It's The End of the World as We Know It-The TCD Gang's Last Fort Trip (BC)

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Update time!

 

We left off with the Wookie.

 

Now it was Chipmunk time.

 

We crossed the street and got on the Chip and Dale queue.  It was 8:19 am.

 

The line had not grown much while we met the Wookie.

 

We were about 10-15 people back.

 

Very good.

 

Remember, according to reports from the previous week, this line was an hour plus all day.  The Chipmunks have never been Ewoks before.

 

According to the intel gathered from the folks in line, Chip and Dale would be out promptly at 8:30.  So ten minutes before the line would begin to move.

 

Not a problem  We were in the shade, and it felt like it was in the high 60's/low 70's.  No complaints from me.

 

Gave me a chance to take a look around.

 

Look over there- someone is charging his smart phone:

 

 

At 8:19 am.

 

Why would someone's phone be dead at 8:19 am?

 

I'll bet it belongs to one of those geniuses who waited in line all night to meet a guy who wears so much makeup in one of the Star Wars movies that you can't recognize him in person.

 

Hold on,

 

I feel something coming over me.

 

What?

 

It's a Troll Rant^TM!

 

I hate "smart" phones.

 

They are a blight on society.

 

And they are especially a blight on the theme park experience.  It has become an epidemic.  Everyone has a smart phone. Even old people like me who don't know how to use them.  And well over 50% of park guests walk around with their heads down looking at the damned things.  And well over 90% of that 50% cannot successfully walk and look at their smart phones at the same time.  So, we have slow walkers.  And walkers who run into things-like other guests looking at their smart phones.  And the worst of all- walkers who suddenly stop right in front of the people behind them to text or take a call.  And dummies who try to push giant strollers loaded with half of everything they own plus maybe a kid or two and simultaneously try to read their emails.  And the worse than all of that is the fact that Disney encourages this.  They have just installed charging stations in the MK.  They offer to charge your phone at guest relations.  The new Fastpass technology that they are about to unleash relies heavily on smart phone aps that they want guests to download and use.

 

I dislike.

 

Intensely.

 

I tell you, sometimes I want to grab the phone out of the hands of some idiot who stops in front of me and hurl it into the nearest fake body of water.  One of these days, I'm going to do it.  There is an endless supply of idiots, and many fake bodies of water from which to choose.

 

If you want to look at your damned smart phone, get out of the way and sit down someplace you idiots.

 

Thank you.

 

OK, Troll Rant^TM  off.

 

Sorry about that.

 

I don't know what came over me.

 

But, I'm glad that I cleared the air.

 

Now, where were we?

 

Oh, yes, in the line to meet the Chipmunks.

 

Speaking of idiotic things. . . why should we be in this line?

 

It's not like we haven't met these guys a zillion times.

 

But, never in those zillion times have we met them in their Ewok costumes.

 

That is why we are here.

 

To pass the time, I looked at the other guests in line to see if there was anyone I could photograph and make fun of in my trip report.

 

I didn't have to look far.

 

Just ahead of us, there was someone with an umbrella, ella, ella.  It was not raining.  And we were in the shade.  This guest, whose gender I could not determine at the time, also was toting a Chip and Dale bag, and had made the effort to be one of the first in line to meet them.  Note the big camera.  I will need to keep an eye on him/her:

 

 

After we had been in line for 10 minutes, Chewie took a break, and walked past all the suckers guests who had not had the foresight to line up early like the TCD gang did:

 

 

I like how he saunters past the guests waiting in the long line.  Like he's taunting them almost.  I could almost hear him laughing at them.  He's gotten to be pretty condescending in his old age.

 

And no sooner had Chewie made his exit then the Chipmunks made their entrance:

 

 

It was 8:29.  Right on schedule.  Very good.

 

Here's our fist look at Dale:

 

 

Some people in front of us were super excited.  They said the Chipmunks were dressed as ______________ and ______________!  I had to put blanks there, because I can't remember, nor do I care to remember what exactly they said.  Apparently, some of the Ewoks in the Star Wars movies had names, and Chip and Dale were dressed as two of them.  I'll bet there is at least one person reading this who knows those names.  If you do, please provide them.  That will help make my report complete, and will have the added benefit of exposing you as a Star Wars geek.  I will need the services of a Star Wars geek in a future update, as I have a bit of text that will need to be translated from that weird Star Wars language.  This is important, so please speak up if you can be of service.

 

Upon the arrival of the 'munks, the umbrella person ahead of us in line put down his umbrella and got ready to meet the 'munks.  I could now see that this was a small Asian man, and he had not one, but two Chip and Dale bags he was carrying.  And he is what we call a Solo Traveler.  You have to keep and eye on those Solo Travelers:

 

 

Our line immediately began moving along very nicely.  The Chewie line just continued to grow while Chewie was backstage pounding beers and hoovering cigs.

 

 

We were in position to see the little Asia Solo Traveler's encounter with Chip and Dale.  The dude was geeked!:

 

 

 

The guy gave the Chipmunks some cards that looked like they could have been postcards, or which could have been photos of himself in Chipmunk gear, or something even worse than that- we couldn't tell, but you can see that the chipmunks have something in their paws there in that last photo above.  I should have videoed this whole thing.  Fail.

 

He look, it's a young Princess Leia!  :

 

 

Sorry, but you need to do some work on those roots, girlfriend.

 

Somewhere in this time frame, Chewie came back out smelling of beer and reeking of  smoke, and the folks in his line felt a little better.  At least these people were in the shade.  Later in the day, this line is in the blazing sun.  And there will be guests who stand in the blazing sun for over an hour to meet Chewie, who will be quite wasted and smelling pretty badly by then:

 

 

As we waited our turn, the little Asian Solo Traveler walked by with his Chip and Dale bags and Lafonda:

 

 

 

And check it out- Lafonda has a fake Duffy.

 

So, this little Asia dude was not a Solo Traveler after all.  The dude gots game.  And long pants and an umbrella.  Interesting.

 

Before we knew it, it was our turn to meet those crazy chipmunks.  They interacted with the girls, who admired their raggedy costumes and accessories.  One of them had a sling shot that he was quite proud of:

 

 

 

Group shot!:

 

 

Done!

 

And, now it was time to cash in those Toy Story Fastpasses.

 

You see how it's done?

 

We've been in the park for not quite an hour, and we've ridden the most popular ride once, met Chewbacca and the Chipmunks, and now would be riding that ride again.  It would take hours to do that later in the day.  And that is no exaggeration.

 

Even one of those expensive guides in the plaid vest or the fake guides with the fake Guest Assistance Card couldn't do this for anyone.

 

As we headed back toward Toy Story Midway Mania, the girls suggested a quick detour to take a look at the new meet and greet set which will be used for the Monsters University meet and greets all summer.

 

The meet and greet area is the same on where guests used to meet Mike and Sulley, but it had been rethemed to promote the new movie:

 

 

 

 

I loved this touch:

 

 

The monsters would not be out until 10 am.  Amazing that there were people waiting for over an hour to meet them at the MK just the night before last, and here, there was not a person in sight.

 

We made a note to come back and check on this line later, as the girls would like to get a photo of Mike and Sulley in their college gear.  Mike has a retainer and everything!

 

For now, though, our Fastpasses were burning holes in our pockets.

 

We passed the line for the Fett brothers (are they brothers?) :

 

 

That line wasn't so bad yet, but we had no time for that.

 

We headed on over to Toy Story, where the stand-by wait time was now 50 minutes, and people were still streaming in.  Note the family blocking the Fastpass entrance.  They were engaged in a lengthy discussion with the CM there about the Fastpass system.  They obviously had never heard of it, and had not the first clue how it worked.  So, like hundreds of other idiots who have blocked Fastpass entrances before them, they got their Fastpass education right there.  How is this even possible?  Fastpasses have been around for over 10 years now, and I'm pretty sure every guide book out there, official and unofficial must have at least a page or two discussing this topic.  No?  But, I don't think a trip has ever gone by where we have not at least once encountered this very scene:

 

 

That last photo was taken at 8:46 am.  This one was taken at 8:53:

 

 

We wasted six minutes with that detour and the line blockage, but not too shabby.  We are now on our second Toy Story ride, and the park has just been officially open for an hour.

 

On some days, I would have run all the way over to Rock N Rollercoaster and gotten Fastpasses for it at 8:40 am before heading back to Toy Story to cash in our Fastpasses, but we weren't going to stay all day in Hollywood Studios, and we were going to take a breakfast break, so I didn't do that today.

 

But that meant that we had to go to Rock N Rollercoaster after Toy Story.

 

Away we go.

 

I spied this good old boy on the way:

 

 

You know what would be fun?   If somehow I could have set up a meeting between the little Asian Chip and Dale fanboy, and Bubba here at the end of the day and ask them to tell me the highlights of their visit to Hollywood Studios.  Man, that would be an interesting conversation.

 

The plan at Rock N Rollercoaster was for the girls to grab us some breakfast sandwiches from Fairfax Fare, and I would go get the Fastpasses and then join them and we would eat.

 

I got the Fastpasses no problem, but came back to find the twins still waiting in line.  There was some kind of problem at Fairfax Fare this morning.  But the line was moving.  Just really slow:

 

 

I tried to get a photo of that guy with no sleeves shirt, but he turned at the last moment.  The shirt says Camping is In-Tents:

 

 

You know what?

 

T-shirts are almost as interesting as tattoos. 

 

Do you ever wonder why someone chose to wear a particular t-shirt to a theme park where thousands of people will see it?  Take Bubba whom we saw on the way to Rock N Rollercoaster- why does he want to wear that shirt to Hollywood studios?  And this guy with no sleeves- what's this deal?  Why does he even own that shirt?

 

I don't know.

 

Hey, look- it's Tower of Terror:

 

 

This isn't the most appealing photo I've ever seen of a breakfast sandwich, but it's the only one I have:

 

 

Those breakfast sandwiches are the bomb dot com, and we enjoyed them thoroughly.  Sometimes, when we are back this way, we'll ride Tower of Terror standby while we wait for our Rock N Rollercoaster Fastpass return time.  But the stand-by time was unusually long today (over an hour already).  I also suggested to the girls that we go back to the big merchandise tent and meet some of the characters they have in there, but they weren't feeling that either.  We had about an hour until our Fastpasses would be good, so they said let's go check the tip board and pick something to do for that hour.

 

We headed to the tip board.  This is how things looked at 9:40 am:

 

 

70 minutes for Toy Story.  We had already ridden it twice.  90 minutes for Rock N Rollercoaster.  I had Fastpasses for it in my pocket.  70 minutes for Tower of Terror?  That is odd.  But, no way.  50 minutes for Star Tours?  Really?  At this time of day?  We were not buying that at all.  The girls said let's go to Star Tours and see for ourselves.  I said fine.

 

On the way there, I noted how guests were already claiming spots for the 11 am parade at 9:40 am.  This side of the street in the shade was getting pretty full, but there was space just up the street a bit where we could get a front row seat:

 

 

We could have claimed a great spot, and chilled there for an hour and 20 minutes and had a great spot to watch the parade.  But, nobody really wanted to do that.

 

Instead, we headed to Star Tours.

 

That 50 minute wait time had to be inflated.

 

They do that all the time lately for some reason.

 

We will soon find out.

 

But, for now, we have reached the 30 photo limit, so that will need to wait until the next update.

 

And, it looks good for that to be up later today.

 

TCD

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

Nice Rihanna reference.

 

The sleeveless t-shirt guy looks like Stiffler.

 

Lafonda=Napolean Dynamite

 

"You gonna eat your tots?"

 

With regard to the Fetts....

 

Jango is Boba's father.....sort of....Boba was cloned from Jango.

 

With regards to weird Star Wars speak....I can't help you there.

 

My Star Wars geekdom only goes so far.

[ftwildernessguy 778]

I can speak Pig Latin and Bubba.

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

One of the chipmunks is dressed as Wicket who was played by Warrick Davis who is a regular appearance at star wars weekends and one of the people the fan boys may have waited in line for. He was also in Willow and Leprachaun and Star Wars episode 1 for those who were paying attention. For some reason I am drawing a blank on the other ewok character but I am not ashamed to fly my geek flag!

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

One of the chipmunks is dressed as Wicket who was played by Warrick Davis who is a regular appearance at star wars weekends and one of the people the fan boys may have waited in line for. He was also in Willow and Leprachaun and Star Wars episode 1 for those who were paying attention. For some reason I am drawing a blank on the other ewok character but I am not ashamed to fly my geek flag!

he is also in several of the Harry Potter movies

[ftwildernessguy 778]

I was gonna say the other one was dressed as Duffy.

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

he is also in several of the Harry Potter movies

Right. I knew I was forgetting something he was in.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Love the graduation pics!!!

Good job on the stampede! You guys are pros.

I hope the Asian guy doesn't know about the marshmallow roast.

[BuckeyeFortFan 35]

1.  Nice rope drop work.  BFM and I are proud of you.

2.  Leia and Padma are definitely strong in that video, but...I am still Anti-Hyperspace Poopla!

3.  Hoping for more Nerd bashing today!

[Santa ... Shannon 160]

Oh! I know, I know. One of the Ewoks is Wicket... The little guy who first befriended Leah after her speeder bike crashed. I have no idea the other ones name.

And no, Boba is Jango Fett's off-spring/cloned-self-son kinda thingy.

Hope I was first o answer. I left mid-update to chime in ASAP!

Edited to add: FIGGY-PUDDING! Late to the show again!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Y'all can banter back and forth about the names of Ewoks or the progeny of the Fett family....what I really want to know is:  Does that sandwich have TWO layers of egg and sausage??

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

Y'all can banter back and forth about the names of Ewoks or the progeny of the Fett family....what I really want to know is:  Does that sandwich have TWO layers of egg and sausage??

 

Upon further review.................the receiver did not have control of the ball through the entirety of the process of the catch....

 

Oops. Lions flashback.

 

Sorry.

 

I meant yes.  Yes it does.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Nice Rihanna reference.

 

The sleeveless t-shirt guy looks like Stiffler.

 

Lafonda=Napolean Dynamite

 

"You gonna eat your tots?"

 

With regard to the Fetts....

 

Jango is Boba's father.....sort of....Boba was cloned from Jango.

 

With regards to weird Star Wars speak....I can't help you there.

 

My Star Wars geekdom only goes so far.

 

Well, you have a mixed bag here, Aaron.

 

Good job on catching the Rihanna and Napoleon Dynamite references.

 

But I didn't know who "Stiffler" was.  I was kind of afraid to google it.  But I did.  It's Stifler. Just one "f."  And Mrs. TCD prohibited me from seeing American Pie or any of its sequels, so I am not familiar with this character.  So fail.

 

And I knew Boba and Jango were clones and not brothers- just trolling for Star Wars geeks.  I am glad to hear you geekdom only goes so far.

 

 

I can speak Pig Latin and Bubba.

 

As impressive as this is, you are of no help to me in the situation that we are about to encounter.

 

But I will file this information away for future reference.

 

One of the chipmunks is dressed as Wicket who was played by Warrick Davis who is a regular appearance at star wars weekends and one of the people the fan boys may have waited in line for. He was also in Willow and Leprachaun and Star Wars episode 1 for those who were paying attention. For some reason I am drawing a blank on the other ewok character but I am not ashamed to fly my geek flag!

 

OK, Wicket.  That sounds right.  There's still another one though. 

 

Check this out:

 

 

 

If someone could get their hands on that magazine, I think we would have our answer.

 

One of you nerds reading along needs to step up.

 

I don't have time to be doing Ewok research.

 

Plus, I really don't care.

 

he is also in several of the Harry Potter movies

 

Wow.  That guy got around.

 

I was gonna say the other one was dressed as Duffy.

 

That is as good an answer as I have gotten so far.

 

The Star Wars nerds are failing big time.

 

Right. I knew I was forgetting something he was in.

 

Yeah, right.

 

Like you didn't know.

 

Love the graduation pics!!!

Good job on the stampede! You guys are pros.

I hope the Asian guy doesn't know about the marshmallow roast.

 

Thanks for the compliment on the graduation pictures.  I should have disclosed that I did not take them.  As I may have mentioned before, TCD Twin #1 was photo editor of the yearbook.  The yearbook crew for next year is charged with taking photos at graduation.  All of next year's staff was managed by Twin #1 this year.  It was funny to see this from our nosebleed seats.  The twins looked like they were being stalked by paparazzi.

 

LOL!  I would pay money to see that little Asian guy at the campfire!

 

1.  Nice rope drop work.  BFM and I are proud of you.

2.  Leia and Padma are definitely strong in that video, but...I am still Anti-Hyperspace Poopla!

3.  Hoping for more Nerd bashing today!

 

Nerd bashing?

 

It's like shooting fish in a barrel at Star Wars Weekends.

 

Where does that saying come from?

 

Has anyone ever actually shot a fish in a barrel?

 

Or even seen a fish in a barrel?

 

Oh! I know, I know. One of the Ewoks is Wicket... The little guy who first befriended Leah after her speeder bike crashed. I have no idea the other ones name.

And no, Boba is Jango Fett's off-spring/cloned-self-son kinda thingy.

Hope I was first o answer. I left mid-update to chime in ASAP!

 

Thanks, but you got beat to the punch.

 

Use the force and find out the other one's name!

 

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Y'all can banter back and forth about the names of Ewoks or the progeny of the Fett family....what I really want to know is:  Does that sandwich have TWO layers of egg and sausage??

 

I knew that photo would catch your attention!

 

And yes, two sausage patties and two egg-like things.

 

This is our go-to breakfast stop at a DHS rope drop.

 

TCD

[Santa ... Shannon 160]

Best guess is the other one is Chief Chirpa, based on all the fancy accoutrements on his hoodie. Yub-yub!

Just as a sad side note: did you realize that in the wake of the Death Star's destruction that the Endor moon would have been laid waste by billions of tons of falling debris? I hope the Rebels would have had time to relocate at least some of the Ewoks, lest the race become extinct!

[ftwildernessguy 778]

Are these Ewok things you speak of edible?

[devores 382]

Yall can bicker about the chipmunks. The Asian guy is Lee. Yes, we know him. He is what we call a character stalker. The things handed to the chipmunks were pictures of them from Tokyo Disneyland of them in Kimonos. He also had some for the other characters that same weekend. He is not alone though, he does travel with a few others. They have been here for a few months and come all of the time.

 

Chip and Dale are big in Japan and sometimes trumps the mouse himself in popularity.   

[Lou... 3,118]

Just as a sad side note: did you realize that in the wake of the Death Star's destruction that the Endor moon would have been laid waste by billions of tons of falling debris? I hope the Rebels would have had time to relocate at least some of the Ewoks, lest the race become extinct!

 

Shannon, it's a made up  story. It didn't really happen.

[Santa ... Shannon 160]

One of the chipmunks is dressed as Wicket who was played by Warrick Davis who is a regular appearance at star wars weekends and one of the people the fan boys may have waited in line for. He was also in Willow and Leprachaun and Star Wars episode 1 for those who were paying attention. For some reason I am drawing a blank on the other ewok character but I am not ashamed to fly my geek flag!

We just saw him the other night in Jack the Giant Slayer (um, wait, I'd probably rather not let everyone know I watched that movie... Oh well)

[caveat lector 181]

Am I the only one wondering if those manhole covers on the streets of NY are functional?

Btw, nice job channeling the Troll

[Santa ... Shannon 160]

Shannon, it's a made up  story. It didn't really happen.

Now you're just being silly, Lou. Andrew just posted pictures of himself with Chewbacca!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Best guess is the other one is Chief Chirpa, based on all the fancy accoutrements on his hoodie. Yub-yub!

Just as a sad side note: did you realize that in the wake of the Death Star's destruction that the Endor moon would have been laid waste by billions of tons of falling debris? I hope the Rebels would have had time to relocate at least some of the Ewoks, lest the race become extinct!

 

Chief Chirpa?  You made that up, right? 

 

What do you mean Endor got destroyed?  Wasn't there a big party at the end of Return of the Jedi where they all celebrated?  Wasn't that on Endor?

 

Are these Ewok things you speak of edible?

 

Considering it is you asking the question, I'll say yes.

 

Yall can bicker about the chipmunks. The Asian guy is Lee. Yes, we know him. He is what we call a character stalker. The things handed to the chipmunks were pictures of them from Tokyo Disneyland of them in Kimonos. He also had some for the other characters that same weekend. He is not alone though, he does travel with a few others. They have been here for a few months and come all of the time.

 

Chip and Dale are big in Japan and sometimes trumps the mouse himself in popularity.   

 

Character stalker?

 

What the Fort?

 

The dude has been there for a few months?

 

Wow!

 

Shannon, it's a made up  story. It didn't really happen.

 

Lou, do you really think you are going to get very far saying that to a man who thinks he's Santa?

 

We just saw him the other night in Jack the Giant Slayer (um, wait, I'd probably rather not let everyone know I watched that movie... Oh well)

 

I don't care if you watched a movie called Jack the Giant Slayer.

 

I've never heard of it.

 

Am I the only one wondering if those manhole covers on the streets of NY are functional?

Btw, nice job channeling the Troll

 

I never thought about the manhole covers being functional.  But, I'll check for you the next time I'm there.

 

Thanks for the Troll compliment.  I hope Troll reads this.

 

Now you're just being silly, Lou. Andrew just posted pictures of himself with Chewbacca!

 

You see what I mean, Lou?

 

TCD

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

Best guess is the other one is Chief Chirpa, based on all the fancy accoutrements on his hoodie. Yub-yub!

Just as a sad side note: did you realize that in the wake of the Death Star's destruction that the Endor moon would have been laid waste by billions of tons of falling debris? I hope the Rebels would have had time to relocate at least some of the Ewoks, lest the race become extinct!

According to the books some of the debris did survive re-entry but not enough to cause real damage. The empire however retaliated for the Ewoks assistance and early wiped them out...all of them.

Sorry couldn't resist

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

Shannon, it's a made up story. It didn't really happen.

Next you'll trying telling me Santa isn't real and that Mickey at the parks is just a person in a costume.

I didn't buy it when that 7 year old told me that and I won't buy it now.

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

I happen to have that "Camping is In-Tents" shirt and just for the record, it came with sleeves.