Aunt Betty's Weepy/Wacky/Wonderful Xmas Trip to DL-12/4-12/8/11- STARTS Pg 169/#2532

[Sherry E]

Thank you, Kaitlin!:goodvibes I appreciate that you've stuck around and are still here. It seems like people come and go from most TR's, then come back again and then disappear again! Just as I start getting revved up to begin this crazy holiday Trip Report (finally), I am never sure who is still here. I don't always have time to reply to people, but when I do...sometimes they're gone!

:banana::banana::banana:



DLR Snapfish Photo Calendar Update!!

I wanted to mention that my new April 2012 - March 2013 Snapfish calendar arrived yesterday, as expected. It was raining outside, and the calendar was packed in a flimsy white cardboard envelope that was wet. But the calendar itself was shrink-wrapped in plastic so it was protected.

The majority of the photos I used in this calendar are from DLR trips (some photos I used in my previous calendar; some are newer pictures; and I did use a few photos that I've taken from other locations or around the neighborhood).

Now the "free" calendar that many of us got from Snapfish last year (Michele got one, as did Molly/bumbershoot, deejdigsdis, tksbaskets, Mariezp, Liza/funatdisney, and others I am forgetting) was a larger size than the one I received yesterday. Last year's free calendar was probably 11" x 14" or something? Maybe larger? I can't recall. In any case, it was a good, sturdy, large size - great for displaying those Disneyland/Disney World photos we all love!

This time around, I bought (it was not free) the smaller 8" x 11" size of calendar, which actually fits much better in the location where I want to hang it. Also, I did not get a special Disney calendar this year - I just used one of the regular calendars with the pre-designed Snapfish borders/pages.

Of course, because of the smaller size it's harder to see some of the photos. But it's still spiral-bound (love that!) and made of quality card stock.

BUT...the interesting thing that I noticed is that the quality of the photos is not as good on my smaller calendar as it was on the larger calendar from last year.:confused3 I would have expected the opposite result -I would have assumed that the quality of the photos would diminish with a larger size and improve with a smaller size, but in my case it was the other way around.:confused3

I remember, for example, Liza mentioning that some of her photos looked grainy in her Snapfish calendar from last year. I did not have that problem - my photos looked great, or at least the way they were supposed to look. But in this 8" x 11" size, I can see all kinds of little marks and grainy spots and things. It's weird.

I was going to do the 'minimalist approach' of just putting one or two or three photos on each page. I can definitely see the appeal in that - it's like displaying your photos in an art gallery or something. It's very clean. It's uncluttered. It's a good way to appreciate each photo on its own merit.

But...if I want to look at my photos in a clean, uncluttered way, I will probably just frame them individually and hang them or set them on a shelf (which I have done with other pictures). I want each page of my calendar to be filled with lots of images - like a collage - lots of things and bright colors to look at all year long! I don't want to only look at just one or two images on a page for an entire month. When I pass by the calendar hanging on the wall, I want to have many things to look at!

So, what I ended up with was sort of a compromise: There may be 14 photos on some pages and only 3 or 4 photos on another page. I alternated between minimalist and cluttered!!:rotfl2:


Even though I am not thrilled with the grainy, spotty look of the photos in the smaller version of the calendar (note to self: buy larger size next time around!), and the tiniest photos on the pages are very tiny (you won't be able to see them well), I will still take pictures of the pages and post them here for you all to see...since probably 90% of the photos are from Disneyland trips!

Stay tuned for those...

[mariezp]

Marie - Now that I know you are about to start your holiday TR, that makes me LESS inclined to start mine, silly girl!:rotfl2: Part of the reason I held off (aside from my health issues and my endless computer problems) is the fact that my other DIS-friends were doing their holiday TR's too...and it's easier for me to concentrate on other TR's if I don't have to work on my own as well.

But you are long, long overdue - even more so than I am - so you should really get going on that TR before your next trip!:rotfl2:
Phooey! That approach didn't work! I thought I might appeal to a deep hidden competitive side but alas i failed :sad2: .... miserably! :guilty: Anyway, please don't let my report keep you from starting yours. I am looking forward to reading yours way more than I am looking forward to writing mine. :rotfl:

My, oh my! You have certainly hit a rough patch with being so sick and banging yourself up. I sure hope you get to feeling better and your boo-boos get all better ASAP. Glad you are okay after both falls. Now be gone nasty infection!!! :mad:

I had no luck finding a free calendar this year either. I ended up paying full price :eek: in order to get a layout like I wanted. Oh well, it did turn out nice and it gives me a smile every time I look at it so I guess it's well worth the 20 something bucks I spent. Hope yours makes you smile some too even thought the photo quality was not as good as you had hoped.

[Sherry E]

Phooey! That approach didn't work! I thought I might appeal to a deep hidden competitive side but alas i failed :sad2: .... miserably! :guilty: Anyway, please don't let my report keep you from starting yours. I am looking forward to reading yours way more than I am looking forward to writing mine. :rotfl:

My, oh my! You have certainly hit a rough patch with being so sick and banging yourself up. I sure hope you get to feeling better and your boo-boos get all better ASAP. Glad you are okay after both falls. Now be gone nasty infection!!! :mad:

I had no luck finding a free calendar this year either. I ended up paying full price :eek: in order to get a layout like I wanted. Oh well, it did turn out nice and it gives me a smile every time I look at it so I guess it's well worth the 20 something bucks I spent. Hope yours makes you smile some too even thought the photo quality was not as good as you had hoped.


Marie -

Well, despite the fact that I think my infection is slowly making its way into my chest (I feel like my airway is a bit constricted and I am coughing a bit more) and I am totally worn down, I typed out a reply to you, AND I copied links and typed descriptions for all the pages of my new Snapfish calendar, earlier today. I had the whole entire post assembled here - photos, reply, everything.

I was about to click Submit but decide to click Preview Post first. I noticed that most of my photos had not rotated or had rotated the wrong way or whatever. I grumbled at the prospect of having to go back and fix each one. I simply did not have the energy for it - I wanted to go collapse on the couch.

So I decided to copy and paste the text of the post (and the IMG codes) and save it all in MS Word so I could pull it back up later and post it then.

And my stupid MS Word locked up before it was able to save the text.:headache: And then, after MS Word locked up, my PC locked up and I had to reboot. So I lost all the text that I typed and I still have to go into Photobucket and fix all of the incorrectly rotated photos. Arrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhh!

I just can't deal with these PC issues. If I have this much trouble when I am merely trying to post photos of some calendar pages and the IMG codes, imagine the trouble I will have with a DLR Trip Report. :headache:

[kaoden39]

Sherry, I say we nuke that turkey.:hug:

[tksbaskets]

Sherry, I say we nuke that turkey.:hug:

I agree. There are many downsides to a new computer too :sad2: I spent hours adding watermark in my photoshop elements program and then uploading to photobucket only to realize in my first trip report post that I had the settings wrong. UGH. Computer issues are the worst.

How are you ears?

TK

[mariezp]

Oh man Sherry! That stinks! I certainly don't blame you for being aggravated. I hate it when that sort of thing happens and you lose everything you worked so hard on. Feeling like crude to begin with I am sure made it even worse. I can imagine how daunting thinking about working on your trip report must feel. Here's hoping your computer decides to be on good behavior when you do finally get started. Feel better soon! :flower3:

[deejdigsdis]

I'm still here Sherry! I'm worried about you...with your falls and infection that seems to be taking over...

I'm very much looking forward to your TR. I'm dying to find out who Aunt Betty is! ;)

I really hope you feel better soon. :goodvibes

[Sherry E]

Thank you, deej! I really hope I feel better soon too - I am not used to this sort of dragged out, prolonged illness. It's odd...and draining (and a bit worrisome).

I'll reply more to the last posts (from deej, TK, Marie & Michele) tomorrow, but I just wanted to try again to post these darn pictures of my April 2012 - March 2013 Snapfish calendar.

I don't know why the calendar photos did not rotate properly but it was not something I could fix in Photobucket. I actually had to go back to the Canon software to rotate them and then reload them to Photobucket. I never changed any settings on the camera so I'm not sure why other photos rotate just fine on their own and these did not. It makes no sense. It's got me wondering if my actual 'trip report photos' (which I have yet to post) will be rotated properly or if I will have this same issue.

So let me try this one more time....


This is the calendar's cover photo - I used a photo of flowers that I took at Farmers Market, then applied the "Painting" effect on Photobucket and added a border to it...

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/IMG_4024-1.jpg




April 2012...The photos of the candy are from Farmers Market. The other 2 photos are from Disneyland...

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/IMG_4025-1.jpg




May 2012...All the photos are from Disneyland, except the upper right-hand picture, which is the actual photo that I used for the cover's "Painting" effect...

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/IMG_4026.jpg




June 2012...2 photos from Catalina and the other photo of the gorgeous pink sky is from my neighborhood...

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/IMG_4027-1.jpg




July 2012...These photos are from California Adventure and Disneyland...I wanted to use photos with flowing water to contrast the heat of summer...

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/IMG_4028.jpg




August 2012...I used a single photo that I took of Mickey's Fun Wheel and applied the Photobucket "Pop Art" effect to it, which resulted in the Andy Warhol-esque interpretation in the center. In the upper right-hand corner is a different version of the same exact photo - this time with the "Painting" effect...

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/IMG_4029-1.jpg




September 2012...All Autumn flowers from Disneyland! (I'll bet this page is deej's favorite!)...

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/IMG_4031.jpg




October 2012...Halloween Time at Disneyland!!!...

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/IMG_4034.jpg




November 2012...All Disneyland and the Grand Californian. Most of you have seen these photos already, but for anyone new to my TR and to my photos, I just want to point out that the 'clock' photo in the upper left was taken at sunset, while the photo in the lower left (immediately beneath it) was taken at the GCH at sunrise. (Being at DLR when the dawn breaks, in the middle of the holiday season, is just pure magic - but I will get into that more when the actual TR begins!) I wanted a nice representation of sunrise/sunset on this page, for no particular reason!...

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/IMG_4035.jpg



December 2012...All from Disneyland Resort (holiday borders/effects from Photobucket). Deejdigsdis was the first person that I am aware of to capture that candy cane display on camera, so it was not my original idea at all.

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/IMG_4036.jpg




January 2013...All from Disneyland and the Disneyland Hotel...

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/IMG_4038.jpg




February 2013...Celebrating love, Valentine's Day and Mardi Gras with photos from Disneyland...

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/IMG_4040.jpg



March 2013...The well-known pub-club Molly Malone's from my neighborhood, and 2 different shots of the old Disneyland Hotel waterfalls...

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/IMG_4041.jpg



And...the exciting back cover with the thumbnails...

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/IMG_4042-1.jpg




One of these days I will actually allow myself enough time to arrange the calendar in the exact way that I want it, so that I am 100% satisfied. Although I like my calendar and I like using my favorite photos in it, I was rushed and if I'd had time to think about it I might have chosen different photos or arranged them differently - and I would have added the teeny photos in the date boxes like TK did in her calendar!

But...it'll do in a pinch. I like it well enough, and Marie will be pleased to know that I am fairly happy with it. I like having lots of colorful images to look at year-round - some of them calming; some of them more vibrant and fun. I liked mixing some of my old favorite DLR photos with newer DLR photos and also photos from other things besides Disneyland.

I hope you all like the calendar - again, if you have never ordered a calendar from Snapfish, I highly recommend them! They are good quality and are a great way to display those photos you love!

Okay...back to resting!

[kaoden39]

I think your calendar turned out wonderful Sherry. I hope you feel better.

[deejdigsdis]

Oh Sherry! I LOVE your calendar! I had a big smile on my face the whole time I was scrolling through the different months! Not only a smile on my face, but tears in my eyes! Wow...I wasn't expecting that reaction at all! And look...every single sentence so far has an exclamation point after it! (And according to my Kindergartener, who is coming along very well in the reading department, you should yell the sentence when you see the exclamation point. ;) So read it like that.)

(Completely off topic...but "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" is playing right now on my Playlist. :))

Back to your calendar. It's just beautiful. I'm not sure which month I like best. You're right, I definitely love the flowers in September. That page is gorgeous.

For April...it was fun to see those Christmas/Valentine's Day red and pink flowers again.

I recognize that rose (it is a rose, isn't it?:rotfl:) in May from NOS. I love the tilt and the background.

The pink sky is so pretty!

("Every Rose" is now over...we have moved on to Cheap Trick and "I Want You To Want Me.")

I love the whole water theme going on in July. What a perfect background for that one, too.

I love the Pop Art effect on Mickey's Fun Wheel. I have never used any of those Photobucket effects. I really need to try them out.

That picture of the Main Street clock at sunset has to be one of my very favorite photos from you. Love it! Just makes me happy.

And of course I love the candy canes in December.

I love that lamppost *ignoring the mask* in the upper left corner for February. The red looks so pretty against that particular background.

OK, I could go on, but I'll stop now. Hope you're getting some good rest.

[Sherry E]

Thank you, Michele. I read that there is a bus-sized asteroid (which was just discovered) passing by Earth tomorrow morning - and it is is going to be closer to us than the moon is. It's (supposedly) not going to hit us, but I got to thinking....What if an asteroid hits us tomorrow? I would like to get my calendar photos posted before that happens...:rotfl2:

(By the way, does anyone find it alarming that some of these close-to-Earth asteroids can literally be discovered no more than a day or two before they come near us? We are literally floating targets - there could be a Texas-sized asteroid heading right towards us next week, and the scientists may not spot it until the day before. ...Which begs the question, if we were about to be wiped out by a cataclysmic cosmic event (dinosaur-style) and there was only a day or two to prepare, would it be worth it to know? Would you want to know about such a thing with such short notice and no time to do much of anything? Or would it be better for the scientists to keep quiet and not cause mayhem? Hmmm...food for thought. I kinda don't think I would want to know if there were only a day.)

Anyway, I hope I feel better soon too, Michele. The symptoms keep jumping around and causing different problems, but nothing is going away. So I have to just keep resting as much as possible and keep my wild partying under control (;)), and pray that I get better soon. I am not used to being sick, let alone for so long (and with some mysterious illness that is non-specific), and I am used to doing things on my own - cooking, shopping, etc. I don't know what I would do if I had to stay bedridden - there is no one to wait on me and help me with those things!:rotfl2:

Hopefully I can get this pesky DLR TR started tomorrow - that is the goal.



Oooh - I just noticed deej replied too. I was just about to sign off - I have to rest and down some Advil. Deej - I'm so glad you like the calendar. Thank you for popping in to post. I have to comment on your comments :rotfl:, but I will do it tomorrow when I am up and about. Feeling icky at the moment. All this crazy, manic calendar-makin'/postin' activity has worn me out!:sick::laughing:

[kaoden39]

Sherry, that is scary. All I have to say is that no astroids are aloud to hit before my second honeymoon at DLR. That's final.:lmao:


Sherry, I am worried about you. I really hope you kick this soon. I miss you changing your photo on Facebook.

[mvf-m11c]

Hope you get better Sherry.

You calender looks very nice and can't wait to read and see your TR.

[tksbaskets]

Sherry,
Thank you for posting your calendar. I started by saying 'I like this one, and this one, and ....'. Well you get that I like them all!

My favs are July, November and December. I think it's great that you mixed in some of your great Disney photos with non-Disney. You'll enjoy your calendar. Each month you flip you'll remember where you were when you took the pics.

If you are a TR stalker like me your DIS friends can do the same thing! :rotfl: I remember when you posted the pic looking up into the DLH Mickey hat. Love that shot!

Feel better.

TK

[mariezp]

Love, love, love your calendar, Sherry! I AM glad to know that you are fairly happy with it! ;) My favorite pages are all the fall months... October, (believe it or not, even though I am not a Halloween fan) November and December. So which page ended up being your favorite? After making these custom calendars I don't think I will ever be able to go back to just a plain old off the shelf calendar ever again. How about you? I keep mine inside one of my kitchen cabinet doors. I am really the main one in our household who ever sees it but I do so enjoy looking at it. I always end up with a smile. :thumbsup2

I agree with deejdigsdis. http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u295/mariezp/clipart/1sm179Firstplace.gif I do think your Main Street clock photo has got to be one of my all time most recent favorite photos you have taken.

I'll be hoping for no asteroids too!

Hope you are feeling better since your last post and are on the mend! :hug:

[rentayenta]

Hey Sherry. :goodvibes Sending some healing vibes.

Love the calendar. :thumbsup2

[TheColtonsMom]

Thank you, Michele. I read that there is a bus-sized asteroid (which was just discovered) passing by Earth tomorrow morning - and it is is going to be closer to us than the moon is. It's (supposedly) not going to hit us, but I got to thinking....What if an asteroid hits us tomorrow? I would like to get my calendar photos posted before that happens...:rotfl2:

(By the way, does anyone find it alarming that some of these close-to-Earth asteroids can literally be discovered no more than a day or two before they come near us? We are literally floating targets - there could be a Texas-sized asteroid heading right towards us next week, and the scientists may not spot it until the day before. ...Which begs the question, if we were about to be wiped out by a cataclysmic cosmic event (dinosaur-style) and there was only a day or two to prepare, would it be worth it to know? Would you want to know about such a thing with such short notice and no time to do much of anything? Or would it be better for the scientists to keep quiet and not cause mayhem? Hmmm...food for thought. I kinda don't think I would want to know if there were only a day.)

Anyway, I hope I feel better soon too, Michele. The symptoms keep jumping around and causing different problems, but nothing is going away. So I have to just keep resting as much as possible and keep my wild partying under control (;)), and pray that I get better soon. I am not used to being sick, let alone for so long (and with some mysterious illness that is non-specific), and I am used to doing things on my own - cooking, shopping, etc. I don't know what I would do if I had to stay bedridden - there is no one to wait on me and help me with those things!:rotfl2:

Hopefully I can get this pesky DLR TR started tomorrow - that is the goal.



Oooh - I just noticed deej replied too. I was just about to sign off - I have to rest and down some Advil. Deej - I'm so glad you like the calendar. Thank you for popping in to post. I have to comment on your comments :rotfl:, but I will do it tomorrow when I am up and about. Feeling icky at the moment. All this crazy, manic calendar-makin'/postin' activity has worn me out!:sick::laughing:

OK any destruction type asteroids are only allowed to be announced if I have enough money in my pocket and enough lead time to get to DLR since I believe that is where all the Disney Tragic should be at the end of the world

[Sherry E]

Well.......howdy, everyone!!!:cool1::banana:



I have to be honest - I did not check to see where my TR had fallen in the TR forum. Today I accessed the TR through a link in the last e-mail notification I received (which was something like 19 days ago) and it took me straight to the last page. So I have no clue if I had dropped off of Page 1 of the TR forum or where I ended up. I was almost afraid to look. No one else has posted here since that last post from Sherri 19 days ago, so clearly I was not in hot demand!:rolleyes1

Anyway, I was so exasperated with all the technical trouble on the DIS for a while - everything was taking so long to load. I have enough problems with my PC as it is, and that is a big enough hassle for me, so the DIS' issues on top of that were too much for my patience! I just couldn't bear trying to forge ahead with a TR....or even post in most of the threads. I tried to follow along with several other TR's I had subscribed to, but again, the DIS' technical issues made it very difficult. (Oh, and any trip reports that include giant-sized photos will keep me away, as my PC seems to have major trouble with those!:sad1:)

I was sick for a while, too - for a good 2-1/2 months. Finally, finally, finally I found some old, expired antibiotics in the back of my medicine cabinet - not enough to completely knock the illness out of my system, but maybe enough to give it a kick start and weaken it a little bit - and that seems to have helped a great deal. I still feel very tired and not 100% better, but I feel tremendously better than I felt before I found & took the expired drugs!:rotfl2: I am almost back to normal ('my' normal)!:cheer2:

Between technical issues and health issues, I just was not in the mood to fiddle with a trip report.

So...now, I am back in the mood to get this DLR Christmas TR rolling!:cool1: (It's only been just about 3 months since I took the trip, but who is counting?;) Why not celebrate Christmas in March?:rotfl2:) I have known how I wanted to present the TR and lay it out for you since December, and that has not changed. I have my PhotoPass photos to include, too, which can be integrated into the TR as I go along rather than posted after the TR is over (which has been my usual method of doing things for the last few years!).

Most of my DIS friends - though not all - have finished their holiday/Christmas 2011 TR's, so I would assume there is not as much of an abundance of Christmas TR's dominating the TR section at this moment, which is a good thing, although I have not looked at Page 1 of the TR forum so I could be wrong about that!:rotfl: (That was another reason I held off - there were a lot of holiday TR's going on at the same time, or within close proximity of each other, and adding mine into the mix too would have been pointless. There's only so much 'Christmas' the readers can handle at one time, I think.)

But now it's my turn to start the TR!! :woohoo:

During my illness for the last couple of months, one of the last things I was interested in doing was going back to DLR, which is where I got sick in the first place.:mad: I couldn't even conceive of such a thing. Now, however, I am itching to go back!:dance3: Not only are the wheels in my mind already spinning with the possibilities of my next holiday trip and how I could possibly pull that together - I'm not sure about that yet - but I also feel like getting back there sooner than that. Sooner than Halloween. Sooner than Fall. I would like to go back to DLR when Cars Land and Buena Vista Street open, just to be part of the excitement. I would like to go back to DLR around Easter. I'd like to go back to DLR while the Mardi Gras stuff is still happening, which is not for much longer.

I don't know if I will be able to get to DLR for any of these other times, but the point is that my interest has come back! I now want to get back to DLR again, now that this pesky illness has receded a bit and I feel like a human being again. I just feel like being at Disneyland again. Once and sometimes twice a year is not cutting it for me.




So...who is still with me? Hmmm? I know that my friend Mariezp is out there, even when she doesn't have time to comment. Who else is still there? What kind of audience is left, or have I waited so long to get this epic going that everyone has fallen away?

[deejdigsdis]

:cool1: You're back! :cool1:

I was just thinking about you today, wondering if you were OK, hoping you hadn't fallen somewhere with no one around. I just re-entered the world of TR reading again today (after not having much DIS time of late) and finished up TK's holiday trip. Sad that one's over and ready to get started with yours.

By the way, you were still on page 1. Heck, I'm still on page 1 and I've been done for quite a while. :)

Ready when you are...popcorn::

[kaoden39]

Sherry!!!

Yay!!! I am so thrilled to see you on here!!! You know I am here!!!

[tksbaskets]

Yeah you're back and feeling better. So glad. :goodvibes I have to get my Disney fix through the boards now.

TK

[Sherry E]

:cool1: You're back! :cool1:

I was just thinking about you today, wondering if you were OK, hoping you hadn't fallen somewhere with no one around. I just re-entered the world of TR reading again today (after not having much DIS time of late) and finished up TK's holiday trip. Sad that one's over and ready to get started with yours.

By the way, you were still on page 1. Heck, I'm still on page 1 and I've been done for quite a while. :)

Ready when you are...popcorn::

Yay!:cool1: deej, you're still here! I had a feeling you might be wondering what had happened to me. Thankfully, I only fell twice and made it out alive! :faint: But I was still feeling too icky even outside of those episodes. Thank you for hanging in here, even if my TR is years late!:rotfl2::hug:

Some of my DIS friends are also Facebook friends (like Marie, Michele, Laurie, etc., etc.), so they knew I had not died because I would pop into Facebook here and there - I even did a not-quite-complete Valentine's Day photo countdown (like my Christmas countdown last year) and I made an attempt at a Mardi Gras countdown, but then I started feeling icky again and I gave up!:rotfl2:

But anyone who is not on my FB friends list may have wondered - as you did - if I had fallen somewhere where no one could get to me! ("I've fallen and I can't get up!") I wanted to pop in more - even just on the main DL forum in general - but those darn technical issues with the slow loading pages were driving me nuts. I hope all of that is fixed now. There's work to be done!

I can't believe I was still on Page 1 of the TR forum! I'm sure I was way down at the bottom, but I am shocked that I didn't slip to Page 2. I guess that not as many people have been doing TR's since Halloween and Christmas have been over - those 2 holidays seemed to bring a wealth of TR's for a while. If I had done a TR on the WDW side of the DIS, it would have sunk to Page 30 or something by now - literally! Those WDW TR's move at lightning speed!

You've got a Halloween trip coming this year, right? I was thinking the other day that, even though it seems like Halloween Time is a century away, it will probably get here super-fast! I just have a feeling that this year is going to zoom by!

I tried to follow TK's trip report, but she posts the extra large photos and my PC can't deal with those, as you know. It will literally just freeze up if there are several photos on one page - it even does that to me in my own Christmas Superthread!!:headache: So the only way I could view them was by clicking on links in the e-mail notices, which stopped coming after a while.

All I have to say is - and this is probably not the best public service announcement to make:rotfl2: - if you ever have any extra antibiotics left over after being sick, hang on to them, even if they expire. You may find that you need them one day down the road. While it is not recommended by doctors to leave any extra pills in the bottle, let alone take expired ones, I did ask my nurse friend to be sure I wasn't going to kill myself if I took a really, really old pill, and she said that it was fine for these particular pills. Some expired medication is a bad idea to take, but the worst that would happen with these ancient antibiotics I had would be that they were not effective. I could deal with pills being useless - I just didn't want to drop dead because I took something expired.

But I was fine...and they even helped me, despite their weakened strength!! So, it was a worthwhile endeavor!


Sherry!!!

Yay!!! I am so thrilled to see you on here!!! You know I am here!!!

Michele! Thank you for hanging in here with me!:hug: Of course, you knew I wasn't dead or out of contact because you saw me on Facebook, and I was following along with your Valentine's DLR trip there (I looked at your whole album of pictures), but it's good to know that we're both still here too! Facebook is one thing; trip reports on the DIS are a different story!!

[Sherry E]

Yeah you're back and feeling better. So glad. :goodvibes I have to get my Disney fix through the boards now.

TK

Hi, TK!:hug: I'm glad you're still here too! I was thinking that I would say, "Who is still here?" and it would be...crickets...crickets...crickets....

Yes, I am back and feeling much, much, much better! As I said on Facebook several days ago, Yay for 150-year-old medication!!:rotfl2::rotfl2:

Maybe it's because I started getting back to normal and feeling like I needed a Disneyland fix that I felt an urgency to get this TR rolling again. Actually, now that enough time has passed since the last holiday trip, I am once again feeling like I want a dose of Disneyland at Christmas Time. I enjoyed many things about the last trip - though not all of it, of course, because of the issue with my out-of-state friends - but because I got sick mid-trip I felt like I had much less of a quality experience. I felt short-changed, in a way - not by Disney, but by the whole situation. I wanted more out of it - more pictures taken, more things accomplished, more time with the friends, etc. So now I am anxious to have another holiday trip so I can have another chance to do it up right (though not with the same people)!

[kaoden39]

For some reason they didn't all load. There are a few pictures from the Lily Belle didn't post and our Minnie Mouse pictures. So those will be on the trip report but didn't make it to facebook.

[Sherry E]

For some reason they didn't all load. There are a few pictures from the Lily Belle didn't post and our Minnie Mouse pictures. So those will be on the trip report but didn't make it to facebook.

It's that darn Timeline, I'll bet!:headache: I know that Facebook tries to slowly roll out their format changes to people, in stages and not all at one time, so that they minimize technical glitches and also don't get bombarded with complaints/questions from every single person on Facebook at the same time!:rotfl2: And yet...still...there are always technical glitches when they are slowly transitioning everyone into a new format. So I'll bet that the glitches interfered with your photo loading and that's why some of them disappeared.

I definitely notice that I can load photos to Facebook using Chrome much faster/easier than when I have used Explorer or Firefox. It used to take (literally) hours for me to load 20 photos to Facebook, using Explorer, on this stupid PC. Firefox was not much better. But using Chrome seems to work like it should and I can load photos in reasonable periods of time.

[kaoden39]

My pictures load quicker with Firefox. For some unforeseen reason my java hangs up on my chrome. But, Facebook definitely doesn't make it easier.


Did you notice the minute amount of Valentines Day decorations? Talk about disappointing.

[Sherry E]

My pictures load quicker with Firefox. For some unforeseen reason my java hangs up on my chrome. But, Facebook definitely doesn't make it easier.


Did you notice the minute amount of Valentines Day decorations? Talk about disappointing.

Disneyland doesn't even really decorate for Easter - no giant eggs at the entrance to pose with, or characters dressed in Easter bunny outfits (which would be cute). So I guess it's no surprise that they do so little for Valentine's Day. It seems like there were a few extra things last year, though, from what I recall in Bret's photos. Maybe this year DLR was on a tight budget and couldn't afford to stick some extra hearts here and there!:rotfl2:

I guess, when I think about it, it's really a miracle that DLR celebrates Halloween for a whole 'season.' That's really remarkable. The holiday season is the holiday season, and that's major, so it's no shock that DLR treats that time from November to early January as a very special time (and I am sooooo glad they do because it's my favorite time!:thumbsup2).

But for them to take Halloween and stretch it out from mid-September to October 31st is unexpected! Isn't it? I am so glad they do make Halloween into a whole season because it's wonderful, but I keep thinking they are going to wake up one day at Team Disney Anaheim and say, "What are we doing, making Halloween into a 6- or 7-week celebration? That's nuts!":rotfl2: I hope they keep building up Halloween Time and not scaling it back! I would hate for Halloween Time to end up like Valentine's Day - with a lone pumpkin thingy on a stick, stuck in a planter or two!:rotfl2: That would be one pitiful Halloween celebration, wouldn't it?:rotfl2:


:santa::santa::santa:


Anyway, everyone, the TR will finally kick off tomorrow!!!:woohoo: Grab a comfy seat and a cup of coffee and hunker down for:

A heartwarming holiday journey into confusion and mayhem;

A long-awaited reunion (fiasco) with an old friend who is like my family;

An indecisive (but very smart!) 4-year-old, and a frustrating 44-year-old;

Lots of laughter;

Illness;

Tears;

A bloody nose;

2 celebrity sightings (and one of them was in a very popular raunchy buddy comedy from a couple of years ago!);

A coincidental second encounter with a total stranger in California Adventure (while I was by myself), a lady I had previously encountered in Disneyland in December 2010 (while I was by myself)! Is she a guardian angel in disguise?;

A Goofy's Kitchen dinner and breakfast;

An especially 'hands-on' Pluto;

My first foray into solo PhotoPass picture-taking;

The introduction of Aunt Betty;

A return to the heavenly spaghetti and garlic bread that I enjoyed in 2010 (was it still just as heavenly?);

Meeting two new DIS friends;

The continued search for Christmas trees and window displays; and....

A very, very blustery day that caused my hair to stand up on my head (a very attractive look).

Oh, and yes - there was a Peppermint Cone of Death involved but it didn't cause me any trouble this time so it wasn't very noteworthy!!:thumbsup2

[mariezp]

Yay! :cheer2: Sherry is back! I am so glad you are feeling better and back to thinking about getting your trip report started. I am also very happy to hear you say that you are feeling the urge for another trip to the park. I am too! Since I have been working on my trip report it has been making me realize that we didn't get in nearly as much park time as I would have liked. All the more reason to get back ASAP! Anyway, can't wait to hear the details and see the photos from your report. popcorn::

[kaoden39]

What got me about the Valentines decoration is they were faded and the paint was chipped if you took a close look. Craziness!!

[WDWJonasGirl]

I can't wait to hear all about it!!

[Sherry E]

Yay! :cheer2: Sherry is back! I am so glad you are feeling better and back to thinking about getting your trip report started. I am also very happy to hear you say that you are feeling the urge for another trip to the park. I am too! Since I have been working on my trip report it has been making me realize that we didn't get in nearly as much park time as I would have liked. All the more reason to get back ASAP! Anyway, can't wait to hear the details and see the photos from your report. popcorn::

Hi, Marie!!:cool1:

It seems - operative word being "seems" - that the DIS' problems with slow-loading pages are fixed, from what I can tell, so all I have to deal with then is my usual PC issues. But the combo of both those things together would have sent me into a tizzy. Add to that the fact that I was feeling sick for so long...I just couldn't get a TR going. The timing wasn't right.

Yes, I do feel like getting back to the Disneyland, sooner than later. When I was at the peak of illness, the last thing I wanted to do was go back there! Now that I am mostly better, I am in that mode of wanting to go back.

But when will I get back? My Christmas trips are always my first priority, with Halloween Time being a close second. I have a Superthread for each of those holidays and I have to keep up to date with the changing details and information, after all, so that the facts that I give out are relevant and current! Part of what we are expected to do as moderators is give out useful/helpful information and conduct discussions about certain things. Those 2 holidays are my 'things,' so I have to stay on top of what's happening!:surfweb:

This year is a wild card in terms of holiday and Halloween decor & offerings because of all the new stuff opening in California Adventure. Disneyland may decide to go bigger and better than ever before with both Halloween Time and the holiday season...or they could scale it all back and cut out some things so that people can focus on Cars Land, Buena Vista Street, etc. New Orleans Square is a big mystery every year - little things keep disappearing from their holiday decor. And ToonTown? After seeing those "new," hideous Christmas trees they put in place of the old trees, I am crossing my fingers that they come to their senses this year and reinstate the old trees.

One thing I am fairly sure about is that Cars Land will not have Christmas decor this year. I am positive that DLR will want to keep that land clean and undecorated in its first year so that people can really see it in its original state. That's what happened with ToonTown when it opened - from what I can recall, ToonTown did not have any signs of Christmas in the year it debuted (1993). I don't think it even had anything Christmasy in 1994 - and if it did, it was not much. It took a while before that land became decorated and I think that's what will happen with Cars Land as well.

But I actually feel like going back to DLR before Fall - not in the peak of Summer, mind you. That's too much heat for me. I'd love to go in the next few weeks, while the weather is still cool and pleasant enough, and then I'd love to go again right when Cars Land and Buena Vista Street open. Whether or not that will happen is up in the air, but we'll see.

Anyway, I am glad you're hanging in here with me!:cool1: As I've said before, I didn't even take half of the photos in December 2011 that I took in December 2010 so the photos are not really the big draw this time. It's more the overall progression of the trip and the story that is the key!

I skipped doing a LOT of stuff that I would normally do, and that includes rampant photo-taking. That's one of my biggest regrets about this past trip, because I love taking photos sooooo much, for both a creative outlet and memory preservation purposes, as well as cathartic/therapeutic purposes for myself. So it actually really bugs me that I didn't get more of that done. I am so happy when I can just run around DL, DCA or the hotels on my own, snapping away. I just adore doing that. It brings me great joy. But I only got to do a little of it in December and I wish I could go back and remove all the not-so-great parts of the trip and replace them with more photo-taking!!!:yay:


What got me about the Valentines decoration is they were faded and the paint was chipped if you took a close look. Craziness!!

Michele - I saw that the heart thingy was run down-looking! I was thinking that I want to go back and look at Bret's TR from last year to see if the Valentine's stuff looked run down then too - I can't recall! Maybe those hearts on a stick took a beating last year and they just trotted them out again for 2012 without touching them up?



I can't wait to hear all about it!!


Yay, Kaitlin!:cool1: You are still here!! I'm so glad. I am loving your new Bieber signature pictures, in honor of his birthday! Those school photos are cute! My local news show's anchor people were just talking about it being Justin's birthday today, and one of the reporters said, "Now he's old enough to date."

Ummm.....I think he's already been dating, as far as I can tell!;)



:santa::santa::santa::santa:



Okey dokey!! I have already been putting together the first installment of this long-delayed TR. I have some finishing touches to do on that, and then we will get this show on the road - finally! Woo hoo!!!:woohoo:

[Sherry E]

Aunt Betty's Weepy, Wacky, Wonderful Christmas Trip to Disneyland –

Sunday, December 4 – Thursday, December 8, 2011



Introduction and Background Information – Part 1


Most of you know me as a longtime contributor and moderator on the Disneyland/SoCal forums of DISboards. Many of you have followed along with my previous Disneyland Trip Reports (all of which can be found in this thread) over the last few years. Some of you are on my Facebook friend list and know me away from the DIS. And very few of you – only a handful – have met me in person.

Whether you know me only on the DIS or off of the DIS as well, whether you have met me in person or not, or if, perhaps, this is your first time tuning into one of my Trip Reports and have no idea what to expect, I want you to know a little bit more about who I am and how I came to love Disney and Disneyland. Plus, in order to properly understand why the outcome of the December 2011 DLR trip which I am about to explain affected me as much as it did and had as great of an impact, you kind of have to know me and know a wee bit of my history. To get to the present, I need to first visit the past for a moment. It will all make sense to you after it is laid out, so just try to bear with me!

So…..

I should begin by saying that this year, 2012, is the 40th anniversary of my very first trip to Disneyland!!!! ....At least, I think it is. I know for a fact that I was at Disneyland in April 1972, as that trip yielded the first photographic proof:

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Vintage%20Disneyland%20Holidays/1972-DISNEYLAND-SHERRY-MICKEY-scan0.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Vintage%20Disneyland%20Holidays/1972-DISNEYLAND-SHERRY-DONALD-scan0.jpg



I was 4 years old in those photos.

But it’s possible that I was at Disneyland earlier than 1972. If I was there, no one took any photos, or they didn’t give me any copies of photos they took! That isn’t a far-fetched thought, to be honest – I know there were other specific Disneyland trips that were made in the years before I turned 15, as well as trips to Knott’s Berry Farm, Busch Gardens, Marineland, Japanese Village and Deer Park, Enchanted Village, the L.A. Zoo, the Griffith Observatory, Sea World, etc., and yet I find almost no pictures from the Disney trips, and NO photos from the trips to other places. ???

In any case, I have been happily and proudly going to Disneyland every single year since 1972 (and usually taking more than one trip each year), with the exception of 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 & 2006.


Those 9 years that I did not visit my favorite place were filled with all kinds of stress and problems and my mind was not on Disneyland. I’ve seen the park and the Resort in general go through many, many changes in the last 40 years. In fact, whenever I would return to Disneyland after there had been many changes made (like, say, my trips in 2000 and in 2007), I always felt a bit like a fish out of water and had to get re-acclimated. I felt like a stranger in a strange land, with some familiar landmarks. Soon, the magic would envelop me again and I was bitten by the bug!



This year will also mark the 20th anniversary of my very first character meal – at Goofy’s Kitchen!!!! I think that my friends and I ate there in Summer of 1992, when we didn’t really know what character meals were about or that we needed to have a camera ready (?), so there are no photos from that. But my first actual photographic evidence of a 1992 Goofy’s Kitchen meal (back when they served breakfast, lunch and dinner, and when breakfast was only about $11.00!!!) included these pictures from December 1992:


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Character%20Photos%20-%20Disneyland%20Resort/1992-DECEMBER-DISNEYLAND-GOOFYSK-7.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Character%20Photos%20-%20Disneyland%20Resort/1992-DECEMBER-DISNEYLAND-GOOFYSK-3.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Character%20Photos%20-%20Disneyland%20Resort/1992-DECEMBER-DISNEYLAND-GOOFYSK-4.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Character%20Photos%20-%20Disneyland%20Resort/1992-DECEMBER-DISNEYLAND-GOOFYSK-6.jpg


I’m sure that those of you who have been following my TR’s for the last few years will recognize Shawn – one of my usual Disneyland companions – in these photos. I am the one in the striped shirt who looks as if she was up all night, on a wild crack binge – which, I assure you, was not the case at all! And the blonde girl – we will call her “M” - is the one you will learn more about – my now infamous “out of state friend” with whom I was reunited this past December 2011.


So, as you can see, 2012 will be a momentous year for me because of these two anniversaries. But even if I were not celebrating my 40th anniversary as a Disneyland visitor or my 20th anniversary as a loyal Goofy’s Kitchen devotee, Disneyland would be no less important to me and no further from my heart.

This brings me to what I wanted to explain about how I became enamored and in awe of Disneyland and all the joy it can bring…



It all started with my grandmother.



You see, I had what we would call an “unhappy childhood” - in many ways. I was miserable at home with my parents, and I hated school because most of the kids were mean to me and treated me badly. So I couldn’t escape the turmoil at home by immersing myself in schoolwork because I didn’t want to go to school, and I couldn’t escape the stress of being at school when I was home because home was even more stressful in many ways. My parents were two people who basically had no business being parents, and they didn’t really want to be parents…which was quite obvious.

I felt very lost and alone for years. The only time I got any kind of ‘break’ from all the sadness was when I went to visit my grandmother, usually on weekends. My grandmother tried to give me a somewhat normal childhood and do the things for me that my parents would not do. She didn’t have any money and she had a lot of health problems, but she tried to spoil me and make me feel special anyway. She loved holidays – all of them – and she passed on her love of holidays to me. She had a greeting card and a small gift ready for every single holiday (no matter how minor the holiday was), and at Easter and Christmas time she went all out with the baskets and stockings. She made sure that I had whichever Barbie or Barbie car/plane/boat that I wanted for my birthday. She threw parties for me. She let me invite friends over to play. She introduced me to Peanuts, Bugs Bunny & Porky Pig, all the main Disney characters, the Muppets, etc. She took me on trips to Washington and Oregon. She did so many things for me, including arranging my first Disneyland trip in 1972.

But even before I ever actually made a trip to Disneyland itself, there were early ‘seeds’ being planted - whether I realized it or not. It was kismet. I think that Disney and I were destined to be intertwined in some way or another forever.

For instance, on some of the weekends when I would visit my grandmother (she lived in a sprawling apartment complex called Park La Brea, which was really more like a small city), we would take a walk across Third Street, past a place called Gardner Park and into the Pan Pacific Auditorium, where we saw the Ice Capades and a couple of other events before it closed down as an entertainment venue (in 1972, I think). We also attended a couple of rummage sales at Pan Pacific.

I remember, as a small child, really finding the design at the entrance to be quite odd!

(These 4 photos are from Google Images)


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/mck003.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/he16.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/Pan_Pacific_Auditorium.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/PanPacificAuditorium1.jpg


Little did I know that this design would eventually become a prominent part of both California Adventure and Hollywood Studios. (In fact, to this day I have to admit it drives me nuts when people say that the new entrance for DCA is merely “copying” the entrance for DHS. In my opinion, DCA is simply claiming the design that belonged to California in the first place! What happened was that the DHS entrance “copied” the Pan Pacific Auditorium architecture – which is California-originated. California Adventure may be a bit late in the game as far as getting its own California-originated Pan Pacific Auditorium design, but it makes sense that we here in SoCal have a California-based design!)


Anyway, over the years the Pan Pacific Auditorium became a hollowed-out refuge for homeless people and bugs, and it finally met its brutal end when it caught fire in the ‘80s. I could see the fire from my grandmother’s apartment across Third Street. It was a piece of my childhood – one of the happier times in my childhood – burning to the ground.

So I am vaguely comforted when I enter DCA nowadays, because I look up at that familiar color, the flags and the telltale design above the turnstiles, and I remember the Ice Capades and the rummage sales and Saturday afternoons. It reminds me of my grandma. If she were alive, she would find it very interesting that two Disney parks adopted the Pan Pacific design, as she went there even more than I did – well before I was born – and to her, it was just a local neighborhood haunt!

In addition to the new California Adventure entrance, there are also some subtle tips of the hat to the Pan Pacific Auditorium entrance’s design and color in the area around/in Farmers Market and The Grove.


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Farmers%20Market%20-%20The%20Grove%20-%20August%202010%20-%20Part%203/IMG_0838.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Farmers%20Market%20-%20The%20Grove%20-%20August%202010%20-%20Part%203/IMG_0840.jpg



And Pan Pacific Park (or as we used to call it around these parts, “The Hole”) takes up the land where Pan Pacific Auditorium used to sit.

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Farmers%20Market%20-%20The%20Grove%20-%20September%202010/IMG_0892.jpg



When I would stay at my grandmother’s place for the weekend, one ritual was to visit the Farmers Market on Saturday mornings (way, way before The Grove was built), and another one was to go to church on Sunday mornings.

My grandmother belonged to a beautiful church called The Little Country Church of Hollywood.

(photo from the Country Church of Hollywood website)

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/ccohhome.jpg


A tall, thin man with white hair and a booming voice named Thurl Ravenscroft belonged to the congregation of the Country Church, way before I was born.

(from the CCoH website)

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/ccoh_staff_br.jpg

He sang there every once in a while, as part of the “Goose Creek Quartet.” Thurl was charismatic - a jovial man with an expressive face. His commanding name, his height and that deep voice all stood out, and he used that voice to make money!

Thurl began coming to church less and less because he was always busy with work for Disney, either providing voices in their animated features or in many of the attractions and rides at Disneyland and Disney World. When he did return to the Church to sing, it was an event!

Thurl’s real claim to fame came from his long-running role of Tony the Tiger in the Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes commercials.

(From Google Images)

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/images.jpg



But you may be most familiar with this (slightly spookier) version of Thurl Ravenscroft in the Haunted Mansion (photos from Google Images):

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/images1.jpg http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/bust.gif http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/tumblr_lve6k1jcdN1r02qda1.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/2779339065_3f057517fd1.jpg


I was always excited when it was “Thurl Day” or “Goose Creek Quartet Day” at the Little Country Church of Hollywood, because I was anxious to hear stories of the latest voices he did for rides in Disneyland. This was something that made me want to go to Disneyland – I wanted to find the Animatronic figures that Thurl voiced.



Coincidentally, just like what happened with the Pan Pacific Auditorium, the Little Country Church of Hollywood burned to the ground – about 5 or 6 years ago, I think. I was never a very religious person, but, like it or not, that Church was part of my childhood – one of the better parts of it – and there were many wonderful people there.

In fact, it was my grandmother and her lovely church friends who decided to take me on my first Disneyland trip – in 1972, as you already know – after a Sunday service. We were going to ride Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion to “find Thurl.”


That’s my grandmother with the dark hair, holding my hand, and the other lady next to me (Martha) was the proprietor of the Country Church and my grandmother’s best friend:

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Vintage%20Disneyland%20Holidays/1972-DISNEYLAND-HORSES-SHERRY-GRAND.jpg

Of course, being only 4 years old, I was scared to death of Pirates and especially the drops in the ride – a fear that took me years to get over – and I ran screaming and crying from the entrance of Haunted Mansion…a fear that took me less time to overcome.

When I finally made my way onto Haunted Mansion in a couple of years, I had to help my poor, unstable grandmother onto one of the Doom Buggies because she had terrible balance and was afraid she was going to fall.


Needless to say, after that first visit to Disneyland in 1972, I was hooked. It began a tradition, and every year my grandmother and her church friends would take me to Disneyland until I started going with my own separate friends. As soon as one trip ended, I was plotting out the next year’s trip!

Since I was so unhappy at home with my parents and in school, these Disneyland trips were my lifeline…they were my light at the end of the tunnel… It was something I looked forward to so I could block out the sadness I felt. It was a haven for me – an escape.

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Vintage%20Disneyland%20Holidays/1975-DISNEYLAND-SHERRY-STACIE-ALICE.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Vintage%20Disneyland%20Holidays/1977-DISNEYLAND-SHERRY-MARTHA-MAINS.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Vintage%20Disneyland%20Holidays/1977-DISNEYLAND-SHERRY-DALE-TOMORRO.jpg


(at Blue Bayou)

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Vintage%20Disneyland%20Holidays/1977-DISNEYLAND-SHERRY-GRANDMA-MARY.jpg


I have posted all of these old Disneyland photos – and many more – in the earlier parts of this thread. So if you want to see them, go to the first post on Page 1 and look for the links. I just wanted to toss a few of them in during this “Intro to the Trip Report/Background” section.


I have to admit that I kind of view Disneyland in the same way today, as an adult – it’s still kind of a ray of light for me. When things are going awry and life is very stressful or depressing, I can always think ahead to my next trip and have something to look forward to!



Coming up soon (within the next couple of installments)…my love of Christmas and Disneyland at Christmas time, my love of photography, and my long friendship with “M” (my out of state friend who is like a sister to me, and who was the cause of my crying on a bench in DCA this past December). And then...the report and photos from the trip!

So just hang in there! I know you’re getting impatient and want me to jump ahead to the pictures from the Disneyland 2011 trip, but it was/is important to me to give you some background because it directly influenced and impacted my life and who I am, and especially my friendships and my love of Disneyland today. The past led to the present!

[deejdigsdis]

No impatience here... I'm enjoying the background/intro very much. Thank you for sharing. :hug:

[Sherry E]

No impatience here... I'm enjoying the background/intro very much. Thank you for sharing. :hug:

Okay. Thanks, deej. I wasn't sure if you were still out there because I replied to you yesterday and you vanished. Not that I said anything exciting or urgent - I just wasn't sure if you had tuned out or not realized I replied - sometimes posts get lost in the pages in various threads! Good to know you're there.






Oh, by the way, Michele - In your TR, you are using those giant photos that I have enormous trouble with on my PC! Even if I weren't tied up with my own TR that is now 3 months late, I can't post anything in yours because my PC will freeze up.:rotfl2: I didn't have trouble viewing your photos on Facebook because they were not as huge, but on the DIS the giant photos freeze up this PC. Arrrrggghhhhh. I hate technical problems.

[kaoden39]

Sherry, when I started I was putting the smaller pictures in it but Laurie couldn't see them as well. I am in a pickle either way. I'm sorry.:guilty:

[mvf-m11c]

Its nice to hear from you again Sherry and glad that you are feeling better. I would like to read more, but I have to get ready for my trip tomorrow. Maybe when I am on the road or waiting for the fireworks on Saturday night, I will read your posts. I will definitely be looking forward to reading your TR.

[Sherry E]

Sherry, when I started I was putting the smaller pictures in it but Laurie couldn't see them as well. I am in a pickle either way. I'm sorry.:guilty:


Michele -

No problem.:goodvibes Deejdigsdis and Bret already changed the size of their TR photos for my benefit (which I really appreciated but felt guilty about:guilty:). I certainly don't want anyone else doing that too! As long as you have Laurie following along, that's what's important.

I have to get through my own TR now, anyway, for anyone who is actually interested in reading it (which doesn't seem to be too many people). I waited 3 months do it so if I stop to focus on anything else, I won't be able to get through it.

As Mariezp once told me, I should at least do the TR for myself, just to have it for my own 'records,' if not for anyone else's entertainment. (Of course, she and I also commiserated on how it feels lousy when it seems like no one is paying attention to our TR's when we do them, but it's good to chronicle the trips in some way for our own benefit.)


:santa::santa::santa:


I am just letting anyone out there (who may be lurking) know that if you want me to follow along with your TR's and occasionally post in them, I am happy to do it but I can't when there are giant photos! If there were just one giant photo per page, it would not be so bad - but I think it's the collection of them on a page that locks/freezes up my old PC when the pages are trying to load! :badpc: Large photos are fine - I think Laurie uses a large size in her TR's - but it's the jumbo size that I have a lot of trouble with. So, please, don't be offended or feel bad if I don't pop into a TR and comment!

I remember, back when I was using that same jumbo size of photo in my own TR (in the beginning, in 2008), another DIS'er in another thread commented on it to me. He was having trouble with the photos because the size of his screen was smaller, and he had to scroll over to see the whole photo. I don't think he had the same issue with his PC freezing up, but he had a harder time viewing the really big pictures.

So I just went down one size in photos when I loaded pictures. I don't choose the "Medium" option, whatever that is. I just use what Photobucket calls "Large" for the actual pictures that will be in Trip Reports (but I have posted single jumbo-sized photos in the Picture of the Day thread, though), although I have a feeling that some of my recent PhotoPass photos may have accidentally loaded in the jumbo size, which will give me a lot of trouble when it's time to post them in this TR!


:santa::santa::santa:

Its nice to hear from you again Sherry and glad that you are feeling better. I would like to read more, but I have to get ready for my trip tomorrow. Maybe when I am on the road or waiting for the fireworks on Saturday night, I will read your posts. I will definitely be looking forward to reading your TR.


Helllllllllllooooooo, Bret! Thank you for tuning in, and for the kind words. Yes, I feel much, much, much better.:goodvibes

I knew your DLR trip was about to start and I figured that you wouldn't be able to really read anything here for a while. I considered waiting a bit longer to start the TR so that you'd be back, but I have waited 3 months to get going with it so I have to do it when I am in the mood and on a roll or I will never finish it!:rotfl2:

I'll have more posted today and certainly by tomorrow, but you can always catch up whenever you have time, after the trip is over. Have a wonderful visit to DLR, Bret!:yay:

[mariezp]

Hi, Marie!!:cool1:

It seems - operative word being "seems" - that the DIS' problems with slow-loading pages are fixed, from what I can tell, so all I have to deal with then is my usual PC issues. But the combo of both those things together would have sent me into a tizzy. Add to that the fact that I was feeling sick for so long...I just couldn't get a TR going. The timing wasn't right.

I hear you about timing! It takes specific timing as well as a certain mood to delve into working on these trip reports... at least for some of us. Some folks seem to come back "raring to go" but I know I have to work through a little of my Disneyland Post-Partum Blues before I can go back to reliving what I am so sad about just having left behind.


Yes, I do feel like getting back to the Disneyland, sooner than later. When I was at the peak of illness, the last thing I wanted to do was go back there! Now that I am mostly better, I am in that mode of wanting to go back.

But when will I get back? My Christmas trips are always my first priority, with Halloween Time being a close second. I have a Superthread for each of those holidays and I have to keep up to date with the changing details and information, after all, so that the facts that I give out are relevant and current! Part of what we are expected to do as moderators is give out useful/helpful information and conduct discussions about certain things. Those 2 holidays are my 'things,' so I have to stay on top of what's happening!:surfweb:
We were worried about you there for awhile but we know it is a sure sign that you are back to your old self when you are voicing interest in future trips. Be sure to keep a Thanksgiving trip in mind while you are at it. ;) We are very lucky to have you (and the others) as a moderator. You always do an excellent job of keeping us updated and filled to the brim with all things Disney. :thumbsup2

This year is a wild card in terms of holiday and Halloween decor & offerings because of all the new stuff opening in California Adventure. Disneyland may decide to go bigger and better than ever before with both Halloween Time and the holiday season...or they could scale it all back and cut out some things so that people can focus on Cars Land, Buena Vista Street, etc. New Orleans Square is a big mystery every year - little things keep disappearing from their holiday decor. And ToonTown? After seeing those "new," hideous Christmas trees they put in place of the old trees, I am crossing my fingers that they come to their senses this year and reinstate the old trees.
It will be interesting to see what Disney does in regards to the holiday experience after putting so much effort out this year on Carsland. I am looking forward to having more to do over in CA but I do still hope they make an added effort to spruce the place up a bit with holiday decorations. Can you imagine how beautiful the new entry plaza would be in Christmas lights and garland ala Disney-style? Now that they will have an actual city street like setting I could see it having almost as much potential as DL's Main Street.
I will also be hoping that back over at Disneyland they get back on track and stop scaling back on the holiday atmosphere, such as you mention in NOS. And, YES! Give us our non plastic tress back in Toontown. Enough with being cheap! It shouldn't take a rocket scientist to realize that the seasonal offerings draw in huge numbers. Give us what we want! More, more, more not less, less, less or tacky, tacky, tacky. :laughing:

One thing I am fairly sure about is that Cars Land will not have Christmas decor this year. I am positive that DLR will want to keep that land clean and undecorated in its first year so that people can really see it in its original state. That's what happened with ToonTown when it opened - from what I can recall, ToonTown did not have any signs of Christmas in the year it debuted (1993). I don't think it even had anything Christmasy in 1994 - and if it did, it was not much. It took a while before that land became decorated and I think that's what will happen with Cars Land as well.
I think you may be right. After all it would be a shame for people seeing Carsland their very first time to not be able to take in the full affects of all those neon signs in their shining glory. Not sure if Christmas decorations would ever blend in there quite properly. Toontown, on the other hand, really shines when it is draped in it's holiday decorations.

But I actually feel like going back to DLR before Fall - not in the peak of Summer, mind you. That's too much heat for me. I'd love to go in the next few weeks, while the weather is still cool and pleasant enough, and then I'd love to go again right when Cars Land and Buena Vista Street open. Whether or not that will happen is up in the air, but we'll see.
I imagine there are quite a few of us around here who would be willing to go back to the park just about any time if we only had the opportunity! I am with you though. I would have to think twice before going mid summer. I do not like heat. I know makes no sense, right? I live in Texas after all... you would think I would be used to it by now. :rolleyes: Good luck to you making it back before fall!

I skipped doing a LOT of stuff that I would normally do, and that includes rampant photo-taking. That's one of my biggest regrets about this past trip, because I love taking photos sooooo much, for both a creative outlet and memory preservation purposes, as well as cathartic/therapeutic purposes for myself. So it actually really bugs me that I didn't get more of that done. I am so happy when I can just run around DL, DCA or the hotels on my own, snapping away. I just adore doing that. It brings me great joy. But I only got to do a little of it in December and I wish I could go back and remove all the not-so-great parts of the trip and replace them with more photo-taking!!!:yay:

Here's hoping your next trip provides a lot more photo taking opportunities. Although, I am beginning to wonder if there would ever be enough time to "do it all". You would think 2 weeks would be enough for anyone but I can tell you that even I come home feeling like I never get it all done. Always missed a ride, a special snack, a souvenir or maybe a certain photo. Oh well. Disney should be happy to know that it is the master in providing many reasons which keep us coming back for more!


Anyway, I am glad you're hanging in here with me!:cool1: As I've said before, I didn't even take half of the photos in December 2011 that I took in December 2010 so the photos are not really the big draw this time. It's more the overall progression of the trip and the story that is the key!
You are more than welcome dear friend! Looks like I will be here til you or I one are all Disneyed out! :laughing: Like that is ever gonna happen! :laughing: Not only do I stay around because we have become friends but also because you do such a great job of pouring your heart and soul into your report. You are indeed a tough act to follow!!!

As Mariezp once told me, I should at least do the TR for myself, just to have it for my own 'records,' if not for anyone else's entertainment. (Of course, she and I also commiserated on how it feels lousy when it seems like no one is paying attention to our TR's when we do them, but it's good to chronicle the trips in some way for our own benefit.) I still think that it is excellent to do a report for your own documentation but it is still always way better when you have people chime in and join in with you along your journey.


You know I did some checking and I have been right here with you since the beginning of your report which you started back in 2008. I was post #9. :) You have been such a great source of inspiration for many of us, no doubt, but I gotta tell you that I think you have really out done yourself on this latest installment. First off, I love the latest title. Talk about intriguing. Who can't resist hanging around to find out what's up with Aunt Betty? But I think the best part is how this latest trip report begins with such an up close and personal in-depth introduction. I do not at all like the fact that you had an unhappy childhood (thank heavens for your grandmother!) but knowing you had Disneyland as your escape/refuge absolutely does explain your close relationship/connection to Disneyland and on a level that a lot of people never have even had to imagine. I am so glad you did have it to brighten your childhood a little.... and even now to brighten your days as an adult. I think most of us can agree that we all feel a deep gratitude to Walt for his vision. I for one am so grateful he shared it with us all.

40 years of Disneyland trips and 20th years of Goofy’s Kitchen! That is quite impressive! I would love to say someday that I have been going to the park for 40 years. I have already requested that I be "wheeled in" when I can't walk anymore. :lmao:

Loved your historical account of the Pan Pacific Auditorium. How crazy is it that both it and The Little Country Church of Hollywood both burned? Wonder if there were ever any other churches out there somewhere that ever had a “Thurl Day”? That had to of been a treat! Love all the early years photos you selected. So far you are off to a great start! Now hurry up and get to that Wacky Aunt Betty!

[deejdigsdis]

It looks like I somehow missed that big reply to me on the last page. I think your TR started hopping again and I didn't go back far enough to see it. I don't know...

I had been thinking about bumping your TR to see if anyone could reassure me that you indeed hadn't fallen somewhere. I knew you were FB friends with some DIS'ers and I figured if I asked the quesiton it could be answered by someone, but then I figured if something was seriously wrong, or if you hadn't even shown up on FB at all, someone would mention something. (I also thought of "I've fallen and I can't get up" when I originally mentioned my concern!)

I agree with Marie...at least do the TR for yourself. Do you ever go back and read about past trips? I do that once in a while. I've definitely had moments of wondering if I am just "typing" to mid-air (is that even a saying???) -- as evidenced by lack of comments while I am posting a TR. I think my number of comments to number of views ratio is something like 1 to 100. :laughing: TRs are a lot of work and it can be discouraging if there aren't many comments going on. But, I also know that you know that lots of people are reading along and enjoying in the shadows. :) So even if there are just a few of us saying "Bring it on!" --- you know there are so many more who are thinking it...and ready to meet Aunt Betty!

And yes...an October trip is on the horizon. My family of 5, my sis CB Jamboree, our older sis and her adult son, and our younger brother and his wife and 4 children are planning to go in October. We would love for our parents to join us. It will depend on what's going on with our dad cancer-wise. He is doing great/feeling great right now. The cancer is still not showing up on a CAT scan, which is not what was expected. He has a blood clot (formed from bleeding cancer cells) once again, but this time instead of surgery, the doctor will insert a needle into the blood clot in his lung and give it some sort of electric shock and break it apart. That will happen on Tuesday.

I loved all your old pictures, by the way. I think of Thurl when Grim Grinning Ghosts is playing as I'm driving. (The Disney Parks CD pretty much lives in the CD player in the car.) DS6 always wants to hear that song, or Pirates or Indiana Jones.

OK...ready when you are for more...popcorn::

[Sherry E]

Well, for corn's sake! (Anyone who used to watch "I Love Lucy," as I know deejdigsdis did, will remember that Fred Mertz used to say that a lot!)

I have NO idea what is happening with the DIS or with technology. I just popped on to the DIS for a minute, to type something in Marie's TR before I forgot. But I was going to sign off right away because my Internet has been crashing for the last couple of hours and I've had to reboot my PC about 8 times today - it seems to get worse when I go online. I wanted to give it a rest, and I thought that no one had posted anything here in my TR so I could sign off.

So just the very second when I was about to leave the TR section and log out, I glanced down the page to see that deej had posted something in my TR! Huh? When did this happen? Her post was not there yesterday when I looked.:confused3

I opened deej's post only to see that Marie had also posted something yesterday! Huh? When did that happen? It looks like it was early! I got absolutely NO e-mail notifications of either of your posts, and I checked my TR several times yesterday - into late evening - and this morning, and there was nothing new here (at least, nothing that was showing).

So now I am annoyed because I have to give this darn PC from hades a rest - I am so afraid it's just going to give out entirely - and I will have to wait to reply to specific things or to post another installment. If I had gotten the proper e-mail alerts yesterday, as I should have, I could have popped over and replied to both Marie and deej!:mad: My Internet was not acting wacky yesterday and I could have replied! For corn's sake! I did not even see the posts when I looked at the TR! It's like they were invisible only to me! Lol. It looked as if nobody had replied at all since my last post.


Oh, one thing I will say is that I considered going into my closet and digging out a box of my grandmother's old photos to see if I could find anything she may have taken of Thurl. Of course, she was at the Little Country Church and knew him way before I was even born, and the Church folks were always having lunches or banquets or parties. She had tons of photos, just loosely scattered in boxes. So I would have to go through them and see if I can find anything with a (much younger) Thurl at a Church outing, or maybe something with him in the Goose Creek Quartet. And then I'd have to see if my scanner is even working after the crash last year.

So I may not get into the closet for a while to do that, but I considered it!!!:rotfl2:

Okay, time to let this PC rest. I am so mad that I didn't see these messages here before or know they were here. Grrrrr.

Bear with me, folks. I am going to try to come back later tonight and reply, but if not tonight then tomorrow, after the PC has had a good night's rest - there are definitely a couple of things Marie and deej said that I wanted to reply to!


Thank you so much, Marie and deej, for hanging in here:hug:. The number of views I have includes you two and the repeated visits from the followers I have. I only wish I had 160,000 separate people viewing, but that's not the case!:rotfl2:

I am glad I have intrigued everyone with Aunt Betty - I'm afraid the actual Aunt Betty story will be anti-climactic, but I've got you curious!!

[tksbaskets]

The suspense is excruciating! Who is Aunt Betty?? What did she do?? Will I think of Aunt Betty like I think of Sherry when I see scarves and ice cream cones whilst at DL??

Inquiring minds want to know. popcorn::

[Sherry E]

The suspense is excruciating! Who is Aunt Betty?? What did she do?? Will I think of Aunt Betty like I think of Sherry when I see scarves and ice cream cones whilst at DL??

Inquiring minds want to know. popcorn::

:rotfl2: Muahahahaha! I love to leave my audience in suspense!:rotfl2: No, Aunt Betty has nothing to with scarves, evil chairs or ice cream cones (of death). That much I will say. But you may think of her the next time you take a photo - there's a clue!;)

TK, at least I got ONE installment up so far (see the previous page with the vintage stuff)! I have to get points for that! One installment is better than NO installments!:rotfl2:

[tksbaskets]

I loved your first installment. :woohoo: Your Grandma Rocked!! You intrigued me with the set up for the TR too. You know how to tease your followers in a good way :goodvibes

[Sherry E]

Okay, as I mentioned here last night, something went awry with getting e-mail notifications, so I had no clue that Marie and Deej had posted anything here 2 days ago. In fact, I even came to this thread and checked it 2 nights ago and yesterday morning - and saw nothing new! The last post I saw in the thread was my own! But, from reading Deej's comments it appears that she saw Marie's post above hers - so why couldn't I see either of them?:confused3 Technology is so perplexing!

All of a sudden, last night - in the middle of my Internet going haywire (I think the modem signal has been weak lately and that may have to do with the Internet's crazy behavior) - I happened to see that Deej and Marie had both posted on Saturday at some point. I have no clue why those posts did not show up when I looked in this thread yesterday morning, and it makes me wonder how many other posts disappear into the cyber-mist in any thread on any given day, but luckily they appeared and now I am back to reply to a few things!:cool1:



I hear you about timing! It takes specific timing as well as a certain mood to delve into working on these trip reports... at least for some of us. Some folks seem to come back "raring to go" but I know I have to work through a little of my Disneyland Post-Partum Blues before I can go back to reliving what I am so sad about just having left behind.

Marie - It's definitely about timing and being in the right mood to hunker down and start a TR, much less carry it through. Sometimes you feel inspired; sometimes you don't feel inspired but you feel like you have to forge ahead!

In my case, it's largely my technical issues on this PC that ruin my 'gung ho' attitude about starting a TR. I know I am going to encounter a lot of annoying hurdles along the way and have to reboot 900 times. And then, sometimes I am just not in the mood to do anything with the TR and I have to wait until I get inspired. Also, scheduling! I hope no one takes offense at this, but I think you will understand where I am coming from - who has the time to do these reports? I don't have kids, and I haven't even been working much, for the most part, but I am doing all kinds of other things to try to make money - or just things that need to be taken care of at home - and I don't have the time! How is it that all of you wonderful people with kids and spouses and full-time jobs have time to knock out these great TR's when I can't even find the time!:rotfl2: I am in awe of all of you! I am clearly not maximizing my time the right way because I feel inferior to you all in your TR efforts!!:rotfl2:


We were worried about you there for awhile but we know it is a sure sign that you are back to your old self when you are voicing interest in future trips. Be sure to keep a Thanksgiving trip in mind while you are at it. ;) We are very lucky to have you (and the others) as a moderator. You always do an excellent job of keeping us updated and filled to the brim with all things Disney. :thumbsup2


Thanks for the vote of confidence, Marie! I'm sure a lot of folks think that all the mods are supposed to do is sit in the shadows and delete things when they need to be deleted, stop arguments, or move threads to other sections. But it actually entails much more than that - compiling and dispensing information, answering questions, referring people to the right place to find certain info, leading discussions, etc.

I have thought about a Thanksgiving trip - I remembered that your trip would be during that time frame, and there may be another DIS'er who ends up at DLR on 11/26 too. It would be nice to actually have a Thanksgiving dinner again, for a change - I don't need a Thanksgiving meal or have one as a rule, so for a change it would be nice to do it - at Disneyland! If I could get to Anaheim and back on random days with no problem, I would definitely do it.

It will be interesting to see what Disney does in regards to the holiday experience after putting so much effort out this year on Carsland. I am looking forward to having more to do over in CA but I do still hope they make an added effort to spruce the place up a bit with holiday decorations. Can you imagine how beautiful the new entry plaza would be in Christmas lights and garland ala Disney-style? Now that they will have an actual city street like setting I could see it having almost as much potential as DL's Main Street.
I will also be hoping that back over at Disneyland they get back on track and stop scaling back on the holiday atmosphere, such as you mention in NOS. And, YES! Give us our non plastic tress back in Toontown. Enough with being cheap! It shouldn't take a rocket scientist to realize that the seasonal offerings draw in huge numbers. Give us what we want! More, more, more not less, less, less or tacky, tacky, tacky. :laughing:


I think you may be right. After all it would be a shame for people seeing Carsland their very first time to not be able to take in the full affects of all those neon signs in their shining glory. Not sure if Christmas decorations would ever blend in there quite properly. Toontown, on the other hand, really shines when it is draped in it's holiday decorations.

Oh, those ToonTown trees were just awful. I didn't get any photos of them on this past December trip (then again, I skipped getting photos of a lot of things, as you know), but I went back there to see them in person and they were just as awful then as they were in the photos I had previously seen! Please, Disney, bring back the old ToonTown trees - at the very least, just bring back the main big tree with the giant colored ornaments, and leave the ugly plastic trees at Mickey's & Minnie's houses.

I am very curious to see the future possibilities of Buena Vista Street's holiday decor. It could be wonderful, but I just have a feeling that DLR is going to hold back on decorating BVS or Cars Land for a while, so that people can see the details without interference. In the future, I could see them trying to do a 'clever' and 'wacky' type of holiday theme for Cars Land. Right now there may not be any decorations they have which would fit that theme, but if they can give the Toons their decor, and the Bugs their own decor, and the Mardi Gras-inspired stuff in NOS, I am certain that someone is creative enough to come up with some holiday decorations for the Cars...but we may not see those decorations for a couple of years.

I imagine there are quite a few of us around here who would be willing to go back to the park just about any time if we only had the opportunity! I am with you though. I would have to think twice before going mid summer. I do not like heat. I know makes no sense, right? I live in Texas after all... you would think I would be used to it by now. :rolleyes: Good luck to you making it back before fall!

Well, keep in mind that I think it is too hot when other people would not think it's too hot! I have a really low tolerance for any kind of heat and do not want to go out at times when other people think it's not that hot! I used to do Summer trips to DLR - all through the 1980’s and into the '90s - and it was really too much for me even then. So now it's just not even on the radar. I am all about the Fall and Winter (a California winter, that is!) I am interested in going right when Cars Land opens and all the DCA changes are complete – just to be part of the opening madness – but if it is too hot for me when that happens, I will pass.

But wow – I expect a full-throttle media/PR blitz this year before June because Disney wants to really hype the ‘new’ California Adventure, and this will all be the culmination of the billion dollar makeover. I wonder when the TV commercials will start? What do you think? Will they start in May?

Here's hoping your next trip provides a lot more photo taking opportunities. Although, I am beginning to wonder if there would ever be enough time to "do it all". You would think 2 weeks would be enough for anyone but I can tell you that even I come home feeling like I never get it all done. Always missed a ride, a special snack, a souvenir or maybe a certain photo. Oh well. Disney should be happy to know that it is the master in providing many reasons which keep us coming back for more!

Yes, I would think that 2 weeks at DLR would be plenty of time to do everything you want and more, and then do it all again another few times!

The thing is, for me – and not everyone is of this same mind set – the photo-taking is actually a big priority for me. I wander around, taking photos of random flowers and fountains and all kinds of wacky stuff in my neighborhood, in daily life! I always keep my eyes peeled for things to take photos of!

So at DLR, I would happily wander around by myself for hours or days on end, just taking photos and not getting on any rides (that’s what I did in December 2010 – I spent 2 entire days and part of another day by myself, just taking photos). Many people could not conceive of such a thing, and they would have to get rides in and maybe some shopping or whatever, and just kind of snap some photos as they went along. But I would actually put my photo missions before anything else if it is a solo day for me and no friends are with me.

That’s why it pains me so that I didn’t make more time for photo-taking on this past DLR trip – because I may never have 4 nights and 5 days to spend there again. (I just have no clue. Things are too unpredictable with my money situation!) That would have been a prime chance to go off on a photo journey, BUT I got sick about 2-1/2 days into the trip, and I devoted time to my out-of-state friends, sacrificing my precious photo time to be with her/them…which turned out to be a mistake, as everyone will learn!



You are more than welcome dear friend! Looks like I will be here til you or I one are all Disneyed out! :laughing: Like that is ever gonna happen! :laughing: Not only do I stay around because we have become friends but also because you do such a great job of pouring your heart and soul into your report. You are indeed a tough act to follow!!!

I still think that it is excellent to do a report for your own documentation but it is still always way better when you have people chime in and join in with you along your journey.

You know I did some checking and I have been right here with you since the beginning of your report which you started back in 2008. I was post #9. :) You have been such a great source of inspiration for many of us, no doubt, but I gotta tell you that I think you have really out done yourself on this latest installment. First off, I love the latest title. Talk about intriguing. Who can't resist hanging around to find out what's up with Aunt Betty? But I think the best part is how this latest trip report begins with such an up close and personal in-depth introduction. I do not at all like the fact that you had an unhappy childhood (thank heavens for your grandmother!) but knowing you had Disneyland as your escape/refuge absolutely does explain your close relationship/connection to Disneyland and on a level that a lot of people never have even had to imagine. I am so glad you did have it to brighten your childhood a little.... and even now to brighten your days as an adult. I think most of us can agree that we all feel a deep gratitude to Walt for his vision. I for one am so grateful he shared it with us all.


Thanks for the very kind words, Marie!

Yes, you have been here in this TR since the beginning! A lot of other people have come and gone, but you’re still here! Thank you!

I get the feeling that there may be some lurkers out there who think, “Sherry has so many ‘views’ of her TR – she doesn’t need any extra help or support on the TR. She doesn’t need any new posts.”

But what I am always saying is that this TR has been around for 4 years – and it took forever to even get to page 100 of it! I decided a long time ago that I wanted to keep all the TR’s in one thread because it would be easier to find them that way. (And anyone on this specific side of the DIS can do the same thing with their TR’s!) It wasn’t because I was thinking about how many views I would have. Many of the SAME people have been viewing and posting here for years, and all of those views are counted. By no means does it mean that I’ve had 160,000 separate people viewing – and I certainly have not had that many people commenting! You can see that only a few people are commenting!

My TR has been a very slow-growing process. And when it gets to page 250, roughly, I will have to close it and start a new thread – the mods are supposed to close any threads when they get to page 250 (or within a few pages beyond it). Then I will be back to zero comments and zero views!

Actually, when you think about it, Bret (mvf-m11c)’s TR thread (which also contains many TR’s) has done much better than mine, because he started his thread much, much later than I began mine, and his number of views has grown dramatically in a much shorter period of time than mine. So even though he is at 100,000 views right now, he got to that point much faster than my TR did, in a much shorter period of time.

Yes, thank heavens for my grandmother! She really gave my childhood some brightness and joy! Again, she did not have any money, but she tried to do things for me that ‘normal’ kids would like. Lots of birthday presents. Wonderful, fun-filled Easter baskets that she would hide around the apartment (and it’s much more fun to hunt for hidden baskets than it is to hunt for hidden eggs!). Christmas stockings stuffed will all kinds of mini-toys and treasures. Stuffed animals and little pieces of jewelry for Valentine’s Day. Stuffed animals for Halloween. Little knick-knacks (and usually some money!) for St. Patrick’s Day. A Hallmark card for every holiday. And, of course, the trips to Disneyland – even after she stopped accompanying me on the DL trips, she funded the DL trips I took with friends for several years, until I started working. She even bought me my very first Mickey Mouse watch at the Emporium when I was a child (which I no longer have because it was accidentally thrown out), and that must have triggered my insane watch obsession back in the ‘90s! Lol.

I wanted to start my TR with all of this background stuff/lore this time around – which, obviously, I don’t do with every TR – because, of course, there was a direct Disney connection in Thurl Ravenscroft, and there was the Pan Pacific Auditorium segment, which plays a prominent role in the entrance to DCA today.

Mainly, though, I wanted to show that Disneyland can be much more to people than just a place to meet Mickey Mouse – because I have a feeling there are many, many people out here on the DIS who had unhappy, stress-filled childhoods too, and who may have found some solace and relief in their trips to Disneyland, as I did, but they feel silly admitting to it. Lots of people dismiss DLR as “just an overpriced theme park.” To many, it’s little more than a place to ride fun rides, buy expensive souvenirs and show their kids a great time. But everyone has to realize that Disneyland has been much more than that to more than a few of us in our lives – and that it was literally the thing that got me through very rough times as a child!



40 years of Disneyland trips and 20th years of Goofy’s Kitchen! That is quite impressive! I would love to say someday that I have been going to the park for 40 years. I have already requested that I be "wheeled in" when I can't walk anymore. :lmao:

Yep! It’s hard to believe that I am celebrating 40 years of going to Disneyland – and that I have somehow made it there every year, whether it’s just for one day or multiple nights, with the exception of the 9 years I mentioned that I had to skip.

Ironically, out of the handful of years that I missed going to Disneyland, a couple of them I skipped because my grandmother passed away and there was a LOT of stuff that needed to be taken care of after that (selling things, business matters, etc.). Then I had to move to a new place immediately after all of that (actually, sort of during it), and moving is stressful as it is. Plus, I was dating a guy for a few years who had NO interest in Disneyland. So 1996-1999 were not prime years for me to be at DL, sadly. And from 2002-2006, I was just broke and couldn’t go. Plain and simple!! Lol. Finally, a client gave me some free tickets to DL in 2007 and it reignited my love for it, and I remembered why I had grown so attached to Disneyland in the first place, and how much it had meant to me as a child!

And 20 years of Goofy’s Kitchen! There was a time – in the early Goofy’s days, when it was inexpensive – that my friends and I ate there 2 or 3 times per trip. We would stay at the Disneyland Hotel for a couple of nights and we would eat 2 or 3 breakfasts at Goofy’s over time frame. Breakfast was about $11.00. Lunch was maybe $13.00 or so. And dinner was a whopping $15.00-ish, then $17.00, etc. Eventually, it just got too expensive.

So this last December 2011 trip was the first time in years and years and years that I ate at Goofy’s twice in the same trip (if not for Laurie treating me to breakfast on the last day, I am not sure I could have afforded 2 character meals)! Back in 2007, Shawn and I ate at the Critter Breakfast as well as at Goofy’s Kitchen in one trip, though.


Loved your historical account of the Pan Pacific Auditorium. How crazy is it that both it and The Little Country Church of Hollywood both burned? Wonder if there were ever any other churches out there somewhere that ever had a “Thurl Day”? That had to of been a treat! Love all the early years photos you selected. So far you are off to a great start! Now hurry up and get to that Wacky Aunt Betty!


Marie – all replies are in red above^^.

Yes, isn’t it weird that both Pan Pacific and the Little Country Church burnt to the ground? I could see the Pan Pacific fire as it happened – that was scary and sad.

I have lots of old photos of myself on the beautiful, flower-filled grounds of the Country Church as a child, but I eventually hope to rummage through my grandmother’s boxes of old pictures and see if I can find anything with a younger Thurl Ravenscroft at the Church or one of the Church functions!

If I recall, Thurl may have lived somewhere in Orange County, I think. The Goose Creek Quartet stuff was exclusive to the Country Church. He was at the Church a lot for a while – you couldn’t miss him walking in, he was so tall! – but as he began to get more voice roles, either in Disney movies, at Disneyland or with some other company, he stopped attending services as much. And then I think he and his wife moved down to Orange County – or maybe they had already lived there – and he was attending a church down there. It’s a 45-minute drive between O.C. and L.A. without traffic, so he may have gotten tired of the drive! Lol.

So to answer your hypothetical question, I’m sure there is at least one Orange County church somewhere that can say that Thurl was a member. But he definitely had a special place in his heart for the Little Country Church of Hollywood, and it was because of Thurl’s voice work that my grandmother and her friends decided to take me on my first trip to Disneyland – so we could hear his voice work on the rides!


It looks like I somehow missed that big reply to me on the last page. I think your TR started hopping again and I didn't go back far enough to see it. I don't know...

I had been thinking about bumping your TR to see if anyone could reassure me that you indeed hadn't fallen somewhere. I knew you were FB friends with some DIS'ers and I figured if I asked the quesiton it could be answered by someone, but then I figured if something was seriously wrong, or if you hadn't even shown up on FB at all, someone would mention something. (I also thought of "I've fallen and I can't get up" when I originally mentioned my concern!)

I agree with Marie...at least do the TR for yourself. Do you ever go back and read about past trips? I do that once in a while. I've definitely had moments of wondering if I am just "typing" to mid-air (is that even a saying???) -- as evidenced by lack of comments while I am posting a TR. I think my number of comments to number of views ratio is something like 1 to 100. :laughing: TRs are a lot of work and it can be discouraging if there aren't many comments going on. But, I also know that you know that lots of people are reading along and enjoying in the shadows. :) So even if there are just a few of us saying "Bring it on!" --- you know there are so many more who are thinking it...and ready to meet Aunt Betty!

And yes...an October trip is on the horizon. My family of 5, my sis CB Jamboree, our older sis and her adult son, and our younger brother and his wife and 4 children are planning to go in October. We would love for our parents to join us. It will depend on what's going on with our dad cancer-wise. He is doing great/feeling great right now. The cancer is still not showing up on a CAT scan, which is not what was expected. He has a blood clot (formed from bleeding cancer cells) once again, but this time instead of surgery, the doctor will insert a needle into the blood clot in his lung and give it some sort of electric shock and break it apart. That will happen on Tuesday.

I loved all your old pictures, by the way. I think of Thurl when Grim Grinning Ghosts is playing as I'm driving. (The Disney Parks CD pretty much lives in the CD player in the car.) DS6 always wants to hear that song, or Pirates or Indiana Jones.

OK...ready when you are for more...popcorn::


Deej –

I know that often happens – even if a TR is not really hoppin’, but it simply moves from one page to the next, often times I think people miss things on the previous page! I’m not only talking about this thread – I have seen it happen in other people’s threads, too! So I know that a lot of responses and posts can get lost in the shuffle!

Anyway, I am very glad that you’re still here, along for the ride, waiting to find out who in the [heck] Aunt Betty is and where she came from! (Or as Marie said, “What’s up with Aunt Betty?” Lol.) I swear, it is going to be the most anti-climactic, lackluster story ever, but I am enjoying that Aunt Betty is taking on a certain mystique! Lol. I should take out some billboards that say nothing but “Who is Aunt Betty?” or “What’s up with Aunt Betty?” and start a whole media frenzy. That would be fun.

Hopefully, if I ever disappear from Facebook too, and no one there or here has heard from me in a really long time, someone will question it! I’d hate to think that I’d go missing and no one noticed!

I have not yet really gone back and read about past trips of mine, unless I was trying to find something specific for reference. Unfortunately, I used the hugely-sized photos for the 2008 TR’s, and for most of the ‘vintage’ DL photos (1972-2001) that I posted in early 2009, so I can’t go back into those pages easily because, as you know, my PC locks up and will not tolerate the multiple huge photos on each page without locking up. Eventually I will want to go back to the beginning and re-read them. I have until about page 250 on this TR before it’s time to close up shop and start a new one, so I will try to pack as many TR’s as I can into this thread before it bids farewell!

I do agree that just for historical purposes, it’s good to have a record of what happened that we can refer back to when our memories start to fade!

Don’t you hate that ‘Am I talking to myself’ feeling when you are doing a TR and it’s…crickets…crickets…crickets? No one is saying anything, or they just pop in and say, Great TR!” and sign off, never to be seen again!! Oh boy, I know that feeling!

The funny thing is, we know that many more people lurk than actually come out of hiding and say something. So, chances are, for all of our individual TR efforts, there are probably lots and lots of people reading and very few making themselves known (like you said, the 1 to 100 ratio, although many of the view counts are the same people viewing over and over again!). And I know that many people actually prefer to be silent – they want to just quietly read along and not have to get involved in a discussion. I can totally understand that angle too. But even though we logically know all of this, it never feels good to have almost no replies!

There are probably times when we are posting things and wondering, “Who exactly IS out there, reading along? Are they all from the DLR side of the board, or are there some WDW people who wandered over here too? And are they not speaking up because they have nothing good to say? What do I have to do to get people to talk?” Lol. It can be frustrating, indeed. Also, too, I think that more people tend to speak up for ‘new’ TR’s – like from TR writers who have not done a dozen of them, and maybe this is only their first or second TR. I think they get sick of seeing me in the TR section, even if I don’t go to DLR more than once or twice in a year, and they want to read TR’s from new people. I can understand that too.

And then I also think there is a bit of Trip Report fatigue in general – when you have read a bunch of them, after a while it can be easy to burn out, no matter who the TR writer is. It happens to me – I get into reading/following several TR’s and then I just hit a wall. I suddenly don’t want to read anymore or look at anymore photos for a while. I need to get over the burn out and then come back to the TR’s down the road, with a fresh perspective. So I can only imagine that lots of people have the TR fatigue.

Your poor dad – even though it sounds like he is doing much better than expected right now. Your family has had so many health scares in the last couple of years. How much can anyone take? I am crossing my fingers and hoping that your parents will be able to go along on the big family DLR trip in October – and what a bonanza of a trip that will be, based on the number of people you said will be going.

Do you have any idea when in October you plan to go to DLR (just in case I happen to be there at any point during that time!)? Was your last Halloween trip – the one in which you went to the Halloween Party with your sister, correct? – in October 2010? It wasn’t in 2009, was it?

I have to get that Disney Parks CD that you mentioned at some point! I have an old, old boxed set (with cassettes, I think!) of the Disney Parks songs, but the selection has been updated since then.

I love the Thurl ghost head in Haunted Mansion. I have not seen that version of the ride in so long – I am so used to the pumpkin heads singing during the Haunted Mansion Holiday version of it. I love HMH, of course (The Impostor version!), but just for kicks, I am curious to ride the original version again. I grew up with that version and I can’t believe that I have not been on it in years and years and years! Not that I would give up my holiday DLR trips or my Halloween DLR trips by a longshot, but I would like to ride the original HM again soo.

I will have to see if I can dig up an old Thurl photo from church in my grandmother’s boxes of pictures. She must have some in there, although they could have been before his hair turned white – I’m not sure. I can’t recall when he first started attending that church.

Anyway, Deej, thanks again, so much, for continuing to be one of my loyal followers here!!


I loved your first installment. :woohoo: Your Grandma Rocked!! You intrigued me with the set up for the TR too. You know how to tease your followers in a good way :goodvibes

Thank you so much, TK! I was pleased with myself that I managed to crank one installment out. Now I have to hustle on the second one!

My grandma was a special lady, indeed – oh, I know she was a pain in the butt to many people (including me!), and they were pains in the butt to her as well (I was one of them!), but everyone agreed that she was a good person who would literally give her last dollar to someone if they needed it. Had it not been for her and all that she tried to provide me with, I’m not sure which direction my life would have taken. I mean, I’m not in the greatest place in my life at the moment, but I think I turned out to be a much better person than I would have turned out to be if not for my grandmother!

I hope the rest of the TR is worth the long…long…long wait!!!

[mvf-m11c]

I really enjoy reading your opening information and background about your history. 40 years you have been going to DL and all of them are memorable. It's been awhile since I have seen your pictures from the old days and they are all very nice to see what DL looked like before I was born. Nice opening post.

I can't wait to read your TR from a few months ago.

[kaoden39]

Sherry, I love all of the nostalgic photos. It makes me remember my first visit to Disneyland. There is something about that first visit.:goodvibes

[PHXscuba]

Sherry, I just wanted you to know that I'm around here lurking too. I don't post much on the Trip Reports section, mainly because yours is one of the few TR I read. :thumbsup2 But I'm here every few days seeing what you wrote.

I think my longstanding "relationship" with Disneyland is also family-driven. My father has been visiting DL since the late 1950s and even saw Walt once (outside the Treehouse)! He started taking us when we were small and Disneyland is one of the biggest connections I have with him despite our difficulties and his general Grumpy-ness.

I am looking forward to your TR and more pictures since I had to miss the 2011 Christmas season. There better be some peppermint pictures :) I am currently hoping to go again in spring 2013.

PHXscuba

[Sherry E]

I really enjoy reading your opening information and background about your history. 40 years you have been going to DL and all of them are memorable. It's been awhile since I have seen your pictures from the old days and they are all very nice to see what DL looked like before I was born. Nice opening post.

I can't wait to read your TR from a few months ago.

Hi, Bret!

Thank you for the kind words. The old pictures are fun for me to see as well, whenever anyone else posts them. I like seeing the ones from DL before I was even born!

Forty years of going to DL means that I'm darn OLD! But yes, they have been very memorable years and trips, and very important to my life in general.

It sounds so horribly distant - the "few months ago" that I waited to do this TR (when everyone else is usually quick to start theirs after their trips). Heck, I am usually quick to start my TR's after my trips. I hate waiting. But...every now and then we can take our time and just get to it when we can.

Sherry, I love all of the nostalgic photos. It makes me remember my first visit to Disneyland. There is something about that first visit.:goodvibes

Hi, Michele!

Thank you. Yes, I love any and all nostalgic photos too. I wish that more folks could find photos from their very first trips to DL. I think that a lot of people can find pictures from when they visited DL as kids, but it seems like a lot of people don't have pictures from their very first trips handy and ready to post. And, as you said, there is something about that first visit...

Michele, please don't hesitate to come join us/me in the Christmas Superthread as the year progresses;). I have some updating of the first page & first 3 posts to do, but a lot of the information and details I have there are applicable to every year's holiday season and won't change too much.

We had a grand time in the Superthread last year with "Theme Weeks" (where we focused on a different aspect of the DLR holiday season in photos each Monday, and everyone posted the photos they had from that theme)! It was an excellent way to kind of showcase all the holiday highlights and show people things that they had missed on previous trips or that they should make a point to see/do on their next trip!

I started the Theme Weeks in late August and kept them going all the way to the official season start date in November, and I expect to do it again this year. Theme Weeks picked up a lot of steam and became extremely popular, because everyone had a chance to really display their photos within a certain context. This year, hopefully Laurie will contribute to Theme Weeks too (since she now has a plethora of DLR holiday photos of her own to share)!


Sherry, I just wanted you to know that I'm around here lurking too. I don't post much on the Trip Reports section, mainly because yours is one of the few TR I read. :thumbsup2 But I'm here every few days seeing what you wrote.

I think my longstanding "relationship" with Disneyland is also family-driven. My father has been visiting DL since the late 1950s and even saw Walt once (outside the Treehouse)! He started taking us when we were small and Disneyland is one of the biggest connections I have with him despite our difficulties and his general Grumpy-ness.

I am looking forward to your TR and more pictures since I had to miss the 2011 Christmas season. There better be some peppermint pictures :) I am currently hoping to go again in spring 2013.

PHXscuba


PHX!

I am so happy to see you here again, my peppermint-lovin' friend!!:yay:

First of all, I am very honored and happy that mine is one of the few TR's that you read/follow along with. (Now I really have to get hustlin' on moving this TR along, before I lose the few followers I have, and before next Christmas rolls around!)

Thank you very much for letting me know you are still out there, lurking! Even if the lurkers don't speak up all the time, it is nice to know who is hanging 'round every so often, so even an occasional pop-in hello is nice!

I haven't actually been on the DIS myself a whole lot lately, so I can't recall the last time I saw you post anywhere. I know I kind of figured out that you must not have made a holiday DLR trip in 2011 because you didn't say anything about it on the Christmas Superthread. You know, you missed the hideous new Christmas trees in ToonTown. Otherwise, things were probably more or less the same as when you visited DLR for the holidays in 2010.

Sadly, I did not get any new pepperminty photos on this last trip in December. I ate peppermint ice cream in a chocolate-covered cone with red and green sprinkles, but no photos. Believe me, I wish I could go back to December 4, 2011 and just redo most of the trip. Well, the first day was really great. I will even go so far as to say the second day was pretty good too. It's the third day when everything went downhill! By then I was getting sick and my friends upset me. So I feel like my third and fourth days at DLR were almost a waste and I wish I could do them over. My fifth day was nice because I got to have breakfast with fellow DIS'ers Laurie (DizNee Luver), Molly (bumbershoot) and Liza (funatdisney) - all of whom are great ladies - but I was already sick by that point so I was struggling!

Anyway, the bottom line is that, because of the chaos going on with my out of state friends (which will be explained in this TR), and because of the fact that I got sick, I skipped taking a LOT of pictures. Compared to my epic 2010 adventure - and you remember all the photos I got from that outing - I really let myself down in the photo department in 2011. Yes, I still have photos to post - but it just won't be the bonanza that it was in 2010.

I love hearing the old stories of people whose parents went to Disneyland in the '50s and saw Walt walking (standing) around, such as your dad! Who knew at that time that the guy standing in front of the Treehouse was such a visionary and genius, way ahead of his time, and was going to become a legend and an icon?

I bet that a lot of people have family connections in their relationships with Disneyland, whether they identify them or not. Like in your situation, despite your difficulties, that is one place where you and your dad could connect! So DL will always remind you of happy times with dad! I would imagine that many people probably had great times with family at DL and so there will always be a soft spot in their hearts for Disneyland. Others, like myself, were able to use DL as an escape from family troubles.

Any way you slice it, I think that there are much deeper emotional ties to DL that many people have, and it goes far, far beyond Disneyland simply being a fun place to hop on some rides!!

:yay:


Okay, since you have all been so patient, I am going to go out of sequence a bit in this TR. I still have to post my second installment/Intro, Part 2 (I was having too many technical issues yesterday to do it), BUT....I will now skip way ahead and post some teaser photos from later installments to come!!

So here is just a sampling of what is to come in future installments - and I won't offer any explanations, descriptions or captions right now because those will come when I post them in their proper places later on!! These are just to give you something to look at in the meantime...


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3613.jpg



http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3630.jpg



http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3672.jpg



http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3676.jpg



http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3739.jpg



http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3750.jpg



http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3806.jpg



http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%202/IMG_3912.jpg



http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%202/IMG_3928.jpg



http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%202/IMG_3960.jpg



http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%202/IMG_4012.jpg



http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%202/IMG_4013.jpg



http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%202/IMG_4015.jpg



http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20PhotoPass%20-%20Part%201/Photo0026FourBySix.jpg



http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20PhotoPass%20-%20Part%201/Photo0073FourBySix.jpg



http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20PhotoPass%20-%20Part%201/Photo0156FourBySix.jpg


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20PhotoPass%20-%20Part%202/Photo0260FourBySix.jpg


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20PhotoPass%20-%20Part%202/Photo0283FourBySix.jpg



http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20PhotoPass%20-%20Part%202/Photo0387FourBySix.jpg






Okey dokey - those are your teaser photos for now!!! It's something to see until I can get installment #2 up. There's lots more scenic stuff, window displays, ornaments, etc. coming up in later installments. I didn't want to give everything away now, of course.



Oh, and...by the way...you have just met Aunt Betty.

[DizNee Luver]

NICE!! Love the teaser!! I'm here & have been.....just been quiet & non-commital as I pop in here when I have a couple free minutes. Looking forward to seeing what you did prior to the arrival of 2 awesome gals......lol

[deejdigsdis]

Great teaser photos! Ah, great to see my old friend...the Candy Cane Plate! :rotfl: And what in the world is Pluto doing to you?!? That is such a funny picture! I think I'm still a little lost about Aunt Betty...are YOU Aunt Betty? Is that what your friend's little boy called you, maybe? Do explain...;)

I can so relate to the idea of Disneyland having a deeper, much-more-than-fun-rides, stemming-from-childhood meaning. When I was growing up, my dad had a stressful job that he didn't enjoy. We went to Disneyland almost every summer for 3 days. While we were there, my dad was much more carefree and relaxed than he was at home. Going to Disneyland meant good times with our family all together, leaving the cares of the world outside when we walked under the tunnel. I have 2 older brothers (<----------------) that decided to cut ties with the rest of our family, and each other, during the past decade. I can walk into the shop in Adventureland and see my brother posing for a picture in the 70s...wrestling one of the snakes for sale. I can ride Autopia and remember a time that I rode with my brother. He told me how he wanted us to pose for a picture taken by the family member riding in front of us. I thought we were being silly, making innocent hand gestures. Later he told me what we were signing. :eek: I can remember the last time I was at Disneyland with all of my family together (1996) and the fun times we had chatting while in line for Indiana Jones for the very first time, trying to decode the messages with the decoder card, compliments of (was it AT&T?). And when it was time to say goodbye and go our separate ways after that trip was over (all 6 kids had left the nest by this time)..."inappropriate hand gesture on Autopia" brother kept his sunglasses on to hide the tears because he wasn't ready for it to end. So Disneyland represents a time when my family was whole. I can't go to Disneyland and not think of happier times. I'm so glad my dad came home one day in 1964 and asked my mom how she would like to go to Anaheim for their vacation!

Enough about that! I'm so excited you got this long-awaited TR started. Can't wait for more. :)

[deejdigsdis]

I forgot to answer your questions! My Halloween trip with my mom and 2 sisters was in 2010. So fun! We'd never taken a trip with just the 4 of us before. Our upcoming trip will hopefully be the last full week of October. I am so disappointed about the possibility of Indy being down. My younger brother hasn't been to DL since the big family trip of 1996 and this will be a big disappointment for him and his 2 sons, especially. If they wanted to change dates to avoid this refurb, I would have no problem changing dates.

[tksbaskets]

Consider me properly teased and wondering in the pics 'Who is Aunt Betty???'. I loved your MFW photo and the candy cane one. Pluto seemed....er...quite...friendly with you....

Looking forward to more popcorn::

[Sherry E]

NICE!! Love the teaser!! I'm here & have been.....just been quiet & non-commital as I pop in here when I have a couple free minutes. Looking forward to seeing what you did prior to the arrival of 2 awesome gals......lol

Hello, Laurie!!

Thank you! I threw the teaser photos in to assure folks who read the first installment that this will not be a whole entire TR of past Disneyland memories, but that I am leading up to it all. This TR will be a bit like an episode of "Lost" - flashing back, flashing forward, flashing sideways, and not knowing where you are at any given time!!

I know what you mean about staying non-committal in a TR. I was just saying something to Marie along those same lines - that from a TR writer's standpoint, obviously we all want to know people are out there and that we are not talking to ourselves.

But from a TR follower's standpoint, people don't necessarily want to speak up all the time because of time constraints, or because they don't know which specific thing to comment on first and it seems like it will take too long to figure it out. Sometimes you only have time to read and not necessarily type out a reply. Or, some lurkers don't want to come out of hiding because they don't want to get caught in a loop of feeling like they have to keep commenting or keep replying after they comment one time. I can understand all of that, too.

I just want to make sure that if I reply to someone about something specific, that they don't miss it - even if they can't reply to me. Sometimes the pages turn quickly and posts get lost in the shuffle. So if ever a page has turned, be sure to check the previous page to see if I replied to your posts!

I feel like I didn't do a whole lot prior to the arrival of the awesome DIS ladies;);), because I am usually not running around with the Fast Passes and jumping on many rides and all of that. But in the 2 days prior to your arrival, I had fun spending time with the Orange County friends and trying to get whatever photos I had time to get (which was not many!). So even though it wasn't considered a lot by any DIS'er's standards, what I did was fun for me!


Great teaser photos! Ah, great to see my old friend...the Candy Cane Plate! :rotfl: And what in the world is Pluto doing to you?!? That is such a funny picture! I think I'm still a little lost about Aunt Betty...are YOU Aunt Betty? Is that what your friend's little boy called you, maybe? Do explain...;)

I can so relate to the idea of Disneyland having a deeper, much-more-than-fun-rides, stemming-from-childhood meaning. When I was growing up, my dad had a stressful job that he didn't enjoy. We went to Disneyland almost every summer for 3 days. While we were there, my dad was much more carefree and relaxed than he was at home. Going to Disneyland meant good times with our family all together, leaving the cares of the world outside when we walked under the tunnel. I have 2 older brothers (<----------------) that decided to cut ties with the rest of our family, and each other, during the past decade. I can walk into the shop in Adventureland and see my brother posing for a picture in the 70s...wrestling one of the snakes for sale. I can ride Autopia and remember a time that I rode with my brother. He told me how he wanted us to pose for a picture taken by the family member riding in front of us. I thought we were being silly, making innocent hand gestures. Later he told me what we were signing. :eek: I can remember the last time I was at Disneyland with all of my family together (1996) and the fun times we had chatting while in line for Indiana Jones for the very first time, trying to decode the messages with the decoder card, compliments of (was it AT&T?). And when it was time to say goodbye and go our separate ways after that trip was over (all 6 kids had left the nest by this time)..."inappropriate hand gesture on Autopia" brother kept his sunglasses on to hide the tears because he wasn't ready for it to end. So Disneyland represents a time when my family was whole. I can't go to Disneyland and not think of happier times. I'm so glad my dad came home one day in 1964 and asked my mom how she would like to go to Anaheim for their vacation!

Enough about that! I'm so excited you got this long-awaited TR started. Can't wait for more. :)

Deej -

Yes, the ever-present artfully arranged Candy Cane Plate!:rotfl2: I threw that one in there for your benefit, although I didn't include any captions, comments or descriptions with the photos because they were supposed to just be the teaser photos. But you are definitely the first one that I am aware of who ever caught the Candy Cane Plate on camera! And the sewing machine! So all of my Candy Cane Plate and Sewing Machine pictures henceforth are just tips of the hat to you! I always like to make sure that I give credit where credit is due!

(By the way, check out Mariezp's TR when you get a chance - the title starts with "Thank you Amtrak..." Marie was the first one I recall getting pictures of the various popcorn machine dudes on camera, several years ago. She is also a light fixture fan. How did I miss the Captain Hook light fixture at the Peter Pan ride? Did you get a photo of it and I totally forgot about it?:confused3 I feel like I am overlooking so many things!)

As for Pluto at Goofy's Kitchen, as you can see, he was very 'interactive' with both Molly (bumbershoot) and me!:scared1: I think that was only because she and I were in the chairs that were most accessible to him. Laurie and Liza (funatdisney) were in chairs that he couldn't get to as easily, or else he would have pawed them too! He was making growling noises at me, I think, and trying to chew off my nose at some point.

You know what's funny? Now that I think of it, I recall reading something in the Diva thread last year about an aggressive Pluto that one of the ladies encountered. It must have been at Goofy's Kitchen. It must have been the same Pluto. Well, I guess he is practicing Method Acting.

(In the picture with Duffy in DCA, he was making kissy noises at me and his big head pushed my face aside as he leaned in to make the kissy noises, which is why we are both sort of looking away from the camera!:rotfl2:)

I can't go and tell you who or what Aunt Betty is yet, now can I? You have to stay tuned! Muahahahahahaha!!! I will give another clue in my reply to TK below. But no, my friend's son did not call me that, although that would have been my guess too, if I were the one guessing about Aunt Betty.

There will also be a point in the TR where I explain a situation you may find interesting. You know how we have commented before about the certain people we see over and over again during our DLR trips (like the jaunty lady in the Halloween hat and garb, who you saw more than once)? It seems to happen to a lot of us, where we just keep running into the same people wherever we are.

Well, I can now say that I have gone one better than that - I saw a lady in California Adventure (in the daytime) on this past December 2011 trip, who I also saw in Disneyland (at dusk) during my December 2010 trip!:confused3 It was the oddest thing, because she was alone both times, from what I could see, and she approached me out of nowhere both times to make a friendly comment in passing. I'm not sure if I would have noticed her if she had not come near me and said something. It's just weird that in two totally different areas of the whole Resort, in two totally different years, at two totally different times of day, I would encounter the same lady. At least I think it's odd!

So I began to wonder to myself, "Is this one of those guardian angel situations? Is this my guardian angel, appearing to me at random times, in the guise of this same woman?":rotfl2: You hear about things like that happening, though there is no way to tell if it's true. But I'm just saying - if I end up seeing that same woman for a 3rd year in a row in the middle of, say, the Grand Californian Hotel lobby or somewhere, I will be very suspicious...

I don't think the mystery lady would find it the least bit odd if I said, "Who ARE you? Who sent you? What do they want from me?":rotfl2:

And then it would quickly be followed up with, "You know exactly what I mean! Why are you running away from me? Don't call Security!":rotfl2:

Anyway, maybe the lady's name is Betty and I don't know it!

Now, see, what you explained about the family connection to Disneyland and the very specific memories of those trips and what they meant in the scheme of things is very touching and also exactly along the lines of what I was talking about - it's much, much more than a "Woo hoo! Let's ride Space Mountain" place for a lot of us (though there are many people who only look at it as that). For you, it was a place where the family was whole, as you said, and where your dad was having stress-free fun, and your brothers enjoyed themselves (I giggled about the "inappropriate hand gesture on Autopia" brother:rotfl2::rotfl2:). For your family, it sounds like the Disneyland trips were perfect moments captured in time.


I forgot to answer your questions! My Halloween trip with my mom and 2 sisters was in 2010. So fun! We'd never taken a trip with just the 4 of us before. Our upcoming trip will hopefully be the last full week of October. I am so disappointed about the possibility of Indy being down. My younger brother hasn't been to DL since the big family trip of 1996 and this will be a big disappointment for him and his 2 sons, especially. If they wanted to change dates to avoid this refurb, I would have no problem changing dates.


Deej -

How did I miss the possibility of Indy being down in late October? Gee, where have I been in this haze of sickness for 2.5 months?:rotfl2: What else have I missed, for corn's sake?:rotfl2:

Well, I am surprised that Indy would possibly be down then, so soon after Cars Land and Buena Vista Street opened and the crowds descend. I would think that DLR would want to have all of their popular rides - especially the ones exclusive to DLR - open for all the new visitors to enjoy. But I guess they have to close things down at some point or another, for refurbs.

Hopefully you won't have to change dates, although...there's always the holiday season again!


Consider me properly teased and wondering in the pics 'Who is Aunt Betty???'. I loved your MFW photo and the candy cane one. Pluto seemed....er...quite...friendly with you....

Looking forward to more popcorn::

TK -

Thank you!:goodvibes

:rotfl2:I feel like I should change this TR title to, "Who IS Aunt Betty?" or "What's Up with Aunt Betty?" Or maybe, "What's Up with Pluto?":rotfl2:

Pluto was friendly with Molly/bumbershoot and me, but he was coming in towards my face and I kept tying to back away until I couldn't back up anymore without tipping my chair over.:rotfl2: (See my comment to Deej above about Pluto possibly being aggressive with a Diva or two as well!) With Molly, he kind of attacked her shoulders because she had her back to him.

That MFW photo is the closest to that darn ride as I am going to get. Just looking at the swinging buckets of death in the photo gives me a headache. I applaud the brave souls who go on that death machine (Bret, Michele, etc.). I will gladly keep my feet on terra firma and take pictures of it from below!

Did you see the photo of the wreath on the Pan Pacific-inspired construction wall? Well, while I did take it at a bit of an angle, it actually did not rotate properly before I posted it here (which happens with my photos sometimes), so it looks as if it is waaaay more 'angled' than I intended it to be!! It wasn't supposed to look quite that askew! I was going to try to fix it - which is sometimes a very involved process that requires me to re-upload photos all over again - but then I thought, "Eh...I will just leave it like that. It looks more confusing this way!!":rotfl2:


As I said to Deej above, I am not going to reveal who or what Aunt Betty is yet - we are nowhere near that stage of the TR, and these were only teaser photos - but I will give another clue:

Aunt Betty may be a person, BUT Aunt Betty is also symbolic of something. Like, in the future, when a certain scenario arises during a DLR trip (for anyone, not just for me), you will be able to call it an "Aunt Betty."

[kaoden39]

Sherry,

Okay I may show up on the Christmas thread, we shall see. Our dates are all moving around because of Kacy's school. We have to plan around her school schedule. So, we are planning I guess to go around the middle of November instead of the end. Sigh.


When I saw the Pan Pacific mention and the wreath I am reminded of staying at the Pan Pacific when it was new. I am old.:rotfl: The teaser was great. Thank you for sharing.

[tksbaskets]

You are toooo funny! I was glad I hadn't sipped a beverage before I read

"I don't think the mystery lady would find it the least bit odd if I said, "Who ARE you? Who sent you? What do they want from me?" "

I was thinking the same thing. Kind of like that Downey chick on Touched by and Angel...:littleangel:

My family took a trip to WDW when I was a freshman in HS. I hope to find pics one day so I can share vintage photos too Sherry! It was only our second family trip as my dad owned his own business and it was really hard for him to get vacation time. It was the era of the 'ticket'. My brother and I (he is two years older) were out of tickets and I think we rode Carousel of Progress about 20 times, loving it each time. (it was f.r.e.e. you see even then)

To this day we always ride COP on our trips to WDW. I can't ride that ride and not smile and think of my brother and our wonderful trip to WDW as a family. I still remember all the words to "Now is the Time, now is the best time..."

It is my hope that when our sons are my age they think back on our family times at Disney with the same affection I do. :grouphug:

[WDWJonasGirl]

I love it so far!!

[Sherry E]

Sherry,

Okay I may show up on the Christmas thread, we shall see. Our dates are all moving around because of Kacy's school. We have to plan around her school schedule. So, we are planning I guess to go around the middle of November instead of the end. Sigh.


When I saw the Pan Pacific mention and the wreath I am reminded of staying at the Pan Pacific when it was new. I am old.:rotfl: The teaser was great. Thank you for sharing.

Michele -

Thank you!

Mid-November will still count as the holiday season in most people's eyes! We've had quite a few early to mid-November DLR visitors popping into the Christmas Superthread in the past.

As you know, the DLR holiday season will probably "officially" begin on either Friday, November 9th, Monday, November 12th, Friday, November 16th or Monday, November 19th.

Personally, I think that Monday, November 19th will be way too late - DLR usually likes to get the season rolling before the actual week of Thanksgiving begins. So I think we can probably eliminate 11/19 as a possible start date, which means the season will have begun before that.

I think that Friday, 11/9 may be too early for an official season start date, though there will be quite a few decorations out at that point, and some things may start over that weekend.

So I think the most realistic dates for the holiday season to officially commence will be either Monday, 11/12 or Friday, 11/16. I think those are the best bets. The main reason why the official start date is important is because that's when the holiday entertainment officially begins, like the holiday fireworks, the holiday parade, the Winter Castle icicle lighting at night, the Reindeer Round-Up, the snow falling on Main Street, etc. Last year there were some things happening before the season started (like IASW Holiday and the parade, I think), but that is not always guaranteed to be the case.

So if you go to DLR somewhere in that week of 11/12 - 11/16, chances are you will get a good dose of the holidays, and you will be there for at least a day or two of the official season. The things you would probably miss are the gorgeous GCH tree and Santa, the gorgeous PPH tree and Santa, the fun DLH decorations and Santa, and Downtown Disney may or may not be in full swing. Also, certain food items like tamales and things like that don't seem to appear in the parks until Thanksgiving, but most of the other holiday treats & goodies will be available when you're there! You'll have a blast!

Did you mean that you stayed at the Disneyland Pacific Hotel (which later became the Paradise Pier)? The Pan Pacific Auditorium (which is what inspired the entrance to DCA and the green construction walls along the entrance pathway into DCA) was something different, but the Disneyland Pacific was the name of the PPH hotel before it became the PPH. I first stayed at the PPH right after it had been changed from the Disneyland Pacific, in late December 2000. I had made a reservation at the Disneyland Pacific Hotel and that was on my pre-arrival paperwork, and by the time we arrived for our New Year's stay, the name had already been changed to the Paradise Pier!:rotfl2:

I still miss the older version of the Disneyland Hotel, with the waterfalls and the koi pond and all of the extra fun touches around the property. I miss the extra shops and restaurants the DLH used to have - pre-Downtown Disney and Grand Californian Days. While I am glad that the GCH and DTD exist today, I still wish there had been a way to hang on to some of the stuff that got hacked off at the DLH when the big changes happened in the late '90s. I would love love love for a return of the Monorail Cafe. That was a great place to eat! I would gladly give up any of the restaurants in DTD to have the Monorail Cafe back.




You are toooo funny! I was glad I hadn't sipped a beverage before I read

"I don't think the mystery lady would find it the least bit odd if I said, "Who ARE you? Who sent you? What do they want from me?" "

I was thinking the same thing. Kind of like that Downey chick on Touched by and Angel...:littleangel:

My family took a trip to WDW when I was a freshman in HS. I hope to find pics one day so I can share vintage photos too Sherry! It was only our second family trip as my dad owned his own business and it was really hard for him to get vacation time. It was the era of the 'ticket'. My brother and I (he is two years older) were out of tickets and I think we rode Carousel of Progress about 20 times, loving it each time. (it was f.r.e.e. you see even then)

To this day we always ride COP on our trips to WDW. I can't ride that ride and not smile and think of my brother and our wonderful trip to WDW as a family. I still remember all the words to "Now is the Time, now is the best time..."

It is my hope that when our sons are my age they think back on our family times at Disney with the same affection I do. :grouphug:


TK -

:rotfl2::rotfl2:You'd don't think she'd find it too weird if I went chasing after her, asking what "They" want, do you? I don't think they would keep me in the Security office for too long...

If I run into that mystery lady ever again, I will try to keep my conspiracy theories to myself!:rotfl2:

When I thought about it, the one 'common' thing that I realized about both encounters with this lady at DLR is that they both took place on a Monday. While they were in different parks, at totally different times of day, in two different years, in two different weeks of December, both meetings were on Monday. So maybe she is a local who heads to the parks on Mondays? Or maybe she is another random visitor who goes every December, who just happened to be there when I was there again. Or....she is from 'somewhere else'...somewhere not of this realm or universe!:rotfl::wizard:;);)

Ahh yes, Roma Downey - she ended up marrying Mark Burnett, the guy who is responsible for "Survivor," "The Apprentice," "The Voice" and some other big things. So I'd say she did pretty well for herself, that angel!:rotfl2:

I would love to see vintage WDW photos if you can ever find them, TK! Seeing WDW evolve and grow as much as it has since your first trip there must be astounding!

I love your COP memories! There seems to be a ride/attraction in everyone's Disney history that they used to go on or watch many, many times in a row, or many, many times in a day. I had a couple at Disneyland - we used to ride the People Mover a lot, and also Adventures through Inner Space. And I think we would also go in and see America Sings and the Country Bears a lot as well.

Oh yes, I remember those tickets. Those were a huge pain. Never enough of the tickets you'd want, but plenty of tickets for the less interesting stuff.

First it was the ticket books with the A - E tickets. Thank the heavens we don't have to use those anymore. And then after the ticket books there came the Passports, and then the multi-day Passports. And then the Park Hoppers. It's interesting to see how the tickets have evolved over the years. (It's interesting to see how the prices have also evolved, too, but not in a good way!)

I think your sons will definitely look back very fondly on the trips to both WDW and DLR, and hopefully will carry on the tradition with their own families!:goodvibes I think they are very, very lucky to have parents like you and your DH, who love Disney so much and want to share that with your kids.:hug: I would bet that there are many, many parents who never want to set foot in Disneyland, let alone spend the crazy money involved and all of that, or they treat it as a chore instead of fun - and their kids suffer for it. (That was why it was my grandmother and her church friends who had to be the ones to get me started on Disneyland - my parents had no interest in taking me there.)



I love it so far!!


Kaitlin -

Thank you so much! There will be more coming along! I'm kind of flashing back, flashing forward, flashing back again and am really all over the place, but at least we're rockin' and rollin'!

[PHXscuba]

Sherry, no holiday trip 2011 for me. We put all of our money into our October 2011 family trip to WDW (which was totally amazing and fun, but I won't hijack your TR) so I couldn't find a way to justify going to DLR a couple months later.

But I'm in the super-early stages of planning the family 2013 trip, deciding on whether I want to fight the spring break or fall break crowds.:eek: Too many variables right now ... but I'll be around the DL section of the DIS more.

Looking forward to more TR and pix ... and finding out who Aunt Betty is (BTW, great job of creating suspense and getting us all to return :rotfl2:)

PHXscuba

[Sherry E]

Sherry, no holiday trip 2011 for me. We put all of our money into our October 2011 family trip to WDW (which was totally amazing and fun, but I won't hijack your TR) so I couldn't find a way to justify going to DLR a couple months later.

But I'm in the super-early stages of planning the family 2013 trip, deciding on whether I want to fight the spring break or fall break crowds.:eek: Too many variables right now ... but I'll be around the DL section of the DIS more.

Looking forward to more TR and pix ... and finding out who Aunt Betty is (BTW, great job of creating suspense and getting us all to return :rotfl2:)

PHXscuba


PHXscuba -

Thank you!

Since you went to WDW in October and experienced their Halloween festivities, would you say that you enjoyed the Halloween celebration more at WDW than at DLR, or vice versa - or did you enjoy both about the same, for different reasons?

The Halloween parade at WDW is an actual, full-blown parade - not the little cavalcade thing that we have at DLR, right? So that must give WDW an advantage.

Which resort has the better Halloween party? I have read some reports that said that Magic Kingdom has the better party, and others have said Disneyland's Mickey's Halloween Party is better.

The only things I have heard about that really would give DLR a strong advantage in their Halloween celebration over WDW's celebration are the decorations. Some folks have said that Disneyland has many more Halloween decorations in the park than MK has, and that the Halloween Round-Up that we have (which is probably my favorite thing about Halloween Time at DLR) is something that cannot be found in any form at MK.

I don't think I have been to DLR during Spring Break since the '90s, but the tales of horror about the awful crowds are ominous. Maybe Fall break would be a tad better for your 2013 DLR trip?? Either way, you will have lots of new stuff to see at DCA, that's for sure!


:santa::santa::santa:


I never realized Aunt Betty would be such a point of intrigue!:rotfl2: I swear, the Aunt Betty anecdote - when it comes around in the TR - is going to be so anti-climactic and disappointing to everyone, I am afraid. But it seems like Aunt Betty is unintentionally creating suspense, so we'll go with it!:rotfl2:


PHX -

I don't know if you were here in this TR when I was doing my Christmas photo countdown back in December, with a different DLR countdown photo every day until Christmas (I think it started on page 160 or so, and went to page 165-ish), but just in case you were not here - and just in case there are any brand new people lurking and following along out there, I will re-post a few of the photos below, which I sprinkled into the TR back then.

Consider all of these pictures to be another teaser, as these were photos taken on this past December 2011 trip to DLR, but I jazzed some of them up with holiday borders when I added them to the Christmas countdown. When I post the photos within the context of the TR itself, they will be the original, un-jazzed pictures!

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3629-1.jpg


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3644.jpg



http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3648.jpg


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%202/IMG_3839-1.jpg







Deejdigsdis has an almost identical photo of this gingerbread cookie display below!:rotfl2: What's funny is that she did her November 2011 DLR trip before I did mine, but she had not posted the majority of her photos before I left for my own DLR adventure, so I didn't really know what photos she took.

So I went on my December DLR trip and took this cookie display picture, only to chuckle when I came back and later saw that Deej had posted a near carbon copy in her TR!! She had no idea what I would be taking photos of and I had no clue what she had taken photos of.

Some folks skip the window displays entirely, but I think that those of us who love them will zero in on the same spots! We gravitate right to the fake cookies and what not in the windows!:rotfl2:

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%202/IMG_3875-1.jpg






http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%202/IMG_3890.jpg


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%202/IMG_3913-1.jpg

[kaoden39]

When I stayed there it wasn't a Disney property yet. It was when it was new. I was a young adult and I went with my parents. It was quite an adventure and I walked to Disneyland everyday, but you could walk over and catch the tram from the Disneyland Hotel area. That was in the days when there were restaurants and bars on the bottom floor of the different buildings. I think the only reason we stayed there was because the DLH was full. This was in the days when we would drive down on a whim. I miss those days. There were so many wonderful things at the DLH in those days. I miss them. But, like Walt I think that change is good.


I tried to find the Christmas thread and I didn't. Where is it? The only place I didn't look was on the community board. I shall look there next.

[Sherry E]

When I stayed there it wasn't a Disney property yet. It was when it was new. I was a young adult and I went with my parents. It was quite an adventure and I walked to Disneyland everyday, but you could walk over and catch the tram from the Disneyland Hotel area. That was in the days when there were restaurants and bars on the bottom floor of the different buildings. I think the only reason we stayed there was because the DLH was full. This was in the days when we would drive down on a whim. I miss those days. There were so many wonderful things at the DLH in those days. I miss them. But, like Walt I think that change is good.


I tried to find the Christmas thread and I didn't. Where is it? The only place I didn't look was on the community board. I shall look there next.

Michele -

That darn Christmas thread probably moved to the 2nd page of the main DL planning forum. Here is the link:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=44212030#post44212030

That link will take you directly to the last page, but when you get time you may want to start at Page 1 and just kind of scroll through the thread, little by little, skimming and glancing - not reading the entire thing, of course. Page 1 is (Posts #1, #2 and #3) is where I have a lot of info - some of which needs to be updated and some of which can be applied to any year's holiday season.

So you stayed at the Disneyland Pacific before it was a Disney hotel? Was it called the Emerald or something like that way back when? I remember seeing the building and there was an Emerald Hotel around there. Was that it?

I loved that tram - I know there is a tram at DLR today, but for some reason I loved the old version of the tram!:rotfl2: I considered that to be a 'ride' at Disneyland too, even though it was just a means of transportation. The DL parking lot was so huge and the tram was necessary.

The Disneyland Hotel was always this mysterious building off in the distance to me - I would see it across the parking lot and wonder about it, but I thought it was only for adults and not a kid-friendly place like Disneyland was. I was told that the DLH was where adults went to drink alcohol and that there was nothing for kids there!:rotfl2::rotfl2:

Finally, in maybe 1980 or so, my 13-year-old friends and I got the wild idea to go on an adventure and take a tram and/or the Monorail over to the DLH for some reason or another, maybe just to see what we were missing. I can't recall. I am thinking that one girl's parents were supposed to pick her up there, while another girl in our group was freaking out because she told her parents she wouldn't leave Disneyland park, and she made us think that we would all be doomed if we dared to venture over to the adult world of the Disneyland Hotel!:rotfl2::rotfl2: So we got as far as maybe the Monorail stop or the tram stop at the DLH, walked into one of the tower lobbies, and then we had to turn right around and immediately go back to Disneyland before we were all corrupted by the hedonistic ways of the Disneyland Hotel guests!:rotfl2::rotfl2:

I never actually got to look around the DLH until I first stayed there in 1987 or 1988 or whenever it was, and I loved all the shops, restaurants, the marina with pedal boats, etc. I was thinking, "Why were the adults keeping me from this cool hotel for all those years? This is not an 'adults only' place at all!"


Oh - I was looking at your last couple of TR installments in my e-mail alerts (it seems like if I keep posting in any thread on the DIS, no matter which thread it is, they will keep sending me all of the e-mail notifications for any of my subscribed threads). I can view your photos by clicking on the individual links in the e-mail, and that way my PC doesn't lock up.:rotfl2:

Anyway, you got some really great ToonTown photos - and I was chuckling at the Valentine's decorations, of course!

[kaoden39]

Thank you for the link. I found it after I posted here. I have since posted on it with news.


There was an Emerald and there was the Pan Pacific. The Paradise Pier was the Pan Pacific. I find it ironic that Disney kept the same initials.


It was like a playground for adults after dark. I was an adult the first time I stayed there. I was like 18 or 19 years old. I passed for 21 and I took advantage of it when I stayed there that first trip. There was this great bar where it was like a Yukon setting. Oh it was fun!! There was sing a longs and all that kind of fun stuff.


But on the other hand there was a lot of family things too. There was the underwater video game place by the main tower. Plus there were paddle boats, and of course the remote control boats but there were more. They had the dancing water show at night that was so cool to watch from your room if you were lucky enough to have had a view. It was a cool place.

Oh I am glad that you can see the pictures through the email!!

[PHXscuba]

My DH didn't realize that he had stayed at the Pan Pacific/PPH as a boy until he got a good long look at it from our parking-lot view room at the DLH a couple years ago.

I had a DATE take me to a restaurant (name long lost in my memory) at the DLH when I was about 15. I remember walking around the beautiful grounds and seeing the koi.

Sherry:
I am a cheap person and have not actually been to the Halloween parties at either WDW or DLR (hides head in DIS-planner shame). Tickets for 6 were just too much. I will say that Disneyland's Halloween decorations were FAR, FAR better and more numerous than those at Magic Kingdom. MK had a few pumpkins out by the holiday-themed Mickey floral, some bunting along Main Street and a few scarecrows. Plus no HMH or Ghost Galaxy at MK.

Someday we will make it to a Halloween party ... maybe if we go in the fall next year.

PHXscuba

[kaoden39]

My DH didn't realize that he had stayed at the Pan Pacific/PPH as a boy until he got a good long look at it from our parking-lot view room at the DLH a couple years ago.

I had a DATE take me to a restaurant (name long lost in my memory) at the DLH when I was about 15. I remember walking around the beautiful grounds and seeing the koi.

Sherry:
I am a cheap person and have not actually been to the Halloween parties at either WDW or DLR (hides head in DIS-planner shame). Tickets for 6 were just too much. I will say that Disneyland's Halloween decorations were FAR, FAR better and more numerous than those at Magic Kingdom. MK had a few pumpkins out by the holiday-themed Mickey floral, some bunting along Main Street and a few scarecrows. Plus no HMH or Ghost Galaxy at MK.

Someday we will make it to a Halloween party ... maybe if we go in the fall next year.

PHXscuba


What a great date!!

[Sherry E]

Thank you for the link. I found it after I posted here. I have since posted on it with news.

There was an Emerald and there was the Pan Pacific. The Paradise Pier was the Pan Pacific. I find it ironic that Disney kept the same initials.

It was like a playground for adults after dark. I was an adult the first time I stayed there. I was like 18 or 19 years old. I passed for 21 and I took advantage of it when I stayed there that first trip. There was this great bar where it was like a Yukon setting. Oh it was fun!! There was sing a longs and all that kind of fun stuff.


But on the other hand there was a lot of family things too. There was the underwater video game place by the main tower. Plus there were paddle boats, and of course the remote control boats but there were more. They had the dancing water show at night that was so cool to watch from your room if you were lucky enough to have had a view. It was a cool place.

Oh I am glad that you can see the pictures through the email!!

Michele -

Oh yes, I can definitely view the photos individually, from the links in the e-mail alerts! I just click on the links one by one, and I read your update in the e-mail. That's what I had to do with TK's trip report, too. It's only in the actual threads or TR's themselves that I have problems viewing a bunch of the extra-large photos on the same page because my PC just locks up before it loads the page. There is something about the large size that it doesn't like. So it has also caused me trouble at the beginning of this thread too, because when I first started it several years ago I was using jumbo photos. If I try to go back and look at those older 2008 photos or TR's in this thread, I have trouble with the pages loading.:headache:

But anyway, yes, great ToonTown photos you took, and also I love the idea to get photos of all the different ears.

Just for fun, I looked up the history of the Paradise Pier on Wikipedia, to see exactly how many names it had. When I stayed there for the first time it had just switched over to the new name - Paradise Pier Hotel - from its old title, the Disneyland Pacific. And you remember it as being the Pan Pacific, which was its name before it was the Disneyland Pacific (they just took the Pan out of the name, I guess, when Disney bought it!). Here is what Wikipedia said:

Tokyu Group of Japan built the 15-story Emerald of Anaheim in 1984. The hotel was re-named the Pan Pacific Hotel, Anaheim in 1989 when Tokyu consolidated its Emerald and Pan Pacific hotel brands. In December 1995, Disney purchased the hotel from Tokyu for a reported US$36 million and changed its name to Disneyland Pacific Hotel. As part of the 1998-2001 expansion of the Disneyland Resort, the hotel was re-branded as Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel to complement the themed land the hotel tower overlooks in the adjacent Disney's California Adventure Park.

So I was thinking I would find a name for the hotel before it became the Emerald, but it looks like the Emerald was its original name!

I totally remember Sergeant Preston's Yukon Saloon from the old Disneyland Hotel days! The small bear statues used to sit outside of it, and at least one of them has been relocated to the Grand Californian Hotel grounds! Later on it became something like the Neon Cactus, I think? Wasn't that the name? Or Neon Crocodile? What was it? I think it was still Sgt. Preston's in 1990. I remember going in there in 1990 and they were doing some karaoke/sing along type stuff.

There was also a dance club/lounge/bar thingy at the DLH called the Pavilion Lounge, I think? Jackie, Shawn and I went in there a couple of times to get daiquiris or pina coladas or something in 1988 and 1989. It was fun! The DLH was a really great "resort hotel" back in the day.

I couldn't believe how spacious the DLH room was that my friends had this past December. I knew it was a refurbished/remodeled room, but I had no clue there would be so much floor space! That is one thing the Grand Californian seriously lacks - floor space. When you see a room with all that space like the one at the DLH, and then you look at the cramped quarters in a GCH room...well, it's hard to justify staying at the GCH!

I do miss all the old stuff at the DLH - the waterfalls, boats, marina and koi pond are especially hard to lose - but I can live without them if I have to.

I mainly wish DLR would find a way to bring back the Monorail Cafe, because there is no other diner/coffee shop/pie shop type of place like it in either park or at any of the 3 hotels. It reminded me of restaurants like House of Pies, or Ship's, or Sambo's (I am dating myself with that reference!) - that kind of thing - where you would see a nice pie case in the front, with all kids of fun desserts displayed. And then the menu featured good diner/coffee shop fare like meat loaf, burgers, BBQ chicken sandwiches, grilled cheese, fried chicken, spaghetti, milk shakes, sundaes, chili fries, and, of course, many types of pie, etc. Ever since they closed Monorail Cafe to do the big expansion in 1998 - 2001, there has never been another restaurant quite like it, with that same kind of coffee shop vibe.



My DH didn't realize that he had stayed at the Pan Pacific/PPH as a boy until he got a good long look at it from our parking-lot view room at the DLH a couple years ago.

I had a DATE take me to a restaurant (name long lost in my memory) at the DLH when I was about 15. I remember walking around the beautiful grounds and seeing the koi.

Sherry:
I am a cheap person and have not actually been to the Halloween parties at either WDW or DLR (hides head in DIS-planner shame). Tickets for 6 were just too much. I will say that Disneyland's Halloween decorations were FAR, FAR better and more numerous than those at Magic Kingdom. MK had a few pumpkins out by the holiday-themed Mickey floral, some bunting along Main Street and a few scarecrows. Plus no HMH or Ghost Galaxy at MK.

Someday we will make it to a Halloween party ... maybe if we go in the fall next year.

PHXscuba


PHX -

Te restaurant your date took you to at the DLH when you were 15 - could it have been Cafe Villa Verde? Maybe Stromboli's? Do you remember what type of food was served? That was very nice of your date to do that! It was probably very romantic walking around the grounds, with the waterfalls and the koi and all of that!

Now, I don't know if you are a cheap person or not, but I wouldn't judge you at all as being cheap just because you haven't gone to a Disney Halloween party yet.:rotfl2: It is a lot of money to spend on a party for even a couple of people, let alone 6 people, and it is not going to be worth it to some people. I'm sure you've seen lots of people in our Halloween thread, asking if it is worth it and if they should bother going to the party. (I am on the fence as to whether or not I think it is 100% worth it. I wouldn't want DLR to get rid of their party, but I wish they would add more to it.)

As for me, I went to the party this past October 2011 (I barely took any actual party photos, though, as evidenced by what I posted in this TR!:rotfl2: I took way, way more Halloween photos just out and about in the daytime, pre-party!). I went in October because I had not done the party since 2008. In 2008, the party was held in DCA. This time around, it was held in DL and I wanted to see what was different/better/worse, etc. - partially for my own curiosity and partially so that I would have some current info to give in the Halloween Superthread.

I enjoy the Halloween party. It's fun to trick or treat as an adult. It's fun to find the treat stations and stops along each path. I like the character photo spots. And I may go to the party again at some point in the future, if I have extra money to spend on it. However, right now I am broke!:rotfl2: So if it came down to either spending money on the Halloween Party or saving the money I would be spending on the Halloween Party for a DLR Christmas trip instead, well...you know where my money is going to go! Christmas!:rotfl2:;)

While my funds are low, I think I would be okay with going to the Halloween Party every other year, or every few years - until something major changes at the party. I can have a perfectly wonderful Disneyland HalloweenTime experience by just visiting the park in the daytime, seeing the Round-Up and Main Street and looking at the window displays and all of that!


What a great date!!

I'll say! I never had any fun dates who wanted to take me to Disneyland or the DLH for dinner or anywhere like it. Even if boyfriend went along on Disneyland trip, it was reluctantly and he acted like an idiot the entire time, or somehow ruined my good time.

I like being at DLR with men who act like they are happy to be there and don't complain the whole time! They don't have to get crazy about enjoying it. Just act like you are having a good time! Jackie's husband is not a super-crazy Disney fanatic, but he enjoys DLR, they have AP's, and there are certain rides he really loves. Plus, he is always heading to get ice cream when we are there. The ones that drive me nuts are the ones who grumble and gripe the entire time about all the things we already know will be an issue - prices, crowds, lines, etc.

[mvf-m11c]

I really do missed the Pan Pacific Hotel when I went back in the early 90s. Instead of staying at the DLH, we always stay there since it is one of the closest hotel to DL, but also we walk to the DLH to ride the monorail or eat at the Monorail Cafe. I really do missed the Monorail Cafe ever since the DTD expansion, I always like watching the monorail from the window of the Monorail Cafe.

[Sherry E]

I really do missed the Pan Pacific Hotel when I went back in the early 90s. Instead of staying at the DLH, we always stay there since it is one of the closest hotel to DL, but also we walk to the DLH to ride the monorail or eat at the Monorail Cafe. I really do missed the Monorail Cafe ever since the DTD expansion, I always like watching the monorail from the window of the Monorail Cafe.

Oh, that's right, Bret! I forgot that you could see the Monorail from the window of the restaurant. That was fun.

Do you remember what I was referring to in Monorail Cafe - the glass case at the front of the restaurant with the various pies and other pastries? They had really good, basic food on that menu - it wasn't fine dining, of course, but it was good, solid, table service, diner/coffee shop food. Good onion rings. Good burgers. Good sandwiches.

There isn't really any other restaurant like Monorail Cafe that serves food quite like that in DLR, is there? I can't think of one. Of course, you can get certain items here and there at different places - fried chicken at Plaza Inn, milk shakes and sundaes at Carnation Cafe (coming soon!:cool1:), sandwiches here and there. But there is no real diner-type place around DLR (that I can think of) with the same sort of menu.

Yep, that expansion in the late '90s took out a lot of good stuff with it. From what I read, Goofy's Kitchen was almost on the chopping block too!:scared1: Even though it was a popular restaurant all through the '90s, Disney/TDA considered getting rid of it entirely when they lopped a whole section of the DLH to build DTD, GCH, etc.

Thankfully, they came to their senses and just moved Goofy's to another part of the DLH!:dance3: I can't imagine Disneyland Resort without Goofy's Kitchen! That is just crazy talk!


So, Bret, you used to stay at the Pan Pacific back in the old days? I bet it looked a lot different inside the lobby than it does now as the PPH!

[kaoden39]

I really liked the Monorail Cafe. There was something special about the place, I was really saddest to see that gone from the DLH. Of course now that the waterfall is gone I think I will miss it more.

[mvf-m11c]

Oh, that's right, Bret! I forgot that you could see the Monorail from the window of the restaurant. That was fun.

Do you remember what I was referring to in Monorail Cafe - the glass case at the front of the restaurant with the various pies and other pastries? They had really good, basic food on that menu - it wasn't fine dining, of course, but it was good, solid, table service, diner/coffee shop food. Good onion rings. Good burgers. Good sandwiches.

There isn't really any other restaurant like Monorail Cafe that serves food quite like that in DLR, is there? I can't think of one. Of course, you can get certain items here and there at different places - fried chicken at Plaza Inn, milk shakes and sundaes at Carnation Cafe (coming soon!:cool1:), sandwiches here and there. But there is no real diner-type place around DLR (that I can think of) with the same sort of menu.

Yep, that expansion in the late '90s took out a lot of good stuff with it. From what I read, Goofy's Kitchen was almost on the chopping block too!:scared1: Even though it was a popular restaurant all through the '90s, Disney/TDA considered getting rid of it entirely when they lopped a whole section of the DLH to build DTD, GCH, etc.

Thankfully, they came to their senses and just moved Goofy's to another part of the DLH!:dance3: I can't imagine Disneyland Resort without Goofy's Kitchen! That is just crazy talk!


So, Bret, you used to stay at the Pan Pacific back in the old days? I bet it looked a lot different inside the lobby than it does now as the PPH!

I always wanted a window view of the old Mark III & Mark V monorails that entered the DLH station. Those were the great old days at the DLH and the Monorail Cafe.

It has been a long time, I don't remember much about where the pastry case was located. I know for sure that there was one at the Monorail Cafe.

I remember the old days when we were coming back to the Pan Pacific hotel after a day at DL and catching the monorail back to the DLH. We stop at the Monorail Cafe for lunch. You are correct that there isn't really any restaurant at the DLR compares to the Monorail Cafe. For restaurants that I like at the DLR right now is Storyteller's Cafe and the ESPN Zone. I haven't been to Goofy's Kitchen in years and would like to eat there one day for breakfast.

Still sad that Disney took out a bunch of the DLH buildings when they built DTD. At least Goofy's Kitchen is still up and running. It would be very weird if Goofy's Kitchen was take out during the expansion.

Yes, I have stayed a lot of times at the Pan Pacific hotel in the 90s before Disney bought the hotel in the mid 90s. My family got that hotel since it was close to the DLH so we can catch the monorail and it was way cheaper then the DLH. I would say the same thing that the lobby is way different when DL bought the hotel.

[mariezp]

My apologies Sherry for not making it back sooner. I have had such a time finding spare time to checking in here on the DIS.... so much so that I have even been sorely neglecting my own TR. I am so glad to see that I have been missing out and you have had quite a bit of activity on your report while I was away. :woohoo: I know we had been wondering where everyone had been hiding. Apparently, deejdigsdis is familiar with the lack of comments syndrome too so I guess that means that we're not the only ones who go through dry spells of having very few posters. It looks like you have stirred up enough new interest and folks are starting to post again. Maybe we are not alone after all. ;) Anyway, since you can't count on the reliability of the DIS's e-mail, it is very nice for you to pop in and find you have comments waiting for you on your TR.

Oh boy! I am excited to hear that you will consider our offer to join us on Thanksgiving Day! I am sure you would find a day and meal in the park a nice change from just the usual old average holiday routine. I know we did! Now we just gotta figure out how to get you over to the park!

Funny thinking about the days of our youth and what temperatures we tolerated. Sadly when I was a teen I did not have the park to visit in summer but remember spending countless hours baking in the sun at the beach. I am sure you did your share of that too. Now any vacation destination I might consider absolutely without a doubt does not include, first off, a beach but also nowhere that I would even begin to think that it might be hot! While Disneyland can get warm at times it is pretty much near perfect during the fall weather.

I guess it would be fun to be there for CA’s new and improved re-opening event. I hope you manage to find a way to get there so you can give us the lowdown on what you think. There’s no way we can be there but I am pretty well satisfied waiting a few months for the crowds to die down a little. I’m not crazy excited about all the changes but I do feel a mellow sort of excitement growing and am beginning to think I am really going to love what’s coming.

I am pretty sure that a lot of people would never want to spend 2 weeks at Disneyland. In our case it works. Can you imagine all the photos you could take on one of your photo missions in that amount of time? Of course when you got home you would probably blow your computer up finally. Just think though.... 2 weeks for plenty of photos AND enough time to spend with some of your wacky friends. Okay, so maybe just a little bit of overkill for most. We’ll just have to hope that on your next trip you manage to spend just the right number of days at the park to help make up for what you missed last time.

Your grandmother sounds like the kind everyone would love to have! I had a good one too although she never did any of the type things you described and she would have never ever thought about spending money on something so frivolous as Disneyland! I am glad your grandmother was willing to do whatever she could to make your life a little better. I bet in some way she just might have understood the therapeutic value it could have for you. I know it works wonders on me as well!

Okay, you got me curious here! What and where is this thing on your back? First Aunt Betty and now strange creatures…. Tell us more Sherry! http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3672.jpg

Love all the teaser photos BTW. Lots of good ones and I can’t wait to see the rest! Great group shot and especially love you smooching with Goofy and Duffy and you with the Stitch package. Good job getting the photo enhancements. I REALLY need to focus on getting some of them one of these days.

Very interesting about the “mystery lady”. Curious to see if she turns up in 2012! Do try not to get security called on yourself. That might really put a damper on your day. :eek:

Thanks for taking a stab at the holiday season predictions. I agree that the 19th seems like it would be too late but with the way that Disney changed things up last year by beginning on a Monday I wonder if anyone can really make an accurate prediction anymore. It used to be possible to pick a couple of dates but now you might just as well say that it could be on any day somewhere between the first of the month and Thanksgiving Day. Lol! Whichever day it begins this year I am pretty sure we are going to luck out and be there which is good since we missed it last year by just a few days. This year we are booked for November 17-December 1. I can’t wait! Gonna just miss you Michele. (Thanks for reminding me Sherry! Must remember to get some of those tamales this year!)

It is going to be a sad day indeed when you hit 250 pages and have to start you TR all over again! Talk about some big pressure… to get built back up from ZERO! Oh well, it will be fun and some of us will be right there with you for Sherry’s Ongoing Trip Report ,Part 2. Yay for 40 years! Now let’s get in another trip to Goofy’s kitchen!

BTW, deejdigsdis, I hope your dad is doing well enough by October to get to join you for your trip. What a sweet family recollection! Hope you have many more trips to add to the memories.

Okay, that about does it. I think I caught up. Now I can sit back…. And wait…… popcorn::

[kelmac284]

Sherry yay I love your reports. They are always so detailed and you and I are a LOT a like. Disneyland too to me is my happy place. I am sure you have seen on FB that I have had a lot going on and that is one place where no matter what I can go and "get happy". ;)

I LOVE looking at all your old photos and can't wait to read your next installment. :)

[kaoden39]

Marie, we are just missing each other. If I had been able to sick to the dates I wanted to go which were November 25-November 30 we would be able to meet. But, with Kacy being in college she needs to be there when they start the review for finals.

[deejdigsdis]

Whoa! It's been busy in here. OK, I'm all caught up reading-wise. Now I have a list of about 10 things I want to comment on, but it will have to be another time because I have to run!

[tksbaskets]

I'm a little teary eyed from Sherry's nice comments about my boys looking back and appreciating our love of Disney :love: I do hope they share the same special times with their families some day.

I think it's great that Sherry's trip report has sparked comments from the smart DISers following her TR about their own Disney memories. Plus we are all dying to know Who/What Aunt Betty is!!

Waiting for more popcorn::

[Sherry E]

I really liked the Monorail Cafe. There was something special about the place, I was really saddest to see that gone from the DLH. Of course now that the waterfall is gone I think I will miss it more.

Michele -

I realized that I missed the sound of the waterfalls the last time I had a chance to romp around the DLH grounds. I liked hearing the water in the background.




I always wanted a window view of the old Mark III & Mark V monorails that entered the DLH station. Those were the great old days at the DLH and the Monorail Cafe.

It has been a long time, I don't remember much about where the pastry case was located. I know for sure that there was one at the Monorail Cafe.

I remember the old days when we were coming back to the Pan Pacific hotel after a day at DL and catching the monorail back to the DLH. We stop at the Monorail Cafe for lunch. You are correct that there isn't really any restaurant at the DLR compares to the Monorail Cafe. For restaurants that I like at the DLR right now is Storyteller's Cafe and the ESPN Zone. I haven't been to Goofy's Kitchen in years and would like to eat there one day for breakfast.

Still sad that Disney took out a bunch of the DLH buildings when they built DTD. At least Goofy's Kitchen is still up and running. It would be very weird if Goofy's Kitchen was take out during the expansion.

Yes, I have stayed a lot of times at the Pan Pacific hotel in the 90s before Disney bought the hotel in the mid 90s. My family got that hotel since it was close to the DLH so we can catch the monorail and it was way cheaper then the DLH. I would say the same thing that the lobby is way different when DL bought the hotel.

Bret -

Those were the good ol' days! As Michele has said, change is good - but there are still certain things that will be missed.




My apologies Sherry for not making it back sooner. I have had such a time finding spare time to checking in here on the DIS.... so much so that I have even been sorely neglecting my own TR. I am so glad to see that I have been missing out and you have had quite a bit of activity on your report while I was away. :woohoo: I know we had been wondering where everyone had been hiding. Apparently, deejdigsdis is familiar with the lack of comments syndrome too so I guess that means that we're not the only ones who go through dry spells of having very few posters. It looks like you have stirred up enough new interest and folks are starting to post again. Maybe we are not alone after all. ;) Anyway, since you can't count on the reliability of the DIS's e-mail, it is very nice for you to pop in and find you have comments waiting for you on your TR.

Oh boy! I am excited to hear that you will consider our offer to join us on Thanksgiving Day! I am sure you would find a day and meal in the park a nice change from just the usual old average holiday routine. I know we did! Now we just gotta figure out how to get you over to the park!

Funny thinking about the days of our youth and what temperatures we tolerated. Sadly when I was a teen I did not have the park to visit in summer but remember spending countless hours baking in the sun at the beach. I am sure you did your share of that too. Now any vacation destination I might consider absolutely without a doubt does not include, first off, a beach but also nowhere that I would even begin to think that it might be hot! While Disneyland can get warm at times it is pretty much near perfect during the fall weather.

I guess it would be fun to be there for CA’s new and improved re-opening event. I hope you manage to find a way to get there so you can give us the lowdown on what you think. There’s no way we can be there but I am pretty well satisfied waiting a few months for the crowds to die down a little. I’m not crazy excited about all the changes but I do feel a mellow sort of excitement growing and am beginning to think I am really going to love what’s coming.

I am pretty sure that a lot of people would never want to spend 2 weeks at Disneyland. In our case it works. Can you imagine all the photos you could take on one of your photo missions in that amount of time? Of course when you got home you would probably blow your computer up finally. Just think though.... 2 weeks for plenty of photos AND enough time to spend with some of your wacky friends. Okay, so maybe just a little bit of overkill for most. We’ll just have to hope that on your next trip you manage to spend just the right number of days at the park to help make up for what you missed last time.

Your grandmother sounds like the kind everyone would love to have! I had a good one too although she never did any of the type things you described and she would have never ever thought about spending money on something so frivolous as Disneyland! I am glad your grandmother was willing to do whatever she could to make your life a little better. I bet in some way she just might have understood the therapeutic value it could have for you. I know it works wonders on me as well!

Okay, you got me curious here! What and where is this thing on your back? First Aunt Betty and now strange creatures…. Tell us more Sherry! http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3672.jpg

Love all the teaser photos BTW. Lots of good ones and I can’t wait to see the rest! Great group shot and especially love you smooching with Goofy and Duffy and you with the Stitch package. Good job getting the photo enhancements. I REALLY need to focus on getting some of them one of these days.

Very interesting about the “mystery lady”. Curious to see if she turns up in 2012! Do try not to get security called on yourself. That might really put a damper on your day. :eek:

Thanks for taking a stab at the holiday season predictions. I agree that the 19th seems like it would be too late but with the way that Disney changed things up last year by beginning on a Monday I wonder if anyone can really make an accurate prediction anymore. It used to be possible to pick a couple of dates but now you might just as well say that it could be on any day somewhere between the first of the month and Thanksgiving Day. Lol! Whichever day it begins this year I am pretty sure we are going to luck out and be there which is good since we missed it last year by just a few days. This year we are booked for November 17-December 1. I can’t wait! Gonna just miss you Michele. (Thanks for reminding me Sherry! Must remember to get some of those tamales this year!)

It is going to be a sad day indeed when you hit 250 pages and have to start you TR all over again! Talk about some big pressure… to get built back up from ZERO! Oh well, it will be fun and some of us will be right there with you for Sherry’s Ongoing Trip Report ,Part 2. Yay for 40 years! Now let’s get in another trip to Goofy’s kitchen!

BTW, deejdigsdis, I hope your dad is doing well enough by October to get to join you for your trip. What a sweet family recollection! Hope you have many more trips to add to the memories.

Okay, that about does it. I think I caught up. Now I can sit back…. And wait…… popcorn::



Marie -

I am going to make this quick because I am just about to post a new TR installment here and I want to immediately go and whip up the next one which will follow! I am on a roll! I just wanted you to know that I read your whole post thoroughly, and chuckled a few times. I knew that you would understand if I just dash off a couple of quick replies. I really appreciate your taking the time to reply at all, when you have your own TR to rustle up!

Okay - no. I never baked in the sun intentionally. I have pasty Irish skin, Marie. That only leads to bad, bad sunburns.:rotfl2: The heat has actually affected me badly and made me ill since I was a young kid (I got many awful sunburns), and I always find it to be too warm when other people find it comfortable (like, say, 75 degrees or so). But for a while it seemed like the only available times to do anything fun were in the summer. So we always made summer outings. Now, it's just too much for me - I even get ill when I am too warm, just staying indoors, let alone going outside.

I can't tell you about the strange creature on my back yet!:rotfl2: That was a teaser - it is a highlight of what you will see as the TR moseys along!

Yep, I always attempt to predict when the holiday season and the Halloween season will begin - because the questions come up so often on the DIS and in the 2 Superthreads. I have paid attention to the season start date pattern for the last several years in a row, and have even gone online and looked up much earlier season start dates (for example, the holidays did begin on 11/9 at DLR many years ago). I always pay attention to whether or not a season starts on the 3rd Friday of the month, or the 4th Sunday or 2nd Wednesday or whatever. Four years ago - in 2008 - both the Halloween season and the holiday season started a bit later.

I think it's very possible that Halloween Time could begin on 9/17 or 9/21 this year, and that the holidays will officially begin on 11/12 or 11/16. I think those are the most likely choices, when looking at the possible dates and patterns and doing a process-of-elimination thing. But, as you said, Disney could totally throw us for a loop and do something weird! Just when I think a season will have to begin on a Monday or a Friday, it will suddenly start on a Tuesday or something.

We shall see!



Sherry yay I love your reports. They are always so detailed and you and I are a LOT a like. Disneyland too to me is my happy place. I am sure you have seen on FB that I have had a lot going on and that is one place where no matter what I can go and "get happy". ;)

I LOVE looking at all your old photos and can't wait to read your next installment. :)

Hellllllllooooooo, Kelly!:cool1:

I am so glad to see you have joined me here. Thank you for the nice comments. I really appreciate it. I've got another TR installment coming up right after this reply post. I've just got to cut and paste the text and then make sure it is formatted in the DIS way that I need it to be.

Yes, I think there is no doubt that a good Disneyland trip can definitely cheer us all up when things are going awry in our lives.:hug: Sometimes it can be hard to get in the mood to go there in the first place if there are lots of problems happening, but I think that once we get there, it can have a very healing effect. It's strange to say that because DLR is such a noisy place, full of people and activity, and yet it can be quite soothing to the soul.



Marie, we are just missing each other. If I had been able to sick to the dates I wanted to go which were November 25-November 30 we would be able to meet. But, with Kacy being in college she needs to be there when they start the review for finals.

Michele -

That's too bad! I wish you and Marie could meet!



Whoa! It's been busy in here. OK, I'm all caught up reading-wise. Now I have a list of about 10 things I want to comment on, but it will have to be another time because I have to run!


Deej -

Okey dokey! I look forward to the commentary!:yay:



I'm a little teary eyed from Sherry's nice comments about my boys looking back and appreciating our love of Disney :love: I do hope they share the same special times with their families some day.

I think it's great that Sherry's trip report has sparked comments from the smart DISers following her TR about their own Disney memories. Plus we are all dying to know Who/What Aunt Betty is!!

Waiting for more popcorn::


TK -

:goodvibes:hug:

I definitely think your boys are very lucky to have you guys as parents because you love being at the parks as much as you love bringing your sons there, and that must have a positive impact on them. You can tell that some parents in the parks are just miserable and don't want to be there - and that probably rubs off on the kids.

Muahahahahaha - the Aunt Betty mystery continues!:rotfl2: Oh, how disappointed you all will be when you find out who and what Aunt Betty is.:rotfl2: Oh well. Hopefully there will be enough other interesting stuff going on to keep everyone sticking around!


I am just about to cut, paste and format the next installment, so it is coming up in a jiffy! (Does anyone actually say "jiffy" anymore? I really don't say it at all, but it seemed like the thing to say here.:rotfl2:)

[Sherry E]

Aunt Betty's Weepy, Wacky, Wonderful Christmas Trip to Disneyland –

Sunday, December 4 – Thursday, December 8, 2011





Introduction and Background Information – Part 2




So, where were we?

In Part 1 of the Introduction & Background Information of this TR (Page 169, Post #2532), I filled you in on how Disneyland became a joyful part of my life 40 years ago, thanks to my grandmother and her church friends, and how it ended up meaning much more to me than simply being a fun place to spend a day.

I also told you about the early Disney ‘seeds’ that were planted in my young mind – the Thurl Ravenscroft connection at the Little Country Church of Hollywood (which prompted the first trip for me to Disneyland, to “find Thurl”), and the visits to the Pan Pacific Auditorium when I was a wee tot (even though I clearly had no clue at that time that the Pan Pacific Auditorium’s unusual design and color would end up figuring so prominently into the entrances to 2 Disney parks in the United States, and even lending its style to the construction walls that currently line the pathway into California Adventure!).

Well, where do I go from here?

I suppose I will use this second part of the Background and Introduction to tell you about my friend – I shall call her “M” – who will be play a very prominent role in my December 4 – December 8, 2011 Disneyland Resort holiday trip report tales.

M and I met in 1979, when we were both in detention in junior high school (or middle school, as it is more commonly known in this century!). We were 12 years old. I’ve already explained to you that I hated going to school because many kids were awful and mean to me, and I didn’t really care for a lot of the teachers, either. So I got in trouble for skipping school and was put in detention. M was also in there for some other reason – I’m not really sure what it was, but I think it involved insulting a teacher. Soon we realized that were both in the same music class together, with a teacher who loved Barry Manilow and wanted us to learn his entire songbook.

M’s vocal talents were, um…interesting. I would hear these strange, alien sounds coming from a couple of rows back, in the middle of a lively rendition of “Can’t Smile Without You,” and I realized it was M. She sat behind me in the class and was perpetually off-key (to say the least), to the point where I think the teacher just asked her to stop singing after a while because it was confusing the other singers.

Our friendship led us on many adventures. We spent the Summers of 1980 and 1981 frolicking around Westwood Village, spending way too much money in Tower Records, or lurking behind fruit stands at the Farmers Market, spying on cute boys until they caught us and we ran away.

We even met Michael Damian – I think it was in 1981. Who is Michael Damian, you ask? He played Danny on “Young and the Restless,”a CBS show, and he was always in Tiger Beat or Teen Beat magazine because he had a ‘rock music’ career. (I say ‘rock music’ with a wink and a nudge.)

Farmers Market was across a huge parking lot from CBS, and “Young and the Restless,” was taping at that specific location in those days, so the stars of CBS soap operas and game shows would walk across the lot to Farmers Market to eat lunch. Not one to bother with walking, Michael Damian drove his snazzy black Porsche across the lot and parked it in front of Farmers Market. M and I happened to see him pulling up, and we started talking to him. He was by himself, and he graciously sat down with us for 45 minutes to chat. He was a very nice guy.

When we were done talking to Michael Damian, we walked him back to his Porsche, where he hugged us and kissed both M and me smack dab on the lips – which, at that time, was shocking!!! And he drove off into the mist – which was really just back across the parking lot to CBS.



Needless to say, Michael Damian left quite an impression on our little 13-year-old broken hearts…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/scan0001-1.jpg



As M and I got older and the years passed, the types of adventures and mischief we got into changed quite a bit, and we sometimes included other friends in the mix, too. But there was always lots of fun to be had.




We worked for Poison/Bret Michaels together….

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/1980s%20Sunset%20Strip%20Band%20Stuff/SHERRY-BRET-MANDY-SANJOSE-1986.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/1980s%20Sunset%20Strip%20Band%20Stuff/MANDY-RIKKI-BRET-SHERRY-1987.jpg





We mingled with Warrant...

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/1980s%20Sunset%20Strip%20Band%20Stuff/7816_1167554562790_1645712761_418513_7107252_n-1.jpg


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/1980s%20Sunset%20Strip%20Band%20Stuff/19642_1263525321999_1645712761_641317_6014875_n-1.jpg





We generally trotted around, acting & looking silly…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/1980s%20Sunset%20Strip%20Band%20Stuff/7816_1166332852248_1645712761_415903_4285826_n-1.jpg


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/1980s%20Sunset%20Strip%20Band%20Stuff/7816_1167554522789_1645712761_418512_3484372_n-1.jpg


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/1980s%20Sunset%20Strip%20Band%20Stuff/7816_1167545722569_1645712761_418497_6191633_n-1.jpg


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/1980s%20Sunset%20Strip%20Band%20Stuff/19642_1268302921436_1645712761_649745_2203034_n.jp g





There were trips to Catalina…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Catalina%20Through%20the%20Years%20-%201988-2003/7816_1163699186408_1645712761_408843_1216181_n.jpg


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Catalina%20Through%20the%20Years%20-%201988-2003/7816_1163699266410_1645712761_408845_4597082_n.jpg


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Catalina%20Through%20the%20Years%20-%201988-2003/7816_1163699666420_1645712761_408854_921862_n-1.jpg


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Catalina%20Through%20the%20Years%20-%201988-2003/7816_1163700026429_1645712761_408863_2583261_n.jpg




http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Catalina%20Through%20the%20Years%20-%201988-2003/7816_1163705946577_1645712761_408888_3303005_n-1.jpg


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Catalina%20Through%20the%20Years%20-%201988-2003/7816_1163707586618_1645712761_408928_465135_n-1.jpg


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Catalina%20Through%20the%20Years%20-%201988-2003/7816_1163707466615_1645712761_408925_6267617_n-1.jpg


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Catalina%20Through%20the%20Years%20-%201988-2003/7816_1163706066580_1645712761_408891_4944264_n-1.jpg


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Catalina%20Through%20the%20Years%20-%201988-2003/7816_1163707666620_1645712761_408930_6023662_n.jpg





And, of course, there were many trips to Disneyland…way more than I have room to represent in photos in this one single post, so here is just a sampling…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Vintage%20Disneyland%20Holidays/1990-DECEMBER-DISNEYLAND-SHERRY--2.jpg


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Vintage%20Disneyland%20Holidays/1991-JANUARY-DISNEYLAND-MANDY-HEATH.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Vintage%20Disneyland%20Holidays/1992-DECEMBER-DISNEYLAND-SHAWN-SHER.jpg


http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Vintage%20Disneyland%20Holidays/1993-DECEMBER-DISNEYLAND-GROUPSHOT-.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Vintage%20Disneyland%20Holidays/7816_1164461525466_1645712761_411196_1593816_n.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Vintage%20Disneyland%20Holidays/7816_1164461445464_1645712761_411194_3375117_n.jpg



November 2001 (below) was our last trip to Disneyland together until December 2011...

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Vintage%20Disneyland%20Holidays/2001-NOVEMBER-DISNEYLAND-DOWNTOW-3.jpg


Actually, my first trip to Disneyland with M was in 1980 or 1981, but for some reason I have absolutely no photos from that time…or from any trip we took to Disneyland together until 1990, for that matter. I have no clue why. I’m not even sure if anyone else took photos from those trips, but I remember being there with her a few times in the early ‘80s.

Any sharp-eyed, long-time followers of this TR will know that there are also lots of other photos of M and me scattered throughout this thread in various vintage Disneyland segments, as well as in Catalina photos. I am just showing you a small glimpse of our adventures right now but you can always go back and skim through the thread, where you will find lots and lots of other photos!!!

My friendship with M over the years – decades, actually – was not without conflict. Far from it. While I won’t go into all the details here (because it’s not necessary), suffice it to say there were many issues and rough patches along the way. Sometimes there were long-lasting arguments. She used to do and say a lot of things that I thought were not indicative of a friend who really cared about me, and, in fact, were more indicative of a friend who resented me for some unknown reason. This is not to say that I am always a joy to deal with, either, because I am not. We all have flaws.

But with time and maturity you assume that people change, situations change and you evolve as friends. I have tried to mature and evolve as a person in many ways. M got married (to “B”) back in 1997 and moved to Idaho a couple of years later. Her dad (“S”) joined them. They welcomed their adorable little boy, “R,” five years ago. Her life has changed a lot.

I valued my friends very early on in life – back in those days when my grandmother would let me have friends over or allow me to bring them to Disneyland with me. I felt that if I was lucky enough to make any friends in the sea of horrible kids who attended school with me, I wanted to hang on to them. To this day, I have kept several friends that I knew in school. Also, I don’t have any family – my grandmother passed away in 1996, and all of my other relatives have since passed on or they were so distant that I never knew them in the first place. So my longtime friends of many, many years have literally become my family because there is no other family for me.













As some of you may recall, I had not seen M in 10 years, since 2001, and there were a couple of close calls with M and her family making plans to come out here to SoCal. They were going to make a trip out here last May, for example, and there was going to be a big Goofy’s meal (they were going to treat me to dinner because I had facilitated so many of our Disneyland trips in the past and she said she owed it to me), but then she began including all kinds of other people in on the plan so I got uncomfortable with it and backed out. They ended up not coming out in May.

Finally, M and family solidified their plans to come out to SoCal this past December. I picked hotel dates at the Paradise Pier Hotel that I thought would coincide with their planned dates at Disneyland. M waited 5 months to tell me that the dates I picked were not good for them, so then it was a last minute scramble for me to see if I could switch dates with the Special Activities department. M doesn’t get the concept of ‘You are taking a big risk by trying to make down-to-the-wire changes in your reservations at the Disney hotels during the holiday season.’ To her, it is no big deal to just make last-minute adjustments and she doesn’t understand that sometimes it is not possible to make those changes.

Fortunately, I was able to switch my original December 2011 dates to dates that worked with M & family’s DLR trip date. Originally I booked 11/28/11 – 12/5/11, but I changed the dates to 12/4/11 – 12/11/11. I eventually ended up lopping off 3 of the nights and changing it to 12/4/11 – 12/8/11.

M arranged to stay with me at the PPH on the night of 12/5/11 (Monday), and she split the cost 50/50 with me, but her family was staying in another room at the PPH…or so she told me. (I soon found out that was not true, but more on that later.)

M also asked me if one of her new friends and she could stay in my PPH room on the night of 12/8/11. Well, the thing was, I was due to check out on 12/8, and she only wanted to chip in 50% of the cost, whereas I felt that if 2 other adults were going to be staying with me, we should be splitting the cost 3 ways. In other words, it’s not a “2 for the price of 1” deal for M and her friend in my PPH room! Each person should pay 1/3 of the price. In any case, I knew I was going to check out on 12/8 so it was not possible for them to stay with me even if I had agreed to the 50% split.

I was due to be alone at the Paradise Pier Hotel on the night of Sunday, 12/4, which I preferred. I can’t sleep as well with other people in my room, and I don’t have to worry about waking other folks up or bothering them if I want to get up at the crack of dawn or in the middle of the night. So 12/4 would be my solo night at the PPH. M (and possibly her then-4-year-old, R) would be with me on 12/5. And I had arranged with fellow wonderful DIS’ers, Laurie (DizNee Luver) and Molly (bumbershoot), to stay with me on the nights of 12/6 & 12/7.

Originally I had discussed the possibility of sharing the PPH room with Jessica (Belle Elle/BillyJazz) and Paula (smile4stamps), but that didn’t look like it was going to work out – or so I thought – so I had to launch into warp speed ‘find roommates’ mode once I switched dates. Molly had already thrown her hat into the ring long ago. Laurie miraculously was able to come to DLR and share the room on the exact dates I had available, and she had met Molly before on a Diva trip – so it seemed like it was going to work out perfectly! Plus, both Laurie and Molly had stayed at the PPH before and loved it, so I knew there would be no complaints about the hotel choice from them. Everything kind of fell into place the way I needed it to fall, and it seemed like a plan that would work for everyone else involved as well.



Coming up soon….Finally, Sunday, December 4th arrives and it is time for me to head to Disneyland to soak in the Christmas spirit! A fun-filled day with the usual Disneyland friends awaits, and merriment is all around!

[DizNee Luver]

I'm really enjoying getting a little more incite to your past......I know I like who I know in the present....but a little back story always helps make the friendship a little stronger. (the more you know, the more you can offer advice & help). Breaks me heart about the no family thing......I live for my family & can't imagine not being a part of something like that. So it makes perfect sense to hang on to those friendships made when you were younger.....even if they tend to be a bit dysfunctional.

I get a kick out of those pics from the 80's......good golly....did we really dress that way?? :rotfl2: Talk about filling the ozone with our aerosol cans of hairspray......lol Loved seeing the pic with the Skyway in the background.....that takes me back to my childhood & riding high above Disneyland with my daddy.

Looking forward to more!!

[tksbaskets]

TK -

:goodvibes:hug:

I definitely think your boys are very lucky to have you guys as parents because you love being at the parks as much as you love bringing your sons there, and that must have a positive impact on them. You can tell that some parents in the parks are just miserable and don't want to be there - and that probably rubs off on the kids.

Muahahahahaha - the Aunt Betty mystery continues!:rotfl2: Oh, how disappointed you all will be when you find out who and what Aunt Betty is.:rotfl2: Oh well. Hopefully there will be enough other interesting stuff going on to keep everyone sticking around!


I am just about to cut, paste and format the next installment, so it is coming up in a jiffy! (Does anyone actually say "jiffy" anymore? I really don't say it at all, but it seemed like the thing to say here.:rotfl2:)

I can just hear our sons in the future, "Hey kids, your uncle and I remember when we were young and Grandma and Grandpa made us ride TSMM for hours. I think it's because Grandma could post acceptable scores on that one and she really stunk on BLAB!"

Indeed we say 'Jiffy' in these here parts. I live 10 minutes west of the Chelsea Milling Company - home of - Jiffy Mix.

http://www.jiffymix.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/sunsetcmc_1103.jpg

Now for that next installment. I've got a nice beverage and I'm anxious to meet Aunt Betty :thumbsup2

[kaoden39]

I can just hear our sons in the future, "Hey kids, your uncle and I remember when we were young and Grandma and Grandpa made us ride TSMM for hours. I think it's because Grandma could post acceptable scores on that one and she really stunk on BLAB!"

Indeed we say 'Jiffy' in these here parts. I live 10 minutes west of the Chelsea Milling Company - home of - Jiffy Mix.

http://www.jiffymix.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/sunsetcmc_1103.jpg

Now for that next installment. I've got a nice beverage and I'm anxious to meet Aunt Betty :thumbsup2


Yum, Jiffy mix. I would not dream of making my corn casserole without it.:goodvibes

[Sherry E]

I'm really enjoying getting a little more incite to your past......I know I like who I know in the present....but a little back story always helps make the friendship a little stronger. (the more you know, the more you can offer advice & help). Breaks me heart about the no family thing......I live for my family & can't imagine not being a part of something like that. So it makes perfect sense to hang on to those friendships made when you were younger.....even if they tend to be a bit dysfunctional.

I get a kick out of those pics from the 80's......good golly....did we really dress that way?? :rotfl2: Talk about filling the ozone with our aerosol cans of hairspray......lol Loved seeing the pic with the Skyway in the background.....that takes me back to my childhood & riding high above Disneyland with my daddy.

Looking forward to more!!

Hi, Laurie!:cool1:

Thank you for the kind words!:hug:

It's weird not having family - especially around holidays, although I have never stopped loving holidays despite the fact that I don't have family. I think it's mainly weird because of what I feel like I should be doing or what I am expected to do (going to a big Thanksgiving dinner or a Christmas party or something)!

Most of my really close longtime friends have even moved out of SoCal, and I only see the Orange County friends maybe once or twice a year. So I am pretty much alone all the time.

But, yes, you're right, when you don't have family then your longtime friends become your default family and you hang on to the friendships through thick and thin. Your female friends become your sisters. Your male friends - if you haven't already dated them or married them by a certain point - are your brothers. Even when things get rough, you stick it out unless the person is just a bad person in general.

Now this particular friend - M - who I explained in the above post and who I saw at DLR this past December, is someone with whom I thought things had evolved. I hoped that some things would have changed with time and growth, but....it doesn't look like they have.

You are one of the very few people who actually knows how my story at DLR ends and what happened in DCA that left me crying on a bench (because Molly filled you in), BUT most of the other people reading along here don't know yet, so I don't want to spill the beans and reveal the story!!

As for the '80s photos - yes, the hair on my friends was scary! I never sprayed my hair at all. I only had pink in my hair on Halloween, so I had an excuse!:rotfl2: But when I see certain people these days dressing up in '80s looks (like on the "Real Housewives of Orange County," they had an '80s party), with the awful hair and clothes, it is really horrifying!:rotfl:

It's still crazy to me to not see the Skyway at DL anymore, even though it's been gone for years and years. For so long it was part of the Disneyland skyscape - just as you'd think of seeing Dumbo and the Matterhorn peak, the People Mover and eventually the Space Mountain peak and Big Thunder and Splash Mountain, you'd also think of seeing those Skyway buckets gliding across the sky while dangling from the cable! It was just part of the overall look of Disneyland.




I can just hear our sons in the future, "Hey kids, your uncle and I remember when we were young and Grandma and Grandpa made us ride TSMM for hours. I think it's because Grandma could post acceptable scores on that one and she really stunk on BLAB!"

Indeed we say 'Jiffy' in these here parts. I live 10 minutes west of the Chelsea Milling Company - home of - Jiffy Mix.

http://www.jiffymix.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/sunsetcmc_1103.jpg

Now for that next installment. I've got a nice beverage and I'm anxious to meet Aunt Betty :thumbsup2

TK -

You're not the only one who is bad on BLAB! When I say I am bad at it, it is no exaggeration. I have literally gotten no higher score on that ride than something like 22,000. That's it. And usually my score is much lower (like 15,000)!!! I have really bad hand-eye coordination (I always have, ever since childhood), so I cannot master the gun-target thing. But I love riding it anyway - even if I scored zero, I would still ride it because I love spinning the vehicle and I love pointing and shooting at things.:rotfl2:

On one of my last BLAB rides I beat my friend Jackie - but that's how we began on TSMM too, several years ago. I started out by beating her on TSMM and then she ended up beating me on every TSMM ride after that. So it won't take long for her to whip my butt on BLAB as well.

What's sad is that a 4-year-old got a higher score on BLAB than I did - his very first time riding it!:rotfl2::rotfl2: That is pretty pathetic!!






:cool1::cool1::cool1:




OK - about Aunt Betty, here's what I will tell you, TK, and anyone else out there who is hanging out just for the big reveal of the Aunt Betty story...

Aunt Betty is not coming up in this TR for a long time. The Aunt Betty reference didn't even happen until my 3rd day at DLR (December 6th). So you will be waiting for a long time, and when Aunt Betty does come up it is going to be so insignificant - it's not even an amusing story like the Peppermint Cone of Death - that you will probably say, "Oh? That's all it is?"

Mainly, I just needed a different title for my TR and I couldn't use the title I really wanted to use because it's not appropriate for the DIS! So I thought about the DLR trip itself and tried to find something that would give me an idea, and I used the Aunt Betty reference because it was something that came up through the course of the DLR trip, and it sounds kind of puzzling/intriguing in the TR title!

So I think that everyone should forget Aunt Betty for the time being and just come along for the ride with me if you would like to! Enjoy the journey and forget about the destination for right now!




:cool1::cool1::cool1:




The actual focal point and 'main event' of this TR is the reunion with my friend M and how that transpired at DLR, and the episode in which I ended up on a bench, crying in DCA! The series of events leading up to that singular moment of tears had all of my friends in a tizzy when I told them about it later - they were so upset for me, and angry on my behalf too. I will be interested to hear what you all think - when I am done telling the story! Now that I have had some time to reflect on it, I am still upset in some ways, but I can see it all a little more logically.

But, in the meantime, what I have been doing with the last 2 TR installments is setting the stage. I am building momentum. I have been giving pieces of info about myself and about my friendship with M that are important to know, because it will have a bigger impact when we get to that pivotal moment when I am crying on the bench in California Adventure - and then continuing to cry as I move to a second bench, out of the way of foot traffic!!

So I do hope that you read my installment yesterday about my friendship with M, because there were little nuggets and hints in there that will give you a better picture of everything. For example, did you see the part where I mentioned that she wanted to have a friend of hers stay in my room, but not pay the fair share? Did you see the part where I mentioned that she was going to treat me for a Goofy's dinner? Remember those things for later!!!

As I've said, because I didn't even get half as many photos this time around as I got on my 2010 holiday "Evil Chair/Peppermint Cone of Death" DLR trip, this TR is going to be more story-driven than photo driven.

In fact, think of the installments I have already done for this TR as the Pre-Trip Report. I did not do a proper Pre-TR last year, prior to December. So these last couple of installments have been the Pre-TR!

[kelmac284]

As always love the latest installment and the background. Ever since I met you a few years back I have always been fascinated/interested in your background and I was impressed with all your friends and the fact that it seems that at least some of them have been there for a LONG time and seemed like you were still close. I am sorry to hear that that is not the case with "M" but I SO feel your pain. I was one of those that didn't have a ton of friends either. My parents had a business that made it so I had to go to school where they worked rather than by where I lived and so it meant that in 7th grade (the WORST time of school in my opinion) I had to go to a new school and be that "new" kid and it was really tough for me. I did make a few really great friends but then my sophomore year of high school they closed my school and once again I had to change schools and left all my friends behind. We kept in touch but it wasn't the same.

I have made a few friends back then and over the years but as time seems to do most of them have gotten married and moved on with their lives and I have found that MOST people just seem to fade away. It is truly sad and now I find myself at almost 45 with no real what I call close or good friends. I have a few friends I keep in touch with on FB but honestly and saddly to say I don't feel like I have ONE friend that would actually BE there if I really needed them. So that is why I was so impressed with your stories because it seemed like you had what I had always longed for which was some friends that would be there to the end no matter what. It makes me sad to hear that the long time friend was a dissapointment to you and I hope that at least SOME of your old friends you are still close with.

I am anxious as always to read your next installment and fyi mom and I had SO much fun on our trip that we are considering something for this summer. We had REALLY hoped to do something different and maybe do Hawaii or Mexico but with the cost of airfare I don't know if that is even a possibility so right now I am working on a trip driving down and going to the Beach, Hollywood again to do some things we missed, and DL for a couple days. But the point I was making is we are hoping (if we do this trip) to do the Grove and Olvera Street like I had planned this last trip. So IF that comes to fruition I will DEF let you know and perhaps we can meet!! Course our day at the Grove will prob be a weekday so not sure if that will be a problem with your job or whatever but I will let you know once we decide. I would LOVE to finally meet you!! :)

[deejdigsdis]

For corn's sake! It's getting more difficult to keep up! (I happened to watch "I Love Lucy" right around the time you said 'for corn's sake' -- so that gave me a good chuckle. I hope you pulled your pants up as high as they could go while you were saying it, just to be as much like Fred Mertz as possible. ;))

OK. I see you posted again but I haven't read it yet. I need to get my comments up for the previous post before moving on. This will be kind of random, so here we go...

Let's see...The Captain Hook light fixture. No, I've never seen that before! And quite frankly that surprises me since I like to notice those things.

So Pluto was making actual audible growling noises? It makes me wonder if the person inside was trying to stifle a giggle while they were growling, or if they were just serious as could be. Just funny to think about. A couple of years ago my son's teacher's daughter was hired to be Aurora (I think?) at WDW. Before taking on Aurora, she spent some time as Pluto. One time she had a guest shove a camera "down her throat" -- makes me wonder if she was growling at them and they wanted a closer look at what was going on in there!

Very interesting about seeing the same lady twice! In 2 different years! That is just crazy! What are the chances?? And how did you even recognize her again? I would recognize Halloween Lady ONLY if she was dressed in her jaunty Halloween attire, walking along with a distinctive spring in her step. Like TK, I also thought of Roma Downey! :rotfl: (Was her name Monica?) Is this what an Aunt Betty is? If you see someone multiple times...you are pulling an Aunt Betty? :laughing:

You know, I was in high school when I realized that Disneyland had a deeper "beyond the rides" meaning to me. I remember one of my good friends was going to Disneyland for the first time and I was SO excited for her. I couldn't wait to hear what she thought about it when she returned. Her response? "It was OK." And then she went on and on about how much she loved Universal Studios. :confused: I was stunned. I wondered how it was possible that she didn't love it like I did. I tried to put myself in her shoes...going for the first time as a teenager. And I got it. She didn't have a history there. (Not to say that someone going for the first time as a teenager/adult can't absolutely love it...) I am a nostalgia-loving-let's-talk-about-old-memeories person by nature. Disneyland was full of fond memories for me. And I love adding to my bank of Disneyland Memories! So this realization about Disneyland being more than a place to ride the rides came years ago. It has indeed been a "source of joy" just as Walt hoped. :goodvibes

This reply really is all over the place, huh?

I read that both Indy and BTMR would be down for "months" this fall. Time will tell, I suppose.

That's so funny that we got nearly the same Gingerbread picture!

During the talk of Paradise Pier/Pan Pacific, I was wondering to myself, "I wonder if that is the old Emerald Hotel? I will google it after I finish reading this post." Then lo and behold...you beat me to it! :rotfl: We used to stay at Eden Roc (:scared1:) and walk to Disneyland. Actually, back then Eden Roc seemed just fine to us. It was all we knew. I guess not "all we knew" -- sometimes we stayed at the Inn of Tomorrow (today's Best Western Stovall's). I know we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel once. I don't remember it at all, but I have a picture of me sitting in the hallway outside our hotel room door, holding one of those pink or blue classic old-style Mickey Balloons. Before they were inside of another balloon. Back to the Emerald. We used to walk by that hotel and wish we were staying there. So big and pretty and out of our league! :rotfl: It's fun to have that mystery solved. :goodvibes

Oh...and I remember Sambos. I remember the pictures that went along the wall up by the ceiling, telling Sambo's story.

Lastly...Marie...thank you for your comments on my Dad. He is doing well at the moment. Last week he had a procedure in which a needle was inserted into his lung. The intent was to give the blood clot in his lung an electric shock, and break up the clot. It is expected for the lung to collapse during this particular procedure, but it didn't in his case. We'll know in a month or so if the procedure did what it was meant to do.

OK...on to the next installment!

[deejdigsdis]

OK...all caught up once again.

LOVED the 80s pictures! Did you wear blue shadow as eyeliner like I did? I had a pair of eyeglasses very similar to M's at one point. (In the Michael Damian shirt pics) I can't believe Michael Damian said goodbye like that! Kissing you both on the lips! So was he a "rock star" in the early 80s? I remember he had a hit song in 1988 or sometime around there. "Rock On" Do you remember that one? Ah, now I need to go listen to it.

Is M wearing Lee Press On Nails? :rotfl:

I find it odd that M would want to bring a new friend into YOUR hotel room. Who does that? When you haven't seen someone in 10 years, and you are finally reuniting in your old stomping grounds, why would you bring along a stranger? I don't get it.

I've really enjoyed reading the background and introduction to your story-driven TR. More, more, more!!! popcorn::

[Sherry E]

As always love the latest installment and the background. Ever since I met you a few years back I have always been fascinated/interested in your background and I was impressed with all your friends and the fact that it seems that at least some of them have been there for a LONG time and seemed like you were still close. I am sorry to hear that that is not the case with "M" but I SO feel your pain. I was one of those that didn't have a ton of friends either. My parents had a business that made it so I had to go to school where they worked rather than by where I lived and so it meant that in 7th grade (the WORST time of school in my opinion) I had to go to a new school and be that "new" kid and it was really tough for me. I did make a few really great friends but then my sophomore year of high school they closed my school and once again I had to change schools and left all my friends behind. We kept in touch but it wasn't the same.

I have made a few friends back then and over the years but as time seems to do most of them have gotten married and moved on with their lives and I have found that MOST people just seem to fade away. It is truly sad and now I find myself at almost 45 with no real what I call close or good friends. I have a few friends I keep in touch with on FB but honestly and saddly to say I don't feel like I have ONE friend that would actually BE there if I really needed them. So that is why I was so impressed with your stories because it seemed like you had what I had always longed for which was some friends that would be there to the end no matter what. It makes me sad to hear that the long time friend was a dissapointment to you and I hope that at least SOME of your old friends you are still close with.

I am anxious as always to read your next installment and fyi mom and I had SO much fun on our trip that we are considering something for this summer. We had REALLY hoped to do something different and maybe do Hawaii or Mexico but with the cost of airfare I don't know if that is even a possibility so right now I am working on a trip driving down and going to the Beach, Hollywood again to do some things we missed, and DL for a couple days. But the point I was making is we are hoping (if we do this trip) to do the Grove and Olvera Street like I had planned this last trip. So IF that comes to fruition I will DEF let you know and perhaps we can meet!! Course our day at the Grove will prob be a weekday so not sure if that will be a problem with your job or whatever but I will let you know once we decide. I would LOVE to finally meet you!! :)

Hi, Kelly!

Thank you!

It was a miracle that I managed to make any friends during my elementary school years and early junior high school years, because so many of the kids were really mean and awful - and often times you never find out why they are awful to you. They just are. I skipped and ditched school all the time because I didn't want to deal with these kids, and the teachers seemed ill-equipped to handle it, or they just didn't really care that much.

I recall that one time in elementary school, I was standing in line for the water fountain or something, and some horrible girl just walked up to me out of the blue and punched me hard in the stomach, leaving me hunched over in pain and tears. I had no clue why she hit me - I didn't really know her. I had never had a conversation with her. A teacher saw her hit me, and the girl should have been suspended, but she was basically just given a slap on the wrist and sent on her way.

Yes, I have hung on to a few friends from school days, and other friends from maybe 25+ years ago. The problem is geography - everyone has either moved out of California or moved far enough away from me to where it makes it difficult to get together. In the case of "M," that had been a rather questionable friendship in the past but I really thought that things had evolved and matured in 2011 and I came to find out that in some ways things had changed, and in some ways things stayed the same.

Yep - 7th grade was not fun at all. I agree with that!

Right now I am not working outside of the house so if you do make it to The Grove/Farmers Market during Summer I can most likely meet you unless something changes between now and then!:cool1: I was laid off from a 14-year job a few years ago, and then went into another position at a place that didn't really need an extra person (I think they were just trying to help me out), which they decided 6 months in. The economy got really bad and places around here stopped hiring, or getting even pickier about who they hired and for how much money. I could not find a new job! Since then I have been working at home for a revolving list of clients, and struggling a lot, but my PC suffered a major crash last year - the same PC I am using now - and it left me with a bad hard drive and a constant onslaught of problems with the programs I use as well as the Internet. It has mini-crashes all the time and is very unstable, so I really need to get a whole new system because it has impacted my work (and income!) a great deal. I am also continuing the search for an office job too.

So, barring any unexpected developments I would probably be free on a weekday to meet you! Don't rule out a Catalina visit/day trip during your SoCal time either! I just ordered my 2012 Visitors Guide a few weeks ago!


:cool1::cool1::cool1:





For corn's sake! It's getting more difficult to keep up! (I happened to watch "I Love Lucy" right around the time you said 'for corn's sake' -- so that gave me a good chuckle. I hope you pulled your pants up as high as they could go while you were saying it, just to be as much like Fred Mertz as possible. ;))

OK. I see you posted again but I haven't read it yet. I need to get my comments up for the previous post before moving on. This will be kind of random, so here we go...

Let's see...The Captain Hook light fixture. No, I've never seen that before! And quite frankly that surprises me since I like to notice those things.

So Pluto was making actual audible growling noises? It makes me wonder if the person inside was trying to stifle a giggle while they were growling, or if they were just serious as could be. Just funny to think about. A couple of years ago my son's teacher's daughter was hired to be Aurora (I think?) at WDW. Before taking on Aurora, she spent some time as Pluto. One time she had a guest shove a camera "down her throat" -- makes me wonder if she was growling at them and they wanted a closer look at what was going on in there!

Very interesting about seeing the same lady twice! In 2 different years! That is just crazy! What are the chances?? And how did you even recognize her again? I would recognize Halloween Lady ONLY if she was dressed in her jaunty Halloween attire, walking along with a distinctive spring in her step. Like TK, I also thought of Roma Downey! :rotfl: (Was her name Monica?) Is this what an Aunt Betty is? If you see someone multiple times...you are pulling an Aunt Betty? :laughing:

You know, I was in high school when I realized that Disneyland had a deeper "beyond the rides" meaning to me. I remember one of my good friends was going to Disneyland for the first time and I was SO excited for her. I couldn't wait to hear what she thought about it when she returned. Her response? "It was OK." And then she went on and on about how much she loved Universal Studios. :confused: I was stunned. I wondered how it was possible that she didn't love it like I did. I tried to put myself in her shoes...going for the first time as a teenager. And I got it. She didn't have a history there. (Not to say that someone going for the first time as a teenager/adult can't absolutely love it...) I am a nostalgia-loving-let's-talk-about-old-memeories person by nature. Disneyland was full of fond memories for me. And I love adding to my bank of Disneyland Memories! So this realization about Disneyland being more than a place to ride the rides came years ago. It has indeed been a "source of joy" just as Walt hoped. :goodvibes

This reply really is all over the place, huh?

I read that both Indy and BTMR would be down for "months" this fall. Time will tell, I suppose.

That's so funny that we got nearly the same Gingerbread picture!

During the talk of Paradise Pier/Pan Pacific, I was wondering to myself, "I wonder if that is the old Emerald Hotel? I will google it after I finish reading this post." Then lo and behold...you beat me to it! :rotfl: We used to stay at Eden Roc (:scared1:) and walk to Disneyland. Actually, back then Eden Roc seemed just fine to us. It was all we knew. I guess not "all we knew" -- sometimes we stayed at the Inn of Tomorrow (today's Best Western Stovall's). I know we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel once. I don't remember it at all, but I have a picture of me sitting in the hallway outside our hotel room door, holding one of those pink or blue classic old-style Mickey Balloons. Before they were inside of another balloon. Back to the Emerald. We used to walk by that hotel and wish we were staying there. So big and pretty and out of our league! :rotfl: It's fun to have that mystery solved. :goodvibes

Oh...and I remember Sambos. I remember the pictures that went along the wall up by the ceiling, telling Sambo's story.

Lastly...Marie...thank you for your comments on my Dad. He is doing well at the moment. Last week he had a procedure in which a needle was inserted into his lung. The intent was to give the blood clot in his lung an electric shock, and break up the clot. It is expected for the lung to collapse during this particular procedure, but it didn't in his case. We'll know in a month or so if the procedure did what it was meant to do.

OK...on to the next installment!


Deej -

Fred Mertz sure had some high-rising pants, didn't he?:rotfl2:

Thank you so much for the reply! I love reading comments, questions, etc! Sometimes the best thing to do is just reply randomly, as the points pop into mind. I've done that - I just have to type out the comments as I can think of them, in no specific order! It's a mixed bag o' fun!

I was very surprised to see that Hook light fixture in Marie's TR because I didn't think I had seen it in your TR's in the past, or in any other TR's by people who enjoy light fixtures (and there are a few of them!). How many more themed light fixtures are lurking around that we don't know about or have not seen yet?:rotfl2: I knew there were quite a few I had not seen yet, but that Hook one seems like a good one that would have been spotted by someone before now!

Gotta hand it to Disney - they have created a place where there are just thousands upon thousands of little details and hidden gems that all of us notice and discover each time we go to their parks. And what's fun is that we all spot different things on our trips - there will always be something that you see that I haven't noticed before, or something that I find on my trips that others have not seen yet. There will be things that other people capture during their DLR trips that we don't see. It seems to be never-ending! Just when you think you have noticed every detail there is to notice, someone pops up with something else!

Yes, from what I can recall, there was a little bit of playful growling by the over-zealous Pluto at Goofy's Kitchen, as he came at me. Sometimes Chip & Dale will make little giggling chipmunk noises, too. I don't know about that Pluto - he was definitely in my personal space. I've been eating at Goofy's since 1992 and have never encountered a character that was quite so in-your-face and aggressive as that Pluto. I am a fairly good sport and can play along with Aggressive Pluto as long as he doesn't injure me, but I can see how that kind of 'play' on his part could upset some hyper-sensitive parents, who will complain that he frightened their child or whatever.

I can imagine that the people who play the characters at the Disney parks - whether they are face characters or hiding in costumes - encounter all kinds of obnoxious guests who shove the cameras in their faces and down their throats, like your son's teacher's daughter experienced. They have to have tremendous patience for that!

As for the lady I saw in DCA (after seeing her in DL in 2010)... When I get to the point in the actual TR story where she pops up, I will explain what she said and how it caught my attention to notice her in the first place.

But, as for how I recognized the lady...there was about a minute of that "Where have I seen this person before" feeling before it hit me. It's not like as soon as she spoke I said, "Hey! I saw you last year too!" I had to kind of scan my brain for where I would have seen her in the past, because I knew her face was familiar. I have a pretty good memory - and a pretty decent memory for faces - so that helped a lot. I also noticed her hair color, which was a particular shade of red that stood out. Finally it clicked when I thought about my December 2010 trip - it was suddenly that "Aha! That's it!" feeling. I remembered being on Main Street right at dusk in 2010, and she had commented on my t-shirt.

But the only common thread between seeing the lady in 2010 and in 2011 is that both sightings were on a Monday, and both were in in December. Otherwise...different year, different park, different time of day, different week in December, etc. It's very possible she could be a local who happens to go to DLR on Mondays, or she could be someone who makes a holiday trip to DLR like I do every year, and her trip just happened to fall when mine fell.:confused3

"Aunt Betty" is not a reference for seeing the same person over and over again.

You mentioned your friend liking Universal Studios better than Disneyland, way back when. Well, I think there were/are a lot of people who felt/feel that way because they think of Disney and they think of "rides for kids." They think of Mr. Toad, Peter Pan, Alice, Pinocchio, Snow White, Dumbo, etc. - and that instantly equals "place for kids" in their minds. What they want is like Six Flags' rides inside of Disneyland. So they either limit their rides to just the ones that can be adult-friendly too, like all the Mountain rides, etc., and then complain about how there are not enough rides to go on, or they force themselves on the "kid rides" and come away thinking that it's only a place for kids. Mickey Mouse is only for kids. Posing with characters is only for little kids.

In reality, as we all know on this board, you can be adults and fully enjoy the Disney parks. As much as I loved Disneyland as a kid and as much as it was sort of my 'light at the end of the tunnel' every year, I think I enjoy and appreciate it soooo much more today than I did back then. Sure, my priorities have shifted a bit - I don't go racing to get on Dumbo as soon as I walk through the tunnel these days. But I can still enjoy a ride on Dumbo or a ride on Pinocchio from time to time, and then also enjoy POTC or TSMM in DCA or whatever - or I can spend days on end doing nothing but taking photos and never getting on any rides (which is what I wish I'd had time to do on this last 2011 trip). I can find so many different types of things to do at DLR (to amuse myself) that I never get bored - my mind is open. I think that so many people visit DLR with a closed mind - they want to put it into one category, one box - that they can't see beyond those limits to enjoy it to its fullest.

And yes, I definitely think that having some sort of childhood memories at DL (as opposed to not having those memories) has a big impact on how or IF people enjoy DLR when they get to be teenagers or adults.

I remember the Inn of Tomorrow! Yes, as a kid the Disneyland Hotel seemed like a far-off place that would be impossible to stay in, didn't it? It was nice to finally cross those barriers and actually stay there, and realize it was not such a big mystery!

I actually think that now, more than ever, a resurrection of the old Monorail Cafe would fit perfectly at the Disneyland Hotel (theme-wise) because they are really emphasizing the whole retro thing. The Monorail Cafe would work in that retro theme. Even if DLR just brought back that kind of restaurant to DLR - a sit-down, table service place with a real coffee shop/pie shop/diner feel and the food that you expect to find at those places - and then called it something different, it would be great. It wouldn't even have to go in the DLH. They could stick it anywhere at DLR. But I think that a table service restaurant of that type is needed at the Resort.

I chuckled when I saw your gingerbread display picture. I think I had already posted mine in my TR as a Christmas countdown photo before you got around to posting yours in your TR, and I had no clue what you took photos of before I left for the trip! So we just honed in on the same window display highlight and got it at almost the same angle, and from the same distance!:rotfl2:

I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers Sambo's! It seems like, in the old, old days of Disneyland (when we would all look for the telltale Matterhorn peak from the freeway), we would pass a lot of Denny's and a couple of Sambo's along the way. That's what stuck out in my mind.




:cool1::cool1::cool1:



OK...all caught up once again.

LOVED the 80s pictures! Did you wear blue shadow as eyeliner like I did? I had a pair of eyeglasses very similar to M's at one point. (In the Michael Damian shirt pics) I can't believe Michael Damian said goodbye like that! Kissing you both on the lips! So was he a "rock star" in the early 80s? I remember he had a hit song in 1988 or sometime around there. "Rock On" Do you remember that one? Ah, now I need to go listen to it.

Is M wearing Lee Press On Nails? :rotfl:

I find it odd that M would want to bring a new friend into YOUR hotel room. Who does that? When you haven't seen someone in 10 years, and you are finally reuniting in your old stomping grounds, why would you bring along a stranger? I don't get it.

I've really enjoyed reading the background and introduction to your story-driven TR. More, more, more!!! popcorn::


Deej -

I'm so glad you enjoyed the pictures!

I had blue eyeliner and shadow, but I don't think I wore those often - just for "special occasions"!:rotfl2:

Yes, it was very shocking at the time that Michael Damian kissed us both on the lips before hopping into his Porsche! We were certainly stunned! I can't recall what happened in which order, but he was on "Young & the Restless" when we met him, playing "Danny," who was a singer on the show. I think he may have been a singing actor who got a job on "Y&R," then he got to sing on the show, which then created a bigger fan base. Then he became one of those 'Soap Opera Rock Stars,' (like Jack Wagner, Rick Springfield and others) who was mainly known for being on a soap, but who released a hit single and then became a singing sensation. I remember that "Rock On" song or whatever it was called - it is a remake of a song by someone else.

I would not be shocked if M was wearing Lee Press-On Nails at that time. I thought she got actual manicures, but who knows? I had some Press-On Nails that I wore a couple of times back then, but they drove me crazy so I stopped - actually having nails drives me nuts anyway so I keep them short.

I am glad that someone caught on to the fact that it was odd (and a bit nervy) that a friend I had not seen in 10 years was asking me if she could bring her new friend to stay in my PPH room (and then only wanted to pay me 1/2 of the bill, instead of each girl paying me 1/3 of the bill, or M paying me 2/3 to cover both of them)!! She told me that "WE" (meaning she and I) could "spend more time together" that way, when in reality, it was really that she wanted to hang out with her new friend away from her own crowded hotel room (where her husband, son and dad were). It had nothing to do with wanting to spend more time with ME (as you will find out in this TR).

I was hoping someone would pick up on that being an odd request from M, because it kind of gives you an idea of the level of 'consideration' I was dealing with -- and what kinds of things are to come in my Trip Report!! I tend to wonder how the course of events would have been different and how the 'end' of my trip might have been different if I had been able to let them stay in my hotel room. But, honestly, if I had been able to stay an extra night at PPH after Laurie and Molly went home, I would have wanted to be there all by myself to get a good night's rest. I wouldn't have wanted another person or two people there with me. I had 3 nights of people in my room and I sleep much better when I am totally alone in the room!


Okay, I must go work on the next installment!:woohoo:

[tksbaskets]

I just love reading your TRs! Laughing about wearing the blue eye shadow for 'special occasions' :rotfl2:

Looking forward to more! popcorn::

[Sherry E]

Here are more teaser pictures for you all...




http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3598.jpg




http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3601.jpg




http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3605.jpg




http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3620.jpg




http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3723.jpg




http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3732.jpg




http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3760.jpg




http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3786.jpg




http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3832.jpg




http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%202/IMG_3836.jpg




http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%202/IMG_3841.jpg




http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%202/IMG_3849.jpg




http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%202/IMG_3909.jpg




http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%202/IMG_3954.jpg




http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%202/IMG_3956.jpg




http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%202/IMG_3981.jpg

[kaoden39]

Ooh so pretty!! I can hardly wait until November!!!

[Sherry E]

Ooh so pretty!! I can hardly wait until November!!!

Thank you, Michele....

You're right - it's all so pretty at DLR during the season. The colors and lights and overall spirit are so contagious, too. That time of year is when I start getting that urge to skip down Main Street, like Jessica does. (I have not yet skipped, but I feel like doing it!:rotfl2:)

Actually, I can't wait for your November trip too!:rotfl2: I am so excited for you to go during that time and have a do-over holiday extravaganza (because your last holiday trip was the time when you got very ill, correct?). I am crossing my fingers that even the hotels will be decorated by the time you get to DLR so you can enjoy that aspect of the season as well - but if they are not, at least you'll have everything else to enjoy in both parks, and in all the shops and what not...all the goodies and treats and merchandise will be readily available, and the Round-Up, snow, Winter Castle lighting, etc., should be rarin' to go as soon as the official start date rolls around.

I am just about as excited for you to make your do-over holiday DLR trip as I am for Laurie to make her first WDW holiday trip! I think I am envisioning how overwhelmed I would be with a WDW holiday trip, and I would probably collapse from exhaustion after a few days.:rotfl2: So I need to live vicariously through a few first-time WDW holiday travelers first, before I ever think of embarking on my own trip.

[kaoden39]

That was a March that I got so sick on. The irony was we had gone in March 2005 and Scotty had been so sick on that trip that we ended up leaving him at the hotel a couple of different days. In 2005 we did a do over in December, that was our holiday trip. The kids were so much younger I think this trip will be better. Especially since Scotty has found his love of Disneyland. He didn't get my love of the resort until the February trip and now he has the bug! Thrills me no end.

[Sherry E]

That was a March that I got so sick on. The irony was we had gone in March 2005 and Scotty had been so sick on that trip that we ended up leaving him at the hotel a couple of different days. In 2005 we did a do over in December, that was our holiday trip. The kids were so much younger I think this trip will be better. Especially since Scotty has found his love of Disneyland. He didn't get my love of the resort until the February trip and now he has the bug! Thrills me no end.

Why did I think the sick trip was in December? Yikes - my old age and failing memory...

In any case, yes, it will be different for you all now. Seven years will have passed since the last holiday trip. As you said, your kids are older and Scotty has been bitten by the bug. Plus, various holiday things have changed, decorations-wise, in the last 7 years. Some things have been added. Some things have been removed. There are a few new or different treats/munchies that were not around back then, I think.

Even IASW Holiday - which you probably rode on that December trip - has had some changes to it here and there. I don't even know when Santa's Reindeer Round-Up first debuted. Was it open back in 2005?

[Sherry E]

Michele -

I forgot to say in my above post (I've been darting back and forth between trying to do about 100 different things, only some of which involve the Internet, so I am about 50% distracted) that here's hoping that you, Scotty and the entire family will be completely healthy in November for your big holiday trip and that not a single one of you gets ill. Fingers crossed and good vibes.:goodvibes There's been enough illness to go around and you all need to stay well!:hug::hug:

[kaoden39]

Why did I think the sick trip was in December? Yikes - my old age and failing memory...

In any case, yes, it will be different for you all now. Seven years will have passed since the last holiday trip. As you said, your kids are older and Scotty has been bitten by the bug. Plus, various holiday things have changed, decorations-wise, in the last 7 years. Some things have been added. Some things have been removed. There are a few new or different treats/munchies that were not around back then, I think.

Even IASW Holiday - which you probably rode on that December trip - has had some changes to it here and there. I don't even know when Santa's Reindeer Round-Up first debuted. Was it open back in 2005?


The wonderful thing about rides like Small World is that every time I go on the ride I see new things. That makes it always good for me.


Michele -

I forgot to say in my above post (I've been darting back and forth between trying to do about 100 different things, only some of which involve the Internet, so I am about 50% distracted) that here's hoping that you, Scotty and the entire family will be completely healthy in November for your big holiday trip and that not a single one of you gets ill. Fingers crossed and good vibes.:goodvibes There's been enough illness to go around and you all need to stay well!:hug::hug:

Thank you. From your lips to the health fairies ears!

[mvf-m11c]

Great photos of the Christmas decorations during your trip.

[tksbaskets]

Sherry,
Ah, my happy place! :cloud9: I love your pictures and especially like the GCH tree and the stunning close-up of the tree.

Your picture of the PP bridge was fine indeed.

Great teaser pictures. :thumbsup2

Of course now I'm greedy and want more!! popcorn::

[Sherry E]

The wonderful thing about rides like Small World is that every time I go on the ride I see new things. That makes it always good for me.

Thank you. From your lips to the health fairies ears!


Michele -


Yes! The health fairies had better be listening! Too much illness has been going around for everyone (even in March, there are still lots and lots of people getting hit with these really bad illnesses - have you noticed that?), and your family has had enough illness on DLR trips to last a lifetime.

You're right. IASW certainly does have lots of things to see, and even in the non-holiday version you can spot new details all the time. I love those sorts of rides at DLR, where you can spot something different every time no matter how many times you have been on them.

In the holiday version of IASW, it's hard to believe that the Disney designers and Imagineers are able to transform it so thoroughly, from beginning to end, inside and out, in just 2-3 weeks. It really is amazing how extensive and detailed that overlay is. I am constantly in awe every time I see it. I wonder how many people work on that project at one time to get it set up the way it needs to be, looking exactly as it did the year before.

I would bet that some folks who have never been on IASW Holiday assume that the "holiday" part of the ride only entails the facade/exterior with all the colored lights (which is breathtaking enough to see), and maybe a Christmas tree or two stuck in the middle of the ride somewhere. The new riders probably have no idea that everything is changed inside. Even the smallest details are changed and given the holiday touch. It's sooooo bright, vibrant and colorful.

IASW Holiday is definitely among my top 3 favorite things about the Christmas season at DLR, if not my favorite. I love so many specific things, but I would hate for DLR to ever retire IASW Holiday because it is really a special highlight that we're lucky to have at DLR.




Great photos of the Christmas decorations during your trip.



Bret -

Thank you very much! I appreciate it. I only wish I had taken more photos on this past trip, as I did in 2010, but as I told you a while ago I skipped lots of things this time around because there just wasn't enough time to do it. I realize that I have to either make a choice that I am going to concentrate on my friends, or make a choice to make time for extensive photo-taking. In 2010 I was able to get extensive photo-taking done. In 2011 it was all about friends.

Oh well. There's always this year, right? Hopefully, this year I can get back to the pictures!!:)





Sherry,
Ah, my happy place! :cloud9: I love your pictures and especially like the GCH tree and the stunning close-up of the tree.

Your picture of the PP bridge was fine indeed.

Great teaser pictures. :thumbsup2

Of course now I'm greedy and want more!! popcorn::


TK -


Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like the pictures. You notice how I am cleverly going back and forth between flashbacks (to set the stage) and flash forwards (with the teaser photos from the trip)?:rotfl2::rotfl2: I have to keep everyone happy, so I am mixing it up!:rotfl2::woohoo: Luckily, I only have one more post of "Pre-Trip Report/Background" that I am doing (and it's not really much of a flashback at all - just sort of general info I wanted to share), and then we will be fully into the Trip Report and on our way to finding out what happened with M!!

The GCH picture you like - the one of the tree/lobby from a distance....it's funny because, at that exact moment, I happened to notice that there were very few people in the lobby. Some of them even got up and left while I was standing there, and the others were sitting in places that could be easily obscured by the tree or whatever.

I thought, "Aha! Finally, my chance to get a photo of the GCH tree/lobby without anyone else in it!" I have seen other folks' pictures of an uncluttered, people-free GCH lobby but I have never had the right timing to get such a photo myself.

I stood there and stood there, waiting for the last couple people in the shot to leave. They finally did and I had my uncluttered view. I framed the picture the way I wanted it - I wanted that specific angle and I wanted the chairs in the foreground and all of that. Plus, if I had time I would try to get another picture or two as well.

I lifted the camera to look at the screen before I pressed the shutter, and, of course, at that very minute, a person sat down and got in the frame (see the guy sitting on the right-hand side?). I was so annoyed. I felt like saying, "Really? Really? Did you have to sit down at this exact moment? Couldn't you have let me snap my picture first?"

So I just snapped it anyway and then moved in closer to the tree to get the close-ups of ornaments, presents and all of that. He was looking at me with a puzzled "Why is she taking pictures of fake presents and ornaments" expression on his face, but if he hadn't plopped down right at the moment I was trying to take my uncluttered GCH lobby picture I wouldn't have moved on to the fake presents yet! (I would have tackled the fake presents later.)

That PP bridge picture you mentioned is something I think I took right in the general area of the new DCA restaurants - Garden Grill, etc. I saw the minimal decorations (which I had already seen in other people's pictures before I got there) and thought, "Hmmm...I think I've seen those same decorations before...but where?" Then I was trying to wrack my brain and figure out where they must have been placed before Disney put them in DCA/Paradise Pier. I tend to think that Disney does not put a lot of money into buying brand new decorations to add to different lands. They tend to just remove and/or recycle things, and move things from one land to another (or in the case of the hideous plastic Christmas trees in ToonTown, they moved them from one Disney Resort to another!).

So I am not sure if it was possibly New Orleans Square where I saw the DCA/Paradise Pier/Garden Grill-area decorations in the past, or somewhere else. But I know they have been somewhere else in DLR before they got to that specific spot. They also adorned the outside of the Little Mermaid building, but they came from somewhere else. Where was it? Hmmm...

[kaoden39]

Sherry,

I think what made Scotty fall in love and finally "get it" was the fact that this trip we took the time to really look at everything. Small World, Pirates and the other rides like that are special because they are new every time.


Ironically this morning I was watching TV and there was a commercial for the local Six Flags and the APs for it. I was thinking that we are only 20 minutes from the place yet we only had APs for one year and I have had 2 APs with Disneyland. It's kind of funny.

[deejdigsdis]

Yay for more teaser pictures! :yay: They make me want it to be Christmas time right now. :santa:

I didn't notice the guy who popped into your GCH tree/lobby picture until you mentioned it. He's quite shiny so it's funny I didn't notice. Something else that's funny...I accidentally typed "the guy who pooped in..." but I caught myself this time before submitting and changed it. :rotfl: Oh good grief...

It was fun to see pictures of things I've never noticed before. Like the antlers with the wreaths!

[kelmac284]

Sherry I posted on your FB but wanted to say on here too that we are DEF coming down in June so hopefully we can make it work about the Grove!! Prob won't make Catalina this trip but it is def on my "to do" list. :)

[auntiegem]

Sherry -- Saw your comment here (and on mariezp's TR) about the work it takes to do these things, so thought I'd better tell you that I'm enjoying your latest trip report! I'm usually more of a lurker and didn't think people would care about basically an unknown on the boards commenting on their reports . . . but it's the least I can do for the trouble you've gone to. I can't wait to hear and see more!

[Sherry E]

Sherry,

I think what made Scotty fall in love and finally "get it" was the fact that this trip we took the time to really look at everything. Small World, Pirates and the other rides like that are special because they are new every time.


Ironically this morning I was watching TV and there was a commercial for the local Six Flags and the APs for it. I was thinking that we are only 20 minutes from the place yet we only had APs for one year and I have had 2 APs with Disneyland. It's kind of funny.

Michele -

Yes, exactly. Pirates is another ride like IASW (or IASW Holiday) - it is so full of details that there is something new to see every time. I suppose Haunted Mansion in either its original version or in the holiday version is also like that. Any ride that lasts longer than a minute or two probably has tons of things to discover!

You mentioned Six Flags. I've never been a Six Flags type of person because I don't do a lot of the thrill ride-types of things in any park (not even in Disneyland). But I fully appreciate that Six Flags exists because there are so many thrill ride lovers out there and they need a place to let loose!

As as I was saying to Marie, I can even go to Disneyland and wander around all day or for days on end without going on any rides. So it's not always about just the rides for me, wherever I am. I like to be able to look around and take in the atmosphere. The real problem I have with Six Flags is that there is nothing to look at. No great details or hidden gems to discover. No real personality. No charm.



Yay for more teaser pictures! :yay: They make me want it to be Christmas time right now. :santa:

I didn't notice the guy who popped into your GCH tree/lobby picture until you mentioned it. He's quite shiny so it's funny I didn't notice. Something else that's funny...I accidentally typed "the guy who pooped in..." but I caught myself this time before submitting and changed it. :rotfl: Oh good grief...

It was fun to see pictures of things I've never noticed before. Like the antlers with the wreaths!

Deej -

I am kind of wanting it to be Christmas right now, too...or at least Halloween!

Oh no! The poop was trying to make a comeback!:rotfl2: You just can't keep the poop off of the DIS, can you?!:rotfl2:

The man sitting in the GCH photo looks like he has a red face or something. Maybe the lamp he is next to is giving him a glow.

To be honest, I forgot that I took the photo of the antlers with the wreaths until I went into Photobucket to decide what to post here! In fact, I was all over the Reindeer Round-Up in 2010 (not as much in 2011) and took tons of pictures, and I did not see the antler/wreath thing (or it surely would have shown up in some photos!), so I am wondering if it was new as of 2011.:confused3




Sherry I posted on your FB but wanted to say on here too that we are DEF coming down in June so hopefully we can make it work about the Grove!! Prob won't make Catalina this trip but it is def on my "to do" list. :)

Kelly -

We'll touch base, of course, before your trip in June but as I told you on FB, unless I am miraculously working (which would be a blessing), it shouldn't be a problem to meet on the date you mentioned. Yes, you must keep Catalina on the to-do list - I think you'd really like it there.



Sherry -- Saw your comment here (and on mariezp's TR) about the work it takes to do these things, so thought I'd better tell you that I'm enjoying your latest trip report! I'm usually more of a lurker and didn't think people would care about basically an unknown on the boards commenting on their reports . . . but it's the least I can do for the trouble you've gone to. I can't wait to hear and see more!

auntiegem -

Thank you sooooo much for coming forward and saying hello!:cool1: I really, really appreciate it. I am so glad you're following along and enjoying the latest TR.

Oh yes - all of the TR writers care about who is out there, whether they are unknown or not! Besides, you're not unknown to me - I have seen you around on the DIS plenty of times! I think we do start to wonder here and there if the lurkers are from the WDW side of the board or if they are all from this side of town. It's a mystery!

I definitely understand that it is much easier for people to stay in the background, lurking. More people lurk in anyone's TR than actually say something, and I can totally see why. They may not have lots of time to read the latest updates and then post comments as well, or they may only be able to pop in sporadically and they don't want to get caught in a loop of having to comment all the time. I've lurked in a few TR's myself, I'm sure (can't recall which ones off-hand but I have). I try to speak up here and there for the people who have supported me when they do their own TR's, but time issues can play a role in how often I can comment.

I really, really appreciate the handful of followers I have who have stuck around all this time (some of them for the last few years), and I welcome and appreciate all newcomers as well!


:cool1::cool1::cool1:






I really need to crank out another couple of TR installments because next week I have......Jury Duty!:headache: Booooo! Even though I don't know if I will be called to the Courthouse, and if I am called I don't know if I will have to sit on a jury, I dread having to be available for the whole week. Blech!:headache: I was able to transfer to a better courthouse (closer to where I live) in a better area of town, and it's a smaller court so there is not as much trial activity there as there is at, say, the big courthouse in Downtown L.A. But it would be just my luck that I end up on a trial at this smaller courthouse. I just hate having to be on-call for 5 days in a row.

Anyway, just in case I get stuck in a jury duty web next week, I want to get more of the TR up before then, as I wouldn't have time to do anything while in Court (obviously!). I have one more sort of Pre-Trip Report installment to post, and then we are off and running with the actual TR for my 12/4 - 12/8/11 trip!!:cool1:

[WDWJonasGirl]

I can't wait to hear all about it Sherry!!

[auntiegem]

Michele -I really need to crank out another couple of TR installments up because next week I have......Jury Duty!

Yes, please! Until then, I'm going to go back and start at the beginning--the VERY beginning.

[kaoden39]

I love jury duty. I know that sounds odd, I have never been picked for a jury but I have had to sit in the courthouse all day a few times. It was delightful!! One time it was so hot and the courthouse was air conditioned and cool, plus I was able to sit and enjoy relative peace and quiet. Peace and quiet is a commodity that I treasure.:rotfl: I also like being able to read without interruption, and all those other little luxuries that I look forward too.

[Sherry E]

I can't wait to hear all about it Sherry!!

Thanks, Kaitlin!:cool1:

I appreciate your sticking around!





Yes, please! Until then, I'm going to go back and start at the beginning--the VERY beginning.

auntiegem -

You're in for a lot of reading!! I appreciate your going back to the beginning. I stuck in a lot of old Disneyland photos and other stuff after the 2008 trips were over.....I will say that I think the TR's got better in my thread once 2009 rolled around, as did the photo quality (once I got a new camera).....And in 2010, my Christmas epic, "The Evil Chair and the Peppermint Cone of Death" was a photo-filled bonanza!.....In 2011, took a bunch of DLR Halloween photos, so those may be of interest.

Again, thank you so much for coming out of the shadows and speaking up!





I love jury duty. I know that sounds odd, I have never been picked for a jury but I have had to sit in the courthouse all day a few times. It was delightful!! One time it was so hot and the courthouse was air conditioned and cool, plus I was able to sit and enjoy relative peace and quiet. Peace and quiet is a commodity that I treasure.:rotfl: I also like being able to read without interruption, and all those other little luxuries that I look forward too.

Michele -

I can see where you would love jury duty because you live in a house full of people and noise and all of that. If I were in that situation I would probably welcome jury duty too!

My main issue is the 'being on call' thing. If the Court could tell us that we will definitely have to come in on X, Y or Z day, that would be better for me than the 'call in every day for 5 days in a row' thing. It's easy to forget to call in or check online. I know that there must be thousands of people who forget to call in at some point - and even if you call in for 4 days in a row and forget that 5th day, you will be rescheduled and on call for another week!

I checked in this past Friday evening (for Monday - tomorrow) because I just happened to be thinking about it at that moment, and I knew that I could forget once Sunday rolled around. Now I have to remember to check in tomorrow night, Tuesday, and so on.

I am hoping that my court is slow and I don't have to go in at all but if I do, I will bring a book or a couple of magazines, for sure! (It's a much smaller, but still active, courthouse than the one Downtown - there's no cafeteria or anything.)

It seems like what happens a lot with people I know (in SoCal) is that they don't have to go into Court on Monday or Tuesday, but they end up having to go in on Wednesday for the 'all-day-sit-around-and-wait-to-be-picked-for-a-jury' scenario. Typically, it seems like if you haven't had to go into Court by Wednesday, you are usually free for the whole week. But they will call people in on Wednesday if they expect trials to spring up on Thursday or Friday. And if it's a holiday week, often times they will not call you in at all.

I've never actually had to go into Court so far - I've been lucky. Either I just was not needed or I got out of it (this was when I was working and was going to lose money if I took days off for jury duty). Now, who knows? It may be a slow trial week and they don't need me, or they may want me to come in on Tuesday. We'll see. I just have to make sure to remember to check each night.











:boat::fish::beach:


In other news......



Several DIS'ers and followers of this TR (Marie, Michele, Laurie, Kelly) already know about this from my post on Facebook this past Friday, but Deej, TK, etc., don't know so I will share -

Catalina Express has decided to extend their 'Free Round-Trip Boat Ride on Your Birthday' offer until April 2013!! So I get a second chance at taking advantage of it!:cheer2: I wrote them in the last couple of months and asked if there was any chance of the offer extending, and they told me to check back in early March for any news of new discount offers.

So imagine my delight when I saw the announcement from Catalina Express on their Facebook page that they are going to run this promo until the end of April 2013!!

As you all may remember, I ended up not using the free boat offer last year. I had to cancel, for a variety of reasons. I felt sick having to do it. It made me soooo sad. This year, my birthday is on a Saturday, which will be much better. I can take a 6:15 a.m. boat out to the Island (or 6:30, whenever it is), and take a 9:45 p.m. boat back to Long Beach from Avalon! Yes, I will be exhausted, but it is a necessarily evil. This means I will have ample time to take the sunset photos I have been wanting to take, from the vantage points I want to take them, and do other dusk-related activities (like the Flying Fish tour, if I can swing it).

I am going to try to go by myself - it's not that I don't enjoy my 'friend time on Catalina,' but I need to get a bunch of photos. And you all know that, when I am left alone, I can get tons of photos (anyone remember the "Evil Chair and Peppermint Cone of Death" photo spree from 2010?). Just in the few hours I was by myself at DLR on September 16th in 2011 on one single day, I got something like 350 Halloween-esque pictures.

I have a lot of catching up to do in Avalon - it's been many years since I have been there and I need to hunker down and start snapping away!

I am just so happy that I get a second chance to take advantage of the free boat ride offer - it costs like $70.00 now, round-trip, so it's a great deal! (Frankly, I am shocked that Catalina Express went the extra mile and extended the offer for a second year, but Disneyland did not extend their free birthday offer for a second year!:confused3)



:yay::dance3::cheer2:



Anyway, we now return to our regularly scheduled programming....which means, I have to crank out the next couple of December Disneyland trip installments!! They're comin' up....

[kaoden39]

Yes, I don't like the being tied up not knowing about the jury duty until the night before. It used to be that if you hadn't been called up before Friday you wouldn't have to worry, not anymore. Now you can have to show up on Fridays too. It makes no sense.

[tksbaskets]

Several DIS'ers and followers of this TR (Marie, Michele, Laurie, Kelly) already know about this from my post on Facebook this past Friday, but Deej, TK, etc., don't know so I will share -

Catalina Express has decided to extend their 'Free Round-Trip Boat Ride on Your Birthday' offer until April 2013!! So I get a second chance at taking advantage of it!:cheer2: I wrote them in the last couple of months and asked if there was any chance of the offer extending, and they told me to check back in early March for any news of new discount offers.

So imagine my delight when I saw the announcement from Catalina Express on their Facebook page that they are going to run this promo until the end of April 2013!!

As you all may remember, I ended up not using the free boat offer last year. I had to cancel, for a variety of reasons. I felt sick having to do it. It made me soooo sad. This year, my birthday is on a Saturday, which will be much better. I can take a 6:15 a.m. boat out to the Island (or 6:30, whenever it is), and take a 9:45 p.m. boat back to Long Beach from Avalon! Yes, I will be exhausted, but it is a necessarily evil. This means I will have ample time to take the sunset photos I have been wanting to take, from the vantage points I want to take them, and do other dusk-related activities (like the Flying Fish tour, if I can swing it).

I am going to try to go by myself - it's not that I don't enjoy my 'friend time on Catalina,' but I need to get a bunch of photos. And you all know that, when I am left alone, I can get tons of photos (anyone remember the "Evil Chair and Peppermint Cone of Death" photo spree from 2010?). Just in the few hours I was by myself at DLR on September 16th in 2011 on one single day, I got something like 350 Halloween-esque pictures.

I have a lot of catching up to do in Avalon - it's been many years since I have been there and I need to hunker down and start snapping away!

I am just so happy that I get a second chance to take advantage of the free boat ride offer - it costs like $70.00 now, round-trip, so it's a great deal! (Frankly, I am shocked that Catalina Express went the extra mile and extended the offer for a second year, but Disneyland did not extend their free birthday offer for a second year!:confused3)



:yay::dance3::cheer2:



Anyway, we now return to our regularly scheduled programming....which means, I have to crank out the next couple of December Disneyland trip installments!! They're comin' up....

How sweet!!! :woohoo: So happy for you Sherry!

I have jury duty next month. I'm happy to do my civic duty. I have to show up and sit all day. Last time it was a lot of people driving on a suspended license while doing silly things and getting pulled over.

I guess I have, em, too strong a healthcare biased opinion for most defense attorneys. I never got seated. The hardest part will be being without my iPhone/iPad/nook ALL day.

TK

[deejdigsdis]

:cool1: Very excited that you finally get to go back to Catalina! Can't wait to see some pics.

Wondering if you had to go in for Jury Duty. I've made it to the pool of potential jurors a couple of times -- 60-70 people. Then the lawyers start asking questions. Once I mention what my husband does for a living (I bring it up if I think it could have an impact on juror selection) I tend to get pummeled with questions and then not selected. My husband really WANTS to have jury duty and sit on a jury. So far his dream hasn't been fulfilled.

[kaoden39]

How sweet!!! :woohoo: So happy for you Sherry!

I have jury duty next month. I'm happy to do my civic duty. I have to show up and sit all day. Last time it was a lot of people driving on a suspended license while doing silly things and getting pulled over.

I guess I have, em, too strong a healthcare biased opinion for most defense attorneys. I never got seated. The hardest part will be being without my iPhone/iPad/nook ALL day.

TK


What no phone or Nook? I would never make it!! I love my Nook!! I just bought myself a Nook tablet last week and it is amazing!!

[tksbaskets]

What no phone or Nook? I would never make it!! I love my Nook!! I just bought myself a Nook tablet last week and it is amazing!!

Someone must have a good paperback I can borrow....I haven't bought a paper book in over 3 years. :rolleyes1

[mvf-m11c]

Nice to hear that you will get another shot at Catalina for your birthday trip.

[Sherry E]

Yes, I don't like the being tied up not knowing about the jury duty until the night before. It used to be that if you hadn't been called up before Friday you wouldn't have to worry, not anymore. Now you can have to show up on Fridays too. It makes no sense.

Michele -

Yep, even Fridays are not off limits. I'd much rather the Court just tell me that I have to come in on whatever day and go from there. It's too much to keep up with, having to call in 5 days in a row!:rotfl2:




How sweet!!! :woohoo: So happy for you Sherry!

I have jury duty next month. I'm happy to do my civic duty. I have to show up and sit all day. Last time it was a lot of people driving on a suspended license while doing silly things and getting pulled over.

I guess I have, em, too strong a healthcare biased opinion for most defense attorneys. I never got seated. The hardest part will be being without my iPhone/iPad/nook ALL day.

TK

TK -

Thank you!

Well, in the past, I was working at a job that would not pay me if I had to serve jury duty. I couldn't get paid days off for anything. So I would lose money from my paycheck if I had to serve - and I was living paycheck to paycheck and had nothing in savings - which is why I tried to get out of it ("Extreme Financial Burden"). If I were/am not losing anything by going (if I am not working at a job like that), then I have absolutely no problem serving if they want me on a jury (though I tend to think everyone is guilty so I don't know why they would want me!:rotfl2:).

The other problem was that they wanted to send me to Compton for jury duty - er, um....not an area I really want to be roaming around by myself, without a car. It's a known gang territory, for one thing. So I tried to transfer to a better location and they finally stopped trying to send me to Compton.

Another year I re-triggered the horrible disc problem in my back and was in so much mind-numbing pain that I couldn't move, let alone try to focus on a trial. I couldn't even sit in one spot without whimpering. So my doctor wrote a note and I got out of jury duty, legitimately.

So, all in all, I have never had to go into the Court (yet) - not even for that 'all-day-sit-around' fun-fest because I either got out of it, or I called in all 5 days in a row and they just didn't need me to come in. Two different times I had jury duty in Summer - and both of those times I did not have to go in. (An attorney later told me that a lot of the L.A. judges go on long vacations in July and August so it's not surprising if there are not as many trials at certain courthouses.)

Now, at the courthouse I am currently assigned to (if I have to go in), I think we are allowed to bring phones into the courthouse with us but we have to keep them hidden in our purses or whatever while in Court. We can't take them out in the courtroom, but we can have them with us. People make calls on breaks and things.

Are you not allowed to bring your phone into your courthouse with you at all?



:cool1: Very excited that you finally get to go back to Catalina! Can't wait to see some pics.

Wondering if you had to go in for Jury Duty. I've made it to the pool of potential jurors a couple of times -- 60-70 people. Then the lawyers start asking questions. Once I mention what my husband does for a living (I bring it up if I think it could have an impact on juror selection) I tend to get pummeled with questions and then not selected. My husband really WANTS to have jury duty and sit on a jury. So far his dream hasn't been fulfilled.

Deej -

Thank you! I am really hoping that I can make this Catalina trip work this time, and that everything will be in my favor (like the weather not being too hot, for example). I am not going to get a third chance at a free birthday boat ride, so this is it. And I need to get caught up on my picture-taking!

I told you last year that I even had a trip report title in mind for Catalina (though we all know how my TR titles go - I start with one and then just change it on a whim as I go along!:rotfl2:). I can finally put that to use - but I will have to do the TR over in the Southern California section or the California TR section of this forum, and not here in this thread.

I did not have to go in for jury duty today, and I don't have to go in tomorrow either.:cool1: But, as I was telling Michele a few days ago, it seems like a lot of people I know do not have to go in on Mondays or Tuesdays. Then they end up having to go in on Wednesday and sit around all day. I have a feeling Wednesday may be my day (which I will find out when I call in tomorrow evening). So if they call me I will just go in and get it over with. (Plus, maybe I will see someone famous - this is the same courthouse where Jennifer Lopez had to do jury duty a couple of years ago.)

I hope your husband eventually gets to see his dream of sitting on a jury realized.:rotfl2: (I chuckle only because I know how many people try to get out of jury duty, and go to all kinds of great lengths to get out of serving, so it's amusing to me that someone actually wants to serve badly and can't get on a jury!)! I can see how his line of work would raise a few eyebrows among the attorneys and cause all kinds of questions! They probably just assume that you would be biased, your husband would be biased and anyone who is related to your husband would be too.




:cool1::cool1::cool1:


Well, I had intended to get another Disneyland TR installment up today since I was jury duty free, but I woke up with a splitting sinus headache and by the time that went away, my stupid Internet was not working (the signal has been going out off and on lately). And now I am just too tired.:rotfl2:

So I am hoping I can get something up tomorrow!!

[Sherry E]

Nice to hear that you will get another shot at Catalina for your birthday trip.

Bret -

Thank you so much - I really hope it works out this time!

I just now realized that I didn't see this post from you last night. I guess you must have posted it while I was typing out my replies to Michele, TK and Deej, and then it got stuck in that 'last post on the page' position so I didn't see it when I submitted my responses.

Oddly, I just received the DIS' e-mail notification for your post a few minutes ago! I don't know if it was caught up in cyberspace, but it just got to my inbox this morning. So when I noticed that you had actually posted last night, I clicked on the link in the e-mail alert to get directly to your post - and it took me to a totally different page altogether. Weird!:confused3

By the way - don't you hate it when things disappear on the previous page? You could type out a whole TR installment, or a reply to someone else's comments in detail, and then suddenly the TR starts a new page in 2 seconds and whatever you posted gets buried right away. I have commented on certain TR's before, and my post was the last post on the previous page - and was never seen. I have replied to people in my own TR and the reply gets stuck on the previous page and they never see it. And look what happened with your post here - it ended up being the last post on the previous page and I didn't even know it was there until this morning, when the delayed notification arrived in the e-mail!

I think that people's natural tendencies are to just look at the page that is on the screen and not go back to the previous page, so a lot of stuff gets missed in various threads!






:cool1::cool1::cool1:







Anyway, I am working on the next installment of this TR right now - just in case I get stuck in jury duty tomorrow (or possibly the rest of the week?) and can't do anything. As I explained previously, this will be the last segment of the 'Pre-TR/Background/Intro/Setting the Stage' stuff (since I did not do an actual Pre-TR last December), and then we will go into the December TR. So I will have something up today (barring anymore unforeseen Internet outages:headache:)!

[kaoden39]

Someone must have a good paperback I can borrow....I haven't bought a paper book in over 3 years. :rolleyes1


I have but they were for my kids and well, we don't have the same taste. My son likes zombie books like his dad and the daughter well, lets just say all of her books are hardback teenage angst books.



Sherry,

I am patient because I know it will be well worth the wait.

[WDWJonasGirl]

I'm all caught up Sherry!!

[mariezp]

Waiting patiently Sherry. popcorn:: We head out to WDW on Friday so maybe there will be something new to read by the time I get back.

[kaoden39]

Waiting patiently Sherry. popcorn:: We head out to WDW on Friday so maybe there will be something new to read by the time I get back.


Ooh sounds fun!! Do you have a trip report? I hope you all have a wonderful time!!

[Sherry E]

Marie -

I had no idea you were even still out there! I hadn't heard a peep out of you since my first installment. I had no clue if you read the second installment (about "M" and how my friendship with her originated and evolved over the years).

In any case, I saw the e-mail alert come through this morning, telling me that you had posted in this TR. That alone was surprising because I don't always get e-mail alerts for my own TR.

I have been having major problems trying to get onto the DIS in the last few weeks, and it is stressing me out. I have no clue if it has to do with their servers and my PC issues combined or what, but it is literally making my blood pressure rise. I have been having fewer issues with Facebook and I can usually get in there without incident, but the DIS' site has been very troublesome for me, as has my own e-mail!

I have also been having extra trouble getting online since the weekend. It's something to do with "the line" itself. A service guy was supposed to come out to check it, and then it was cancelled, and now I am left hanging as to how long this Internet issue is going to continue.

It just took me about 45 minutes to finally get into my own TR here to be able to reply. So you can see why the TR installments have not been coming at lightning speed. I wanted to post installment #3 over this past weekend - which would have been the final part of the "Pre-Trip Report" segment - but it just was not possible.:headache:

Thanks for sticking with me, Marie!

[Sherry E]

I wanted to do a test post here. Since I last posted yesterday, the DIS technical wizards were hard at work on switching servers and all of that. I have been reading some posts about folks who have submitted replies in threads, and their posts are not appearing.

What happened to me was, this morning, I got an e-mail alert that Michele had posted in my Disneyland/Christmas Superthread last night. So I clicked on the link within the e-mail to get the thread (which I do all the time)...and it led me to a thread on the WDW side of the board.:scared1:

Then I randomly clicked on another link in some other thread - don't even remember which one - and it did not go to the right place either.

So now I don't know if posts are going to appear at all (it looks to me as though no one has posted here since yesterday), and I don't know if allllllllll of the links I have posted in this thread, in my Halloween and Christmas Superthreads and who knows where else, have now becoming incorrect because they are going to the wrong threads. I shudder to think that this could be the case. I think I might just pass out if that happens.

I don't know if this post will appear or not but if anyone is out there following along and can see it, can you post something here so I will get the e-mail alert and I can test the link in the e-mail alert to see if it is going to the right places?

[tksbaskets]

How did you test post work out?

I didn't get picked for a jury. Not too bummed about that. We couldn't bring in any phones Sherry. Which they told us about ahead of time. I was not prepared for the "Write down the dates in April you are unavailable" when we walked in. Hello - that is on my phone - UGH. Would have been nice to know ahead of time that we needed a paper calendar. How archaic :rotfl:

Hope all is well for you. It's busy for me trying to get our taxes finished up. Could use a little more information on Aunt Betty to keep me going.... :thumbsup2

[deejdigsdis]

I'm here too! I had been wondering if you got chosen to be on a jury.

Hi TK! :wave2:

[tksbaskets]

Hi Deej :wave: When is your next trip? I'm vacationing vicariously through you, Sherry, & Bret.

[deejdigsdis]

Hi Deej :wave: When is your next trip? I'm vacationing vicariously through you, Sherry, & Bret.

Not until October. But...my sister CB Jamboree is going next month. Maybe I can convince her to do a trip report. I'm going to be asking her all about it anyway...every little detail...so she might as well share it with everyone else. :goodvibes

[Sherry E]

TK & Deej -

Thanks for posting. I needed you guys - or whomever - to be the ones to post so I could test this out.

There apparently was a database crash last night, from what I happened to catch on the Technical forum, so a lot of threads, links and posts that were active right around the time of the crash are now askew - like my Christmas Superthread.:faint: Michele and I both posted in that thread last night - we were discussing AP rates hiking up soon - and today, I do not see any of our posts in the Christmas thread about that subject, nor do I see my other post in response to a DIS'er's question. I am afraid to look at the links on Page 1 of the Superthread to see if those are still working.

And the e-mail alert link is still directing me to a thread that is not the Christmas thread. I will jump off of a building if alllllll of my work and links in that thread have been lost, or if any new post that comes in goes to some other thread.

I had not logged off of the DIS yet so I saw your two posts while I was still on. The key is, will the links to this thread (that are in the e-mail alerts) send me to this thread, or will they send me somewhere else? I have to log off, go to the e-mail alerts and then see where the links take me.

I posted here yesterday about the Internet trouble I had been having at home (and am still having), so I never know when I will be able to get on or not. Time Warner doesn't want to fix the line here unless my Internet speed falls below a certain capacity percentage, so it could be slooooooow but if it is not past whatever the magic number is (something like 30% capacity or something), they won't come out to check the line. So it keeps working, then locking up, working then locking up.


No, I never had to even go to the courthouse for jury duty at all. They didn't need me to come in. One of my former clients - an attorney - was telling me that there have been a lot of budget cuts and layoffs within the Court system. A lot of Court employees/clerks have been laid off or had their hours cut. There are fewer judges available to preside over trials because of budgets. There are fewer trials happening as well. So when there are fewer trials and fewer clerks and fewer judges working, there is less need for jurors to schlep down to the Courthouse!

I was ready to go into Court. I didn't try to postpone or get out of it. But they didn't need me to come in, which I was happy with...even though my Court is the "good" court, where Jennifer Lopez, Madonna and Danny Devito have had to serve on juries before! I would have enjoyed celebrity watching, but oh well...

All right...I have to go check the e-mail alert link to see if it brings me to this thread or if it is going to be messed up like the Christmas thread!:sad2:

[Sherry E]

Hi Deej :wave: When is your next trip? I'm vacationing vicariously through you, Sherry, & Bret.

Bret seems to have a DLR trip every other month, so your vicarious vacation thrills are well-satisfied there!:banana:

My DLR trips are few and far between, but because it is taking so long to get through this TR with all of the hurdles I have encountered, it will seem like my actual DLR trips are closer together than they actually are. By the time I get done with this TR, it will probably only be a few months (or less) until it's time for another DLR trip, so it will feel like I just got back from a DLR trip when, as we all know, my last trip was in December.

[rentayenta]

I had a post in my thread say it was from me, which is was not, and also quote another poster in my thread to which the post was never in my thread. :crazy: :scared1: :rotfl2: Me thinks the DIS has gone mad.


Michele lured me back into the Disneyland section. It always makes me a little blue when I don't have a trip in the works. Even though we've got a biggie in October in WDW, Disneyland has my heart.

Hope you've been well. :goodvibes

[mvf-m11c]

It is very nice to hear from you again Sherry. I will always be here checking out your TR for any news.


Hi Deej :wave: When is your next trip? I'm vacationing vicariously through you, Sherry, & Bret.

I will be looking forward to your TR Deej when you go back in October.


Bret seems to have a DLR trip every other month, so your vicarious vacation thrills are well-satisfied there!:banana:

It almost seems like I am having a DLR trip every month. I will have about two plan trips for this year which will be June for the re-grand opening of DCA and of course my Holiday trip in November. I am not going in December this year since I have basketball season and not planning on going to WDW for the Holiday season which is sad. I will have a possibly plan trip in October for the Halloween season and maybe August for Destination D at the DLH.

[Sherry E]

Okay, usually the DIS will stop sending me the e-mail alerts if I have not posted in a while, but if I have just posted recently the DIS will send me alerts for the next couple of posts.

And yet, I didn't get an alert to let me know Jenny had posted, and there was no e-mail alert to tell me that Bret had posted - and I just posted here yesterday! I also didn't get an e-mail alert to tell me that Bret had replied to me in his own thread. I had to actually come here to the DIS and check the threads to see if there had been any activity. I continue to get alerts for other threads that I have not posted on in a million years, but not the main ones I am following!:confused3 Now I feel like I have to check every single thread I follow to be sure there have been no recent posts!

:confused3 :confused3 :confused3




I had a post in my thread say it was from me, which is was not, and also quote another poster in my thread to which the post was never in my thread. :crazy: :scared1: :rotfl2: Me thinks the DIS has gone mad.


Michele lured me back into the Disneyland section. It always makes me a little blue when I don't have a trip in the works. Even though we've got a biggie in October in WDW, Disneyland has my heart.

Hope you've been well. :goodvibes

Hi, Jenny!:cool1: I"m glad to see you back here!

You had asked me a while back to send you a message and let you know when I got going with this TR and where in the thread you could find it. I had not forgotten about that at all. I figured I would wait until I got done posting the final installment (#3) of what can be considered the Pre-TR/Background/Intro (which is all necessary to set the stage for this trip and for my ending up on a bench in DCA, crying!), and then had launched into the first installment of the actual TR before I let you know, just so that you could skip the Pre-TR part of it if you wanted to and could just start on the TR.

I don't know how much you have caught, but I do have 2 Pre-TR segments that I've already done (starting on Page 169/Post #2532 - unless that has changed in the wake of the DIS' issues)! If the outcome of my December trip had not been what it was, these Pre-TR segments might not be so crucial to setting the stage for the story.

You're not kidding that the DIS has gone mad. I have not checked the Christmas thread again to see if the missing posts from 2 nights ago have suddenly reappeared, but I have a feeling they are gone forever - or they somehow ended up in a totally different thread on the WDW side of the board, never to be found.

I know what you mean about feeling blue when there is no plan on the horizon. I feel that way too. There are certain, specific things I want to get to DLR to see, and it's just not in the cards. It's not possible. Right now, it's already mid-April and I have no clue what I will do about a holiday DLR trip this year. I mean, I know I will be there at some point, but I don't know if it will be for a day, a weekend, a couple of days, or what.

Your WDW October trip should be fun, and you'll get the whole WDW Halloween experience!



It is very nice to hear from you again Sherry. I will always be here checking out your TR for any news.




I will be looking forward to your TR Deej when you go back in October.




It almost seems like I am having a DLR trip every month. I will have about two plan trips for this year which will be June for the re-grand opening of DCA and of course my Holiday trip in November. I am not going in December this year since I have basketball season and not planning on going to WDW for the Holiday season which is sad. I will have a possibly plan trip in October for the Halloween season and maybe August for Destination D at the DLH.

Hi, Bret!:cool1:

I'm hoping there is an AP preview of all the DCA stuff at some point before June 15th so you can go to that instead of being there for the opening day madness. It will be tough to get photos with all the crowds in the way. Not that the AP preview days would be any less crowded, but it would be better than opening day.

So it sounds like you have at least 2 more definite DLR trips this year (DCA re-opening in June, and holidays in November), and then 2 possible trips (Destination D and Halloween Time)? And basketball season on top of that? It will be a busy year for you!

Thank you for staying with this thread and still popping in to see what's happening!


:dance3:


Well, I am hoping that my annoying Internet will hold out long enough for me to get the final Pre-TR installment posted. Today my Internet was not working for hours. It was OK in the morning, and then it just stopped doing anything. I couldn't read e-mail, couldn't get on the DIS, couldn't make any money, couldn't get back on Facebook, nothing. It's more of this mysterious "line problem" that Time Warner alluded to last weekend.

[WDWJonasGirl]

I'm all caught up Sherry!!

[Sherry E]

Thank you, Kaitlin - glad to see you're still here!


Okay, it looks as if Kaitlin posted 2 days ago. No one else has posted since then, or replied to my last posts, correct (meaning Deej, Jenny, Bret, TK)? I'm just making sure.

There was an actual DIS crash a few days ago - which is why certain things were going haywire on the DIS at that point - but since then there has been a server switch over, if I am not mistaken, and there are further weird things that could happen.

I seem to no longer get any e-mail alerts for my own TR thread, even if I post in it. That stopped a few days ago. But today, I tried to click on the link in the last e-mail alert I got (early last week) to bring me right to the thread, and I got a "Database error" message....BUT I did not have that same issue when clicking on links to get to the Christmas thread or the Picture of the Day thread or Bret's TR.

So there seems to be some sort of issue with the links to my TR in the old e-mail alerts. And the DIS is still as slow as molasses for me - which may be due to the new servers or just my regular PC and Internet problems.

In any case, I can't continue on with "Aunt Betty's Weepy, Wacky, Wonderful Christmas Trip to Disneyland" until I get all this sorted out. I almost feel like killing this thread, copying my first 2 installments and moving to a whole new thread. Somehow I feel like the old threads that are are long are now 'damaged' in some way because of all the technical issues!:rotfl: (I still don't think those missing posts of mine and Michele's ever reappeared in the Christmas Superthread either, but I have to keep checking the links on Page 1 to be sure they have not been compromised in the last 2 days.)

I need people to post here so I can see if I start getting e-mail alerts again (on the new servers), and if so, will the links in the alerts work. Also, I need to be sure that everyone's posts appear!

[deejdigsdis]

Hey Sherry,

You are correct...I haven't posted in this thread since April 12th. You responded to my last post along with your response to TK.

I got that "Database Error" message earlier today. That's the first time I've seen that. Usually it's a message from Alex saying it will be down for a while.

Anyway, I'm still here, anxious to hear your next update, whether in this thread or a new thread!

[Sherry E]

Deej -

Thanks for 'test-posting' for me! I am still on the DIS right now, so I saw that you posted. Let me open up another tab and go over to my e-mail to see if I got an e-mail alert.....


...Checking....


Okay, this time I got an e-mail alert, all of a sudden. Maybe the new servers are responsible for that.

Let me check the link in that e-mail alert and see if it directs me to the right place...


...Checking....

Okay, the link in the new e-mail alert sent me to the correct thread.

So....hmm...this leads me to think that since the link in the old e-mail alert from early last week was pre-server switch, that's why it is now invalid. The servers were just switched, I think, 2 nights ago.

This means that some of those links that were working a couple of days ago may not be working now...which means, I have to check Page 1 of this thread to see if the links to the pages on which my TR's begin are still valid, as well as the Christmas thread to see if the links in the Table of Contents are working.

I'm afraid to check. One or two invalid links can be dealt with. But if it's more than that it will be too much to handle!

[deejdigsdis]

I'm glad it worked! :goodvibes

Ugh...that sounds like a nightmare to have all sorts of invalid links hanging around.

[kaoden39]

Hi there!!


I'm still here, crazy and all but here!!

[mvf-m11c]

Hi, Bret!:cool1:

I'm hoping there is an AP preview of all the DCA stuff at some point before June 15th so you can go to that instead of being there for the opening day madness. It will be tough to get photos with all the crowds in the way. Not that the AP preview days would be any less crowded, but it would be better than opening day.

So it sounds like you have at least 2 more definite DLR trips this year (DCA re-opening in June, and holidays in November), and then 2 possible trips (Destination D and Halloween Time)? And basketball season on top of that? It will be a busy year for you!

Thank you for staying with this thread and still popping in to see what's happening!

Thank you Sherry. I'm waiting to see when the DL AP website announced that they will have a AP sneak peek before the opening day on June 15th. You are absolutely correct that Cars Land will be very crowded on that day. But we will take the chance and say that we were there on the opening day.

Definitely June and November for my trips. But I haven't decided if I want to do Destination D. I looked at the prices on Destination D and it was quite expensive. So I might not go during Destination D in the summer. It is possible that I might go to DL during the Halloween season. I haven't decided what days to go. I was considering going back to DL in September just to see the Halloween decorations. There was also another possibility that I might do MHP one day after not doing it last year. We'll just have to wait and see what my schedule is like.

I will always be on your thread waiting for any new news. I would have respond a few days ago, but I just had time to read your post.

[6Smiles]

All caught up. Wow so much has happened since I have been engrossed in school. Finishing up the first 16 weeks, don't know what I was thinking as it is more challenging than I imagined. I am so excited that you will be able to go to Avalon for free this year to celebrate your birthday. I hope we get to return some day, and walk on the beach, hold hands and visit the shops from our youth. You've always made me feel like a youngster til I saw the date of your first trip when you were four and realized our age difference is insignificant... we are both 29 and holding :woohoo: :rotfl2:.

Kris

[Sherry E]

Okay, now that the DIS seems to be working a bit better, I think I can finally post Installment #3/Part 3 - the very last chapter in the Pre-Trip Report/Introduction/Background, which will precede the actual TR from my December 4-8, 2011, Disneyland visit...a weepy, wacky and wonderful (in many ways) adventure (as my TR title indicates), though it was.

The funny thing is, I have had the bulk of the text written for Installment #3 for ages and ages, and I've had the photos I was going to post in it more or less narrowed down.

But just recently I decided to swap one photo for another photo in Part 3. When I did that, I started thinking, "Hmmm...well, if I am going to make this point or say this thing, I'd rather use that photo than this photo to do it." And then that got me started on swapping out a lot of the photos I had picked for other ones.:rotfl2:

The actual subjects of my final Pre-TR installments have not changed - I've had those picked out since December - but I just decided that I was going to use different photos, instead of some of the ones I originally selected, to help tell the story.

And with the changing of the photos came a need to go back and alter some of the text in Part 3!:rotfl2: I had already written certain descriptions or made certain comments in regards to a few photos, and once the pictures changed I had to go back and delete or alter the comments - or you wouldn't know what the heck I was referring to!:rotfl2:

Anyway, if you have been paying attention and following along with the previous 2 Pre-TR installments, I think that, along with Part 3 which is coming up, they will collectively give you a good background and paint a picture of who I am, what my interests are, what the scenario was - and where my head was - when going into this past December's trip, and why the ultimate outcome of that trip was alarming and disappointing on so many levels to me, even though it had its fun moments too.

On to a few replies...



I'm glad it worked! :goodvibes

Ugh...that sounds like a nightmare to have all sorts of invalid links hanging around.

deej -

I still have not gotten the courage up to check the old links and see if they are all working or if some of them have been compromised, but the DIS seems to be working better now overall. My computer issues are still the same ol' issues and have not changed, but the DIS' issues seem to have been resolved with the server switch, so that's half the battle won for me.




Hi there!!

I'm still here, crazy and all but here!!

Michele -

Okay! Cool, man! Groovy! (I never say "groovy" at all in my life, but I felt like saying it now. So there. Groovy!)




Thank you Sherry. I'm waiting to see when the DL AP website announced that they will have a AP sneak peek before the opening day on June 15th. You are absolutely correct that Cars Land will be very crowded on that day. But we will take the chance and say that we were there on the opening day.

Definitely June and November for my trips. But I haven't decided if I want to do Destination D. I looked at the prices on Destination D and it was quite expensive. So I might not go during Destination D in the summer. It is possible that I might go to DL during the Halloween season. I haven't decided what days to go. I was considering going back to DL in September just to see the Halloween decorations. There was also another possibility that I might do MHP one day after not doing it last year. We'll just have to wait and see what my schedule is like.

I will always be on your thread waiting for any new news. I would have respond a few days ago, but I just had time to read your post.

Bret -

I had secretly planned to try to go to DLR for Cars Land's opening, too - just to be there on opening day, as you said - but I doubt it will happen. First of all, it may be too hot for me. I have noticed that lately I have been getting sick after about 3 hours in the sun - and it's not even like Summer sun. So I have a feeling that trying to be at California Adventure in June may be a bad idea for me. But we shall see.

I was not at Disneyland on the day that ToonTown opened in 1993, but was there later that same year. I remember thinking that I'd like to eventually be around on the actual day something premiered.

Maybe instead of doing Disneyland in September you could just do your whole Halloween Disney visit in October, when the party is happening? That way you could see the decorations and the party all in the same trip and save yourself some money in lodging/hotels. Or would that not work for you?

I was already excited for the holiday season to begin at DLR - as I am every year - but I am more excited by the possibilities of Cars Land and Buena Vista Street being decorated too! The only thing I am worried about - and you can relate to this better than anyone, Bret, because you know exactly what I am talking about! - is that Disney/TDA will 'steal' or 'borrow' decorations from other lands to add to BVS or Cars Land.

You know as well as I do, Bret, how decorations keep 'mysteriously' disappearing from New Orleans Square. The trees that we used to like in ToonTown (the bright, colorful trees) have mysteriously vanished and been replaced by hideous plastic trees. What happened to the old ToonTown trees? Were they suddenly put in some other land?

So I am afraid that TDA will decide, "Hey! Let's decorate Cars Land and Buena Vista Street!" And then suddenly there will be even less decor in New Orleans Square, and less in any other place. They will take pieces of things here and there and put them elsewhere, rather than just buying all new decorations for the new lands!





All caught up. Wow so much has happened since I have been engrossed in school. Finishing up the first 16 weeks, don't know what I was thinking as it is more challenging than I imagined. I am so excited that you will be able to go to Avalon for free this year to celebrate your birthday. I hope we get to return some day, and walk on the beach, hold hands and visit the shops from our youth. You've always made me feel like a youngster til I saw the date of your first trip when you were four and realized our age difference is insignificant... we are both 29 and holding :woohoo: :rotfl2:.

Kris


Hi, Kris!

Welcome back to my thread!:cool1: Thank you for coming back and saying hello, now that you have a free moment and break from school!

I am going to make this year's Catalina visit work somehow. I am a bit worried about the heat/sun (see my above response to Bret about going to DLR in June). It's been bothering me a lot more lately. The last thing I need is to get ill only a few hours into being in Avalon, and then have to sit on a bench for the rest of the day.:sick: There is not too much in the way of shade in that town, as you may recall! All of that ocean water reflects the sun!

But, nonetheless, I missed taking advantage of the free birthday boat offer last year. It not common for a company to offer free birthday 'gifts' of that value (over $70) to everyone for 2 years in a row. They are even allowing the people who have already claimed the free birthday boat ride in 2011 to re-claim it in 2012/2013! That means that many people are getting 2 free trips to Catalina, 2 years in a row! That is unheard of! Even Disneyland did not do that!

Since I was not able to go to Catalina last year, for various reasons, I am going to make this year work, one way or the other. I have to get the Catalina Superthread going over in the SoCal section of the board, and I want to use current photos and current opinions to do that.

I don't know how old you are (I feel like I am as old as the hills), but I will agree with the "29 and holding" title for us!:thumbsup2 That works for me if it works for you!!:rotfl:

[tksbaskets]

I'm always happy when I get an email that there is action on the threads of my favorite DISers~

YEAH Ready for installment #3 :cool1:

I'm counting on you and Bret this year for my Holiday at DL fix! I miss the elaborate decorations at NOS. I'm curious if DCA will be decked this year too~

Now on with the TR!! popcorn::

[kaoden39]

Okay, now that the DIS seems to be working a bit better, I think I can finally post Installment #3/Part 3 - the very last chapter in the Pre-Trip Report/Introduction/Background, which will precede the actual TR from my December 4-8, 2011, Disneyland visit...a weepy, wacky and wonderful (in many ways) adventure (as my TR title indicates), though it was.

The funny thing is, I have had the bulk of the text written for Installment #3 for ages and ages, and I've had the photos I was going to post in it more or less narrowed down.

But just recently I decided to swap one photo for another photo in Part 3. When I did that, I started thinking, "Hmmm...well, if I am going to make this point or say this thing, I'd rather use that photo than this photo to do it." And then that got me started on swapping out a lot of the photos I had picked for other ones.:rotfl2:

The actual subjects of my final Pre-TR installments have not changed - I've had those picked out since December - but I just decided that I was going to use different photos, instead of some of the ones I originally selected, to help tell the story.

And with the changing of the photos came a need to go back and alter some of the text in Part 3!:rotfl2: I had already written certain descriptions or made certain comments in regards to a few photos, and once the pictures changed I had to go back and delete or alter the comments - or you wouldn't know what the heck I was referring to!:rotfl2:

Anyway, if you have been paying attention and following along with the previous 2 Pre-TR installments, I think that, along with Part 3 which is coming up, they will collectively give you a good background and paint a picture of who I am, what my interests are, what the scenario was - and where my head was - when going into this past December's trip, and why the ultimate outcome of that trip was alarming and disappointing on so many levels to me, even though it had its fun moments too.

On to a few replies...





deej -

I still have not gotten the courage up to check the old links and see if they are all working or if some of them have been compromised, but the DIS seems to be working better now overall. My computer issues are still the same ol' issues and have not changed, but the DIS' issues seem to have been resolved with the server switch, so that's half the battle won for me.






Michele -

Okay! Cool, man! Groovy! (I never say "groovy" at all in my life, but I felt like saying it now. So there. Groovy!)






Bret -

I had secretly planned to try to go to DLR for Cars Land's opening, too - just to be there on opening day, as you said - but I doubt it will happen. First of all, it may be too hot for me. I have noticed that lately I have been getting sick after about 3 hours in the sun - and it's not even like Summer sun. So I have a feeling that trying to be at California Adventure in June may be a bad idea for me. But we shall see.

I was not at Disneyland on the day that ToonTown opened in 1993, but was there later that same year. I remember thinking that I'd like to eventually be around on the actual day something premiered.

Maybe instead of doing Disneyland in September you could just do your whole Halloween Disney visit in October, when the party is happening? That way you could see the decorations and the party all in the same trip and save yourself some money in lodging/hotels. Or would that not work for you?

I was already excited for the holiday season to begin at DLR - as I am every year - but I am more excited by the possibilities of Cars Land and Buena Vista Street being decorated too! The only thing I am worried about - and you can relate to this better than anyone, Bret, because you know exactly what I am talking about! - is that Disney/TDA will 'steal' or 'borrow' decorations from other lands to add to BVS or Cars Land.

You know as well as I do, Bret, how decorations keep 'mysteriously' disappearing from New Orleans Square. The trees that we used to like in ToonTown (the bright, colorful trees) have mysteriously vanished and been replaced by hideous plastic trees. What happened to the old ToonTown trees? Were they suddenly put in some other land?

So I am afraid that TDA will decide, "Hey! Let's decorate Cars Land and Buena Vista Street!" And then suddenly there will be even less decor in New Orleans Square, and less in any other place. They will take pieces of things here and there and put them elsewhere, rather than just buying all new decorations for the new lands!








Hi, Kris!

Welcome back to my thread!:cool1: Thank you for coming back and saying hello, now that you have a free moment and break from school!

I am going to make this year's Catalina visit work somehow. I am a bit worried about the heat/sun (see my above response to Bret about going to DLR in June). It's been bothering me a lot more lately. The last thing I need is to get ill only a few hours into being in Avalon, and then have to sit on a bench for the rest of the day.:sick: There is not too much in the way of shade in that town, as you may recall! All of that ocean water reflects the sun!

But, nonetheless, I missed taking advantage of the free birthday boat offer last year. It not common for a company to offer free birthday 'gifts' of that value (over $70) to everyone for 2 years in a row. They are even allowing the people who have already claimed the free birthday boat ride in 2011 to re-claim it in 2012/2013! That means that many people are getting 2 free trips to Catalina, 2 years in a row! That is unheard of! Even Disneyland did not do that!

Since I was not able to go to Catalina last year, for various reasons, I am going to make this year work, one way or the other. I have to get the Catalina Superthread going over in the SoCal section of the board, and I want to use current photos and current opinions to do that.

I don't know how old you are (I feel like I am as old as the hills), but I will agree with the "29 and holding" title for us!:thumbsup2 That works for me if it works for you!!:rotfl:


I look forward to the next part!:cool1:



That's totally cool!! I bring out the 60's in people!:rotfl::hippie:

[Sherry E]

Okay, TK and Michele! Ask and you shall receive!

This is the final installment of the Pre-TR/Intro. So after we get through this, it will be on to the parks.







Aunt Betty's Weepy, Wacky, Wonderful Christmas Trip to Disneyland –

Sunday, December 4 – Thursday, December 8, 2011





Introduction and Background Information – Part 3

(let’s just call it a Pre-Trip Report!)





So…we now arrive at our last installment of the ‘Pre-Trip Report/Background/Introduction’ section of this Trip Report!

To recap:


In Part 1 of this epic, I explained about how my Disneyland initiation in 1972 was largely due to Disney vocal veteran Thurl Ravenscroft being a member of the church I attended every Sunday, because my grandmother and her friends wanted to take me there so we could ride the rides/see the shows to which Thurl had contributed his talents.

I looked back fondly on my visits to the old Pan Pacific Auditorium in the Fairfax District area of Los Angeles – never expecting its unique design to become intricately interwoven into the fabric of the Disney Parks’ history.

I also revealed that, if not for my grandmother, Disney and Disneyland may have never become part of my childhood at all, let alone the haven - and light at the end of the tunnel - that it actually became for me.

And, finally, I explained that – while I cannot get to Disneyland as often as many other people on this board do – I have made at least one Disneyland trip per year (and, many times, more than one trip), for 31 of the last 40 years (I skipped some years in the late ‘90s and in the early-to-mid 2000’s).




In Part 2, I told you about how I first met “M” – the friend who will play a prominent role in the December 2011 Trip Report I am about to share with you – back in 1979, in junior high school, and how our friendship was filled with both conflict and many fun adventures. She was with me at that first Goofy’s Kitchen breakfast 20 years ago. She was with me on many Disneyland trips. She was with me in Catalina. She was with me back in the old rollicking rock & roll days of the Sunset Strip and the ‘80s hair bands (such as Poison & Warrant). She was with me when we spied on cute boys from behind fruit stands…and she was with me on that fateful day when we met Michael Damian from “Young & the Restless”[/I} at Farmers Market.

I don’t think I explained this, but prior to this past December, my last Disneyland trip with M was on a very rainy Thanksgiving weekend in 2001, when we stayed at the Grand Californian Hotel (that was actually the GCH’s very first holiday season and the first year of its lobby’s magnificent giant Christmas tree!). We rode exactly 2 rides (Haunted Mansion Holiday and Autopia – what an odd choice for the only 2 rides to go on, I know!), ate at Plaza Inn and the Storytellers Critter Breakfast, wandered over to the Disneyland Hotel and spent too much time in Downtown Disney (M is obsessed with shopping in Downtown Disney, for some reason). We also watched fireworks from our GCH room. That was about it!

By the way, that November 2001 Grand Californian Hotel booking was a last-minute reservation, as that was the only place I could find availability – and I got stuck paying for the entire hotel bill. M later grumbled to me about how she didn’t want to stay at the GCH – she preferred the Disneyland Hotel (which was not available) – even though I told her that with less than a week’s preparation for a Thanksgiving weekend trip, we could not get into the Disneyland Hotel and had to take what was open. So we had to ‘settle’ for the Grand Californian, and M and her husband didn’t seem all that impressed.

November 2001 was also the last time M and I saw each other, period, because she and her husband, “B,” moved out of state and started a family. Even though they apparently made trips back to Southern California all the way up to 2006 or so, they didn’t think to contact me to get together when they were in town.





So what could be in store for Part 3 of this Background/Introduction/Pre-Trip Report?


Well, again, keeping in mind that I am laying the groundwork, building anticipation and setting the stage here for the actual Trip Report to come (because, if you remember what I have revealed in Parts 1, 2 & 3, then the events and outcome of the trip will have more meaning and impact!), I really wanted to express a few final things:

1. My love of Christmas, especially Disney + Christmas together; and

2. My love of photography (as being both a precious memory-preserver and a cathartic release/creative outlet for me).


As you can imagine, these passions can be blended together at times, which is probably my ultimate scenario – taking photos of Disneyland at Christmas time!!



Let’s start with my absolute adoration of Christmas – well, holidays in general, really, but Christmas is at the top of the list (Halloween is in second place and Easter is third)!

My grandmother, who I already told you about in Part 1, was big on holidays – she went the extra mile to be sure that holidays were special for me as a child. There was a card and/or gift for almost every significant occasion. She gave me jewelry and candy for Valentine’s Day. She gave me little bits of money and maybe a 4-leaf clover pin to commemorate our Irish heritage on St. Patrick’s Day. She would buy me the PAAS dye kits so I could color eggs & then she would hide several wonderful treat-filled baskets around the house for me to find on Easter morning (I loved that!). She would give me costume-clad stuffed animals for Halloween. She would load up Christmas stockings with all kinds of little treasures, and give me many presents on December 25th. My grandmother did not have any money – as I have stated before – but she wanted to be sure that I had that experience of enjoying all holidays, so she pulled it off somehow.

Luckily, that enjoyment of festive occasions has stuck with me over the years. What I really appreciate is the overall fun involved in holidays. I love the colors, as well as the different textures and styles used in holiday decorations. For example, I was recently walking down the street and I stopped to admire a festive array of plastic bunnies, baskets, flowers, eggs, baby chicks and fake green grass in the window of an Italian restaurant – and it made me very happy to see such a lively representation of Easter, when normally it’s just Christmas (and maybe Halloween) that people acknowledge!! I suppose I love the celebratory aspect of most holidays – the traditions, the cheesy rituals, the TV specials, the songs, the Hallmark lapel pins and ornaments...I love it all.

Now, just for the record, I don’t have any money at all - I am currently not even gainfully employed - and I don’t have any family. So my holiday celebrations do not involve awkward Thanksgiving dinners at wacky relatives’ houses, nor do they involve me waking up on Christmas morning and opening presents under a tree, nor do they involve wild parties on New Year’s Eve. To be honest, these days I spend all holidays alone, at home, 99% of the time.

…But that’s okay. I have certainly bought lots of presents (and even made some by hand) for friends in the past, when I had a few dollars to spend. I have certainly sent out cards for every ‘fun’ holiday (Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Halloween and Christmas). I have put together an occasional Easter basket for friends. I’ve been to New Year’s parties. I have had dates on Valentine’s Day. I have attended some Thanksgiving dinners along the way. And I have been very fortunate to have received some nice presents from people over the years, too.

The bottom line is that I love all holidays despite not having any money to spend or family with whom to share the occasion. I dare say that I might actually enjoy holidays more than many other people do because I don’t have the same pressures that other people have as far as needing to buy this or cook that, or give this present to that person, etc. I can enjoy the holidays with no pressure at all, really, other than feeling like I am expected to be doing these things by other people, or feeling like I should{/I] be doing certain things.





Christmas is a particularly special time. It stands out above all other holidays for me because there are so many layers involved in celebrating it, which can range from the highly religious to the highly whimsical.

I am an absolute sucker for Christmas ‘stuff.’ I love it all, from Nativity scenes to Santa Claus; from angels to snowflakes; from elves to little drummer boys and everything in between. I love the symbols and iconography of the season (snowmen, nutcrackers, candy canes, stars, reindeer, etc.). I love the vibrant colors. I love the gorgeous lights. I love the aromas (pine; cinnamon; gingerbread) & flavors (peppermint, nutmeg, hot cocoa, sugar cookies, etc.) of the season. I love Christmas trees, and the many ways in which they can be adorned – from the very classic styles to the ‘themed’ trees (like an all-Disney tree, and all-blue tree or an all-unicorn tree, etc.). I love that Christmas décor can be rustic and countrified, or it can be elegant and sparkly; it can be old world or modern, or it can be playful and childlike. There are so many different ways to express one’s ‘Christmas personality’ through textures, patterns, colors, lights and designs.

I wander around town, snapping photos of random holiday things…

I took this window display picture back in 2000, with a 35mm camera:

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/scan0053.jpg



And this was taken during the Christmas season of 2010, with my cell phone. The banner says “Deck the Hills,” because it’s a Beverly Hills sign!:

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Nature%20and%20The%20Neighborhood%20-%202010%20-%202011/img1299448441904.jpg



Needless to say, I love Christmas music too – from the more spiritually-based songs that I learned as a child ([I]“O Holy Night,” “Angels We Have Heard On High,” “The First Noel,” “Away in a Manger,” etc.), to the more standard-style songs (“White Christmas,” “Silver Bells,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” etc.), to the bubbly, bouncy songs that are fun to sing along with (“Frosty the Snowman,” “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Sleigh Ride,” etc.).

Additionally, I love Christmas movies and television!! Of course, I am a fan of movies such as “Love Actually” and “Elf,” as well as classics like “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “A Christmas Carol.” Yes, I am an avid watcher of all the Peanuts holiday specials, too. Gotta love that Charlie Brown Christmas tree! And I just became a fan of the Hallmark Channel last year, when I discovered that, starting on the very first weekend in November, they run a Christmas movie marathon every weekend until right after the New Year begins. Jackpot!! Plus, my DVR is overloaded with every kind of Christmas-decorations special known to man (and Halloween-related shows, too), such as “Christmas Crazy,” “Extreme Christmas Trees,” “The Most Christmasy Places in America,” “Invasion of the Christmas Lights, 1, 2 & 3,” and the list goes on and on.

And…as many of my longtime TR followers know, since childhood I have been a connoisseur of the old Rankin-Bass holiday TV specials (including the Easter ones, such as “Here Comes Peter Cottontail”!), featuring some very corny-looking stop-motion puppet characters. I won’t even name them. I will just show you an image, and this should explain it all:


(Photo from Google Images)

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Rankin%20Bass%20Fun/collage30.gif



So, there you have it…you get the picture. I am a huge fan of holidays in general, and particularly Christmas, but I kind of observe and enjoy these occasions in my own way, and not necessarily in the way that people typically do.

The one Yuletide tradition I try to maintain for myself is a yearly visit to Disneyland during the holiday season, whether it’s for multiple days or only one day. I know I visited the park in November or December at some point during the late ‘70s or early ‘80s, but for whatever reason I do not have a really strong memory of seeing Christmas trees and wreaths in the park. I just remember being there during the holidays. I am guessing that we must not have stayed very long, and that no one took any photos.

My first real, vivid memory of being at Disneyland for Christmas – and ‘discovering’ that I preferred to go in December over any other time of year - was probably in 1990. But Disney and Christmas were synonymous in my mind from an early age, as you can see:


I have no clue whose house this was, but apparently I made a life-sized friend that day…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Vintage%20Disneyland%20Holidays/1972-SHERRY-PLUSHMICKEY-scan0002-1.jpg



This was my rockin’ Weebles Disneyland set (a gift on Christmas morning), complete with mini-Teacups, a mini-Monorail, a mini-Dumbo ride, a Castle (that looked nothing like Disneyland’s Castle), as well as Mickey, Pluto and Donald Weebles (who wobbled, but they didn’t fall down, of course!).

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Vintage%20Disneyland%20Holidays/1977-SHERRY-WEEBLESDISNEYLANDSET-sc-1.jpg

Sadly, I had to sell that set in the ‘90s (along with many of my cherished Disney watches) when I needed money.


As you can imagine, Disneyland at Christmas time encompasses everything I love about the holiday season, mixed in with a big helping of Disney magic. It’s sensory overload, but in the best possible way! If you’ve ever been to Disneyland, you know how enchanting of a place it is to begin with. Add in some Christmas merriment and it is just amazing. “Magical” doesn’t even begin to cover it! So this is why I make a point of experiencing the festivities, Mickey-style, every year – it’s my only holiday ‘activity (not counting the random neighborhood photo sprees!) and my only real tradition.






As I was saying earlier, the other thing I am passionate about is photography. Ever since my grandmother handed me her Kodak camera in a restaurant at the top of the Space Needle when I was a small child, and let me take a photo of the Seattle cityscape below, I was hooked. I must have been only 3 or 4 years old but I knew I wanted to take photos.

Even as a teenager and young adult, I was always the annoying one with the camera who pestered everyone to pose for photos when my friends and I got together. They all grumbled and complained (except for “M,” who was a ham) at the time, and then eventually – when they saw my pictures – everyone loved them and they all started taking their own. But everyone still wanted copies of my pictures!

Thanks to my photo habit I got lots of great shots of the old Poison/Bret Michaels days – some of which I have shown here but most of which I have not. Sadly, some jerk got into my Facebook albums a couple of years ago and ‘stole’ the Poison-related photos I posted only for my friends who had been around during that time in the ‘80s, and the jerk decided to share them with the world. Not only is that copyright infringement, but it also just hurt that some stranger took MY memories – which are precious to me – and decided that he needed to share them with strangers. I felt violated. That STILL makes me very, very angry to this day.

Anyway, when I was a teen I had a boyfriend who was a concert photographer. He took professional, close-up photos at all the big concerts of those days. Any major musician or group you can think of, he was there in the front row with his camera – Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, the Pretenders, David Bowie, the Go-Go’s, Stevie Nicks, Berlin, INXS, Duran Duran, etc. He gave me copies of a lot of the photos that he considered ‘bad,’ but which were really great!

Perhaps inspired my ex-boyfriend, for a while in the ‘80s I was practicing my “concert” photography at some club shows with a very bad disc camera, just to see if I liked taking those types of pictures…

This is Jani Lane of Warrant, who passed away last August:

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/1980s%20Sunset%20Strip%20Band%20Stuff/25437_1303068230547_1645712761_720384_5275201_n-1.jpg



This is Gilby Clarke, who is a former member of Guns N’ Roses and star of CBS’ [I]“Rock Star: Supernova” a few years ago…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/1980s%20Sunset%20Strip%20Band%20Stuff/25536_1307595783733_1645712761_728484_5267594_n-1.jpg



I have found that photography – albeit, amateur photography – is very healing and therapeutic for me. It calms me, relaxes me and yet focuses me, stimulating my brain and imagination. It’s a cathartic way to de-stress and channel my creativity.

Some would say (and have said) that writing is my real forte…I’m not sure what to say about that. I don’t think I agree. Yes, I can write a lot, and if I get on a roll I can probably string some words together on paper that might flow reasonably well. However, quantity (writing a lot) does not necessarily equal quality (interesting reading material). Also, it is more stressful to come up with what to write and how to express it – especially within a certain time frame or deadline - than it is to just lift up a camera and shoot something! Writing is not as cathartic for me as it should be, regardless of how well or how poorly I do it.

Now you all may or may not like any of my pictures. Some photos are hits; some are misses. Some are average; some are boring; some are really good. The thing is that many avid photographers – amateur or professional - will not show you their less-than-perfect photos. They will only show you the ones that came out really fantastic, or the ones that were heavily edited. I, on the other hand, will show you the hits and the misses. I don’t care. This is not an art gallery or a photo exhibit. It’s just for kicks. I don’t have a DSLR camera (yet) so I just play with the camera I have, which is a simple ol’ Canon point & shoot with 100 different complicated features! But it serves me well, my Canon. Most of what makes a great photo comes from our brains or imaginations, anyway. The equipment we use is just the tool that helps us execute our visions.

The important thing to me is that taking pictures – good or bad pictures – is something I love doing and have always loved doing. It brings me a lot of joy. For some reason, I let this hobby fall to the wayside in the late ‘90s and early part of this decade. It was a rough period of time for me, I suppose, and I just kind of gave up on a lot of things I loved doing rather than trying to find comfort in them.

However, when I started making annual trips to Disneyland again in 2007 (after being away from the Land for 5 straight years), that rekindled the spark for me. Since then I have been a picture-taking machine when I am by myself. I find it very difficult to get the sorts of photos I want to get when I am with people. I cannot concentrate when anyone is around me. I have to have a good chunk of time alone to be able to come up with ideas for pictures and spend the necessary time required to compose them to my satisfaction.

Here are some photos I have taken over the last couple of years - many of them recently, when I have just been cruising ‘round the neighborhood…


In this version of this photo I used the Autofix feature on Photobucket, as well as brightened it up a notch or two. However, in another version of it (for my Facebook Timeline cover picture) I punched up the color even more to make it pop off the page…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Farmers%20Market%20-%20The%20Grove%20-%20August%202010/IMG_0543-2.jpg



I Autofixed and Blurred/Softened this one a bit, just for kicks- and it made a rockin’ Facebook Timeline cover picture too!…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Farmers%20Market%20-%20The%20Grove%20-%20August%202010%20-%20Part%202/IMG_0762-1.jpg




Another Autofixed/Blurred photo for the dreaded Timeline cover slot…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Farmers%20Market%20-%20The%20Grove%20-%20August%202010%20-%20Part%202/IMG_0764-1.jpg




Yes, I used this one for Timeline as well! It was Autocorrected (or whatever it is called) in the Canon software. The color was not altered…
http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Nature%20and%20The%20Neighborhood%20-%202010%20-%202011/IMG_2990-A.jpg




Let’s try a photo with a person in it for a change! This is Maria Menounos from “Extra” and “Dancing With the Stars” at The Grove last month, posing with a random girl. The only change I made to this was to wipe out the girl’s face, as I don’t know that she necessarily wants to be seen on a discussion board!

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/IMG_4045-1.jpg




This was taken with my cell phone – I blurred the edges but that’s it. The color was not enhanced in any way – it was exactly that rich in the original photo. The pink is so luscious that it reminds me of cake frosting or candy.

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/img1335199526065-1.jpg




Another cell phone photo, Autofixed…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/img1335199527402-1.jpg





This one (on the Canon) was not edited in any way. I love the juxtaposition of the colors and textures – the red and green leaves against the delicate, almost lacy, flowers and tiny pink bulbs.

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/LACMA%20-%20LA%20BREA%20TAR%20PITS%20-%202012/IMG_4103.jpg




This one was not edited in any way either. It was hard getting this shot, between the flowers swaying in the breeze and the bees that didn’t want to stay put for longer than 2 seconds to let me snap some pictures!

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/LACMA%20-%20LA%20BREA%20TAR%20PITS%20-%202012/IMG_4152.jpg





A sculpture by Rodin at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/LACMA%20-%20LA%20BREA%20TAR%20PITS%20-%202012/IMG_4324.jpg




A creature at the Tar Pits….

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/LACMA%20-%20LA%20BREA%20TAR%20PITS%20-%202012/IMG_4145.jpg





Three of my favorite Catalina photos, circa 2001 & 2002, I think. These were taken on the old 35mm and then scanned, so they needed to be Autofixed…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Catalina%20Through%20the%20Years%20-%201988-2003/scan0011-1.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Catalina%20Through%20the%20Years%20-%201988-2003/scan0038-1.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Catalina%20Through%20the%20Years%20-%201988-2003/scan0024-1-1.jpg





And finally, here are some of my favorite Disneyland Resort photos, which everyone who has followed this TR has seen 150,000 times, but I will throw them in here for the folks who are brand new to this Trip Report…

I Autofixed and blurred the edges of this one from the Grand Californian Hotel…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Grand%20Californian%20Hotel/IMG_2137-1.jpg





The clock on Main Street at dusk (no one was really taking too many pictures of the Main Street clock at that point, back in 2010). I don’t think I did anything to this version except Autofix it…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202010%20-%20Part%203/IMG_1907-1.jpg





I Autofixed this. This was an idea I came up with as a way to put a different spin on the famous Sorcerer’s Hat at the border between the Disneyland Hotel and Downtown Disney. In December 2010, when I took this photo, I had not yet seen any other photos like it – on the DIS or elsewhere.

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202010%20-%20Part%204/IMG_2246-1.jpg





From the Paradise Pier Hotel, 12th floor (December 2010)…a different perspective of California Adventure…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202010%20-%20Part%203/IMG_2076.jpg









So, now that you have seen the photos I wanted to share, and you’ve read the stories I wanted to tell in Parts 1, 2 and 3 of this Pre-Trip Report/Introduction/Background, you know how much Disneyland means to me and why it means so much. You know how much my friends mean to me and why they do. And you know how much Christmas & photography mean to me and why.

Knowing that I would be wrapped up with M and my other friends for at least the first few days of my December 2011 Disneyland Resort holiday trip, it seemed as though I was going to have to put my photo-taking sprees on hold to focus on seeing my friend(s). I had not seen M in 10 years, after all. This bothered me, because I really, really wanted to take a lot of photos, as I did on my December 2010 Disneyland trip. But, as I mentioned, I cannot concentrate when there are people around me and I really need to be able to wander off by myself for hours at a time to make any progress.

However, seeing my friends – since they are basically my family in the absence of real blood relations – was very important to me, and I put that ahead of anything else, no matter how much I wanted to follow my own agenda.

Was it worthwhile to sacrifice what I wanted to do to be with my friends? Well, since I ended up crying on a bench – alone - in California Adventure on the next to last day of my trip, I’ll let you decide! There were some high points. There were some low points. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. It was a weepy, wacky, wonderful trip!






Coming up…the adventure FINALLY BEGINS as I head towards the Happiest Place on Earth on December 4th…

BUT…does the shuttle driver know where he is going? Is he purposely going the wrong way because he is a crazed maniac who is going to kill me? Will I ever make it to Disneyland at all? And does the driver know how to make a mean bowl of spaghetti and meatballs?

All that and more – in the first installment of the Trip Report!! Stay tuned!!

[tksbaskets]

I enjoyed the PTR. I don't know if I had seen the picture of the tree at the GCH with the great textured rocks in the foreground. You know that many of the pictures I take at DL are to TRY and get as nice a picture as you do. Greatest form of flattery, right? :thumbsup2

LOVE your flower pictures!

When our travel dollars are tight I will give up anything to still make a trip to DL or WDW. It truly is my Happy Place. It is even more magical at Christmas. The few times I've been solo I have enjoyed being able to people watch, take pictures, and generally wander without any pressure to do what my fellow travelers want to do. Not that I'd give up my family or friends at Disney, it is just fun solo too.

A crazy shuttle driver too??? :drive::drive: Your trips are filled with excitement! Can't wait to hear more details. popcorn::

[kaoden39]

Sigh, that picture of Jani Lane made me sad. What a tragic life he led.



Great update!

[Sherry E]

Yikes! I don't know what happened when the DIS switched to new servers, but not it's not as easy to edit posts as it used to be. I noticed a typo or something in my installment from last night, and I went in to correct it, along with one or two other small things. When I clicked Save or whatever it is, a message popped up that said I did not have permission to do that!

I don't have permission to edit my own posts? I was confused. The message told me to refresh the page. I had to refresh, and then the changes I made were gone, so I had to re-sign in and do it again. What a pain.

Anyway, I just wanted to copy/quote my post from last night to this page, because I know that a lot of new people or people who are short on time may not scroll to the previous page, and my hard work may get lost in the shuffle!

By the way, I recommend that anyone do that in their own threads too. If you post something - especially if it's something you spend a lot of time on - but it just happens to fall at the very end of a page...don't hesitate to quote it or re-copy it to the next page to be sure it does not get lost. A lot of times people who tune into a thread will miss seeing posts and things because the page has changed over and they only look at the current page!




Okay, TK and Michele! Ask and you shall receive!

This is the final installment of the Pre-TR/Intro. So after we get through this, it will be on to the parks.







Aunt Betty's Weepy, Wacky, Wonderful Christmas Trip to Disneyland –

Sunday, December 4 – Thursday, December 8, 2011





Introduction and Background Information – Part 3

(let’s just call it a Pre-Trip Report!)





So…we now arrive at our last installment of the ‘Pre-Trip Report/Background/Introduction’ section of this Trip Report!

To recap:


In Part 1 of this epic, I explained about how my Disneyland initiation in 1972 was largely due to Disney vocal veteran Thurl Ravenscroft being a member of the church I attended every Sunday, because my grandmother and her friends wanted to take me there so we could ride the rides/see the shows to which Thurl had contributed his talents.

I looked back fondly on my visits to the old Pan Pacific Auditorium in the Fairfax District area of Los Angeles – never expecting its unique design to become intricately interwoven into the fabric of the Disney Parks’ history.

I also revealed that, if not for my grandmother, Disney and Disneyland may have never become part of my childhood at all, let alone the haven - and light at the end of the tunnel - that it actually became for me.

And, finally, I explained that – while I cannot get to Disneyland as often as many other people on this board do – I have made at least one Disneyland trip per year (and, many times, more than one trip), for 31 of the last 40 years (I skipped some years in the late ‘90s and in the early-to-mid 2000’s).




In Part 2, I told you about how I first met “M” – the friend who will play a prominent role in the December 2011 Trip Report I am about to share with you – back in 1979, in junior high school, and how our friendship was filled with both conflict and many fun adventures. She was with me at that first Goofy’s Kitchen breakfast 20 years ago. She was with me on many Disneyland trips. She was with me in Catalina. She was with me back in the old rollicking rock & roll days of the Sunset Strip and the ‘80s hair bands (such as Poison & Warrant). She was with me when we spied on cute boys from behind fruit stands…and she was with me on that fateful day when we met Michael Damian from “Young & the Restless”[/I} at Farmers Market.

I don’t think I explained this, but prior to this past December, my last Disneyland trip with M was on a very rainy Thanksgiving weekend in 2001, when we stayed at the Grand Californian Hotel (that was actually the GCH’s very first holiday season and the first year of its lobby’s magnificent giant Christmas tree!). We rode exactly 2 rides (Haunted Mansion Holiday and Autopia – what an odd choice for the only 2 rides to go on, I know!), ate at Plaza Inn and the Storytellers Critter Breakfast, wandered over to the Disneyland Hotel and spent too much time in Downtown Disney (M is obsessed with shopping in Downtown Disney, for some reason). We also watched fireworks from our GCH room. That was about it!

By the way, that November 2001 Grand Californian Hotel booking was a last-minute reservation, as that was the only place I could find availability – and I got stuck paying for the entire hotel bill. M later grumbled to me about how she didn’t want to stay at the GCH – she preferred the Disneyland Hotel (which was not available) – even though I told her that with less than a week’s preparation for a Thanksgiving weekend trip, we could not get into the Disneyland Hotel and had to take what was open. So we had to ‘settle’ for the Grand Californian, and M and her husband didn’t seem all that impressed.

November 2001 was also the last time M and I saw each other, period, because she and her husband, “B,” moved out of state and started a family. Even though they apparently made trips back to Southern California all the way up to 2006 or so, they didn’t think to contact me to get together when they were in town.





So what could be in store for Part 3 of this Background/Introduction/Pre-Trip Report?


Well, again, keeping in mind that I am laying the groundwork, building anticipation and setting the stage here for the actual Trip Report to come (because, if you remember what I have revealed in Parts 1, 2 & 3, then the events and outcome of the trip will have more meaning and impact!), I really wanted to express a few final things:

1. My love of Christmas, especially Disney + Christmas together; and

2. My love of photography (as being both a precious memory-preserver and a cathartic release/creative outlet for me).


As you can imagine, these passions can be blended together at times, which is probably my ultimate scenario – taking photos of Disneyland at Christmas time!!



Let’s start with my absolute adoration of Christmas – well, holidays in general, really, but Christmas is at the top of the list (Halloween is in second place and Easter is third)!

My grandmother, who I already told you about in Part 1, was big on holidays – she went the extra mile to be sure that holidays were special for me as a child. There was a card and/or gift for almost every significant occasion. She gave me jewelry and candy for Valentine’s Day. She gave me little bits of money and maybe a 4-leaf clover pin to commemorate our Irish heritage on St. Patrick’s Day. She would buy me the PAAS dye kits so I could color eggs & then she would hide several wonderful treat-filled baskets around the house for me to find on Easter morning (I loved that!). She would give me costume-clad stuffed animals for Halloween. She would load up Christmas stockings with all kinds of little treasures, and give me many presents on December 25th. My grandmother did not have any money – as I have stated before – but she wanted to be sure that I had that experience of enjoying all holidays, so she pulled it off somehow.

Luckily, that enjoyment of festive occasions has stuck with me over the years. What I really appreciate is the overall fun involved in holidays. I love the colors, as well as the different textures and styles used in holiday decorations. For example, I was recently walking down the street and I stopped to admire a festive array of plastic bunnies, baskets, flowers, eggs, baby chicks and fake green grass in the window of an Italian restaurant – and it made me very happy to see such a lively representation of Easter, when normally it’s just Christmas (and maybe Halloween) that people acknowledge!! I suppose I love the celebratory aspect of most holidays – the traditions, the cheesy rituals, the TV specials, the songs, the Hallmark lapel pins and ornaments...I love it all.

Now, just for the record, I don’t have any money at all - I am currently not even gainfully employed - and I don’t have any family. So my holiday celebrations do not involve awkward Thanksgiving dinners at wacky relatives’ houses, nor do they involve me waking up on Christmas morning and opening presents under a tree, nor do they involve wild parties on New Year’s Eve. To be honest, these days I spend all holidays alone, at home, 99% of the time.

…But that’s okay. I have certainly bought lots of presents (and even made some by hand) for friends in the past, when I had a few dollars to spend. I have certainly sent out cards for every ‘fun’ holiday (Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Halloween and Christmas). I have put together an occasional Easter basket for friends. I’ve been to New Year’s parties. I have had dates on Valentine’s Day. I have attended some Thanksgiving dinners along the way. And I have been very fortunate to have received some nice presents from people over the years, too.

The bottom line is that I love all holidays despite not having any money to spend or family with whom to share the occasion. I dare say that I might actually enjoy holidays more than many other people do because I don’t have the same pressures that other people have as far as needing to buy this or cook that, or give this present to that person, etc. I can enjoy the holidays with no pressure at all, really, other than feeling like I am expected to be doing these things by other people, or feeling like I should{/I] be doing certain things.





Christmas is a particularly special time. It stands out above all other holidays for me because there are so many layers involved in celebrating it, which can range from the highly religious to the highly whimsical.

I am an absolute sucker for Christmas ‘stuff.’ I love it all, from Nativity scenes to Santa Claus; from angels to snowflakes; from elves to little drummer boys and everything in between. I love the symbols and iconography of the season (snowmen, nutcrackers, candy canes, stars, reindeer, etc.). I love the vibrant colors. I love the gorgeous lights. I love the aromas (pine; cinnamon; gingerbread) & flavors (peppermint, nutmeg, hot cocoa, sugar cookies, etc.) of the season. I love Christmas trees, and the many ways in which they can be adorned – from the very classic styles to the ‘themed’ trees (like an all-Disney tree, and all-blue tree or an all-unicorn tree, etc.). I love that Christmas décor can be rustic and countrified, or it can be elegant and sparkly; it can be old world or modern, or it can be playful and childlike. There are so many different ways to express one’s ‘Christmas personality’ through textures, patterns, colors, lights and designs.

I wander around town, snapping photos of random holiday things…

I took this window display picture back in 2000, with a 35mm camera:

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Miscellaneous/scan0053.jpg



And this was taken during the Christmas season of 2010, with my cell phone. The banner says “Deck the Hills,” because it’s a Beverly Hills sign!:

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Nature%20and%20The%20Neighborhood%20-%202010%20-%202011/img1299448441904.jpg



Needless to say, I love Christmas music too – from the more spiritually-based songs that I learned as a child ([I]“O Holy Night,” “Angels We Have Heard On High,” “The First Noel,” “Away in a Manger,” etc.), to the more standard-style songs (“White Christmas,” “Silver Bells,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” etc.), to the bubbly, bouncy songs that are fun to sing along with (“Frosty the Snowman,” “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Sleigh Ride,” etc.).

Additionally, I love Christmas movies and television!! Of course, I am a fan of movies such as “Love Actually” and “Elf,” as well as classics like “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “A Christmas Carol.” Yes, I am an avid watcher of all the Peanuts holiday specials, too. Gotta love that Charlie Brown Christmas tree! And I just became a fan of the Hallmark Channel last year, when I discovered that, starting on the very first weekend in November, they run a Christmas movie marathon every weekend until right after the New Year begins. Jackpot!! Plus, my DVR is overloaded with every kind of Christmas-decorations special known to man (and Halloween-related shows, too), such as “Christmas Crazy,” “Extreme Christmas Trees,” “The Most Christmasy Places in America,” “Invasion of the Christmas Lights, 1, 2 & 3,” and the list goes on and on.

And…as many of my longtime TR followers know, since childhood I have been a connoisseur of the old Rankin-Bass holiday TV specials (including the Easter ones, such as “Here Comes Peter Cottontail”!), featuring some very corny-looking stop-motion puppet characters. I won’t even name them. I will just show you an image, and this should explain it all:


(Photo from Google Images)

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Rankin%20Bass%20Fun/collage30.gif



So, there you have it…you get the picture. I am a huge fan of holidays in general, and particularly Christmas, but I kind of observe and enjoy these occasions in my own way, and not necessarily in the way that people typically do.

The one Yuletide tradition I try to maintain for myself is a yearly visit to Disneyland during the holiday season, whether it’s for multiple days or only one day. I know I visited the park in November or December at some point during the late ‘70s or early ‘80s, but for whatever reason I do not have a really strong memory of seeing Christmas trees and wreaths in the park. I just remember being there during the holidays. I am guessing that we must not have stayed very long, and that no one took any photos.

My first real, vivid memory of being at Disneyland for Christmas – and ‘discovering’ that I preferred to go in December over any other time of year - was probably in 1990. But Disney and Christmas were synonymous in my mind from an early age, as you can see:


I have no clue whose house this was, but apparently I made a life-sized friend that day…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Vintage%20Disneyland%20Holidays/1972-SHERRY-PLUSHMICKEY-scan0002-1.jpg



This was my rockin’ Weebles Disneyland set (a gift on Christmas morning), complete with mini-Teacups, a mini-Monorail, a mini-Dumbo ride, a Castle (that looked nothing like Disneyland’s Castle), as well as Mickey, Pluto and Donald Weebles (who wobbled, but they didn’t fall down, of course!).

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Vintage%20Disneyland%20Holidays/1977-SHERRY-WEEBLESDISNEYLANDSET-sc-1.jpg

Sadly, I had to sell that set in the ‘90s (along with many of my cherished Disney watches) when I needed money.


As you can imagine, Disneyland at Christmas time encompasses everything I love about the holiday season, mixed in with a big helping of Disney magic. It’s sensory overload, but in the best possible way! If you’ve ever been to Disneyland, you know how enchanting of a place it is to begin with. Add in some Christmas merriment and it is just amazing. “Magical” doesn’t even begin to cover it! So this is why I make a point of experiencing the festivities, Mickey-style, every year – it’s my only holiday ‘activity (not counting the random neighborhood photo sprees!) and my only real tradition.






As I was saying earlier, the other thing I am passionate about is photography. Ever since my grandmother handed me her Kodak camera in a restaurant at the top of the Space Needle when I was a small child, and let me take a photo of the Seattle cityscape below, I was hooked. I must have been only 3 or 4 years old but I knew I wanted to take photos.

Even as a teenager and young adult, I was always the annoying one with the camera who pestered everyone to pose for photos when my friends and I got together. They all grumbled and complained (except for “M,” who was a ham) at the time, and then eventually – when they saw my pictures – everyone loved them and they all started taking their own. But everyone still wanted copies of my pictures!

Thanks to my photo habit I got lots of great shots of the old Poison/Bret Michaels days – some of which I have shown here but most of which I have not. Sadly, some jerk got into my Facebook albums a couple of years ago and ‘stole’ the Poison-related photos I posted only for my friends who had been around during that time in the ‘80s, and the jerk decided to share them with the world. Not only is that copyright infringement, but it also just hurt that some stranger took MY memories – which are precious to me – and decided that he needed to share them with strangers. I felt violated. That STILL makes me very, very angry to this day.

Anyway, when I was a teen I had a boyfriend who was a concert photographer. He took professional, close-up photos at all the big concerts of those days. Any major musician or group you can think of, he was there in the front row with his camera – Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, the Pretenders, David Bowie, the Go-Go’s, Stevie Nicks, Berlin, INXS, Duran Duran, etc. He gave me copies of a lot of the photos that he considered ‘bad,’ but which were really great!

Perhaps inspired my ex-boyfriend, for a while in the ‘80s I was practicing my “concert” photography at some club shows with a very bad disc camera, just to see if I liked taking those types of pictures…

This is Jani Lane of Warrant, who passed away last August:

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/1980s%20Sunset%20Strip%20Band%20Stuff/25437_1303068230547_1645712761_720384_5275201_n-1.jpg



This is Gilby Clarke, who is a former member of Guns N’ Roses and star of CBS’ [I]“Rock Star: Supernova” a few years ago…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/1980s%20Sunset%20Strip%20Band%20Stuff/25536_1307595783733_1645712761_728484_5267594_n-1.jpg



I have found that photography – albeit, amateur photography – is very healing and therapeutic for me. It calms me, relaxes me and yet focuses me, stimulating my brain and imagination. It’s a cathartic way to de-stress and channel my creativity.

Some would say (and have said) that writing is my real forte…I’m not sure what to say about that. I don’t think I agree. Yes, I can write a lot, and if I get on a roll I can probably string some words together on paper that might flow reasonably well. However, quantity (writing a lot) does not necessarily equal quality (interesting reading material). Also, it is more stressful to come up with what to write and how to express it – especially within a certain time frame or deadline - than it is to just lift up a camera and shoot something! Writing is not as cathartic for me as it should be, regardless of how well or how poorly I do it.

Now you all may or may not like any of my pictures. Some photos are hits; some are misses. Some are average; some are boring; some are really good. The thing is that many avid photographers – amateur or professional - will not show you their less-than-perfect photos. They will only show you the ones that came out really fantastic, or the ones that were heavily edited. I, on the other hand, will show you the hits and the misses. I don’t care. This is not an art gallery or a photo exhibit. It’s just for kicks. I don’t have a DSLR camera (yet) so I just play with the camera I have, which is a simple ol’ Canon point & shoot with 100 different complicated features! But it serves me well, my Canon. Most of what makes a great photo comes from our brains or imaginations, anyway. The equipment we use is just the tool that helps us execute our visions.

The important thing to me is that taking pictures – good or bad pictures – is something I love doing and have always loved doing. It brings me a lot of joy. For some reason, I let this hobby fall to the wayside in the late ‘90s and early part of this decade. It was a rough period of time for me, I suppose, and I just kind of gave up on a lot of things I loved doing rather than trying to find comfort in them.

However, when I started making annual trips to Disneyland again in 2007 (after being away from the Land for 5 straight years), that rekindled the spark for me. Since then I have been a picture-taking machine when I am by myself. I find it very difficult to get the sorts of photos I want to get when I am with people. I cannot concentrate when anyone is around me. I have to have a good chunk of time alone to be able to come up with ideas for pictures and spend the necessary time required to compose them to my satisfaction.

Here are some photos I have taken over the last couple of years - many of them recently, when I have just been cruising ‘round the neighborhood…


In this version of this photo I used the Autofix feature on Photobucket, as well as brightened it up a notch or two. However, in another version of it (for my Facebook Timeline cover picture) I punched up the color even more to make it pop off the page…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Farmers%20Market%20-%20The%20Grove%20-%20August%202010/IMG_0543-2.jpg



I Autofixed and Blurred/Softened this one a bit, just for kicks- and it made a rockin’ Facebook Timeline cover picture too!…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Farmers%20Market%20-%20The%20Grove%20-%20August%202010%20-%20Part%202/IMG_0762-1.jpg




Another Autofixed/Blurred photo for the dreaded Timeline cover slot…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Farmers%20Market%20-%20The%20Grove%20-%20August%202010%20-%20Part%202/IMG_0764-1.jpg




Yes, I used this one for Timeline as well! It was Autocorrected (or whatever it is called) in the Canon software. The color was not altered…
http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Nature%20and%20The%20Neighborhood%20-%202010%20-%202011/IMG_2990-A.jpg




Let’s try a photo with a person in it for a change! This is Maria Menounos from “Extra” and “Dancing With the Stars” at The Grove last month, posing with a random girl. The only change I made to this was to wipe out the girl’s face, as I don’t know that she necessarily wants to be seen on a discussion board!

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/IMG_4045-1.jpg




This was taken with my cell phone – I blurred the edges but that’s it. The color was not enhanced in any way – it was exactly that rich in the original photo. The pink is so luscious that it reminds me of cake frosting or candy.

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/img1335199526065-1.jpg




Another cell phone photo, Autofixed…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/img1335199527402-1.jpg





This one (on the Canon) was not edited in any way. I love the juxtaposition of the colors and textures – the red and green leaves against the delicate, almost lacy, flowers and tiny pink bulbs.

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/LACMA%20-%20LA%20BREA%20TAR%20PITS%20-%202012/IMG_4103.jpg




This one was not edited in any way either. It was hard getting this shot, between the flowers swaying in the breeze and the bees that didn’t want to stay put for longer than 2 seconds to let me snap some pictures!

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/LACMA%20-%20LA%20BREA%20TAR%20PITS%20-%202012/IMG_4152.jpg





A sculpture by Rodin at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/LACMA%20-%20LA%20BREA%20TAR%20PITS%20-%202012/IMG_4324.jpg




A creature at the Tar Pits….

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/LACMA%20-%20LA%20BREA%20TAR%20PITS%20-%202012/IMG_4145.jpg





Three of my favorite Catalina photos, circa 2001 & 2002, I think. These were taken on the old 35mm and then scanned, so they needed to be Autofixed…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Catalina%20Through%20the%20Years%20-%201988-2003/scan0011-1.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Catalina%20Through%20the%20Years%20-%201988-2003/scan0038-1.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Catalina%20Through%20the%20Years%20-%201988-2003/scan0024-1-1.jpg





And finally, here are some of my favorite Disneyland Resort photos, which everyone who has followed this TR has seen 150,000 times, but I will throw them in here for the folks who are brand new to this Trip Report…

I Autofixed and blurred the edges of this one from the Grand Californian Hotel…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Grand%20Californian%20Hotel/IMG_2137-1.jpg





The clock on Main Street at dusk (no one was really taking too many pictures of the Main Street clock at that point, back in 2010). I don’t think I did anything to this version except Autofix it…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202010%20-%20Part%203/IMG_1907-1.jpg





I Autofixed this. This was an idea I came up with as a way to put a different spin on the famous Sorcerer’s Hat at the border between the Disneyland Hotel and Downtown Disney. In December 2010, when I took this photo, I had not yet seen any other photos like it – on the DIS or elsewhere.

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202010%20-%20Part%204/IMG_2246-1.jpg





From the Paradise Pier Hotel, 12th floor (December 2010)…a different perspective of California Adventure…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202010%20-%20Part%203/IMG_2076.jpg









So, now that you have seen the photos I wanted to share, and you’ve read the stories I wanted to tell in Parts 1, 2 and 3 of this Pre-Trip Report/Introduction/Background, you know how much Disneyland means to me and why it means so much. You know how much my friends mean to me and why they do. And you know how much Christmas & photography mean to me and why.

Knowing that I would be wrapped up with M and my other friends for at least the first few days of my December 2011 Disneyland Resort holiday trip, it seemed as though I was going to have to put my photo-taking sprees on hold to focus on seeing my friend(s). I had not seen M in 10 years, after all. This bothered me, because I really, really wanted to take a lot of photos, as I did on my December 2010 Disneyland trip. But, as I mentioned, I cannot concentrate when there are people around me and I really need to be able to wander off by myself for hours at a time to make any progress.

However, seeing my friends – since they are basically my family in the absence of real blood relations – was very important to me, and I put that ahead of anything else, no matter how much I wanted to follow my own agenda.

Was it worthwhile to sacrifice what I wanted to do to be with my friends? Well, since I ended up crying on a bench – alone - in California Adventure on the next to last day of my trip, I’ll let you decide! There were some high points. There were some low points. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. It was a weepy, wacky, wonderful trip!






Coming up…the adventure FINALLY BEGINS as I head towards the Happiest Place on Earth on December 4th…

BUT…does the shuttle driver know where he is going? Is he purposely going the wrong way because he is a crazed maniac who is going to kill me? Will I ever make it to Disneyland at all? And does the driver know how to make a mean bowl of spaghetti and meatballs?

All that and more – in the first installment of the Trip Report!! Stay tuned!!

[Sherry E]

I enjoyed the PTR. I don't know if I had seen the picture of the tree at the GCH with the great textured rocks in the foreground. You know that many of the pictures I take at DL are to TRY and get as nice a picture as you do. Greatest form of flattery, right? :thumbsup2

LOVE your flower pictures!

When our travel dollars are tight I will give up anything to still make a trip to DL or WDW. It truly is my Happy Place. It is even more magical at Christmas. The few times I've been solo I have enjoyed being able to people watch, take pictures, and generally wander without any pressure to do what my fellow travelers want to do. Not that I'd give up my family or friends at Disney, it is just fun solo too.

A crazy shuttle driver too??? :drive::drive: Your trips are filled with excitement! Can't wait to hear more details. popcorn::

TK -

Thank you very, very much for the kind words. I really appreciate it. I don't know how good (or not good) any of my photos are - certainly they are not anywhere near the stellar level of photos by the KCmike's, Evad's, WDWFigment's, Elk Grove Chris's and I'm mikey's of this board! - but I know that it brings me happiness to take photos, and I am always thrilled if I can get any of them to come out decently. There are lots of big clunkers in the bunch, so I am in a state of shock if something turns out nicely for a change and it's decent enough to post!:rotfl2::rotfl2:

And again, the photos that appear in the actual TR will all be totally untouched, unedited, raw images - no Autofixing. There's no time for that. If I took the time to Autofix everything in my TR's or edit/fix every single photo I take on a weekly basis, I would never leave the house or get away from this computer! I will play around with certain photos and see what I can do with them for fun, and then I may or may not post them. The majority of them stay as is, as they were originally captured, which means you will see the clunkers and the winners!

The flower photos can be much harder to get than it would seem. If a breeze hits them, they move. If a bug lands on them, they move. If you get too close they can be blurry (and blurry in the bad way, not in the good way). If you are too far away, you can't really get the full impact of the colors.

Hats off to Deej and Bret for being able to finesse the flower photo-taking thing time and time again. I have flower photos (from around the neighborhood) that I've taken over the last few years, and there are only a handful that I would consider good. The ones I posted above are some of the ones that I think are acceptable, for different reasons. But there have been a lot of clunkers in the bunches that I've taken, that's for sure.

You take lots of wonderful photos, TK! I've seen them! That's the other thing - I love looking at everyone else's photos just as much as I like taking them! I love your photos, Deej's photos, Bret's photos, Michele's, Laurie's, Marie's, Molly's, Jessica/Belle Ella's, Liza/funatdisney's....I love 'em all. The quality of most photos these days is so great. The point & shoots are awesome. It always amazes me how creative people can get, or how well they are able to capture a a simple subject or a moment with a particular type of camera, and I am always interested to kind of learn more about the people taking the photos through the sorts of pictures they take. I like seeing what they 'see' when they take photos.

Yes, it is flattering if anyone is influenced by us or tries to replicate/imitate an idea they saw in a photo taken by us! If someone likes a photo you/we/I took enough to want to copy it for themselves, it is definitely flattering. We all - every single one of us - want to know if someone likes any of our pictures. Even just one photo in the bunch. If someone likes it, it is flattering and we want to know! We may not think we are taking anything all that exciting, so if other people find the photos to be interesting, we all want to know...don't we?

Being at Disneyland with people (in my case, friends) vs. being solo are two different things, I find. I love going on rides with people. I much prefer taking silly PhotoPass photos with people over doing it by myself. I much, much prefer enjoying a meal with people. Plus, it's just fun to enjoy the Christmasy or Halloweeny fun with people. It's nice to be able to go on IASW Holiday and point out the little details to other people.

But, if I am going to hunker down and get serious about photos, I have to be solo. This is something I cannot focus on when I am with people. I can't think, I can't concentrate, I can't really hone in on certain things. A couple of weeks ago, I took about 275 photos in just 3-1/2 hours at the La Brea Tar Pits and LACMA. I could not have done that if I'd had people with me. Back in 12/2010, I took 1600-ish photos over 2-1/2 solo days at DLR. I took hundreds of photos at The Grove and Farmers Market back in 2010, just in the course of a few hours.

But, sadly, over the course of 5 days/4 nights at DLR this past December (2011), I think I only got 300+ photos (it was under 400 but more than 350).:( That's not cool with me! That goes to show how distracted I was by the other folks on the trip!





Sigh, that picture of Jani Lane made me sad. What a tragic life he led.



Great update!

Michele -

Thanks! I hope you had time to read everything. I know you said you like to read more than look at the photos, so there was plenty to read.

Jani definitely passed too soon. He was one of the more talented people to emerge from the old Sunset Strip scene, even if his band had to follow a certain formula to get airplay.

[kaoden39]

Yes, Sherry I did. I like reading the post that go with the photos because it completes it.

[PHXscuba]

See Sherry, I knew we were kindred souls! You know how much I love Christmas, but I also love photos -- taking them, viewing them, etc. I am lucky I married a man who is also a photographer. I think we currently own about four cameras, and that doesn't include cell phones or 3 kids with cameras.

I am looking forward to more of your trip report. I actually like a little Christmas in May because it seems like way too long until December comes again.

And -- breaking news -- I think we have settled on going to DLR again next March! :banana: Oddly, it was DH who talked me into going sooner rather than waiting til fall. I am even contemplating a pre-trip report!

PHXscuba

[tksbaskets]

Yes, Sherry I did. I like reading the post that go with the photos because it completes it.

Me too! I love the story behind the picture. :goodvibes

See Sherry, I knew we were kindred souls! You know how much I love Christmas, but I also love photos -- taking them, viewing them, etc. I am lucky I married a man who is also a photographer. I think we currently own about four cameras, and that doesn't include cell phones or 3 kids with cameras.

I am looking forward to more of your trip report. I actually like a little Christmas in May because it seems like way too long until December comes again.

And -- breaking news -- I think we have settled on going to DLR again next March! :banana: Oddly, it was DH who talked me into going sooner rather than waiting til fall. I am even contemplating a pre-trip report!

PHXscuba


Yeah! I can live vicariously through another report :yay:

[Sherry E]

See Sherry, I knew we were kindred souls! You know how much I love Christmas, but I also love photos -- taking them, viewing them, etc. I am lucky I married a man who is also a photographer. I think we currently own about four cameras, and that doesn't include cell phones or 3 kids with cameras.

I am looking forward to more of your trip report. I actually like a little Christmas in May because it seems like way too long until December comes again.

And -- breaking news -- I think we have settled on going to DLR again next March! :banana: Oddly, it was DH who talked me into going sooner rather than waiting til fall. I am even contemplating a pre-trip report!

PHXscuba


PHXscuba -

A pre-trip report! Wow! I don't think you've ever done a trip report or a Pre-TR, have you? Or did I miss something along the way? This is big news! Well, there will be lots to see when you make your next trip. As TK said above, we can live vicariously through your report. Count me in when you get it going! I have no clue what will be happening with any DLR trips I may or may not make this year (I have no specific ideas yet of what I will do for Halloween Time, the holidays or anything else), but I'm sure that by the time your trip rolls around next year I will be needing a DLR trip report fix!

Yes, yes, yes I love taking photos wherever I am - whether it's just walking down the street or stepping outside of my building, or being at Disneyland - and I love looking at other people's photos, in all skill levels (amateur or pro)! We're kindred souls, indeed! I actually get depressed when I can't take the photos I want to take at Disneyland because of a lack of time or whatever. I don't feel complete. I willingly give up rides and things to go off and just spend time taking pictures - which seems crazy to other people - but if I can't get in that time I get bummed out.:rotfl2:

That is my master plan for Catalina in July - as much as I love being in Avalon with friends, and as wonderful as my trips with friends have been there, I need to spend the day by myself, I think, and just go on a mad photo spree to make up for lost time. I will probably pass out through the course of the day, but hopefully I will have gotten many pictures as they carry me off the Island on the stretcher!!

You are very lucky to have married a photographer! What a wonderful family album you must have, full of high quality photos!

Other than the concert photographer boyfriend I had when I was a teen in the '80s, I had another boyfriend back in the late '90s who had been a professional, successful photographer before I knew him and he had given it up for some unknown reason. He even sold his camera. Then, after we stopped seeing each other, he eventually got back into photography years later and now I see that he has a website for his photography services and is apparently a popular photographer of young, beautiful models!:rotfl2: (It figures that he ended up taking pictures of models, but maybe it's good that he was not doing that when we were dating!!:rotfl2:)

[mvf-m11c]

Bret -

I had secretly planned to try to go to DLR for Cars Land's opening, too - just to be there on opening day, as you said - but I doubt it will happen. First of all, it may be too hot for me. I have noticed that lately I have been getting sick after about 3 hours in the sun - and it's not even like Summer sun. So I have a feeling that trying to be at California Adventure in June may be a bad idea for me. But we shall see.

I was not at Disneyland on the day that ToonTown opened in 1993, but was there later that same year. I remember thinking that I'd like to eventually be around on the actual day something premiered.

Maybe instead of doing Disneyland in September you could just do your whole Halloween Disney visit in October, when the party is happening? That way you could see the decorations and the party all in the same trip and save yourself some money in lodging/hotels. Or would that not work for you?

I was already excited for the holiday season to begin at DLR - as I am every year - but I am more excited by the possibilities of Cars Land and Buena Vista Street being decorated too! The only thing I am worried about - and you can relate to this better than anyone, Bret, because you know exactly what I am talking about! - is that Disney/TDA will 'steal' or 'borrow' decorations from other lands to add to BVS or Cars Land.

You know as well as I do, Bret, how decorations keep 'mysteriously' disappearing from New Orleans Square. The trees that we used to like in ToonTown (the bright, colorful trees) have mysteriously vanished and been replaced by hideous plastic trees. What happened to the old ToonTown trees? Were they suddenly put in some other land?

So I am afraid that TDA will decide, "Hey! Let's decorate Cars Land and Buena Vista Street!" And then suddenly there will be even less decor in New Orleans Square, and less in any other place. They will take pieces of things here and there and put them elsewhere, rather than just buying all new decorations for the new lands!

I'm hoping that you might be able to go to Cars Land & BVS on opening day and just say that you were there. It has been fun these last few years going on the opening day or sneak peek for new rides or shows. This one will be the biggest one of them all when they haven't done a new land in 10 years. The weather in mid June is not as bad as I have thought when my DA and I have been going since 2009. Maybe the weather will be nice and you could do a fast trip. It will be really nice to meet you in person.

I see. Thank you for clarifying it. It is always neat to say that you were there the year that Toontown opened.

I was thinking of going back in the first weekend of October since the prices for the hotels are not as bad as the other days in September and mid to late October. I also didn't want to have my Holiday trip in November about inside a month just like last month trips. You know that I was there for the first MHP in 2010 and would like to do another party again, but my DA doesn't want to do MHP after MVMCP at WDW in 2010. So I am thinking of going to do another MHP so I can get a lot of pics that I didn't get on my last MHP trip. I will keep you and everyone informed of what my plans are for the Halloween season.

As you know, I always look forward to the Holiday season at the DLR more then anything else. But you are the best of knowing everything for the Holiday season at the DLR. I am also looking forward to see what Christmas decorations will be at Cars Land this year as well. Just like you, I am also worried of what decorations that Cars Land and BVS will used. I am hoping that they will not use old decorations from the other lands or ideas. We are all hoping that the new decorations will be new and exciting especially for the new lands.

This will be another puzzling year of what decorations will be missing at all the land during the Holiday season. It would be nice to see the light canopies above the alley way of NOS to be up, but I doubt that they will put them back up. Those plastic trees at TT were just so ugly last year after shipping them from MTT at the MK. I wish we would get our old trees back at TT this year, but we will wait and see. Maybe they did get a lot of criticism of those trees last year that they will bring back the old ones at TT.

That will be really bad if they put a lot of money into CL & BVS and forget that NOS and the other places around the DLR need some Holiday decorations. We'll just wait and see when we get in early November and see if they will decorate all parts of the DLR.


I got to read your PTR and I enjoyed it a lot. I always enjoy your TR's and pictures and can't wait to read more from your TR last year.

Just like what you said that it is fun to go solo since you can take as may pictures and do anything you want to do. While when you are with other people, it's all about the rides and getting photos at iconic areas. I have done a lot of solo trips in the past, they are all fun and sometimes not that fun without someone to talk too during a trip. The great thing about solo is that you can take a lot of pics and I have done that with so many places including the construction sites of all the new rides, shows, etc.

[PHXscuba]

My DH is really more of a high-quality amateur, but he used to take engagement and wedding photos of friends, back when we were broke college kids. He uses macro photography in some of his work but it doesn't really apply much to vacation photos. He learned to make iMovies a few years ago and now takes over my computer to make videos of vacations, outings, etc. They turn out really fun but he does go overboard. I guess everyone needs a hobby.;)

Photo tip for anyone reading: If you have more than one adult (or older child) willing to shoot pictures, take two or more cameras. You see things from different perspectives. DD12, DH and I all brought cameras to WDW last fall and we got a great variety of shots.

PHXscuba

[kaoden39]

My DH is really more of a high-quality amateur, but he used to take engagement and wedding photos of friends, back when we were broke college kids. He uses macro photography in some of his work but it doesn't really apply much to vacation photos. He learned to make iMovies a few years ago and now takes over my computer to make videos of vacations, outings, etc. They turn out really fun but he does go overboard. I guess everyone needs a hobby.;)

Photo tip for anyone reading: If you have more than one adult (or older child) willing to shoot pictures, take two or more cameras. You see things from different perspectives. DD12, DH and I all brought cameras to WDW last fall and we got a great variety of shots.

PHXscuba


I couldn't agree more. We have done that and I think we will do it again this trip. I love to see what other people love about the parks. I think this is why I love the boards so much.

[mariezp]

Hi Sherry! I finally made it back! I confess that I was in temporary lurker mode there for awhile but even still I have been scanning to see if you had anything new. Now that you provided us with some new details it looks like I am going to have to speak up and let you know how much I enjoyed your latest installment.

First, I hope that the switch to the new servers did not wipe out too many of your links. What a pain in the behind that would be!

Second, I do want to add my name to the list of those who think you should be a writer. You do have quite a talent for spinning a story and obviously work hard to keep it interesting. And, of course, if some day you don’t end up being a famous writer I still think you would be excellent doing PR for Disneyland! And, if not PR work who knows maybe someday you could become one of the Photopass photographers and you could spend your days taking photos all day long. I know. Somehow I doubt it would it would hardly be the same.

Anyhoo….. moving right along with additional comments… I am utterly amazed again when you were talking about your November 2001 trip. I cannot imagine M leaving you stuck with the entire bill! If my memory recalls correctly you also mentioned that on this trip she was also not too forthcoming with her share of the bill. From what you have shared with us so far she appears to be someone who tends to lean towards being just a little bit self-absorbed. No? Shame on her!


The bottom line is that I love all holidays despite not having any money to spend or family with whom to share the occasion. I dare say that I might actually enjoy holidays more than many other people do because I don’t have the same pressures that other people have as far as needing to buy this or cook that, or give this present to that person, etc. I can enjoy the holidays with no pressure at all, really, other than feeling like I am expected to be doing these things by other people, or feeling like I should be doing certain things. I can definitely see where you in some ways do have an advantage over some people in this respect. There are many times when people get so wrapped up in all those pressures you mention that they really do fail to benefit from the real joy of the occasion. Kuddos to you at having adapted so well over the years and making the holidays your own by celebrating them in your own special way. BTW I love the giant Mickey and the Weebles set!

I also love you attitude about picture taking. Obviously, there are many who are better at taking pictures than some of us (me, me, me!). However, just because some of us (me, me, me!) don’t have the same talent does not mean we enjoy it any less. Personally, I could take pictures at the park all day long and love every minute of it. However, I do not have the patience to deal with learning settings and learning what it takes to take fantastic photos. In the meantime, I am fairly satisfied with the photos I do take and am happy to gaze in admiration upon photos from other photographers who far surpass me with their superior picture taking skills. I totally agree with you that whether the photos we find here on the DIS be amateur or professional they can ALL still bring us a lot of joy as we share our unique visions and the love we have for Disneyland. Speaking of pics…. Love those poppin timeline flowers and the Catalina photos! And, I can honestly say that your Grand Californian Hotel shot and the Main Street Clock at Dusk are a couple of my all time favorites.

Can’t wait to read more in the continuing saga! Knowing your luck I can well imagine what sort of cab driver you got stuck with!!!




And one last response from way back when….
Ooh sounds fun!! Do you have a trip report? I hope you all have a wonderful time!! Michele, if you haven’t stopped in by now I DO have a trip report from our 2011 Disneyland trip. It would be the Amtrak link in my siggie. I am currently working on new plans for 2012 which will include Thanksgiving in the park. Boy am I ready to go! And if you want to come on over I started a pre-trip report today. Not much happening yet but with 6 months to go I am bound to come up with something! Stop in and say hi!

[Sherry E]

I only have a quick second to pop in so I don't have time to fully reply to Bret & Marie, etc. but I wanted to say hi, Marie!

I wasn't sure if you were still out there because you never spoke up about Part #2 - the installment all about M and how we met, etc. I didn't know if you had caught it, but it was integral to how things will unfold with her on the DLR TR from December so hopefully you caught it!

Thanks for the nice comments about the writing and how I should be a writer and all that. The thing is, it's too pressure-filled for me. It doesn't bring me joy often enough. Sometimes we might be good at something but it doesn't necessarily make us happy. Know what I mean? Someone might be good at sewing but they don't necessarily want to be stuck doing it.

As I said, I've been hooked on taking pictures since my grandmother put a camera in my tiny hands back when I was 3 or 4 years old, and we were near the top of the Space Needle. I always, always wanted to take photos and I used to drive all of my friends nuts with my picture-taking. I just let it get away from me for a while, which I shouldn't have done.

But the last few years, I've been walking all around the neighborhood, snapping away, taking photos of flowers in neighbors' yards and bushes and other things. I can spend days on end in Disneyland snapping away, without ever going on any rides. It's something that de-stresses me, whereas writing stresses me out.

I suppose that, ideally, my perfect job would be a photojournalist - that way I could write and take photos all the same time! But really, writing is not my main interest, whether or not I am any good at it.


Good Lord - you guys who are starting your DLR pre-TR's 6 and 7 months early are too much! I'm still trying to get through this TR from December, and you guys are already working on your TR's for the holiday season!:rotfl2:

Cut the slowpoke some slack, will ya?

[kaoden39]

But Sherry!!!


I am happiest when I am planning my trips.

[tksbaskets]

But Sherry!!!


I am happiest when I am planning my trips.

:goodvibes

[deejdigsdis]

Wow...so much to catch up on! :yay:

I don't have time to comment on everything right now, but...I was just on Google Images, looking up Halloweentime Castle pics and I came across 2 of your pics that had NOTHING to do with Halloween. :rotfl: They were 2 you recently posted...you at Christmastime with the tall Mickey, and you with your Disneyland Weebles set. Anyway, I just thought it was funny!

More later...

[Sherry E]

Wow...so much to catch up on! :yay:

I don't have time to comment on everything right now, but...I was just on Google Images, looking up Halloweentime Castle pics and I came across 2 of your pics that had NOTHING to do with Halloween. :rotfl: They were 2 you recently posted...you at Christmastime with the tall Mickey, and you with your Disneyland Weebles set. Anyway, I just thought it was funny!

More later...

Helllllllllooooo, deej!!

That is funny and weird - yes, those two pictures were in this most recent Pre-TR installment from just a few days ago! And they were specifically in the "Disney-Christmas" connection part of the post.

The same thing has happened to me with other folks' photos too. One time - about 2 or 3 years ago - I was in Yahoo Images, not Google. I cannot recall exactly which word combination I typed in, but it was something having to do with Halloween or Christmas and Disneyland. When I got to the thumbnail results page, I noticed a whole bunch of photos from fellow DIS'er prettyprincessbelle (Courtney) were displayed, but they were not all Halloween or holiday-specific photos.

Of course I have no clue how Google or Yahoo find their images, but it seems like maybe they do a super fast scan of the Internet for any recent posts/activity using keywords like "Halloween" or "Christmas" and if there is any kind of an image/photo connected to the page they found, they will show the thumbnails, even if the pictures have nothing to do with the actual keywords.

Because I mentioned Halloween in the same post with the pictures of the Weebles set and the life-sized Mickey (when I was talking about my love of holidays), and I have mentioned Halloween Time in my TR, when you searched for the Halloween Castle pictures Google Images just went to the most recent references to Halloween - that also had images with them - within the context of Disney...and came up with the images that were in my post that also mentioned Halloween!:rotfl2::rotfl2:

Or...perhaps they scanned for recent activity from people who have posted about Halloween Time a lot on the Web, and somehow ended up with me (because of the Superthread and all of those references) and my own TR.:rotfl2:

It is very misleading, though - I wish there was a way for Google Images to actually show only what people are looking for and not all this other crazy stuff.

I think I was searching for some kind of holiday images/graphics on the Internet not too long ago, and I got to a page that showed me a photo of some actress that had nothing to do with what I was looking for.

Anyway, I look forward to hearing from you later!

I still have to go back and take another look at Bret's post and Marie's post to see what, if anything, I need to reply to!

[sarahk0204]

Helllllllllooooo, deej!!

That is funny and weird - yes, those two pictures were in this most recent Pre-TR installment from just a few days ago! And they were specifically in the "Disney-Christmas" connection part of the post.

The same thing has happened to me with other folks' photos too. One time - about 2 or 3 years ago - I was in Yahoo Images, not Google. I cannot recall exactly which word combination I typed in, but it was something having to do with Halloween or Christmas and Disneyland. When I got to the thumbnail results page, I noticed a whole bunch of photos from fellow DIS'er prettyprincessbelle (Courtney) were displayed, but they were not all Halloween or holiday-specific photos.

Of course I have no clue how Google or Yahoo find their images, but it seems like maybe they do a super fast scan of the Internet for any recent posts/activity using keywords like "Halloween" or "Christmas" and if there is any kind of an image/photo connected to the page they found, they will show the thumbnails, even if the pictures have nothing to do with the actual keywords.

Because I mentioned Halloween in the same post with the pictures of the Weebles set and the life-sized Mickey (when I was talking about my love of holidays), and I have mentioned Halloween Time in my TR, when you searched for the Halloween Castle pictures Google Images just went to the most recent references to Halloween - that also had images with them - within the context of Disney...and came up with the images that were in my post that also mentioned Halloween!:rotfl2::rotfl2:

Or...perhaps they scanned for recent activity from people who have posted about Halloween Time a lot on the Web, and somehow ended up with me (because of the Superthread and all of those references) and my own TR.:rotfl2:

It is very misleading, though - I wish there was a way for Google Images to actually show only what people are looking for and not all this other crazy stuff.

I think I was searching for some kind of holiday images/graphics on the Internet not too long ago, and I got to a page that showed me a photo of some actress that had nothing to do with what I was looking for.


Actually I read recently that those search engines rely heavily on what pages/images had been previously searched for on one's computer. What I read was an essay by a researcher who had trouble doing searches on a particular topic because the search engine kept giving her articles that SHE had written. So, in the same way, searches by DISers result in images, etc. by DISers (although apparently sometimes unrelated to the search topic.)

[WDWJonasGirl]

I love your TR Sherry!!

[Sherry E]

Hey, everyone! I have not forgotten to reply and to continue on with this TR!

However, this is just a quick drive-by pop-in for a specific reason.

For those of you who are photo-obsessed (as you all now know that I am) and who have Photobucket accounts, you may find this interesting:

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/California%20Adventure%20-%20Christmas%20Decorations/024_2-1.jpg

I took this photo at DCA back in October 2008, if I recall correctly, and left some space on the side of it for some odd reason. Well, now Mr. Potato Head has a new little friend because she fit perfectly in that space!:rotfl2:

Yes! Photobucket has just added in a Disney Parks effects tab under the Edit section of each photo. I have no clue how long they will leave the Disney Parks stuff there. If you recall, I had great fun enhancing a few photos with the "Holiday Effects" last year - but they removed the holiday effects before Christmas Day (which made no sense to me).

For all I know, Photobucket could remove the Disney Parks section in a week, so if you want to play with some of the effects and have fun with your photos, hurry!

(The Potato Head photo was my first try - I have not tried the other effects on other photos yet.)

[Sherry E]

In addition to the Disney Parks Photobucket edit I did on the Potato Head photo above, I also did a little tinkering with these and gave us all some headgear!:



(from December 2009)

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Best%20PhotoPass%20Holiday%20Photos/Image0294-1.jpg





(from this past December 2011)

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3625-1.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3806-1.jpg

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%202/IMG_3973-1.jpg

[tksbaskets]

Very cool!!

[kaoden39]

Oh that is cute!

[Sherry E]

TK & Michele -

To be honest, my very first thought last night (after I noticed the Disney Parks section on Photobucket) was, "I have to post something on Facebook and in my TR right away, so my DIS friends and Disney-oriented friends will see it and be able to get in there and edit their photos before the effects disappear!":rotfl2:

I am so paranoid now, after seeing that Photobucket inexplicably removed their holiday effects before Christmas Day last year, that I keep thinking that the Disney Effects will only be in Photobucket for a day or two and then vanish into thin air.

I hope other folks will be able to have the chance to play around with some of the effects on their photos before everything disappears - although, quite frankly, there is a really pitiful selection of Disney effects. There were many more fun holiday things to play with than there are Disney effects. But...we take what we get, I suppose.

Just putting the Mickey ears on people is great fun in and of itself!:rotfl2: You can make the ears small or large, depending on the proportions of the heads in the pictures (in other words, big ol' head or tiny li'l head!:rotfl2:). You can tilt the ears to the left or right, depending on if the head in question is tilted. The Goofy ears are harder to work with. That hat doesn't really look right on anyone's head, but the Mickey ears work on almost everyone.

There is also a little "fireworks" effect, which kind of looks like pixie dist, that can spruce up some nighttime photos here and there. And there are a couple of other things, but it's really limited.

[tksbaskets]

TK & Michele -

To be honest, my very first thought last night (after I noticed the Disney Parks section on Photobucket) was, "I have to post something on Facebook and in my TR right away, so my DIS friends and Disney-oriented friends will see it and be able to get in there and edit their photos before the effects disappear!":rotfl2:

I am so paranoid now, after seeing that Photobucket inexplicably removed their holiday effects before Christmas Day last year, that I keep thinking that the Disney Effects will only be in Photobucket for a day or two and then vanish into thin air.

I hope other folks will be able to have the chance to play around with some of the effects on their photos before everything disappears - although, quite frankly, there is a really pitiful selection of Disney effects. There were many more fun holiday things to play with than there are Disney effects. But...we take what we get, I suppose.

Just putting the Mickey ears on people is great fun in and of itself!:rotfl2: You can make the ears small or large, depending on the proportions of the heads in the pictures (in other words, big ol' head or tiny li'l head!:rotfl2:). You can tilt the ears to the left or right, depending on if the head in question is tilted. The Goofy ears are harder to work with. That hat doesn't really look right on anyone's head, but the Mickey ears work on almost everyone.

There is also a little "fireworks" effect, which kind of looks like pixie dist, that can spruce up some nighttime photos here and there. And there are a couple of other things, but it's really limited.

I LOVE the Mickey ears. :earboy2: I think of you and Deej every time I look at my calendar. DISers are the best for passing along fun. Not like I need any more excuses to be on-line :goodvibes

[Sherry E]

I have been waving the Disney Parks effects wand over some photos again, and giving some ears where there were not any before!



In this photo from December 1993, the ears work better on my head than on M’s head (her hair seems to be too big and the ears look too wide!):

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Character%20Photos%20-%20Disneyland%20Resort/7816_1164458045379_1645712761_411164_1862891_n-1.jpg




Summer 1994 (I added in Tinkerbell too!):

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Character%20Photos%20-%20Disneyland%20Resort/7816_1164489646169_1645712761_411302_2775744_n-1.jpg





From 2007 (DLR Rainforest Café):

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/SHERRYHEATHERSHAWNJACKIE-RAINFOREST-1.jpg





From October 2009 – Look very, very, very closely at this PhotoPass picture – look in the background; look at the borders. Are we three the only ones wearing ears??:

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Image0295-1.jpg





From this past December 2011, in DTD (this is M):

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3794-1.jpg






And here are some more of my recent favorite flower photos (not from DLR) – which I’m throwing in just because I’ve told you all how I take photos all the time, as I am walking through the neighborhood. I will stop in front of trees and bushes to take pictures until I get some shots that I like! These were not altered at all, in any way (not even Autofixed):


These are all over the place – outside of LACMA and the Tar Pits, these bushes give vibrant pops of color in random places along the block:

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/LACMA%20-%20LA%20BREA%20TAR%20PITS%20-%202012/IMG_4345.jpg




http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Nature%20and%20The%20Neighborhood%20-%202010%20-%202011/IMG_4382.jpg




I love the way the sun is backlighting this picture – generally it is not a good idea to shoot into the sun or towards the sun, but in this case I wanted to because this is the effect I was trying to get, more or less…

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Nature%20and%20The%20Neighborhood%20-%202010%20-%202011/IMG_4374.jpg




I absolutely adore this photo – I love the way the flowers are cascading & billowing downward. I love the lighting. I love the different levels of pink. This is my current Facebook Timeline cover picture.

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Nature%20and%20The%20Neighborhood%20-%202010%20-%202011/IMG_4371.jpg






I love my neighborhood! You can literally walk down one street and it feels like you’re in Arizona, with various cactus flowers, rock gardens and Southwestern color schemes. And then you turn the corner onto another block and it feels like you’re in the South of France…or in Mississippi, with bountiful, bright bougainvilleas everywhere, and the smell of honeysuckle and jasmine in the air.

[tksbaskets]

Great job with the photobucket effects. I was reminded of the 'find the differences' when I was counting the ears in the halloween picture. FUN!

[deejdigsdis]

Love the Disney effects! Hopefully I will have a chance to try some out before they yank it away. Life is busy.

Great job on the photos of the flowers. So pretty! I think I like the cascading, billowing pink flowers the best. It's hard to choose.

Can't wait until you start the next section of your TR! My sister is heading to DL in a few days, so I have Disneyland on my mind a lot right now. Oh...I'm realizing I haven't commented on the last official pre-portion of the TR. Hopefully I will have a few more moments to do that later.

[mvf-m11c]

Vey nice effects of your photos. That is a lot of Mickey ears on your Halloween pic.

I enjoyed all of your photos from those different years.

[kaoden39]

Sherry, you are loving the photo effects aren't you? I think maybe I will spend sometime playing with them tomorrow.

[PHXscuba]

OK, Sherry, the Halloween picture is just over the top!! I'm surprised you weren't putting mouse ears on the flowers after that!!

It's 103 here today; I'd love me some more Christmas trip report to cool me down!

PHXscuba

[Sherry E]

TK, Deej, Bret, Michele and PHXscuba –





I'm glad that everyone is enjoying the Disney Parks effects (I think?)! I hope you all get a chance to play around with some of your old and new pictures and add in a few 'enhancements' here and there! :rotfl2:

The thing is, there are probably just a handful of photos where the effects work reallllllly well, or where you can get the effects to appear exactly as you want them. But in order to find those perfect photos where everything just 'works,' you have to go through a lot of attempts first - or kiss a lot of frogs until you get to the princes in the bunch! And, also, experiment with really old and really new photos. That's what I am discovering anyway.

I don't know how many more of these I will do because I don't have the time for it and because my PC hates Photobucket. I don't want to miss out on that possible perfect photo that is just begging for some Disney Parks effects because I stop testing them out and then Photobucket yanks the effects away. But I plan on throwing some ears on my grandmother in one of my Disneyland 1972 pictures! :rotfl2:

Oh, about the Halloween picture with all the ears. First of all, I love it! I thought it was hysterical putting in the ears where you wouldn't expect to be looking for them. My mistake was in actually telling you guys that there were other ears! It lessened the impact. I should have kept quiet and just waited to see if anyone noticed them!

Let me explain my thought process on the Halloween picture. The ghosts in the corner already had ears - those ears came with the PhotoPass Halloween border. So I began thinking, "Well, gee, if the ghosts already have ears then the pumpkins should have them too." So I gave 2 of the pumpkins at the bottom their ears.

And then, when I was putting the ears on our heads in that same photo - which was my original plan - I thought, "Hmmm...I wonder how small I can make these ears?" Then it became a challenge to discover exactly how teeny I could get the ears to be, and I realized they would fit on the heads of 2 of the people in the background. So I thought it would be funny to add them on the heads of random strangers who just happened to be in my picture - as if to imply that everyone wears ears at Disneyland!





PHX - If the flowers had been in the same Disneyland photo with us, they might have gotten the ear treatment too! :lmao:






Here’s another version of the photo I previously showed you, from December 1993 – this time I took the ears off of M, because they didn’t look right on her head, and I put them on Tinkerbell! By the way, you can make Tinkerbell any size – she can be teeny or she can be gigantic or anywhere in between!

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Character%20Photos%20-%20Disneyland%20Resort/7816_1164458045379_1645712761_411164_1862891_n-2.jpg




From October 2009 –

I added the Hitchhiking Ghost border and a red skull & crossbones in the upper right corner (the skull is not part of the Disney Parks effects), because I associate skulls and crossbones with Pirates and because Captain Hook wears red!:

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/IMG_0124-1.jpg



This one has several effects…

I used the Ghost border (because we were in the Haunted Mansion Holiday queue, and because he’s got his THUMB out, like the ladies also do!). I added in Tinkerbell (because Shawn does not like Tinkerbell! Hee hee.). I added in random pink & orange butterflies (because Shawn loves butterflies and because her shirt was orange and Bridgette’s was pink). And then I stuck in a random pumpkin down in the corner – just because there are pumpkins behind them!

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/IMG_0119-1.jpg





From this past December 2011 –

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3788-1.jpg




I saved the best for last! This picture has been a BIG hit with friends so far. I, of course, added a Disney Parks border. I, of course, added in Tinkerbell (by request).

But then – I did a layering effect! That’s right! I took the separate pixie dust effect that is in the Disney Parks effects section – it’s separate from the Tinkerbell effect – and I kept adding in and layering the effect on top of itself, changing the size to make the pixie dust ‘particles’ alternately smaller and larger and filling in other spaces in the photo. It actually took a bit of time (and dealing with a stupid computer) to get it the way I wanted it.

So Tinkerbell is essentially ‘making it rain’ pixie dust on my friends!!! And now I am taking requests for photos to make over!! Lol.

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx120/Mousesausage67/Disneyland%20-%20December%202011%20-%20Part%201/IMG_3804-1.jpg





Anyway, I just wanted to show you a good variety of photos – some older and some newer – to illustrate the different range of Disney Parks effects and the different ways you can use them by changing the size, layering, moving them to select spots in the photos, tilting ears this way or that way, editing existing PhotoPass borders, etc.

You can get very creative with it (I'm sure Deejdigsdis would have some great ideas of how to use these borders, if she can find the time to play with them!) Again, I only wish that Photobucket offered more effects to play with!





More December 2011 TR coming up! The next installment will explain my arrival at the PPH after riding with a shuttle driver who I thought was going the wrong way so he could shuffle me off to a remote location and kill me! (He didn't, by the way...just in case you hadn't figured that out by now. ;))


Deej, I look forward to your other comments!

[Sherry E]

I think you guys won't have to sit through anymore Disney Parks effects photos (the batch I posted above^^ are the last ones I shared) because, from what I can tell, it appears that Photobucket has already yanked the Disney Parks effects from its editing line-up! At least, when I went into Photobucket today for a totally different reason, I didn't see the Disney Parks box. They appear to be gone. I don't know if they are gone from everyone's accounts or if Photobucket just kind of rolls them out to people in stages to try them out, and we might not all have them at the same time??:confused3

That's why I had to whip a bunch of effects pictures out when I had the chance - I just knew the Disney parks stuff would disappear in the blink of an eye and it did! So whenever you are in your Photobucket account and you happen to notice an extra editing feature that you didn't see before - start using it fast, before it vanishes!

Too bad, though, because I had a couple more ears pictures I was going to do for other friends - one of the pictures was perfect for some ears and some pixie dust - but I didn't have the time to get to it and now it's too late!

Darn that Photobucket!

[kaoden39]

Well, that stinks but I got this fun app on my phone that I can add the effects before I take the picture! It is a Disney app so I am going to have a bit of fun with it!

[mvf-m11c]

I'm sorry to hear about that Sherry. I really did enjoy all of your Disney park photo effect on Phtobucket.

[Sherry E]

Bret -

Thank you! It's no big deal in the long run, but it's so annoying when Photobucket puts these limited edition edits up, doesn't really announce that they are there so that people can use them and then, once we have noticed they are there, they take them away without warning!:headache: They did that with both the holiday effects last year and the Disney Parks effects. Who knows how many other limited edition effects they have put up that I've missed because I didn't know they were there?

The editing and application of certain effects is more just something to 'play' with for me. It's just a way of seeing if I can create different versions of the same photos, which works well if you send out greeting cards, make projects like calendars, make posters or other things.

But, just for the purposes of trip reports and actually reporting on a Disneyland trip, I don't use edited photos. I use the regular ol' photos as they were taken, good or bad. (Although I don't bother sharing the photos that are extremely blurry, to the point of not being able to see/identify the subject!)




Michele -

That app sounds fun! I look forward to seeing the results of your Disney pictures. I remember that Marie had/has some sort of special Disney camera that applied character images onto photos when they were taken. Your app sounds similar to that (though there may be more than just characters that you can add). In fact, I think they still sell those cameras in Disneyland, but I never got one.

I don't have the sort of phone where you can add all kinds of apps to it. If I did have one I might get that same app for novelty's sake, but I find that I really like the editing process. I like the post-processing of basic photos. I like to work with different effects to try to create different results after the photo has already been taken. I like to try different effects together; tilt ears to this angle or that; make things larger or smaller; layer effects on top of each other; punch up the colors or crop in certain spots; soften/blur certain things; find the perfect location within a photo to add the effect; lighten or darken certain areas, etc., etc. I like using the actual keyboard and mouse to manipulate the images and effects.

[WDWJonasGirl]

I'm back Sherry. I turned 17 today!!

[mariezp]

Hi Sherry! I finally got a chance to pop on and see what's new. Love all your photos with the special effects. Bet you did have fun playing around with them. I missed my chance since they are already gone. Boy, you gotta be fast! I also loved your flower photos. You sure must have a lovely neighborhood.

Looking forward to seeing what you have in store for us next.




Well, that stinks but I got this fun app on my phone that I can add the effects before I take the picture! It is a Disney app so I am going to have a bit of fun with it! Do tell! What's the name of this fun little app?

[WDWJonasGirl]

Those pictures are really good. I wish I could do this.

[kaoden39]

Hi Sherry! I finally got a chance to pop on and see what's new. Love all your photos with the special effects. Bet you did have fun playing around with them. I missed my chance since they are already gone. Boy, you gotta be fast! I also loved your flower photos. You sure must have a lovely neighborhood.

Looking forward to seeing what you have in store for us next.




Do tell! What's the name of this fun little app?


It is called Disney Parks Let The Memories Begin. I got it in the google app store for android.

[Sherry E]

I'm back Sherry. I turned 17 today!!

Hi there, Kaitlin!

I'm very glad you're back!:cool1:

I'm so sorry it took me this long to wish you a happy birthday - but a very belated Happy Birthday to you!!!!!:wizard: I hope it was a great day for you and that you had fun. I remember when I turned 17 (100 years ago). It was a fun time in life.



Hi Sherry! I finally got a chance to pop on and see what's new. Love all your photos with the special effects. Bet you did have fun playing around with them. I missed my chance since they are already gone. Boy, you gotta be fast! I also loved your flower photos. You sure must have a lovely neighborhood.

Looking forward to seeing what you have in store for us next.

Do tell! What's the name of this fun little app?

Hi Marie!

Thank you! My neighborhood - and many of the surrounding residential streets within a mile or two radius - is full of all kinds of interesting flowers, gardens and front yards, but you have to be on the lookout for these things and not just kind of zooming by them in a hurry to really notice! I will go out to run typical errands and sometimes I will alter my route a bit, choosing to walk down a different street here and there. That's how I stumble upon a lot of these flowers.

A few weeks ago, I had to run out for an emergency mission to get a cheap coffee maker after my old one died (I cannot be without a coffee maker). I went to a store I don't usually shop at just to get the best deal. This allowed me to walk past my usual destinations and onto a couple of side streets I am less familiar with. One street had some interesting front yards, with cactus, rock gardens and colored glass, and then another street had the flowers I showed you on the previous page (the cascading pink ones, etc.). It was a bounty of flowers! I did not have my real camera with me that day - only the cell phone camera - but I knew I wanted to get pictures with the camera.

So, the following week, on Mother's Day, I marched myself back down to that one street with the bounty o' flowers (over a mile away) and took photos. I was hoping the flowers had not changed in appearance too much. That tends to happen - I'll see a gorgeous rose with a vibrant, rich color one week and then the next week that same rose has lost some petals and looks haggard!:rotfl2: Fortunately, these particular flowers looked just about the same.

I do take pictures of many other things besides flowers when I am out walking to and fro, but beautiful flowers are always a big hit.

As for the effects pictures - I'm glad you enjoyed them! I don't know what the deal is with Photobucket. I have no idea why they offer some really cool effects - like the holiday effects from last year and these Disney Parks ones - and then pull them just a week or two later!

First of all, as far as I know, Photobucket never announced that they were offering Disney Parks effects. I checked their Facebook page just to be sure, and I saw no mention of Disney Parks effects for the last month.

So how was anyone to know that there were Disney Parks effects there, unless you just happened to be in the editing section and saw the small Disney Parks box? That's what happened to me - I think I was going in to crop a picture because it had a little too much space on the end, and I just happened to notice that there was suddenly a Disney Parks box.

A week later that same box was gone!:confused3

I assume that Disney and Photobucket must have had an agreement to offer the Disney Parks effects only for a certain period of time - and it is all in conjunction with the current Share the Memories promo/campaign that Disney has been pushing. But, really...only a week or two at the most? And no announcement about it? How odd!

At least the holiday effects stayed up on Photobucket for a few weeks last year, BUT they mysteriously disappeared right before the major holiday they were celebrating - Christmas! What sense does that make? Wouldn't people want to use some of their Christmas photos with the holiday effects?

In any case, my advice to anyone who edits photos on Photobucket (and they have a new editing feature that is more professional than the last one they had) is that if you suddenly notice a new or special option for edits that you have not seen before, and you like it, start using it immediately and get those effects on as many photos as you possibly can right away, because the option could be gone in a week!

I did see one thread on the other side of the DIS (the WDW side, but I can't recall which forum) that was about the Photobucket effects. A DIS'er was asking if anyone else had noticed that there were Disney Parks effects in Photobucket, and she showed an example of one of her pictures. (She actually used a fireworks effect that I never got a chance to use - because it did not look right with any photo I tried it on!) There were a few replies and then it stopped. I am guessing that the effects disappeared before anyone else got to do anything with them.

I was really starting to get the hang of working with the different intricacies of editing the effects - adjusting the sizes, figuring out the exact placement within the photos, layering one effect on top of itself or on top of another effect, using the effects on PhotoPass pictures that already had borders and effects, etc. - and then it was all taken away from me in the blink of an eye!:confused::rotfl2:



Those pictures are really good. I wish I could do this.

Kaitlin -

Thank you! You could definitely do it if Photobucket had not removed the Disney Parks option. It takes a minute to get used to the effects and learn exactly how to size them/layer them/use them to where they will be most effective, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy - and fun to go through your pictures and try to find the ones where the effects are a perfect fit (not all of them are).

[Sherry E]

I just wanted to let you all know that you will be able to hear me (thrilling, isn't it?;);)) on an upcoming DIS Unplugged podcast that is slated to air on or around June 7th, I believe (I could be wrong on the date, but I think it's something like that)! DIS Unplugged is on 'the other side of the board,' with all of the WDW stuff, but Tom (ImTooExcitedToSleep) has a sticky on our Disneyland forum with information on the different podcasts, etc.

For this particular podcast, there was a roundtable discussion with 3 members of the podcast team, Mary Jo, myself - and 4 other people. (Listen to find out who!) We were mainly discussing The DIS itself and not so much the parks, although there was a little bit of park talk sprinkled in here and there.

We gave shout outs to many people, including the Divas, the fabulous photographers on the Picture of the Day thread and others.

At one point we were talking about the good friends we've made and people we have met in person, so I specifically mentioned Marie (mariezp), Laurie (DizNee Luver), Molly (bumbershoot - who seems to have vanished from my TR altogether), and Jessica (Belle Ella). Actually, I mentioned bumbershoot a couple of times in the whole discussion, but you'll have to listen to the podcast when it runs to find out where!

I wanted to mention many other people too (like deejdigsdis, TK, Bret, Michele and some other folks who are friends but I have not met them yet - like Kerri/pixiewings71) - but I was trying to keep it mainly at the people I have met in person.

Anyway, stay tuned for that...coming next week.


Also, on Monday (June 4th) or perhaps just before, I should find out if I was selected for the AP preview of Cars Land, etc., which will be held on June 11th. I am not doing the paid event that is being offered to AP holders and D23 people. I am just waiting to see if I get selected for the 'free' preview. I think I will be. So...if I am picked that means I will have to figure out who to give my other 5 spots to. I was going to give 2 of them to Bret and his DA, but he is doing the paid AP event before June 11th. I want to make sure to pick people who are not going to be previewing DCA in any other way.

Oh, and - for those of you who have not yet seen a lot of photos of the new Mad T Party at DCA - it looks awesome. I had NO interest in ElecTRONica at all, but the Mad T Party might lure me in. Jessica/Belle Ella has taken some amazing, amazing photos of this event (hundreds of pictures) - primarily, the trippy, psychedelic-looking band that performs (which, coincidentally, looks like it would have fit right into the club scene on the Sunset Strip back in the glam metal heyday of the '80s!:rotfl2:). I wish she would post some of her 'concert photos' here on The DIS, because they are too good to not be seen!

[deejdigsdis]

I just wanted to let you all know that you will be able to hear me (thrilling, isn't it?;);)) on an upcoming DIS Unplugged podcast that is slated to air on or around June 7th, I believe (I could be wrong on the date, but I think it's something like that)! DIS Unplugged is on 'the other side of the board,' with all of the WDW stuff, but Tom (ImTooExcitedToSleep) has a sticky on our Disneyland forum with information on the different podcasts, etc.

For this particular podcast, there was a roundtable discussion with 3 members of the podcast team, Mary Jo, myself - and 4 other people. (Listen to find out who!) We were mainly discussing The DIS itself and not so much the parks, although there was a little bit of park talk sprinkled in here and there.

We gave shout outs to many people, including the Divas, the fabulous photographers on the Picture of the Day thread and others.

At one point we were talking about the good friends we've made and people we have met in person, so I specifically mentioned Marie (mariezp), Laurie (DizNee Luver), Molly (bumbershoot - who seems to have vanished from my TR altogether), and Jessica (Belle Ella). Actually, I mentioned bumbershoot a couple of times in the whole discussion, but you'll have to listen to the podcast when it runs to find out where!

I wanted to mention many other people too (like deejdigsdis, TK, Bret, Michele and some other folks who are friends but I have not met them yet - like Kerri/pixiewings71) - but I was trying to keep it mainly at the people I have met in person.

Anyway, stay tuned for that...coming next week.


Also, on Monday (June 4th) or perhaps just before, I should find out if I was selected for the AP preview of Cars Land, etc., which will be held on June 11th. I am not doing the paid event that is being offered to AP holders and D23 people. I am just waiting to see if I get selected for the 'free' preview. I think I will be. So...if I am picked that means I will have to figure out who to give my other 5 spots to. I was going to give 2 of them to Bret and his DA, but he is doing the paid AP event before June 11th. I want to make sure to pick people who are not going to be previewing DCA in any other way.

Oh, and - for those of you who have not yet seen a lot of photos of the new Mad T Party at DCA - it looks awesome. I had NO interest in ElecTRONica at all, but the Mad T Party might lure me in. Jessica/Belle Ella has taken some amazing, amazing photos of this event (hundreds of pictures) - primarily, the trippy, psychedelic-looking band that performs (which, coincidentally, looks like it would have fit right into the club scene on the Sunset Strip back in the glam metal heyday of the '80s!:rotfl2:). I wish she would post some of her 'concert photos' here on The DIS, because they are too good to not be seen!

Sherry, that is awesome! Can't wait to tune in. Keep us posted on your status of the AP preview. I need to go back and re-read your 3rd installment of the Pre-TR so I can remember what I was going to comment on! :rotfl:

[tksbaskets]

How fun that you'll be doing a podcast. Please let us know when we can go and listen. I'm sure it will be an enjoyable listen :thumbsup2

It will be fun to put a voice with the words :goodvibes Some day I hope our schedule collide and we can meet in person at our Happy Place. You know so many DISers by screenname there is no way you can mention them all. I think your threshold was just perfect.

Now I have to go and stalk Jessica/Belle Ella for the Mad Hatter pictures. I'm always curious!

TK

[DizNee Luver]

:wave2:

[Belle Ella]

Hi, Sherry!! :thumbsup2

Now I have to go and stalk Jessica/Belle Ella for the Mad Hatter pictures. I'm always curious!

I've only posted them on my Facebook/Tumblr/Instagram so far. I'm debating writing a review but I'm too lazy. I will add some photos though.

[mvf-m11c]

I just wanted to let you all know that you will be able to hear me (thrilling, isn't it?;);)) on an upcoming DIS Unplugged podcast that is slated to air on or around June 7th, I believe (I could be wrong on the date, but I think it's something like that)! DIS Unplugged is on 'the other side of the board,' with all of the WDW stuff, but Tom (ImTooExcitedToSleep) has a sticky on our Disneyland forum with information on the different podcasts, etc.

For this particular podcast, there was a roundtable discussion with 3 members of the podcast team, Mary Jo, myself - and 4 other people. (Listen to find out who!) We were mainly discussing The DIS itself and not so much the parks, although there was a little bit of park talk sprinkled in here and there.

We gave shout outs to many people, including the Divas, the fabulous photographers on the Picture of the Day thread and others.

At one point we were talking about the good friends we've made and people we have met in person, so I specifically mentioned Marie (mariezp), Laurie (DizNee Luver), Molly (bumbershoot - who seems to have vanished from my TR altogether), and Jessica (Belle Ella). Actually, I mentioned bumbershoot a couple of times in the whole discussion, but you'll have to listen to the podcast when it runs to find out where!

I wanted to mention many other people too (like deejdigsdis, TK, Bret, Michele and some other folks who are friends but I have not met them yet - like Kerri/pixiewings71) - but I was trying to keep it mainly at the people I have met in person.

Anyway, stay tuned for that...coming next week.


Also, on Monday (June 4th) or perhaps just before, I should find out if I was selected for the AP preview of Cars Land, etc., which will be held on June 11th. I am not doing the paid event that is being offered to AP holders and D23 people. I am just waiting to see if I get selected for the 'free' preview. I think I will be. So...if I am picked that means I will have to figure out who to give my other 5 spots to. I was going to give 2 of them to Bret and his DA, but he is doing the paid AP event before June 11th. I want to make sure to pick people who are not going to be previewing DCA in any other way.

Glad to hear that you will be doing the podcast. :thumbsup2 I can't wait to listen to it.

You already know that I hope you will get selected for the AP sneak peek to CL/BVS on the 11th. I believed I said this awhile ago when you offered one of your spots if my DA and I didn't get selected for the sneak peek on the 11th. I do appreciate you offering one of your spots so my DA and I could see CL/BVS. But my DA and I just couldn't wait until June 4th to find out if we get selected or not for the sneak peek. So we just bought our tickets on the 10th. At least the money is going to a good cause. If we do get selected for the 11th, I was going to ask you if you want to join my DA and I at the sneak peek on the 11th. I have been looking forward to meeting you in person one of these days and it would be great to meet you during the sneak peek (well I would say if we do meet each other in person we would prefer to be during the Holiday season which is our favorite time of the year at the DLR). I will be looking forward to hear what time you will be seeing CL/BVS on the 11th and see who you are inviting that day.

[tksbaskets]

Hi, Sherry!! :thumbsup2



I've only posted them on my Facebook/Tumblr/Instagram so far. I'm debating writing a review but I'm too lazy. I will add some photos though.

I sure hope you do....now I can stop stalking you :rotfl: let me know if/when you post pics. popcorn::

[WDWJonasGirl]

Hi there, Kaitlin!

I'm very glad you're back!:cool1:

I'm so sorry it took me this long to wish you a happy birthday - but a very belated Happy Birthday to you!!!!!:wizard: I hope it was a great day for you and that you had fun. I remember when I turned 17 (100 years ago). It was a fun time in life.


Kaitlin -

Thank you! You could definitely do it if Photobucket had not removed the Disney Parks option. It takes a minute to get used to the effects and learn exactly how to size them/layer them/use them to where they will be most effective, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy - and fun to go through your pictures and try to find the ones where the effects are a perfect fit (not all of them are).

Thank you!! Not long until my Disney Cruise!!