First Timers Visit Over Easter! Can we see it all? - Updated 2/9

Our first trip to Disneyland (Disney anything) was last spring and my priority was Mr Toad because I loved the book and the movie as a kid. But I didn't know the details of the ride. So the dying and ending up in hell was a bit of a shock. My son didn't cry but there was a firm "I don't like this ride!"

I love that you were able to all get your own tea cups because of the great photos it made. We were all crammed into one.
 
Happy Saturday Everyone!!!!
We are having a lazy weekend before a few busy weekends to come! I hope to have an update or two this morning after our respond to everyone!

I think as a kid I would have really loved the Storybook boat ride
I know you would love it now as well!

Gwen's donut looks AMAZING. I want one right now.
Right? They came out with a dole whip donut like the week after we were there. And Morgan and Gwen were so mad.

I miss Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
I am really glad we got to do all of those old school dark rides. There really aren't any left in DQ other than Peter Pan.
Would you say they were... "quacking up"??:rotfl2:

Ba dum chh!!
Ha Ha!

Couldn't get the quote to work on Morgan's "crazy" driving picture but that kid kills me. I'm surprised she didn't object since there was no seatbelt!!!
Oh, you have gotten to know Morgan too well.

That is going to be my new measure of success at Disney. Did anyone cry? Nope? Success! Time for a donut!
I think we would all benefit from this new touring plan!

I just found your TR!! I loved reading your DL trip so far. Can’t wait to read more!
:welcome:Thanks for reading along!!!

We have been DLR AP holders for the past almost 9 years and just visited WDW for the first time last year. It definitely is sooo different going from one coast to the other. We love DLR so much but we absolutely love WDW so much too!! :love:
There is this feeling like you have to pick one park or the other. I don't see why we can't love both!

I love that you were able to all get your own tea cups because of the great photos it made. We were all crammed into one.
It was really fun to have our own. And for me, so I didn't have to spin extra!
 
Day Two: Oswald!

I left us off moving over to California Adventure. And I was excited to check out "the other side". We walked in and one of the first things we saw was Oswald! I was Super excitied!

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So, excitied that I was fumbling with my phone to get it out fro a photo or two.

Gwen was yelling at Andy because he debated wearing his Oswald shirt today and didn't. So, Gwen was saying "I told you to wear it!" She is so sweet...

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We got Oswald's signature.

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And of course, a proper photo!

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This put us in a great mood to start our new park to explore! We said good bye to Oswald and headed in to discover more.

We headed to the right and ventured into Grizzly Peak area.
Grizzly Peak Sign

Grizzly Peak Sign
We really enjoyed exploring this area.

Grizzly Peak Car

Misty Grizzly Peak
Gwen took one look at Grizzly River Run and knew she wanted to ride it immediately!

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But first we grabbed a picture in front of the giant bear. (Which I loved)

Up next our first (of many) rides on Grizzly River Run!
 
Day Two: So much Screaming!!!

I don't think there was much of a wait, so we got in line! Gwen had fallen in love with Kali River Rapids in Animal Kingdom, so she was super excitied about this.

We were on the ride before we knew it.
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They were very excitied about the first drop.

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Video of the first drop. Beware. Lots of Screaming!

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Video of one of the drops... (maybe the first... maybe)

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First drop was a success! The girls got wet!

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Video I took after the first drop. I think they liked it.

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Andy snapped this picture after one of the drops. Not sure how or why the picture came out this way, but it because quiet the joke for us.

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They were enjoying this ride.

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And the last drop. More screaming. They clearly liked this ride...

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Somebody might not of liked it as much...

After the ride, the girls of course wanted to ride again. But Andy and I wanted to explore the park some more. We promised we would ride again later and continued on.

Not to far up we found the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. The girls wanted to check it out. So, we did! The girls loved this area.

They got to ride on the swing things...
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Checked out some rocks...
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Climbed some ropes....

And Climbed some rocks.
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The whole area is really well done, and it was nice and quiet in there at the moment. While the girls were running around and playing Andy and I sat down on a picnic bench and talked about what to do next.

And then all of a sudden, someone came over to say hello!
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Chip! Or is this Dale! Both were just roaming around in the area, making mischief and what not. The girls didn't even see it happen. It was def Disneyland magic! A character would never come up to me! Ha!

After Chip moved on, we dragged the girls out of the area. We needed to eat some real food!

Next up a late lunch and a special dis-guest arrives!
 




Those candids are great. The girls look like they were having an absolute blast.

Oh wow, that's so cool that the characters were just roaming around. Such a unique feature to the DL parks. And how funny the girls had no clue.
 
Day Two: Food & Wine Lunch and a Dis-Meet!

I left off with us needing food! It was still Disneyland Food & Wine still. So, Andy and I wanted to try some. Now, I tried to find what all the food we tried was but it's been so long now and I can't find what is what. So, you will have to live with my best guess on the descriptions.

Parmesan Chicken Wings
First were these wings. I am pretty sure they were Salt and Pepper Parmesean Wings. They were just ok. Not bad but they sounded better than they actually were.

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Next up was I think a Pork Belly Bahn Mi Mini Burger. Andy LOVED THIS! It wasn't his last either.

After these, we needed to get the girls some grub also, So, Andy took them over to get corn dogs. They had one that was cheese and I thought
Morgan would like that one. While Andy did that, I grabbed a couple more things for Andy and I .

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This was a mini burger with pickled onions and Chimichuri sauce I think. This was also a HUGE hit. Really good.

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I also got the Candy Corn Drink. I wasn't completely sold on the idea, but wanted to try it. It def tasted candy corn like!

Andy ordered 2 regular Corn Dogs for the girls and found a table to sit down while we ate.
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You can see the Bahn Mi in the background. Not sure if I got a second already or if that is the first one.

The girls were Hangry at this point. And didn't want to actually eat the food in front of them. This always happens when we wait too long to eat. But finally they ate. And there moods improved. Which was good because while we were sitting and eating @Lesley Wake texted me to say she was on her way into the park and wanted to meet us!

I was super neverous about this. I hadn't met anyone from the boards at this point but Leslie had been a HUGE help planning this last minute trip. She gave me all of the low down on which rides run out of fast passes first and ALL of that good stuff. So, I was looking forward to thanking her in person.

She showed up just as we were finishing up our food. And she was great! She had gifts for the girls. (Which some of you will know that this is a theme for her). She had a Disneyland Hidden Mickey Book and a Mickey themed Mad Libs with a fancy multi pen. You know those ones with different colors in it that are super fun as a kid. The girls loved the gifts. She also gave us these amazing watercolor pictures that her sister made with each of our names on it. They were amazing! I still have to find something proper to put them in. Both were super thoughtful gifts!

Leslie was up for going on some rides with us, so we got rid of our trash and headed to a ride! The girls wanted to try some of the rides right in the area. So, we headed to the Jumping' Jellyfish ride.
Jumping Jellyfish View in LIne
The line wasn't too long and Leslie and I were chatting while we waited. At this point I can't remember what we talked about but I do remember that our conversation was easy going and Leslie was very friendly was great with the girls. You can see the construction that was still going on for the Incredicoaster and the ferris wheel.

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We had a bit of a wait but nothing too bad. And then we were on the ride. Morgan and Gwen decided to ride together.

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Andy rode by himself, so that Leslie and I could go together. Even though Leslie said she would go by herself.

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Here is proof that we met! Well, you will be seeing more of Leslie...

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Morgan and Gwen loved the ride. It was more carnival like ride but cute. Nothing to say I need to fly all the way back to California for. But fun.

Next we hopped over to the Golden Zepher ride next.
Golden Zepher_Family Selfie
These seats were 2 a piece, so Leslie found a seat in another Zepher. We grabbed a family Selfie!

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But because Leslie was across from us, she got some fun "action" shots.

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This one gives me anxiety seeing Gwen on the side like that! Obviously she survived the ride and didn't plummet to her death! But the mama bear in me can't help it!

This ride was fun as well. Also not super exciting but I liked it more as I like the whole Zepher theme. We have fast passes for Radiator Springs next. So we headed that way. Leslie didn't have any so I said that she didn't have to hang around for us but she said no problem!

So, we headed that way. Up Next Carsland!
 
Day Two: Carsland - a land that we know NOTHING about!

So, I had tried to get the girls to watch cars before we left but they didn't know about the trip and they really didn't want to. I should have just made them but I didn't... Oh well. (we have since watched it and the land really does look exactly like it!)

So, as we entered the land we were amazed by it but all I kept thinking was, I bet this would be even more amazing if we had seen the movie.
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I loved the Filmore area! We walked slowly to the back of the land. I think I was starting to feel the jet lag a little today. But we powered on.

Lightening McQueen
As we were walking down, Lightening McQueen came through. It really was cool that the cars drove themselves. I can totally see how a little kid that is into Cars would freak out over that!

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We finally made it to Radiator Springs entrance. Leslie told us where she would be standing. She said she was going to try and get our picture on the ride. We headed into the que.

As we walked through he que, I really felt the lack of knowledge of the movie. Everything is amazing looking but there was a few things that we had no idea what they were.

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Like this bridge, we assumed it had to be in the movie some where.

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We really liked the truck stone thing...

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This whole area is really amazing!

Soon enough we were boarding our car.
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I love the very beginning of this ride. The music they play as you leave the load area and go around the bend is just perfect!

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This ride is basically test track but man is it a thousand times better! Test track to me is just alright. This, this is a great ride! All of the inside story stuff is perfect.

Leslie grabbed these photos of us racing at the end. Our Car "lost" the race, which the girls of course were slightly bummed about.
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We met up with Leslie after our ride was over. And I believe she suggested we try one of the other rides in Carsland. So, we headed over to Mater's Junkyard Jamboree. There was a bit of a line but it wasn't too bad. I want to say that Gwen pulled out her Mad Libs to do while we waited and we all chit chatted while we waited.

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Leslie snapped this great photo of all 4 of us in our cars.

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The girls in there tow truck.

Morgan and Gwen loved this ride. So did we. It's a simple ride but so fun. An I am looking forward to trying Alien Saucer Swirl in Toy Storyland as it's basically the same ride.

After this, we decided we needed something to eat! Leslie needed something to eat and the girls could use something as well. So, we headed over to Cozy Cone area. Which I loved!

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Maiter was driving in for a meet and greet as we arrived.

The girls wanted ice cream and Andy and Leslie wanted one of those cone snacks. So, I got in the ice cream line, and Andy and Leslie got in the one of the other lines. You would think ice cream would be fast.... NO!!!!! It was seriously the slowlest line ever. And we were standing in the direct sun. It was draining my energy just standing there!

Andy and Leslie got there food waaaaaay faster than I got the girls ice cream.
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not sure if Leslie reminded Andy to take a picture of his food or if I have just trained him that well, but either way, he got a pic of his chili cone before he started eating it! Such a good DH!

Finally I got the girls Ice Cream but I wanted popcorn. So, I got in yet another line! Well, I don't think there was actually a line.
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While they sat at ate, I decided which flavor to get....

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I ended up getting Buffalo Ranch as I am a sucker for all things Buffalo. It was pretty good. Better than the buffalo that the make in Epcot.

We tried and rest a little on that wall. We talked about what we wanted to do. I knew we needed to go back to the room and rest for a bit at some point as we had plans to see the night show tonight. Leslie recommended the other Carsland ride, so we headed to that next!

Up next, dancing with some cars!
 
I was super neverous about this. I hadn't met anyone from the boards at this point but Leslie had been a HUGE help planning this last minute trip. She gave me all of the low down on which rides run out of fast passes first and ALL of that good stuff. So, I was looking forward to thanking her in person.
I definitely was looking forward to meeting you guys and I’m so glad it worked out! Can’t wait to see you again someday!

Which some of you will know that this is a theme for her
Yup... I’m a sucker for gift giving! But I also think it helps for kids when suddenly there is this strange adult who knows their names and things about them!

She also gave us these amazing watercolor pictures that her sister made with each of our names on it. They were amazing!
I think Lauren had a lot of fun doing them! And funny story- @missjackiemcg knew about them before you got them! Lauren posted them on her Instagram and Jackie recognized the names!

At this point I can't remember what we talked about but I do remember that our conversation was easy going and Leslie was very friendly was great with the girls.
Probably just Disney stuff-your Trip, my trips, etc. I think we also watched Frozone and Elastigirl play freeze tag near the queue!

So, I had tried to get the girls to watch cars before we left but they didn't know about the trip and they really didn't want to. I should have just made them but I didn't... Oh well. (we have since watched it and the land really does look exactly like it!)
Just another reason to come back!

We finally made it to Radiator Springs entrance. Leslie told us where she would be standing. She said she was going to try and get our picture on the ride. We headed into the que.
I now know I probably could have gotten on the ride with you even though I didn’t have a FP! Lately as long as I’ve asked nicely I’ve gotten on other rides with people who had FPs!

Leslie snapped this great photo of all 4 of us in our cars
It’s making me feel like the paparazzi!

not sure if Leslie reminded Andy to take a picture of his food or if I have just trained him that well, but either way, he got a pic of his chili cone before he started eating it! Such a good DH!
Oh, you have him trained well! We had taken a few bites and then I was like-oh no, the trip report photo! And he responded that he already took care of it!

And that ice cream line was insane!!!
 
@Lesley Wake is a great DISer to meet up with in the parks! She's a great gift giver to the kids and has great intuition on what to ride when. I'm happy to hear you had a great meet with her. And it's really nice when you can get some family photos on the rides where everyone is in it. That's a rare treat! :goodvibes
 
She also gave us these amazing watercolor pictures that her sister made with each of our names on it. They were amazing!

I think Lauren had a lot of fun doing them! And funny story- @missjackiemcg knew about them before you got them! Lauren posted them on her Instagram and Jackie recognized the names!

I quoted to say exactly that!!! I remember scrolling through Instagram and stopping like, "Wait! I know those names!" Lauren mentioned it was a surprise when I had commented how awesome they were. :) What a terrific gift!!
 
Hi Guys!!! I am working on another update. Promise. I feel like life is crazy lately. I have started swimming again in the morning and man by night time I am EXHAUSTED! But the girls and I are looking to have a lazy Friday night. So, I am hoping to get an update or two in tonight! Stay tuned!

@Lesley Wake is a great DISer to meet up with in the parks! She's a great gift giver to the kids and has great intuition on what to ride when.
Right!?! She really does!

I quoted to say exactly that!!! I remember scrolling through Instagram and stopping like, "Wait! I know those names!" Lauren mentioned it was a surprise when I had commented how awesome they were. :) What a terrific gift!!
That is so funny! It really was a great gift and surprise!

Red Dale. Black is Chip. I watched Rescue Rangers a lot as a kid.
I was taught to remember it as Chip = black nose = chocolate chip.
Dale :) Chip is the one with the black nose...like a chocolate chip!
Thanks Guys! I have to admit, I will probably forget again.. I am so bad at that. Andy is in charge of remembering this kind of things.

Looks like the girls had a blast on GRR! That pic of Gwen's warped face is hysterical!
Andy thought it was HILARIOUS! I think he posted it on social as soon as he saw it.

Oh wow, that's so cool that the characters were just roaming around. Such a unique feature to the DL parks. And how funny the girls had no clue.
It really is and I am so glad I got to experience it just once.

I definitely was looking forward to meeting you guys and I’m so glad it worked out! Can’t wait to see you again someday!
I hope we do!

I think Lauren had a lot of fun doing them! And funny story- @missjackiemcg knew about them before you got them! Lauren posted them on her Instagram and Jackie recognized the names!
So, funny.

Probably just Disney stuff-your Trip, my trips, etc. I think we also watched Frozone and Elastigirl play freeze tag near the queue!
That's right! I remember Freeze Tag now! This is why I should have taken notes!

Just another reason to come back!
Def! I am pretty sure it will happen once the super hero stuff opens up.

It’s making me feel like the paparazzi!
In a good way!

And that ice cream line was insane!!!
Seriously it was. Standing in that line was sucking my energy out fast!
 
Day Two: So, so, so Much Water!

After we refueled with some food, Lesley suggested riding the other Carsland ride, Luigi's Rollick'n Roadsters. She explained that it was like dancing cars. And Gwen was sold! So, we headed that way.

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I loved this building, even if I didn't know anything about it. And I liked that at least some of the waiting was inside!

There was a bit of a wait but I don't think it was that bad. I am pretty sure Gwen pulled out her mad libs book while we were in line here. The line moved fairly well and once you get back outside you can watch the cars "dance". Which was fun in itself!

When we got up to the front, the CM puts you in certain lines. And when we went out to pick a car, Lesley ended up not having a car! The CM took her to the side to wait while we rode.

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The girls of course rode together.

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And Andy and I rode together.

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This ride is so fun! I love it. It's not a thrill ride by any sense but still super fun!

When the ride was over Lesley said that the CM said that we could ride again since she missed out. So, everyone existed except us and Lesley grabbed a car. Free Ride!!!

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Proof that Lesley got to ride too!

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The girls loved this ride and were super excitied to get to ride it twice!

After our second ride, the girls wanted to ride Grizzly River Run again. It was hot, so we figured why not. Lesley said she was up for it. And I believe she said that she hadn't ridden it in awhile, so it would be fun. @Lesley Wake?

Oh if she only knew what she was signing up for!

We left Carsland and headed back to Grizzly River Run.
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I don't think there was much of a wait. Or maybe we cordinated the Max Fast Passes? I can't remember. Either way, we got on with not much wait.

IMG_1084 by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr
Lesley, I and Gwen were on one side.

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Andy and Morgan were on the other. We also had a single rider, a young girl maybe Morgan's age with us.

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And we were off!

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We were all having fun with it. I do think this ride is fun if everyone is into the ride.

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We went down one of the drops...

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Morgan and Andy got the brunt of that drop...

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Gwen and Leslie were not too bad.

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Morgan decided to try and get some water drops on her tongue... Oye.... But see that geyser of water behind Morgan....

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It..... didn't...... go..... down.... We went right over it and it stay on full force! We got full on wet! Like drenched.... ALL OF US!!!!! When we went on it in the morning it turned off just before we went over it. But I guess it was hot enough that it was ok to leave it on?

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Andy snapped this pic as we were getting hit by the water...


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We were seriously all completely drenched! It's kind of hard to tell in this picture but we were. (Lesley kindly took this picture)

After our VERY wet ride on Grizzly River Run, we had Max Pass time for Guardians of the Galaxy. Lesley said this was a must do! But the girls weren't so keen on riding. She offered to watch the girls while the two of us rode. So, we took her up on her offer! A little crazy, we had just met her.. but I felt like I had known Lesley for a long time already. (A strange side effect of these boards!)

Up Next.... Did Lesley steal our children? Did we like the Guardians ride?
 
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When we got up to the front, the CM puts you in certain lines. And when we went out to pick a car, Lesley ended up not having a car! The CM took her to the side to wait while we rode. When the ride was over Lesley said that the CM said that we could ride again since she missed out. So, everyone existed except us and Lesley grabbed a car. Free Ride!!!
Yeah it worked out so well! Every time I went to grab a car someone else would run in front of me! I was just going to wait at the exit and take photos but after they said all of us could re-ride I was like-oh yeah!

After our second ride, the girls wanted to ride Grizzly River Run again. It was hot, so we figured why not. Lesley said she was up for it. And I believe she said that she hadn't ridden it in awhile, so it would be fun. @Lesley Wake?
Yup, hadn’t ridden it in a while...for a very good reason!

I don't think there was much of a wait. Or maybe we cordinated the Max Fast Passes? I can't remember. Either way, we got on with not much wait.
I think we got FPs while we were eating the cones because my window was open again.

Gwen and Leslie were not too bad.
Yeah, the drops were fine. I even thought as we were finishing-ok, not too bad! Little did I know!

It..... didn't...... go..... down.... We went right over it and it stay on full force! We got full on wet! Like drenched.... ALL OF US!!!!! When we went on it in the morning it turned off just before we went over it. But I guess it was hot enough that it was ok to leave it on?
I think it just goes of randomly! I’ve watched it since then and have heard the screams of people getting drenched!

Grizzly Peak Water
Andy snapped this pic as we were getting hit by the water...
Awesome pic! I’m feeling wet already!

Did Lesley steal our children?
:rotfl2:
 
Oh my gosh, I loved all the photos from Grizzly River Run. Looks like you all had a blast on the attraction. And, wow, you all got soaked! Definitely a memorable experience.

A kid-free ride! Always a special treat.
 

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