Of Mice and No Men: I become a Dapper Dan! UPDATED 4/13

[PirateFish989]

It all started out with an innocent little text message.

Erin Cell: “Soooo, if we do a girls’ trip to Disneyland at the end of September and there are 6 of us like last time, there are some great deals on hotel suites that would make it cheap.”

I was expecting to be ignored. Or scolded. Or, heaven forbid, given the eye roll.

What I wasn’t expecting was a reply.

Mom Cell: “Let’s start planning.”

Let alone, THAT reply. Music to my ears, really. Angels singing. Or like the totally good feeling when you buy 3 new pairs of shoes you don’t need (not that I have ever done that, of course…). That feeling you get when you’re starving and you’re sitting at Café Orleans and you can SEE your Three Cheese Monte Cristo coming toward you. It’s a good feeling.

I may have squeaked. And my roommate may have looked at me like I was a freak. And then I may have started to giggle uncontrollably. Which only prompted my roommate to look at me again like I was even more of a freak.

And so the Third Biennial Girls Trip with The Sarcastics was born.

(Yes, I used the word biennial. And yes, I did have to look that word up.)

As was the Third Biennial Girls Trip with The Sarcastics Trip Report. Which you are now reading. Lucky you.

I have written two previous trip reports. The first Sarcastics’ adventure you can read here. And the second Sarcastics’ adventure you can read here. Our first all girls trip was in May of 2007 for the Pirates of the Caribbean 3 Premiere (which you can read about here). It was an absolute blast and from that trip I KNEW these girls trips would become a tradition. Our second trip was in May of 2009 for my Very Merry Unbirthday Trip (which you can read about here). I had gotten as a birthday gift the previous September a trip to Disneyland (yes, it only took 8 months for the Birthday trip to actually happen, which is why it became the Unbirthday trip) and I immediately knew that I wanted to do another girls trip. It was an amazing trip and I ended getting an AP out of it, which only made it more memorable!

And now you’re wondering who the Sarcastics are? Heck, who am I?

MEET THE SARCASTICS!

Erin (me) – I am a newly 22 year old college graduate (not quite 22 yet…). I graduated from UC San Diego in June with a degree in biology. A lot has changed since my first trip report, but my total and complete love for and obsession with all things Disney has not. In fact, it has only gotten stronger (I mean, who else would plan a hypothetical dream trip to WDW? Oh, wait, that would be all of you…). I have a love/hate relationship with my hair and dream of being Cinderella one day.
(Ignore the fool in the background, that is just my brother)

Carol (my mom) – She is a preschool teacher and is absolutely amazing at what she does. If you walk into her classroom, it isn’t rare to find her doing some silly dance with her kids. She is fun and energetic and a complete morning person who can’t function properly without eating every last bite of breakfast. She takes complete pride in the fact that she has slept on the sidewalk in front of the castle and has used every bathroom in the parks. These Disneyland trips just wouldn’t be the same without her.

Lisa – Lisa is a family friend and the source of my obsession. As our resident Disney Queen Extraordinaire, she is the go-to person for anything Disney related. She always makes a Plan for our trips and has an annoying fascination with the Tiki Room. If she was left totally in charge, we would be running all over the parks nonstop for three days straight. Her greatly sarcastic sense of humor and her down-to-earth nature make her a fantastic person to go to Disneyland with.
(She is the one on the left)

Kailyn – Kailyn is Lisa’s 15 year old daughter. I first met Kailyn when she was 6 years old on the recreational swim team we swam on. I got to coach her when she was 9 and she was always one of my favorites (don’t tell anybody else that, coaches aren’t supposed to have favorites!). She is smart and sassy and is the Disney Queen Extraordinaire In Training (DQEIT…got that?).
(she is also the one on the left)

Jess – Jess is my best friend and has been since we were 7 years old. We met on the recreational swim team (same one as Kailyn) and have been best friends ever since. She recently graduated from Cal State Northridge and is now working on getting her teaching credential. She is the nicest, kindest, most caring person I know. She and I are polar opposites, but identical at the same time. She accepts that I am a freak when it comes to all things Disney and just goes with the flow on these trips, always up for anything! She is the perfect person to go to Disneyland with and is becoming a regular on these little adventures.

So there you have it. Us. The Sarcastics. In all our glorious glory.

And guess what? We’re going to Disneyland!



To skip ahead:
Pre Trip Report:
Chapter I: Right Here!
Chapter II: The Three Commandments
Chapter II.5: Like a Fish Out of Water - The San Francisco Half Marathon
Chapter III: An Addition to the Sarcastic Family!
Chapter IV: I'm the Tie Dye Queen
Chapter V: With Two More Sleeps To Go...

Trip Report!
Chapter 1: Overpackers Unite!
Chapter 2: Tale of a Tutu
Chapter 3: Photoshoots Galore!
Chapter 4: I Become a Dapper Dan!

 

[JH87]

Wooo! What week in Sept are you going? I am also going at the end of Sept and did notice lots of good deals in many different hotels!

 

[kylie71]

Sounds like a Blast!! I can't wait for more!

 

[skiingfast]

Your Brother the Fool, does he ever get to go?

 

[jlindley9]

Just read your other TRs and they were a lot of fun. Looking forware to reading more!

 

[PirateFish989]

JH87: Thanks for joining in! I noticed you're from Central California - so am I! Where exactly, if you don't mind me asking?

Kylie71: Thanks for reading!

skiingfast: My brother has been but he really has no desire to go. When I mention Disneyland he typically turns around and leaves the room...

jlindley9: Thanks for reading my other reports! Those trips were a LOT of fun!

 

[skiingfast]

skiingfast: My brother has been but he really has no desire to go. When I mention Disneyland he typically turns around and leaves the room...

What a fool.

 

[JH87]

JH87: Thanks for joining in! I noticed you're from Central California - so am I! Where exactly, if you don't mind me asking?

I am from the Modesto-ish area. What part of Central Cali are you from?

 

[PirateFish989]

Before we continue, there are some things you need to know about us.

The Sarcastics have rules, our Three Commandments if you will. These are three very important rules with which we live by while on our Disney adventures. The Three Commandments are as follows:

1) NO MEN! NO EXCEPTIONS! Men, especially the men in our families, just cause all sorts of complications when traveling (My dad turns in to Grumpy when on a Disneyland vacation. Apparently Mr. Lisa does too). And it's obvious - Girl's Rule, Dogs Drool.
2) No whining - this is in direct accordance with rule #1.
3) Eat as much crap (whatever you want, whenever you want, as much as you want) as humanly possible without throwing up.

Our Three Commandments are strictly enforced and anyone found disobeying is punished to the full extent of Disney Law (aka being forced to eat something even a little bit healthy, like celery. And trust me, NOBODY wants to eat celery while at Disneyland. Unless you’re my dad, I suppose. But that is why he isn’t here…).

Once I was given the go-ahead to actually start putting the wheels of this trip into motion, we had to pick dates of when to go, which was tricky. Since I graduated college and was only planning on taking a simple “filler” class at the local community college until I applied to teaching credential programs, my schedule wasn’t really an issue. Lisa and I went back and forth for several weeks trying to decide when. We finally landed on September 22-25, a Thursday through Sunday, which would give us the benefits of three full days at Disneyland, all decked out for Halloween, nice weather, cheap hotel rates, and basically an excuse to leave real life for a couple days.

Next up was to decide where to stay. This was a doozie, let me tell you. I took it upon myself to be in charge of finding the perfect hotel for our stay. We aren’t picky when it comes to hotels. We just need a clean place to shower and sleep. Doesn’t sound too hard right? WRONG. Because there were going to be six of us, I decided that it would be more economically responsible to get a suite. After hours upon hours of research and contemplation and more research, I concluded that the Park Vue Inn would be our hotel! Yay! Wrong. Again. The suite we wanted was already booked. Soooo, back to the drawing board. And then, after even more hours of contemplation, I decided for the second time that the Anaheim Plaza Hotel would be our hotel! Yay!

And now it was time to wait. Because all of the super detailed planning (and shirt making) couldn’t be done until shortly before the trip, we had three full months of waiting. Oh joy.

And because I love trip reports that include pictures and this little chapter doesn’t have any pictures itself, I’ll include some from other non-Sarcastic Disneyland trips. I just come up with the greatest ideas, don’t I?

From when I went with a friend on Easter 2010:

And then, these are from when I went with Jess in May 2010

I was sad because I was using my AP for the last time

When we got to the bottom of the drop, the group in the front of the log all leaned to one side and I swear, the log came ridiculously close to tipping over.

And then we rode TOT 3 times in a row!

This was not my idea.

 

[PirateFish989]

I’m now going to interrupt this little pre-trip report to report some exciting news!

Well, exciting to me, at least.

I recently just ran my first Half Marathon in San Francisco. It was the most grueling, physically exhausting, amazing, adrenaline pumping thing I have ever experienced. I somehow managed to actually run the entire 13.1 miles but felt like I was going to die right then and there when I crossed the finish line – all hunched over with an extremely pained look on my face (really, you should see the pictures).

My goal was simply to finish. Having never run 13.1 miles in my life, I thought finishing would be an accomplishment in itself. I declared the day before the race that I would crawl to the finish line if I had to. I had entered my predicted finish time as 2 hours and 30 minutes, which I calculated using some nifty little calculator on the Runner’s World website based on my 5k time. Well, can you guess who finished in 2 hours, 29 minutes and 40 seconds?

That would be me! And I’m pretty sure I whooped and did a little fist pump when I saw my official time.

The last mile of the race was the longest, most painful thing on the planet. I have some knee problems due to my IT Band and wear a brace but after 12 miles, my knee was about to fall apart. I was picturing my self as an unassembled Mr. Potato Head lying in the middle of the course. I was convinced I was never going to run again. Never ever.

Well, guess who recently registered for the Tinker Bell Half Marathon?

Again, that would be me! And I am beyond, BEYOND excited! Not only do I get to run (which, btw, is something I have only very recently come to love), but I get to run IN Disneyland. IN my Happy Place. IN the Happiest Place on Earth.

How lucky am I?

Pretty lucky, in my opinion. I did pay through the nose to be this lucky though…STILL, I think I’m pretty darn lucky!

And really, how often do you get to run INSIDE Disneyland without getting yelled at? That really makes it all the more exciting.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my exciting news! I’m so excited!

I thought I’d include a couple pictures from the San Francisco Half, just to appease you. I’ll be back soon with something more trip related!

This is a map of where the 2nd Half Marathon was to start and where our waves were to gather. I was Wave 5. (There were two Half Marathons we could register for, the 1st, which went over the Golden Gate Bridge, and the 2nd, which went through Golden Gate Park and down Haight Street. I did the 2nd Half)

It's Race Morning! My dad (who also ran the 2nd Half) and I in our hotel room before the race

During the race, my mom was in charge of the camera, so here are some interesting things she saw:

A dog with shoes!

My dad is the one in the middle in the red shirt

For the Tinker Bell Half Marathon, the runners are encouraged to wear costumes. While I'm not someone who would typically run 13.1 miles wearing a costume, I am seriously considering wearing a tutu

And here I come! I'm in the yellow!

Hi Mom!

I did it!

This picture accurately depicts how I felt post-race

 

[CB Jamboree]

Your trips sound like they are so much fun! Can't wait to hear about your upcoming one. Congrats on the marathon, what an accomplishment!

 

[reyasmommy]

How FUN!! I would love to do a girls only trip with my best-friends.

Your Mom looks like she would be a great pre-school teacher. My DD was in preschool last year and I absolutely fell in LOVE with her teacher. I miss her so much and keep comparing her new Kindergarten teacher to her, and there is NO comparison. I will always be thankful for her and that she helped mold my DD into a more self assured little girl. Teachers are so under appreciated sometimes I think.

Was that picture of you and your brother taken at The California Academy of Sciences? It looks familiar.

Lovely pictures of you and your best friend! Both very pretty girls. It’s great when you’ve been friends with someone for so long. My two best friends and I just celebrated 21 years of friendship. We’ve been there for each other ever since the first day of Middle School. Wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world. Such blessings.

You’re going during a REALLY great time of year. Last time we went was the end of September.. We couldn’t have asked for better weather and crowds.

Good luck with the Race! Sounds exhausting and FUN!

Can’t wait to hear more.

 

[skiingfast]

Races sound great, but by the look of the last photo I'm guessing recovery was a little rough.

Sounds great that you are doing the Disney 1/2. Tutus work good if your hand don't brush them. Otherwise light and stick out well.

 

[PirateFish989]

CbJamboree- thanks for joining in! I'm so excited about this upcoming trip!

reyasmommy - first, teachers make ALL the difference in a good Nd bad school year! Over the years I've had some good teachers and some great teachers and the years with great teachers are the ones I remember the most! Second, yes, that picture was taken right out front of the Academy of Sciences, which is my new favorite place, I could have stayed there all day. Third, I love hearing of stories about people who have been friends for many years! Sometimes there is just a very special bond between two people and i think it is so important to cherish that!

skiingfast - oh goodness, recovery was really rough. I could barely move for the next week! Walking all over San Francisco for the three days after the race certainly didn't help!

I promise I will be back soon with an actual update! There have been a few changes with regards to who is going that I'm going to update you all on and this weekend I'm tie dying our shirts so I'll definitely post pictures of those when they're done!

 

[PirateFish989]

We're a tough group. I'm just going to put that out there. We take on the parks like it is a do-or-die mission. If you do something stupid, you WILL hear about it for the rest of your life. We rag on each other (and others) constantly. You have to have a pretty thick skin to roll with The Sarcastics.

That is why considering to add another person to the group was such a big deal.

Meetings were held. For days at a time, usually. We were locked away in a small windowless room, smoke signals coming from the chimney letting the world know if we've made a decision. Very serious stuff.

After days of rigorous, yet super secretive, tests it was concluded that my mom's friend Julie was a good match to join the group. She has a great sense of humor, is pretty much up for anything the Plan orders us to do, and she is what we call in my household, "normal."

Really, I think the part that won us over was when, after we warned her that we do Disneyland commando style, she replied with a simple "I like structure."

Pffftt, structure. Calling our trips structured is like calling...Mary Poppins clean. No no, Mary Poppins is a neat freak, that is WAY beyond clean. Or like calling a Monte Cristo good. No, Monte Cristos are battered, deep fried, cheesey, powdered-sugar-covered deliciousness, that is WAY beyond good. Just like our trips are WAY beyond structured.

So let's get to know Julie a little bit, shall we?

Julie is one of the kindest people I know. She has such a big heart, it can be overwhelming. She has the two cutest little kids on the planet who crack me up. And she is "normal." What makes a person normal, you ask? Normal means being able to laugh at yourself, not take yourself too seriously all the time, being able to let go and have fun. Normal is knowing you aren't perfect and being okay with it. Normal is seeing the world as it is and not as how it should be or how it isn't.

That is Normal.

And I wish I had a picture of Julie. But I don't.

Moving on…

In addition to adding Julie, we’ve had a little change in who is actually going. Kailyn has decided not to go due to the incredible amount of school work and extracurricular activities she is involved in. I’m sad she is not coming, but, having been there and done that, I totally understand. Disneyland will always be there, your chance to do well in school will not.

And as Kailyn will not be joining us, Lisa is now debating whether or not to go as well. So it may end up just being me, my mom, Jess and Julie. I’ll miss having Lisa and Kailyn there, but I think the four of us are going to have a complete blast!

Because there may only be four of us now instead of six, we will be changing our hotel reservation from a suite to a standard 2-queen bed room if Lisa decides not to go, which will save us some money.

The countdown is now in the teens! Next step, single digits! I am beyond excited! I’m making the shirts for our trip this weekend and as soon as they’re done, I’ll post pictures!

 

[blabbermouth]

Wow, so many last minute changes, how are you handling it? Heehee. Sounds like you have everything worked out and I'm glad YOU are still going at least. And soon! only two more weeks-ish! Exciting. I look forward to seeing your shirts.

 

[kaoden39]

I'm in!! It sounds like a kick!!

 

[PirateFish989]

Yesterday I tie dyed out trip shirts. If you've read my other trip reports, you know that for each trip, we MUST make matching shirts.

Yes, we're those annoying people who are all wearing matching shirts standing in the middle of the walkway.

After lurking for months on the Creative Community board, I decided to be brave and to go ahead and give the tie dye thing a go. I've tie dyed plenty of times before, but never with the exact method given on the Tie Dye thread.

This method involves tracing and then stitching the outline of a Mickey head and then starting the whole tie dye process. To put it simply, I was terrified that they would come out looking like fluorescent blobs.

Fortunately, I think I did pretty well!

Front

Back

Up close front (this one is mine!)

Up close back (Julie's!)

Up close Mickey head:

I'm in love, to say the least. I may or may not have stood there and stared at them from various angles for like 10 minutes...

I also am working on making another set of shirts that involve a rhinestone Mickey head. I've made one and am working on the others...I'll post pictures when they're done!

 

[kaoden39]

Oh wow!! They turned out great. I need to go over there and check that out!!

 

[Ihaveamickeymousekid]

Im reading along too

Sounds like its going to be a fun girls trip!

Love the shirts too