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Thread: Pammer ~ February 24-27, 2018 ~ Offsite

  1. #1
    Self-Proclaimed Disney Queen! Pammer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Sacramento, CA

    Pammer ~ February 24-27, 2018 ~ Offsite

    Travel dates: February 24 27, 2018
    Travel method: Plane
    Resort: Anaheim Hotel (Off-site)
    Accommodations: Standard
    Ages Represented in Group: Adult
    Disney Resort Experience Represented in Group: Veteran & Occasional
    Comments: Ladies Trip!
    Cast of characters:
    • Pam: trip planner/writer and self-proclaimed Disney Queen
    • Juanita: fellow Disney fan!


    The Planning

    My friend Juanita & I have been talking about taking a trip to the Disneyland Resort together for quite a while; however, she owns the "Local Kine Shave Ice" food truck here in Sacramento, and is only available during the colder months of the year which is her down time. Therefore, we decided on February 24-27 and I started the planning!

    Lodging: Once Juanita & I decided on our dates, I made reservations at the Anaheim Desert Inn on Harbor Blvd. (a 5-minute walk from the parks; total for 3 nights = $404).

    Transportation: I booked airfare for me on Southwest Airlines from Sacramento to Orange County using points [(equivalent cost = $67 down and $59 back); total TSA fees & Early-Bird option came to $41.20 round-trip (without points the total cash cost would have been $156)]; Juanita purchased her own airfare separately around the same time (minus Early-Bird).

    I also made reservations with SuperShuttle for travel to/from our motel ($19.80 round-trip each for me & Juanita after the AAA group discount was applied).

    Tickets: I have a Deluxe AP voucher that I bought at the Disney Store in early November last year and Juanita bought hers online in early February so she could make monthly payments; fortunately, she did this a couple of weeks before the huge price increase! We will activate them once we arrive on Saturday.

    Priority Seating: I made several dining reservations for our visit:

    • February 24: Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen @ 6:45pm (drinks, dessert, & music)
    • February 25: Blue Bayou @ 11:30am; Fantasmic! On-the-Go Package @ 6pm (1st show)
    • February 26: World of Color Dessert Party @ 7:30pm

    Disney Visa Rewards Card: I transferred $86.52 out of my rewards balance on my Disney Visa Rewards Card (DVRC) to cover some of my Disney park meals and park incidentals.


    The Itinerary

    The pre-planning was done, and we were ready to go! Here was our planned schedule:

    • February 24: Meet up with Juanita; fly down to Anaheim; check-in to the Anaheim Desert Inn; late lunch/early dinner @ either Trader Sam's or the Rainforest Cafe; shopping @ Downtown Disney; drinks, dessert, & jazz music @ Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen
    • February 25: Disneyland/DCA; lunch @ Blue Bayou; Fantasmic! picnic package
    • February 26: Disneyland/DCA; World of Color Dessert Party
    • February 27: Check-out of the Desert Inn; Disneyland/DCA; fly home



    Friday, February 23, 2018 (pre-departure date)

    Actual: I worked a full day today (mostly in body; my spirit was already in vacation-mode!), making sure everything was caught up before I left. I messaged Juanita around 8:45am to see if she was OK with cancelling the ressie at Ralph Brennan's tomorrow night; I wasnt familiar with the scheduled band and she hadn't seemed overly interested in it when I first mentioned it several weeks ago. She agreed, so I canceled it to avoid the $10 per person penalty; this way we are not locked in to anything specific on our first day!

    My co-worker friend Heidi & I went to Arby's for lunch, as I wanted to get a roast beef sandwich to eat at the airport tomorrow morning before the flight; they had a special of 5 for $11.99, so I ate one for lunch, gave one to Heidi to give to her husband who also loved them, and took the rest home for James & I!

    When I got back to the office around 12:30pm, I checked in and got my boarding pass (A37 via early bird check-in) & messaged Juanita accordingly; however, she was in the middle of something right then & forgot to check-in until hours later! She ended up in the C section (non-early bird), so I'll save the center seat next to me for her.

    After I finished up work, I drove home and finished my packing (except for the last-minute stuff); James & I watched "Celebrity Big Brother" & I was in bed a little after 11pm.


    Saturday, February 24, 2018 (73o)
    Plan: Meet up with Juanita; fly down to Anaheim; check-in to the Anaheim Desert Inn; late lunch/early dinner @ either Trader Sam's or the Rainforest Cafe; shopping @ Downtown Disney; drinks, dessert, & jazz music @ Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen

    Actual: No alarm, but I was up by 8:30am; I medicated our kitty Sidney and started getting ready. James was up around 9:15am and we were out the door by 9:40am. I drove us to the airport and traffic was light this lovely Saturday morning; we arrived around 10:10am, said our goodbyes, and I went inside to check my bag (18.5#). There were no lines for the kiosks, and I heard my cell phone going off right after I dropped off my bag with the counter staff; I checked the phone and saw that I had a missed call from Juanita so I called her back. She was wondering where I was, as she was already at the gate and was sure I'd be there already (I'd told her yesterday I was shooting for a 10am arrival time)! Juanita usually is running late whenever we meet up for lunch, so I was surprised she was there already (going to DL definitely gets you moving faster in the morning ~ LOL!). 

    I told her where I was and that I'd see her shortly, and then went over to TSA; there were virtually no lines for either side, and I was through the Pre-TSA line by 10:25am. I refilled my water bottle and met up with Juanita at Gate 15; she apparently had only arrived at the airport about 5-10mins before me, so she hadn't been there TOO long yet!

    We chatted and then she went to get some coffee & a breakfast sandwich from Starbucks while I ate my sandwich from Arby's. We started boarding around 11:30am & I was able to get the exit row on the aisle; another lady sat in the window seat a few minutes later. I chatted with the flight attendant while people kept boarding, and then Juanita showed up to sit in the middle seat.

    We had an on-time departure & I drank my usual Diet Dr. Pepper while Juanita opted for water; they also gave us pretzels. Juanita has been on a low-carb diet so peanuts would have been the better option for her, but they didn't offer any of those; however, she is on vacation so she was also fine with the pretzels!

    We arrived on-time and stopped to pick up our bags at Baggage Claim, before walking down to meet our SuperShuttle van; we ended up with a private ride to our motel as no one arrived after 10mins to join us!

    We arrived at the Anaheim Desert Inn around 2:25pm, and I checked in with Armando (who I had spoken to 2 days ago when I called to make sure my deposit went through); however, my type of room (Executive) wasn't ready yet (official check-in = 3pm), so we sat there about 20mins waiting for one to become ready.

    We were given Room #230 in the back, which ended up being fairly quiet throughout our stay; we quickly got settled and I changed from my skort into a running skirt (more comfy with extra pockets!).

    We left around 3:30pm and walked over to the resort; we were quickly though security and went to the ticket booths to activate our respective passes (no wait). CM Austin was fun & we enjoyed our interaction with him! I added MaxPass ($75) and then Juanita activated her pass once I was done (we later thought that she COULD have gone to a separate window and been done sooner, but her transaction was MUCH quicker than mine since she had already done all of the legwork online when she bought the pass so it didn't really matter after all!).

    We next went into DL (no wait) so we could have our pictures taken now instead of tomorrow morning, and then we went right back out the exit! We figured that both parks would be very busy since it was a Saturday evening, and therefore decided to skip them tonight.

    We headed into Downtown Disney and looked through the World of Disney store; about a third of it was being refurbished, so the pricey animation art & purses were gone at the time.

    We then walked over to Rainforest Cafe and I used my Landry's Select Club card to get priority seating; we were sent right in past a bunch of people & we took the elevator up so I could avoid all of those stairs. We were seated at a table in front of a gorilla who appeared to look from me to Juanita every time he acted up!

    We ended up sharing the mozzarella cheesesticks appetizer and the pepperoni flatbread appetizer, and Juanita also ordered some fries; she drank hot tea & I drank Diet Coke. Our server split our check down the middle and we used my AAA card for 10% off of one ticket and my AARP card for 10% off the other ticket (each became $21 with tax & gratuity)!

    We left around 5:30pm, looked through the retail store, and then walked over to the Disneyland Hotel to check things out around there; it had gotten quite chilly since the sun had set! We checked out the shops, murals, Monorail pool slides, models, restaurants, waterfalls, and wedding gardens before heading back to DD.

    After going through security, we went into the Wonderground Gallery & each bought a couple of scenic postcards ($9.68, after our 10% AP discount).

    We next stopped at the new Disney Home store to check it out; there were several items Juanita was interested in so she took a few pictures and texted them out to her hubby & other friends & family for advice.

    We crossed over to Harbor and went up to the Cove Market, where we each bought a gallon of water ($4.80 each), and then went back to our room. We chatted and got settled, then I called James, showered, and we both were in bed by 10:30am ~ WE ARE HERE!!!

    Steps: 10,214
    Pam
    DL trips: too many to remember actual dates, but they began in the 60s!
    WDW trips: 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2021



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  3. #2
    Self-Proclaimed Disney Queen! Pammer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Sacramento, CA
    Sunday, February 25, 2018 (72o)
    Plan: Blue Bayou @ 11:30am; Fantasmic! On-the-Go Package @ 6pm (1st show)

    Actual: The alarm went off at 6am and we were out-the-door around 7:25am; we stopped at the motel breakfast room and I made some toast while Juanita got some coffee, fruit, & hard-boiled eggs. It was at this time that we realized that Juanita likes the egg whites only while I prefer egg yolks, so we ended up sharing them. 

    We left around 7:40am, had short lines at security, and were through the turnstiles at DL around 7:50am! The Market House (Starbucks) wasn't open yet, but only had a few people in line at the door so Juanita got in line while I went to rent a large locker to store my jacket and Juanita's backpack ($10). Starbucks opened right after I left, so Juanita soon had her coffee and we met back up just after 8am. Since we both had MaxPass (MP) and I had her AP already linked to my account on the app, I was able to get our first MP: Space Mountain @ 8:40am!

    We headed through Sleeping Beauty Castle into Fantasyland and over to the exit of Peter Pan's Flight; I'd intended to request a return time, but the CM directed me over to a queue alongside the main queue, where another CM waited to merge us into the main queue.

    We enjoyed our flight and then went next door to ride Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (Ratty) and around the corner to ride Alice in Wonderland via the exit (green caterpillar).

    Juanita wanted to ride the Matterhorn Bobsleds, so she got in the single rider line around 8:30am while I waited near the exit. We met back up, stopped at the restrooms by Alice, and then headed into Tomorrowland.

    We rode Star Tours ~ The Adventures Continue around 8:45am (via the elevator; stand-by was only 5mins), where all of the scenes were geared towards the new movies: we had the Stormtroopers, Jakku, Maz Kanata (NEW!) and Crait/Batuu (also NEW; Crait is the new land where the final battle of "The Last Jedi" was held and Batuu is the new Star Wars land at Disneyland!).



    I made a MP reservation at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad for 8:50am and we headed over to ride Space with our MP around 9am; when we exited, I made a MP for Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters at 9:18am for 9:20am! 

    We rode Buzz, where I beat Juanita 158,600 to 8,500 (I have a lot more experience than she does here!)...



    ...and then I made a MP reservation for Indiana Jones Adventure at 9:30am (10:10am). We walked through the Castle again to take Big Thunder Trail over to the BTMR exit, so we could ride with our MP right before it expired!

    We stopped at the Ship to Shore Marketplace across from the entrance to BTMR for a quick snack: I bought a bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos ($3.44) and Juanita got a pickle. We snacked on our way over to ride Pirates of the Caribbean just after 10am; while in line I booked a MP for Haunted Mansion around 10:20am (10:30am)!

    Our timing for Pirates was just rightthe queue grew out behind us and was queuing outside the attraction every time we walked by the rest of the day!

    After we got off of Pirates, we headed over to ride Indy with our MP around 10:45am; when that was done we headed over to check-in for our lunch reservation at Blue Bayou around 11:15am, because we didn't have time to ride HM beforehand. We sat down in the BB lobby and I tried to cancel the HM MP; however, it apparently won't let you do that once the MP window has opened. I was able to book a MP for Guardians of the Galaxy ~ Mission: BREAKOUT! for 2:20pm while we were waiting though!

    We were the first ones to sit down in the BB lobby, but grew concerned when several parties were seated before us over the next 15mins; I was afraid the CM at check-in had somehow deleted us out of the system! They finally called us around 11:30am and we got our waterside table after all.

    I ordered the Surf & Turf with a Diet Coke ($65, after the 10% AP discount)...



    ...and Juanita ordered the ribeye and water...



    ...all was very tasty and I even left some of my yummy BB potatoes because I was so full!



    We left BB around 12:30pm and stopped at the locker so I could leave my outer shirt (I had sleeveless on underneath and was warm with the button-down shirt on) before heading on over to Disney California Adventure.

    I booked a Soarin' Around the World MP around 1pm (3:20pm) and we went over to Hollywood Land for the Chase Disney Visa meet & greet; we got to the front-of-the-line after about 15mins and Pluto was coming in to switch with Minnie. The CM said that we could see Pluto now, or be in line at 1:30pm and see Stitch! Since Juanita loves most things Hawaiian, including "Lilo & Stitch", we decided to wait the extra 6-7mins for Stitch and had an EXCELLENT interaction with him! He was hiding from us when we first walked in and then gave us lots of love ~ we had a great time!












    to be continued...
    Pam
    DL trips: too many to remember actual dates, but they began in the 60s!
    WDW trips: 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2021



  4. #3
    Self-Proclaimed Disney Queen! Pammer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Sacramento, CA
    Sunday, February 25, 2018 (72o) ~ Part II

    We had about a half hour to kill before our GotG MP was valid, so we went to watch the sneak preview of "A Wrinkle in Time"; it looked very fancy but not something I would pay money to see. 

    We next went in to the Disney Animation building, but had just missed Turtle Talk with Crush at 2pm, so we went down into the Sorcerer's Workshop and the Beast's Library; we did the quiz of which Disney character we were most like: I was Eve and I think Juanita might have been Jasmine (I can't remember now!).

    It was now time for my new favorite attraction at DCA: GotG! We used our MP around 2:20pm and our song was "Born to be Wild"; I think Juanita loved it as much as I did!



    We next cut through "a bug's land" over to Cars Land and got in the very long single rider queue for Radiator Springs Racers around 3pm; I went to the disabled side and was on & off much quicker than Juanita, so I waited for her to catch up. Afterwards, I stopped at the restrooms by Flo's V8 Cafe and when I came out to meet up with Juanita, I checked my phone and saw I had a missed call from James. I called him back and he wanted to talk to me about a gazebo he wanted to buy to go over our spa, so Juanita left to walk through the nearby shops and then over to the Cozy Cone Motel for some popcorn.

    We met back up and walked over to ride Soarin' with our MP around 4:15pm just before it expired; afterwards I stopped for some more Nacho Cheese Doritos, this time from Mortimer's Market ($3.44), and then we park-hopped back to DL around 5pm.

    We stopped at the locker so I could get my outer shirt and Juanita could get her sweater, and then we walked into a very busy Tomorrowland; we went in to Star Wars Launch Bay to do the Chase Disney Visa Star Wars meet & greet with Darth Vader...







    ...and then I was very excited to see Boba Fett outside the exit!



    We left SWLB and went to ride the Disneyland Railroad over to the New Orleans station, which took a couple of trains. We then headed over to the Hungry Bear Restaurant to pick up our Fantasmic! On-the Go Dining Packages: I got the BBQ chicken with a Diet Coke and Juanita got the pork riblets ($29.08 each, after the 10% AP discounts). We sat at a table by the water and I booked a MP for HM (6:40pm).

    I really disliked my food; I hated the sauce on the chicken and only ate one piece ~ I will NOT waste my money on this again! Fortunately, Juanita liked her food and ate most of it; she said that the riblets practically fell off of the bone!

    After a stop at the restrooms, we went to ride The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (5mins) and then rode HM with our MP around 7pm.

    When we came out, we went over to the CM standing by the entrance to our F! reserved area & I asked her if there was a seating area for people who couldn't stand for the entire show (like they did before the refurbishment); they did and she called up to the lead for that section to let her know that she was sending us over. She took our Fastpasses and walked us over to a roped off section at the River Belle Terrace, the same place they had before. We had over an hour before the show, but since there wasn't much we could do in that short amount of time on this busy Sunday night we decided to stake out our seats now (we were the first ones so we had our pick of the entire section).

    I called James around 8pm and Juanita & I chatted as we waited for the show; around 8:30pm, I went to use the restroom and then bought us churros from a cart near BTMR ($4.50 each) to snack on.

    We enjoyed the updated Fantasmic! show at 9pm; the new graphics were great, but I still miss Peter Pan fighting Hook on the pirate ship!



    It had been a long day, so we headed towards Main Street; since I'd eaten so little for dinner, I stopped at Coke Corner for a hot dog & chips to go ($6.78, after the 10% AP discount). We then stopped at China Closet Clothiers and I bought a sleeveless tunic ($38.78, after the 10% AP discount), and then we cleared out the locker.

    Juanita stopped at The Market House for some coffee and I went on down to Disney Showcase, where I bought a shirt with little Mickey icons on it (reverse fabric) for $31.99 (after the 10% AP discount). We met back up and went over to the Mad Hatter store so Juanita could buy some rose gold ears for a friends of hers in Hawaii (neither one of us thought they were that appealing, but they are really trending right now).

    My back was hurting so we sat down for a few minutes to rest it, and then we headed back to the room sometime after 10pm; we did our nightly routine, I ate my hot dog, and both of us were in bed before midnight.

    Steps: 22.134
    Pam
    DL trips: too many to remember actual dates, but they began in the 60s!
    WDW trips: 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2021



  5. #4
    Self-Proclaimed Disney Queen! Pammer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Sacramento, CA
    Monday, February 26, 2018 (75o)
    Plan: Disneyland/DCA; World of Color Dessert Party

    Actual: Today the alarm went off at 7am and we got ready and left the room around 8:30am; we had a similar breakfast as yesterday, except we had bagels instead of toast. We left the motel around 8:45am and had a longer wait with both security and to get into DCA today.

    We were through around 9:15am and Juanita went to rent the large locker for today ($10), before going to the Fiddler, Fifer, & Practical Cafe (Starbucks) for her morning fix. I booked our GotG MP for 10am while I was waiting for her, and then we headed in to the park. We stopped at the Boudin Bakery Tour and Ghirardelli (milk chocolate & caramel Easter candy) for samples around 9:30am on our way to the back of the park.

    There was a sign that said that Toy Story Midway Mania wasn't due to open until 10am (darn), so we went to ride The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel's Undersea Adventure instead and then went to the nearby restrooms. When we were done, we saw that they had the back section opened now, so we headed back there to ride TSMM (standby = 30mins); I booked a MP for Soarin' just after 10am (10:40am) while we were waiting in line.

    I won 176,500 to Juanita's 125,300, but she was more accurate than me (36% to 30%)!



    After TSMM, we went to ride GotG with our MP around 11am ("I Want You Back") and I booked another MP for 12:35pm, knowing we would be eligible when we were done watching Frozen ~ Live at the Hyperion later!



    We came out to find the GotG: Awesome Dance Off! show in progress & stayed to watch for a few minutes & enjoy Star Lord's music...



    ...we then decided to skip Soarin' as we wanted to grab a snack before the Frozen show and that was only 30mins away!

    We went to Award Wieners and I got a hot dog, fries, & large Diet Coke for me ($11.62, after the 10% AP discount), and Juanita got a large bottle of water. We sat down to eat, and I shared my fries with Juanita; I would prefer chips like they used to have to the fries, but this worked better for Juanita.

    We next went to see Frozen (12pm show) and was able to sit in the lower level; the show was well-done as usual!







    When it was over, we headed straight over to GotG around 1:15pm to ride with our MP ("Free Ride"); I also booked a MP for Space while we were waiting for 4:20pm!





    to be continued...
    Pam
    DL trips: too many to remember actual dates, but they began in the 60s!
    WDW trips: 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2021



  6. #5
    Self-Proclaimed Disney Queen! Pammer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Sacramento, CA
    Monday, February 26, 2018 (75o) ~ Part II

    We headed over to DL around 1:45pm and went to see the Enchanted Tiki Room show at 2pm; afterwards we went to get a return time for the Jungle Cruise (2:40pm, 20mins away). We decided to kill time in the Adventureland shops before returning to ride.

    We were hungry afterwards and I went over to the Red Wagon for a corn dog, chips, & large Diet Coke ($12.37, after the 10% AP discount) while Juanita went to the Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe for a grilled cheese & soup; we met back up at the JHBC seating area and enjoyed our food.

    I booked Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin around 3:15pm (3:35pm) and then we went to the Royal Theatre to watch "Beauty and the Beast" (3:45pm show); it was a full house and we just barely found seats before it filled up!

    After the show, we headed back to Mickey's Toontown to ride RRCTS with the MP and then I showed Juanita some of the special effects in the area before we headed over to watch Mickey and the Magical Map (4:45pm show). Juanita went to get some water & popcorn and I was able to book a MP for Buzz around 4:30pm (4:35pm) while we waited for the show to start!







    We next crisscrossed the park to ride Space just before the MP expired...



    ...and then rode Buzz with that MP (I beat Juanita 256,800 to 7,200)!



    We had done pretty much everything we wanted to do at DL, so we went back to DCA around 6pm; we stopped at the locker to get our jackets and then went to ride Monsters Inc. (Mike & Sully to the Rescue) around 6:40pm. We were glad to see standby at 10mins instead of the 30min wait they had earlier today!

    We planned to go inside the Animation Building, but it was closed so we walked over to ride Mater's Junkyard Jamboree around 7pm instead.

    We next went to Ghirardelli for another chocolate sample (milk chocolate & caramel Easter candy again), used the restroom, and then got in line for the World of Color Dessert Party at 7:30pm. We enjoyed our food & drinks...



    ...followed by the lovely show (8:15pm)!







    We took our leftovers with us, emptied the locker, and then Juanita went back to the Disney Home store to purchase some items while I carried everything over to a bench near the security tables to wait for her. I called James to check-in while waiting, and was later quite surprised when they started testing the new fireworks show around 9:30pm in the closed DL park behind me!



    Juanita arrived shortly thereafter and we watched them for a few minutes before heading back to the motel; Juanita checked in for our flight (B41) and I checked for my Early-Bird status (A41)!

    It began raining around 11pm, and we were very happy to be indoors! It went on for most of the night, but we were both in bed before midnight.

    Steps: 18,429
    Pam
    DL trips: too many to remember actual dates, but they began in the 60s!
    WDW trips: 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2021



  7. #6
    Self-Proclaimed Disney Queen! Pammer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Sacramento, CA
    Tuesday, February 27, 2018 (80o)
    Plan: Check-out of the Desert Inn; Disneyland/DCA; fly home

    Actual: After raining most of the night, our alarm went off at 8am and we got up & packed our stuff. Juanita had a really bad headache and was hoping she wasn't coming down with something from germ-infested DL!

    We left the room and tried to store our bags in the luggage room, but they had added a lock to the door and our keys wouldn't work on them (apparently only the management keys work). We went down to the lobby to ask for someone to open the door for us, and then went back to the luggage room to meet them. We stored our bags in two lockers ($1.50 each) and then went back to check out ($403.65).

    We headed over to DL around 10am and the lines for security and park entrance weren't too bad since both parks had opened an hour earlier. Juanita stopped in at The Market House for coffee, and I stood outside; I made a MP for Space at 10:10am (11:05am) while waiting for her. A few minutes later I received a notification that my MP time had been adjusted; I couldn't see that the original time had changed but maybe 5mins, but now I seemed to have an anytime MP as well ~ this was new to me and I'm not sure what that meant.

    Juanita had decided earlier that she didn't feel like riding anything and aggravating her headache further, but she was fine with walking around with me and waiting while I rode a few more rides, so I used her AP that was stored in my app to make another MP, this time for ST (10:40am)!

    Juanita came out and had also purchased a bagel with her coffee, half of which she graciously shared with me ~ it was delicious!

    We walked into Tomorrowland and went to the back of the Tomorrowland Terrace bandstand to watch Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple at 10:30am; I always like how the Dark Side comes around to the back there.





    There were a couple of small boys watching the show and the CM who came back there to monitor the lift when the characters come out and then leave was great talking to them all about the show and patiently answering their questions!



    The show had changed a bit since I'd last seen it; now Kylo Ren comes out to fight the young Padawans alongside his grandfather, Darth Vader! I prefer him to the Sith Sister who isn't that well known a character.

    After the show, I went to ride ST with Juanita's MP; this time I had Kylo Ren in the opening segment (new to me) and Poe Dameron in the 3rd segment (also new to me) ~ the second (Jakku) and final (Crait/Batuu) segments are the same in every ride right now.

    I next went to ride Space with my MP and booked a new MP for GotG at 11:15am (12:35pm) while I was waiting!



    I started wondering if there were additional versions of ST that I had missed, so I decided to ride it again with that 'anytime' MP I had (which worked the same as the other MPs); however, I got the exact same ride as earlier so I was a little bit disappointed!

    I walked out of Star Traders to find water all over the cement ~ it had apparently rained while I was on the ride! The sun was still out, with a few clouds around, and I saw Juanita across the way so I went to meet up with her. She had been looking around the Little Green Men Command Store and started to come out when she saw that it was pouring, with a bit of hail too! The hail was mostly gone by the time we had met back up.

    We walked over to the Golden Horseshoe Saloon around 12:10pm, and Juanita found us a table while I got in line; I bought the mozzarella sticks & fries, plus a large Diet Coke ($12.39, after the 10% AP discount). I shared the fries with Juanita and we enjoyed The Laughing Stock Co. show (12:15pm) while eating.



    I booked a MP for Soarin' using Juanita's AP around 12:30pm (1:35pm) and then we park-hopped over to DCA; I rode GotG with my MP ("Free Ride") with two ladies from Korea who spoke little English and were hilariously scared!



    We next went to see the Turtle Talk with Crush show at 1:30pm (very cute) and then I went to ride Soarin' with Juanita's MP while she went into the Fiddler, Fifer, & Practical Cafe for some more coffee; however, the MP return line was really long, so I decided to skip it.

    I went back to meet Juanita and got us a table; I then got a message that Soarin' was now down and she had an anytime MP to use! Juanita had gotten a snack with her coffee, and I told her about Soarin' going down and her getting the anytime MP after she came over to the table. We still had about an hour before we had to leave the park and I commented how I would LOVE to ride GotG one last time; Juanita encouraged me to do so and that she would wait here for me, so I was off for one last ride on my now-favorite DCA attraction ("I Want You Back")!



    I met back up with Juanita and we shopped inside the Elias & Co. store; I bought a perfect (for-me) shirt that said "My Happy Place" below a castle and a Marie (Aristocats) wallet, plus the DL tote purchase-with-purchase item ($97.13, after the 10% AP discount), and then we left DCA around 3pm. There was also a cute "I'm Late" Alice-themed shirt that Juanita thought about buying for herself, but restrained herself in the end!

    We walked back to the motel, collected, our luggage, and waited in the lobby for our shuttle to arrive; we were on our way to the airport around 3:45pm and arrived about 15mins later! We checked our bags in, printed out our boarding passes, and then went to the TSA lines; I was quickly through the Pre-TSA line, even after being selected for a random check, and sat down to wait for Juanita.

    I noticed there was a flight to Sacramento at 4:55pm, but Juanita wasn't even through TSA until 4:30pm (much longer line for her) so I didn't even mention it when we met back up. We sat in the area across from the TSA screening area to charge our phones and chatted until about 5pm, when we decided to go to Carl's for dinner; however, we then saw that we each had gotten a text that our 6:15pm flight was now delayed to approximately 7:55pm! Oh no ~

    We could hear them boarding the 4:55pm flight (it was running late as well), so we rushed down there to see if we could get on it instead of hanging around the airport for another 3 hours! They weren't full and we were able to get on with no change fee since our flight was delayed; however, they told us that they would not deliver our luggage to us since we were voluntarily changing and we would have to come back to the airport to pick it up once it had arrived (no problem!).

    We boarded (now C7 & C8), and both of us had center seats in the back half of the plane; fortunately, this is a relatively short flight because that is not comfortable for someone who is 6 feet tall like me (which is the main reason I pay extra for Early-Bird, to get a lower-numbered boarding pass number and get an aisle seat)!

    I called James from the plane to come pick me up an hour earlier and we departed around 5:20pm; I had Diet Dr. Pepper and pretzels during the flight and we arrived around 6:35pm. Juanita & I reunited outside the plane (she was a couple of rows behind me) and checked to see if our bags had somehow come in on this flight; they hadn't so we said our goodbyes. I called James to say I was ready to be picked up (he was in the cell phone lot) and walked outside to see Juanita being picked up by her daughter.

    James arrived a few minutes later and we stopped at a nearby In-N-Out Burger for dinner as I was hungry (he loves In-N-Out Burger too, so he is almost always willing to eat there whenever I suggest it!). We had burgers, and shared fries and a Diet Coke before arriving home around 8pm.

    Steps: 12.646


    Up Next: James & I are scheduled to go together April 24-28; hopefully most of the spring break crowds will be gone and it won't be TOO crowded! I'm especially looking forward to seeing the special Pixar Fest offerings, plus the return of the Paint-the-Night Parade!!!



    Summary

    What a fun ladies trip with someone who loves Disney ALMOST as much as I do! 

    Highlights included:

    • Spending time with Juanita!
    • Seeing everything that we wanted to!
    • MaxPass!
    • Riding Guardians of the Galaxy FIVE times ~ so much FUN!
    • Getting the anytime MPs!
    • Seeing the updated Fantasmic! and new scenes in Star Tours!
    • The World of Color Dessert Party & lunch at the Blue Bayou!
    • The various live entertainment performances around the Resort, as usual!
    • The fun interaction with both Stitch & Darth Vader!
    • The great weather!

    Lowlights included:

    • Juanita not feeling well on our last day
    • Our flight home being delayed over 90mins, forcing us to scramble to get on the earlier flight
    • The BBQ chicken from the Hungry Bear Restaurant (Fantasmic! On-the-Go Dining Package)


    ...until next time!
    Pam
    DL trips: too many to remember actual dates, but they began in the 60s!
    WDW trips: 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2021



  8. #7
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Drexel Hill, PA

    Love your trip report as usual. The Max Pass seems awesome. Is that for annual pass holders only?


  9. #8
    Self-Proclaimed Disney Queen! Pammer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Sacramento, CA
    Quote Originally Posted by suejacken View Post
    Love your trip report as usual. The Max Pass seems awesome. Is that for annual pass holders only?
    Thanks Sue! No, anyone can purchase it...it's $10 per person per day, or $75 can be added to an Annual Pass for its duration...I hope they don't raise the price, as I love it!
    Pam
    DL trips: too many to remember actual dates, but they began in the 60s!
    WDW trips: 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2021



  10. #9
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Drexel Hill, PA

    Thanks for the response. It would be great if Disney world did it


  11. #10
    Self-Proclaimed Disney Queen! Pammer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Sacramento, CA
    Quote Originally Posted by suejacken View Post
    Thanks for the response. It would be great if Disney world did it
    To get more than 3 FPs per day in a park? It would definitely be a money maker for them, if they did institute the policy there.

    BTW...MaxPass also includes free high-resolution digital downloads of ANY ride photos (e.g. Space or RSR) & PhotoPass photographer photos (e.g. with the characters or in front of the castle) taken during the day you have the benefit...that is worth the $10 right there if you take a lot of photos at the parks! You just need to download them within 45 days.
    Pam
    DL trips: too many to remember actual dates, but they began in the 60s!
    WDW trips: 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2021



  12. #11
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Drexel Hill, PA

    Thats cool thanks for the additional info. It will be helpful if I get to go back to Disneyland even if Disney World doesnt implement it


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