- Joined
- Aug 7, 2000
THURSDAY 2/23
Today was Early Entry Day! Since the park opened at 9:00 we could enter at 8:00. We were up bright an early since we are used to getting up early at home and we had slept so well (this time change thing is tough). After getting ready we were actually sitting around our room waiting to leave.
We arrived at Disneyland and got in line at about 7:40. It was crowded. Within minutes I turned around and the crowd had grown considerably.
Unfortunately, they didnt open the gates until about 8:05. When they did, I have to admit we walked pretty quickly to the Matterhorn
.and there was already a 10 minute wait! We arent used to having waits during EE, so this surprised us. Next it was on to Dumbo. Again here we waited about 10-15 minutes to get on.
Next DH went to Tomorrowland to get FPs for Buzz. The kids and I tried to get on Peter Pan, but the wait was 40 minutes. We changed our mind and walked on Snow White and the Carousel. By then DH was back in Fantasyland and we met up. It had taken him a while because the FP machines didnt open up until 9:00 and he had arrived about 5 of, so he waited the few minutes until they opened. We needed to get a picture of where Walt walked in that picture you see of him everywhere (there was no one in the background when I started taking the picture)
By now seeing these huge lines was getting me worried since this is supposed to be the slow time of the day, but we kept going trying to find something we could do. We wandered by the Astro Orbiters and got in a 15 minute line for these. On our last trip we didnt do these and on our last night the kids decided they wanted to. The line was over an hour then so never rode them. This 15 minute line was looking good.
While we waited for our FP time for Buzz we went for breakfast at Club Buzz, a counter service restaurant in Tomorrowland. This was great!
After breakfast we got FPs for Autopia then went and rode Buzz. We also rode Star Tours with about a 25 minute wait(FPS weren't running for this).
We went back to Fantasyland to see if we could get on anything we missed before. We rode the Tea Party with about a 15 minute wait. Today they were filming something here and had signs posted saying if you pass (into the line), you authorize your voice or image to be used (something like that). We joked because I am on a TV show for the Travel Channel that was filmed in WDW a few years ago...we wondered what else we could get on.
We also did the Storybook Land Canal Boats, after waiting about 25 minutes in that line. This was something we had never done before. It was really cute.
Before leaving the park we went back to Autopia as it was now our FP time. We showed the CM at the entrance our FPS and he waved us in along with everyone else. The whole time we kept thinking "Where is the FP line?", but there was none. There was all 1 line! In the end it was only about a 10 minute wait, but had I known our FPs were going to be no good I would have gotten them for something else.
Oh well, we got souvenirs to keep with us.
By now it was about 12:45 and time to hop to California Adventure. After a short line to get in we went directly to Soarin Over California to get FPs.
Next we wanted to ride the new ride, Monsters Inc, Mickey & Sulley to the Rescue. We had about a ½ hour wait here, even though the sign said 40 minutes. This is a really cute ride, especially for fans of the movie. Roz at the end was great. She told me(with a camera) she was ready for her close up, in that lovable voice of hers, LOL!
After this we tried getting into the 2:05 show of Aladdin, but it was already full. We then saw the wait for TOT was 13 minutes (meaning a walk on) so we did this. We still didnt convince Cam to ride it, but we got Colt to go on with us for his first time. Here we asked if we could do the child swap. This is one of the rides that has 1 adult ride and then come out and the other goes through the FP line. Personally, I feel the rides which swap at the exit are much more of an advantage, but this can still help if there is a long line. We asked if Cam could come in to see the movie and then him and 1 adult just go out the chicken exit. They agreed he could do that and gave us the child swap paper for when we returned. However on the inside, since we had convinced our little one to ride with us, the CM said Cam could just wait while we rode. DH and I werent too sure about this..was it ok to leave him alone? But we figured it was only a few mintues and he would be fine which he was. He said the CMs talked to him about the park and stuff so that was nice. I would never expect them to do this, but it was great that they did. It saved us at least 20 minutes.
Next we went to Disney Animation. We tried to get into Turtle Talk With Crush, but when we arrived the next show was already full so we would have had quite a wait. Instead we went to the Sorcerers Workshop. I always try to get the kids to get their voices in a Disney Movie, but somehow, they never seem to read the words at the right time. This was the best attempt though since now Colton can read.
After exiting we walked by Playhouse Disney and saw the next show was in about 20 minutes so we got in line and waited for that. I was surprised, but Colton really wanted to see that. I thought he was over those shows, but I guess not.
Immediately following this it was about 3:45 and we went back to Aladdin to try to get in the 4:20 show. We were told where to wait for the mezzanine section. Unfortunately we did not have preferred seating for this on this trip, like I have on my other trips. So, while we didnt end up with the best seats in the house, it wasnt terrible. I have now seen this show 3 times in the past 6 months and I still feel this is the best production that Disney puts on in their parks. This is a Do Not Miss show! However this time with a few minutes left in the show the audio went out. The dancers did great and continued with their routine. As soon as that number was over they stopped the show and made an announcement that there would be a delay. A lot of people started leaving and normally I would have waited, however we were already pressed for time and not knowing how long it would be, we decided to leave too. We know how it ends.
Now we went right to Soarin to ride with our FPs. They were good until 5:15 (if I remember right) and it was about 5:00 when we arrived. Even with our FPs we had to wait a bit upon entering the building. As always we all loved this ride.
Now it was time to hop back to DL. After seeing the long line at this same time yesterday, I wanted to make sure we were there early so we wouldnt be late for our PS. Surprisingly, today there was no line at all. So in the end we ended up being about ½ hour early for our 6:30 PS at Blue Bayou.
After dinner we were able to ride POC and JC, both with about a 2 minute wait. We had never done JC in the dark before so that was different for us. DL closed at 8:00, but we were able to make a stop to buy stamps, before leaving for the night.
We hadnt gotten dessert with dinner so we wanted to stop at White Water Snacks in the GC on our way home to get the kids a snack. Unfortunately, at 8:00 pm they were closed. While in the GC the kids saw the rocking chairs by the fire place and wanted to sit, so DH and I made the most out of the situation and got a drink at the Hearthstone Lounge. We hung out by the fire for a bit and someone even played the piano while we were there. It was a nice relaxing way to end the night.
Before long we were back in our room at PP crashing for another busy day.
Today was Early Entry Day! Since the park opened at 9:00 we could enter at 8:00. We were up bright an early since we are used to getting up early at home and we had slept so well (this time change thing is tough). After getting ready we were actually sitting around our room waiting to leave.
We arrived at Disneyland and got in line at about 7:40. It was crowded. Within minutes I turned around and the crowd had grown considerably.
Unfortunately, they didnt open the gates until about 8:05. When they did, I have to admit we walked pretty quickly to the Matterhorn
.and there was already a 10 minute wait! We arent used to having waits during EE, so this surprised us. Next it was on to Dumbo. Again here we waited about 10-15 minutes to get on. Next DH went to Tomorrowland to get FPs for Buzz. The kids and I tried to get on Peter Pan, but the wait was 40 minutes. We changed our mind and walked on Snow White and the Carousel. By then DH was back in Fantasyland and we met up. It had taken him a while because the FP machines didnt open up until 9:00 and he had arrived about 5 of, so he waited the few minutes until they opened. We needed to get a picture of where Walt walked in that picture you see of him everywhere (there was no one in the background when I started taking the picture)
By now seeing these huge lines was getting me worried since this is supposed to be the slow time of the day, but we kept going trying to find something we could do. We wandered by the Astro Orbiters and got in a 15 minute line for these. On our last trip we didnt do these and on our last night the kids decided they wanted to. The line was over an hour then so never rode them. This 15 minute line was looking good.
While we waited for our FP time for Buzz we went for breakfast at Club Buzz, a counter service restaurant in Tomorrowland. This was great!
After breakfast we got FPs for Autopia then went and rode Buzz. We also rode Star Tours with about a 25 minute wait(FPS weren't running for this).
We went back to Fantasyland to see if we could get on anything we missed before. We rode the Tea Party with about a 15 minute wait. Today they were filming something here and had signs posted saying if you pass (into the line), you authorize your voice or image to be used (something like that). We joked because I am on a TV show for the Travel Channel that was filmed in WDW a few years ago...we wondered what else we could get on.
We also did the Storybook Land Canal Boats, after waiting about 25 minutes in that line. This was something we had never done before. It was really cute.
Before leaving the park we went back to Autopia as it was now our FP time. We showed the CM at the entrance our FPS and he waved us in along with everyone else. The whole time we kept thinking "Where is the FP line?", but there was none. There was all 1 line! In the end it was only about a 10 minute wait, but had I known our FPs were going to be no good I would have gotten them for something else.
Oh well, we got souvenirs to keep with us. By now it was about 12:45 and time to hop to California Adventure. After a short line to get in we went directly to Soarin Over California to get FPs.
Next we wanted to ride the new ride, Monsters Inc, Mickey & Sulley to the Rescue. We had about a ½ hour wait here, even though the sign said 40 minutes. This is a really cute ride, especially for fans of the movie. Roz at the end was great. She told me(with a camera) she was ready for her close up, in that lovable voice of hers, LOL!
After this we tried getting into the 2:05 show of Aladdin, but it was already full. We then saw the wait for TOT was 13 minutes (meaning a walk on) so we did this. We still didnt convince Cam to ride it, but we got Colt to go on with us for his first time. Here we asked if we could do the child swap. This is one of the rides that has 1 adult ride and then come out and the other goes through the FP line. Personally, I feel the rides which swap at the exit are much more of an advantage, but this can still help if there is a long line. We asked if Cam could come in to see the movie and then him and 1 adult just go out the chicken exit. They agreed he could do that and gave us the child swap paper for when we returned. However on the inside, since we had convinced our little one to ride with us, the CM said Cam could just wait while we rode. DH and I werent too sure about this..was it ok to leave him alone? But we figured it was only a few mintues and he would be fine which he was. He said the CMs talked to him about the park and stuff so that was nice. I would never expect them to do this, but it was great that they did. It saved us at least 20 minutes.
Next we went to Disney Animation. We tried to get into Turtle Talk With Crush, but when we arrived the next show was already full so we would have had quite a wait. Instead we went to the Sorcerers Workshop. I always try to get the kids to get their voices in a Disney Movie, but somehow, they never seem to read the words at the right time. This was the best attempt though since now Colton can read.
After exiting we walked by Playhouse Disney and saw the next show was in about 20 minutes so we got in line and waited for that. I was surprised, but Colton really wanted to see that. I thought he was over those shows, but I guess not.
Immediately following this it was about 3:45 and we went back to Aladdin to try to get in the 4:20 show. We were told where to wait for the mezzanine section. Unfortunately we did not have preferred seating for this on this trip, like I have on my other trips. So, while we didnt end up with the best seats in the house, it wasnt terrible. I have now seen this show 3 times in the past 6 months and I still feel this is the best production that Disney puts on in their parks. This is a Do Not Miss show! However this time with a few minutes left in the show the audio went out. The dancers did great and continued with their routine. As soon as that number was over they stopped the show and made an announcement that there would be a delay. A lot of people started leaving and normally I would have waited, however we were already pressed for time and not knowing how long it would be, we decided to leave too. We know how it ends.
Now we went right to Soarin to ride with our FPs. They were good until 5:15 (if I remember right) and it was about 5:00 when we arrived. Even with our FPs we had to wait a bit upon entering the building. As always we all loved this ride.
Now it was time to hop back to DL. After seeing the long line at this same time yesterday, I wanted to make sure we were there early so we wouldnt be late for our PS. Surprisingly, today there was no line at all. So in the end we ended up being about ½ hour early for our 6:30 PS at Blue Bayou.
After dinner we were able to ride POC and JC, both with about a 2 minute wait. We had never done JC in the dark before so that was different for us. DL closed at 8:00, but we were able to make a stop to buy stamps, before leaving for the night.
We hadnt gotten dessert with dinner so we wanted to stop at White Water Snacks in the GC on our way home to get the kids a snack. Unfortunately, at 8:00 pm they were closed. While in the GC the kids saw the rocking chairs by the fire place and wanted to sit, so DH and I made the most out of the situation and got a drink at the Hearthstone Lounge.
We hung out by the fire for a bit and someone even played the piano while we were there. It was a nice relaxing way to end the night.
Before long we were back in our room at PP crashing for another busy day.
