Nothing to See Here...

[kaoden39]

I love this. To me the masks are delightful, and then you add the instruments and it is the thing for me. I collect those mask and I would love to get my hands in some of them.

 

[mvf-m11c]

You catch all the small details of the Holiday decorations around NOS. This is my favorite part of your TR seeing all those Holiday decorations around NOS. We talked about NOS not having the string of lights over the walkway of NOS, do you still like the strings of lights or do u like the way DL has decorated NOS this year. Even though the decorations do look more brighter and colorful at night, but it just doesn't feel like the old NOS at DL. Your TR is getting me all pump up for my trip and do that sign quest.

 

[Sherry E]

Computer's acting up again and I can't copy/paste, but...about what you said about NOS and Hollywood being g-rated versions...yes! I remember first going to NOS, and the times I've been there in the morning (like when Cafe Orleans had breakfast and I ate outside in the chilly December air)...I would think "this is like New Orleans, without the smell of vomit"... I love & adore the experiences I've had in NO (solo, short visits, nowhere near Mardi Gras, once right before xmas), and still that's what came to mind. Also, without the cockroaches, good riddance to both things!


I love the ornament that looks like a bunch of grapes hanging from a balcony. LOVE it.


By the way, I'm getting guilty b/c you're so far along in your report, AND it's distracting me!

There are also, conveniently, no strip clubs or ladies of the evening on every corner in New Orleans Square like you might find in the real N.O. on a Saturday night! Yep, this is definitely a watered-down, sanitized version of the Big Easy in DLR...but that's okay, because it's so pretty! I've not yet been to the real New Orleans, though I can see some reasonable circumstances in which it could happen in the future. It probably could have happened in the past if I had pursued it. But I've heard some debaucherous tales so it always amuses me that there is a NOS in DLR.

Yes, that ornament does look exactly like a bunch of grapes, doesn't it? I do like the decorations in NOS - they are pretty. I just like NOS better with the canopy of glowing lights that it used to have.

I can't believe I've gotten this far on the TR. I had an unexpected window of opportunity open up today (client was working on something for me to do and didn't have it ready today like I thought he would), so I was able to crank out more installments. Tomorrow I might not be so lucky and I might not be able to do anything here. If I don't have to explain/type much in a post and the photos are self-explanatory, it's a fastER process. Notice I said fastER. Not fast, by any means. Nothing is fast when you combine my PC with the horror that is Photobucket.

I've had so many freeze-ups, crashes, shut downs and overall massive slowness to simply scroll from one photo to another in the Photobucket albums that it's hard to believe I am already almost finished with Day 3 and winding down the TR in general. Each post is allowed 25 images, and I, literally, cannot even copy and paste 25 IMG codes from Photobucket without something locking up and casuing me to reboot. And all this technical grief is only for a 3-1/2 day Trip Report! Imagine if I took a trip the length of your WDW trip or Marie's 2+ week DLR extravaganza! I would still be working on that TR in summer!

You have a long way to go in your TR, Molly. Your WDW trip was much longer and involved more people than my little outing. So I think you'll be working on your TR long after I've finished mine, computer problems and all!!

 

[Sherry E]

I love this. To me the masks are delightful, and then you add the instruments and it is the thing for me. I collect those mask and I would love to get my hands in some of them.

Michele - that one is one of my favorites, too. I like the combo of the mask/wreath/instrument. They are definitely a highlight of that area.

You catch all the small details of the Holiday decorations around NOS. This is my favorite part of your TR seeing all those Holiday decorations around NOS. We talked about NOS not having the string of lights over the walkway of NOS, do you still like the strings of lights or do u like the way DL has decorated NOS this year. Even though the decorations do look more brighter and colorful at night, but it just doesn't feel like the old NOS at DL. Your TR is getting me all pump up for my trip and do that sign quest.

Thank you so much, Bret! I can't wait to see what you come up with for Sign Quest!

Well, here is the thing about the light canopy in NOS - if I had never seen the light canopy to begin with, and this was my first ever trip to DLR or my first time seeing NOS, I would think, "Ooooh...this is very pretty...I love the decorations." BUT, because I have seen the light canopy and what a visual difference it made in NOS in the past, all I could think when I was there a few weeks ago was, "Gee, I really miss that light canopy!" It just made such a difference in the amount of light that came into that area. Plus, there were more decorations on the balconies in the past, too - your photos of the 'before and after' were striking!

So, even though NOS is still very pretty - as you said, it doesn't feel like the old NOS.

 

[kaoden39]

Hmm what shall my quest be? I am getting a flip so I can do videos but I need a quest.

 

[bumbershoot]

This is from '08. What light canopy? What am I missing in this picture that you guy say is missing this year?

Sorry to hijack with my huge pic, by the way, but I'm confused. But it's entirely possible I've never really looked at NOS in the dark, which is when I assume a light canopy would be most obvious, and either way, I'd like to know!

I tell ya, if people weren't saying that WDW was going light on the decorations, I'd wonder if something happened to DLR's storage areas, with all the specific decorations y'all have noticed are gone from DLR.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Thank you so much, Bret! I can't wait to see what you come up with for Sign Quest!

Well, here is the thing about the light canopy in NOS - if I had never seen the light canopy to begin with, and this was my first ever trip to DLR or my first time seeing NOS, I would think, "Ooooh...this is very pretty...I love the decorations." BUT, because I have seen the light canopy and what a visual difference it made in NOS in the past, all I could think when I was there a few weeks ago was, "Gee, I really miss that light canopy!" It just made such a difference in the amount of light that came into that area. Plus, there were more decorations on the balconies in the past, too - your photos of the 'before and after' were striking!

So, even though NOS is still very pretty - as you said, it doesn't feel like the old NOS.

I would agree with you on the same thing about seeing NOS with the Holiday decorations for the first time and seeing it in the past. I just love seeing NOS with the light canopy above the walkway. The light canopy is very bright at night when I walk down the streets. When I went to WDW last month, I was so amazed with "The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights" at DHS. But there could have been something different with the Osborne Family Lights in the past that I haven't notice during my visit. I'm just so used to seeing NOS with the light canopy and it didn't make me feel excited to see NOS at night last year.

Can't wait to do the Sign Quest in two weeks.

 

[mvf-m11c]

This is from '08. What light canopy? What am I missing in this picture that you guy say is missing this year?

Sorry to hijack with my huge pic, by the way, but I'm confused. But it's entirely possible I've never really looked at NOS in the dark, which is when I assume a light canopy would be most obvious, and either way, I'd like to know!

I tell ya, if people weren't saying that WDW was going light on the decorations, I'd wonder if something happened to DLR's storage areas, with all the specific decorations y'all have noticed are gone from DLR.

That is a very nice pic of NOS bumbershoot. Yes, the string of lights above the walkway of NOS is what we were talking about. In the past, they had the light canopy over the walkway of NOS and this recent Holiday season didn't have the light canopy above the walkway. The lights on the railings above the buildings were very colorful this year, but it was not as bright without the light canopy.

Here are some pics of the past NOS w/the canopy lights and the recent NOS w/the Holiday lights. Sry Sherry for showing my pics on your thread.

NOS w/light canopy

NOS this last Holiday season

As you can tell from these two different pictures of NOS with the light canopy over the walkway and no light canopy for the last Holiday season.

 

[Sherry E]

Bret -

Don't worry at all about showing those photos in the thread! In fact, thank you for posting them so people would understand what we meant! Those are the best examples, so I'm glad you had the pictures handy to show Molly!

The difference is really striking to me - even aside from the light canopy itself. There were more ornate beads and things going on around the balconies in the past, too. But that 'light' element really added something to that area that is not there now. They've definitely scaled back on some things in that land.

And pre-2010, when I'd walk around in New Orleans Square at night, the light above was very evident in person - probably even more so than in the photos. It lit up the whole back alleyway.

 

[tdashgirl]

(like when Cafe Orleans had breakfast and I ate outside in the chilly December air)...I would think "this is like New Orleans, without the smell of vomit"...

NOS is so beautiful and fun, definitely my favorite land. I wonder how many other people have it as their favorite? It definitely seems to be uber-popular here on the DIS

 

[deejdigsdis]

Whoa Sherry! You're TR is hoppin'! I need to go clear back to page 92 to start catching up...

 

[Sherry E]

Day 3 – December 14, 2010 – Part Twenty-Two​

So yesterday we (meaning the collective ‘we’ on this thread) took a tour of ToonTown and we wandered the alleys of New Orleans Square. Now it’s time to slowly say goodbye to Day 3 – the last solo day of my DLR holiday adventure.

If you recall, I was annoyed at the overzealous people who were climbing all over the Jack Skellington-Sally-Maleficent photo display (which had been there since HalloweenTime, apparently, from what I’ve seen in other people’s pictures) instead of waiting their turn and letting me get a proper shot (one without feet or arms or heads in the way). So I left NOS a little sooner than I might have otherwise, but it was okay because I felt I got a lot of photos and didn’t miss out on too much.

I had to figure out what to do next. This time I plopped down on a bench in Frontierland (my bench of choice had been in Tomorrowland the day before) and surveyed the surroundings while I re-hydrated and attempted to map out a game plan in my foggy mind. My leg was bothering me less than it had been the previous two days, but I still didn’t want to push it too much because the pain doesn’t ‘go away.’ It simply gets a little better, then gets worse, then gets better, then gets worse – and simply standing up or stepping a certain way can trigger it to get worse in an instant.

I was tired. I was hungry, but I couldn’t decide if I wanted to go the counter service route or do a table service meal. I sort of wanted to head over to California Adventure and snap some shots of A Bug’s Land’s ornaments (remember, this was another CM party night in Disneyland), but I felt like I would have to eat before I did that. I needed fortification and fuel if I was to go on any longer! I was already playing fast and loose with my blood sugar. I wasn’t eating protein first thing in the morning like I should be (which I always, always do when I have friends with me at DLR). And I should know better than that. Plus, based on what I’d seen the night before, there was a mass exodus from DL at 6 p.m. and all of those people packed into DCA. I wasn’t sure if I’d have enough time to be able to eat, get to DCA and snap the photos I wanted before the crowds descended again.

The other issue was that, on the previous evening (Monday) I’d waited too long to try to get a table service dinner and by the time I peeked in the PCH Grill window or into Storytellers, they were already full with the dinner crowds and I didn’t feel like waiting. Room service was a nice alternative – but it was a very costly one (can’t use the AP discount for room service orders) and the hamburger I had was dry and overcooked. (However, the Kilauea Molten Apple Pie made up for it!) I didn’t want to order room service again, if at all possible. I knew that on this night I would have to head over the restaurant of choice – preferably table service - and try to beat the dinner crowd.

My brain was too tired to form a cohesive plan, so I figured that if I just kept walking I would eventually stumble upon a restaurant that didn’t look too busy YET, and it would suddenly be clear to me that this was where I had to eat.

I stopped at this sort of lackluster holiday display in Frontierland. There were some workers there – they didn’t look like they were CM’s, however – who were dismantling a light strand and trying to figure out where to plug something or other in. They were trying to reposition some of the overturned plants as well.

Okay, I realize that this scene is supposed to have fake snow in it, but this cotton stuff looks a little TOO obviously fake. I think they could have done a better job with the fake snow!

Okay, I guess these cactus people (cacti people?) would be cuter if they had faces or something:

Time to say hello to the feathered friends again!

Hmmm…a pretty new bird on the block! Is this a crane? It’s not a duck. It’s not a seagull. It doesn’t quite look like any pelican I’ve seen, though its beak is long and clearly designed for grabbing fish in the water. I think it’s a crane! Is it? Any ornithologists out there who can confirm? LOL!!

Anyway, before I left Disneyland, I stumbled upon this absolutely lovely window display around a corner on Main Street. I don’t know how I overlooked it before when I was on my Window Display Quest the previous day!! The whole set-up of this display was just beautiful, with vibrant red colors and gold & red fans hanging off of the Christmas tree. The only problem was that I could not get a shot of it without the stupid reflection in the glass! And when I tried to just snap the photo by pressing the camera against the glass, which is always a good option, I only got a sliver of the tree in the frame because it was kind of at an angle, off to the side. I wanted to show the whole tree, but you get the idea.

I walked past Carnation Café. Too crowded. Too long of a wait. I considered Plaza Inn, but I really wanted table service. I didn’t feel like schlepping over to DCA to deal with Wine Country Trattoria, and I wasn’t going to hike back to Café Orleans.

So my options were the hotel restaurants again, or Downtown Disney. While I like both ESPN Zone and Rainforest Café, I didn’t feel like dealing with those restaurants at that point. I wanted something quieter. Naples Ristorante has always served me well, but for some reason I wasn’t in the mood for that either.

I wanted to eat somewhere where I could use my AP and get my 15% discount. I could either hotfoot it over to Steakhouse 55 in the DLH, go to Storytellers Café in the GCH or head back to my own hotel and see if the PCH Grill was any less crowded. (Napa Rose holds almost no interest for me, and as I explained earlier in this TR, doing a second character meal on this trip was going to be a bit too pricey and I’d rather only do a second one if I have a friend with me who wants to do it.) I was going to be hitting my restaurant of choice pre-dinner rush, so I would be seated almost right away, no doubt.

Whether I chose Steakhouse 55, Storytellers Café or PCH Grill, I still had to cut through the GCH to use the short cut. Might as well check the menu over at Storytellers first and see if anything jumped out at me, I thought.

The dinner menu doesn’t have a lot of choices on it. The buffet at Storytellers is too limited for me, and it doesn’t have enough dishes that appeal to me. I was so hungry and in need of sustenance, and nothing appealed to me! LOL!

But…I remembered that Shawn and I had eaten dinner at Storytellers on a cold December night in 2008, and we had the most delicious spaghetti and garlic bread. Of course, since that meal I have read others’ reports of eating there and getting food poisoning and having terrible service and all that. But the spaghetti was calling to me. I love spaghetti. It’s probably been my favorite food since I was a kid, but I don’t eat it very often at all because the carbs are not good for my blood sugar. Maybe twice a year I will make a big batch of it, if even that often. But I love it, and I remembered the Storytellers version to be particularly scrumptious, with fresh herbs and garlic, nice meat sauce…and an absolutely heavenly slice of garlic bread.

I needed a big ol’ plate of comfort food that I could just dive into. So spaghetti it was going to be, and Storytellers was destined to be the restaurant of my first-ever solo table service meal (and my only solo table service meal thus far).

I waited a few minutes to be seated. There was a group of us waiting to be let inside the restaurant – we got there just at the time the dinner hours began, I think.

I noticed the absolute lack of any Christmas decorations, which startled me since Storytellers is such a comfy, cozy, earthy, warm sort of dining establishment that seems like it would be the perfect host for holiday touches. But there was nothing. Not a single tree. Not a single wreath. Nothing. In the past they have had gingerbread displays somewhere near the front of the restaurant, and this time there was nothing.

I was ushered to my table and I looked around the room.

Light fixture alert!!! I love these lights, as they have bunnies, dolphins (or is that a whale? Clearly, I can’t recognize my sea mammals…), horses, ships and woodland hunter people on them!

My waiter was Brett. He had actually waited on me in the past, when I’d been to Storytellers Café with Shawn and Jackie, and I remembered he was friendly and on the ball. He is a great server – very attentive, very fast, but not too in-your-face. But I actually think I got slightly better service being alone than when I’ve eaten there with other people, to be honest.

I asked Brett about the lack of holiday décor in the restaurant. He said that two days prior (Sunday), there was a Haunted Mansion gingerbread house at the front of the restaurant when he arrived for his shift. And then when he came back later, it was gone! He wasn’t sure if someone had stolen it, knocked it off the display or if someone just removed it and put it away. But it was totally gone. The funny thing is, Brett told me to ask them at the front desk what happened to the HM gingerbread display, and when I finally did ask them the next day (Wednesday), they were clueless! No one seemed to have remembered seeing this display, but not all the employees work the same shifts so it’s possible the ones I asked were not on duty on Sunday when Brett was. So I am wondering if someone actually did steal it before anyone else got a chance to see it? The Storytellers Café Haunted Mansion holiday display vanished into thin air in the course of one evening – or less than one evening!

Someone brought out my bread basket (it was all very fresh, too), but it wasn’t Brett. I’m not a big bread eater. I will eat a sandwich with wheat bread, but I don’t eat too much white bread as a stand alone dish. (Again, the carbs…) However, I was hungry and I was about to be eating pasta, so what’s an extra carb or two at that point?:

All of a sudden I felt a THUNK on the back of my chair…which was followed by the anguished cries of a little girl. Apparently, as I sat there and minded my own business while waiting for my pasta, not moving or bothering a single person, this girl had walked smack into the back of my chair. And it hurt. And she started wailing. Again, I repeat – she walked into my chair, which was totally still. I didn’t back up into her.

The lady who rushed to the little girl’s aid appeared to be a grandmotherly type. She tried to comfort her and find out what was wrong. The little girl just pointed in my direction. The grandmotherly type glared at me. I asked if the child was okay or hurt as she bellowed and groaned in agony. The lady ignored me and shot me a dirty look. (Look, I did not back up into your granddaughter. I was minding my own business and she wasn’t looking where she was going. Don’t blame me because the chairs are hard! LOL!)

She shuffled the child off somewhere far away from my table, protectively covering her as they fled the scene as though they were escaping from a burning building. Because I’m so dangerous, sitting in my chair, eating bread, of course….because you never know what I might do. I might just start backing up into people at random so they bang into me. Heck, I MIGHT even take out my lethal scarf of death and start waving it around wildly. You’d better beware!! LOL!!


Finally, my plate of heaven arrived….

All I have to say is Yum-O. Comfort on a plate. The parmesan is fresh (not the stuff in the green canister). The herbs are potent. The pasta is not too soggy or too firm. The meat sauce has chunks of fresh carrots and tomatoes in it. The garlic bread is sheer bliss. Outrageous. Some garlic bread is too dry and doesn’t have enough garlic butter on it. Some garlic bread is saturated in garlic butter and is practically liquefied. This was perfection, with just the right amount of garlic and butter on it, as well as herbs. In fact, the garlic bread was so delicious – it was just as I remembered it from December 2008 – that Brett suggested I order another plate of it (2 pieces). Of course, he knew what he was talking about…so I took his advice!

I scarfed down this plate of starchy goodness and paid my bill. I thought I’d take a look at how busy the entrance of DCA looked and make my decision if I wanted to go in there or head back to the PPH. I opted against going into DCA.



Next up…..a stop in World of Disney and then Day 3 comes to its conclusion.

 

[deejdigsdis]

OK, I'm through pages 92 and 93...

Mr. Microphone commercial! I had to go watch that on YouTube right away. I totally forgot about that one. Hilarious!

The Ice Cream - Trash Can - Camera Incident... I know it wasn't the funnest thing in the world to have happen, but I really enjoyed your thorough descriptions of the incident! That ice cream cone looked so good.

for the way the whole PPH thing ended up! That is really great and I hope you can get more than the free night out of it.

I enjoyed seeing the Reindeer Round-Up. Somehow we missed that whole thing when we took our kids last year. (I guess I can't say "last year" anymore... "back in 2009" is more accurate now. )

Girl, I can tell you what I would be doing!!! Hello, American Airlines!

Why can't I have a sister like that???

Yes, I know! It just wasn't as simple as all that, though. Sherry, you are right. The thing that kept me from jumping on the offer from my sister right away was going back without my family. Especially with knowing how much DS11 wants to go back. He talks about it often and it's crazy to me how much he remembers -- in detail -- after going just once. (Back Story: We took our 3 kids for the first time in Nov. 2009, and it was my first time back in over 13 years. Then my husband and I went by ourselves for a few days in April 2010 to celebrate a long lost anniversary. Then I went in Oct. 2010 with my mom and 2 sisters while the kids stayed home yet again. My sister wants to go back this month to use her AP for the first time, but is nervous about the whole solo thing. She offered to pay for half my flight if I would go with her. She's already taken care of the hotel since she's going anyway, my AP is still valid, so that leaves food and half my flight. Very tempting and very doable.)

OK, on to page 94...

 

[bumbershoot]

She shuffled the child off somewhere far away from my table, protectively covering her as they fled the scene as though they were escaping from a burning building.

They might have been protecting her from your evil chair-back, but it's more likely they were just trying to get her away from the public so she didn't bother people with her wailing. It's what have done when Eamon hurts himself in public.

I've also definitely seen kids (including E) absolutely hating the inanimate objects they ran into all on their own. I've seen kids say "bad couch, I hate that couch", etc etc, substituting the particular object if it wasn't a couch. She might have been pointing at the chair, and you only saw the glares b/c you turned around (though why an adult would be glaring at a chair I have NO idea).

Just trying to make you feel better about your fellow man.



Thanks for the excellent description and pictures showing me what I was missing! I truly do not recall seeing those things, so I might never have been there when it's dark. Or I just didn't notice. Which is very likely, considering how clueless I tend to be at Disney.

 

[tdashgirl]

Girl, you are totally making me crave spaghetti from Storytellers!

 

[Estella]

Loving your December trip report! I just got back from WDW and thinking of visiting DL this summer. My daughter says the white bird is a snowy egret - we see them alot in Morro Bay. How do you get those PIN codes for the hotel discounts?

 

[Sherry E]

OK, I'm through pages 92 and 93...

Mr. Microphone commercial! I had to go watch that on YouTube right away. I totally forgot about that one. Hilarious!

The Ice Cream - Trash Can - Camera Incident... I know it wasn't the funnest thing in the world to have happen, but I really enjoyed your thorough descriptions of the incident! That ice cream cone looked so good.

for the way the whole PPH thing ended up! That is really great and I hope you can get more than the free night out of it.

I enjoyed seeing the Reindeer Round-Up. Somehow we missed that whole thing when we took our kids last year. (I guess I can't say "last year" anymore... "back in 2009" is more accurate now. )



Yes, I know! It just wasn't as simple as all that, though. Sherry, you are right. The thing that kept me from jumping on the offer from my sister right away was going back without my family. Especially with knowing how much DS11 wants to go back. He talks about it often and it's crazy to me how much he remembers -- in detail -- after going just once. (Back Story: We took our 3 kids for the first time in Nov. 2009, and it was my first time back in over 13 years. Then my husband and I went by ourselves for a few days in April 2010 to celebrate a long lost anniversary. Then I went in Oct. 2010 with my mom and 2 sisters while the kids stayed home yet again. My sister wants to go back this month to use her AP for the first time, but is nervous about the whole solo thing. She offered to pay for half my flight if I would go with her. She's already taken care of the hotel since she's going anyway, my AP is still valid, so that leaves food and half my flight. Very tempting and very doable.)

OK, on to page 94...

Deej - Welcome back! Wow, I didn't know that you hadn't posted since the ice cream incident (from early in Day 2). It seemed like you had. That was a while ago! It probably seems like I've advanced to, like, Day 92 of the trip at this point, but, really, I'm just finishing Day 3. You do have a lot to catch up on, though! I figured if anyone would remember Mr. Microphone it would be you, because I think you have an appreciation for the retro stuff - whether is was 'good' retro stuff or cheesy retro stuff!

The Ice Cream-Trash Can-Camera episode was not fun in the moment it was happening, but I can giggle about it now when recalling it!

I have a feeling that a lot of people overlook the Round-Up (like the non-hardcore Disney enthusiasts who don't know it exists). It's kind of tucked away. It's not like you just walk into the entrance of Frontierland and see it right there. You kind of have to seek it out, and I would bet that a lot of folks don't. But it's a really cool spot. And, as you know, it's one of the real highlights of the Halloween season too.

So did you decide to not go with your sister to DLR, for sure? Or are you still on the fence about it? I can definitely see where it would be tough in that situation to just agree and do it, knowing how much your son wants to go back - and HalloweenTime is still a little ways off.

They might have been protecting her from your evil chair-back, but it's more likely they were just trying to get her away from the public so she didn't bother people with her wailing. It's what have done when Eamon hurts himself in public.

I've also definitely seen kids (including E) absolutely hating the inanimate objects they ran into all on their own. I've seen kids say "bad couch, I hate that couch", etc etc, substituting the particular object if it wasn't a couch. She might have been pointing at the chair, and you only saw the glares b/c you turned around (though why an adult would be glaring at a chair I have NO idea).

Just trying to make you feel better about your fellow man.



Thanks for the excellent description and pictures showing me what I was missing! I truly do not recall seeing those things, so I might never have been there when it's dark. Or I just didn't notice. Which is very likely, considering how clueless I tend to be at Disney.

Molly -

I think the initial thought from the grandmotherly type was that I had backed up into the child because she didn't see what happened. She definitely glared at me and ignored me when I asked if the girl was okay. Whether or not she ended up still thinking that I backed up into the girl 10 minutes later, after she shuffled her off somewhere, is anyone's guess. For all I know, maybe the little girl thought I had backed up into her too! But I didn't.

You mean that you didn't go into New Orleans Square when it was dark to remember the light canopy? I bet a lot of people don't. I could definitely still tell that there was stuff missing in the daytime - because I recall taking photos of the lights and things hanging overhead back in 2008, and those are now gone, but it's definitely more obvious at night because that light canopy really lit up the whole place. Bret's photos are a good representation. I think I have some good day/night ones from 2008, too, that I will have to look up just for my own comparison's sake.

Did I read correctly in that WDW is scaling back its decorations too? I hadn't heard that but if DLR is doing it, and DLR is much smaller, then it wouldn't shock me if WDW is doing it as well. Where did you hear that? Was it on the WDW side of the DIS?

Girl, you are totally making me crave spaghetti from Storytellers!

Tania - Have you eaten the spaghetti at Storytellers before? I was a bit worried that the yummy-ness I remembered from 2008 would have vanished when I had it this time, because these DLR restaurants all seem to have so many 'off' days. I was pleased that it was just as delicious.

I will give a spoiler for Day 4, though - I had the spaghetti again (because it was so delicious on Day 3!), and the garlic bread was not good. Basically, it was a piece of toast with barely any garlic or butter on it at all. Way too dry. So, now that I have had this dish 3 times (once in 2008 and twice a few weeks ago), I can see that the garlic bread is hit or miss. Two of those times the garlic bread was just delightful and perfect. But you get that one time where it's not great, and it's disappointing!

Loving your December trip report! I just got back from WDW and thinking of visiting DL this summer. My daughter says the white bird is a snowy egret - we see them alot in Morro Bay. How do you get those PIN codes for the hotel discounts?

Welcome, Estella! Thank you so much for joining in with us, and I'm so glad you're enjoying the TR. I have to finish Day 3, and then do what little there is to report/post from Day 4 and then it's done.

And, thank you so much (and thanks to your daughter) for clarifying what the white bird is! A snowy egret! Wow! I noticed that no one was jumping in to tell me what it was, so I thought that either people didn't see the photos or they just didn't know! Even when I had kind of settled on the fact that it might be a crane, I didn't think it looked exactly like a crane. It didn't look exactly like anything I might have thought it was. So now the mystery is solved. It's a very pretty bird. And it was just kind of sitting off by itself, not interacting with the ducks.

The PIN code that I got for the PPH/December trip was triggered by my going on to the DLR website, logging in to my My Disneyland account, pulling up whatever 20% offer they were showing for the PPH at that time, plugging in my dates at that offer and then saving the offer (without booking it) in the Saved Offers section. I was going to think about whether or not I would be able to afford that offer, so I didn't want to book it yet.

A few days later, when DLR's system noticed that I had a 'saved offer' but had not booked anything, they sent me an e-mail PIN code with the $163 per night rate to lure me in - and it worked! That was a much better rate than what they were advertising. The CM's in Reservations hadn't even seen anyone else booking with the $163 rate (it was basically 35% off the PPH), so either not many people were getting those PINs or they got PINs for different rates. They had to pull up my name in their system to see that I had that rate attached to my account.

Other people on this board tried the 'Saved Offer' trick after I did it and they had the same thing happen. They got a PIN. The thing is, if DLR sends out enough of these PINs and people end up not using them, or they plug in the dates just to see if they can get an offer and never use them, then DLR will probably stop sending them out in that specific way. They send out general PIN codes in e-mails or mail to lots of people (it's very random, who gets them and who does not) a couple of times a year, but this 'Saved Offer' thing seemed to be particularly specific to the people who received the offer. It was more exclusive.

I have definitely noticed that the more I stay onsite (especially if I have used a discount offer), the more general PIN code offers I get. When I didn't stay onsite for a while, they stopped sending me offers. So I think that if DLR sees some sort of onsite activity, they will try to entice you to come back. And if they see that you have not stayed onsite for a year or two, they stop trying to entice you.

I've never been to WDW and I hope to get there someday. Have you been to DLR before?

 

[Sherry E]

Is everyone else still here? All the usual suspects?

Does everyone agree that it's a snowy egret?

I don't think I can bear to muster up the energy to deal with Photobucket if you are not all are there! That Photobucket is going to kill me. The only thing keeping in the 'fight,' as it were, is knowing there are peeps out there. I still have the rest of Day 3 and what there is of Day 4 to post and report about and I don't want to lose too much momentum (because it's already almost a month since my trip happened!), but, arrrgggghhhh....that Photobucket.

Speaking of headaches, I have to go pop some Motrin because I have one. I'm expecting a Vons delivery today. I'm sure that will add to my headache. There is almost always something askew with their deliveries.

 

[kaoden39]

I am here!! You know that. I am a faithful fan!!

 

[tdashgirl]

Tania - Have you eaten the spaghetti at Storytellers before?

Nope! That's what was so funny - your description and photos made my mouth water! I just might have to try it someday Hopefully that will be a good day for the garlic bread