What did you do today?

[gmpirate]

 

4 hours ago, joneyyy1981 said:

looks awesome, wheres that?

 

Socialist Republic of California

[Mathew]

On 5/11/2021 at 12:02 AM, Hardwired said:

Wait until you have an alibi before you post.

You think he would post if he was directly involved with criminal intent?  🥴🤔🤦‍♂️  

[Hardwired]

You think he would post if he was directly involved with criminal intent?    

No, but does he think you would think he thinks he'd post? And do you think he thinks you think he thinks he'd post? I think so.

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[Alpinemaps]

Another surf day today. Ice hockey this afternoon, too.

Low tide right now, and “May Gray/June Gloom”

But I’m sitting on the beach, practicing my ukulele, my son is having fun, and I’m spending a little time thinking about those that have fallen that allow me to enjoy this.

[Alpinemaps]

Signed my boy up for his first travel ice hockey team. Time and money commitment, but the level of effort and dedication this 9 year old has shown this week makes it worth it. Guess I better get selling more LEGO.

[Alpinemaps]

This is somehow becoming Alpinemaps’ travel blog. Today’s fun

[gmpirate]

1 hour ago, Alpinemaps said:

This is somehow becoming Alpinemaps’ travel blog. Today’s fun

How was it?  Have they lifted all the restrictions?  I've wanted to go but didn't want to wear a mask or deal with all the social distancing.  It's crowded enough as it is.

[Alpinemaps]

How was it?  Have they lifted all the restrictions?  I've wanted to go but didn't want to wear a mask or deal with all the social distancing.  It's crowded enough as it is.

It’s mostly business as usual. Mask optional if fully vaccinated. Crowded but not summer crowds - clearly still at 50? 75? % capacity.

Everyone has been friendly. Rides have been fun. I haven’t done some of these rides in ages, and some of them are “brand new” (Guardians and Soarin Over the World). The upgraded rides are superior IMO.

[exciter1]

50 minutes ago, Alpinemaps said:

It’s mostly business as usual. Mask optional if fully vaccinated. Crowded but not summer crowds - clearly still at 50? 75? % capacity.

Everyone has been friendly. Rides have been fun. I haven’t done some of these rides in ages, and some of them are “brand new” (Guardians and Soarin Over the World). The upgraded rides are superior IMO.

 

[Alpinemaps]

 

Oh I heard about his rant. Boo hoo. He’s complaining about how he dropped all this money like it’s chump
change to anyone. If I had that kind of dough to drop at DIsneyland I wouldn’t be complaining about it.

[TheOrcKing]

On 6/22/2021 at 5:36 PM, Alpinemaps said:

This is somehow becoming Alpinemaps’ travel blog.

I'm okay with that. I can live vicariously through your posts. Your pictures of the beach certainly has brought back some memories and senses. How much I miss the scent of the cold calming ocean breeze caressing my lungs.

 

On 6/22/2021 at 7:47 PM, exciter1 said:

 

New park, same problems. I have not been to any amusement theme park since before high school and was wondering how the latest technology would incorporate into everything to make the experience more 'streamlined' or at least better managed. Well the methods changed but the experience continues to be the same.

1. Buy a ticket in advance.
2. Get to the park soon as it opens at the crack of dawn.
3. Trudge through a crowd thick as soup.
4. Wait in line for hours at a chance to actually get on the ride.
5. If successful, ride lasts less than two to three minutes.
6. Repeat step 3 until too tired or hungry or it's closing time.
7. Realize you spent an entire day (and a few paychecks) for maybe two rides.

Now to be more negative, anyone trying to get on the most popular attractions (or latest additions) at any theme park within a moderate time-frame to even at all is going to be disappointed.

Last and only time I visited Six Flags Magic Mountain in California was around the time Batman The Ride was constructed. One glance at that waiting line and there simply was no bleeping chance at getting on before the sun set. I can somewhat recall waiting markers spaced down the length of the queue with the end one stating "anyone past this point will be waiting 4 hours and (some odd number) minutes" and the line went way past that. Also my mother saw how the floor gave away and riders were going upside down flying all over the place and she was like "f**k that!". Hahaha.

Anyhow the dude is upset and I will not discredit his frustration. It is annoying to spend all that cash upfront and still not get to do what they wanted to in the first place. At the same time it really isn't much different now than it was before is it. Also picking the two most popular attractions? Think, John!

[Mathew]

I’m not sure if they offer it anymore but Disney’s fastpass system worked quite well when we were there six years ago. You just need to utilize it properly.  

[Phil B]

14 minutes ago, Mathew said:

I’m not sure if they offer it anymore but Disney’s fastpass system worked quite well when we were there six years ago. You just need to utilize it properly.  

They changed it. The old fastpass system was great - go to the ride you want, get a fastpass time, then spend your time doing less popular rides until just before your fastpass window. Go to the next popular ride, grab another fastpass there, do your first fastpass ride, kill time with non-fastpass stuff, rinse and repeat.

Unfortunately the new system is an online pre-reg system, and you need to book 60 days in advance. I like to play things by ear, so that doesn't fit my needs. 

Now, this info is from 4 years ago, could be that they changed it up again in the meanwhile.

[BrickLegacy]

They changed it. The old fastpass system was great - go to the ride you want, get a fastpass time, then spend your time doing less popular rides until just before your fastpass window. Go to the next popular ride, grab another fastpass there, do your first fastpass ride, kill time with non-fastpass stuff, rinse and repeat.
Unfortunately the new system is an online pre-reg system, and you need to book 60 days in advance. I like to play things by ear, so that doesn't fit my needs. 
Now, this info is from 4 years ago, could be that they changed it up again in the meanwhile.

We are going to DisneyWorld this summer. There are still no fast passes but from what we are reading the reduced capacity has really helped alleviate the lines for the popular attractions so it’s been successful.

I have to believe fast passes will make a comeback when they open up the park to additional guest or full capacity. It’s a decent system but can really screw the newbs who aren’t informed.

I can’t wait to ride Rise of the Resistance again. My daughter’s friend was raving about it and she isn’t even a Star Wars fan. They hit a home run with that ride and I’m hoping it raises the bar for future attractions. It’s worth a short weekend trip just to visit Galaxy’s Edge and experience it.


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[raindroplet]

25 minutes ago, Phil B said:

They changed it. The old fastpass system was great - go to the ride you want, get a fastpass time, then spend your time doing less popular rides until just before your fastpass window. Go to the next popular ride, grab another fastpass there, do your first fastpass ride, kill time with non-fastpass stuff, rinse and repeat.

Unfortunately the new system is an online pre-reg system, and you need to book 60 days in advance. I like to play things by ear, so that doesn't fit my needs. 

Now, this info is from 4 years ago, could be that they changed it up again in the meanwhile.

My experience as well. Back when I was young, I could ride Space Mountain at least 3-4 times a day by strategically grabbing Fastpasses at the right time. This new system makes it difficult for anyone who isn't planning the dream vacation to even ride Peter Pan's Magical Flight in less than 2-3 hours. My mom is too confused by the system and can't enjoy Disney now, ludite that she is. 

Fortunately, here in Tokyo Disney we still use the old system. Too bad the lines are literally 5-7 hours for some attractions. Even during typhoons.

[CosmicSpeed]

We took our 6 and 4 year olds to Disney this spring. It was nice, but we drove down from Charlotte, stayed on the resort and went to MK, Epcot and MK back to back. It was a lot to say the least.

Fast forward to today. We went to Carowinds, our local theme park. Can leave our home, arrive, park, enter, and get in line, ride one or two kids rides in the same amount of time it would take you even to arrive at the Disney long ass line for a slow water ride or dark ride. It's structured waiting at it's finest

At the end of the 2.5 hour experience at Carowinds, daughters preferred our local park over Disney. Granted, we are literally 10 minutes away, but I think it says something about the experience you want. Hardly any of the rides at Carowinds drop you off at gift stores, and it overall just is a more relaxed trip.

Not to poo poo on Disney all that much, but looking back, we would have done Disney differently.

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[Mathew]

With Disney it just depends on your kids. When we went my boys were 6 and 4 so that eliminated some rides for height restrictions and they were not interested in any princess stuff. Their favorite ride was Buzz Lightyear which we got on twice. They also got to meet Buzz which was cool. That and the parade and fireworks made the one day we were there “magical”. I want to go back again before they get too old after Tron opens and to ride Space Mountain. And of course the Star Wars experiences. 

[gmpirate]

13 hours ago, Alpinemaps said:

Oh I heard about his rant. Boo hoo. He’s complaining about how he dropped all this money like it’s chump
change to anyone. If I had that kind of dough to drop at DIsneyland I wouldn’t be complaining about it.

I'm not sure I follow this.  They planned a special day for their anniversary and spent what they felt was necessary to ensure it all happens but they shouldn’t complain because they could afford it?

We used to have annual passes when our kids were younger and would just avoid the busiest times of the year.  Then we adjusted to right when the park opened during school, or go at night right before close.  I could make this work with annual passes but a day pass never made sense to me because you were stuck with whatever the conditions of the park were that day.  Eventually the annual passes got too expensive for the amount of time we went and we stopped going.  From what people have told me there aren’t good times to go anymore.  It’s always jam packed.

However, if I were to plan a day I would want to do it as that guy did.  And I would be pretty upset if I went to all the time and expense and found out after the refund deadline that it wasn’t all possible.

Hopefully things will change because I’d really like to go again, revisit my childhood, and see all the new rides.  Unfortunately if they are that busy/packed regardless of their policies there probably isn’t any incentive to change.

[Alpinemaps]

31 minutes ago, gmpirate said:

I'm not sure I follow this.  They planned a special day for their anniversary and spent what they felt was necessary to ensure it all happens but they shouldn’t complain because they could afford it?

As it was explained to me, by someone that's a big fan of the guy and listened to the rant (I didn't), his primary irritation was that he spent all of this money, so therefore, he should have gotten passes to the new Spider-Man ride.  But, they were not successful in getting passes.  And that one particular thing - not getting passes to that one particular new ride - ruined the entire trip for him.

Yesterday, my 13 year old wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel.  There wasn't enough time to do that, and everything else.  But we were still able to do 12 hours at the park.  We still got to ride everything else we wanted, including three of the E-ticket rides twice.  She was bummed that she didn't get to go on the Ferris Wheel.  Should she complain that her day was ruined, or should she be thankful that she got to do all that other stuff?

[Alpinemaps]

Fastpass is non-existent at the moment.  Which is a bummer, because it's definitely useful.

The reservation system works great.  It's pretty easy to change your reservation.  When I bought my tickets 6(?) weeks ago (when Disney put them on sale), I schedule for Tues, Jun 15.  About a week before, I was watching the weather, and saw the 10-day outlook was showing extreme heat (100*) for Anaheim.  So I cancelled and moved it to two weeks later.  But when I saw the weather for this week was going to be much better, I was able to cancel and reschedule again.  It takes a little time to do it - you have to watch the reservation system a few times during the day, but people cancel and reschedule all the time so dates will become available (or get filled out) randomly throughout the day.  There's also no penalty if you miss your reservation - e.g., you can't make it to the park after all, nothing happens.

As for the rides, there's only two rides that have a "virtual queue" - Rise of the Resistance at Disneyland, and WEB Slingers at California Adventure.  There are two opportunities to try to get passes, 7AM and Noon.  You have to be very quick, and it is difficult to get passes.  You don't have to be in the park, but you do have to have a reservation for that day.  It's not a perfect system, but it does work.  And doesn't prevent you from participating in everything else at the park.

We ended up having a blast.  Got soaked on the rapids (twice), had lots of laughs.  Got told repeatedly by the kids that "this was the best day ever."  Wife and I agreed that this was one of our best trips ever (and we've been to Disneyland hundreds of times).

[redghostx]

It's too bad about fastpass. I've been to DW once with the gf now wife and Fastpass is what made everyone happy and everything go smooth... Well that and an empty universal studios when we went.

Fastpass being removed will definitely make us reconsider our plans to return in 2023 or 2024.

Yay LEGO!

[Pseudoty]

They need to go back to the E ticket system, like when I was a kid, would fix all of these first world problems  

Edited June 24, 2021 by Pseudoty

[Bold-Arrow]

16 minutes ago, Pseudoty said:

They need to go back to the E ticket system, like when I was a kid, would fix all of these first world problems  

Im surprised they didn't have your pic on that as well

 

[gmpirate]

10 hours ago, Alpinemaps said:

As it was explained to me, by someone that's a big fan of the guy and listened to the rant (I didn't), his primary irritation was that he spent all of this money, so therefore, he should have gotten passes to the new Spider-Man ride.  But, they were not successful in getting passes.  And that one particular thing - not getting passes to that one particular new ride - ruined the entire trip for him.

Yesterday, my 13 year old wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel.  There wasn't enough time to do that, and everything else.  But we were still able to do 12 hours at the park.  We still got to ride everything else we wanted, including three of the E-ticket rides twice.  She was bummed that she didn't get to go on the Ferris Wheel.  Should she complain that her day was ruined, or should she be thankful that she got to do all that other stuff?

Yeah, things get lost in translation . . .  I’ve never heard of the guy but watched the video when it was posted.  Disneyland had been heavily advertising the new rides and they were excited to see “those particular” rides.  They researched what they needed to do to ensure they could — bought the tickets in advance, booked a hotel room at the Grand Hotel (for the added experience), downloaded the app and set alarms for when they could reserve the ride.  Then when it came time to reserve a time for each ride, at separate times, it was immediately all booked up.  And the kicker is that the deadline for getting a refund happens before you know if you will be able to go on the rides.

I can see a child being thankful for her parents taking her to Disneyland regardless, but that was not the case here.   

[Alpinemaps]

Yeah, things get lost in translation . . .  I’ve never heard of the guy but watched the video when it was posted.  Disneyland had been heavily advertising the new rides and they were excited to see “those particular” rides.  They researched what they needed to do to ensure they could — bought the tickets in advance, booked a hotel room at the Grand Hotel (for the added experience), downloaded the app and set alarms for when they could reserve the ride.  Then when it came time to reserve a time for each ride, at separate times, it was immediately all booked up.  And the kicker is that the deadline for getting a refund happens before you know if you will be able to go on the rides.
I can see a child being thankful for her parents taking her to Disneyland regardless, but that was not the case here.   

My issue with that is the expectation that because they laid out all that money, they expected to be treated differently.

Now maybe if they had paid for a VIP experience with a chaperone, I would agree. But they didn’t do anything that would have qualified them for special treatment above and beyond the rabble like me.

I’ve seen plenty of celebrities at DL and get the “need” to have an escort and the ability to get onto a ride (although I’ve seen plenty of celebrities that waited in line with normies).

But he knew when he bought his tickets that Disney specifically says entrance to the park doesn’t guarantee you access to all the rides.