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View Full Version : Trip Report 3/12/04



MotorBoat Cruiser
03-12-2004, 09:21 PM
Just a short trip report...

We headed to the park today, thinking it would be pretty quiet. Boy, were we wrong. We entered by the Timon lot and noticed it was full. "Hmm, that's kind of strange", we thought. Re-directed to the Mickey lot, we noticed that the top lot was full and realized that this was a really busy day, especially when, at 1:30pm, we parked in the far corner of the Mickey lot (ugh).

I'm not exactly sure why the park was so busy today. We figured that maybe it was the weather. Or, maybe it was due to Big Thunder re-opening. Or, perhaps some sort of special event. Regardless, the lines were quite large today. I wonder if this signifies that the "slow season" is over.

We headed out to get some fast-passes, most notably for Big Thunder Mtn. That was our main reason for going. (more on this later). We skipped Splash Mtn. completely due to the 1 1/2 hour wait and the fact that at 2pm, the fastpasses were being issued for 8:30 at night. "Oh well", we thought, the park is crowded, lets just make the most of it. And that's what we did. We mostly people watched and rode a few rides while waiting for the fastpasses to become valid. We saved the BTMRR for last.

First, let me say that I know the idea of going to the park specifically to ride something which so recently took someones life, is a bit distasteful to some. We were there the day the accident happened and were shocked and terribly sad when we heard the news. Today, we were mindful of that tragedy. We stood by the fence and talked about that day and how sorry we feel for the family. Before riding, I took a moment of silence out of respect for the family.

I won't say that we weren't excited about riding. We were. We always loved that ride. But riding today was about more than that. It was about moving forward. It was about returning to normal. I hope that makes sense.

I have heard many people say that they wouldn't feel comfortable sitting in the front row. When the CM directed us to Row 1, I was momentarily unnerved as well. But we did it. And, I must say, it was really nice. It felt good to have this ride back. When the ride was closed, it was like a piece of the park was missing, a big part. Its return made the park feel more normal again. Something that struck me was that the minute the train took off, the whole car cheered loudly. I think everyone felt glad to have it back.

After riding it, we decided to call it a night. We left at 6pm, much earlier than we normally do. The park was just too crowded and it was starting to get cold. It was a good day, bittersweet at times, but always magical, of course.

EandCDad
03-13-2004, 07:13 AM
I noticed that it was pretty crowded yesterday, too. I kept saying, "man, it seems crowded for a Friday in March." We chalked it up to Snow White and Big Thunder and made sure to get most of our rides done before 11am. When we went over to DCA, that also seemed crowded but the line for Screamin' was only about 20 minutes.

As far as being excited about being on a ride where someone died. I look at it like flying on a plane fairly soon after 9/11. I didn't think to much about the people who recently got killed on those flights, I was excited about the trip I was taking. I didn't think of it as "returning to normal," I was just focusing on enjoying my trip.

Darkbeer
03-13-2004, 07:57 AM
Remember folks, people are on Spring Break in certain locations, and Spring Break last until April 18th. Don't expect a quiet park until then......

toethumbs555
03-14-2004, 10:28 AM
yah, I went on a saturday, I think last week and it was really crowded and depressing