Thanks All

[larina]

I just wanted to take a minute out of my incredible (INCREDIBLE) Disney vacation to thank all of you for all the help. We are having a wonderful trip, much due to you, and some due to luck and the kindness of others.

Quick highlights:
~We are the big Kahuna family. There were gifts for all when we arrived and we were given a free upgrade to concierge (something we thought we were going to have to pay for). We have the best view. We can watch WOC and from the far end of our sweet we can see the fireworks from Fantasmic!

~Someone leaving the park gave my daughter their leftover dining coupons!!! We do that sort of thing all the time, it sure felt great to have it happen to us!

~We rode with the captain on the Mark Twain (never would have known to ask if not for a tip here) and my 3 year old steered while my dad rang the bell and pulled the whistle. They were in heaven and my mom and I were pretty darned happy too!!!

So thanks guys, more later!

 

[larina]

So I don't just sound all faeries and light, I am not at all pleased that the Fireworks are cancelled for at least the next several nights (due to wind from a few days ago I guess, it is beautiful here now!!! well not right now at 5 am, but during the day, LOL). WOC and Fantasmic! are still going on, but no fireworks on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day??? What is the world coming to??

Back on my Miss Mary Sunshine kick, had an awesome dinner at Napa Rose last night!!! Everything was great, except my son's pizza, which was not good at all, but he fell asleep on the table using his napkin for a pillow, so I don't think he cared. LOL

Looking forward to a wonderful Christmas in the park, and preparing for the crowds, but that's another thing, crowds are NOWHERE near what we thought they would be (does anyone know if they stopped selling tickets yesterday? We heard they did), although we are prepared for that to change at any moment. Speaking of the crowds, the people we've encountered have been friendly and nice for the most part (except the people who walk around talking about how, "Disneyworld is so much better." My dad never says things to or about people, he's is just a nice guy, in general. Well, yesterday, there was a woman who had been going on for over 10 minutes (we were waiting to watch the band show in front of the castle, where my daughter danced with Donald Duck!!!) about how much it sucks here and how superior DW is in every way, and my dad says, not loudly, but not real quietly either, "Maybe she should go back there then and let the rest of us enjoy our Christmas." That quieted her down and her group looked so relieved. Eventually she and a couple others from her group left, and a man from her group thanked my dad, said she's been doing that for days and embarrassing the heck out of them. Why do people do that?? If you can't have a good time at Disneyland, it is not Disneyland's fault, it might just be you (and I've had a horrible trip, but that wasn't the park's fault).

Last downer thing, last night when we leaving the park to go to the room and get ready for dinner, there a woman yelling and cursing at her husband really loudly, with her own kids with them and other kids everywhere. We all turned around to look when she swore loudly at him, and my son said, "That's a bad word." Know what this classy woman did? She starting yelling at him in Chinese so only her kids would know the horrible things she was saying about him. I know we don't know what was going on there, but come on!!!

 

[Malcon10t]

So I don't just sound all faeries and light, I am not at all pleased that the Fireworks are cancelled for at least the next several nights (due to wind from a few days ago I guess, it is beautiful here now!!! well not right now at 5 am, but during the day, LOL). WOC and Fantasmic! are still going on, but no fireworks on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day??? What is the world coming to??

They have one show loaded into the launchers and plan on showing it tonight (is the rumor.) The fireworks have not gone off due to a misfire and they have to have OSHA inspect before they can reload the launchers, so due to the weekend, knowing OSHA can't come out til Tues, they have opted to use the set in the launchers on Christmas. (Luckily, no one was injured during the misfire.)

 

[larina]

Thanks for that info. Any idea what time that show will go off? I'll ask when we get in the park too.

 

[skiingfast]

Thanks for that info. Any idea what time that show will go off? I'll ask when we get in the park too.

Rumors are suggesting Tuesday.

 

[larina]

There were fireworks tonight and 3 Fantasmic! shows.

Another fantastic day!!!

 

[blackjackdelta]

Thanks for sharing.

Jack

 

[Sherry E]

larina -

I am so, so, so glad to read and hear about the wonderful things that have happened on your DLR holiday trip (like the dining coupons and being the Big Kahuna Family!). I know that the word "magical" seems overused and corny in many cases, but I do think there are situations in which no other word would fit better! It definitely sounds as though you have had little sprinkles of pixie dust here and there (or what did you call it in the Christmas Superthread? An Angel looking over you?).

It makes me happy to see so many of my fellow Christmas Superthread people - who had been active in the thread for months, or even since last year in some cases - finally embarking on their holiday trips and then reporting back on the great times they had! (Rarely do any of our Superthread people come back and say they had a terrible time - at least not yet!)

I have been meaning to reply to your post over in the Superthread and I keep forgetting or running out of time to do it, but thank you for the kind words! I can't wait to see whatever photos you have to share!

 

[Pinocchio #1 Fan]

I do not weant to hijack the thread, so if someone could PM me, I'd love to know about riding with the captain on the Mark Twain. On Tuesday, I'm going with friends, and their son is turning three. This would be an awesome thing for his birthday. Any info would be appreciated.

Back to the thread, I'm so happy you had a great trip! Disneyland at Christmas really lives up to the billing as the happiest place on earth!

 

[larina]

Do not worry about hijacking!!! I love sharing info. Our trip was so much better with the knowledge I gained here. I'll try to link you to the tips thread later, I'm too tired to look for it now (we got in at 2 am).

For the Mark Twain, just ask the CM at the turnstyle if you can steer the boat with the captain. There can only be 4 people in addition to the CM captain up there. It was wonderful. A real lifetime memory thing!!! We'll never forget!

The whole trip was just incredible. Brings tears to my eyes to think about all our magic and pixie dust. Our angel took good care of us, clearly.

Oh, another quick trip fact. We saw Travis Barker from Blink 182 in Storytellers yesterday morning. He was having breakfast with his kids. We got his autograph (he was honored to be in the same book with Mickey, Minnie, etc) and a pic with my oldest (19 year old) daughter. It was cool for her. One more blessing in our little miracle trip!

 

[larina]

Feeling all warm and fuzzy this early morning.

I have always loved Mickey Mouse, and my love of Disneyland and Disney movies, came as soon as I could make choices about such things, but Dis board, and all of you, have made this (sick) love that much better. Our trip was awesome (truly) and I my love of most things Disney has been renewed (May was rough). The trip was more than I could have ever dreamed and I owe most of that to you (my awesome family helped a bit, LOL) and your generous tips and information sharing.

I can't thank you enough!!!

 

[larina]

Here's the link to the pics I put up on Facebook. I made it public so I could share with you all.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.186796198083665.40099.100002598593821&type=1&l=cf44581298