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I went to the park with a good buddy of mine who is visiting from UC Davis on Monday, and we headed to the Happiest Place on Earth, because he mentioned that he hadn't been there in about 3 years, and I had a spare comp ticket.By masterfully using the FastPass system and starting our day relatively early, we were able to maximize the amount of rides we got on and even rides some things we might not have had we spent more time in line!
We arrived at the park gate at about 10:05 am. We ran into DCA to grab a quick ride on Tower, which had a posted 30 minute wait, but it was much closer to about 20 minutes. In the early part of the day, the pre-show makes the line seems like it moves more slowly maybe?
We snagged a FastPass for Soarin' immediately afterwards, which was for 12:10-1:10 pm, but knowing that the ending time of FP isn't enforced, we hopped right over to DL to grab an FP for Space. Hint, the parks are NOT connected!
Our Space Mountain FastPasses, which we snagged at about 10:45 am, were for 2:50-3:50 pm, and the stand by line was already 85 minutes long. While we were waiting, we rode the Matterhorn in about 20 minutes, and decided to walk up to Toontown to see the wait for Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, just because I haven't been on it in eons. It was posted 45 minutes, and we decided to skip it, but as we were coming out, we noticed a very short queue for IaSW, which we found out was because they were having "computer problems" although I DO wonder whether it was actually "Oprah problems". Waited about 10 minutes for this, then we headed for Big Thunder Mountain. We made a pit stop at the Big Thunder Ranch to color a picture of the Circle D crew and pet goats.
The wait was posted at BTMRR as 25 minutes, but looked much longer, so we snagged a FastPass, for 1:10-2:10. After this, we caught a snack at the Golden Horseshoe-- the funnel cake of the month is BUTTERFINGER and it was finger-lickin' good. We headed to Haunted Mansion and got on it in about 14 minutes, two minutes longer than the posted wait time of 12 minutes. Then, noticing that it was 1:05, we headed up the hill to Splash Mountain to see the wait. It was only 60 minutes, but since our BTMRR FastPasses had been for so early, we were able to snag some for Splash Mountain, for 6:50-7:50 pm. After this, we rode on Pooh. With its staggeringly long wait of a posted 7 minutes, we felt it was worth the trip, esp. since our companion had never ridden Pooh, much less HEARD of its existence.
After this, we took a trip on the world-famous Jungle Cruise, and my out-of-town and apparently ignorant friend asked if we could go onto the Tiki Room so that he could take a nap. I obliged and enjoyed the show myself, although I was the only person Singing like the Birdies Sing... and it was CLASSIC... sicne we sat inthe back row, my sleeping friend was rudely awoken by the grunting totem poles. Shoulda seen the look on HIS face.
We than went back to BTMRR, and were on it in about 5 minutes. We sat in the back, and I taught my friend the goat trick. He LOVED it. After this, we headed back to Tomorrowland, and noticed a 25 minute wait for Star Tours. Knowing how long the posted waits have been lately, I dragged him on, insisting it was the shortest posted wait I'd seen in a long time. Once inside the building, we found a wasteland. We walked right on. No wait.
After this, we were amped for our trip through Space, and we hitched a ride on Space Mountain. With our Fast Passes, we were on the ride in less than 15 minutes. We sat in the back, and both of my companions were riding for their first time since the refurb, and they loved the "disorientation" effect onthe 2nd lift hill!
After this, we were starved, and began to head towards the French Market for soup in a bread boule, when we noticed that we could get another FastPass. So, we got one for Buzz Lightyear for 5:50-6:50-- I don't trust their posted wait times any more since the last time, when it stated 15 minutes, but actually took us 45 minutes to get on, because for every ten FP parties, the CM would only let on two stand-by parties. Ugh.
At the French Market, the Soup D'jour was Chicken Tortilla, and while it might not be well-themed, it was pretty tasty. I just wish the ratio of soup to bread-boule was a little more even. There wasn't enough soup.
We rode on PotC after this, with a 20 minute wait, and I had my obligatory nap. I've ridden it so many times, and I work in the attractions practically... I'm sorta sick of it. Then, we passed Indy, and I stupidly realized that I should have gotten our last FP for this! But the wait was only 60 minutes, and since it felt like we hadn't waited in line for anything all day, we rode, and were on and out in 45 minutes!
Out of novelty, we headed to Fantasyland and waited ten minutes for a spin on the teacups. I've never gone so fast on those things in my life; I thought I was going to puke! We were going to ride Pinocchio, but it was really hot inside of the queue, and walked out almost immediately after getting in. After this, it was just about time for Buzz Lightyear. We breezed on this, and I got about 386,000... just enough to bump me to the 47th ranking for the day! COOL!
Finally, we headed to Splash Mountain to use our FPs. Even though I sat in the second seat, I got DRENCHED. I took off my sweater and put it between my legs so I could warm up afterwards, but somehow a big Splash landed right on it! Rats!
After this, it was 7:30, and we decided to head back to DCA to ride Soarin' and see the Electrical Parade. We waited about ten minutes for Soarin', and got the "best seat in the house"-- This is the middle row, on the top. It was my friend's first time on it, and he said that he LOVED it! He thought it was really cool. Then we munched on Sourdough and Tortillas-- no corn ones today. I wish I knew when exactly they had corn ones, because there's nothing like a fresh corn tortilla!
We walked back to the Paradise Pier area, and watched the Electrical Parade from next to Jumpin' Jellyfish. It was nostalgic and everythin'. Then we randomly decided to ride a lot of pier rides. We caught Mulholland Madness, Jumpin' Jellyfish, the Orange Stinger (no orange smell), and the Sun Wheel, and we caught the fireworks from the top of the Wheel! The Pirates portion looks WAY cool from up there.
After this, we did a quick walk through a bug's land... and called it a night, at about 9:40. We hopped across the street to IHOP and had a dinner fit for a king. The IHOP in our town closes at 9 pm every night.
So on a summer day in August, we did ALL THIS:
Tower of Terror
Soarin' (FP)
Space Mountain (FP)
Matterhorn
Big Thunder Ranch
It's a Small World
Mickey's House (although we ditched on "Meet Mickey")
Mad Tea Party
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (FP)
Haunted Mansion
Pirates of the Caribbean
Splash Mountain (FP)
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Jungle Cruise
The Enchanted Tiki Room
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (FP)
Star Tours
Indiana Jones Adventure
Jumpin' Jellyfish
Mulholland Madness (FP -- although we didn't really use it)
Sun Wheel
Orange Stinger
Disney's Electrical Parade
So that's 23 attractions in one day, not including the factory tours. Pretty impressive. It's all about how quickly you can walk across the park, really. And about how willing you are to do it.
We stopped to eat twice-- once for a snack at the Golden Horseshoe, and once for "lunch" at the French Market. We also shared a cotton candy and a bottle of water throughout the day.
He had a great day, and other than a Fantasyland darkride or two, I can't think of anything big that we really MISSED. We were too tired after IHOP to go back and snag another ride or two, although we feasibly could have. We left IHOP at 11:10.
I'm trying to blame the small crowds on something, and it must have been the rain. It drizzled until about 9:30 am on Monday. Actually, in my town it was heavy rain, but my house backs up to the Foothills, so I try not to compare my weather to everywhere else. EIther way, it was beautiful in Anaheim!
Originally Posted by melmel 
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