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.

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Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Tuesday, con’t

“What time is it? I dunno! 🤷🏻‍♀️” became our catch-phrase over the next four days.

One of us uttered it for the first time as we were leaving DCA. The time change had us out of whack already and it was only Day 1!

I have no idea how you tourists from across the pond manage it!
Sport Hockey GIF by HockeyDiversityAlliance


Tonight was also the first time we really appreciated staying in the bubble. Being able to enter the GC from DCA in less than 7 minutes was pure joy for our tired bodies.

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We stopped in the Craftman’s Grill - the hotel’s quick service - to pick up items for breakfast. We also thought we should eat something, so we ordered a Parmesan-crusted grilled cheese sandwich to share back in our room.

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We took showers, had a lengthy call with Woody and tried to keep ourselves awake as late as possible so our bodies wouldn’t awaken in the middle of the night, thinking it was morning.

We made it until 9:30 pm (12:30 am body clock) - 20 hours after we’d gotten up to start our travel day! As we were drifting off, we heard the BOOMS of fireworks. Both of us were too tired to get out of bed to check if we could see them from our room. 💤
 
Songbird76

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
Tuvalu said:
Tuesday, con’t

“What time is it? I dunno! 🤷🏻‍♀️” became our catch-phrase over the next four days.

One of us uttered it for the first time as we were leaving DCA. The time change had us out of whack already and it was only Day 1!

I have no idea how you tourists from across the pond manage it!
Sport Hockey GIF by HockeyDiversityAlliance


Tonight was also the first time we really appreciated staying in the bubble. Being able to enter the GC from DCA in less than 7 minutes was pure joy for our tired bodies.

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We stopped in the Craftman’s Grill - the hotel’s quick service - to pick up items for breakfast. We also thought we should eat something, so we ordered a Parmesan-crusted grilled cheese sandwich to share back in our room.

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We took showers, had a lengthy call with Woody and tried to keep ourselves awake as late as possible so our bodies wouldn’t awaken in the middle of the night, thinking it was morning.

We made it until 9:30 pm (12:30 am body clock) - 20 hours after we’d gotten up to start our travel day! As we were drifting off, we heard the BOOMS of fireworks. Both of us were too tired to get out of bed to check if we could see them from our room. 💤
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You get good at planning and find ways to deal with time changes. Strategic planning of layovers, for example. Plus it's so worth a little jet lag to be in your happy place.

Good job on making it so long! 20 hours is a long day.
 
Zipadeelady

Zipadeelady

Well-Known Member
Tuvalu said:
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In my fantasy world, I would think that if they are removing this from DL, then why couldn't they ship it to DHS for a family friendly ride? I'm sure space could be made in that area. It seems like the art work had an area that really didn't have much purpose. But what do I know..... 🤷‍♀️
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
cgersic said:
@Tuvalu, did you start your journals from the very beginning? Did you know you were going to become this big of a fan? I absolutely love hearing about the history of Disneyland, so I'm just loving this report and your commentary.
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I began my Disney journals in 1993. But my love of WDW started with my very first visit in 1972.

Tuvalu

Trip Report Thread 'It Began Here ~ Magic Kingdom, July 1972 *COMPLETED*'

The title says it all....my love for Walt Disney World began with my very first visit a mere 9 months after the Magic Kingdom opened its gates. My grandparents had recently moved to Florida and we made the long drive from New England to spend a week with them. During that week we would get to spend one glorious day at the Most Magical Place On Earth.

I can still remember my excitement and anticipation. Naturally I wanted to see my grandparents, but this Disney World had captured my thoughts. What would it be like? The only castle I had ever seen was one made of sand. How...
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Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Tuvalu said:
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.
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@pkkurz
From my 2016 TR link above, I found this post below. :hilarious:

Can I tell you just how glad I am that Seven Dwarfs Mine Train now occupies the space of this former attraction?

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For me, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was a colossal disappointment. The outdoor queue was stifling hot in the July sun and we had to wait an hour in line. Once inside the submarine, there was only a tiny porthole to look out of from my seat. At my young age I believed the sub would actually submerge and I recognized the "mock submersion" instantly. :bored: There wasn't a whole lot to look at and when there was it seemed fake, not magical. Worst of all, the attraction ate up one of my coveted E tickets! My dad would have to shell out 90 cents (stop laughing!) for another E ticket for me and I was too afraid to ask him.

I did not ride 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea again until MK introduced the all-day Passport....and I still hated it.
 
luvinthemajik

luvinthemajik

Well-Known Member
Tuvalu said:
@pkkurz
From my 2016 TR link above, I found this post below. :hilarious:

Can I tell you just how glad I am that Seven Dwarfs Mine Train now occupies the space of this former attraction?

image.jpeg

For me, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was a colossal disappointment. The outdoor queue was stifling hot in the July sun and we had to wait an hour in line. Once inside the submarine, there was only a tiny porthole to look out of from my seat. At my young age I believed the sub would actually submerge and I recognized the "mock submersion" instantly. :bored: There wasn't a whole lot to look at and when there was it seemed fake, not magical. Worst of all, the attraction ate up one of my coveted E tickets! My dad would have to shell out 90 cents (stop laughing!) for another E ticket for me and I was too afraid to ask him.

I did not ride 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea again until MK introduced the all-day Passport....and I still hated it.
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Felt exactly the same way, as a child and an adult, disappointed in something so un magical.
 
Songbird76

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
luvinthemajik said:
Felt exactly the same way, as a child and an adult, disappointed in something so un magical.
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Me too! My mom had really wanted to ride it and I remember wanting to do something else, but mom insisted we had to do 20,000 leagues. I was never one for boats, and my mom loved them. This wasn't the first time she had dragged me on some water vessel against my will. I've never seen the attraction of them. But I remember how fake this ride was. What was even the point? I wasn't at all sad to see it go.
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Wednesday, July 9

Em and I both had a rough night of sleep. I was awake every couple of hours and finally got up at 5 am. The sun had fully risen by 5:30 am, which surprised me. Em woke shortly thereafter, unfortunately with the same tummy trouble that she’d struggled with during the course of the night.

But we were in Disneyland(!) and were determined to overcome our ailments. We ate a light breakfast in our room before heading to security screening for DCA. Each day one of the parks has early entry for DLR hotel guests. It’s the same (whopping!) 30 minutes as WDW, but early birds do get a slight advantage. Early entry during our trip was at 7:30 am.

The schedule is an every-other-day rotation (DL, DCA, DL, DCA etc.) and is posted on the DL website well in advance, which is important because ALL guests with any type of ticket must make a PARK RESERVATION.:mad: So we made sure to make our daily park reservations for the park with early entry.

In another difference from WDW, park hopping is not allowed until 11 am.

Before we were enabled to go through security we had to show our hotel key card. Since the GC has a private entrance to DCA, we then had to tap in for the park gate to open. Our electronic tickets were on our phones. MagicBands are available for sale, but we didn’t see the need for an additional expense. MBs are not popular in the California parks.

Em and I were one of the few at the rope at 7 am.

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Two CMs removed the rope at 7:20 and guests were allowed to move further into the park. No one ran - everyone walked at a normal pace in an orderly fashion without any commands from the CMs. We decided California tourists are more “chill” than Florida tourists, as we never saw rushing, pushing or any type of rude behavior that is prevalent at WDW. It was a welcome change!

There was a second checkpoint we had to go through and wait for another rope drop.

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Similar to early entry at WDW, non-resort guests who have tapped into the park are kept in one area until official opening (8 am today.) Resort guests are allowed through to wait for the 7:30 rope drop.

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Once the rope dropped, Em and I headed for Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT!

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Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
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After passing a gold statue of The Collector, we moved quickly through the standby queue (showcasing Tivian’s Collection) before reaching one of two preshow rooms. The Imagineers did a fine job of transitioning the former Tower of Terror’s old library into the futuristic Collector’s office. The TV that once showed The Twilight Zone clip is now a large flat screen that plays a video of The Collector, which is interrupted by the audio-animatronic Rocket.

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Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Our job is to “free” the captured Guardians from their cages in which The Collector has them trapped, with Rocket’s help of course.

This requires us ascending - you guessed it - STAIRS!!

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Look familiar? 😉

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The gist is that Rocket has taken Peter Quill’s Walkman and is on top of our lift. The lift quickly rises up to the generator control room and Rocket blows it up, opening the cages and freeing the Guardians. However this causes our lift to accelerate quickly up and down, where we see the Guardians entangled in various situations.

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There are six different drop sequences depending upon the song played. The songs are:

Hit Me with Your Best Shot (Pat Benatar)
Give Up the Funk (Parliament)
Born To Be Wild (Steppenwolf)
I Want You Back (Jackson 5)
Free Ride (Edgar Winters Group)
Burnin’ Love (Elvis Presley)

We got Free Ride which we thought was the perfect song for a free fall! Or in our case, several free falls. “One too many!” according to Em, as we disembarked a little woozy. “Peter Quill said goodbye to us! The drops were supposed to be over!”

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Mission: BREAKOUT! is definitely more fun than Tower of Terror. Less scary, more funny. But for us, not one to be ridden twice in a row. 🤣
 

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