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BGW4SC · 06-22-2008, 03:32 PM

We went to DCA Friday night (June 20) for the sole purpose of riding TSMM. We arrived about 6:30 PM, walked to the attraction only to learn it had just gone down. California Screamin' went down too and they had to evacuated guest off the ride. We watched the cast members evacuate the guest from the first hill right after the linear induction launch. We didn't actually see the ride stop but we figured it must have been abrupt for the cars to stop that low on the hill after such a fast start.

We decided to walk around DCA and get some dinner instead of waiting in line for an attraction that may not open. One of the cast members told me that they wouldn't open TSMM until CS was back online. So we stayed in the Paradise Pier area and watched to see when the cars on CS were returned to the station. CS was cleared around 7:30 PM and we returned to TSMM only to find people waiting in line and the CMs telling everyone that the ride was still down and that they had no idea if it would be back up before the park closed.

We decided to walk around some more and look for a good spot for the Electeical Parade. We found an open spot on the parade route near Golden Dreams. It was about 8:35 PM and I decided to walk over to TSMM to check on the status. The ride had started to run again so we abandoned the parade hurried over to TSMM. It looked like we could walk on the ride because there was a big gap between the last person in line and the CM working the entrance to the cue area. That's when we realized the cue area extended across the walkway next to the launch area for CS. The CM working the real end of the line said it would be about a 90 minute wait from where we were standing. Turns out the wait was less than an hour.

TSMM is an awesome ride. IMHO one of the best rides ever. I picked up the feel for the game quickly and scored 122,000 with 30% accuracy my first time. The others in my group scored 74,000 and 37,500 with accuracy in the 30% range. Unfortunately, DCA closed while we were in line for the ride so we couldn't go on it again. But being an AP holder I knew I could come back Sunday and ride it again.

So I woke up early this morning and headed to DCA. I thought I could out smart everyone by going to breakfast in the Grand Californian and then use that entrance to beat all of the chumps at the entrance plaza. So at 9:55 AM I walked to the Grand Californian entrance to DCA only to have a CM inform me that this entrance is for DLR hotel guests only. Oh the humanity. So now I was on a power walk to the main gate hoping to compete with all of the people I was trying to out smart. The lines at the entrance to DCA were very short and I was in by 10:05 AM. I walked to bridge that takes you to Paradise Pier and noticed a long line of people. I thought to myself, "Hmmm, must be some pin event..." Until I got to the top and could see the line went past all of the shops and was headed towards TSMM. My heart sank and I turned around to walk to the end of the line hoping that for some reason they hadn't let the guests into the cue area. No luck. I talked to the CM patrolling the end of the line and he said it was a 3 to 3 1/2 hour wait from this point. I asked him what the patterns have been for the line all week and he said that so far the lines have died down to about an hour by 2:00 every day.

I decided that I didn't want to stand in the sun for three hours so I decided to get some exercise and walk around. Mr. Potato Head was worknig today (he was behind the curtains Friday night) so I stopped and watched him for about 10 minutes. He is very entertaining and I was impressed by his antics. He can pull his ear out of his head and put it back again. That's a good trick for a robot. He interacted with the guests which made it that much more fun.

I'm thinking about going back tonight to try my luck again but I might just wait until mid week when the crowds are a little lighter.

06-22-2008, 03:32 PM	#107 (permalink)
BGW4SC Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 65 My Mood:	We went to DCA Friday night (June 20) for the sole purpose of riding TSMM. We arrived about 6:30 PM, walked to the attraction only to learn it had just gone down. California Screamin' went down too and they had to evacuated guest off the ride. We watched the cast members evacuate the guest from the first hill right after the linear induction launch. We didn't actually see the ride stop but we figured it must have been abrupt for the cars to stop that low on the hill after such a fast start. We decided to walk around DCA and get some dinner instead of waiting in line for an attraction that may not open. One of the cast members told me that they wouldn't open TSMM until CS was back online. So we stayed in the Paradise Pier area and watched to see when the cars on CS were returned to the station. CS was cleared around 7:30 PM and we returned to TSMM only to find people waiting in line and the CMs telling everyone that the ride was still down and that they had no idea if it would be back up before the park closed. We decided to walk around some more and look for a good spot for the Electeical Parade. We found an open spot on the parade route near Golden Dreams. It was about 8:35 PM and I decided to walk over to TSMM to check on the status. The ride had started to run again so we abandoned the parade hurried over to TSMM. It looked like we could walk on the ride because there was a big gap between the last person in line and the CM working the entrance to the cue area. That's when we realized the cue area extended across the walkway next to the launch area for CS. The CM working the real end of the line said it would be about a 90 minute wait from where we were standing. Turns out the wait was less than an hour. TSMM is an awesome ride. IMHO one of the best rides ever. I picked up the feel for the game quickly and scored 122,000 with 30% accuracy my first time. The others in my group scored 74,000 and 37,500 with accuracy in the 30% range. Unfortunately, DCA closed while we were in line for the ride so we couldn't go on it again. But being an AP holder I knew I could come back Sunday and ride it again. So I woke up early this morning and headed to DCA. I thought I could out smart everyone by going to breakfast in the Grand Californian and then use that entrance to beat all of the chumps at the entrance plaza. So at 9:55 AM I walked to the Grand Californian entrance to DCA only to have a CM inform me that this entrance is for DLR hotel guests only. Oh the humanity. So now I was on a power walk to the main gate hoping to compete with all of the people I was trying to out smart. The lines at the entrance to DCA were very short and I was in by 10:05 AM. I walked to bridge that takes you to Paradise Pier and noticed a long line of people. I thought to myself, "Hmmm, must be some pin event..." Until I got to the top and could see the line went past all of the shops and was headed towards TSMM. My heart sank and I turned around to walk to the end of the line hoping that for some reason they hadn't let the guests into the cue area. No luck. I talked to the CM patrolling the end of the line and he said it was a 3 to 3 1/2 hour wait from this point. I asked him what the patterns have been for the line all week and he said that so far the lines have died down to about an hour by 2:00 every day. I decided that I didn't want to stand in the sun for three hours so I decided to get some exercise and walk around. Mr. Potato Head was worknig today (he was behind the curtains Friday night) so I stopped and watched him for about 10 minutes. He is very entertaining and I was impressed by his antics. He can pull his ear out of his head and put it back again. That's a good trick for a robot. He interacted with the guests which made it that much more fun. I'm thinking about going back tonight to try my luck again but I might just wait until mid week when the crowds are a little lighter.