Trip Report Disneyland and D23 Expo 2017 Completed

Hello! Okay, I guess I didn't think of the most creative title but it does the job. :)

My husband (Brad) and I (Amy) decided last year in July while riding Mickey's Fun Wheel at California Adventure to attend the D23 Expo in 2017. Why? We were looking over at the Convention Center from the top of the wheel and I told him that's where the Expo would be held and how it might be fun to go. He agreed.

When we returned from California I book our hotel rooms and in December 2016 on Christmas Eve I purchased our 3 day tickets (with early bird pricing) to the Expo. Somewhere on some unimportant date I also bought airfare! Ha! We had renewed our premier pass in September, so admission was covered for Disneyland.

Fast forward not to July 2017 and our travel dates were July 12 to July 18, 2017. Hey look at that, we would be there on Disneyland's birthday too! We were hoping that the train and boats would be back in operation (spoiler alert...) they weren't, but Fantasmic did open while we were there.

So here we go!

I'm tagging a few people that have followed my past reports. If I missed you, sorry, but please follow anyway. If you are new, welcome. And if I tagged you and you don't want to read, no problem! :)

@figmentfan423 @MinnieM123 @Cesar R M @donaldtoo @MySmallWorldof4 @MOXOMUMD @JenniferS @PacNWTigger @Tuvalu @Gabe1 @betty rose @Songbird76 @sheriffwoody @bee @blgauger @BuddyThomas @fractal @93boomer @MouseDreaming @ @Wrangler-Rick @PUSH @Mr Ferret 88 @amjt660 @Minnesota disney fan
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Thursday July 13: Time to BREAKOUT!

Today we headed to California Adventure to start our day and our main objective there (besides the Carthay Circle biscuits) was the Guardian's of the Galaxy Mission Breakout! I had mixed feelings about this. I LOVE Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios, the ride, the theme, the music....LOVE IT! But Tower at DCA always disappointed a little, yes I had fun but it wasn't the same. So when the announcement of the change came for DCA I was on the fence, but I figure if they didn't change HS I would be okay. Plus I really enjoy the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, I didn't think I would but I do. It might have something to do with Chris Pratt, he is not tough to look at. Oh and Groot/Baby Groot, I really think Baby Groot is adorbs. Anyway, I saw some of the finished new tower when I was here in April and I did not hate the new design. It looked a lot better in person than it did in pictures I had seen on-line.

So now skip to July 13, it is open and ready to ride. I purposely hadn't watched any video or read any big descriptions. I had read about a few things to look for in the queue and both of us wanted to experience the queue. So our plan was to get a fast pass and then get in the standby line so we could see all the stuff in the main queue.

With some adequate Best Western breakfast and actually pretty good coffee we were ready to go. I'm sure everyone knows that feeling we Disney fans get when crossing under the gate sign at Disney World and how wonderful it is, but usually we only get to see it once per trip. But here at Disneyland, I would pass under it at least once (usually 2 times) per day, and it was still exciting every time!

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In the esplanade
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The park opened about 25 minutes before rope drop and as people ran past us, we just moseyed to where we needed to go. Both of us like the early morning feel to the park, before all the tired crankiness of people sets in.
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And of course we had to say hi to Walk and Mickey!
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We are fans of the Main Street vehicles at Disneyland and Magi Kingdom so of course we are Red Trolley fans as well.
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As we turned down in the Hollywood area two lines were set up. On the right was the line set to go to the fast pass and on the left was the standby line for Guardians. We were sticking to our plan and doing fast pass then getting in stand by. Spoiler: it worked out okay but in the end we had been there earlier enough that we could have done stand by and then done fast pass with return time still within the opening hour of the park, but oh well.

The fast pass line was taken to an area that looped behind stage.
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Once we got our fastpass, which started 10 minutes after we got it, we got into the standby line. The wait time said it was one hour but looking at the line we both knew it would be shorter. We got in line and 45 minutes later we were off the ride and in the fastpass line for it.
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Here are some pictures from the stand by line. There were some little details on the outside of the building but not as much as I thought there might be. The music in the outdoor queue was good (typical Guardians type pop music) with little bits thrown in about the the Collector. The line also moved fairly fast and sooner than we expected we were going to enter the lobby area.
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Statue of the collector
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By going to the standby line we had hoped to have some wait inside to view some of the objects in their cases a little longer and watch the video in that area too but once inside we were quickly moving into the old library. Ironically later we were in the fastpass line in the lobby area and watched the whole video twice while standing in there.
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The best view of the Cosmo Dog is by going through the stand by line though.
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Going into the old library.
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Inside the library we were unsure of where to stand to see the Rocket animatronic the best but we could see him okay. I have better pictures from another time through, so I will be putting some of those up later. It was neat to see some of the little things in the cases in there. I guess there is a bellhop hat from Tower but we didn't see it. Overall the preshows do a great job of getting you into the story. In the old lobby the video introduces the Guardian character and in the old library Rocket tells us of our mission. So if you are unfamiliar with the movies I think it would be easy to follow.
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This isn't the best picture of us on the attraction (we are practically hidden by people, we are in the back right corner), but a few days later on the last day at D23 Expo the guy that I'm sitting by ended up next to us in a line. Not an exciting story but I really never notice or recognize people unless I'm looking for them, people in my hometown probably think I'm ignoring them by not saying hi at the store or whatever but I'm not trying to be rude, I really am just focused on my task and not looking at people. So I thought it was cool that we ended up next to him again. I didn't say anything to him at the Expo because I didn't want to be the creepy lady saying, "hey remember me, we sat next to each other on Guardians." To weird! And sorry it has to be a picture of the screen, my computer doesn't seem to want to upload the real photopass to this site right now.
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Before going into the fast pass line we looked around at the shop. The shirt I probably would have bought, with Baby Groot was a child's size. Yep, not gonna fit me!
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Round Two: Into the fast pass line. We had about the same wait time in the lobby area but a different view. This time we were on the lookout for Figment and Harold (the old Matterhorn Yeti) we hadn't spotted them in the standby queue before and wanted to see them this time.
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Got Figment. In the above picture he is in the box directly under the big light, a white box and looks like it is hanging over another box on the left of the picture. Boxes do change color, the next time I tried for a better picture the box was lit purple and I just got an outline.
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Into the library
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If you've seen the movie you'll know the importance of the walkman, if not you really should watch the movie.;) It belongs to Peter Quill (played by Chris Pratt) "provides" us the music for the movie and now attraction.
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A better Rocket picture.
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This time we went into the old library on the right and this leads to the downstairs queue area before getting on the elevators/gantry lifts as they are called now. And finally we got to see Harold!
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Brains and stuff offered for "lunch", no thanks I have a reservation for the Carthay Circle.
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Alright, Guardians done twice in the first hour. So we grab a fastpass to use before lunch and head to Carsland!
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
So...how did you like Mission Breakout?

Love that they have Figment in the collection.

Thanks for asking. I thought I put down whether or not I liked it, but I guess I didn't. I really enjoyed the new attraction. It had quite a few surprises with the drops and what you would see during the ride. We ended up riding it 4 times while we were out there and only had 2 songs. There are 6 different songs. I think the possibility of different songs is what will help keep it fresh too. We got the "we want the funk" song 3 times and "free ride" the first time we rode it. I do think that Tower of Terror in Hollywood Studios will still be my favorite of the two, but now that Disney has announced the whole Marvel-land Guardians makes sense out there. I like it!
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
We went into Carsland and did Radiator Springs Racers twice in the single rider line. Then Brad had to return a phone call so I wandered around the area and took some pictures.
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We wanted a snack but we didn't find anything we wanted at the Cozy Cone. Brad decided he wanted a pickle.
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He got a spicy pickle.
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I thought about a pineapple spear but I decided I wanted ice cream. Ghirardelli was nearby so I went over there. I am not a fan of Ghirardelli ice cream sundaes or shakes but I decided to give it another whirl.
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I got a single scoop cone of cookie dough. The ice cream was fine, I was glad it was in a cake cone. I do not like sugar or waffle cones. I was irritated that the lady that scooped the ice cream didn't wash off the scooper very well between the lady ahead of me that ordered some berry flavored ice cream thing and me. There were berry streaks on my ice cream. So I'm still not a fan of Ghirardelli.
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.
Before moving on we went over to the Boudin Bakery and saw the bread baking and of course got a free sample of the sourdough bread. Next we went back towards the Hollywood area to ride Monsters Inc. Brad had never ridden Heimlich's Chew chew train, so I made him go on it. I like the animal crackers part because it smells really good, which is ironic because I do not like to eat animal crackers.
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
The animal crackers scene from Heimlich's
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We walked over to Monster's and the moment we walked into the queue the attraction shut down. But we were in luck, an animation class was starting soon so we went to the Animation Academy and learned how to draw Minnie Mouse.
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After this class our goal was to go over to Soarin' and grab a fast pass that we could use right away, the app said the return time was immediate to our current time. When we got over there the times had jumped and Soarin' wasn't going to work out. Monsters was still down, but if we walked fast we would be able to make it to the next animation class. The character was going to be Baby Groot! And as we walked there we got behind a large group taking up the walkway. There was no getting around them, and we were 1 minute late and were unable to get into the Animation Academy. No Baby Groot for us.

Now we had about 20 minutes before our Guardians fast pass so as we started to walk aimlessly, I remember the Disney Visa character meet and greet was nearby so we went over there and had about a 12 minute wait. Our character was Stitch which was pretty cool because even though I like Stitch, he isn't a character that we would wait in a large line for him.
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Then we went over to Guardians and the fast pass line was longer than expected so we ended up waiting for awhile in the lobby. That meant we got to see the video in that area twice.

We also noticed this little gnome in the fast pass queue area.
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This time figment is in a purple box.
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A couple shots of the video that plays in the lobby.
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I am GROOT!
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Hi Peter Quill
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A better picture of the walkman.
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And we saw this in one of the cases in the old library. I think this might be Timekeeper or Tom Morrow, but I'm unsure. Does anyway know?
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Well, since the Guardians line was a little longer than we anticipated we were about 15 minutes late for our check in for the Carthay Circle, but it was fine. They sat us soon after we arrived. We were doing the World of Color dinner package.
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A view from our table.
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My salad. It was really good, I always enjoy the salads here.
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Brad decided to go for the firecracker duck wings for a little up charge. They are good but spicy!
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The real reason I'm eat at this restaurant....the signature biscuits. I love these fried pieces of dough with the cheese, bacon, and a little jalapeno inside. These are not part of the dinning package, but are so worth the upcharge.
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I got the tri-tip steak. It was good. It was on a bed of creamed corn, I have never been a big fan of creamed corn but this was better than I have had before.
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Brad got the salmon.
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We both had a chocolate thing for dessert that were really good.
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After lunch we were stuffed and wanted a nap, so we headed back to the hotel for awhile. We got up and left around 3:30 and did some browsing at the Downtown Disney shops. These are some cute things we saw in the Wonderland Gallery.
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Brad and I both love Trader Sam's and we thought today would be a good day to go. We didn't think that we would have time during an of the Expo days, and thought it would be packed those days anyway. So this afternoon worked the best into our schedule. Before traveling some people from these forums had wanted to get together for a meet and I said on that thread that we would be at Trader Sam's at this time and day and some said that they might be there then too. We didn't end up meeting anyone from the wdwmagic boards. :( However we did end up talking to a fun couple from Dallas Texas. They were headed to the Expo too and had been to an Expo before so they gave us some tips.

Once we got to Trader Sam's it was packed. We eventually got one seat at the bar inside and that eventually lead to two seats with some patience. I have been in there when it was crowded but it usually was crowded after we had been there for awhile and this was the first time we had a problem getting a seat inside. As always the drinks were delicious! We were still pretty full from lunch so we didn't get a snack, which is sad because the Chinese long beans are fantastic.
I started with a lost safari, and Brad (Mr. Rum and Coke) also got a lost safari.
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My next drink was a shrunken zombie (no fun glass though). Brad got a mai tai, I didn't take a picture of it though.
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
I am usually a beer kind of gal (I am from Wisconsin!), but the drinks at Trader Sam's are just so good. We did stop ourselves at two, which is a good thing because the drinks are little more strong than we are used to. We left feeling pretty tipsy. In fact, when we went through security point next to Disneyland Hotel & Downtown Disney, the security guard asked me how I was doing and I responded, "Pretty good we just came from Trader Sam's!" He laughed and asked me what the good drink were.

A couple more looks around Trader Sam's. A tribute to Joe Rhode.
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A look towards the door.
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He's standing straight, but barely!
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Next stop: California Adventure
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Someone had to stop along the way and play with some Legos.
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Once we got into DCA we were now hungry and thought it would be a good idea to get a little something after Trader Sam's. So we went to Flo's V8 Cafe.
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I got the cheddar roast beef sandwich. Very good.
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Brad got the ribs.
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This was our dinner view.
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After dinner we did Racer as a single riders then went to Luigi's and that ended up shutting down just as it was our turn to get on. But they gave us an almost anywhere fast pass.
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Soon it was time to head to World of Color. We headed to the entrance for the Carthay Circle, and in the past it had its own viewing section but this time it didn't. Or maybe we were just directed into the regular dining package viewing area. Anyway all the main spaces along the rail were taken by the time we got there but we ended up with a prime spot in a stairwell. We spread out a little and took spots along the handrail and the only thing directly next to us was a bush and since we were on steps we had a nice elevation over people's heads.

Waiting for World of Color.
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I had fun playing the World of Color app game, it is kind of like the simon game from the 80's. The guy behind me was having fun watching my phone too. He didn't say anything but he kept watching me play my game.
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Time for the show!
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
The show was pretty awesome, better than when I saw it from the fast pass section in April when I got stuck way in the back behind a bunch of people. I may be in the minority, but I really like the World of Color Celebrate version for the 60th anniversary. I liked that it had a tribute to Walt, Mickey Mouse, Disneyland, and had the Celebrate the Magic song. So I kind of missed that version again, like I did in April.

I do like the Pirates scene in WOC. The big flames are pretty thrilling to me, and warm!
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I took this picture to share with my sister because she loves Lady and the Tramp, but I haven't shared it with her yet. Oops!
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After the show we headed over to Toy Story Main to use our free fast pass and we caught some of the Disneyland fireworks.
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We thought about going over to Disneyland because they were open until midnight, but the Expo was starting tomorrow and we planned to be there early so we needed to get to get. We did make a detour by Bug's Land so I could get a picture of the the Guardian's tower lit up at night.

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Coming up: our first day at the D23 Expo!!!
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Friday July 14: Day of the D23 Expo

This was our first D23 Expo so before going a read a ton of stuff online about other's experiences and what to do and bring. We made a decision before we left that we were not going to do any of the overnight lines and we were not going to attempt to do any of the big hall panels. So no Legends, Live Action, Animation, or Park and Resorts. Of the big panels we were the most interested in Parks and Resorts and we almost tried to get into that on Saturday. But anyway, we decided not to do those because....1. we did not want to overnight 2. we didn't want to wait once we got there in the morning and maybe still not get into the hall and 3. basically all that information would be available online seconds after the panels would be done (and it was Parks and Resorts even did a live stream of it).

Anyway we woke up around 4am and got ready to go. We had packed our back packs the night before with snacks, a floor pad, and other things we thought would be essential. We did not want to overpack because we did have to carry the backpack for the day. It doesn't take us long to get ready and soon we were on our way. It took us a little over 15 minutes to get to the Convention Center. It was a pleasant walk and as we got closer there were other people clearly heading to the convention center. Everything I had read online and on the official D23 material said that if we arrived at the Convention Center before 6 am we would be allowed into the waiting area inside.

Well we got to the convention center and went through the security area set up outside and saw there was a large crowd outside. Well, that was our line to get into and we soon found out that we were not going to be going inside the convention center because the media set up was going to start their live feeds and wanted a crowd behind them! What!?!?! That was not the deal! We were told that we would be the first group of people outside to enter the center once the convention opened, although originally we had been told that when the media took a break we would be let inside. I did not want to sit outside. I did not want to sit in the sun when it finally came up. I did not want to be far away from a bathroom! The Hilton was next door and people did go over there to use facilities but it seemed like a hassle to get out of line and go through security and walk past everyone. So we didn't go over there, luckily neither one of us ended up really having to go. It was very irritating since we were there well before 6am, but there was little we could do so we just ended up sitting down and waiting. This was not the best start.

This is the picture I took once we joined the group after going through security. The time on it was 5:16 am.
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The people around us talked a little but mostly people just slept, talked amongst themselves, or played on their phones. I had gotten a couple 25 cent books from our local library for the purpose of reading them in line. Once the sun rose enough to read I ended reading a whole book. We could see a little of the media stuff going on. Some people were walking up to get better views but we just stayed in our spot.
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John Lasseter giving interviews.
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The crowd behind us. It was fun to see people in their costumes and Disneybounding gear. Some people were very creative.
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Waiting, really not very patiently.
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There were some Disney vehicles set up outside. The girl in the Belle dress was actually part of a group that we followed to the convention center once we hit Katella Avenue. If we hadn't followed them we would have ended up going to the wrong side of the center. But I thought they looked like they knew where they were going, and they did so I was glad we followed them.
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Okay....It's finally our turn to be let in! Let the nerdiness begin!!!
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MinnieM123

Premium Member
This is great!! There's so much I'd like to comment on with your recent photos and commentary, but it would take me all day! :joyfull: Suffice to say, I am really enjoying this TR!! More, please!!! :D

Just a quick comment --

We walked over to Monster's and the moment we walked into the queue the attraction shut down. But we were in luck, an animation class was starting soon so we went to the Animation Academy and learned how to draw Minnie Mouse.

I am so JEALOUS that you two caught the Animation Academy class!!! :jawdrop: I have MISSED that so much from WDW--a BIG mistake for them to remove it. BIG mistake. I thought you and Brad did an excellent job drawing Minne--you know I'm partial to Minnie! :inlove: :happy:
 

riverside

Well-Known Member
Someone had to stop along the way and play with some Legos.
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Once we got into DCA we were now hungry and thought it would be a good idea to get a little something after Trader Sam's. So we went to Flo's V8 Cafe.
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I got the cheddar roast beef sandwich. Very good.
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Brad got the ribs.
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This was our dinner view.
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After dinner we did Racer as a single riders then went to Luigi's and that ended up shutting down just as it was our turn to get on. But they gave us an almost anywhere fast pass.
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I love the Cars Land photos. I stayed in the Cars section at AOA once & was really impressed with it but this area looks totally amazing!!
 

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