{"id":1762,"date":"2010-08-23T06:45:51","date_gmt":"2010-08-23T14:45:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/?p=1762"},"modified":"2010-08-23T09:58:56","modified_gmt":"2010-08-23T17:58:56","slug":"does-this-count-as-a-staycation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/?p=1762","title":{"rendered":"Does this count as a staycation?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A long time ago I’d planned to go to Europe and visit friends this August.\u00a0 Due to financial difficulties that plan was backtracked to visiting a national park and\/or visiting Seattle again.\u00a0 Due to further financial difficulties and scheduling conflicts (in Seattle) that plan was scaled down further into a couple of day trips.\u00a0 The first was meant to be that trip to Pismo Beach which was scaled back itself (see last weekend’s blog).\u00a0 The second was a trip to Catalina Island this past weekend.\u00a0 That too had to be changed.\u00a0 Last Monday when I tried to reserve spots on the zip line tour (really the only thing open that we were excited about doing over there) I found it completely booked.\u00a0 I also found that they’d raised the price from $35 per person to $92 per person.\u00a0 Ouch.\u00a0 With Ferry tickets at $70 each we might has well have flown on southwest to San Francisco or something anyway.\u00a0\u00a0 Since the zip lines were all booked up and the “underwater helmet” tour still not in operation yet we decided to do something else.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After becoming a student again last year I rediscovered the various perks of being in that class.\u00a0 Discounts on software (windows 7 Pro for $30) packages, discounts on admission to museums, etc.\u00a0 One of these perks is a discount on admission to disneyland (although I think this is actually only a few dollars cheaper than the already standard online purchase rate).\u00a0 So, on Sunday we went to Disneyland.<\/p>\n

We planned our day out fairly well, knowing when to get fastpasses and for what.\u00a0 We started off at California Adventure because we knew that it was a park for older customers (as in customers with at least two digits in their age) and they would arrive later than their younger counterparts in Disneyland.\u00a0 We were right, and we really didn’t have to wait in long lines for much of the day.\u00a0 We rode Soarin’ Over California first, then got a fastpass ticket to Tower of Terror.\u00a0 Since we had about two hours before our fastpass could be redeemed we decided to eat (it was already around 11:30).\u00a0 When I told Sam I was taking her to Disneyland she said we had to have the giant turkey leg.\u00a0 So, we tried the giant turkey leg ($8) for lunch.\u00a0 When she showed me the picture online the day before I already thought it was gross, but she was still excited.\u00a0 The next day, after trying to bite through grease, gristle and cartilage\/tendons\/something she was “over it.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

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After washing all the grease off of our hands we headed over to the Wharf and rode on California Screamin’, then Maliboomer, which had a half hour wait time due to only one of the three towers being operational and then California Screamin’ a second time before going to the Tower of Terror.\u00a0 Even with Fastpass the Tower of Terror wait was still a good 20 minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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We then headed over to Disneyland and rode the train around once before stopping in New Orleans.\u00a0 We picked up fast passes to Splash Mountain, but were a little dismayed that they couldn’t be redeemed until after 7pm (when it would be cold).\u00a0 On the way back to New Orleans (Sam wanted to eat beignet) we saw there was only a 15 minute wait time for the Haunted Mansion so we checked that out before ordering the beignet.<\/p>\n

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After ordering the Biegnet we decided to head to tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain.\u00a0 However, it was about 4:30 and we could purchase another\u00a0fastpass at 5:20.\u00a0 So, we decided we’d get an Indiana Jones fastpass at 5:20 which was next to New Orleans.\u00a0\u00a0To pass the time we walked through Tarzan’s Treehouse and took the Jungle Cruise.<\/p>\n

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When we got the fastpasses for Indiana Jones we were faced with a dilemma.\u00a0 It was about 5:30 and the passes for Indiana Jones and Splash Mountain were valid at the same time.\u00a0 The rides were near each other, but Indiana was going to have a much much much much longer line, so we didn’t want to miss our chance at that.\u00a0 It was going to be tight – but we had a plan.\u00a0 First we’d go wait in line for Space Mountain.\u00a0 This turned out to be the longest wait time of any ride the entire day at almost an hour.\u00a0 I don’t understand that ride.\u00a0 For an hour they tempt you with promises of some great space adventure, giant spaceships hanging from the ceiling, etc.\u00a0 Then when you actually get on the ride it is nothing more than an indoor roller coaster in the dark with a disco ball.\u00a0 What?\u00a0 Why is this still one of the most popular rides?\u00a0\u00a0 Sam’s reaction clued me in.\u00a0 She had wanted to ride it and I decided to keep my opinion quiet until after we got off.\u00a0 Once off she admitted that it was kind of disappointing.\u00a0 I think the reason it is popular is that the memory is better than the experience.\u00a0 The memory is of zooming through the stars – but the reality is taking a fast trip around an empty dance floor at a cheap prom.\u00a0 While riding I did get a strange fear experience, as unlike most rides, if this one broke you’d be beheaded and never see it coming since you’re wooshing around in complete darkness.\u00a0 Perhaps that explains the look on my face:<\/p>\n

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After getting off the ride I had a $6.50 slice of pizza.\u00a0 Ironically, although all the food was very expensive, the water was still under $4.\u00a0 Eleven summers ago a concert promoter in Rome NY couldn’t figure out why a quarter million young people started “riots.”\u00a0 I was there and I can tell you it probably had something to do with being 18 years old, dehydrated and seeing water more expensive than it would be at Disneyland 11 years later.\u00a0 This of course got my internal economist mechanisms going… How does Disneyland set their prices? Clearly they’re much higher than outside ($4.50 for a tiny size naked juice smoothie, for example), but not so high that people balk.\u00a0 Clearly though, from the woodstock 99 example, there is a point where high prices not only cause balking, but literal anger towards the seller.\u00a0 This is an equation that I imagine Disney spends a LOT of time on as they have to make money – but at the same time keeping consumers not just satisfied with the experience, but HAPPY.\u00a0 Something I probably wouldn’t have thought about as much before getting an MBA.<\/p>\n

But this was actually supposed to be an escape\/reward from\/for school, so I forced my mind to shelve that conversation.\u00a0 We were headed back over to Frontiertown to ride Indiana Jones, but we still had about half an hour before our fastpass would work – so we rode Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blaster, which had a minimal wait time.<\/p>\n

On the way back over to Indiana Jones we passed the entrance to Pirates of the Caribbean and stopped in our tracks when we saw the “5” minute wait time.\u00a0 We ran inside under the arch, thinking we’d fit this ride in too.\u00a0 Of course the wait wasn’t actually five minutes, but more like 20.\u00a0 However, we still thought we’d be able to hit Splash Mountain and Indiana Jones on time.\u00a0 Then we came to the last bit of the ride, when “Captain Jack” sits in his treasure room and gives his Johnny Depp soliloquy.\u00a0 Ordinarily the boat would go up the ramp past this display and come out at the end of the ride.\u00a0 Our boat sat at the bottom of the ramp for a minute.\u00a0 Two minutes… Five minutes\u00a0went by.\u00a0 There was a line of boats behind us extending all the way to curve in the ride (and who knows how far back behind that).\u00a0 The guns and cannons kept firing behind us, but now their noise was joined by crying babies and screaming teenagers.\u00a0 It was at least ten minutes sitting down there in the dark before our boat got moving again.\u00a0\u00a0 We rushed to Indiana Jones and bypassed at least 90 minutes of waiting time to get on the ride with very little wait at all.\u00a0 Running through the corridoors was amazing as I remember waiting at least 90 minutes in 2006 to ride this ride, and now I was running through the same area that used to feel like an eternity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When we got out of Indiana Jones and started running to the left towards splash mountain I looked at our fastpasses and the time on the expiration matched the time on my watch.\u00a0 If we hadn’t got stuck in Johnny Deppurgatory we’d have made it.\u00a0\u00a0 We had an hour and ten minutes until the fireworks show would start (and we were going home after that).\u00a0 We decided to try and fit in one more ride – the Matterhorn.\u00a0 It turned out the wait for the Matterhorn was only 15 minutes.\u00a0 Here we are at the bottom:<\/p>\n

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We still had another 45 minutes before the fireworks would start so we headed off to Big Thunder Mountain.\u00a0\u00a025 minutes\u00a0later we were out of there and realized we could maybe, just maybe, fit in Splash Mountain too before the fireworks.\u00a0 We ended up seeing the beginning of the fireworks from the top of Splash Mountain before getting completely soaked.\u00a0 I don’t recommend ending your day on a cool summer night by getting soaked through and through (as you’ll see, we were in the front of the “boat”).\u00a0 Walking in squishy itchy drenched socks got pretty annoying on the long trudge back to the trams, and then the walk back to the car.\u00a0 The fireworks were over by 9:50, but we didn’t get to our car for another half hour.\u00a0 Of course, Sam, by sitting in the very front with a jacket over her body and feet tucked into the front of the boat apparently escaped most of the water.\u00a0 Look at my shirt below and you’ll see I’m already wet before we even hit the water on the “big” splash.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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And one more photo from the slow march out of main street.<\/p>\n

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I didn’t get home until after 11:30pm.\u00a0 We went on a Sunday to avoid the Saturday crowds, but now we’re stuck with the “no-sleep-Monday.”\u00a0 Not sure which is better\/worse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A long time ago I’d planned to go to Europe and visit friends this August.\u00a0 Due to financial difficulties that plan was backtracked to visiting a national park and\/or visiting Seattle again.\u00a0 Due to further financial difficulties and scheduling conflicts (in Seattle) that plan was scaled down further into a couple of day trips.\u00a0 The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1762"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1764,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1762\/revisions\/1764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}