Puns, a Fun Run and 1901 - Our first trip to Disneyland! Updated 8.29.2014x2!

Really enjoying your TR :thumbsup2. We went to DLR in Oct '11 and I've been dying to get back (of course we have been to WDW 3 times between then and now ;)).

I TOTALLY agree with you on (as you so eloquently put it) "Mickey’s Death Wheel Swinging Cars". Did it once and almost lost my lunch :scared: DD wanted to ride it all the time, so I told her we would as long as it was the non-pukey side :rolleyes:
 
Wow love your carsland pics! My family and I are normal WDW goers and this year we have decided to try out DL for the first time ever this summer...and Carsland scares the crap out of me lol! It just seems very TSM at HS but plus a million! Especially if you are staying offsite and not getting the early entry. It does look super cool though and I am excited!!!

Your bizarro-Mk and HS references.....:rotfl2:

Okay Mickey's fun wheel. Holy Moley that is high! Good grief :scared1:

Can't wait to hear more ::yes::
 
Really enjoying your TR :thumbsup2. We went to DLR in Oct '11 and I've been dying to get back (of course we have been to WDW 3 times between then and now ;)).

I TOTALLY agree with you on (as you so eloquently put it) "Mickey’s Death Wheel Swinging Cars". Did it once and almost lost my lunch :scared: DD wanted to ride it all the time, so I told her we would as long as it was the non-pukey side :rolleyes:

Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it! I'm sure we'll have several trips back to WDW before we head to DLR again; it's just easier to plan when you're on the same coast.

Wow, I'm amazed you got on that side once! That's one too many times for me :rotfl:


Wow love your carsland pics! My family and I are normal WDW goers and this year we have decided to try out DL for the first time ever this summer...and Carsland scares the crap out of me lol! It just seems very TSM at HS but plus a million! Especially if you are staying offsite and not getting the early entry. It does look super cool though and I am excited!!!

Your bizarro-Mk and HS references.....:rotfl2:

Okay Mickey's fun wheel. Holy Moley that is high! Good grief :scared1:

Can't wait to hear more ::yes::


You're going to love Disneyland!! I wouldn't get too intimidated by CarsLand - while you do have to wait in line to get your FPs, the line starts pretty close to the front of the park, and it's very orderly, so getting FPs isn't as nearly as chaotic as for TSMM. Plus, single rider line was great (although I know depending on ages of kids, that's not an option for everybody). Even if you only get to ride RSR once on your trip, there's so many other things to see and do in CarsLand, and the area is big enough that it never feels cramped like you do at times in Pixar Place.

If it helps, I checked the schedule on the Disneyland website, and DL resort guests get early entry for DCA on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. So if you plan to go to DCA on a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday, you'll be entering the park the same time as every other guest regardless of whether or not they're staying on property. It at least gives you a little more of an even playing ground!
 


[/QUOTE]You're going to love Disneyland!! I wouldn't get too intimidated by CarsLand - while you do have to wait in line to get your FPs, the line starts pretty close to the front of the park, and it's very orderly, so getting FPs isn't as nearly as chaotic as for TSMM. Plus, single rider line was great (although I know depending on ages of kids, that's not an option for everybody). Even if you only get to ride RSR once on your trip, there's so many other things to see and do in CarsLand, and the area is big enough that it never feels cramped like you do at times in Pixar Place.

If it helps, I checked the schedule on the Disneyland website, and DL resort guests get early entry for DCA on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. So if you plan to go to DCA on a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday, you'll be entering the park the same time as every other guest regardless of whether or not they're staying on property. It at least gives you a little more of an even playing ground!
[/QUOTE]

That's some great info! Thank you so much:thumbsup2
 
Chapter 8: A Blast from my Walt Disney World Past

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We hopped on the trolley and enjoyed a leisurely ride down Main Street USA

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I think it’s physically impossible to approach a castle in the Disney parks without stopping for a quick picture.

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Even though it was only 10AM, we’d already had so many people stop us to tell one or both of us that they loved our shirts! That definitely became a theme of our time there – I don’t think it’s too surprising that many Disney fans and Cast Members are also fans of Star Wars and Doctor Who, haha.

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As expected, it was much less crowded this morning than it was the previous afternoon, so I was eager to go to Fantasyland and hit up the dark rides, especially the ones that don’t exist in Walt Disney World. First up, Pinocchio!

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Uh…what do I say about this ride…

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It was by far the STRANGEST dark ride I have ever been on. Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of fun and I know all the scenes happen in the movie, but what a downer of a ride, lol.

After exiting Pinocchio’s Fever Dream, I became audibly excited at what I saw in front of me.

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MR. TOAD’S WILD RIDE!!! This is one of the attractions I could actually remember from my first trip to Walt Disney World in 1990. That was the only time I ever got to ride it, since my second trip to WDW wasn’t until 18 years later. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was one of the attractions I was most looking forward to on this trip. However, the line was pretty long and I wanted to see how much we could fit into this morning, so we decided to come back later. There were still more dark rides to see! Next up: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

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I absolutely LOVED this ride. Alice in Wonderland was never one of my
favorite movies, but I’ll enjoy watching it every now and then. I probably liked the ride better than the movie itself, haha.

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And the door for the White Rabbit is just adorable.

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After Alice, we wandered the path from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland, which meant my first real look at the Matterhorn – another ride high up on my list of Must Do attractions.

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Since we skipped over Mr. Toad earlier, it only seemed reasonable that we made sure this morning we rode one of the other attractions I remembered from my childhood trip to WDW (well, sort of).

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Subs AND a monorail. Life is good.

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All I keep coming back to is the word surreal. I was about to board a submarine again in a Disney park!

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While I found 20000 Leagues Under the Sea a little more exciting as a kid (yep, I sure did believe we plunged a lot deeper into the ocean), I’m glad that the subs still exist in some form somewhere.

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Going on a deep sea adventure sure makes a person work up an appetite. Time to find some lunch!
 


Chapter 9: I'm hungry, like a bear, raaaaaaaawr!

Rivers of America quickly became one of my favorite areas of Disneyland. It was cool to see all of the different watercraft on the river, as well as the entertainment and details surrounding it!

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As we were walking, I had to get this picture of Scott. He has a miniature version of this fisherman that he used to play with at his grandfather’s house.

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Long before I knew we would be making the trip to Disneyland, there had been a specific counter service restaurant I’d placed high on my list of places to eat once I had a chance to visit.

So, where were we heading?

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Hungry Bear!

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Why yes Mr. Beaver, yes I am!

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My kind of restaurant – they tempt you with dessert before you even place your order.

I knew immediately what I wanted – the fried green tomato sandwich with sweet potato fries.

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This was SO GOOD. Extremely messy (I used so many napkins), but good. Absolutely every bit as delicious as I’d hoped it would be!

Scott ordered the chili burger with onion rings. He’s a sucker for a chili burger, and was really happy with his as well.

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And of course, we got dessert – the Lemon "Bumblebee" Cupcake.

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I’ll be honest, I didn’t love this as much as I hoped I would, or as much as most other people seem too. I really liked the cake itself, but the balance and flavor of the frosting and lemon curd filling just seemed a little off to me. It wasn’t bad, just not quite what I wanted or expected. Scott, on the other hand, LOVED it.

In addition to my amazing sandwich, the other big highlight to our lunch at Hungry Bear was the atmosphere. We ate downstairs and were able to get a table right next to the railing overlooking the Rivers of America.

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I love the fact that canoes are a thing here. We didn’t do the canoes on this trip, because Scott had knee surgery two months prior, and think he’d be able to easily get in/out of the canoe, or be comfortable in the tight space, but it’s definitely in the plans for my next trip.

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We also had excellent views of the Sailing Ship Columbia…

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AND the Mark Twain Riverboat!

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Seriously, if I lived nearby Disneyland and could visit frequently, I think there are some days where I would just sit down there and take in the atmosphere.

Once we decided to leave our lovely view, we decided to visit Adventureland, since the only time we’d really spent there was walking through on our way to New Orleans Square the day before.

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We decided to stop for a Photopass picture by Splash Mountain. She told us since we were in Critter Country to pretend to be bears, hahaha.

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I think we’ll stick to being humans.

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Did I mention I loved Rivers of America?

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Also – man, I’d love to check out the Disneyland Dream Suite one day.

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A friend of mine actually got to spend the night in there a couple months ago! If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to spend the night in Disneyland, it’s definitely worth reading!

Staying in the Disneyland Dream Suite

Once again, Adventureland was kind of a mad house. Oy, I was starting to wonder if it was always going to be like that!

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Since we couldn’t admire Adventureland as a whole, I knew there was something there I most CERTAINLY would admire…

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It was time for our first ride on Indiana Jones!

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This was another ride where since it was my first time experiencing ANYTHING about it, I didn’t take any pictures in the queue (and of course, not on the ride – I didn’t even bother attempting that any time on the trip).
So, let me use this gif to sum up my feelings on the ride:

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OH MY GOSH. I just can’t even explain it. Just like with people comparing Test Track and Radiator Springs Racers, I do not even begin to understand how someone tries to compare Dinosaur at WDW with this ride. I was completely blown away by everything about the ride and couldn’t wait to go on it again!

Continued in next post

 
Your first pic in your post with the entrance to DL is my favorite:lovestruc
Had to get that out of the way lol! It's funny I was thinking about how much I liked you and your DH's shirts and then I read the caption under it...lol. I am excited about all of the new dark rides at DL (they are the best) and that is disappointing that Pinocchio was weird. Very excited about Alice and Mr. Toad. I vaguely remember it being there in the mid 90's I think and its a shame that WDW made it go away.....I am also excited to be able to ride Snow White Scary Adventures. Did you get a chance to ride this? I wonder if its different? We had the opportunity to ride this at MK on the last day of operation and it was so sad, and hard to say good-bye. Oohh Hungry Bear looks yummy! And fried green tomatoes AND sweet potato fries....are you kidding me? AKEFSFKDJFKJK! and the desserts look yum too....almost too pretty to eat though. Oh my goodness I think I snort laughed when I saw your pic of the canoeing people. I don't know why I find this so funny. It just seems strange to me that people would want to do this? I could see it more in 1955 I guess. Ah well when in Rome...
Splash Mountain Bear poses are the best!
The Disney Suite thing....AMAZING! That would be super cool for sure.
Indiana Jones. Really excited about this one. And I am sad to say that when I try to explain the rides to my non Disney Vacation planning family,that DL has that are different than WDW but at the same time find something familiar to compare it to so they will understand...I use the Dinosaur reference...bahahahaha. I don't know why I guess its the ride vehicle. That's funny. Anyways enough from rambling Jenn. Can't wait for more!
 
Loved all these updates!

I am THE MOST excited about the Racers and Indiana Jones, so it was great to get the first-hand report on them both. Unfortunately, Alice will be down while we are there in May. :sad2: Lots of attractions are closed during that time, in fact. I am CRUSHED to hear that Pirates has been added to the list as I was so looking forward to seeing that. Finding Nemo Subs and Grizzly River Run will also be down. Indiana Jones is due to reopen two days after we arrive. I am PRAYING that it does. I would be so disappointed if we missed that, as I have no idea if/when we'll be back. I guess my only hope is that all the closures might indicate the anticipation of lighter crowds.

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!
 
SO joining!! I love the pictures and your style of writing. It's just so much fun and you're giving me Disney fever! I do need to ask where you bought your shirt. I am a fan of Doctor Who and adding Disney to it just makes it SO much better. I can't wait for more updates!
 
Love your trip report so far.
You had me tearing up at the same spots you did. I haven't been to Disneyland in 15 years and will be making my first trip back with my 2 yr old son for his first trip in May. Can't wait to read more!
 
Okay, I got a little behind but I'm just amazed! Disneyland looks completely amazing. I admit that as someone who has never experienced the Disneyland attractions, it can be easy to compare RSR to TT and Dinosaur to Indiana Jones, just as far as like, the TYPE of ride. I doubt the similarities go far beyond that though!
 
Your first pic in your post with the entrance to DL is my favorite:lovestruc
Had to get that out of the way lol! It's funny I was thinking about how much I liked you and your DH's shirts and then I read the caption under it...lol. I am excited about all of the new dark rides at DL (they are the best) and that is disappointing that Pinocchio was weird. Very excited about Alice and Mr. Toad. I vaguely remember it being there in the mid 90's I think and its a shame that WDW made it go away.....I am also excited to be able to ride Snow White Scary Adventures. Did you get a chance to ride this? I wonder if its different? We had the opportunity to ride this at MK on the last day of operation and it was so sad, and hard to say good-bye. Oohh Hungry Bear looks yummy! And fried green tomatoes AND sweet potato fries....are you kidding me? AKEFSFKDJFKJK! and the desserts look yum too....almost too pretty to eat though. Oh my goodness I think I snort laughed when I saw your pic of the canoeing people. I don't know why I find this so funny. It just seems strange to me that people would want to do this? I could see it more in 1955 I guess. Ah well when in Rome...
Splash Mountain Bear poses are the best!
The Disney Suite thing....AMAZING! That would be super cool for sure.
Indiana Jones. Really excited about this one. And I am sad to say that when I try to explain the rides to my non Disney Vacation planning family,that DL has that are different than WDW but at the same time find something familiar to compare it to so they will understand...I use the Dinosaur reference...bahahahaha. I don't know why I guess its the ride vehicle. That's funny. Anyways enough from rambling Jenn. Can't wait for more!

Thank you! I was using a brand new camera on this trip, so I was just happy that any of them turned out.

The dark rides were definitely some of the attractions I was most excited to see in Disneyland. And I don't mean to make it sound like Pinocchio was bad...just odd, lol. If you ride it, you definitely have to let me know what you think! We did get a chance to ride Snow White while we were in Disneyland - it was nice to have a chance to revisit it, even though it has a few slight differences than the WDW version.

I actually love the fact that the canoeing is still a thing, even though it did really throw me off every time I saw them, haha. I think it's a nice touch to have a couple classics like that, and part of what gives Disneyland such a different feel than WDW.

I think for people who have been to either DL or WDW but that the other, it does make a little sense to use them as an example because like you said, the mechanics of the ride vehicle are the same. But that's where the similarities end IMO. (And Indy is just SO much better than Dinosaur. Man I wish I could ride it again right now).

And I don't mind the rambling! :thumbsup2 Any reason to talk more about Disneyland is okay with me!


Loved all these updates!

I am THE MOST excited about the Racers and Indiana Jones, so it was great to get the first-hand report on them both. Unfortunately, Alice will be down while we are there in May. :sad2: Lots of attractions are closed during that time, in fact. I am CRUSHED to hear that Pirates has been added to the list as I was so looking forward to seeing that. Finding Nemo Subs and Grizzly River Run will also be down. Indiana Jones is due to reopen two days after we arrive. I am PRAYING that it does. I would be so disappointed if we missed that, as I have no idea if/when we'll be back. I guess my only hope is that all the closures might indicate the anticipation of lighter crowds.

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

I noticed that Disneyland has been adding a lot of attractions to the refurb list throughout this year - it seems like many more than normal. I'm guessing it's in anticipation of their 60th anniversary next year, and whatever they may have planned for that. So bummed to hear that Pirates is one of them! Guess this just means you'll have to make sure to plan a follow up trip later once everything has re-opened!

SO joining!! I love the pictures and your style of writing. It's just so much fun and you're giving me Disney fever! I do need to ask where you bought your shirt. I am a fan of Doctor Who and adding Disney to it just makes it SO much better. I can't wait for more updates!

Welcome and thank you!! Any chance I have to pass on some Disney excitement to someone else, I'm all for it!

My shirt was designed by an artist named Karen Hallion - she has a huge series of Disney/Doctor Who mashups and is continually working on new designs. Most of her new designs wind up being sold on Threadless, and I think they're usually $12/shirt. If you Like her page on Facebook, she always gives previews into her new designs and announces when and where they can be purchased: https://www.facebook.com/KarenHallion
 
Love your trip report so far.
You had me tearing up at the same spots you did. I haven't been to Disneyland in 15 years and will be making my first trip back with my 2 yr old son for his first trip in May. Can't wait to read more!

Thank you! I think anyone who feels passionate abut Disney would get choked up finally entering Disneyland for the first time (oh who am I kidding, I'll be crying the 100th time, haha).

That's so exciting that you have a trip coming up! I had an 18 year gap between my first and second WDW trips, and so many things change it really does feel like visiting for the first time all over again. You guys are going to have a blast!


Okay, I got a little behind but I'm just amazed! Disneyland looks completely amazing. I admit that as someone who has never experienced the Disneyland attractions, it can be easy to compare RSR to TT and Dinosaur to Indiana Jones, just as far as like, the TYPE of ride. I doubt the similarities go far beyond that though!

Girl, you know how I am in terms of getting behind. Totally understandable, especially when you're in the midst of trip planning (I can start booking Fast Passes on Saturday! And you can start Sunday!!!!)

You're definitely right - I said it to someone else in the post above, but the mechanics of the ride vehicle are definitely similar, but I hate when people try to insinuate that they are exactly the same, just with different theming. Also - when are we going to get you to Disneyland??
 
Following along getting hints for my trip next month!

Jill in CO
 
Chapter 10: GET OUT OF THE BOAT MORGAN

Brief real life notes: Sorry for the slight gap in updates. Some of you who follow me on Twitter know I was having some pretty severe vision issues over the past month, so spending large amounts of time on the computer was a struggle. I've undergone some treatment though and things have immensely improved! It also looks like I'll wind up having another snow day on Monday thanks to the storm heading in our direction tomorrow night, which will leave me plenty of time to get a couple more updates pre-written and ready for posting. There are some really exciting things coming up, and I can't wait for you to read them!!

My mind was still completely blown after exiting Indiana Jones, so we decided to stay in Adventureland and check out a somewhat familiar attraction – the World Famous Jungle Cruise!

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It’s one of our favorite rides at Walt Disney World, and I was curious to find out if there were any differences not just in the scenes, but with the spiel from the Skippers.

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Aside from a couple cosmetic differences, it seemed pretty similar to what we were used to in Orlando.

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We were seated near the very front of the boat, and I saw something that I’d never noticed before at Walt Disney World. Any other WDW vets know if they have it there as well?

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I was going to ask our Jungle Cruise Skipper what it meant, but then something so hilarious happened that it made me completely forgot.

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While we were at the headhunter scene, our Skipper (whose name was Kevin), stopped the boat to have the chat with the headhunters to translate what they were saying. Apparently, they were really interested in having a member of our boat, a teenage girl named Morgan, join them for dinner. Kevin kept trying to “convince” Morgan that she should join them (I believe the quote was, “GET OUT OF THE BOAT MORGAN! WE CAN’T LEAVE HERE UNTIL YOU DO!”), and we must have been there for at least 5 minutes. I was absolutely DYING of laughter.

After visiting an old favorite, it was time to find out if something would become a new favorite. That’s right, it was time for my first ride on…

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THE MATTERHORN!

Scott didn’t think his knee would do well in the bobsleds, so it was just me riding. I’m pretty sure I walked completely around the Matterhorn before I was finally able to figure out where the single rider entrance was.

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And can I just say how completely awesome it is that you actually CAN walk completely around this attraction? I don’t think there are many attractions of that size/scale that you can completely circle.

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I was sent to the right track, which I learned later is the Fantasyland track (if you go to the left, you’re on the Tomorrowland side).

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I thought it was TOTALLY AWESOME!!!! I believe as soon as I got off the ride, I tweeted something to the effect of: “MATTERHORN I LOVE YOU!” Later I chatted with some of my friends who kept talking about how ‘rough’ they thought the Matterhorn was, and I thought they were nuts. Turns out, they had been on the left/Tomorrowland side, which supposedly is a little rougher than the right/Fantasyland side. I never did the Tomorrowland side to have an accurate comparison, but that’s something to keep in mind for those of you who have mentioned you have upcoming trips.

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It was coming close to the time we could use our Radiator Springs Racers fast passes, so back to DCA we went! On the way, I was in need of a caffeine boost, so we made a quick stop for my very first time having Starbucks in a Disney park!

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At first glance, looks like your normal Starbucks…but then you take a closer look at some of the details.

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Since I wanted to finish my coffee, we leisurely walked towards CarsLand,
stopping for pictures along the way, naturally.

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WE LOVE CARSLAND! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

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And each other, awwww.

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This shot would be so great if it wasn’t for that random stroller, lol.

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Unfortunately, when we got to RSR, we found out that it was down, and they weren’t sure when it would be up and running again. Oh well, more time to explore!

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Hi Theresa! So sorry to hear about your eyes, you poor dear. I hope that everything gets better soon :goodvibes Your jungle cruise sounded like fun! And the part with the girl :lmao: classic Disney.....love it! OOOH the Matterhorn! We are so looking forward to this ride in July for sure! That is interesting that the two sides are a bit different in how they ride. That is good to know! That stinks that RSR was down again! But on the plus side yay for more Carsland pictures:woohoo: Great Update! Cannot wait to hear more :upsidedow
 
Yahh!! Thanks for the info.

When I went on the Matterhorn on the left and it was very bumpy. I'm 25 years old and it made me feel like I was 40, lol. Next time I will definitely be requesting the right side and hopefully, it will be a better experience.
 

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