Hubby got a Camera & I got Christmas!!! 51 Chapters Completed!! 926 Pics!

[WDWJonasGirl]

Love it Laurie!! I hope to see it one day.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Oooh pretty!!

It was VERY pretty......prettiest tree on the property I think!!

Love it Laurie!! I hope to see it one day.

You've never gotten over to the PPH to see it?.....it's worth the walk!! So pretty in person!!

 

[kaoden39]

It was VERY pretty......prettiest tree on the property I think!!



You've never gotten over to the PPH to see it?.....it's worth the walk!! So pretty in person!!

I think that they are all pretty.

 

[DisneyStitch626]

Oooh! That big tree is so pretty! Even if the photo is not as colorful as the tree actually was, it still looks amazing from here!

I actually ordered Seth that Mickey stocking you took a photo of and got his name put on it. I love it! And I also spot a Stitch ornament in one of the photos that I wish I could have! Lol. I need to get my butt down there during Christmas season!

 

[DizNee Luver]

I think that they are all pretty.

They were....but this one just a bit more!!

Oooh! That big tree is so pretty! Even if the photo is not as colorful as the tree actually was, it still looks amazing from here!

I actually ordered Seth that Mickey stocking you took a photo of and got his name put on it. I love it! And I also spot a Stitch ornament in one of the photos that I wish I could have! Lol. I need to get my butt down there during Christmas season!

I wanted to buy all new stockings, but I would have needed 10 of them...didn't have that kind of money this trip!!!

It really is amazing & hopefully you'll be able to work it out & go in the near future!!

 

[Happy 2 B Me]

I love your room. I think the beach ball is such a wonderful accent. I should do the extra room like PP. What a great view. It would be hard to leave the room after seeing your view. I bet it is was great to go to bed and be able to see the work going on at DCA late at night after all the quests have left. Very nice pictures of the decorations. Makes me a bit homesick for DL.

Patty

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

I love the colors on that tree! And your room is fabulous! We didn't have the beach balls on the beds when we stayed there. Very cool touch.

Really cannot wait to see the rest of your holiday pics! I would love, love, LOVE to see Disneyland in her holiday finest! Course I want to get back to WDW to see it again as well. Really just need to win the lottery already!

 

[DizNee Luver]

I love your room. I think the beach ball is such a wonderful accent. I should do the extra room like PP. What a great view. It would be hard to leave the room after seeing your view. I bet it is was great to go to bed and be able to see the work going on at DCA late at night after all the quests have left. Very nice pictures of the decorations. Makes me a bit homesick for DL.

Patty

The rooms at the pier are so cheery & seeing the view & getting to watch all the after hours busyness is kinda fun!!!

I love the colors on that tree! And your room is fabulous! We didn't have the beach balls on the beds when we stayed there. Very cool touch.

Really cannot wait to see the rest of your holiday pics! I would love, love, LOVE to see Disneyland in her holiday finest! Course I want to get back to WDW to see it again as well. Really just need to win the lottery already!

The beach ball pillows are a nice touch. We got one of the newly refurbed rooms back in March & didn't have the pillows.....but they have them in there now. Of course, Sherry was pointing out a little note regarding them.....if they ball "disappears"....you'll find a $65 (?) charge on your credit card...... So I think the smart thing would be to leave it there. I would NEVER pay that much for a pillow!!

(let me know if you hit that lottery!! )

 

[DizNee Luver]

Chapter Three~~It's a Grand Ol' Tree!!

After walking past all the beautiful Bird of Paradise that line the sidewalks in front of the PPH, I made my way across the street to the Grand Californian Hotel. The drop off/valet parking cover sported a beautiful garland.

The large flower pots that are along the sidewalk leading to the entrance were filled with beautiful poinsettias. They were gorgeous & very prevalent all over the resorts & parks.

Once inside, the enormous golden tree awaits in the lobby. The tree & decorations fit the motif for this hotel.

I popped into the gift shop to see some more Christmas goodies.

As I made my way thru the lobby & headed out towards Downtown Disney, I came across this display window that I thought was cute.

As I passed thru DTD, I took these 2 pics:

I made my way thru security & got myself in line at the ticket booths to turn my e-ticket in for my actual premium annual pass. The line was short & figured this would be a good time to do so. I believe I could have used the paper to get into the park & would have been given something to take back to the ticket booth later in the day.....but I'd rather just have things done so I could go about my business.

They no longer put your picture on the pass, which is kinda inconvenient now. Anytime you use it for discounts, you have to also produce a picture ID. You find a photopass photographer to take your picture for your pass, but this just goes into the computer system, so when you go thru the gates, your mug shot appears on their screen.

Next up: I've finally arrived!!

 

[Sherry E]

Indulge me in a little 'Tree Talk' for a moment here, because I know you love Christmas too, Laurie, and this relates to the PPH tree being prettier than the other hotel trees, etc.

First of all, let me say, I love all Christmas trees anywhere I go. It makes me happy to see them! I think that the Christmas tree in general is a beautiful thing, no matter how it's decorated. But what's cool is that Christmas trees can be decorated in sooooo many ways. They can be sparse and minimalist. They can be packed and cluttered with ornaments. They can have lights only. They can have ornaments only, or ornaments and lights together. They can have tinsel or ribbons. They can have stars or snowflakes. They can be decorated in one color scheme - such as an all red-tone tree or an all blue-tone tree. They can be decorated with colorful candy or stuffed animals - or even jewelry! You can have rustic trees with acorns and pine cones, or really glamorous trees that sparkle and twinkle in gold and silver. I just saw an all "Peanuts"-themed tree on a show a couple of days ago (all sorts of mini-Snoopys and mini-Charlie Browns hung from it). You can have an all snowman tree. You can use antique ornaments or more modern, unique pieces. I love them all!

So that said, the trees at the DLH in the various towers are certainly beautiful just because they are Christmas trees. All the trees around the whole Resort are beautiful.

But the PPH tree, for some reason, really stands out in person. First of all, it is much taller and more towering than the DLH trees. But those glowing blue/green lights that cover the PPH tree just grab one's attention. They are very striking.

When I checked into the PPH on 12/4, it was right around 6 a.m. but there were all kinds of people milling about in the lobby, pointing and staring at that tree! It's like it had everyone mesmerized or under a spell with its pretty lights! The Bell guy told me that several guests had commented to him about the PPH tree being their favorite of all the hotel trees, so we are not alone in our opinion, Laurie!

You know what's interesting? Last year I noticed - as you did this year - that the glowing blue/green PPH tree lights just do not show up in photos, no matter what the setting. I tried it from all sorts of angles. I tried a flash when the 'no flash' approach didn't yield results. I tried the low light settings as well as the regular settings. I tried to make the picture dark, thinking that the lights would stand out more. I did close-ups and distant shots. I did it all. Nothing worked. You could not see the lights glowing (or even turned ON) in my PPH tree photos.

Oddly, this year - just on a whim - I took 2 photos of that darn PPH tree with my cell phone camera (a basic phone - not a snazzy Android or iPhone or anything else). I did not look at the pictures until yesterday. Believe it or not - even though they are still crappy cell phone photos - you can actually see a bit of the lights glowing on the tree, which shocked me because the cell phone camera is not nearly as good as the main camera I use! They are not great pictures of the tree otherwise, but I was so happy to see the lights twinkling in photos...which was totally lost in my other pictures!!

So is that the moral of the story? The cheaper and crappier the camera, the better the PPH tree lights will appear in photos? Who knows?

 

[DizNee Luver]

So is that the moral of the story? The cheaper and crappier the camera, the better the PPH tree lights will appear in photos? Who knows?

Maybe that's the trick!!

I don't know, I'm trying to explain it to Mike & he's on photoshop going....how bout this? how bout this? how bout this?.....nothing was even coming close.....so I said, forget it & I'll just post them the way they are on the camera. I think the close ups best represent the coloring of this tree....but it would be awesome to actually capture what we were seeing in person in a picture. Mike is definitely convinced they we need to go for the Christmas time next year!!

I also agree on the trees at the resort all being beautiful in their own ways. This includes the one in the shops that are showing off the "for sale" items. Every tree is different, offers it's own theme/style & make me smile when I see them!! I love Christmas trees!! I have 4 in my house ~~ I have the fresh cut noble tree with the Disney ornaments on it in my front room.....I have a small fiber optic tree with mini ornaments also in the front room, but close to the entry for the front door. I have a small tree in my bedroom (year round) that I decorate with Disney keyrings & antenna toppers. My 4th tree is a artificial 5 ft tree in the family room decorated with red, blue, silver/clear & snowflakes. Each tree represents something different but all special to our Christmas traditions.

I think the reason I keep going back the the PPH tree as being the best in my eyes is because it's so stunning & striking. It grabs your attention because of the colors & sparkles on it where a number of the other trees catch your attention because of size or an ornament or two. This one just leaves a lasting impression........at least it did on me!!

 

[kaoden39]

I love how the trees suit their locations. The earthy look of the tree in the GCH for instance.

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

I love it so far!!

 

[MommyWithDreams]

Boy you really got some beautiful pictures Laurie!!! Can't wait to read more. I have been so busy this week I haven't had time to upload any pictures, I certainly didn't get as many as you did though.

Sure am craving some of that guacamole though

 

[DizNee Luver]

I love how the trees suit their locations. The earthy look of the tree in the GCH for instance.

Disney does a great job theming stuff!!! You can look at the picture & pretty much figure out what area it came from!

I love it so far!!

Thanx Kaitlin!!

Boy you really got some beautiful pictures Laurie!!! Can't wait to read more. I have been so busy this week I haven't had time to upload any pictures, I certainly didn't get as many as you did though.

Sure am craving some of that guacamole though

I'm happy with a number of the pics but I sure got a ton of stinkers too! That's why we take so many, that way you end up with some good ones.

That guacamole was sooooooooooooooo good!!!! Delicious!! I know where to get my nacho fix from now on!!

 

[kaoden39]

Laurie, I go an offer in the mail for the hotels to be discounted by up to 35% off if you reserve before February 18 if you are interested.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Laurie, I go an offer in the mail for the hotels to be discounted by up to 35% off if you reserve before February 18 if you are interested.

Thanx Michele....I actually got a pin code for 35% off that we're considering......but might end up going back to HoJo's......have to see if we get some money back on our deposit from the old place....that will give me an idea of what kind of money I can put on a package (pay up front). thanx anyways!!!

 

[kaoden39]

Thanx Michele....I actually got a pin code for 35% off that we're considering......but might end up going back to HoJo's......have to see if we get some money back on our deposit from the old place....that will give me an idea of what kind of money I can put on a package (pay up front). thanx anyways!!!

Oh I bet this is the same pin.

 

[Happy 2 B Me]

I loved the PPH Christmas tree when we were there in 2003. My daughter wanted a last trip before my grandson arrived -- or was born -- I like saying arrived as if the stork really brought him dressed in that blue diaper . Anyway I need to look back at the pictures we took in front of the tree as I am thinking the colors were bright and stood out nicely.

I am going to give my grand kids all my hallmark ornaments to have and use on the trees they have set up in each of their rooms. I started buying these over 25 years ago. I stared buying my daughter the fairy ornaments when they first came out. I would get her any and all fairy ornaments each christmas. For some reason she buys them now herself.

Having a few trees throught out the home is a nice touch. I am lucky to get one tree up each year. Last year I bought a store display that was already decorated and that I could move myself. I need to still make a few additions to it but sure makes getting the tree up easy.

Patty

Maybe that's the trick!!

I don't know, I'm trying to explain it to Mike & he's on photoshop going....how bout this? how bout this? how bout this?.....nothing was even coming close.....so I said, forget it & I'll just post them the way they are on the camera. I think the close ups best represent the coloring of this tree....but it would be awesome to actually capture what we were seeing in person in a picture. Mike is definitely convinced they we need to go for the Christmas time next year!!

I also agree on the trees at the resort all being beautiful in their own ways. This includes the one in the shops that are showing off the "for sale" items. Every tree is different, offers it's own theme/style & make me smile when I see them!! I love Christmas trees!! I have 4 in my house ~~ I have the fresh cut noble tree with the Disney ornaments on it in my front room.....I have a small fiber optic tree with mini ornaments also in the front room, but close to the entry for the front door. I have a small tree in my bedroom (year round) that I decorate with Disney keyrings & antenna toppers. My 4th tree is a artificial 5 ft tree in the family room decorated with red, blue, silver/clear & snowflakes. Each tree represents something different but all special to our Christmas traditions.

I think the reason I keep going back the the PPH tree as being the best in my eyes is because it's so stunning & striking. It grabs your attention because of the colors & sparkles on it where a number of the other trees catch your attention because of size or an ornament or two. This one just leaves a lasting impression........at least it did on me!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

I loved the PPH Christmas tree when we were there in 2003. My daughter wanted a last trip before my grandson arrived -- or was born -- I like saying arrived as if the stork really brought him dressed in that blue diaper . Anyway I need to look back at the pictures we took in front of the tree as I am thinking the colors were bright and stood out nicely.

I am going to give my grand kids all my hallmark ornaments to have and use on the trees they have set up in each of their rooms. I started buying these over 25 years ago. I stared buying my daughter the fairy ornaments when they first came out. I would get her any and all fairy ornaments each christmas. For some reason she buys them now herself.

Having a few trees throught out the home is a nice touch. I am lucky to get one tree up each year. Last year I bought a store display that was already decorated and that I could move myself. I need to still make a few additions to it but sure makes getting the tree up easy.

Patty

What a nice gift for the grandkids!!! Those Hallmark ornaments are a very collectible thing....I hope they appreciate them!!

Oh that's good you got a pre-decorated tree.....that helps a lot!!