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animagusurreal
04-11-2005, 02:56 AM
Part One -

The Trip Down, Down, Down...
- or -
A Dis-asterous Beginning


Weeks earlier, I had set up my first article about Disneyland, gotten my editor at the Santa Maria Sun on board, carefully chose a date between Spring Break and the article's deadline, and "hired" my L.A. Freeway experienced Dad to drive himself, my mother and me down to the parks. Then, two days before the trip, my Vitamin-popping, jogging, vegetarian father got sick (a cold) for about the third time in his entire life, but agreed to go ahead with it.

At 4AM on The Day (April 8th) I was awake with insomnia. I had hoped we'd leave by 10AM, which is early for us, we're all three of us night owls. This would put as at the park between 1:30 and 2. But as the night wore on, and sleep didn't come, I had consigned myself to the fact that we'd leave a
t 10:30 or 11. I finally fell asleep around 6:30AM, and got up at 10 AM.

I still hoped that we could perhaps leave by 10:30. And then 10:30 and 11 came and went, but I hoped we'd leave by 11:30. And then Noon. I tried calling Guest Relations to make sure they had my tickets and knew I was still coming for them, but I got put on hold for 20 minutes and gave up. Mom and I were in the car at about 11:50, but my dad took another 25 minutes to program his three VCR's. :( After getting gas, we were finally on the road about 12:30.

My father was irritable and surly as he always is when we leave for a trip. My mother said, "smile, for goodness sake!" and he said, "I'm sick!" and they fought down the freeway until finally my mother opened the window, screamed "FREEDOM!", and threw her wedding ring out into a field we were passing by. (As you can guess, there were some other issues leading up to this.) As I predicted, they would wind up more or less making up before the day was out.

We sailed through much of the trip down, through the lovely Central and Southern Californian scenery, and I still had hoped of arriving by 2:30 or 3. And then BLAM! L.A. traffic...I think it took us longer to get through L.A. than the whole rest of the trip combined. Visions of huge crowds and no Fastpass left began dancing through my head. It sounds funny to me now, but it seemed a very dire situation at the time! I even imagined that they wouldn't have my tickets at Guest Relations, and if we arrived after 5, the Publicity Department with whom I arranged the trip would be closed. For you Sondheim fans out there, I began singing "a nightmare going to Disney" to the tune of "A Weekend in the Country" from "A Little Night Music". I slowly, painfully ;) became resigned to arriving at 3:30, 4, 4:30, 5....We were directed to park on the top level of the parking structure, so, figuring all the other levels were full, I still feared huge crowds. But I was very happy to see the good old Matterhorn and the good new Tower of Terror.

We finally got off the tram and went to Guest Relations around 5:30. I introduced myself and nice fellow at the counter went to look for my tickets. And look...and look....and look...He looked under my last name, my first name, my editors name...finally, he found my name in a book, and then made a phone call. They had forgotten to process my voucher, or something like that, but it was all cleared up pretty quickly. He said he couldn't get me a fastpass for Buzz, because it was new, but he did get me a fastpass for Splash Mountain, which was one of the major things I wanted to see (because of one thing and another, I hadn't been on the ride in 8 years.)

So, with renewed hope, knowing I wouldn't face a 2 hour wait on Splash, I set off into the park...


To be continued...

3894
04-11-2005, 05:00 AM
he said, "I'm sick!" and they fought down the freeway until finally my mother opened the window, screamed "FREEDOM!", and threw her wedding ring out into a field we were passing by.

And you all still went to Disneyland?

yellowrosedtxn
04-11-2005, 05:11 AM
Sounds interesting so far. I can't wait to hear the rest!

Sailor Butterfly
04-11-2005, 05:18 AM
lol Reminds me of road trips with my parents.

I never understood why my parents would pile us in the car at 2 am, but after being stuck in L.A. traffic I get it.

Hakuna Makarla
04-11-2005, 06:52 AM
my mother opened the window, screamed "FREEDOM!", and threw her wedding ring out into a field we were passing by. (As you can guess, there were some other issues leading up to this.)

I am laughing so hard right now!! She sounded like me on PMS!!! Oh man she lost her ring, how sad yet so funny. Man I am so looking forward to reading the rest of this trip report!~!

stan4d_steph
04-11-2005, 08:47 AM
You didn't stop to try and retrieve the ring? Wow. I think this would have pretty much killed the whole trip for me.

mkcbunny
04-11-2005, 10:13 AM
... and they fought down the freeway until finally my mother opened the window, screamed "FREEDOM!"

I have visions of rings and things flying off the Matterhorn or California Screamin' and hitting unsuspecting bystanders:

"Ouch!" he said, rubbing his noggin.
"What was that, honey?"
"Something just hit me on the head!"
"Look, there it is," she said, pointing to the ground.
"Looks like a wedding ring."
"Wonder what it's worth?"
"Dunno, but I'll buy you dinner at Napa Rose."

animagusurreal
04-15-2005, 04:58 AM
Sorry this next installment took so long in coming (hehe...just call me George Lucas :) )

I've been working on the Disneyland Article, plus another one for a different paper, but most of my time was devoted to the Michael Eisner parody cartoon you'll see a link to in my sig.


AND NOW BACK TO OUR STORY....


It was nice to walk down Main Street a little more slowly this time. Usually, when I have no guarenteed fastpasses like the one I had for Splash, I tear down the street for fear they will all run out a second before I arrive.

I went by Buzz and was grateful to find that they still had Fastpass, and not for too much later - 8:25. I tried to see if I could get in right then as press, but no dice. I didn't really care, though, so long as I had the Fastpass. We left my mom at her beloved relaxing Mark Twain (sometimes it's the only ride she rides all day) and headed out for Splash.

Dad was slowly turning into the obedient puppy-dog he becomes once we're inside Disneyland, following the lead of me, the resident expert. However, he was still somewhat quiet, possibly because of the cold. While in Fastpass line for Splash, I noticed he didn't have a jacket. Turns out, he didn't bring one at all, had a cold, and was going on Splash. I reminded him what happened to William Henry Harrison (But, I guess it was okay, because he's fine now...) I enjoyed Splash, but the last time I'd been on it, the famous final drop seemed much larger and more intimidating. In the intervening years, I've been on California Screamin' and Tower of Terror, and to Magic Mountain a couple of times, so I guess that altered my thrill-ride perspective.

Having finally gotten my Splash fix, we met up with Mom and went on Pooh. This was her first time, and, as I predicted, she loved it, which made it a lot more fun. ("Oh, it's SO cute! Look, there's Tigger!" )

Then we left her to go and do some shopping in NOS while we high-tailed it down to DCA to get some FP before they were all gone.

Oh, a quick tip - a bag of beef jerky is great to have in the park. We didn't have to stop for any meals 'til after we left.

Anyway, we got to DCA, FP'ed Tower, went to Soarin', saw it had a huge line and no FP and we didn't really care if we rode it this trip, decided it was too cold by then for GRR, then got in the 25 minute line for California Screamin' (which I condsider fine for a major E-ticket, and it went pretty fast.)

(Whew, I don't get to do run on sentences like that in my articles :) )

Screamin' is quickly becoming one of my favorite attractions. I was still a little tired from only getting about 3 1/2 hours of sleep, and the adrenaline rush woke me right up. Plus, it seems pretty long for a coaster, as I described it in my "Tower" sample review, "a whole meal of thrills". And even though it's not as themed as some of Disney's other coasters, I do think it's cool that it's a steel coaster that looks like a wooden coaster.

Exiting Screamin', envigorated, we returned to Disneyland and got on the blessedly short 15 minute line for Big Thunder. But it wasn't short enough for my dad, who was evidently feeling much better. He hopped the fence over into the Fastpass line, breifly tried to convince me to come along, and then ran ahead. I tried to tell him it was the Fastpass line, but he was convinced it was just a shorter line. The people behind us laughed and I turned to them and joked that he was "my father-slash-little brother." Disneyland really does bring out the kid in people :) A few minutes later, he returned saying, all surprised "it's the Fastpass line!" When we got up to the CM at the "merge point" (I think I'm using that term correctly) she teased him in a comical western accent "Ooooh, you tried to cut in line!" I told her "I tried to tell him..." and she said to him "You're lucky you've got someone to watch out for you!" She was very nice and she kept in character the whole time.


Well, this isn't a very suspenseful cut off point, but its 5:30 am and I'm tired :) More to come...


Oh, BTW, on the ring thing - although they made up, she still says it "felt great" when she threw the ring. Also, that's the point when he finally started "behaving". LOL.!

And I feel it only fair to comment that I'm only coming off as the more "rational" one in this story because it's Disneyland :)

animagusurreal
04-22-2005, 04:24 PM
This was also my first time on Big Thunder for a few years, and my first time on it in the dark in even longer, so that was cool. I told my dad about the infamous "Goat Trick," and we both tried it, but I don't think it worked. The people behind us were also talking about it, which was neat because I'd never heard anyone mention it offline. I asked them what we were supposed to feel and they said "you feel like you're freefalling." I'll have to try it again next time.

We ran over to Buzz, where we met Mom, told her what was up, and agreed to meet her in an hour. I asked if she wanted to go on Pirates. Once before, she got motion sickness from the drops so she hadn't been in a few years, but she said, "yeah...yeah, I'll go on that."

Out Fastpasses for Buzz were for 8:25, and I was expecting the usual 20 minute Fastpass line, which would make it an awfully close shave for getting back to TOT before California Adventure closed at 9. I asked the FP attendant if we might get in 10 minutes early. He replied, "no, other people were waiting before you!" I hadn't thought of that way - as a "virtual line" - but he said it in what sounded to me like a "how dare you even ask, you insolent peasant!" tone. Still worried about making TOT, I thought, "what the heck" and I told him I was press and there to review the ride. "So, you're with the press?" he asked, non-belivingly, "which paper?" I told him, and he asked if I had any I.D. As an arts freelancer in Santa Maria, I don't have any need of a press pass, but I showed him my comp ticket and my California I.D. He looked at the latter scrutinizingly, so I said, "yeah, it's me," (I have much shorter hair in the picture.) "Yeah, that's you," he replied, "but that doesn't mean anything..." And while he was once again correct, it was done in that same tone, and it was frustrating to be treated that way knowing that I actually was telling the truth.

It turned out to be a moot point, because the whole thing wound up taking about 15 minutes, including waiting for our FP time to come, waiting in line, and riding the ride. I'll get into this more extensively when I post up my actual review, but I was rather underwhelmed by Buzz. My main gripes were the limited movement and the flatness or boxiness of almost everything but Buzz and Zurg. In that sense, it reminded me of Pooh.

We blasted out of Buzz and ran to TOT. My father works in a hotel, so I said, doing a Rod Serling impression, "submitted for your approval, the story of man who thought he was on vacation...only to find that he was actually at work!" Right before we entered the library, there was a teapot-like ceramic curio in glass case with a sign that said, "This conversation piece is available in our gift shop," and I wondered if it actually was.

Speaking of curios, the first time I went to TOT I didn't really notice all the great bric-a-brac from the series that adorns the library. I recognized the fortune telling machine from the episode with William Shatner (not "there's some-thing on-the-wing," the other one.)
Does anyone know where I can find a list of where all these came from, and if any of them actually from the series (not replicas) ?

I find that the video doesn't seem like a real Twilight Zone episode. The black and white doesn't look right, and there's no way they would have had lightening effects like that back then.

However, I found that the ride itself is much, much, MUCH better at night. As I said in my article, "it really put me into the story." Also, this time, I didn't hype it up nearly as much as I had the first time I rode it.


To Be Concluded....

animagusurreal
04-23-2005, 05:12 AM
As we were headed out of the closed DCA it occured to me we might face a wait to get back into DL. It also occured to me that, up 'til then, waits might have been more moderate in DL because 2fer had split the crowds between the two parks.

The line to get back into the park turned out to be the longest we waited in all day. In front of us was a young couple with a little girl. She was half asleep in her fathers arms toying happily with a little Disney princess purse and saying "hi" to people. Behind us were a crowd of teenagers yelling semi-profanities to one another at the top of their lungs. One of them vomited a little on the pavement, and another one said, "Dude, is that yak? Oh, man, that is yak! Eyyewwww, it's on my shoes!" etc...

By the time we got back into the park it was already 9:30, and I figured it wouldn't occur to Mom we would get caught in a line coming back into the park (since it hadn't occured to me.) Happily, we found no wait at the DLRR. Looking across from Main Street Station, the Tower of Terror looked really cool in the dark. A train came shortly thereafter, and we rode in comfort to NOS. I like the rather corny old spiel that plays on on the train, but I've always thought that they should put some animal along the track in Adventureland, for when it says "...lions and tigers and even Tiki birds...you never know what might show up!"

Mom was waiting right at the enterance to Pirates. She said she had a wonderful view of Fantasmic! from there, and watched the whole show. Earlier, (while we were going on Buzz) she had gone to a shop in Tommorowland, and met a rather..interesting CM. She told my Mom that she had been there for 3 months, someone had recently asked her where NOS was, and she told them it was in Walt Disney World. They talked a bit and a my mother that her son (me) was there to write an article about DL, and that I "knew everything about the park." "Yeah," the CM replied, "well I bet there's one thing he doensn't know...where [contraversial political figure] belongs....nowhere!" My family is all pretty apolitical, so Mom didn't really mind, but I was surprised to hear that a CM would be bringing up politics to a guest out of the blue like that. I wondered what would happen if she said it to someone who was a fan of said contraversial political figure.

We had a pretty short wait for Pirates, and when we got to our boat, Mom nearly wanted to get out, but (perhaps partially because she was sitting between Dad and I,) she reluctantly decided to brave the drops. "They try to lull you into thinking its all peaceful," she said, as we floated through the Blue Bayou. Then we got to the talking skull, and she was half-jokingly saying something on the order of, "oh my gawd, why am I doing this again?" The drops were, of course, nothing to my dad and I on a wildness scale. We went down the first drop and she said that it actually wasn't so bad, and she hoped the next drop wouldn't be any worse. It wasn't, and for the rest of the night she kept saying how happy she was she came on the ride. The ride was a lot more fun with her on it, because she really gets into it. I saw the ride in something of a new light since I just made a webrtoon parody of Michael Eisner (see my sig.) featuring a Pirates parody, "Pirates of the Corportation". Mom also said that she was thinking of my parody all through the ride.

Something to think about - are any of the cannonballs the Pirates and soldiers fire actually supposed to be hitting their respective targets, or do they just all land in the water? I can just hear the pirate taunts - "You couldn't hit the broad side of a ship!"

Since Mom was feeling braver, we then managed to talk her into trying Peter Pan. Mom and I had only been on this ride once before, when I was a kid. During the part where you fly over Neverland and then dive down towards it, she thought we really were high up. And she happened to have a bit of larangitus that day, so she kept gasping "I can't scream! I can't scream!" In order to make this antectdote more balanced, I feel I must mention that when I was a kid, I was so afraid of any mildly scary-sounding attraction, I would walk on the opposite side of the path to avoid accidentally getting in line for them, and it was mom who talked me into going on The Jungle Cruise for the first time. Many years later, it was dad who talked me into going on Space Mountain for the first time (Mom sat that one out.)

Anyway, we never did get on Peter Pan, because as we went to cross the hub from Frontierland to Fantasyland, I looked over at Tommorowland and remembered, "oh, yeah, we should go on Star Tours later," and Mom shockingly said, "I'll go on Star Tours." She had been on the ride twice before, after which she reffered to the park as "Dizzyland". By this time, she and Dad are somewhat more chummy, but then, as we're walking to the enterance of Star Tours, he runs way ahead of us and gets in the line, and by the time we get there there's like 10 people between him and us. He tried to talk us into jumping the rail and joining him, but I told him that Star Tours had enough capacity that I didn't think it made that much difference. Eventually, he gave in, and came back to join us. It was a very short wait. The CM at the end of the line was unbelievably nice and did very well at calming Mom's fears about riding, despite the fact that we were assigned to the back row - where, we were told, you feel the most motion. Mom later said that the first "drop" was terrifying, and there were a couple other moments that really freaked her out, but that it was mostly very fun, and she was glad she did it. She later said, "I feel like I was part of Disneyland again." On previous trips, we had left her a lot more often to dash onto wild rides.

We did swing by Peter Pan, but the line looked really long, and the Matterhorn line was the shortest I've ever seen it. The outside-the-station line went around a corner, and I expected to see it going on forever, but there was the station, right there!

By the time we got off the ride, it was about 11:30, and we were all pretty tired, plus poor dad had to drive home! I lead the way over to Toontown Station, and we caught the next train back to Main Street, going through Grand Canyon and Primeval World, both of which I hadn't seen in a long time. Those dinosaurs were really advanced for 1964!

As we left, a very helpful CM at the gate gave us directions to the Denny's on Harbor Boulevard. We had a very nice breakfast-for-dinner (our first real meal since that morning.) In the next booth, there was a choir group from a high school in Fullerton. Mom half-jokingly asked them to sing something (having discerned that they were a choir group from their conversation.) To our surprise, they sang us a lovely a capella choral rendition of The Beatles' "When I'm Sixty-Four".

Dad kept reminding us not to take forever eating (something Mom and I have a tendancy to do) because he still had to drive 4 hours. Well, we reminded him, at least there won't be any traffic going home. We go about 10 miles down the highway and there's a sign warning of traffic ahead. We disregard it, figuring it was left there from earlier in the day. Well, it turned out there was some road construction at 2AM that caused a major traffic jam. At 2AM! In Santa Maria, you'd be surprised to see one car on the freeway at 2AM. Luckily, it wasn't as bad as the traffic going down. Dad made it home without falling asleep driving, we made it home safely in one piece, and Mom and Dad - for the most part - made peace with one another.

But as for the ring, it was found by young hobbit named Smeagol....


THE END.

CrazyTrain
04-23-2005, 08:22 AM
Thanks for the report!! :)