It’s Always Sunny in California!..Eh?...L’il Bit! - Page 12 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
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Moving on with the current of the years.
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To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
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We had one more attraction we wanted to do before getting some lunch….Toy Story Mania! It had just turned 10, which meant the public was now being let in so we quickly walked over there before the crowds got too big.
One thing I learned about California….most of the queues are outside. I guess that is because it doesn’t rain much there?...in Sunny California! This is one thing that WDW does better. Inside queues often means better theming.
It was strange to see Mr. Potato Head right outside with us.
While we waited in line I took a picture of one of the Death Traps cars.
This was probably the longest line we waited in so far today, but again it kept moving and soon we were on it. It was a very fun ride and I can’t tell the differences from this one to WDW’s version. I would say they are pretty much the same ride. Of course my arm was killing me and Cass really kicked my butt in the score. I can’t wait to play against Claire at WDW where I am sure I have a much better chance at being the winner!!! (and now that I am back from that trip…I did!)
As we left we went through this cute room at Andy’s house, so of course I stopped to take a picture.
You could look down from here and see the dump shop that we would be exiting through.
And out we went. Paradise Pier has some cute theming, but I will admit this kind of stuff at Disney is not a turn on for me. I don’t like this kind of stuff at Animal Kingdom either.
We passed Buzz out for a greet and I took a quick picture.
Later in the week we walked by this same spot and I said to Cass “I bet this is where Toy Story characters meet” and she was like….”Um, yeah, you took a picture of Buzz there the other day”. LOL! Being tired really works on the memory! (That’s my excuse and I am sticking to it!!)
I loved this row of Palm trees.
We came up to Goofy’s Sky School and Cass asked if I wanted to jump on this one since the wait wasn’t too long. She described it as Barnstormer on Steroids. Ok, sounds fun.
The line actually moved slower than we thought it would, but it wasn’t too bad.
Almost there.
We got in our little car and I expected it to be like a Wild Cat ride, which goes up and down and really jerky.
It became very clear to me soon that Goofy does NOT know how to fly and Cass had lured me onto a Death Trap!!!!
This ride would round the corners and I swear every time I felt like we were going to fly off the track. Yes it was jerky and that made me more nervous because I expected us to be jerked right off those tracks at any moment….and we stayed up high too! I could see my death at every turn!
I think Cass was just laughing away as I mumbled about how horrible this ride was and I was sure to die at any moment. And of course at the end of the ride it jerks you to a stop….and then we both started laughing about it. Let’s just say I won’t be going back on that ride anytime soon!
By now I was getting pretty darn hungry and we decided to find lunch. Cass suggested heading to the Grand Californian and check if our itinerary had arrived yet and then getting lunch there.
As we walked by this ride, my first thought was death trap….and what a stupid ride. Not something I would think would be in a Disney park…they also had swings….which are also in the category of Death trap as well. So this area of Paradise Pier would not be one I would want to hang out in long. For one I wouldn’t ride the rides and 2, with all those Death Trap rides…..bodies will be flying all over the place!
Before going into GC, we did stop and get fastpass for World of Color for the evening. Let’s just say the machines are a bit different than WDW’s were and it took us a few minutes to figure out why nothing was coming out for us. LOL!
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You confirmed my suspicions about Goofy's Sky School. I've seen it from the Grand Californian, and I've always thought it looks as if the cars are about to go flying off every time they turn.
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I'm with you that Paradise Pier isn't what I think of as *Disney*. I did like the fly school, though, and love the stationary cars on Mickey's Fun Wheel. I'm looking forward to posts about the GC. We exited through there on our December visit and I thought it was majestic.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
You confirmed my suspicions about Goofy's Sky School. I've seen it from the Grand Californian, and I've always thought it looks as if the cars are about to go flying off every time they turn.
It was horrible!!!! I was squawking the whole time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Hmmm, I don't think I'd like Goofy's Sky School. I find those types of jerky rides very uncomfortable.
I am not a fan of jerky rides, especially when it appears I am going to die at any moment!
Quote:
Originally Posted by rhinohunter
Goofy's ride looks like the Mad Mouse at the fair. CA sure looks like it has some interesting rides. A little more thrilling than the ones at WDW.
Some are. It is a fun park, and very different than WDW.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
LOL, I was cracking up on your references of "Death Traps".
LOL...Well they are!!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by rhinohunter
Didn't think about the "Death Trap" reference. Glad you survived your adventure in Disneyland.
I can do some wild things just fine, but some just have death written all over them!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KimmyAnn1147
I'm with you that Paradise Pier isn't what I think of as *Disney*. I did like the fly school, though, and love the stationary cars on Mickey's Fun Wheel. I'm looking forward to posts about the GC. We exited through there on our December visit and I thought it was majestic.
It is very majestic. I thought it was a beautiful resort.
We used the CA entrance into GC and it was really neat to have an entrance like that. That is a real nice perk! Going into the resort…all I can say is WoW!
You do get a Wilderness Lodge feel from it, but it is different. I really did like this resort and I bet it is beautiful during the holidays.
We headed to the check in desk to see if our packets for the conference had arrived. See the CM lady in the middle? That’s Linda and we end up working with her on the next day and she is really nice and the last original CM at GC that has been at the resort since opening day.
It was a little busy, but we didn’t have to wait too long to be seen.
When it was our turn we asked and got the deer in the headlight look. Too bad we didn’t have Linda today, because I bet she would’ve at least known what we were talking about. Our CM did go and ask and was told nothing yet today and probably not till tomorrow. This was disappointing, but we kind of expected it. In the past, with conferences like this, you could pick up your packet at least a day early and of course you usually knew your itinerary for the most part a few weeks in advance. We heard things were being changed and the person in charge is now different too, and basically at this point nothing was going smoothly. We could live without the itinerary, but it was annoying, especially when trying to plan out the rest of the week, but we also received tickets in that packet and Cass and I wanted that ticket in our hand as soon as possible as we wanted to do early entry into Disneyland the next morning. The current tickets we had were only 2 day tickets and today was day 2 of using them.
We thanked the CM for looking, grumbled amongst ourselves and headed to find some food.
Of course I had to take some pictures of the resort while we were there.
We decided to see if Story Tellers had any openings. This is a table service restaurant that also does character meals for breakfast. Lunch was just basic lunch. Cass had eaten here the day before and said it was pretty good.
We were in luck and seated right away. The place was practically empty. That is another difference between here and WDW. You can often get walk up reservations for many of the sit down meals, especially lunch.
We made our selections and I chose a flatbread pizza.
I went outside while we waited for the food to find a map and I think I called home and did something else. While out there I got a text from Cass who said they wanted to know what I wanted on my pizza and I told them just plain. I think I had the choice of adding chicken. When I came back she said she told them plain, but it appears my text didn’t come through, or at least in time. We did have this issue a lot. Our texts were not always going back and forth with each other. I guess it was because she has a Canadian phone, and though she had paid for unlimited texting, she had turned off all the other functions and I guess the phone was confused at times. LOL Or my phone didn’t like her phone?
Anyways, the food came and it was very good. Cass had ordered a sandwich but it came with avocado on it. She asked not have that and they brought it to her on the side instead. She said she never had avocado before and tasted it and it wasn’t anything special to her and she slide it over and I ate a l’il bit of it too.
My pizza was good and I think I ate the whole thing. I forgot to take a picture till I was half done.
Once I was done eating, I took a few more pictures and then made a run to the restroom.
After lunch we headed back to CA as we still had a few things we wanted to accomplish today. We walked by Soarin’ which was down while we were there, so I never did get a chance to ride that, but I hear it’s pretty much the same thing as WDW.
Sooooo…..we’re just strolling down this road and I sort of look up and tell Cass….”Look how blue the sky is with all those white puffy clouds”….and then it hits me….it’s not the real sky I am looking at, but that back drop.
We had quite a good laugh over that one. Of course it became a joke with us during the rest of the week.
We never rode one of these, but I guess if I can get back with the family it might be fun to do for a short little trip.
Isn't that direct entrance from the park to GC great? It's as close as you can get to actually staying IN the park!
I'm glad the resort made such a great first impression. I walked through quickly on my last trip and really should have taken the time to wander around a bit.