46

Yesterday was simply magical. I had no way of knowing that I would be able to reach 46 rides in one day. Forty five was the record I set last year on a Saturday in September. I thought that was a record  that would be hard to break. Boy, was I wrong. 

The day started out great. I was able to come in with the Extra Magic Morning guests at 7:00am. Only guests that stay at The Disney Hotels can come in that early. But sometimes, they let those who do not stay at the hotels come in also. If the crowd is not too big. 

I arrived at the ride at 7:20am and turned 4 laps before the regular guests came in at 8am. When I took my first break at 9:10am I already had 8 laps. Then at about 1:30pm I turned my 25th lap to reach 3900. I started taking photos with the Pit Crew as I also kept riding. By my next break at 3:30pm, I had 30 laps for the day. After 38 laps, the ride went down for about 20 minutes. A single car went bad. The car was by the disability load area of the ride. This was at 7:07pm. After lap 42, I asked the Leads Ryan and Aubrey if I could ride with The Pit screw after they cleared all guests from the ride. They told me if they were able to clear the queue quickly, it might be possible. So after I got out of my car at 10:00pm, they grabbed the cast members that were close by, if they wanted to ride with me for lap 46. They jumped at the chance. Teressa took charge and put herself, Alessa and Teddi in the front row. I was in the back row with Zeina. And turned lap 46. A new 1 day record on Radiator Springs Racers. 

That is always my favorite laps at Racers. Getting to ride with my Pit Crew friends. They are the spark that fires my desire to reach 5000 laps by the end of the year. Of course the next stop is 4900. I hope I can ride with the cast members on that big lap.

The 46th lap for the day,

Some of the 3900 cast member photos:

Aubrey and Kelsey

Brittany and Jordan

Catalina and Allison

Cameron

Carlos and TJ

Alejandra

Kimmy

Ruth

The 3900 lap photo

1000th lap this year.

I was feeling a little charged when I arrived at Radiator Springs Racers Saturday night. I just watched American Pharoah win the Belmont Stakes and become the first horse since 1978 to win the Triple Crown. So it wasn't until I got out of the car,  that I noticed it  was my 1000 lap of the year. Not that big of a deal when I have a bigger number to reach: 5000 all time by the end of year.

But I will never forget my 1000 lap from last year. It was the beginning of this crazy adventure.

One of The Leads of the day, Eddie O., wanted  me  to keep telling him or Eddie C., when I was getting close to 1000. Didn't really know why, but I told him when I was on lap 999. Once they saw what car I got in, they tagged the car. So after the race, the car was pulled into the GWD area of the ride. A bunch of the Pit Crew members were there waiting for me. As I got out of the car, they said, " we hear you have 1 more lap to reach 1000". Five of the cast members got in the car with me. They even mentioned that we were in Red 1. Which is the John Lassiter car. So it was by chance I was in this car for lap 1000. The Pit Crew in the car with me were Ruth C. and Carlene B., in the front row and Eddie C, John G., and  Andres  L. In the back row. We lost the race. That did not matter. After, we took pictures with the cast members and they gave me a Piston Cup Trophy, A drawing of the ride, drawn by the members of the Animation Academy, and a Cars art piece that Eddie C. made.  I was happy to just ride with the crew. Everything else was a bonus. Which I will always be grateful for.

I could of stopped there. Not me. That was the boost I needed to continue turning laps. A few of the Pit Crew even told me, they were glad I did not stop.

My favorite laps at Racers will always be the ones with my Pit Crew family. A few times, I've gotten to ride with them on their days off from Racers. 

So as I race towards 5000, I will always remember that 1000 lap and how it all started the fun times at Racers for me. Getting to know, ride with, and taking photos with my Racer family. Ka Chow.

All photos left to right:

Eddie C., John G. And Andres L. in back row.

Ruth C., myself and Carlene B. In front row

Art piece made by Eddie C., Piston Cup Trophy, and drawing by Animation Academy signed by Pit Crew members

Cian, Eddie, John, myself and Carlene

Back row me and Pit Crew member Catalina.

Front row Pit Crew members Carol, Yeseina and Carlene

2000 lap car with back row of Catalina, me and Katie. Front row of Ruth and Carlene.

The first lap of 2015 after reaching 2400 laps for the year

Back row of Sonjia, me and Jared. 

Front row Marc, Carina and Arleen.

3000 lap with Carlene B, on her day off. She is the one with the Tigger Ears.

Me with former cast member Katie H., and her husband Glenn H.

Finish Line Bridge and stats for this year

Walking in the single rider queue can be both adventurous and challenging. Former Radiator Springs Racers cast member, Sherri Bordeaux, joking called the queue, The Jon Hale Expressway. It sure can be when only a few guests are waiting in the line. But there are also times when it can slow to a crawl. Everything is great when the wait is under 10 minutes. But over 25 minutes, can get a bit draining. I'm referring to the section of the line from the Finish Line Bridge to Merge (where the Single rider, Fastpass and Standby lines meet up). This is what I like to call the "No Cast Member" section of the line. I get a little anxious not being able to see The Crew.

  I also get a feeling of being boxed in when all 3 lines are packed under the Finish Line Bridge. It can be a bit uncomfortable at times. I want to get by this part of the line as fast as I can. Luckily I've never been under the bridge during a ride shutdown. 

The one comment I keep getting from the Pit Crew is " I don't know how you do it". I sometimes don't know how I do it either. Maybe it's my competitive nature. Growing up, I played on basketball and softball teams that always seemed to win. So I do not want to lose trying to reach my goal for this year. And the Pit Crew always help keep me on track. I've really been blessed knowing this group of cast members.

 I now have a Fitbit band to see how much walking I do at Racers.

The first list of stats for this year.

At 1054 laps so far this year.

533 wins and 521 losses

By lane of race:

Luigi 519 times and record of 272 wins and 247 losses

Ramone 535 times and record of 261 wins and 274 losses

By color of car:

Red: 169 record of 97-78

Teal: 154 record of 69-85

Purple: 146 record of 79-67

Silver: 142 record of 74-68

Green: 120 record of 59-61

Yellow: 116 record of 65-51

Blue: 105 record of 54-51

Cranberry: 102 record of 42-60

Winning record on Luigi's side and colors : Red, Purple, Silver, Yellow and Blue.

Losing with colors Teal, Green and Cranberry.