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Looking for a cast member to get into WDI

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Looking for a cast member to get into WDI
lemec

lemec

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I am coming to LA next Friday and was planning on making the big sweep of DLR/DCA, then up to DSF and ideally WDI. Having never been there it is a long hot, but I didn't know I'd there were any cast members who could help me out in getting in. I am coming up the 5 from San Diego so I can supply the ride or just meet. What time doesn't matter, I am available win you are Friday 1/14/2011. I am planning on sticking around in the OC area until PTN starts also. Thanks for looking!
 
If you are planning to leave San Diego Friday morning to go to DL, DCA, DSF, and WDI, it will be very hard to accomplish all your pin stops on that one day.

You would want to leave San Diego by 6 am - remember there are many marine/naval bases between San Diego and Anaheim besides the regular commuter traffic. Be at Disneyland for rope drop; I would park in Downtown Disney and take the monorail into Disneyland - it drops you off in Tomorrowland. Go to the Little Green Men store to buy pins. Walk across the hub to get to the Westward Ho store to buy pins. Leave DL and enter DCA; Go to Condor Flats to buy pins at the pin store across from Soaring. Exit DCA through the Grand Californian hotel and walk through Downtown Disney to buy pins at Pin Traders. Notice no rides or shows! Walk to your car to exit . If you leave before noon, there is no parking fee, since the CMs don't man the booths before 12:30 pm.

You would drive north on the 5 to Los Angeles and then on the 101 to Hollywood and the DSF to buy pins. After that, you could drive 101N to 134E to Burbank and buy pins at the Disney Employee Center inside the old Disney Channel building. Then, you would drive 134E to the 5S over to Glendale to visit the Mickey's of Glendale store on the WDI campus. After that, you could drive south on the 5 to return to DLR for the PTN at the Paradise Pier Hotel. Remember, the Disney Fan Club is sponsoring a pin trading night on Saturday at the Crowne Plaza Anaheim hotel.

Those of us who are SoCal natives would be hard pressed to accomplish all of these pin stops on a good day with little or no traffic! You are trying to do this on a Friday and on a Friday of a three day holiday weekend! You will have heavy traffic on the 5 North from San Diego to Anaheim; heavy traffic on the 5 North from Anaheim to Los Angeles; and heavy traffic on the 5 South from Glendale to Anaheim. It is too bad that you can not make the DFC sale on Sunday morning. The Jan and July DFC sales are the usual opportunities for most people to buy WDI pins. I would reconsider what your priorities are for this trip.

PM me, if you need freeway exits and street names to get to DSF, DEC, or WDI
 
I'm not a SoCal local, but we've had friends in the past tell us to avoid the 5. They gave us directions, I *think* the 57, up to the 210, and take that over to WDI. On a map, it looks like you are going way out of your way, but time wise it was faster. You can take the 134 to the 101 to get between WDI and DSF. This was a couple years ago, so traffic might have changed to make the alternate route not as fast. When we used to do it, in between WDI and DSF we would stop at the Studios in Burbank too.
 
I would take you, but I'm hitting WDI on Tuesday.

If you want, I could take you to Company D/Team Center near Disneyland on Friday. (It's not DSF or WDI, but still has some good merchandise)
 
I used to live in Alhambra, so my travel would be a little less jammed having commuted from there to OC for a year of residency. I'm used to the traffic. I figure the trip to DSF would be easiest by taking the Red Line from the Flower street entrance and parking downtown LA. Then I can/could head over to WDI from downtown, maybe using Chavez to get there past the train station. I guess the trip back to DLR would be the nastiest. Maybe the 710 is less crowded? At least until you hit the 91?
 
Wdwjuan, if things don't work out, that would be awesome. I'm hoping someone can do it. But I know it's a LONG shot, lol.
 
Driving is going to be faster than taking the Red Line from Flower to Hollywood and back. I do both on a regular basis, and driving, even on a weekend, is going to be considerably quicker.

-JD
 
Really? Wow, with traffic being so bad around that exit I figured the Red Line would be quicker...what make the Red line so slow? I used to take it from Union to the flower exit when I went to School and it was the best way to catch the f-dash
 
I really haven't encountered much traffic lately once you get downtown - it's the highway itself that kills you. The Red Line simply takes a while to arrive in most cases, since service is split between the Red and Purple lines. I don't know, I've only lived in this city about a year, so maybe it was different before, but in my experience, driving from Flower to the Highland center is incredibly easy, while the Red Line could see you waiting ten minutes for a Purple Line train, getting off, and waiting another ten for the Red Line train. Not to mention the actual transit time in between the waiting.

-JD
 
latraffic.jpg


I say you should still drive it.
 
lemec said:
Maybe the 710 is less crowded? At least until you hit the 91?
Click to expand...

Since you have had experience with SoCal traffic, I would suggest the 110(Harbor) to the 91 OR the 110 to the 405 to the 22. The other north-south freeways (the 710, the 604, and the 57 usually have Sig-Alerts on Fridays). I would recommend listening to KNX 1070 radio, since they give traffic reports every 5 minutes during the commute times!

Hopefully, we all can meet each other at the PTN at Paradise Pier on Friday or at the Crowne Plaza on Saturday.
 
I live in Simi & have been taking the 405 S to the 105 W to 605 W to the 91 S to the 5 S because there are car pool lanes up until I switch over to the 91S & that helps ALOT with traffic. I know it sounds like alot of switching freeways, but it's alot faster than taking the 5 S all the way. Good luck on your pin quest Lemec!
 
Originally posted by weRsiamese
I live in Simi & have been taking the 405 S to the 105 W to 605 W to the 91 S to the 5 S because there are car pool lanes up until I switch over to the 91S & that helps ALOT with traffic. I know it sounds like alot of switching freeways, but it's alot faster than taking the 5 S all the way. Good luck on your pin quest Lemec!
Click to expand...

We call this way the "secret way" at my house. I live in Thousand Oaks and this way has shaved off hours before. I love it. But it is only good if you have more than one person to go in the carpool lane.

I totally vouch for this way. :)
 
snazzybowtie said:
We call this way the "secret way" at my house. I live in Thousand Oaks and this way has shaved off hours before. I love it. But it is only good if you have more than one person to go in the carpool lane.

I totally vouch for this way. :)
Click to expand...

I drove & took a friend with me & she was all "how did we get here so fast?". I also like going that way because there are so many options to get around traffic & yes, 1070 AM is a MUST on all Disney trips!
 
We'd take that route too when comin from my sister-in-laws, she's in Thousand Oaks, I still hate driving up that hill into the valley...brutal. I guess if things got too hairy, and I only had one option, I'd abandon the other inbetwren stops just to get to WDI considering the difficulty of getting in for the average Joe. DSF would come way behind for me, lol. Thanks for reminding me of all the fun with traffic I've been missing for the last 5 years.
 
1070am, thanks, other than a few or the FM stations I'd forgotten my AM traffic stations.
 
weRsiamese said:
I drove & took a friend with me & she was all "how did we get here so fast?". I also like going that way because there are so many options to get around traffic & yes, 1070 AM is a MUST on all Disney trips!
Click to expand...

We are in Simi also and always take the 5 S the whole way (or sometimes in a rare while the 210). It's average on a good day about an hour and 15 for us taking the 5. How much quicker is your route?
 
I wish you luck in finding someone to take you to WDI, I asked a few months ago when they had the big friends and family event and no one was willing. I even got a real nasty response like I had no right even asking, it took a D23 member to take me and they only get in like twice a year. I'm very thankful, but the CMs didn't want to help at all. Wdwjuan, that's so awesome of you to offer to help. I wish someone had done that for me. And getting into Company D, that's very cool. I'm a little jealous.

As for the trip, if you can find someone to take you, I would do the Hollywood/Glendale part first and then do Disney on the way back since Disney will be open much later than WDI or DSF. I live down the street from DSF and you are better off doing it earlier in the day before Hollywood goes nuts. If you come down here anytime after 4 on a Friday, expect to get stuck, because in addition to traffic you also have people going out and that gets crazy.
 
Patronus said:
We are in Simi also and always take the 5 S the whole way (or sometimes in a rare while the 210). It's average on a good day about an hour and 15 for us taking the 5. How much quicker is your route?
Click to expand...

It all depends on that thing we all love so much here-traffic! I think having the carpool lanes really helps alot or at least it feels like it does since you'll be moving when other lanes are at a dead stop. I like taking that way because you can take a few different ways to the 5 if you run into traffic & once you are on the 5, you're stuck. I havent really timed it, but know last time we took the 5, we wished we had gone the other way.
 
Ya the plan is to go in the opposite direction of the flow hopefully, but I know on Fridays rush hour starts at 11am, lol. A huge thanks to WDWJuan for allowing
Me this opportunity!
 
rubyslipperedgoddess said:
I wish you luck in finding someone to take you to WDI, I asked a few months ago when they had the big friends and family event and no one was willing. I even got a real nasty response like I had no right even asking, it took a D23 member to take me and they only get in like twice a year. I'm very thankful, but the CMs didn't want to help at all. Wdwjuan, that's so awesome of you to offer to help. I wish someone had done that for me. And getting into Company D, that's very cool. I'm a little jealous.

As for the trip, if you can find someone to take you, I would do the Hollywood/Glendale part first and then do Disney on the way back since Disney will be open much later than WDI or DSF. I live down the street from DSF and you are better off doing it earlier in the day before Hollywood goes nuts. If you come down here anytime after 4 on a Friday, expect to get stuck, because in addition to traffic you also have people going out and that gets crazy.
Click to expand...

I felt bad that no one helped you. I hope to get in myself one day, and if I do, I will let you know!!! If you can't make it, I can take your order. lololol

Although this is an AWESOME forum, it is open to the public, so there will be a few people who are not real Disney lovers like the rest of us, so cheer up because most of us would have helped, given the means and opportunity.

Also, sorry for the nasty response you received! It was probably from someone who is not even on here anymore. :)

Have a very happy day!
 
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