Matt's 2017 Spring Dapper Day Trip Report

[whoever]

Here's my first (and maybe last) Trip report of 2017... Whoever and the family do Spring Dapper Day!!!

Our trip starts in Sunny Phoenix. Amy and Charlotte had spent the night at the Arizona Science Center as part of Charlotte's Girl Scout Troop Outing. They were tired, cranky from camping out on concrete floors, and I went and retrieved them around 9am (they were still doing experiments, so the pickup took quite a while). I whisked them home, got Amy caffeinated, cleaned up, and we finished up the packing/loading of everything.


As you can see, we used just about every spare inch of the cabin..

We did manage to have a little space way in back, but nothing we could really use. Will be GLAD when we are stroller-less. I think this is the last trip with it. Takes up entirely too much space.

And that's it... the Axiom is ready to set sail.. at 11:19!! It was going to be a late arrival for sure.

We broke free of Phoenix traffic after about 15 miles and it was time to see if we could make up some time due to our late departure...

Well that doesn't bode well for the trip... 420 bald eagles under the hood, guzzling down 91-octane and screeching freedom out the tailpipe.

Our fuel economy actually ended up not too bad for a 376 cubic inch V8 coupled to a full-time four wheel drive system pushing over 7000 pounds at reasonable velocity. 10 gallons of fuel to get us the 146 miles from Downtown Phoenix to the Flying J at exit 1, the last fuel stop before entering CA, land of egregious fuel tax and why I refuse to fill up in CA period. Averaged 78.92mph and 14.6 mpg for that first leg. From the AZ/CA border was 424 miles round trip to DL and back at an average speed of 59.44 mph and 15.76 mpg. The trip back from the border to home Tuesday night netted us 16.52 mpg at an avg speed of 78.05 mph. Weird how it got better. I blame the wind.


It only took 37 minutes for the first "how long have we been driving" to get asked. It was going to be one of those trips wasn't it?


At some point in the California desert, magic happened..


One kid reading

One kid doing homework (They were missing two days of school)

And...one kid passed out with the Moana credits playing in her head phones makes for a silent vehicle and a happy captain of this ship.

We pulled onto Katella at 16:27. We were getting close and everybody was starting to get excited!!

We had the windows down, Paint the Night soundtrack cranked up, only to have the car next to us burning down the biggest joint ever. With Marijuana wafting into our vehicle, the windows had to go up our enthusiasm stifled slightly.

There it is!!

Yay!!! LOVE This part..

Never had such a line like this.. usually we just pull right up.

And we've ARRIVED!!! Our home away from home. The plate and BnL Sticker was a huge hit with the CMs

A quick valet/bellhop/registration and we went right up to the room.

The view from the room (2007) was nothing special, and all you could really see was the roof and the construction barriers for the pool renovation, but it was our home, and very close to the elevators and having the music from the lobby flow through our open door was a real treat. I still had the door wedged open to the lobby when the bell hop showed up within minutes of us getting up to the room.

A quick adjustment to the camera pack gear loadout and I was jonesing to get into the park.

Let me say a thing or two about the security this trip... it's not Security Theater anymore. It actually was VERY thorough. Could you still get a gun or knife into the park? Absolutely. Would it be difficult? ABSOLUTELY. They literally looked in every pocket, squeezed everything, even the kid's itty bitty cross bodies and people's wallets. AND... metal detectors on top of it all. PITA, probably not really making anything truly safer, but definitely cutting down on contraband. It was a real pain for my 5.11 backpack which has a million pockets and is designed for concealed carry of firearms (but makes a superb camera bag).

 

[whoever]

We made our way to the DCA Hotel entrance and passed through the now rigorous entry routine. I'm still on my AP for this trip, but Amy and the girls were on 4-day park hoppers, so they had to go through the picture taking process. We were finally in the park by 17:35. Our first stop this trip wasn't an attraction... it was food!!

There is no better counter service in DCA in our opinion than Smoke Jumper's Grill. Some Chili-cheese fries and an order of onion rings for Amy and I to split and a few chicken tender meals for the kids. It’s always a great value and great food. My only complaint this trip... they were out of Tower 10 IPA... grrr... it would be a theme for DCA this trip. Maybe being phased out?

Anybody who's seen my previous TRs know a meal at Smoke Jumper's isn't complete without me snapping a pic of Amy mid-onion-ring.

We wrapped up our meal by 17:56 and decided on our first attraction... It was Victoria's choice as she was FINALLY tall enough to ride some of the big-kid attractions this trip (Sadly Matterhorn was down though which she really wanted to ride). As we were in the area, a lesson on learning to fly was in order on Goofy's Sky School.

She LOVED it!!

At this point, we split up. I kept Victoria and Amy took Katherine and Charlotte over to Screamin'. Victoria and I had a fun spin on Silly Symphony

Afterwards, we were waiting and I DID finally find that seaside brews had the Tower 10. Matt was a happy man. I made my way over towards Screamin' only to find that Charlotte apparently wasn't tall enough despite repeated measurements which had put her solidly over the height requirement. Not to be thwarted, we headed on over to Soarin' to execute the fast passes I had grabbed when we entered the park but not before Amy grabbed some Toy Story Midway Mania FP for later.

Along the way, I caught my first glimpse of this monstrosity from inside the park. So hideous and theme ruining (GOTG, not the light/speaker stand)

 

[chickapin parterre]

I did not know that there were faux propellers on the flight school carts....all those times i stood in line the only detail I was worried about was how my knees would withstand the pounding of the attraction..again...anyhow I have documented that Phoenix traffic heading west was a problem. Folks will be flying down to visit us in Yuma and I will be telling them that they can ride a shuttle or rent a car, but i will not eat green eggs and ham in Phoenix airport traffic. But I will drive to palm Springs and pick them up, a much more picturesque trip and easier on my ford lariat truck fuel gauge.

 

[whoever]

I'm still not sold on this whole de-California-ifacation of the park. Soarin' over the World while well done lacks the smells and is way over the top on CGI. Soarin' over California was superior in my opinion, but it could have used a remastering to clean it up (but keep the CGI out).

Our trip around the world done, we made our way back towards the Pier for our TSMM passes. Along the way, I spotted my favorite angle of Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout.

I did much worse than normal. No idea why. Being a family of 5 we are always split up weird too, so no fun shooting by yourself. Kids had fun even with Katherine goofing off.

Now it was time for a trip under the sea. It was starting to get late and we had a very early EMH with Dapperness to happen.

After returning to dry land we cruised up to Rushin' River Outfitters and did some shopping. We also made the fateful decision to purchase an adult and child poncho (I had two already) so the whole family could go on Grizzly. You read that right, 4 ponchos for a family of 5. How would we fare? An extra bag and some handiwork made for a quick solution.

After that first trip, Amy, Charlotte, and Victoria decided to call it a night and head back to the room (this fact alone is why the Grand cannot be surpassed for lodgings... you have mere steps till you can dry out and be ready for bed. )

Katherine and I chose to partake of the rapids three additional times. This was far from our 12-times back to back record, but even the two of us were tired. We finally called it a night at 21:10 and made our way to White Water Snacks for a snack for Katherine and then stopped by the Lobby Gift shop to stock up on more of what I love.. GCH merch. That will have to wait till the end of the TR though for the haul.

We hit the room at 21:25 and found most of the family fast asleep. It would be an early morning so I cracked a beer, did camera file transfers, charged things, changed batteries and prepared as much for the morning as possible before retiring for the night.

 

[whoever]

I did not know that there were faux propellers on the flight school carts....all those times i stood in line the only detail I was worried about was how my knees would withstand the pounding of the attraction..again...anyhow I have documented that Phoenix traffic heading west was a problem. Folks will be flying down to visit us in Yuma and I will be telling them that they can ride a shuttle or rent a car, but i will not eat green eggs and ham in Phoenix airport traffic. But I will drive to palm Springs and pick them up, a much more picturesque trip and easier on my ford lariat truck fuel gauge.

Any metro area has traffic problems for sure. I will say CA traffic is just plain HORRIBLE and ALWAYS. I used to run up to DL after work from San Diego and even returning at 1-2am, it was just crappy traffic.

 

[McNs]

Awesome photos as always Matt! Love the one from behind on Goofys Sky School.

That's some serious feul consumption, however you can't really complain when you choose a SUV the size of a small house... bet it's a great vehicle for a road trip though

Looking forward to the rest of the report and seeing some more of your excellent camera work.

 

[crazycatlady]

Great report! Your daughters are beautiful!

 

[whoever]

Awesome photos as always Matt! Love the one from behind on Goofys Sky School.

Thanks. I feel like some of my camera work this trip fell flat compared to past trips. Not really sure why I wasn't on my game.

That's some serious feul consumption, however you can't really complain when you choose a SUV the size of a small house... bet it's a great vehicle for a road trip though.

As we were re-loading the vehicle at departure (now with tons of new "stuff" which was purchased during the trip), I commented to the bellhop how I bought the biggest thing made and maybe I should have bought a bus instead because it still wasn't big enough.

 

[whoever]

Great report! Your daughters are beautiful!

Thanks. Wait till you see them dappered out in the next installment.

 

[Tinkerbell19672]

Thanks for sharing, great pics! What camera do you use?

 

[rentayenta]

Great report! Adorable family.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

Cool stuff, thanks Matt.

 

[whoever]

Thanks for sharing, great pics! What camera do you use?

The pics in question were all taken by one of four devices. My Droid RAZR, my Iphone5SE, Amy's Iphone6, and my Nikon D600 (which is getting a bit long in the tooth after 4 years). The EXIF is exposed, so you can see it on any picture to know which device was used.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Love your report so far. You have some great pictures that capture the sights and your family.

This had me laughing, though.

Our trip around the world done, we made our way back towards the Pier for our TSMM passes. Along the way, I spotted my favorite angle of Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout.

 

[whoever]

Love your report so far. You have some great pictures that capture the sights and your family.

This had me laughing, though.

Glad I could give a chuckle. I really...really...really HATE GOTG. It is hideous and ruins the theme. Nothing I can do to change it, but i'll never like it.

Was sad you guys couldn't make it down for Dapper Day. Would have loved to catch up. Tom said it was a pretty busy week though.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Glad I could give a chuckle. I really...really...really HATE GOTG. It is hideous and ruins the theme. Nothing I can do to change it, but i'll never like it.

Was sad you guys couldn't make it down for Dapper Day. Would have loved to catch up. Tom said it was a pretty busy week though.

It WAS busy. I got home from a business trip on the 22nd, and had to work on the 23rd. It would have been so nice to see you and the family. Nancy tried to go down, too, but just couldn't swing it.

 

[Tasscrapper]

Joining up for the ride. Can't wait to see the Dapper Day pics.

 

[whoever]

5/23/2017

Morning came EARLY. Amy was up way before me getting ready, doing hair, and getting her outfit and the girl's outfits together. I was a relatively easy package to make, so I was a bit slower after having stayed out later and done all the after-day electronics/camera maintenance. After much whining from the girls and hubbub, we finally left the room at 06:53 for a 07:00 EMH. This was going to be tight. We cruised through the security, which for anybody who hasn't been to the resort lately cuts off Downtown Disney as a "safe" zone. Once through, we trucked along, and was pleased the choke point was now moved back and not cutting off the esplanade.

With little to no crowds, we cruised right up to the front of the lines.

We were promptly let in the park and on the move. Katherine insisted on stroller duty this morning and she was trucking!

Charlotte was hamming it up for the camera as usual.

Absent were the long lines down Rt. 66. I was also lagging a bit behind as I had grabbed RSR FP on the way in.

I promptly caught up with the girls in the queue on one of the switchbacks.

And we waited..and waited.. apparently the attraction was not up, and they had no idea when it would be. We were told we could leave or stay, no re-entry passes would be given.

This is one of my major pet peeves with Disney. EMH is for getting in attractions before the start of park general attendance. You pay DEARLY for it yet they don't bother to ensure an earlier start to guarantee the attractions are ready to go at the start of EMH. It's like they start TESTING right when the gates open. Completely unacceptable. Additionally, they should tell you up front what isn't up and going yet vs. having you trek all the way down burning up precious minutes of this premium experience. Alas, at 07:19, we called it and exited the queue and decided to make our way to TSMM...

 

[MommyLove]

I always love your TR's! So glad you're doing one for Dapper Day. The girls look amazing! I love the light blue and the Minnie-inspired hats!

I really...really...really HATE GOTG. It is hideous and ruins the theme. Nothing I can do to change it, but i'll never like it.

Same.

We ended up starting in DL on Dapper Sunday and didn't hit CA Adventure until the afternoon. It was our first Dapper Day and we really loved it! I won't be doing a TR, but I attached a couple pics from our fun day.

Did you end up doing the cabana at the DL pool on Monday? We spent most of our DL pool time on Friday and Saturday since those were by far the hottest days that week. It was perfect! Oh, and we did Trader Sam's (just my DH and I) on Sunday late afternoon in our Dapper outfits! We had soooooooooooo much fun.

 

[whoever]

I always love your TR's! So glad you're doing one for Dapper Day. The girls look amazing! I love the light blue and the Minnie-inspired hats!

Thanks!! Appreciate it.

We ended up starting in DL on Dapper Sunday and didn't hit CA Adventure until the afternoon. It was our first Dapper Day and we really loved it! I won't be doing a TR, but I attached a couple pics from our fun day.

I really wish we had run into you guys. Your outfits are superb!!!

Did you end up doing the cabana at the DL pool on Monday? We spent most of our DL pool time on Friday and Saturday since those were by far the hottest days that week. It was perfect! Oh, and we did Trader Sam's (just my DH and I) on Sunday late afternoon in our Dapper outfits! We had soooooooooooo much fun.

Yep. That's coming up in probably installment 3 or 4 of Sunday. I'm trying to make sure I keep the pics as Disney as possible at the pool. Always a gray area.