Nothing to See Here...

[tksbaskets]

Hi Deej When is your next trip? I'm vacationing vicariously through you, Sherry, & Bret.

 

[deejdigsdis]

Hi Deej When is your next trip? I'm vacationing vicariously through you, Sherry, & Bret.

Not until October. But...my sister CB Jamboree is going next month. Maybe I can convince her to do a trip report. I'm going to be asking her all about it anyway...every little detail...so she might as well share it with everyone else.

 

[Sherry E]

TK & Deej -

Thanks for posting. I needed you guys - or whomever - to be the ones to post so I could test this out.

There apparently was a database crash last night, from what I happened to catch on the Technical forum, so a lot of threads, links and posts that were active right around the time of the crash are now askew - like my Christmas Superthread. Michele and I both posted in that thread last night - we were discussing AP rates hiking up soon - and today, I do not see any of our posts in the Christmas thread about that subject, nor do I see my other post in response to a DIS'er's question. I am afraid to look at the links on Page 1 of the Superthread to see if those are still working.

And the e-mail alert link is still directing me to a thread that is not the Christmas thread. I will jump off of a building if alllllll of my work and links in that thread have been lost, or if any new post that comes in goes to some other thread.

I had not logged off of the DIS yet so I saw your two posts while I was still on. The key is, will the links to this thread (that are in the e-mail alerts) send me to this thread, or will they send me somewhere else? I have to log off, go to the e-mail alerts and then see where the links take me.

I posted here yesterday about the Internet trouble I had been having at home (and am still having), so I never know when I will be able to get on or not. Time Warner doesn't want to fix the line here unless my Internet speed falls below a certain capacity percentage, so it could be slooooooow but if it is not past whatever the magic number is (something like 30% capacity or something), they won't come out to check the line. So it keeps working, then locking up, working then locking up.


No, I never had to even go to the courthouse for jury duty at all. They didn't need me to come in. One of my former clients - an attorney - was telling me that there have been a lot of budget cuts and layoffs within the Court system. A lot of Court employees/clerks have been laid off or had their hours cut. There are fewer judges available to preside over trials because of budgets. There are fewer trials happening as well. So when there are fewer trials and fewer clerks and fewer judges working, there is less need for jurors to schlep down to the Courthouse!

I was ready to go into Court. I didn't try to postpone or get out of it. But they didn't need me to come in, which I was happy with...even though my Court is the "good" court, where Jennifer Lopez, Madonna and Danny Devito have had to serve on juries before! I would have enjoyed celebrity watching, but oh well...

All right...I have to go check the e-mail alert link to see if it brings me to this thread or if it is going to be messed up like the Christmas thread!

 

[Sherry E]

Hi Deej When is your next trip? I'm vacationing vicariously through you, Sherry, & Bret.

Bret seems to have a DLR trip every other month, so your vicarious vacation thrills are well-satisfied there!

My DLR trips are few and far between, but because it is taking so long to get through this TR with all of the hurdles I have encountered, it will seem like my actual DLR trips are closer together than they actually are. By the time I get done with this TR, it will probably only be a few months (or less) until it's time for another DLR trip, so it will feel like I just got back from a DLR trip when, as we all know, my last trip was in December.

 

[rentayenta]

I had a post in my thread say it was from me, which is was not, and also quote another poster in my thread to which the post was never in my thread. Me thinks the DIS has gone mad.


Michele lured me back into the Disneyland section. It always makes me a little blue when I don't have a trip in the works. Even though we've got a biggie in October in WDW, Disneyland has my heart.

Hope you've been well.

 

[mvf-m11c]

It is very nice to hear from you again Sherry. I will always be here checking out your TR for any news.

Hi Deej When is your next trip? I'm vacationing vicariously through you, Sherry, & Bret.

I will be looking forward to your TR Deej when you go back in October.

Bret seems to have a DLR trip every other month, so your vicarious vacation thrills are well-satisfied there!

It almost seems like I am having a DLR trip every month. I will have about two plan trips for this year which will be June for the re-grand opening of DCA and of course my Holiday trip in November. I am not going in December this year since I have basketball season and not planning on going to WDW for the Holiday season which is sad. I will have a possibly plan trip in October for the Halloween season and maybe August for Destination D at the DLH.

 

[Sherry E]

Okay, usually the DIS will stop sending me the e-mail alerts if I have not posted in a while, but if I have just posted recently the DIS will send me alerts for the next couple of posts.

And yet, I didn't get an alert to let me know Jenny had posted, and there was no e-mail alert to tell me that Bret had posted - and I just posted here yesterday! I also didn't get an e-mail alert to tell me that Bret had replied to me in his own thread. I had to actually come here to the DIS and check the threads to see if there had been any activity. I continue to get alerts for other threads that I have not posted on in a million years, but not the main ones I am following! Now I feel like I have to check every single thread I follow to be sure there have been no recent posts!

​

I had a post in my thread say it was from me, which is was not, and also quote another poster in my thread to which the post was never in my thread. Me thinks the DIS has gone mad.


Michele lured me back into the Disneyland section. It always makes me a little blue when I don't have a trip in the works. Even though we've got a biggie in October in WDW, Disneyland has my heart.

Hope you've been well.

Hi, Jenny! I"m glad to see you back here!

You had asked me a while back to send you a message and let you know when I got going with this TR and where in the thread you could find it. I had not forgotten about that at all. I figured I would wait until I got done posting the final installment (#3) of what can be considered the Pre-TR/Background/Intro (which is all necessary to set the stage for this trip and for my ending up on a bench in DCA, crying!), and then had launched into the first installment of the actual TR before I let you know, just so that you could skip the Pre-TR part of it if you wanted to and could just start on the TR.

I don't know how much you have caught, but I do have 2 Pre-TR segments that I've already done (starting on Page 169/Post #2532 - unless that has changed in the wake of the DIS' issues)! If the outcome of my December trip had not been what it was, these Pre-TR segments might not be so crucial to setting the stage for the story.

You're not kidding that the DIS has gone mad. I have not checked the Christmas thread again to see if the missing posts from 2 nights ago have suddenly reappeared, but I have a feeling they are gone forever - or they somehow ended up in a totally different thread on the WDW side of the board, never to be found.

I know what you mean about feeling blue when there is no plan on the horizon. I feel that way too. There are certain, specific things I want to get to DLR to see, and it's just not in the cards. It's not possible. Right now, it's already mid-April and I have no clue what I will do about a holiday DLR trip this year. I mean, I know I will be there at some point, but I don't know if it will be for a day, a weekend, a couple of days, or what.

Your WDW October trip should be fun, and you'll get the whole WDW Halloween experience!

It is very nice to hear from you again Sherry. I will always be here checking out your TR for any news.




I will be looking forward to your TR Deej when you go back in October.




It almost seems like I am having a DLR trip every month. I will have about two plan trips for this year which will be June for the re-grand opening of DCA and of course my Holiday trip in November. I am not going in December this year since I have basketball season and not planning on going to WDW for the Holiday season which is sad. I will have a possibly plan trip in October for the Halloween season and maybe August for Destination D at the DLH.

Hi, Bret!

I'm hoping there is an AP preview of all the DCA stuff at some point before June 15th so you can go to that instead of being there for the opening day madness. It will be tough to get photos with all the crowds in the way. Not that the AP preview days would be any less crowded, but it would be better than opening day.

So it sounds like you have at least 2 more definite DLR trips this year (DCA re-opening in June, and holidays in November), and then 2 possible trips (Destination D and Halloween Time)? And basketball season on top of that? It will be a busy year for you!

Thank you for staying with this thread and still popping in to see what's happening!

​

Well, I am hoping that my annoying Internet will hold out long enough for me to get the final Pre-TR installment posted. Today my Internet was not working for hours. It was OK in the morning, and then it just stopped doing anything. I couldn't read e-mail, couldn't get on the DIS, couldn't make any money, couldn't get back on Facebook, nothing. It's more of this mysterious "line problem" that Time Warner alluded to last weekend.

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

I'm all caught up Sherry!!

 

[Sherry E]

Thank you, Kaitlin - glad to see you're still here!


Okay, it looks as if Kaitlin posted 2 days ago. No one else has posted since then, or replied to my last posts, correct (meaning Deej, Jenny, Bret, TK)? I'm just making sure.

There was an actual DIS crash a few days ago - which is why certain things were going haywire on the DIS at that point - but since then there has been a server switch over, if I am not mistaken, and there are further weird things that could happen.

I seem to no longer get any e-mail alerts for my own TR thread, even if I post in it. That stopped a few days ago. But today, I tried to click on the link in the last e-mail alert I got (early last week) to bring me right to the thread, and I got a "Database error" message....BUT I did not have that same issue when clicking on links to get to the Christmas thread or the Picture of the Day thread or Bret's TR.

So there seems to be some sort of issue with the links to my TR in the old e-mail alerts. And the DIS is still as slow as molasses for me - which may be due to the new servers or just my regular PC and Internet problems.

In any case, I can't continue on with "Aunt Betty's Weepy, Wacky, Wonderful Christmas Trip to Disneyland" until I get all this sorted out. I almost feel like killing this thread, copying my first 2 installments and moving to a whole new thread. Somehow I feel like the old threads that are are long are now 'damaged' in some way because of all the technical issues! (I still don't think those missing posts of mine and Michele's ever reappeared in the Christmas Superthread either, but I have to keep checking the links on Page 1 to be sure they have not been compromised in the last 2 days.)

I need people to post here so I can see if I start getting e-mail alerts again (on the new servers), and if so, will the links in the alerts work. Also, I need to be sure that everyone's posts appear!

 

[deejdigsdis]

Hey Sherry,

You are correct...I haven't posted in this thread since April 12th. You responded to my last post along with your response to TK.

I got that "Database Error" message earlier today. That's the first time I've seen that. Usually it's a message from Alex saying it will be down for a while.

Anyway, I'm still here, anxious to hear your next update, whether in this thread or a new thread!

 

[Sherry E]

Deej -

Thanks for 'test-posting' for me! I am still on the DIS right now, so I saw that you posted. Let me open up another tab and go over to my e-mail to see if I got an e-mail alert.....


...Checking....


Okay, this time I got an e-mail alert, all of a sudden. Maybe the new servers are responsible for that.

Let me check the link in that e-mail alert and see if it directs me to the right place...


...Checking....

Okay, the link in the new e-mail alert sent me to the correct thread.

So....hmm...this leads me to think that since the link in the old e-mail alert from early last week was pre-server switch, that's why it is now invalid. The servers were just switched, I think, 2 nights ago.

This means that some of those links that were working a couple of days ago may not be working now...which means, I have to check Page 1 of this thread to see if the links to the pages on which my TR's begin are still valid, as well as the Christmas thread to see if the links in the Table of Contents are working.

I'm afraid to check. One or two invalid links can be dealt with. But if it's more than that it will be too much to handle!

 

[deejdigsdis]

I'm glad it worked!

Ugh...that sounds like a nightmare to have all sorts of invalid links hanging around.

 

[kaoden39]

Hi there!!


I'm still here, crazy and all but here!!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Hi, Bret!

I'm hoping there is an AP preview of all the DCA stuff at some point before June 15th so you can go to that instead of being there for the opening day madness. It will be tough to get photos with all the crowds in the way. Not that the AP preview days would be any less crowded, but it would be better than opening day.

So it sounds like you have at least 2 more definite DLR trips this year (DCA re-opening in June, and holidays in November), and then 2 possible trips (Destination D and Halloween Time)? And basketball season on top of that? It will be a busy year for you!

Thank you for staying with this thread and still popping in to see what's happening!

Thank you Sherry. I'm waiting to see when the DL AP website announced that they will have a AP sneak peek before the opening day on June 15th. You are absolutely correct that Cars Land will be very crowded on that day. But we will take the chance and say that we were there on the opening day.

Definitely June and November for my trips. But I haven't decided if I want to do Destination D. I looked at the prices on Destination D and it was quite expensive. So I might not go during Destination D in the summer. It is possible that I might go to DL during the Halloween season. I haven't decided what days to go. I was considering going back to DL in September just to see the Halloween decorations. There was also another possibility that I might do MHP one day after not doing it last year. We'll just have to wait and see what my schedule is like.

I will always be on your thread waiting for any new news. I would have respond a few days ago, but I just had time to read your post.

 

[6Smiles]

All caught up. Wow so much has happened since I have been engrossed in school. Finishing up the first 16 weeks, don't know what I was thinking as it is more challenging than I imagined. I am so excited that you will be able to go to Avalon for free this year to celebrate your birthday. I hope we get to return some day, and walk on the beach, hold hands and visit the shops from our youth. You've always made me feel like a youngster til I saw the date of your first trip when you were four and realized our age difference is insignificant... we are both 29 and holding .

Kris

 

[Sherry E]

Okay, now that the DIS seems to be working a bit better, I think I can finally post Installment #3/Part 3 - the very last chapter in the Pre-Trip Report/Introduction/Background, which will precede the actual TR from my December 4-8, 2011, Disneyland visit...a weepy, wacky and wonderful (in many ways) adventure (as my TR title indicates), though it was.

The funny thing is, I have had the bulk of the text written for Installment #3 for ages and ages, and I've had the photos I was going to post in it more or less narrowed down.

But just recently I decided to swap one photo for another photo in Part 3. When I did that, I started thinking, "Hmmm...well, if I am going to make this point or say this thing, I'd rather use that photo than this photo to do it." And then that got me started on swapping out a lot of the photos I had picked for other ones.

The actual subjects of my final Pre-TR installments have not changed - I've had those picked out since December - but I just decided that I was going to use different photos, instead of some of the ones I originally selected, to help tell the story.

And with the changing of the photos came a need to go back and alter some of the text in Part 3! I had already written certain descriptions or made certain comments in regards to a few photos, and once the pictures changed I had to go back and delete or alter the comments - or you wouldn't know what the heck I was referring to!

Anyway, if you have been paying attention and following along with the previous 2 Pre-TR installments, I think that, along with Part 3 which is coming up, they will collectively give you a good background and paint a picture of who I am, what my interests are, what the scenario was - and where my head was - when going into this past December's trip, and why the ultimate outcome of that trip was alarming and disappointing on so many levels to me, even though it had its fun moments too.

On to a few replies...

I'm glad it worked!

Ugh...that sounds like a nightmare to have all sorts of invalid links hanging around.

deej -

I still have not gotten the courage up to check the old links and see if they are all working or if some of them have been compromised, but the DIS seems to be working better now overall. My computer issues are still the same ol' issues and have not changed, but the DIS' issues seem to have been resolved with the server switch, so that's half the battle won for me.

Hi there!!

I'm still here, crazy and all but here!!

Michele -

Okay! Cool, man! Groovy! (I never say "groovy" at all in my life, but I felt like saying it now. So there. Groovy!)

Thank you Sherry. I'm waiting to see when the DL AP website announced that they will have a AP sneak peek before the opening day on June 15th. You are absolutely correct that Cars Land will be very crowded on that day. But we will take the chance and say that we were there on the opening day.

Definitely June and November for my trips. But I haven't decided if I want to do Destination D. I looked at the prices on Destination D and it was quite expensive. So I might not go during Destination D in the summer. It is possible that I might go to DL during the Halloween season. I haven't decided what days to go. I was considering going back to DL in September just to see the Halloween decorations. There was also another possibility that I might do MHP one day after not doing it last year. We'll just have to wait and see what my schedule is like.

I will always be on your thread waiting for any new news. I would have respond a few days ago, but I just had time to read your post.

Bret -

I had secretly planned to try to go to DLR for Cars Land's opening, too - just to be there on opening day, as you said - but I doubt it will happen. First of all, it may be too hot for me. I have noticed that lately I have been getting sick after about 3 hours in the sun - and it's not even like Summer sun. So I have a feeling that trying to be at California Adventure in June may be a bad idea for me. But we shall see.

I was not at Disneyland on the day that ToonTown opened in 1993, but was there later that same year. I remember thinking that I'd like to eventually be around on the actual day something premiered.

Maybe instead of doing Disneyland in September you could just do your whole Halloween Disney visit in October, when the party is happening? That way you could see the decorations and the party all in the same trip and save yourself some money in lodging/hotels. Or would that not work for you?

I was already excited for the holiday season to begin at DLR - as I am every year - but I am more excited by the possibilities of Cars Land and Buena Vista Street being decorated too! The only thing I am worried about - and you can relate to this better than anyone, Bret, because you know exactly what I am talking about! - is that Disney/TDA will 'steal' or 'borrow' decorations from other lands to add to BVS or Cars Land.

You know as well as I do, Bret, how decorations keep 'mysteriously' disappearing from New Orleans Square. The trees that we used to like in ToonTown (the bright, colorful trees) have mysteriously vanished and been replaced by hideous plastic trees. What happened to the old ToonTown trees? Were they suddenly put in some other land?

So I am afraid that TDA will decide, "Hey! Let's decorate Cars Land and Buena Vista Street!" And then suddenly there will be even less decor in New Orleans Square, and less in any other place. They will take pieces of things here and there and put them elsewhere, rather than just buying all new decorations for the new lands!

All caught up. Wow so much has happened since I have been engrossed in school. Finishing up the first 16 weeks, don't know what I was thinking as it is more challenging than I imagined. I am so excited that you will be able to go to Avalon for free this year to celebrate your birthday. I hope we get to return some day, and walk on the beach, hold hands and visit the shops from our youth. You've always made me feel like a youngster til I saw the date of your first trip when you were four and realized our age difference is insignificant... we are both 29 and holding .

Kris

Hi, Kris!

Welcome back to my thread! Thank you for coming back and saying hello, now that you have a free moment and break from school!

I am going to make this year's Catalina visit work somehow. I am a bit worried about the heat/sun (see my above response to Bret about going to DLR in June). It's been bothering me a lot more lately. The last thing I need is to get ill only a few hours into being in Avalon, and then have to sit on a bench for the rest of the day. There is not too much in the way of shade in that town, as you may recall! All of that ocean water reflects the sun!

But, nonetheless, I missed taking advantage of the free birthday boat offer last year. It not common for a company to offer free birthday 'gifts' of that value (over $70) to everyone for 2 years in a row. They are even allowing the people who have already claimed the free birthday boat ride in 2011 to re-claim it in 2012/2013! That means that many people are getting 2 free trips to Catalina, 2 years in a row! That is unheard of! Even Disneyland did not do that!

Since I was not able to go to Catalina last year, for various reasons, I am going to make this year work, one way or the other. I have to get the Catalina Superthread going over in the SoCal section of the board, and I want to use current photos and current opinions to do that.

I don't know how old you are (I feel like I am as old as the hills), but I will agree with the "29 and holding" title for us! That works for me if it works for you!!

 

[tksbaskets]

I'm always happy when I get an email that there is action on the threads of my favorite DISers~

YEAH Ready for installment #3

I'm counting on you and Bret this year for my Holiday at DL fix! I miss the elaborate decorations at NOS. I'm curious if DCA will be decked this year too~

Now on with the TR!!

 

[kaoden39]

Okay, now that the DIS seems to be working a bit better, I think I can finally post Installment #3/Part 3 - the very last chapter in the Pre-Trip Report/Introduction/Background, which will precede the actual TR from my December 4-8, 2011, Disneyland visit...a weepy, wacky and wonderful (in many ways) adventure (as my TR title indicates), though it was.

The funny thing is, I have had the bulk of the text written for Installment #3 for ages and ages, and I've had the photos I was going to post in it more or less narrowed down.

But just recently I decided to swap one photo for another photo in Part 3. When I did that, I started thinking, "Hmmm...well, if I am going to make this point or say this thing, I'd rather use that photo than this photo to do it." And then that got me started on swapping out a lot of the photos I had picked for other ones.

The actual subjects of my final Pre-TR installments have not changed - I've had those picked out since December - but I just decided that I was going to use different photos, instead of some of the ones I originally selected, to help tell the story.

And with the changing of the photos came a need to go back and alter some of the text in Part 3! I had already written certain descriptions or made certain comments in regards to a few photos, and once the pictures changed I had to go back and delete or alter the comments - or you wouldn't know what the heck I was referring to!

Anyway, if you have been paying attention and following along with the previous 2 Pre-TR installments, I think that, along with Part 3 which is coming up, they will collectively give you a good background and paint a picture of who I am, what my interests are, what the scenario was - and where my head was - when going into this past December's trip, and why the ultimate outcome of that trip was alarming and disappointing on so many levels to me, even though it had its fun moments too.

On to a few replies...





deej -

I still have not gotten the courage up to check the old links and see if they are all working or if some of them have been compromised, but the DIS seems to be working better now overall. My computer issues are still the same ol' issues and have not changed, but the DIS' issues seem to have been resolved with the server switch, so that's half the battle won for me.






Michele -

Okay! Cool, man! Groovy! (I never say "groovy" at all in my life, but I felt like saying it now. So there. Groovy!)






Bret -

I had secretly planned to try to go to DLR for Cars Land's opening, too - just to be there on opening day, as you said - but I doubt it will happen. First of all, it may be too hot for me. I have noticed that lately I have been getting sick after about 3 hours in the sun - and it's not even like Summer sun. So I have a feeling that trying to be at California Adventure in June may be a bad idea for me. But we shall see.

I was not at Disneyland on the day that ToonTown opened in 1993, but was there later that same year. I remember thinking that I'd like to eventually be around on the actual day something premiered.

Maybe instead of doing Disneyland in September you could just do your whole Halloween Disney visit in October, when the party is happening? That way you could see the decorations and the party all in the same trip and save yourself some money in lodging/hotels. Or would that not work for you?

I was already excited for the holiday season to begin at DLR - as I am every year - but I am more excited by the possibilities of Cars Land and Buena Vista Street being decorated too! The only thing I am worried about - and you can relate to this better than anyone, Bret, because you know exactly what I am talking about! - is that Disney/TDA will 'steal' or 'borrow' decorations from other lands to add to BVS or Cars Land.

You know as well as I do, Bret, how decorations keep 'mysteriously' disappearing from New Orleans Square. The trees that we used to like in ToonTown (the bright, colorful trees) have mysteriously vanished and been replaced by hideous plastic trees. What happened to the old ToonTown trees? Were they suddenly put in some other land?

So I am afraid that TDA will decide, "Hey! Let's decorate Cars Land and Buena Vista Street!" And then suddenly there will be even less decor in New Orleans Square, and less in any other place. They will take pieces of things here and there and put them elsewhere, rather than just buying all new decorations for the new lands!








Hi, Kris!

Welcome back to my thread! Thank you for coming back and saying hello, now that you have a free moment and break from school!

I am going to make this year's Catalina visit work somehow. I am a bit worried about the heat/sun (see my above response to Bret about going to DLR in June). It's been bothering me a lot more lately. The last thing I need is to get ill only a few hours into being in Avalon, and then have to sit on a bench for the rest of the day. There is not too much in the way of shade in that town, as you may recall! All of that ocean water reflects the sun!

But, nonetheless, I missed taking advantage of the free birthday boat offer last year. It not common for a company to offer free birthday 'gifts' of that value (over $70) to everyone for 2 years in a row. They are even allowing the people who have already claimed the free birthday boat ride in 2011 to re-claim it in 2012/2013! That means that many people are getting 2 free trips to Catalina, 2 years in a row! That is unheard of! Even Disneyland did not do that!

Since I was not able to go to Catalina last year, for various reasons, I am going to make this year work, one way or the other. I have to get the Catalina Superthread going over in the SoCal section of the board, and I want to use current photos and current opinions to do that.

I don't know how old you are (I feel like I am as old as the hills), but I will agree with the "29 and holding" title for us! That works for me if it works for you!!

I look forward to the next part!



That's totally cool!! I bring out the 60's in people!

 

[Sherry E]

Okay, TK and Michele! Ask and you shall receive!

This is the final installment of the Pre-TR/Intro. So after we get through this, it will be on to the parks.

Aunt Betty's Weepy, Wacky, Wonderful Christmas Trip to Disneyland –

Sunday, December 4 – Thursday, December 8, 2011





Introduction and Background Information – Part 3

(let’s just call it a Pre-Trip Report!)​

So…we now arrive at our last installment of the ‘Pre-Trip Report/Background/Introduction’ section of this Trip Report!

To recap:


In Part 1 of this epic, I explained about how my Disneyland initiation in 1972 was largely due to Disney vocal veteran Thurl Ravenscroft being a member of the church I attended every Sunday, because my grandmother and her friends wanted to take me there so we could ride the rides/see the shows to which Thurl had contributed his talents.

I looked back fondly on my visits to the old Pan Pacific Auditorium in the Fairfax District area of Los Angeles – never expecting its unique design to become intricately interwoven into the fabric of the Disney Parks’ history.

I also revealed that, if not for my grandmother, Disney and Disneyland may have never become part of my childhood at all, let alone the haven - and light at the end of the tunnel - that it actually became for me.

And, finally, I explained that – while I cannot get to Disneyland as often as many other people on this board do – I have made at least one Disneyland trip per year (and, many times, more than one trip), for 31 of the last 40 years (I skipped some years in the late ‘90s and in the early-to-mid 2000’s).




In Part 2, I told you about how I first met “M” – the friend who will play a prominent role in the December 2011 Trip Report I am about to share with you – back in 1979, in junior high school, and how our friendship was filled with both conflict and many fun adventures. She was with me at that first Goofy’s Kitchen breakfast 20 years ago. She was with me on many Disneyland trips. She was with me in Catalina. She was with me back in the old rollicking rock & roll days of the Sunset Strip and the ‘80s hair bands (such as Poison & Warrant). She was with me when we spied on cute boys from behind fruit stands…and she was with me on that fateful day when we met Michael Damian from “Young & the Restless”[/I} at Farmers Market.

I don’t think I explained this, but prior to this past December, my last Disneyland trip with M was on a very rainy Thanksgiving weekend in 2001, when we stayed at the Grand Californian Hotel (that was actually the GCH’s very first holiday season and the first year of its lobby’s magnificent giant Christmas tree!). We rode exactly 2 rides (Haunted Mansion Holiday and Autopia – what an odd choice for the only 2 rides to go on, I know!), ate at Plaza Inn and the Storytellers Critter Breakfast, wandered over to the Disneyland Hotel and spent too much time in Downtown Disney (M is obsessed with shopping in Downtown Disney, for some reason). We also watched fireworks from our GCH room. That was about it!

By the way, that November 2001 Grand Californian Hotel booking was a last-minute reservation, as that was the only place I could find availability – and I got stuck paying for the entire hotel bill. M later grumbled to me about how she didn’t want to stay at the GCH – she preferred the Disneyland Hotel (which was not available) – even though I told her that with less than a week’s preparation for a Thanksgiving weekend trip, we could not get into the Disneyland Hotel and had to take what was open. So we had to ‘settle’ for the Grand Californian, and M and her husband didn’t seem all that impressed.

November 2001 was also the last time M and I saw each other, period, because she and her husband, “B,” moved out of state and started a family. Even though they apparently made trips back to Southern California all the way up to 2006 or so, they didn’t think to contact me to get together when they were in town.





So what could be in store for Part 3 of this Background/Introduction/Pre-Trip Report?


Well, again, keeping in mind that I am laying the groundwork, building anticipation and setting the stage here for the actual Trip Report to come (because, if you remember what I have revealed in Parts 1, 2 & 3, then the events and outcome of the trip will have more meaning and impact!), I really wanted to express a few final things:

1. My love of Christmas, especially Disney + Christmas together; and

2. My love of photography (as being both a precious memory-preserver and a cathartic release/creative outlet for me).


As you can imagine, these passions can be blended together at times, which is probably my ultimate scenario – taking photos of Disneyland at Christmas time!!



Let’s start with my absolute adoration of Christmas – well, holidays in general, really, but Christmas is at the top of the list (Halloween is in second place and Easter is third)!

My grandmother, who I already told you about in Part 1, was big on holidays – she went the extra mile to be sure that holidays were special for me as a child. There was a card and/or gift for almost every significant occasion. She gave me jewelry and candy for Valentine’s Day. She gave me little bits of money and maybe a 4-leaf clover pin to commemorate our Irish heritage on St. Patrick’s Day. She would buy me the PAAS dye kits so I could color eggs & then she would hide several wonderful treat-filled baskets around the house for me to find on Easter morning (I loved that!). She would give me costume-clad stuffed animals for Halloween. She would load up Christmas stockings with all kinds of little treasures, and give me many presents on December 25th. My grandmother did not have any money – as I have stated before – but she wanted to be sure that I had that experience of enjoying all holidays, so she pulled it off somehow.

Luckily, that enjoyment of festive occasions has stuck with me over the years. What I really appreciate is the overall fun involved in holidays. I love the colors, as well as the different textures and styles used in holiday decorations. For example, I was recently walking down the street and I stopped to admire a festive array of plastic bunnies, baskets, flowers, eggs, baby chicks and fake green grass in the window of an Italian restaurant – and it made me very happy to see such a lively representation of Easter, when normally it’s just Christmas (and maybe Halloween) that people acknowledge!! I suppose I love the celebratory aspect of most holidays – the traditions, the cheesy rituals, the TV specials, the songs, the Hallmark lapel pins and ornaments...I love it all.

Now, just for the record, I don’t have any money at all - I am currently not even gainfully employed - and I don’t have any family. So my holiday celebrations do not involve awkward Thanksgiving dinners at wacky relatives’ houses, nor do they involve me waking up on Christmas morning and opening presents under a tree, nor do they involve wild parties on New Year’s Eve. To be honest, these days I spend all holidays alone, at home, 99% of the time.

…But that’s okay. I have certainly bought lots of presents (and even made some by hand) for friends in the past, when I had a few dollars to spend. I have certainly sent out cards for every ‘fun’ holiday (Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Halloween and Christmas). I have put together an occasional Easter basket for friends. I’ve been to New Year’s parties. I have had dates on Valentine’s Day. I have attended some Thanksgiving dinners along the way. And I have been very fortunate to have received some nice presents from people over the years, too.

The bottom line is that I love all holidays despite not having any money to spend or family with whom to share the occasion. I dare say that I might actually enjoy holidays more than many other people do because I don’t have the same pressures that other people have as far as needing to buy this or cook that, or give this present to that person, etc. I can enjoy the holidays with no pressure at all, really, other than feeling like I am expected to be doing these things by other people, or feeling like I should{/I] be doing certain things.





Christmas is a particularly special time. It stands out above all other holidays for me because there are so many layers involved in celebrating it, which can range from the highly religious to the highly whimsical.

I am an absolute sucker for Christmas ‘stuff.’ I love it all, from Nativity scenes to Santa Claus; from angels to snowflakes; from elves to little drummer boys and everything in between. I love the symbols and iconography of the season (snowmen, nutcrackers, candy canes, stars, reindeer, etc.). I love the vibrant colors. I love the gorgeous lights. I love the aromas (pine; cinnamon; gingerbread) & flavors (peppermint, nutmeg, hot cocoa, sugar cookies, etc.) of the season. I love Christmas trees, and the many ways in which they can be adorned – from the very classic styles to the ‘themed’ trees (like an all-Disney tree, and all-blue tree or an all-unicorn tree, etc.). I love that Christmas décor can be rustic and countrified, or it can be elegant and sparkly; it can be old world or modern, or it can be playful and childlike. There are so many different ways to express one’s ‘Christmas personality’ through textures, patterns, colors, lights and designs.

I wander around town, snapping photos of random holiday things…

I took this window display picture back in 2000, with a 35mm camera:

And this was taken during the Christmas season of 2010, with my cell phone. The banner says “Deck the Hills,” because it’s a Beverly Hills sign!:

Needless to say, I love Christmas music too – from the more spiritually-based songs that I learned as a child (“O Holy Night,” “Angels We Have Heard On High,” “The First Noel,” “Away in a Manger,” etc.), to the more standard-style songs (“White Christmas,” “Silver Bells,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” etc.), to the bubbly, bouncy songs that are fun to sing along with (“Frosty the Snowman,” “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Sleigh Ride,” etc.).

Additionally, I love Christmas movies and television!! Of course, I am a fan of movies such as “Love Actually” and “Elf,” as well as classics like “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “A Christmas Carol.” Yes, I am an avid watcher of all the Peanuts holiday specials, too. Gotta love that Charlie Brown Christmas tree! And I just became a fan of the Hallmark Channel last year, when I discovered that, starting on the very first weekend in November, they run a Christmas movie marathon every weekend until right after the New Year begins. Jackpot!! Plus, my DVR is overloaded with every kind of Christmas-decorations special known to man (and Halloween-related shows, too), such as “Christmas Crazy,” “Extreme Christmas Trees,” “The Most Christmasy Places in America,” “Invasion of the Christmas Lights, 1, 2 & 3,” and the list goes on and on.

And…as many of my longtime TR followers know, since childhood I have been a connoisseur of the old Rankin-Bass holiday TV specials (including the Easter ones, such as “Here Comes Peter Cottontail”!), featuring some very corny-looking stop-motion puppet characters. I won’t even name them. I will just show you an image, and this should explain it all:

(Photo from Google Images)

So, there you have it…you get the picture. I am a huge fan of holidays in general, and particularly Christmas, but I kind of observe and enjoy these occasions in my own way, and not necessarily in the way that people typically do.

The one Yuletide tradition I try to maintain for myself is a yearly visit to Disneyland during the holiday season, whether it’s for multiple days or only one day. I know I visited the park in November or December at some point during the late ‘70s or early ‘80s, but for whatever reason I do not have a really strong memory of seeing Christmas trees and wreaths in the park. I just remember being there during the holidays. I am guessing that we must not have stayed very long, and that no one took any photos.

My first real, vivid memory of being at Disneyland for Christmas – and ‘discovering’ that I preferred to go in December over any other time of year - was probably in 1990. But Disney and Christmas were synonymous in my mind from an early age, as you can see:

I have no clue whose house this was, but apparently I made a life-sized friend that day…

This was my rockin’ Weebles Disneyland set (a gift on Christmas morning), complete with mini-Teacups, a mini-Monorail, a mini-Dumbo ride, a Castle (that looked nothing like Disneyland’s Castle), as well as Mickey, Pluto and Donald Weebles (who wobbled, but they didn’t fall down, of course!).

Sadly, I had to sell that set in the ‘90s (along with many of my cherished Disney watches) when I needed money.


As you can imagine, Disneyland at Christmas time encompasses everything I love about the holiday season, mixed in with a big helping of Disney magic. It’s sensory overload, but in the best possible way! If you’ve ever been to Disneyland, you know how enchanting of a place it is to begin with. Add in some Christmas merriment and it is just amazing. “Magical” doesn’t even begin to cover it! So this is why I make a point of experiencing the festivities, Mickey-style, every year – it’s my only holiday ‘activity (not counting the random neighborhood photo sprees!) and my only real tradition.






As I was saying earlier, the other thing I am passionate about is photography. Ever since my grandmother handed me her Kodak camera in a restaurant at the top of the Space Needle when I was a small child, and let me take a photo of the Seattle cityscape below, I was hooked. I must have been only 3 or 4 years old but I knew I wanted to take photos.

Even as a teenager and young adult, I was always the annoying one with the camera who pestered everyone to pose for photos when my friends and I got together. They all grumbled and complained (except for “M,” who was a ham) at the time, and then eventually – when they saw my pictures – everyone loved them and they all started taking their own. But everyone still wanted copies of my pictures!

Thanks to my photo habit I got lots of great shots of the old Poison/Bret Michaels days – some of which I have shown here but most of which I have not. Sadly, some jerk got into my Facebook albums a couple of years ago and ‘stole’ the Poison-related photos I posted only for my friends who had been around during that time in the ‘80s, and the jerk decided to share them with the world. Not only is that copyright infringement, but it also just hurt that some stranger took MY memories – which are precious to me – and decided that he needed to share them with strangers. I felt violated. That STILL makes me very, very angry to this day.

Anyway, when I was a teen I had a boyfriend who was a concert photographer. He took professional, close-up photos at all the big concerts of those days. Any major musician or group you can think of, he was there in the front row with his camera – Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, the Pretenders, David Bowie, the Go-Go’s, Stevie Nicks, Berlin, INXS, Duran Duran, etc. He gave me copies of a lot of the photos that he considered ‘bad,’ but which were really great!

Perhaps inspired my ex-boyfriend, for a while in the ‘80s I was practicing my “concert” photography at some club shows with a very bad disc camera, just to see if I liked taking those types of pictures…

This is Jani Lane of Warrant, who passed away last August:

This is Gilby Clarke, who is a former member of Guns N’ Roses and star of CBS’ “Rock Star: Supernova” a few years ago…

I have found that photography – albeit, amateur photography – is very healing and therapeutic for me. It calms me, relaxes me and yet focuses me, stimulating my brain and imagination. It’s a cathartic way to de-stress and channel my creativity.

Some would say (and have said) that writing is my real forte…I’m not sure what to say about that. I don’t think I agree. Yes, I can write a lot, and if I get on a roll I can probably string some words together on paper that might flow reasonably well. However, quantity (writing a lot) does not necessarily equal quality (interesting reading material). Also, it is more stressful to come up with what to write and how to express it – especially within a certain time frame or deadline - than it is to just lift up a camera and shoot something! Writing is not as cathartic for me as it should be, regardless of how well or how poorly I do it.

Now you all may or may not like any of my pictures. Some photos are hits; some are misses. Some are average; some are boring; some are really good. The thing is that many avid photographers – amateur or professional - will not show you their less-than-perfect photos. They will only show you the ones that came out really fantastic, or the ones that were heavily edited. I, on the other hand, will show you the hits and the misses. I don’t care. This is not an art gallery or a photo exhibit. It’s just for kicks. I don’t have a DSLR camera (yet) so I just play with the camera I have, which is a simple ol’ Canon point & shoot with 100 different complicated features! But it serves me well, my Canon. Most of what makes a great photo comes from our brains or imaginations, anyway. The equipment we use is just the tool that helps us execute our visions.

The important thing to me is that taking pictures – good or bad pictures – is something I love doing and have always loved doing. It brings me a lot of joy. For some reason, I let this hobby fall to the wayside in the late ‘90s and early part of this decade. It was a rough period of time for me, I suppose, and I just kind of gave up on a lot of things I loved doing rather than trying to find comfort in them.

However, when I started making annual trips to Disneyland again in 2007 (after being away from the Land for 5 straight years), that rekindled the spark for me. Since then I have been a picture-taking machine when I am by myself. I find it very difficult to get the sorts of photos I want to get when I am with people. I cannot concentrate when anyone is around me. I have to have a good chunk of time alone to be able to come up with ideas for pictures and spend the necessary time required to compose them to my satisfaction.

Here are some photos I have taken over the last couple of years - many of them recently, when I have just been cruising ‘round the neighborhood…

In this version of this photo I used the Autofix feature on Photobucket, as well as brightened it up a notch or two. However, in another version of it (for my Facebook Timeline cover picture) I punched up the color even more to make it pop off the page…

I Autofixed and Blurred/Softened this one a bit, just for kicks- and it made a rockin’ Facebook Timeline cover picture too!…

Another Autofixed/Blurred photo for the dreaded Timeline cover slot…

Yes, I used this one for Timeline as well! It was Autocorrected (or whatever it is called) in the Canon software. The color was not altered…

Let’s try a photo with a person in it for a change! This is Maria Menounos from “Extra” and “Dancing With the Stars” at The Grove last month, posing with a random girl. The only change I made to this was to wipe out the girl’s face, as I don’t know that she necessarily wants to be seen on a discussion board!

This was taken with my cell phone – I blurred the edges but that’s it. The color was not enhanced in any way – it was exactly that rich in the original photo. The pink is so luscious that it reminds me of cake frosting or candy.

Another cell phone photo, Autofixed…

This one (on the Canon) was not edited in any way. I love the juxtaposition of the colors and textures – the red and green leaves against the delicate, almost lacy, flowers and tiny pink bulbs.

This one was not edited in any way either. It was hard getting this shot, between the flowers swaying in the breeze and the bees that didn’t want to stay put for longer than 2 seconds to let me snap some pictures!

A sculpture by Rodin at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art…

A creature at the Tar Pits….

Three of my favorite Catalina photos, circa 2001 & 2002, I think. These were taken on the old 35mm and then scanned, so they needed to be Autofixed…

And finally, here are some of my favorite Disneyland Resort photos, which everyone who has followed this TR has seen 150,000 times, but I will throw them in here for the folks who are brand new to this Trip Report…

I Autofixed and blurred the edges of this one from the Grand Californian Hotel…

The clock on Main Street at dusk (no one was really taking too many pictures of the Main Street clock at that point, back in 2010). I don’t think I did anything to this version except Autofix it…

I Autofixed this. This was an idea I came up with as a way to put a different spin on the famous Sorcerer’s Hat at the border between the Disneyland Hotel and Downtown Disney. In December 2010, when I took this photo, I had not yet seen any other photos like it – on the DIS or elsewhere.

From the Paradise Pier Hotel, 12th floor (December 2010)…a different perspective of California Adventure…

So, now that you have seen the photos I wanted to share, and you’ve read the stories I wanted to tell in Parts 1, 2 and 3 of this Pre-Trip Report/Introduction/Background, you know how much Disneyland means to me and why it means so much. You know how much my friends mean to me and why they do. And you know how much Christmas & photography mean to me and why.

Knowing that I would be wrapped up with M and my other friends for at least the first few days of my December 2011 Disneyland Resort holiday trip, it seemed as though I was going to have to put my photo-taking sprees on hold to focus on seeing my friend(s). I had not seen M in 10 years, after all. This bothered me, because I really, really wanted to take a lot of photos, as I did on my December 2010 Disneyland trip. But, as I mentioned, I cannot concentrate when there are people around me and I really need to be able to wander off by myself for hours at a time to make any progress.

However, seeing my friends – since they are basically my family in the absence of real blood relations – was very important to me, and I put that ahead of anything else, no matter how much I wanted to follow my own agenda.

Was it worthwhile to sacrifice what I wanted to do to be with my friends? Well, since I ended up crying on a bench – alone - in California Adventure on the next to last day of my trip, I’ll let you decide! There were some high points. There were some low points. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. It was a weepy, wacky, wonderful trip!






Coming up…the adventure FINALLY BEGINS as I head towards the Happiest Place on Earth on December 4th…

BUT…does the shuttle driver know where he is going? Is he purposely going the wrong way because he is a crazed maniac who is going to kill me? Will I ever make it to Disneyland at all? And does the driver know how to make a mean bowl of spaghetti and meatballs?

All that and more – in the first installment of the Trip Report!! Stay tuned!!

 

[tksbaskets]

I enjoyed the PTR. I don't know if I had seen the picture of the tree at the GCH with the great textured rocks in the foreground. You know that many of the pictures I take at DL are to TRY and get as nice a picture as you do. Greatest form of flattery, right?

LOVE your flower pictures!

When our travel dollars are tight I will give up anything to still make a trip to DL or WDW. It truly is my Happy Place. It is even more magical at Christmas. The few times I've been solo I have enjoyed being able to people watch, take pictures, and generally wander without any pressure to do what my fellow travelers want to do. Not that I'd give up my family or friends at Disney, it is just fun solo too.

A crazy shuttle driver too??? Your trips are filled with excitement! Can't wait to hear more details.