101 S (which is actually E) to the 405 S, exit Century and LAX will be at the end.

Thinking about hitting DLR tomorrow afternoon/evening. Anyone feel like joining me?

I'm just guessing, but I gotta think that's more than a half marathon.

We'll be around Saturday if you have time to say hello.

Moonie - depending on where you're staying, it looks like parts of Harbor to the freeway should be open. Here is the map. I'd definitely check with the hotel.

Bah, I can't go to Disneyland. No AP. :(

Arrrrgh They've got me surrounded. Hopefully there will be some way to get past their lines.

I don't see anything in the announced closures that would prevent you from getting onto the freeway from where the red arrow is (if that is you). Off ramps are closed, not the onramps. And with Harbor closed tot he south of you there probably won't even be any traffic between the park and the 5 on ramp.

But maybe I'm not clear on where you're starting or going to.

Staying at the red arrow, going to LAX. Pickup scheduled for 8AM. So the driver needs to get to us, and then back out. It says both exits from the I-5 onto Harbor will be closed, which I assume implies the on ramps will be open. So if he can get to us then we should be OK I guess.

How does he get to us? I-5 Southbound exit onto Ketlla? But then were does he cross the "blue line"?

Oh wait, the Northbound exit onto Disney Way (There is a northbound exit right?) should work. Disney way, right on Harbor, pick us up and continue north on harbor until the I-5 on ramp. Assuming the map is accurate and they only close the south side of Disney way.

The race goes down Disney Way. But there are some backstreets that bring you out by Hojos. I'd see if the hotel can maybe help you - the course in that area is pretty similar to past years so they should know if you can get out.

I'll give it a try, but I have my reservations about that. The last time I stayed at a hotel along Harbor a guest asked the front desk "Which way to Disneyland" and clerk was not sure. Correct answer being: Out the font door and across the street.

I have a friend who's run the half for years, I'm checking to see if she has any intel or can point me in the right direction of someone who might actually know to ask.

What time are you trying to do this?

If I remember correctly from last year, the section of Harbor between Katella and Disney Way is only closed on the southbound side and Disney Way is only closed on the westbound side. So if nothing else you probably could just walk a block down tot he corner of Harbor and Disney Way and get picked up there.

I'd suggest calling your hotel and asking. By now they should be old hands at it.

I think he already came out.

I'll be there later with BJ. We have tickets for Glow with the Show FANTASMIC version

Nice. I'll text you when I get there...

Yay! I think we're getting there around 7 (after work and workoutstuffs)

Susan and I are going as well. We have two open spaces if anybody wants to come.

This almost got quoted... luckily I'm not inclined to rude thoughts.

I'll be there in the late afternoon at some point.

Mom talked with Headliner (my daughter) yesterday, it seems she is worried about having a plan in place for Disney....

So Headliner explained to Grandmother in great detail exactly what we mean when we say "We got this covered". Including among other things, our use of satellite imagery to plan paths, waking distances and rest breaks.

Yeah, I think that did the trick.

I'll be at Glowtasmic! tonight, got three spaces. BTW, it's byo ear hats. I predict that there's going to be a lot of people with dead ear hats because they didn't know their batteries would go dead. Maybe I should bring my tiny screwdriver and a bunch of cheap batteries and charge people 5 bucks for on-the-spot repairs!

Do these hats do anything away from the park?

I know it ain't so, but I'd buy a pair if they worked via a WiFi (or 3g) connection so that they lit up with the show no matter where you were. I'd love to have them up on a shelf, see them start blinking and know the show was starting...

Edited to add: Cool, they work via IR. That could lead to all types of fun.

Throw in a side of ThinKrisps and you can probably get 10 bucks a pop.

Mmm, GlowKrisps!

I'll have the screwdriver and a spare set of batteries for myself tonight. When we wore our ears last Friday (just cuz we're geeks), mine wouldn't power up, even with new batteries. So I got new ears. I'm not going to replace the batteries until I need to.

Another site that did a tear down, with a little more technical info in case you're interested.

I bought new batteries and my ears turn on but they won't turn off so I took the batteries out.

I have a spot open for tonight's phantasmic if someone wants to join… Any takers?

Jim's got three, we've got two. I think there are a lot of openings going into tonight.

Are the open tickets for AP holders only? If not - someone text me.

Unfortunately, it says APs

Bummer. I brought in a friend from work who has no AP.
If a CM tells someone otherwise, we're here til 10.

We made a valiant effort, but couldn't get poor Hovo in. While the helpful CM did suggest he buy an AP to get into the park, we decided that 7 hours in DCA was plenty for a school night, and we drove home. Hope everyone had a blast!

It was GlowTastic! It was great to see you last night, happy day after!

So sleepies!

Glowtastic indeed! They had CMs wandering around with ears, batteries and little screw drivers.

Also: the child's "s'more sundae" at Ghirardelli's is ridiculousness.

I have video of the first 4+ minutes on my phone. It is mostly of the crowd, so it may seem odd to anyone who hasn't seen F! Sadly, whenever I try to upload it to FB, it fails. Next stop: YouTube

Doh!

Mom has never seen "Cars". I'm working on a way to fix that before Saturday.

Why, what's happening on Saturday?

We're going to Disneyland!!!!

Sorry, I just had to get that out of my system. Heading home to pack now....

Damn, I wish you had said something earlier: we could have made plans.

My bags are packed. I'm ready to go. The Taxi's waiting he's blowing his horn.

I guess I shouldn't have parked where I'm blocking him in....

Time for a quick lunch and then off to the Airport....

You and Momliner have FUN!

I love this text I just got from Moonliner Damn rookies

Do you know what rides you want to go on?.

Moonliner just likes to wing it

Yeah, I hear he's a bit sloppy in his planning...

Woot! In place for WOC waiting for the show to start.

And yes, we are both wearing the ears!

Super mega mojo to Kevy and Susan for blazing the trail.

Give Momliner a bear hug for me.

I'm cleaning all my camera gear and making sure everything's in tip top shape for tomorrow.

Does this include zebra spandex, too?

Great! You have the schedule. Mom seems to be doing well so I think we will be able to keep to it. Do I have your cell? Can you pm it?

Merkin spelling?!?

So there. Take that, you 'merkin. at least I put the apostrophe to indicate the missing A. IF you wish, retaliation can ensure in the form of calling me " 'Strayan "

Or I'll just call you poopy pants - so there :p

Took a small journey to meet Moonie and Momliner. They were ahead of schedule, so we squeezed in a ride on Monsters Inc and a visit to Turtle Talk with Crush. Then we briefly said hi to the gofers on their lunch break. Looked like everything was under control, and Mom was having a great time. :D

It was great to see Moonie and meet Momliner. Even though she's a Red Wings fan.

I hope Moonie and Momliner had a fantastic time!

I debated whether to or not, and then decided. Bugger him. Let him come to me.

But you won't get to meet Momliner, who is a wonderful lady!

She experienced her first Tiki Room show and got serenaded by Maynard for her birthday!

Epic. That would be the word. Future generations will speak of this day with revrence. Ballads will be created and sung at holiday gatherings. Children will reenact the events of the day in plays. It was the bacon of days. I'll post more details when I make it back home. Many many thanks to Kevy, Susan, Katiesue, Maddie, Matt, MMG, Maynard, and Disney's cast of thousands.

I'm happy to hear that it was the Happiest Day On Earth for you!

It was wonderful to see Moonliner again, and Momliner is an absolute delight- I didn't get to spend too much time with them, because I was taking horrible photos, like this...

(That was a joke. This is one of my favorite photos in a while.)

Any horrible photos of Moonie and Momliner?

It's not possible to get a bad pic of Momliner

Madz declared it one of the best Disney days ever. We had a great time and my pedometer clocked a little over 11 miles. Woo hoo.

Thanks everyone for a great day!

Full set of pics from Saturday - here

Gorgeous as always!

It wasn't really that busy on Saturday.

YEAH!!! I get to take my Mom to Disneyland this Friday!

I made it back to the bitter east coast. It's hot humid and they expect me to show up for work each day. *bleh*

San Francisco was fun, it was good to see the extended family but Friday and Saturday were the highlights of this trip.

Friday night Kevy and Susan met us at the Fiddler Fifer and Practical Cafe were they had pre-ordred us dinner allowing us to eat a fine meal and still make it to the 9:00pm WoC with a great view.



Kevy even went ahead and nabbed us a set of Glow with the Show ears.


After the show we took Momliner Soarin for the first time, then a quick ride under the sea before turning in for the night.

Saturday morning we hit Disneyland early, we even managed to get my traditional place in line. First.


We made a clean sweep of Fantasyland and added in the Matterhorn and IASW for good measure.



On the way in, mom mentioned how her biggest disappointment with Disneyland on her first trip ('56 ish?) was that she could not go inside the castle. So I was able to surprise her with the castle walk through.

Katisue and Maddie greeted us at the carousel with a fist full of Fastpasses.

From there we took a vehicle back down main street
(stock photo)


We meet up with GD, CP and printer in the esplanade while making the jump over to DCA. Took a ride on the Red Car Trolley, visted a friendly turtle and some ever friendlier monsters before meeting up with a LoT of folks for the matinee showing of Aladdin (Kevy, Susan, Katisue, Maddie, CoasterMatt, MMG, BTD) before mom and I headed to the Carthay Circle restaurant for lunch where I learned that my mom used to sell candy at the original Carthay Circle theater back in the day. From there, we did RSR (twice!) before stopping in at Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop for a late afternoon snack with the gang.


From there it was back over to DL, for a slow walk down main street, the Tiki Room, Pirates and Splash before dinner at the Blue Bayou and the 9:00pm Fantasmic/Fireworks. It was my first time to see Murphy, very cool.

After that we hit tomorrowland for Buzz and Star Tours before heading home for the night.


With all the fastpasses, seat saving and line holding you guys did for us it was like we had both parks to ourselves. I made for one happy Momliner!

Looks like a fun trip. And you got to hang with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Or is that Joe the Plumber you're with?

Oh him, yeah that was funny. We are both 6'2"+ and stood next to each other. It created a hole in the crowd behind us. For some reason no body wanted to stand there...