Trip Report Let’s Hit It Outta The Park!!!

It’s been about 3.5 years since my last Disney trip report and I’m really rusty. While not truly live, I want to try and do sort of a day by day as we go. Of course, I’m already behind as today is day 3!

So, where are we? At a Holiday Inn about .5 miles from here…

This isn’t exactly a Disney trip. In fact, it’s going to be nearly a week and a half until we set foot in a Disney park. Sam…the kid who had just turned 2 in my very first trip report, is now almost 16 and playing travel softball. We’re in town for PGF nationals to cap off our summer season. Between our crazy summer tournament schedule, college stuff for Kendall, and recent hurricane related lodging, I feel like we’ve been living in hotels for nearly 2 months. Most of the team opted for beach adjacent/front rentals when we bought out of the stay to play requirement, but Disneyland was our priority. Imagine that!?!

Speaking of Kendall…she stayed home to organize things for dorm move in next month and give the dog a break from boarding after her storm experience. So, this is how she’s getting to experience much of this trip…

(Yeah, that’s me up there too)
It’s too bad because the fun stuff planned towards the end was supposed to be for her. I was going to head to Yosemite, but she insisted on Disney. She gave me this whole heartfelt speech about it being her childhood. Kids!

So, we decided to drive to California. It’s been drama trying to get my vehicle back for this (damaged in the May derecho that went through Houston) and it’s probably going to have to go back in. We were hoping we’d have it before Sam’s two tournaments in Colorado, but they ordered some incorrect parts. Oh well…I have it now even though it’s still got issues. We set out around 4:45am CT on the 17th with a goal of Tucson by dinner time. I was driving, so not much in the way of photos aside from this Texas Spiny Lizard at a gas station west of San Antonio.

The most surprising drama of the day was just west of El Paso. All traffic was being individually inspected by Border Patrol. So that was fun. We also had to keep an eye out for dust storms and dodge the dust devils in NM and AZ.

We got to Tucson around dinner. We checked into the hotel, but I was so road weary that we just opted for a nearby Denny’s and hoped the severe storm over the mountains didn’t hit us.

Thankfully, the storm lost its steam and we were all able to get some sleep. Well, sort of. I was up around 4:30am, which is probably good because I noticed an alert for one of Kendall’s prime day packages being delivered and saw this on the local Houston radar.

I have some serious PTSD from the derecho and Hurricane Beryl, so I woke Kendall up and had her move to a safer spot downstairs. Oh, and said a few prayers for the power to stay on. Thankfully all was good, but she’s going to Oklahoma, so I need her to be more weather aware.

I used sunrise to try and keep myself from freaking out.

It’s a really boring video, but I got tired of peaking, so I just put my phone in the window.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

When the rope officially dropped, we headed to Indy to ride standby.

Such a fun ride! At one point, both David and Sam said it reminded them of Dinosaur. I got a good laugh. We all agreed that Indy is a more entertaining ride from beginning to end, but that Dinosaur’s scare point is far more terrifying. I guess we never discussed it the last time we were here.

We started walking to our first lightning lane of the day. I keep wanting to call it fast pass, but I’ll get used to this eventually.

Even some entertainment along the way.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Side note with Indy…it was such chaos that I guess families were sending “runners.” The teenage girl ahead of us became a group of 6 when the rest of her party caught up.

I also felt bad for some running to Rise. The signs and the map on the app show you can get through via Adventureland, but everything was closed off after a certain point.

Ok…so still walking…

First characters inside the park that we see for the day…

Third monorail spotting, but first in the park.

So, we arrived but we weren’t really sure where to go for lightning lane. Maybe we were tired, but it wasn’t clear and while very nice, the CMs weren’t super clear either. Oh well, we got there.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Current situation…

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Currently relaxing…waiting on dinner and in a prime viewing spot for the parade.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We’re taking another leisurely approach today. Everyone is still in bed and we’ll get there when we get there. The reality…we did nearly everything we wanted to do in Disneyland on day 1 and day 2 in DCA was really frustrating. The ride home is still up for discussion since a hazmat situation is blocking one of the options… so trying to keep things favoring us getting some relaxation.

So back to Disneyland…

We entered the lightning lane for the Matterhorn, but the CMs weren’t really telling anyone where to go. When asked, we still got a vague answer. We made a wrong turn but eventually got where we needed to be. What’s really funny…Sam has very little memory of Disneyland and David convinced her that this was a nice and gentle nostalgic old ride. It was a great laugh afterwards. A woman later informed me that the Matterhorn is the same track as WDWs Space Mountain. I knew it was a basis point, but I didn’t think they were identical.

I booked a Space Mountain lightning lane right after redeeming Matterhorn, but we had some time to burn.

Everyone said no to the subs.

We went past Space…

And ended up here…

I rode by myself…and once again forgot to not bother trying to get a pic of my score. I never get this to work.

We checked out our pictures and I was apparently going for the really high stuff.

Next up, we walked onto Star Tours.

I’m never good at explaining which storylines we got, but Sam was the rebel spy! We’ve never been the spy!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We had a little bit of time to burn still, so we looked around the shops.

We still had a few more minutes, but the 5 minutes early/15 minutes late approach still works like the old Fastpass system. So, we were utilizing that method. We still had a few minutes left when we got there, so I reminisced about the kids first measuring up for these attractions.

Yeah, she’s actually a bit taller than me now.

You know I also can’t resist fun lights.

Finally time to ride!

So, it was a fun ride and I forgot how much smoother this is compared to WDWs. Still, we had a bit of an issue at the end…something I completely missed.

Apparently, David couldn’t get his safety bar to release. He called up to the CM standing above him several times, but the guy was engaged in other things and didn’t notice. David has a really loud voice…like even his quiet is loud, so I don’t know how the CM missed it. It got to the point that the next riders were entering the vehicle and the guy still didn’t notice. So, David resorted to tapping his leg for help. Sam saw it all and said it was just a little tap for attention, but the CM sharply said (in a voice that supposedly sounded like Forrest Gump) “Don’t-hit-me.” He managed to get David out, but the whole situation could have been avoided if he’d been paying attention to the vehicles.

Meanwhile, I’d run off to see our picture.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We had an upcoming breakfast ADR at Plaza Inn, but still had about 10-15 minutes before we could check in. We headed out in that direction…

A certain person decided they needed a potty break, so we just sat here looking at these plants.

While we were waiting, I looked up and saw some familiar faces. I knew some of Sam’s teammates were talking about coming, but nothing was ever finalized. This was one of the families that said they were probably going. I just think it’s funny that in the mix of thousands of people, you see someone you know.

It was almost breakfast time, so we said goodbye and headed to Plaza Inn.

We checked in, got our pic with Minnie, got into the shorter payment line with a CM that had a very peculiar “I dare you to get in my line” sort of attitude, and we were shown to our table. The CM that seated us was surprised that I recalled how the meal worked and I was surprised that it was nearly the same after 8.5 years.

I’ll save the character pics for my next posts, but I’ll tell you now that we saw:

1. Minnie
2. Pluto
3. Eeyore
4. Pooh
5. Tigger
6. Daisy
7. Suzy
8. Perla
9. Chip
10. Dale

WDW really needs to get one of its character meals up to this level.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Current situation! Stuck in Neverland!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Current situation! Stuck in Neverland!View attachment 804821

Obviously, we got out, but that was not a fun experience. I’ll share the videos at some point and tell the full story. Whew!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

So, I’m just going to share Peter Pan ahead of everything else…

There’s no lighting lane, so we stood in line for about 30-35 minutes before getting to ride. Much of the queue is in direct sun, so we were pretty hot and thirsty. Sam rode single and David and I rode together in a separate ship. Unlike WDW, they stop the belt, so we didn’t initially think much of it when Sam took off and we were still sitting there…until a minute had gone by without moving. The CM asked us if our party was behind us or inside…we said inside. I texted Sam that we were still waiting. We started moving before I could see her text saying she just stopped and asking if everything was ok. We rode and up until this point… we thought all was normal.

We came to a sudden stop, but were still in the dark, so we thought things would start back up. I was still taking pics with that mindset.

I honestly thought Sam was outside at this point and was waiting on us. It wasn’t until the lights came on and we saw her ship stuck in that corner that we realized she’d been stuck there for several minutes.

Various CMs came by assuring us that they’d get us down soon. I snapped at David to stop moving because those ships really rock when you start moving around. We even started wondering if this was going to involve ladders.



Eventually, they announced they’d be moving us. They were able to bring us down via the ride, but it was ROUGH! We lurched over every joint and stops were hard and really close together…feeling like we were going to crash into the next ship.



I know it could be worse, but this was pretty scary. We at least had a view. Sam was stuck in a dark corner before the lights came up. We got complimentary lightning lanes…but we chose to use them elsewhere. Not sure I want to go on this for a while.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Whew! Drove nearly 1,100 miles today and have stopped in Amarillo for the night. It’s been a day! The hotel put us in a room that was already occupied, so added drama when we just wanted to rest for the night. At least the northern route’s construction wasn’t as bad, we missed a 4.9 quake in Barstow by an hour or two, and the poorly designed gas station drive in Needles only destroyed my Mickey hitch plug and not my bumper.

Probably going to wait until we’re home to resume posting.

 

[Swissmiss]

Whew! Drove nearly 1,100 miles today and have stopped in Amarillo for the night. It’s been a day! The hotel put us in a room that was already occupied, so added drama when we just wanted to rest for the night. At least the northern route’s construction wasn’t as bad, we missed a 4.9 quake in Barstow by an hour or two, and the poorly designed gas station drive in Needles only destroyed my Mickey hitch plug and not my bumper.

Probably going to wait until we’re home to resume posting.

That’s a lot of drama for one day!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

That’s a lot of drama for one day!

Agreed! I’m so tired of drama.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

David is driving, so going to try and do some updates.

Last full post, we had just been seated at Plaza Inn. As much as we enjoy seeing the characters, something was a bit awkward this time for Sam and some degree even me. We talked and waved to nearly everyone, and in several cases, I had to tell characters we might have to wait for them to come back around because Sam was up getting food.

Pooh was really why we stayed around so long. He’s still Sam’s favorite and of course he was the very first to come to our table while she was getting food when we first arrived.

Tigger and Dale were also really good. All of the characters were going in and out the door that Eeyore is at…I guess quick breaks.

Minnie took a lap around the dining area before breakfast ended just to formally say goodbye.

Speaking of, my Minnie waffles with bananas foster topping was the closest thing I got to Mickey waffles this trip.

Now to figure out what to do. I had booked a lightning lane for Big Thunder, but I got a notification that it temporarily closed. So, now I had to book another lightning lane and had a multi use one to also burn.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I decided to book Pirates, but we had a little time, so we made a quick stop in Fantasyland for something else.

I think the wait was something like 15 minutes. I rode with David and Sam went on her own. When we were done, it was almost lightning lane time. So, we headed back that way.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Just got home!!!

Back to DLR…we arrived at Pirates and were faced with a similar issue was encountered in 2015. I can see the building and some of the standby line, but where to enter?

We went up, before realizing we needed to stay down and turn left.

For those that have been to DLR, you probably recall that this is often standby only. With Haunted Mansion, Splash and Pooh closed, they temporarily changed it to a lightning lane.

It wasn’t long before we were near the front of the queue.

I wasn’t up for pics, but I did take a couple of videos.





While I prefer WDWs facade and queue, there is no question…DLRs PotC attraction is the superior ride. Two drops and the part by Blue Bayou for the win.

We checked out some of the construction and even saw The Redhead before moving on.

(Disneyland has a TON of live music)

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We had booked Smugglers Run for our next lightning lane, but had some time. So, we decided to take a cruise.

Sorry…had to take a “no dancing” picture.

I know you all needed this!



My only complaints…the line was more like 35-40 vs 20-25 minutes…and it was quite warm.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We passed some Toy Story friends on our way to a galaxy far far away.

Maybe it’s because I’m used to WDW, but it feels a bit off to have Galaxy’s Edge on top of things with an MK vibe. Oh well, it’s where it is and it’s where we were.

We had some time, so we got to the general area and then hunted for postage stamps of shade and seating.

We also had some characters come through the area. The whole interaction with Rey and the droid was adorable. There was a little boy off to the left controlling it. She’d eventually engage with him and ask for more details on the droid.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Time to head inside…

I know some people don’t enjoy this one, but I think it’s fun. I was an engineer on this flight and supposedly had a 100% accuracy rating.

After Smugglers, I decided to check the standby time on Rise. I already hate having to pay for standard lighting lanes, but I absolutely refuse to buy into the single ones. At $26 a person for Rise of the Resistance, there’s just no way unless standby is reasonable. I figured we just wouldn’t be doing it this trip…until I saw standby at 20 minutes.

We waited for maybe 5 minutes to get into the first section, but it was just standard progression through the phases of the attraction after that.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We ended up in the first row of our vehicle and had a fun ride…

So, mission accomplished and no excessive fees to get on the attraction. It was time to wave goodbye to Galaxy’s Edge.