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Sorry, no photos this time.
It was about 8:30pm when we headed up to the Resort this evening. Talon needed to straighten out his pass, because he ordered it online the better part of a month ago and never received it. So, despite paying extra for delivery and the promise of gettng a special design, all he got was to jump through extra hoops at the park itself, and a normal pass design. The impression we get is that the online process is about 50/50 in effectiveness.
Anyway, with Guest Relations closed we had to go to the ticket windows. Some mucking about while a lead was called over to look at it because it's somehow not obvious what's been done or said about the account. Apparently they need a better customer notes database, but whatever. Anyway, it DID get straightened out and he was given a paper ticket to enter the park so he could get in line at the Bank to get a pass made. Here's where we did luck out: fireworks having just finished at this point, the line at the Bank was blessedly short. By the time we finished, it had more than doubled in length (and was still shorter than I've seen it be much of the time).
Caught dinner at the Plaza Inn. Still good food. We had to grab someone and request forks though, as both sides were completely out. They seemed a bit harried, my guess would be that despite there seeming to be many CMs in the place, they were probably short-staffed, either that or poorly organized. Tough to say on such a crowded day. Anyway, they did get the forks out pretty quickly (by the time we'd gotten our food, anyway, with very little wait for that either).
So, so far so good. We head over to NOS but Fantasmic was just starting and we decided perhaps that'd interfere with the queue a bit. Then we heard that Pirates was down anyway, so we swung (pun intended) by Carnation Plaza to watch Stompy Jones for a bit. Good band, I'm glad to hear they're playing there a bit. I must remember to check for when Wartime Radio Review plays DL next though, as they're my favorite. Anyway, enjoyed the Stompy Jones set. Watched a young man in a wheelchair swing dancing with a young lady. That was REALLY cool to see. Impressive particularly because he really had to be familiar with swing dancing to pull off being able to switch hands and move in the right direction while still leading the young lady. Next song I hopped out there with Peter, an older gentleman (okay I think he's actually in his late 80's) who can outdance MOST of the people there. He rarely lacks for partners... I believe for the next song he had two teens-20s young ladies that he was leading. (Young men, are you listening? Learn how to dance and you will GET CHICKS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE)
Fantasmic was nearly over, so we decided to get over there and get in line before it got nuts. However, on our way we came across Maynard doing guest control. So we stopped to talk to him for a few, before he had to move on and get ready for the end of the show.
The pirates queue was a disaster. Nothing like the smooth organization of Monday night. There was literally a mass of people bottlenecked at the entrance, with a supposed queue going up the sides, and only two CMs apparently, to handle the entire front side, which was about as effective as having no one there, since there wasn't enough roped queue set up to control things with. I guess that's because of Fantasmic, but there must be a better way to work it than to allow massive cutting and bottlenecking.
Of course, with my luck, the ride went 101 AGAIN. I swear, I cannot get on this damn ride! Neither Monday night, nor tonight! We waited a while, hoping it would come back up, but around 11:30 the CMs just gave up and emptied the queue. I would love to hear an explanation of why it's having so many problems... is it because it's running at full capacity, or was something fundamentally changed within the attraction that is causing so many stoppages?
Anyway, desperate to escae the crowds, we went over to Tomorrowland, where we ran into Crazy Legs. Hung out for a few minutes, then met up with Crazy Legs' bf and Tic Toc Dragon, and we all walked out together.
That's when it happened. Okay, I know I'm cursed. I know that the mere act of thinking I want to ride something will make it go 101. But this time... I 101'd Main Street!!!! We were walking along, and all of a sudden, all the exterior lights just went out. Boy, talk about old technology sometimes being better... those gaslamps were still on! But all the electrical lighting we associate with Main Street was completely OUT for about a minute. Hilarious!
Swung by the Opera House and saw the Mad Hatter extension. I like it. they put in a very nice floor, and I like the vintage hats on display on the center rack. I only wish they'd think about doing an old-fashioned millinery there, and sell the turn-of-the-century style hats there as well. Think of the money they'd make around Easter selling customizable "Easter Bonnets"! Anyway, still fun to see them. It does eat into the exit area quite a bit, but with the exception of the great wall of capitalism (which is covered up at the moment anyway right now), that area wasn't used for too much, so I guess it's all good.
Got through the tunnel, and apparently I'd managed to 101 the entry plaza too! But as we were passing through, those lights also came back on.
Trams were packed so we ended up walking back. Sometimes it's just easier. Anyway, on a nice warm night like tonight, it's a pleasant walk.
So in summary: Unnecessary dinners in the park - 2, Attempted Rides on Pirates - 4, Actual Rides on Pirates - 0
Jeez, and I'm headed to Vegas this weekend? Good thing I won't be gambling much!
On our fourth time through pirates earlier in the evening, we got stuck around the jail scene and it seemed like the familiar back up was beginning again. 
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