Nothing to See Here...

[kaoden39]

Sigh, that picture of Jani Lane made me sad. What a tragic life he led.



Great update!

 

[Sherry E]

Yikes! I don't know what happened when the DIS switched to new servers, but not it's not as easy to edit posts as it used to be. I noticed a typo or something in my installment from last night, and I went in to correct it, along with one or two other small things. When I clicked Save or whatever it is, a message popped up that said I did not have permission to do that!

I don't have permission to edit my own posts? I was confused. The message told me to refresh the page. I had to refresh, and then the changes I made were gone, so I had to re-sign in and do it again. What a pain.

Anyway, I just wanted to copy/quote my post from last night to this page, because I know that a lot of new people or people who are short on time may not scroll to the previous page, and my hard work may get lost in the shuffle!

By the way, I recommend that anyone do that in their own threads too. If you post something - especially if it's something you spend a lot of time on - but it just happens to fall at the very end of a page...don't hesitate to quote it or re-copy it to the next page to be sure it does not get lost. A lot of times people who tune into a thread will miss seeing posts and things because the page has changed over and they only look at the current page!

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!!

 

[Sherry E]

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.

TK -

Thank you very, very much for the kind words. I really appreciate it. I don't know how good (or not good) any of my photos are - certainly they are not anywhere near the stellar level of photos by the KCmike's, Evad's, WDWFigment's, Elk Grove Chris's and I'm mikey's of this board! - but I know that it brings me happiness to take photos, and I am always thrilled if I can get any of them to come out decently. There are lots of big clunkers in the bunch, so I am in a state of shock if something turns out nicely for a change and it's decent enough to post!

And again, the photos that appear in the actual TR will all be totally untouched, unedited, raw images - no Autofixing. There's no time for that. If I took the time to Autofix everything in my TR's or edit/fix every single photo I take on a weekly basis, I would never leave the house or get away from this computer! I will play around with certain photos and see what I can do with them for fun, and then I may or may not post them. The majority of them stay as is, as they were originally captured, which means you will see the clunkers and the winners!

The flower photos can be much harder to get than it would seem. If a breeze hits them, they move. If a bug lands on them, they move. If you get too close they can be blurry (and blurry in the bad way, not in the good way). If you are too far away, you can't really get the full impact of the colors.

Hats off to Deej and Bret for being able to finesse the flower photo-taking thing time and time again. I have flower photos (from around the neighborhood) that I've taken over the last few years, and there are only a handful that I would consider good. The ones I posted above are some of the ones that I think are acceptable, for different reasons. But there have been a lot of clunkers in the bunches that I've taken, that's for sure.

You take lots of wonderful photos, TK! I've seen them! That's the other thing - I love looking at everyone else's photos just as much as I like taking them! I love your photos, Deej's photos, Bret's photos, Michele's, Laurie's, Marie's, Molly's, Jessica/Belle Ella's, Liza/funatdisney's....I love 'em all. The quality of most photos these days is so great. The point & shoots are awesome. It always amazes me how creative people can get, or how well they are able to capture a a simple subject or a moment with a particular type of camera, and I am always interested to kind of learn more about the people taking the photos through the sorts of pictures they take. I like seeing what they 'see' when they take photos.

Yes, it is flattering if anyone is influenced by us or tries to replicate/imitate an idea they saw in a photo taken by us! If someone likes a photo you/we/I took enough to want to copy it for themselves, it is definitely flattering. We all - every single one of us - want to know if someone likes any of our pictures. Even just one photo in the bunch. If someone likes it, it is flattering and we want to know! We may not think we are taking anything all that exciting, so if other people find the photos to be interesting, we all want to know...don't we?

Being at Disneyland with people (in my case, friends) vs. being solo are two different things, I find. I love going on rides with people. I much prefer taking silly PhotoPass photos with people over doing it by myself. I much, much prefer enjoying a meal with people. Plus, it's just fun to enjoy the Christmasy or Halloweeny fun with people. It's nice to be able to go on IASW Holiday and point out the little details to other people.

But, if I am going to hunker down and get serious about photos, I have to be solo. This is something I cannot focus on when I am with people. I can't think, I can't concentrate, I can't really hone in on certain things. A couple of weeks ago, I took about 275 photos in just 3-1/2 hours at the La Brea Tar Pits and LACMA. I could not have done that if I'd had people with me. Back in 12/2010, I took 1600-ish photos over 2-1/2 solo days at DLR. I took hundreds of photos at The Grove and Farmers Market back in 2010, just in the course of a few hours.

But, sadly, over the course of 5 days/4 nights at DLR this past December (2011), I think I only got 300+ photos (it was under 400 but more than 350). That's not cool with me! That goes to show how distracted I was by the other folks on the trip!

Sigh, that picture of Jani Lane made me sad. What a tragic life he led.



Great update!

Michele -

Thanks! I hope you had time to read everything. I know you said you like to read more than look at the photos, so there was plenty to read.

Jani definitely passed too soon. He was one of the more talented people to emerge from the old Sunset Strip scene, even if his band had to follow a certain formula to get airplay.

 

[kaoden39]

Yes, Sherry I did. I like reading the post that go with the photos because it completes it.

 

[PHXscuba]

See Sherry, I knew we were kindred souls! You know how much I love Christmas, but I also love photos -- taking them, viewing them, etc. I am lucky I married a man who is also a photographer. I think we currently own about four cameras, and that doesn't include cell phones or 3 kids with cameras.

I am looking forward to more of your trip report. I actually like a little Christmas in May because it seems like way too long until December comes again.

And -- breaking news -- I think we have settled on going to DLR again next March! Oddly, it was DH who talked me into going sooner rather than waiting til fall. I am even contemplating a pre-trip report!

PHXscuba

 

[tksbaskets]

Yes, Sherry I did. I like reading the post that go with the photos because it completes it.

Me too! I love the story behind the picture.

See Sherry, I knew we were kindred souls! You know how much I love Christmas, but I also love photos -- taking them, viewing them, etc. I am lucky I married a man who is also a photographer. I think we currently own about four cameras, and that doesn't include cell phones or 3 kids with cameras.

I am looking forward to more of your trip report. I actually like a little Christmas in May because it seems like way too long until December comes again.

And -- breaking news -- I think we have settled on going to DLR again next March! Oddly, it was DH who talked me into going sooner rather than waiting til fall. I am even contemplating a pre-trip report!

PHXscuba

Yeah! I can live vicariously through another report

 

[Sherry E]

See Sherry, I knew we were kindred souls! You know how much I love Christmas, but I also love photos -- taking them, viewing them, etc. I am lucky I married a man who is also a photographer. I think we currently own about four cameras, and that doesn't include cell phones or 3 kids with cameras.

I am looking forward to more of your trip report. I actually like a little Christmas in May because it seems like way too long until December comes again.

And -- breaking news -- I think we have settled on going to DLR again next March! Oddly, it was DH who talked me into going sooner rather than waiting til fall. I am even contemplating a pre-trip report!

PHXscuba

PHXscuba -

A pre-trip report! Wow! I don't think you've ever done a trip report or a Pre-TR, have you? Or did I miss something along the way? This is big news! Well, there will be lots to see when you make your next trip. As TK said above, we can live vicariously through your report. Count me in when you get it going! I have no clue what will be happening with any DLR trips I may or may not make this year (I have no specific ideas yet of what I will do for Halloween Time, the holidays or anything else), but I'm sure that by the time your trip rolls around next year I will be needing a DLR trip report fix!

Yes, yes, yes I love taking photos wherever I am - whether it's just walking down the street or stepping outside of my building, or being at Disneyland - and I love looking at other people's photos, in all skill levels (amateur or pro)! We're kindred souls, indeed! I actually get depressed when I can't take the photos I want to take at Disneyland because of a lack of time or whatever. I don't feel complete. I willingly give up rides and things to go off and just spend time taking pictures - which seems crazy to other people - but if I can't get in that time I get bummed out.

That is my master plan for Catalina in July - as much as I love being in Avalon with friends, and as wonderful as my trips with friends have been there, I need to spend the day by myself, I think, and just go on a mad photo spree to make up for lost time. I will probably pass out through the course of the day, but hopefully I will have gotten many pictures as they carry me off the Island on the stretcher!!

You are very lucky to have married a photographer! What a wonderful family album you must have, full of high quality photos!

Other than the concert photographer boyfriend I had when I was a teen in the '80s, I had another boyfriend back in the late '90s who had been a professional, successful photographer before I knew him and he had given it up for some unknown reason. He even sold his camera. Then, after we stopped seeing each other, he eventually got back into photography years later and now I see that he has a website for his photography services and is apparently a popular photographer of young, beautiful models! (It figures that he ended up taking pictures of models, but maybe it's good that he was not doing that when we were dating!!)

 

[mvf-m11c]

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!

I'm hoping that you might be able to go to Cars Land & BVS on opening day and just say that you were there. It has been fun these last few years going on the opening day or sneak peek for new rides or shows. This one will be the biggest one of them all when they haven't done a new land in 10 years. The weather in mid June is not as bad as I have thought when my DA and I have been going since 2009. Maybe the weather will be nice and you could do a fast trip. It will be really nice to meet you in person.

I see. Thank you for clarifying it. It is always neat to say that you were there the year that Toontown opened.

I was thinking of going back in the first weekend of October since the prices for the hotels are not as bad as the other days in September and mid to late October. I also didn't want to have my Holiday trip in November about inside a month just like last month trips. You know that I was there for the first MHP in 2010 and would like to do another party again, but my DA doesn't want to do MHP after MVMCP at WDW in 2010. So I am thinking of going to do another MHP so I can get a lot of pics that I didn't get on my last MHP trip. I will keep you and everyone informed of what my plans are for the Halloween season.

As you know, I always look forward to the Holiday season at the DLR more then anything else. But you are the best of knowing everything for the Holiday season at the DLR. I am also looking forward to see what Christmas decorations will be at Cars Land this year as well. Just like you, I am also worried of what decorations that Cars Land and BVS will used. I am hoping that they will not use old decorations from the other lands or ideas. We are all hoping that the new decorations will be new and exciting especially for the new lands.

This will be another puzzling year of what decorations will be missing at all the land during the Holiday season. It would be nice to see the light canopies above the alley way of NOS to be up, but I doubt that they will put them back up. Those plastic trees at TT were just so ugly last year after shipping them from MTT at the MK. I wish we would get our old trees back at TT this year, but we will wait and see. Maybe they did get a lot of criticism of those trees last year that they will bring back the old ones at TT.

That will be really bad if they put a lot of money into CL & BVS and forget that NOS and the other places around the DLR need some Holiday decorations. We'll just wait and see when we get in early November and see if they will decorate all parts of the DLR.


I got to read your PTR and I enjoyed it a lot. I always enjoy your TR's and pictures and can't wait to read more from your TR last year.

Just like what you said that it is fun to go solo since you can take as may pictures and do anything you want to do. While when you are with other people, it's all about the rides and getting photos at iconic areas. I have done a lot of solo trips in the past, they are all fun and sometimes not that fun without someone to talk too during a trip. The great thing about solo is that you can take a lot of pics and I have done that with so many places including the construction sites of all the new rides, shows, etc.

 

[PHXscuba]

My DH is really more of a high-quality amateur, but he used to take engagement and wedding photos of friends, back when we were broke college kids. He uses macro photography in some of his work but it doesn't really apply much to vacation photos. He learned to make iMovies a few years ago and now takes over my computer to make videos of vacations, outings, etc. They turn out really fun but he does go overboard. I guess everyone needs a hobby.

Photo tip for anyone reading: If you have more than one adult (or older child) willing to shoot pictures, take two or more cameras. You see things from different perspectives. DD12, DH and I all brought cameras to WDW last fall and we got a great variety of shots.

PHXscuba

 

[kaoden39]

My DH is really more of a high-quality amateur, but he used to take engagement and wedding photos of friends, back when we were broke college kids. He uses macro photography in some of his work but it doesn't really apply much to vacation photos. He learned to make iMovies a few years ago and now takes over my computer to make videos of vacations, outings, etc. They turn out really fun but he does go overboard. I guess everyone needs a hobby.

Photo tip for anyone reading: If you have more than one adult (or older child) willing to shoot pictures, take two or more cameras. You see things from different perspectives. DD12, DH and I all brought cameras to WDW last fall and we got a great variety of shots.

PHXscuba

I couldn't agree more. We have done that and I think we will do it again this trip. I love to see what other people love about the parks. I think this is why I love the boards so much.

 

[mariezp]

Hi Sherry! I finally made it back! I confess that I was in temporary lurker mode there for awhile but even still I have been scanning to see if you had anything new. Now that you provided us with some new details it looks like I am going to have to speak up and let you know how much I enjoyed your latest installment.

First, I hope that the switch to the new servers did not wipe out too many of your links. What a pain in the behind that would be!

Second, I do want to add my name to the list of those who think you should be a writer. You do have quite a talent for spinning a story and obviously work hard to keep it interesting. And, of course, if some day you don’t end up being a famous writer I still think you would be excellent doing PR for Disneyland! And, if not PR work who knows maybe someday you could become one of the Photopass photographers and you could spend your days taking photos all day long. I know. Somehow I doubt it would it would hardly be the same.

Anyhoo….. moving right along with additional comments… I am utterly amazed again when you were talking about your November 2001 trip. I cannot imagine M leaving you stuck with the entire bill! If my memory recalls correctly you also mentioned that on this trip she was also not too forthcoming with her share of the bill. From what you have shared with us so far she appears to be someone who tends to lean towards being just a little bit self-absorbed. No? Shame on her!

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 be doing certain things.

I can definitely see where you in some ways do have an advantage over some people in this respect. There are many times when people get so wrapped up in all those pressures you mention that they really do fail to benefit from the real joy of the occasion. Kuddos to you at having adapted so well over the years and making the holidays your own by celebrating them in your own special way. BTW I love the giant Mickey and the Weebles set!

I also love you attitude about picture taking. Obviously, there are many who are better at taking pictures than some of us (me, me, me!). However, just because some of us (me, me, me!) don’t have the same talent does not mean we enjoy it any less. Personally, I could take pictures at the park all day long and love every minute of it. However, I do not have the patience to deal with learning settings and learning what it takes to take fantastic photos. In the meantime, I am fairly satisfied with the photos I do take and am happy to gaze in admiration upon photos from other photographers who far surpass me with their superior picture taking skills. I totally agree with you that whether the photos we find here on the DIS be amateur or professional they can ALL still bring us a lot of joy as we share our unique visions and the love we have for Disneyland. Speaking of pics…. Love those poppin timeline flowers and the Catalina photos! And, I can honestly say that your Grand Californian Hotel shot and the Main Street Clock at Dusk are a couple of my all time favorites.

Can’t wait to read more in the continuing saga! Knowing your luck I can well imagine what sort of cab driver you got stuck with!!!




And one last response from way back when….

Ooh sounds fun!! Do you have a trip report? I hope you all have a wonderful time!!

Michele, if you haven’t stopped in by now I DO have a trip report from our 2011 Disneyland trip. It would be the Amtrak link in my siggie. I am currently working on new plans for 2012 which will include Thanksgiving in the park. Boy am I ready to go! And if you want to come on over I started a pre-trip report today. Not much happening yet but with 6 months to go I am bound to come up with something! Stop in and say hi!

 

[Sherry E]

I only have a quick second to pop in so I don't have time to fully reply to Bret & Marie, etc. but I wanted to say hi, Marie!

I wasn't sure if you were still out there because you never spoke up about Part #2 - the installment all about M and how we met, etc. I didn't know if you had caught it, but it was integral to how things will unfold with her on the DLR TR from December so hopefully you caught it!

Thanks for the nice comments about the writing and how I should be a writer and all that. The thing is, it's too pressure-filled for me. It doesn't bring me joy often enough. Sometimes we might be good at something but it doesn't necessarily make us happy. Know what I mean? Someone might be good at sewing but they don't necessarily want to be stuck doing it.

As I said, I've been hooked on taking pictures since my grandmother put a camera in my tiny hands back when I was 3 or 4 years old, and we were near the top of the Space Needle. I always, always wanted to take photos and I used to drive all of my friends nuts with my picture-taking. I just let it get away from me for a while, which I shouldn't have done.

But the last few years, I've been walking all around the neighborhood, snapping away, taking photos of flowers in neighbors' yards and bushes and other things. I can spend days on end in Disneyland snapping away, without ever going on any rides. It's something that de-stresses me, whereas writing stresses me out.

I suppose that, ideally, my perfect job would be a photojournalist - that way I could write and take photos all the same time! But really, writing is not my main interest, whether or not I am any good at it.


Good Lord - you guys who are starting your DLR pre-TR's 6 and 7 months early are too much! I'm still trying to get through this TR from December, and you guys are already working on your TR's for the holiday season!

Cut the slowpoke some slack, will ya?

 

[kaoden39]

But Sherry!!!


I am happiest when I am planning my trips.

 

[tksbaskets]

But Sherry!!!


I am happiest when I am planning my trips.

 

[deejdigsdis]

Wow...so much to catch up on!

I don't have time to comment on everything right now, but...I was just on Google Images, looking up Halloweentime Castle pics and I came across 2 of your pics that had NOTHING to do with Halloween. They were 2 you recently posted...you at Christmastime with the tall Mickey, and you with your Disneyland Weebles set. Anyway, I just thought it was funny!

More later...

 

[Sherry E]

Wow...so much to catch up on!

I don't have time to comment on everything right now, but...I was just on Google Images, looking up Halloweentime Castle pics and I came across 2 of your pics that had NOTHING to do with Halloween. They were 2 you recently posted...you at Christmastime with the tall Mickey, and you with your Disneyland Weebles set. Anyway, I just thought it was funny!

More later...

Helllllllllooooo, deej!!

That is funny and weird - yes, those two pictures were in this most recent Pre-TR installment from just a few days ago! And they were specifically in the "Disney-Christmas" connection part of the post.

The same thing has happened to me with other folks' photos too. One time - about 2 or 3 years ago - I was in Yahoo Images, not Google. I cannot recall exactly which word combination I typed in, but it was something having to do with Halloween or Christmas and Disneyland. When I got to the thumbnail results page, I noticed a whole bunch of photos from fellow DIS'er prettyprincessbelle (Courtney) were displayed, but they were not all Halloween or holiday-specific photos.

Of course I have no clue how Google or Yahoo find their images, but it seems like maybe they do a super fast scan of the Internet for any recent posts/activity using keywords like "Halloween" or "Christmas" and if there is any kind of an image/photo connected to the page they found, they will show the thumbnails, even if the pictures have nothing to do with the actual keywords.

Because I mentioned Halloween in the same post with the pictures of the Weebles set and the life-sized Mickey (when I was talking about my love of holidays), and I have mentioned Halloween Time in my TR, when you searched for the Halloween Castle pictures Google Images just went to the most recent references to Halloween - that also had images with them - within the context of Disney...and came up with the images that were in my post that also mentioned Halloween!

Or...perhaps they scanned for recent activity from people who have posted about Halloween Time a lot on the Web, and somehow ended up with me (because of the Superthread and all of those references) and my own TR.

It is very misleading, though - I wish there was a way for Google Images to actually show only what people are looking for and not all this other crazy stuff.

I think I was searching for some kind of holiday images/graphics on the Internet not too long ago, and I got to a page that showed me a photo of some actress that had nothing to do with what I was looking for.

Anyway, I look forward to hearing from you later!

I still have to go back and take another look at Bret's post and Marie's post to see what, if anything, I need to reply to!

 

[sarahk0204]

Helllllllllooooo, deej!!

That is funny and weird - yes, those two pictures were in this most recent Pre-TR installment from just a few days ago! And they were specifically in the "Disney-Christmas" connection part of the post.

The same thing has happened to me with other folks' photos too. One time - about 2 or 3 years ago - I was in Yahoo Images, not Google. I cannot recall exactly which word combination I typed in, but it was something having to do with Halloween or Christmas and Disneyland. When I got to the thumbnail results page, I noticed a whole bunch of photos from fellow DIS'er prettyprincessbelle (Courtney) were displayed, but they were not all Halloween or holiday-specific photos.

Of course I have no clue how Google or Yahoo find their images, but it seems like maybe they do a super fast scan of the Internet for any recent posts/activity using keywords like "Halloween" or "Christmas" and if there is any kind of an image/photo connected to the page they found, they will show the thumbnails, even if the pictures have nothing to do with the actual keywords.

Because I mentioned Halloween in the same post with the pictures of the Weebles set and the life-sized Mickey (when I was talking about my love of holidays), and I have mentioned Halloween Time in my TR, when you searched for the Halloween Castle pictures Google Images just went to the most recent references to Halloween - that also had images with them - within the context of Disney...and came up with the images that were in my post that also mentioned Halloween!

Or...perhaps they scanned for recent activity from people who have posted about Halloween Time a lot on the Web, and somehow ended up with me (because of the Superthread and all of those references) and my own TR.

It is very misleading, though - I wish there was a way for Google Images to actually show only what people are looking for and not all this other crazy stuff.

I think I was searching for some kind of holiday images/graphics on the Internet not too long ago, and I got to a page that showed me a photo of some actress that had nothing to do with what I was looking for.

Actually I read recently that those search engines rely heavily on what pages/images had been previously searched for on one's computer. What I read was an essay by a researcher who had trouble doing searches on a particular topic because the search engine kept giving her articles that SHE had written. So, in the same way, searches by DISers result in images, etc. by DISers (although apparently sometimes unrelated to the search topic.)

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

I love your TR Sherry!!

 

[Sherry E]

Hey, everyone! I have not forgotten to reply and to continue on with this TR!

However, this is just a quick drive-by pop-in for a specific reason.

For those of you who are photo-obsessed (as you all now know that I am) and who have Photobucket accounts, you may find this interesting:

I took this photo at DCA back in October 2008, if I recall correctly, and left some space on the side of it for some odd reason. Well, now Mr. Potato Head has a new little friend because she fit perfectly in that space!

Yes! Photobucket has just added in a Disney Parks effects tab under the Edit section of each photo. I have no clue how long they will leave the Disney Parks stuff there. If you recall, I had great fun enhancing a few photos with the "Holiday Effects" last year - but they removed the holiday effects before Christmas Day (which made no sense to me).

For all I know, Photobucket could remove the Disney Parks section in a week, so if you want to play with some of the effects and have fun with your photos, hurry!

(The Potato Head photo was my first try - I have not tried the other effects on other photos yet.)

 

[Sherry E]

In addition to the Disney Parks Photobucket edit I did on the Potato Head photo above, I also did a little tinkering with these and gave us all some headgear!:

(from December 2009)

(from this past December 2011)