Trip Report Tu in ‘25

Ever just the same
Ever a surprise
Ever as before
Ever just as sure
As the sun will rise
Tu in ‘25

These lyrics came to mind when I thought about my trip reporting. (I also thought, Here we go AGAIN but the above sounds much more poignant.) It’s now that time of year when my Disney trips are frequent. And this Disney Senior loves sharing her visits with y’all because your engagement makes it fun!

Yes, there will be stuff that’s the same. Yes, there will be surprises (too soon for the reveals). And yes, there will be sun rises!

Spring break countdown is at 4 days.

Since this intro needs a picture, here are Tu.

 

[MickeyCB]

I’m promised @lindawdw that she could have mine. As I was reading this I was talking to R. I asked him if he wanted his & he said no so it’s yours!!
Seth said you were her!!

Awww ty!
And he was a punk! Much nicer (most of the time now.)
He does still call me a hobbit though!

Sorry to derail here @Tuvalu, I'm still 10 pages behind, just read about you and Em getting caught in the deluge during your pool time!

 

[Tuvalu]

I still have many pages to catch up but had to comment here that I have to get that magnet.
During most of Seth's youth he said I was this lady! Even drew me a picture of her for Mother's Day one year!

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry!

Sorry to derail here @Tuvalu, I'm still 10 pages behind, just read about you and Em getting caught in the deluge during your pool time!

No worries! Glad you’re here!

 

[Tuvalu]

Tuesday, con’t

The submarines at Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage are certainly eye-catching! Em and I chose to skip the attraction since we’d ridden it before. Hold your pitchforks, but even as a child I didn’t enjoy MK’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction and was not sorry to see it go.

The reason I took the picture was actually for the rusting structure above the submarine. It brought back memories of a failed attraction that my family was fortunate to ride. Em and I were surprised that Disney allows the structure to remain in such poor condition.

Later we saw it from a different vantage point in Tomorrowland and it didn’t look as bad.

What was the attraction? (Pics and description from interwebs)

Rocket Rods was a high-speed thrill attraction themed around a “drag race of the future” as well as a futuristic rapid transit system. It utilized the existing one-mile long Peoplemover track, was three minutes long and cost $25 million to build - a colossal expense for a ride that was only open from May 1998 - September 2000.

The ride suffered from frequent breakdowns, resulting in intermittent closures and extremely long waits.

My family can vouch for the extremely long waits. On our trip in April 1999, the end of the line began in Fantasyland and wove through Tomorrowland before reaching the actual queue space indoors.

Most of the queue was in the former CircleVision Theater, where guests would barely move for an hour or more. It was the stuff nightmares were made from. Our kids would sit on the floor while waiting. (Every time I’m in the round room in Dinosaur with the skeleton and Bill Nye’s narration, I have PTSD flashbacks to the Rocket Rod wait!)

My boys loved Rocket Rods and I thought it was quite fun, especially the speeding parts. (The vehicles had to slow down for the track turns so the ride was a combination of slow/fast.) During our trip the boys experienced it three times, Woody and I twice each. Em rode on our final ride, wanting to experience what all the fuss was about.

But that wait was a killer! And putting fast vehicles on a track designed for a slow Peoplemover killed the attraction.

Sadly, nothing can be done to restore the track for the Peoplemover again. And the track cannot be removed because it is intertwined with other buildings in Tomorrowland.

Those who complain about today’s Imagineers and management decisions need to look at the boondoggle of Rocket Rods, over 25 years ago!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Finding Nemo Submarine

This was the highlight of our DL trip, as I had never experienced it at WDW. (I also got slightly panicky as claustrophobia crept in. It’s a very tight space.)

Rocket Rods

 

[lindawdw]

You're so right about MMRR theming as it looks so adorable from the outside and the bit that I saw of the queue! I can't get over how you remember so much from your trips of yesteryears especially at DL! I would be so sad if they got rid of the Wedway Peoplemover at WDW! That was so interesting hearing about the Rocket Rods ride!

 

[Tuvalu]

I can't get over how you remember so much from your trips of yesteryears especially at DL!

Trip journals help to jog my memory!

 

[Tuvalu]

Tuesday, con’t

After 4 hours in DL we were ready to hop to DCA. As we reached Town Square we noticed we had just missed the flag lowering ceremony.

However we stopped to sing God Bless America with the others gathered in the area, after encouragement from a Dapper Dan. It was a very patriotic moment.

Then we took the brief walk across the esplanade to DCA. Hopping is easy-peasy in California!

I couldn’t miss Radiator Springs Racers on our first day! It is my #1 Disney ride. Em and I rode it 5 times on our visit in 2013, using Fastpass, Single Rider and one very long standby wait.

In 2025 our options for riding was LLSP, Single Rider or the anywhere from 60 minutes to 2+ hours standby line. We gladly forked over $22 each (no tax, unlike Florida) for SP. Guests cannot pick a return time for SP (unlike Florida) but during our stay, the return window for SP was never greater than 15 minutes from the current time.

We tapped into the park and headed directly to Cars Land.

Ten minutes later we were ready to go!

Was the ride as fun as I remembered from 2013?

Yeah, baby!!

Contrary to what it looks like, we did not ride in the car with Chewbacca. It was very windy!

 

[Tuvalu]

Tuesday, con’t

Another big favorite from our trip in 2013 was Luigi’s Flying Tires. Guests rode on tire-shaped bumper cars that floated on a cushion of air (similar to DL’s Flying Saucers in the 1960s). There was a learning curve to maneuver the tires (while giant beach balls were being thrown at you) but Em and I quickly became experts and spent the two-minute ride time laughing with glee. We rode Flying Tires multiple times that vacation!

But most guests grew frustrated and easily bored with the attraction and it closed less than three years later. The attraction was repurposed into Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters, but the tire shop and queue inside remain exactly the same. Em sported her vintage Flying Tires tee on our last day and I made sure to take her picture in front of Luigi’s.

The queue:

Back outside!

The Roadsters are adorable and do a line dance at the finale….

….which includes two big spins just before the vehicle stops. Tu does not enjoy spinning and avoids spinny things. But I felt the need to ride a Roadster for old times sake.

The ride time is shorter than Flying Tires (like Kermit tells Sam Eagle, “You’ve got a minute and a half!”) and I am happy to report the spinning did not do me in.

But the attraction was a one and done for us.

 

[lindawdw]

We did that attraction on our last DL trip also and thought it was fun although we didn't feel the need to do it again.

 

[Tuvalu]

Tuesday, con’t

Upon leaving Luigi’s we got trapped by the crowds lined up for the Pixar Pals Celebration parade. It was a cute (and short) parade.

Meanwhile, Em was able to book LL#3 at another one of my favorites (are we sensing a theme here? ) Sadly it’s another ride on its way to attraction heaven (to make room for Avatar.) I was so glad for the opportunity to experience it again before it closes.

This is a dark ride that, quite frankly, I wish could be moved to DHS. It is an example of great storytelling with many animatronics and special effects, perfect for the whole family. The “door coaster” being built at DHS will not be as family-friendly, with height and motion sickness restrictions. I’m fairly certain I won’t be able to ride it.

Mike and Sulley to the Rescue! has an amusing queue.

With a ghost of Tuvalu from 2013!

Guests board a Taxicab for the tour through Monstropolis.

Each cab has its own story monitor.

 

[Tuvalu]

 

[Tuvalu]

Flashback fun with Sulley!

 

[MickeyCB]

Awww ty!
And he was a punk! Much nicer (most of the time now.)
He does still call me a hobbit though!

Sorry to derail here @Tuvalu, I'm still 10 pages behind, just read about you and Em getting caught in the deluge during your pool time!

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry!

Reading these reactions I realized I should clarify a little on my Seth comments, while all true, he made those when he was around 12 years of age!

He has eventually turned into the guy who if you remember from my March trip report saved our trip in a couple of ways!
(And Uncle Seth even babysits!)

@Tuvalu I am loving your Disneyland report so much I am this close to booking to get the girls down there. When Aleisha asked the oldest what she would like to do for her birthday in December, she yelled that she wants to go to Disney again!

 

[Tuvalu]

Tuesday, con’t

Our energy was waning as the time difference was starting to catch up with us. Em booked our final LL(#4) and we made our way there.

Love, love, love the LL tapstile!

The queue leaves much to be desired because Ariel’s Undersea Adventure was shoehorned into the former theater for Golden Dreams, a film about the history of California. (“The queue is sadly inferior to the one in New Fantasyland in FL,” I wrote in my 2013 trip journal. My opinion has not changed!)

However the ride itself made up for the boring queue because Ariel and all the other animatronics were fully operational - which has not been the case in MK for a long time!

Making sure the wave for Woody comes at the right moment…

….safely past King Triton. Go, Em!

 

[Tuvalu]

Reading these reactions I realized I should clarify a little on my Seth comments, while all true, he made those when he was around 12 years of age!

He has eventually turned into the guy who if you remember from my March trip report saved our trip in a couple of ways!
(And Uncle Seth even babysits!)

@Tuvalu I am loving your Disneyland report so much I am this close to booking to get the girls down there. When Aleisha asked the oldest what she would like to do for her birthday in December, she yelled that she wants to go to Disney again!

I’m sure DL and DCA will be beautifully decorated for the holidays! I think Cars Land has a special overlay. I’m sure the Birthday Girl (and your entire family) would have a blast!!

 

[RememberWhen]

Loving the flashback pics! You and Em haven’t changed a bit!!

 

[amjt660]

Loving the DLR report - this resort is my fav of all 6

Thanks for the details and story telling


Max

 

[Tuvalu]

Loving the flashback pics! You and Em haven’t changed a bit!!

Loving the DLR report - this resort is my fav of all 6

Thanks for the details and story telling


Max

 

[lindawdw]

I'm so enjoying seeing all your attraction pictures especially of the Monsters Inc. ride that will be no more soon.

 

[pkkurz]

Tuesday, con’t

The submarines at Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage are certainly eye-catching! Em and I chose to skip the attraction since we’d ridden it before. Hold your pitchforks, but even as a child I didn’t enjoy MK’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction and was not sorry to see it go.

View attachment 871868

The reason I took the picture was actually for the rusting structure above the submarine. It brought back memories of a failed attraction that my family was fortunate to ride. Em and I were surprised that Disney allows the structure to remain in such poor condition.

Later we saw it from a different vantage point in Tomorrowland and it didn’t look as bad.

View attachment 871879

What was the attraction? (Pics and description from interwebs)

View attachment 871871

Rocket Rods was a high-speed thrill attraction themed around a “drag race of the future” as well as a futuristic rapid transit system. It utilized the existing one-mile long Peoplemover track, was three minutes long and cost $25 million to build - a colossal expense for a ride that was only open from May 1998 - September 2000.

The ride suffered from frequent breakdowns, resulting in intermittent closures and extremely long waits.

View attachment 871876

View attachment 871872

View attachment 871873

My family can vouch for the extremely long waits. On our trip in April 1999, the end of the line began in Fantasyland and wove through Tomorrowland before reaching the actual queue space indoors.

View attachment 871875

Most of the queue was in the former CircleVision Theater, where guests would barely move for an hour or more. It was the stuff nightmares were made from. Our kids would sit on the floor while waiting. (Every time I’m in the round room in Dinosaur with the skeleton and Bill Nye’s narration, I have PTSD flashbacks to the Rocket Rod wait!)

View attachment 871874

My boys loved Rocket Rods and I thought it was quite fun, especially the speeding parts. (The vehicles had to slow down for the track turns so the ride was a combination of slow/fast.) During our trip the boys experienced it three times, Woody and I twice each. Em rode on our final ride, wanting to experience what all the fuss was about.

But that wait was a killer! And putting fast vehicles on a track designed for a slow Peoplemover killed the attraction.

Sadly, nothing can be done to restore the track for the Peoplemover again. And the track cannot be removed because it is intertwined with other buildings in Tomorrowland.

Those who complain about today’s Imagineers and management decisions need to look at the boondoggle of Rocket Rods, over 25 years ago!

I too didn’t enjoy MK’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction and was glad to see it go. I never understood the hipe. It was hot and cramped and when I could see the water line just a few inches above the port hole it lost any bit of magic for me.