Aunt Betty's Weepy, Wacky, Wonderful Christmas Trip to DLR-12/4-12/8/11- Coming Soon! [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

Sherry E

10-10-2008, 10:09 PM

I am going to take a cue from my friends Jasmine (WazowskiLOVER) and Courtney (Prettyprincessbelle) and make a sort of informal Index here on the first page, just for easy access to different sections of the Trip Report! I may break it down even further at some point in the future, getting more detailed with the naming all the links in the Index, but this will have to do for now:

Introduction/Cast of Characters begins on: Page One (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268)

"Lost at the World of Disney & Sleeping in the House of Poo - October 2-5, 2008" begins on: Page One (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268)

"Decking the Halls With Mickey - December 19-22, 2008" begins on: Page Seven (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=7)

"Decking the Halls With Mickey - 12/19/08-12/22/08 - PhotoPass Pictures" begins on: Page Twelve (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=12)

Pre-Trip Report for - "I'm Old...But I Want My Fun Card...July 21, 2009 - the Trip That Almost Was..." begins on: Page Twenty-Four (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=24)

"The Thumbs Up Trip - Halloweentime - 10/24/09" begins on: Page Thirty-Seven (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34101827#post34101827)

"The Thumbs Up Trip - Halloweentime - 10/24/09 - PhotoPass Pictures" begins on: Page Forty-One (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=41)

"Stop! Or My Scarf Will Shoot! - Christmastime - 12/19/09" begins on: Page Forty-Two (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=42)

"Stop! Or My Scarf Will Shoot! - Christmastime - 12/19/09 - PhotoPass Pictures" begins on: Page Forty-Five (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=45)

"So Many Trees...So Little Time - Christmastime - 11/13/10" begins on: Page Seventy Two (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=72)

"The Evil Chair & The Peppermint Cone of Death - A 2010 Christmas Tale - Christmastime - December 12-15, 2010" begins on: Page Eighty Three (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=83)

"The Return of the Masked Mouse & His Diabolical Twin - Halloween - 9/16/11 & 10/3/11" - begins on Pg.145/Post #2170

"A Trip Down Memory Lane" (featuring assorted pictures from DLR from 1972 - 2009 and random Bret Michaels/Poison photos) can be found on:

Page Four (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=4)
Page Five (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=5)
Page Seven (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=7)
Page Eleven (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=11)
Page Thirteen (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=13)
Page Fifteen (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=15)
Page Sixteen (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=16)
Page Seventeen (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=17)
Page Eighteen (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=18)
Page Twenty-Two (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=22)
Page Twenty-Four (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=24)
Page Twenty-Seven (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32574933&posted=1#post32574933)

Catalina Island pictures, 1988-2003: Page 26 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32562797#post32562797) and Page 30 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32680268#post32680268)

Farmers Market (the Original) and The Grove - Part One - August 28, 2010 - begins on Page 61 - Page 63 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=61) - LOTS OF FOOD PORN!!!

Farmers Market (the Original) and The Grove - Part Two - September 6, 2010 - begins on Page 65 - Page 66 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979268&page=65) - LOTS OF FOOD PORN!!!

Miscellaneous: Page 26 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32562797#post32562797)

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______________

Cast of Characters:

The evil but lovable mastermind behind it all - ME! (I am hiding behind Goofy's ear because I looked really bad on the trip when this picture was taken [2007] and didn't want to be seen. I was in a lot of pain that whole weekend from my back [disc problem] and legs, so I didn't bother with make-up or anything. I was suffering but trying to be silly and enjoy myself!):
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/GOOFYSHERRY-GOOFYSKITCHEN-DECEMB-2.jpg

Shawn (my friend of about 22 years) - this photo is actually from another DLR trip, but I am using it for identification purposes!:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/ShawnatGoofysKitchenDecember2007.jpg

Jackie (another friend of about 22 years or so) - this photo is also from a different DLR trip:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/JACKIE-DISNEYLAND-DEC2007.jpg
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _______

Occasional Guest Stars:

Heather (friend of 35 YEARS!!!!) - she wasn't on the 10/2 - 10/5/08 trip but she will show up in photos from other, previous DLR trips later:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/2-1.jpg

Jenni (friend of 26 years) - she will show up in photos from older DLR trips:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/MISCELLANEOUS/GOOFYSKITCHENDEC1994-PLUTO-SHERR-1.jpg

Mandy (friend of 30 years) - We met in after-school detention in junior high school (we were there for ditching class!)!! We became friends and worked for Poison together in the '80s, and went on many Disneyland trips together over the years. We've had our share of ups and downs but we are still friends. She will show up later in pictures from older DLR trips:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/MISCELLANEOUS/GOOFYSKITCHEN-DEC1994-MANDY-SHER-3.jpg

Joe (former good friend - I have known him for 23 years and wish we were still friends, but probably never will be; Joe was a ladies' man and hooked up with or TRIED to hook up with almost every female friend you will see in my pictures of various DLR trips):
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1991-JANUARY-DISNEYLAND-JOE-HAT--1.jpg

Michelle (friend of 20 years; Joe's former girlfriend):
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%201993/DISNEYLANDHOTELCANDYCANELANEMICH-1.jpg

Laura (friend of 25 years):
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1987-DISNEYLAND-JENNI-LAURA-JOE--1.jpg

Linda (another former good friend - a best friend, actually, but no more; You will find out why we are no longer friends a little later in this thread; I have known her for 24 years):
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1990-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-LINDA-BIG-1.jpg

Julie (friend of 28 years) - one of the best people anyone could ever know; an all around great human being:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1983-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-JULIE-AUT-1.jpg

I have always loved Disneyland since I was about 5 years old (I am 41 now!), and I love hamming it up with friends. I am nothing if not a goofball! It is never good to take yourself too seriously!

This is a group Disneyland picture from 1986. I am over on the far right, that is Heather holding the bag and that's Bret Michaels from Poison and VH1's Rock of Love on the upper left with the sunglasses on, and Robbie Crane from the band RATT, with Bret on his shoulders. My friend Jenni is in the green shirt:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/MISCELLANEOUS/BRETROBBIEHEATHERJENNISHERRY-DIS-1.jpg

This is Bret and Robbie about to jump out in the middle of Pinocchio (they ended up jumping into our vehicle and left theirs empty, which had the CM operating the ride irked and befuddled!), also in 1986:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/MISCELLANEOUS/BRETROBBIE-PINOCCHIO-DISNEYLAND1-1.jpg

I really love Disneyland at Christmastime - this is my friend Mandy (on the right) and I at the DLH in Dec. 1992:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/MISCELLANEOUS/DisneylandHotel-December1992.jpg

And this is Shawn (middle), Mandy and me (on the left) at Candy Cane Lane in the DLH in Dec. 1992
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/MISCELLANEOUS/DisneylandHotel-CandyCaneLane-Dec19.jpg

I also love hamming it up with characters - notice how I am soaking up all the attention and Mandy is being ignored - this is from December 1992:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/MISCELLANEOUS/SherryMandyBear-12-92-1.jpg

And here I am, with my elbow in Mandy's face, hogging the limelight again, in December 1994:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/MISCELLANEOUS/SherryandChip-GoofysKitchen-12-94.jpg

And finally, I left Mandy out of it altogether:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/MISCELLANEOUS/SherryPluto-GoofysKitchen-12-94.jpg

So now you have a sense of how much I love Disneyland

Lost at the World of Disney & Sleeping in the House of Poo - October 2-5, 2008

PART ONE: So here is my trip report for 10/2/08 – 10/5/08. I spent a lot of time writing it. Not sure who will read the whole thing! I am inserting some photos as I go along, but I actually don't have all of them dveleoped yet (old 35mm film)! Those will come soon enough, but I wanted to write this while things are still fresh on my mind instead of waiting until February 2009 to do a trip report on my October 2008 DLR jaunt! Most of the pictures I took were on some extra 35mm film I was trying to use up before I go all-digital, so I have to get those developed and also order my Photopass CD. I will add in some pictures at a later date, because Trip Reports are so much more fun when they are complemented by great photos!

Anyway, as many of you know, last week’s DLR trip almost didn’t happen. I had already cancelled a WDTC-booked reservation for this coming December with a Grand Californian stay when I lost my job earlier this year, and, frankly, when you are unemployed, a Disney trip doesn’t look likely. When you most need a dose of Disney magic to lift your spirits, it is practically unattainable. I lost hope. It was solely because of the Disneyland Resort Hotel PIN code discount offer which presented itself to me via e-mail this summer that I felt it could be possible to make a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth in 2008. The room rates were too good to pass up, and I knew I would have enough time to scrape together what I needed for the whole endeavor by October. Even all the way up to October, there were times when I almost had to cancel the trip because of another sudden setback or something requiring money. But I pulled it off, and we were Disneyland-bound on Thursday, October 2, 2008.

I booked my room at the Paradise Pier Hotel (my third or fourth stay there). My friend Shawn (of 21 years) and I arrived in the empty lobby of PPH at approximately 5:45 p.m. or so. Since nobody was in line to check in or out, I walked right up to the front desk. The CM who helped with my reservation info was very nice but ‘not on her game.’ She neglected to give us our parking pass – something that I had forgotten about until Shawn brought it up later that evening – and she mentioned nothing of our Early Entry into the park. This was very unusual, as the CM’s are always very sharp and attentive when we check in. This was the first time anyone has ever forgotten to give us a parking pass or explain about Early Entry into Fantasyland. Also, we did not get one of those festive pink folders with Goofy on it this time (they always give that to you upon check in), and I thought that was a staple of staying in a DLR hotel, as it contains brochures for guests to peruse! I don’t know if they have stopped giving them out, or if this was yet another thing that was overlooked in processing our reservation, but we didn’t get it!

One other thing I should mention is in regards to the new Key to the Magic – a room key and charge slip all in one. I was under the impression that I would be asked if I would like to attach my debit/credit card to BOTH Keys to the Magic or just my own. And these keys have your name or your guests’ names printed on them, so they know which one to attach the credit/debit card to. The CM at the front desk DID, indeed, ask me if I wanted to put a card on file (I used my debit card) to attach to the Key to the Magic for charging purposes, and she then just went ahead and attached it to both my card and Shawn’s. Not that I thought Shawn would go off on a wild spending spree with my card, but still…the CM should not have done that without being certain that was what I wanted. You can’t assume that because everybody gets Keys to the Magic that everybody should have access to the same debit card!

Aside from the less than stellar service upon check-in, as for the hotel… now, I like PPH well enough – it is nothing snazzy, but it is cute with a surf/ocean/beach mootif and it's on Disney property and has adorable bath products in the bathroom, and it is the least expensive of the three hotels – but truthfully, I should have considered a stay at the Grand Californian. When Shawn and I stayed at GCH in December 2007, we were better rested and seemed to get more accomplished in the parks and over the course of the whole trip in general. Not something that was planned, but it worked out that way. Shawn needs to rest a lot, and any extra steps back to any hotel are very daunting. Somehow, when we stay at PPH, our time in the parks is more limited because, I suspect, she is envisioning the looooooong walk back to PPH and wants to get a move on. When we stayed at the ultra-convenient and ultra-costly GCH last year, we stayed in the parks longer and got quite a bit more done and were less exhausted. What can I say? Expensive though it may be, there is a very real and practical element to a GCH stay. DLH might have actually been a little too far for my friend, believe it or not!

So, onward to PPH Room 513… I have since discovered that fellow DISboard member Cseca was in room 514 at the same time, but we never crossed paths knowingly (need I say, it’s a small world?!). In fact, I must state right here and now that I saw not one single LGMH anywhere at DLR the entire trip, even though there were other DISers lurking around. Back to the room… Once inside, I was rustling through my new Baggallini for the necessary documents, tickets and money needed to purchase my first-ever Premium Annual Pass for the bargain rate of $191. I didn’t bother to unpack. I left Shawn at the hotel and took the “short cut” through the GCH lobby to get to Downtown Disney. Trouble was, somehow I didn’t end up saving myself any steps because I took the ‘scenic route’ all the way to White Water Snacks, which is nowhere near the entrance to Disneyland! Somehow I made a wrong turn, and by the time I figured out where I had gone awry, I was worried that I wouldn’t have enough time to get my AP and get to the Disneyland Bank before it closed to have my photo taken. I didn’t pay attention to the signs in the hotel, I guess, but I enjoyed strolling around the grounds and through the GCH lobby and fondly recalling to myself how magical it looks during the Christmas season.

There it was – my route marker, Libby Lu. The flash of pink up ahead indicated I was on the right path and on my way to the Ticket Booths. And other people clearly had the same idea, as the lines for tickets were long. This seemingly innocent Thursday night appeared very similar to a weekend night, crowds-wise. After getting the AP and heading to the turnstiles (I almost got lost on the way there, too!), I was in the home stretch to the Bank!!!!! I had never walked through the entrance of Disneyland by myself before, and it was a new feeling. Perhaps because I was there on a mission – to get my photo taken – I didn’t get hit with that wave of magic that I usually feel when I set foot on Main Street. And I was very discouraged when I saw the long line at the Bank, filled with all kinds of other folks who were on a mission too. While I stood there, I turned around to look at the backside of the giant Mickey pumpkin and noticed how beautifully everything was lit up. Part of me wanted to mosey down Main Street after I got my AP process completed, but I thought of Shawn, sitting up in the room, and how she was hungry and waiting on me. So when I was finished at the Bank, at about 7:45 p.m., I decided to call her (thank goodness for cell phones) and tell her to meet me in Downtown Disney so we could eat dinner.

I perched myself outside of what I thought would be a perfect meeting place – World of Disney. I sat down, next to a young couple, and waited for Shawn. After a while, no Shawn. More time passed and I checked my cell phone to see that Shawn called me. I call her back. “Where are you?” I asked. “I am outside of World of Disney,” she insisted. “No you aren’t,” I said. “I am outside of World of Disney and you are nowhere around,” I said. “Yes, I am. I am right outside of the entrance,” she proclaimed. We went back and forth like this for about two minutes, during which time the young couple who had been sitting next to me got up from their seat and headed off into the crowds of DTD. Apparently, they had overheard what I was saying to Shawn on my cell phone and they passed by her somewhere and overheard her end of the conversation. They then instructed her on where to find me. It seems that I was sitting outside of one entrance to World of Disney and she was standing outside of the other entrance to World of Disney, and it took a total stranger to bring us together! I had forgotten how darn big that store is. I knew you could get lost IN World of Disney (it happened to me before), but I didn’t know you could get lost around the perimeter of it!!!

We ate dinner at ESPN Zone, and it was extremely busy, noisy and abuzz with activity. That is one place that definitely requires Priority Seating if you can swing it. Our server was Amy – she was a delight. She was nice, helpful, attentive, good at explaining all the good stuff on the menu – everything you could want in a waitress. I ordered chicken strips with BBQ sauce off the Appetizers portion of the menu, lemonade and a strawberry shake. Shawn ordered a hamburger and iced tea. My chicken strips (there were 6 to a basket) were delicious and they each were about the size of a small chicken breast. The BBQ sauce was some of the best I have had. I don’t know what they did to it but it was thick and delectable! This ‘appetizer’ was plenty enough for a meal, and the shake was thick and rich. My lemonade was more like lemon water but they refilled it often. Shawn’s hamburger was thick and hearty and she said it was great!

Back to the PPH. I unpacked and got ready for bed. This is when I noticed that one bottom drawer in the armoire wouldn’t stay shut and the water from the bathroom faucet smelled like sulfur…or poo, to be exact! Ick! Imagine having to rinse your mouth with that after brushing your teeth! Gross! Maybe it was a fluke, I thought. It was late at this point and I didn’t want to call the front desk and risk having to switch rooms after I had gotten unpacked and dressed for sleep. So I let it go. We kept slamming the drawer shut but it had a mind of its own and insisted on staying open. Inevitably, Shawn banged into it en route to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

Part Two to follow!

Sherry E

10-10-2008, 10:11 PM

PART TWO: Friday morning, October 3, 2008 – The faucet water still smelled like sewage. We had a 7:50 a.m. PS for Goofy’s Kitchen, which has been a ‘must’ for every trip we have made to DLR since 1992. Sure, there have been some ‘off’ days when the food was not as good, but this was not one of them. This was probably one of the best meals we have eaten there. We paid, got hustled over to Pluto for the mandatory photo op, and then onward to our table. When the CM came around to show us our (very cute) photo and offer it to us for the bargain price of, gulp, $32, I had to decline. Just not in my unemployed budget to pay the same for a photo that I am paying for a meal at Goofy’s!!! I loaded up my plate with scrumptious, fluffy scrambled eggs and yummy bacon, as well as their out-of-this-world fruit (the fruit is excellent throughout DLR), a couple of pieces of sausage, some mini-muffins and a banana. That is more than I ever eat for breakfast in a full week! Shawn ate the biscuits and gravy, eggs, potatoes, bacon, bagels, mini muffins and the adorable Mickey-shaped peach cobbler!!! The orange juice was perfect and the coffee was hot and strong – too strong for Shawn’s liking, but perfect for me. I was eyeing the pepperoni pizza and the chicken and the waffles and French toast – oh, heck, let’s be honest, I was considering eating ALL of the food choices but I knew I actually had to walk and would not be able to move if I continued on this dire gastronomic path. We had the usual tableside visits from Chip and Dale and of course, Chef Goofy, but Belle and Alice were also on hand, as was Baloo. It is one of the funniest things to observe Baloo doing the Macarena and trying to rotate his ample hips around to the music!!!

Time for Toy Story Mania. We entered DCA through the handy-dandy GCH entrance, and instantly began chatting with a family of four – three men and a grandmotherly-looking type - in the line to get into the park. At one point, it seemed to me that the two adult sons may have either been trying to size us/me up as potential mates for their dad, or Dad was trying to size us/me up as a potential mate for one of the sons. When you are 41 years old, it is hard to tell if you belong with Dad or Junior! In any case, I was not interested in making a love connection or planning an arranged marriage at DLR, and TSMM was my only focus. We took the leisurely stroll over to the TSMM line and we were almost up to the loading area when the ride broke down. All of that good time we made…down the drain. The family of four got out of the line but Shawn and I waited for another 25 minutes or so until it was up and running. It seems two of the game screens had broken down. Finally, I was on the ride I had been waiting for, and it was GREAT! It twists and turns, it puffs air, it spritzes mist, it makes noise, it’s 3D AND you get to shoot at stuff! It is easy for even a klutz such as myself to hit targets…and it is ADDICTIVE!

After TSMM, we made our way around Paradise Pier, browsing in shops for Halloween stuff and stopping at lots of Photopass locations. We went into the Animation Building, wandered all through A Bug’s Land and into It’s Tough to be a Bug (it was alarming to me!), rode on the Mike and Sully ride and on Soarin’. We Fast Passed Soarin’ and the wait was still long. Thankfully, it was not as hot as it had been on the previous day, so I only got slightly sunburnt. We stopped to chortle at the people getting soaked on Grizzly River Rapids.

Here I am with Shawn - this was our very first PhotoPass picture:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20OCTOBER%202008/image003.jpg

And more:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20OCTOBER%202008/image016.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20OCTOBER%202008/image009.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20OCTOBER%202008/image032.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20OCTOBER%202008/image037.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20OCTOBER%202008/image042.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20OCTOBER%202008/image047.jpg

At around 3:00 p.m., we made our way back to the PPH for the mid-day rest break. At 5:15 p.m. we headed out to Disneyland, and stopped for some PP pictures by the pumpkin. We had a 6:00 p.m. PS for Carnation Café, but I requested a table along Main Street for people watching, so our wait was long. CC was very busy, as usual, but their service has always been good, except for this time. Our waitress seemed disinterested and inattentive. Shawn and I both ordered the Meat Loaf Stack, which I have always enjoyed in the past. It is described as resting on a bed of mashed potatoes and bread, covered in mushroom gravy, with caramelized onions on top of it. I love the onions on it, and they were missing this time. Also, the gravy was minimal. They skimped on gravy and left out the onions completely! I almost thought I had gotten someone else’s food! When I asked the waitress where the onions were and if the recipe had changed, she tried to convince me that the onions must be there but I just couldn’t see them. She seemed unconcerned with asking the chef or the management if the recipe had changed. She said she would mention it to them later…but not while we were there! For some reason, we thought that ordering dessert may be more successful. We ordered a past favorite – the apple pie a la mode. It took about 20 minutes to arrive at our table and when it did, I noticed my pie was not warmed at all like it should be. The pie was room temperature – almost cold – and the ice cream was straight out of the freezer. It’s not that it didn’t taste good – it’s just that it wasn’t as it had been in the past or as it should be. The pie slices have a crumbly topping of some sort, drizzled with caramel and accompanied by little strawberry slices on the side, which are engulfed in a cloud of whipped cream. The scoop of ice cream is generous. It really is a tempting presentation, and I had no problem with it other than the fact that it should have been heated! The waitress came over with what she said were “extra napkins.” It was one napkin…one napkin for two people. Needless to say, this was not our best Carnation Café experience!

We stopped to pose with the Mickey pumpkin and do more PhotoPass stuff:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20OCTOBER%202008/image049.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20OCTOBER%202008/image060.jpg

We entered Mickey’s Trick or Treat Party in DCA just after 7:30 p.m. I really enjoyed seeing the special Halloween decorations that were up JUST for the TOTP. Love the giant Mickey ghosts. The jack-o-lantern projected onto California Screamin’ is a great effect. We did not go to every treat station but we got lots of candy, some of which was stale, as I discovered much later. At the beginning of the evening, the candy was plentiful. As the night wore on, we got one or two pieces tossed into our plastic bags. The costumes were amazing. I think I saw PRINCESSplazola’s Sister-in-law. I recognize her hair and her outfit. I didn’t see PRINCESS and her adorable son, though! We stopped for photos with Jack Sparrow and Woody. Some of the costumes were so detailed that we had a hard time distinguishing the ‘regular folks’ from the Cast Members. We watched The Incredibles family boogie down, and what was funny was that I couldn’t tell if these were guests dressed as Incredibles characters or the actual Cast Members dressed as Incredibles. Too much for my feeble mind. The Photopass people were out in full force, and they take their jobs seriously. One of the photographers really wanted to make sure the subjects got the best picture possible. He said everyone has to “look like you are fun and interesting people.” He was a man who took pride in his craft, and we appreciated it!!! We rode TSMM again, too, and a guy in line rejoiced above all the other voices, “I LOVE YOU, MR. POTATO HEAD!!” Well, we may all feel that way but we keep it to ourselves!! Possibly, this gentleman had been nipping at some Cove Bar beverages earlier in the evening. TSMM was just as fun the second time and my score improved, though Shawn beat me a second time. Time to head back to the smelly water of the PPH room 513 bathroom and off to sleep. In any event, I enjoyed the TOTP, but a little of it went a long way. We didn’t need to stay there for the full 4 hours. Maybe 20 years ago I would have, or if I had kids I would have, but not now!

I was already tired - see how my eyes were closed (I was getting loopy)?
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20OCTOBER%202008/image062.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20OCTOBER%202008/image065.jpg
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Part 3 to follow!!

Sherry E

10-10-2008, 10:12 PM

PART THREE: Saturday, October 4, 2008 – We were too sleepy in the morning to use our Early Entry and we had a PS for breakfast at Rainforest Café in DTD at 8:00 a.m., so we just went straight there. I think, food-wise, I prefer their lunch/dinner choices because there are so many of them. Breakfast options are limited. As far as low crowds, breakfast is the way to go! It was so much more pleasant to eat there without all the noise of a full restaurant. We asked for a table next to one of the aquariums, and chatted with a nice Australian family at the table next to us. Our server was very pleasant. The juice and coffee were not as good as over at Goofy’s, but they were fine. Shawn and I both ordered the same eggs, bacon, potatoes, biscuit breakfast. I guess I still had the image of the huge pile o’ eggs on my plate from the day before at Goofy’s, so my perception of what a ‘real portion size’ is was all skewed! Shawn seemed to have more eggs and potatoes on her plate than I did, and the bacon seemed wimpy. The biscuit looked just like a biscuit you get from KFC, but not as fluffy. The whole breakfast was okay, but not outstanding, I would say. It was nice to get away from the growling gorillas and sit next to some silent fish for a change.

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From RFC, we sauntered over to Disneyland, as the previous day had mostly been spent in DCA. We jockeyed for Photopass picture-taking space with a snarky girl in front of the Partners statue. We got right onto POTC twice in a row, because the lines were non-existent. I scouted for Hidden Mickeys and Goofys in the dark caverns of the ride. I finally saw Barbossa – he is as plain as day – and I have no clue how I missed him last year! From Pirates, we went on HMH, and the line was a little long but not TOO bad. We smelled the gingerbread as we rode past the banquet hall scene with the gingerbread coffin as the table’s centerpiece. The snowdrift Hidden Mickey was gone. I guess everyone was still sleeping (it was around 10:30 at this time, I think) because the crowds were light. Pirate’s Lair was closed due to some Miley Cyrus birthday set-ups, and it had been my goal to get over there. My brain shut down as to what to do next! I lost my momentum! We wandered, we meandered, we roamed, we went this way, we went that way, we went back the way we came…we just seemed to slip into that exhaustion-induced ‘quiet mode’ for a while, where you just don’t feel like opening your mouth to talk but every few minutes you feel like you HAVE to say something to your traveling companion! So anything I said, I felt was unnecessary and just to fill space! We walked past Woody’s Halloween Round-Up, scanning for the elusive Photopass photographers (who were much easier to spot in DCA than in DL), and saw none. In ToonTown, the stand-by line for Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin (which I love) said 40 minutes. That is the sort of ride that is ABSOLUTELY GREAT to me when the wait is 5 or 10 minutes, but when it is over 30 minutes, it suddenly becomes “not worth it.” So we skipped it this time. I looked for Mr. Potato Head in the Gag Factory and he was not there anymore. Potato doesn’t live here anymore. Actually, I think he has taken up permanent residence at EnginEars. We rode Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters and I almost got Shawn on Star Tours (I love that) but she gets headaches from it, so no luck. She wanted to go into HISTA, which bores me to tears, so I declined!!!! No Star Tours, no HISTA!!! Guerilla warfare in DLR! I am playing dirty! We visited Innoventions and that was okay, but anticlimactic.

This is picture is hilarious because I LOVE this ride, but I LOOK bored to death, don't I?! I think what happened was that my hair was in my face and I brushed it away, and left my hand by my face right when the camera caught me! By the way, I left my sunglasses on because they are prescription (I can't see otherwise) and it was too much of a hassle at that point to take out my other glasses and make the switch just to go on the ride. Oh, and yes, my score on this sucks (I have bad hand-eye coordination), but my score on TSMM was waaaaaaaay better than on Buzz! But I still love Buzz!:
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Time seemed to be dragging. Shawn likes/needs to rest a lot, so we planted ourselves on a bench along Main Street. A nice CM named Geri or Jeri came to chat with us about HMH, about IASWH, about Gay Days, about the French Market selling HMH gingerbread houses, all sorts of things. She was just a regular CM, not a Dream Squad person or a Magical Moments bestower, darn it! We did not see any Dream Squad people anywhere. At 2:00, it was time to meet up with our friend of 21 years, Jackie, who decided to leave her husband at home. Jackie, Shawn and I went straight into DCA and got on TSMM (third time this trip) and I beat Jackie!!! Wahoo!!! Finally, I beat someone! We had a 3:30 PS at Storytellers Café for lunch, but we lounged around in the GCH lobby for a while, relaxing in those comfy chairs!

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The lunch at Storytellers Café was great. I prefer it to their breakfast for sure. The restaurant was close to being empty. I had a hamburger and fries. The burger was pretty thick and tasty and the fries were good. Jackie had the veggie burger which she said was great. Shawn had some sort of big turkey sandwich with bacon. The turkey slices were thick and it just looked TOO good with that bacon piled atop it. Our servers were a hoot! From there, we went into DL and onto Pirates (third time that day). The line for Pirates was very long, and it wound around in all those places it never ordinarily goes unless it is super crowded – the “ghetto of Disneyland,” I called it! But it was one of those rides that is “worth it,” worth the trip through the ghetto, so we did it. But the line for HMH was worse. See, POTC’s line can speed along because they load and unload the boats rather quickly and there is no lengthy stopping, really. However, in the HMH queue, you move and then you stop, you move and then you stop. The problem is that when the people are in the stretching room, the line outside comes to a standstill for a few moments because there is no way to speed that part of the attraction along. So we got in the HMH line at about 6:00 p.m.; and it was a looooong wait. We took a whole different trip through another part of the ghetto for that ride. By the time we got out of the ride, it was probably 7:10 or so.

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We had a PS for Blue Bayou at 8:00 p.m., and I was told that if we wanted a waterside table, we would have to wait an additional hour. We nixed that idea, as we were already tired. Jackie had decided to go home because the veggie burger from earlier had started to disagree with her, so Shawn and I stood in the hot and cramped waiting room to be seated for about an hour anyway – even without getting a waterside table. The hostess CM (from Texas) at the front had a bit of an attitude to the guests if they tried to say something to her, but she was very friendly with some Texas diners. Lo and behold, the Texas people got seated quickly after said hostess quietly slipped into the restaurant to talk to the guy who assigned tables. Hmmm…. If I didn’t know better…

Anyway, I ordered the Flying Dutchman cookie boat – which LOOKS like a brownie boat but is really just a giant cookie - and Shawn ordered the chocolate cake. The problem was the waitress – who was a sweetheart - told her it was “chocolate cake,” so Shawn expected the traditional chocolate cake. It was chocolate mousse cake, which she could not eat much of because the mousse would upset her stomach. My cookie boat tasted fine but a little went a long way. It was a lot of dessert. I might split it with someone next time but eating the whole thing got old after a while! This was the restaurant we went to because Shawn wanted to eat there (I had already been to BB about 30 years ago!), and she was pretty disappointed with the wait, with the lack of seating, with the crowded waiting room, with the chocolate mousse cake, etc. She says she wants to go back and eat a “real meal” there, but unless she is treating, no way I am paying $36 for one steak!

We were going to try to hit POTC one more time, but we were just too tired. My leg was bothering me really badly (it is related to a disc problem in my back) and Shawn’s knee was hurting. We crawled back to the PPH, and then slept in late the next morning.

Part 4 - The End - to follow!:cool1:

Sherry E

10-10-2008, 10:14 PM

PART FOUR - THE END!!: Sunday, October 5, 2008 – Time to leave PPH and DLR! I took my last whiff of the poopy water, kicked the haunted drawer one last time and began the laborious task of re-packing. For any of you who struggle to cram things into suitcases, you know what an absolute pain it is to re-pack. Even if you have nothing more to add to the suitcase, it always seems like you do and it won’t close. How I managed to get all of my clothes, umbrella (which I didn’t need), jacket, Halloween candy and whatever else I had with me into one portable lump still amazes me. I hauled that load to the car and hoisted it inside. Then, we went back to DTD and into Department 56, which has the most amazing Halloween village display. I peeked in Marceline’s at the fat pumpkin cupcakes, I grabbed some free booklets from the Walt Disney Travel Company and we checked out the newest critters in Build-a-Bear, but we had an 11:30 a.m. PS for brunch at Naples Ristorante, and we were starving, so that was the mission.

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At Naples, Shawn ordered the meatball sandwich, which she described as “good, but different from the usual meatball sandwiches you expect – not a lot of sauce on this one and the bread is different” and I ordered the pepperoni pizza, which was different from the pizza I had there last year. This one was over-baked and the one last year was not baked enough, but they were both tasty nonetheless! The drinks are refilled often and the service was pretty good. I scarfed down what I could of the pizza.

Then came the moment of decision – whether or not to go back into the parks or go home. I was very tired and sunburnt and my leg was really killing me, but I tend to push through the pain to get my money’s worth. Plus, with my current financial circumstances, I never know when I will get back to DLR so I feel like I have to keep doing more and squeeze every ounce of fun out of whatever trips to DLR I am able to take. But I saw the look. The determined look on Shawn’s face that told me she was heading back to the car to take me home and our planned third day in the parks was gone. I couldn’t push her – I know she needed to rest. I stayed silent and just sadly followed her to the parking lot. I realized that last December, when we stayed at GCH, we spent a good three days in the park and stayed only two nights at the hotel. We seemed to be less worn out and got much more done. This time, we stayed three nights at the PPH, which I thought would be better for us, but only spent 2 days in the park, so somehow, we got LESS accomplished with an extra night at the hotel.

All of this was running through my mind. In a way, I could see where Shawn was coming from about wanting to go home. Sometimes, enough is enough. I think, in the old days of our youth, we used to ride a bunch of things and stay in the park until midnight and shop in every store, etc. Go, go, go. Now we are older and we have limits. Sometimes, I just feel like my brain has turned to mush and my body hurts and I want it all to be over. But then, as soon as I get home, I think, “I didn’t get to do this, I didn’t get to see that, I didn’t have enough time.” I try to plan a new strategy for ‘next time,’ where we will get lots of rest and more activities done, but whatever plan I have, it seems I still walk away thinking I needed more time…maybe more time spread out over more days, in shorter increments? But I can’t pay for a 7-night stay at the GCH, so I mean, we just have to make do with the time we have. I would have liked to ride more things, take more photos of bathroom signs and restaurants, spend some time in Fantasyland and Adventureland, see some more of the Halloween stuff that we missed…and the funny thing is, the next time Shawn and I go – no matter who is with us or how I plan it – we will inevitably do the exact same things we did this time in the same period of time. And that is fine, except for that we are missing out on a lot too. Even though I have an AP now, I am not going to be getting back to DLR all that often. Maybe just a couple more times in the next year, and not necessarily with a hotel stay attached to it.

So it leaves me wondering about Disneyland – is TOO much never enough, or does a little go a loooong way? Is it possible for DLR to ‘get old’ in just a few days when you have barely scratched the surface? And if so, then why do I instantly want to get right back to DLR after I leave it?

One thing I was glad about when I came home was turning on the faucet and not smelling poo!!

P.S. I did send an e-mail to Guest Services from the DLR website regarding the poopy water, the protruding drawer and the bad service at Carnation Café. We will see what kind of a reply I get. Hopefully, that wasn’t some kind of health hazard going on in the PPH plumbing!!!

MickeyNikiNaka

10-11-2008, 03:52 AM

Sherry E

10-11-2008, 12:38 PM

Wow,

This was a wonderful TR! I absolutely love how detailed you were! Having never been to DL myself I can't answer your question for you buti can definately see your point! Keep us updated on the poopy water email! I would love to know what comes out of that! Did the front desk help you at all?

Thanks so much, MickeyNikiNaka, for the nice coments and for taking the time to read my TR (even without fun photos yet!)! I will keep everyone posted on the poopy water e-mail, because I am sure that water wasn't supposed to smell like that! I wonder if the guests before us or after us in the room mentioned anything to the front desk about it. I didn't say anything to the front desk because it wasn't SO enormous of an issue that it would ruin our stay completely (if it had been, I would have called them right away), and I envisioned that we would have to uproot to another room, which would require me to have to re-pack, and I just couldn't bear the thought of that. I think I would have been more inclined to contact the front desk but the timing was always bad. When I first realized the poopy water problem and the haunted drawer, it was late and I was already ready to go to sleep. Then, the next day, we were up and out early and then exhausted when we came back for the mid-day rest, and then up and out again. If we had been there at PPH for a full week, I would have asked to be switched, but to eat into the few of days we had at DLR by re-packing, re-unpacking and relocating didn't seem worth it.

However, in hindsight, I think that if I had complained while there, we might have gotten lucky and perhaps they would have moved us to a nice view room or concierge room or something. We did have a nice view of the pool - we were almost eye level with it - but we might have gotten something better if I had raised a fuss. I just decided to send them the e-mail through the the DLR website because then I could tackle Carnation Cafe and PPH in one swoop. And PPH had a few problems - the drawer, the poopy water and the absent-minded CM at the front desk who forgot our parking pass and attached my debit card with spending privileges to my friend's room key without checking with me first!!

I will be interested to see if DLR just sends out a typical response like, "We are sorry you were inconvenienced...we strive to provide the best service for our guests..." or if they actually call me back. I expect a generic e-mail or letter via regular mail.

Pinkstarblm

10-11-2008, 02:21 PM

Sherry E

10-11-2008, 02:51 PM

So My family stays att PPH quite frequently. This past April when my mom and I went we stayed there like always. Except our room had not been cleaned! There was dried sticky pop all over the vanity. Gum rubbed into the carpet, broken pistachio shells all around the night stand, and my mom's sheets were very dingy. (They had not been changed!). So my mom called down to the front desk to complain. I think they gave her a $50 credit to the room and said they would clean it the next day while we were at the parks. So whatever we go about our fun filled disney day and such. Tired as dogs we return back to the room to find everything is still a mess! The only thing that was changed were my moms sheets which were now super white and you could see the creases in them. So my mom called back to the front desk and requested the hotel manager on duty. The girl was very apologetic credited us $200 on top of the $50 and gave us a free character breakfast of our choosing.

My mom also had some issues with the barista down at the bar one morning too but i don't remember the specifics of that.

But yeah we won't be staying at PPH anymore. One it's so out of the way from all the other hotels on site and off. and two the fiasco we dealt with in April.

Well, I am glad they finally gave you $200 additional credit, though they should have done that right away when you complained, because I was thinking that $50 credit sounded low. And the free character breakfast was cool - I hope you picked the most expensive one at Goofy's Kitchen (tee hee) - but that is really uncalled for, walking into a room that is basically holding someone else's filth in it! Yuck! There is no excuse for that. Even though PPH is the most 'economical' of the three DLR hotels, it still costs quite a bit of money to stay there. It is not Motel 6. Cleanliness of the room should be a given. I still don't know why the water in our bathroom faucet smelled poopy. I am not sure if that was the treatment they used on the water or a plumbing issue, but it was gross. My friend couldn't even rinse with it after a while because the smell was making her nauseous! I suppose that complaining WHILE I was there would have garnered better results than waiting until I got home (like I doubt they will give me a free character breakfast now that I am home!), but I didn't and so hopefully, they will at least fix the haunted drawer and the poopy water in Room 513 for the next guests!!!

IF ONLY I had the money to stay at GCH every trip. It was so much more convenient for us, we got much more done, and it was lovely. The thing I was most happy about in staying at PPH this time was getting the Mickey-head shampoo bottles!

mariezp

10-12-2008, 12:21 AM

dr&momto2boys

10-12-2008, 12:20 PM

Great trip report! Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to see the pictures!

Sherry E

10-12-2008, 01:23 PM

Welcome back, Sherry E. I love your trip report! Such fantastic details! I have to take notes myself in order to remember anything by the time we get home! It sounds like you had plenty of good times at the park but it's too bad about the disappointing stuff. We have never stayed in a Disney property but I do know I would be pretty aggravated if I had spent that much money and had the sort of problems you did with the room. On the bright side, hopefully the smelly water was just sulfur and not toxic! I do agree that PPH is not the best choice at the end of a long day. It's a long way back there!

You had some great dining reviews to keep in mind. I am definitely going to have top look for the hostess CM from Texas at Blue Bayou and see if she can pull any strings for us! :laughing:

I got a good laugh out of your near "Love Connection" while waiting in line for Toy Story Mania! November will be our first time to ride it so I hope we enjoy it as much as you did. Glad to hear that the targets are easy to hit.

In response to your question "is TOO much never enough, or does a little go a loooong way?" I'm not sure I have an accurate answer but I do know we push ourselves to total exhaustion just to get the most out of our time while we are at the park. At the end of our 2 weeks I am so ready to go home..... but at the same time, still always ready to go back! I can honestly say there is no other place I would rather go on vacation.

Thanks for sharing! Can't wait for the pictures! :thumbsup2

Thanks for the kind words, Marie! I am either the type who gets total writers block OR I start writing and can't be stopped!! It just floooooows! I was on a roll!

I think my friend envisions the PPH walk as being much farther than it is, but nonetheless, we still got much more accomplished when staying at the GCH last year. PPH is the least expensive of the three hotels but it STILL costs much more than many people think it is worth. It is not cheap, even during 'discount periods.' So to have a piece of furniture jutting out and asking to be banged into and poopy water coming from the bathroom faucet is not okay for a DLR hotel. However, I am discovering in my Have you Ever Sent A Complaint? thread that DLR is not always the greatest when handling hotel and restaurant complaints. Surprisingly, their attitude and customer service is sometimes lacking. In my opinion, I feel like if someone tells you that your food made them sick, you should immediately comp them for the meal or offer another free meal. That seems like good business to me. However, as posters are revealing in that Complaint thread, it usually does NOT happen that way! I mean, I LOVE the Mouse and all things Disney, and that will never change, but they did set the bar for themselves in customer service and they have always risen above every other non-DLR place in that department. I hate to see them not living up to their own standards and basically doing nothing to make it right with the guests.

Yes, by all means, play the Texas card if you happen to see Alyssa (or Lyssa, whatever her name was!), the hostess from Texas at Blue Bayou!! She was a little on the 'cold' side to people until these Texas folks came up to her! If you can make that work for you and get seated sooner, go for it! I don't know for sure that she helped them get seated sooner, but to us, it seemed suspicious! I really think that, with as popular as Blue Bayou is, DLR needs to start setting up real reservations for them and dispose of the PS system there (just in BB). They overbooked guests. That wait is too long, the room is hot, we couldn't sit down, everyone was packed in. And hour is too long to wait to be seated anywhere unless I am getting an excellent table by the water - which we did not! And $36 for a steak is too much for me to pay unless I am getting an awesome waterside table! Then again, we were there at night, on a Saturday. Maybe it would not be as bad, say, during the day, on a Wednesday?? Who knows? Clearly, BB has a lot of devotees so they must be doing something right!!

Yes, that family in the TSMM line was funny. Now, I am far from being a sexpot or anything. In fact, I was probably looking about as schlumpy as I could get at DLR (have to be comfortable). Seriously. I am also, more or less, Pooh-sized right now (but working on it)!! But maybe I look motherly or something. When the two adult sons were chatting, I could tell one of them was kind of making excuses to talk to me and I didn't know why. I thought that maybe it was because he was sick of talking to Dad and Grandma and needed to chat with someone closer to his own age. But, when they got OUT of the line after the ride broke down temporarily, the Dad was the one who dropped some sort of hint to both of us about leaving his e-mail address with us (we didn't take it)! So I wasn't sure if he was trying to get his son(s) hooked up or if they had been trying to find someone to fix Dad up with to get him out of their hair!!! In any case, it all seemed very diabolical, so I wanted no part of such debauchery!!:rotfl: :laughing: :rotfl: :laughing:

I felt really guilty when I was having my moments of "Okay, I am over this...this is getting old..." at DLR last weekend, because it was not the fault of DLR, and though the crowds were pretty thick, they were not as bad as I have seen them, say, in December, for example. I always look back at a trip after it is over to see how it can be improved the next time, to maximize our rest and entertainment. Sometimes I think it may be necessary to stay a full week at DLR just to be able to really take the time to see all the details/things I want to see and look in all the stores for those hidden gems, etc., but still be able to rest a lot. I know without rest, my friend is an unhappy camper. She could rest all day! And after a while, I just get discouraged and think, Well, this is turning out to be a bust. There has to be a happy medium - a good balance between rest and activity that can be reached - where I don't end up feeling exhausted but like I missed out on a lot. Two days is really not enough during a crowded season. Three days isn't even really enough when you take mid-day rests. The only answer I can come up with is to extend the trips and make them longer (when money allows - not now!). Stretch them out by a couple of extra days. That way, there is enough time to do everything without having to cram a bunch into a couple of days, miss a bunch of stuff and burn yourself out!

Great trip report! Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to see the pictures!

Thank you! I know you also had a less than wonderful Blue Bayou experience and a good Goofy's experience, such as we did! Did you end up having breakfast with Shamu in Sea World? I can't wait to see your photos, too!

I was just looking at my PhotoPass pictures last night and applying all the nifty borders, inserting characters and all that! I turned 58 photos into 100 photos just by making different versions of each picture! The $60 CD price is really a GOOD bargain. Almost too good to be true! I don't know if I am getting the CD or if my friend is getting it or if we are both getting one, but once that is worked out then I can start posting. I also took some 35mm pics at Goofy's, etc. on an old camera but those will have to be developed. One thing I noticed is that some of the PhotoPass photgraphers were very proficient and their pictures came out great. Others didn't take such great pictures and I could have done a better job! But it is nice to be in everything this time. Usually, I don't get in too many photos because I am the one taking them! I cannot wait to get back to DLR - even if just for one day - to see the holiday decorations and take more PhotoPass pictures!!!

And I just LOVE those gingerbread men with Mouse ears that are sold throughout the parks! So cute! Gingermice!!!

Brina78

10-12-2008, 07:37 PM

Sherry E

10-12-2008, 08:02 PM

Oh, gosh, what a fun trip! Sounds like you and your friends had a great time! Despite your leg pain, you got through the days pretty well! I like how you detailed your food and experience at each meal place! It's good to know in advance for when we decide on where to eat and how good it is. I've never been to Goofy's Kitchen before but I hear many good things about it.

And ugh, the smelly water sounds awful! I don't know about that, hopefully they'll get it fixed. And the haunted drawer, ha! It had a mind of its own, though poor Shawn banged into it! Ouch!

As for the last day, sorry you didn't get to go, but really, you probably didn't miss much. It was October 5, the park was closing at 5 for Miley Cyrus' birthday party, it probably would not have been enjoyable. My family and I were in the area on the 4th, but just to shop around DTD.

And I know how it is when you're not sure if too much is enough or a little goes a long way. We get tired in one visit and I want to come back soon, but it's a long drive and it's almost something we should plan rather than up and go. We've done that too, gone on a last minute decision, and we try to make the best of it each time. If it's crowded, we find ways of having fun at the less popular attractions.

Hope you'll be able to come back soon and your leg will do better! :)

I consoled myself with the knowledge that the Miley Cyrus b-day stuff was happening later on the 5th, and that inevitably meant that DL would be jam -packed early in the day. I think you are right on with that thought - it is probably better I didn't go in because it would have been TOO crowded and ridiculous!!!

I know what you mean about the 'up and go' trips with no planning vs. the 'need to plan' trips. We usually need to plan to an extent - like the PS's for dining and all that - but when we get to DLR and are already tired, and then we seem to 'run out of things to do' (which sounds silly, because there are so many things to do at DLR), then it all kind of falls apart... or fizzle out. I don't want to plan out every second of the day, but it almost seems better if we have an agenda to stick to!

I thought I would be detailed about the food because my TR was lacking photos right now! So what I lacked in photos I made up for in descriptions!!!

Thanks for reading my TR!

Brina78

10-13-2008, 02:48 AM

I consoled myself with the knowledge that the Miley Cyrus b-day stuff was happening later on the 5th, and that inevitably meant that DL would be jam -packed early in the day. I think you are right on with that thought - it is probably better I didn't go in because it would have been TOO crowded and ridiculous!!!

I know what you mean about the 'up and go' trips with no planning vs. the 'need to plan' trips. We usually need to plan to an extent - like the PS's for dining and all that - but when we get to DLR and are already tired, and then we seem to 'run out of things to do' (which sounds silly, because there are so many things to do at DLR), then it all kind of falls apart... or fizzle out. I don't want to plan out every second of the day, but it almost seems better if we have an agenda to stick to!

I thought I would be detailed about the food because my TR was lacking photos right now! So what I lacked in photos I made up for in descriptions!!!

Thanks for reading my TR!I will never forget the time I went with a co-worker in April, 2007 and I planned doing rides so well, we got a lot done in an orderly fashion! We got Fast Passes for Space Mountain that didn't return until like 7 p.m. In that time, another FP opened and I got us one for BTMRR. As we waited for that, I pulled us on POTC, HM, and even WTP in Critter Country. Couldn't get on Splash Mountain due to the long wait, but that was all right. By the time we got off WTP, our Fast Pass was ready for BTMRR. We breezed past everyone next to Standby, got on and off the ride and made it over to Tomorrowland to wait a little for our Space Mountain FP to open. I was very proud of myself!

But, yes, plans are always a good thing to have if you want to do something specific there! Heh, I guess I loved your food descriptions because it also made me hungry! Yum!

tinkermell

10-13-2008, 08:27 AM

Hi Sherry!

Great report. Looking forward to some of your pictures.

Tomorrow, my DH and I are leaving for Vegas, and then on Friday, going from there to DL to meet my family. We are attending the party that night.
Did you have any favorite parts of the party that we should check out?

Did you see the Beverly Hillbillies? :rotfl:

BTW- My name is Melody.

NIce to meet you! :flower3:

Sherry E

10-13-2008, 10:10 AM

I will never forget the time I went with a co-worker in April, 2007 and I planned doing rides so well, we got a lot done in an orderly fashion! We got Fast Passes for Space Mountain that didn't return until like 7 p.m. In that time, another FP opened and I got us one for BTMRR. As we waited for that, I pulled us on POTC, HM, and even WTP in Critter Country. Couldn't get on Splash Mountain due to the long wait, but that was all right. By the time we got off WTP, our Fast Pass was ready for BTMRR. We breezed past everyone next to Standby, got on and off the ride and made it over to Tomorrowland to wait a little for our Space Mountain FP to open. I was very proud of myself!

But, yes, plans are always a good thing to have if you want to do something specific there! Heh, I guess I loved your food descriptions because it also made me hungry! Yum!

Yeah, that is the thing - to strike a good balance between planning and winging it! This was the first year I had made all PS's for our dining, and that helped to a degree, except for the wait at Blue Bayou. I was worried about the lack of spontaneity in deciding where to eat and when we were hungry, but it worked, because by the time we got to all the restaurants we were hungry and we didn't have to waste time thinking about where to go and then waiting in long lines! We had a place to eat, we had a time to eat, and all we had to do was go there, and since we knew when those times were, our bodies knew to be hungry then!

Hi Sherry!

Great report. Looking forward to some of your pictures.

Tomorrow, my DH and I are leaving for Vegas, and then on Friday, going from there to DL to meet my family. We are attending the party that night.
Did you have any favorite parts of the party that we should check out?

Did you see the Beverly Hillbillies? :rotfl:

BTW- My name is Melody.

NIce to meet you! :flower3:

Thanks for the nice comment about my TR! I have always found people named Melody to be very happy, nice, joyful, funny people! I have never met a grump named Melody! Have a great time in Vegas and then in DLR! I can't wait to hear about your trip when you return!!!

We did not see the Beverly Hillbillies anywhere (but the tune is just stuck in my head, for some reason!):laughing:

Well, as I said about the TOTP, for me, a little went a long way. If I were 23 years old or had kids, it might be a different story! But age tends to make you less patient with things! DCA looks cool lit up at night - the whole Paradise PIer area is beautiful. I really liked the fact that there were special Halloween decorations only up for the party and not during the rest of the day. I liked that a lot of villains came out. I liked the special PhotoPass set-ups. I liked the volume of candy we got (we did not hit every single station by any means, but stil got a lot), though some of my chocolate was stale. All the costumes worn by guests were very elaborate - hard to tell who was Disney CM and who was a regular person in some cases! I liked the special TOTP merchandise, even though I didn't buy any of it! There were a lot of people at the party - it was pretty crowded, and my friend just doesn't do crowds well. I would definitely go again. I just am not one of those who needs to stay for the whole 4 hours, and I don't need to dress in costume, but I love looking at other folks' costumes! I am more of a people watcher than one to be watched! The key is - explore every corner of the park, go into every building (like I didn't realize the Animation Building had a "treat trail") and look at everything, because sometimes you will find less crowded treat stations or character photo spots that are less crowded, etc. Don't leave any stone unturned!!!

The nice thing is with my PhotoPass account, when I was editing photos, they allow you special TOTP borders to add for those photos, and I added Woody's signature to our picture with Woody! They also added a border to our Jack Sparrow pictures without us knowing, that says "I met Jack Sparrow." That was cute. We didn't get to see Mickey and Minnie. If we had stayed longer we would have.

Mark Mason

10-13-2008, 01:46 PM

wazowskiLOVER:)

10-13-2008, 02:44 PM

GINORMOUS trip report Sherry !!! But I read it all ;)

I'm sorry that you had so many disappointments on this trip. I had a couple myself. I guess all you can do is try to shrug it off and focus on the positive right ? I can't WAIT to see some pictures !! I'm so stoked!

I am PMing you all the questions you asked me!!

Alex2kMommy

10-13-2008, 03:28 PM

GINORMOUS trip report Sherry !!! But I read it all ;)
WOOHOO, me too! :thumbsup2

Add me to the list of those :crazy2: over the idea of brushing teeth with "poo water" and laughing at the attempted Love Connection. :love: :lmao:

Sherry E

10-13-2008, 08:29 PM

Monster trip report. Bummer about Blue Bayou. But at least you did it. I wouldn't wait the hour and we bolted. Wish we hadn't. I've eaten there before and it's worth it. So I enjoyed reading your report -- I felt like I was there!

Yes, at least we did it. An hour is just a tad too long to wait for BB for us, but at least my friend got to experience it. I culd take or leave it! Thanks for reading my TR. That was my goal - to make everyone feel like they were right there with me! I am going to read your TR now (I see you poted one, so that is where I am headed next!)

GINORMOUS trip report Sherry !!! But I read it all ;)

I'm sorry that you had so many disappointments on this trip. I had a couple myself. I guess all you can do is try to shrug it off and focus on the positive right ? I can't WAIT to see some pictures !! I'm so stoked!

I am PMing you all the questions you asked me!!

Yep, I PM'ed you back and sent pictures! I guess some DLR trips exceed any possible expectations, and others disappoint on some levels. It was not a bad trip for me. It was that I think we didn't have enough time in the parks overall, and it was just more surprising to me than anything that the PPH was kind of gross with the poo water and the Carnation Cafe service was terrible, and after reading other posters' comments in other threads about how cavalierly Disney treated their complaints, I don't expect anything from them other than a "We're sorry..." letter! I don't know...I will always love the Mouse and DLR, but they are starting to show many of us signs that they cannot keep up that high level of quality service all the time and are starting to slip in a lot of ways! They set the bar so high for customer service that they made all other non-Disney establishments look bad. Now they are becoming like the other places in many ways!

WOOHOO, me too! :thumbsup2

Add me to the list of those :crazy2: over the idea of brushing teeth with "poo water" and laughing at the attempted Love Connection. :love: :lmao:

I am all or nothing with writing. I either get on a roll and cannot stop myself, OR I get writer's block and totally freeze up and can't think of a single thing to say! Next time I have a DLR trip, I probably won't be able to put two sentences together for a TR!!!

We will soon see what DLR's reply is to the complaint about the poo water!!! And yes, the attempted Love Connection was funny. It would not have been so amusing if I had known who was trying to fix up who with whom, but it was hard to figure out if I was supposed to be with dad or son. Good thing they didn't have grandpa there too - that may even be a little too old for ME!!!:rotfl: :lmao:

Thanks to everyone for reading the whole thing!!!!!:hug: :goodvibes :grouphug:

Rainforest_Elf

10-13-2008, 10:04 PM

Time for Toy Story Mania. We entered DCA through the handy-dandy GCH entrance, and instantly began chatting with a family of four – three men and a grandmotherly-looking type - in the line to get into the park. At one point, it seemed to me that the two adult sons may have either been trying to size us/me up as potential mates for their dad, or Dad was trying to size us/me up as a potential mate for one of the sons. When you are 41 years old, it is hard to tell if you belong with Dad or Junior! In any case, I was not interested in making a love connection or planning an arranged marriage at DLR, and TSMM was my only focus.

hahahah oh my gosh that made me laugh out loud. Love connection at Disneyland!! C'mon, who cares if Jr. was 20 years younger! :laughing: Besides, you could come back after the courtship and do a DL wedding! :D

IDreamfDisney

10-14-2008, 02:02 AM

Hi - I really enjoyed your TR; you made it all sound so real. I felt like I was there (I could even smell the water and I would so trip over that "haunted drawer", too)! Wish your TR had pictures! I have one question for you - how did you get a Premium Annual Pass for $191.00??

Sherry E

10-14-2008, 02:12 PM

hahahah oh my gosh that made me laugh out loud. Love connection at Disneyland!! C'mon, who cares if Jr. was 20 years younger! :laughing: Besides, you could come back after the courtship and do a DL wedding! :D

I think the adult sons may have been in their very late 20's or early 30's. And dad was probably in his very late 50's or early 60's. The grandma loooked like a young grandma. One of the sons seemed to be trying to make chit chat in the TSMM line (the great Goofy's Kitchen vs. Storyteller's Cafe debate), but when they exited the line as it broke down, the dad said something about giving us his e-mail address. Oh well, they were a nice family - maybe they were just all sick of each other and needed someone else to talk to! That is one thing I love about DLR - everybody likes to talk in line and get to know each other. You meet people from all over the USA and the world!

Hi - I really enjoyed your TR; you made it all sound so real. I felt like I was there (I could even smell the water and I would so trip over that "haunted drawer", too)! Wish your TR had pictures! I have one question for you - how did you get a Premium Annual Pass for $191.00??

Thanks for reading the TR! I wish I could tell you that I stumbled upon a great discount for the Premium AP that I could share with everyone, but in actuality, I had was 3 one-day/one-park tickets (never used) which had been given to me by a client of mine last year (I do freelance work a home until I get another office job). I applied the 3 tickets (a total value of $198) towards the cost of a Premium Annual Pass (DLR and their Bank view unused tickets "just like money"), and that meant I only had to pay $191. Seeing that it covered my visit that weekend as well as any future ones in the next year, and the fact that I started using it for discounts on meals and merchandise right away, AND I can use it toward hotel stays in the future, it was a GREAT bargain!

kaoden39

10-14-2008, 03:03 PM

Oh my Sherry! You mean you didn't go to DLR to make a love connection?:rotfl2: I really enjoy reading your report.:goodvibes

Sherry E

10-14-2008, 03:11 PM

Oh my Sherry! You mean you didn't go to DLR to make a love connection?:rotfl2: I really enjoy reading your report.:goodvibes

Not in that particular situation! When it is clear as to whether it is the father or son I am supposed to be paired up with, then maybe I would consider it! But I am usually hot and perspiring and my hair is getting in my face and my feet and/or back are aching, and I have just scarfed down a big breakfast at Goofy's and am feeling bloated, so I am not in prime man-catching mode!!!

Glad you are enjoying the TR!

PRINCESSplazola

10-14-2008, 06:19 PM

I think I saw PRINCESSplazola’s Sister-in-law. I recognize her hair and her outfit. I didn’t see PRINCESS and her adorable son, though!

Sherry E! you are so sweet:hug: i really wish we did get to see you while we were there!
and what a GREAT TR!! i really enjoyed reading it:goodvibes and was sad when i got done!! lol i got the feeling of leaving DL to go back home when i finished your TR....that means its REALLY good:thumbsup2 hehe

that sucks about your water situation at PPH! i couldnt imagine having to go through that...especially at a disney hotel! i hope you let us know when disney writes back to you!! so, other than that, would you still recommend PPH? would it be better to pay more and go to the disneyland hotel?

PRINCESSplazola

10-14-2008, 06:20 PM

and i cant wait for your pics!!! :surfweb:

Sherry E

10-14-2008, 08:54 PM

Sherry E! you are so sweet:hug: i really wish we did get to see you while we were there!
and what a GREAT TR!! i really enjoyed reading it:goodvibes and was sad when i got done!! lol i got the feeling of leaving DL to go back home when i finished your TR....that means its REALLY good:thumbsup2 hehe

that sucks about your water situation at PPH! i couldnt imagine having to go through that...especially at a disney hotel! i hope you let us know when disney writes back to you!! so, other than that, would you still recommend PPH? would it be better to pay more and go to the disneyland hotel?

Thansk so much for the nice comments! I am glad you enjoyed reading my long, epic TR! Even without pictures! And yes, it is always a bit of sad feelign to leave DLR, isn't it? Even with the APs (and I know you and I both have them now!:cool1: ), you always feel a little melancholy leaving the DLR property!

It seems like nobody from DISboards has been able to meet at these TOTP's! Wazowskilover was not able to find Prettyprincessbelle anywhere on their TOTP night. And Cseca not only was right across the hall from me in the PPH hotel and we never met, but she was also at the TOTP on the night we were there and nobody crossed paths... and yet, as I say that, there is currently an active thread going on about running into people you know in DLR out of the blue, and that happens all the time. But when you expect to see someone or want to meet up with them, it doesn't happen!!!!:sad2:

Yes, my friend was totally grossed out by the water in the PPH faucet and had to turn it off. She ended up rinsing her mouth after brishing with the bottled water we brought! It was just icky. And we have never experienced that at any of the three DLR hotels. They must have been having a plumbing or sewer issue of some kind, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a health hazard. I actually sent my e-mail about it seven days ago exactly, and they tell you in their automated response that it usually takes up to 7 "business days" for them to respond, so I guess I still a few more days to wait. I don't expect anything because I didn't complain while I was there. If I had, I might have gotten credited back for one night's stay or something, but I just didn't push it then. I think they will just send me a generic e-mail that says they are sorry and they hope I will visit again in the future.

As for recommending PPH - well, this was the first even sort of bad experience I have had there. Normally, it is fine. It is not elegant like the GCH and it doesn't have AS MUCH magic as the DLH, but it has the adorable shampoo bottles with the Mickey heads in the bathroom, and it is in slightly better shape than the DLH is. Also, it is easy to cut across the street from the PPH to the GCH lobby and head to the DL/DCA entrances. So, yes, I guess I would recommend it. If you thnk your little guy would really love the extra touches of Mickey and Disney around, then maybe paying slightly more for the DLH would be better, but PPH is usually fine. Normally they don't have poopy water and drawers that stick out, I hope! There is a cute surfer Goofy statue in the lobby too,and cute little surfboard and seashell soapdishes in the bathroom. And you can still walk over to the fun stuff in the DLH even if you don't stay there, like the koi fish pond and the waterfalls and miniature Jungle Cruise boats

Rainforest_Elf

10-14-2008, 09:52 PM

So it leaves me wondering about Disneyland – is TOO much never enough, or does a little go a loooong way? Is it possible for DLR to ‘get old’ in just a few days when you have barely scratched the surface? And if so, then why do I instantly want to get right back to DLR after I leave it?

You make an excellent point Sherry. I kinda felt the same way about my trip. We missed a LOT of stuff that I really wanted to see, or do again, but by the end of our trip I was just SO over disneyland.... but I already feel a hankering to go back! :rotfl:

I think what it was for me, at least was, we picked the week we did expecting crowds to be lighter than usual and we were dead wrong. More importantly we picked it because weather was supposed to be mild and it wasn't. I can't stand the heat and so the nasty global warming weather really put me off.

I mean, it was better than being at work and I spent some awesome time with my friends, but maybe the disney magic is something you have to do yourself now that the CM's won't do it for you :wizard: hahaha

I'd say a little goes a long way.

Totally loved the details in your TR, read the whole thing!! Now I'm IMPATIENTLY waiting for your pictures!!!

Sherry E

10-15-2008, 09:28 PM

You make an excellent point Sherry. I kinda felt the same way about my trip. We missed a LOT of stuff that I really wanted to see, or do again, but by the end of our trip I was just SO over disneyland.... but I already feel a hankering to go back! :rotfl:

I think what it was for me, at least was, we picked the week we did expecting crowds to be lighter than usual and we were dead wrong. More importantly we picked it because weather was supposed to be mild and it wasn't. I can't stand the heat and so the nasty global warming weather really put me off.

I mean, it was better than being at work and I spent some awesome time with my friends, but maybe the disney magic is something you have to do yourself now that the CM's won't do it for you :wizard: hahaha

I'd say a little goes a long way.

Totally loved the details in your TR, read the whole thing!! Now I'm IMPATIENTLY waiting for your pictures!!!

It is a delicate balance that must be struck between getting a lot done in DLR and taking a break here and there. It is tough to squeeze in a lot in just two days, and try to rest too. Inevitably, someone didn't get to see or do everything they wanted to do or someone gets burnt out and exhausted because they didn't take enough breaks! I still think that for me and my usual possible DLR companions, it MAY be effective to try staying at the hotel for more nights than we usually do and spreading the activities in the parks out over more days than we usually do - in shorter increments. That way, lots of time for rest, and more time to get everything done, and nothing seems so daunting. The only problem with that is MONEY! Coming up with the funds to do a marathon stay at one of the hotels and at least one mega-Park Hopper (for at least one friend) is not easy. So, until that can happen, it seems the only way to do it is with a 2 or 3-night stay at a hotel and a 2 or 3-day visit into the parks, trying to cram into eating, riding, Hidden Mickey hunting, shopping, people watching and resting. And I have seen where that has gotten us, so it can only get worse over time, as we get older!

Sherry E

10-16-2008, 02:44 PM

This is the response I got today about the poopy water in the PPH bathroom and the Blue Bayou PS issue I brought up regarding the wait. I barely mentioned BB in my e-mail but I went into detail about Carnation Cafe's bad service and they TOTALLY ignored that part of it. Oh well, I guess I can't expect much from them if they are kind of disinterested after people complain about food poisoning after eating in DLR restaurants. But now we know - if there is ever a problem with one of the DLR hotels - complain right then and there, and not when you get home! Here is what they said:

"Thank you for your e-mail to the DISNEYLAND® Resort. We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with us. We are sorry for the
disappointments you mentioned in your e-mail.

We apologize that our usual high standards were not apparent during your
recent stay at DISNEY'S PARADISE PIER® Hotel. We strive to provide the
best in service and accommodations and have always prided ourselves in
providing our Guests with a clean and safe environment. Please be
assured our standards have not changed. It is unfortunate that we were
unaware of your dissatisfaction while you were here, as prompt,
corrective action could have been taken. Your comments have been shared
with the appropriate management teams in order to avoid similar
situations in the future.

We also appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts about
priority seating at the Blue Bayou Restaurant with us. As you know,
this service allows our Guests to be seated at the next available table
as close as possible to the requested time. In some cases, parties may
be seated almost immediately, while at other times, there may be a wait.
We apologize if our Cast Members did not clearly explain the process.
Please be assured we take your comments very seriously.

Again, thank you for contacting us. Comments such as yours are welcomed
in that they assist us in evaluating our operation and our success in
generating happiness for our Guests. We hope you will have the
opportunity to visit the DISNEYLAND® Resort soon and that our
attractions and entertainment will delight you in every way."

kaoden39

10-16-2008, 06:25 PM

Talk about getting the yada, yada. Geez you would expect more for the money we pay.

Sherry E

10-16-2008, 07:42 PM

Talk about getting the yada, yada. Geez you would expect more for the money we pay.

Yep. That is definitely the yada, yada answer. Really surprising in a way, given the money we pay, as you say, and also just the fact that MOST restaurants anywhere else will comp your meal or offer you a free one in the future if you complain. Not Disney, though! And I would never expect them to say, "Here, we are refunding all of your money from your PPH stay." Lord knows I don't expect them to do that, nor would I think that is fair to them. But I am really surprised that they don't offer something like a free meal or a credit towards the hotel bill of some kind, etc. Those things wouldn't be a big deal for them to do. If someone is telling you that the water coming from their room's faucets smelled, literally, like crap, and the service and meal in one restaurant (not even Blue Bayou, but Carnation Cafe) was unsatisfactory, they should handle it like any other hotel or restaurant would. But not Disney! I guess they don't feel they should have to.

Oh well! They have me sucked in as a lifelong fan, but they are showing their less magical side every now and then!

kaoden39

10-16-2008, 07:59 PM

Sherry E

10-16-2008, 10:20 PM

I know what you mean. A few years ago my DH and I were down in Beverly Hills for a Richard Simmons retreat and we stayed at a Marriots. The housekeeping did not clean our room. I had to request clean towels. I left a tip on the bed for housekeeping and although they didn't clean they felt free to take my tip. I was furious. When we came home I sent an email to them just to let them know how we felt and so that they were aware of what their staff was doing. I received what I thought was a yada, yada from corporate saying they were letting the manager know. A few days later I received a very nice email back from the manager apologizing for any problems caused by everything and he comped us 40% of our bill. I was very impressed. I never expected that at all.

Yeah, see that is exactly what I mean - it is something Mariott took the initiative on so you didn't have to look like you were just trying to get a freebie and they didn't go overboard and offer you a WHOLE refund but a good amount off the bill. That is good customer service! It is not like you said, "I don't like the shower curtain." You had a legitimate complaint worthy of some kind of reimbursement or compensation even if you didn't expect it, and they did their job and got right on it! I am sure many hotels would behave the same way, which is why DLR's behavior still baffles me. I suppose they just think they are Disney and so therefore, anything goes!! But then I hear other stories from people where DLR goes above and beyond the call of duty, replacing food that a guest spilled for free, or offering a free Park Hopper for some bad experience....they do have their moments of great generosity where it really isn't even necessary. They even refunded a few guests after a recent L.A. earthquake and that really was not the fault of DLR at all! But when it comes to things like complaints about hotels or bad restaurant service, food poisoning, etc., they seem to be much different! It is like the two faces of Disney!

Rainforest_Elf

10-16-2008, 10:28 PM

"

We also appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts about
priority seating at the Blue Bayou Restaurant with us. As you know,
this service allows our Guests to be seated at the next available table
as close as possible to the requested time. In some cases, parties may
be seated almost immediately, while at other times, there may be a wait.
We apologize if our Cast Members did not clearly explain the process.
Please be assured we take your comments very seriously.
."

Umm was this in regards to you and Shawn checking in to the BB, then like 30 minutes later a texan couple came up and got seated almost immediately after that?

Look Disney, she freaking knows how it works, how about you teach your hostesses how it works?

I work in customer service and while I totally understand where this email was coming from from THEIR perspective, they really just hemmed and hawed a response. I expect way more from Disney.

Sherry E

10-16-2008, 10:42 PM

Umm was this in regards to you and Shawn checking in to the BB, then like 30 minutes later a texan couple came up and got seated almost immediately after that?

Look Disney, she freaking knows how it works, how about you teach your hostesses how it works?

I work in customer service and while I totally understand where this email was coming from from THEIR perspective, they really just hemmed and hawed a response. I expect way more from Disney.

Really the only reference to BB that I made in my initial e-mail was about the crazy one-hour wait in the packed parlor and how they overbook their PS's for BB. And I said no one should have to wait an hour and that should stop booking so many people. I didn't even get into the whole Texas conspiracy!!:rotfl:

Mainly I focused on Carnation Cafe's bad service and that waitress' lack of interest in our service and, of course, the poopy water in the PPH. They ignored Carnation altogether and as you see, their reply to the PPH issue is lame. Sure, I SHOULD have complained while I was still there, but they COULD choose to compensate or credit anyone they want to who has gone home already. I am sure they get complaints from folks who are back home all the time. I think they just use that 'too bad you didn't speak up when you here' stuff to cop out of having to do anything!

They definitely hemmed and hawed and yada yada'ed all through the letter, and were kinda patronizing in parts, too!

kaoden39

10-16-2008, 10:55 PM

Yeah, see that is exactly what I mean - it is something Mariott took the initiative on so you didn't have to look like you were just trying to get a freebie and they didn't go overboard and offer you a WHOLE refund but a good amount off the bill. That is good customer service! It is not like you said, "I don't like the shower curtain." You had a legitimate complaint worthy of some kind of reimbursement or compensation even if you didn't expect it, and they did their job and got right on it! I am sure many hotels would behave the same way, which is why DLR's behavior still baffles me. I suppose they just think they are Disney and so therefore, anything goes!! But then I hear other stories from people where DLR goes above and beyond the call of duty, replacing food that a guest spilled for free, or offering a free Park Hopper for some bad experience....they do have their moments of great generosity where it really isn't even necessary. They even refunded a few guests after a recent L.A. earthquake and that really was not the fault of DLR at all! But when it comes to things like complaints about hotels or bad restaurant service, food poisoning, etc., they seem to be much different! It is like the two faces of Disney!

Well exactly and unfortunately Disney knows for every customer they lose they have more to replace them. And they also know in their computers that you are a repeat customer and they know that no matter what you will be back.

travelmel

10-17-2008, 02:58 AM

OMG My eyeballs are KILLING ME! :eek:

How did I miss this??? I am so going to catch up.

SUBBING!!!

Sherry E

10-18-2008, 04:40 PM

Well exactly and unfortunately Disney knows for every customer they lose they have more to replace them. And they also know in their computers that you are a repeat customer and they know that no matter what you will be back.

Yep! They have all the stats on me! They know I am a lifelong customer and that I will be back, poopy water and all! From what I hear, some of the GCH rooms have been substandard lately too , needing maintenance and touch-ups. For what they charge to stay in that hotel, they should REALLY keep those rooms spotless and freshly painted and looking sparkly at all times! (My GCH rooms have been okay in the past - not worth all that money, but clean and pleasant.) They should be bringing Mickey to the rooms to sing and dance for the guests! Because if it just the gorgeous lobby or cool restaurants in the GCH that one would want, ANYONE can enjoy those without the price tag attached! I think even the Mandara Spa is open to anyone and not just GCH guests. So that is highway robbery to charge those high prices and not maintain the rooms properly! I guess the hefty price tag is for the convenient location to the parks - and that IS a huge help. We have seen the difference in what we have accomplished from when we stayed at PPH and when we stayed at the handy GCH!

OMG My eyeballs are KILLING ME! :eek:

How did I miss this??? I am so going to catch up.

SUBBING!!!

Hope you are all caught up now and didn't go blind in the meantime! I should have a few pictures to insert in the TR very soon - probably within the next several days!

dr&momto2boys

10-18-2008, 05:08 PM

Sherry E

10-18-2008, 05:29 PM

Wow! Disappointing response from Disney no your complaints. I still haven't bothered to submit my complaints re: our dining experience, and now I don't know if I will bother. It makes me wonder if it really maks a difference to complain. Maybe if they receive enough?

You asked if we did dine with Shamu on our trip. We did. We decided the morning we got there to reserve a spot for dinner with Shamu. I'm glad we did, but wasn't impressed with the food. I was impressed it came with two beers per adult. (Not a beer drinker though, and I'm pregnant anyway. My DH had one.) The dessert selection was good too. The kid's offerings weren't bad. We had the worst table in the place--understandable since we just reserved seats that morning, but like my DH said, they shouldn't have any bad tables. It was still worth doing once.

I sound like a complainer, but I don't think I really am! I'm working on making online photo albums from our trip. Then I'll concentrate on the trip report. Stay tuned!

Can't wait to see your pics, too!

No, I don't think you sound like a complainer at all. There are people who let all kinds of things happen and never speak up about them at all and those who complain constantly, and it doesn't sound like you are either of those. It just sounds as though you are pointing out the good and not so good things about your trips to Sea World and DLR, etc. And for the number of days your vacation was, and the number of activities you did, I am sure it was not cheap at all, so you have to kind of pay attention to where your money is going and if it was put to good use!

I have never heard especially good things about the food at Sea World. I would like to dine with Shamu though. Where exactly is he during this meal? Are you sitting next to his tank/pool or something? How does that work? Frankly, a lot of amusement park food is really bad. I know the last time I ate at Univeral Studios, it was not good at all. For a long time, the food at DLR got the worst reputation, but in the last, say, 16 years or so, DLR has made great strides in improving their food. Not only are there many more healthy options now than there were, but the food in general is just better tasting and of a better quality than it used to be when it was just 'amusement park food.' And again, for those prices at DLR, everything - the hotels, the food, the merchandise, the overall experience - had better be tip-top!

I have a hunch that DLR's responses to complaints depends in part on which CM receives the complaint. Some of them are probably more accommodating and sympathetic than others. You may have really good luck! Another member of DISboards just recently told me she ate at Goofy's Kitchen solo and the characters never came to her table. I LOVE Goofy's, but it is not a cheap restaurant for anyone to eat in, and those characters had BETTER stop by every single table! She wrote DLR and complained and they responded, offering her an 8x10 B&W glossy photo of her favorite character and said they would relate her experience to the Character Dept. Well, as you can see in my response from them, they didn't even say they would talk to PPH management about the poopy water/haunted drawer problem and they certainly didn't offer me an 8x10 glossy!!! In fact, they were kind of patronizing, in a way. I don't want them to give me all my money back, but they SHOULD have offered some little thing. Even if I didn't accept it, they should still offer! But as Kaoden said earlier, they don't need to. They know I will be back and they don't have to worry about losing customers! :sad2: :rolleyes:

davidsprincess

10-18-2008, 07:30 PM

\They should be bringing Mickey to the rooms to sing and dance for the guests!

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

Sorry, for some strange reason I find this hilarious.

I am sorry that you got the "Yadda, yadda" response. I know how much you looked forward to your trip and to have some not great moments really sucks!! They should have done SOMETHING for you. :mad:

I am enjoying your TR, though. I can't wait for the pictures. :surfweb:

Sherry E

10-18-2008, 08:12 PM

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

Sorry, for some strange reason I find this hilarious.

I am sorry that you got the "Yadda, yadda" response. I know how much you looked forward to your trip and to have some not great moments really sucks!! They should have done SOMETHING for you. :mad:

I am enjoying your TR, though. I can't wait for the pictures. :surfweb:

The image of bringing Mickey to the rooms to sing and dance for the guests IS amusing, isn't it?:laughing: Sing, dance, do card tricks, make dinner, play Scrabble with you - whatever it takes to justify spending that money to stay in the hotel!!:rotfl:

Yep, they gave me the ol' yada, yada...but what can you do? I complained and if they don't feel that many of their guests' complaints are valid (and it seems they don't), then I can't convince them otherwise:mad:

I am glad you are enjoying the TR, and I hope to have some pictures to add to it in a few days, with any luck!:) :goodvibes

Sherry E

10-23-2008, 10:03 AM

Another update from the World of Disneyland Resort Guest Communications... after they sent me the e-mail last week (posted earlier in this thread), where they basically offered nothing and barely took responsibility for anything in response to my complaints about the PPH poopy water and other problems with the room, as well as the bad service at Carnation Cafe, I wrote them back. I said that I was kind of surprised by their lack of concern with trying to make things right, and that "other establishments" will usually try to work with the dissatisfied customer and credit them back something or offer a free meal or whatever. (And believe me, I just want them to OFFER to do something; I don't even necessarily know if I would accept!) I said I couldn't believe Disneyland won't do the same thing for their guests. I told them it shouldn't matter whether I was IN the hotel room when I complained or had just returned home and made the complaint. I didn't wait a month to do it. I did it right when I got back. I don't expect a FULL reimbursement, so where I was when I complained should have no bearing on anything. I can see if I was asking for all my money back, they would be hesitant because I had stayed at the hotel without complaining on the spot. I don't want all of my money back. I don't even want half of it. In fact, I would have been content if they just said, "We'll give you $50 back." Other hotels will do something for the guest or offer to do something even after they have returned home. People don't always have time to make the complaint and deal with fixing it while they are there. If we had been there a week, or even several days, I may have found the time, but we had no time to do it when we were there.

So a few days ago I received another e-mail from a different lady this time, and she said (about Carnation Cafe), "We would be happy to consider issuing food vouchers to you but we have to ask you to mail us your original receipt from the Carnation Cafe meal, and keep a copy for yourself." And then she went on to again say, basically, that I should have complained while I was at the hotel and they would have acted quickly to remedy the problem. I still think it's a cop out. As soon as I made the complaint, they could have gone right up to the room I was in and turned on the water and known I was telling the truth.

In any case, so the PPH hotel issue is put to rest now, with no resolution. Oh well. I can't do anything more than what I did! And, after I mail in my orginal Carnation Cafe receipt (which I will do today), then Guest Communications will "consider" offering food vouchers to make up for the experience. I have never seen their food vouchers, but I have heard of other folks getting them. I don't know if the vouchers apply to one specific restaurant, or if you can use them at any restaurant in the park, but either way, it will be cool if they at least do that much.

Still, it is like pulling teeth to get DLR to admit they offer less than great service or accommodations in some cases! It is like they are saying, "Well, we may take responsbility for the bad service at Carnation Cafe and admit that is our fault, but we will NOT admit to having less than stellar maintenance of our rooms in PPH or anywhere else."

Sherry E

10-31-2008, 04:04 PM

UPDATE - yesterday, in the mail, I got a letter from the lady at DLR who I had been communicating with and the letter is to be brought to a DLR ticket window on my next visit to get $35 worth of meal vouchers. For some reason I thought that they had actual meal vouchers to send out or hand to you, but this letter is supposed to be shown to the ticket window person along with my ID and they will give me my 7 $5 vouchers. So getting any kind of credit for the PPH situation - even just $50 - is not possible, but at least two of us can either eat meals at Carnation for free OR I can pay for one free character meal, which is a pretty good deal because Goofy's is expensive - even with an AP discount!!!

But DLR would not budge on the PPH poopy water credit issue AT ALL. So at least we know that complaining on the spot at the hotels is the only way to get satisfaction! The restaurant issue they seem to be a little less rigid on if you complain after returning home. But if you have a negative hotel experience, make the time in your trip to complain while you are there.

I am supposed to be going back and staying at the GCH (knock on wood - if no financial emergencies come up to stop me) in December, and you can BET that if there are any poopy water problems or wayward demon drawers in that hotel room, I will be complaining right then and there! That is TOO expensive of a hotel to not get a fully clean and well-maintained room with fresh-smelling water!!! So even if I have to skip doing some things I want to do to spend the time complaining, I will - IF there is anything to complain about. But I have had a good track record with DLR and have never had to gripe to them until this last trip, so I am sure the magic will be restored!

kaoden39

11-01-2008, 09:53 AM

At least they were willing to resolve part of the problem. I can assure you that if I ever have a problem with a resort room I will tell them then.

Sherry E

11-01-2008, 10:32 AM

At least they were willing to resolve part of the problem. I can assure you that if I ever have a problem with a resort room I will tell them then.

Yep. Definitely! Even if you are only there for one night, if there is a problem for which you would like any kind of credit or compensation, or something that is urgent, then complain on the spot. And that could take a big chunk of time out of your one night visit and interfere with plans, but if you don't, we now see how they handle such issues even one day after you have left the resort. If no credit or compensation is necessary and the problem is not that urgent, then wait until you get home to complain. I guess I didn't think our problem was that urgent while we were there, but I didn't really have time to think because we were only there a short time and it seemed like we were busy with something every second and I am very big on not wasting precious time. So I didn't have the time to really consider whether or not I wanted any kind of credit or anything. As I have said, it was only when I got home that I had a chance to think about it further and I didn't think it would be a big issue for DLR to throw a small credit (not the full amount) back at me. I just assumed that was what hotels and restaurants do. And perhaps, if I had gotten in touch with a different Cast Member, he or she would have handled it differently than the one I got. That seems to happen, too. Different CMs do different things.

But the $35 in food vouchers will come in handy for something - either two meals at Carnation or one meal at Goofy's - so that is very valuable since DLR food is pretty costly!

prettyprincessbelle

11-02-2008, 01:21 AM

Sherry E

11-02-2008, 07:14 PM

Sherry, I just read your whole TR! Woo, go me!!!

Man, that's some crazy stuff about your meal vouchers. At least that $35 can be used for something!

I wonder why they won't do anything about your poopy water PPH issue? That's strange to me...

Woo hoo! Thanks for reading the whole thing! Yay! I keep intending to get some pictures in there one of these days when I have time to upload, download, copy, paste and all that fun stuff!

I don't know why they (Guest Services) were quite SO rigid in not wanting to do anything in terms of a free meal or a credit for the hotel room with the poopy water, either. (The food vouchers are for the Carnation Cafe experience, and that was addressed after I returned home too.) I realize the BEST thing to do is complain while you are there, but if you don't have a good opportunity to do that and as long as you are not looking for a FULL credit back on what you spent, then I don't see why they can't do something after you get home and complain. I could totally understand them not wanting to budge if I said I wanted all of my money back, but that is not what I asked for or wanted. And I think other non-Disney hotels would have comped the guests something even if they complained after returning home. Another free meal or a $50 credit or whatever - something that would pacify or appease the guest but not be a huge loss to DLR! The only thing I can deduce is that maybe DLR is extra cautious now, because perhaps all kinds of crazy people fabricate situations or complaints about non-existent problems for the sole purpose of getting freebies?? DLR is probably hyper-sensitive to people's complaints - especially about something expensive like hotel rooms - because they have been sued and probably had to deal with a lot of frivolous, silly stuff that guests make up just to get free stuff. So the people with legitimate complaints, who have never complained to DLR about ANYTHING, pay the price for what all these lawsuit-happy guests have done!

Sherry E

11-20-2008, 12:55 PM

I guess I will just begin a sort of new pre-trip report in this same old trip report thread...for a trip that may or may not happen!!!:headache: Oh, how I wish that the courses of these trips would run smoothly and without disruption, as it would allow me to truly enjoy a stress-free and worry-free vacation for once. But, alas, there is always unexpected pre-trip upheaval which threatens to bring my carefully thought-out plans to a screeching halt.

After I got my very first Premium AP in October, I knew that, one way or the other, I would be back to DLR during the magical holiday season. December has always been my favorite time of year to visit DLR, and having the AP would just make it that much easier. The only debate in my mind was whether to try to do a one-day solo trip or even get daring and do a solo trip-with-hotel-stay, OR keep the original plan that was proposed last year and go for a weekend stay with a friend or two. See, my friend Shawn has a birthday on the day after Christmas. Our other friend, Jackie, has a birthday on December 31st. So, last December, when we went to DLR as a group of four women, it was largely for their birthdays as much as it was for me to get my DLR holiday fix! And we planned to go again this coming December (with another friend or two coming along) for the same reasons. Even though it is a birthday celebration of sorts for Shawn and Jackie, they were going to pay their share of either the tickets or hotel or both, if necessary. In other words, much as I would like to, I was not going to be treating everyone for their birthdays. Just not in the budget at the moment, but I would if I could – and I have, in the past – and they know that. There was a chance that I might be getting free tickets/Hoppers as a gift again, which happened last year, in which case I could give those to my friends and that part would be taken care of. Then, we would just have to figure out who was staying at the hotel and split costs accordingly, and we would all fend for ourselves on the food and souvenir front. So, plans were made for December 26 – 29, with a possible stay at the GCH again, which was a big hit last December.

Well, now I am in the midst of the usual pre-trip to DLR upheaval and a couple of different problems have presented themselves. It seems that whenever I have a DLR trip planned (and this dates back to when I first began planning DLH stays in the '80s and '90s), there is some sort of chaos that ensues before the trip commences - someone suddenly cannot go on the trip and, obviously, cannot chip in their share of money which leaves the rest of us to cover the difference; someone's car breaks down; someone can't stay for the whole trip and has to be driven home in the middle of it; someone shows up hours late and we don't get into the park until 2 p.m.; someone can pay for X and Y, but they don't have enough money to cover Z, etc., etc. There has always been something. Rarely have I had a trip to DLR go off without a hitch. And it IS stressful. It is amazing that my friends and I have had the fun we have had at DLR over the years because the pre-trip mayhem is really draining.

Prior to this past October's trip, said mayhem mainly came from my financial situation and the unpredictable events that kept popping up to threaten the trip. I almost cancelled it a couple of different times, but I didn't panic and let some time pass and I waited to make sure I could afford it, and everything worked out okay.

So now, we come to this upcoming December's trip. I should point out that I only made a reservation at the GCH and put down the required deposit for the sake of having something booked, but I kind of figured that the plan would have to be altered in some way before the actual date approached. I had originally made the reservation for the same December weekend with the WDTC and cancelled that earlier this year. I waited until the end of October and made another reservation for December 26-29 through Central Reservations. I figured that if anything needed to be changed, it might be that I had to switch to a cheaper hotel, or shorten the trip to only a 2-night stay rather than a 3-night stay, or in the absolute worst case scenario, I would just cut out the hotel all together and we would go for one day, although that is really not preferable because my friend needs her mid-day rest breaks at the hotel and she would be very exhausted if she didn’t have one and had to drive home late at night!

Well, even when you expect chaos to ensue, you can’t control it. Something always comes out of left field and throws you off your game. First of all, it looks like I will not be getting anymore free tickets/Hoppers as a gift this holiday season. I have my AP, but this means that anyone else who goes – and two of them have birthdays – have to pay for themselves. Okay, not the ideal scenario, but not the end of the world, either…except for that one of the friends had to just shell out $3,000 for a new transmission in her truck, and she is not certain she will have the money to go. This means, she may be able to pay for a Hopper, but she has no money to chip in for the hotel (even if I switch to a cheaper hotel). The other friend would not be staying at the hotel with us, and, in fact, MAY not even be available to join us in the parks and would only meet us for dinner (that will be last minute). And finally, one of my freelance clients who regularly sends me work has now fallen into some financial crises and therefore, I have not been getting any money from him, which was very unexpected.

Okay. So everything has been turned topsy-turvy and I now have to sort out what the best game plan is. I really WANT to go to DLR for the holidays and I really want a hotel stay. If I were going by myself OR treating my friend and staying at one of the hotels, I would choose a much cheaper time to go – and I see that there are still AP7 rates available for some of the mid-week blocks in December. Now, of course, this would have to be earlier in the month than planned. Even if I COULD treat my friend to everything, she cannot go to DLR in the middle of the week because of her work schedule. But it doesn’t look like I would be able to pay for the whole hotel bill myself if we kept the plan on track for December 26-29, no matter which hotel it was, and even if I cut off a night from the reservation. And again, if we don’t have a hotel to stay in, not only will my friend be exhausted but she will want to leave the parks at 6:00 p.m. or earlier, and I am just not in agreement with that!! The beautiful holiday lights in DLR at night are 50% of the reason I want to go!

So I have to decide – and I am not asking for anyone’s advice because I know I have to choose the best plan for me based on all the variables – whether or not to blow my friends off completely for the plan in late December, even though it is their birthdays and I would feel awful since I so rarely see them anyway, and venture to DLR by myself two weeks earlier for a much cheaper AP7 rate stay at one of the hotels. OR, I could abandon the hotel stay altogether, go by myself to DLR for one solo day in mid-December and then go for one day with my friend(s) on December 27th, possibly having to treat one of them to a Park Hopper, and then prepare to leave at 6:00 p.m. (if I am lucky)!! OR I could wait another couple of weeks and see if it looks like money is flowing (and risk losing out on a possible AP7 rate hotel stay that I could have for myself) and then decide what or who I can pay for on the originally planned weekend. I know the longer I wait to make any decisions, the more I risk losing out on cheaper hotel rates, either earlier in December or during the 26th – 29th period of time.

Ah, decisions, decisions…..I know I am getting to DLR and decking those halls one way or the other - either with friends or solo!!:santa:

travelmel

11-20-2008, 07:36 PM

Good luck :hug:

Sherry E

11-20-2008, 08:55 PM

Good luck :hug:

Thank you! I wish I could just snap my fingers and have everything miraculously work itself out without my having to brainstorm any further, but it will not work that way! It basically all comes down to, do I want to do one solo day in December and one day with friends without a hotel, where I may have to treat for a Park Hopper and food (since she just spent her last $3,000 on her truck) and still have to leave DLR early, OR do I want to abandon the plan with friends entirely and go for a nice hotel stay totally by myself a couple of weeks earlier? Honestly, I don't like either scenario 100%!!!:headache: :confused:

bumbershoot

11-21-2008, 12:41 AM

Sherry E

11-21-2008, 09:24 AM

Sounds difficult!

If you will be able to pay your share (half? a third?) of 3 nights at GCH, what if you cut that down to just one night at PPH? Couldn't that turn out to be the same amount, meaning you could just pay for it (it could even be covered by the deposit you paid!) and not worry about others. Then your friends could go for one day or two, stay the night or not, and you wouldn't have to be tied to them at all, if you've figured out transportation (I still like the "get to LAX, take DL Express and back" idea).

Good luck, whatever you do!

Yep, that is one of the possible scenarios I was tossing around in my head. See, I only booked a room for the weekend of 12/26-12/29 because that was the best weekend for one of the friends (the one with the transmission difficulty) to go, but it was never my weekend of choice because it will be SUPER crowded, not ot mention that certain holiday touches will be gone immediately after Xmas is over (like Santa and the PhotoPass people in the GCH lobby). So, if I keep a one-night reservation for that weekend and switch it to PPH, I start looking at that money (which I already put down to hold the room) and thinking, You know, for that amount of money that I have already put down to hold a room on that weekend, I could stay TWO nights at the PPH if I just went two weeks earlier and grabbed one of those AP7 rooms before they are gone!!! See, I am basically one of those types who is used to comparison shopping and trying to see how I can get what I want for the least amount of money. So it seems silly on the one hand to keep even a one-night reservation for the 12/26 weekend because it is more expensive then, and now that my friend can't chip in anything, I would be probably be stuck treating for her Park Hopper and probably food too (since the transmission dilemma wiped her out). And how could I say to her, "Well, I am still keeping one night at a hotel, and even though it is your birthday, you will have to come up with the money for your Hopper and food or you can't come with me?" And that is a weekend that wasn't even my preference to begin with!

So, in a way, it would almost be easier to just cancel the 12/26-12/29 plan altogether so that I don't have to get myself into that awkward position, and I can (hopefully) still switch to PPH at a nifty AP7 rate mid-week, earlier in December. But I would feel guilty and awful doing that, not to mention the fact that I see my friends so infrequently and I always have this feeling in the back of my mind that something will happen and suddenly I won't have the chance to see them again, so I don't want to miss an opportunity. It would be fine with me to cut out the hotel for that 12/26-12/29 weekend entirely and just spend the time at DLR with my friends, but I don't want to tire my one friend out and end up leaving the parks at 5 p.m., so I would have to have a separate solo day trip for myself earlier in the month if I did that (just so I can squeeze in everything I want to see!!).

Oh, what a pain. Well, I have to figure something out - and FAST!

Sherry E

12-05-2008, 03:35 PM

I have added some PhotoPass pictures and other pictures into the first several posts of this report! No, you don't have to read all of it again! You can just look at the pictures! Some of them I have posted on other threads, some I haven't. And this is only a small hint of what I have lurking in albums upon albums upon albums of pictures. And, believe it or not, I actually have my own non-PhotoPass pictures of us being wacky and of various DLR things (like cute Bug lampposts in DCA and stuff like that) that I still have to have developed. Then I will either tag those onto the end of this TR or integrate them into the earlier parts of it.

So the latest update on my December trip is that I (sadly) switched from the GCH altogether and over to the PPH - yes, back to the House of Poo! And I DO mean POO, not Pooh!;) I had to do it for dire financial reasons - otherwise it meant not going at all! I even switched weekends from 12/26-12/29 over to 12/19 - 12/22, because it saved me a chunk of money! We will still ominously and menacingly linger around in the GCH lobby, staking out a prime spot by the beautiful tree so we can see the carolers again. And maybe if we hang around in the lobby long enough, the GCH staff will take pity on us and inisist we stay there! "Come, let us rescue you from the poo!"

In the meantime, until I get the rest of my pictures from the October trip developed, and until I take more pictures in a couple of weeks, here are some random ones from my trips in September 2007 and December 2007:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/ELEPHANTS-CALIFORNIAADVENTURE-SEPTE.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/CALIFORNIASCREAMINSUNWHEEL-CALIFORN.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/PartnersTomorrowlandPumpkins-Disney.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/Pumpkins-Disneyland-9-07.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/ORANGESTINGER-CALIFORNIAADVENTURE-S.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/IMG_04421.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/IMG_04331.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/4.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/SHERRYHEATHER-MICKEYSCAR-TOONTOWN-D.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/SHAWNHEATHER-TOONTOWNTREE-DECEMBER2.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/SHAWNHEATHER-TEACUP-DISNEYLAND-DECE.jpg

Notice my Mouse of 1000 Faces Bag in this picture below:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/SHAWNSHERRY-DISNEYLAND-DECEMBER2007.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/CALIFORNIAADVENTURE-DINOSHOP-DECEMB.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/GOOFYSHERRY-TOONTOWN-DISNEYLAND-DEC.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/SHAWNHEATHERDALE-STORYTELLERSCAFE-G.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/SHAWNHEATHER-TOONTOWN-DECEMBER2007.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/SHERRYSHAWN-CALIFORNIAADVENTURE-DEC.jpg

Again, I looked really bad in the December 2007 trip because I was in a lot of pain (back and leg issues related to a disc problem), I think it showed on my face in many pictures. Still, I wanted one shot of all four of us girls together (That's me in the green, Heather next to me, and Shawn and Jackie over on the other side of the table - we are at Rainforest Cafe:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202007/SHERRYHEATHERSHAWNJACKIE-RAINFOREST.jpg

More to come! I will try to dig up some fun ones from older DLR trips!

wazowskiLOVER:)

12-05-2008, 03:40 PM

How cute is that tree in Toontown !!! Great pictures Sherry :)

Sherry E

12-05-2008, 03:44 PM

How cute is that tree in Toontown !!! Great pictures Sherry :)

Thank you!:goodvibes I added pictures in the 4 beginning sections of the TR too! Lots o' pictures (though some you have already seen). And I am not done yet!

Yeah, I LOVE the decorations in ToonTown. I love that Mickey's house has its own little mini-tree outside!

Sherry E

12-05-2008, 08:09 PM

And here are still even MORE photos from DLR trips gone by - actually, these are from December 1993 and December 1994. I am trying to get myself in the DLR holiday mood for the trip in two weeks by looking at all my DLR holiday pictures from last year and beyond!

December 1993:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/MISCELLANEOUS/DISNEYLANDHOTEL-DEC1993-1.jpg

You can't tell, but that print on my pants is Mickey faces!

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/MISCELLANEOUS/DISNEYLANDHOTEL-DEC1993-2.jpg

December 1994:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/MISCELLANEOUS/GOOFYSKITCHENDEC1994-PLUTO-SHERRY-J.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/MISCELLANEOUS/GOOFYSKITCHEN-DEC1994-SHAWN-MINNIE-.jpg

Notice our Reindeer Mouse Ears:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/MISCELLANEOUS/MICKEYSHOUSE-DEC1994-SHAWN-JENNI-SH.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/MISCELLANEOUS/GOOFYSKITCHEN-DEC19942-TIGGER-MANDY.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/MISCELLANEOUS/GOOFYSKITCHEN-DEC1994-MANDY-SHERRY-.jpg

Jennifer03

12-05-2008, 08:31 PM

I love all the pictures, especially the ones with the reindeer ears! :)

Sherry E

12-05-2008, 08:41 PM

I love all the pictures, especially the ones with the reindeer ears! :)

Thank you! You know I am a big fan of your TR 'work' as well! It only took me two months to get around to adding photos to this darn TR, and some of them are at the beginning of the report and some of them are here, so people may have no clue where to look, or may only look at the end, but I figured I had better get something in here photo-wise - FAST!!! Compared to your TR and a couple of others, which are chock full o' good shots, mine is pretty empty, but at least there is some color in here now!

I don't think they sell those reindeer mouse ears anymore. I don't recall seeing them last December or even as far back as 8 years ago! It seemed to be a limited time sort of thing.

travelmel

12-05-2008, 09:05 PM

I found you!

Fun pics! I love the retro stuff :goodvibes

Sherry E

12-05-2008, 09:17 PM

I found you!

Fun pics! I love the retro stuff :goodvibes

Thank you! I forgot to add in the picture with my bulky Mickey earmuffs - wait until you get a load of those - but I will do that tomorrow!

In an act of sheer unoriginality, I stole Mariezp's idea (which may have been your suggestion, I can't recall) to post little photos of the key players at the very beginning ofthe TR so readers would have a clue who I was talking about. I thought it was a good idea when you (or whomever) suggested it to Mariezp, so I just 'borrowed' it! Hee hee!

Sherry E

12-05-2008, 09:30 PM

Travelmel, was the link in my signature not working when you first tried to find my TR? If so, I must fix it!

travelmel

12-05-2008, 09:39 PM

Travelmel, was the link in my signature not working when you first tried to find my TR? If so, I must fix it!

Whoopsie! Color me ridiculously unobservant! I looked too low to see it. :rolleyes:

LOL I'm sure it works just fine. If you're smart enough to find it. :rotfl2:

Sherry E

12-06-2008, 03:13 PM

Okay, so here are some other fun pictures from December 1993 that I came across in a photo album. I need to scan them and get them on the computer anyway, so I decided to post some of the more festive ones!

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%201993/DISNEYLANDMOUSEWREATHDEC1993.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%201993/DISNEYLANDPARTNERSDEC1993.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%201993/DISNEYLANDSHAWNDONALDDEC1993.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%201993/DISNEYLANDMANDYDOPEYDEC1993.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%201993/DISNEYLANDSHAWNROGERRABBITSHERRYDEC.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%201993/DISNEYLANDMANDYMARSUPILAMISHAWNDEC1.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%201993/DISNEYLANDALICEINWONDERLANDMATTERHO.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%201993/DISNEYLANDMANDYSHAWNSUNGLASSESDEC19.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%201993/DISNEYLANDHOTELCANDYCANELANE1993.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%201993/DISNEYLANDHOTELSHAWNMICHELLEMANDYDE.jpg

More to come in a second...

Sherry E

12-06-2008, 03:27 PM

And even more fun!

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%201993/DISNEYLANDHOTELCANDYCANELANEMICHELL.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%201993/GOOFYSKICTHENMANDYBEASTSHAWNDEC1993.jpg

I love this picture with the Genie! Someone snapped it without us knowing! Sometimes candid shots work well!

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%201993/GOOFYSKITCHENGOOFYMICHELLEGENIESHER.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%201993/DISNEYLANDCANDYSTORESHERRYMICHELLES.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%201993/DISNEYLANDMANDYREINDEERSHERRYDEC199.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%201993/DISNEYLANDSHERRYBIGBADWOLFMANDYDEC1.jpg

I think this is the only picture I have ever taken with Pooh, and I am hiding behind him!

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%201993/DISNEYLANDSHERRYPOOHSHERRYDEC1993.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%201993/DISNEYLANDSHERRYEEYOREMANDYDEC1993.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%201993/DISNEYLANDHOTELXMASDISPLAYSHERRYDEC.jpg

That's it for 1993 for now, but I am sure I will post more from other trips later! I have tons of pictures!

prettyprincessbelle

12-06-2008, 03:31 PM

Great pictures, Sherry!!!!!

It's neat to see how the character's costumes have changed over the years. I have a picture of me with a Pooh that looks like that too!!

Sherry E

12-06-2008, 03:37 PM

Great pictures, Sherry!!!!!

It's neat to see how the character's costumes have changed over the years. I have a picture of me with a Pooh that looks like that too!!

Did you see the pictures with the reindeer Mouse ears? If I am not mistaken - and you can confirm or deny this since you were just there - they don't sell the reindeer Mouse ears at DLR anymore, do they? We got them in 1994 and I never saw them again!

Yes, characters' costumes have changed - as well as the characters themselves. I never see Roger Rabbit out and about anymore. And Marsupilami is gone forever. The Big Bad Wolf is all but vanished.

Did you see how bored I look in my Buzz Lightyear picture? Funny, because I wasn't bored at all but it just looks that way!

Anyway, glad you are enjoying the pictures. I kind of inserted them at the beginning, sort of middle and towards the end, but there are a bunch of them!!! And there are more to come!!!

wazowskiLOVER:)

12-06-2008, 06:45 PM

Sherry E

12-06-2008, 07:13 PM

Awesome pictures Sherry :)

How cool that you got a shot with the beast ! Oh and I LOOOOVE your mickey mouse leggings ! Totally cute ! You guys all look like you're having a blast together. Its so nice to see!!!!

Thank you!:goodvibes I am a picture-posting fool all of a sudden! I did a wave of holiday ones last night, and then these today! And there are STILL more!:lmao: I don't even know what I did with those MM leggings (not that I would wear them now, heaven forbid!), but I don't think they are sold anymore!! I haven't seen any in ages! The Mickey leggings, the reindeer Mouse ears (shown on page 4, I think, of this TR) and the Mouse of 1000 Faces purse (shown back on page one or two - can't recall) are all things that have disappeared!!

Yes, my friend Mandy (she is in a lot of the pictures in the last couple of pages of the TR, and she is the one whose face is in the way of my elbow back on Page 1!!) was a HUGE Beast fan. She would barely allow any of the rest of us to get in a picture with him! In fact, I don't think I have any of me with the Beast! He was her sacred character! I love the picture with the Genie, because, if I recall, he was really wacky and caused a lot of mischief at our table! He is rarely around these days.

I think we were having a blast on those various DLR trips. And what you said about how it looks like we were having a blast is what other folks used to say years ago when they saw those same pictures, too. My friends were much more willing to be free and zany and make silly faces and pose with statues, etc. But the 'fun' kind of translates and comes across in the photos, just like it does in your family's photos, Jasmine!!:thumbsup2 You can tell everyone in your group is having a blast! Nowadays, it is a tough chore to get my friends to be silly and just kind of let loose. I mean, you don't have to go around being silly 24/7 in your daily life or in the office, but no one will look twice if you act ridiculous in DLR!!! Now, when I look at pictures like our PhotoPass Pictures, even though the photographer coaxed them to be crazy, I can see that my friends are serious people forcing themselves to be goofy! They are letting their age take over, and it is somehow no longer acceptable to 'play.' I get SUCH resistance if I try to have someone do something crazy in a picture. Not that I didn't get resistance in the old days, but they were more willing to comply, and it worked out because everyone looks like they are having a blast, as you said!!

jnjusoioa

12-06-2008, 07:28 PM

wazowskiLOVER:)

12-06-2008, 07:41 PM

Sherry E

12-06-2008, 07:52 PM

Oh my gosh Sherry, your pictures are so amazing, I am loving all of them so much, thank you for sharing them all, they really make me smile. I see you had meant Don Karnage before this year, that is so cool, would love to meet him and would love to see some of the older characters out in the parks, that would be awesome. I do have a question though, who is that character that is in the yellow costume, it almost looks like a bee or something, I have never seen that one before. I am also wondering if they still have Jack & Sally out doing meet and greets, I was lucky enough to catch them when I was out in Oct. for a day, I think it would be so cool if they kept them out from Halloween to Christmas and towards Christmas had Jack in his santa get up, that would rock!!! Sorry, huge Nightmare fan. Can't wait to see more of your pictures!!!

Here is a question totally off the record, how do you think the Mickey Ginderbreads and those apple snowmen and Tigger Tails would ship?? Not sure I could get DLR to ship them but if I knew someone that would be there and pick them up for me, do you think they would do ok, I was just curious. :goodvibes

Thank you so much for your kind words!!!!:goodvibes Is that Don Karnage?? OMG! I think we thought we were taking a picture with the Big Bad Wolf, because the Three Little Pigs used to be out quite a bit at DLR in the early to mid-'90s!!!:rotfl: :lmao: The character in the yellow is Marsupilami - he was a peculiar marsupial character that Disney based a show around which used to air on Saturday mornings, I think. He is gone from DLR forever - no one would know him now!!!

We didn't see Jack and Sally at all when we were there in October, but I would love to grab them for a picture just once! I love Nightmare too!

If Disney doesn't ship out the gingerbread cookies (and supposedly some of them are wrapped in plastic so they MAY ship those, you never know), I would not trust them to stay in one piece shipping all the way to PA. They seem very fragile. And I think the Tigger Tails and Snowmen would probably be at risk, too, because they wouldn't be properly cooled and may melt or get smashed with all the banging around in the boxes. I would guess that is why DLR doesn't ship food out - it's too fragile and delicate. I even had a mug break into 100 pieces in the mail, and that is more durable than food items! But those cookies MAY possibly be packaged up in some sort of way (like maybe they will pack them in a gift box for the holidays) that they WILL send them. If they are wrapping some of them in plastic, that leads me to believe there is a chance. Have you tried to call DelivEARS and ask them?

Sherry E

12-06-2008, 08:05 PM

Or course that is understandable that your friends don't pose in pictures like they used to. All of my family are like that now and I guess age does that to you. When I'm at DL age goes right out the window and I completely act like a dork! :laughing: Its the best place too!

I love all your holiday pictures though, they are really putting me into the Christmas spirit !

Thank you, Jasmine! Kerri (Pixiewings71) suggested I show up at DLR when you guys are all there in January! I know your group and hers will be there sort of at the same time, and possibly Nancy (YellowMickeyPonchos) too! And hopefully someone can convince Courtney! So, I am going to tackle one trip at a time, and assess the money situation after this upcoming DLR trip and see if I can do a solo day trip when you guys are there - then we can ALL get in one big crazy, dorky group shot!! Age is only a number!!!

The holidays kind of sneaked up on everyone this year, I think - it is a great time of year, but I don't think anyone was ready for it. And Thanksgiving and Christmas are so close together in 2008, that it seems odd! I love the holiday season, but the full spirit has nto quite caught up with me yet, so I am HOPING that when I get to DLR in 2 weeks and see that big tree and the gingerbread Mickey cookies and hear the holiday tunes, I will suddenly feel Christmasy - or maybe I just need to dig my reindeer Mouse ears out of the closet and put those on!

Wait until I post the ever so dorky pictures with the fuzzy, bulky Mickey earmuffs! Those are earmuffs I don't think are sold anymore, but they were pretty cute! It looked like you we had two heads sprouting out of the sides of our heads but they were still cute!!

wazowskiLOVER:)

12-07-2008, 02:36 AM

Thank you, Jasmine! Kerri (Pixiewings71) suggested I show up at DLR when you guys are all there in January! I know your group and hers will be there sort of at the same time, and possibly Nancy (YellowMickeyPonchos) too! And hopefully someone can convince Courtney! So, I am going to tackle one trip at a time, and assess the money situation after this upcoming DLR trip and see if I can do a solo day trip when you guys are there - then we can ALL get in one big crazy, dorky group shot!! Age is only a number!!!

The holidays kind of sneaked up on everyone this year, I think - it is a great time of year, but I don't think anyone was ready for it. And Thanksgiving and Christmas are so close together in 2008, that it seems odd! I love the holiday season, but the full spirit has nto quite caught up with me yet, so I am HOPING that when I get to DLR in 2 weeks and see that big tree and the gingerbread Mickey cookies and hear the holiday tunes, I will suddenly feel Christmasy - or maybe I just need to dig my reindeer Mouse ears out of the closet and put those on!

Wait until I post the ever so dorky pictures with the fuzzy, bulky Mickey earmuffs! Those are earmuffs I don't think are sold anymore, but they were pretty cute! It looked like you we had two heads sprouting out of the sides of our heads but they were still cute!!

OooOOo ! How fun would that be ?!?!

I know what you mean about the holidays sneaking up on you. I was TOTALLY NOT in the mood for Christmas these past couple of weeks. My parents and I just bought our tree and we decorated most of the house. We also watched A Christmas Carol and now I'm officially in the Christmas mood. I'm also going to bake sugar cookies and maybe even watch The Santa Clause and Elf ;)

I hope you have an awesome time in 2 weeks and I am expecting to hear about it when you get back !

travelmel

12-07-2008, 02:57 AM

Not that I didn't get resistance in the old days, but they were more willing to comply, and it worked out because everyone looks like they are having a blast, as you said!!

Maybe they're just not happy in real life? I know when I went to Disney once back many years ago I didn't have a great time becaues I just wasn't happy in real life... it was a bad time, you know? :confused3

I hope that if that's the case that they will find happiness soon and regain the ability to see things with fun and childlike eyes. :3dglasses

Sherry E

12-07-2008, 09:30 AM

Maybe they're just not happy in real life? I know when I went to Disney once back many years ago I didn't have a great time becaues I just wasn't happy in real life... it was a bad time, you know? :confused3

I hope that if that's the case that they will find happiness soon and regain the ability to see things with fun and childlike eyes. :3dglasses

Yes, could be... I think with one friend it is more about age and not wanting to look silly. She says a lot of things about how it DLR is a place where you can be a child and let your inner child out, but to me, it always sounds as though she is trying to convince herself that it's okay to still be going to DLR at her age! That's how it comes across to me when I hear it. She loves DLR, but may be outgrowing it a little. She doesn't have that same built-in, can't get rid of it if I tried, love of DLR that I have!! She doesn't really get tempted by the cute knick knacks. She gets kind of bored with DCA. She doesn't really care to look in shops, and likes to rest and people watch more than I need to! I think it is just not as 'fun' for her anymore to be there. She does enjoy Goofy's Kitchen, though! And she likes that silly HISTA in DL, which bores me to tears now!

See, when I am going through rough times - like this year, for example - or am feeling unhappy in life (stupid money problems, stupid MEN problems, stupid health stuff, whatever), I always feel better if I go to DLR! My leg and back may be killing me that day, but I will walk through the pain and force myself to have fun!! But it's not the same for everyone, necessarily. If they are not really diehard, devoted DLR fans to begin with, then going there can just seem like a nuisance to them during difficult times!

Oh well! What can you do? We will go in a couple of weeks (less than that now) and have fun. I wish I had been able to keep my GCH reservation, but I will return to POO CORNER and revisit the PPH. This time, I am checking the water in the faucet the first second I walk in the door!

Sherry E

12-07-2008, 09:52 AM

OooOOo ! How fun would that be ?!?!

I know what you mean about the holidays sneaking up on you. I was TOTALLY NOT in the mood for Christmas these past couple of weeks. My parents and I just bought our tree and we decorated most of the house. We also watched A Christmas Carol and now I'm officially in the Christmas mood. I'm also going to bake sugar cookies and maybe even watch The Santa Clause and Elf ;)

I hope you have an awesome time in 2 weeks and I am expecting to hear about it when you get back !

I love "Elf"! That is a great movie! "The Santa Clause" is good as well. You know what else is a really good movie set during the holidays, but not about elves or Santa or anything? "Love Actually." I don't know if you like witty, clever romantic comedy-dramas, but this one is GREAT! It is one of my favorites. It is well made. If you haven't seen it, the movie focuses on a large ensemble cast in the two weeks leading up to Christmas in London. Everyone has a different 'love story,' and that includes all kinds of love. It's about an old has-been rock star who loves his manager. It's about a guy who is secretly in love with his best friend's wife. It's about a politician who loves his new assistant. It's about a widower coaching his stepson on how to express his love to a classmate. It's about a sad woman who loves her co-worker but can never be with him. It's about a married man whose secretary is in love with him. It's about a guy who can't find love in England so he decides to find it in Wisconsin!! And there are more little stories too! The thing is, they never dwell TOO much on each story. They just kind of give you little brief tastes of each one, so you get a sampling of the different types of love. I recommend that movie to anyone who hasn't seen it. It is very funny in some parts, very touching and heartfelt in others, and it has just enough Christmasy feel to it to be a holiday movie!

I think decorating and baking things helps to get everyone in the Christmas spirit! That is a good way to do it. I watch the Disney holiday specials on Travel Channel or on Food Network and that helps me too! Sometimes turning on Christmas music will do the trick. I don't know - just something about this year - it has been so bad for everyone that it just doesn't seem like it should be Christmas yet!

Oh, I just found out that there is supposed to be STUPID RAIN over the days I am at DLR!:mad: :mad: I hate that. Of course, the forecast could change, but for now it looks like rain is pretty set for the 21st, and even on part of the 20th. @#*&%!!!!!!! Arrrrrgggggghhhhh. I don't want to be there in the rain again - that will definitely deter my friends from wanting to get in pictures, AND there won't be snow in DLR if it is raining, or fireworks! *&%$#@!!!!!! I am not one of those who loves DLR in the rain. It is a pain in the *** and everything gets messy and the PhotoPass people aren't out. That sucks. You know what else is a pain? Having to pack extra 'rain gear' in my already bulky stuff! I already have an overstuffed suitcase. I hate having to bring an umbrella (even though it is a cute one) and a rain jacket and extra clothes to change into after I get soaked. It's a pain! But I will still go to DLR and try to not let it bother me too much. I will keep a positive attitude and HOPE that the rain gets delayed by a few days!:thumbsup2

Sherry E

12-16-2008, 01:54 PM

So, here I am, sitting at the computer, leisurely browsing DISboards, having an allergy attack (can't stop sneezing!), and my DLR trip is suddenly 3 days away! How did it sneak up on me like that?:confused3 I have nothing accomplished that I have to get accomplished. You know all those pre-trip things you have to do before any kind of trip, like big loads of laundry, making a trip to the bank, going to the store to pick up supplies you need for the trip, digging items out of the closet that you may need (like umbrellas and other weather-appropriate gear), going over your lists and checking off what you have done or adding on things you forgot, touching base with your traveling companions about details of the trip, and then the mighty task of packing, etc. I think it was so stressful trying to pull this holiday DLR plan together and make it work financially, that when I finally knew it was going to happen for sure, I just relaxed and took a break from planning. Trouble is, now the trip is 3 days away and I have things to do!!!

Well, I have to do all of the afore-mentioned things. I also have to go over my dining PS's and revise them. I have to change a party of 3 to a party of 4 in one case. I have to switch restaurants in another case. I have to change the times of one meal. Basically, I am going to drive the poor DLR Dining CM on the phone crazy! I was trying to consider the possibility of rain as being a factor in whether or not we ate at an outdoor restaurant for dinner, rather than a warm and cozy indoor place. We like eating at Carnation for dinner, but I could easily switch it to breakfast - except for the fact that I wanted to have a slice of their apple pie a la mode, which is not served at breakfast! I am not crazy about the Goofy's Kitchen dinner (love the breakfast, but could skip the dinner), but my friend's birthday is next week and she has never had the GK dinner. Plus, they often have different or more characters out at dinner, dressed in more festive holiday attire. I thought that maybe I would treat her to dinner there. I am not willing to spend the money at Blue Bayou because it just doesn't appeal to me that much, but I could hang with Goofy's at dinner, even if I can barely find anything to eat that I like! I like chicken. They have to have some sort of chicken there, I am sure. Dinner is much more expensive, too, BUT I will have my $35 in food vouchers that I am picking up from the ticket booths (which I am getting because of the last trip's Carnation Cafe debacle), so that will take a big chunk out of the Goofy's price. Also, if they let me use my AP discount in tandem with the food vouchers, then that will be even better! I am still not 100% sold on Goofy's for dinner yet, so I have to figure it out...and fast! Last time I checked, there were lots of available PS times, but that may have changed.

I have lots of lists. I am an excellent and detailed list-maker. I even have lists OF the lists that I need to make!:rotfl: There is a list of what I have to do before the DLR trip. There is a list of what I cannot miss doing on the DLR trip. There is a list of what I need to pack. There is a list of what shops I need to inspect. There is a list of the treats I have to sample. There is a list of merchandise I am looking for (but hopefully won't be tempted to buy). There are probably more lists. Usually I do not really plan out an agenda for us on DLR trips other than the dining PS's, because I like to play some of it by ear. I will make a note of anything new we have to see, but other than that, we kind of just go with the flow (and, of course, when I get home I realize that I didn't get to do several things I wanted to do). However, this time, based on the reported crowds and the fact that our schedule is going to be a bit different for this trip than it was last trip, I feel the need to kind of give this trip a little more structure. I have asked everyone their opinions on where they want to eat and at what tiime, and I get NO help from anyone. So I just take the reins and make the arrangements.

I am thinking that Friday afternoon/evening, Shawn and I will arrive and probably have to stand in a long line at PPH to check-in. We will have to then lug the bags to the room, check instantly for poopy water in the bathroom and then head over to the madhouse that is the ticket booths so I can pick up the food vouchers. IF I decide that Goofy's is the way to go for dinner, then we will head there. If not, then we will wing it with the eating. Then, I will grab some cocoa from somewhere, hit Marceline's in search of my chubby gingerbread men with ears and head to the GCH lobby to sit in the comfy chairs and wait for the carolers to perfomr. If Santa is still there, I will drag my friend over to the photo location.

On Saturday, I have to decide on breakfast. Initially I had Goofy's planned for breakfast that day, but if we have just eaten dinner there the night before then maybe I should skip a day. We need a non-buffet breakfast. Again, I could choose Carnation but not get any pie. That's no good. Hmmm...where to eat breakfast? Storytellers' non-buffet breakfast menu choices are so costly that it almost makes more sense to just get the buffet. Hmmmm... We have a MM that day, so maybe we can go into DL early, hit the River Belle Terrace for breakfast and hit Fantasyland to get on IASW before the masses hit the park. Also, we can get on the Storybook Land Canal boats before that line gets hideous - my friend Shawn has siggested those the last two trips but the line was awful. Hopefully, I can find a random PhotoPass person hanging around, grab a card, take some pictures and then head over to DCA when it opens so we can get immediately on TSMM. After TSMM, we can take more PP pictures and ride Soarin', Mike and Sulley, etc. By that time, we should know when our other friends - Jackie and her husband, Bob - are meeting up with us. Just meeting up with them will put a crimp in our day because we can never get an exact time out of Jackie as to when she is showing up. If she would just plan in advance and say, "I will meet you at such and such time," then we would be able to plan our day much better. But we are always left hanging until Jackie just shows up at the gates and says, "I'm here!" And on top of that, our @#$%^&*+ cell phone signals don't work properly in DLR, and we often miss Jackie's call. Sometimes she just rolls over to voice mail, and the voicemail alert doesn't come through until 2 hours later!!! We never know if we have enough time to take a mid-day hotel rest break, ride this or ride that, look in this shop or that one, whether we should be sitting and people watching on Main Street or at the hotel - it is always a mystery! In any case, when Jackie and Bob show up, then I suspect we will all want to ride POTC and HMH together, as well as try to catch the snow They are also massive TSMM fans, so we may just stay in DCA and have them meet us there, then head over to DL. Somewhere in there, there will be a late lunch or early dinner, but where.... We liked Storytellers for lunch last year, but I don't want to spend too much time out of the parks when we have a lot to do. So...will it be Wine Country Trattoria, which has more many options on their menu than Carnation Cafe has, or will it be Carnation Cafe, which has a very limited menu but where I can get my piece of apple pie and where we will be close to the snow? Hmmmmm.....

On Sunday, the 21st, we have another MM but maybe that will be the Goofy's breakfast day. After that, Shawn and I can revisit DL and hit POTC a couple more times (we always go on that repeatedly), HMH again and hopefully IASW again, Roger Rabbit, Buzz Lightyear then peek in some shops. After that, I would like to go to DCA close to when it opens and see the first Aladdin show or maybe the second, and hopefully the Muppets too, look around in A Bug's Land and then head back to the hotel. Shawn probably won't stay at the hotel that night, as she has to work the next morning and will need to get home to prepare. She will pack her things, head home and leave me at the PPH, then come back to pick me up on Monday when she gets off work.

So what will I do with this golden time alone on late Sunday afternoon/Sunday evening? What will I do with the golden time alone on Monday, for half a day? Will I hit the shops? Will I take dozens of pictures? Will I go off in search of treats (messy cinnamon rolls, peppermint fudge, peppermint pot cake at Plaza Inn)? Will I roam around DTD and inspect every delightful square foot of Dept. 56 and every square mile of World of Disney? That part I have yet to decide. If I get blood sugary and need protein, I know I can grab a quick turkey or chicken sandwich at Whitewater Snacks and continue on my merry way.

In any case, I have a lot to do. The water will be shut off in my building on Thursday, which will interfere with my laundry plans. Laundry may have to be tomorrow. The bank has to be today or tomorrow. As for packing, well, I will probably be doing that as I am practically walking out the door on my way to DLR! But right now I have to sit down and re-work the dining plans and call DLR Dining back to change them....

Sherry E

12-18-2008, 10:16 AM

Well, I have a ton of things to do between now and tomorrow, and I am running behind. One of the reasons I run behind is because I always start re-thinking my plans after I have made them and realizing there are better ways to do things. This leads to changing times and rearranging activities, switching restaurants, etc. And suddenly my brain just locks up from all the re-structuring of the plan. Normally, when we go to DLR, it is kind of a half-planned/half-winging it trip. This time, because of what people are saying the crowds are like, I think we should have a plan. Otherwise, if we try to just wing it, we will end up wasting a lot of time, probably getting frustrated and not getting much accomplished. I told Shawn that if she has to take multiple rest breaks like last time, at least we can coordinate that so that she is resting right outside of a shop I want to look in, so I can be accomplishing something while she is resting. The worst is when she wants to sit down and rest in an area where there is nothing around of any interest, and I either feel compelled to sit down with her and keep her company (because we don't get to visit with each other very often at all), or walk to the other side of the park to get to a shop I like, only to have to turn around and meet Shawn in 15 minutes. That makes no sense. So this time, I am HOPING that rest breaks are taken, for example, outside of the Gag Factory or the China Closet, or maybe outside of Pooh's Corner or Off the Page!!!

The other thing that is frustrating is when a plan seems to be working well and we are getting a lot done, and then the other people coming to meet us don't show up when they are supposed to and it kind of throws everything off. For some reason, it is two days before we are supposed to see them and Jackie cannot give me a rough estimate of a time when she and Bob will meet us on Saturday. Our cell phone signals rarely work properly in DLR and we miss calls and voicemails, so a lot of time is wasted on us checking our phones to see if Jackie has called us yet to tell us when she is meeting us! Then, what happens is the signal suddenly decides to work when we are in the middle of POTC, and I can't answer the call! If she would just state an approximate time that she is going to arrive and where in the park(s) she will meet us, then we don't have to constantly check our phones. We would know how much time we have to do certain things - including a mid-day rest break - before we met up with Jackie and her husband - and we know when to start heading over to wherever it is we have to meet them. But because I can't get her to give me even a rough time, our plans are up in the air.

In any case, those plans outlined in my previous post are being tweaked again. I decided that Magic Morning is the way to go on Saturday, and we shoud go straight to DL and get as much done as possible that day, including Reindeer Round-Up, Pirate's Lair, IASW, PhotoPass pictures, etc. Hopefully we will have enough time for a mid-day rest break at the hotel and then it should be time to meet Jackie and Bob - and I am going to plan to meet them in DCA, since I can't get a definitive time or plan for anyone else! They love TSMM, so I know we will all want to hit that, and then eat. After that, I am guessing we will all head over to DL to do some nighttime stuff.

Sunday I will reserve for mostly DCA stuff that we can't do with Jackie and Bob, including Aladdin and Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, etc. Then I am by myself- I THINK- from Sunday evening to Monday afternoon!!

Well I have to run and get in the shower and brush my teeth before they turn the water off (plumbers are coming to fiddle with pipes somewhere in the building) for 6 hours.:scared1: I am going to try to go out and run some errands while they are banging pipes and drilling and sawing into walls and things. One of the things I am going to do is look at cameras. I need to get back into my old photography habit/hobby from years ago, and I have to practice with a good, fairly cheap, point and shoot, but don't know if I will get one today.

The rain is gone but it is chilly outside and my hands are freezing!! Time to drag out the gloves!

I may not have time to post here again today or tomorrow, so if not, then I will be back on DIS on Monday night or possibly Tuesday. In a way, I SORT of hope that PPH will offer me the extra night's stay on Monday night at a cheaper rate, but I will leave it to fate. If I am meant to stay an extra night, then it will happen. It won't be worth it if their offer is only $20 cheaper than the rate I already paid. And I kind of do have to get back home on Monday to my freelance clients anyway, BUT if I am presented with the offer by PPH and IF I have the money and feel I can spare an extra night away from home and that it would be beneficial for me to stay to do some extra things, I will take them up on it! However, I was going to try to meet up with Kerri (Pixiewings71), Jasmine (WazowskiLOVER) and Nancy (YellowMickeyPonchos - who I MAY also meet up with in a few days at DLR) in early January at DLR, so I may just skip the extra night this time, come back on Monday afternoon/early evening and then try to go again solo in a couple of weeks when the DIS ladies are at DLR with their respective families and companions. I have to play it by ear. Here I am thinking about what I will do at the end of my trip on Monday, when I need to get in gear and start thinking about what I have to do BEFORE the trip!! Arrrrgggggghhhhh!

Okay, that's it for now. Trip Report to come when I return!:thumbsup2

prettyprincessbelle

12-18-2008, 11:03 AM

Sherry!!! Your trip is coming UP!!!!!!! Wooohooo!!

wazowskiLOVER:)

12-18-2008, 11:49 AM

I love "Elf"! That is a great movie! "The Santa Clause" is good as well. You know what else is a really good movie set during the holidays, but not about elves or Santa or anything? "Love Actually." I don't know if you like witty, clever romantic comedy-dramas, but this one is GREAT! It is one of my favorites. It is well made. If you haven't seen it, the movie focuses on a large ensemble cast in the two weeks leading up to Christmas in London. Everyone has a different 'love story,' and that includes all kinds of love. It's about an old has-been rock star who loves his manager. It's about a guy who is secretly in love with his best friend's wife. It's about a politician who loves his new assistant. It's about a widower coaching his stepson on how to express his love to a classmate. It's about a sad woman who loves her co-worker but can never be with him. It's about a married man whose secretary is in love with him. It's about a guy who can't find love in England so he decides to find it in Wisconsin!! And there are more little stories too! The thing is, they never dwell TOO much on each story. They just kind of give you little brief tastes of each one, so you get a sampling of the different types of love. I recommend that movie to anyone who hasn't seen it. It is very funny in some parts, very touching and heartfelt in others, and it has just enough Christmasy feel to it to be a holiday movie!

I think decorating and baking things helps to get everyone in the Christmas spirit! That is a good way to do it. I watch the Disney holiday specials on Travel Channel or on Food Network and that helps me too! Sometimes turning on Christmas music will do the trick. I don't know - just something about this year - it has been so bad for everyone that it just doesn't seem like it should be Christmas yet!

Oh, I just found out that there is supposed to be STUPID RAIN over the days I am at DLR!:mad: :mad: I hate that. Of course, the forecast could change, but for now it looks like rain is pretty set for the 21st, and even on part of the 20th. @#*&%!!!!!!! Arrrrrgggggghhhhh. I don't want to be there in the rain again - that will definitely deter my friends from wanting to get in pictures, AND there won't be snow in DLR if it is raining, or fireworks! *&%$#@!!!!!! I am not one of those who loves DLR in the rain. It is a pain in the *** and everything gets messy and the PhotoPass people aren't out. That sucks. You know what else is a pain? Having to pack extra 'rain gear' in my already bulky stuff! I already have an overstuffed suitcase. I hate having to bring an umbrella (even though it is a cute one) and a rain jacket and extra clothes to change into after I get soaked. It's a pain! But I will still go to DLR and try to not let it bother me too much. I will keep a positive attitude and HOPE that the rain gets delayed by a few days!:thumbsup2

I LOOOOVE Love Actually. I watched it in the theaters ;) Whenever my boy cousins talk about one the best chick flicks to watch, that is always on the top of their list. We watch it all the time. My mother and I love witty dialogue and british movies :laughing:. Both of actually like period pieces as well, so I've been watching Emma a lot lately. My mom was on sick leave a couple of years ago during this season so we were watching that movie, Sense and Sensibility, and Shakespeare in Love CONSTANTLY. So now whenever winter comes along, I try to watch them :)

That sucks that rain is coming your way :( I'm going to cross my fingers, toes, eyes, legs, and arms in hopes of better weather for you; especially since I know how much you LOOOVE DLR during Christmas! I'm sorry. You can tuck away from the rain and visit your favorite hotel, GCH. It will be beautiful!

wazowskiLOVER:)

12-18-2008, 12:27 PM

You're so funny Sherry, "I even have lists OF the lists that I need to make!"

That is soo me too :)

It sounds like to me that you need to take a deep breath and remember that you are going to the happiest place on earth! No stress allowed! And yes you definitely should watch Aladdin, so I'm glad you're putting it in the itinerary !

If you met up with us, that would be fantastic !!! We could totally pose for a goofy picture together and I know that my family would be completely down for doing it, so you wouldn't be alone acting like a total dork in a picture ;) Yay !!!

Get some of your to do lists done soon Sherry, you only have a couple of days. If you need, I can be your cheerleader in this department !:cheer2:

Sherry E

12-18-2008, 03:13 PM

Courtney and Jasmine - yes, the trip is on the horizon as of tomorrow!:yay: Thanks - I need all the cheerleading I can get! I am slowly chipping away at my list of what I have to get done! (But I still have my list of sublists I need to make, Jasmine!! Hee hee hee! I am glad someone else out there understands this madness!) I already called the Disney Dining folks and rearranged my PS's. So that hassle is out of the way. I went to the bank - which is very important to do before a DLR trip, as we all know. I took care of some other things on The LIST! I just have to go out and run some errands today and grab a few key things, and then tomorrow it is laundry and packing before Shawn comes to get me. Because she can't get out of work any earlier and it will be the Friday before Christmas, I think we will get stuck in bad traffic on the freeway heading back to Anaheim, but we may be able to beat the worst of it. If we were leaving even 30 minutes later, that could mean 90 minutes on the freeway, which is what happened in October! Then, when we get there, hopefully there won't be a ton of people in the line to check in at PPH - there shouldn't be because supposedly the hotel bookings are down, but it IS the weekend before Christmas so one never knows. I don't think that will be too much of a hassle. The worst problems will be the traffic going down there and the lines at the ticket booths. I have to stand in those lines to get the food vouchers that DLR finally gave me after my grumbling about my last bad Carnation Cafe experience.

Good news, though - it looks like there will be NO rain tomorrow, Saturday or Sunday! It will be COLD, which I LOVE! No rain until possibly on Monday, when it's time for me to go home!

Oh, and Jasmine - since you like "Love Actually" (such a great movie and perfect to watch during the holidays!) and other British movies, I assume you also like "Four Wedding and a Funeral" and "Notting Hill." Those are great too! In case you have never seen it, another excellent movie with a cleverly woven plotline is "Sliding Doors," with Gwyneth Paltrow. It is basically shows the two different paths a woman's life takes based on whether she does or does not get on a train. It is really good!

So, ladies (and any gentlemen who might be out there reading), I am off to continue crossing items off of ONE of the many lists, and revising some of the others. I tell you, it will all be fine once I am there. It is only the pre-trip stuff that's a pain!!! If I don't have time to post tomorrow, then I will post when I come back on Monday night. Have a great weekend, everybody!

kaoden39

12-18-2008, 03:19 PM

Have a great trip Sherry!:goodvibes

Sherry E

12-18-2008, 03:45 PM

Have a great trip Sherry!:goodvibes

Thank you! I think I will!:santa: :goodvibes

wazowskiLOVER:)

12-18-2008, 04:06 PM

Have fun Sherry !!!

I can't wait to hear all about it when you get back :)

travelmel

12-21-2008, 03:06 AM

I hope your trip is VERY magical :flower3: :santa:

Sherry E

12-22-2008, 05:47 PM

I'm back! Woo hoo! I'm exhausted, my feet hurt beyond belief, I impaled my hand on my umbrella, I got soaked today in my remaining hours at DLR and my camera died because it got wet in the stupid rain, but I'm back and it was a GREAT TRIP!!!! And I didn't buy any souvenirs! Yay for me!!!:cool1: I took lots of pictures, I also had lots of PhotoPass pictures taken too, and so when I can get this new Trip Report together (I will just post in this same thread rather than start a new one), I will have a lot to write about. I even tried some avant garde black and white photos. We will see how those come out! Anyway, I will do what I did after my last trip - I will post the highlights/bullet points of the Trip on the main board today, and then do the 'real' Trip Report later - hopefully in the next day or two!:santa:

kaoden39

12-22-2008, 05:50 PM

Sounds great except for the camera and the rain.:thumbsup2

Sherry E

12-22-2008, 06:42 PM

Sounds great except for the camera and the rain.:thumbsup2

Exactly - all good except for the rain and the camera dying in the rain! Thankfully, the rain waited until the last day of the trip so it didn't ruin too many of my plans...and that camera was on its way out anyway. But I was soaked from head to toe today and it was a big mess! I just posted the highlights over on the main DLR forum, and I hope to take all my film in tomorrow to be developed so I can start the actual Trip Report with new photos!!! I also have to start my PhotoPass account right away so I can log on and see if they got all of my pictures and contact them immediately if any are noticeably missing. A couple of photographers were having trouble scanning the cards and warned that some pictures might not be on there. Others were so busy with the throngs of people that they were not paying good attention and I worried that they were not scanning my card after taking the pictures. So I have to check the account while my memory is still fresh and I can properly identify any that are missing. Hopefully none are missing, but just in case....

travelmel

12-23-2008, 01:20 AM

I will post the highlights/bullet points of the Trip on the main board today, and then do the 'real' Trip Report later - hopefully in the next day or two!:santa:

Hi Sherry, Welcome Back! let us know where the TR will be!

jnjusoioa

12-23-2008, 07:16 AM

Sherry, welcome back, can't wait to read about your trip and see all the photos. :goodvibes Sorry about the rain but glad to hear that it held off until your last day. :goodvibes

mariezp

12-23-2008, 08:31 AM

Welcome back Sherry! :wave2: Can't wait for the full report! :hyper: Glad to here you had a great trip and I hope your feet and hand feel better soon.

Sherry E

12-23-2008, 12:57 PM

Hi Sherry, Welcome Back! let us know where the TR will be!

The TR will be right here! I will just tack it on to the end of this one, I think, as others have done. It is the task of saving pictures and uploading them to Photobucket and then inserting here that will take the most time, I think, but I will try to do a little at a time! I also need to check my PhotoPass account today and look over everything to spot any that are missing so I can notify them about it while I can still remember what we were wearing, etc.

Sherry, welcome back, can't wait to read about your trip and see all the photos. :goodvibes Sorry about the rain but glad to hear that it held off until your last day. :goodvibes

Yes, it was great that the rain held off until the last day. It would have totally messed things up for all of us if it had happened before. Not only would there have been fewer pictures of my own, but also the PhotoPass people do not come out in the rain so we woudln't have had any of those opportunities.

By the way, in the first several photos we took with the photogs, we noticed that most of them were not asking us to do anything wacky. We had to suggest it. Last time in October, they all asked us to make the goofy faces and things like that. So there will be a bunch of 'regular' PP pictures on this card as well as some silly ones. Finally, when they got around to asking us to do silly things, it was mostly the same stuff liek pointing at Stitch and holding Tinkerbell. I asked for the Soarin' shot, and they obliged. Then, I found the guy with the sword to take a picture of us battling Hook! That one will look ridiculous but it will be funny! I asked for the Haunted Mansion ghosts and they don't have them anymore!:mad: We also go a special picture holding a Christmas present with Stitch popping out of the box! Finally, we encountered a hilarious PP photographer who asked us to pretend we were getting run over by a train! He was so funny - he was even cracking himself up and could barely take the picture because fo the crazy stuff he had us doing! I HOPE those pictures come out. He said, "Thanks, girls, for being good sports!"

Oh, and jnjusoioa, I didn't forget you - I did pick up the DCA and DL maps/brochures for you! Just PM me with your address so I can mail them (probably early next week)!

Welcome back Sherry! :wave2: Can't wait for the full report! :hyper: Glad to here you had a great trip and I hope your feet and hand feel better soon.

Thanks, Marie! And I am still enjoying your TR as it unfolds!:goodvibes

I am not sure how I impaled myself on my umbrella! I think, when I was walking underneath the security tent to do the bag check and I had to close the umbrella, one of the little tip covers came loose from the umbrella, leaving a sharp and pointy end exposed, and my finger went right into it! Other than my feet and my bleeding finger, I was also having a LOT of pain in my leg (which is directly related to the disc problem in my back that has plagued me since 1995) every day, and it was very hard to walk at times, but I pushed through it! It's amazing how spending a lot of money on a trip will force one to push oneself when one's leg feels as if it is about to fall off! I kept thinking, "I spent too much @#$%^&* money to get here and make this happen to fall victim to a bad leg!" So I walked through the pain! I might be sorry for it later, but the LAST thing I wanted to do was look back on this festive Christmastime DLR trip and recall how I spent most of it resting on a bench! I was not about to let that happen!!!

Sherry E

12-27-2008, 12:22 AM

Well, I have been sick since yesterday. I think I caught a bug at DLR. The same exact thing happened last year - about three days after I got home from DLR (during Christmas week), I fell ill with a nasty virus that lasted for 2+ weeks. I am trying to fight this one with lots of rest so I am not sick for two weeks again, but I have been feeling under the weather.

The GOOD news is that I have now gotten ALL of my pictures developed from last weekend's trip - and including some that were taken on the October DLR trip!! - and have uploaded them all to Photobucket. So you know what that means? The next step is a TRIP REPORT!:cool1: What is funny is that some of the pictures that I thought would look bad (based on old camera and old film) came out okay and some of the ones that SHOULD have come out great came out terribly - or didn't come out at all! The ones that are missing on the negatives/CDs I can't figure out because there is no reason they shouldn't have developed. Oh well. Now I just have to get my PhotoPass CD and I am all squared away as far as pictures. But I can start the TR in the meantime. In fact, I can even stick in some of the pictures I should have included in the October part of the TR.

Hopefully, tomorrow, if I am feeling better I will get a move on with this TR. I am not up to doing it at the moment because I feel icky, but maybe tomorrow....

jnjusoioa

12-27-2008, 07:01 AM

Sherry, sorry to hear that you aren't feeling well, that is never fun. Hope that you are feeling better soon. I sent you a PM the other day, hope it went through, that is awesome that you got all your pictures uploaded, can't wait to start reading the trip report and checking out the photos, were you able to order your photopass CD?? How did that work out with the Hook pictures?? Feel better. :goodvibes

Sherry E

12-27-2008, 11:23 AM

Okay, everybody! Here we goooooooooOOOooooooo!!!

Actually, I am typing from my house o' sickness...I cannot tell if this bug I acquired at DLR last weekend is more sinus-based (I always have sinus trouble), fever-based or stomach-based. It seems to be a nasty combo of at least two of those components, and that is no fun (Courtney, if you are reading, you know what that's like, based on what I read of your last DLR trip!). So you will forgive me if I must suddenly jump up in mid-sentence and make a flying leap towards the bathroom.

What I am going to do to start us all off - before I launch into details of the December DLR trip - is post some photos from the October DLR trip which I just got developed. Some of them were taken on the camera that recently bit the dust last weekend, and some were done on disposable cameras. Yes, yes, you don't have to point out to me that the pictures are large. I apologize for that. I could go in and resize all the ones I want to post right now, but my computer is sooooooooo slow that it would literally take me another 2 weeks to get just the ones from October resized, and it would probably crash my computer in the meantime. So I am going to leave well enough alone and just post them as they are. I hope nobody minds!

So, let's start off with some October 2008 Goofy's Kitchen pictures...

I loooooooovvvvveeee me some Goofy!

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/002_24A.jpg

Shawn is only mildly amused by Dale!

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/005_21A.jpg

And Shawn wasn't thrilled with Belle at all (Belle wears a lot of caked-on make-up)!

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/006_20A.jpg

I love mischievous li'l Chip!

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/009_17A.jpg

She hates it when I make her pose like this!:rotfl: Of course, I LOVE when I do it!

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/010_16A.jpg

Taking the short cut from PPH through GCH...

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/011_15A.jpg

And now to some photos with no descriptions. They are pretty much self-explanatory!

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/017_7A.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/007_19.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/015_11.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/017_9.jpg

Our poor attempts at 'ears' pictures! (The one I took on my cell phone actually came out much better.)

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/019_7.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/018_8.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/021_5.jpg

I love these signs:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/014_12.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/002_24.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/003_23.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/001_25.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/006_20.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/024_1.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/023_2.jpg

Sherry E

12-27-2008, 11:39 AM

And some more from October 2008:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/009_17.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/011_15.jpg

I LOVE this picture - he looks so close!

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/012_14.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/005_21.jpg

Ugh...Photobucket is giving me trouble...

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/020_5.jpg
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The view from the PPH, room 513 (the Poopy Room with the Haunted Drawer:mad: )...

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/001_24A.jpg

More taterage for ya:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/024_2.jpg

Good food:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/021_2A-1.jpg

Good atmosphere:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/023_0A.jpg

Good food and service (but not that day!):

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/020_3A-1.jpg

Sherry E

12-27-2008, 11:51 AM

And still MORE atmospheric shots from DLR in October:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/019_4A-1.jpg
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http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/015_8A-1.jpg

Goodbye, Department 56! I will miss you and your AWESOME Halloween/holiday displays!:sad1: :sad2:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/021_3A.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/022_2A.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/023_1A.jpg
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http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20OCTOBER%202008/025_00A.jpg

And I think that Christmas village shot from Dept. 56 is a perfect way to end this segment of the thread/post and seamlessly transition into the December/Christmastime portion of the thread and begin my new Trip Report!

Sherry E

12-27-2008, 12:50 PM

Decking the Halls with Mickey - December 19-22, 2008

Okey dokey...

So, Friday, December 19, 2008....Day One.

I am the sort of person who likes to get wherever I am going as early as possible. If there is a DLR hotel which requires checking in involved, I like to get there early, dump off the bags with the Bell Desk and then hit the parks or DTD or whatever. You know, get all that check-in paperwork mumbo jumbo out of the way before other pesky guests have the same idea and all decide to check in at the same time!;) Well, our original plan (since December of 2007, when we first began planning the 2008 trip) was to arrive early in the morning and do just that. However, when Shawn's transmission in her truck blew out and she had to get it replaced for a lofty $3,000 recently, she was forced to take some unexpected days off of work...which, in turn, prevented her from being able to take off Friday, Dec. 19th...which, as a result, prevented us from getting to the PPH early. In fact, Shawn gets off work as a rule by 2:30 p.m., but she has to drive from Orange County to get me and then we have to drive back to Anaheim, and on the Friday before Christmas, I knew that it would take us forever to get to the PPH. Traffic on the freeway would be insane.

I asked Shawn repeatedly if there was any way she could get off work on the 19th - call in sick with a terrible 24-hour disease, claim to have overslept because the alarm didn't go off, whatever.... She said there was nothing she could do because of all the days she took off when her transmission blew out while she was stuck in Fresno (she lives in Anaheim). So as much as I wanted to get an early start and beat all of that pre-holiday traffic, I resigned myself to the fact that it wasn't possible and planned on Shawn getting to me at about 3:15 with NO traffic and maybe 4:00 p.m. with lots of traffic. In any case, I knew I didn't have to be 100% ready to walk out my door until at least 3:00 p.m.

I was doing the usual pre-trip stuff of laundry and leisurely tossing items into my suitcase with no proper folding or packing employed, crossing things off my list as I went along. I wasn't even close to being ready. I hadn't gotten in the shower yet or anything.

About 11:30 A.M. I get a text message from Shawn. Again, 11:30 A.M. Remember, she was not supposed to show up until at least 3:15 p.m. He message reads: "I'm on my way. I'll be there soon." :scared1: Huh? Uh....wha? But....I'm not even ready, and I know that if she hits no traffic she should be to me by 12:15 p.m. So now, here I am, the one who wanted an early start, looking like the lazy fool who is holding up the whole process because Shawn has decided to get off work early without giving me warning.

"You know I wanted to get an early start but I am not ready. What do you mean, you are on your way?"

"Well, I knew I was going to try to get off work early but I didn't tell you because I didn't want to get your hopes up," she said.

"I understand that," I said, "but the thing is...you should have given me warning that you were at least trying to leave early because now I am unprepared, and I feel stressed to suddenly scramble to get ready by the time you get here and I won't be done!"

Silence. She finally said, "Well, I won't be there right away. It will take me at least 45 minutes."

"I won't be ready," I said. "You should have told me, just so I could be prepared. I had no idea it was even an option to leave HOURS earlier. I mean, I get why you didn't say anything, but for practical purposes, it would have made more sense to let me know your plan!"

She agreed. Yes, yes, I don't like being thrown off course and into a warp-speed shower and suitcase-stuffing maelstrom. That's me - I like to have some sort of plans and I like to stick to them. And, might I add, whenever we stick to my plans, things seem to go pretty smoothly. When Shawn is left at the helm, things somehow go awry and end up being to my detriment in the long run, i.e., I end up spending extra money I hadn't planned on, I end up missing something I hadn't planned on missing, etc. So even though she was trying to do something that she thought was helpful, it ended up stressing me out!

Anyway, because I was suddenly thrown from my leisurely pace into a cyclonic frenzy of packing and prepping activity, I neglected to log on to DISboards and get Nancy's (YellowMickeyPonchos) number from the PM she sent me, so I could arrange to meet up with her at DLR, since our trips were overlapping. I just plain forgot Nancy because I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

Okay, so
- Super fast shower - check.
- Finish cramming all kinds of unnecessary items that I don't have time to sort through into my suitcase - check.
- Throw on clothes that are barely dry from the crappy dryer they were tossed in - check.
- Make-up (so I don't leave the house and scare all the small children in my neighborhood) - er....well....if I take out the make-up bag now, Shawn will probably show up mid-mascara stroke. I can do that when I get situated in the PPH room later. I didn't really like these children on my block anyway!:lmao:

As it turns out, Shawn did not end up at my place until probably 2:30 p.m.!!!! That is how much traffic she encountered while driving from Irvine (where she works) to where I am, in Beverly Hills adjacent!!!! She texted at 11:30 a.m. and pulled up in front of my building at 2:30!!!! Oh, Lord, it was going to be a loooooooong drive to Anaheim.

Sherry E

12-27-2008, 02:04 PM

So we pull up to the PPH at around, oh, say, 4:15 p.m.!!!! Yep, traffic was bad. The lobby was not too crazy crowded for check-in, but somehow the few people who were in line for their PPH initiation needed the WHOLE rundown of everything they could possibly ever want to do in DLR, the locations of everything, all the perks of being a resort guest, the history of Disneyland and Walt Disney's childhood, etc. It seemed like there were lots of folks who had never been to DLR in front of me. By the time I got up to the desk, I wanted to tell the CM, "Don't bother. I know the drill. I'm all paid for. Gimme my Key to the Magic and let me be." Okay, so I was not that brusque and let her give me some of the speech! At least this CM at check-in did not forget to give us our Parking Pass, as had happened in October. And this one didn't forget to give us our pink Goofy folder, as had been forgotten in October. And this one remembered to ask if I wanted my debit card attached to BOTH room keys, which her October predecessor had not.

So, yay, finally checked in (no nifty upgrade, darn it!) and it is time to go to the room. I stopped in the lobby to snap a picture or two of the tree:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202008/001_25A.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202008/002_24A.jpg

We made our way up to Room 811. Yep, you guessed it - the FIRST thing I did was run the water in the bathroom and see if there was any poopy odor, and there was none!:yay: Hooray! No poo!

Here are some pictures taken around the room and in the hallway, which pretty much look like everybody else's pictures. The Sun seems to be the prevailing theme at the PPH; it seems to be in all the detailing around the hotel:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202008/022_1A.jpg
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We dumped our bags and I quickly tinkered with my face, and then we headed over to the ticket booths so I could get the $35 in food vouchers I had been awarded by Guest Communications for my bad Carnation Cafe experience in October. We stopped in the PPH lobby first, to get a photo by the tree. I am wearing a green sweater and a red neck scarf, just to be Christmasy!:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202008/003_23A.jpg

Apparently, Shawn noticed that the lady who was snapping the above photo of us had her finger in the way and didn't speak up. Shawn felt the time to speak up was after the lady had taken the picture and walked away. Never mind the fact that she could have said something before the lady pushed down on the shutter such as, "Oh, I think something is blocking the lens." I mean, this lady was nice but she even told us she couldn't see well. Even if Shawn was too timid to speak up, she should have whispered to ME that the lady's finger was blocking the view and I would have tactfully spoken up. I don't like to waste pictures if it can be helped! But Shawn is also the person who was so dissatisfied with her Blue Bayou dessert that she kept grumbling and mumbling about it to me, or under her breath, in October, because she didn't realize it had mousse in it, rather than telling the waitress that she misunderstood what kind of chocolate cake it was and would like to swap it for a Flying Dutchman. Speaking up to outsiders is not Shawn's strong suit. I don't like to make a big fuss over senseless things, but if I ordered a cake and it was not what I thought it would be, I wouldn't go off on a tangent but at least would politely explain to the server why I couldn't eat it and then ask for an alternative that I could eat....just like, if I noticed that someone snapping a picture with my camera had her finger in the way, I would politely find a way to say something so I could get a clean, unobstructed shot. But that's just me.

So we got the food vouchers. This is what the food vouchers looked like:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202008/014_9A-1.jpg

It's funny because the CM at the ticket window took my letter from Guest Communications and read it thoroughly before issuing my vouchers, and in the letter it specifically states that I had a bad experience at Carnation Cafe. The ticket booth CM asked me what had happened at Carnation, and when I explained the October fiasco she said, "To tell you the truth, I've had bad experiences there too...and I work here at Disneyland!!!" She went on to say that she has had bad service and wondered if the person who served her at Carnation was the same one who served us! I thought it was interesting that, for a brief moment, a CM broke out of the 'Disney mode' they have to stay in and talked to us like a real, non-Disney person, like she was just another guest dining at Carnation and having a bad time!!!

From the ticket booths - which were not as crowded as I had expected, based on reports here on the DIS - we backtracked to have dinner at Storytellers Cafe. It was a cold night, so that is a perfect cozy restaurant to ensconce oneself in. The only issue we had was that we thought the dinner menu had the same options as the lunch menu had, which we enjoyed in October. Not so. In fact, the dinner menu options for Storytellers were very limited in terms of affordable selections. It was basically either the spaghetti for $17 a plate or one of the other entrees for $27 a plate. And the buffet didn't have enough items on it to warrant being worthwhile for us. Shawn and both chose the spaghetti....which, by the way, was DELICIOUS. That is a good thing, because if we have to feel forced to order one item due to price and menu limitations or taste preferences, it had better be a tasty dish, and it was! The garlic bread had fresh chunks of garlic on it. I love garlic, so that worked for me. Garlic is good for the heart, bad for the love life!:lmao: So yummy. The sauce on the spaghetti had meat and veggies in it. The plate was huge, but the portion size was comparably smaller.

Shawn noticed a Plaid in the restaurant, somewhere behind us, with a large group of people that looked to be one big family. I have no clue who the family was or if anyone in the family was noteworthy, but it seemed odd to have a Plaid in the restaurant at approximately 6:00 p.m. unless there was someone famous in that bunch.

Next stop, the Grand Californian lobby to stalk the carolers...and Santa!!!!!:goodvibes

Sherry E

12-27-2008, 04:06 PM

So we get to the GCH lobby somewhere in the 7:00 p.m. hour. Not sure exactly. There are no visible 'prime' locations near the huge Christmas tree or next to where I remembered the carolers performed in 2007. The only available seats we can find are at a table tucked in a far corner of the lobby where the pianist was situated. In fact, I think they actually moved the piano to that spot from where it had been in October, to make more room for the stately tree. Well, that's fine. We will just keep our eyes peeled for a better table or seat to open up and then make a mad dash to it...which is what we did last year! We were seated behind the long line of people waiting to get in a picture with Santa. We were about as far away from where the carolers would be as you could get. In fact, we didn't even have a good view of Santa! I wanted to start off my PhotoPass card by taking a couple of photos of us with Santa. I haven't gotten in pictures with Santa since the '90s. I mentioned to Shawn that we needed to get in the line to take the Santa pictures, which would mean leaving our table. She said she didn't want to lose our seats. She wanted to stay put. At this point, I was starting to get agitated because her habit of constantly needing to sit and rest every few minutes tends to get in the way of getting things accomplished, but I usually keep quiet about it. I also have a lot of pain in my back and legs from a disc problem in my back. I usually walk through the pain when I am really determined - especially when I have plunked down big bucks for something! I am all for appropriate rest breaks, but not to the point where they interfere with plans! I had forewarned her earlier that I wanted US BOTH to get in a picture with Santa and now she didn't want to leave the table, which was in a bad spot anyway. I thought about standing in the line myself and then calling Shawn up to join me when it was time for Santa, but she was still afraid of losing the table! Arrrrrgggggghhhhhhh! You know, I hate to play the 'I paid for your @#$%^&*+ 2-day Park Hopper because your transmission blew, and I also covered the hotel bill on my own, so get in the @#$%^&*+ Santa picture' card....so I didn't. But I was thinking it!!:laughing: As I said earlier, I know when to be tactful.

Instead, I calmly said, "Well, in a year or two, when looking back upon this trip, are you going to be happier that you held on to a crappy table way in the back of the lobby, or happier that you got in a nice Santa picture with me?"

Shawn said, "True. Very true." But she still didn't budge and just stared off into space. I think she just didn't want to wait in the line only to lose the table in the end.

I looked at my watch and commented on how the carolers probably wouldn't show up for a long time, so "since we aren't getting in a picture with Santa, I might as well go and get my gingerbread cookie." I left Shawn sitting at her prized table, and I am sure she sensed I was displeased. I wanted to get my cookie but I also wanted to walk off my annoyance with her so I didn't have an attitude the rest of the night or the rest of the trip. A few minutes alone would do the trick. I could come back with a better attitude, having regrouped, and armed with treats!

I knew exactly where to go to get the gingerbread cookie, because I remembered seeing it there last year - Marceline's in DTD. There were lots of people milling about and being indecisive, and there was a man who reeked of cigarette smoke behind me in line, which was nauseating. I finally got to the counter after a substantial wait and discovered I had to get four cookies to be able to use the AP discount. Of course, I could have just gotten two cookies and forgotten the AP discount, but I like to feel I am getting a bargain!;) ;)

I made my way back to the coveted table by the pianist and instantly noticed that Shawn was at the table, but now there was a man sitting in my chair!:confused3 Okay, there were 3 chairs at that stupid table. Shawn knew which one I was sitting in, which was the one FACING the tree/Santa, etc. I am CERTAIN that this man must have asked her if anyone was sitting there. I doubt he just plunked down without asking, but even IF he did, Shawn could have spoken up and said, "Someone is sitting in that chair, but you can sit in this other chair if you want." She didn't. Remember I told you all that speaking up to outsiders is not her strong suit.

So I was relegated to the chair which was turned away from the tree and Santa, and if I wanted to put my cookies on the table and eat one of them, I had to do it with my back to all the action. At this moment, Shawn tells me that while I was away on my cookie mission, she tried to call my cell phone (my signal rarely, if ever, works in DLR) to tell me that the carolers had shown up in the lobby! I never heard her call. It figures I would miss them at that exact moment, but it wouldn't have made any difference because we didn't have a seat even close to where they were singing, which was on the other side of the tree.

After a few minutes, the man in my chair got up and wandered off somewhere. I reclaimed MY seat at the lousy table, so at least I could face the action. I took out my cookies and displayed them on the table in front of me.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202008/004_22A.jpg

Okay, so I had already eaten one of the gingerbread men before I snapped that picture. The Christmas trees (shortbread) came with either green frosting or white frosting. I thought the snowmen (also shortbread) should have had faces. Shawn admired the taste and heft of the gingerbread cookies, which were much more substantial than I had anticipated. (In fact, two days later, she bought 8 of them!!!) And they are so cute. I can see why they are so popular.

So, there we sat, staring at the line for Santa getting longer, getting shorter, getting longer still, getting shorter... And no better tables were opening up close to the tree, but at that point I wasn't sure if the elusive carolers would be back that night, and if so, when.

What better way to entertain yourself than to take silly pictures?

A candid shot of Shawn...

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202008/006_20A.jpg

And here I am, being goofy. And I think that is Shawn's finger in the picture...but I did NOT notice that as she snapped it or I WOULD have said something!!!;)

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202008/008_18A.jpg

Finally, the line for Santa got to where there was only one family in it. I jumped up and authoritatively said, "Let's get in the Santa picture NOW!" I didn't give Shawn a chance to protest or complain. As it turns out, as I jumped up, there was a nice comfy couch opening up which was basically right next to Santa, so we tossed our purses on the couch where we could still see them, handed the PhotoPass card to the photographers and sat in two pictures with Santa. When we were finished, Santa said, "Do me a favor and don't tell Mrs. Claus..." We thought he was just being cute and original with US - or we would have liked to believe that - but we heard him use that same tired line on every duo of women who came up to pose with him from that point on.

Okay, so now I got my Santa pictures (which you all will see when I get my PhotoPass CD in the mail) and we had moved to a 'better' location with a prime view of Santa and all the people posing with him. We could both be happy! It was rather amusing watching the cast of characters (of the human variety) pass across his lap and try to adopt the right pose, either sitting on his knee or resting on the arm of his chair.

Eventually, the prime spot we had been waiting for - right on the other side of the tree, where the carolers perform - opened up, so we scooted right over....Except for the fact that they never came back after that first performance that I missed while I was getting cookies!!:headache: Drat! All this anitcipation and I missed them! So basically we waited all that time, uselessly scoping out a 'good spot,' just to people watch. We did notice that there was a guitar player over in the hearth area - I don't think he was there last year - who was strumming and singing some holiday tunes and welcoming folks to sing along. He would take over the entertainment when the piano player took a break and vice versa.

Looking around the huge lobby at all the faces, it seemed everyone was in a festive holiday mood. People come and sit down with other people on the sofas and people ask other people to take their pictures by the tree (I was asked to do that for some people, and I happily obliged), and everyone just kind of chats and interacts. It's a really nice, cozy kind of vibe in the GCH lobby around the holidays. You feel like you can turn and strike up a conversation with the strangers next to you because you are all sharing the same couch! Couples are cuddled up together. Kids are playing on the carpet by the tree. It's nice. And if you can catch the carolers up close, even better! Watching the parade of people posing for pictures by the tree was a show in and of itself! Some people were such perfectionists that they would make their subjects pose for 50,000 shots, then walk away, only to come back five minutes later to try the same people in the same poses AGAIN!

I used the cruddy camera to take a couple of dark, fuzzy shots of the GCH in their dimly lit lobby but shockingly, they didn't even appear on the negatives! That is one dark lobby! (I was able to get some decent GCH tree pictures in the next couple of days, which I will post later!)

Finally, after sitting for what seemed like hours, we realized that the carolers were never coming back again, so we packed up our stuff and I grabbed my cookies (the other folks on the couch next to me were also munching on their Marceline's cookies!) and we hit the trail back to the PPH to go to sleep. We had to be up early to make the Magic Morning on Saturday. I asked Shawn to stop and show me the Hidden Mickey in the face of the GCH grandfather clock in the lobby, which she had so astutely noticed in October. That is one hidden son of a gun! That is one of the most hard to spot hidden Mickeys I can think of, and, frankly, Shawn's eyes are good but I don't know how she spotted it in October!! You have to catch it at just the right angle in the right light, from the right distance, when the planets are aligned and the moon is full and the Aurora Borealis is visible....at least, that's what I hear!;) ;) ;) ;)

Next up, Day Two - and the FIRST EVER use of the Magic Morning!!!

Sherry E

12-27-2008, 04:57 PM

All righty then...now we have come to Day Two of this latest Trip Report - Saturday, Dec. 20th.

We had never used the Magic Morning option before as guests of the hotels, so since we had to meet our friend Jackie later that day, we wanted to get a lot in with lighter crowds and decided to try the MM. I was up at 4:30 a.m., fumbling around in the drawers for my clothes and hopping in the shower. I take longer to get ready than Shawn does - well, longer than almost anybody does, really! - and I don't like to have anyone waiting on me, so the earlier I can get in the shower to have time to luxuriate with my banana hair products and cranberry shower gel, the better. I don't have to feel like anyone is waiting on me if I am up while they are still sleeping!

We headed into DTD at 6:45 a.m.-ish or so to hit the 7:00 a.m. Disneyland MM entry. This is what happens when you take pictures of the DTD Christmas tree in daylight with a crappy disposable camera and don't use the flash - it looks like it is nighttime!!!:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202008/009_16A-1.jpg
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Shawn wanted to stand in the line for the Monorail to get into the park, which didn't even start running until 7:00 a.m. I said no, I want to go in the main entrance so we can get IN the park at 7:00 a.m. and also hit any PhotoPass photgraphers along the way to Fantasyland.

While we were waiting at the DL main gates for the 7:00 a.m. opening, we moseyed over to the soon-to-be-gone California Adventure letters in the front to get some pictures.

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Could we be any farther away (well, I guess we could)?

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It's dark, but I pretty much got all the letters in there!!!

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I didn't see any PhotoPass photographers yet, so we just hotfooted it straight to IASW. Not only was the ride open that early, but we were the only ones on our boat!!! Once inside the ride, we noticed everything looked shiny and new, and the scents were quite strong this time. Peppermint had been there before, but now there is also strong pine or a similar aroma, as well as what Shawn thinks is gingerbread, but I wasn't convinced of that. It is pretty much a feast for the eyes and an assault on the ears in that ride, but I love it!!!

On the way out of IASW and on the way to the Teacups, I snapped this picture - just because I have always thought it was a cute little sign/display:

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Once on the Teacups, which we had not been on in probably 8 years or so, we quickly realized that they were faster than they had been in the past! I have never had a problem with MOST people spinning cups I am in because they have usually been women who are not that strong. The only time I have ever had to ask someone to stop spinning the Teacups like madmen was when it was actually men who were in control and they WERE strong...VERY strong! This time, we got two seconds into spinning and realized it would be bad if we continued, so we just left the wheel of death alone and let the cup spin on its natural axis. Maybe it just seems faster because we are older?

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After the Teacups, we hit Peter Pan, Mr. Toad, Snow White, Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland and the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough in rapid fire succession - all with NO LINES! How is it that we never used this wondrous Magic Morning feature before, in all these years of staying at DLR hotels?? It had been SO long since I had been on any of those rides that I actually forgot what happens in some of them. I had forgotten that you see little rabbit foot prints on the tracks at the end of Alice, when you are outside. It is those little, often unnoticed, details that Disney puts into its parks that make it so special. There is ALWAYS something to see or discover, even if you have been there 100 times.

We had a Priority Seating plan for Carnation at 9:00 a.m. While we were en route to Carnation, we stopped for lots of PhotoPass pictures (again, you will see those when I get the CD in the mail) and I decided to take some 'avant garde' black and whites:

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This was about as close to Dumbo as Shawn was willing to get (the ride was out of the question for her):

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Finally, it was time for breakfast at Carnation. It was nice having the PS and not having to wait in the already long line of people. This time our service was good, and the food was decent.

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I STILL prefer breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen over Carnation, just as far as variety and flavor go, but this was fine. The potatoes were a little odd in consistency, but not un-tasty! There was a little elderly lady at the table next to us who appeared to be a regular. She was asking the waitress when so and so was working and if so and so was back form vacation yet, etc. She was a Carnation Cafe groupie!!

Now that breakfast was over, it was time to take some more pictures and hit some more rides!!!

bumbershoot

12-27-2008, 05:21 PM

So even though she was trying to do something that she thought was helpful, it ended up stressing me out!

I complete, totally, 100% know what you mean.

You know, I hate to play the 'I paid for your @#$%^&*+ 2-day Park Hopper because your transmission blew, and I also covered the hotel bill on my own, so get in the @#$%^&*+ Santa picture' card....so I didn't. But I was thinking it!!

:laughing:

That is one dark lobby!

Now where I have I heard that before....? :upsidedow

Ooh I like the black and white pix!

Sherry E

12-27-2008, 05:27 PM

Shawn had to make a pit stop, so while she did I took the opportunity to snap some more random photos:

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And then we did the mandatory 'pose-by-the-giant-tree' thing...

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I like the pictures people on DIS have been taking lately of the ornaments close-up, so I decided to do it too - I rather like the way these shots came out!

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Gee, the tree really does look kind of fake when it is really close-up!

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We made our way to Tomorrowland to ride Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters.

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We rode BLAB two times, back to back, and our on-ride photo did not come out either time. They were having a lot of technical difficulties and we noticed a lot of pictures did not come out. At least I got my highest score (on Buzz) so far - a whopping 15,100 points! That is a miracle for me! But Shawn was still kicking my booty with like a zillion points or something!

And then I decided I wanted to visit the Reindeer Round-Up. Another cool detail is that when you walk through Frontierland, you see hoof and horseshoe prints in the ground, which, of course, I did not get a picture of. But I did get a picture of this petrified tree:

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What is this strange apparition that appeared in the picture of Woody and me? It is like a ghostly bubble!

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Cute little trees:

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No Rudolph anywhere!

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Santa was on a break, so we couldn't get him. Time to leave.

And another pit stop for Shawn!

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Next up - New Orleans Square!!

Sherry E

12-27-2008, 05:50 PM

I complete, totally, 100% know what you mean.

:laughing:

Now where I have I heard that before....? :upsidedow

Ooh I like the black and white pix!

Yes, I don't see what is so difficult about saying, "Just in case I can get off work a few hours early, make sure you are ready early." Not even a question of, "Are you ready yet? Because I got off work early and can come get you now." I am glad someone understands where I am coming from on this!

I thought of you, too, as I was sitting in that dim GCH lobby! I was thinking that it seemed to look even dimmer to me than it did in 2007! It is a good 'atmoshpere'-type of hotel/lobby, but not a good one for photos. Even the PhotoPass Santa pictures, from what I can see on the PP website, are kind of dark!

I am glad someone appreciates my artistic expression in my black and white pictures!!!;) Picasso had his Blue Period. I have my B&W Period!!:rotfl: There will be more B&W's popping up in this TR, so stay tuned!!:goodvibes

Sherry E

12-27-2008, 06:46 PM

So, next stop was New Orleans Square, where we rode POTC twice, back to back (and we were pretty much the only ones on the ride and in our boat!) and HMH once. The Hidden Mickey snowdrift is back on the ballroom floor in HMH.

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And we walked over to ToonTown in hopes of getting on Roger Rabbit, but the line was longer than expected and Shawn's stomach was bugging her from the Carnation meal at breakfast, so I just snapped a few photos and we left.

You may not be able to tell because I didn't use a zoom lens, but Roger Rabbit is dressed in a Santa outfit. Can you see him?

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It was now time to head back to the PPH for the mid-day rest break. Jackie was due to meet us, she said, at 3:00 or 4:00 p.m., which ended up being more like 5:30 p.m. So we had just enough time to rest for a bit and head back out to meet Jackie in DCA.

At around 3:15, we left the PPH to find a good spot to meet Jackie. We didn't know she would be running so late, so we ventured into DCA to people watch and kill time. We took some funny PhotoPass pictures with a guy who wanted us to pretend we were getting run over by a train. He was so entertaining, I couldn't understand how he didn't have a long line of people trying to get pictures with him. We roamed around A Bug's Land, looking at the oversized ornaments, but it was still light out and I wanted to see the ornaments when they were all lit up at night...which I never got to do. It just didn't work into the schedule!

Finally, it was time to head back to the DCA entrance area to look for Jackie, who was supposedly en route on the tram somewhere.

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Once Jackie finally arrived (he husband, Bob, did not come with her as planned, because he had just been there with her the week prior and there is only so much Disneyland Christmas he can take), it was freezing and my coat, neck scarf, sweater and mittens were up in the room. So I toughed it out and we went straight to Wine Country Trattoria after taking some PhotoPass pictures (that is probably why I am sick now:mad: ).

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Shawn and I both had the meatball sandwich. Plus, they brought yummy breadsticks to the table to much on. Jackie had the pizzetta salad, which was SO impossibly huge that it looked like not even three people could eat it, let alone one! I have never seen a salad piled that big on a regular-sized plate!!! And no, I was engrossed in my sandwich that I didn't get a picture of Jackie's salad, but take my word for it - the thing is monstrous!

We had a prime table to watch the Pixar Play Parade. That was cute, but nothing I needed to break my neck to see if my view had been obstructed!

Now it was time for some tough competition. Toy Story Mania! That has GOT to be one of the all-time great rides. There is nothing to NOT love about it. And I love it even more when my score improves with each ride! Shawn and Jackie rode together. Last time I beat Jackie (in October), but this time I was playing against a stranger - a nice, young mom who was in the single rider line - so I had no idea what she was capable of in the game! She was a really cool lady and we hit it off right away, which was nice since we were stuck together on the ride. And....as it turned out...I beat her! :yay: I got my highest TSMM score to date with 94,700 points (which, for ME, is outstanding) to her 80-something points. She walked with us out of the ride and into DCA until she had to go meet up with her kids somewhere.

From there, we took more PhotoPass pictures and headed over to Monsters, Inc, and Soarin'. Soarin' had absolutely NO line of any kind, and when we rode that we noticed the aromas were much stronger. Jackie had never been on Monsters, Inc. but seemed to like it.

Next, it was time to venture into Disneyland to introduce Jackie to Buzz Lightyear. She had never been on that ride, so I thought FOR SURE that I would beat her, even with my PITIFUL showings. Nope. She beat me and good!

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I don't understand what happened to my 15,000 score of earlier that day. Maybe the cold air had frozen my fingers?:rotfl: How could I go from 94,700 on TSMM to...this...horrible score? At least we got our on-ride photo this time.

We walked over to the Castle to try to catch a nighttime PhotoPass photographer to have our picture taken in front of the sparkly Castle, but there were none around. There were plenty of other people hanging around, waiting for snow or the parade or whatever, and Shawn and Jackie didn't want to take the long way through Tomorrowland to get to IASW, so we just opted for the always reliable POTC and HMH to cap off the evening.

After finishing up in New Orleans Square, it was time for Jackie to get home to Bob and time for us to head back to the PPH because we had an early 7:00 a.m. breakfast scheduled at Goofy's the next morning.

This time, all the pictures I got with Jackie in them were PhotoPass, so you will see those when I get the CD.

Next up, Day Three and the traditional visit to Goofy's Kitchen!

bumbershoot

12-27-2008, 07:02 PM

Oh, I meant to tell you...E got sick after our trip too. A variety of symptoms, nothing so bad we medicated. Took about 2 weeks to totally clear up, just with time and taking it easy.

Sherry E

12-27-2008, 07:19 PM

Oh, I meant to tell you...E got sick after our trip too. A variety of symptoms, nothing so bad we medicated. Took about 2 weeks to totally clear up, just with time and taking it easy.

Poor little E! He had so much fun he ran himself into the ground! I would like to blame it on the crazy hot-cold-hot-cold weather and but common sense would tell me that it was actually probably touching something that some other sick person touched and taking it home! I think I was able to ward off the worst of whatever I got by popping mass quantities of Vitamin C. So unless I take a turn for the worse, I should be back to normal in the next couple of days, unlike last year at this time where I was sick as a dog and lost my voice and all that fun stuff. Blech!

Sherry E

12-27-2008, 08:33 PM

Day Three - Sunday, December 21, 2008.

I should mention that the night before, after Jackie left us and Shawn and I got back to the PPH room, Shawn decided to start chatting with some sort of telephone/cyberspace love interest she has on her cell phone. Eric. Now his name had come up before. When we were taking pictures by the California letters on Saturday morning, she was trying vehemently to get a good shot of Goofy's A with her phone to send to Eric. Then, she was trying with all her might to try to rope me into some picture on her cell phone so she could send it to Eric. Then, she learned that Eric's company had somehow had something to do with constructing some behind the scenes stuff in The Beast's Library and A Bug's Land. Now, don't get me wrong - Lord knows my friends have put up with me when I have talked about men in the past, and have been sick of hearing me (that's what friends do - you listen to your other friends drone on and on about the same problems with or wonderfulness of whoever the guy in question is). So if Shawn were having a problem with Eric or wanted to gush about how wonderful he is, okay, I'll listen. What I did NOT want to listen to was their phone conversation at 10 p.m., when I am under the covers trying to sleep. I thought that my pulling the blankets over my head would have been a sure sign that slumber was on my horizon. When it was clear that Shawn was going to keep chatting on the phone, I leaned over and turned out the lights. Then, I thought she may need one of the lights for something so I turned one light back on. Shawn promptly turned the light OFF and said, "Oh you don't need to leave that on for my benefit. I don't need it. I won't be on the phone much longer."

I said, "But I can't sleep if you are talking. You do remember we have a 7:00 a.m. Goofy's meal, right?"

She said, "Yeah, I know. I will be off soon."

I said, calmly, "Well, if you have to stay on the phone, can you at least go in the hallway or to the lounge downstairs to talk? This way I can sleep."

She said okay, presumably grabbed her key and then left for somewhere to talk to Eric. Hopefully she went and sat downstairs. I sleep with earplugs and that isn't even enough to keep sound from waking me up! I am a very light sleeper!

When Shawn came back in - and I have no clue what time it was because I was not facing the clock and had been asleep - I heard the door close and then she promptly flipped the light ON - you remember. The one she said she DIDN'T need to keep on! Grrrrrrrr....... Here I am, awake at the crack of dawn, trying to be careful of making too much noise so I don't wake Shawn up, never turning on any lights so I don't disturb her, and she not only didn't realize until I said something that it may not be cool to have a phone conversation at 10:00 p.m. while I am trying to sleep, but she turns the light on without a second thought AND also LEAVES THE TOILET SEAT UP!!!!!! In October, she left the seat up and a pair of socks I had hanging on the towel rack above it FELL INTO THE TOILET. All Shawn did was laugh. So here she was, leaving the seat up again. I thought she would get the hint when I kept putting it DOWN! I thought this was only something MEN do:confused3

Okay, so back to Day 3 - Sunday, Dec. 21st. Time to hit Goofy's Kicthen. With my AP discount and my $35 in food vouchers, our bill for TWO people came to just under $30, so we only had to pay $15 each!!!:cool1: I have never been to Goofy's right when it opened before. It is funny seeing Goofy and Baloo just kind of standing there at the entrance, sizing everyone up as they come in and trying to greet them while they are not in full character mode yet. If only I could read their minds. I just envisioned them thinking to themselves, "Ho hum...another Sunday morning breakfast crowd. They look pretty dull. I've got to turn on the old personality now and try to liven these people up. Yawn..." And then it is like a switch flips ON and they suddenly become Goofy, Baloo, Chip, Dale, etc.

Here is the adorable Goofy's Christmas tree which is appropriately zany:

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As stated earlier, I LOVE me some Goofy!

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And Shawn loves Baloo!

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And one more hug from Goofy for the road!

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Time to visit DL for a little while, before making our way to DCA at opening.

Here is the big, honkin' beautiful Main Street tree:

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And some other assorted shots:

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And there is always time for another Buzz ride (technical difficulties with the pictures AGAIN):

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At this point we were in Tomorrowland and had just enough time for one more ride before going to DCA. Shawn made some passing mention of, "It's funny - we never even go on Star Tours anymore." That was all I needed to hear!

I said, "I have been wanting to go on Star Tours for the last several trips. No one will ride it with me."

Shawn grumbled something about getting a headache from it but she hasn't been on it in 8 years so she has no clue how she will react now! In any case, I guess she figured she had better go on it to pacify me, and that's fine! I will accept that as a reason!

Once on Star Tours, I realized my arms must be short or something because I couldn't seem to reach the basket under the seat to toss my Baggallini into. I even knelt down on the ground to reach it and I couldn't feel the edge of the basket! I don't recall having this problem in the past! I knew they wouldn't take off without me, but I didn't want to be the one conspicuous person holding up the flight to Endor! Finally I managed to get the bag in and I could buckle myself into my seat with confidence, knowing my belongings were not going to be flying around the room and into people's faces!

In any case, Shawn made it on and off the ride in one piece and didn't appear to get a headache. I think she was hanging on to that reason from 8 years ago to not go on it, but she was fine. The mind works in very powerful ways - noth positively and negatively! She is a person who still gets very antsy on Soarin' AND on Pirates of the Caribbean!!!! She HATES the drops on POTC and clings to whosever arm is available!!

So, off to DCA we went, and coincidentally, stopped to ride Soarin' and Monsters, Inc. again. Of course, we took many more PhotoPass pictures too.

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Soon, it was time to get in line for Aladdin. While in line, I noticed a voicemail coming through on my phone. Now, remember that my signal rarely works in DLR, but one thing seems to happen when it does. A guy from my past (speaking of men) seems to have a sixth sense and always calls or voicemails me when I am at DLR! It never fails! This happened on the last three trips! I could go for months without communicating with this person, and somehow he just knows to contact me when I am at DLR!!! Now I won't go into the whole sordid story of my history with this person, but we have known each other for almost 22 years, and he periodically comes back into my life to cause chaos and havoc for me, as he did in 2005. So now I am keeping a distance, staying cold and detached! He was leaving me a message this time to tell me he had been fired for some convoluted reason. Well, I feel bad for him because it is no fun being fired before Christmas (especially when you have kids, as he does), but hey, I have my own job problems to deal with, so don't come looking to me for support, only to suck me back into that evil web!!! I ignored his messages.

When we got in to see Aladdin, Shawn, for some reason, wanted to sit in the very back row of the theatre, in the seats right on the aisle. Why would you possibly want to sit in the aisle furthest away from the stage if there are available seats which are closer to the stage??:confused3 So needless to say, when the flying carpet soars over the crowd and other things are happening, we couldn't see them because we were so far back and the underside of balcony was blocking our view. It was almost as if Shawn had no interest in seeing the show (which she didn't say), and therefore didn't care how lousy the seats were. It was only when she later decided she liked Aladdin that she established we should have better seats "next time." We both really enjoyed the Genie. I had no idea he made current, topical references (like about the Congressional bail out, etc.), but he delivered his lines with lightning fast wit and appropriate snarkiness. He was really the highlight of the whole show, and Iago was good too! I think the current humor is enough to keep older adults and parents interested who may otherwise dismiss Aladdin as being "just for kids."

After Aladdin was over, we visited the Animation Building so Shawn could see what Eric did in the Beast's Library. We stared at the Toy Story zoetrope, which is just so cool. We peeked in the cavernous Ursula's Grotto. That was about it, except for a quick visit in Off the Page.

I inisisted on riding Toy Story Mania once more - and my score was worse than when I had played with the single rider the night before, but I love the ride anyway!!! The line was pretty long, but it moves so fast you are never standing in one place for very long.

Shawn then had to pick up some candy for her niece and 8 gingerbread men cookies, and then it was time to head back to the PPH.

The plan was that Shawn was going to go home to sleep in her own bed that night and get ready for work the next day, leaving me to wander aorund DLR by myself!:yay: (Remember, she couldn't take any full days off because of the transmission fiasco that happened to her back in October, so she couldn't get Monday off.) Then, she was supposed to pick me up after work on Monday and take me home. I assumed that her Monday schedule would be that she got off work at 2:30 p.m. - the usual time - and that I would have several hours to roam freely, but instead, she was pushing for getting off work at 11:30 a.m. again, as she had done on Friday. I told her I wasn't in any rush and that I didn't care if she showed up late on Monday because I had plenty of stuff I could do, but she was hell bent on that 11:30 a.m. time, which meant that coming from Irvine back to Anaheim, she would be to me before noon.:sad1:

So Shawn left the PPH at about 4:00 p.m. Now, I had a few good hours left in me (before I passed out) to explore DLR that night, and not even a few hours the next morning, and that was it. What was I going to do?

Sherry E

12-27-2008, 09:08 PM

Left to my own devices, what would you guess the first thing I would do once I am alone at DLR would be? If you guessed REST, you would be correct!!! Truth be told, I had been pushing myself and I was in a lot of pain, so I had to just chill out and take it easy for a couple of hours in the room. Then, I changed into my festive red sweater and coat and neck scarf and headed back to DL at about 6:15 p.m. I just wanted to finish up the crappy rolls of old 35 mm film in the crappy old camera that was on its last legs. I love walking around taking pictures, no matter how bad the camera, how bad the film. I used to take LOTS of photos in the old days - it was a passion and a hobby of mine. I lost touch with that hobby for a long time, but something about being on DISboards has reawakened the sleeping shutterbug giant and I feel like I just want to take pictures of whatever I can, whether they are good or not. I used to take a pretty good picture in the old days, but once you let yourself get rusty in that sort of arena, it takes a while to get the knack of it again and get back in the groove, understanding timing and lighting and perspectives, etc.

I stopped in the GCH en route to DTD. And what perfect timing, because in front of all these kids curled up on the carpet were the carolers! Yay! I finally caught them! They had just begun their set by the tree. They pulled a couple of folks from the crowd to ring some bells with them. One guy forced his girlfriend to go up there and ring bells, but he wouldn't go with her.

The GCH tree is more rustic looking than the PPH tree, and not as colorful, and Shawn was fascinated by the flickering lantern ornaments that hang from it.

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The girl on the end in the red shirt is one of the ones who went up to join in the bell ringing, against her better judgment!

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Onward to DTD.

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And into Disneyland:

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I like this picture because the tree looks creepy but the building looks Christmasy.

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Another close-up ornament shot.

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In New Orleans Square...

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Sherry E

12-27-2008, 10:23 PM

Okay, so we are wrapping up Day Three, which was a week ago tomorrow (Sunday).

I continued my picture-taking spree. I did look in some shops too but this was mainly a photo mission.

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I like how even the benches stick to the Frontierland theme - they have pieces of wood/logs as reinforcement! (By the way, I should point out that I have rotated this darn Frontierland sign photo repeatedly on Photobucket, and it appears to work fine, but when I paste the code here, it is still turned the wrong way. All the other ones I have rotated STAYED rotated, but not this one. So I am just going to leave it the way it seems to want to be - lanscape rather than portrait!

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I made my way over to the Castle, in hopes of finding a PhotoPass photographer who could snap my picture against the sparkly backdrop. Just as I spotted the PP guy and inched my way through the accumulating masses, the icicle lights on the Castle went out! Drat! They turn them on and off throughout the night, and so my PP picture is sans sparkly effects, darn it!

This is what the Castle looked like when I approached it. Still pretty but not sparkly! Bad timing on my part, just like how I missed the carolers the first night!

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I then walked the long route - the exact path that Shawn and Jackie had nto wanted to take the night before - to get to IASW and have a PhotoPass picture taken. So you all will see that when I get the CD. I could stare at that IASW building for hours! I just love all the colors.

Well, by this time I had been roaming DL for a while and I was tired and achy. I snapped a few more black and white shots.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202008/023_3A.jpg
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About this time, a person holding a clipboard spotted me as I was on my way out of Main Street and made a beeline for me, asking if I would participate in a survey. I would have been happy to but it turned out I didn't qualify. The survey was only for folks who had eaten meals IN the parks that specific day, not the day before and not in the hotels. So I didn't meet the criteria because my only meal had been at Goofy's Kitchen that morning and Carnation & Wine Country Trattoria had been the previous day. Drat! That was probably one of those surveys where they give you a $100 gift card if you participate and I flunked the test!:mad: I can't win for losing. I miss the sparkly Castle, I miss the snow, I can't find the Dream Squad to get dreamed and now I can't particpate in the DL food and beverage survey!:mad:

Anyway, it was time to head back to the PPH and not worry about having to get up at the crack of dawn again in the morning. I could sleep in a little later, but at the same time, I only had a few hours at most before Shawn would be getting off work and heading back to PPH to pick me up so maybe I should get up really early. Oh well, I will play it by ear and see how sleepy I am, I thought!

Next up...Fourth and Final Day...the Day the Camera Died...

Sherry E

12-27-2008, 11:09 PM

Alas, we come to the end of our TR. The fourth and final day, December 22 (Monday). I wanted to be able to see the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail in DCA. I wanted to go into ToonTown and take some in-depth pictures of some of the really cute details I had never noticed before around Goofy's house and Donald's boat. I wanted to revisit A Bug's Land and take some pictures of the giant lights and what not. I wanted to look inside Department 56 before it closes forever. But I knew all this was not going to happen. There simply wouldn't be enough time. Secretly I hoped that on Monday morning, when I woke up, I would have the 'stay an extra night at a low rate' offer slipped under my door, in which case I would just ask Shawn if she could pick me up and take me home on Tuesday instead of later that morning.

So when I woke up on Monday - about 5:30 a.m. (so much for sleeping in!) - I bolted for the door to see what the PPH had left me. This was it.

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That's it. The newspaper and the final bill - with NO offer to stay an extra night. Drat. In fact, it was more like a 'Bye - don't let the door hit ya on the way out' sort of letter! I guess it just wasn't meant to be. I packed up my things slowly and noticed that it had been raining pretty steadily outside. This meant I would have to drag out the handy dandy Mouse of 1000 Faces umbrella.

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I left my bags with the Bell Desk at PPH and began the final sojourn over to the GCH lobby, through DTD and into either DL or DCA first - I hadn't decided which yet.

Some final pictures by the pretty PPH tree. Notice the ever-present sun on top of the tree.

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Kids can't resist hopping on and playing with these oversized presents at both the PPH and the GCH.

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This little boy looks very wary of Santa.

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The rain was coming down pretty steadily, and my old, decrepit camera was taking on water.

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I love this owl - would have looked good in black and white!

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And this was the absolute last picture the camera took. Though it sounded as if it was working fine when I pressed the shutter, the film was not advancing, and instead was snapping one photo over another over another. I have no idea how many photos worked together to form this last one! Weird, huh?

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20DECEMBER%202008/005_6.jpg

That is too bad, because I THOUGHT I was taking some cute pictures in ToonTown, only to find out none of them took!

By the time I realized that my camera had stopped working, I looked at the time and it was going to be very soon that Shawn would be getting me after work, just before noon. The rain was really annoying me and everything in my bag was getting wet. It was a mess and I hate it! As I made a mad dash towards Main Street, I FINALLY ran into the Dream Squad, who were backed against a wall under the Castle archway by a mob of people shoving their hands in their faces. They were handing out Dream Fast Passes, and heck, this was my LAST chance to get any kind of dream whatsoever, as I had received NONE before. So I stopped and waited my turn for the Dream FP. I did not shove my greedy hands in the Dream Squad's faces like some mighty embarrassing, obnoxious adults were doing and I still got one.:yay: In fact, I was about to leave. I had no time to even use the FP. I just wanted it for a souvenir! There were plenty of people in the park during this rain that day, so I hope they put those FP's to good use.

I was hungry. I had been determined to try Taste Pilots Grill in DCA, but I had only a narrow window of time to do it. It was already 11:00 a.m. I raced in the rain to DCA and got to TPG at around 11:15 a.m. I ordered the BBQ chicken sandwich, which was yummy but needed more chicken, in my opinions. A lot of bread and BBQ sauce, not enough chicken! The sandwich came with these unique fries that looked like either pickle slices or Ruffles Potato Chips. They were round and crinkly, but soft, and tasted like French fries. I found a table - there were plenty - and scarfed down most of the food, getting sticky BBQ sauce all over my face, which I did my best to wipe up. At 11:30 a.m., I knew I had to head back to the PPH at breakneck speed, which I did.

After retrieving my bags from the Bell Desk and throwing some sort of bills at them which had been wet and crumpled in my bag (I think I gave them too much of a tip, actually, but oh well, 'tis the season), I hauled everything out to the Valet/front entrance area, and Shawn pulled up within about 5 minutes. It was time to say goodbye to DLR and to the PPH and head home. Oh, if only they had offered me the extra night. I could have done so much with one more day...but I still got a lot done and I didn't feel like I had to give up too many things this time. I knew I had things to take care of at home, but I felt like I wanted to stay lost at the World of Disney just a little longer! I had hoped that I would be able to get back to DLR next weekend when some of our DIS'ers are going to be back there, but after the DLR trip last weekend and the developing of all the photos and the purchase of the PhotoPass CD, I don't think finances will allow it because some sort of transportation would have to be paid for and it is just not in the cards right now. I don't think I will be able to join them, sadly, but it will have to be a very last minute final decision!! Never say never! But, I am under the weather and don't want to push it this soon. So we'll see!

So that pretty much wraps up the TR for this Christmastime DLR trip...that is, until I get my PhotoPass CD (I turned 97 pictures into 196 pictures with edits!!) and can post some of the festive pictures we took around the two parks and in the GCH with Santa.

Now back to my sick bed!:sick:

jnjusoioa

12-28-2008, 08:18 AM

Sherry, I am really enjoying your trip report, and loving the pictures. I bet your photopass ones are adorable. Got your PM and will repond then. Love reading all about your trip. I so want to be close to DLR, it truly is my favorite place ever. :goodvibes

kaoden39

12-28-2008, 12:17 PM

I love the black and white photos. They are wonderful.

Sherry E

12-28-2008, 12:32 PM

Oh goody! I am glad people are reading along/looking at the pictures!:yay:

I am partial to those B&W pictures too - I already had the idea in mind before I got to DLR about what I wanted to take B&W pictures of, so I am glad it was reasonably successful!! I also like the close-up ornmanent pictures and the New Orleans Square shots. I want to go back to DLR right away because I want to snap the pictures in ToonTown that I thought I was getting before I realized my camera had bitten the dust!:mad: But I just don't see it happening by January 4 - the last day of the Christmas stuff being up.:sad2: ToonTown has a lot of little hidden gems in it if you can find the time and the space (meaning no crowds) to explore every inch, especially during the holidays. I was having a field day over at Goofy's house, snapping away - only to find out that none of them came out!!! Stupid camera!! Stupid rain!

kaoden39

12-28-2008, 12:41 PM

Sherry E

12-28-2008, 01:12 PM

We went in December a few years ago. It was in the beginnning of the month so it was slow and we were able to see every little corner. I loved it. I think that the close up pictures of the trees are fun, but I love the depth of the black and white pictures.

I saw other good B&W opportunities too but this was an experimental mission, so I wanted to see how the first batch came out before I plowed ahead with any more!

Every time I go to DLR and grumble silently to myself about the crowds (which, to me, did not seem any worse this holiday season than they were in October!), I always think that it would be very weird to go to DLR and see NO people around. You kind of need SOME people to enhance the experience. But from a photographic standpoint, I am sure we ALL have looked at some of our pictures and thought, 'This would be a GREAT shot if only that person's head wasn't in the way!' And in some areas, such as ToonTown, there are so many cool things to see but so many 'heads in the way.' So I think going in early December to see all the cool holiday stuff but with low crowds would be good. I am guessing a weekday in early December would be even better because kids are still in school. IF I still have an AP in December and some money (time to renew is in early October), I would like to try going to DLR for a few days during the week rather than a weekend (also the AP rates will be good at that time for the hotels) and just spend a whole day or two snapping photos. I tell you, it was a hobby and passion of mine (much to friends' annoyance) years ago, and I feel it reawakening!!

Shawn was saying, "There should be more characters posing for PhotoPass pictures." Incidentally, we had just passed Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy and Pluto and Goofy, all in their holiday attire in the Plaza area by the tree on Main St. Those were ALL PP options. As far as I know, the Pooh pictures in Critter Country are PP too. But when we pass by the characters and Shawn sees people in lines, she instantly says, "Ugh...look at the lines" (just as she did for the Santa pictures in the GCH lobby) and she just keeps walking and won't participate until I coax and cajole her sufficiently (or play the 'I paid for your @#$%^&* Park Hopper' card!;) ). Also, Mickey's House in TT is a PP opportunity too. They are all over the place, but she won't wait.

So I said, "There are lots of character PhotoPass options. Don't you remember we just passed a whole bunch of them in their winter sweaters earlier? Those were all PhotoPass photographers."

Shawn grumbled, "Oh....yeah, the lines were long."

Exasperated, I said, "Yes, but that is what comes with the territory at Disneyland. You want fun character pictures on the PhotoPass account, you get lines. People want pictures with the characters, they stand in lines. It is very unlikely that Mickey and Minnie will just be hangin' at the Plaza with no one else around! You come to Disneyland, you know to expect lines, especially during the holidays, and most of the time, the thing you are waiting in the line for is well worth it in the end!"

I don't like long lines myself. I get irritated when the crowds are extra thick and grown adults can't seem to behave themselves and get rude for no reason. But I also expect it. I think it would be a surprise if we didn't run into loads of people everywhere we went. And for me, some things are worth waiting in certain lines for because the end result (like the Santa pictures or other character pictures) are more worthwhile to me and treasured in the 'bigger picture' to me than sparing myself a wait in a line! As I said to Shawn in the GCH lobby, "A couple of years from now, are you going to be happier that you had a table to sit at in the GCH lobby or a nice picture in front of the tree with Santa?"

I think some people just seem to go to DLR with unreasonable expectations that they will get the same results and not have to inconvenience themselves or compromise in any way, and frankly, if we had gone to DLR smack dab in the middle of the week in early December, not only would I have saved money on the hotel with an even better AP rate, BUT we would have encountered shorter lines and lighter crowds!!! Shawn didn't want to make the necessary arrangements to go mid-week, so that is what happens! Crowds get thicker and lines get longer the closer to the holiday you get!!

kaoden39

12-28-2008, 01:24 PM

wazowskiLOVER:)

12-28-2008, 01:49 PM

Sherry !

I'm sorry that your friend Shawn isn't as fun as you are, that must have been a downer most of the time. I'm also sorry that you are sick right now ! Stay warm, drink lots of liquids and take plenty of vitamin C. I love your black and whites ;). You cropped them out really well and I love the subject focus as well !

Alex2kMommy

12-28-2008, 02:24 PM

Hi, Sherry!

I loved your TR and all the photos! And your friend sounds sooo much like my sister, hee! Glad you had a good time, and how can you not? It's Disneyland! :yay:

Krissy Marissy

12-28-2008, 10:17 PM

Sounds like this trip was a little better, you left feeling mostly accomplished and didn't have poo water lol I also enjoyed your BW photos.

prettyprincessbelle

12-28-2008, 10:39 PM

Hola Sherry! I love ALL your pictures! Wonderful!!!!

I'm glad you had a wonderful time with no poopy water or haunted drawer room at the PPH!

I hope you're feeling better!!! :hug: :flower3:

mariezp

12-28-2008, 11:32 PM

travelmel

12-29-2008, 01:41 AM

Ha, my ears were burning MarieZP! :rotfl2:

travelmel

12-29-2008, 02:44 AM

mariezp

12-29-2008, 08:56 AM

Ha, my ears were burning MarieZP! :rotfl2:

It was all good though!

I thought that was some tanned Sleeping Beauty myself! Modern day Princesses must not really like the Snow White look anymore! :rotfl2:

Sherry E

12-29-2008, 10:41 AM

Hi Sherry!

I'm all caught up now and I have a few comments. Your black and white pics are beautifuL! I especially loved the one of Minnie Mouse where there is one of those antique cars going by behind her. Very cool composition. :goodvibes

That pic of you guys with Sleeping Beauty- she really looks like she's been fighting a hard battle with the tanning-bed monster. :lmao:

And last, but not least....

HOW DO YOU KNOW BRETT MICHAELS???????????

Oh my goodness, Travelmel - you and Mariezp are too funny, so I had to reply to these two posts first before I go back and reply to everyone else's! I just crawled back onto the DISboards after being in a NyQuil-induced off-and-on sleep (coma) since yesterday (now I have transitioned to DayQuil), so have to catch up!!

I am not even sure if I realized the antique car was behind Minnie - that must have been an act of serendipity! I am glad the B&W pictures went over so well with everyone. It was purely an experimental photographic mission, so I am glad they didn't come out looking too utterly disastrous!:rotfl:

I think I had zoned out on Aurora's deep tan after the trip, but now that you mention it, I think I did kind of notice that she looked particularly dark given that she has supposedly been sleeping in a Castle all this time and not getting sunlight! I actually thought that Belle - when she came to our table in October - seemed to have a lot of caked-on make-up, but hers was more to the 'alabaster skin' effect rather than the 'I love my Mystic Tan' effect! The make-up was very noticeable up close with Belle. Sleeping Beauty stopped at the tanning salon before hitting Goofy's Kitchen, apparently! Jasmine was the one who looked the most natural up close. She may have had some heavy eye make-up, but she already had the nice olive complexion so she didn't need to spend hours in the tanning bed and caking on so much make-up. I don't know what those poor girls do at DLR in the 100-degree heat of summer (like we had this year). How do they keep that make-up from running down their faces?

As for Bret Michaels...back in the '80s, about a year before the first Poison album came out, when they were another struggling Sunset Strip club band handing out flyers on the streets of Hollywood (and engaged in a heated competition with Guns 'N Roses), I met Bret and the gang. It was about 1985. He and two other members of the band were living in a nasty warehouse in L.A. with some of their road crew members:scared1: My friend Mandy and I (she is shown in in this TR in some of the earlier pictures from the DLR trips in the '90s) began working for them, assisting their publicist and handling all the correspondence with the fans who were sending thousands of letters each week, as well as other PR and Fan Clulb responsibilities, like putting together packages to mail to special fans and things like that. It was fun! We/I would have to write silly, inane monthly newsletters filled with ridiculous double entendres about how Bret really loved a girl who could let it all hang out, blah blah.:lmao::lmao: I would have to sit down with him and get all of his 'Likes and Dislikes' on paper to be able to write a newsletter that included that info (which was very relevant to the many, many women who were writing in weekly, and sending all kinds of photos). Bret would go over what I wrote and make edits, and if it needed to be, dare I say, 'dumbed down' a bit to reach their target audience (oh, that sounds so horrible to say), then he would tell me what to change. He commended me on being...here's a big shock for all of you guys out there...DETAIL-ORIENTED! (Gasp! I bet you couldn't have guessed I was detail-oriented, now could you??;) ) So during this time, we had the 1986 Disneyland trip which I posted a couple of pictures from in this TR, and I was at a lot of Poison parties and at their different houses and things like that.

Mandy and I worked for them (I did most of the work) until, I would say, about 1988 or so. At that point, Poison's first album had come out and taken off, and the second one was just about to come out (which featured "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," which was about a stripper name Trasy - yes, that is how she spelled her name - who Bret cheated on repeatedly, but when she finally cheated on him, it spawned a heart-wrenching hit single!!! Men and their double standards!). They were no longer a struggling local band. Now they were famous. They obviously needed to tighten up their organization and had to move all the stuff we were doing to a professional level, and everything got turned over to a company in San Francisco. Bret said that if I wanted to continue working for them, he may be able to find me something at the San Francisco company, but I didn't want to move there. Also, the publicist who Mandy and I had initially been helping offered me a sort of position as her exclusive PR assistant, which would have led to doing publicity and PR myself, but I didn't want to take it because I felt that Mandy would be upset. I was the only one who got the offer, and I didn't want to make my friend feel bad because she wasn't offered the same thing by the publicist OR by Bret (that is because Mandy was a big flake and couldn't be counted on, but that is another story!!!). So I thought I was being a good friend by not taking it! I know, I am an idiot!

In any case, in 1988, Bret and the other band guys begn to change. Suddenly they were drinking a lot and doing drugs and all those things are known to do. This was not the Bret I had known, who was jumping out in the middle of Pinocchio and eagerly getting on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride like a little boy! They were changing with success and fame. And they were no longer living together. They had all gotten their own places and kept moving every six months or so. After Bret moved to Marina del Rey and the other guys moved to Studio City, it was getting too hard to keep up with them. Suddenly all these 'people' were in the way, and we could no longer just stop by Bret's house or pick up the phone and call him and bring over a pizza and a movie like we had done in the past. Now, we had to go through security people and their management company and the tour manager and all this stuff. It was a pain. It was a pain not worth dealing with anymore. So I just lost contact because I stopped trying to maintain contact. I went to a few more Poison shows and was backstage at the parties, but it was impossible to get to the guys anymore. They were so shrouded by 'people.' I always wanted to tell Bret thank you for all the fun times. He was a really funny, cool and much brighter-than-you-would-expect kind of guy to be around. He was very chatty and engaging, and had a way of disarming anyone with his goofy personality! Everyone pretty much had a crush on Bret who was around him - he just had that effect on people, even if they didn't expect him to! It is no surprise to me that he was chosen to be on three Rock of Love seasons, because whether or not you like Poison, I know how charismatic Bret is/was and how he kind of won everybody over. But....I also know how he has/had NO trouble ever getting women on his own, so it almost seems pointless to do a show about him finding The One, when he probably has 100 of The Ones waiting in the wings on a regular day!

The very last time I spoke to Bret was in 1997. I just happened to hear that he was on a local radio show, and I called the station to ask the screener if they could just pass on my phone number to Bret. I explained who I was and how I knew him. I didn't want to go on the air. AT ALL. I only wanted them to hand him my phone number and say, "Remember Sherry? Here is her number." So the screener totally ignored me and insisted on putting me on the air. I was flustered because I had nothing of interest to say on-air. Maybe they were lacking callers? The screener then instructed me that nobody would be interested in how I knew Bret (exactly, you idiot, that's why I didn't want to go on the air!) and how I had to come up with something "juicy" to talk about that would entice listeners!! Huh?:confused3 I wasn't about to do that! Suddenly I was thrust onto the air, and fumbling for something to say. Bret was silent, though he knew who I was. Finally I made a bad joke about having "incriminating pictures" of Bret - which really are not incriminating at all. They are just wacky pictures form parties and things like that. Nothing too scandalous. But I couldn't think of a single thing to say, so I was grasping and trying to be humorous. Dead silence coming from Bret. Then he said, "Well, it was nice hearing from you again, Sherry," and they dumped me. I never got my number to him.

It was only later that I realized my "incriminating photos" joke went over so badly BECAUSE Bret had been dating Pamela Anderson, and someone had released a videotape of them on the Internet, and well....you can fill in the rest. So he was on his guard when I made that dopey comment because he was trying to figure out who got hold of their tape and how it got released to the public!!!:scared1: So much for my last time speaking with Bret!!!:lmao: That went over well, didn't it??

When I have a moment later, I will post a picture of the platinum Poison album which I received in 1986 or 1987 (cannot recall) for my work that I did with them. My one and only award!!!

It was all good though!

I thought that was some tanned Sleeping Beauty myself! Modern day Princesses must not really like the Snow White look anymore! :rotfl2:

Marie, do you notice how awkward I look in the Aurora picture in comparison to the animal character pictures? It is a funny dilemma - I am not much into the 'people characters.' I really don't care about the Princesses or Princes, but if they happen upon our table, I will pose for a picture. For some reason, I am much more comfortable posing with the animal characters - which are still just people in furry suits!! I will throw my arms around Goofy or Chip or Dale or Baloo if need be, and give them a big bear hug, but when a Princess or other 'people character' saunters by, I don't feel I can take those same liberties! So suddenly I find myself sitting there like a proper young lady, with my hands folded in front of me and the picture ends up looking very awkward and forced! If it had been someone like the Mad Hatter, I could probably get into it a little more, because even though he is a 'people character,' he is wacky, and I sort of feel like I can get away with more in the picture!! Does that make sense?? Not that I would be manhandling the Mad Hatter, but you get my point!!:rotfl:

Sherry E

12-29-2008, 12:27 PM

Well, honestly I think that the crowds and lines are part and parcel of Disneyland. And the lines actually move pretty good and it can be so much fun people watching while in that same line. People watching in Disneyland can be great fun. Shawn sounds like my Mom, she was never willing to wait in line when I was a kid and she would take us in the middle of the week. She is even worse about the lines and this last trip she only wanted to stay at the DLH the whole trip. Kind of ticked me off but we could not take a trip without her. I love the middle of the week and it is the best time to be there.

Yep, I agree. Most of the DLR lines for ride do move pretty quickly, and people-watching is a great hobby! Plus, if you end up in lines or somehow sitting next to people you have never met (like we did in the GCH lobby on Day 1), usually it is a nice opportunity to strike up a conversation. Everyone is kind of in the same (crowded) boat, and people start chatting with you when they ask if the seat next to is taken or whatever. It is a nice chance to meet people you probably would never meet under other circumstances. I am not keen on waiting in long lines to eat, however, but using the PS system combats that problem. Otherwise, the only times crowds really bug me is when they are so thick that is gets scary to walk through and you can easily get separated from your party in the blink of an eye. Adventureland tends to get like that. But once you pass those gridlocked areas, it is fine. Actually, I really didn't think last week's crowds were any worse than the October crowds, but October seemed worse than I expected it to be.

I just find it funny how, when I am initially tossing around dates for DLR trips to get Shawn's feedback, I might warn her, "Well, if we choose the weekend you want, it will be more crowded, just to let you know," and she then says she doesn't mind the crowds. But when we get there and pass by the characters in their festive holiday/winter sweaters and PhotoPass photographers, somehow the lines for pictures are surprising to her or too daunting!!! I mean, as you said, the crowds are part and parcel. You just kind of have to go in and expect them to be really thick when you go to DLR, and then anything else will be a pleasant surprise! The only time I wouldn't put up with the crowds again is on New Year's Eve. Nope. Did that before and it was a whole other level of crowded! Scary!!!

This would have been a good year for me to do the mid-week in early December DLR trip, because I haven't been working. Once I get a job again, it may not be that easy to pull off. But Shawn couldn't get those mid-week days off even before her transmission blew so it wasn't in the cards. I was lucky that I was able to get her to switch from the orginally planned weekend of the 26th - 29th to the 19th - 22nd, AND save money with the AP8 rate to boot!!

Sherry !

I'm sorry that your friend Shawn isn't as fun as you are, that must have been a downer most of the time. I'm also sorry that you are sick right now ! Stay warm, drink lots of liquids and take plenty of vitamin C. I love your black and whites ;). You cropped them out really well and I love the subject focus as well !

Jasmine!

Well, I don't know if I would say Shawn isn't as fun as I am - okay, maybe I would!;) - and there are probably some other areas where people think I am not as fun and maybe she is, but I feel like she can't fully let loose and kind of be free at DLR. She tries. And after she sees that I am getting exasperated, she tries a little harder! She enjoys DLR but feels inhibited when we take silly posed pictures, or feels silly when I want to get character pictures....or she acts as though the crowds and long lines are a surprise... or she assumes that she is going to get the same headache on Star Tours that she got 8 years ago so avoids going on it for years (and she did not get a headache this time). Or she can't just get up and get in the Santa picture at the GCH because we might lose our table.

Also, there are the issue of various orthopedic problems Shawn has (just wait until you get older, Jasmine, and all the fun aches and pains you have to look forward to!!!;) ) too. I can understand those because of the disc/back problem I have had since 1995, which I got when I was young and thin and pretty active! When my problem is flaring up BADLY, there are times when I cannot move AT ALL. But in that case, I just wouldn't go to DLR because I wouldn't be able to walk. Period. One time I had to have a neighbor take me to the clinic because I was in so much pain and couldn't move. When the pain is kind of at a mild but still bothersome level, I just kind of push myself through it and try to ignore that I am hurting. I don't know whether it is a good idea to push myself through it or not, but I do. And I was in a lot of pain at DLR last weekend, but nothing that I couldn't deal with. So when Shawn's knees or feet or whatever were acting up, I kept telling her to walk through it and all that. Maybe I should have been more empathetic and understanding, but she was walking around with a pedometer, announcing the steps we had taken every hour or so (which I didn't ask for), and I felt like she was almost setting herself up mentally for being in pain. It was almost counterintuitive to track the number of steps, I felt, because I knew her mind would then go to, "Wow...that's a lot of walking...that is a lot of strain on my knees and feet...wow, now I am in pain..." You know what I mean?

I am glad you like the black and whites! Thanks for the compliment! You know I am a big fan of your photos so any compliment from you is very much appreciated!!:goodvibes In fact, I can't wait to see what you have up your sleeve for YOUR trip in just a few days! Woo hoo!!:yay: :cool1:

Hi, Sherry!

I loved your TR and all the photos! And your friend sounds sooo much like my sister, hee! Glad you had a good time, and how can you not? It's Disneyland! :yay:

Thanks for following along with me, Alex2kMommy! Does your sister not like DLR lines/crowds either? Yes, you are absolutely right - I don't think I have ever had an overall bad trip to DLR. There was one time back in 2001 that was kind of a wasted trip, I would say, and that would be the closest one to a bad trip I can think of, but that was not the fault of Disneyland. Otherwise, pretty much all the trips to DLR are good, even if little annoyances pop up here and there. Disneyland is what it is - magic, fun, happiness, sheer joy, crowds, obnoxious people, long lines and high prices all rolled into one big package.:lmao: Barring any unexpected illness/health crises or emergencies that happen while at DLR, it is generally what we make of our time there and how we deal with any little annoyances that pop up that makes all the difference in whether we have a good trip or a bad trip, don't you agree?

Sounds like this trip was a little better, you left feeling mostly accomplished and didn't have poo water lol I also enjoyed your BW photos.

Yes, Krissy, overall this was a great trip. Even the one in October was good in a lot of ways. The good always outweighs the bad at DLR, because there is so much 'good' to be found there and it is always worthwhile in the end! But you are right - I got most things accomplished and the things I didn't get done were not huge deals. There just wasn't enough time, but it wasn't like I had to give them up because one friend or the other didn't want to do them, as I felt I had to do in the past. The biggest annoyance for me was when the already ailing camera decided to die mid-roll and all my cool ToonTown detailed shots were lost.:mad: If not for the fact that Shawn was picking me up so early on Monday - before noon - I would have high-tailed it to the camera shop and snatched up a couple of disposables or one of those Disney cameras (see Mariezp's Trip Report for details!) just to finish off my ToonTown mission. If only that darn PPH had offered me the extra night, I would have gotten everything done!!! Oh well, it wasn't meant to be this trip, I guess!

I am glad you like the B&W photos too. They were a novelty this one time, but if I try to repeat my B&W glory on the next DLR trip - whenever that is - I will probably just be redundant!!

Hola Sherry! I love ALL your pictures! Wonderful!!!!

I'm glad you had a wonderful time with no poopy water or haunted drawer room at the PPH!

I hope you're feeling better!!! :hug: :flower3:

Yep, no poopy water and the drawers all stayed shut! (I think the PPH moved the armoire with the haunted drawer to the room/suite where Molly and her family stayed on their trip!!:lmao: )

And thank you for saying you love ALL the pictures, Courtney!! While I do appreciate the fact that the B&W pictures came out well, I don't want the little lonely color pictures to feel left out! Some of them came out crappy (depending on which camera I was using or who was taking the picture and whether or not the flash was on) but some came out pretty well, which I was surprised about!!:rotfl:

And you know, I am still waiting for the continuation of YOUR Trip Report! Hint hint hint!! I think the last thing I read was that you were sick and Jesus set up the chairs by the window so you could see the fireworks! Was that the last installment? What happened next??:yay:

Sherry E

12-29-2008, 02:26 PM

I must confess that I just now finally got around to coming back to read your trip report! I have been suffering from my return trip gloom and really have not been reading much of anything, only attempting ever so often to work on my own trip report. I think I am starting to snap out of it now! Anyway, imagine my surprise when I found out there were now PICTURES! I now have to go back and start all over! Good read though!

Sherry, that would not be my own original idea either! We owe it to Travelmel for being the creative thinker!

I really enjoyed your photos from the past. I know I have never seen or even ever heard of a Marsupilami. I did do a quick Wikipedia search but it still rings no bells for me! And what is a Don Karnage? Off to Wiki it again..... And that reindeer! My how their characters have improved!

I am so glad you got all the problems solved and found a resolution so that you did not have to miss out on your December trip! Reading all the difficulties you had making plans has helped me confirm the fact that I don't want to take anyone else with us for a few years! (reminder to yourself... if a weak moment occurs and you start considering inviting someone on our trip... go back and read SherryB's pre-trip report!)

I agree with your assessment of making PS arrangements mentioned waaaay back in your trip report. (post #16 to be exact) For us, having PS helps us to establish some order in our day. I like not having to wait in line and enjoy having a place to meet at a certain time for lunch. If you happen to change your mind or something comes up it's no big deal because they won't hunt you down if you don't make your PS. Like you, I always seem to end up having to call back and make a few changes to my plans to my original plan.

Uh, oh.... :idea: a lightbulb just went off in my head while I was reading your report! About Goofy's..... I have always done the breakfast character meal and never even thought about doing dinner. Last time we went I was disappointed with breakfast but just maybe... I might could get the guys to go do dinner... with more characters, huh? So what's on the dinner menu? and what time of day are the characters there? Gotta go do some research! Feel free to throw in any comments from your past experience! You got some wonderful character photos while you were there!

I'm right there with you on the list thing. I do lists! I love lists! :love: Heck, I'd be lost without lists! Perish the thought. :snooty: We have much in common... I am also a last minute packer.

Oh man! You are not the only one to come back sick. We have had the sinus crud around here too and it just seems to drag on. We have come back the last few years with some sort of illness. I could be wrong but I just usually figure that part of it is due to the change of climate. I would certainly rather be sick when we get back than while we are on our trip. Anyway, I hope the bug you have this year doesn't last for 2 weeks.

I am loving all your pictures! The lady taking your picture in front of the tree with her thumb in the picture sounds like something I might have done! As annoying as it was, just think of how funny it will be years from now.

Good to here about Storyteller's spaghetti. I love their breakfast but it is good to know their other menus are good cooking too. I am also considering Wine Country Trattoria on our next visit. So what did you think of their food?

Yeah! You got your cookies! And yeah! You got your picture with Santa! And saw the carolers too!

Oh my, up at 4:30. You are way more a devoted Disney fan than I! Although now that I see what all you got in on that MM entry it just might be worth it!

I LOVE the black and white photos! I had a whole list of different things I had plans to try for getting new types of pictures. Unfortunately, the only new thing that got done on our trip as far as photos go was using the fish eye camera.

It sounds like you had a pretty good time except for getting on each others nerves from time to time. It happens. I don't think we have ever went an entire trip without somebody getting snippy. I bet the time you had by yourself was a nice breather and nice to be able to just do what you wanted. Too bad you didn't get to extend your stay another day but I bet you will get back just as soon as you can! Can't wait for the Photopass pictures!

Oh, yes! See what you have been missing, Marie?:lmao: There is a whole world o' fun happening in this TR thread and you have been missing out on all of it!:lmao: :lmao: This is where all the action is! :laughing: (So not true...there are other TR threads on DIS which seem like one big party! Those are where all the action is!!) I can understand the post-trip gloom too. There is that crossroads one comes to after a DLR trip - the feeling of wanting to stay connected to all things Disney after your trip, and the other feeling of wanting to take a break for a while and snap into another mindset! Well, here I am, so I guess we know which path I took at the crossroads!!! Anyway, I definitely appreciate your taking the time to actually go back to page one and re-read some things and scroll through the pictures!:scared1: I just figured everyone would pick up the TR at Page 7 and go from there!!! Thank you!! You know I am a fan of your TR as well, and I like that it was such a long trip you took, because the TR plays out more like a story that unfolds over time. It's always nice to log on to DIS and see a new installment of your TR. If you had only taken a short trip like mine, the TR would be over and that would be it. This way, we have new reading material every so often!

Yep! Travelmel was the mastermind behind the ID photos (aka mugshots) at the beginning of your (and then my) trip report! It is a cool idea....which I decided to copy!

Marsupilami was certainly one of the more fleeting Disneyland characters. I mean, you really never even see Roger Rabbit out and about anymore, so I think we can safely say Marsupilami is gone forever! He was out at a time in DLR when they used to trot out a lot of characters in the '90s that were on the afternoon Disney channel shows, I think. I had no idea who Don Karnage was, either. I had seen him around, but didn't know his name. But in the "Photopass Pictures - the Cheesier the Better" thread, I posted a picture that Don Karnage was in which was taken this past October in DCA, and Courtney (Prettyprincessbelle) identified him immediately after Jnjusoioa mentioned he was a rare character!! For some reason, DLR brought him out of the dust for Halloween, after all these years. However, that picture from the '90s that you are referring to, Marie, as far as I knew, was with the Big Bad Wolf, who used to come out a lot and stand around on Main Street with the Three Little Pigs!! So I thought I was getting a picture with the Big Bad Wolf in the '90s, but now I am left wondering if it was actually Don Karnage!? Maybe they just looked similar?

It is tough to make plans with other people. It can be a big pain. There have been times where I have gone to DLR in the past with 7 people, 11 people, 13, etc. It was an unruly mess. But at those times, there was not as much to do in DLR so it didn't matter as much. Sometimes I think it would be better to just go to DLR alone, but I know it wouldn't be as fun for me to be there alone the entire time. I like to have a good mix of 'friend time' and 'alone time.' It is just when the friends in question can't tell us when or where they are showing up until two hours before we are supposed to meet then, and then arrive late, or when other friends secretly plan to pick me up early without warning me so I am nowhere close to being ready that I get peeved. It is not a lot I ask of people when I pull these trips together, against all odds. They don't have to do much other than show up and have a good time. So helping a little bit with meeting times and things like that is not too unrealistic.

I find that I have a hard time organizing the PS plans at first. I always try to pick old favorites and something new, if possible, as well as coordinate times so that meals are not too close together and that everyone can find something to eat at the restaurant, etc., factoring in where I think would be the most convenient park location at that hour of the day, etc. It requires a lot of thought! But then I go back and re-work the plan and change things around! So the making of the PS's can be very stressful. (Remind me to never become and event planner!) Once it is all finalized, however, it works wonderfully. I cannot even believe we used to stand in line for 30 - 45 minutes at Carnation Cafe when we could just make a PS!!! All that time wasted standing in lines to eat! The PS system - though not a 'real' reservation and not a guarantee of a table - is a Godsend when it works! However, we did notice at all of the restaurants where we ate last weekend, there were lots of available tables. I think PS bookings and table service places are suffering in the bad economy. I think it was KrissyMarissy who said that even the Blue Bayou was taking walk-ups when she was there a couple of weeks ago! And the PS people will usually be the first to tell you that BB requires the PS beforehand, so you know if they were taking walk-ups, business is down!

As for Goofy's Kitchen...unlike the other character meal places (except I am not sure about Ariel's), Goofy's is all day character buffet. The only break they have is in between brunch and dinner when they are preparing the new dinner food. In other words, they never operate as just a 'regular' restaurant during the day like the other places do. It is all characters, all the time. Now, sometimes there are more characters than other times. Usually, the off-peak seasons or the off-peak hours of the day may yield fewer characters. There are always at least 5 of them around, and usually closer to 8 or 9 during breakfast (there are the regulars like Goofy, Baloo, etc. and the 'guest stars' like the tanned Aurora, Belle, etc.. I cannot recall what the last brunch seating time is and when the first dinner seating time is. The dinner seems to be very popular, though more expensive than the breakfast/brunch, and the ONE and only time I had dinner at Goofy's, there were lots and lots of characters. So many I could barely eat my food. But that was back in the '90s. Yes, in my 16 years of going to Goofy's, there has only been one dinner. I was just not that keen on the dinner selections. That is a personal choice, though. Some people love the buffet at Storytellers, but it didn't look that appetizing to me. Same with Goofy's. Some people love the Goofy's dinner (for example, Jadedarkstar loves the dinner - where has Jade been lately??). I just happen to prefer the breakfast choices better than the dinner, not to mention that it is cheaper. But since you were not that impressed with the breakfast, I would say you should definitely try the dinner because they do have a vast array of things to choose from (more so than the other buffets) and that may be more to your liking. I know they have the expected chicken dishes, rice, assorted bread items, potatoes, quiche, casseroles, soups, various salads, prime rib and maybe some roast beef too, ham, corn, veggies, fruit, all kinds of pastries and desserts, etc., etc. Lots of stuff.

I try not to be a last minute packer! I feel very well prepared with all of my lists, but somehow the packing part of it doesn't happen until the last minute....and it doesn't help matters any when I learn that I have to be all packed a few hours earlier than originally planned!!!:rolleyes1

This bug/virus I caught does not seem to be nearly as bad as the one I had last year after the DLR trip. That one was a doozy! This one just seems to be hanging around with enough force to make me feel run down and congested, but it is not packing the same wallop as last year's sinus symphony extravaganza did - you know the kind, I am sure, where all kinds of strangely colored things come flying out of your head?!!:rotfl: Still, I have vowed to not push myself too much for fear of getting worse, so my NyQuil caplets and I are joined at the hip! Yes, you are right! I would much prefer to be sick when I got home rather than being sick at DLR. That is why I feel for Courtney, since she got sick while on her recent DLR trip!! That must be a terrible feeling, because inevitably you think of all the things you spent money on and all the things you had planned to do, and how you are too sick to do any of them and just want to go home!!!

I wasn't so much annoyed at the nice lady who took the picture with her finger in the way. She said she couldn't see, so those things will happen. I didn't notice her finger being in the way because I was trying to pose, so I thought it would be okay. The thing that annoyed me was that Shawn saw the lady's finger in the way before she pressed down on the shutter and let her walk away before letting me know that there would be a finger in my picture!! Why on earth wouldn't she whisper to me while we were standing there that the finger was in the way, so I could then tactfully mention it to the lady and ask if she would take another one? This was an unnecessary waste of a picture that could have been avoided, and that is what annoyed me!:mad: But, yes, the picture itself is funny to look at!

The spaghetti at Storytellers is very good, but I felt their dinner menu was limited. It was either get the spaghetti or enter a whole other price bracket and order an expensive steak or seafood thing. And the dinner buffet didn't have enough items to appeal to me. But a lot of other folks love the Storytellers buffet - both breakfast and dinner - so I may be on my own in that! So, just for the variety of choices, I prefer the Storytellers lunch menu. I don't really care for their breakfast menu because the items are not that much cheaper than the buffet and if I am going to eat at a breakfast buffet, I prefer Goofy's!

We have eaten at Wine Country Trattoria twice. Both times I had the meatball sandwich. Now, if you are a meatball sandwich lover as I am, you may prefer your mozzarella cheese to be melted on the top. That is the way I like it. So the only thing I do NOT like about the meatball sandwich at WCT is that the mozzarella is shredded on top of the sandwich and not melted at all. I suppose one could easily ask that it be popped in the microwave for a few seconds to melt the cheese. Otherwise, it has a good flavor to it. It comes with pasta salad and a little fruit cup on the side, and they deliver chewy breadsticks to the table to munch on while you wait. As I said in my TR, my friend Jackie's pizzetta salad was ENORMOUS - too big for two people, let alone one person! She said it was good, though - just TOOOOO much salad. It was like a tower. I was shocked that the salad didn't topple off the plate when they brought it over to us. I really wanted to try the orange sorbet that is served in the fresh orange peel, but it was TOO cold and not sorbet weather for me. As it was, all my cold weather gear was up in the room. Didn't need to eat sorbet and give myself hypothermia too!! But I would say that WCT is worth trying. They have quite a few tasty-looking things on the menu, and if you sit outside - which always seems to be empty - you get nice people watching and ambience. We had a great view of the Pixar Play Parade from WCT. In fact, the server couldn't believe that we chose to sit outside on a 40-degree night, and wondered where we were from - we are all from California, but they thought we must have been from a REEEAAAALLLLLY cold state and that is why we could stand the SoCal temps. Little did they know that my hands were frozen solid! Still, I would MUCH prefer cold weather over extremely hot weather any day of the week! I am not a hot weather lover. I can roll with about 72 degrees and anything above that is too much for me! Other people I know are running around in parkas when it is 70 degrees, saying, "Oooooohhhh...it is so cold....." Huh?? Cold? 70 degrees is cold?!!

Yep, I got the cookies, took Santa pictures (with no help from Shawn) and saw the carolers - on two separate nights. I got one gingerbread man cookie for myself to eat, and then I got the other one for you. Remember I told you I would eat a cookie for you, Marie? Well, I did! I like to live up to my promises!:lmao:

Well, I would say that I had to get up at 4:30 a.m. only because I like to take my time in the shower with my fruity bath products, and if I had waited another hour, I would have felt like I was holding us up and delaying our getting into the parks. And yes, the MM entry definitely comes in handy for getting on all those rides that we always skip in Fantasyland because the lines are too long and Shawn will gripe....and it comes in handy for IASW! We were the only ones on our boat, and pretty much on the ride in general!!! The only things we didn't get on that I would have liked to ride were Dumbo (Shawn refused that one, but I love it!) and the Storybook Land boats, which was not running for some reason.

Which pictures in your TR were taken with the fish eye camera? Well, at least you got the cool ToonTown pictures. As you know, sadly, mine were ruined because of the bad camera/rain. IF it had not been raining, I would have whipped out the cell phone camera just to take a couple of good TT pictures before I left, but the last thing I needed was to get the cell phone wet too, so I wasn't going to chance that! That was such a good opportunity to be in ToonTown too, and take some outside shots - when it was raining and everyone was crammed inside Mickey's house or Minnie's house!

I can't wait for the PhotoPass pictures, either! We took a lot of them! Yes, the trip was an overall success and good time. I am sure evryone gets on each other's nerves during trips. Like I said, I think I like to have a nice mix of freind time and alone time to get certain things accomplished, but I didn't get as much alone time as I needed to complete the tasks on my lists!! I guess the main thing that bothers me is if I have struggled to pull these trips together and scraped together money and made sure everyone got to do what they wanted and that we have a good time, only to feel underappreciated... It kind of sucks when you treat someone to a nice trip because you want to be with friends around the holidays or hand them their ticket and you don't even get a "thank you." That kind of baffles me because I wasn't raised that way. I say thank you to everybody for any kind word or nice gesture. I appreciate when someone does something nice. So it always floors me when I do something nice and don't get thanked (translation: appreciated). It is just kind of a bummer but I usually stay silent for fear of ruining a perfectly good trip. I feel like if I want to go to DLR and have my friends with me, then I have to do all the planning (which is not such a hardship and is mostly fun) and/or paying for much of it (which IS a hardship), and I never even get thanked for my efforts!! My friend Jackie, when she finally showed up to meet us on Saturday night in DCA, was kind enough to treat for dinner at WCT and bring little Christmas treats for us. So she was showing her appreciation in her own way. I mean, she has an AP so I didn't have to pay for her, but I have treated her to DLR in the past and she hasn't fogotten that. But other people who shall remain nameless don't offer to treat for a meal, don't offer to chip in even $20 towards their ticket, and don't seem to be making any strides to treat ME to a DLR trip at any time in the near future! Yes, I do feel taken for granted. Yes, I do feel underappreciated and it's not right. I try to tell myself that people may appreciate things and just don't know how to express it and it is the holiday season, so it is the time to be with friends.

But...it does really sour me to planning things with people on the future - and I am not saying I won't do it, I am just saying it is a buzzkill for me - when they don't offer to help or seem willing to contribute to the whole endeavor. Let's face it, even if certain people had not picked me up and taken me home and I found my own way to DLR, I STILL would have been treating for the 2-Day Park Hopper and hotel. So a simple 'thank you, I really appreciate it,' would be welcome, but it seems to be non-existent. I really don't mind helping, planning, treating, etc. as long as it is appreciated (especially when I am struggling myself)! I have always been the type to share with other people even if I don't have much. So I am not sure when the next DLR trip will be, but some serious thought will have to go into it before hand, and I have to decide if it is really worth it for me to go with friends or if I would be better off alone!!

wazowskiLOVER:)

12-29-2008, 02:46 PM

Sherry E

12-29-2008, 03:11 PM

Oh I'm SURE I'll feel it when I get older because on the days that I wait tables, My legs feel like I've been riding a horse before I go to sleep, but I'm just like you; I push through EVERYTHING and just ignore it! ESPECIALLY DL ! I'm totally planning for that and I'm also planning on being up at the park until close so I can COMPLETELY take advantage of night pictures with my tripod. Thats why I LOVE not using flash :)

I'm so glad though that you got to do things that you had planned (even though some may have been sacrificed). When I saw you had put your TR in, I got all snuggled into my bed with my laptop and got really comfortable so I could fully read everything so I could see it ! :laughing:

Ideally, if I had the proper photographic equipment, I would want to do the same thing - stay in the park until closing! I am sure that is when many of the best photo ops occur!! Of course, I would probably have to go back and rest at the hotel for a couple of hours and then go back out to DLR to stay until midnight!! It IS a huge pain to either use a flash and discover pictures have come out too bright, washed out or too illuminated, OR to not use one at all and have a photo which was taken at 6:45 a.m. look as though it was taken at 11:00 at night!! I can see how wonderful it is to not have to use a pesky flash at all!!

Yes, if ever I am in too much pain while walking around at DLR, if it is just unbearable then I will rest for a brief minute, but usually I am of the mentality that you never know what could happen and I may not make it back to DLR for a loooooonnnggg time (it has happened before), and I spent a lot of money to be here, so I am going to push right through it and have a good time, which may be smart or may be foolish. Haven't decided yet! I sort of tend to think Shawn sets herself up for being uncomfortable - like she already has that thought in her mind that she is going to be doing tons of walking and so therefore, her knee will start acting up...rather than just not thinking about it and waiting to see IF it acts up and then dealing with it. I could be wrong on that, though. I know I definitely could not stand on my feet all day every day like you do - that would be pushing it a little too much for me - but I applaud you for doing so, and having to be nice to customers when I am sure your legs hurt! When I was working at the job I had for 14 years, I pushed myself to go in at times when I was in horrible pain or sick as a dog because I kept thnking, "I need the money." But truthfully, I wished I'd had a job where I could take some days off here and there to recuperate and not lose money for it!!

Yep, I got most of the things on my list done, and as I said, the things I missed would have been nice to do if I had been offered another night at the PPH, but they were not a huge deal. In hindsight, now that I think of it, I probably could have skipped getting all my pictures developed and instead spent that money on getting to DLR for one more day this coming weekend (and meet up with you and Kerri and Nancy), but I figured/assumed things would work out money-wise or one of my clients would give me a bigger holiday bonus//gift than what they actually did, etc. Well, that didn't happen. So my plans went awry AND I ended up getting sick on top of it, so it seems that maybe it is not meant to be for me this time, unless some last minute miracle occurs where I find myself racing to DLR on the 4th, trying to spot you and your group, presumably laughing and cracking each other up!!!

Anyway, thanks for following along on the Trip Report, Jasmine!:goodvibes My pictures definitely are not as good as yours, but at least this time I included them up front, rather than at the end like I did with the first TR in this thread!! (Poor Mariezp now had to go back to the beginning and start over to see all the pictures I retro-added!:lmao: !)

Alex2kMommy

12-29-2008, 03:45 PM

I just find it funny how, when I am initially tossing around dates for DLR trips to get Shawn's feedback, I might warn her, "Well, if we choose the weekend you want, it will be more crowded, just to let you know," and she then says she doesn't mind the crowds. But when we get there and pass by the characters in their festive holiday/winter sweaters and PhotoPass photographers, somehow the lines for pictures are surprising to her or too daunting!!! I mean, as you said, the crowds are part and parcel. You just kind of have to go in and expect them to be really thick when you go to DLR, and then anything else will be a pleasant surprise! The only time I wouldn't put up with the crowds again is on New Year's Eve. Nope. Did that before and it was a whole other level of crowded! Scary!!!

Thanks for following along with me, Alex2kMommy! Does your sister not like DLR lines/crowds either? Yes, you are absolutely right - I don't think I have ever had an overall bad trip to DLR. There was one time back in 2001 that was kind of a wasted trip, I would say, and that would be the closest one to a bad trip I can think of, but that was not the fault of Disneyland. Otherwise, pretty much all the trips to DLR are good, even if little annoyances pop up here and there. Disneyland is what it is - magic, fun, happiness, sheer joy, crowds, obnoxious people, long lines and high prices all rolled into one big package.:lmao: Barring any unexpected illness/health crises or emergencies that happen while at DLR, it is generally what we make of our time there and how we deal with any little annoyances that pop up that makes all the difference in whether we have a good trip or a bad trip, don't you agree?
I would say that she is now a "glass half-empty" sort of person, and has gotten more-so as she ages. She is less patient, less forgiving, more jaded and distrusting, etc. I try to be a "glass half-full" person and see the bright side of things; it doesn't always work, but usually.

I have not traveled to DL with my sister, and perhaps that's a blessing. I think she'd complain to me about all the things your friend complained about, but yet not make a legitimate complaint to someone who could actually right it. :confused3

She used to be a very good traveling companion in our young, single days, very "go with the flow" and we laughed a lot. I think in the interest of our sisterly relationship we'd best leave our joint travels a beautiful memory. ;)

travelmel

12-29-2008, 05:22 PM

WOW about Brett Michaels.. what a babe!! http://www.smileyvillage.com/smilies/banana020.gif

I wish you would have taken the job!

Sherry E

12-29-2008, 05:22 PM

I would say that she is now a "glass half-empty" sort of person, and has gotten more-so as she ages. She is less patient, less forgiving, more jaded and distrusting, etc. I try to be a "glass half-full" person and see the bright side of things; it doesn't always work, but usually.

I have not traveled to DL with my sister, and perhaps that's a blessing. I think she'd complain to me about all the things your friend complained about, but yet not make a legitimate complaint to someone who could actually right it. :confused3

She used to be a very good traveling companion in our young, single days, very "go with the flow" and we laughed a lot. I think in the interest of our sisterly relationship we'd best leave our joint travels a beautiful memory. ;)

Yep, I couldn't understand why my friend was grumbling and complaining to me about how she couldn't eat her chocolate mousse cake at the Blue Bayou back in October (something in mousse disagrees with her) instead of just telling the waitress nicely that she misunderstood what kind of cake it was and could she instead have the Flying Dutchman, which she could eat (without the ice cream). They probably would not have even charged her for the cake. I mean, there are ways to handle that sort of situation so you don't offend the server, the chef or have anyone messing with your food. She just took one bite and then started grumbling about it.

Last weekend at DLR, my friend was also talking about the free birthday admission in 2009. I asked her if she registered for that and she said yes. Then she said, "I wonder what else they are going to give us?" I said, "What do you mean, what else?" She said, "What other things will they give us besides the free admission?" I was thinking to myself, but didn't say it, it's not like Disneyland is throwing an individual party for everyone who comes in, with lots of presents. The free admission - even if it is just for one park - is a pretty darn good deal! Given the number of folks who could take them up on that offer in 2009, that is a lot of money at stake! And the fact that they are taking care of the AP holders too, by either giving us a gift card OR another ticket to come back on another day before our birthday in 2010, is a pretty good deal. I wondered why my friend thought there shoud be anything more than that! I think that is plenty! I said, "Well, we would have to upgrade the tickets to Park Hoppers," and she said, "Oh, they have to make their money somehow." Well, yes, so if Disney has to make their money somehow, then why would they or why should they give out anything extra besides the free admission? And that is plenty! Didn't make sense!

Oh well, as you said, sometimes it may be best to leave our joint travels a beautiful memory! Sometimes, as people get older and patience on both ends does wear thin, it is best to not add fuel to the fire and try to recreate wonderful trips from glory days past when they are bound to not be the same in this day and age!

Sherry E

12-29-2008, 05:34 PM

WOW about Brett Michaels.. what a babe!! http://www.smileyvillage.com/smilies/banana020.gif

I wish you would have taken the job!

Doesn't Bret look different in the older pictures than he does now, though? He used to not wear his trademark bandanna all the time in the old days, and somewhere along the line he became attached to it (probably when he began losing hair). It is kind of weird for me to watch him on Rock of Love, because I am thinking that if Bret is anything like he used to be in the old days, he has probably already slept with all of those women in the house! He used to have a parade o' babes wandering in and out of the house back in 1985. It seems like now, in 2008 (and there is another Rock of Love coming in 2009), VH1 must just be paying him a pretty penny to do this, because he certainly doesn't NEED the help with the ladies!!! But, even though I have been out of touch with Bret and that whole crowd for so long, I can still see some of his old mannerisms and quirks in the VH1 show. The more things change, the more they stay the same! In any case, Travelmel, I can always e-mail or PM you some other old Bret pictures if you are interested in seeing them!

Yep, I should have taken the offer when the publicist asked me to work with her. I was trying to stay loyal to my friend and not upset her (even though she was a flake and they knew it), but it probably would have been a lot of fun. I didn't want to do the Fan Club Company thing in San Francisco because that was too far away and it a position that was going to have to be created for me, which wasn't a guaranteed promise. That whole Sunset Strip rock scene in the '80s was quite the interesting experience.

bumbershoot

12-29-2008, 06:29 PM

Shawn made some passing mention of, "It's funny - we never even go on Star Tours anymore." That was all I needed to hear!

I said, "I have been wanting to go on Star Tours for the last several trips. No one will ride it with me."

Shawn grumbled something about getting a headache from it but she hasn't been on it in 8 years so she has no clue how she will react now! In any case, I guess she figured she had better go on it to pacify me, and that's fine! I will accept that as a reason!

Reading into some of the stuff she does, I can't help but think that a small bit of what she does and how she communicates is something like me. Like, if I wanted to go on ST but didn't want to admit that I did, I might say something like that. And if I were in a particularly icky mood, I might respond like she did, when you said what you said, rather than just say "oh yay yippee we can go!"

And not wanting to lose the table...well for ME, and it might not be that way for Shawn, but for ME, I sometimes don't want to do things that might draw attention to me b/c I feel lousy about myself. It's this really weird combo of low self esteem along with a really bizarro seemingly HIGH self esteem, that EVERYONE is going to notice me, and then everyone is going to think bad things about me. When really, most people don't notice the things other people do, and few people think *anything* good or bad about the things other people do, unless it really impacts their lives.

I have given up countless things in the last couple years because I'm upset with how I look and feel, and then later think "why did I do that?" and then give up something else.

Anyway, that's just how I feel when I'm doing or saying things somewhat similar to your friend...it might not be at all what's going on with her.

****
Your story of Bret Michaels and how everything started to change, and the layers between old friends and him got too deep...it's all very much like my mom's stories of when she was younger. She lived in SF in the 60s, and was friends with many people as they were starting out. Then they got a bit more money, got famous, they stopped living with 10 of their friends, got their own places, had "people" to keep others from them, and so on. They stopped trusting old friends because so many old friends just wanted things from them. And I can totally see how that awkward moment with you on the radio phone must have felt for him...it was totally innocent of you, but for him he didn't know if you were being goofy or if you were being a bad person. I feel so bad for you and also for him.

My mom was only able to hang on to one friend from that time, Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane/etc. They sent xmas cards every year until the year before she died. :) I've always felt bad that I didn't write to him to let him know she had died, but she had said that he was starting to decline mentally and physically, and she figured that he just wasn't sending cards to anyone...so maybe he just wouldn't want to know about his old friend. :confused3

Anyway, the tale of someone becoming famous has happened time and time again...it just seems that those who become famous don't learn from others (lol, the scene with the old car from Cars trying to tell McQueen what he needs to do and McQueen daydreaming about nothing but success comes to mind), and so many old friends become money-attention-grubbing people, and there's just no way for the GOOD people to tell the famous people that they are truly good...it's happened a million times before and I'm sure it will never change.

Sigh.

********

Oh and by the way, I would make an EXCELLENT celebrity who can rent out the parks, because I personally would LOVE it with absolutely no crowds. I'd bring my own friends and they could do whatever they wanted (you guys are all invited), but we would all be allowed to say "hey, get out of my shot!" when taking a picture. :) I like being able to see all of the queue stuff (I routinely let others in front of me as I saunter slowly down a line, like in Indy etc), but I don't want to HAVE TO see all the queue stuff for minutes at a time while I wait and wait and wait. :)

Sherry E

12-29-2008, 07:44 PM

Reading into some of the stuff she does, I can't help but think that a small bit of what she does and how she communicates is something like me. Like, if I wanted to go on ST but didn't want to admit that I did, I might say something like that. And if I were in a particularly icky mood, I might respond like she did, when you said what you said, rather than just say "oh yay yippee we can go!"

And not wanting to lose the table...well for ME, and it might not be that way for Shawn, but for ME, I sometimes don't want to do things that might draw attention to me b/c I feel lousy about myself. It's this really weird combo of low self esteem along with a really bizarro seemingly HIGH self esteem, that EVERYONE is going to notice me, and then everyone is going to think bad things about me. When really, most people don't notice the things other people do, and few people think *anything* good or bad about the things other people do, unless it really impacts their lives.

I have given up countless things in the last couple years because I'm upset with how I look and feel, and then later think "why did I do that?" and then give up something else.

Anyway, that's just how I feel when I'm doing or saying things somewhat similar to your friend...it might not be at all what's going on with her.

****
Your story of Bret Michaels and how everything started to change, and the layers between old friends and him got too deep...it's all very much like my mom's stories of when she was younger. She lived in SF in the 60s, and was friends with many people as they were starting out. Then they got a bit more money, got famous, they stopped living with 10 of their friends, got their own places, had "people" to keep others from them, and so on. They stopped trusting old friends because so many old friends just wanted things from them. And I can totally see how that awkward moment with you on the radio phone must have felt for him...it was totally innocent of you, but for him he didn't know if you were being goofy or if you were being a bad person. I feel so bad for you and also for him.

My mom was only able to hang on to one friend from that time, Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane/etc. They sent xmas cards every year until the year before she died. :) I've always felt bad that I didn't write to him to let him know she had died, but she had said that he was starting to decline mentally and physically, and she figured that he just wasn't sending cards to anyone...so maybe he just wouldn't want to know about his old friend. :confused3

Anyway, the tale of someone becoming famous has happened time and time again...it just seems that those who become famous don't learn from others (lol, the scene with the old car from Cars trying to tell McQueen what he needs to do and McQueen daydreaming about nothing but success comes to mind), and so many old friends become money-attention-grubbing people, and there's just no way for the GOOD people to tell the famous people that they are truly good...it's happened a million times before and I'm sure it will never change.

Sigh.
********

Oh and by the way, I would make an EXCELLENT celebrity who can rent out the parks, because I personally would LOVE it with absolutely no crowds. I'd bring my own friends and they could do whatever they wanted (you guys are all invited), but we would all be allowed to say "hey, get out of my shot!" when taking a picture. :) I like being able to see all of the queue stuff (I routinely let others in front of me as I saunter slowly down a line, like in Indy etc), but I don't want to HAVE TO see all the queue stuff for minutes at a time while I wait and wait and wait. :)

Yep, I think you are probably right about most of the theories on my friend's behavior. There are other things she says from time to time that make me think she feels bad about herself (though pretends not to) and so your assessment about hanging on to the table rather than getting up is probably correct. I was glad she decided to brave going on Star Tours after 8 years, because, as I suspected, she was fine. She didn't have a headache afterwards. I don't expect her to go on it every time, but I was glad she did it this once!

One of my other friends from childhood, who was ALWAYS a heavy-set gal ever since I knew her, always managed to pull herself together well. She had nice hair, nice make-up, nice clothes, great skin, all of that, but if she didn't get hired for a job, she assumed it was because of her weight or if she went into a restaurant, she instantly thought she heard all these people making mean comments about her. Not to say that never happens in superficial Los Angeles, but most of the time I thought this friend was being overly paranoid. I honestly didn't think that she looked freakishly abnormal like she thought she looked...because she presented herself well aesthetically. She wasn't that large where it should get unnatural attention, and she didn't look like a side show circus act or something, even though in her mind, she felt like she did. So, unless she had green, slimy drool oozing out of her head and was walking around on stilts, I just didn't think that anyone was paying attention to her and passing judgment like she assumed they were wherever she went.

That moment with Bret Michaels on the radio show was definitely awkward, but you are right - he had no idea what I was getting at, and I had no idea why the comment I made - which was forced by the stupid screener - hit a sore spot until later! I was so mad at that whole thing because I never wanted to get on the air and I never wanted to feel forced to come up with something to say, and then to have to come up with "something juicy" on top of everything else was just maddening!! I do know that Bret has an assistant now who handles a lot of his correspondence, and I have e-mailed back and forth with her from time to time, but all she will do is tell me that if I send a letter she will pass it on. Yep, I have heard that line before. In fact, when I was handling the correspondence way back in the '80s, I probably used that line too - and the truth was, the guys in the band got SO much mail that they didn't want to see all of it. They didn't have time. It was a novelty at first, but after a while, Mandy and I had to use our judgment and sort out the interesting letters and things worth passing on to the guys from the non-interesting ones. Well while Bret is on Rock of Love on VH1, it is probably not the best time to try to send a letter because he is getting tons of letters. So I will wait until his new found television stardom dies down. As a matter of fact, I think he has a show on VH1 tonight!

I remember you telling me that your mom knew all those cool people back in the San Francisco of the '60s, but not Janis Joplin, right? That was definitely a historical period of time to be around. That whole Haight-Ashbury scene. Was Grace Slick nice? I can't recall what you said about her. She looks crazy to me, but that is probably nothing out of the ordinary! Anyway, you are right - tales of people getting famous and putting up walls of people in between them and the good people are as old as time. They trust so many new people to handle their lives and business that those folks become their friends and inner circle, even those people often have ulterior motives as well, and keep the 'good people' away.

Goody! If you ever get to close all of DLR down for only your family and friends, I'll come! We can all come and do our own thing and then meet up for one massive DISboards Supermeet where we don't get in each other's pictures and don't bang into each other with strollers (good Lord, I saw some kamikaze stroller mommies when I was at DLR last weekend - twisting and jerking their poor kids around like they were shopping carts) and don't get in each other's way!!! And no LGMH's will be needed because we will all be from DISboards!! (I still have not spotted one of those things in the parks and no one has approached me!)

bumbershoot

12-29-2008, 11:49 PM

Drooling green slime, LOL....

Correct, my mom didn't know JJ, but met Jimmy Hendrix backstage once, and she did NOT like Grace Slick. Made it difficult for her friendship with P Kantner! I played with their daughter China once when we were kids (she had a HUGE room and 100 million toys, including the inchworm ride-on thing), and met her backstage when we were teens at a show at the then Marriott's Great America, right before she started VJ'ing (or maybe after? can't remember).

Sure do wish I had paid more attention and/or that my mom had written it all down. The stories that come out of my dad's mouth are not to be trusted, which is highly annoying.

I hope you're able to reconnect with Brett M...sounds like you had a friendship and hopefully he will someday remember that.

I myself would not make a good celebrity-friend (though as I said, I'd be a good celebrity). I just know I would always be hoping to have them take me on trips and stuff. Sad but true. At least I know myself. :rolleyes:

Hmm, maybe I should apply for that Paris Hilton's new BFF show when it comes time for her to get a new one? I'd be good at it! What to do with the family, though????

Sherry E

12-30-2008, 10:25 AM

I hope you're able to reconnect with Brett M...sounds like you had a friendship and hopefully he will someday remember that.

I myself would not make a good celebrity-friend (though as I said, I'd be a good celebrity). I just know I would always be hoping to have them take me on trips and stuff. Sad but true. At least I know myself. :rolleyes:

Hmm, maybe I should apply for that Paris Hilton's new BFF show when it comes time for her to get a new one? I'd be good at it! What to do with the family, though????

I can't think of a more nauseating prospect than to participate in a show to be Paris Hilton's BFF!:scared1: Oh, except, I noticed in the MTV listings the other day that now they have a show where guys can compete to become Brody Jenner's friend!! (Brody Jenner, who is the son of Bruce Jenner and the step-brother of the Kardashian girls, as well as an occasional player on "The Hills"!!!) It's called "Bromance," and men can fight against other men to be part of Brody Jenner's elite entourage. Who in the world is clamoring to be part of Brody Jenner's entourage?? What is this world coming to? :scared1: At least, if I can find any redeeming quality about the Paris Hilton BFF show at all, people know who Paris is. She is infamous and famous at the same time. But how many people actually know who Brody Jenner is in the grand scheme of things, and do we really think he is going to let some stranger who participated in an MTV-produced contest stay in his inner circle? Of course not. He will probably have dinner with the guy one night and take him to a club and then never talk to him again. Are there young guys out there who actually want to compete for that? Yikes.

One day maybe I will go ahead and send a letter to Bret's assistant (though I doubt she would ever let it reach him), but SOOOOOO much time has passed since I had any dealings with him that it would have to be more just a letter of, "Wow! You have come a long way since the days when you were eating spaghetti sauce out of a can because you couldn't afford dinner!" and then thank him for the fun times, maybe include a photo or two from the old days and let it go. (Though I would love to ask what in the heck he could possibly see in 90% of the women on Rock of Love!!) The letter would probably never reach him anyway, and if it did, he would be instantly suspicious in that 'what does this person want from me' sort of way, and he would probably put the letter down and forget about it - because that is what happens in that world. These famous musician types (and probably actors too) have other folks handling their lives for them most of the time. If there is a letter received, it is someone else's duty to answer it. If there is an interview for a magazine to be done, it is someone else's job to make sure the celebrity gets to that interview. And there are so many people coming at them from every side, telling them what needs to be done, that they put little things aside (like letters) and forget about them. So IF I ever do that, I can't expect any kind of response from it. Frankly, so much time has passed now that I would have to spend a good deal of the letter reminding Bret who I am and how he knew me!!!

bumbershoot

12-30-2008, 04:34 PM

Sherry E

12-30-2008, 05:32 PM

Is that what Bromance is all about? :rotfl:

Please note I haven't watched the PH show, I've only heard about it (while perusing TMZ and perezhilton). I just figured since I know I would always have a little "will you take me there" thought if I were friends with someone crazy rich and famous, I might as well just put it all out there and be honest with a show like that. But it's possible I'm a wee bit too old to be Paris's best friend. :rotfl:

I have never actually watched an episode of the Paris BFF show either. I have only seen clips of it on shows like The Soup, where it is made fun of! (I expect they will start making fun of "Bromance," too!) But I do like TMZ and Perez Hilton!!! I always get a kick out of the latest Lindsay Lohan goings-on, where she and her girlfriend are screaming at each other in public. That's another pet peeve of mine about celebrities - so many of them are so over the top. Like everything has to be done loudly and bigger than life, so everyone can hear. I remember when Johnny Depp and Kate Moss were a hot couple, they would have screaming, loud arguments and leave hotel rooms in a shambles, and then people would report on it to the Enquirer (this was pre-TMZ or Perez days). Supposedly, when Brangelina was a hot new couple, they were in Africa, er, uh, um..... 'getting to know each other better,' let's call it, and all kinds of people outside of their little cabana or whatever it was could hear them because they were so loud! And when Lindsay Lohan and her girlfriend get in a fight, everything is loud and over the top so everyone can hear. Don't these celebrities have any discretion or modesty or humility whatsoever? Most normal people try to tone down their arguments so neighbors and passersby don't overhear! Not famous people, though - they live in a whole different universe!!:rolleyes1

jnjusoioa

12-30-2008, 05:55 PM

Sherry E

12-30-2008, 06:20 PM

Sherry, OMG, I just read about Brett M, that is so wild as he was at my highschool graduation, as you know the whole band hails from PA, right where I grew up, and I graduated with is sister. Kind of wild. Small World!!:goodvibes

Good ol' Mechanicsburg and Harrisburg! Which sister? Michelle or the other one whose name I THINK was Chrissy or something (I only met Michelle)? Michelle looked just like Bret but with different hair! She had more of a mullet thing going on. I am surprised you didn't notice those pictures with Bret on page one of the TR from my DL trip with him back in 1986. I guess it was easy to overlook them!! Yes, it is a small world indeed! I have to take a picture of my platinum album that I received in 1987, I think, and post it. The first Poison album came out in 1986, but they didn't issue the platinum albums for everyone until 1987. There was a big platinum album party on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, and Bret was getting teary-eyed!!

Oh, and your maps went out in the mail today! I forgot to write a note or anything in there because I was hastily trying to get the maps in the envelope yesterday to send them out when the mailman arrived, but as I already told you, the mailman came early and I missed him. So you will just get the maps and no note! I hope they arrive in one piece! The mail system does such damage to things - I have been shocked at how envelopes arrive sometimes, torn and opened and the contents falling out! Let me know when you get it so I know it arrived safely!!

jnjusoioa

12-30-2008, 07:38 PM

Good ol' Mechanicsburg and Harrisburg! Which sister? Michelle or the other one whose name I THINK was Chrissy or something (I only met Michelle)? Michelle looked just like Bret but with different hair! She had more of a mullet thing going on. I am surprised you didn't notice those pictures with Bret on page one of the TR from my DL trip with him back in 1986. I guess it was easy to overlook them!! Yes, it is a small world indeed! I have to take a picture of my platinum album that I received in 1987, I think, and post it. The first Poison album came out in 1986, but they didn't issue the platinum albums for everyone until 1987. There was a big platinum album party on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, and Bret was getting teary-eyed!!

Oh, and your maps went out in the mail today! I forgot to write a note or anything in there because I was hastily trying to get the maps in the envelope yesterday to send them out when the mailman arrived, but as I already told you, the mailman came early and I missed him. So you will just get the maps and no note! I hope they arrive in one piece! The mail system does such damage to things - I have been shocked at how envelopes arrive sometimes, torn and opened and the contents falling out! Let me know when you get it so I know it arrived safely!!

I will have to go back and check out the pictures, didn't realize he was in any of them. Thank you again for the maps, will let you know when they arrive. :goodvibes

mariezp

12-31-2008, 12:23 AM

Sherry E

12-31-2008, 02:58 PM

Yeah, Sherry... I can see your point about putting a big old bear hug on a big fuzzy character! It just wouldn't come off the same doing that with a princess. I see we are going to have to keep our ears opened for any rumors about the Mad Hatter being manhandled. :lmao:

I have been missing a lot around here now haven't I? Your's really has been a great trip report! I do appreciate your readership, as well. I am hoping to get another day's report up soon. I'm half way through! I don't think I have put any of the fisheye photos in the trip report yet. I am pretty sure they are coming up in the next installment so stay tuned!

Dear me! I bet it would be a mess trying to please up to 13 people at a time! I feel like I am successful enough if I just keep the four of us happy for most of our trip.

I do agree that it was a bit insensitive to pick somebody up as early as your friend did without a bit more warning! If it had been me I would never have made it or at least left half of the things I had needed at home! I think for all you do you should receive some sort of recognition. Do you think there is any chance that maybe Shawn doesn't feel she owes you anything since she does the driving? Still, a thank you would be nice. I cannot imagine your friends expecting to go only if you are footing part of their way every time. Do you suppose your friends would even think of going on their own if it weren't for you? I think if I were you I would be tempted to just go by myself next time!

Well, now wait a minute, yes I can think of someone who expects someone to help pay the way everytime. I love our step daughter dearly but... They, DD, DSIL & DGS, went with us for a week in 2006. We paid for their room, park tickets, plane tickets and most of their food. All they had to pay for was snacks and souvenirs and any meals they did not eat with us. We offered and were happy to do it. However, now the only way they will most likely consider going with us again is if we pay their way again. When I suggested that they might try to save some to pay for a part of their way she said they would just wait and go with her mom because she would pay. I would love for them to go again because they are so much fun (she loves DL as much as I do) but I really think they should at least make an attempt to pay for whatever they can instead of just expecting us or her mother to foot the bill.

I may just have to try the Goofy dinner buffet. Making notes.... Ooooh, did I read quiche? Wonder if they have any salmon for DS?
May have to stick with Storytellers for breakfast. I LOVE their banana stuffed french toast!
We had PS for Wine Country Trattoria this trip but passed it up. Will have to think on it some more.
I am pretty sure we are going to give Yambuki a try next time. DH loves sushi and DS has even been willing to try it.

Thanks for eating the cookie for me! DH and DD made a gingerbread house that we have been munching on but it is a poor substitute!

I agree when you are tired and achy sometimes just working through the pain is best! We start out thinking we are about to die for the first several days but by the second week generally most of the pain has subsided. Imagine if I gave up at the first sign of sore feet. I would be sitting in my room for 10 day! Who cares about the pain anyway? It is so worth it!

Glad this sickness is not quite as bad as last time. Those NyQuil caplets are lifesavers! I am so glad they came up with that form of taking it! I can tell you I am so glad to be able to get the same effect without having to taste that nasty stuff and feel the burn in your stomach for 30 minutes!

Yes, I would even feel odd throwing my arms around one of the princes for a photo. Even though there are people inside the character costumes, it seems acceptable to hug them!.....

I appreciate your readership, too, Marie!:goodvibes And I have been keeping up with the last pictures in your TR and the fish eye shots - that's a very unique take on DLR pictures that you don't see every day!

Going to DLR with even a few people, as you know, can be stressful, It always ends up working out, I think, that one person handles all the planning and coordinating and some of the other people involved can't quite jump into the groove and let you know what they are doing and when. It helps if everyone is on the same page, and if you ask someone when and where they are going to meet you, you get an answer. But it seems like it is hard to get everybody on the same page. Everyone kind of marches to their own drummer and does what they want, oblivious to whether or not it inconveniences anyone else or throws a wrench into the plans!!! At least, that is how it has been in my case, and also from what I have heard of other friends' trips when they went with inlaws and such.

I actually wanted to get to DLR very early on the first day of our trip, but because it didn't seem like a possibility to do that, I planned on being ready later. SO when Shawn announced she was on her way to get me more than 3 hours earlier than expected, and didn't even ask if I was ready yet, it bugged me. But it stressed me out, more importantly, and I was scrambling to get things to throw in the bags by the time she got to me. However, when I got myself outside to wait for her much earlier than I had planned on, she was late!!! So I felt like I did all that stressful rushing to be ready early for NO reason. The time it took her on the freeway to get to me had me standing outside forever because of all the traffic she encountered. This all could have been avoided by simply letting me know in advance that she was going to try to get off early but was not sure if she would be able to. Then I would have known to e ready by a certain time and I wouldn't have had the cyclonic whirlwind of packing activity and rushing through the shower to deal with!

You know, Marie, it is possible that my friend feels that her driving to pick me up and take me home is thank you enough for my buying her Park Hopper, paying for the hotel and even one of her meals, but the monetary value doesn't add up! If she were calculating the cost to drive form Anaheim and pick me up and take me home after the trips, it wouldn't even come close to what I spend on a DLR trip. Plus, her getting me and bringing me home is just due to a lack of money on my part. She knows I lost my office job earlier in the year. If I had the extra cash, I would probably be taking a nice shuttle directly to DLR and coming home when I wanted, and my friend would still be getting to stay in the hotel for free and get a free ticket out of it, simply because I want to spend time with friends I only get to see rarely and enjoy a nice DLR holiday trip, and because I knew her transmission had blown, costing $3,000. There are so many different layers of why people do the things they do to analyze, and for fear of boring everyone on this thread to tears, I won't analyze them here. Let's just say that there seem to be the givers and the takers in life. Some people do a lot for people and always try to make sure everyone has a good time, and there are others who kind of take everything but don't feel the need to contribute. I have known many of each of those types, and I bet you have too, Marie! Sometimes the other 'givers' I know will get mad because they hear about the 'takers' not helping me out with something and sometimes certain takers will not realize they are takers and slam the other takers in the bunch! Some people think they are givers but they only give to select parties and not to everyone. It is a very complex web! I also suggested "chipping in" for a Park Hopper recently and was met with an excuse of some kind, but the trip was already in the works and I didn't want to cancel it then. It does get disheartening over the years, as I get older. My friends have (infrequently) gone to DLR without me before, and they must have come up with some ticket money for those times!

I don't know. I have given up on trying to sort it all out. I can only do what makes me happy in the interim, and if bringing someone else along makes me happy, then fine, and I can't expect anything in return - not even a thank you - for it. BUT, as you said, and has Molly (Bumbershoot) has said, it is time to look into just going by myself at some point because I may be better off that way!! I don't know what 2009 holds for me money-wise and if a DLR trip is even in the cards at all, but I may have to really think about the pros and cons of going with people who don't want to contribute, no matter how long we have been friends or how fun the person is, like you explained in your situation. I can see if someone wants you to walk over hot coals you may not want to contribute, but a trip to DLR should be a welcome thing!!

The one and only time I ate dinner at Goofy's back in 1995, they had quiche. I am not sure if they have it now. I wouldn't be surprised if they had some sort of seafood because many people don't eat poultry, pork or beef. I am sure they have changed their dinner buffet somewhat in 13 years!! A lot of folks prefer the dinner, so that may be your Goofy's niche since you weren't keen on the breakfast. I am sticking with the breakfast because it has always been successful for me, but I may venture back to the dinner one of these days, just to see what characters are out and about. Wine Country Trattoria is very good, worth trying at least once. I am kind of burning out on Carnation Cafe. I do like it but we eat there every trip, and the food is not SO great to me that I feel I have to eat there every trip anymore!! I know you said your food was not THAT wonderful at Carnation that you needed to go back again. I like some of their things, but I just wonder if maybe I can skip them on the next visit and then maybe I will get some renewed interest in eating there!

Yep, I ate an extra gingerbread cookie with ears on your behalf. Very hefty little suckers those are. They are soft, but weighty!

Well, this pesky problem with pain that I have dates back to a back injury in 1995, when I was young and thin and pretty active. I popped a disc out of whack, didn't have insurance to get proper treatment for it, had to suffer in pain for a couple of weeks until it finally stopped hurting. But the disc never went back into place and, over the years, when doing innocent things like housework or stooping down to plug something in, I have popped the disc even further out of whack and been in pain for weeks again. I still can't get any treatment for it so I just have to be extra careful that I don't aggravate the existing condition, but because it has gotten worse over the years, whenever it flares up now, the pain is so much worse and more intense. One time back in 2005 I couldn't move at all for two days because I was in mind-numbing pain. I almost fainted on the steps of the clinic because the pain was so bad it was affecting my blood pressure! So since 2005, when I had that really terrible episode, I have been in some level of pain/discomfort every day! But it varies from very, very mild pain to moderate to 'Holy ****, I CAN'T MOVE!' (Followed by other colorful expletives!) Some days it is aggravated more by sitting, other days it is standing that makes it worse. Sometimes sleeping will exacerbate things or I can't sleep at all. Sometimes walking is a very painful ordeal. So, whether or not I went to DLR, I would still be in some level of pain, but when I am walking around for too long, my leg begins to kill me (which is related to the back/disc thing), and then it goes dead so I am dragging around a dead leg. Then it begins to hurt again. Or if we are moving too slowly or sitting for too long, my leg kills me. So I have to walk fast at DLR to sort of keep the pain at bay. But I just push myself through it because I never know when I will get back to DLR again and I would rather be in a place where I was enjoying myself in pain than to be at home staring at the TV in pain - not to mention that I start thinking about how much money I spent on this dang trip (for myself AND my friend) and how I am not about to waste it by being in pain!

Usually, when I get home from DLR, though, I am a wreck for a couple of days. The pain puts a crimp in doing daily household stuff and I have to be really careful, and I used to have a heck of a time at work when I had to force myself to go in while I was in all that pain and stay stuck at a desk all day! Somehow being at DLR - unless I am just incapacitated - is enough incentive to get me to push through and grit my teeth until it is over, and still manage to have a great time! As long as I keep moving!

Oooooooohhhh, you are not kidding - liquid NyQuil is AWFUL! Blech! Thank the good Lord for the caplets - those have become my best friends in the last few days. Those and the Mucinex green men!!!

jnjusoioa

12-31-2008, 05:02 PM

I forgot to add that Nikki was the sister I graduated with. We were pretty good friends, she could always make me laugh, which is sometimes hard to do. :goodvibes

bumbershoot

01-01-2009, 03:21 AM

I keep forgetting to mention this...sometimes when people don't pay towards things, they act really weird about it. When I was a practicing chiropractor, the founder of the "type" of chiropractic I did ended up telling the people at his seminars that everyone needed to pay something. Even when the chiros in my area would meet up to check each others' spines, it was strongly suggested that we each pay the person checking. That way we felt more a part of it.

So it might be the very act of paying for her could be adding to the strangeness.

Or not. :upsidedow

Sherry E

01-02-2009, 08:46 PM

I forgot to add that Nikki was the sister I graduated with. We were pretty good friends, she could always make me laugh, which is sometimes hard to do. :goodvibes

Goodness! Why on earth was I thinking the other sister of Bret was named Chrissy??:rotfl: Well, as I said, I never met her. It must have been Nikki that I was thinking of! I only met the older sister, Michelle, who moved out to L.A. to be near Bret for a while. I don't know what ever happened to her and if she went back to PA or staying in California. Bret was kind of a jokester himself - I mean, not that he was cracking stupid jokes all the time, but he just had a naturally funny way about him. So it doesn't surprise me that his sisters are like that too! Bret and Rikki (form Poison) had a very good chemistry together - it was like they were brothers. They would finish each other's sentences and laugh at each other's goofy stories, and yet, Rikki was kind of the straight man to silly Bret. But they complemented each other well and acted like two peas in a pod.

I keep forgetting to mention this...sometimes when people don't pay towards things, they act really weird about it. When I was a practicing chiropractor, the founder of the "type" of chiropractic I did ended up telling the people at his seminars that everyone needed to pay something. Even when the chiros in my area would meet up to check each others' spines, it was strongly suggested that we each pay the person checking. That way we felt more a part of it.

So it might be the very act of paying for her could be adding to the strangeness.

Or not. :upsidedow

Possibly so. "Weird" is defintiely a good word for it. My friend definitely acts weird about it. When I think back, I remember a LONG time ago (like back in the late '80s/early '90s) when we all used to make a trip to Catalina Island every year (in addition to a Disneyland trip)... there would be a bunch of us going and everybody would chip in. Then, it ended up being just two or three of us and we still chipped in equally. Finally, on a Catalina trip I made with just Shawn, I made the reservations for the rental cottage we got and she was scheduled to pay me her money in installments every month until we went so I could pay off the hotel/cottage we rented. We had agreed on a certain amount she would pay each month, and suddenly she sent me an amount much lower than that without letting me know she was doing that. So I had to pay more to compensate for the amount she conveniently left out of her payment so I could pay the realty people something! When I brought it to her attention and said that she didn't pay what she was supposed to pay and that it put me in a bind, she got very weird about it. Maybe she didn't think it would be any big deal to stiff me? In any case, that was the last time Shawn and I ever went to Catalina together. I suggested it the next year and the year after that, and she kept finding excuses not to go anymore. I knew she had a good time when we went. I think she simply didn't want to have to pay anymore. And so when Disneyland came up in 2007, we hadn't been there together in 6 years, and I suddenly had free tickets to give her. And some of those tickets carried over to the second 2007 DLR trip as well. She at one point said she would buy me a pin if I found one I wanted as a token of appreciation, then quickly reneged on that. She also said she would buy me a watch if I wanted one, then quickly 'forgot' about that idea too. And when I suggested she 'chip in' something for her ticket for this last December DLR trip, she had the unfortunate transmission incident, and that seemed to automatically be her reason for not having the money to buy a Park Hopper, and hence, the lack of any thank you to me when I got her Hopper for her. I even said that I hope one day she decides to treat me to a DLR trip for a change, and she joked about it being when we are using walkers and canes. Secretly, I was thinking, 'Well it had better not be that long, Missy!' She has a good job that pays very well. She could contribute to things if she really wanted to. I think she just doesn't feel it is important enough to her, but she knows it is to ME, so therefore it is what it is!

So, clearly I can't keep up that vicious cycle. It is going to turn ugly because it is only causing resentment on my part as I feel underappreciated and taken for granted, and it probably will cause resentment on her part eventually too. We don't have any immediate plans for a 2009 DLR trip, and I am not sure I will be able to swing one even by myself. I will truly have to play it by ear and see how the year evolves, and if it is possible to renew the AP when the time comes, etc. So maybe we will sit out 2009 and see what happens. Then, in 2010, revisit the idea of a group DLR trip with a fresh perspective and see if it can be a more 50/50 endeavor!!

My friend Jackie (who has an AP and doesn't mind paying for things) said to Shawn, when they were talking about the new monthly payment plan for the AP's, "Oh you should get an Annual Pass, since you can make monthly payments and you live 5 minutes away from Disneyland." I was thinking to myself, 'Oh, but that would mean she would have to pay for it and she won't do that.' Sure enough, she didn't know how to answer Jackie. She just kind of shrugged and nodded as if to say, "Yeah, maybe."

Oh well, I was glad to be able to spend time with these friends in 2008 since we do get together very infrequently, and I did have a great time at DLR, but I don't want to stay in this vicious cycle that I created inadvertently, so I will have to be the one to break it!!:thumbsup2

travelmel

01-04-2009, 01:34 AM

Sherry E

01-04-2009, 10:58 AM

Hi Sherry!

Do you read this TR (link below)?? It's a great one, I know you would like it. Plus, I referenced you in a goofy way and I wanted to let you know that I did it! :lmao:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2035488

:goodvibes

Melissa

A lot of the trip reports I start looking/reading through and get distracted by something here, and never end up subscribing (or forget to) by just making one post. That TR thread was one is one of them. Yours and Fairykin's were others. So by the time I want to go back and pick up where I left off, I either can't figure out where I left off or I have to just kind of jump in somewhere. Anyway, um, thanks, I guess, for referencing my long answers in a random, arbitrary way in someone else's thread.... Fortunately, I have seen all kinds of communication styles on DISboards (all around the boards, not necessarily on the DL side of things) and other non-Disney boards - some similar to mine and some of which are totally incoherent, and everything in between - so there is a place for everyone here!:rotfl:

I'll make sure if I ever have to throw in random Twilight references in a thread somewhere that I mention you!!:goodvibes

travelmel

01-05-2009, 01:45 AM

Anyway, um, thanks, I guess, for referencing my long answers in a random, arbitrary way in someone else's thread....

It wasn't an insult. Actually, I am alot like you! I love to be detailed and chatty sometimes. And I appreciate all of your comments as I'm sure everybody else does. I tease. But it's with love!

Sherry E

01-09-2009, 06:05 PM

Well, I want to keep this thread active until I get my PhotoPass pictures, so I can add those onto the end of the Trip Report. Not that the PP pictures are SO great, but I won't feel complete until I add them in! So...since the PP pictures probably will not arrive until a week from now, what to do in the meantime..... I know! Add in more pictures of random Disneyland trips and other stuff!

I will start with a few more pictures from the Bret Michaels DLR trip in 1986 (see Page 1 of TR for other pictures), even though you can't really see much 'Disney' in them (this was before I began taking pictures of DL sights and scenery and really appreciating the atmosphere). Some folks thought that the Poison guys walked around wearing their glam make-up 24/7. Not true. They wore it in public when they had to turn on the 'Poison thing' and to be 'on,' but when hanging around at home (or at Disneyland), there was no make-up involved.

Being surrounded by 3 attentive guys isn't a bad thing for a girl's ego (especially when two of them are now in famous bands); Bret was trying to rest his hand on my knee when he bent over as you see, but he ended up jabbing his elbow into my chest/stomach:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20MARCH%201986%20-%20POISON/Bret-Timmy-Sherry-Robbie-Disneyl-2.jpg

In line for the Rockets (Bret is wearing the mesh tank top that got him reprimanded by a CM, who ran quickly up to him and asked him to cover up in the daytime, which Bret did; but you notice by nighttime he was letting it all hang out again!):

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20MARCH%201986%20-%20POISON/BRETTIMMYROBBIE-DISNEYLAND1986.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20MARCH%201986%20-%20POISON/Bret-Robbie-Timmy-Rocketline-March1.jpg

A little silliness at the end of a long day at DL:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20MARCH%201986%20-%20POISON/Robbie-Timmy-Bret-LeapFrog-Disneyla.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20MARCH%201986%20-%20POISON/BRETROBBIETIMMY-DISNEYLAND1986.jpg

Some of the pictures I simply can't post here - they are a little too risque!:rotfl: That is why parents don't want you hanging around rock bands, boys and girls - they are very naughty and do things in photos that should not be seen by innocent eyes!:lmao:

But, just in case you wondered, I do have some of the 'make-up shots' too (even though these are not DLR-related):

Bret and me:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20MARCH%201986%20-%20POISON/BRETSHERRY-POISONWAREHOUSE-DECEMBER.jpg

Bobby, Bret and Rikki from Poison, hanging out on the Sunset Strip on Saturday night:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20MARCH%201986%20-%20POISON/Bobby-Bret-Rikki-SunsetStrip-1986.jpg

Bret at something they called the Tacky Party, where everyone wore horrible outfits; he is lifting a guy named Josh, who was in the original version of the band Warrant:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20MARCH%201986%20-%20POISON/BretJosh-TackyParty-May1986.jpg

Bret and Rikki before a photo shoot for a local music magazine called BAM:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20MARCH%201986%20-%20POISON/BretRikki-May1986-WoodrowWilsonHous.jpg

Bret at some other random party they had (see, he was in his 'on' mode, where he had to be Mr. Rock Star and wear the glam make-up):

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20MARCH%201986%20-%20POISON/Bret-HuiHuiParty-Feb1986.jpg

Okey dokey, that's all for this latest installment. It gives me an excuse to scan a lot of my pictures and get them on the computer. In the next few days, I will be scanning more old pictures and pictures from other DLR trips and posting them here. Just biding my time until the PhotoPass pictures arrive!

jnjusoioa

01-09-2009, 08:32 PM

Sherry E

01-10-2009, 10:56 AM

Awesome Poison photos, enjoyed them Sherry!!! Thanks for sharing, also wanted to say thank you for the maps, they arrived this week and they were in one piece. Thanks again, can't wait to see your photopass photos!!!:goodvibes

You're welcome!:goodvibes Cool! Glad you got the maps and they arrived intact!:thumbsup2

I have lots more Bret/Poison pictures where those came from, so I can always post more (though I have more of him/them not at Disneyland than the actual DL ones). I will also keep posting pictures from past DLR trips (I have barely even begun to tap into those) because it is always kind of interesting to see things that used to be at DLR that are gone now, or characters that used to be out that are no longer (like Marsupilami!). I skipped around in my photo albums earlier as it was and just picked certain photos from other DLR trips to post here before the holidays, so there are still lots more pictures from those same trips as well as other trips I haven't posted any photos from yet! I have a lot of material to choose from until the PhotoPass pictures arrive - and frankly, a lot of these older pictures may be more interesting than the PhotoPass pictures!! Once you've seen PhotoPass pictures, you've seen them. You know the poses and the character enhancements and all that (except for YOURS, which actually had some different stuff that the rest of us don't see every day!)...but I still feel like I need to stick some of them in this thread just because they were from the December 2008 trip which I wrote about. So I will keep adding things in....

...That is, as long as anyone is still reading/viewing the new (or old) pictures! I am not sure if anyone else is - it may be just you and me, jnjusoioa!!!!

mariezp

01-10-2009, 04:12 PM

Sherry! I'm still here! Bring on more DL photos! One can never get too many of those.

Alex2kMommy

01-11-2009, 11:06 AM

Sherry E

01-11-2009, 12:55 PM

Hi, Sherry! I'm enjoying the old photos, too, the ones of you and Bret and the ones on the character thread of you and characters.

I was telling my DH about the ones with Bret, and how YOUNG he looks. I vaguely remembered how he looked back then and have seen more recent photos of him from a reality show he was doing. I don't know why I am so struck by his youth and carefree smiles in the old photos, I'm sure we all look a lot older and tired these days. (I won't be posting any photos of me anytime soon...) :lmao:

Anyway, it's fun walking down your Memory Lane. Thanks! :)

Great! At least I have you, Marie and jnjusoioa still following along! Everyone else has abandoned me! Sniff sniff. You guys are my only friends!:rotfl: Yes, Bret looks very young and different in the older photos. For one thing, his hair nowadays is, shall we say, quite 'different.' ....Meaning that I think it has been enhanced a bit. The Bret you are seeing in my old pictures is the one that existed before he really got swept up in the whole 'lifestyle' of a rock band, so he wasn't really all that tainted yet! Don't get me wrong - he always had a harem around, and was not hurting in the dating department, but he hadn't fallen victim to all of the other trappings of being a rock star yet. And as for the carefree smiles, if I recall, Bret had a bad car accident many years back and some of his teeth were knocked out. So those carefree smiles of the old days were the real deal. Now, the ones you may see on that crazy VH1 "Rock of Love" show (in fact, there is a new episode airing today!) are not all the real teeth!!! But when I watch Rock of Love, I can still see traces of the old Bret in there. He walks the same, has many of the same mannerisms, has the same sense of humor and speech patterns, his eyes are the same.

And I certainly look older and tired, for sure - heck, all in the same Trip Report, you are seeing me from 1986, 1993, 2008 and many years in between!! I am aging right before your eyes!:rotfl: Fortunately, I have never been a smoker and I don't spend a tremendous amount of time in the sun if I can help it (pasty Irish skin just ripe for skin cancer), so I am not as bad off for a 41-year-old as this lady I saw on TV the other day, who was 42 but looked like she was 65!!:scared1: I could look younger, but I could also look a LOT older. I still have all my own real hair and teeth, though!

travelmel

01-12-2009, 02:14 AM

Sherry E

01-12-2009, 12:18 PM

Great new pics of the "boys" !!

Gosh, I don't remember the make-up being that feminine! At the time it seemed so "cool" but looking back they looked like women way more than I thought they did!

:hippie:

Thanks for sharing! I can't get enough of that stuff

Oh good. Travlemel is still here too! At least I have four of you still on board!

Travelmel, it's funny you say that about the make-up. When I was digging out the pictures, I was remembering how in the old days, when I was around Bret and the guys, people would always tease me about hanigng out with guys who wore make-up. Of course, as I stated above in this thread, they didn't wear it when they were just hanging around the house, nor did Bret wear any make-up when we were at Disneyland (which you can clearly see, up close, in those pictures I just added a few days ago). So I was used to seeing them without it, while the people who were teasing me were just seeing photo shoots, videos or concerts or interviews, where they had the glam stuff on because they had to play up that glam image. And even when I saw the make-up on them, as you said, Travelmel, it didn't seem that feminine.

So now that many years have passed, and I pull out some of these old pictures, I had the same reaction you did, Travelmel. I was thinking, 'Wow! They really looked feminine in those pictures!' Now I can kind of see what the other people were seeing when they were ribbing me about knowing Bret and the guys! It really is dramatic! With time comes wisdom and clarity...:lmao:

But I tell you...if Bret (and Robbie from RATT) had worn make-up and poofed up their hair to go to Disneyland when we went, I would have been horrified - even back then! It would have been embarrassing, and I think I would have wondered why they couldn't just be themselves and enjoy the park, rather putting on the rock star persona. Thankfully, that did not happen and they were like big kids at Disneyland!!:thumbsup2

Sherry E

01-15-2009, 11:01 PM

Still slowly digging photos out of the albums and frames and scanning them! Tomorrow is PhotoPass CD arrival day! SoO I can post a bunch of those PP pictures here, though frankly, I think a lot of my pictures from DLR previous trips are much more interesting!

Anyway, notice in these two pictures how you can see the transformation of Bret as he becomes Rock Star Bret. And then go back to the other photos of Bret I have posted earlier in this thread and see the difference between the Bret at Disneyland with the carefree smile to the Bret in these two pictures, who has become BRET MICHAELS, future VH1 star! Anyway, I think these were taken in 1986 or very early in 1987. Can't recall exactly.

What in the h*** was I thinking with this polka dot shirt?? Yikes! It was the '80s. What can I say. Blame it on the '80s.:rotfl: That's Mandy on Bret's other arm.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20MARCH%201986%20-%20POISON/SHERRY-BRET-MANDY-SANJOSE-1986.jpg

Notice I am the only one without a beer in my hand in this next picture. Everyone else has one! But I am also making an expression that looks like a fish face! Bret's hair color had changed and gotten very blond. In those earlier Disneyland pictures, his hair was darker. Suddenly, over the course of a year and a half, he had different hair! Los Angeles life was beginning to sink in. Of course, that is Rikki from Poison in the picture with Bret, Mandy and me.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20MARCH%201986%20-%20POISON/MANDY-RIKKI-BRET-SHERRY-1987.jpg

Now we move on to Disneyland. These are two of my favorites - a couple of summer shots for you (since I have previously been only posting Halloweentime and Christmastime shots).

I like this next picture from Summer 1992 because I never see Mickey or Minnie in New Orleans Square anymore, just hanging around the backstreets - especially not together as a 'couple'!! So I consider this a rare shot. It was HOTTTT that day.:mad: Of course, that is Shawn in the white, but y'all probably recognize her by now.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/MISCELLANEOUS/SHERRY-MINNIE-MICKEY-SHAWN-DISNEYLA.jpg

And this next one is from Summer 1994. ToonTown had only been open for about a year, so this was a relatively early version of the Mickey's House experience, meeting with the Mouse himself. It's a happy picture. That's Mandy and Jenni with me.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/MISCELLANEOUS/SHERRY-MICKEY-MANDY-JENNI-DISNEYLAN.jpg

That's it for tonight. Computer and Photobucket are running slow, which is a deadly combination. But I will continue my mass project of scanning pictures and posting them here, and tomorrow I will begin to post some silly (or not) PhotoPass pictures when my CD arrives.

Peace out!:goodvibes

mariezp

01-16-2009, 09:31 AM

Sherry E

01-16-2009, 10:02 AM

I'm still around Sherry! I have a confession to make though..... I don't remember the band. GASP! Where they BIG everywhere or mainly a big hit in California? Gosh, there were and still are so many groups it ain't hard to miss a few.

My DS is 18 now and I get a real kick out of him because he listens to the same music I did back when. He says the modern stuff is no good.

You have inspired me to want to go dig up some old photos but trying to find mine would be more like tunneling to find them! I really need to work on my organization around here! :sad2:

Hi, Marie! Yep, the band (Poison) was really big in the '80s and early '90s, but, strangely, they have stayed active and touring since then. So they never fell off the radar completely. They are one of the bands from that 'hair band period' of the '80s (which is also where Guns n Roses emerged from) that managed to have some longevity. I stopped getting their CDs a long time ago, even though I used to know them. But the singer of Poison, Bret Michaels, who is in the previous pictures I posted, has had a second wind in his 'career', by doing three seasons of this trashy dating show on VH1 called "Rock of Love." Season 3 is running now. So he has been in the spotlight a lot in the last two years because of that. And for a while, back in the mid-'90s, he was dating Pamela Anderson...who is a bit notorious herself! So Bret has managed to stay in the public eye.

Anyway...back to Disneyland. About that picture from Mickey's Barn above, where we are posing with him and he is in his bandleader costume....I have not been into Mickey's house to meet Mickey in a long time, but each time I have been there I think he was wearing a different outfit. Does he change his outfits over the years, like for a while he is in his 'bandleader phase' and then his 'tuxedo phase' or could you literally visit Mickey two days in a row and see him wearing a different costume each day?

PhotoPass CD arrives today!:cool1: Although, still, just kind of looking at the colors in my older DLR pictures, I still think some of the older ones are more interesting than the PP ones! I mean, how often do you see Mickey and Minnie together in New Orleans Square these days?

Yes, Marie, dig up the old pictures - of DLR and everything else. If you don't already have the old, old ones on CD or online or in some format where they are backed up, then you should do that. It is good to have back-ups in case the negatives and actual prints get ruined at some point. I have a ton of pictures of all sorts of things that just need to be scanned and stored somewhere online for back-up, but I can only muster the patience to scan a few at a time, then upload them, then post, etc.!!

Sherry E

01-16-2009, 11:02 PM

Well, I got my PhotoPass CD today, which I was all excited about, and I have had nothing but problems trying to load the pictures to Photobucket so I can post some of them here! I mean, NOTHING but trouble. They would start loading, then stop. Or suddenly, I couldn't access the correct album to load them into because the stupid ads that run on the page slow the page down (like Sprint, for example, is a bad one that causes problems) and freeze everything up. I got so frustrated. I was cursing at the computer monitor. I think Photobucket wants people who load a lot of pictures to upgrade to the Pro service, which costs money. I wouldn't mind doing that if I KNEW I wasn't going to have the current problems I am having, but if I paid $40 for PRO service and still had these issues, I would be p***ed! So I gave up for tonight. I think I only managed to get about 50 pictures loaded after hours of trying. I will try again tomorrow and hopefully Photobucket will be acting better!

jnjusoioa

01-17-2009, 06:55 AM

Sherry,glad to hear that you got your CD, can't wait to see your pictures. I know what you mean about photobucket, sometimes it can be a pain, hopefully you will have better luck today. :goodvibes

prettyprincessbelle

01-17-2009, 02:59 PM

Sherry E

01-17-2009, 03:24 PM

Omg. The pictures of you with Bret Michaels is sooo awesome!!! So 80s. Sherry, you freaking rock.

Do you watch his Rock of Love show? I really don't, but I've been catching a few episodes. One girl on the bus one is from my city. Her name is Brittanya? Something like that. I don't know her, but she used to work with Jesus' sister and they were good friends and she's BFFs with Jesus' cousin. Anyways, she didn't win, she made it to the top 3 and he kicked her off.

Seriously, I LOVE LOVE your old Disneyland pictures!!! In 1994 I was 7 years old!

Courtney! You came back to us!:grouphug: I thought we had lost you from this thread entirely! Okay, so I still have a few friends on here! Yes, I had been adding pictures here and there to the last few pages of the TR for a few weeks, and a bunch of them were with Bret ant Disneyland, etc., and now it is time to fiddle with the PhotoPass pictures, which I finally got uploaded to stupid Photobucket. Arrrgggghhhh. When I am done with PhotoPass pictures, since I don't have any upcoming DLR trips to take pictures of, I will keep going back into my archives and posting older DLR pictures, just to keep the thread active.

Oh, yes, I have seen Brittanya on Rock of Love. So she is the one you were telling me about before (when you said you knew of someone who was on the show). She seems sweet, but she is the one who admits on the show that she is not too smart! That is interesting to know that she gets as far as number 3 in the show. I had no idea, but I am glad you told me. She and Bret don't really seem to be connecting so far, so I thought he would boot her off sooner, but she practically makes it to the end!! That means that Bret is going to eliminate a bunch of people and keep her around for a while! Thanks for the scoop on that! That is one of those trashy shows that is a guilty pleasure to watch. Most of those girls are so skanky or dumb as rocks, but it is fun to watch. I can't imagine that Bret is really interested in any of them, but he probably is under contract to pick one of them in the end. And when I say he is not interested in any (or most) of them, I mean that he will still sleep with them but won't have a relationship outside of the show!!! That's how those rock guys are.

Oh, Lord! You were 7 in 1994? Yikes! Well, I am sure that makes a few of us feel more than old!!:rotfl2: I am glad you like all the pictures, and thanks for hanging in there with me/us! I will probably still be adding pictures even when I don't have a DLR trip coming up!

prettyprincessbelle

01-17-2009, 04:25 PM

Sherry E

01-17-2009, 10:01 PM

I know! I've been neglecting the TR portion of the boards for some reason! But I am back!!

Yeah, I did tell you huh? I just got the scoop from Jesus' sister the other night. She said she saw her at the mall the other day and she was talking to her and she told her she made it that far. She got kicked off for something about she was talking bad about Bret and another girl told on her and he got upset. Something like that..!

Also she has a boyfriend and had one while on the show. Jesus was like "So why'd she go on the show to find love if she has a BF?". We're like duh buddy! For the fame of being on TV!! It's kind of sad, but I'm sure most of the girls on the show are doing it for that reason. But like you said, I'm sure he's just doing it for that reason and not for a real relationship...

Yeah, I think Bret is doing Rock of Love for the paycheck and to kind of get back in the limelight, and the girls are doing it to get exposure (and they LOVE exposing themselves, that's for sure!). He is old enough now and has been living that rocker lifestyle for long enough where that I don't think he would be that smitten with any of the girls on that show. He has seen and done it all. He's been with hot girls, not so hot girls, and everything in between. I can see if he were a guy who never got any dates, then walking into a house full of lusty women would be appealing, but I just don't think that he is really all that thrilled with any of these people (he probably still slept with all of them, though!), and will probably never talk to any of them again after the show wraps. But he is under contract to follow the format of the show, so he HAS to stick with those girls. If he is even remotely like the Bret I used to know - the guy in those pictures I posted - he is a ladies man, yes, but he wouldn't really be trying to find love on a reality show - or even lust. He was probably given a good offer by VH1 and this is putting him back in the public eye, so it's something to do. Maybe if the Food Network had offered him a show before VH1 approached him, he would be baking cookies or something by now!!!

Well, that is really interesting about Brittanya. She really, uh, um, let's say, 'put herself out there' to get attention in the first couple of episodes, that's for sure. Hard to believe she has a boyfriend!!

Sherry E

01-17-2009, 10:06 PM

Okay, here are the same PhotoPass pictures I just posted on the PhotoPass thread, so if you all already saw them, you can stop here. I WILL, however, be adding some of the other PhotoPass pictures I have (not posted on the other thread) onto THIS thread tomorrow. I am just posting these here now in case some of my readers haven't made it over to the PhotoPass thread yet (it keeps dropping rapidly down the page because so many people are posting on DIS - whew! This board is hoppin'!)

This was the very first PP picture from the trip. You're never too old to visit with Santa (at the GCH). Of course, I had to practically twist my friend's arm to get in the picture, but we will forget about that nasty little scene!;)...

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image008.jpg

Hanging with the Big Cheese and his goofy friend...

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image031.jpg

Acting like a fool by the Main Street Christmas tree...

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image041.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image046.jpg

A really cute French PP photographer took this picture. I wanted to ask him if maybe DLP sent him over to DLR, but I didn't.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image067.jpg

Here I am, dueling with Captain Hook...except Hook is missing!!! (SO, by default, since I was the only one in the battle, that means I WON!!!:cool1: (And a totally different French hottie took this picture - where did all the French people come from all of a sudden?)

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image078.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image077.jpg

The PP photographer who took this picture was new, and we were her first photos in this location (on Main Street)...

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image093.jpg

Gotta do one of these...

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image106.jpg

Here we are in DCA...

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image129.jpg

Okay, let me just say that the PP photographer who took these next pictures made us laugh so much. He was my favorite. He was so funny. Blond hair and glasses - look for him when you go, everyone. He is great. Just tell him you are willing to do crazy stuff. He had us pretending we were getting run over by a train....which might have made more of an impact in the photo if there weren't people casually walking by in front of the train like they didn't have a care in the world!!: Kinda ruins that 'your life is in danger' feeling!!

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image134.jpg

He even caught us in a candid, hysterical moment...

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image137.jpg

Again, I am trying to be Miss Method Actress, like, "OH NO! I am really getting trampled by a train! I am going to die!!" Shawn can never fully get into her role, so she almost looks like she is doing a little dance, as if to say, "Hey, everyone, here I am getting run over by this train! Yee haw!":rotfl2:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image141.jpg

Now Jackie has joined us...

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image172.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image178.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image200.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image213.jpg

It's a bird! It's a plane!

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image240.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image242.jpg

Hangin' with Pluto...

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%20251%20-%20300/image255.jpg

Oh no! Look what I got for Christmas!!

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%20251%20-%20300/image280.jpg

And here I am, acting silly all my myself in front of IASW Holiday. There were other people waiting for PhotoPass shots too, but we ALL had to wait because someone in the line had a big Mickey balloon that was obstructing the view and nobody wanted the balloon in their picture. So there was a whole group of us waiting a long time for the person with the balloon in the line to move so we could get a clear shot. Never mind the hundreds of people standing in the line who got in the shot...but definitely no balloons allowed!!!

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%20251%20-%20300/image294.jpg

mariezp

01-18-2009, 11:05 PM

Hi, Marie! Yep, the band (Poison) was really big in the '80s and early '90s, but, strangely, they have stayed active and touring since then. So they never fell off the radar completely. They are one of the bands from that 'hair band period' of the '80s (which is also where Guns n Roses emerged from) that managed to have some longevity. I stopped getting their CDs a long time ago, even though I used to know them. But the singer of Poison, Bret Michaels, who is in the previous pictures I posted, has had a second wind in his 'career', by doing three seasons of this trashy dating show on VH1 called "Rock of Love." Season 3 is running now. So he has been in the spotlight a lot in the last two years because of that. And for a while, back in the mid-'90s, he was dating Pamela Anderson...who is a bit notorious herself! So Bret has managed to stay in the public eye.

Yes, Marie, dig up the old pictures - of DLR and everything else. If you don't already have the old, old ones on CD or online or in some format where they are backed up, then you should do that. It is good to have back-ups in case the negatives and actual prints get ruined at some point. I have a ton of pictures of all sorts of things that just need to be scanned and stored somewhere online for back-up, but I can only muster the patience to scan a few at a time, then upload them, then post, etc.!!

Aaaah, yes, the big hair bands.... I remember those. Right in the middle of my big music listening days. Funny because when we were bowling yesterday they were flashing some old music videos on the big screens above the lanes. I forget which band was on but my DS said he was sure glad they guys didn't wear their hair like that anymore.

I just might get around to digging up old photos but who knows when! Right now I am in the process of loading up everything onto Shutterfly so I can have a backup cd made. (I tried to use Photobucket but finally gave up!) When I get through with this project I just might get to scanning!

Yeah! Photopass pics! You sure did get a few. You must have had a lot better luck than I did in finding the photographers. Your first shot with Santa is really great and then I also like the one in front of the castle. You got a bunch of really good ones!

Sherry E

01-19-2009, 09:47 AM

Aaaah, yes, the big hair bands.... I remember those. Right in the middle of my big music listening days. Funny because when we were bowling yesterday they were flashing some old music videos on the big screens above the lanes. I forget which band was on but my DS said he was sure glad they guys didn't wear their hair like that anymore.

I just might get around to digging up old photos but who knows when! Right now I am in the process of loading up everything onto Shutterfly so I can have a backup cd made. (I tried to use Photobucket but finally gave up!) When I get through with this project I just might get to scanning!

Yeah! Photopass pics! You sure did get a few. You must have had a lot better luck than I did in finding the photographers. Your first shot with Santa is really great and then I also like the one in front of the castle. You got a bunch of really good ones!

Hmmmmm.....Shutterfly, eh? Is that a free photo hosting service like Photobucket is? See, before I started using Photobucket, I was on Flick'r and Snapfish, but both of those wanted me to buy something right away to keep the account active. Photobucket was much more liberal (and free), but they do have limitations, and for someone who has sooooooooo many photo albums of years and years of pictures such as I do, I can easily reach my limit at Photobucket before I have to start paying them something. Like I will either have to pay them to upgrade to Photobucket Pro OR find another service to be able to keep loading photos. I think the FREE Photobucket service only allows 10 online albums, 250 pictures maximum per album. With this last round of PhotoPass pictures I got, I had to create two online albums, and I already have 8 other albums created, and I have barely scratched the surface with my archives of photos. So I am thinking I may have to store some pictures on Photobucket and some on another photo hosting service. I haven't tried Shutterfly yet. I assume I could get a CD from Photobucket too, but what does Shutterfly offer? Maybe I will try them as well.

As for the PhotoPass pictures, I am glad you like them!:goodvibes We had 97 original pictures taken, which I then edited into 300 pictures!! I was trying all kinds of different borders on them and making some more close-up than what they were originally. In fact, the picture you said you like in front of the Castle (I assume you mean the one with the Partners statue in it?) was initially a much more distant shot, but I made a close-up version, cropped it and centered it a bit more, and then added the border so it looks better than it did originally! Gotta love that photo editing! And yes, I like the Santa picture too (even though I basically had to force Shawn to get in it). It just looks...Christmasy! I am learning that quite a few people did not know about the picture option with Stitch and the Christmas present. Apparently, the PP photographers did not tell everyone about that Stitch photo op. We were tipped off about it so we knew to ask for it, but aparently not everyone knew of it. I am gload we got it because you never know, those sneaky PP people may not offer it this next Christmas. Anyway, I feel I got a lot of good ones too. They are more colorful and lively than the Halloween batch, I think, which is what I was aiming for.

Also, the IASW Holiday shot was good to get just because it's beautiful, but the PP photographers were not allowed by Disney to set up in a better location to get a shot without all those people in the line getting in the shot so clearly. The picture looks very cluttered, and the beautiful IASW Holiday facade in the background is obstructed by hundreds of people in line. They could have been up on a platform or little riser of some kind, to get a better vantage point, or they could have set up in some little corner where the line didn't go, so that ALL those people wouldn't be in the picture so obviously. But the photographer told us that PP and Disney had some sort of conflct with each other about that IASW location and Disney didn't really want them out there to take pictures; some nights they didn't even send a PP person out to IASW to take any pictures at all, even though everyone wants their picture taken in front of IASW at night. So I guess I am glad I was able to get anything in front of IASW Holiday at night, because it sounds like that may be a photo op that is not always going to be available. I just wish you could see the IASW facade better, without hundreds of people in the frame!

I will post more PP pictures later, but these were some of the best ones.:goodvibes

Sherry E

01-19-2009, 11:59 AM

I already posted the best ones from my latest December 2008 PhotoPass batch (here on this thread as well as on the PhotoPass thread), but here are more:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image049.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image109.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image156.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image157.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image169.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image197.jpg

Ooops! I think I already posted another version of this same picture, with a different border. I don't think I meant to post this again. I grabbed the wrong one from the Photobucket album! Oh well. Here is a different border!

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image173.jpg

And gotta do the standard Tink-in-the-hand shot:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image230.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%201%20-%20250/image236.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%20251%20-%20300/image269.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%20251%20-%20300/image277.jpg

I was so mad, because JUST as I got up to the Castle and found the PhotoPass guy, at that very moment, the sparkly lights in the icicles turned off. You know how they go on and off through the evening, and the icicles light up and glow, then go off, then light up, then go off? Well, what great timing. I wanted a shot with the icicles glowing, and instead I got this....Pretty, but not what I wanted. IN fact, the Castle kind of fades into the night and the crowds of people.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/DISNEYLAND%20PHOTOPASS%20-%20DECEMBER%202008%20-%20251%20-%20300/image287.jpg

Alex2kMommy

01-19-2009, 07:20 PM

Sherry E

01-19-2009, 08:50 PM

Hi, Sherry! Love your photopass photos, especially the 'snowflake tree' ones at night, how beautiful!

If that's the tree along the walkway to Ariel's Grotto, then we got pictures taken in front of it, but I think they were only during the day, I don't recall ours looking so stunning. :)

I just ordered my photopass CD, but I'm still a little put out that there will be no Captain Hook (or even 'Captain Hook left the scene') photos. :guilty:

Ah well. I'm thinking my kids and I might go back in a few months... :scratchin :ssst:

Hi, Alex2kMommy! I'm so glad you like my bonanza o' PhotoPass pictures (I think I have something like 22 or 23 in one post and then 12 in the next post)! And I can't wait to see yours, in spite of the Hook debacle. Well, you can see how silly I look in my picture that was supposed to have Captain Hook in it but doesn't. It looks like I am doing battle with my 'imaginary friend,' and that I have lost my marbles! It is definitely lacking something! I mean, I am still glad to have it because it didn't seem like they should keep it from me just because Hook couldn't be in it too, but it would be 100% better with him in it!

Let's see...the tree...I am looking back over the pictures to see which tree was which. There were so many! Yes, the nighttime snowflake tree pictures AND the Stitch popping out of the present picture were all taken in front of the DCA tree that you are referring to, I think. The main DCA Christmas tree. We did the Stitch/present picture on one side of the tree in the daytime, and the sparkly night pictures (with my friend Jackie in them) on the other side of the tree. And we also did day and night pictures on both sides of the tree in DL, too!!

It was funny because, in October, once we hit a location and had PP pictures taken, we tended to not want to go back to those same locations again on the following days, thinking it wasn't necessary. Hence, we only took 58 original photos on that trip. But, for some reason, in December, I had the idea that even if we had already taken pictures in one location the day before - or even earlier in the SAME day - we should still go back and take more because you never know....some shots might not be as great. They could be blurry, someone could look really bad, the photographer might not be too great (some are better than others), the lighting could be off in one shot, etc. You just never know. I decided it would be better to have an abundance of pictures in as many locations as we could find, but also in the same locations over and over and at different times of day, so that we were sure to get some good ones in the bunch!! So we were at the DCA and DL trees quite a bit!!! I think it was good to get a bunch of them rather than limit them like in October. It's the same price for the CD whether I have 100 photos or 300 photos, so might as well take as many as possible!!

Last week, I also posted a couple more Bret/Poison pictures on the previous page, I think. Don't know if you caught those. You can see how he was beginning to turn into 'rock star Bret,' rather than 'jumping out in the middle of Pinocchio' Bret!!!

Oh, you're going back in a few months? Well, I will be curious to know what kinds of PhotoPass opportunities they have during non-holiday periods. There are no colorful Christmas trees to pose near!

mariezp

01-19-2009, 10:43 PM

Sherry E

01-20-2009, 07:29 PM

Hi Sherry! My mission to find a perfect place to upload photos sounds much like yours! Most of my pictures are on Webshots but as best I can tell I cannot order a backup cd from them and have just lost patience for placing orders with them. I started to order prints of all my pictures this year and finally gave up because I could never get the order to finish. They still are my primary place for photo storage but mainly because I have already paid for their premium service.

I went in search of an alternative and my next attempt was on Photobucket since I already had an account but I find their upload process very slow and not particularly user friendly.

So I stumble across Shutterfly because they do make the backup cds. Their upload process works very well and their site is very easy to use which means a lot in my book. It is taking me days upon days to get all the photos reloaded onto their site but it will be worth it to have a cd printed so I don't have to worry about the photos ever being lost. So, I am pretty new at using them but so far for me they have been the best choice. I don't know for sure what other items they have to offer... I haven't made it that far yet. Good luck at finding one to meet all your needs!

Oh boy! More Photopass pics! I am going to have to make it a mission to hunt down those Photopass photographers better next time! You are right... going back to the same location is okay because you might get an even better photo next time! The few photographers that we DID find didn't really seem to be into doing anything special so we didn't come back with anything totally outstanding. Still buying the cd is an outstanding value because you could spend that much on just a few 8x10s right away!

So Shutterfly is free just to store your photos? On their website, they claim to have no limits (I assume that means limits like the ones Photobucket has in terms of the number of albums you can create or the number of photos you can put in the albums) and to be free, but I always assume there is a catch. I didn't see anything about making CD's though. That would really appeal to me. I might have missed some fine print somewhere but I didn't see any CD references. Well, even if I keep everything that I currently have on Photobucket in place, I will still need another free hosting site to store other pictures because they can't all fit on Photobucket. Flick'r and Snapfish are out. So maybe I will try this Shutterfly. But I can't switch my Photobucket pictures over to another service because it will remove all the photos I have posted around DISboards!!

Yep! More PhotoPass pictures! I have a good 300 of them on the CD, so you may see some more pop up on here from time to time!!! I didn't alter the overall sizes of any of them, but oddly, some of them are bigger than others. They just naturally came out that way on the CD. Or at least they SEEM bigger. Like the one with Santa, and the one with Shawn and I just standing in front of the Castle (not the one with the Partners statue, but the Castle only) seem larger to me. Maybe Disney makes certain ones larger than others because they assume they will be used for cards or posters or some other purpose. I have no clue!

Sherry E

01-22-2009, 02:39 PM

I think it's time to start posting more pictures. I can dig up some more from the PhotoPass bunch that I just got, and I can scan some other older ones.

Now I am trying to justify making another DLR trip (just a day trip) in the near future, even though it would mean spending some kind of money on transportation and I can't really justify that at the moment. I have other important things I have to take care of this year which will require money, so I can't spend frivolously until I can take care of these other issues. Right now, I suspect that I probably will not get back to DL until my birthday (in July), but I don't know if that will be a solo trip or a trip with friends. In the old days, I used to go to DLR for my b-day all the time, but grew to hate the harsh summer heat because I burn so easily and get really nasty sunburns if I don't layer on the sunscreen every 15 minutes....which can be very troublesome. So the only reason I would drag myself to DLR for this birthday in the heat of summer would be to get the Fun Card or get a ticket for a later date. If the Haunted Mansion Holiday is not returning in 2009 due to the HM 40th anniversary festivities, then I may skip a Halloween DLR trip this year and wait until it is brought back (hopefully in 2010). But Christmastime is the time I would really want to be at DLR, so I have to see how likely a December trip would be.

However.....I remembered that another friend of mine has a birthday in February, and I thought I may suggest to her that we make a day trip down to DLR. She can get in free on her b-day and so can I with my AP, so all we would need would be food money, really. Hmmmm.....something to ponder....

Sherry E

01-25-2009, 07:24 PM

I thought everyone might be interested to see this photo (as I dig up the ancient DLR pictures from the photo albums) - this is from Summer 1992, and this is the pre-Nemo sub and the Skyway Buckets too! I sort of like the gloomy look to it.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/MISCELLANEOUS/MATTERHORN-SUB-SKYWAY-DISNEYLAND-SU.jpg

mariezp

01-27-2009, 10:17 AM

Sherry E

01-27-2009, 11:10 AM

Cool picture Sherry. I never made it to DL back in the Skybucket days but I do remember when they had them at Six Flags Over Texas....way back when people had better things to do than to think up mean pranks they could pull while hagning suspended over other people's heads.

I gotta tell you that I heard the sound of Poison coming from my DS's room a couple days ago! The song was Every Rose Has it's Thorn. I told my DS that I knew someone who had worked with the band when they first started and he thought it was very cool!

Riding in those buckets was very nerve-wracking for me, because they dangled from the cable and sometimes swayed, and I just didn't like it too much. The People Mover I loved because we had a track underneath us, but those Skyway Buckets just seemed too precariously placed and high above the ground for my liking. But I really liked the LOOK of them. It is so weird for me to NOT see them at DL now, because up until 1994, they had been a part of Disneyland's panoramic skyscape on every single trip I made to DL since I was 5 years old! They were just part of the Disneyland experience. So now that they have been gone for almost 15 years, it is odd to imagine that they were there.

The famous 'lore' behind the song, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," is that Bret Michaels found out his girlfriend was cheating on him and it broke his heart, and hence, a hit song was born. That is the story he tells the public. It is partially true. The REAL story - and you may or may not want to share this with your son - is that Bret was dating a crazy stripper ('crazy stripper' is a bit redundant) named Trasy for almost 2 years, and even though she was his "main" girlfriend, he had all kinds of other girlfriends on the side. Trasy spent a lot of time working at night, so Bret made sure his dance card was full, if you catch my drift. So basically, he was cheating on her all along. In fact, I saw him with other women more than I saw him with Trasy!

One night, my friend Mandy and I (she worked with me for them) went over to the Poison headquarters and Bret was acting all morose. We were supposed to be going out to dinner with him and a couple of the road crew guys. Bret took us outside on the back porch to quietly explain that he and Trasy had just split up that day and he was in a bad mood, but if we still wanted him to come with us, he would. So we all went to IHOP to eat. I guess that night, before Mandy and I arrived, Bret had made the famous call to Trasy where he heard another guy in the background and realized she was cheating.

And so the story Bret tells to interviewers and things is that his girlfriend was cheating and he wrote "Every Rose" because he was so heartbroken. Never mind the fact that she was a crazy person, and never mind the fact that HE was cheating on her all along. She probably cheated on him BECAUSE he was cheating on her! There is a double standard for men, you see. They are allowed to get away with all kinds of crap (especially the ones in rock bands), but when a woman does it to them, it is unacceptable!

mariezp

01-27-2009, 01:53 PM

Sherry E

01-28-2009, 06:55 PM

I'll bet when he had a hit from the song and made a few bucks I imagine it helped "ease the pain" of her cheating on him. He might have even been glad she did, otherwise he might have never wrote the song. You are right, there is often a double standard.

I would hate the life of a celebrity. I doubt anything in there life is very normal.

Most famous people are crazy to begin with or become crazy after getting famous. So nothing is normal because they have so many people around them enabling them and letting them think that they have to act wild and out of control.

kaoden39

01-28-2009, 07:43 PM

Most famous people are crazy to begin with or become crazy after getting famous. So nothing is normal because they have so many people around them enabling them and letting them think that they have to act wild and out of control.

That and that it is okay and expected.

Sherry E

01-28-2009, 08:02 PM

That and that it is okay and expected.

Kaoden39, you came back! I was saying a few pages ago that I wasn't sure who was still hanging in here (this was before I posted my PhotoPass stuff) because I am still planning to scan some more old DLR pictures and post them here. Glad to see you back!

Yep. That's the truth that it is okay and expected to be crazy and debaucherous when you are famous! I just saw Bret's bandmate, Rikki, on a recent E! True Hollywood Story about rock stars' wives. Rikki has apparently married a seemingly nice girl (she seemed normal on the E! special) and has 'settled down.' Rikki said that he got to a point where he realized that just because debauchery is readily available on the road for rock stars to indulge in, he doesn't have to participate in it anymore. He said that a lot of guys just think that they have to "swim in the debauchery" and don't realize that they don't have to, and it can be much more fulfilling if they don't. It is expected and all sorts of people in the inner circles enable and encourage the craziness to ensue!

kaoden39

01-28-2009, 08:11 PM

Kaoden39, you came back! I was saying a few pages ago that I wasn't sure who was still hanging in here (this was before I posted my PhotoPass stuff) because I am still planning to scan some more old DLR pictures and post them here. Glad to see you back!

Yep. That's the truth that it is okay and expected to be crazy and debaucherous when you are famous! I just saw Bret's bandmate, Rikki, on a recent E! True Hollywood Story about rock stars' wives. Rikki has apparently married a seemingly nice girl (she seemed normal on the E! special) and has 'settled down.' Rikki said that he got to a point where he realized that just because debauchery is readily available on the road for rock stars to indulge in, he doesn't have to participate in it anymore. He said that a lot of guys just think that they have to "swim in the debauchery" and don't realize that they don't have to, and it can be much more fulfilling if they don't. It is expected and all sorts of people in the inner circles enable and encourage the craziness to ensue!

Oh I am here, I amy not comment all the time but I am always here. I love all the pictures. I have a 28 year old nephew that was thrilled to see the Bret Michaels pictures. It's nice that Rikki grew up.

Sherry E

01-28-2009, 08:27 PM

Oh I am here, I amy not comment all the time but I am always here. I love all the pictures. I have a 28 year old nephew that was thrilled to see the Bret Michaels pictures. It's nice that Rikki grew up.

Yes, I always wondered if people were still out there but just silent. As long as I know there are people out there, that's cool! I had to come back over here to escape controversial Haunted Mansion 2009 thread!!! Kerri (Pixiewings71) posted a wonderful thread, which turned into a lovefest for all of us, about how nice and pleasant the DLR section of DISboards is, in comparison to some of the other sections (like the Budget Board and Community Board) where people get testy and huffy and attack. And then not ten minutes later I see the Haunted Mansion thread taking a turn for the worse, so I headed back to the trip report section of things!!!

kaoden39

01-28-2009, 08:37 PM

Yes, I always wondered if people were still out there but just silent. As long as I know there are people out there, that's cool! I had to come back over here to escape the controversial Haunted Mansion 2009 thread!!! Kerri (Pixiewings71) posted a wonderful thread, which turned into a lovefest for all of us, about how nice and pleasant the DLR section of DISboards is, in comparison to some of the other sections (like the Budget Board and Community Board) where people get testy and huffy and attack. And then not ten minutes later I see the Haunted Mansion thread taking a turn for the worse, so I headed back to the trip report section of things!!!

I know what you mean about some threads turning ugly. There are people that I will avoid on the boards because I know how they can be. Which is sad, this is supposed to be a fun place.

Sherry E

01-28-2009, 08:55 PM

I know what you mean about some threads turning ugly. There are people that I will avoid on the boards because I know how they can be. Which is sad, this is supposed to be a fun place.

Yeah, you are right. I have noticed that some folks are consistently or frequently a certain way. I usually assume it is just temporary and the disagreements are over silly, benign things and everything will be rosy in a few days...which it usually is. But a very few handful of people seem to take things so personally or get snippy about fun, harmless subjects. It is easy to get sucked into a disagreement or to misinterpret what someone typed without being able to hear them say it, but then I just remind myself, "This is stupid. I have enough other stuff to worry about!" Still, there are a few folks that I am not entirely thrilled with so I will either try to go out of my way to be nice (and am usually ignored!!!:rotfl2: ) or I will just be quiet altogether! But, for the most part, 95% of the folks on the DLR side of things seem to be great.

kaoden39

01-28-2009, 08:59 PM

Yeah, you are right. I have noticed that some folks are consistently or frequently a certain way. I usually assume it is just temporary and the disagreements are over silly, benign things and everything will be rosy in a few days...which it usually is. But a very few handful of people seem to take things so personally or get snippy about fun, harmless subjects. It is easy to get sucked into a disagreement or to misinterpret what someone typed without being able to hear them say it, but then I just remind myself, "This is stupid. I have enough other stuff to worry about!" Still, there are a few folks that I am not entirely thrilled with so I will either try to go out of my way to be nice (and am usually ignored!!!:rotfl2: ) or I will just be quiet altogether! But, for the most part, 95% of the folks on the DLR side of things seem to be great.

I visited that thread and one of the people I avoid was on it. Hmm is it any wonder. This person lectured me one time because I went off topic and well it struck me bad and I have never gotten rid of that opinion.

Sherry E

01-28-2009, 09:05 PM

I visited that thread and one of the people I avoid was on it. Hmm is it any wonder. This person lectured me one time because I went off topic and well it struck me bad and I have never gotten rid of that opinion.

I know! I just saw your 'Oh my' post over there. I chuckled! Hopefully someone silently lurking on that thread won't jump in out of the blue and fuel the fire. I think it's best to kind of step around it

kaoden39

01-28-2009, 10:16 PM

I know! I just saw your 'Oh my' post over there. I chuckled! Hopefully someone silently lurking on that thread won't jump in out of the blue and fuel the fire. I think it's best to kind of step around it

I try to avoid those threads but I had to add my two cents. I personally do not understand why the conversation got so heated. It is not that huge of a deal.

Sherry E

01-28-2009, 10:26 PM

I try to avoid those threads but I had to add my two cents. I personally do not understand why the conversation got so heated. It is not that huge of a deal.

Isn't it weird how these innocent topics snowball (and not the good kind of Disney snowball but the bad kind!)? It is not a huge deal at all, in any way, shape or form, on either side of the issue! I don't think anyone was being offensive in their opinions.

kaoden39

01-28-2009, 10:34 PM

Sherry E

01-28-2009, 10:44 PM

Well that was my thought. It got way too heated over something that is not life altering and no matter how passionate they get over it Disney will do what they want. And feelings got hurt when they shouldn't and I agreed with Pixiewing and Fairycat was it?

Yep. Pixiewings and Fairycat (and I) were all in the pro-HMH camp, but everyone was trying to be tactful in their opinions because I think we all were aware that certain folks take the HMH issue VERY personally, for some reason.

You are SO right. It is not life-altering in any way, and there are SO many more important issues in people's lives to worry about right now than whether or not the HMH will be around in 2009. Everyone has got some 'thing' they have to deal with right now. If it's not money, it's health or family problems. Everyone I know is going through some kind of hardship right now and trying to stay afloat and sane. It's fun to come to DISboards and kind of escape that stuff for a while, and I mean, it's great to discuss the HMH issue, but once it stops being fun and becomes an argument, then it seems like a waste of time.

kaoden39

01-28-2009, 10:46 PM

Yep. Pixiewings and Fairycat (and I) were all in the pro-HMH camp, but everyone was trying to be tactful in their opinions because I think we all were aware that certain folks take the HMH issue VERY personally, for some reason. But something or other pushed someone over the edge - not sure if it was Pixiewings said, what Fairycat said, or what I said - or maybe all of the above - and the venom spewed!

You are SO right. It is not life-altering in any way, and there are SO many more important issues in people's lives to worry about right now than whether or not the HMH will be around in 2009. Everyone has got some 'thing' they have to deal with right now. If it's not money, it's health or family problems. Everyone I know is going through somekind of hardship right now and trying to stay afloat and sane. It's fun to come to DISboards and kind of escape that stuff for a while, and I mean, it's great to discuss the HMH issue, but once it stops being fun and becomes an argument, then it seems like a waste of time.

Well that is what I thought. This is my happy place so the unpleasantness is terrible.

Sherry E

01-28-2009, 10:51 PM

Well that is what I thought. This is my happy place so the unpleasantness is terrible.

What was it that Mr. Roarke (Ricardo Montalban) used to say on Fantasy Island when he was greeting the new guests who arrived to fulfill their fantasies? (I am showing my age.)

"Smiles, everyone, smiles!!" :) :goodvibes

Sherry E

02-04-2009, 03:15 PM

I have been busily scanning my little heart out today. I dug up the dusty photo albums and have been scanning lots of DL pictures that date back to the '80s! I found one or two that go back as early as 1980 (my pictures from the '70s are in a box in another closet which is too hard to get to right now). And then I found a bunch from 1983 - 1994 (ones you have not seen yet), then a few from 1995. I am trying to figure out where my DL pictures from 2000 and 2001 are....but in the meantime, I am still scanning away. After I get all of these scanned, I have to upload to Photobucket OR Shutterfly - haven't decided yet - and then start posting here on this thread.

So stay tuned! I should be able to start getting things uploaded and posted by tomorrow. You will be able to see pictures of me when I was, gasp, 15 years old, and on through the years after that!!!! Yikes! And basically, since you have already seen me now and for the past couple of years in the DL 2007 & 2008 pictures, maybe I should change the name of this thread to "My Life in Pictures, via Disneyland..."

Sherry E

02-04-2009, 06:31 PM

Here are some things I am discovering as I thumb through hundreds of pages of hundreds of pictures of DLR trips spanning many years...

1. We were a silly, goofy a** bunch of people, and constantly took silly pictures. I found so many where we were posing in odd ways and doing wacky things (I am sure I orchestrated most of those poses) and that sense of uninhibitedness and being 'free' is lacking from all the pictures of my friends nowadays. I may get them to do something crazy for PhotoPass pictures when the PP photographer requests it, but if I were the one holding the camera, they would not be doing all this silly stuff again. But I can see we were all laughing a lot in the old days, so even if they HATED doing the stupid stuff I asked them to do then, I tell ya - I look at the pictures and I see a bunch of people who were having a lot of FUN. Somewhere along the line, with time and life's problems, people forget how to have fun...and it shows in photos!

2. We loved to try on wacky headgear. You will see all kinds of pictures of us wearing silly hats. Wherever we could find an absurd hat, some Santa ears, some earmuffs, whatever, we put it on for pictures!

3. We loved to take pictures on the People Mover, Autopia and the Teacups, and we frequently visited Tom Sawyer's Island and took pictures (something we don't do now that it is Pirate's Lair, for some reason).

4. We loved to take pictures at the various photo displays that Disney used to set up during different seasons. Didn't matter what it was - Dick Tracy, Mickey's Clubhouse, Lion King, the Magic Mirror, Astronauts, Cowboy Donald Duck - we would get in a picture.

5. We loved to take pictures with inanimate objects - if there was a stuffed animal or a statue around to pose with, we were all over it.

6. I miss the old Disneyland Hotel.

7. I am remembering the back stories and crazy romances that were going on among some of the people in the DL pictures as I look through them and it is funny as h*** to me. Pictures have that wonderful way of capturing moments in time and evoking feelings associated with those moments, so when you look at them years later you can sort of remember what was going on with people during the time when the photos were taken. Pictures have an uncanny way of bringing back good AND bad memories, I have discovered!!!

8. I see that we got in pictures with whatever character was around - even if we had no clue who we were posing with or didn't like the character in question, we would get in the picture!!

Oh well, I must continue to scan now......there is so much to go through, and I have been skipping over lots of stuff, but there is still a lot!

kaoden39

02-04-2009, 06:47 PM

Sherry E

02-04-2009, 07:06 PM

I miss the old fancy hats that they used to make and sell with the ribbons and stuff. They only sold them on Main Street and in New Orleans Square. I swore when I grew up I would buy one for myself but by the time I was a grown up they were gone.:sad:

Yep. A lot of the crazy hat pictures that I have been scanning today seem to have been taken in New Orleans Square. I just had forgotten that we were always trying on hats for pictures, but when you see the other stuff we were posing with, some silly hats won't seem all that odd!

I hate when things we get to like end up being removed from DLR. I wish there was a way they could retain everythng BUT keep expanding and adding things too. I was particularly sad while scanning a lot of the old DLH pictures and seeing the old toy shop that used to be there, as well as a couple of extra gift shops that are long gone. And I am still scanning!!! I am a scannin' fool today!!! Now the uploading to Photobucket will be a different process which will probably take forever because it is so darn slooooooooow!

kaoden39

02-04-2009, 07:09 PM

Sherry E

02-04-2009, 07:21 PM

Shutterfly is even slower. Do you remember the perfume shop from New Orleans square? Recently going through some things I had packed away my DH and my kids found one of the old octogon shaped boxes that the perfume got packed in. That is another shop I miss. And the one of a kind shop they had there too.

Oh is Shutterfly slower? I dread having to go over there eventually, but there won't be enough room on Photobucket to store eveything, so out of necessity I will have to go to Shutterfly and store some stuff.

Yes, I remember the perfume shop in NOS! And the One of a Kind shop. I was also recalling the crystal/glass shop that used to be in the DLH, as well as a little art gallery place and a sporting goods store next to the toy store. I really loved the old year-round Christmas shop that was located in Fantasyland. I know they put in a holiday-type place in New Orleans Square, but it is not the same! It seemed to fit better and make more sense in Fantasyland. For a little while they had a Villains shop in Fantasyland as well. All these fun places gone forever, into the DLR history books!

kaoden39

02-04-2009, 08:11 PM

Oh is Shutterfly slower? I dread having to go over there eventually, but there won't be enough room on Photobucket to store eveything, so out of necessity I will have to go to Shutterfly and store some stuff.

Yes, I remember the perfume shop in NOS! And the One of a Kind shop. I was also recalling the crystal/glass shop that used to be in the DLH, as well as a little art gallery place and a sporting goods store next to the toy store. I really loved the old year-round Christmas shop that was located in Fantasyland. I know they put in a holiday-type place in New Orleans Square, but it is not the same! It seemed to fit better and make more sense in Fantasyland. For a little while they had a Villains shop in Fantasyland as well. All these fun places gone forever, into the DLR history books!

I really miss the old Disneyland Hotel from when I was a kid with the lagoon in the center and the Mountie bar whatever it was called. Oh there used to be this diner there that had wonderful homemade type food. I find the Christmas shop in New Orleans Square kind of sad.

Sherry E

02-04-2009, 08:21 PM

I really miss the old Disneyland Hotel from when I was a kid with the lagoon in the center and the Mountie bar whatever it was called. Oh there used to be this diner there that had wonderful homemade type food. I find the Christmas shop in New Orleans Square kind of sad.

The Mountine bar was first called Sgt. Preston's Yukon Saloon and it had karaoke on certain nights. Eventually the name was changed to the Neon Cactus. There were two bear statues outside the entrance to it which have now taken up residence on the GCH property. The old DLH lagoon had the pedal boats. And also there was the fun Pavilion Lounge, which was sort of a bar but also a dance club. They served good daiquiris and pina coladas. I have pictures of the lagoon and the staircase leading up to the Pavilion Lounge and the bears in front of Sgt. Preston's, which you will see when I get them uploaded and posted here! And of course, during the holidays there was Candy Cane Lane at the DLH, but that is long gone!:sad2:

The diner you are referring to, I think, was the Monorail Cafe. They had great food and I was ticked when that became a casualty of the DLH makeover in the late '90s. But there was another little restaurant called Mazie's Diner, though it was more of a fast food type of place. Monorail Cafe was a coffee shop-type setting but they had great food. Yummy BBQ chicken sandwiches and beer-nattered onion rings, pie, milkshakes, that sort of thing.

I agree about the NOS Christmas shop. Even though the one that used to be in Fantasyland was tiny, it still seemed a better fit in that location. It doesn't fit well (to me) in NOS. It seems like they just stuck it there so they could have a holiday shop somewhere, but it flowed so much better in the Castle location in Fantasyland.

kaoden39

02-04-2009, 08:30 PM

And I forgot to mention that although Shutterfly is slow they have this one thing that I really like I can upload pictures to have developed and pick them up at Target in an hour. That is a nice thing like today when I needed to pick up the pictures for my daughter Kody's pictures for her Odessy project for English.

travelmel

02-04-2009, 10:05 PM

Sherry E

02-04-2009, 10:30 PM

Hi SherryE!

I loved your skybucket/sub picture! I don't remember the subs being Yellow when the Skybuckets were still in use. At first I thought it was a cool Nemo sub photoshopped with the ole sky buckets! LOL

I remember the subs only as gray. But, my memory is a little bit smokey... I mean..er... cloudy... of the skybuckets anyway. lol

Did I hear you say you had more pics coming??

Hi, Travelmel!!:wave2:

Gee, I WISH I had Photoshop to be able to play around with, but, alas, no. That picture of the buckets/Matterhorn/sub was exactly as they were at that time - in 1992. Maybe they had just been painted yellow before that?

Yes, there will be more pictures coming!! Of course, I have jumped all around in time in this trip report between current pictures and older pictures, but I guess it keeps it interesting that way! You never know if you will see 2008 or 1983! So next I will post a bunch of old stuff. I have been scanning photos all day - not even ALL of my pictures but just the most interesting or fun ones - and still have a bit more to go. But I think I will start posting them tomorrow in chronological order, beginning with the '80s. (You guys have already seen a bunch of the Bret Michaels 1986 Disneyland pictures, so I will skip anymore of those for the time being but I will probably go back to those at a later date.) I will post some from 1983 & 1984, then from 1987 - 1989. Then I will move on to the '90s. And then when I am all finished I will post some more PhotoPass pictures from this last December trip. So there is lots to look forward to in the next couple of days!! I needed to get most of this stuff scanned so this gives me incentive to do it!!

DWFan4Life

02-05-2009, 12:22 AM

Cool pics are coming here. Really awesome. I'll be looking on my old photos and post here later.

Have a nice day everyone. :)

Sherry E

02-07-2009, 12:28 PM

Okay, everyone! Here we go. First, before we begin this journey into my DLR past, read Post #202 (previous page) to get a sense of what you will be seeing. Hats...lots of hats...lots of pictures with statues and inanimate things...lots of pictures on the People Mover...Lots of pictures with photo op displays set up around DLR...lots of silly, goof behavior...lots of meals at Goofy's Kitchen and lots of characters...

Also, I added a few new pictures of friends to Cast of Characters on the the very first page of this TR, with brief descriptions, so you will know who you are seeing. When I was pulling out all of these photos from my albums (and these are only scratching the surface; I have SO many), I was remembering the various messy romantic entanglements and former friendships that have played out over many DLR trips, and I realized that no matter what was going on between friends or couples at any given moment, the Disneyland trip of that particular year was always a high point. People had fun and let loose and temporarily forgot about what drama was going on in their personal lives at the moment. That's not to say that some personal drama didn't occur here and there on some DLR trips, but for the most part, everything was pretty rosy at DLR.

I also discovered that I do not have photos of some past DLR trips. When I think back, I had cetain years where whatever camera I used at the time was not working and so someone else was in charge of pictures, or in one case, I took pics at DL, and the developing place lost my film and I never saw my pictures. They were lost forever. So there are some trips to DLR where very few photos were taken, or where someone else took them and I never got copies, or, in the case of the pre-1980 DL trips, those pictures are in a box in the back of a closet somewhere, and inconvenient for me to get to.

So this is what I could come up with for now. It's not everything, and not every single trip is represented, but a lot of ground is covered.

So let's start with the 1980's - woo hoo!

First, 1980 -

This is a girl I was friends with in Junior High (middle) School. Her name was Mary when we started Junior High, but by the time we were about to graduate, she changed the spelling of her name to M-A-I-R-E...just to be different. In any case, I have no idea whatever became of Mary/Maire, but here she is on Tom Sawyer's Island in 1980:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1980-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-MARYSPIRO-TO.jpg

1981 -

This is a girl named Heather E. (no, not the Heather you have already seen, but a different one). She was very popular and pretty in school, and was friends with Mandy, Heather (the original) and me, but by High School, she hated all of us and would say mean things. She really turned on us. So, the last time I saw good ol' Heather E. was at the 'rock and roll Denny's' on the Sunset Strip during the Poison heyday on the mid-'80s, and she tried to pretend she didn't see Mandy and me. As we were leaving, I passed by Heather E. and loudly made a sarcastic remark (nothing nasty, just loud) - just to sort of embarrass her after all the grief she put us through in school. And it felt GOOD! But when she was pretending to be my friend...here was Heather E. sitting in the Carnation truck on Main Street.
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1981-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-HEATHEREDWAR.jpg

SUMMER 1983

Here I am at Disneyland!!! This is me, when I was either 15 or 16 years old!!! Other than gaining and losing and gaining weight (which you will see in the pictures through the years), I don't really look much different now than I did then. I have never done anything too drastic to my look, other than growing my hair extra long, crimping it or cutting it shorter. I have never been a drinker, drug user or smoker, so those things have not affected me. Other than the DLR trips and other trips my friends and I used to take, I have never spent an inordinate amount of time in the sun or been a sun worshipper, never spent time in the tanning bed, and if I did/do stay in the sun longer than 10 minutes, I would get very badly burned. So I have some age on my face now because I probably didn't drink enough water in my younger years (now I do!) or wear enough moisturizer early on, and I have to watch out for skin cancer because I am so fair-skinned, but I don't look like one of those leathery-faced former sun bunnies who are 40 years old but actually look like they are 65!!
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1983-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-SHERRY-FRONT.jpg

Here is my good friend Julie (this is the first of many Autopia pictures you will see in these 'through the years' DLR pictures):
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1983-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-JULIE-AUTOPI.jpg

Here are Julie, Julie's friend Marc, and our friend Melody (Melody was so much fun to hang around) on the now deceased Motor Boat Cruise!!!
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1983-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-JULIE-MARC-M.jpg

Melody, Julie and Marc on the Teacups:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1983-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-MELODY-JULIE.jpg

Here are Heather (the original) and I on Dumbo:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1983-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-SHERRY-HE-1.jpg

Here Heather and I are with one of the Three Little Pigs - notice Heather had very dark hair back then (remember what her hair looks like in the 2007 pictures from DLR):
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1983-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-SHERRY-HEATH.jpg

Now, let's move on to SUMMER 1984!!:

Here are Heather and I (I guess I was 16 or 17 at this point); notice how Heather's hair color is starting to evolve from dark to lighter):
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1984-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-HEATHER-S-1.jpg

On It's a Small World, here are George, Heather and George's kid brother. George was Melody's boyfriend at the time, and a very good friend of Julie's.
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1984-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-GEORGE-HEATH.jpg

The first of many 'hat pictures' you will see...
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1984-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-GROUPSHOT-HA.jpg

On our favorite Adventures Through Inner Space (RIP)...
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1984-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-HEATHER-INNE.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1984-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-JENNI-GEO-1.jpg

L-R, Heather, me, Jenni (you've seen her in other pictures) and Melody. You can barely tell we are all wearing ears.:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1984-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-HEATHER-SHER.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1984-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-JENNI-CRYSTA.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1984-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-JENNI-GEORGE.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1984-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-JULIE-GEORGE.jpg

And the first of many Photo Op displays that used to be set up around DL - Melody is an Indian and I am a Cowgirl and we are part of Cowboy Donald's posse:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1984-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-MELODY-SHERR.jpg

Jenni and I as astronauts:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1984-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-SHERRY-JENNI.jpg

We are done with 1980-1984. Okay, at this point I realize that I had a big group trip to DL in 1982 and I am not sure if anyone has pictures. Then there was a second trip to DL in 1983 that someone else took pictures of which I don't have. My 1985 pictures must have been the ones on the roll that got lost forever at the developing place. And you have already seen a sampling of the 1986 DL pictures with Bret Michaels.

So where does that leave us? 1987, baby! Stay tuned for the horrors of 1987 mullet hair on my friend Joe, a regular Romeo, in the next post!!

wazowskiLOVER:)

02-07-2009, 12:45 PM

I loooooooved the pictures Sherry :)

Its so cool that you're scanning these in for all of us to see. I don't have many pictures of me when I was little at DLR, but I do have some. I should really scan them in so you can see !! I even have pictures with Kaycee, Patrick, Jesse and I as little kids at DL. Its so funny to see!

I can't wait to see more !!!

Sherry E

02-07-2009, 01:14 PM

Here we are in 1987!!!:

I guess I was 19 or 20 years old at this point. Here I am with Heather on It's a Small World:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1987-DISNEYLAND-SHERRY-HEATHER-SMAL.jpg

Here is a sort-of group shot on It's a Small World. In the front is my (former) friend Joe, my friend Laura, Jenni off to the left, Linda (another former friend) behind Joe, and this guy named Darren (one of my 'rock friends' in the back, with his girlfriend Dayna). Julie was around somewhere but I am not sure where. This was the trip where Julie's ex-boyfriend was stalking her and he came and FOUND US in Disneyland because he knew we were going!!! Meanwhile, Julie's ex-boyfriend ended up hooking up with Jenni shortly thereafter, which caused some friction, and Julie and Heather had some tension because Heather hooked up with Julie's OTHER ex-boyfriend. And Joe was the biggest player of all - he hooked up with Heather (they hated each other after that), he TRIED to and sort of hooked up with Laura, he sort of hooked up with Jenni (Jenni was in love with him), he tried to hook up with Jackie and sort of succeeded (not on this trip but you have seen Jackie in other pictures), he also tried to hook up with Dayna but she was with Darren, and Joe and Michelle (she is on page one of this TR) dated seriously for FOUR years, but she never had any clue that he had hooked up with all of these people!! Mandy (see page one) also tried many times to hook up with Joe, but she couldn't get him. And yes, he TRIED with me, too, but I rejected the attempt and we became great friends...until he married this evil she-demon and was forbidden to have anything to do with me ever again.
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1987-DISNEYLAND-JENNI-LAURA-JOE-LIN.jpg

Joe and Darren...
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1987-DISNEYLAND-DARREN-JOE-INDIANCH.jpg

Joe and Heather (before they hooked up and hated each other):
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1987-DISNEYLAND-HEATHER-JOE-STARCAD.jpg

Joe and Heather on the People Mover:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1987-DISNEYLAND-JOE-HEATHER-PEOPLEM.jpg

Joe and Linda, waiting to be let in to the Tiki Room (he never tried to hit on her):
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1987-DISNEYLAND-JOE-LINDA-TIKIROOM-.jpg

Joe in the Starcade:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1987-DISNEYLAND-JOE-STARCADE-scan00.jpg

On to SUMMER 1988!!!! I think I was just about to turn 21!!!

Here are, L-R, Heather, Linda, Laura and Shawn (you guys all practically know Shawn by now, you have seen her in so many pictures!)
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1988-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-HEATHER-L-1.jpg

See the (not so hidden) Mickey?
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1988-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-HEATHER-LAUR.jpg

On the Storybook Land Boats:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1988-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-HEATHER-LIND.jpg

Looking scared on the People Mover:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1988-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-HEATHER-PEOP.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1988-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-LAURA-PEOPLE.jpg

Here I am!
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1988-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-SHERRY-PEOPL.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1988-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-SHAWN-PEOPLE.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1988-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-LAURA-HEATHE.jpg

Autopia:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1988-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-LAURA-AUTOPI.jpg

In the Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1988-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-LAURA-HEA-1.jpg

At the Fort on Tom Sawyer's island, drinking what used to be AWESOME lemonade:
I was sunburnt already - can you see my forearm and how red it is?
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1988-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-HEATHER-SHER.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1988-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-LAURA-SHERRY.jpg

Goofing off in the Country Bear Jamboree:
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1988-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-LAURA-COUNTR.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii308/Mousesausage/1988-SUMMER-DISNEYLAND-SHERRY-HENRY.jpg
http://i267.photobu