WonkaKid
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2009
Wow. What a great experience I had at the park yesterday. The best, in fact, that I’ve had in quite some time. Several cool things happened. In brief:
To reiterate, yesterday was wonderful. Best DL day I’ve had in a long time.
I’ve got park maps, if anyone would like one (or two). Simply send me a DM with your preferred mailing address and I’ll pop a set in the mail for you.
I hope all of your upcoming visits are as magic as mine was yesterday!
Some pics. Note the CMs that line both sides of Main Street to greet the arriving guests.
- At around 7:15 I met up with some friends at the park gates, one of which I hadn’t seen in several weeks so it was nice to catch up. As we talked, I noticed two young Japanese girls a few people behind us. I took two years of Japanese in college and so I decided to strike up a conversation. They seemed pleased that I could ask them questions. My primary challenge is that I studied formal Japanese – I suspect that most people do when they first start out. So I’ll ask questions formally… and the answers will usually come informally, which I often don’t understand. But when they're kept relatively simple, I’m able to wade through and gain a basic understanding. They said that they were from Nagoya and I told them that Tokyo DL is my second favorite of all the Disney parks. I also explained that it was the park’s birthday/anniversary and they were both surprised and pleased. They were disappointed when I told them that our DL doesn’t offer curry popcorn, which is (or at least was when I visited Japan) exceptionally popular at Tokyo DL.
- As we waited at the rope for the park to open, Ken Potrock, President, Disneyland Resort, began to pass among us and introduced himself. I was chatting with a charming family from Indianapolis behind us and by the time a friend could get my attention, he’d already moved on from our group.
- The Indianapolis fam (mom, dad and seventeen-year-old daughter) told me that they were aimed towards PP for their first ride of the day. I suggested that they follow me/us and that if they were close enough (and if I/my group was first), we’d swap places with them and give them our first-place spot. That’s exactly what happened and they seemed genuinely pleased that their day got off to such a momentous start.
- I scored 2,014,400 on my first round of Buzz. It’s always nice to start the day with a respectable score. However, on our second round, a friend beat me with 2,031,300. I was pleased for him, naturally, but throughout the day I was never able to beat that. Technically, I did. On our next round I went over 2,097,000 by about 9,400 points, which caused my score to reset. That always happens, as I’ve mentioned/complained about in countless previous posts. Then in the next two rounds I lost track of my score (once you exceed 1M, you have to tally it in your head). So my next two scores fell short of 2M – 1,991,400 and 1,981,300. Always frustrating. When I left the park at close to 4:00, my friend was still in the #1 slot. So I know he was happy about that, as was I. But not as happy as I would have been if I had been in first place ;-).
- Later we stopped by Star Tours to say hello to a CM I know. But she was somewhere inside. The CM we spoke with offered to let us in and took the chain down for us. That was a nice surprise. Then as we reached the boarding area, the CM tending to us looked familiar. I asked her if she used to work on Buzz. She smiled and said that she had worked on the Monorail and that she remembered me. That’s when I recognized her. We used to talk about four years ago on/near the Monorail and I hadn’t seen her since. She was wearing glasses and her hair had changed so it took me a moment. Moreover, I presumed she’d left long ago. She then told me that she often wondered how I was. That was another really great surprise. I gave her my card and hopefully I’ll hear from her.
- Around 11:15 we saw that ROTR was down so we went to the entrance and waited for a bit… just in case it opened up and we’d be among the first in. That didn’t happen but something even better did. I chatted with Jordan, the CM at the entrance. I often ask CMs to share some of their most standout memories of working at the park and he told me a great one. A few years ago a family was visiting from Mexico. But they only ate and attended shows because they thought that all rides were an additional charge and they couldn’t afford anything beyond what they’d already spent. Much of the day passed like this but somehow their situation came to Jordan’s attention. He then took the family around to many of the attractions and walked them on via the exit. That was not only the right thing to do (in my mind) but also very kind. I love hearing about magic like that.
- Here’s a bizarre coincidence: we met a couple close to noon and the guy (Joe) was wearing a birthday button. He shares his birthday with Disneyland – July 17. Then he explained that his girlfriend next to him shared her birthday with Mickey Mouse. The odds of that must be high.
- Apropos of nothing, one couple I met told me that their daughter contracted COVID in Feb of 2020. Her fever hit 104.7! I’ve never heard of a fever that high. Apparently the hospital would only take patients whose fever had hit 105. I asked if they packed her in ice and they told me that they did. When I had COVID, I believe the highest my fever got was around 103.6, which is the highest I’ve ever had to endure.
- A short time later I bumped into one of the Japanese girls I’d met earlier. She was very sweet and insisted on a pic. See below. I should have connected with her/them on social media but things were happening so fast and I missed the opportunity. They’re exchange students so perhaps I’ll see them at the park again.
- I also bumped into a mother and daughter whom I used to see all the time. Yesterday was the first time since the pandemic began. They’re fans of the Dapper Dans and are often found lurking in the bands orbit ;-).
To reiterate, yesterday was wonderful. Best DL day I’ve had in a long time.
I’ve got park maps, if anyone would like one (or two). Simply send me a DM with your preferred mailing address and I’ll pop a set in the mail for you.
I hope all of your upcoming visits are as magic as mine was yesterday!
Some pics. Note the CMs that line both sides of Main Street to greet the arriving guests.
I love the story about the family from Mexico! Thank goodness Jordan heard about it and was able to give them a magical day. Wonderful pictures, as always!
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