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Hello all,

What a perfect afternoon. The weather was a bit cooler than its been (low 80s dropping down to the low 70s by the time we left). The crowds felt solid at both parks, but wait times were not unreasonable except for a couple of Disneyland mountains (Space and Splash were both around 2 hours). The loss of DCA's coaster has not effected wait times much. Tower was listed as 20 but looked less. Soarin was under an hour as was GRR the couple of times we walked by.

Jason

Trip logs and mileage reports are in the Park Miles section.

Disneyland (and a couple DCA notes too):

• Friday was the last day for the College Band (found this out after seeing the first show at Carnation) so made it a point to watch all the sets of the evening. This is a great group of talented musicians from across the country for those who do not know. Their director for almost the last 30 years is Dr. Art Bartner (who is also in charge of the USC Band FIGHT ON!!).. anyways.. found out Friday was his last day too. He is retiring and will not be returning to Disneyland next year. The band just will not be the same without him... The crowds at all their sets were larger and more energetic than usual including a good showing of Disney managers even. At the Flag Retreat Art was presented with the US Flag that flew over the park Friday, what a great tribute. I have seen several dozen flag retreats over the years and never seen Disney do this before, wonder how many times they have.. anyone know?
  
  
• Encountered what we think is a new Fastpass rule. I picked up a Fastpass for Buzz upon entering the park. It was good for around 5-6 and said I could get another Fastpass after 4:35. Nothing new here. So I went on my way for the afternoon and on my way to the 5pm College Band set (which I was late for so it was probably about 10 after 5 already) I stopped by Buzz to get another fastpass. It printed out a ticket saying I could not get another one for the same attraction until after 7:15. That supervised me. I could get one for another attraction at 4:30 but not the same for almost 3 hours later. That's a new rule I think. I have never experienced that restriction before. Anyone know what the policy is now?
  
  
• Club Buzz played host to the Fab Four Friday night. They put on an incredible show to a full house. The most people we have seen at Club Buzz in years. For those who do not know the Fab Four our a Beatles Tribute Band and from what I hear they are among the best in the country. I am not a huge Beatles fan, but do enjoy many of their hits. The production that was mounted was the most advanced I have seen at Club Buzz. They brought in their own mixing board, props (applause, on air signs, etc..) as well as a projector/camera that were all used in the show. The premise of their show was it was a taping of the Ed Sullivan show. So Ed came out to introduce the band and they rolled through nearly 45 minutes of chart topping Beatles music in an extremely energetic set that had Tomorrowland rocking. All in attendance really seemed to be enjoying the set including Goofy, Chip, Dale, and a wide range of guests and Disney CMs even.

  Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for Club Buzz.. bands that pack in the crowds on Friday nights... I miss the days of Elvis, Neil Diamond, Barrage and more that used to be draws in their own right for the stage.

  The 10pm set was themed around Srgt. Pepper and consisted of a difference play list, costumes, etc.. we have received a couple emails/comments that said this set was as entertaining as the first. We are sorry we missed it but as it was leaving at 10pm for home got me in bed around midnight. a very long day considering I was at work by 6am..
  

• For Remember we tried something new, instead of queuing up 45 minutes to show time on Main Street (we could not since we were at the Fab Four set instead), we found a seat on the ground in front of Small World to check out the projections. We really enjoyed the show. The projections were surprising clear and interesting. I found myself watching them and ignoring the fireworks that were going on to the left and behind us. Overall I thought it was a great addition to the show and very entertaining. I wish there would/could be some fireworks directly behind Small World to really add to the show, but its still interesting the way it is. Would I recommend this to a first time viewer, no, would I recommend this to someone who has seen the show before or for one reason or another could not get onto Main Street, definitely. I think the show does loose something when viewing it this way, but its a different kind of experience.
  

• Over at DCA there were quite a few guests roaming the park, but the wait times seemed minimal at best for summer, especially when you consider one of the parks high capacity Thrill rides is out of the line-up for the foreseeable future. The park felt fairly flat again to us. I do not know why either.. even the pre-parade for Block Party Bash which we heard while exiting just seemed to be happening but no jolt of energy. Maybe its us, but that is the impression I got while walking around. Not sure why either.. I really tried to put a finger on it and could not.

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