A Shining New Era is Tiptoeing Nearer for the TCD Gang

[Seals 111]

I hope Twin #2 will post on "DCP Problems" on Twitter. One of my favorite recent posts:

 

Nurse Joy ‏@UnfamouzAmos  May 8

"Do you have anything fro-" "No"

"Do you have any queen el-" "No"

"Do you have the ola-" "NOOOOO"

@DCPprobs #notlettingitgo

[dvccamper 32]

I think that's exciting news for Twin #2!  Does the internship last the entire summer?  If so, it looks like we'll have a lot of reading material in the coming months.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Me too only I've been hanging around California Adventure. I know it's a rough life, but somebody's got to do it. :rofl3:

 

That's awesome, Dave.  Are y'all going to be there for the 24 hour event tomorrow?

 

 

 

TCD, I was thinking the same thing, if maybe our friends daughter would end up meeting yours, I know we will probably try to catch up with our friends when we are down this summer, if she has some free time.

 

Hopefully, I will be able to meet-up with you at the Fort in July, and we can compare notes. For all I know, your friend's daughter could be one of Twin #2's roommates or coworkers.

 

I feel for you.

I'm hanging in Louisville tonight. May have to forego the usual Scotch and enjoy some Bourbon.

 

Life is tough on the road.  Go for the bourbon.

 

When Drew was visiting the different college campuses, each one talked about the internship programs. We are strongly suggesting to Drew to go this route.

 

These internships are a big thing.  At least Disney pays the kids who come there.  A lot of the internships out there are unpaid.  It's a beautiful thing for some of the big companies that "hire" interns every summer.  My oldest daughter worked an unpaid internship at the Home Shopping Network the summer after her freshman year of college.  She worked hard.  For free.  But, she did learn a lot, and that internship helped her to land some other opportunities, so it ended up being worth it.

 

Congrats TCD maybe now you can get a discount at Disney.

 

Maybe.  The way I figure it, they're still going to get the same amount of money from me as they always do.  If I get a discount, I'm probably going to spend more.

 

I know that the perks are a little different for CPs, but hourly CMs get 50% off at the resorts, subject to availability.

20% to 40% off dining at select restaurants at certain times, subject to block-outs.

A certain number of park admissions, subject to block-outs.

And I'm assuming, 20% off merchandise. Increases to 35% after 3 years.

 

I don't have all the details yet.  But, these seem to be about right for the CP CM's too.  I know that they are limited as to the number of times they can bring guests into the parks during their CP term.  The 20% merchandise discount is correct.  That's 10% more than we get as AP holders.  So that's good.  Also, she gets access to the CM store, which I hope to visit with her soon.

 

I hope Twin #2 will post on "DCP Problems" on Twitter. One of my favorite recent posts:

 

Nurse Joy ‏@UnfamouzAmos  May 8

"Do you have anything fro-" "No"

"Do you have any queen el-" "No"

"Do you have the ola-" "NOOOOO"

@DCPprobs #notlettingitgo

 

Funny.

 

Twin #2 is not a tweeter, so you probably won't find her there.

 

I think that's exciting news for Twin #2!  Does the internship last the entire summer?  If so, it looks like we'll have a lot of reading material in the coming months.

She is in what they call the Fall Advantage program. Which means she works until January 5.  She misses the fall semester at school.  This was the biggest objection that I had to her doing this.  But, if she has to miss a semester, we figured this would be the time to do it.  Hopefully, the time taken to do this will pay off after she returns to school in January.

 

TCD

[ajcjmom 8]

Congrats to Twin#2. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Update time.

 

Sorry that this report is getting off to such a slow start.

 

But, it's going to be going for a while, and hopefully we will build up some momentum.

 

That said, I need to let you know right now that there's going to be a break in the action.   I'm heading back to WDW in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow to meet up with Twin #2 so we can hit up the MK for rope drop for the 24 hour event.  If all goes according to plan, we will be three for three on these.  At least Twin #2 and I will be.  Poor Twin #1 is still in London and won't be able to make it.  And the oldest TCD DD is just about to begin the busiest time of her job at Auburn. 

 

I considered not starting this TR until after I got back from the 24 hour event, but instead I figured I would at least get it started and on the way.  So, that's what I did.  We will pick up some steam next week.

 

For now, let's go back to Sunday morning, May 18.  We left off in Darth's Mall, and that's where we will begin this update.

 

The new location is maybe a little smaller than the big tent they have used in the past.  But, there is still more Star Wars stuff to buy than anybody could possibly want.  There are some new things in here too.

 

Like this sweet 2014 Camaro with a Star Wars wrap- yours for merely $44K and change (plus tax, tag, etc.) :

 

 

Hey-do you see what's back there behind the Camaro?  Ackbar Snack Bar!

 

Really?

 

Yeah, that's what it says:

 

 

Hey, look, there's an animatronic Admiral drinking out of a Storm Trooper stein! :

 

 

Did you notice how the Admiral has the stein to his mouth in that last photo?  Now his arm is down.  High tech:

 

 

Did you hear that they cancelled the popular Hyperspace Hoopla show for this year's SWW's?

 

The word from on high was that since Disney now owns the franchise, they wanted to stop portraying the characters in undignified ways.  Apparently, there's an exception to that rule when it comes to using the characters to sell something.  Like Storm Trooper steins.

 

As you may remember from previous TCD SWW TR's one of my favorite things to see at Darth's Mall is the artwork they have for sale. Anyone remember the Wookie Family Portrait?

 

They have the art gallery here in Darth's Mall again. But, it seems smaller than previous years.  Also, at least for this morning, there were CM's standing around here keeping an eye on things.  There aren't any signs saying no photography, but I thought maybe they were there to say that:

 

 

 

I didn't want to have a problem, so I just got a photo of the favorite painting I saw on this visit:

 

 

That can be yours for $395.

 

No I didn't forget a decimal point.

 

I don't understand this at all.  Would a serious Star Wars fan want a painting of Stitch?  Does anyone like Stitch enough to pay $395 for a painting of him in a Star Wars costume?  Maybe Lilo would pay that, but would anyone else?

 

Sorry, but that's all the art photos I have.  I will need to go back.  And I will.  Hopefully, before this TR is over.

 

The art is relegated to the back corner here.  The main space is devoted to displays of all kinds of Star Wars gear that I would imagine you can't find anywhere else.  For example, if you want, you could get yourself this little Jabba the Hut:

 

 

He's only $29.95:

 

 

I could have looked around some more, but Twin #2 and I wanted to go get in line to meet a couple of the exclusive Star Wars characters, so we headed out.  There were already folks lined up at the registers with overflowing baskets of merchandise they intended to buy.  I don't know what Disney paid to get the Star Wars franchise, but they are easily going to turn a huge profit on that deal.

 

These displays of Star Wars junk, which are at the exit of the store, are new for this year:

 

 

 

 

I didn't notice the Star Wars writing on that box in the last photo. I should have gotten a better photo of it- there are geeks on this board who could have translated those letters for us.

 

Overall, I would say this new location is a good upgrade.  It's easier to get to.  I was surprised to learn that this big soundstage was here.  I think it used to be part of the Who Wants to be a Millionaire set.  I thought that all that space got used for the TSMM ride, but it obviously didn't.  There's enough space here for some kind of attraction.  Someone ought to get going on that.

 

Also, one thing I didn't mention is that at the entrance, they have photo op's where you can use your smart phone and an app you have to download to take photos with virtual characters. It sounded interesting, but I'm not real keen on downloading any more Disney apps on my phone.  They suck up a lot of power.  Plus who knows what kind of data mining Disney will do on your phone?

 

From here, we headed toward Star Tours.

 

There's the mermaid statue from the movie Splash.  No clamshells:

 

 

The line to meet Darth Vader wasn't too bad, but we weren't planning to meet him today, so we pressed on:

 

 

We headed up an almost empty New York street:

 

 

The San Francisco street was empty:

 

 

Looking the other way down the New York street:

 

 

Any Osborne Light fans reading along may find those photos interesting.  It's weird to see these areas empty like this.

 

I'm not sure if you can make out the time on the clock in the background of the last photo, above, but it's wrong.  That clock is slow- it was 8:14 when I took that photo.  The park has only been open for 14 minutes, and we've done TSMM and Darth's Mall.  I feel sorry for the guests who showed up at 8 and are just now getting started.

 

Hey look down there- it's a Storm Trooper crossing the road:

 

 

Why did the Storm Trooper cross the road?

 

To get to the Sci-Fi Drive In, where guests are forking over $60 to eat breakfast with the same characters that they could meet for free out here in the park.

 

Brilliant.

 

We headed up the street, and around the corner, and found the queue we were looking for.  We were here:

 

 

We were standing in the queue to meet Chip and Dale dressed as Ewoks.  There was just one male solo traveler in the line ahead of us.  It was 8:17 am.  The helpful CM on duty told us that the chipmunks would be out at 8:30.  Cool.  If you look at that last photo- in the back center- you can see Chewbacca- he had already started his meet and greet, I guess at 8.  If meeting Star Wars characters is important to you, you could go to the Chewie line first, meet him, and then head over to this line, and have very little wait.

 

The nice thing about this area of the park in the morning is that it is shady and cool.  We were very comfortable waiting the 13 minutes we would have to wait to meet the chipmunks.  This queue also provides a good view of the guests waiting to go in to the Sci Fi for their character breakfast.  If you ever wanted to know who would lay out the money for this expensive breakfast, you can see for yourself.

 

See those guys over there in the cargo shorts?:

 

 

Take a closer look at their head gear:

 

 

Do you see those visors?

 

Are they a thing?

 

The reason I ask is that I had just seen a little clip on a news station last week of the girlfriend of that racist basketball team owner, Donald Sterling.  Some paparazzi were stalking her, and got footage of her walking around with a visor like that pulled over her face.  I remember thinking to myself: "What the Fort is that thing she's wearing?"  And now, these guys are sporting the same look.  Have I missed a fashion trend?  I mean, those guys look like they know what's what. Am I right?

 

So, here I am minding my own business, and look who comes strutting by.  I love this photo-check out the CM over there on the right.  Do not miss the raised eyebrows:

 

 

Slave Leia had a question, and much to the male CM's dismay, a female CM stepped up to offer help and pointed Leia in the right direction:

 

 

How is that one for you, Troll?

 

Meanwhile, back in the Chip and Dale line, Padme spotted Leia and is giving her a disapproving death stare.  Padme's husband and the dude with the stroller seem to like what they see:

 

 

Here's one more Slave Leia photo (for informational purposes only) for the male Fiends reading along:

 

 

As advertised, the chipmunks arrived at 8:30.  The male solo traveler in front of us was ecstatic.  I wanted to video him, but Twin #2 was mad about all the Slave Leia pics, so I didn't.

 

Then it was our turn:

 

 

How do you like my #1 Dad t-shirt?  The girls gave it to me for Father's Day.  I got a lot of compliments on it. 

 

As we had been standing there waiting, I notice how quickly the Chewbacca line moved, and I convinced Twin #2 that we should do that next.  And we did:

 

 

Since we were in the area, we decided to visit Endor next:

 

 

 

 

Star Tours was a walk-on.  We walked through the queue without stopping, right up to the loading area.  Not bad.

 

We need to stop here because I'm at the photo limit.

 

Next, we ride Star Tours, and then head over to Tower of Terror.

 

Then it's parade time!

 

Fair warning-if you are offended by Slave Leia photos, you may wish to avert your eyes from the next update, because, believe it or not, we ran into her again.  Now that I think of it, maybe she was following me.

 

TCD

[dblr....Rennie 224]

 

Hopefully, I will be able to meet-up with you at the Fort in July, and we can compare notes. For all I know, your friend's daughter could be one of Twin #2's roommates or coworkers.

 

TCD

 

That would be great to have a meet up in July, I was thinking the same thing about them being roommates or coworkers, we did hear our friend is supposed to have gotten placed in Frontier Land but not sure where in there.

[Helmsey......Todd 134]

I'm in!
Congrats to Twin2!

[Beckers 1,136]

That would be great to have a meet up in July,

Just don't wear your Gettysburg FF shirt or TCD will ignore you :rofl2:

Is the Slave outfit even okay with Disney's dress code? I thought bikini tops were a no no?

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

I think you know I teach high school. I also keep in touch with many students after they graduate high school and college. Guess which ones get jobs quickly out of college... The ones who have done internships! It's a smart move. Businesses want young people with fresh ideas, but completing successful internships shows that kids know how to work hard.

 

I think Leia is following you. You have made all the Fiend men very jealous. 

 

I bet Katman translates the part of the box we can see. Wasn't he one of the people who did it before? 

 

I bet the wait for StarTours gets crazy on these weekends. 

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

He might but is at work right now. Maybe later.

[jmaul 65]

Every time I read "Darth's Mall", it reminded me of my nickname from another job.  You know my last name is Maul.

 

Love the Emperor Stitch.  I have to make sure Harry & K Bear don't see that...they'll try to make me buy it.

 

Where's the mermaid fountain located?  I do not recall going by it.

 

Thank you for showing us Slave Leia's other Disney side.  She wears that red MB very well......

 

Looks like Chip is trying to steal the show in the photo.

 

I saw the "#1 Dad" shirt on a website some months ago.  Always thought it was cool.  You wear it well.  Be proud.

 

Jeff (Darth) Maul

[WannaBeImagineer 98]

I'm late but still page 3 I mean 4!

 

Congrats to the TCD twins, they are having a great summer.

 

Did I ever tell yall when I was a freshmen in college I was accepted into the College Program?  I think I was going to be a greeter to people as they exited buses at the parks.  As appealing as that sounds I turned it down.  It's already been discussed and I agree, I did not like the idea of missing a semester of college or the fact that your pay barely covered your living expenses.  That just wasn't for me.  I chose to do summer internships that were in engineering, and the pay was MUCH better.  For a hospitality degree, though I'm sure a Disney internship would look pretty good on a resume.

 

Later in life I found out about the Disney Professional Internships, if I would have known about those in college I definitely would have gone for that instead.

 

On a side note, one of the project managers I worked with during my first internship is now my boss at a totally different place from where we worked 13 years ago.  It's all about making connections and staying in contact!

 

WBI

[dblr....Rennie 224]

 

I bet Katman translates the part of the box we can see. Wasn't he one of the people who did it before? 

 

I think he is to busy trying to see if that Camaro will pull their pop up.

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

I think he is to busy trying to see if that Camaro will pull their pop up.

Nope. Trying to decide whether Sil or Jedi gets to ride in it!

[dblr....Rennie 224]

Nope. Trying to decide whether Sil or Jedi gets to ride in it!

And here I was being nice!!!!!!!!

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

Lets be honest if I bought a camaro and didn't let Sil ride at least never mind drive I would be living out of the camaro in short order. If I survived. Lol

[dblr....Rennie 224]

I think what would really happen is Sil would drive and think about letting YOU ride along!!!

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

I think what would really happen is Sil would drive and think about letting YOU ride along!!!

True but the thought of that much car in her hands frightens me.

[Grumpy and Grandma 739]

That's awesome, Dave.  Are y'all going to be there for the 24 hour event tomorrow? 

 

TCD

Nope, we're heading to Denver today. Don't think we're missing anything and the reason will be in my TR.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Leia is definitely following you.

At least it is the 1983 version following you and not the 2014 version.

[Lou... 3,118]

 

Hey, look, there's an animatronic Admiral drinking out of a Storm Trooper stein! :

 

 

I'm planning to go over next week and endure the geeks, the nerds, and the strange people dressed in costumes, so that I can buy this years SW trinket. I'm thinking that Storm Trooper stein might be it.

 

The line to meet Darth Vader wasn't too bad

 

 

Does that guy getting DV's autograph realize that there is a CM making $8 an hour inside it and not the real fictional character from a movie about a fictional time and place?

 

See those guys over there in the cargo shorts?:

Take a closer look at their head gear:

 

I bet one of those guys is Kelly's Josh.

I'm thinking that those guys are wearing those visors because they're laser proof?

 

Meanwhile, back in the Chip and Dale line, Padme spotted Leia and is giving her a disapproving death stare. 

 

Hey, if the idiot nerd guys can dress up in a plastic costumes pretending to be real Storm Troopers, then the girls who can fit all of themselves into a Princess Leia slave costume are ok by me. That particular Padme, not so much.

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

 

 

I didn't notice the Star Wars writing on that box in the last photo. I should have gotten a better photo of it- there are geeks on this board who could have translated those letters for us.

 

 

What is visible translates as Mandalore by the way. 

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Kelly's Josh.... Lou is funny. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

That would be great to have a meet up in July, I was thinking the same thing about them being roommates or coworkers, we did hear our friend is supposed to have gotten placed in Frontier Land but not sure where in there.

 

I think there's a good chance we will be around for the 4th.  I'll let you know for sure if that is going to happen.

 

I'm in!

Congrats to Twin2!

 

Thanks.

 

Just don't wear your Gettysburg FF shirt or TCD will ignore you :rofl2:

Is the Slave outfit even okay with Disney's dress code? I thought bikini tops were a no no?

 

OK, rub it in.  I actually do feel bad about it.

 

I guess Slave tops aren't the same as bikini tops?

 

I think you know I teach high school. I also keep in touch with many students after they graduate high school and college. Guess which ones get jobs quickly out of college... The ones who have done internships! It's a smart move. Businesses want young people with fresh ideas, but completing successful internships shows that kids know how to work hard.

 

I think Leia is following you. You have made all the Fiend men very jealous. 

 

I bet Katman translates the part of the box we can see. Wasn't he one of the people who did it before? 

 

I bet the wait for StarTours gets crazy on these weekends. 

 

Internships are kind of an expectation now I guess.  I think it's a win/win thing.  More of a win for the employer who gets free or cheap labor.

 

Believe it or not, the lines for rides, including Star Tours, are very manageable on the SWW's.  Most of those in attendance are there for the special events and character meetings.  It helps a great deal with wait times.  I'd bet Toy Story is close to a walk on when the daytime parade is going on.

 

He might but is at work right now. Maybe later.

 

You and Devores are the go-to Jedi's for any Star Wars box translations.  I will try to get a better photo of the box before the SWW's are over.

 

Every time I read "Darth's Mall", it reminded me of my nickname from another job.  You know my last name is Maul.

 

Love the Emperor Stitch.  I have to make sure Harry & K Bear don't see that...they'll try to make me buy it.

 

Where's the mermaid fountain located?  I do not recall going by it.

 

Thank you for showing us Slave Leia's other Disney side.  She wears that red MB very well......

 

Looks like Chip is trying to steal the show in the photo.

 

I saw the "#1 Dad" shirt on a website some months ago.  Always thought it was cool.  You wear it well.  Be proud.

 

Jeff (Darth) Maul

 

I didn't realize that your last name was actually Maul.  Cool.

 

That Mermaid Fountain is near the entrance to the Backstage Tour.

 

I'm late but still page 3 I mean 4!

 

Congrats to the TCD twins, they are having a great summer.

 

Did I ever tell yall when I was a freshmen in college I was accepted into the College Program?  I think I was going to be a greeter to people as they exited buses at the parks.  As appealing as that sounds I turned it down.  It's already been discussed and I agree, I did not like the idea of missing a semester of college or the fact that your pay barely covered your living expenses.  That just wasn't for me.  I chose to do summer internships that were in engineering, and the pay was MUCH better.  For a hospitality degree, though I'm sure a Disney internship would look pretty good on a resume.

 

Later in life I found out about the Disney Professional Internships, if I would have known about those in college I definitely would have gone for that instead.

 

On a side note, one of the project managers I worked with during my first internship is now my boss at a totally different place from where we worked 13 years ago.  It's all about making connections and staying in contact!

 

WBI

 

I do remember you mentioning this.  I wouldn't have done it either.  I'm sure it's a lot of fun, but they work those kids pretty hard for not a lot of pay.  Since Twin #2 would have to do something like this up around Tallahassee anyway, I think she's making a good choice to put in her time at Disney.

 

I think he is to busy trying to see if that Camaro will pull their pop up.

 

Uh-oh- I think a hijack is coming.

 

Nope. Trying to decide whether Sil or Jedi gets to ride in it!

 

Nice Camaro hijack guys!

 

Nope, we're heading to Denver today. Don't think we're missing anything and the reason will be in my TR.

 

I will be interested to read about that.

 

Have fun in Denver.

 

What a trip you're having!

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Leia is definitely following you.

At least it is the 1983 version following you and not the 2014 version.

 

LOL.  1983 v. 2014 version. 

 

Twin #2 and I actually watched a bit of episode VI to prepare for our visit (she likes the ewoks).  You want to know something- that 1983 version Leia isn't as good as I remembered.

 

I'm planning to go over next week and endure the geeks, the nerds, and the strange people dressed in costumes, so that I can buy this years SW trinket. I'm thinking that Storm Trooper stein might be it.

 

 

Does that guy getting DV's autograph realize that there is a CM making $8 an hour inside it and not the real fictional character from a movie about a fictional time and place?

 

 

I bet one of those guys is Kelly's Josh.

I'm thinking that those guys are wearing those visors because they're laser proof?

 

 

Hey, if the idiot nerd guys can dress up in a plastic costumes pretending to be real Storm Troopers, then the girls who can fit all of themselves into a Princess Leia slave costume are ok by me. That particular Padme, not so much.

 

Man, that is some funny stuff!

 

I wish you would participate in trip reports more often.

 

I LOL'd at your swipe at that unfortunate Padme.

 

What is visible translates as Mandalore by the way. 

 

I hate to ask, but what is Mandalore?

 

Kelly's Josh.... Lou is funny. 

 

Yes.  I chuckled at that too.  And the laser-proof comment.

 

TCD