Candlelight & Cannonballs! (MANY MARDI GRAS MASK PICS!) Dec. 2012- Start Pg.235/#3524

[Sherry E]

Originally Posted by mariezp

Doggone it Sherry! If I were in your place I think I would have just screamed by now. Ahhhh......... for simpler times when making plans was not so complicated. Hopefully, when you finally get there you can get lost in the magic and forget about what a time you had actually GETTING there.

Marie -



You're not kidding! I'm surprised I haven't screamed by now, too!

What's funny is that I suspect my friend from the I Family thinks she is making things uncomplicated (for herself) by kind of taking the reins, but in actuality, it's made things more complicated in general and she would have been better off just letting me get everything coordinated for all of us, and I still would have asked her opinion anyway.

I don't need a lot from the planning - I'm not trying to figure out exactly which land we will be hitting at which time, which ride we will be riding at which time, or where we will be eating at which times. I don't need to know exactly what time my friends will arrive at the parks and what time they will need to go back to their hotel.

I simply just need to know exactly which days/dates in that post-Thanksgiving week they are going to be at DLR, and which one of those days will work best for BOTH OF US to have Shawn, Jackie, etc. join us (and Jackie may not be able to make it anyway, on a weekday, but I will cross that bridge later). And if it's not going to work for them to join us in the parks, then we can figure out when & if they can meet us for dinner.

At this rate, when I finally get to DLR - if the whole plan doesn't fall apart by late November - I feel like grabbing a drink! I don't even really drink, but I may need it by then!

[tksbaskets]

Originally Posted by Sherry E

Marie -



You're not kidding! I'm surprised I haven't screamed by now, too!

What's funny is that I suspect my friend from the I Family thinks she is making things uncomplicated (for herself) by kind of taking the reins, but in actuality, it's made things more complicated in general and she would have been better off just letting me get everything coordinated for all of us, and I still would have asked her opinion anyway.

I don't need a lot from the planning - I'm not trying to figure out exactly which land we will be hitting at which time, which ride we will be riding at which time, or where we will be eating at which times. I don't need to know exactly what time my friends will arrive at the parks and what time they will need to go back to their hotel.

I simply just need to know exactly which days/dates in that post-Thanksgiving week they are going to be at DLR, and which one of those days will work best for BOTH OF US to have Shawn, Jackie, etc. join us (and Jackie may not be able to make it anyway, on a weekday, but I will cross that bridge later). And if it's not going to work for them to join us in the parks, then we can figure out when & if they can meet us for dinner.

At this rate, when I finally get to DLR - if the whole plan doesn't fall apart by late November - I feel like grabbing a drink! I don't even really drink, but I may need it by then!

This is perhaps one reason we've never vacationed with another family at DL/WDW. I think planning is a LOT of the fun and usually leads to a much less stressful and more satisfying trip experience. We make dining reservations each day (one sit down meal) and plan out target parks depending on extra magic hours, etc. Pour over trip reports to see places we want to make sure we visit...

I could never go with the flow to the extent your friend seems to want to do. I think I'd have some kind of non-planning allergic reaction. An anti-DIS effect.....

I have gone to WDW with my sister when my son was marching in the parade at MK. We had a great time but she let me do almost all the planning AFTER we decided together what we wanted out of our trip - that compromise word again.

You can't have a trip that focuses on ME if you are going WITH someone

I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you that it all works out with your friends. It is fun to share the magic.

TK

[bumbershoot]

Originally Posted by Sherry E

Oh, there is ONE good thing I can tell you right now - I cashed in the last remaining Reward Dollars on my Disney/Chase Debit Card (I can't earn anymore) and instantly got a $25 Disney gift card to set aside (hoard) for future use. So, that's something! Woo hoo! A $25 Disney gift card is better than NO Disney gift cards at all!

Woo!


Just did that myself as soon as the last bit showed up on the recent statement.

BUT, as I mentioned to you all once before, what was MY DLR trip that I invited my friends to come along on has now become their trip. In regards to who would be joining us on which dates (such as the ever-present Shawn and Jackie), my friend said (in an e-mail) last night that she is not going to worry about anyone's schedule and is just going to "set a time and date, and whoever wants to show up can show up and if they can't come then fine." She also said she may stay with me at the PPH for a night, but she's not sure.

Oh, pastrami! (a swear word for a vegetarian, LOL)

You could do it right back at her. Not just your hotel stay, but also the day(s) that you're inviting Dis'ers to tour the parks with you (and, um, go in on the hotel room with you not that I'm naming any names or anything like that). She shows up, you've got me, Marie, Michele, and all the rest of the dis posse (yeah, I said posse, whatever, I never said it when it was fashionable, so I might as well say it now!) with you....oh what fun it would be.

[deejdigsdis]

Well now that I've picked my jaw up off the floor... Wow. I was really hoping you'd get to have some birthday fun with the G Family. I'm sorry it didn't work out to see them at all.

So no Halloween Time pin usage? But maybe a day trip is in store during Halloween Time?

Don't even get me started on the I Family... Seriously. I hope some kind of compromise can be made.

I can't believe summer is winding down and we'll be looking at Halloween Time photos in just over a month.

And TK...how 'bout that cruise TR you promised???

[Sherry E]

Hellllllllloooooooooooooooo folks!


Well, before I give you a TR update - and I don't like to post anything in the TR unless it has something to do with an actual trip to DLR! - I wanted to pay a quick little tribute.

You all may or may not remember (if you have followed along from the beginning of this mega-TR) that in my younger years - the hair band heyday of Los Angeles in the 1980's - I was involved in the whole "Sunset Strip scene." This "scene" was the stuff of legend, as it gave birth to such notable bands as Motley Crue, RATT, Guns 'n' Roses and even Van Halen, to a degree. This is also where Riki Rachtman (of VH1 and MTV fame) got his start. The 1980's Sunset Strip scene was also the stomping grounds for Poison and Warrant. If you were a band who played at Gazzari's, the Roxy, the Whisky, the Country Club or the Troubador, you were definitely labeled a 'Sunset Strip scene band,' which is funny because the Troubador and the Country Club are not even located on the Sunset Strip!

What the "scene" involved was, basically, every Friday and Saturday night, about 200 different up and coming bands would stalk one end of the Strip to the other, pacing aimlessly back and forth, up and down the street, handing out colorful flyers which promoted their shows.

Meanwhile, if you happened to be a patron of one of the clubs' shows taking place on the Strip (and my friends and I were always going to Poison shows, Warrant shows or shows by other bands you have never heard of), you would empty out of the club after said show was over, onto the Strip, and you would get caught up in the mobs of big-haired people just standing around in the middle of heaps of crumpled-up flyers. You would then follow the smell of the Aqua Net and head to the other end of the block, where the Whisky was situated. Then you would turn right around and head back to Gazzari's at the opposite end, which is where you had started in the first place. Along the way, as you followed the people back and forth, up and down the block, you would see familiar faces...people you had become friends with in this whole scene.

And then you would stand there for hours on end, in your high heels, after walking back and forth on bumpy incline for hours, flirting shamelessly with whomever was around. Every now and then, there would be a random party held at a random house - the owner was always mysteriously absent - and you might head out to see what it was all about. But the Strip was really where all the action was on a weekend.

Finally, at the end of the night you would find yourself at "Rock & Roll Denny's,' scarfing down gallons of coffee and Grand Slams until 5 a.m., and table-hopping so you could visit with all of your acquaintances in other places in the restaurant.

It was during the week - in between visits to the Strip - that you could actually get to know some of the people you had passed by repeatedly in front of the Roxy, when there were not 1000 people in your way. It was when you took those little trips to 7-11, or a nearby park, or to Hollywood Boulevard, or out to run errands, or to the local video store, or to 2 for 1 Pizza, etc., that you got to know people. It was when you sat around at someone's house, watching a horribly gory slasher movie, that you got to know the 'real' person.

It was during those "in between times" that my friends and I got to know Poison and Bret Michaels, and ended up working for him/them. You've all seen some of my photos with Bret (including at Disneyland) - a few of which are right here in this TR and many more of them are on Facebook.

One person I, sadly, never got to know was Jani Lane, the singer of Warrant, who you may know because of their huge hits, "Cherry Pie" and "Heaven." Oddly, I went to every single Warrant show they played, at whichever club it was, because I actually really loved their songs (don't tell Poison this, but I liked Warrant's music better than Poison's!). Jani was a fantastic singer and songwriter - he didn't really want to be known as the "Cherry Pie guy" - but because they were part of the hair band/Sunset Strip scene, they got lumped into that and had to write some songs and make some videos to fit into that genre. Really, though, Warrant had some great, melodic rock songs, some of which made it onto albums and some didn't - "Uncle Tom's Cabin," "Mr. Rainmaker," "Sad Theresa," "I Saw Red," "Blind Faith," "Jimmy," "Big Talk," etc., etc. A lot of good stuff.

But I never got to know Jani during those coveted "in between times." Many of my friends knew him very well, but I only chatted and exchanged pleasantries with him on the Strip or at random parties a few times. For some reason, I was never in a place where he was for very long. He once bonked me on the head with his microphone. And I once bought him a drink at the Whisky, for which I received a hug and a kiss. But that was about the extent of it.

Anyway, Jani appeared on "Celebrity Fit Club" several years ago, and I sensed a deep sadness in him. He looked unhappy. I wondered what would become of him.

As you probably know by now, Jani passed away about 1-1/2 weeks ago. He was found dead at a Comfort Inn in the San Fernando Valley, surrounded by booze and pills...a cliche in the 'rock star death' world. He was only 47 years old. My friends who knew him very well are extremely upset, because they knew him during those "in between times." They rented the videos with him and sat in his house as he strummed out the rough versions of new songs he had written on the acoustic guitar. They knew him before he was in Warrant.

Me? I just remember a whirlwind of energy and talent onstage, beaming and bouncing along with a big, goofy grin on his face...he was full of sass - every bit the raunchy, risque rock performer that he was expected to be - and seemed to love life. Warrant was a huge part of my Sunset Strip Scene experience. I feel very sad that this person I once bought the drink for at the Whisky, who once clobbered my noggin with his microphone, is now gone...and that he was feeling bad enough inside to let himself get to that point.

Here are the only two photos I have of myself with Jani, circa 1986 - these were taken at a costume party. That's your truly over on the right-hand side. Clearly, the females didn't know it was a costume party but the guys did. Jani was supposed to be a "pimp" and the two dudes in drag on the left were his "ladies":

I was always taking photos at rock shows. I took these photos at Madame Wong's West, I believe:

R.I.P., Jani.....

Thank you for indulging my little "In Memoriam" segment. Trip Reports really are supposed to just be in some way, shape or form, about DLR trips - either in the planning stages or in the stages of reporting about a past trip. I don't like to veer off-track too often, and I choose to do it very sparingly. But this was on my mind, and it brought me a lot of sadness over the past week, so I wanted to share it.


The next post will be what miniscule bit of an actual "trip update" I can scrounge together for my longtime followers. Nothing too exciting...just efforts to scrape up money (always a fun time)...efforts to get the I Family to communicate with me about plans for the big holiday DLR extravaganza (which is coming up in 99 days, believe it or not!)...

Oh, and...don't stray too far away from this TR for very long...because...you never know when I might just sneak in a covert Halloween Time visit to DLR. I will reveal nothing more than that. Just stay tuned and you may be in for a surprise! in the not too distant future

[deejdigsdis]

Thanks for sharing that Sherry.

"Heaven" and "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" were 2 of my very favorite songs in high school. And that little smile and wink at the end of the "Heaven" video...got me every time.

Can't wait to hear about the plans you have up your sleeve!

P.S. My sister D (who I spent my last 3 trips with) hits the DL scene today...without me. She is taking a co-worker who has never been. Can't wait to hear about her trip!

[Sherry E]

Originally Posted by deejdigsdis

Thanks for sharing that Sherry.

"Heaven" and "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" were 2 of my very favorite songs in high school. And that little smile and wink at the end of the "Heaven" video...got me every time.

Can't wait to hear about the plans you have up your sleeve!

P.S. My sister D (who I spent my last 3 trips with) hits the DL scene today...without me. She is taking a co-worker who has never been. Can't wait to hear about her trip!

Ah yes, the wink at the end of the "Heaven" video! (Isn't "Heaven" featured in some advertising campaign now? I can't recall the product in the ad.)

You know, Jani used to date this very prolific singer named Bekka Bramlett (who later went on to date Richie Sambora) - she has sung back-up for a million noteworthy artists - and at that Madame Wong's show I posted my photos from, above, when the band launched into "Heaven," Jani would kneel down at the edge of the stage where Bekka was standing and watching him, and he'd prompt her to duet with him on the part of the song that says, "I don't need to be the king of the world...as long as I'm the hero of this little girl..." so they were sharing the microphone. It was very sweet.

Yes, I saw your sister pop up on the DIS and in your TR the other day! That didn't slip by me! And you were thinking that she wouldn't be able to use that screen name because someone had already taken it, not realizing that she was the one who had taken it! That was too funny! I had planned on asking you if she was the same sister with you at DLR who you had planned to "stalk" by sending her the photos in the mail. That was an alternately creepy and hilarious idea!

I know everyone will be happy if I pull a surprise Halloween trip out of my hat and no one sees it coming. I am at the point now where I am reluctant to discuss it because I feel like talking about it will jinx it! In any normal year, there is no reason the G Family and I shouldn't have gotten together when they were in town, but I feel like I jinxed it by talking about it.

So now I am trying this approach of staying quiet and not announcing my exact plans and seeing if that works any better! Of course, everyone already knows about the big holiday DLR trip, so there is no hiding that. I just have to pull that together and figure out who is coming when, but to be honest, at the moment I am thinking I don't feel like dealing with any of them. I know I can have fun by myself - I did it before! Just hand me a camera, a deadly scarf, a trash can, a peppermint ice cream cone and an evil chair and send me on my way...and I can shake up the town!

[kaoden39]

I was really sad when I heard about Jani. I had watched him on Celebrity Fit Club and I had felt bad for him then. He was a troubled soul. May he rest in peace.


I am like you I don't want to mention anything anymore unless I know one way or the other on my plans.

[DizNee Luver]

Hi Sherry!! I was sorry to hear about Jani's death & I of course, instantly thought of you, but then saw you post on FB that he wasn't one of the one's you knew well. But still, it's a piece of your history & to see yet another tragic death, is hard.

Sorry I've messed up your Halloween trip plans..... Ok, I know my having to cancel has nothing to do with whether you go or not...but it made me smile for a second!! Hope you go, hope you get a Christmas trip in as well......but of course, the most important trip planning needs to be for the end of February That's when I'll be back down....gonna drag the family along for our week of Disney fun!!

Hope you're having a fun summer!!

[Sherry E]

Arrrggghhhh. Is anyone else having trouble lately signing into the DIS, or posting anything? I know Jessica has mentioned having trouble here and there. I keep getting stupid messages about "Database errors." I don't know if this site is having trouble with its servers or what. But this is not the first time I have had this problem.

In fact, I had just typed out a whole message in response to Michele (hi, Michele!) a while ago (about not wanting to get into details of planning trips because of the fact that they might not happen)...and then just as it looked like it was posting, the DIS database error thing popped up.

I will leave this TR for a bit and then come back to it to finish up what I was trying to post, in hopes the technical issues are resolved!

Hi, Laurie! No, you had nothing to do with any plans of mine going awry. I am reluctant to reveal my plans here because of all the bad luck I've had with things falling through! I figure I have announced certain things that were going to happen many times and they have fallen through or gone way off course. So I thought that this time I would keep my Halloween plan silent in hopes that I won't jinx it! I think I've jinxed everything by mentioning it!

[kaoden39]

Originally Posted by Sherry E

Arrrggghhhh. Is anyone else having trouble lately signing into the DIS, or posting anything? I know Jessica has mentioned having trouble here and there. I keep getting stupid messages about "Database errors." I don't know if this site is having trouble with its servers or what. But this is not the first time I have had this problem.

In fact, I had just typed out a whole message in response to Michele (hi, Michele!) a while ago (about not wanting to get into details of planning trips because of the fact that they might not happen)...and then just as it looked like it was posting, the DIS database error thing popped up.

I will leave this TR for a bit and then come back to it to finish up what I was trying to post, in hopes the technical issues are resolved!

Hi, Laurie! No, you had nothing to do with any plans of mine going awry. I am reluctant to reveal my plans here because of all the bad luck I've had with things falling through! I figure I have announced certain things that were going to happen many times and they have fallen through or gone way off course. So I thought that this time I would keep my Halloween plan silent in hopes that I won't jinx it! I think I've jinxed everything by mentioning it!

Hi Sherry!!

I get those too and it happens on weekends mostly to me. It drives me up the wall.

[bumbershoot]

I, too, thought of you when I heard about Jani Lane.



Remember, they are YOUR plans for December, yours yours yours! Not someone else's! Of course I mean that "yell" in the kindest, most loving way towards you.

[WDWJonasGirl]

I'm so sorry to hear this

[Sherry E]

Just a quick reminder...

Don't touch that dial...stay tuned...hunker down in a comfy chair, with a tasty beverage nearby, for I will be making a stealth mission to DLR for Halloween Time very soon, and I hope you all will still be here to read about it!

I will not give any details of when, how, who, why, etc., right at this moment - it is a secret!!!! It is a covert operation! All will be revealed in time...

I have not been to DLR since December, for my epic Evil Chair/Peppermint Cone of Death visit. Remember, too, that this will be my return to Halloween Time - it had become a yearly tradition for me and, sadly, I had to skip it last year. The ol' camera and I have some catching up to do (preferably nowhere in the vicinity of any trash cans)!

Maybe I can find a Pumpkin Cone of Death??

[Belle Ella]

Suh-weet! Minus the fact that I am an impatient woman.