Diva & 27th Anniv Trip w/1500+ Pics, Photopass starts #765!!

[DizNee Luver]

You got to see the Alligator!! I love him!! And Prince Naveen!! I am so jealous!!

And I am going to steal a picture or two if you don't mind. Please?

I think Naveen & Louis were added for the Family Fun Weekend.....because when we saw the show last summer they were not part of it. I was so excited to see Louis!!!

Yes, you may steal some photos!!!

 

[kaoden39]

I think Naveen & Louis were added for the Family Fun Weekend.....because when we saw the show last summer they were not part of it. I was so excited to see Louis!!!

Yes, you may steal some photos!!!

Oh thank you. I am going to post them on tumblr. This way you know where they are.

 

[DizNee Luver]

After the show departed, I wandered over past BTMRR & towards Big Thunder Ranch.....look who was out greeting people!!

I had never gone into the ranch area, so I went in......I got to see the goats.

Here's Miss Chris' Cabin.....I didn't go in because they had some crafts going on, but Mike did venture in when he was here so I'll pics later on.

Some flowers in the ranch area.

A couple surries (?)

I walked into Fantasyland & it was really crowded, I started to feel a bit anxious, so thought I'd go catch the train over in Tomorrowland.

Some of the diaramas:

At the Main Street Station stop, I was sitting on the trains the seats face the park & was in the opening. A large group came on & they could have gone on the side of me but instead sat right on top of me & ended up pushing me down about 5 seats......I bolted off the train....knowing a panic attack was a big possibility now. I ran out to the esplanade, hoping getting away from the crowds & noise would let me calm down. It was getting worse, so I went back into the park & made my way to the First Aid station. I was in a full blown panic attack at this point......I was crying, shaking & trying to catch my breath......my chest was tight, etc. The RN on duty, Gisela was my angel of the day. She took me to the back & got me some water, had me lie down & just basically talked me thru everything. It's been at least 2 yrs since I had one of these & I think being away from home, worried about finances & just being with lots of new people was taking its toll on me. I stayed for over an hour & eventually stepped back into reality.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Oh thank you. I am going to post them on tumblr. This way you know where they are.

Okie Dokie!!

 

[kaoden39]

Oh Laurie that is rough. I am so sorry you had the panic attack. Scotty has them. I know how rough they can be on a person.

 

[DizNee Luver]

After leaving the First Aid Station, I made it over to the castle, just in time for the group picture!

Ok, gonna give this my best shot.......there are a few ladies that came in for the photo & scavy hunt.....but I never got to meet them....so I don't know their names.....sorry! If anyone knows their names, please let me know & I'll edit it back in....THANX!!

Bottom Row:
Melody, Sarah, Jessica, Tammy

2nd Row:
Carol, Dianna, Vicki, Trish, Michelle, Jodi, Trudi, MaryJo, Tracey

3rd Row:
Katie, Capri, Cynthia, Bree, Cheryl, Marie, Bridget, Jen, Vicki, Donna & ??

Back Row:
Sheila, Wendy, Me, ??, Becci, Linda, Lisa, Jill, Rochelle, ??, Deb, Carrie, Steph & Tina

This was the Mother/Daughter Photo:

Sheila & Dianna, Sarah & Trudi, Bree & Linda, ?? & ??, Tina & Donna

We moved over to the Plaza Gardens Area to get our instructions for the Scavenger Hunt. The hunt started at 1:30 & our packet had to be turned in by 5pm.

Here's my awesome team!! The Paparazzi Princesses!! (Me, Jessica & Michelle) Our 4th member, Juliette, was sick over the weekend & didn't make the trip.

I didn't take any pictures during the hunt, as we were on the run all afternoon. The packet had trivia, questions that you could find the answers somewhere in the park, items we needed to collect, a picture we needed to take, pictures of lamps we needed to list location, a word search & a unscramble puzzle. Michelle & Jessica worked on the lamps, trivia & collection & I ran thru the parks with my nose in the puzzles. The unscramble was really complicated. It was a pretty long sentence (and each word was not kept separately) that you needed to unscramble & then answer the question. I finally got it & was thrilled I was able to accomplish at least that much towards our point totals. By 4pm, I was done.....after having the panic attack earlier, I was drained. So between that & the heat.....I had to stop running. The girls texted someone on the committee & told them I was on my way down to the wharf to join them until after the hunt was over.

I took some pics from the bridge into the Pier area of the committee & teams turning in their packets.

The teams picked up dinner from the wharf while we waited for the results.

The committee got our attention & gave us the results:

Best Dressed Team: Hollywood Court Jesters (Bridget, Lisa, Vicki, Jodi)
They had Mardi Gras colored boas & Court Jester Hats.....very cute!! (We opted not to wear our boas because of the heat)

3rd Place: I think this went to the Hollywood Court Jesters as well.

2nd Place: Our Team!!! WooHoo.......Jessica & Michelle did AWESOME!!!

1st Place: The Royal Brat Pack (Sarah, Jen, Rochelle, Marie)......this was the young uns'.......so we figured they would do really well on the hunt!!

Our team got a cute little tote with Mickey on it. Inside was a tube of Light-Up Bracelets, a Bottle of Hand Lotion, a beach themed Note Pad, a Pen & a $10 Disney Gift Card.

The Scavy Hunt committee did an incredible job.......a great mix of questions, Disney trivia & fun!!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Oh Laurie that is rough. I am so sorry you had the panic attack. Scotty has them. I know how rough they can be on a person.

Thanx Michelle.....it took me by surprise, but really felt it coming on that morning.....but was hoping it would pass.

 

[kaoden39]

Thanx Michelle.....it took me by surprise, but really felt it coming on that morning.....but was hoping it would pass.

Scotty gets them at Disneyland. And I have learned that I can send him back to the hotel to de-stress and it works wonders. Or if I just find him a spot in the shade to relax.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Scotty gets them at Disneyland. And I have learned that I can send him back to the hotel to de-stress and it works wonders. Or if I just find him a spot in the shade to relax.

I was pretty sure I wouldn't make the motel, the gal at the gates had a CM escort me down. It also was good I wasn't alone.

 

[kaoden39]

I was pretty sure I wouldn't make the motel, the gal at the gates had a CM escort me down. It also was good I wasn't alone.

It's really good. I cannot even imagine. I had a panic attack one time in the hospital after I had been moved from ICU to a regular room and I thought I was having a heart attack.

 

[Sherry E]

Love all of the NOS, Mardi Gras, Tiana, etc. photos. I especially love Goofy's jester outfit - it's so colorful! (Then again, so is his shirt from the Ranch area, isn't it? That is a festive 'farmer Goofy' shirt!)

It's great for me to see the NOS decorations because all of those masks on the poles were there for the holiday season, BUT I can see all sorts of extra little things in your photos that they added in just for Mardi Gras, such as extra beads hanging from various fixtures, and smaller masks sitting atop assorted shop signs and things. Very interesting!

What a wonderful group shot of all the ladies! I really lilke the shirts.

Exactly how long did the scavenger hunt take? It sounds like it was a long, arduous afternoon! And how hard was it?

I'm so sorry to hear about the panic attack. What an awful place to have one, even though it turned out okay. I have never had one, but I have friends who have had them and I know it's hard to understand panic attacks until you have them, so I can't even imagine. From what I've heard, they can be downright scary and render you immobile. I think you had a lot on your plate at that point - you were going through a lot. It all just built up, I suppose.


To reply to what you said earlier regarding the holidays, if you can swing getting the kids out of school for even just a few days during the holiday season, I think it would be worthwhile and would pay off big time! You could still go in that golden window of time between Thanskgiving and Christmas (with lower crowds, full holiday entertainment and full decor all over the place) and avoid the Candlelight Processional weekend. It could work, as long as money is your friend...and money is often not my friend, so I can understand that dilemma!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

I ran back to the motel to change clothes & shoes before heading back over for the Fantasmic Dessert Seating. I took this picture outside our motel door (4th floor).

Headed back over to the parks & make my way over to the Rivers of America.....I didn't really pay a whole of attention to the fact that there wasn't droves of people waiting for Fantasmic to start. I receive a text from Michelle letting me know that we had VIP Seating for the Fireworks. I was trying to figure out how we'd get from that to Fantasmic in time. Vicki happened to pass by & she told me that Fantasmic had been cancelled & we were getting the VIP seating for the fireworks to make up for it. I saw the diver in the waters earlier & shouldn't have been surprised by the closure of the show. In fact I don't believe the problem was fixed during our entire stay. There was tracking issues with the Columbia.....which explains why it went back & forth & back & forth during the Tiana show earlier in the day.

So we made our way up Main Street to the Train Station for our VIP seating. This was our view.....beautiful!!

Here's our group waiting for the fireworks to begin.

Remember me mentioning that I was having issues with my camera.....here we had a fantastic view & only half of my pics came out. Jessica mentioned she thought maybe my camera was focusing on the flag pole.....and she might be right on that one..........oh well.

More fireworks!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

It's really good. I cannot even imagine. I had a panic attack one time in the hospital after I had been moved from ICU to a regular room and I thought I was having a heart attack.

Being at the hospital would be a good place to have one.....they're well trained to deal with them!!

Love all of the NOS, Mardi Gras, Tiana, etc. photos. I especially love Goofys jester outfit - it's so colorful! (Then again, so is his shirt from the Ranch area, isn't it? That is a festive 'farmer Goofy' shirt!)

It's great for me to see the NOS decorations because all of those masks on the poles were there for the holiday season, BUT I can see all sorts of extra little things in your photos that they added in just for Mardi Gras, such as extra beads hanging from various fixtures, and smaller masks sitting atop assorted shop signs and things. Very interesting!

What a wonderful group shot of all the ladies! I really lilke the shirts.

Exactly how long did the scavenger hunt take? It sounds like it was a long, arduous afternoon! And how hard was it?

I'm so sorry to hear about the panic attack. What an awful place to have one, even though it turned out okay. I have never had one, but I have friends who have had them and I know it's hard to understand panic attacks until you have them, so I can't even imagine. From what I've heard, they can be downright scary and render you immobile. I think you had a lot on your plate at that point - you were going through a lot. It all just built up, I suppose.


To reply to what you said earlier regarding the holidays, if you can swing getting the kids out of school for even just a few days during the holiday season, I think it would be worthwhile and would pay off big time! You could still go in that golden window of time between Thanskgiving and Christmas (with lower crowds, full holiday entertainment and full decor all over the place) and avoid the Candlelight Processional weekend. It could work, as long as money is your friend...and money is often not my friend, so I can understand that dilemma!!

I thought I saw some pics of the masks on the lamps.....I just loved them!

The shirts were beautiful!! Melody (tinkermel) designed them & blinged them out. There were rhinestones & glitter all over the castle.....so pretty in the sunlight. I can't tell you how many times we got stopped & asked where to buy one!! A real compliment to Melody!!

The hunt was from 1:30 to 5:00pm. Saturday was about 85 degrees....miserably warm for running non-stop all over Disneyland & then over to DCA. The hunt was well put together. Some of the trivia was well known tidbits, some was really difficult, the questions were easy to hard, locating the lamp posts was fun but hard unless you could recognize styles.....just happened that Jessica knew areas for almost all of them since she had photographed many of them on previous trips. The unscramble was HARD!! It was like scrabble tile with 2 letters or 1 letter & 1 space on each tile. You had to unscramble all of them to come up with "In what year was It's a Small World rededicated? Things like that.......gathering stuff was like a napkin, sugar packet, a Stitch sticker from the DVC booth, etc. A lot of fun but I sure wish I had felt better.

The panic attack is not fun & you're so drained afterwards.......I actually was very proud of myself for not going back to the motel for the rest of the day. I also was excited I figured out the puzzle....my brain was fried & that was about the only thing I was able to contribute to the hunt.

Oh the money thing.....woof.....why can't it be easier?!! I would have no problem pulling the kids if I got the opportunity to go during the holidays!!

 

[kelmac284]

Love the latest installment and that is SO cool that you got to see the park decorated for Mardi Gras as well as the characters dressed up!! I love that you got to see the Alligator and Katy really loves Tiana. Her fav used to be Ariel but she wants to be a chef and now she REALLY likes Tiana! They would have LOVED that whole thing!!

I am so sorry you had that attack. I get major anxiety and don't know that I have had an actual "attack" but I get lots of anxiety and get real anxious and upset and have a hard time sleeping, get sick to my stomach, sweaty hands etc when I start worrying about stuff so I can def empathize!! Glad you were able to get the first aid to help you!!

The group pic is nice and I was trying to figure out who the people were that you didn't know and I don't recognize them either LOL so they must be new??

That is also a bummer that fantasmic was cancelled but sounds like the fireworks were nice!

As always looking forward to the next installment!!

 

[kaoden39]

I got some real nice meds there for it. Some that I wouldn't take anywhere else for sure.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Lets finish up those fireworks.

Now this pic is blurry, but take a look at the smoke around the castle.....notice a familiar shape???

The end of the show.

The beautiful castle!

After the show, a small group of us headed to Space Mountain. I took pics of our "photos".....now I swore I knew who went.....but I'm having trouble figuring out who exactly was there.....this is my best guess:

Michelle, Vicki & I:

I believe it's Cynthia & Becci, Jen & Jodi (but for some reason I thought Marie was with us.......so I'm confused)

The group headed towards Pinocchio & I went to call home. Before my phone call, I got a text from Jessica & sent her towards Pinocchio to catch up to the rest of the group.

I rejoined the group by BTMRR. We all took a ride.....LOVE this ride!!! Sarah & Rochelle had also joined up with us for this ride.

Our next ride was Indiana Jones. Got to sit in the front on the edge......usually I'm in the back or middle seats.....so this was a new experience. Is it just me.....or does Indy have way more graphics now....or maybe they were all just working......lol I know I've read over the last couple of years,people complaining about certain things not working......but this was like riding it for the first time......really cool!!

Anyways.......after the ride, both Marie & I decided we were done.....so we walked back over to the Carousel.....calling it a night.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

I have had panic attacks and as I read I was really surprised you kept going. They always make me feel like I need to sleep for 12 hours. Kudos for continuing on and enjoying the day.

OK here is a little tip on the money thing and I am not sure every hotel will let you do it but here you go.

#1 - I always pre-pay my hotel therefore I don't get the hold for the room charges this is key for the rest of this tip

#2 - If the hotel wants a deposit upon arrival for incidentals I give them a cash deposit. They may resist at first but I have never had them turn this option down flat. The people at the Anabella when we went at Christmas were very gracious about it.

#3 - When you check out they return your cash less any incidentals you used and that way you have cash at the ready for your trip home.

It works for me as our trips are tightly budgeted and if they put a hold on my card for 2-3 days we would probably not have enough money to get home LOL

As always enjoyed walking around the resort with you and your camera.

 

[DizNee Luver]

I have had panic attacks and as I read I was really surprised you kept going. They always make me feel like I need to sleep for 12 hours. Kudos for continuing on and enjoying the day.

OK here is a little tip on the money thing and I am not sure every hotel will let you do it but here you go.

#1 - I always pre-pay my hotel therefore I don't get the hold for the room charges this is key for the rest of this tip

#2 - If the hotel wants a deposit upon arrival for incidentals I give them a cash deposit. They may resist at first but I have never had them turn this option down flat. The people at the Anabella when we went at Christmas were very gracious about it.

#3 - When you check out they return your cash less any incidentals you used and that way you have cash at the ready for your trip home.

It works for me as our trips are tightly budgeted and if they put a hold on my card for 2-3 days we would probably not have enough money to get home LOL

As always enjoyed walking around the resort with you and your camera.

Usually I do pre-pay for the motel stays....but never thought of offering a cash deposit for incidentals......I will definitely do that next time.......I try to avoid giving the motels any card.....because there always seems to be something! Thanx for those tips!!

 

[Sherry E]

Usually I do pre-pay for the motel stays....but never thought of offering a cash deposit for incidentals......I will definitely do that next time.......I try to avoid giving the motels any card.....because there always seems to be something! Thanx for those tips!!

I wish it had been that easy for me with the PPH fiasco in December. But, alas, not so.

As for Disney hotels, they still need to block a certain amount on a card when you check in, even if you come down on check-out day and hand them cash to cover anything that was incurred. They tell you that they have to have a card on file. This is just in case the guest skips out and doesn't come down to the front desk on check-out day to pay anything they have racked up during their stay, the hotel needs to be able to have a card to charge the balance. If you leave them a $50 cash deposit, you could still charge $400 worth of stuff to the room...and then skip out on check-out day.

I expected them to block something - like $50 or whatever - when I checked into the PPH in December. I've stayed onsite enough times to know the drill. Their mistake was that they blocked almost $300, and didn't tell me about it, even after I paid them in full for the room. They should have only blocked $50, or something like 3% of my total hotel room amount, whichever is greater, for incidentals.

I think the Good Neighbors are more inclined to take cash deposits for incidentals. Many of the Good Neigbors are much smaller establishments. The Disney hotels used to take cash deposits for incidentals in the old, old days, but now they need a card...although they will accept cash payment for a balance due on a room upon check-in. You have to pay the one-night deposit with a card, but whatever is still due when you check in they will accept in cash.



Anyway, wow - 85 degrees! That would have been too much for me in DLR. I don't like it when it's that hot to begin with, let alone running around for a scavenger hunt.

It sounds like some of the scavenger hunt stuff was quite hard and, yet, so creative at the same time. The amount of time and preparation that went into putting that together must have been incredible.

Isn't Jessica involved in the scavvy hunt committee for the Diva trip 2012? If so, I have a hunch she will come up with some really clever and unique ideas of things to look for.

Looking forward to the next installments!

 

[DizNee Luver]

I wish it had been that easy for me with the PPH fiasco in December. But, alas, not so.

As for Disney hotels, they still need to block a certain amount on a card when you check in, even if you come down on check-out day and hand them cash to cover anything that was incurred. They tell you that they have to have a card on file. This is just in case the guest skips out and doesn't come down to the front desk on check-out day to pay anything they have racked up during their stay, the hotel needs to be able to have a card to charge the balance. If you leave them a $50 cash deposit, you could still charge $400 worth of stuff to the room...and then skip out on check-out day.

I expected them to block something - like $50 or whatever - when I checked into the PPH in December. I've stayed onsite enough times to know the drill. Their mistake was that they blocked almost $300, and didn't tell me about it, even after I paid them in full for the room. They should have only blocked $50, or something like 3% of my total hotel room amount, whichever is greater, for incidentals.

I think the Good Neighbors are more inclined to take cash deposits for incidentals. Many of the Good Neigbors are much smaller establishments. The Disney hotels used to take cash deposits for incidentals in the old, old days, but now they need a card...although they will accept cash payment for a balance due on a room upon check-in. You have to pay the one-night deposit with a card, but whatever is still due when you check in they will accept in cash.



Anyway, wow - 85 degrees! That would have been too much for me in DLR. I don't like it when it's that hot to begin with, let alone running around for a scavenger hunt.

It sounds like some of the scavenger hunt stuff was quite hard and, yet, so creative at the same time. The amount of time and preparation that went into putting that together must have been incredible.

Isn't Jessica involved in the scavvy hunt committee for the Diva trip 2012? If so, I have a hunch she will come up with some really clever and unique ideas of things to look for.

Looking forward to the next installments!

We had the $50 hold put on at PPH.....so that was ok, I just charged back to the room....so it wasn't like I didn't have access to it....unlike if we stayed at the Good Neighbors. When we went on 05, the Desert Inn (and it was paid ahead of time) put a $300 hold on my MIL's card but failed to mention it to her........she wasn't happy about it.

We've had holds of anywhere from $30 to $300 in holds.....just crazy when you pay ahead of time to get that large of a hold. It's the mistakes by the front desk people that can really mess up those holds.

The scavenger hunt committee did an excellent job.....a really good mix. Jessica has volunteered for the committee next year....hopefully she'll be able to do so.....I know they try to go with locals because they meet at the park quite a few times to put this all together.....but I think they could use Jazz's talents on the "I Spy" (Pictures) portion.