missangelalexis
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2012
Sounds like a really productive and fun time in DL! Also sounds like a nice lunch break!
Wow an hour for fastpass! The longest I think I waited was 45 minutes for guardians fastpass when one of the gantry was down. And yeah, while the perk of using a replacement fastpass on any ride has come to an end, I totally agree it's for the best. Actually, any person I've talked to around the park said it's for the best. Fastpass lines can get sooo backed up due to ride breakdowns.Chapter 22: One Last Frolic Around DCA
After getting up from our nap, we set out from the Anaheim Desert Inn for one final night in the parks. We did not have a heavy itinerary planned for the evening, just one last spin on a few rides and some time to enjoy the atmosphere at a casual pace. First up would be DCA to use the MPs I had stacked throughout the day and for a final dinner at Flo's. We started at Guardians, which we rode for the 4th time on the trip.
Next up was a return to Pixar Pier, where we rode Incredicoaster for the 7th time on the trip and shot our way through Toy Story Midway Mania for a 5th time.
Then it was time for dinner. Of course my daughter chose to go to Flo's V8 Cafe, where we now recognized as regulars by the CMs after eating there 4 times in 5 days. We both enjoyed our burgers.
After dinner, it was time to try our luck at Radiator Springs Racers to see if we could finish the trip undefeated in races. Using my daughter's strategy of cheering loudly for our car, we had won our first 4 races of the trip (one on each park day) and were hopeful to continue the streak on our last night.
Unfortunately, despite having a FP booked through MP earlier in the day, we needed to wait in line for nearly an hour in order to ride. Other rides had been down that day, so guests received anytime "multiple experience" FPs and apparently were deciding to use them en masse to ride RSR after dark. The FP line was so backed up that they actually shut down the standby line and ended up using the usual standby queue for FP overflow. This ended up being our longest wait of the trip, which was frustrating since we had a FP (but so did everyone else). I am glad that Disney is addressing this problem somewhat now by issuing replacement FPs based on tiers rather than just "ride whatever you want if the ride you booked was down".
We finally got to the front of the line, and my daughter yet again urged the other riders in our car to cheer in order to win the race. There was some skepticism, but I was able to tell them that it had worked four straight times for us, so everyone agreed it was worth a try. Sure enough, we won yet again. Five for five!
My daughter was very proud of our winning streak, and now even more convinced that her strategy was they key to victory.
After the much longer than expected wait for RSR, we had to hurry out of DCA faster than we'd hoped since we wanted to make it to Disneyland in time for the fireworks.
Stay tuned for Chapter 23, where we wind down our last night of the trip with a final lap around Disneyland.
Thanks! I keep meaning to finish it up, but I have been occupied preparing for Tokyo Disney. We leave tomorrow!
Loved reading about your trip! You guys went to Tokyo?? Count me in for that TR!
And you're right, the memories you're making are priceless! Thanks for sharing
We are going in Feb, not planning on getting park hoppers (But might change my mind). If you had three park days, which park would you choose to do twice if you didn't have hoppers? I am planning on just letting me kids pick the last day after our first two, but am tempted for a Plaza Inn breakfast that day and then would need a reservation. Thoughts? Or do we just need hoppers?
Just found your TR. Thanks for sharing all the details. We are WDW veterans but are lost with DL and this has been very helpful!
We also love rollercoasters. Have you tried Kings Dominion in Virginia? They had an amazing wooden rollercoaster. Coolest coaster i have ever been on!!