Nothing to See Here...

[PHXscuba]

I know you've had time to process it, but I think the rest of us are really ticked off right now!!!!

I totally agree with AuntieGem. I think we are more indignant at this point!

Ugh. All this talk about being sick last December (and January, and February too) has gotten to me, and now I feel like I am coming down with something again! I have an annoying scratchy throat and have been feeling that telltale run down feeling all day. Just what I need in time for Autumn's arrival and the merciful relief from the harshness of Summer.

This had better not be another 2-1/2 month long illness!

Everyone over here has been snorty this week because of allergies -- all of the storms have brought new junk into the air. Hope your oogies are temporary!

OK, let's see if I actually did this multi-quoting thing right.

PHXscuba

p.s. I just realized that if we take our trip when I want to that we would be there in EXACTLY six months!

 

[Virgoinab]

What a horrible, selfish, rotten, no-good, smug, lying, whacked out beach! That's a terrible way to treat a stranger let alone a good childhood friend! It's like watching a scene right out of the movie Mean Girls. I would have been so frustrated, hurt, confused, angry and in tears, too. Nobody deserves to be treated like that! You were so thoughtful to make arrangements for the parade and WoC, to share your hotel room with her for that night thinking that you would get to share some good times with an old friend, to give her those presents that she didn't even have the courtesy to genuinely look at and say thank you for.

I'm really sad and upset for what happened to you. You're a great person who shares a lot of herself and gives to others, even when you don't have much for yourself. We're very lucky to have you share your experiences with us here on the Dis.

Uh, what Chereya said!!!!

Still here, just way too busy at work/home/had visitor's until last night to formulate a response to does not include some choice verbige directed "m"'s, "B"'s and whoever else was in their "we are emotionally stunted" brigade (except her father & the child)

 

[Sherry E]

I totally agree with AuntieGem. I think we are more indignant at this point!


Everyone over here has been snorty this week because of allergies -- all of the storms have brought new junk into the air. Hope your oogies are temporary!

OK, let's see if I actually did this multi-quoting thing right.

PHXscuba

p.s. I just realized that if we take our trip when I want to that we would be there in EXACTLY six months!

PHX -

Yay! You got the multi-quote working!

Wow - six months, huh? If the next 6 months are anything like that previous 6 months, your DLR trip should be here in no time. It will seem like it is only a couple of months, and it will be time to go to DLR! Time seems to be zipping by extremely fast this year. I had a feeling it would zoom by - and I even heard a numerologist said that this is a year that will seem like it is zipping by for most people - but it's still always surprising when it happens!

I think there is definitely a lot of junk in the air out here too - first of all, we keep going back and forth between extremely dry weather and very humid weather (it has been more humid, more often, this year than it normally is in SoCal). My sinuses (and allergies, too, I guess) can't decide what to do.

Uh, what Chereya said!!!!

Still here, just way too busy at work/home/had visitor's until last night to formulate a response to does not include some choice verbige directed "m"'s, "B"'s and whoever else was in their "we are emotionally stunted" brigade (except her father & the child)

Virgoinab -

I'm glad you're still out there (although super busy), and I had to laugh out loud (literally) at the "emotionally stunted brigade" remark! Oh my goodness...that is too funny!

 

[Sherry E]

I am working on the last installment (not counting the Aftermath/Where Are We now? segment) of the TR, which I will hopefully have up later today, if not tomorrow. I'm still not feeling well and I have endless PC trouble, but I am forging ahead!

PHX - if you're already out of town when I get the last installments posted, be sure to check back here when you return!


Some other thoughts...

1. On one hand, I wish I were going to DLR for the start of Halloween Time tomorrow. On the other hand, it's supposed to be in the 95+ degree range (I've read anywhere from 95 degrees to 98 degrees for Anaheim), so...needless to say...uh, NO WAY!!! That is just a heat stroke waiting to happen for me. I've been ill just staying indoors in the heat when it's been much less brutal than that, so those temperatures are just out of my consciousness.

It's so weird the way each year is so different in terms of weather out here in SoCal. There is usually some part of September that is very, very hot - if not the entire month. But when you get to mid-to-late September, it either hangs on to that heat, or it suddenly starts pouring rain, or it suddenly drops into the 70's.

Last year on the first day of Halloween Time it was gloomy/gray for half of the day and was in the upper 70's/low 80's when the cloud cover burned off.

Two years ago, it was something crazy like 113 - 115 degrees on the opening day of Halloween Time.

Back in 2007, on Halloween Time opening day/weekend, it was pouring heavy rain on and off, and when it would stop raining it was hot and sunny. Then it would pour again. My friends and I were alternately ducking in and out of buildings to escape the rain (we were not very successful), and then peeling off our jackets and applying sunscreen because it was too hot!

So strange.

I will not miss out on Halloween Time this year, but I just have to decide when exactly I am going.





2. It just occurred to me that my next payment on my AP at the end of this month will be the final payment on this specific AP. (The AP expires in November - after November 13th, to be exact.) I remember that, last year, when I came to the end of the payment cycle, I couldn't have a moment to rejoice in the fact that I had paid it all off and was done...because I had to sign up for another year of payments early to get the $20 discount.

This year, I'm not sure what I'm going to do because I'm not sure what I can do. The AP prices have hiked up so much that even the monthly payments are much less appealing at this point. The only way to get the discount is to renew within a certain time frame, before 11/13. However, I kind of think that I'd like to get a new AP in December because I know that, if all else fails, I will always make some sort of December DLR trip, and this would allow me a December trip this year and next year.

But the price is just so lofty, even with payments, so I'm not sure what I'm doing.

At least my current AP extends just long enough to cover the opening day of this year's holiday season, thank heavens. It's not the same as going in December, but at least I can be there to see all the new DCA decorations and holiday merriment on the actual opening day.




3. I won yet another $25 Amazon gift card (through yet another survey place). The first $25 Amazon card was used on the "Disneyland Encyclopedia" and, I think, a memory card. The second gift card couldn't be used on anything fun, unfortunately - no Disney books (though I really wanted to get that Disney Parks Poster Art book that is out right now). I had to get a case for my memory cards, and a case for my flash drives - and another flash drive. I am so used to not buying anything "just for fun," that I always look at gift cards for Amazon in a utilitarian way - how can I apply the card to something that is practical, that I will use all the time?

Ever since that major crash my PC had last year (when I lost a bunch of stuff forever), I have made absolutely certain to back up all my photos on the flash/USB drive, as well as any other documents I can manage to save to the PC (MS Word acts up constantly now, though, so I can't do much of that). I've even got all the info for my Halloween and Christmas Superthread Theme Weeks saved - this PC is so unstable and unpredictable and I cannot take any chances!



Anyway, I hope to be back later today or tomorrow with Day 5 of the Trip Report!

 

[tksbaskets]

Looking forward to day 5!

The AP are lofty in price indeed. I was a WDW annual passholder one year that I went in April for my son's band trip, October for business, and December with my family. You really have to do the math to see if it's the fiscally responsible choice. It was fun to say I had an AP.

 

[auntiegem]

Sherry -- What did you think of the Disneyland Encyclopedia? I'm thinking of getting it for someone that loves all things Disney/Disneyland, but doesn't necessary know all things Disney/Disneyland. Would it be a good choice for them?

 

[Sherry E]

Looking forward to day 5!

The AP are lofty in price indeed. I was a WDW annual passholder one year that I went in April for my son's band trip, October for business, and December with my family. You really have to do the math to see if it's the fiscally responsible choice. It was fun to say I had an AP.

TK -

I'll be honest - it's been so hot here lately (too hot for me) that I have had a hard time sitting at the PC for any length of time to be able to finish the Day 5 installment! My PC is right next to the window and I have been miserable, so I have not been able to concentrate on finishing up the last little bit of this darn TR.

I totally agree - unless one has the money to plunk down on the spot, or knows that it is going to be feasible to do the payment plan - it takes a lot of number crunching, thinking about future trip scenarios and weighing of pros and cons before buying into the AP's at the current rates. Even though it's still a good 'bargain' overall if you plan to visit Disneyland at least a handful of times in a year, it is still an expensive purchase.

One option for me is that I could possibly downgrade to a Deluxe AP for a while (although even the Deluxe AP's saw a big price hike) and do a payment plan. The dates that I usually choose to go tend to fall within the non-blacked out days offered by the Deluxe. At some point I would like to actually be at DLR on Christmas Day, which would require a Premium AP, but I can cross the bridge when I get to it...which won't be for quite a while down the road!

If I chose the Deluxe, I would only get 10% food discounts instead of 15%. The 15% discounts really come in handy at those character meals! But, I could get a Deluxe and then make some payments on it, and possibly switch it to a Premium later on down the line.

Or, I could just go the Park Hopper route (which is what I used to do). The thing is, ideally, I'd like to go to DLR a handful of times next year. I have a couple of ideas in mind for things I want to do (things I want to work on) and I'd like to be in the park for maybe 10-13 days in 2013 - with a few of those days dedicated to one multi-night holiday stay in December, and the rest of them just day trips. An AP would definitely make more sense if I were able to pull those days off.

But...I can't pay $200 - $260 for a round-trip shuttle to go down to Anaheim every time, to be able to go at the times of morning and night I would prefer. And I cannot seem to find anyone who goes to DLR throughout the year, who is willing to take me at least a few of those times, and is available to do it.

So then I go back to 'is the Annual Pass going to make sense' line of thinking again. If I cannot get down to DLR, or if I have to pay a ridiculous amount of money every time (and again, I like to go very early in the morning and probably come back late at night, so it is beneficial to use a shuttle as opposed to a more circuitous route that takes much longer), I don't know if it's worth it. However, if I had to pay for a shuttle and pay for a park hopper on each of those trips, that would seem ludicrous too!

I have to really think about it all and figure out what I'm doing. As I mentioned to Bret in his TR thread, Disneyland Annual Passport sent me a "special edition commemorative book" called A Celebration of a Wish Come True, which has wonderful photos and a land-by-land breakdown in each park (very much like the old souvenir guidebooks that were sold in Disneyland in the old days). When I first opened it, I thought it would be one long pitch about renewing the AP and all the wonderful things that come with the AP. The timing was amazing, as my final AP payment comes at the end of this month. I figured it was a "hint" - a very colorful hint - to renew!

But...it looks the book is just a book, and not a sales pitch for the AP. In fact, in the letter enclosed with the book there is not a single word about renewing. It is actually just a souvenir book!

(I hope Bret gets his copy soon. As he said, we all pay enough money for these AP's, whether all at one time or in payments, and it would be nice if all of the AP holders got the book and not just certain people...at least the Deluxe-Premium-Premier people should get them. I would feel terrible if I got a book and some other AP holders didn't get one.)

Sherry -- What did you think of the Disneyland Encyclopedia? I'm thinking of getting it for someone that loves all things Disney/Disneyland, but doesn't necessary know all things Disney/Disneyland. Would it be a good choice for them?

auntiegem -

I haven't had a chance to look all the way through the Encyclopedia yet. I've done the initial thumbing through and trying to find a couple of random things. When I have some time I intend to go through it, page by page.

If the person you want to get it for really, really loves Disneyland and is interested in its history and the 'way things were' vs. the 'way things are now,' I think it would be a big hit. I know that when I was a kid and teenager, I liked looking at bits of info about Disneyland's past and how it had evolved over the years.

I think that the Encyclopedia is also really great for people who have been going to DLR for a long time. When they see the listings for certain long-lost restaurants, events and shops, they'll think, "I remember that!" Or, they will think, "When did that happen? I don't remember that!" Of course, the first couple of times I tried looking up a long lost shop & restaurant in the book, I couldn't find them! Maybe I was looking them up under incorrect names. For example, I tried finding the old Christmas Shop that used to be located in Fantasyland. I didn't see it. It has to be there somewhere, but somehow I just didn't see it.

Also, I didn't get far enough into the Encyclopedia to be able to tell if it also includes long lost shops/restaurants from the hotels as well, or only Disneyland Park itself.

Overall, though, I think that any true Disneyland fan should have the book - whether they know a lot about the park or not. It's a good book, full of interesting information.

 

[kaoden39]

Oh I hope we get the book. I am debating renewing at least my AP because I will be going back in June. I just need to juggle the numbers and see if it is really worth it. I would love to swing a Halloween trip next year too. I would be willing to give up the June trip in order to go for Halloween. I want to see my villains at the their time of year.

 

[Sherry E]

Oh I hope we get the book. I am debating renewing at least my AP because I will be going back in June. I just need to juggle the numbers and see if it is really worth it. I would love to swing a Halloween trip next year too. I would be willing to give up the June trip in order to go for Halloween. I want to see my villains at the their time of year.

Michele -

I hope you get the book too! It's paperback, so it is susceptible to being bent and smashed in small mailboxes (which is what happened to mine) but it has some really nice land-by-land, park-by-park pictures of DLR, and some really nice scenic pictures interwoven with pictures of guests and happy Cast Members!

The timing of it seemed so convenient since my final AP payment is coming up, but there is not a single mention of renewing anywhere in here. So I'm not sure if they sent it to me first to butter me up, right before sending me the renewal letter, or if everyone with an AP is going to get the book in this upcoming week. Everyone with an AP should certainly get it at some point - I guess it's just a matter of whether or not everyone is getting it at the same time. It's supposed to be in lieu of the Backstage Pass magazine, so that leads me to believe that everyone with an AP should be getting this book around the same time.

It's such a pain having to juggle numbers and really figure out if renewing an AP is worth it, isn't it? There are reasons why it's worth it, and then there is that hefty price tag (even with the monthly payments). It's hard to reconcile. Or, if it is worth it to renew, is it sensible to do it when it actually expires or to wait a little while?

I think that doing a Halloween Time trip next year will be great for you - I think that DCA might actually have some Halloween decorations next year, and it might be a bigger and better season overall. Everyone should do a Halloween trip at least once!

 

[kaoden39]

Michele -

I hope you get the book too! It's paperback, so it is susceptible to being bent and smashed in small mailboxes (which is what happened to mine) but it has some really nice land-by-land, park-by-park pictures of DLR, and some really nice scenic pictures interwoven with pictures of guests and happy Cast Members!

The timing of it seemed so convenient since my final AP payment is coming up, but there is not a single mention of renewing anywhere in here. So I'm not sure if they sent it to me first to butter me up, right before sending me the renewal letter, or if everyone with an AP is going to get the book in this upcoming week. Everyone with an AP should certainly get it at some point - I guess it's just a matter of whether or not everyone is getting it at the same time. It's supposed to be in lieu of the Backstage Pass magazine, so that leads me to believe that everyone with an AP should be getting this book around the same time.

It's such a pain having to juggle numbers and really figure out if renewing an AP is worth it, isn't it? There are reasons why it's worth it, and then there is that hefty price tag (even with the monthly payments). It's hard to reconcile. Or, if it is worth it to renew, is it sensible to do it when it actually expires or to wait a little while?

I think that doing a Halloween Time trip next year will be great for you - I think that DCA might actually have some Halloween decorations next year, and it might be a bigger and better season overall. Everyone should do a Halloween trip at least once!

I have to be in the LA area in June was the reason I was planning the trip to begin with. Maybe I will just do things like visit the Farmers Market and such. Who knows? I really do want to go in October or September. I don't really care about doing the party thing. That isn't my scene but I do want to see all of the decorations in person.


Gee if all the AP holders are getting the book I wonder if Scotty and I both will get one.

 

[tksbaskets]

Sounds like the AP makes sense for you and it is added incentive to go more often than you would if you needed to purchase a park-hopper ticket (cha-Ching on those!).

I think the commemorative books seems really nice. I liked the magazine I got the year I had the AP. All part of the magic. If you can swing it with payment plans (I didn't know they had that) it's great.

Wish I was closer to DL. I'd so snatch you up for a few extra days at DL if I was I am happy with our 70 degree weather here in Michigan this week. I too do NOT like the heat.

Hope your computer area is a tad cooler soon so we can see how Day 5 shook out.

TK

 

[bumbershoot]

Yes…a rainbow. Um…maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t hang out with them that day after all.

You might be right!



I'm glad you got the dayquil; I couldn't remember. I remember thinking, while in the giftshop, "should I just get this for her? but I know she wants to be alone so I don't want to bug her, especially if this isn't what she wants", and I was in a total quandary about it. If I should have bought it and brought it up, I'm sorry I didn't. I just didn't know.

And after the fact I felt horrible that I didn't take part in the WOC viewing. I was so nervous about being kicked out or whatever, or that M etc had actually gone and would have me kicked out, etc. My decision-making was totally off, and I'm really very sorry I didn't use it.


But on a thankful note, I so very much appreciate the time we did get to spend together, and your generosity in allowing me to join you! It was really neat to meet you.

 

[azdisneylover]

Sherry,

Hope you can work it out to get a Premium pass to go to DL when you want through the next year. Your trip reports and threads are bursting with useful information as well as wonderful pictures that help so many plan their trips. They also let us dream about the next time we can actually go.

 

[bumbershoot]

Found where I think I left off at, now reading and commenting as I go!

"M" did let me down on this trip but see, again, I hate even typing that out because it sounds like I am just playing a victim role, not to mention bashing her. I am really just reporting events as they happened, in the best way I can explain them.

I think I know you well enough to say that that's not your style, to be bashing etc. You're just telling the story of what happened, and trying to be as fair as possible while you do it.

By the way, I think it's very very kind of you to have taken those pictures of "R" back to R's grandfather.

At one point “M” even asked if I would let one of her other friends stay in my PPH room if I decided to stay an extra night and check out on Friday instead of Thursday. She wanted to split the cost with me 50/50, but the math on that didn’t work out because they would be 2 adults and it should be split 3 ways, or “M” should be paying me 2/3 of the bill and not 1/2 of the bill. In other words, her friend was a grown woman and not a child, so someone would have to cough up some money for her if they were staying in my room.

It's funny how the *one person paying half* always sees the logic in that, but the *trying to get two people in while paying half* people never do. A roommate situation that was decent was destroyed when she moved her boyfriend in and somehow expected that they would still be paying HALF the rent! Um, NO. Sure, he was sharing her bedroom, but the things he did to the bathroom? He deserved to pay his share, LOL.

This CM – an older gentleman – looked at me as if I’d just made the strangest request in the world, like I asked him to send a dancing wombat to my room with a pizza or something.

I gave "M" those little gifts - when I could have given one each to Molly and Laurie! Not that Molly would have really cared about them one way or the other, but Laurie certainly would have wanted them!

Well, I have tons of the ear bottles (empty is better b/c as you know I dislike the smell of the Disney shampoo etc), but those other things are actually cute.



Just before the age "R" was during that trip, when Eamon would climb on me like that, it was a clear sign of exhaustion or that he had eaten something his body couldn't handle. With E there was a millisecond between "all in good fun" and "headbutting Molly in a most painful way", so it *had to be stopped* immediately. For us, at least. Maybe I'm just oversensitive to being headbutted?

She called him and they began arguing back and forth about something having to do with “R’s” clothes, and how she wasn’t there to set out his clothes for him, blah blah. “M” was going to have to go back to the Disneyland Hotel to get all of that straightened out and to bring her overnight bag back.

Oh gracious. I am so eternally grateful that Robert is capable of figuring out Eamon's clothes.



I LOVE those "festive candy cane display" photos! Where was that?


I am a total lazybones at heart, but for Disney I get up! For my son at Disney I'm up FIRST! For my son's first trip, at least as a kid who will likely remember it? I would barely sleep! (in my own particular case, E's first trip was when he was under 2, and I barely slept out of excitement for my own darned self, LOL...and then we had to wait for my sis in law, who I love dearly, but is even lazier than I am when she can be...on that trip, thank goodness for the sudden downpour as we entered the park WELL after opening, as everyone cleared out for a few hours.)


(starting to read page 202, but will post the above now)

 

[bumbershoot]

I wish I could embed a musical chip in each TR installment that would not only give you the sounds of what was happening in each area of the parks or hotels, but would also play a snippet of the Christmas song or poem I am quoting! It would be a TR and a soundtrack - all in one!

That's a really neat idea!

My camera takes video AND has a microphone, so if I make a video and put it on photobucket, when you click to watch it, you can hear it. What a neat idea, to take that to capture the *sounds* of the park.

Before I even got my complete sentence out, “B” cut me off and said, “I already did that…I started a PhotoPass account.”

I could have pressed on and clarified to them what I was trying to say, but I felt like I was being shut down. “M” knows that I know more about DLR these days than she does. She knew that I had a lot of experience with PhotoPass. And…rather than ask me more about it in advance, they just decided that “B” would go ahead and start his account. Mainly, I just felt like I was being shut down, and like no one was interested in hearing what I had to say.

What's weird is that in '10, for our first WDW trip, I had a somewhat similar experience with my cousin. Except that in our case, she has the real life WDW knowledge but I have the book smarts, and she felt that she knew all she needed to know, and wasn't really hearing me when I was telling her we should SHARE an account and have all pix put onto one CD which could then be shared. She went and put her cards onto her own account, and I don't think she ever ordered anything. It was disappointing. She shut me down in the same way. Not sure why people do that.

So basically, I handed over my money (and my AP, for discounts) to people who ‘thought’ they treated me, and yet wouldn’t give me back the money I gave them when I said they hadn’t treated. It’s like it went in one ear and out the other. Nice. Really nice.

Ick ick ick. What a rotten situation for you to be in.

Also, I assume they have the receipt, yes? Would have been easy enough to see how many dinners were charged, and figure out how much money was missing from their wallet. Call me crazy, but I think it would be simple enough for them to notice that there was some mystery money in there that they didn't spend, and they don't have to go by "it seemed higher than it should have been".

I kept reminding myself, "You haven't seen her in 10 years. You may not see her for another 10 years." So I was trying to roll with it.

You are a very good person.

She said that she had, indeed, gotten everything out of the drawer and taken it with her. This was another chance for her to say something about the little magnet and ornament…but she didn’t.

Seriously? She said nothing?

“B” announced, “Okay, ‘Dad’ has decided that there will be no more pictures until we get on some rides.”

I realized that “B” was referring to himself as “Dad,” and deciding for all of us what the group was going to do.

Then I realized that they truly were just operating as they normally do as a family, and not taking me into consideration at all. This was their trip and I was just a part of it, as far as they were concerned.

I recognize that behavior as well from my shared/extended family WDW trips. Dang. You were looking out for their interests and thinking of what would be good for their son...and so were they. No one was looking out for YOU. I recognize that 100%. Dang.

I looked off towards the Rivers of America and pretended I didn’t know “M” while she discussed it with the CM.

I recognize that as well. In my case it was actually leaving a restaurant while someone decided to not leave a tip, and not discuss the problem with the manager, when a tip is automatically included with the Tables in Wonderland card. Yep yep. I had to just totally avoid the awkwardness.

I said, “But I wanted to point out certain things to you on the ride. This is my trip too, and yet I seem to have no say in what’s happening.”

“M” said, “Yeah, I know, but…” She never finished her sentence.

This is a family that should have had their first trip as a family ALONE. No dad, no friend, no cousin, just them. If only they had recognized this. Instead, they made your trip a misery.

I had only been with them in Disneyland for a total of 3.5 hours (and only 4 rides), and half of that time was spent waiting for “M” and “R” to shop, and yet they were already leaving.

This is at them:

(At that age, E might have still napped at Disney, but if so, he napped in the stroller, which we brought/rented so he didn't wear himself out and so he could nap if he did wear himself out)




Michele said "Hmm, well spoiled child. One thing that I have noticed and must question is does "R" ever smile? That bothers me, kids smile."


On the one hand, it seemed that several of the pictures were taken so he was looking towards the sun, which is NO fun. And kids have a really hard time sucking it up for a momentary picture, keeping eyes open when the sun is hurting them

On the other hand, I get the feeling he's been pulled one way and the other...I want to pose with Goofy, then I'm told by mom that I do NOT want to pose with Goofy. I want to shop, I don't. I this, I'm told that. etc. Not fun.

Let's put it this way. My dad will slow a day down the *instant* he knows that someone else wants to do whatever he has proposed.* He will also do it if someone balks even slightly at what he has proposed. "Just a minute" can mean 4 hours. Or it can mean half a minute. Whatever doesn't work for the other person, that's what it is. When I FINALLY realized that football doesn't last the 60 minutes you think it does (4 quarters 15 minutes each) and THAT is why "there's 5 minutes left until the half" never once meant "I'll be with you in 5 minutes", a lightbulb went off in my head and I understood so much. But he'd do it with fixing his car. A 20 minute oil change would become ALL DAY under the hood.

He used to live a 10 minute walk from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, and would get us excited to go. We'd go, spent half an hour, and be told our time there was up. Half an hour???? We were pulled this way and that.

Many of my childhood photos look rather unhappy, especially the ones when I'm with my dad, because of that.

So it might be understandable that little R doesn't smile in those photos.




ETA:

*my dad was over an hour late to pick me up for my wedding, because he felt the last minute need to get the car washed and detailed. and didn't call me to let me know. I was all alone, because my friends thought he was going to be there any minute from then. Well, I had my photographer with me, and she took some nice shots, but they all have underlying tension and anxiety, not knowing where the hades he was. the lateness resulted in having our pre-wedding pictures taken with *most of our guests watching*, because they were all there at that point, and didn't know what else to do with themselves. So there was really no one at the wedding that saw me for the first time *as I walked down the aisle*. this was NOT THE PLAN. He didn't even apologize.

this behavior won't magically change, and she's going to make his life have some really ugly spots if she doesn't make an effort, IMO. I haven't spoken to my father in over a year now, because he finally pushed me too far at a reunion March '11, with his late-making nonsense and other stuff. Maybe I'm overreacting, but I really see my dad in M, and I'm feeling really bad for wee R.

 

[bumbershoot]

All “M” had to do was totally blame it on me and act as though I was roping her into it. Most people would not question the plan if she said that “Sherry is being pushy and I have no choice. Sherry made the plan.”

And you would think she would have NO problem doing that, since it's her M.O. already!

(bashing self with pixie dust, LOL)




For someone else, I could say "M is just overwhelmed by parenthood, and obviously kids can change things", BUT most people can say something like that to their friends. "I am so sorry, I didn't know my kidlet would be like this, and my plans that I discussed with you before simply have to change, I'm so so sorry", and would talk about this with you *as it happened*. Instead, she's falling back into the patterns you said she's had your whole shared life together, and is doing the avoidance thing. Might work for her, but it's crummy for you. If she could have talked *to* you, instead of telling you the situation as she's walking away, you could have gotten closer, known that she felt bad, known that she was being a grownup, and you would have been *sad*, but not *hurt*. And there's such a difference to the one who ends up sad AND hurt.

meeting Laurie just seemed like I was reuniting with yet another friend I hadn’t seen in person in a while, if that makes sense!

I felt the same way meeting Laurie. I recognized her immediately as I came down the escalator at SNA. I can't actually remember why we went separate ways. (that's me, thinking, and not coming up with an answer)

I always thought that Holly and John Stamos should have hooked up as a couple

Me, too. In fact I'm more than a little disappointed that they aren't a couple. Don't they know what's good for them?

Barring any unforeseen developments, setbacks or earthquake-related mayhem...

And now I understand why I have "hot guy" Allstate ads on the top and bottom of my Dis page. I was wondering!

 

[deejdigsdis]

Just got my copy of that book you mentioned. It's pretty nice! Although the packaging was squished and torn since it was stuffed in the mailbox. I haven't ever gotten a copy of the magazine with this current AP that expires in Nov. Anyway, this was a pleasant surprise!

 

[kaoden39]

None here still. Maybe it is not being sent our way because we don't renew until February? Who knows? Or our mailman wanted it.

 

[Sherry E]

Okay, I finished the next installment of the TR, which I am about to put up. After that, it's just the "Aftermath/Where Are We Now" post that I have to do and then we're all done!

First, a few quick replies (forgive me if I am zooming through and not answering more thoroughly, but I read absolutely everything!)...

Sounds like the AP makes sense for you and it is added incentive to go more often than you would if you needed to purchase a park-hopper ticket (cha-Ching on those!).

I think the commemorative books seems really nice. I liked the magazine I got the year I had the AP. All part of the magic. If you can swing it with payment plans (I didn't know they had that) it's great.

Wish I was closer to DL. I'd so snatch you up for a few extra days at DL if I was I am happy with our 70 degree weather here in Michigan this week. I too do NOT like the heat.

Hope your computer area is a tad cooler soon so we can see how Day 5 shook out.

TK

TK -

The payment plans are for California residents only. But even with the payment plans, it's still expensive. It's still a good deal, but expensive nonetheless!

If I could actually get to DLR the number of times I want to go (as I said before, I'm trying to work on some things and there are certain times I have in mind when I'd like to be there), then the AP would be worthwhile. I just can't guarantee that I can get there!

Thank you, TK - I know you'd be a kindhearted soul and bring me to DLR. I don't blame you for not wanting to give up your 70-degree weather!

You might be right!

I'm glad you got the dayquil; I couldn't remember. I remember thinking, while in the giftshop, "should I just get this for her? but I know she wants to be alone so I don't want to bug her, especially if this isn't what she wants", and I was in a total quandary about it. If I should have bought it and brought it up, I'm sorry I didn't. I just didn't know.

And after the fact I felt horrible that I didn't take part in the WOC viewing. I was so nervous about being kicked out or whatever, or that M etc had actually gone and would have me kicked out, etc. My decision-making was totally off, and I'm really very sorry I didn't use it.

But on a thankful note, I so very much appreciate the time we did get to spend together, and your generosity in allowing me to join you! It was really neat to meet you.

Molly -

I'm thankful to have met you as well, and I wish I'd had more time and energy to spend with you and Laurie!

And remember - I wasn't doing anything all that great by "allowing" you and Laurie to join me. It helped me too - that was the least expensive hotel stay I've had at DLR! You ladies did me a favor by taking me up on the offer!

You did the right thing by just letting me know about the DayQuil, which I appreciate - I really needed to go down to the shop and look at the selection they had (which was piddly) and be sure that DayQuil was what I wanted. It was what I had to settle on because they didn't have any NyQuil!

Sherry,

Hope you can work it out to get a Premium pass to go to DL when you want through the next year. Your trip reports and threads are bursting with useful information as well as wonderful pictures that help so many plan their trips. They also let us dream about the next time we can actually go.

Linda -

Thank you so much for the kind words. I'm sure I'm not deserving of them.

Once I get done with this particular TR, I have to think about a Halloween Time visit or two, and then ponder the AP situation. I'm still not sure what I'll do - I may get another one but not before the current AP expires. I may wait until December. I just don't know yet.

Found where I think I left off at, now reading and commenting as I go!

I think I know you well enough to say that that's not your style, to be bashing etc. You're just telling the story of what happened, and trying to be as fair as possible while you do it.

By the way, I think it's very very kind of you to have taken those pictures of "R" back to R's grandfather.

It's funny how the *one person paying half* always sees the logic in that, but the *trying to get two people in while paying half* people never do. A roommate situation that was decent was destroyed when she moved her boyfriend in and somehow expected that they would still be paying HALF the rent! Um, NO. Sure, he was sharing her bedroom, but the things he did to the bathroom? He deserved to pay his share, LOL.



Well, I have tons of the ear bottles (empty is better b/c as you know I dislike the smell of the Disney shampoo etc), but those other things are actually cute.

Just before the age "R" was during that trip, when Eamon would climb on me like that, it was a clear sign of exhaustion or that he had eaten something his body couldn't handle. With E there was a millisecond between "all in good fun" and "headbutting Molly in a most painful way", so it *had to be stopped* immediately. For us, at least. Maybe I'm just oversensitive to being headbutted?

Oh gracious. I am so eternally grateful that Robert is capable of figuring out Eamon's clothes.

I LOVE those "festive candy cane display" photos! Where was that?

I am a total lazybones at heart, but for Disney I get up! For my son at Disney I'm up FIRST! For my son's first trip, at least as a kid who will likely remember it? I would barely sleep! (in my own particular case, E's first trip was when he was under 2, and I barely slept out of excitement for my own darned self, LOL...and then we had to wait for my sis in law, who I love dearly, but is even lazier than I am when she can be...on that trip, thank goodness for the sudden downpour as we entered the park WELL after opening, as everyone cleared out for a few hours.)

(starting to read page 202, but will post the above now)

Molly -

I really appreciate your taking the time to go through, read everything and reply, post by post! I thoroughly enjoyed and agreed with all of your commentary! (I read all of it when you first posted but was lazy and didn't comment until now!)

I can't recall in which store window the candy cane display is located (maybe deejdigsdis remembers?). Was it the Showcase store? Hmmm... I am positive that it's moved from one window to another over the seasons! It's there every year. Deejdigsdis was the first person I know of to have taken a photo of that display, so my attempts are merely copies of her first photo 3 years ago.

That's a really neat idea!

My camera takes video AND has a microphone, so if I make a video and put it on photobucket, when you click to watch it, you can hear it. What a neat idea, to take that to capture the *sounds* of the park.

What's weird is that in '10, for our first WDW trip, I had a somewhat similar experience with my cousin. Except that in our case, she has the real life WDW knowledge but I have the book smarts, and she felt that she knew all she needed to know, and wasn't really hearing me when I was telling her we should SHARE an account and have all pix put onto one CD which could then be shared. She went and put her cards onto her own account, and I don't think she ever ordered anything. It was disappointing. She shut me down in the same way. Not sure why people do that.

Ick ick ick. What a rotten situation for you to be in.

Also, I assume they have the receipt, yes? Would have been easy enough to see how many dinners were charged, and figure out how much money was missing from their wallet. Call me crazy, but I think it would be simple enough for them to notice that there was some mystery money in there that they didn't spend, and they don't have to go by "it seemed higher than it should have been".

You are a very good person.

Seriously? She said nothing?



I recognize that behavior as well from my shared/extended family WDW trips. Dang. You were looking out for their interests and thinking of what would be good for their son...and so were they. No one was looking out for YOU. I recognize that 100%. Dang.

I recognize that as well. In my case it was actually leaving a restaurant while someone decided to not leave a tip, and not discuss the problem with the manager, when a tip is automatically included with the Tables in Wonderland card. Yep yep. I had to just totally avoid the awkwardness.



This is a family that should have had their first trip as a family ALONE. No dad, no friend, no cousin, just them. If only they had recognized this. Instead, they made your trip a misery.

This is at them:

(At that age, E might have still napped at Disney, but if so, he napped in the stroller, which we brought/rented so he didn't wear himself out and so he could nap if he did wear himself out)

Michele said "Hmm, well spoiled child. One thing that I have noticed and must question is does "R" ever smile? That bothers me, kids smile."

On the one hand, it seemed that several of the pictures were taken so he was looking towards the sun, which is NO fun. And kids have a really hard time sucking it up for a momentary picture, keeping eyes open when the sun is hurting them

On the other hand, I get the feeling he's been pulled one way and the other...I want to pose with Goofy, then I'm told by mom that I do NOT want to pose with Goofy. I want to shop, I don't. I this, I'm told that. etc. Not fun.

Let's put it this way. My dad will slow a day down the *instant* he knows that someone else wants to do whatever he has proposed.* He will also do it if someone balks even slightly at what he has proposed. "Just a minute" can mean 4 hours. Or it can mean half a minute. Whatever doesn't work for the other person, that's what it is. When I FINALLY realized that football doesn't last the 60 minutes you think it does (4 quarters 15 minutes each) and THAT is why "there's 5 minutes left until the half" never once meant "I'll be with you in 5 minutes", a lightbulb went off in my head and I understood so much. But he'd do it with fixing his car. A 20 minute oil change would become ALL DAY under the hood.

He used to live a 10 minute walk from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, and would get us excited to go. We'd go, spent half an hour, and be told our time there was up. Half an hour???? We were pulled this way and that.

Many of my childhood photos look rather unhappy, especially the ones when I'm with my dad, because of that.

So it might be understandable that little R doesn't smile in those photos.

ETA:

*my dad was over an hour late to pick me up for my wedding, because he felt the last minute need to get the car washed and detailed. and didn't call me to let me know. I was all alone, because my friends thought he was going to be there any minute from then. Well, I had my photographer with me, and she took some nice shots, but they all have underlying tension and anxiety, not knowing where the hades he was. the lateness resulted in having our pre-wedding pictures taken with *most of our guests watching*, because they were all there at that point, and didn't know what else to do with themselves. So there was really no one at the wedding that saw me for the first time *as I walked down the aisle*. this was NOT THE PLAN. He didn't even apologize.

this behavior won't magically change, and she's going to make his life have some really ugly spots if she doesn't make an effort, IMO. I haven't spoken to my father in over a year now, because he finally pushed me too far at a reunion March '11, with his late-making nonsense and other stuff. Maybe I'm overreacting, but I really see my dad in M, and I'm feeling really bad for wee R.

Molly -

Yikes! Your dad was an hour late to pick you up for your wedding and didn't alert you to his car washing plan beforehand? Eeesh...

"M" is the sort of person who will keep people waiting on her for 3 hours if she is somehow in charge of driving or whatever. If the other people have the ability to leave without her, she doesn't like it.

When I was "R's" age, I didn't like posing for photos, either. I know I always looked really annoyed in photos. I didn't like to smile. I was having fun at DL, but I just didn't like having to be bothered posing for photos! And there were times when I was facing the sun and didn't like it, just like you mentioned!

Yes - "M" and "B" had the receipt from Goofy's, and it seems like it would have been easy enough for them to sit down and figure out who paid what or who owed what after the fact. I handed them my money and Shawn's money - and even if, say, they came up $10 short, it would have only been $10 (and I am just plucking that amount out of thin air). Surely they could figure out that they didn't really "treat" me as "M" insisted they did.

And you would think she would have NO problem doing that, since it's her M.O. already!

(bashing self with pixie dust, LOL)

For someone else, I could say "M is just overwhelmed by parenthood, and obviously kids can change things", BUT most people can say something like that to their friends. "I am so sorry, I didn't know my kidlet would be like this, and my plans that I discussed with you before simply have to change, I'm so so sorry", and would talk about this with you *as it happened*. Instead, she's falling back into the patterns you said she's had your whole shared life together, and is doing the avoidance thing. Might work for her, but it's crummy for you. If she could have talked *to* you, instead of telling you the situation as she's walking away, you could have gotten closer, known that she felt bad, known that she was being a grownup, and you would have been *sad*, but not *hurt*. And there's such a difference to the one who ends up sad AND hurt.

I felt the same way meeting Laurie. I recognized her immediately as I came down the escalator at SNA. I can't actually remember why we went separate ways. (that's me, thinking, and not coming up with an answer)

Me, too. In fact I'm more than a little disappointed that they aren't a couple. Don't they know what's good for them?

And now I understand why I have "hot guy" Allstate ads on the top and bottom of my Dis page. I was wondering!

Molly -

Yep. I agree - it would be easy to say that "M" is just overwhelmed, etc. - and she most likely is - but this behavior dates back pre-"R" and it's really the way she has been all along, only now there are other factors to consider and other people she can pass the buck to.

She could have totally handled things a different way - with communication and kindness - and she didn't. I still would have been disappointed, but I may not have been so mad. She just handled it in a passive-aggressive, avoidance sort of way. If it hadn't been for "B's" post on Facebook about being at Soarin,' I doubt I would have even received a text from "M." To be honest, I think "M" knew that her plans were going to go this way well before I got that text. I think she knew it at least a day or two in advance, and didn't care to tell me. And why? For what reason would she not alert me to the massive change in plans ahead of time, so I could maybe rework my own plans?

Just got my copy of that book you mentioned. It's pretty nice! Although the packaging was squished and torn since it was stuffed in the mailbox. I haven't ever gotten a copy of the magazine with this current AP that expires in Nov. Anyway, this was a pleasant surprise!

deej -

Good! I'm glad you got the book, although it sounds like your mail carrier treated your copy the same way my carrier treated my book (bent spine and all). Anything larger than a regular piece of mail usually ends up torn or bent by the time it gets to me.

There are some nice pictures in the book, aren't there?

None here still. Maybe it is not being sent our way because we don't renew until February? Who knows? Or our mailman wanted it.

Michele -

Still no book? I noticed a thread on MiceChat about it - apparently a lot of those people got the book, and a few folks on this board have now spoken up about getting the book. You have to get one! If you have a small mailbox it will probably end up bent or banged up, but you should get it!

 

[Sherry E]

I know that deejdigsdis and Molly/bumbershoot are going to be leaving for their Halloween Time Disneyland trips in the next week or week and a half – and, quite frankly, I hope to be making my own Halloween journey very soon too - so let’s get this show on the road and finish up, shall we (before I lose all of my readers)?!

Can it be that this epic December 2011 Trip Report is finally coming to an end (9 months after the trip actually took place)?

This story has been a wild ride filled with: fun; merriment; holiday joy; frolicking in the chilly morning air; frustration; stress; anger; drama; suspense; laughter; tears; illness; old friendships falling apart & new friendships being formed; photo sprees; a possibly dangerous shuttle ride into the forest; an awesome Paradise Pier Hotel rate & view; crazy wind gusts; celebrity sightings; a “Twilight Zone Lady”; 2 Goofy’s Kitchen meals; lukewarm spaghetti; peppermint ice cream & gingerbread cookies; zany PhotoPass antics; the revelation of “Aunt Betty”; a covert nighttime Castle mission that never happened; an indecisive 4-year-old; a bit of wacky humor; and…lots and lots of Christmas songs, too!

(I really wanted to end that last paragraph with “…and a partridge in a pear tree” but, really, there were neither partridges nor pear trees involved in this trip or Trip Report, so it would be false advertising.)

I’m so thankful that most of my regular TR followers have stuck with me through this journey – and that I’ve even picked up a few new followers too! - despite the frequent delays and unusually long postponements in telling this particular tale! I hope it was worth the wait!

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

(12/4/11 - 12/8/11)



Day 5 - Thursday, December 8, 2011 ​

A thrill of hope,
The weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks
A new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees,
O hear the angel voices!
O night divine…





In the last Trip Report installment (Part 2 of Day 4), despite the fact that I was ill, I forced myself out of my PPH room to head to California Adventure, where I would wait for “M” to (hopefully) call me and announce she was on her way into the park. After photographing the gigantic Christmas decorations in A Bug’s Land, things went to Hades in a hand basket for me when “M” text messaged to let me know she was blowing me off for her cousin and her other friend, “V” (who had been pushing her for Disneyland time for months). The entire plan fell apart as I came to the realization that things with “M” had not changed much in the last decade. This led to an almost-surreal moment in which “M” and her group walked past me in DCA without a word (with the exception of her father, who acknowledged me)…as I sat, sobbing, on a bench. In the midst of my tears I passed one of the stars of “The Hangover” in the Grand Californian Hotel who, unfortunately, was not Bradley Cooper. Finally, I curled up in bed in the PPH room – in the middle of the afternoon – with a box of Kleenex and an expensive package of DayQuil at my side, which is exactly where I remained for the rest of the night.





Silent night,
Holy night.
All is calm,
All is bright…






A new day greeted me as I woke up at some point in the 4 a.m. hour on Thursday. I don’t prefer waking up at that time. I like to sleep, especially when I am not feeling well. But, on certain occasions – like when I know I want to arrive at a hotel by 6 a.m., or like when I have to get on a boat to Catalina at 6:15 a.m. – I will make myself get up and go by that time out of necessity.

In this particular case, I had been asleep – or at least trying to sleep – since early evening on Wednesday, whereas Molly and Laurie came in a bit later at night. I was destined to wake up before they did because I was simply asleep before they were.

Laurie and I had previously discussed the logistics of doing a character meal on that morning (i.e., would we be checked out of the room in time to make it to an early Goofy’s Kitchen breakfast, or would we have time to go to Goofy’s, come back to the room and then pack up our things and get out by check-out time?), and had decided (or so I thought) that if it looked as though we were taking too long to get our things packed up, we could maybe skip Goofy’s Kitchen and instead head down to Surf’s Up with Mickey at the PPH, then dash back up to the PPH room to finish packing. If we managed to get our things together and leave the room in enough time, we would head to Goofy’s. It was left up in the air as to which meal we would do until the last minute. We talked about trying to get to Goofy’s when it opened, which was 7:00 a.m., but there was no telling if it would actually happen. We would play it by ear and see what made sense as we went along.

In addition to the ‘up in the air’ status of the character meal and the possibility that we may be making a 7 a.m. Goofy’s Kitchen run, the main reason I wanted to get myself out of bed was to deal with my packing. It takes me a long time to re-pack (nothing ever seems to fit in the suitcase correctly when I re-pack), and I had been in my PPH room for the past 4 nights (twice as long as Molly & Laurie were there), so I had more things to gather up. It wasn’t going to do me any good to stay in bed, even though I was awake, and wait another hour or two to start the process of re-packing, and then run into bathroom gridlock when the other ladies needed to get up.

But, waking up early like that poses the risk of disturbing other folks when you share a room.

You see, I am used to living alone – happily – and I don’t have to worry about waking other people up, or other people waking me up (which happens easily, as I am usually a light sleeper). If I can’t sleep, I can get up in the middle of the night, watch TV, turn on a light, read, write, get online, etc., without bothering another soul. Even when I’ve had guests stay overnight, I can sleep in one room and they can sleep in another room. This way, they don’t disturb me and I don’t disturb them. I don’t have to worry about being in the bathroom too long when someone else needs to use it, nor do I have to worry about waiting for someone else to get out of the bathroom so I can use it. My guests can use one bathroom and I can use the other bathroom. I don’t have to worry about anyone else exclaiming “You get up early,” if I am up at 4 a.m. on one of those infrequent occasions.

Of course, Laurie and Molly each said something to me along the lines of “You get up early!” (That’s not verbatim, but pretty close.) In my real life, I really don’t get up that early most of the time – but when I have to and can see that it will be necessary, I do.

When I have shared hotel rooms with Shawn in the past, even though she likes to sleep in later on her off days, she is not terribly disturbed if I am up before sunrise – because she wakes up extremely early every day for work. Being up at 4 a.m. is not unusual to her at all. In fact, she is more accustomed to those hours than I am.

So, needless to say, I felt a bit guilty for making enough noise to wake Molly and Laurie up but, at the same time, I wasn’t going to stay in bed when I was wide awake and wait until a better time to get out of bed. I know how long it takes me to do things, and I knew I needed to get started…especially since I felt like I was moving along at a snail’s pace due to being sick.




I had arranged for Liza (known as funatdisney on the DIS) to come and join us for breakfast – she doesn’t meet a lot of DIS’ers in person, but she’s a nice lady and I knew she would get along with Molly & Laurie. Liza was also kind enough to agree to drive me home that day – and she has quite a long trek back to her area (which is closer to Ventura, about 90 minutes from where I live and from Disneyland). Liza is also the one I did the Cars Land preview with back in June of this year (that report is in this same thread), and we attended the first day of Halloween Time and one of the Halloween parties together in 2011 (photo reports are in this thread). She also picked me up at DLR and took me home in December 2010, at the end of the “Evil Chair & the Peppermint Cone of Death” trip (and you know that report is in this thread!).

Liza arrived at the Paradise Pier Hotel (per my suggestion) a bit before 7 a.m., if I recall. Seeing that nothing was really open yet and Molly and Laurie were not close to being ready to go, I didn’t want Liza to have to wait down in the lobby for us. I invited her up to the room so she could at least sit and chat with us.






Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh
Over the fields we go, laughing all the way;
Bells on bob-tail ring, making spirits bright
What fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight







Earlier in the morning I had glanced over my “final” Paradise Pier Hotel bill (which was slid under my door) and noticed that they were charging me for the one totally “free” night I was getting!! They were not charging me for parking, but they were charging me the same $99 + room tax rate for the free night that I was also being charged for the additional nights.

When I checked in to the PPH four days earlier I had been told that their system would automatically apply the rate for the free night at first, but that by check-out day it would be removed and would not appear on my final bill.

And yet, it was on my final bill.

Once again, the Paradise Pier Hotel somehow managed to screw up the billing for me. For two years in a row (different problems, though) I experienced billing issues!

I have learned over the years that if you happen to spot an issue on your bill while you are at the hotel (whichever hotel it may be), or if you have a problem with your room, it’s best to report it right away - or at least before you check out. This way, the staff has time to deal with it and correct it on the spot. If you wait to contact them until after you return home (like with a complaint or a billing error), you might not have the same success in resolving the issue, or at least not within a speedy time frame. These issues need to be handled while you are still technically a “guest” of the hotel for the best results.

As soon as I was done with most of my packing and was sure that I wouldn’t be bothering my roommates by making a phone call, I rang the front desk downstairs at the PPH and explained the billing issue. The Cast Member on the other end of the line (a female) was not particularly bubbly or friendly, nor was she apologetic as you would expect – even from a non-bubbly, non-friendly CM! She pulled up my account and said she would talk to her manager and see what they could do, and then get back to me. She didn’t appear to be in any hurry to get answers.

Not even a polite “I’m sorry about the mistake” was uttered from the CM’s lips. She acted more as if I was bothering her.

I said, “Yes, please, because you’re going to cause me to be overdrawn if this isn’t taken care of.”

I can’t recall how much time passed, but the manager – who I think was the same jovial gentleman who came out to shake my hand and give me my “Welcome Home” packet when I’d checked in 4 days prior – called me back and he was very friendly. He wasn’t quite sure why the error had occurred – it should have been taken care of before I received my final bill – but he recognized that it was their mistake and he definitely extended his apologies.

Because I called right on the spot – while I was still a guest in the room – the PPH folks were able to stop the charge before it hit my debit card. They billed me for the correct final amount – reflecting the one totally free night – early the next week (about 5 days later). If I had waited to let them know about the error until after I had checked out or after I got home, what would have happened is that the incorrect total would have been automatically applied to my debit card and they would have had to credit me for the amount they overcharged, which would have taken more time and caused me some trouble with non-sufficient funds and fees in my checking/debit account. I preferred that they just stop the charge up front so I didn’t have to worry about it crediting later.





I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes
Christmas is all around me and so the feeling grows
It's written in the wind, it's everywhere I go
So if you really love Christmas, c'mon and let it snow…





(Does anyone recognize the above ^^ song? Molly should know it, and hopefully will recognize it if she is still reading…)

At last, it was time to say goodbye to my Paradise Pier Room – my home for 4 nights & 5 days on this trip. It was a bittersweet feeling. I wanted to leave because I was sick and I just wanted to put the whole trip behind me, and yet I didn’t want to leave. That was actually the longest period of time I had ever stayed onsite while at DLR, and the longest stay I’ve had away from home, in any hotel, in many years. Also, it was a rate I was sure I would never again receive at a Disneyland Resort hotel.

I only wished the trip had been frustration- and illness-free. And I wished that things had worked out differently so that I could have stayed an extra night and checked out on Friday instead of Thursday – to allow myself to get caught up on all of the extra photo-taking I wanted to do. One extra day would have allowed me to get a lot more accomplished.

But, alas, it was not meant to be for that trip.


Laurie & Molly gathered their luggage and brought it downstairs to the Bell Desk, and Liza & I went to her car (parked in the PPH lot) to drop off my bags. We all reconvened in the PPH lobby gift shop (Mickey in Paradise) to head to breakfast.

I attempted to explain to Liza what had taken place with “M” and family the day before. I didn’t really talk to Laurie about it because Molly had filled her in, and I didn’t think she was interested in hearing it again. But Liza was on a mission for pins. She loves pins. She was darting in and out of the pin racks & aisles in Mickey in Paradise and not really listening to me. I even said something at one point like, “I am trying to talk to you and you keep walking away.” Lol. (I was able to talk a bit later, on the way back to my place, because Liza couldn’t run off anywhere to get pins in the middle of the freeway! Lol.)

Laurie was under the impression that we were eating at Surf’s Up with Mickey. Somehow she had forgotten or didn’t realize that we were playing it by ear until the last minute, even though I thought it was understood. She also figured that I wouldn’t want to have breakfast because I was sick. I had every intention of going through with breakfast - unless I was 100 times worse than I’d been the day before, but the illness was not progressing quite that rapidly.

In any case, Goofy’s Kitchen was actually the place Laurie had suggested to begin with (before the trip ever commenced) because she wanted to treat me to a meal, which was very, very kind of her – especially in light of the fiasco that transpired at Goofy’s 3 nights earlier, with “M” and her family. Laurie knew that I was a big Goofy’s Kitchen fan, and it used to be her favorite of the character meals as well (now her favorite is Surf’s Up). It seemed only logical that we should have our first character meal together at that restaurant!

Honestly, if this had been the ‘old days’ (when I had more money), or if I were working more regularly, I would have treated Laurie, Molly and Liza to breakfast. I’m not just saying that to make myself sound good – I think you guys all know me well enough by now, and know enough about me by now, to know that I am being sincere and honest when I say that I would have treated all of them if I’d been able to. But Laurie was very generous and thoughtful and treated me, for which I am very thankful.

I was getting increasingly worse (illness-wise) and I knew I wouldn’t be able to taste much of anything at breakfast, but I still wanted to end the trip on a high note and go ahead with it anyway. I wanted my last memory of the trip to be a pleasant one, and one that didn’t involve “M” and her ridiculous antics.


I could only hope that we didn’t accidentally run into any of “M’s” group on the grounds of the Disneyland Hotel. I had visions of seeing them on our way out of Goofy’s, or, worse yet, seeing them in Goofy’s if they had decided to do another character meal. Of course, I’m sure they didn’t even leave the room until at least 11:00 a.m., and probably later than that, so we were able to avoid that issue.






Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad
Prospero Ano y Felicidad.

I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas
I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas
I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas
From the bottom of my heart.






We arrived at Goofy’s Kitchen and, in spite of the fact that we did not have reservations, it didn’t take long at all to pay and then be escorted over to the photo area – which now seems to feature Chef Goofy all the time (it used to be different characters, and often times Pluto, at this location).


If you’ll remember, when I had eaten dinner at Goofy’s with “M” and company three nights earlier, we posed for a group shot at the entrance. In addition to the photo that “M” paid for as part of the photo package sold at the restaurant, there were 3 cameras (“B’s,” Jackie’s and mine) between all 8 of us, and the CM had no trouble letting us get a photo on each camera – even without knowing whether or not anyone would ultimately buy the photo package.

However, on this breakfast occasion, the CM manning the photo spot insisted on only allowing one photo per group! Laurie just happened to get up to the desk and hand him her camera first, so that was the one he used and decided would be the official camera for the group. There were only four of us – and it wasn’t like the restaurant was sooooo busy that they couldn’t take the time to snap an extra photo or two.

I tried to hand my camera to the CM, and he said, “Only one per group.”

I said, “But…I want a photo on my camera, too.”

The CM said, looking at Laurie’s camera, “This one’s fine. It’ll do. We’ll use this one.”

I wasn’t suggesting to him that we use mine instead of Laurie’s – I was merely stating that I wanted a photo on my camera as well. The CM knew what I meant, though – he was just not concerned about it.

I thought this was the oddest development since my dinner 3 nights before. Why would they go from allowing multiple cameras to take photos of a group of 8 people and then restrict a group of 4 people to only one camera 3 days later?

Furthermore, the CM’s at the front entrance have no clue what the relationships of the people in a group might be and if anyone else will get a copy of the photo. They have no clue if the people are related, are close friends, are acquaintances, etc. They have no clue if one person will be in charge of forwarding that one photo taken to everyone else. You can’t guarantee that one person will make sure everyone gets a copy. Also, something could always go wrong with one person’s photo – it’s better to have more than one taken as a back-up. And, for that matter, it should not be up to the Cast Member to decide whose camera they are using. In this case, as I mentioned, Laurie happened to get up there first and so her camera was the first one in the CM’s hand – and she was treating me, so that was okay if we were only allowed to use one camera.

But, in general, the CM’s should ask, “Whose camera are we using?”

(As it turned out, after the trip was over I contacted Guest Communications and complained about the Goofy’s Kitchen photo episode – and I even explained that my group of 8 people had been allowed to use all 3 of our cameras to get a photo with Goofy earlier in the week.

The lady who replied to me – who was actually the same lady who handled my PPH complaint from 2010 and issued my special offer/rate for the Paradise Pier Hotel on this trip – said she was not sure what happened at Goofy’s on the day we ate breakfast there. She said that the scenario I explained from the dinner night was the usual way things are handled, and that the only time she could ever envision them limiting photos to one camera per group would be if the restaurant was extremely busy and there were many people waiting for photos, or if there were a large number of cameras involved (like 15 cameras for a group of 15 people or something). There were people in the restaurant, for sure, but it certainly was not that busy, and there were only 4 of us ladies in our group. I don’t even think Molly & Liza necessarily wanted pictures – I was the only other person who really wanted a photo besides Laurie.

I said that if Goofy’s is trying to get people to buy their photo packages, they might want to look at making the character photos at the entrance of the restaurant totally exclusive to the Disney CM’s cameras and not allow anyone to take photos with their own cameras. All or nothing. By allowing only one per group and excluding others, it causes issues of ‘whose camera are we using’ and ‘is this person going to send a copy to everyone.’ Someone, somewhere along the line, is going to feel slighted – especially if they are not that close with the person whose camera is used for the shot.

The lady from Guest Communications agreed with me, and she said she would investigate the situation to find out what they’re doing with the photo situation at the entrance to Goofy’s Kitchen! I have no idea what’s happening now, but hopefully that scenario won’t happen again.)





Anyway, because I was not allowed to get a copy of the group photo taken on my camera, I am once again using Laurie’s photo, from her camera, for reference.

(L-R: Molly, Laurie, Goofy, me, Liza)

It wasn’t long after being seated that Liza realized she was missing an Annual Pass (I can’t recall if it was hers or her daughter’s). She was thinking she left it back in the Paradise Pier Hotel room when she had come inside to wait for us. She ran back to the PPH and somehow either got into the room or got someone to check the room, and there was no AP. She also asked at Goofy’s Kitchen in the check-in area and they claimed they didn’t have it.

(Update: Several days later Liza called Goofy’s Kitchen and discovered that they did, indeed, have the Annual Pass up at the front desk. It seems as if they just hadn’t really checked the first time. Liza had to pick it up when she went back to Disneyland on her family’s December trip soon after.)



I downed a bunch of orange juice, foolishly thinking it would help me feel better (it did not). I couldn’t even taste it. I ate whatever I put on my plate but I couldn’t taste it either.

At one point Molly asked me if I liked the scrambled eggs (hers were not good). I’m sure mine were not great either, as they were from the same batch that hers were from, but I couldn’t taste them! I could stay blissfully unaware! The scrambled eggs at Goofy’s are hit or miss – I have had them before when they were actually good enough to go back for second helpings (and Shawn got seconds too). And then there are other times when they just taste…weird. I have no clue why the eggs can go from one extreme to the other, but they do.

Even when I am sick, I will still pose with characters…

Aggressive Pluto, in attack mode…

Laurie’s version of the Pluto Attack photo (from her camera)…

Peekaboo!

It looks like Captain Hook is trying to put the moves on Laurie…

​

After breakfast, I knew it was time for me to get home and rest. If I’d been feeling better, Liza and I may have gone into the parks with Laurie & Molly for a little while.

But I knew I shouldn’t push my luck. What I didn’t know was that I’d be sick for the next 2½ months with some strange respiratory illness that would have me toppling over on the sidewalk and in the shower. I always know that I have a tendency towards respiratory illnesses and I have to be careful, but they usually don’t last quite that long when I have them. (Of course, it would have helped matters if I’d been able to see a doctor.)

We said our goodbyes to Laurie and Molly, and I thanked Laurie for treating me to breakfast. We managed to escape the Disneyland Hotel without one single “M”-related sighting, thankfully.

Laurie and Molly went off to one of the parks for a while before taking the shuttle back to the airport, and Liza and I headed to my neighborhood in L.A. to drop me off.






O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy,
O tidings of comfort and joy!






When I got inside my apartment and dumped my luggage and coat in a heap, I was both relieved and saddened to be home. I wished I could rewind the clock and do things differently, totally restructuring my plan to include much more solo photo-taking time and more time with Laurie, Molly & Liza (if Liza had wanted to be there). I knew there was no way to go back and do it all over again, but I felt so incomplete, like the time I was given to be at Disneyland during the holiday season – my favorite time of year – and the wonderful low Paradise Pier Hotel rate I was lucky enough to get, had totally gone to waste because of sadness and illness. If I hadn’t been sick, I probably could have managed to rebound from the sadness long enough to do something with the rest of my day on Wednesday (Day 4) and do more on Thursday before returning home.

Also, to be very honest, this was all a lot for me to take in so I was exhausted. When you’re used to being alone like I am, living a quiet life, even just being in Disneyland is overwhelming because there is so much sensory overload. Sharing a room with even one other roommate is a lot to deal with, let alone three people (though not all 3 at the same time). Having to go along with what other people want to do - when I’m used to doing what I want and not having to confer with anyone about it - is also a lot to deal with. I had to do a lot of ‘adapting to my circumstances’ and try to roll with everything, but it was all out of the ordinary for me.

As for “M”…as far as I knew, she was supposed to be with a whole different group of people on Thursday – one of whom was the friend she wanted to bring to my PPH room at the ‘2 for the price of 1’ deal if I had stayed an extra night. She and the family were supposed to be checking out of the DLH on Friday, then heading back home on Sunday. So I didn’t expect to hear from her again while she was still in town. In fact, I wasn’t sure I would hear from her at all…and if so, would she acknowledge that she handled things horribly and apologize to me?

Well, stay tuned. I will tell you what happened in the aftermath of this chaotic, busy, emotionally and physically draining Disneyland Resort holiday trip!



Coming up next…the final, final segment of this December 2011 Trip Report – an update on where things stand today with “M,” and my final thoughts on the whole saga! Don’t you want to know?!