Surrounded by Swashbuckling Pirates: The Sarcastic's Voyage to Disneyland

[PirateFish989]

Welcome and Introduction: Meet the Sarcastics

Hello and welcome to my trip report! This is my first trip report so we'll see how it goes. There are so many amazing writers on the Boards who set the standard pretty high. I have decided to write this trip report now (even though it happened in May!) because, well, I have time. I will be a freshman at UC San Diego this fall and I don't start until September 27. As I have no life until then, I may as well occupy myself somehow.

First off, let me tell you what you can expect to encounter in this voyage across the uncharted (and quite frankly frightening) territory of Southern California called Los Angeles to our final destination, Disneyland (for 4 days).

1) A totally complete account (well, as complete as I can remember) of our trip to the Land
2) Witty and sarcastic remarks as well as quippy comments

Very well, you now have been warned about what will be included in this report. If you feel you can't handle it at any time, please, keep going...it might get better.

Shall we begin?

OUR MISSION:
The reason for out trip was to attend to Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End World Premiere at Disneyland (I suppose me might as well sneak in some park time, too). You see, there were two ways in which we could attend this event:
1) buy a $1500 ticket and see a private showing of the movie, one week before it comes out in theaters, with tons of celebrities and the other suckers who paid that ridiculous amount (now, don't get me wrong...all of the proceeds from these tickets went to Make a Wish Foundation, which is absolutely wonderful! But, puh-lease! $1500 to see a movie? And, okay, granted Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp were there, but still, $1500?! We can see it next week for $8)
2) Stand on the red carpet (well, next to it behind barracades) for 18 hours and catch a glimpse of a celebrity, maybe get an autograph.

So what did we do? You guessed it! We waited ALL DAY, in the sun, on the sidewalk on Main St., for a few measly pictures and an autographed park map. Now that's what I'm talking about. But more on that later.

So that's out reason for this trip. Let's move on to the introductions...

THE PLUNDERIN' CREW
Who exactly are The Sarcastics you ask? Well, let me tell you!

Me (Erin), 17, senior in high school (and NO! I did not get senioritis!) If you ask my mom, I have a snotitude but I just don't see it :rolleyes1 . I've been to Disneyland about 5 times in my life. When my family was planning our last trip (August 2006) I really got into Disney (thanks to Lisa...see below) and have been obsessed ever since.
My mom (Carol), older than me, a wonderful person. She is the mom everyone wants to have. She's fun, energetic (expecially in the morning :scared: ), is up for anything, makes some AWESOME cookies and pies, and makes sure no trip is complete unless we learn SOMETHING! (It's the teacher in her. Oh, and don't worry, we even learn something during this trip). Like me, she has been to Disneyland a handful of times, but is not as "into it" as me.
Lisa, 10 years younger than my mom, lives for Disney and Disney planning. She is probably the most sarcastic person I know and is just nice. Lisa is a Disney fanatic and her family has annual passes so they go several times a year to Disneyland. Of course, she has been to Walt Disney World.
Kailyn (Lisa's daughter), 10, fifth grade. The 3 S's apply to this darling girl - sweet, smart, and sarcastic. You just can't say enough good things about her. She is truly a pleasure to be around! When you live with Lisa, you can't help but learn all there is to learn about Disney, therefore Kailyn's knowledge is vast. She is also into theater arts.

You are wondering why we are called The Sarcastics. I know you are. As I said above, Lisa and Kailyn are sarcastic, but my mom and I are, also. On the Sarcastic-O-Meter (scale of 1-10, 10 being almost annoyingly sarcastic) we rate as follows:
Erin - 5 or 6
Carol - 7
Lisa - 9.25
Kailyn - 6 (she's still learning from her mother)

How did two families this different (age and interest wise) get to become friends? Well, several ways, in fact.
1) My mom teaches preschool, located at a church (NOT affiliated with the church, just located there, always has been) and Lisa works for the church. They obviously see each other at work.
2) Kailyn and I swim on the same recreational swim team, the Buccaneers (Coincidence? I think NOT! - think the Incredibles). My mom was the Head Coach of the Bucs for 8 years and coached Kailyn. I coached (Kailyn, actually) last year and Lisa was President of the team.

How did this trip come about?
It all started the day after Christmas, when I watched my new Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest DVD and became obsessed with everything Pirates. In the special features section, there is a segment on the premiere for the movie. After watching it the 4,000th time in 2 days, I looked at my mom and said "We have to go to the next one." My mom agreed and we discussed the possible choices of who to go with. The logical choice was Lisa ad Kailyn, knowing the are everything Disney freaks. My mom invited Lisa in early January, while at work, and Lisa immediately said "YES!" And so it began. The Sarcastics were born (more on planning later).

It was a mutual descision to introduce the rules, our Three Commandments, to live by. They are as follows:
1) NO MEN! NO EXEPTIONS! Men, especially the men in our families, just cause all sorts of complications when traveling (My dad turns in to Grumpy when on a Disneyland vacation. Apparently Mr. Lisa does too). And it's obvious - Girl's Rule, Dogs Drool.
2) No whining - this is in direct accordance with rule #1.
3) Eat as much crap (whatever you want, when you want, as much as you want) as humany possible without throwing up.

Up next: Chapter 1 - Planning (with pictures!)

Table of Contents (click to go to that post)
Chapter 1: Everybody Loves Planning (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20550192&postcount=5)
Chapter 2: It Takes Two (Extra Hours!) (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20590039&postcount=8)
Chapter 3: Harry Potter and the Smelly Shoes (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20648542&postcount=14)
Chapter 4: The Purple Badge of Courage (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20660942&postcount=20)
Chapter 5: The Kitchen God's Servants (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20678217&postcount=25)
Chapter 6: (Line) Angels and Demons (with no manners!) (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20741182&postcount=34)
Chapter 7: Digital Fortress (or Frustration) (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20785683&postcount=38)
Chapter 8: The Adventures of Alice in Wetland (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20858738&postcount=44)
Chapter 9: A Time to End (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20911287&postcount=51)

[eargal]

How refreshing to read about people who appreciate the wonder that is sarcasm rather than being confused and offended by it.

I'm strapped in and ready for the ride. I'm expecting good things. You promised pictures, don't think I didn't notice.
:cool1:

[Goofster57]

1) NO MEN! NO ACCEPTIONS! Men, especially the men in our families, just cause all sorts of complications when traveling (My dad turns in to Grumpy when on a Disneyland vacation. Apparently Mr. Lisa does too). And it's obvious - Girl's Rule, Dogs Drool.


:rolleyes: ….Women…..:rolleyes: ..........;)



Looking forward to hearing all about your trip and I also noticed the reference to pictures so don’t forget.

[PirateFish989]

Looking forward to hearing all about your trip and I also noticed the reference to pictures so don’t forget.

Thanks for joining in!!! I'm already working on my second installment w/ pictures!

How refreshing to read about people who appreciate the wonder that is sarcasm rather than being confused and offended by it.

Hello eargal!!! I love sarcasm! The world is just a better place when sarcasm in involved. I know so many people that just don't get it and it frustrates me! Thanks for reading my trip report. Chapter 1 is coming up soon (with pictures!)

[PirateFish989]

Chapter 1: Everybody Loves Planning

When we last left off, The Sarcastics had just been formed, the Three Commandments established and Lisa and Kailyn had agreed to join us on out voyage to Disneyland to witness the spectacle that is the Pirates of the Caribbean 3 Premiere. Now, keep in mind this was only January.

At the time, Disney had not released the date of the Premiere yet (or was there even going to be a Premiere this time?) So how could we plan if we didn't know when this event was going to happen. Well, Lisa, Planning Queen Extrordinaire, did some research and came up with a guess of when it would be - about one week before the movie was to be released to the public (which was May 25). So that puts us at the weekend of May 19. It worked out that both families were able to go then but that was the ONLY time we could both go. I couldn't miss too much school, this being my senior year and all, so middle of the week is out if we want to be there more than one day. I had my league swim meet for high school 2 weekends before May 19 that I ABSOLUTELY could not miss. Kailyn was in a play the weekend of May 12, so that was out too. So it needed to be the weekend of May 19 in order for us to go. We just had to wait until the release of the date.

Anyway, we decided we should make hotel reservations for Friday May 18 - Sunday 20 just in case. Lisa called the Grand Californian (being as georgous as it is, this was our first choice) and they were booked. Already? So she proceeded to the Disneyland Hotel - booked. Huh? It's only January! The Paradise Pier? Booked! What??!! So the moms had a discussion and we decided the Candy Cane Inn is out next choice. It is close (closer than the Disneyland Hotel) and is nice and they have a continental breakfast! So she calls and they have availability. Whew! So that's where we are staying.

Moving on...

Meanwhile, my mom and I went CRAZY while waiting. I became addicted to ebay buying Pirates stuff (don't worry, I've been through counseling and have overcome my addiction :thumbsup2 ). I purchased this rockin' beach towel with Captain Jack Sparrow and the beautiful Will Turner on in, which I have fallen in love with (the towel, I mean. Although, that Will Turner...)! My mom bought a Pirates fleece blanket with the Dead Man's Chest logo - very cool! I also bought the full size movie posters from the first two movies because "I just had to have them!"

It was till only February and we STILL didn't know when it was and if we were going. The waiting was getting to be unbarable! I couldn't even think about it because if I did my brain would explode with excitement, thinking of what it would be like. Would we get dreamed by the Dream Squad? Would the Dream Squad be giving out tickets to the Premiere (how cool would that be?) Would we meet Orlando Bloom (sigh), Keira Knightley and Johnny Depp? Would they invite us into the Premiere as their special guests? Also, I couldn't think about it because I didn't want to get my hopes up and then be crushed like a run over water bottle in the middle of the street if we couldn't go.

Finally, on a Saturday in early March, I was getting ready for swim practice when Lisa calls. Is this the call we've been waiting for? I am pacing up and down in my parent's bedroom listening to my mom's end of the call (now, I only have on my swim suit and my Uggs. If you have never witnessed this sight, well, I'll just leave it at that). All of a sudden my mom gasps, says "What?" and then screams "it's on May 19! We can go!" I jump around and run through the house (thankgoodness my dad and younger brother weren't home. They would have laughed). I almost hyperventilate. My heart is practically beating out of my chest. I wouldn't be suprised if you could see and hear it across a football field. So, I'm late for practice now, but WE CAN GO! I carefully mark how many weeks left on my Pirates wall calendar in my room and then go to practice (priorities!)

So after some of the initial excitement calms down a teeny tiny bit, The Sarcastics plan a "planning lunch." Unfortunately, not much planning went on. At one point, Kailyn says "Can we please get back to Disneyland?" you go Kailyn!

Here we are at Applebees (Lisa, Kailyn, me, my mom)
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesPlanning1/2007_0422Easter20070001.jpg

Here we are by the fountain outside Applebees (I laugh at Lisa's pose every time. My mom told her to lean in so she bent in half. Ha!) Fountains were supposed to be a theme for us, but you'll see how that goes.
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesPlanning1/2007_0422Easter20070002.jpg

Now were at Cold Stone Creamery.
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesPlanning1/2007_0422Easter20070011.jpg

Oh look, another fountain!
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesPlanning1/2007_0422Easter20070013.jpg

At this lunch, we did decide that we would be in the parks for 3 days - Friday, Saturday (Premiere day) and Sunday - and would be driving down Friday morning. We also decided we needed to make shirts for Friday and Saturday.

My mom and I, being us, decided (we sure do decide a lot) we needed Goodie Bags for each of us after we saw these little brown tote bags with Captain Jack on them for $1 each at Target. So we spent the next 2 months buying everything in sight that had to do with Pirates or Disney. But now our little Jack bags are too small! So what do we do? Well, we make our own, of course! My mom, the supreme seamstress (no joke! You should see all the patterns she has made herself for some of my most amazing Hallowen costumes...Snow White, a princess, a bride, a lion, the Queen of Hearts) whips these beauties out.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesPlanning1/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0002.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesPlanning1/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0007.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesPlanning1/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0004.jpg

and we assembled them, putting about $100 worth of stuff in each (Yes, I said $100. We had too much time to gather!) But this is what my mom and I do. Stuff like this.

So now it is the beginning of May - we're almost there! We meet again to make our shirts. We each are making 2 - one for Friday and one for Saturday. Our Friday shirts are yellow with various brightly colored Mickey Mouse fabrics in the Shape on Mickey's head on the front and have "Disneyland 2007" on the back. the Premiere shirts are while with skull and crossbones fabric and have a skull inside Mickey's head on the front and the same back as Friday's shirts but in different fabric. I wish I had pictures of these because they are too cute! You'll see them later though.

Here is an outline of our Plan:

Thursday (wait didn't I say we were leaving Friday? :rolleyes1 )
Leave Visalia at 1pm and stop by Starbucks on the way out of town (a tradition)
Drive down to Anaheim and arrive at the Candy Cane Inn between 4:30 and 5:00
Check out Downtown Disney and eat at the Rainforest Cafe (7:00 reservations)

Friday
Get to the entrance gates of Disneyland early early early!
Be the first in line and RUN to the rope drop
No other plans

Saturday - Premiere Day
Carol & Lisa get up early (3am) and go wait in line in order to get primo sports along the red carpet
Erin & Kailyn meet them there at 6:30 when park opens
Wait all day on Main St. until red carpet event begins at 5:30ish

Sunday
Begin at Disneyland at opening and then head over to California Adventure for its opening.
Finish at California Adventure and head back to Disneyland
Leave around 6pm and drive home.

I'm now counting down the days, hours and minutes until it is go time.

3 days left
2 days left
1 day left
10 hours, 23 minutes, 6 seconds left
6 hours, 45 minutes, 13 seconds left
1 hour, 5 minutes, 40 seconds left
20 minutes, 54 seconds left
1 minues, 1 second left...

And...

Coming up next: a SUPRISE, driving through LA and getting lost

Chapter 2: It Takes Two (Extra Hours!) (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20590039&postcount=8)

[eargal]

O.k. so far so good. :surfweb:
I love the sound of the plan.

[PirateFish989]

Eargal - it is nice to know that I am loved my someone! Thanks for reading. I'm planning on posting my next installment shortly. I'm working on getting the pictures to post smaller than the last ones, but we'll see how that goes!

[PirateFish989]

Chapter 2: It Takes Two (Extra Hours!)

Let's recap: We've (meaning Lisa, mostly) planned, made shirts, and spent a small fortune on Goodie Bags filled with almost the entire Disney Store and Target. When we last left off, we were counting down until we left, so let's continue.

Day 1: Thrusday, May 17, the Suprise!
As promised, there is a suprise. The moms and I had planned to leave Thursday (not Friday) so we could get a good portion of our souvenier shopping done early (HA!) and have dinner at the Rainforest Cafe and get to bed at a reasonable time as we wanted to be in line well before Disneyland opened the next day. But, Kailyn had NO IDEA! For the past two weeks, she had been wigging out about leaving Friday morning, thinking we would spend a good portion of the day in the car, not Disneyland.

This is where it gets good. We were going to suprise her by picking her up from school shortly after lunch (1:15ish) so I left school as soon as the bell for lunch rang. Of course, me being in a hurry, I hit every single signal red! I finally get home and hop in my mom's car that was ready and waiting. She had already picked up Lisa and all of Lisa and Kailyn's stuff so all I had to do was get in the car and we were off to suprise Kailyn at school.

We pull into the elementary school parking lot (which is about 45 seconds away from my house) and Lisa goes into the office to excuse Kailyn and page her to come to the office. We all wait by the office and we wait and we wait. Where is she? Her classroom is right there! We walk to get closer and stand at the end of the hallway. A classroom door opens and aha! Here she is! When she sees us all, she looks suprised and we say, as loud as a "school voice" allows, "SUPRISE! We're leaving for Disneyland now!"

We captured her reaction:

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay1/200705170001.jpg

We all get in the car and we're off! We decide to get lunch on our way out of town as we are all hungry and postpone our traditional Starbuck's stop until just before we reach the Grapevine. So, we go to get sandwiches at a little cafe located at the school district's library (wierd, I know, but good). Of course while we are in there, we tell the workers where we are going and they all get excited (well, except one who looked like we all had boogers smeared across out faces or were about to atempt to walk on a trapeze to New York).

We get our sandwiches to go and get in the car. My mom and I take this opportunity to hand out the much needed Goodie Bags. Lisa and Kailyn rummage through them and ooh and aah. And, finally, after 4 long months on agonizing waiting, we begin to head out of Visalia. Woohoo!! :woohoo:

Now, the ride down is only supposed to take about 3 - 3.5 hours. Supposed to. That puts us there between 4:30 and 5:00, plenty of time before we need to be at the Rainforest Cafe for our 7:00 reservations. Out trip to the Grapevine was pretty uneventful. Lisa read out entire Plan outloud as I couldn't wait a second longer to hear it. Kailyn read a book (how, I don't kow. If I even look at a book in a car I get queasy). AS planed we stopped at the Starbucks located at the rest stop just before the Grapevine. We all went to the bathroom and then ordered. I got a pastry of some sort. Kailyn got a yogurt parfait. Lisa got some tea thing and my mom got coffee (iced or hot, I'm not sure). So back in the car we go.

I put the Pirates 2 DVD in the DVD player in my mom's car for Kailyn and I to watch. Having seen it about 47 times in the last 4 months, I get bored fairly quickly and stop watching. I join in the conversation my mom and Lisa are having up front about books (we are all avid readers...note Kailyn's previous activity). The ride is going along swimmingly. I go back to the movie only when the part of Will and Elizabeth metting again on the little island to find Davy Jones' chest comes on, wishing some how I could transform into Elizabeth. Maybe Harry Potter will come along and I can convince him to transfigure me into her in front of the rest of the muggles in the car. Although this would complicate things drastically, was my two fictional worlds collide.

Anyway...

As I was saying, we were moving along well until all of a sudden we come to a creeping crawl before we reach Los Angeles. This continues the ENTIRE way until we reach Anaheim. I have two comments: 1) thank goodness Disney is so rich and pays their taxes so the city of Anaheim can have a mongo freeway, and 2) there are 9 freeways that corss I-5 in between the Grapevine and Disneyland. I counted.

We finally reach Anaheim (at 6:15, only about 1.5 hours behind schedule) and take the Disneyland Dr. exit. Somehow we get confused and instead of going straight on Disneyland Dr., we end up in the Mickey and Friends parking structure. We turn around, go back across I-5 and down Harbor Blvd. and into the Candy Cane Inn parking lot. Lisa checks us in while Kailyn and I explore the FOUNTAIN outside the lobby.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay1/200705170003.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay1/200705170002.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay1/200705170004.jpg

We get out room key and go to our room and unload the car.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay1/200705170005.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay1/200705170007.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay1/200705170006.jpg

It is now a little after 6:30 and our reservations at the Rainforest Cafe are at 7:00. We head out, grabbing our sweatshirts, and walk to Disneyland and the security tables. We pass through and cross the esplanade and enter Downtown Disney. On our way we walk quickly through the World of Disney, scoping out any possible things we want to buy (how about the entire store?), checking out the Pirates of the Caribbean section specifically (I'm looking for a very specific Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End shirt. It is black with the logo on the front, very plain, but exactly what I want. I don't even know if they make it. I just dreamed it up, probably). We then continue on the the Rainforest Cage (or Cafe) for dinner.

Coming up!
Chapter 3: VOLCANO! and a hidden Mickey.

Chapter 2: Harry Potter and the Smelly Shoes (Day 1 continued) (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20648542&postcount=14)

[Danauk]

Excellent trip report, I love your style of writing! Great pictures too, can't wait for the next part.

[Goofster57]

Erin,
Another great update :thumbsup2
Glad you made it to the hotel, I live here and still have to be careful on the I-5 exit at Disneyland Drive or I end up going the wrong way.

[PirateFish989]

Excellent trip report, I love your style of writing! Great pictures too, can't wait for the next part.

Hello and thank you! I try to write how I talk which can be difficult at times. I tend to talk with my hands alot so writing is difficult for me. I'm glad you are enjoying it and thanks for coming on board!

Glad you made it to the hotel, I live here and still have to be careful on the I-5 exit at Disneyland Drive or I end up going the wrong way.

Why must it be so confusing? But fortunately we made it unharmed with minimal amounts of raised voices.

[DisDancerina]

Nice, You guys seem to have a way with Fountains! I like the bags :love: Can I have one? :rotfl:

[PirateFish989]

Hey DisDancerina!! Thanks for joining in! The fountain thing doesn't last long, believe me!

[PirateFish989]

Chapter 3: Harry Potter and the Smelly Shoes
Day 1 continued

We've just arrived at the Rainforest Cafe after trekking through Downtown Disney, resisting the urge to stop at every store we see and being careful to not be lured in by the amazing smells coming from Wetzel's Pretzels and Ralph Brennans Jazz Kitchen, oh, and pulling each other away from the Pin stand.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay1/200705170008.jpg

Lisa checks us in and the woman at the front (was she in an elephant?) tells us to follow the footprints upstairs. So, we follow the footprints, as told, on the floor as they wind us through the entire gift shop (I guess they want you to do some shopping) until we reach the stairs. We climb the stairs and we see this:

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay1/200705170010.jpg

The host upstairs seats us at a table next to the kitchen door.

Lisa and I are facing the door (carefully camouflaged as jungle) and my mom and Kailyn have their backs to the door.
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay1/200705170009.jpg
Aren't we cute?

We look through our menus (they are huge! food wise that is) and order drinks. I don't know what everyone else got, but I got a Cookies 'N' Cream milkshake. Yum-O! and a water (as I don't like soda). We continue browsing our menus (they sure are big!) when suddenly

"VOLCANO!!!!!"

We all jump out of our seats about 8 feet as a waiter comes out of the kitchen with the largest dessert known to man. I'm not sure what it was but it was HUGE!!! The waiters/waitresses must be required to lift weights three times a week in order to carry these things.

We finally order. Lisa and I both get a pizza (with mushrooms, olives and sausage). Kailyn orders a cheeseburger and I don't remember exactly what my mom got but it did come with French fries. As we wait for out meals, it proceeds to rain (which is very cool if you've never experienced eating here before, like my mom and me).

Waiters keep going by out table into and from the kitchen. Lisa and I get the opportunity to see all the food coming out. "Oo, that looks good." "I wonder what that was? It looked good." My mom and Kailyn, having their backs to the kitchen, don't get to see freshly prepared food. They get to see mounds of half eaten steaks and chicken strips (haha!)

After several more VOLVANO incidents, our food comes. My pizza is ginormous! Why didn't I split one with Lisa? After all, we got the exact same thing. There is no way we can each eat our entire pizza. Anyway, my pizza is really good. Everyone else is enjoying their food too. Now I am a French fry lover (especially with ranch dressing) so I snuck a few of my mom's French fries (oddly, my pizza didn't come with French fries :confused3 ).

We are all stuffed but agree to get one small rootbeer float to split and then get dessert in Downtown Disney later. So here is our rootbeer float with four straws:

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay1/200705170011.jpg

Lisa and I box our half eaten pizzas to take with us to put in the mini-fridge in our room for later use (and they got used). We leave Rainforest Cafe and head to the other side of the walk way to the Lego store. On the way in, this little gem catches my eye:

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay1/200705170012.jpg

A Hidden Mickey on one of the lights on the ground! Pretty cool, huh? My mom wasn't convinced it was intentionally put there, but I don't know. Doesn't look like an accident to me.

We walk back through Downtown Disney checking out various stores and then go back to the hotel (without dessert).

To get into the spirit of this adventure...a window display in the World of Disney
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay1/200705170013.jpg

It is about 9:00 when we get back and it is Thursday night, so you know what that means? Grey's Anatomy Finale!!! My most favorite show ever, besides Gilmore Girls, of course. We watch that while Kailyn showers. Then, I break myself away to shower. When I come out of the bathroom, something smells...bad. It is atrocious! I don't say anything, not wanting to be rude, but I'm practically gagging. I run in the bathroom to relieve my olfactory system, by pretending to hang up my towel. I take a few big breaths, like I've just run a marathon. Do I dare go back out? I suck in a huge breath and open the door. I comb my hair but I'm running out of breath. Do I go back into the bathroom for no reason? It might be contaminated by now. Ahhh!!! :scared: I must have made a face because Kailyn says "What is that smell?" Ohh, thank goodness! She saved my life!

Lisa: "I don't smell anything."
Carol (giving her a "What do you mean?" look): "That's because you have very little sense of smell."
Kailyn: "Mom, it's your feet."
Lisa: "What do you mean? My feet don't smell."
Kailyn (sniffs feet, makes face): "Yeah, they do. And your shoes."
Carol: "Your shoes too? Ewww!"
Lisa (takes BIG whiff. We all think she will die): "But I don't smell anything!"
Erin: "It's bad! How could you not smell it"
Kailyn: "We need to put these outside. The smell will contaminate the room if we keep them in here." She saved my life again!

So out the shoes went (and windows open) and there they stayed, every night (I hope people walking by didn't die). Man, they smelled. Fortunately they weren't the shoes she was wearing to the parks. Anyway, this was a big joke during the rest of the trip. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of "the shoes." :sad1:

So at about 10:30, I start drying my hair (I hate going to bed with wet hair! And, my hair is naturally wavy/curlyish so if I don't blow dry it and straighten it every day, or night, it explodes if there is even a speck of moisture in the air - you've seen those Garnier Fructis commercials) and then straighten it. Lisa questions me. I tell her it will take me less time to get ready in the morning...ha! Yeah right! This is really a tedious process, but it is necessary if I want to look presentable.

At about 11:00 we go to bed. So much for going to bed early! We chit chat (sarcastically, of course) in the dark and laugh for a bit before we all fall asleep. Kind of like a sleep over!

Tomorrow is Disneyland!!!!!

Coming up in Chapter 4 - purple badges, a hitch in The Plan, the best fries ever, and singing birds :rolleyes2

Chapter 4: The Purple Badge of Courage (or something) (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20660942&postcount=20)

[eargal]

I took a nice long weekend to go camping and what do you know, TWO new installments. :thumbsup2
We had a bad shoe incident once with a friend of mine. We were tucked into a small cruise ship cabin and I thought I would die!:sick: Luckily, my husband has no regard for other people's feelings and told our friend right away that she had to take those shoes down the hall and throw them away.:lmao:

[Goofster57]

Great update, we hit Rain forest about 4 times a year.
You should have tried the Volcano it would be prefect for a party of 4.

Gota love those Wetzel Pretzel Bites too :thumbsup2

Chapter 3: Harry Potter and the Smelly Shoes
Day 1 continued
When I come out of the bathroom, something smells...bad. It is atrocious! I don't say anything, not wanting to be rude, but I'm practically gagging. I run in the bathroom to relieve my olfactory system, by pretending to hang up my towel. I take a few big breaths, like I've just run a marathon. Do I dare go back out? I suck in a huge breath and open the door. I comb my hair but I'm running out of breath. Do I go back into the bathroom for no reason? It might be contaminated by now. Ahhh!!! :scared: I must have made a face :rotfl: because Kailyn says "What is that smell?" Ohh, thank goodness! She saved my life!

Lisa: "I don't smell anything."
Carol (giving her a "What do you mean?" look): "That's because you have very little sense of smell."
Kailyn: "Mom, it's your feet."
Lisa: "What do you mean? My feet don't smell."
Kailyn (sniffs feet, makes face): "Yeah, they do. And your shoes."
Carol: "Your shoes too? Ewww!"
Lisa (takes BIG whiff. We all think she will die): "But I don't smell anything!"
Erin: "It's bad! How could you not smell it"
Kailyn: "We need to put these outside. The smell will contaminate the room if we keep them in here." She saved my life again!

So out the shoes went (and windows open) and there they stayed, every night (I hope people walking by didn't die). Man, they smelled. Fortunately they weren't the shoes she was wearing to the parks. Anyway, this was a big joke during the rest of the trip. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of "the shoes." :sad1:


:rotfl: :lmao: :rotfl:

[PirateFish989]

We had a bad shoe incident once with a friend of mine. We were tucked into a small cruise ship cabin and I thought I would die!:sick: Luckily, my husband has no regard for other people's feelings and told our friend right away that she had to take those shoes down the hall and throw them away.:lmao:

That shoe smell is just horrible! It makes me dizzy after a while :faint: . And on a cruise ship there really isn't any private place, unless you have a room with a balcony, to put them. Well, I guess a hallway in a hotel isn't really a private place either, but this hallway is outside so its not so bad.

Great update, we hit Rain forest about 4 times a year.
You should have tried the Volcano it would be prefect for a party of 4.

Gota love those Wetzel Pretzel Bites too :thumbsup2

Ok, what exactly is a Volcano??? I never really got a good view of one due to recovering from jumping out of my seat.

Ooohh, I LOVE Wetzel's Pretzels!!! Actually I love anything coated in sugar.

I'm glad you liked my shoe incident. It makes me laugh out loud when I think about it. I was hoping I could get that story across right because it could have turned into a you-had-to-be-there moment and that is not what I wanted. It really was funny and we still tease poor Lisa about it. And the shoes will make another appearance later.

Well, I hope to post my next installment later today!

[Goofster57]

Vanilla ice cream with chocolate brownie, whipped cream, chocolate sauce

They used to actually have a real sparkler on it, but I figure it was too expensive or someone got hurt so now it's a fake one.

Old Style
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t317/Goofy4you/Joke%20Pictures/114512862_af557eb3fa.jpg

New Style
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t317/Goofy4you/Joke%20Pictures/461843017_b16fa1cdc7.jpg

Either way Yummy

[PirateFish989]

Oh. My. Gosh!!!

That looks like heaven!!!!!

I like the old style better but either way. Yummmmmmmyyyyy!!!!! :thumbsup2

[PirateFish989]

Chapter 4: The Purple Badge of Courage (or something)

Day 2
We got up bright and early. My mom and I first, as we each have a hair ritual (even though her hair is quite short). I had to straighten my hair, again, which didn't last to long. I don't even know why I bother. We were all dressed and ready to go by 7:30. We stopped by the continental breakfast and grabbed something to eat (the Candy Cane Inn has quite a selection!) and then headed out towards Disneyland.

The park opens at 9:00 today (there was a Grad Night the night before) and we were there around 8:00 - plenty of time beofre we were let in. We got spots at the front of the gate. While Lisa saved our spots, Kailyn, my mom and I went to take pictures by the California letters. We were careful not to step on the "headstones" (or tiles with people's names on them)

Kailyn and I
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay2/200705180014.jpg

Kailyn and Carol
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay2/200705180015.jpg

Me!
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay2/200705180016.jpg

My mom and me
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay2/200705180017.jpg

We headed back to Lisa and there was a line behind us now. We got to talking to the family behind us. They were from Idaho for the premiere too!!! (:wave2: Hi McDaniels!) They took our picture and complimented us on our shirts (aren't our shirts cute!)

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay2/200705180018.jpg

It was finally 8:30 and the countdown began. We were let in and headed for the rope drop. Well, my mom went to the bathroom, Lisa to get the much wanted and talked about cinnamon twists from the Blue Ribbon Bakery, and Kailyn and I ran to the rope drop. For a little bit, we were the ONLY ones on the entire Main Street. Cool!!! Sadly, my mom had the camera with her.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay2/200705180019.jpg

We all gathered at the spot Kailyn and I had saved. We munched on the beloved cinnamon twists, getting powdered sugar everywhere. People began to gather around us and someone asks where we bought our shirts because she wanted to buy one! Aww! How nice. With about 10 minutes to go, a CM comes up and asks us where we are from, how long we are here, etc., etc. He then asks us if we would like to be Honorary Citizens for the day! Well, duh. Of course! We take the pledge, repeating everything he says, including "state your name"...hehe, and he gives us our purple Honorary Citizens badges. We proudly pin them on our shirts, thinking we are way cooler than we actually are. A little pixie dust sprinkled on our heads :wizard: . But, this is about as close as we get to being Dreamed.

Finally, the Disneyland security guard drops the rope and we book it through the little "park" in front of the castle and enter Fantasyland to ride Peter Pan. We are about 4th in line and out wait is as long as it takes to get through the queue. I get in a ship with Kailyn. Lisa with my mom and we are off to Neverland (Woo oo woo oo woo oo ooo!!! Think of the presents your brought. Any merry little thought. Think of Christmas, think of snow, think of sleighbells, off we go. Like reindeer in the sky! You can fly! You can fly! You can fly!). My favorite part of this ride is flying over London. After we return back to Earth, we look to see if Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is open from refurbishment. No. Tomorrow?

At this point, Lisa goes to get Fast Passes for Indiana Jones while the rest of us ride Dumbo and then the Tea Cups. We will meet up at the Matterhorn.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay2/200705180020.jpg

I was in an elephant with Kailyn and my mom was on the way other side so these pictures are taken from across the ride.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay2/200705180021.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay2/200705180022.jpg

We finish Dumbo and then move on to spin endlessly on the Tea Cups. There is only one other cup with people. Ater staggering to the exit we make out way over to the LEFT line of the Matterhorn, the best side, and wait for Lisa. We seem to wait forever but finally see her. She looks flustered. She informs us that out Plan is ruined! Indy isn't offering Fast Passes so she went to get Splash Mountain Fast Passes but their FP machine wasn't open yet. She is totally flustered. Poor Lisa. We try and calm her down by telling her we will go get Space Mountain FP after the Matterhorn and we might just have to wing it. GASP! She settles down a wee bit and we get into out bobsled, each in out own seat.

Lisa and Kailyn in line
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay2/200705180023.jpg

Notice that in the very back of each picture there is someone adjusting a backpack. Oh, our huge backpack...
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay2/200705180024.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay2/200705180025.jpg

We race the bobsled on the right track, periodically catching a glimpse of them, and we win. Of course. Because left is best.

We exit and head to Space, admiring the Nemo Subs as they are being tested, to grab FP. We see the wait is only 5 minutes so we grab our FP and then ride. What a great ride! Although, they claim that this ride is a roller coaster type ride. What? Isn't it a roller coaster?

When we get off, we go over to Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters to battle it out. We grab FP first, since out return time is up already. I think Lisa or my mom won. This time. We then head over to Frontierland to get ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad but it is closed and they don't know when it will reopen. So, we head over to Adventureland via darting through the River Belle Terrace. I'm sure they loved that. We want to go on Indy but the wait is about 20 - 25 minutes long so we decide to go on a quick trip on the Jungle Cruise (wait time, posted, 5 minutes) hoping that the wait for Indy will die down. After 25 long minutes in line for the Jungle Cruise (probably the longest line we waited in) we are getting anxious and mad. They only have 2 boats running! Come on people!) Finally, we get on and see all kinds of wild animals. I love the piranha effect. Our skipper was okay and we manage to force a chuckle occasionally. At this point Lisa is pretty mad that the Plan is ruined. RUINED! We calm her down by telling her the wait for Indy is less now (only about 15 minutes) so we get in line. We travel through the Temple of the Blind...er, that's my mom, seeing up close at least...Forbidden Eye safely, thanks to Mr. Jones. This ride is awesome! Exciting, exhilerating and full of suprises, even after riding it a gillion times before. I still duck in the spear chamber. I'm a wimp)

Next we go to Big Thunder Mountain find out it is open!!! We ride and get FP for later.

So, off to Pirates of the Caribbean

*Side note: now, navigating through New Orleans Square is very difficult as huge sets of bleachers are set up on the lower walkways. Pictures later. hence walking through the River Belle Terrace.*

Anyway, we wait in the line for about 15 - 20 minutes and then we are off into the Bayou. I just have to say I love this ride. They story, the smell...ahhh. The Bayou scene is my absolute favorite!

So now we go over to the Haunted Mansion and descend into the bowels of the mansion after waiting 10 minutes. I'm in a doom buggie with Kailyn and my mom is with Lisa. Fortunately we return safely only after being followed by a ghost! It is about noon now and we are getting hungry. Riding rides can do that to you. We decide to go to the French Market but go get FP for Splash first.

So after getting those, we go get lunch at the French Market. We sit at a table and some of the New Orleans street performers are, well, performing (on the stage they have set up in the table area). My mom and I split a French Qurter Dip sandwich with the BEST FRIES EVER TO BE EATEN! Kailyn had the children's chicken strips and Lisa...I don't remember. But those fries...heaven on a plate!

While we are sitting, preparing for the rest of our day, Lisa goes to get FP for Big Thunder Mountain. While she is gone, we see the Dream Squad. Ooh ooh ooh! This could be our chance to score dream FP, or better yet, a night in the Mickey Mouse Penthouse! Come over hear, Dream Squad!

Will we get dreamed? :confused3

In chapter 5 - to be dreamed or not to be dreamed? That is the question

Chapter 5: The Kitchen God's Servants (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20678217&postcount=25)

[lulubelle]

Love your trip report so far. You are quite a talented writer! Looking forward to the next installment. Oh, and the pix are great, too. Did you like the CCI? I am staying there later this month to visit the parks and DD. I hope it is as great as the reviews are. And yes, the yellow shirts are adorable.

PS - Sorry Nemo wasn't open yet, you could have seen my DD - she transfered there from Buzz:)

[Anater]

Great report and pics! So, when do we get to find out if you were dreamed???

[Goofster57]

Erin,
Another great update.

I though the Dumbo pictures your Mom took were cool, she did a great job getting them.

I agree with you about the French Fries at the French Market.

Nice cliff hanger about the Dream Squad...hope you got Dreamed

[PirateFish989]

Love your trip report so far. You are quite a talented writer! Looking forward to the next installment. Oh, and the pix are great, too. Did you like the CCI? I am staying there later this month to visit the parks and DD. I hope it is as great as the reviews are. And yes, the yellow shirts are adorable.

PS - Sorry Nemo wasn't open yet, you could have seen my DD - she transfered there from Buzz:)

Thank you and I'm glad you are enjoying it. The University of California system doesn't seem to think I'm such a talented writer though. I have to take an introductory writing class this quarter. Although, that type of writing is different - I hate analyzing books!

We really like the Candy Cane Inn! It was clean, the rooms were a nice size, the employees were nice, they had a great continental breakfast, and is was pretty close to Disneyland (probably closer than the Paradise Pier or the Disneyland Hotel). I'm sure you will enjoy it!

Great report and pics! So, when do we get to find out if you were dreamed???

Oh, you'll find out soon!!! I'm planning on posting my next episode later tonight. Thanks for joining in!

Erin,
Another great update.

I though the Dumbo pictures your Mom took were cool, she did a great job getting them.

I agree with you about the French Fries at the French Market.

Nice cliff hanger about the Dream Squad...hope you got Dreamed

I really like the Dumbo pictures too. You don't see many pictures like that. Did we get dreamed???

[PirateFish989]

Chapter 5: The Kitchen God's Servants

Alright, I must confess before I continue. I don't remember exactly the order we did things after lunch. You see, I wasn't planing on doing a trip report - that is Lisa's job! I know, I'm a disgrace. I probably shouldn't be allowed to even have a trip report. I'm sorry Lisa, Oh Disney Planning Queen Extraordinaire.

But, I'll continue anyway and do the best I can to remember what happened when. But be forewarned: I may have to guess, or even worse, make something up. GASP! No, I wouldn't do that. But please note, this may not be exactly when everything happened.

Okay, onward we go...

Day 1 (Friday, May 18) continued

We have just finished eating lunch at the French Market and Lisa has gone to snatch some FP for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (so we are currently holding FP for Space, Buzz, Splash and now Big Thunder Mountain). The rest of us are calmly sitting there chatting and relaxing before we start on out whirlwind afternoon and I suddenly notice three members of the Dream Squad (shall we call them Squaders?). They are standing in between the Haunted Mansion and the French Market in front of the New Orleans Square Railroad Station. We fantasize about them approaching us, graciously giving us the keys to the Mickey Mouse Penthouse (the keys are in the shape of a Mickey head of course). Lisa approaches and we come to long enough to point in the general direction of the Squaders, drool dripping onto our table at this point.

Lisa: "Who are they talking to?"
Carol (back in reality now): "Aw, they are giving away something to someone else!"

Kailyn and I are back from lala land now, disappointed. We watch what is happening. The women who are talking to the Squaders are now bouncing around excitedly. Lisa finally decides to find out what they are getting. She nonchalantly walks close enough to hear what the winners are being told, and pretends to look at the map. Way to go Lisa! She comes back over and tells us they won dream ears. Well, we didn't win but, on a good note, at least we didn't miss our chance on the Penthouse.

So now it is rounding 1:00 and our Splash FP are up so off we go to ride. When we get there, the stand-by line is only 15 minutes so we ride without using our FP. Our picture is okay, but not good enough to buy. So once we're soaking from the plunge (actually, I found the smaller drops get you more wet than the huge one) we go on Winnie the Pooh, thinking, thanks to Kailyn, the wind from the Blustery Day will dry us a bit. And, by golly, it did. Or at least it seemed so. Try it next time! And why is there never a line for Pooh?

It is now about 2:00 and the parade is about to start so we head on over to Fantasyland to take advantage of the lower crowds and to ride Snow White and Pinocchio. They are both scary, especially Snow White. We head over to Space to use our FP. Afterwards it is snack time! We opt for a healthy snack and what do you know, there is a fruit cart right near the exit to Space. We get strawberries with chocolate dipping sauce and apples with caramel to split. I was nice to eat something healthy.

Lisa and Kailyn wanted to do Star Tours but my mom and I don't really feel up to it. So, while they were flying through space, we go into the store next to Buzz. They have a pretty large pin selection. We buy some pins, an Astro Blaster (that sounds just like a real Astro Blaster on the ride!) and an Astro Blaster keychain. Lisa and Kailyn meet us in there and then we use our Buzz FP. This time Kailyn won, I believe.

Next we head over to It's a Small World. We didn't wait in the sunny line very long (but boy was it hot!) and got in a boat with a boy and his mom, who sat in the very front. It felt nice to be in the air conditioned ride. The mom decided to videotape the entire ride. Why? I'm not sure. Maybe getting that lovely song stuck in her head while not at Disneyland was what she was going for. I know that she is really going to enjoy out snide remarks in the background though :rolleyes1 . This ride, minus the song, is actually pretty cool.

We now head over to the other side of the park to ride Splash Mountain again with our FP from earlier. You see, out whole goal with riding Splash Mountain is to get a good picture. Isn't that everyone's goal? So we ride and get splashed a bit (again, mostly on the small drops, but the big drop does nothing for my hair ;) ). We weren't satisfied with our picture. It seems that someone is never posing right. I guess we'll just have to ride it again on Sunday.

Instead of going straight to Pooh to get "blown dry" we decide we need another snack because the one we had 45 minutes ago wasn't enough (refer to Rule #3, post 1). We walk through the Pooh shop to the bakery counter and get in line. This gives us time to contemplate what to get. Should I get a cookie or a Tigger Tail? Oh, those peanut butter cups look good. Maybe that 'Smore on a Stick? There are so many choices. This was definitely the hardest decision of the day! I ended up getting a huge peanut butter cup (it had whole peanuts in it to my disappointment). Lisa got a Tigger Tail. Kailyn got marshmallows on a stick covered in oreo crumbs with a gummy worm on top. My mom got something without chocolate (as she can't eat it) but I don't remember what it was.

Now that our bellies are full once more we can ride Pooh and get dry. As usual nobody is in line and we get a Hunny vehicle all to ourselves.

Now this is the part of out day I remember VERY clearly. After Pooh we head back towards Adventureland, stopping to shop in the stores. My mom finds an adorable purse with skulls on it and debates with herself about getting it. The Tiki Room is pulling Lisa in. It is calling her name. Lisa! Lisa! I believe this is one of her favorite attarctions, but to the rest of us this is torture. It is like getting sand in out eyes with no way to get it out until the "Tiki Adventure" is over. I've been told that the Tiki Room is a right of passage, a tradition, but I say off with tradition's head! My mom and Kailyn feel the same way also. So, after much complaining (note this is NOT breaking the rules. Rule #2 clearly states no whining) we give in and let Lisa drag us into the Torture Room, making sure Lisa knows this is the only time we will go in the Tiki Room.

So, here we are, pretending to be enjoying ourselves.
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay2/200705180026.jpg

Once Lisa has had her fun, we decide to go on Big Thunder Mountain with our FP. I love passing by all of those people in the standby line. One of the finer joys in life. It is about 7:00ish and as you know, the Conestoga Fries are directly across from the exit to Big Thunder Mountain. We decide to get some of those delicious morsels of goodness.

Here we are...
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay2/200705180027.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay2/200705180028.jpg

We sat there, stuffing out faces with the HOT McDonald's fries (as if we haven't eaten in a week) and people watching. People wear the most interesting attire to Disneyland. Tube tops? Mini skirts that barely cover the butt? But my favorite has to be high heels. People watching, eating wonderful French fries and relaxing for a bit was one of my favorite parts of the entire trip. We were all so tired at that point that we were in the loopy-tired stage and making fun of people walking by was fun. We took this as one of out educational moments. See above to see what we learned What Not to Wear.

We didn't eat a real dinner that night, after eating Pooh treats and fries. We went back to Main St. and shopped for a while. We stayed for the fireworks and then left, marching our aching bodies back to the hotel. We got in the hot tub for a bit, discussing how we were going to "do" the next day. Tomorrow is Saturday, Premiere day.

This is what we came up with...
Lisa at Carol get up and get in line for the Premiere by 3:30am.
Kailyn and Erin get to park when we get up
We wait all day for the Red Carpet Event to begin at 5:30 (park closes at 5:00 to any newcomers)

We got out of the tub and went back to the room. We took turns showering and getting everything ready for tomorrow so we wouldn't have to worry about it in the morning chaos.

We finaly went to bed, anticipating the exciting, yet long, day ahead of us.

Up next: The chaos, AKA the Premiere, at Disneyland...what will happen?

Chapter 7: (Line) Angels and Demons (with no manners!) (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20741182&postcount=34)

[tigerlilly]

Oh My Gosh!!! Who is this Lisa woman you are with...she is breathtakingly beautiful and clearly one of the most intelligent people I have ever read about!! I am shocked she was not walking the red carpet in her aromatic black clog shoes!! :rotfl:

Erin...your report is fabulous!!! I could not have done any better myself. Whoever planned your trip was obviously a Disney genius! I do think you were a little harsh on Lisa's Sarcastic o'meter however because she doesn't appear to look like a sarcastic person....indeed she seems charming (who wouldn't freak out if their minutely detailed plan was not followed to the minute...I mean I am sure Lisa left you with a few minutes to go to the restroom....for goodness sakes that mother of yours had to use the restroom as soon as you ENTERED the park! Sheesh!).

Again keep up the fabulous job...I can't wait to hear what happens next (no doubt Orlando Bloom will be falling at Lisa's feet....to bad she is happily married!).

[Goofster57]

We opt for a healthy snack


So glad you didn't have to make anything up...
Yeah right opt for healthy snacks..:lmao:

People watching at Disneyland is Great!!
It is amazing what you see there, sometimes I wonder if people use
the mirrors in their houses before they head out the door.

Keep up the good work I think you are doing great.

What UC School are you considering?

[mt mommy]

Sounds like so much fun! Can't wait until the next update.

:)

[heatherleigh]

You have a great memory! I am loving the trip report. The fact that people wear heels to Disneyland truly amazes me. I saw a pic someone else posted on the main board that had a lady in the background wearing tall wedges. That's the only thing I was able to focus on! I'm going to have to look out for it when we go next month.

[PirateFish989]

Oh My Gosh!!! Who is this Lisa woman you are with...she is breathtakingly beautiful and clearly one of the most intelligent people I have ever read about!! I am shocked she was not walking the red carpet in her aromatic black clog shoes!! :rotfl:

Erin...your report is fabulous!!! I could not have done any better myself. Whoever planned your trip was obviously a Disney genius! I do think you were a little harsh on Lisa's Sarcastic o'meter however because she doesn't appear to look like a sarcastic person....indeed she seems charming (who wouldn't freak out if their minutely detailed plan was not followed to the minute...I mean I am sure Lisa left you with a few minutes to go to the restroom....for goodness sakes that mother of yours had to use the restroom as soon as you ENTERED the park! Sheesh!).

Again keep up the fabulous job...I can't wait to hear what happens next (no doubt Orlando Bloom will be falling at Lisa's feet....to bad she is happily married!).

And you wonder why I gave Lisa the rating I did on the Sarcastic O' Meter. Don't make me laugh Tigerlilly.

Tigerlilly, I don't even know where to begin in my reply. I think many people were shocked Lisa was not walking the red carpet although I'm sure that the people that walked by our room at night, past the "aromatic black clogs", were probably grateful she wasn't. But please give me your opinion on this next matter...My mom and I went to lunch with Lisa last week to discuss our next Disney adventure and she was wearing the shoes!!! She hasn't even thrown them away yet! I am shocked! I'm suprised that the smell hasn't eaten through the bottom of her feet yet.

Yes, Lisa is quite the Disney genius. We are very grateful for her expertise in this subject. I know that my mom and I had a marvelous time on this trip and are excited about going to WDW with Lisa and Kailyn in approximately 16 months (now if only we could get Mr. Lisa to see how we NEED to go on this trip...:rolleyes: We'll just have to keep working on him while we plan).

And of course Orlando will be falling at Lisa's feet (hopefully she isn't wearing those "aromatic black clogs" because the smell might kill him!), but as you said, Tigerlilly, she is happily married (and working on convincing her husband that we NEED to go on this trip...I will die if we don't) and must turn him down when he proposes. Therefore, Orlando will have to fall at my feet instead and marry me in all his gorgeousness.

Thanks for joining in Tigerlilly from Dallas, TX! I'll be sure to tell Lisa that she has a devoted follower :thumbsup2 .

[PirateFish989]

So glad you didn't have to make anything up...
Yeah right opt for healthy snacks..:lmao:

People watching at Disneyland is Great!!
It is amazing what you see there, sometimes I wonder if people use
the mirrors in their houses before they head out the door.

Keep up the good work I think you are doing great.

What UC School are you considering?

Actually we did opt for healthy...although chocolate dipping sauce and caramel aren't the healthiest thing we could be eating... but it was probably the healthiest thing we ate during the whole trip...

I am a freshman at UC San Diego. Since we are on the quarter system I don't leave for another 2 weeks (the 22nd to be exact) so I have lots of time to do nothing.

Thanks for all the encouragement. This is harder than I thought but fun at the same time!

Sounds like so much fun! Can't wait until the next update.

:)

Thanks Mt Mommy! I'll try to get the next installment posted Monday!

You have a great memory! I am loving the trip report. The fact that people wear heels to Disneyland truly amazes me. I saw a pic someone else posted on the main board that had a lady in the background wearing tall wedges. That's the only thing I was able to focus on! I'm going to have to look out for it when we go next month.

Oh, people watching is very interesting. You should definitely try it! It's really fun to sit on a bench with a snack after a long day and just watch people for a few minutes. Have fun at Disneyland when you go!

[KimAshton]

I love this TR so I am subscribing. :)

[PirateFish989]

KimAshton - I'm glad you are enjoying my trip report! Thanks for joining in!

[PirateFish989]

Chapter 6: (line) Angels and Demons (with no manners)

The Big Day
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Pirates of the Caribbean: A World's End Premiere at Disneyland
ARRRGGG!!! pirate:

The day started off very early for my mom and Lisa. They got up a little before 3:00 am and were out the door by 3:10. They got in line, which started at the security check and was all the way out to Harbor Blvd. already! And they were 720th in line! It was only 3:30! So they waited in the dark with the rest of the Pirate maniacs (while Kailyn and I slept...hehe) until they were let into the esplanade at 5:00. Apparently it was a madhouse while everyone rushed to get in line at one of the gates (fortunately all were going to open). At about 5:30, Lisa went to buy blackout tickets for her and Kailyn since their annual passes were blacked out that day (hence the blackout tickets). She avoided waiting in line by going around the back of the ticket booth (hmm...silly lemmings who waited in line!). So she went back and waited in line with my mom. Actually, she dissed my mom and waited in a different line thinking she'd get in the park quicker. Silly Lisa!

At 6:00 my cell phone rings and wakes me up. I fly out of bed, not wanting to miss any action, and answer. It is my mom telling me that Kailyn and I need to get over there "RIGHT NOW!!!" I wake Kailyn and we get dressed at lightening speed. I've never been in such a rush before. I quickly straighten my hair (as I want to look my best for Mr. Bloom), we grab some water bottles, our sweatshirts, my Tinkerbell watch, my phone and the two walkie-talkies my mom left for us (they had the other two...our way of keeping in touch throughout the trip while we were apart). We run (more of a sprint) the entire way down Harbor, passing two women dressed as pirates (more of a Reniassance look, really) and run to the security check. At this point I am sweating and totally out of breath. Kailyn, too. We pass through security easily and call the moms via walkie-talkie. We navigate through the incredibly LONG lines (all the way to the DCA enterance and part way back!) and find our way to our mothers. I laugh when I see them because, besides our regular huge backpacks, they each have an armful of stuff (my Pirates towel and my mom's blanket included. These were elegantly hung over the wall pictures in our room to help us get into the mood).

Then, it begins...it is 6:30 and the park is opening. The countdown begins. I have never felt so much energy in one place in all my life. It was an incredible feeling. The park opens. As soon as people get through the turnstiles, they sprint to get a seat as close to the red carpet as possible. My mom's line is moving faster than Lisa's (haha!) so Kailyn and I stay with my mom. We get through, grabbing a handful of specialty maps and Premiere buttons and run! R-U-N!!! Run! This is one of the carziest things I have ever been a part of. I can't even begin to explain the total chaos taking place inside Disneyland. It is truly mindboggling. If you ever get the chance to go to a premiere like this, do it! It is an incredible experience!

Now, my mom, Kailyn and I enter through the left tunnel (which was a mistake) and immediately see people and their stuff sprawled on the ground and a set of bleachers in front fo the firehouse/Emporium. You can't even walk down the paved part of Main St. because it is barricaded and the red carpet is already down. The bleachers are pretty empty so my mom commands Kailyn and I to save seats there while she goes to look for a spot on the curb. You see, if you sit in the bleachers you can't get autographs - you must stay seated and no one will be standing in between the bleachers and the red carpet. So, if you want awesome pictures, sit there. If you want autographs, DON'T sit there. As we wanted autographs, we didn't really want to sit there, but if there was no where else to sit, this would do. I'm assuming Lisa got in and passed us at some point. Kailyn and I waited and eventually heard from my mom (via walkie-talkie) and they found a spot in front of the castle but we needed to stay where we were until one of them came and got us and they scoped everything and were sure they had gotten the best possible spot (the east side of Main St. was for the media, and although people could sit there, they would be behind huge, blinding lights). Finally, Lisa came and we trekked down the sidewalk to our spot where my mom and Lisa had set up a comfy little place right in front. We got all settled and I gave Lisa the extra button I had taken because there weren't any left when she had finally gotten through her line.

Here are the button and map
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0910Erins18thbday070006.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0910Erins18thbday070007.jpg


We sat there for a few minutes, waiting for our neighbors to settle in. At this point it is about 6:50 (I know! All that and only 20 minutes has passed!) and Kailyn and I decide to go ride some rides while the other two saved our spots and guarded our beloved towel/blanket. Kailyn and I head through the castle into Fantasyland and Oh. My. Gosh. We are the ONLY ones in Fantasyland!! When has that ever happened?!? We ride Peter Pan and there's no one else in line. We ride Mr. Toad (that's finally open) and there's no line. Then we went to the Matterhorn on the right track with no line. I now realize why we go on the left side all the time - it's so much better.

Next, we went over to Space Mountain and grabbed some FP for the moms to use later and waited only breifly before we were on. We then rode Buzz (and I won!) with no line. I like this no line thing! Then, we headed over to the west side of the park and rode Indy and then Haunted Mansion. We were now having to wait a little bit - like 5-10 minutes! Sheesh! We debated going on Splash but decided against it, so we went on Pooh instead, then headed back to out spots. On our way back, we stopped and got FP for Big Thunder Mountain. It was almost 9:00ish and when we returned there were a bunch more people around us. To our left was another set of bleachers and it was almost full. My mom was totally zonked out (Carol: "Not many people can say they've napped on the Disneyland sidewalk for two hours." That's her claim to fame :sad2: ) and Lisa was half asleep. We sat down and they both woke up and we told them about our no-line experience.

Here we are shortly after Kailyn and I return.
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0041.jpg

They then go off to get cinnamon rolls (which I much prefer), twists and coffee from the bakery, as we were all starving. They came back after waiting 40 minutes! So much for not waiting in line! Then they left us to eat while they went and rode rides. I scarfed half of the cinnamon roll but then felt sick. Those things should come with a "Made with a TON of sugar" warning. They came back an hour later and said they had only ridden Pirates (which had some new added decorations for the event) but had walked around some and gone to the bathroom.

The posters the put on every barricade
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0042.jpg


Our view of the castle
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0046.jpg


The red carpet set up progresses
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0045.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0047.jpg


After that we all sat and took turns going to the bathroom. At about 11:00 or so Kailyn and I went to ride Big Thunder Mountain and then went to the French Market for lunch, again. Of course I had those yummy fries!!! We walkie-talkied the moms to see if they wanted anything to eat. They didn't but asked us to get sunscreen. So, we went to the little courtyard that connects the children's Pieces of Eight and the adult's Pieces of Eight. Did they have sunscreen...yes, a $9 teeny tiny bottle. Yeah right! Thanks, but no thanks!

So back we went and sat in our spots. We know we would have to be standing four hours starting shortly so we took advantage of sitting while we could. It was getting REALLY warm now. Kailyn and I went to refill our water bottles with cold water from the fountain at Rancho Zocalo. When we got back, Kailyn was getting really warm so Lisa went and bought a cute black Mickey umbrella from the princess store in/near the castle.

And the sitting continues...at about 2:30 or so, the CM's started coming around selling water bottles and frozen lemonade. We bought one because it was so stinking hot! At about 3:00 we took turns going to the bathroom for the final time before the standing began.

Backtracking for pictures...

Us later in the day
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0049.jpg


The amazing Disney maintenance crew that carpet swept and vacuumed the entire red carpet twice. Keep in mind the red carpet stretched from where the evening parade begins, around the first hub, all the way down Main St., around the second hub and into Frontierland. It was LONG!

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0051.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0052.jpg


Even the carpet sweeps were decked out! Only Disney...
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0053.jpg


The premiere equipment:

The screen on Tom Sawyer Island
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0063.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0062.jpg


The bleachers...now remember these are sitting on the walkway!
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0061.jpg


Added decorations for the event. I guess they moved (according to my mom) but I never saw it.
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0065.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0066.jpg


Up next: Pirates Pirates everywhere, a foot's worst nightmare and...a disaster!!!!!!

Chapter 7: Digital Fortress (or Frustration) (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20785683&postcount=38)

[eargal]

Great post! It made me feel like I was there.:thumbsup2

[Goofster57]

Looking forward to more of your Quest for Pirates, Mrs. Bloom

[PirateFish989]

Looking forward to more of your Quest for Pirates, Mrs. Bloom

:thumbsup2

Haha...You got that right! Just don't tell Lisa that I plan on being Mrs. Bloom one day.


eargal - glad you're still reading!

[PirateFish989]

Chapter 7: Digital Fortress (or Frustration)
Premiere day continued

Recap: Lisa and Carol in line at 3:20 am, Erin and Kailyn meet them in line at 6:27, we wait all day on the curb in front of the castle in the sun.

Sounds fun, right?

It's now about 2:30 - 3:00ish, maybe 3:30 (I'm such an accurate time keeper!). Fortunately we are still able to be sitting and not standing. The CMs walking around told us earlier that we would have to start standing in the afternoon so more people could participate. Great. Just what we need. More people. Based on what Lisa had read, she predicted we would have to start standing around 2:00. But here we are at 3:30 and we're still sitting. Yay! We can postpone standing on our already aching feel for a little bit longer.

At about this time, Disney sends out entertainers. There are hundreds (or so it seems) and they desperse themselves along the Red Carpet. They are all dressed as pirates (seems fitting), except for the first "show" we see, the Disneyland band.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0054.jpg

They stay in front of us for a long time. At about 4:00, or a little after (our perception on time is a little off as we've been trapped on the curb forever), we are told we need to start standing. Maybe we weren't actually told, but the people on the other side of the Red Carpet started standing, so me being the worry wart that I am may have given a false alarm. But I don't think that is what actually happened :rolleyes1 . We really were told to stand so stand we did. We packed all of our stuff (and boy was there a lot) and positioned ourselves inbetween the curb and the metal barrier (only one row of people could fit in this space. Everyone else had to stand on the sidewalk). Now the Pirate entertainment started. I can't believe how many Pirates Disney employs. Their talents ranged from juggling to acrobats to stilt walkers to balancing on a ball while juggling fire (okay, maybe not fire). Because the red carpet is so long, and we are at the end (we can see the end of the Red Carpet, it is only about 100 feet away), we only get to see a handful of them.

Here is the Red Carpet before the event began...all vacuumed and pretty
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0075.jpg

The fake Captain Jack Sparrow...but he is pretty good!
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0074.jpg

These acrobats were WONDERFUL!!! The best performers we saw the entire time. The guy had a French accent and the woman didn't speak the whole time. My mom thinks that the woman didn't speak English, I think she was just shy.
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0079.jpg

This is really cool. This pirate is on stilts and the boat is made totally from balloons!
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0084.jpg

And then it began (at 5:30), the Red Carpet Event we've all been waiting for, all day. The first few people that came down had actually bought the tickets and were nobodys (that's what I'll call them from now on). We didn't bother taking pictures of them, unless they happened to be in the way of an important person. But, then people with some ounce of fame started coming down.

A Pirate bothering the rich people...
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0081.jpg

Corey Maggette...LA Clippers
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0085.jpg

Danielle Panabaker..."The Guardian" and the Disney Channel Movie "Stuck in the Suburbs"
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0086.jpg

Keith Richards...eww
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0087.jpg

All the while the entertainers kept entertaining, which I though was a tad bit odd as they were a distraction from the real reason we were there. Move out of the way silly Pirates...let's see some famous people.

Remember that "pretend" shirt I wanted (the black one with the movie logo on the front)? Well, of course everyone was wearing something with a Pirate on it (for buying the ticket you got a Pirates baseball cap, Pirate Mickey ears and a bunch of other cool, expensive stuff, like a brand new Nintendo Game Boy!). I was admiring all the Pirate garb when suddenly this woman walks by with MY SHIRT!!! Oh my gosh!! "Hey, lady, where did you get that shirt?" I call out desperately, reaching over the raining, but she either didn't hear me or didn't want to hear me.

Anyway, the people got more famous as the night went on. Of course the nobodys were dispersed throughout and were quite annoying as they would stop and take pictures of famous people walking around them.

Christy Carlson Romano..."Even Stevens"
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0090.jpg

Teri Hatcher ("Desperate Housewives") and her cute daughter, Emerson, being attacked by a performing Pirate
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0092.jpg

Mark Indelicado..."Ugly Betty"
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0094.jpg

Now, here is something funny. We were waiting for people in the movie to come down the carpet and we suddenly see this man that looks like Lee Arenburg (he plays Pintel) so we get all exicted and take a picture. We got one! We congratulate ourselves, pat each other on the back, etc. Well then about an hour later, the real Lee Arenbug comes. Oh, whoops. So here is the fake Lee Arenburg in all his glory
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0095.jpg

We at least could take something away from this mistake...what is Right to wear to an event like this. Take note, people, that it is important to wear the right shoes with your outfit and dressing up is important when walking any Red Carpet, even at Disneyland.

Lauren Holly..."NCIS" and Jim Carey's ex-wife I believe
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0096.jpg

Chris Harrison...host on "The Bachelor"
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0104.jpg

Martin Landau..."Mission: Impossible" and official snob of the night
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0108.jpg

Kobe Bryant...LA Lakers and my brother's favorite player (ignore the nobodys in front)
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0105.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0106.jpg

Mark Curry..."Hangin' with Mr. Cooper"
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0112.jpg


Continued in next post...I exceeded my image limit!

[PirateFish989]

Continued from the previous post...




And then it happened.

The tragedy of this trip. At about 7:00 my mom says "Uh oh." Just like that. "Uh oh." I look over at her and give her the what-in-the-world-does-that-mean look. She responds "the batteries in my camera just died." :eek:

Erin: "What do you mean the batteries just died? You have more right?"
Carol: "Yeah, I brought a ton more."
Erin, slightly panicked now: "Well, change them!"

So she does and the camera still doesn't work. She uses rechargable batteries and she thought she had enough juice left in the ones in her camera so she didn't bring the fully charged ones, waiting patiently in the hotel room. She did bring regular batteries (okay, we got them for 4 for a dollar at Target...lesson learned) but they dind't work at all. So we are stuck. Lisa doesn't have a camera (:confused3 ) and her video camera has its own special battery that was losing juice as well.

This is just great. I start panicking. My mom starts panicking. Lisa starts panicking. Kailyn starts panicking. We haven't even gotten to the "big' people yet. What will we do?

We still have a weeny little bit left in the batteries so she only takes pictures of really important people, but they are blurry.

Good greif!

I'm too tired to be mad at this point. My feet are killing me. I'm shifting my weight from one foot to another until that foot falls alseep. Can someone carry me?

Movin on...
FINALLY, some important people come! Most of these were taken pre-blur.

Reggie Lee...Pirate's of the Caribbean's Tao Huang
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0098.jpg

Ricardo Chivira...Carlos on "Desperate Housewives"
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0111.jpg

Cuba Gooding, Jr... he was wonderful! He ran up and down the Red Carpet getting people all riled up.
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0114.jpg

Jack Davenport...Pirate's Admiral James Norrington (he's giving me his autograph in this picture)
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0116.jpg

Terry Rossio...on of Pirate's writers (he, too, is giving me his autograph). He was very nice and told us that we deserved an autograph since we have been out here all day.
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0118.jpg

Here is the beginning of "The Mob". Now, "The Mob" is what I call the whole group of people that came down all at once.

Here is Joey Fatone of N*SYNC and Dancing with the Stars (Can you spot Jon Voight?)
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0128.jpg

Natalie Maines from the Dixie Chicks was also in "The Mob" but so was Orlando Bloom...sigh

I didn't realize that he was in "The Mob" until he was about 20 feet from us and then I screamed. I had been reasonably calm until this point, but as soon as I saw him I turned into a mad teenage girl (I am a teenage girl but the mad part was new) and totally freaked out (screams, jumping, etc.). My mom looked at me wondering where that came from. It came from the fact that Orlando, my hero, my heart throb, was RIGHT THERE...with his back turned from us the whole time, with some sleeze bag draped across him the whole time. But are my hopes let down?...I don't think so. One day he will realize that I am alive.

So, here he is... He is in the blue shirt. He was really hard to pick out if you weren't looking for him as he was in the middle of "The Mob" surrounded by security, who were pushing him because he was late for the premiere. He was practically running!
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0129.jpg

The official picture of him we got. Isn't it lovely?
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0130.jpg

I wait all this time and this is what I get to see of Orlando Bloom? :mad:

So our camera has oficially died now. Orlando has already passed and I didn't get a picture of him worth putting up as my desktop background on the computer. But, Johnny Depp hasn't come yet.

It is getting dark (okay, it is completely dark) and we are wall waiting for Johnny. It is 8:30 and the Premiere was supposed to start at 8:00. A CM comes around telling us that when Johnny comes (he is the last one) we cannot get autographs, only pictures.

We begin hearning roars of screams. Then flashes moving down the Red Carpet. THERE HE IS!! Everyone's cameras are flashing, well, everyone's except ours! He walks by slowly, saying thank you and waving to everyone. He was so gracious and obviously appreciative we had waited 18 freaking hours to see him (and Orlando of course). I manage to snap a picture of him on my phone (it turned out just super..a fuzzy blob with a red stripe at the bottom)

So that's it. It's done. The time has come to leave! We load up all our stuff and follow th mobs of people exiting the park. It was crowded and crazy!

Now, it is 8:53, and we haven't had anything to eat since our frozen lemonade this afternoon. We are all grumpy (not Goofy, not Sleepy, not Happy, just plain ol' Grumpy), tired and hungry. We have two options...1) we can eat in DCA or 2) we could go back to the hotel, eat the left over pizza from the night before last and sit in the hot tub. Need I tell you what option we chose? (It is #2 for those of you who couldn't figure it out)

When we get to Harbor Blvd. Kailyn whines (rules!!!) that she doesn't want pizza! Lisa offers to take her to McDonalds but she doesn't want to go to McDonalds. Now she is pouting - good greif! So now that Lisa is mad to boot (at Kailyn) we go back to the hotel, get our pizza, put on our swim suits and go to the hot tub.

But poeple are already in the hot tub! Do the shoes need to come with us to scare these people away? Oh, wait, it is that nice family we met yesterday morning, the McDaniels from Idaho (man, yesterday morning was a LONG time ago!) We share how our days went. They were at the very front of the Red Carpet and got everyone's autograph (even Orlando's!) and some great pictures! We tell them about our stupid camera problems (stupid camera or stupid owners?) and they offer to email us their pictures.

They leave and we start eating our pizza. We try to warm it up in the microwave in the lobby. At this point we are giddy (not Goofy, not Sleepy, not Happy, just giddy). It din't work too well (the pizza in the microwave). Our pizza is now cold (still), hard, and rubbery.

So we give up and go back to the room to shower and sleep. Before we go to bed, I look over my autographs. I got 8. Not bad seeing how some other people in out party only got 3 :sad1: . If you want to know, the autographs I got were Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luther on Smallville), Wilmer Valderrama (That 70's Show), Terry Rossio (see above), Jack Davenport (see above), Naomie Harris (Pirate's Tia Dalma), Apollo Anton Ohno (Olympic Speed skater), Chris Massey (Zoey 101 on Nickelodeon and Kyle Massey's brother. Kyle Massey is from That's So Raven), and Henry Simmons (NYPD Blue).

Now, because I am a nice person, I am going to share 5 of the most important pictures we recieved from the McDaniels. I'm only posting 5 beause they aren't mine. But I know you people are dying to see them and I can already feel the peer pressure so here they are.

Roy Disney
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/DSC015100054_047.jpg

Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville). He's a cutie too. Oh, and there's a story that goes along with this one. After I got my autograph from him (I know who he is because I've watched Smallville before) he walks by Kailyn who is just staring at him, having no idea whatsoever who he is because she has never seen the show before, and he looks directly at her and says "you have no idea who I am, do you?" She shakes her head. He laughs and walks away. We are all laughing, except Kailyn who was trying to figure out who he was. :lmao:
Anyway...
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/DSC014100059_042.jpg

Gore Verbinski...the director of the Pirates movies
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/DSC015900051_050.jpg

Orlando...need I say more? :love:
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/DSC017600045_056.jpg

And, finally, Johnny Depp
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay3Premiere/DSC018500042_060.jpg

You're welcome.

Up next - We get Splash'd twice and Hey, who is that?

Chapter 8: The Adventures of Alice in Wetland (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20858738&postcount=44)

[eargal]

ahem...:surfweb:

[Goofster57]

Wow Erin, Been there done that with the camera battery and why does it always happen when it is something important? :confused3

It never happens when I have to take pictures at the In-Laws Birthday Party.

Keep up the good work.

[WA Kay]

Thank you for a great trip report. It was well written and very entertaining.

[PirateFish989]

ahem...:surfweb:

:goodvibes Hope you're enjoying!!!

Wow Erin, Been there done that with the camera battery and why does it always happen when it is something important? :confused3

It never happens when I have to take pictures at the In-Laws Birthday Party.

Keep up the good work.

:rotfl:

Stupid camera batteries! It all worked out in the end though...at least I got my picture of Orlando (hehe).

Thank you for a great trip report. It was well written and very entertaining.

Thanks for joining in! I'm glad you're enjoying it. It is taking a lot more energy to write than I thought, but I'm almost done.



Alrighty, all you lurkers...I have almost 1300 views but only a few people posting. What's to lose with posting? I promise I won't laugh at you...unless you write something funny...if you write anything at all. I hope you all are enjoying my trip report, if there are any of you out there besides the few loyal readers.

Anyway, Enjoy! :thumbsup2

[PirateFish989]

Chapter 8: The Adventures of Alice in Wetland
Sunday, May 20

Today is our last day. We are doing Disneyland and DCA and then driving home tonight :sad1: . Our goals for today are:
1. get a Splash Mountain picture decent enough to look at
2. "do" DCA
3. finish up the shopping that we were planning on doing our first night
4. take our time while getting everything done

So, on with the day...

We wake up about 6:30 and get ready. Fortunately, we had tidied up the room the night before and all we had to do was pack our last minute items. Once we loaded everything in the car, we headed to the continental breakfast. Lisa checked us out and then joined us. I don't think we were ever all sitting at the table at any one time. It seemed that one of us kept getting up to get more juice or another banana or something. At about 7:20ish we were kind of cleaning up and throwing napkins and our paper plates/bowls away. My mom comes back from getting more orange juice and says "where's my cereal?"
Erin: "I threw it away. I thought you were done."
Mistake #1. My mom is totally a breakfast person. She has to have breakfast to function. Kind of like people needed coffee, only in the form of breakfast. She was really annoyed with me, which I can see (Carol: let me refrase that..."which is plainly obvious"), but there were like 3 Cheerios left in the bowl.

Anyway, we walk into the lobby, checking to see if we can leave the car parked at the hotel while we are in the parks. They told us we could and also that the shuttle was leaving for the parks in just a few minutes. Seeing as how we were all exhausted with aching feet from standing the previous day (therefore causing us to be a little bit snippy...) we agreed to take the shuttle.

So we got on the shuttle and it leaves. We are the ONLY people on the shuttle, so naturally, as women do, we sit next to each other. Except for Kailyn, who sat in the very back, all sprawled out, and the mongo backpacks separated us a bit. But, overall, it was a quiet ride over. I actually think it took more time to take the shuttle than to walk.

We make it to the gates at about 7:35 and are suprised at how many people are already in line. I mean, it wasn't like yesterday's lines, but we aren't in the front like we were on Friday. We get in line (we are about 15 back) and wait. As soon as we are let through (I don't remember waiting at the rope drop) we immediately go to Space Mountain. Mistake #2. We grab FP for later and then ride. Immediately upon exiting the building, my mom says she needs to go to the restroom - her tummy hurts and she feels sick. We wait for her, hoping she'll be okay. She comes back and yes! she did indeed get sick but she feels better now. We agree that it was because she didn't finish those 3 Cheerios! Anyway, Lisa directs us to the River Belle Terrace (the one we traipsed through to get from Adventureland to Frontierland on Friday...hehe).

We order and then wait for them to call us, praying my mom can hold it down. Meanwhile (oops!) she leaves the backpack with me while she runs for another round in the bathroom. Poor mommy! When she gets back, all white and pasty, we have our food and are waiting patiently. We each got our own meal and then got a fruit plate to share. The fruit was devoured before it even settled on the table, practically.

We finished and everyone's tummies were okie dokie now so we went and got FP for Big Thunder Mountain and then went to Splash so we could get our picture, again. The wait was less than 5 minutes so we immediately got on. Good picture? Um...it is the best one yet! We are satisfied so we all decide we can head over to DCA for their opening at 10:00. But when we arrive to get out of out log, we see NO ONE is in line. There is absolutely no line! So we ask in we can ride again (to Lisa's dismay) and the CM's say yes so we just stay in our log. When does that ever happen? This picture is pretty good too, seeing as how we are the only ones in the log so nobody else could mess up the picture. We get out and go to buy a picture (what's the name of the place where you buy pictures from Splash Mountain? Carol: "Uh...The Splash Mountain picture buying place!" Of course, silly me!). We decide on the first picture. While the moms are paying for their pictures, Kailyn and I are drying, Kailyn in soaked! Fortunately, my hair was okay though (whew!) and I'm only mildly wet.

Here is our Splash picture
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay4/2007-09-17-1605-48_edited.jpg


I guess we rode the Matterhorn sometime that morning too
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay4/200705200029.jpg

Before heading over to DCA, KAilyn and I drag the moms through Pooh to dry off (of course!).

Then we head over to DCA (Lisa: "finally!"). We get there a little after 10:15 (we're not that late, Lisa) and decide what to do. We need something to eat! Those 2 breakfasts weren't enough! So we go to the Baker's Field Bakery, which is just to the right upon entering. Lisa gets a cinnamon twist, Kailyn gets a lemon bar, I get a chocolate dipped Mickey rice krispy, and my mom got a coffee. I was very disappointed with my rice krispy - it was hard and flavorless.

Moving on...We are standing in the middle of Sunshine Plaza, listening to Lisa while she gives us strict instructions on what to do next. We are only pretending to listen (at least I was). Something (or someone, actually) catches my eye. Hey, it's Teri Hatcher and her daughter and a CM guiding them around. I wish I could hire a CM to take us around Disneyland. We didn't get a picture or autograph though.

Anyway, Lisa was telling my mom and I what to do while she and Kailyn rode Tower of Terror (my mom didn't want to ride because of her stomach and I didn't really want to ride because last time I rode, my hands were numb for 15 minutes after I got off due to me gripping the handle in sheer terror). So we split, each group with a walkie talkie. My mom and I were to get FP for Grizzly River Run and Soarin' Over California (because apparently they aren't connected electronically so you can do that). We go to Grizzly River Run first but their FP aren't working so we back track and go to Soarin' and get those FP. After, we walk over to the Hollywood Backlot area and parouse through shops. We get a call from Lisa telling us to meet them in front of Monsters, Inc. We meet them there and plan on riding Monsters, Inc. but it is temporarily closed, so we take a picture by the FOUNTAIN:

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay4/200705200032.jpg

We then go over to the Paradise Pier area to get FP for Screamin'. I have never been on this roller coaster before as I am the biggest chicken on the planet and the loop terrifies (or terrified) me. Kailyn drags me in line while Lisa and my mom get FP and then waited where they could see the initial takeoff.

So Kailyn and I wait in the relatively short line. All the while my heart is speeding up. We reach the front and get seated near the back. We leave the boarding area and come to a stop. I already know what happens...you wait and then you take off suddenly (after a countdown, which kind of ruins the element of suprise), 0-60 mph in 5 seconds or something like that.

So here Kailyn and I are, waiting to be thrown back in our seats.
She's all smiles while I am freaking out (3rd full row from left...I'm the one with the scrunched up face)
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay4/200705200030.jpg

I must say, I don't think I've ever had that much fun on a ride in a while. It was exhilarating, smooth and fast! I think my mom and Lisa were suprised, yet pleased, to see I was smiling when I got off.

Next we headed over to the Orange Stinger. My mom didn't ride in fear of ther stomach rearing its ugly head again. And then, on over to Mulholland Madness to get FP.

We then make our way over to Grizzly River Run and get in line (remember, no FP). Fortunately it was short, probably because it was cloudy and kind of misty out). We get our own raft and are off. Somehow I ended up facing backwards on all the drops so I got soaked. Lisa filmed the whole thing but I still haven't seen it...

We stop in the store by the exit to look around. I'm soaked, hair and all, so I pull my hair up and then we go on to use our Soarin' FP. It would be so cool to actually soar over California.

As we go through the Plaza area we stop in the store on the left of the enterance. While the adults look around, Kailyn and I go to the bathroom to change shirts (we brought extra!). We go back and continue shoping - buying some more pins (those pins really suck you in, don't they) and some other overly priced stuff.

We're getting hungry now (it's about noon) and golly, its been about 20 minutes since we last ate (not really :rolleyes1 )! So we go over to the Bugs Land area and eat at the Farmer's Market. Kailyn and I each have chicken strips and fires (yum yum!) and the mom's have salads.

After we ate, we went over to Monsters, Inc. The theming in the queue is pretty funny once you get inside. After this, we went back over to the Paradise Pier to use our Screamin' FP. This time we were in the very back. What a great ride!

We then used out Mulholland Madness FP. This little coaster freaks me out. I feel like I'm going to fall out or the car is going to fall off the track when it goes around those turns at the top. Still fun though. I guess Disney wouldn't make a ride that would thrown you off.

I really wanted plain black Mickey ears with my name, so we went to the hat place next to Mulholland Madness and waited forever for someone to help us. But I finally got my ears and my mom got a visor. We made our way back to the enterance.

I took these along the way.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay4/200705200031.jpg

Dealing with the backpacks
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay4/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0136.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay4/2007_0520DisneylandandPirates0141.jpg

Oh, look, anouther FOUNTAIN
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay4/200705200035.jpg

And, thus, completes our time in DCA

Up next, the final installment of my trip report :sad1: - a treasure hunt for my Pirate shirt and a cute little baby bird.

Chapter 9: A Time to End (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20911287&postcount=51)

[twinmum]

Just wanted to let you know how much I'm enjoying your TR - what a fun experience to be at the Pirates premiere! We're taking our sons (twins age 9 when we go) for the first trip to DL in Dec - we went to WDW last year for the first time. Your trippie really brings DL to life!

Thanks for tkaing the time to write it.

Twinmum

[Goofster57]

So I see the theme of your trip more like;
Fountains, Eating and Getting drenched are you sure you went for the Pirates festivities?

Sorry your report is coming to an end,

[eargal]

I have mixed feelings about waiting for your last installment. Thanks for all the time and effort you've put into these!:)

[tigerlilly]

Yes I am a genius aren't I! As a matter of fact I have been spending so much time geniusing to read the rest of your report! Loser that I am...NOT.

Seriously what a great report and again that woman (Lisa I believe) wearing the red flannel shirt thing (in your pictures from Sun.) is quite striking and has a fashion sense that I can't quite define. I am surprised Terri Hatcher didn't ask the CM with her in DCA to track you down and find out where this Lisa lady shops!

Glad to hear you liked the roller coaster...too bad they couldn't get you on Tower of Terror...since like Kailyn did it when she WAS 3! Oh bad that was probably bad parenting on her beautiful mother's part (actually it was her father and she was tall enough and well...enough of that)

Can't wait to read the last installment! Hope it includes a trip to Starbucks!

[PirateFish989]

So I see the theme of your trip more like;
Fountains, Eating and Getting drenched are you sure you went for the Pirates festivities?

Sorry your report is coming to an end,

Yes, those do seem to be the themes. Eating is actually rule #3 so of course we ate but I didn't realize we ate that much!!! On any normal day one would probably explode if they ate what we ate.

We did really go for the Pirates events. I swear! Or maybe Pirates were just a bonus.

I have mixed feelings about waiting for your last installment. Thanks for all the time and effort you've put into these!:)

I too am having mixed feelings. It has taken up so much time but it has been fun reliving our trip. Thanks for following!

[PirateFish989]

Yes I am a genius aren't I! As a matter of fact I have been spending so much time geniusing to read the rest of your report! Loser that I am...NOT.

Seriously what a great report and again that woman (Lisa I believe) wearing the red flannel shirt thing (in your pictures from Sun.) is quite striking and has a fashion sense that I can't quite define. I am surprised Terri Hatcher didn't ask the CM with her in DCA to track you down and find out where this Lisa lady shops!

Glad to hear you liked the roller coaster...too bad they couldn't get you on Tower of Terror...since like Kailyn did it when she WAS 3! Oh bad that was probably bad parenting on her beautiful mother's part (actually it was her father and she was tall enough and well...enough of that)

Can't wait to read the last installment! Hope it includes a trip to Starbucks!

Can you define the word "geniusing" for me, please?

It's nice to have you rejoin us Tigerlilly. Speaking of going on the Tower of Terror, maybe I would be willing to try it again at Disney World...:rolleyes1

I hope you will join us again soon and read the last installment. I have already written it out and I'll get to that after this, but I'm sick :sick: and am wanting to get better before I leave on Saturday for school so all I really want to do is nothing but I'll push myself for your guyses sake.

*guyses: possessive for guys :thumbsup2

[PirateFish989]

Chapter 9: A Time to End

To quote the teaser of the last novel in my favorite book series (with a few modifications so it fits)

"We now present the ninth and final installment in the epic tale of The Sarcastics"

We exit DCA, walk across the esplanade and re-enter Disneyland for the last time. We veer toward Tomorrowland and go to Space to use our FP we obtained earlier. We then ride Buzz Lightyear. I won, again, but my score is nothing to be awed by. We then make our way across the hub towards Adventureland. I spot Prince Philip walking towards the castle. "Hey, there's Prince Philip." "Who?" the rest says. "Uh, Aurora's prince, duh." Good greif. And they (Lisa) call themselves Disney officionados.

We go over to Indiana Jones and the wait time posted is only 15 minutes so we get in line, ride and are only again saved by Indiana Jones. Then we go over to Pirates and ride. I love how that line usually moves pretty fast, unless it breaks down. When we were near the end of the ride, right before the boats are lifted back up to ground level, we stop. Boats from behind us ram into the back of our boat, bump...bump...bump, and we get whiplash. Anyway, we get going again and then stop and then again, and stop. This continues until we finally make our way out of the must darkness.

At this point, we were all getting hungry (of course), tired, grupmy, and a little depressed because our adventure was almost over. Lisa says "I know what will cheer us up!" Okay! Our faces light up and we follow her like obedient dogs around the back of Big Thunder Mountain, through Fantasyland, and then stop in front of the Matterhorn. Lisa looks around, and then says "It's not open. I thought we could get a slushy." Aw man! The perfect last day treat!

So we head back towards Fantasyland, heads drooped, feet dragging. We decide to stop in the Mad Hatter next to the Tea Cups. We look around and then head oustide to take a group picture in the teacup on display. Suddenly, we hear a child crying. We sopt him and my mom approaches him. He says he's lost. Lisa alerts one of the Disney maintenence crew and he comes over. Then (this is wierd) someone says the little boy's name. He looks up and it is his aunt who didn't know that the little boy's family was going to also be at Disneyland today. Then his parents come out of the Nad Hatter and get him, breifly talk to the aunt and then walk away. Obviously, saying a simple thank you would be too much for them. We then vow never to help a lost child again (nice aren't we?) when we see another kid wandering around alone, lost. Great. Before we are with her for even a minute, her father comes us and says thank you for helping her. We say your welcome and then ask him is he can take our picture in the teacup. He did, so here we are...

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay4/200705200036.jpg

We decide to leave Fantasyland. AS we walk back toward Big Thunder Mountain, we see the Wicked Queen from Snow White. My mom approaches her with the camera and she stares right into it.

She's so scary. I'd hate to meet her in a dark alley.
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/PirateFish989/DisneylandPiratesDay4/200705200037.jpg

So, finally, we are heading toward Frontierland/Adventureland/New Orleans Square, still hungry. I know what we should get! A Trio of Fritters from the Mint Julep Bar! We get there and buy 2 Trios. Heaven in my mouth! These are probably my most favorite things in all of Disneyland. Lisa and Kailyn had never had them before! If you've never had them before either, do! They are not too sweet, warm, sofr, yet a little crunchy on the outside. Delicious! Please note: if you try to recreate them at home, good luck! I tried and they ended up doughy and smelling like fish.

Fritters in hand, we walk toward Splash, not intending to ride, just to watch and rest our weary bones. After watching people plummet down into the nothingness that is the mist of Splash Mountain, we go over to Big Thunder Mountain to use our FP.

It is about 4:30 - 5:00 and we want to leave no later than 6:30. My mom really wants the pirate/skull purse she saw on Friday so we go over to Adventureland and she gets it along with a matching wallet.

Then we go over to Rancho del Zocalo for dinner. It really don't like their foot. It's too spicy. In fact, none of us are pleased. In the middle of the meal, I go back over to Adventureland to get a cute Tinkerbell hoodie (minus the hoot). Purchases in hand, we head toward Main St.

As we ar walking past Coke Corner, we see to CM's telling people to go around. What is going on? Well, they were protecting a baby bird that we learning to fly but had fallen out of the nest and was on the sidewalk. Aww...If I were a bird, I'd want to live at Disneyland.

I still need my pirate shirt so we go in the Emporium. They don't have a black one with the Pirates lofo so after debating a while, I end up getting a reddish brownish one with the logo.

We exit the park and head to DTD to get some specialty Pirate pins we'd heard about earlier. I guess these pins are limited edition, only 500 made, etc. You can only buy 2 per person and we wanted 5 so we get three of us and get five. Thse pins are special as they are Premiere pins and have a picture of Jack and Will on them. Let's just say I LOVE this pin!

We backtrack and go into the World of Disney to get stuff for the rest of our families. It is after 7:15 now (so much for leaving by 6:30). We get a tie for my dad and a shirt for my brother and then leave. I'm getting really anxious about leaving and the time because we still have a 3+ hour drive and I have a test during 1st period tomorrow. Lucky me.

By the time we get back to the Candy Cane Inn it is nearing 8:00. Kailyn and I change into our pajamas in the car and then we are off, stopping by Starbucks first, of course. The car is so loaded with blue Disneyland bags you can barely see out of the back window.

The drive was uneventful. Kailyn and I attempted to sleep but th emoms talked (loudly) the whole way.

It is over. :sad1: All the anticipation, months of build up and it is over. We had so much fun. It was so tiring, especially Premiere day.

But would we stand and wait for 18 hous in the sun on the curb of Main St. to have famous people sign a wrinkled park map and get some lousy pictures at another Pirates Premiere?

In a heartbeat.

Are The Sarcastics planning another trip?

Yes, only we're going bigger - Walt Disney World :woohoo: in December 2008 (hopefully...Lisa).


I thank all of you for reading and following me as I relive our trip. It was so much fun!

[tigerlilly]

Really great report!!! I felt like I was there with you! Makes me wish I could go with you....somewhere else....a world of magic and dreams! Oh WDW!

Again wonderful trip report! Now go off to University and study study study! You will do great in College and then you can work as a Student at WDW and all will be right in the world!

:thumbsup2 Go UCSD!

[heatherleigh]

I loved it! Thanks for sharing.

[Goofster57]

Thanks for sharing Erin, it was great trip report.

Look forward to one about your trip to WDW

[bumbershoot]

What a great report!

By the way, where was the Starbucks?

Also, your few pictures of it have caused me to think about staying at the CandyCane on our next trip.

[pyrateswife]

WOW.. that was the best report ever.. you have a way with telling a story! I felt like I was there the whole time! I am sad it is over, I enjoyed reading it so much.. thanks for posting it!

[Dolce27]

I loved your TR. Great Job! :thumbsup2 I'm glad that you got to see the red carpet of the premiere. That sounds like fun.

That was a great pic of Orlando Bloom :love: I normally don't crush on Hollywood celebrities but there is just something about him.... (Off topic: I read a article a couple of weeks ago about him and how he'd fallen off a roof and fell 3 stories when he was 21. The doctors told him that he'd never walk again and he proved them wrong by walking out of the hospital a couple of months (?) later.)

I hope that you get to go to WDW in Dec 2008. I'll be there then for my b-day trip so maybe I'll see you then. I hope that we can all expect another great trip report.

[audrabolster]

I love those bags you've made! Sounds like it was great!

[DisDancerina]

I too, would rather meet my fate with Remie then meet The Queen in a dark alley, or even a light one for that. By the way, LOVE The Bags!! :love:

[CelticBelle]

great trip report. It's just what I need to get me even more excited about my trip december.

[arielchickenofthesea]

Great trip report! Thouroughly enjoyed it! :goodvibes
We are going at Christmas:santa: this year again. We will be trying for a *good* trip this time. I will have to post my last year's Christmas trip in tandem with this year's trip report (crosses fingers in hopes that all goes well and we ACTUALLY make it). I cannot wait! Seeing all the TR's and pics just makes me more excited.
I love the trip report section because of all the pics and the wonderful adventures people share here, even the funny situations one gets into!
Thanks again for sharing your thoroughly enjoying report with us here!
arielchickenofthesea