July 17th
 

Realizing that the big day was fast approaching, figured we'd better get a thread going so peeps know where the hip happening places to be will um... be.

*

For my part, I hope there's a DTD component so the passless among us can join the festivities. Mayhap some lawn time or Trader Sam's in the heat of the afternoon/early evening?

Also in case people have missed the "Carmageddon" warnings up till now... please note that part of the 405 will be SHUT DOWN on the 16th and 17th, so assume that the 5 will be hellacious and plan your travel time accordingly.

You're taking delivery of your new printer at Disney?

I know certain people are planning a certain something special for that day. It is somewhat, kinda, a little bit related to the famous Carousel takeover of 50th fame - and participants will be recruited. It's an awesome idea, but I'll have to leave it to the instigators to reveal more.


But I figured I should tantalize, since someone started a thread. :p

Can't wait to see that certain-something-special... but we won't be seeing it in person. We're passless chaps and there's no way we're braving the drive down while the 405 is closed. The traffic will be terrifying.

I have no idea why anyone would think a closure of the 405 between the 10 freeway and the 101 freeway would affect the 5 freeway at all. They do not in any remotely conceivable way serve the same traffic destinations. Especially as it concerns Disneyland. The 405 will be open south of the 10 freeway, so anyone in the west of the world wanting to use that to access the 105 or the 91 or the 22 to get eastward to Disneyland can still do so.

Further north, in the affected zone, no one who would be using the 405 to travel south those 10 miles is going to go all the way to the 5 to head southward. That's absurd.

The only people who might choose the 5 over the 405 would be people in the Valley, and those people would be using the 5 to get to Disneyland anyway, and not the 405.


Giant, Mega, SHEESH.


Yes, traffic on the West Side of L.A. will be a nightmare that weekend. This will have ZERO effect on traffic to Disneyland. Pulease.

The thing is, anyone trying to get over the hill from the Valley headed south, or trying to get TO the valley headed north who would normally use the 405 has very few options. I shudder to think what Sepulveda will be like. Topanga? Laurel? Coldwater? Those are sure to be nightmares. So that leaves the 101/5 as the main alternate. It's not going to be the destination for ALL traffic that would have been destined for the 405, but it will most definitely see an increase in traffic, which will have ripple effects beyond the short stretch that will technically be the detour.

Of course, some of that will be alleviated by the number of people who will no doubt be too paranoid about the traffic to even get on the road. But considering how one fender bender somewhere on the 101 usually manages to slow down every other freeway for miles around, it's not beyond imagining that closure of one of the heaviest traveled major arteries could lock things down all around the city.


Getting away fom Hollywood to head to Disneyland probably won't be a problem. But headed back towards the 5/101 split? That I'd be worried about.

For the last few years up here we had a few complete closures of the Bay Bridge for multi-day periods due to bridge construction.

I do'nt know how well LA is communicating things, but by the time the bridge closed everybody was so aware of it and had modified their plans for the window that it didn't really create any major headaches.

Of course, in our situation the psychological factors were different. An alternative to the bridge is at least 30 miles extra driving. There's no "well, I'll just take parallel surface streets" option to encourage people to try it unnecessarily.

The news (so take that for what it's worth) is reporting Sepulveda will be closed to everyone but locals with ID.

I will be there, Carmageddon or no! Morrigoon are there cast member sign ins on the 17th? We know people who know people (though you probably know more people than we).

No, CMs are blocked out on the birthday.

I believe you are wrong, sir. Being FROM the Valley, everything south of the valley is viewed in terms of whether you take the 5 or 405 to get there - especially for folks along the 118, for whom the 405 and 5 being practically next to each other (only 5 min apart). If you can't use the 405, then all traffic out of the valley has to be diverted to the 5 or the 101 - which requires the 170 for the northern folks, which comes OFF the 5. And the 101 sucks at any time in which one would expect traffic, which means that any traffic that CAN use the 5, will.

Now add to this that people will adjust their weekend plans to not require travel on the 405, but people who aren't hiding in their homes will then likely make plans involving driving on the 5 and.... well, you get the idea.

Ok, whatever. I said the Valley would be an exception. So .. with the exception of MadMonkeyGirl and CoasterMatt, does anyone on the LoT even live in the Valley?


Much.Ado.About.NOTHING.

Not sure that's 100% true. The 1-4 are the only days the Silver Pass is blocked out this July.

Really? Wow.

Mark and Mindy. MickeyD is waaaaay north and will not be attending the bday this year because of this.

Joe and BJ

Yeah, thought of Mark and Mindy after my post. Forgot all about poor Joe and BJ. They're all invited to spend the weekend at my place so we can drive hassle-free to Disneyland on the 17th!

They already said they were coming ;)

I, however will most likely be passless by then since my pass expires June 17th.

Maybe we should have a passless celebration at Trader Sam's?

For breakfast or late, late night snacks? There's not gonna be any getting in that place otherwise. The birthday's on a Sunday.

118 to the 210 to the 605 to the 5 to Disneyland is our usual route- I don't see where this would impact us much if at all.

Wow, you use the 210?

We'll be passless as well (probably). I'll also be 6 days post-surgery, so that may impact us going at all. But, I just play thing by ear these days.

Uh-oh. Keith's awesome birthday plan requires a set number of people to participate. Not remotely as many as it took to take over a Carousel, but a not insignificant number nonetheless. I hope the ranks of the Passless don't make this an impossibility.
:eek:

Its been all over the news the last few days and I suspect it will continue for a while.

Leading up to the 1984 Olympics in LA, everyone said it was going to be the worst traffic in LA ever and many were predicting true gridlock. Because of this, many companies worked out alternate schedules for their employees as well as bus service, etc. I worked just outside of downtown at the time and the couple of weeks during the Olympics were the EASIEST commute I ever had to that job.

I'm with you on this iSm

Yep, lots of comparisons being made to the success of the Great Olympics Traffic Scare of 1984. Everyone on the westside knows about this, and traffic might turn out to be the best the westside's seen in 30 years.


But I'm not taking any chances. ;) Getting outta dodge!



On Sunday, I'll be at the Park. Word of Carmageddon will have spread far and wide by then, so maybe everyone in southern california will just stay home. :p

Best traffic ever on the 405 was the morning of the Northridge quake. Flew up to Brentwood. Only 2-3 cars on the freeway total.

We usually take the 118 to the 210 to the 605 to the 5. Or we if we go we will be going super mega early and there is NO traffic usually on Sundays that early in the morning. I see the only problem will be with the shutdown of the 405 those who have to go to LAX and depend on that freeway (hence the Van Nuys flyaway) among other valley residents.

We plan on being there. Our passes don't expire until August. So i can't wait especially since my work availability has kicked in and i don't go in early on Mondays anymore.

Kind of like opening day of DCA!

We'll be at the Lassen Volcanic Nat'l Park leg of our 9-day real California Adventure. So, we'll be at Disneyland in spirit, but no where near it (or Carmageddon, thank goodness).

You're not passless anymore! :p How post op were you for "I pledge allegiance to the boob..."?

CM's are not blocked out the 17th on the Blue or Silver Pass.......I might have one spare sign in that day, not sure yet though waiting to see if Hubby is going to join Wolfette, friend and I.

If somebody has a spare sign in available, I'd love to go!

Given how I'm feeling one day after surgery, I'll probably be fine on the 17th with maybe a tad less stamina.

Will Lupe be there?

I think you should all have just another boring Sunday at home..... just like well be having.

Actually, we're going to a birthday party too - for our friend Geoff.

It's not our fault you snubbed us for your friend Geoff. Why should we sit at home and suffer?

Brendan and I are going for sure!

What date is this happening?

It's the day the 4:00 parade is at Four o'clock.

We'll be there for the afternoon (let's see if we can make a Noon meet). I don't know if I can make the entire day, but I'm going back to work on Friday and, if I can work, I can do Disneyland. We also don't have anyone to walk our doggies, so we'll have to attend to them.

Lupe should be gone by then. Lupe can't drive worth shyt.

We should be there by noon!

Sigh, it's looking like no Bubbles of Terror. I'm very disappointed, but of course will still be there. :(

Matt and I will be there probably from park opening til closing. :)

I'll be there taking photos. I hope I survive.

Is there a general assumption that DLR attendance will be lower due to the closing of the 405?

Because if the crowd all thinks and acts on that assumption...

Which puts me off on a tangent. I wonder if you could predict attendance at the resort based on data mining the Internet. Twitter and facebook feeds come to mind.

It really only impacts people in the area around and north of where the freeway is closed, and only because the 5 and surrounding freeways may be busier but if you live by LAX and are taking the 405 south for a bit it wouldn't impact you at all, there.

Traffic isn't going to be an issue in and around the Disneyland area, but it wouldn't be surprising to find that the general fear of traffic hell in and around Los Angeles does dissuade people from getting in their car at all that day, including people who might have otherwise decided to drive down from the Valley to go to Disneyland.

So yes, I predict a lower turnout than might have otherwise happened.

I also predict that the media has instilled enough paranoia about Carmageddon that it will fizzle out into a whole lot of nothing. At which point everyone will complain that the media made a whole lot of noise about nothing (failing to grasp that concept that it may very well have been the media's noise-making that might keep the impact low). So in the end you'll have people bitching that they should have just gone to where they wanted to go, missing the point that if everyone had done that, there WOULD have been traffic problems. Sigh.

Some proof that the paranoia is indeed sinking in. We have engineers from our office in India visiting this week whose flight is on Saturday, out of LAX. They are taking a shuttle service which is forcing them to be picked up 8 hours ahead of their flight time. 8 hours. Yeah, paranoia is high, which will mean traffic is low.

The only CArmageddon impact I can possibly think of would be IF i had to make a trip to UCLA for an emergency doctor's visit. Otherwise, I'm not planning on a trip to the Getty or Skirball, I rarely set foor in the Valley, I can get to LAX easily taking surface streets. Both non-local outings this weekend are in Orange County and I'd be surprised if there is any overflow traffic. Again, I can take Willow/Katella straight down to DL on Sunday if I need to.

So, I guess my only goal is to not have a medical emergency this weekend. I think I can manage that. ;)

Nine months after Snowmeggedon we had an echo boom. I wonder....

Is there a meet-up? If so, where and when?

I'm wondering what other sort of "mageddons" we could have?

2 am on St. Patrick's Day = Barmageddon
The day everyone finally gets their just rewards = Karmageddon
When everyone and everything abides by Natural Order = Dharmageddon
The day when the world runs low on Parmesan Cheese = Parmageddon

The possibilities are endless!

I assume the only meet-up (unofficial at that) is the veritable Noon at the Hub.

But of course, since the Disneyland Switchboard is planning on being there, there's always THAT. :D

The Disneyland Switchboard is planning on being on-site at noon, which means it will actually open about 1.

Don't forget to adjust your watches for LoT standard time, which is very similar to UT time. I wonder if that means the UT contingent will appear in the flux of the time-space consortium.

I can safely predict you won't be there

Well, 2 hours into Carmageddon (on-ramps in the area were shut down at 7. Lanes will start closing around 10, full closure around midnight). So far, Google shows no traffic on any LA freeways. Surface streets look a little slow, but not any more than usual for a Friday night.

Film at 11.

They should keep the 405 closed until they can build proper mass transit through the Sepulveda Pass.

Actual image from sigalert.com
Attachment 1639

Does anyone know what, if any, will be the plans for any anniversary stuff by Disney at Disneyland?

I predict.... confetti cannons!

From AVP at MousePad:

(shiver)

Thanks Steph! I should have known to look over there at MP! :blush:

Bird release!

Cupcakes?

You should have taken it s step further. Also from Sigalert.com

I'm glad I don't drive any buzzes!

Wow, people came out of the woodwork for yesterday's birthday. Manageable crowds, for which I thank Carmageddon. Good friends having Disneyland fun together just like old times, le sigh. I didn't last as long as I'd hoped, but a really nice day in the Park. Heheh, 3 rides, 3 meals, 2 rounds of ice cream, FTW.

I had one of my favorite Space Mountain rides yesterday, and got to ride Death Row on Big Thunder. I have no idea when I'll be able to work on the photos...

The crowd leaving around 11:15 last night was more than I'd witnessed that late (nearest park closing) so I really don't think Carmaggedon kept the crowds away.

Yeah, it was amazing getting the gang together yesterday. So nice to see everybody, however briefly!

Tragically I only thought to take a couple pics. Wish I'd pulled out the good camera during the parade.

We had an absolute blast yesterday! It really was old home week with so many people from the over 10 years we've been doing this. Such happy goodness I could hardly stand it.

It was great to see the gang at Paradise Lounge after my farmer's mkt. Lounged with the LoTters, chatted with the Chatters, Jungle Cruised, Tiki Roomed, Magicalled, and saw the flicker show on iasw. Happy birthday, favorite place on Earth!

Love the preggars pic of Morrigoon on the Grizzly back-trail. (and hey, I look like I've got pecs in one of those shots! Nice work, Morrigoon!)

Thanks for that, I still think I look fatter, rather than pregnant, thus far, but it's getting there!

I like the picture of Joe & BJ, they're so cute together!

Not so! I think you look great!

I wish I could have been there to see you all, I was with family at DL to say HB (around 11:00) then DCA at 12 for Ice cream at the soon to be shuttered BurrrBank Ice Cream for the last time. It's so depressing with the shade and seating torn out in front..:( .Then Harry Potter at 1:30 at DtD.

But the new DCA entry gates look fabulous!!!

I couldn't find anyone ! I was at the hub at noon, but no sign of y'all.

...so much for the surprise.

:p

You do realize that we were talking about the Hub at DISNEYLAND?

It was awesome seeing everyone including random run-ins with AVP, Tony, Andrew, Jen and the MP contingent outside of BuRRRRRBank and Hastin (aka MonoralMan) at the Paradise Lounge. There were also run-ins with other long lost people like Aaron and Henry and others whose names I've forgotten.

Not sure what was up with the Toy Story buses last night but that was my worst experience ever. The driver broke several laws, almost hit a couple pedestrians and when we got to the offload area the CMs kept waiting for more people to board (there was no line). After several minutes another couple and I finally asked the driver to let us off so we could walk across the lot. He let us off but a CM forced us on another bus to drive around the cement bend in the road because crossing the parking lot is apparently too dangerous (and why did they let us off to begin with). Luckily the buses finally started moving.

My name is Kevin

Yes, but you'll always be Kevy to me....

Oh... not the Porn Cinema in Newtown then? :blush: