Pammer ~ November 1 - 5, 2022 ~ Offsite

[Pammer]

Travel dates: November 1 5, 2022
Travel method: Southwest
Resort: Camelot Inn (Off-site)
Accommodations: Standard
Ages Represented in Group: Adult
Disney Resort Experience Represented in Group: Veteran
Comments: Let's make good use of our Enchant Magic Keys before they expire!
Cast of characters:

• Pam, 61: trip planner/writer/self-proclaimed Disney Queen!
• James, 62: Pam's hubby who likes Disneyland but is not as fanatic as Pam!

The Planning

I had originally planned this trip for the week before Thanksgiving (November 14-18), but our Magic Keys were set to expire during the trip on November 16th. We decided to move the trip up two weeks to November 1-5 instead, to avoid any possible issues with reservations, even though we had planned to renew our keys before then anyway! We'll arrive after Halloween (we saw the decor during our trip in September), but before the Veterans' Day weekend crowds; sadly, we will miss the Christmas decorations, parade, & fireworks this year.

Because of the issues I had with guest control during the Main Street Electrical Parade Dining Package viewing area last May, a wonderful CM named Bobbi had contacted me and offered us a VIP viewing of our choice! Unfortunately, the Main Street Electrical Parade is no longer an option, so we chose Fantasmic! CM Bobbi put the request in for the two of us to have preferred viewing at Friday night's first performance, about which we are very excited!

In addition, my cousin Debbie and her husband Tom are also going to have lunch with us on Thursday in Downtown Disney, so we are also looking forward to seeing them again!

Lodging: I booked a Two-Bedroom Family Suite in July at the Camelot Inn on Harbor Blvd.

Airfare: I booked airfare on Southwest Airlines using a combination of points & gift card in August & September (separate one-way flights vs. our usual round-trip reservation; since I now travel with an electric wheelchair and can pre-board, we have elected to forego the Early-Bird option.)

Ground Transportation: We will park our car at the Sacramento airport and use Lyft between SNA & Anaheim.

Tickets: We have active Enchant Magic Key passes.

Theme Park Reservations: As we used each day of our last trip in mid-September, I made reservations until all 4 days of this trip were booked:

• November 1: Start at Disneyland Park
• November 2: Start at Disneyland Park
• November 3: Start at Disney California Adventure
• November 4: Start at Disneyland Park

Priority Seating: I was able to book both Cafe Orleans and the Blue Bayou for the days & times I wanted by getting up early on the first available date at 60 days for each! I also had a reservation for the Lamplight Lounge but ended up canceling it so I could book lunch at Tortilla Jo's with my cousins instead.

Everything else will probably be counter-service:

• November 2: Cafe Orleans @ 12:30pm
• November 3: Tortilla Jo's @ 1pm
• November 4: Blue Bayou @ 11am

The Itinerary

Here was the result of my pre-planning:

• November 1: Fly down in the afternoon; check-in to the Camelot Inn; Disneyland/DCA
• November 2: Disneyland/DCA; lunch at Cafe Orleans @ 12:30pm
• November 3: DCA/Disneyland; lunch at Tortilla Jo's @ 1pm
• November 4: Disneyland/DCA; lunch at the Blue Bayou @ 11am; Fantasmic! VIP viewing @ 9pm
• November 5: Check-out of the Camelot Inn; fly home in the afternoon

Monday, October 31, 2022 (1 day before departure)

Actual: I spent the day doing my normal pre-departure tasks (laundry, packing, house-cleaning) and dropped off our house key with our neighbor who cat-sits Sidney for us. I also printed off our boarding passes around 2:15pm (B12 & B13; it's amazing what Early-Bird did for us in the past, but I don't need it now that I can preboard) and went to Subway to get James his foot-long veggie sandwich for tomorrow; James did his usual tasks as well!


Tuesday, November 1, 2022 (71^o)
Plan: Fly down in the afternoon; check-in to the Camelot Inn; Disneyland/ DCA

Actual: I awoke around 8am and was up by 8:15am; James followed around 9:30am (4 hours of sleep!). We got ready, said goodbye to Sidney, and fortunately were on schedule leaving the house this trip around 11:30am!

The Powerball jackpot was super high right now, so we stopped at 7-11 for some quick picks & headed for the airport; it started to rain lightly off and on during our commute. James dropped me off curbside around 12:10pm with my electric wheelchair (EWC), our large suitcase, and a couple of smaller bags I could balance on my lap & then went to park the car in the Daily Lot.

It was fairly busy at full-service where I had to go and it took about 20mins before I could check in the suitcase, get my EWC inspected, & get the updated boarding pass that showed pre-board. I got through TSA Pre-check with no issues and went to fill my water bottle up before finding a spot in the dining area to wait for James. We met up around 12:40pm and quickly ate our lunches: Lunchables for me and the Subway sandwich for James.

We headed to Gate B19 and I got a claim ticket for my EWC from the SWA Gate Agent. Our incoming flight was on-time, so we were able to pre-board on-time as well. We are getting a bit quicker at pulling the batteries, seat cushion, & joystick off before folding down the EWC & putting the travel cover on at least!

We grabbed all of our stuff and sat in 2A & 2B; suddenly James couldn't find his glasses so as soon as they finished boarding, he went to the front door and found them lying on the floor where they had fallen out of his shirt collar while he was folding down the EWC! Luckily they weren't damaged and they let him step off the plane to pick them up. (Note to selves: add "James' glasses" to checklist ~ LOL! He only needs them for distance, not close-up, so he takes them off and hangs them off his neck collar when he doesn't need them.)

We pushed back a few minutes late (not due to James!) and arrived in Orange County about the same amount of delay; the flight was bumpy due to the rain we were having so no drink service. I did see some interesting cloud formations outside my window at one point though!



We got our suitcase & I requested a XL ride from Lyft, and we walked down to meet our driver Sirious in the parking garage. The pickup area was a ZOO, but we met up around 4:25pm. He took the scenic route and it took about 50mins to reach our motel rather than the usual 20-30mins! The freeway was crowded, but you can take the carpool lanes all the way to Anaheim and get off at Disney Way from the left rather than cut all the way over to the right-hand off-ramps. He went 55 to 22 (that was unnecessary) then to 5 ~ good thing we weren't on a time schedule for something! Also at least it's a set price regardless of the route, unlike a taxi would have been!

We were dropped off at the Camelot Inn & Suites around 5:15pm and we checked in; we were given room #408, which met my request of near the front of the property but not top floor (fortunately, we never had a lot of loud noises from our upstairs neighbors like we could have).

Unfortunately, the door key system was not working, so one of the managers had to let us in! We quickly got situated, put our valuables in the safe, and headed out around 5:40pm. We headed down Harbor & I stopped at The Pizza Press, while James continued on to the CVS on Katella, where he got 2 gallons of water, 2 sandwiches, and some OJ; he also picked up another couple of quick picks for Power Ball!

I rode the EWC into the hotel entrance and around into the pizza place, where I parked it near an open table. I then went up to order and had pretty much no wait! I ordered 2 cheese pizzas (me), 2 "Publish Your Own" pizzas (mostly veggie, plus ham for James), and a soda.

I got our drink and James arrived soon after the pizzas were ready.



We each ate about 2/3 of one of our pizzas and carried the rest back to the room, along with our supplies from CVS.

We checked at the front desk about the room keys, but they still were not operational so someone met us at our room to let us in again. We put our food in the fridge and headed back out just after 7pm; we quickly went through security & then entered Disneyland Park. My DAS was still active from our last trip in September, so I pulled over and quickly made a DAS return time (RT) for Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (7:40pm @ 7:15pm).

We headed into Tomorrowland and saw that standby for Star Tours - The Adventures Continue was only 15mins, so we got in the queue; it actually wound inside the side of the building too, which was a first for us since we usually use the DAS entrance!

We parked the EWC outside and rode the elevator up; we got the old-school scenes of Darth Vader, Hoth (this & the Pod Race are probably our least favorite elements), Yoda, & Naboo.

It was now time to defeat the evil Emperor Zurg, so we did that next; James beat me as usual: 1,145,200 (currently #26) to my 333,500.



I wanted a MagicBand+, so we went to Tomorrow Landing; I ended up getting the Magic Key Holder one, mainly because it was $10 cheaper than the others! I liked a couple other designs as well, so it took me a while to decide; James wanted a Toy Story-themed one, but they didn't have any so he decided to wait. He's even more old-school than I am: he uses a paper ticket in the parks & has no data on his prepaid flip-phone that he is very happy with and rarely uses (he HATES to text too)!



It had been a long day & we still needed to unpack, so we headed out around 8:30pm. We stopped at McDonald's for our usual 2 Big Macs and a double hamburger & stopped at the Front Desk again to check on the room keys; still not ready, so someone let us into our room again.

We unpacked & got settled; I wrote messages on the postcards I brought for my 94-year-old Aunt and my brother, activated my new MagicBand+, and also updated my trip notes, while James watched TV on his side. The time flew by and I didn't get to bed until midnight! James followed around 2am.

Thoughts about the day:

• Love the convenience of the Daily Lot at the airport!
• Happy that Lyft is a known price upfront, so you don't get screwed by a driver cost-wise who doesn't know where he is going!
• Love how the electric wheelchair slows the wear & tear on my body!
• Annoyed by technology that is great when it works but is a pain when it doesn't (e.g., room key cards!)
• Happy we are back!

Wednesday, November 2, 2022 (69^o)
Plan: Disneyland/DCA; lunch at Cafe Orleans @ 12:30pm

Actual: I had taken a 1/4 Tylenol PM last night (any larger dose would make me groggy in the morning!), so I slept well until I had to use the restroom at 5:45am! My alarm was set for 6:30am, so I didn't get much more sleep before it went off. I got ready, had some leftover pizza for breakfast, and headed out. I stopped at the front desk and the room key system was working again, so I got 3 keys from them, left my EWC parked in the side of the lobby, and went back up to the room. Yay, the keys worked, so I left one in the slot by the door and left the other one for James.

I stopped to get my EWC from the lobby and headed over to DL around 7:45am; there were short lines for both security and the parks, and I was inside just before 8am. I pulled to the side to mail the postcards at the mailbox by the right tunnel and then made a DAS RT for Space Mountain (8:05am @ 8am).

I headed to Space, parked my EWC in the exit accessible waiting area, and checked in. I had to wait a couple of minutes before I was sent down, so I made another DAS RT for Space (8:14am @ 8:09am) while waiting.

They sent me down and I had a wonderful first ride, and then asked to stay on for an extra ride, to which I was able to do!

I went back up the exit to use the restroom and then checked in for my next DAS ride; I subsequently made another DAS RT for Space just in case I needed it (8:44am @ 8:39am)! I was able to ride once with my DAS and then another 3 times because no one was waiting to ride in the exit area (most CMs will call and ask for you so you don't have to keep walking back & forth)!

Six times was good for me, so I cancelled the 3rd Space DAS and made one for Star Tours (9:17am @ 9:12am). I collected my EWC and went to ride as it was already time; right after checking in, I made a DAS RT for Buzz (9:32am @ 9:27am)!

My ST scenes were all from the newest movie, so I was very pleased! I got the Stormtroopers, Kef Bir (water Endor moon), Lando, & Exegol.

I next rode Buzz (269,000, which was #88 at the time), and also made a DAS RT for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (9:51am @ 9:46am).

I was hungry so I got a Mickey pretzel from the ODV cart in Tomorrowland and sat near Star Trader enjoying my snack. I then stopped at Tomorrow Landing to troubleshoot my MB+, which wasn't letting me customize it back in the room and only gave me that screen while at the store! I eventually gave up and decided to keep the default settings for now ~ LOL!

I headed over to ride BTMR and stopped to take a photo of the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage vehicle as it glided around the lagoon.



I continued over to BTMR and found that it was down so I now had an Experience Redemption (ER; this replaces the Multiple Experience they used to have, now that they have Genie+/ILL) on the app in its place ~ hmmm ~ what to do? I know, save it for later and go to Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room at 11am, because James doesn't care for it & I do!



After that was done, I parked the EWC over near the Jolly Holiday Cafe to check my phone for messages, etc. James called about 11:35am, so I told him to come meet me by the Plaza Inn. As soon as I saw he was in the park, I made a DAS RT for Rise of the Resistance (12:52pm @ 11:42am).

When we met up, I gave him my physical ticket so he could use the ER on Buzz (I'm such a nice wife!); I headed in the direction of New Orleans Square while he did that (score = 883,200+400, which was #12 at the time!).



At noon I signed up for the World of Color Virtual Queue, for which we got the first show; not sure if we will go, but it's nice to have options.

We met back up at 12:10pm, so I parked the EWC near the restaurant and walked over to check-in for our 12:30pm reservation at Cafe Orleans.

We got the text about 5mins later and went back to be seated; our server was CM Melody. We made our drink & food orders: Steak Frites (Flat Iron Steak, which I ordered Medium Well, Pommes Frites, Remoulade and Salsa Verde) & Diet Coke for me...



...and the Roasted Chicken (with Mashed Potatoes, Market Vegetables, and Chicken Jus) & a Mint Julep for James.



The food was very good and I was especially happy my meat was closer to what I had requested (last time was more like medium rare than medium well!).

We settled the bill and left just before 1pm. We collected my EWC and stopped to make a Location RT for Haunted Mansion Holiday (2:09pm @ 12:59pm).

We continued on to Star Wars Galaxy's Edge and went to ride Rise; I also made another DAS RT for BTMR (1:53pm @ 1:13pm).




To be continued...

[Pammer]

Wednesday, November 2, 2022 (69^o) ~ Part II
Plan: Disneyland/DCA; lunch at Cafe Orleans @ 12:30pm

After escaping the First Order, we went to ride BTMR; I also made another DAS RT for Buzz to keep James happy ~ LOL (2:16pm @ 1:51pm)!!!

After our wildest ride in the wilderness, we went to ride HMH, which stopped several times during our ride so I could take a few pictures that weren't as blurry as usual!







We then crisscrossed the park to ride Buzz around 2:40; James beat me 584,100 (#44) to my 357,000, but surprisingly my photo had James' score (584,100) on it and said I was #45 ~ Ill take it!!!





I went to the Guest Services kiosk in Tomorrowland to get a return time for Toy Story Midway Mania, since I can't request a DAS for a ride in a park I'm not currently in (4:04pm @ 3:04pm).

We checked Star Trader and a few stores on Main Street looking for a Toy Story-themed MB+, but all stores had the same small selection, so we went back to the room around 3:30pm for a break and to charge the EWC.

We left around 6pm (it's gotten cool & breezy during our break) and headed over to Disney California Adventure, where we trekked all the way over to the far side to ride TSMM! I made a DAS RT for WEB SLINGERS (7:09pm @ 6:19pm) right after checking in to TSMM, and I finally beat James at TSMM because he had a defective gun (152,000 to my 172,300)!!! That's pretty much the only way I can ~ LOL! We were hungry, so we didn't request a re-ride with a different car.





We next went to Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta, where we found a spot in the dining area to park my EWC next to an open table. We went inside to get our food: James got his usual spaghetti & meatballs with pomodoro sauce and I got a slice of cheese pizza plus breadsticks without the marinara sauce (no soda, we just had water), before coming back outside to the table to eat.

I like the breadsticks, but you only get two for over $5 and I feel like it is a rip-off; however, I was pretty hungry and knew one slice of pizza wasn't going to fill me up and two slices would be too much!

After we finished eating, we rode Jumpin' Jellyfish around 7:15pm, since it was only a 5min wait. We then rode The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventure because it had a similar short wait.

We next went to ride WEB, where James beat me for the first time (160,200 to my 156,300; the total car score was 738,500)! I blame my new MB+ for interference ~ LOL!!!



I made a DAS RT for Soarin' Around the World (8:22pm @ 8:37pm) and sent James off to ride Radiator Springs Racers via the single-rider line around 8pm; the estimated time was 30mins but the ride broke down when James was on it, so it took a long time to meet up again!

While James was trying to ride RSR, I went to World of Disney to see if they had any different MB+ designs; they didn't so I came back and waited for James outside of Soarin'; I cancelled the Virtual Queue for WoC as well. I usually run very hot, but it was quite chilly out there even with the spirit jersey I had on!

We met up just after 9pm and rode Soarin' before checking out the shops along Buena Vista Street for additional MB+ designs. We had no luck, so we left the park around 9:45pm.

I went to McDonald's for a double burger & fries, while James took the EWC back to the room to get it on the charger before it ran out of juice (it was down to the last red bar)!

I came back to the room and I worked on my trip notes while James watched TV; I finally got to bed around 1:30am, barely beating James at 2am!

Things we missed: Star Tours (James only), Disneyland Monorail, all of Fantasyland, Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones Adventure, Jungle Cruise, Guardians of the Galaxy (which I will do tomorrow), Mickey's PhilharMagic, & Turtle Talk with Crush.

Thoughts about the day:

• A great day filled with lots of rides on our favorite attractions.
• It sure does get chilly once the sun goes down, even for me!
• I need to get to bed earlier; oh wait, I'm on vacation!

[Pammer]

Thursday, November 3, 2022 (66^o)
Plan: DCA/Disneyland; lunch at Tortilla Jo's @ 1pm

Actual: I had taken another 1/4 Tylenol PM last night, so I slept well until getting up with my alarm at 8am. I got ready & left around 9am for DCA, where both security & turnstile lines were short!

Note: I used to park the rental ECVs in stroller parking and take the key with me (where I only had one instance of it going missing while I was away from it!); however, there is no key for the EWC, so we've been traveling with a heavy-duty lock & cable to lock up the EWC when we aren't nearby. We had no issues bringing it through security during our September trip (they only said for us not to cable it to a structure, which we don't; we run the cable through the wheels & someone could move it if necessary); however, this morning they balked at me bringing them into the park and said it was not allowed. I questioned since when, because I had no issues 6 weeks before! They said the rule had been in effect for months ~ yeah, right! I said it was the only way for me to protect this expensive machine from being stolen! The CMs were understanding and allowed me to bring it in today so I didn't have to go all the way back to my hotel, but I guess I will have to only park it near CMs since you can't trust anyone anymore ~ boo!

Once inside DCA, I made a DAS RT for Guardians of the Galaxy (9:57am @ 9:17am) and then went to ride Soarin' via their standby line (10mins).

I next went to see if Snickers the Disney cat was over by Grizzly River Run, but it was still chilly so I expect she was somewhere warmer that included a sunbeam!

Time for some fun Guardian rides! I checked in and immediately made another DAS RT (10:15am @ 9:55am).







They were having some technical issues and went down to only one elevator working, so it took about 40mins to ride; I got my least favorite song ("Give Up the Funk"), but I'll be back!



I checked in for ride #2 and then made another DAS RT (11:15am @ 10:50am); there were more issues on this ride, where we had "Hit Me with Your Best Shot!".



Have you ever listened to what Rocket says during the ride? It's usually too hard to hear him because of all of the screaming, but this time when the doors opened for the picture, I heard him say "Is that Disneyland? Thats so cool!" before we dropped again; I thought that was so funny!!!

I went back to ride a third time just before noon and was also able to join the virtual queue for World of Color for myself at noon before losing my Wi-Fi connection indoors! The time we had my favorite version: "Burnin Love", so I was very pleased!



I had missed a call from James while on the ride so I returned his call and told him to meet me just inside the park so we could set up a DAS RT for later.

We met up around 12:10pm and he went in to peruse Elias & Co. while I added him to the virtual queue for WoC (it was the second show already, so we probably will end up canceling these) & then stopped at Guest Services for a DAS RT to Rise (1:22pm @ 12:17pm).

I found James and we left DCA to peruse World of Disney; I ended up buying a Mickey & Minnie short-sleeved Christmas shirt.



I then noticed that my cousin Debbie had messaged that they had already arrived, so we hurried to meet them at Tortilla Jo's.


To be continued...

[Pammer]

Thursday, November 3, 2022 (66^o) ~ Part II
Plan: DCA/Disneyland; lunch at Tortilla Jo's @ 1pm

After hugging Debbie & Tom hello, I checked us in for our reservation and we were soon seated at a booth in the main dining room; I was able to park my EWC against a wall where we could still see it.





Our server Maria took our orders: two shredded chicken enchiladas ala carte & a Diet Coke for me...



...a shredded chicken (no cheese or sour cream) burrito & cranberry juice for James...



...a vegetarian burrito & water for Debbie...



...a regular shredded chicken burrito & water for Tom...



...and we also shared a basket of chips & salsa.

We had a very nice visit and a very yummy meal together, and then they needed to leave to go pick up their grandkids from school! Maria applied my 10% Enchant Magic Key discount to the entire bill, and then we shared it.

We said our goodbyes and then James & I went to the Star Wars Trading Post inside the old Rainforest Cafe retail space, where he found the long-sleeve TIE Fighter t-shirt in his size that he was looking for.



We went over to ride the Disneyland Monorail (Orange) in around 2:45pm and then made a Location RT for Peter Pan's Flight (3:41pm @ 3:11pm) on our way to ride Rise. Our DAS RT for Rise had become an Experience Redemption at some point, so it must have gone down at least once in the past couple of hours; fortunately, it was back up so we made sure to ride it ASAP before it went down again!



I made a DAS RT for Buzz (3:37pm @ 3:27pm) and then we went back to ride Peter just after 4pm; we also were able to ride Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (Wimpy) via the accessible exit, although we found that we are questioned when I don't have either the EWC (we had parked it by King Arthur Carrousel) or my cane (I'd had a cortisone injection back in mid-July, so my knee had been doing really well and I hadn't needed a cane as long as I had the EWC to save my legs & back & knee!) or knee support sleeve (also due the continued relief of the cortisone injection & the EWC). Now they want you to have a DAS RT for the lesser attractions if they don't see a mobility reason for you & the wait is over 20mins!

We went to ride Buzz, where I had a lousy 96,000 (no picture, which was fine)! James did better with 460,200+1,200, at least.

We decided not to take a break since it was getting so late to do so, and just do a few more things until it got too chilly to stay instead.


To be continued...

[Pammer]

Thursday, November 3, 2022 (66^o) ~ Part III
Plan: DCA/Disneyland; lunch at Tortilla Jo's @ 1pm

I next made a DAS RT for Indiana Jones Adventure (4:57pm @ 4:27pm) and then we went to see The Tale of the Lion King stage show at 5pm; this is so fantastic, that I hope they keep it around for a long time!











We stopped to get a Location RT for Jungle Cruise (5:59pm @ 5:39pm) and then checked in to ride Indy; we went up the exit and there were a LOT of wheelchair parties ahead of us ~ very surprising! We asked to continue up the exit and avoid the curvy queue & pre-show room.

We then asked for the middle row and got on fairly quickly; this ride has gotten so rough and so many of the special effects no longer work ("snakes, you guys are on your own"), that I hope the upcoming refurbishment works wonders!

We next rode the JC via the exit; we had a great skipper, but I apparently forgot to write their name down!

I made another DAS RT for Buzz (6:51pm @ 6:36pm) and then made a Mobile Order for the Jolly Holiday Bakery (toasted cheese sandwich, 2 breadsticks, & 2 chocolate chip cookies) for pickup 7pm-7:30pm.

It was now time to ride Buzz, where I got over 400k this time, but had no score on my photo ~ geesh! James got 925,600, which was #13; however, he had no picture on his photo! Double geesh! Maybe they could do a refurbishment on Buzz's photo system?



We stopped to pick up the food order just after 7pm and then we left for the room to eat & get warm!

I cancelled our WoC virtual queue reservations & we did our usual routine; I went to bed around 1am, with James following around 2am.

Things we missed: pretty much all of DCA, except for Guardians of the Galaxy and Soarin' Around the World (me only), Space Mountain (me only; James hates it!), Star Tours, Disneyland Railroad, all of Fantasyland (except for Peter Pan's Flight and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Pirates of the Caribbean, & Haunted Mansion Holiday.

Thoughts about the day:

• We really enjoyed our visit & lunch with our cousins at Tortilla Jo's!
• I really loved my 3 rides on Guardians of the Galaxy today!!!
• We really think while it's nice to get a free ride photo on Buzz Lightyear, Disney REALLY needs to fix their photo system because scores and/or pictures in general are often missing and it doesn't make sense why!

[Pammer]

Friday, November 4, 2022 (70^o)
Plan: Disneyland/DCA; lunch at the Blue Bayou @ 11am; Fantasmic! VIP Viewing @ 9pm

Actual: I had taken another 1/4 Tylenol PM last night, so I slept well until getting up with my alarm at 6:30am. I got ready & left around 7:40am, where I again found short lines for both security and turnstiles.

I got inside DL and immediately made a DAS RT for Space (7:58am @ 7:53am), before headed in that direction. I parked the EWC, checked in at the exit podium with the CM, and then made another DAS RT (8:11am @ 8:06am). They sent me down to ride and I was able to ride 6 TIMES in a row, due to the kindness of the CMs who would call up to the podium to see if any DAS parties were waiting to ride and the lack of said DAS parties!!! Whoo-hoo!!!

I cancelled the second DAS RT for Space and made a different one for Buzz (9:13pm @ 9:08pm), and then went to ride ST via the standby elevator; I got a mixture of the new school scenes: Stormtroopers, Kef Bir, Maz, & Crait/Batuu.

I rode Buzz with the DAS, where I got 374,000, and then made a DAS RT for BTMR (9:58am @ 9:48am).



I went into Fantasyland, parked my EWC in the designated parking along the Carrousel, and rode Snow White's Enchanting Wish. I followed that up with rides on Toad and Pinocchio's Daring Journey (via Transfer Access Vehicle).

I picked up my EWC and went over to ride BTMR via their exit, and then made my way towards New Orleans Square. I stopped at the Guest Services kiosk outside of HMH to get some info about our VIP viewing for Fantasmic! tonight & then heard my phone ringing. I stepped away to answer James' call & found that he was already in the park, so I went to get a Location RT for HMH (11:27am @ 10:52am).

I parked my EWC near the Blue Bayou and went up to the podium to check us in, then we sat inside the foyer. We were called in just a few minutes later and got a lovely waterside table!



Our server was CM Charles & his helper was CM Frazier; I ordered the Filet Mignon with regular potatoes instead of the Patatas Bravas (I also eliminated the Spinach, Lemon Aioli and Olive-Piquillo Pepper Tapenade) plus a Diet Coke...



...and James ordered the Fava Bean & Pistachio Pesto Pasta (with Asparagus, Arugula, Tomatoes, Basil and Squash Blossoms) and a Mint Julep.



I later ordered a vanilla Creme Brule for us to share; all of our food was delicious! We do miss the bread service though.



Rise had been down throughout our lunch so I had finally ended up making a DAS RT for Pirates of the Caribbean (11:49am @ 11:29am).

We settled the bill and then went next door to ride Pirates just after noon; Rise was now up so I quickly made a DAS RT (12:46pm @ 12:06pm).

We took a full-circle tour on the Disneyland Railroad around 12:40pm and then rode HMH. At some point our DAS RT for Rise had become another Experience Redemption, so we went there next to ride before it went down again!

I had made a DAS RT for Buzz (2:05pm @ 1:45pm) and as we headed in that direction, we stopped for a Location RT at Alice in Wonderland (2:27pm @ 1:57pm).

We next stopped for photos in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle...



...and then rode Buzz with our DAS; James claimed he had a bad gun and only scored 473,000, so I was able to beat him with 542,100 ~ whoo-hoo!!!

I stopped at the Guest Services kiosk to get a DAS RT for TSMM (3:54pm @ 2:44pm) and we then rode Alice via their TAV.

We needed a break, so we headed towards the front of the park; James stopped at the popcorn ODV cart in Town Square and then we stopped for some photos in front of the floral Mickey out front.





The train was in the station and we noticed that the Lilly Belle was attached as well!



We left around 3:15pm for a break at our room.

At 4:10pm, I checked in for our flights tomorrow at the 24-hour mark & got B3 & B4; however, we'll be using pre-board.


To be continued...

[Pammer]

Friday, November 4, 2022 (70^o) ~ Part II
Plan: Disneyland/DCA; lunch at the Blue Bayou @ 11am; Fantasmic! VIP Viewing @ 9pm

We left around 5:15pm for DCA and went all the way to the back of the park to ride TSMM; our scores were lower than usual because the game totally stopped on the last screen, before you start loading up your scores at the mine shaft! I only got 119,900 & James got 145,200, which was still the best in car! We didn't have time to ask for a re-ride, as time was ticking.





I'd gotten a DAS RT for WEB (6:35pm @ 5:35pm), but we still had some time to kill & were hungry, so I made a Mobile Order for James at Lucky Fortune Cookery (Teriyaki Chicken with Sauted Vegetables and Steamed Rice) around 5:47pm, with a pickup of 6:05-6:35pm & we headed over there to find a place to sit. While waiting, I made another Mobile Order, this time with Award Wieners for me (beef hot dog & fries) with a pickup of 6-6:30pm.

We checked in for LFC at the start of the pickup window & it took 10mins to be ready! I then made another Mobile Order, this time with Pacific Wharf Cafe (sliced sourdough round) with a pickup of 6:40-7:10pm.

I left James there eating and headed over to AA, since it takes me awhile with my EWC. I checked in around 6:25pm and the food was ready about a minute later!

James arrived right then (he eats & walks fast!) and helped me carry it to a table, while I positioned the EWC nearby. I ate quickly because I was hungry!

James went back to pick-up the sourdough bread around 6:45pm from PWC, while I cut through the rest of Hollywood Land and into Avengers Campus to meet him at WEB; he's so fast he was already in line waiting for me!

We rode WEB for the final time this trip around 7pm and James again beat me 176,400 to my 135,300 (total car score = 770,500); again, I blame my new MB+ and its fancy electronics!



DCA had put up their Christmas tree and it was so pretty; we needed something for our Christmas card photo this year, so we waited in a chilly line to take some photos with the nice photographer.







We needed to get over to DL, so we headed out around 8pm and straight over to the Fantasmic! viewing check-in in front of Haunted Mansion Holiday. The CMs were great and led us to some terrific seats where I could transfer to a chair and keep my EWC nearby!



I tried to get a DAS RT for Buzz for later, but it wouldn't clear the one for James on WEB, so I went back to the check-in area to get help from the plaid CMs; I'd intended to go to the Guest Relations kiosk just down the way, but they were able to fix it for me right there instead (8:47pm @ 8:27pm)!

I'd brought a bath towel from the room to put across my legs because I expected to get chilly sitting out there & already had my Star Wars spirit jersey on, and we ended up spreading it across both our laps! I also had a small towel to sit on because my running skirt is very slick on the seat cushion & it helps me from sliding off the chair when I have to stop suddenly; that I put on the chair itself because the metal was pretty cold otherwise!

We had a great view of Fantasmic! & I really wanted to make the most of this wonderful opportunity while we could! After the show, we stayed seated to see the Mickey's Mix Magic projections on Tom Sawyer Island and the overhead accompanying fireworks as well ~ I loved that peppy music, it made me want to get up and dance but I was too cold ~ LOL!

We joined the crowds and finally made it across the park around 10pm to ride Buzz one last time; I scored 526,000 and James got 792,700+5,200!

We said goodbye to Walt and the resort around 10:20pm and headed back towards our room, where James took the EWC back up to charge and I went to McDonald's for a double burger, regular burger, & 3-pack of chocolate chip cookies for us to share. I got the food and then went up to the room.

I worked on my trip notes and then saw that I could buy a 1-day photo download pass & use it for all of the official DL photos we just happened to take today, so I did that just after 1am.

I finally got in bed around 1:45am, again just barely beating James at 2am.

Things we missed: We were able to hit almost everything on our must-do list we wanted to today, except for Guardians of the Galaxy (me only) & Radiator Springs Racers. Other attractions we would have liked to do but missed included Disneyland Monorail, Peter Pan's Flight, Indiana Jones Adventure, Jungle Cruise, & Soarin' Around the World.


Thoughts about the day:

• Loved the multiple rides on our favorite attractions today: Space Mountain for me and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters for James!
• Loved having the Fantasmic! VIP viewing tonight, even though it was because of a negative experience I'd had on a previous trip!

Saturday, November 5, 2022 (73^o)
Plan: Check-out of the Camelot Inn; fly home in the afternoon

Actual: I was up by 9am and called the front desk to request a late check-out of noon; the desk clerk checked with the housekeeping staff and said it was fine. James was up around 10am, we finished our packing, and checked out just before noon.

I requested an XL Lyft ride and Michael picked us up around noon in a Cadillac Escalade! This was definitely an upscale ride to the airport, and Michael spent the whole trip reminding us of the great deal we were getting! He said he'd been waiting at the Disneyland Hotel waiting for a pickup for 3 hours but no one wanted a LUX XL ride; he'd decided he wanted to go out to Newport, so took our ride to make the gas for the trip worthwhile ~ can you imagine? He was a polite young man, but I found his conversation unprofessional; he even told us a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff about Lyft & Uber ~ I was glad to get to the airport after all of that!!!

We unfolded the EWC and brought everything inside the terminal; I took the EWC and the big suitcase up to the counter while James waited with everything else. The agent checked in my bag, inspected the EWC, and gave us both boarding passes.

We met back up and headed down to the Pre-TSA line, where we had no wait. I again was able to walk through the scanner and then they manually inspected the EWC; we collected everything and headed down to Carl's Jr.

We found a place to park the EWC and our bags in their seating area and then I went up to order our usual: cheese quesadilla with no Pico de Gallo for me, a bean/rice burrito without cheese nor Pico de Gallo for James, 2 chocolate chip cookies, and a large Coke Zero for us to share.

We enjoyed our lunch and then went down to Gate 19 around 1:30pm; I asked a Gate Agent for a claim check for my EWC, and then we settled in to wait for our plane ~ there were flights delayed all over the airport, as was ours.

As it turned out, we were in the airport for a total of 5 hours! It fortunately went by fast; we were supposed to leave at 4:10pm, but it was 6pm before we pushed back! Our flight had come from Lubbock & Austin, but I'm not sure where the delay originated.

We preboarded after folding up the EWC for the flight and sat on the right-side of the aircraft, in hopes we'd see DL when we departed, but it was getting dark so no luck this time.



We had our usual snack mix & drinks (Coke Zero for me & OJ for James) and landed about 7:20pm. We collected our suitcase, took everything outside (where it was quite chilly!), and James headed for the Daily Lot shuttle. He paid for parking and picked me up around 8pm.

We stopped at an In-N-Out Burger near the airport and had our usual burgers, while sharing an order of fries & a small Diet Coke. We finally got home around 9:10pm, where we heaped lots of love on Sidney!

Thoughts about the day:

• You get all kinds of people as a rideshare driver!
• Huge flight delay, but not cancelled, so a win-win situation in the long run!

Up Next: Our Enchant Magic Keys have been renewed, so our next trip is scheduled for January 17-21, which is just after the MLK holiday.

Summary & Final Thoughts: A nice fall trip on our Magic keys before they expired. The crowds were okay and the days were very nice until the sun went down!

Highlights include:

• The wonderful visit with our cousins Tom & Debbie!
• The VIP viewing of Fantasmic!, followed by Mickey's Mix Magic with fireworks!
• The electric wheelchair & DAS combo!
• The very manageable crowds with only the usual bottlenecks!
• The warm days!
• Riding our favorite attractions multiple times!
• "The Tale of the Lion King" show!

Lowlights include:

• The interesting rideshare drivers.
• The chilly nights.
• Lack of sleep, but we can always catch up at home. 😊
• Missing World of Color, but we (well, I) have seen it several times since it came back and it is still basically the same version.
• The spotty picture service at Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters; fix it already!

Until next time!

[candles71]

I am so glad I figured out the daily lot is only $2 more. The shuttles in the economy lot are stressful anymore. Whistler offered to drop me off in December and then park but it is really not that far of a walk from the lot through the parking structure. It wasn't raining at the point we arrived so it was fine. We haven't bothered with the shuttle for that lot yet, we keep finding a spot at the entrance so it's really close to the garage.

A and N (plus 2 more girls), are going to Universal this weekend. Last time Whistler dropped them off. But it's cheaper for them to pay for the 2 days than gas from here to the airport and back twice so the girls will be using the daily lot and A got familiar with it and how to navigate through the garage when the 3 of us went in November.

I find the kids pizza at Boardwalk to be the best value if you are just getting cheese or pepperoni. The personal is about the same amount as a slice, is $1 cheaper plus you get 2 sides and a kid's drink. The sides may not be anything you like though.

[Pammer]

I am so glad I figured out the daily lot is only $2 more. The shuttles in the economy lot are stressful anymore. Whistler offered to drop me off in December and then park but it is really not that far of a walk from the lot through the parking structure. It wasn't raining at the point we arrived so it was fine. We haven't bothered with the shuttle for that lot yet, we keep finding a spot at the entrance so it's really close to the garage.

A and N (plus 2 more girls), are going to Universal this weekend. Last time Whistler dropped them off. But it's cheaper for them to pay for the 2 days than gas from here to the airport and back twice so the girls will be using the daily lot and A got familiar with it and how to navigate through the garage when the 3 of us went in November.

I find the kids pizza at Boardwalk to be the best value if you are just getting cheese or pepperoni. The personal is about the same amount as a slice, is $1 cheaper plus you get 2 sides and a kid's drink. The sides may not be anything you like though.

Thanks again for the parking lot advice! You are so right, parking at the economy lot has gotten so stressful, especially when you are running late!

Thanks for the tip on the kids pizza at Boardwalk; I will have to remember to check that out when we go in 2 weeks!

[spectromen]

Thanks for another great report! I'm so jealous of the multiple Space rides in a row! It does pay to be early! Someday, I'll take PTO from work on weekdays and take advantage of this scenario!
Hope all is on target for the MLK-ish trip coming up. Definitely bring that bath towel again - it's been chilllllly!

[Pammer]

Thanks for another great report! I'm so jealous of the multiple Space rides in a row! It does pay to be early! Someday, I'll take PTO from work on weekdays and take advantage of this scenario!
Hope all is on target for the MLK-ish trip coming up. Definitely bring that bath towel again - it's been chilllllly!

Thanks Kelly! The key to those multiple Space rides is obviously using the accessible entrance while fewer accessible parties are coming to ride first thing in the morning (so many go to Fantasyland or SWGE), and then politely asking the CMs if no one is riding, can I stay on; they have to call anyway, so I ask before my ride so they don't have to call twice. Most CMs are fine with this accommodation, but once in a while you get a grumpy CM who doesn't want to. It just helps me having to walk back & forth on the ramp & I always offer to sit in Row 6; I can use the CM podium to help me get out of the vehicle and gives others the opportunity to sit in the front rows for the pictures!

It looks a bit wet for our arrival in 2 weeks, so we will be bringing rain jackets this trip as well!!!