A Very Lurkyloo Christmas is FINISHED! New 3/16: Last Day of the Trip!

[8disneyfans]

Lurkyloo, where have you gone? I notice you aren't here as much. Is there a place I can stalk...er, I mean keep up on what's going on??? Here I have finished the whole ptr and you are not here

 

[aharbin88]

My FIL just called, and he wanted to talk Disney. After spending an hour doing some minor planning, I now have a serious Disney jones! If I can't actually GO to WDW, the least I can do is PLAN to go to WDW, right?

Where is that list you posted in one of your PTRs or TRs that listed your "must eats and must dos"? I thought it was on your solo trip PTR, but I must have missed it. Do you remember? I meant to bookmark it, and I evidently didn't.

Never mind! Found it!

 

[lurkyloo]

So, er, coming out of lurkdom to say that I love reading your TR's and am so so happy I found one where it's not completely done yet so I can follow along! Your wedding was absolutely gorgeous, and I hope that when I eventually get married, I'll be able to have a DFTW that's at least half as gorgeous as yours.

Anyway, I noticed that people were posting pics of cake as an 'entry fee', so here's mine

Marbled chocolate and peanut butter bundt cake with a chocolate and peanut butter glaze on top. I made it this morning, and it's sooo good. I love this cake You can tell how often I make it because of the chocolate stuck to the page in the cookbook

Hi! What a way to come outta lurkdom - that cake looks fabulous! Would you consider posting the recipe here? I have a bundt pan I've never had a reason to use.... until NOW!

OOH! That looks and sounds yummy!!

I forgot to add my own entry fee. Here's Caroline's birthday cake this year. I thought I had better pictures, but I must not have uploaded them to PB. The bottom layer was chocolate cake, and the top tier was strawberry. Both were really yummy!

VERY cute cake!

To bring up a long dead subject, can y'all tell me more about TGM? I looked into it when I was catching up here, but I can't decide how "worth it" it is. How far in advance does he publish the least crowded parks info? In enough time to make ADRs? Is that the biggest benefit; to know which days to go to which parks?

To me TGM is worth it because not only do you get advice on when to go to the parks, he gives you strategies for avoiding crowds and seeing as much as possible once you get there. It's kind of an entire-trip approach to planning. And once you know his basic principles, you can deviate from his suggestions a bit and still do OK because you know the overall ideas.

The only problem is when he doesn't publish his least crowded parks info in a timely fashion. Usually he gets it posted within a few days of Disney releasing the calendar (which can be hard when your trip starts on the 1st or 2nd of the month and you need to make ADRs). But recently he had a very scary family emergency that precluded his posting the recommendations for several days. It's tricky because he doesn't delegate the duty to others...

What differences are there between going to WDW for Christmas theming, if you go before Thanksgiving as opposed to going after? I know there are more Christmas-y things happening after Thanksgiving, but I don't know what they are.

I thought all the same stuff was up before Thanksgiving as after - at least, that's the way it is at Disneyland....

I hate I'm going to miss you, Carrie! You're a year too early! We'll be there around the first week of December next year. Our dates are a little up in the air, though. We definitely want to hit MVMCP, it's just a matter of picking a week. We bought into DVC recently , so it looks like the first week of December might be the best time. Isn't that when "every DVC'r on the planet" is there? Can't miss that meetup!

Hey, who knows - maybe our ship will come in and we can go at Christmas two years in a row! Congrats on buying into DVC - which home resort did you pick?

Lurkyloo, where have you gone? I notice you aren't here as much. Is there a place I can stalk...er, I mean keep up on what's going on??? Here I have finished the whole ptr and you are not here

What happened was, I got laid off from my day job last week, and now, instead of having 8 hours a day to surf the web, I spend most of my time either editing for PassPorter or looking for another day job!

However, I do Tweet quite a bit (https://twitter.com/lurkyloo), especially on weekends, when we usually go do some fun thing. Last weekend we discovered Disneyland's original bandstand at its new home in an Orange County garden store!

I also have to finish my D23 Expo trippie still... I have been less than motivated this past week...

My FIL just called, and he wanted to talk Disney. After spending an hour doing some minor planning, I now have a serious Disney jones! If I can't actually GO to WDW, the least I can do is PLAN to go to WDW, right?

Where is that list you posted in one of your PTRs or TRs that listed your "must eats and must dos"? I thought it was on your solo trip PTR, but I must have missed it. Do you remember? I meant to bookmark it, and I evidently didn't.

Never mind! Found it!

Um, glad I could help...?

 

[JustMickey]

What happened was, I got laid off from my day job last week, and now, instead of having 8 hours a day to surf the web, I spend most of my time either editing for PassPorter or looking for another day job!

So sorry to hear about this! Good luck with the search!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Love those last two cakes!

Carrie, sorry you were laid off. This can be a great time to create your own opportunity. You've already done so much with Passporter, I know you'll be
successful, whatever you do!

 

[DisneyFirefly]

Hi! What a way to come outta lurkdom - that cake looks fabulous! Would you consider posting the recipe here? I have a bundt pan I've never had a reason to use.... until NOW!

Here you go It took me about forty minutes to make the cake and about ten or fifteen to make the glaze.

CAKE
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used unsweetened Baker's chocolate)
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup peanut butter
scant 1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
5 eggs
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup chocolate chips

GLAZE
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
3 tbsp corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 oz unsweetened chocolate (I used the rest of the bag of chocolate chips)
1 tbsp water

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Generously grease and flour a 12-cup tube or ring pan (I just sprayed the pan down really well with that Pillsbury spray with the flour in it, the cake popped right out). Melt the chocolate. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, and sugars until light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter mixture alternately with the milk until just blended. Pour half the mixture into another bowl. Stir the melted chocolate into one bowl of batter until well blended. Stir the chocolate chips into the other bowl of batter.

3. Using a large spoon, drop alternate spoonfuls of chocolate mixture and peanut butter mixture into the prepared pan. Using a knife, pull through the batters to create a swirled marbled effect. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until the top springs back when touched. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

4. To make the glaze, combing all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Melt over low heat, stirring until well blended and smooth. Cool slightly. When slightly thickened, drizzle the glaze over the cake, letting it run down the sides.

I'm sorry to hear you got laid off, though! I hope something comes along soon, even if it's not what was originally the plan. Sometimes the best thing to do is forget the plan.

 

[Aburns8]

So sorry to hear about your job! I lost mine almost a year ago. My husband was unemployed for over a year. He finally got one, but required us to move to a different state. I hope that you find something soon!

 

[NeverlandClub23]

What differences are there between going to WDW for Christmas theming, if you go before Thanksgiving as opposed to going after? I know there are more Christmas-y things happening after Thanksgiving, but I don't know what they are.

Unfortunately, I found out the hard way that there are differences. We went the week before Thanksgiving last year thinking we could get in on the last two days of the F&WF and still hit all of the Christmas things. MK was pretty much decorated because of MVMCP but some of the decorations never did make it up before the end of our trip. None of the resorts were decorated at all. GF had the gingerbread house structure up but they don't start filling it in until Thanksgiving week. Most of the parks play Christmas music but none of them had Christmas decorations (or very minimally). By the end of the week the parks had put up their big Christmas trees but not much else. Also, the Osborne lights didn't start until after Thanksgiving last year as well as the other fun Christmas things like the band that plays Christmas tunes at the GF, the lighted arch at Epcot, Candlelight Processional, the sleigh ride at WL, the Santas around the World at Epcot, and none of the chocolate/sugar displays were out yet at the resorts either. Also WDW was still using up there Halloween accessories as anytime we stopped somewhere to get a drink or had a napkin handed to us it was Halloween themed. I guess because Disney has so many "soft openings" of things I had hoped more would've been up or started without it being the 'official' time yet.

Lurkyloo, so sorry to hear about your job . I hope you find something great soon!

 

[8disneyfans]

Oh I am so sorry about your job!

 

[8disneyfans]

I was just on the Roots website and it said that was their last WDW wedding, is this true? And if so do you know why? Thanks for the help.

 

[beatlesblonde]

I was just on the Roots website and it said that was their last WDW wedding, is this true? And if so do you know why? Thanks for the help.

I don't think it's their last WDW wedding, just their last in-park wedding because of the "no outside photographers if your wedding is in the parks" rule.....

 

[lurkyloo]

So sorry to hear about this! Good luck with the search!

Thank you!

Love those last two cakes!

Carrie, sorry you were laid off. This can be a great time to create your own opportunity. You've already done so much with Passporter, I know you'll be
successful, whatever you do!

You are so sweet - thank you!

Here you go It took me about forty minutes to make the cake and about ten or fifteen to make the glaze.
...

I'm sorry to hear you got laid off, though! I hope something comes along soon, even if it's not what was originally the plan. Sometimes the best thing to do is forget the plan.

Thanks for the recipe - I can't wait to try it! I like the idea of forgetting the plan...

So sorry to hear about your job! I lost mine almost a year ago. My husband was unemployed for over a year. He finally got one, but required us to move to a different state. I hope that you find something soon!

Oh my gosh! I hope you guys are doing well now in your new place! The last time I was unemployed it was for 18 months (dotcom bust!), but I was fortunate not to have to move. Fingers crossed!

Unfortunately, I found out the hard way that there are differences. ...
Lurkyloo, so sorry to hear about your job . I hope you find something great soon!

That is interesting - I thought they put up all the decorations on Nov. 1! Disneyland seems to really get it all out on display at once but, of course, it's so much smaller.

Thanks for the kind words about my job.

Oh I am so sorry about your job!

Thank you! I am looking forward to new opportunities.

I was just on the Roots website and it said that was their last WDW wedding, is this true? And if so do you know why? Thanks for the help.

Beatlesblonde has it - they will still be able to do Disney weddings, they just can't shoot inside the parks. About a year ago, Disney implemented a policy prohibiting all outside photographers from shooting inside the parks. Weddings that were already contracted were exempt, so they are all just wrapping up now. What gets me is Disney never gave a good explanation for the move - it was something nebulous about being able to control the images of icons like the castle. ...Except that tens of thousands of tourists take pix of these icons daily - there's no way to control the images!

The upshot is, you're gonna be seeing a lot fewer Disney park weddings turn up in magazines, cuz the quality just isn't there....

 

[lurkyloo]

We're going to Disneyland Saturday, so watch my Twitter feed for the occasional live update!

 

[8disneyfans]

It seems you have a positive outlook on the job situation! Like a pp said you will be successful in whatever you do.
I'll have to look into this tweeter thing.
That is so sad about the photographers! Now anyone doing a Disney wedding will have to use Disney photographers. And while I'm sure they are fine if someone is paying all that money, I would guess they would want the freedom of choosing their photographer. It seems it boils down to money. I hate to say that but if you aren't using Disney, they aren't making money. And you are so right millions of visitors take millions of pics, they can't possibly control that.

 

[Donald'sGirl]

Carrie I am so very sorry to hear about your job. My father also lost his job in June and a close friend just 2 weeks ago. It's so hard right now in this econmony but I know you and they will find something very soon. Any company would be luck to have you working for them.

I hope you had a great time today in DL!

 

[Pixieflip]

I'm sorry about your job. Here's to hoping today was a great day and a welcome distraction from it!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Hi Carrie! Loved the tweetpics! I didn't catch your tweets live, but it was fun to see what you did. Have a great Sunday.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

I am so sorry to hear about your job. Best of luck in the search, I'm sure you'll land something fantastic.

Hope you had fun at DL!

 

[8disneyfans]

How was your Disneyland day? I didn't get a chance to tweet.

 

[Becx N Gav]

Hey Carrie so sorry to hear you got laid off – but hopefully you will get something to replace it quickly try to keep cheerful!

We got back from our trip a week and a half ago and I’m only just getting onto the boards again – I still feel depressed and coming back to the cold weather here really doesn’t help at all.
We had a really great time and our friends enjoyed themselves – not too sure if they enjoyed all the ‘meets’ we did but it was great to catch up with some of our American friends again

We did Kouzinna, I thought it was pretty good. They have a good selection of appetizers but I didn’t really fancy any of the entrees. I decided to go for the red pepper soup to start with and then have the flat bread instead of an entree (I was thinking flat breads are usually pretty big and filling enough).
The soup was lovely – the spoon came with a blob of hummus which I stirred into the soup (it was nice presentation but as the soup already had chickpeas in I don’t think it added much)

Despite them saying the food would come out as it was ready I got my soup about 5 minutes before anyone else got their food No-one minded that I started but I personally consider it rude to start before anyone else (except at maybe a buffet)

The flat bread was a bit smaller than I imagined (I should have put my fork next to it in the pic, I’d say it was about as long as a fork, it’s was on a pretty big plate) but still big enough to fill the gap! It was also a lot deeper than I expected a FLAT bread to be :rofl The filling was mainly caramelised onion with a bit of red pepper and some olives on top – it tasted good but I would try something else next time.

We were dining with some other Disers, one of whom ordered the lasagne thingy. It was humungous and she was quite happy for me to try a big blob, it was really good and probably just right for 2 to share as an entree.

DH shared the app for 2 with one of our friends, he found the cashews quite spicy (and he likes his food spicy!) but liked the variety.

For his entree he had the cinnamon chicken. I tried it and really enjoyed the flavour ( I think for me it would have been too much food, I don’t know why I wasn’t hungry but the day after that I started to get a nasty cold so that may have been why )

I also got the Greek wine flight, it was nice but I prefer sweeter wines (I still drank them though

Our Dis friends were on DDP so they got entree’s and dessert’s. They all got the baklava and we shared it around. I didn’t think much to it really, it tasted quite dry. The ice cream was ok but not sweet enough for me and I was pretty full anyway. I think next time I would try something else for dessert (if I had the room!)

All in all we had a good meal.

I’m sorry to hear about how difficult it is to get the dates you want for the dessert party. I think I agree that if you’re doing the MVMCP the same night it is a lot of money, on a regular night I thought it was really good. We did it the night that the AK / EE run thingy was on – total wash out - and the fireworks further back were blocked by the smoke hanging around.
We also had the grumpiest Photopass guy, he got annoyed when all 8 of us wanted a pic together and the photo turned out really bad
It was a shame as it’s a lovely spot to get you pic in front of the castle – I wish we had asked someone else to take our pic.

Oh and don’t expect to hear much in advance about the TSM event – Disney made them jump through hoops last year and didn’t seem to want to agree to much in advance! I would expect the non – DU sign up to be done in November (at least this year everyone will get in!) although as it’s a paid for event they may do it earlier.

I've been reading about the D23 event too sounds fab and I can imagine how torn you would be (they said on the Podcast you have to be outside the park and be escorted to the party) I hope everything you want to do works out