Nothing to See Here...

[Sherry E]

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

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



Day 2 - Monday, December 5, 2011 - Part 5 ​

Angels we have heard on high,
Singing sweetly through the night,
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their brave delight.





In my last Trip Report installment from a few days ago (located a page or two back, I think), I visited the lovely Christmas tree in California Adventure – in the Paradise Pier section of the park – to have some ‘Stitch-popping-out-of-the-present’ PhotoPass pictures taken, and to be a Guinea pig in the photographer’s twisted, demented experiment in madness that involved finding a perfectly positioned shiny ornament to capture my reflection (and hers).

I also wandered over to Mickey’s Fun Wheel (of Terror) and cackled in diabolical glee at the poor, unsuspecting souls who were swaying in those precarious buckets, as I snapped some of my all-time favorite ‘crazy angle’ photos from this trip – or from any of my other trips – and turned one of the shots into “Pop Art,” Warhol-style.

As I prepared to bid farewell to the Fun Wheel of Terror, I snapped a few final shots…

…And waved goodbye to the Paradise Pier Christmas tree…

Well, at least DCA tried to have some decorations here and there…

This next picture coming up irritates me beyond all reason. Actually, I love everything about it – it came out exactly the way I wanted it to…except for my thumb/finger in the upper left corner! Arrrrgggghhhhhh….

I am usually pretty good about checking each picture after I snap it to be sure that nothing got in the frame; or if it’s too blurry I will take another picture of the same thing until I get it right. In this particular case, I saw the thumb/finger in the picture – which normally does not happen to me – and I snapped another version of it, at the same angle, which was almost identical to this one, except without the thumb/finger in the way.

And then I went into the menu of the camera to delete the picture with the thumb/finger in it. I thought I deleted the correct photo, but I got distracted by a woman who banged into me with her stroller at that moment and apparently I deleted the wrong picture – the one without the thumb/finger in it! When I got home and finally had a chance to look over the photos, I noticed that the “good version” was not there, but the “bad version” was still there! Lol.

I could have easily just cropped out the thumb/finger, or not shown this photo to you at all – but we all make mistakes, and we all have pictures that are not perfect from time to time. The thing is that some of us will show you our messed up pictures as well as the best pictures we’ve ever taken, while others of us will only show you the best of the lot so you think that no mistakes are ever made! Lol. Trust me – everyone makes photographic mistakes now and then.

There’s a wee bit o’ Christmas there…in the garland…

I know that Molly/bumbershoot got a photo of this sign as well…

I guess this has a little holiday touch too…

And there’s some Christmasy stuff! Woo hoo! California Adventure is really cranking up its holiday décor, though you’d never really know it!

Now here is where things get a little “Twilight Zone”-ish. Cue the famous “Twilight Zone” theme music…

I was taking pictures of these guys…

I’m pretty sure they were playing some sort of countrified version of a holiday song. I was having a hard time getting all of them in the frame – the one on the right-hand side seemed to be far enough away from his band mates that it was hard to include him.

I changed my location and moved over a bit to the right to see if I could get a better vantage point. After I got whatever I was going to get in terms of pictures of them – I only wanted a couple; not a whole photo session – I turned my camera off and continued to watch them for a minute, tapping my feet and singing along with whichever Christmas classic they were playing. I’m thinking it was something like “Deck the Halls” or “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

I’d put my camera in my pocket at that point, so it had been several minutes since I had taken any photos of the band.

All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a figure moving towards me. Someone was coming to stand next to me to watch the band too. I didn’t think much of it. I assumed that it was a good viewing location for other folks too.

The person said, “It’s hard to get all of them in the picture. The one guy is way off to the side.”

I said, “Yeah…I had that same problem…”

I snapped to attention and whipped my head to my right, as this person (a woman) had just said exactly what I had been thinking when I was taking my own pictures several minutes prior to that. It was like she had heard my thoughts and came up to me to tell me she agreed with me. I wasn’t sure if she had been watching me as I attempted to get the photos.

When I looked at the petite, brightly-coiffed figure beside me, I realized that I was looking at a familiar face. She was a stranger – no one that I knew personally – but I knew we had met at some point.

There are times when I see people and try to remember where I have seen them before, and it bugs me for the next 6 weeks. In this case, I only had to ponder it for about a minute (in my mind). It hit me with 100% certainty that this was a lady I had spoken to in Disneyland one year earlier.

In fact, during one of my marathon picture-taking sessions in December 2010, when I was basically climbing around people to get photos of window displays, I was on Main Street on a late Monday afternoon/almost evening (before Disneyland closed for the Cast Member party), and a petite lady with brightly colored hair came up to me out of nowhere to comment on my black Mickey t-shirt and tell me that she liked it. Then she disappeared into the crowd.

Fast forward to December 2011 when that same lady approached me again in California Adventure to comment on getting all of the band guys in the frame, and then she disappeared into the crowd! I know it was the same lady on both occasions – there is not even a question in my mind. I just know. The other main parallels or commonalities between the 2010 and 2011 encounters are that they both took place in December (though basically one week apart), and they both happened on a Monday. Other than that, different parks. Different times of day.

Immediately I knew that this 2011 lady was the same lady from 2010. The question is - did she recognize me too? Is it just sheer coincidence that she happened to approach me out of the blue – out of anyone she could approach – both times, or was she thinking, “Oh, there’s that same crazy picture-taking girl again”? Lol.

Or…was the lady ‘sent’ by someone else…perhaps she was a guardian angel in the guise of a petite little lady, sent to watch over me on my solo Disneyland trips? I could totally envision my grandmother watching me from somewhere “up there,” worrying about me being by myself in Disneyland. She was the sort of person who worried if I wanted to walk across the street to 7-11 and get a soda, because she was afraid I would end up in the middle of a drug deal or something dangerous. She thought that anything I did was going to result in something bad happening. I wouldn’t put it past grandma to be fretting somewhere, afraid that I was going to walk into danger in the middle of Disneyland Resort when I was by myself - at the very least she would be worried about my being alone or lonely during the holidays - and then sending out a ‘scout’ to keep an eye on me. My grandmother’s sister was very intuitive and psychic as well, and very in touch with “the other side,” so you never know what could be happening beneath the surface.

I guess we’ll never know why certain mysterious things happen; certain coincidences; certain brushes with strangers…but the whole thing gave me a very weird feeling. And if I see that same lady again on a Monday during another December trip, I will KNOW that something weird is happening. Either that, or she is just a local who happens to visit DLR on Mondays during the holiday season and we keep bumping into each other! Lol.

I continued on my way and snapped a few more photos in DCA, but the call of a peppermint ice cream cone was luring me away…

Coming up next, in Part 6 of Day 2, peppermint ice cream beckons me across the Esplanade like a sweet siren’s song of the sea. And THEN – at long last – “M” and her family finally arrive in a maelstrom of confusion and chaos, as we reunite after 10 years!

 

[tksbaskets]

GREAT installment! I love your pictures and appreciate the thumb print photo so I know you are human too.

So strange (in a good way) about the lady of Christmas trips past, present, and really strange if you see her in the future..... Nice that both encounters were positive. Reminds me of Touched by and Angel

You will never find me on the Fun Wheel of Fear....

Suddenly I find myself craving peppermint ice cream....

 

[mvf-m11c]

Bret -

Very true - Al Lutz is not always right or accurate. I always find it completely entertaining to read what he reports because it's fun to speculate on what DLR "might" do in the future and toss around the possibilities, but other people take what he says as being a report of what IS going to happen, totally disregarding the fact that he is not an official Disney source.

I don't know if you remember, but a couple of years ago - when the Halloween party was first moved to Disneyland and out of DCA - Al reported that Disney was thinking about ways to handle the non-party guests, and they were toying with the idea of letting the non-party guests stay to watch Halloween Screams with the party guests.

Lots of people in the Halloween thread were in an uproar over that "report." They flooded Disney and Guest Communications with complaints and threats that they were not going to go to the party, and demands for a refund on their MHP tickets - all based on rumors that Al reported on. Not facts. Not actual plans that had been officially announced. Rumors of what had been discussed at meetings! That's it!

When I tried to alleviate some of the panic by reminding everyone that this was not an official Disney news item but merely a rumor of a possible plan, I was shot down with claims that Al knows what he is talking about and he is usually right, and everyone should flood Disney with complaints, etc., etc. The last thing I wanted was for people to be bombarding Disney with complaints, telling them that they heard this "news" on DISboards (because HydroGuy posted the Al Lutz recap)! I didn't want DLR thinking that we were dispensing such information - which never even happened!

I think Al Lutz means well - he has some legitimate sources/contacts within the whole TDA segment of Disney, and he probably gets to hear all kinds of things that are being talked about in the early stages. The thing is, for every plan that Disney has that actually happens and becomes a reality, there are probably 100 more plans that they talk about that never see the light of day. So what Al hears are bits of discussions about the things that never happen, as well as some of the things that actually do happen!

It is entertaining when Al Lutz writes up these reports of what is happening at the DLR. I always like to hear what is happening at the DLR where the Disney is barely giving us any information at the resort. There are people that do take his words and just like you said that he is not an official Disney source.

Was that the year of MHP where it debut in 2010 where he reported that DL would let the regular guests to stay during the party and watch HS fireworks? I did remember that well when he report it. I knew that he wasn't associate with Disney and his columns are just rumors. Some are true and some are just rumors. I at first was not happy of hearing that they would let the non-party guests to stay in the park to watch HS fireworks. It doesn't make any sense after HS was a huge hit in 2009 where you can barely even walk down MS.

I remember that well when a lot of people on the Halloween thread complained at the DLR about the rumor. I didn't want to join in the action and complain at DL for the rumor. I just hope to hear an answer from the DLR themselves before I jump to conclusions. Luckily it was just a rumor and wasn't true and I enjoyed MHP in 2010 when I stayed at the GCH.

I will continue to read his columns and won't jump to anything until it is officially announce from the Disney Company.


Another nice update from your Holiday TR Sherry.

Very interesting that you met the same person back in 2010 and recognize you when you were at DCA.

I need to try the peppermint ice cream when I go to DL later this year. But I just don't like trying new things. Maybe this is the time to try the peppermint ice cream.

 

[Sherry E]

GREAT installment! I love your pictures and appreciate the thumb print photo so I know you are human too.

So strange (in a good way) about the lady of Christmas trips past, present, and really strange if you see her in the future..... Nice that both encounters were positive. Reminds me of Touched by and Angel

You will never find me on the Fun Wheel of Fear....

Suddenly I find myself craving peppermint ice cream....

TK -

Thank you!

Well some of my pictures - certainly not all of them - are good, at best, but I had just been thinking the other day that the photographers who are thought of as really great are the ones who likely only show us their perfect photos. They don't show us the ones that came out too blurry or too dark or whatever. This occurred to me when I was watching something about the modeling/fashion industry and they were discussing some of the best photographers in that business.

So, yes, I certainly will take blurry pictures from time to time. I will even post them here - as people have seen - if they are not too blurry. If a picture I take is too blurry to be able to tell what the subject of the photo is, I won't post it because there is no point. But if I take a few here and there that are a wee bit blurry and I don't have the time to stand there and take 7 more shots of that same subject until I get one that's not blurry, I will share the slightly blurry ones anyway. Sometimes I will stand there and take 7 more shots until I get in right, and I will post the better version, of course...but there is not always time to do that.

The thumb/finger in my DCA photo irritated me because I don't normally get my thumbs/fingers in pictures! That's not one of my common habits. But I could deal with it as long as I took a better finger-free photo in its place. So that is the thing that irritates me the most - that I took the time to get a better version of the picture to correct the thumb/finger...and then I ended up deleting the 'good' version and keeping the 'bad' one!

And you just know that the next time I go to DCA and have to wander around in that same spot again, if I try to take that same angled picture a 3rd time, it won't be the same for some reason or another.

That reminds me, TK - do you agree with Deej and me that the 2008 version of the Stitch picture is better than the 2011 version?



Yes, if I see that same lady again during another December trip I might have to finally say something to her! In reality, I'm sure she must either be a local who tends to visit the parks on Mondays, or she could have an annual schedule of visiting DLR every December (like I do) and just happens to be there when I am there.

But if we're in the Twilight Zone, I'm sure the lady was sent "by THEM," and is trying to get a message to me! Maybe I've been dead all this time, and she was sent to Earth to try to get me to accept it and then bring me back to wherever I am supposed to go.

Twilight Zone had a few episodes like that. There was the one with the mannequin in the department store, and her allotted time to be human (one month, I think) was up and she was trying to stay human past the deadline. So the other mannequins had to come to life and bring her back to mannequin life.

And then there was the one with the blonde driver lady who kept seeing the hitchhiker all over the place. It turned out that she had died in a car accident and that creepy hitchhiker was trying to escort her on to the "other side."

And then there was the episode with Robert Redford playing a handsome young police officer who befriended an elderly lady who was avoiding death. Of course, he turned out to be Death and he was sent to bring her to the other side. Because he didn't look scary and ominous like the lady expected, she wasn't afraid anymore and she went with him.


So you never know!!

It is entertaining when Al Lutz writes up these reports of what is happening at the DLR. I always like to hear what is happening at the DLR where the Disney is barely giving us any information at the resort. There are people that do take his words and just like you said that he is not an official Disney source.

Was that the year of MHP where it debut in 2010 where he reported that DL would let the regular guests to stay during the party and watch HS fireworks? I did remember that well when he report it. I knew that he wasn't associate with Disney and his columns are just rumors. Some are true and some are just rumors. I at first was not happy of hearing that they would let the non-party guests to stay in the park to watch HS fireworks. It doesn't make any sense after HS was a huge hit in 2009 where you can barely even walk down MS.

I remember that well when a lot of people on the Halloween thread complained at the DLR about the rumor. I didn't want to join in the action and complain at DL for the rumor. I just hope to hear an answer from the DLR themselves before I jump to conclusions. Luckily it was just a rumor and wasn't true and I enjoyed MHP in 2010 when I stayed at the GCH.

I will continue to read his columns and won't jump to anything until it is officially announce from the Disney Company.


Another nice update from your Holiday TR Sherry.

Very interesting that you met the same person back in 2010 and recognize you when you were at DCA.

I need to try the peppermint ice cream when I go to DL later this year. But I just don't like trying new things. Maybe this is the time to try the peppermint ice cream.

Bret -

Thank you!

Yes, it was back in 2010 when everyone was panicking in the old Halloween thread (before the Superthread started, I think) about the possibility of non-party guests being allowed to stay to see Halloween Screams. I was trying to be the sensible, calming voice of reason but it seemed that many people wanted to panic and then bombard Disney with complaints before anything even happened.

Now don't get me wrong - IF it had been accurate that the non-party guests were going to be allowed to stay and watch fireworks at the MHP even though all of the paying MHP guests were supposed to have exclusive viewing of them, then yes, I would say that people should have complained. If Disney had announced that plan, officially, then yes - everyone who was displeased with it should complain.

My issue was that people were panicking, getting angry and flooding Disney with complaints over a rumor that a NON-official Disney source was reporting had simply been discussed. It had been tossed around. It had been considered. It wasn't decided upon. It had only been discussed. Those CM's in Guest Communications/Guest Services/Guest Relations are often the last to know anything - WE often know when the Halloween and holiday seasons are starting before the Guest Communications CM's know. It's the people in the TDA offices - the ones who do the actual planning and coordination, and the ones who make the creative decisions - who know, and yet the poor Guest Services CM's were getting the bulk of the complaints!


I am actually not sure if the lady who approached me at DL in 2010 and at DCA in 2011 recognized me. All I know is that she came up to me both times, and it only took me a minute to figure out where I'd seen her before. She may have just approached me because I looked like I was solo - which I was at that point - and she was solo too. Maybe she figured she would speak to another solo visitor? Whatever the case, if it happens a third December in a row, this year, I will probably say something to her!

Peppermint ice cream...yum! But I totally know what you mean about not trying new things. I like what I like and I don't tend to try too many foods or drinks out of my comfort zone or usual routines. Money is limited anyway, so I may as well stick with what works for me and not risk wasting precious money on something I don't like.

Let's see - I would say that if you try peppermint ice cream, try one scoop at first. It's good, but some people only like a little bit of it.

 

[kaoden39]

I love this!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Bret -

Thank you!

Yes, it was back in 2010 when everyone was panicking in the old Halloween thread (before the Superthread started, I think) about the possibility of non-party guests being allowed to stay to see Halloween Screams. I was trying to be the sensible, calming voice of reason but it seemed that many people wanted to panic and then bombard Disney with complaints before anything even happened.

Now don't get me wrong - IF it had been accurate that the non-party guests were going to be allowed to stay and watch fireworks at the MHP even though all of the paying MHP guests were supposed to have exclusive viewing of them, then yes, I would say that people should have complained. If Disney had announced that plan, officially, then yes - everyone who was displeased with it should complain.

My issue was that people were panicking, getting angry and flooding Disney with complaints over a rumor that a NON-official Disney source was reporting had simply been discussed. It had been tossed around. It had been considered. It wasn't decided upon. It had only been discussed. Those CM's in Guest Communications/Guest Services/Guest Relations are often the last to know anything - WE often know when the Halloween and holiday seasons are starting before the Guest Communications CM's know. It's the people in the TDA offices - the ones who do the actual planning and coordination, and the ones who make the creative decisions - who know, and yet the poor Guest Services CM's were getting the bulk of the complaints!


I am actually not sure if the lady who approached me at DL in 2010 and at DCA in 2011 recognized me. All I know is that she came up to me both times, and it only took me a minute to figure out where I'd seen her before. She may have just approached me because I looked like I was solo - which I was at that point - and she was solo too. Maybe she figured she would speak to another solo visitor? Whatever the case, if it happens a third December in a row, this year, I will probably say something to her!

Peppermint ice cream...yum! But I totally know what you mean about not trying new things. I like what I like and I don't tend to try too many foods or drinks out of my comfort zone or usual routines. Money is limited anyway, so I may as well stick with what works for me and not risk wasting precious money on something I don't like.

Let's see - I would say that if you try peppermint ice cream, try one scoop at first. It's good, but some people only like a little bit of it.

I was trying to be calm when I bought my MHP tickets in 2010 and seeing HS was the main reason why we bought tickets to MHP so we won't have to wait a long time to get a spot at the Hub for HS. I still had to wait about 2 hours to get a curb side spot to see the fireworks. Some people that walked by me, my DA and other people waiting for the fireworks think that we were nuts. But I have seen people at WDW during MVMCP waited way longer in advance than what my DA, I and the other guests.

If that report from Lutz was correct, it would have cause so much chaos and guests would demand for a refund since they would let the non-party ticket holders in the park during HS fireworks. If that happened Mickey's Cavalcade would have to pushed back later during the night since they don't want the non-ticket holders to see the cavalcade. I'm sorry, I just really hate hearing that report from Lutz back in 2010. If that did happened, I would have not paid for MHP ticket. I wanted to enjoy watching HS after it was just crazy back in 2009 during its debut.

That's why I know that Al Lutz is not a member of the Disney company and is hearing rumors from people that he know's that talk about this kind of stuff everyday. The CM's that deal with the phone calls are the last people to know what these questions are since they are not being informed from their superiors.

Okay maybe I just misunderstand the situation when the lady approached you at DCA.

It will depend on how I feel that night and want ice cream. Mostly I just want a Dole Whip when I am at the park. I am willing to try something new during my Holiday trip in November. Hoping that Ghirardelli's will have peppermint ice cream and don't have to depend on the Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor.

 

[tksbaskets]

Hi,
After careful consideration I must say I too prefer the older version of the Stitch picture. I think it's because I prefer the more colorful ornaments on the tree.

Waiting for more holiday cheer. "Oh the weather outside is frightful..." OK, it's in the 90's again her and like a billion % humidity. I could use a little holiday cheer

TK

 

[Sherry E]

That is so funny - I was just in this TR to multi-quote and reply to Michele and Bret, and then TK's post literally just popped up on the screen as I was looking at it.

I love this!

Thank you, Michele!

I guess I like it too. To be honest, I think I was so fixated on the one photo that I messed up, and the fact that I accidentally deleted the corrected version of it, that I didn't pay that much attention to this picture and the fact that it came out pretty well!

I was trying to be calm when I bought my MHP tickets in 2010 and seeing HS was the main reason why we bought tickets to MHP so we won't have to wait a long time to get a spot at the Hub for HS. I still had to wait about 2 hours to get a curb side spot to see the fireworks. Some people that walked by me, my DA and other people waiting for the fireworks think that we were nuts. But I have seen people at WDW during MVMCP waited way longer in advance than what my DA, I and the other guests.

If that report from Lutz was correct, it would have cause so much chaos and guests would demand for a refund since they would let the non-party ticket holders in the park during HS fireworks. If that happened Mickey's Cavalcade would have to pushed back later during the night since they don't want the non-ticket holders to see the cavalcade. I'm sorry, I just really hate hearing that report from Lutz back in 2010. If that did happened, I would have not paid for MHP ticket. I wanted to enjoy watching HS after it was just crazy back in 2009 during its debut.

That's why I know that Al Lutz is not a member of the Disney company and is hearing rumors from people that he know's that talk about this kind of stuff everyday. The CM's that deal with the phone calls are the last people to know what these questions are since they are not being informed from their superiors.

Okay maybe I just misunderstand the situation when the lady approached you at DCA.

It will depend on how I feel that night and want ice cream. Mostly I just want a Dole Whip when I am at the park. I am willing to try something new during my Holiday trip in November. Hoping that Ghirardelli's will have peppermint ice cream and don't have to depend on the Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor.

Bret -

You know, if I recall, the Main Street Cone Shop was also selling Dreyer's Peppermint Stick ice cream last year, but I don't think they take the AP discount either. Hopefully Ghirardelli will come through with some great peppermint ice cream - and also some nifty peppermint-chocolate treats - this holiday season!

Here's the thing about peppermint ice cream, and it may not make sense. First, you have to like the taste of peppermint to begin with - like candy canes, like York Peppermint Patties, etc. And then you have to realize that the ice cream will not have quite as sharp of a peppermint taste as candy canes have. The ice cream flavor is a bit more mellow, and it has more of a rich taste to it. Some Dreyer's peppermint ice cream is the regular, full-fat kind - and it's a nice pink color. Some of the Dreyer's peppermint ice cream is the "Slow Churned" kind, which is not as pink and doesn't have as rich of a taste (because it has less fat in it). I prefer the regular kind (not the Slow Churned kind) just because the flavor is better.

But...I think that Gibson Girl may serve the Slow Churned kind of peppermint because it never looks as pink as it should be!

In 2009 I was with a friend at DLR who tried the peppermint ice cream at Gibson Girl for the first time because she knew that I was getting it. She got two scoops - she said she liked the flavor, but that 2 scoops "was overkill" for her. One scoop would have been enough. So that's what I would say - if you are going to try it for the first time, get just one scoop first because if you don't like it that much you don't want to be stuck with two scoops!

Something else I was thinking the other day is that even though Disney can't really bring back Candy Cane Lane to the DLH, they have a lot of property and a lot of ground to cover between the DLH and the PPH, or from the PPH to the gates of the parks (if you don't take the short cut through the GCH). In other words, there is a whole path/walking area around the parking lots and between DLH and PPH, or between PPH and DL/DCA - and they could decorate those areas for the holidays. They could hang lights on the trees or spray some fake snow. They could put garland on the signs. They could stick a couple of different Christmasy things in the planters like candy canes or snowmen or whatever. They could pipe in some holiday music from speakers. There are things they could do to enhance the whole atmosphere between hotels even more and make it more festive, but they don't.

Hi,
After careful consideration I must say I too prefer the older version of the Stitch picture. I think it's because I prefer the more colorful ornaments on the tree.

Waiting for more holiday cheer. "Oh the weather outside is frightful..." OK, it's in the 90's again her and like a billion % humidity. I could use a little holiday cheer

TK

TK -

It seems like we're all on the same page about the Stitch/present pcture! There's something about the 2008 Stitch photo that I like better too, but I just can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it's the ornaments. Maybe it's because the location of the tree was different and, therefore, the positioning in front of the tree was different. Maybe it's because the photographer got a closer-up picture in 2008 than the one in 2011. For whatever reason, I was underwhelmed with the 2011 picture after having the other one taken in 2008!

Oh I would agree with you that any weather in the 90's with a billion percent humidity is frightful, indeed! In fact, it doesn't even have to be humid for me to think 90-degree weather is frightful! I have a feeling that August and September are going to be awful - in terms of heat - but, hopefully, sweet relief is coming in October. I long for the wonderful 50-degree days that we sometimes get in December (though not always - sometimes it's 90 degrees in December too). Not so cold that you have to wear a parka and long underwear, but not hot!

I am in the process of rustling up some more holiday cheer for this TR (and the big, confusing, arrival of "M" and her family should be in the next installment)! I have been bouncing back and forth between this thread and my Catalina photo report - although in that thread I am mainly just adding photos and not writing too much - and also the Halloween Superthread! I started the Theme Week Countdown last Friday (which requires a little bit of prep work), and there will be a new theme this coming Friday, and so on. And then - back by popular demand - the Christmas Theme Week Countdown will begin again on August 27th!

By the way - anyone who is a light fixture aficionado may be interested in a light fixture photo (taken in a candy store) that I posted in my Catalina TR thread! I don't know what the whimsical light fixture has to do with candy, but it's interesting nonetheless!

 

[PHXscuba]

Bret --

I am also a peppermint ice cream connoisseur like Sherry, and the Dreyer's peppermint is definitely a different taste. She described it very well -- and definitely get the full-fat version -- worth every calorie. Accept no store-brand substitutes.

The good thing is that stores start stocking the Dreyer's peppermint ice cream around late October. I know I have a picture on my blog last year from that time. So you could try it before you go -- pay $4.00 for a whole carton rather than spending that much for a single cone at DLR.

I know some people who like chocolate mint but not peppermint. They are very different flavors.

PHXscuba

 

[mvf-m11c]

Thank you Sherry and PHX about the peppermint ice cream. I will get some peppermint ice cream before I head on over to the DLR during the Holiday season in November. It will give me an idea of what it taste likes and it will help me decide to get one or not. I just don't like trying different types of flavored of ice cream while I am DL. I mostly just get a dole whip while I am at DL. I am hoping that I might find something to get while I go to Ghirardelli's next week at DCA.

It would be really nice if they have Candy Cane Lane right in between the DLH and PPH. It has been a long time since they had that lane and it would be perfect o have nice decorations of the guests who are walking from PPH to DTD or the esplanade. The only problem with the path towards DTD is that you have to walk through the hotel parking lot unless you walk on the back side of PPH. Just hoping like every year that TDA would add more decorations to the DLR.

Thank you Sherry and PHX.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[Sherry E]

PHX & Bret -

The funny thing is that some grocery stores get in their limited edition Dreyer's flavors really early - it depends on the individual store and region.

For example, someone at my Ralphs (which is in the Kroger family, for those of you out there who don't know what Ralphs is) told me last year that they actually start getting in the Dreyer's Peppermint ice cream in September! I guess it is really popular. But not every Ralphs will get it in stock that early.

Another Ralphs guy also told me that they get in their Dreyer's Pumpkin ice cream (or Pumpkin Pie, or whatever it's called) much later than you'd expect. They don't get the Pumpkin in stock 3 months before Halloween at this particular store. Sometimes they don't even get it in until late September or early October! I guess it is not as popular in my specific region as the peppermint ice cream is, so there isn't as much demand for it - which is consistent with what I've seen on the shelves. The peppermint ice cream is always dwindling down, while there is usually plenty of pumpkin in stock.

In any case, it's fun to eat it at DLR (though expensive) because Gibson Girl serves it in the festive holiday cones, which are either peppermint candy-encrusted or covered in chocolate and red/green sprinkles!

But here's what the two different Dreyer's cartons look like:

Here's the lower fat Slow Churned kind (which is good, but not as flavorful and not as pink):

And here is the better full-fat kind (better flavor, pinker color):

**Both Dreyer's photos above were found on Google Images!**

 

[kaoden39]

But, it is all good!!

 

[Sherry E]

But, it is all good!!

Yes, indeed it is. I've tried both the Slow Churned and the full-fat kind, and I prefer the full fat kind because I like the pinker color and the better flavor. But if the only thing that's available is the Slow Churned ice cream it wouldn't be the end of the world! Last year I suspected that Gibson Girl was serving the Slow Churned kind.

I can tell you that both cartons are easy to spot on the shelf because the color makes them stand out!

​

I didn't realize it had been a full week since my last TR update! Yikes! Where has the time gone? Literally, it seems like it was just several days ago that I posted about the encounter with the Twilight Zone lady at DCA! (By the way, where was Deej for that installment? She disappeared!)

I started putting together a new installment a few days ago, and have had to keep leaving it to do other things. Today is the day I must finish up Part 6 of Day 2 and get it posted here, and I have to post another installment in the Catalina photo report (it's time for the Walk of Tile!), AND I have to whip up tomorrow's new weekly theme for the Halloween Superthread's Theme Week Countdown! It's a busy day!

I can tell you that I could use some nice, cold peppermint ice cream right about now because it has been hot and it's getting hotter. Keep in mind, as I told you all before, what's "too hot" for me is probably not going to be what's "too hot" for you. So when we start to get into the upper 80's and low 90's here, that is like an inferno for me. Not to mention the fact that this computer is right next to the window and all the heat seeps through, even when it's closed. Boo.

I don't like August at all! I need Fall to get here ASAP! Bring on the blustery days and piles of leaves on the ground.

Oddly, being the non-Summer person that I am, you would assume that I prefer to watch the Winter Olympics over the Summer Olympics. Not so! I much, much prefer the Summer Olympics!

​

Okay...I am off to get to work on the TR and the other threads I mentioned. I will be back later with another TR installment and the arrival of "M" and family at DLR.




Just a little sneak peek at what's to come in either the next TR installment or the one after that:


"M" (on the phone, after arriving at the Disneyland Hotel): "So are you coming to meet me?"

Sherry (after walking all the way back to Disneyland from Downtown Disney because "M" told me she wouldn't be ready to meet for a while): "Yeah. I'll walk back to meet you. I'm heading over now. Which tower are you in?"

"M" (apparently forgetting the many times we stayed at the DLH in the late '80s and early '90, and the many meals at Goofy's Kitchen): "They have towers? Where?"

 

[PHXscuba]

Sherry, it sounds like you need a Holiday Treats superthread just to handle the peppermint questions. Not that you need any more threads to keep track of.

I am definitely ready for fall. We're under a heat advisory all week with temperatures around 110-115. Ugh and double ugh.

Looking forward to more TR

PHXscuba

 

[Sherry E]

Sherry, it sounds like you need a Holiday Treats superthread just to handle the peppermint questions. Not that you need any more threads to keep track of.

I am definitely ready for fall. We're under a heat advisory all week with temperatures around 110-115. Ugh and double ugh.

Looking forward to more TR

PHXscuba

PHX -

Yes, I have quite enough threads at the moment (and more in the works that haven't surfaced yet)!

There have been many holiday treat threads in the past and there will probably be more again, but I certainly hope that we never have an actual "Superthread" for treats that are only sold for a season or two (if you count Halloween too). That would be overkill on the Superthreads, I think. The Superthreads should really be reserved for very select subjects. Otherwise, they lose their impact and credibility. The Holiday and Halloween seasons warrant Superthreads because there are so many different facets and aspects of them - like a lot of subtopics within the mega-topics. The treats are...well...just treats!

I've got another TR installment coming right up - I finally finished it. This one took an inordinate amount of time. I can see why I put it aside after I started on it the other day - I knew it was going to take a while. But, for some posts it is necessary. I have to explain certain things or else the full impact will not be there when we reach the end!

I'll be glad to get it posted - even though we are not having 110 degree weather in my specific area of town like you are having, PHX, I am right next to the window and I hate it! Booooooo, heat!

 

[Sherry E]

Oy…I certainly hope that people are enjoying this journey – or reading about my DLR holiday journey – because it is taking a long time to put together!

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

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



Day 2 - Monday, December 5, 2011 - Part 6 ​

Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet;
Jingle around the clock.
Mix and a-mingle in the jingling feet,
That’s the jingle bell…That’s the jingle bell…That's the jingle bell rock.





In my last Trip Report installment from one week ago (see previous page), while in California Adventure I managed to accidentally delete the ‘replacement’ do-over picture that I took after I botched up the original version of the same shot by sticking my finger in the frame.

I then encountered a lady – a stranger, who I have now dubbed “The Twilight Zone Lady” – with whom I’d had a brief interaction back in December 2010, during my “Evil Chair & the Peppermint Cone of Death” DLR trip. She approached me out of the blue in both 2010 and 2011, and I made the “Twilight Zone” comparison because the scenario reminded me of those episodes of that series in which various forms of otherworldly beings (mannequins-come-to-life, “death” in the form of hitchhikers and police officers, cryptic townsfolk, etc.) keep appearing to the lead character and scaring them, and then you find out at the end that the otherworldly, creepy being is really a jolly ol’ soul who is just trying to remind said scared person that they have to leave this life and go off to wherever they belong (mannequin land, heaven, the gas station, the library, wherever…).

I pondered who The Twilight Zone Lady might really ‘be’…and, if she is trying to take me somewhere, where it is I’m supposed to be going that I haven’t gone yet. I was overdue for a trip to the grocery store so maybe that was it…




Next, it was time to wind down my visit to DCA for the moment and figure out what to do about food. I hadn’t eaten anything so far that day – I was trying to save room in my stomach for a big dinner at Goofy’s Kitchen with Shawn, Jackie, Bob, “M” and “M’s” family later that evening.

This was different from my usual routine. I am the sort of person who needs to eat in the morning, and it has to be heavily protein-based to keep my blood sugar under control (in other words, I don’t really eat cereal anymore because there is little to no protein in it, and a simple piece of fruit alone will not be good because of the sugar and because it won’t fill me up; things like doughnuts and pastries don’t work either, for several reasons). I don’t normally eat big dinners unless I am at DLR and I stray from my regular patterns. At home, I eat most of what I am going to eat for the day between morning and afternoon, and by dinner time I am generally not that hungry.

However, in this case, because I knew that I had the Goofy’s dinner buffet coming up later, if I ate any breakfast or lunch I would not be hungry enough to eat the dinner. It is a lot of money to spend on a buffet dinner, so I wanted to be sure I was famished and ready to eat the chandelier by the time it rolled around. It wasn’t my preference to have dinner at Goofy’s – I would have preferred breakfast – but it wasn’t possible to get “M” and her family to DLR early enough that day to be able to make it to breakfast.

So, once again, even though it was not what I personally wanted to do, I acquiesced and went with “M’s” preference and planned for dinner. (There’s that “go with the flow at the expense of what you want to do” thing again. Not that I’m claiming to be some sort of selfless, totally altruistic person all the time, but I’m pointing out the “go with the flow” thing because it’s something we all have to experience at DLR, and in life, from time to time, and I wonder at which points we actually decide that something we want to do is worth fighting for, and at which points we just give up what we want so that someone else can do what they want.)

Still, I was hungry. I needed to eat something. What could I eat that would fill a small hunger void but not fill me up? A hot dog? Eh. I didn’t feel like schlepping over to wherever the nearest place to get a hot dog was in DCA. A pineapple spear? Well, they are yummy, but it wouldn’t be enough to fill me up and I would have to end up eating 5 of them just to not feel hungry, while sending my blood sugar racing to stratospheric heights. A gingerbread cookie with mouse ears? Um…not yet…though I would certainly work that into the Disneyland eating agenda at some point during this trip!

Aha! Why didn’t I think of it before? I suddenly knew exactly what I would eat…and a wise, healthy choice it was, indeed.

A peppermint ice cream cone! Blood sugar? What blood sugar? Protein? Who needs protein? I reasoned that if I got the ice cream served up in one of the festive holiday cones, it would fill me up enough to last me until Goofy’s Kitchen. Yep. That makes sense.

The bottom line is that, during this entire holiday excursion to DLR, I knew that I wanted to eat certain things – like the gingerbread cookies and the peppermint ice cream and maybe some extra goodies too, if I felt so inclined and had the $ to spend – but I had to work them into the schedule somewhere. True, I could just buy Dreyer’s Peppermint Ice cream at the store – and I think I eventually did, as a matter of fact – but there is something extra holiday-esque about eating it at Disneyland, in a holiday-esque cone. It’s all about being in the spirit of the season for me. Sitting at home with a big bowl o’ peppermint ice cream is just not as fun as gobbling it up out of a peppermint candy-encrusted cone on Main Street…next to a wobbly trash can perched on a curb…while trying to take a photo…

But I digress. No need to rehash old traumas right now.

Anyway, I was kind of thinking ahead to what I thought I would be doing for the next few days at DLR – presumably with “M” - and how much money I might have to throw around, and somehow I came to the conclusion that I’d better work the peppermint ice cream into my schedule sooner rather than later, because it might not happen if I put it off until later.

Now was as good a time as any, I decided.

I began to make my way out of California Adventure to head towards Disneyland. On my way out, I snapped a few more pictures…

I love that his belt buckle has a paw print on it! Gotta appreciate those Disney details!

Finally, I reached Main Street. Even though the crazy wind had subsided a bit, I could tell that the crowds were still low (compared to what one would expect at DLR during the holidays in December). Main Street is usually a good barometer of how busy Disneyland will be – you can always tell by all the people milling about on the sidewalks, gathered in Blue Ribbon Bakery (which is gone forever), waiting in line at Carnation Café for a table and packed into Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor, etc., whether it will be a really crowded day in the park or if the crowds are on the light side. There were only a couple of people in Blue Ribbon Bakery and maybe one person in line at Gibson Girl! That meant the rest of the park would likely be pleasant. I was excited because I thought it meant I would find some prime, people-free photo-taking spots.

But first – I had a little peppermint ice cream business to take care of. No need to dilly dally with the photos just yet, when there was Peppermint Stick Ice Cream calling my name like a siren of the sea.

I poked my head in Blue Ribbon Bakery…

A festive display…I guess the DLR decorators needed a place to display all of the extra ‘faux’ cakes and cookies they had sitting in the holiday season storage room! I wonder if this same display will appear in Jolly Holiday Bakery this year?

Deejdigsdis got pictures of these things too, which she posted in her TR. (She had no idea what I was taking photos of at DLR, nor did I have any idea what she had taken photos of when I got snapped these, but the funny thing is that it appears we both decided to take these Blue Ribbon Bakery decorations pictures in 2011– and I’m not sure if either of us took them on any other previous holiday trip?!! Even during my photo-taking frenzy in December 2010, I didn’t get any Blue Ribbon decoration pictures.)

Excuse this one being blurry…I was running out of patience with trying to get a non-blurry version and I needed to get to my ice cream, so I gave up! Lol.

From what I remember, after taking that last Blue Ribbon Bakery picture above I went into Gibson Girl Ice Cream. I saw that there was basically no line – or the customers who were finishing up at the register were about to clear out. I could literally walk right up and place my order. An uncrowded Gibson Girl was a phenomenon to which I was unaccustomed, so I almost didn’t know what to do! I had to take advantage of it!

I noticed that there was no “Dreyer’s Peppermint Stick Ice Cream” sign anywhere on the counter, as there usually is each year during the holidays. Silently I panicked, thinking that somehow they had made the decision to stop serving this sweet delight. I was afraid to approach the Cast Member behind the register for fear of her telling me they didn’t have any peppermint ice cream. What would I do if this happened? My whole little candy-coated fantasy world of peppermint goodness would come crashing down around me and I may not be able to carry on with my DLR trip.

Fortunately, my trip would, indeed, go on and my candy-coated world of rainbows and unicorns would remain intact. I gathered up the courage to inquire about the peppermint ice cream and the CM checked with a fellow CM to confirm they had it on hand. I have no clue why the usual countertop sign was not there, but at least they had the ice cream!

I stepped away from the counter and began to fumble with my bag to dig out my money, or to determine if I was going to pay for the ice cream with cash or with a debit card. This feat is easier said than done, as my bag is a Bermuda Triangle of zippers and compartments, and even more compartments, and it tends to eat up all the contents or bury them at the bottommost corners where I cannot access them.

I stood there and pulled out a number of different items in my bag to finally get to my wallet. And then I had to put the other items back in the bag. I noticed that the CM I had spoken with was watching me and probably giggling as I did all of this.

Finally, at long last, I reached my wallet and deduced that I would pay with cash. I rifled through the folded bills in one of the pockets and pulled out a few $1 bills and a $5, to cover whatever the cost would be.

And…just at the precise moment I began heading towards the register with cash in hand and opening my mouth to place my order, my cell phone started playing a jaunty tune. Someone was calling. I shoved the cash in my pocket and quickly unzipped the pouch where I had stored my cell. I looked at the Caller ID display and photo. It was “M”!!

We had arranged for her to call me when she and the family got to their hotel – which I thought was also MY hotel (the Paradise Pier), but she hadn’t expected that they’d arrive until later in the afternoon. Frankly, I didn’t expect “M” and family would arrive until late afternoon either. She has always had a habit of running late (that’s an enormous understatement), and I suspected that this habit had not changed over the years. So I just assumed they wouldn’t show up until 4 p.m. or so. Our Goofy’s Kitchen reservation was for 6:30 p.m., with the hope of possibly getting seated earlier.

I had been telling “M” that she should try to show up and check in at the PPH as early as they all could manage, because they’d beat the check-in crowds at the front desk and they might have a chance of being upgraded to a better room – which is what has happened in my experience, as you all know. Still, I figured they’d show up at 3 p.m. at the absolute earliest. Probably much later than that.

It was 12:40 p.m. When I expect “M” to be on time, she is hours late. When I expect her to be late, she is hours early!

Not only that, but it turned out that even though “M” had been telling me for weeks and weeks that they were staying at my hotel – Paradise Pier – so that it would be easier for her to carry her stuff from my room to their room and vice versa (she was staying with me at PPH on the night of December 5th), apparently the reservation they had was for the Disneyland Hotel.

I exited Gibson Girl (with no peppermint ice cream cone in tow) to try to talk to “M” on the phone, but the ambient noise and occasional chatty people walking by me made it difficult for me to hear anything. I detest talking on cell phones to begin with – I really don’t even like talking on any kind of phone at all anymore – and yet I found myself caught in any annoying loop of “Can you hear me now? What about now? I can’t hear you. This connection is terrible. Let me call you right back.” I HATE that kind of thing because I feel like it wastes so much time as well as tries my patience.

When I could manage to make out a word or two of what “M” was saying, I heard “We’re here. It turns out we’re not at the Pier. We’re at the Disneyland Hotel. I thought we were staying at the Pier.” Her husband, “B,” made the reservation using some sort of discount he got through his job, and apparently “M” had either misunderstood him as to where they were staying or he misunderstood where they were staying and gave her the wrong information.

So, basically, the whole point of staying close to me so that “M” could easily get back and forth between rooms with her stuff was now for naught.

‘Where are you,” “M” asked me, with a vague tone of “Why aren’t you where you’re supposed to be and what could you possibly be doing” in her voice.

I said, “On Main Street.”

Garble garble garble…random distortion…random noise…random Main Street vehicle driving by, honking out a tune.

At the same time, we both said “What?” Lol.

She repeated her query. “Where are you?”

This was getting us nowhere, fast.

I said, “On Main Street. I can barely hear you so let’s hurry and figure out what’s going on. Should I come and meet you now, or just wait?”

“M” said that I should come to meet them right then. I agreed.

From what I recall, I think I got as far as past the Disneyland turnstiles, and was right at the Security tent, making my way into Downtown Disney.

“M” called back. She said that they had decided they were going to eat lunch – probably at Rainforest Café – because “R,” her then-4-year-old boy, needed to eat. Originally she was just going to have “B” take him to get a snack but they decided on a sit-down meal. I reminded her that we had a big buffet dinner coming up and not to get too full.

I decided to turn around and head straight back to Disneyland to get my peppermint ice cream cone, and I hoped that the crowds had not picked up yet and piled into Gibson Girl.

The Cast Member at the GG counter recognized me and said, “You came back!” Lol.

I said, “Yes! I was determined to get my ice cream cone, especially when I saw that there was no line in here, and just when I was about to give you my order before, my friend called me to tell me she had arrived.”

So, in 2010, my peppermint ice cream in the peppermint, chocolate, candy-encrusted cone looked like this…

Here’s a better shot of what it looked like…This is a photo that I found online, on Google Images, of the same cone, on a blog called “Clara Cupcake”…

So just imagine the peppermint ice cream from 2010 in a red & green sprinkled cone instead of the candy-encrusted kind, and that’s what my 2011 treat looked like!


Ahhh…delicious peppermint-y delight was finally mine. As I scarfed it down, I glanced at my camera. I glanced at the ice cream cone. I glanced at a nearby trash can. I surveyed the ominous curb nearby. I learned my lesson in the ways of the Peppermint Cone of Death in 2010. Should I even try?

No, I should not. I kept walking without pause, Downtown Disney-bound.

And, just for photographic reference, here is the holiday cone that I opted to get in 2011, minus the peppermint ice cream – the chocolate, red & green sprinkled cone. Since I took no photos of it myself, and I couldn’t find a picture of this cone with the actual peppermint ice cream in it (like from the Guy Fieri “Disney Holiday” special from a few years ago), I found a photo of the cone with some different ice cream in it, on a site called “From the Rice Bowl”…

Back in Downtown Disney, I spotted a fun window display at World of Disney…

This “Tree Decorating Contest” to which the sign below is referring was something that was not really visible in the daytime, so I had no real concept of what or where it was. I don’t remember such a contest in 2010 – I never saw any signs about it when I was walking all over the place on photo missions. And even though my group of friends and I would walk past where the trees were on display, I think they were partially covered up and so we didn’t really get to see them.

Laurie/DizNee Luver ended up getting a couple of nighttime pictures of the trees in the contest after she arrived at DLR to stay with me over the next couple of days, which she posted in her TR.

I was making my way through Downtown Disney, heading slowly towards the Disneyland Hotel, again, and waiting for the eventual call from “M” to tell me that their lunch was over and she was ready to meet up. I figured I would take photos around the DLH until I got the call. I was almost at the giant Sorcerer’s Hat when she finally called.

“M” told me she had gone back to the Disneyland Hotel after lunch with the family because “B” didn’t want her to leave them just yet to hang out with me. He wanted her to come back to the room and put “R” down for a nap, get settled in the room, etc. I could understand that point of view – I just wish I’d known that before stepping out of Disneyland – again – and heading towards DLH. I could have easily just stayed in DL and taken more pictures.

I think I was sounding a little exasperated at this point because of all the back and forth. I said, “Really? I’m already in Downtown Disney, close to your hotel. Okay, I’ll just do something else until you can finally leave the room.”

I turned around and began to head back to the gates of Disneyland. Again. But...I got as far as World of Disney.

“M” called back, and after much whispering on her end about making a grand escape from the room despite her husband’s wishes, she told me she was going to come down and see me anyway, and said that I should come and meet her at the DLH before “B” stopped her or changed his mind or whatever.

"M said, "So are you coming to meet me?"

I said, "Yeah. I'll walk back to meet you. I'm heading over now. Which tower are you in?"

"M" had apparently forgotten the entire layout of Disneyland Hotel. She said, "They have towers? Where?"

I said, “Yes. Don’t you remember? You’ve stayed there a bunch of times. There are 3 towers. The names of the towers have changed over the years but there are still 3 towers. Didn’t you see 3 towers?”

“No.”

I said, “Okay. Let’s do process of elimination. We’ll start with the check-in area. Are you in the tower where you check in?”

“Yes!” said “M”. Jackpot! “We’re in the tower where you check in.”

Exhaustedly I replied, “Okay. I’m heading back there now. It will take me a few minutes. I’ll go to the lobby and you come down and meet me.”




Sigh. Don’t get me wrong – I expect a lot of walking at DLR. I’m used to walking a lot. What bothers me is unnecessary walking (rooted in confusion) that wastes a lot of time. I wanted to stay in Disneyland until it was time to meet “M.” But there was so much back and forth going on that I wasn’t sure where I should be and when.


Once again, I changed direction, turned around and began heading towards the Disneyland Hotel.


When I arrived at the Fantasy Tower (that is the new name of the tower where you check in, right?) I saw no sign of “M” in the lobby. I stood there, looking around. No “M.” I finally had to call her and tell her I was there (which she should have known).

Finally, a familiar figure emerged from the elevator and I was reunited with “M” after 10 long years…and much meet-up confusion!




It was pretty much as if no time had passed. Of course, we look older but there wasn’t any of that ‘I haven’t seen you in 10 years’ weirdness that can occur. She was her usual self, full of mayhem and chaos, and I was my usual self – impatient with it all. However, I only stew about certain things for a short time, and I wasn’t going to spend too long on stewing over all of this madness. So I let it go pretty quickly.

“M” stopped at the DLH front desk and asked some questions about ECV rentals for her dad, “S,” who was still up in their DLH room. He is elderly and is not in good health for a variety of reasons, and the choices were either to push him around in a wheelchair in the parks or to rent a scooter of some kind. I kept telling her that the scooter was the way to go. I knew she would have no interest in pushing a wheelchair when her son was also going to be in a stroller that required pushing. (Plus, I had no intention of pushing a wheelchair, either, so if she had that idea in her mind she could wipe it away!)

She was still leaning towards the wheelchair, despite my best efforts to sing the praises of the scooter. But it would be decided later.

As we left the DLH front desk, we ran into Goofy…

And this is the version of the picture I created with Photobucket’s Disney Parks effects…

“M” and I – old partners and comrades in Disneyland crime (not really “crime,” but you know what I mean) – merrily romped through the grounds of Disneyland Hotel and onward into Downtown Disney. Since she had 10 years of catching up to do around the Resort, over the next couple of days I was going to show her all the things that had changed since she was last in town, in DTD, at the GCH and in the parks. At least, that was my plan. What is that they say about the “best laid plans”? Whatever it is, it means your plans don’t work out.






We stopped at Vault 28, first (that was “M’s” request…

And in World of Disney…

At that point Shawn text messaged me to let me know she had gotten out of work and was coming to Downtown Disney to meet us. She had also assumed that “M” would arrive late, and was shocked to hear that “M” was already there.

So we stayed in World of Disney until Shawn arrived and, when she did, more hugs were exchanged all around.

At my suggestion, we decided to head to the Grand Californian Hotel’s lobby to plop down in the middle of the festive holiday environment for catch-up time. “M” would arrange to have “B,” "R” and “S” meet us at the GCH.

But we couldn’t go to the GCH without stopping at this kiosk so “M” could undergo the same torture I had to endure earlier in the day, and meet one of the evil puppet masters (not the same one I dealt with in the morning so there are clearly two mad scientists at work, conducting their diabolical puppetry)…

And here is the version with Photobucket’s Disney Parks effects…

Coming up next, in Part 7 of Day 2, more puppet mayhem, some bear-building and some fun with Goofy and friends at Goofy’s Kitchen. Also, I learn the hard way that I should probably keep my mouth shut about telling people what a great place the GCH lobby is during the holiday season - because I just might not be able to find a place to sit and enjoy it!

 

[tksbaskets]

SO happy you got your ice cream cone! I laughed out loud when you recounted the trashcan of doom event. I was thinking it before I read it. Does that make me a TR stalker?? Man I would have been...er...miffed if I had not gotten my peppermint treat and then had to wait for my pal... I'm a bit confused by her eating a big lunch at noon-ish with Goofy's Kitchen in the evening. A sense of things to come?

Looking forward to more

 

[Sherry E]

SO happy you got your ice cream cone! I laughed out loud when you recounted the trashcan of doom event. I was thinking it before I read it. Does that make me a TR stalker?? Man I would have been...er...miffed if I had not gotten my peppermint treat and then had to wait for my pal... I'm a bit confused by her eating a big lunch at noon-ish with Goofy's Kitchen in the evening. A sense of things to come?

Looking forward to more

TK -

I largely put in the reference to glancing at the trash can, the camera, the cone and the curb for you and for Deej (who seems to have disappeared from here since before my last TR installment), as I knew you two would automatically know what I was getting at (whereas people who are totally new to this TR would have no clue).

No - you're not a TR stalker at all. You've been with me here since that 2010 trash can/cone fiasco, so thankfully you remember it well enough to get my references!

You know, I could have dealt with putting off eating the ice cream cone for a little while, but the 'going back and forth' thing was getting old...fast. First I headed out of DL and towards DTD, thinking that I was going to meet up with "M," only to find out they had lunch plans. I went back into DL, got the cone, then ventured out to DTD again and on to the DLH, only to find out that "B" didn't want "M" to leave just yet. I turned around again, headed back to DL, only to get the call from "M" saying that she was ready for me to meet her at the DLH, causing me to turn around again. Sigh.

To be honest, I was confused about them needing a whole sit-down lunch when we had a big dinner buffet coming up later (no later than 6:30 p.m., and I was actually pushing for arriving ahead of schedule so that we may be seated early) - within several hours, really. She called me at 12:40-ish. By the time they actually got out of the DLH and went to RFC to eat, it was well after 1 p.m.

But then I thought, okay, I don't have kids so I have no idea how often they have to eat large meals during the day. She said they had to go to RFC because their 4-year-old needed sustenance, even though we would be eating a big meal later on. Maybe it was just beyond my comprehension because I don't have kids. That's what I thought. So I'm glad that someone else (you, who has kids) also thought it was confusing. It didn't make sense to me.

Yep - that's kind of a sense of things to come. Well, that whole explanation of how the events were transpiring before "M" and I finally met up is really a good indicator of the way in which things were handled on their end (or her end) through the rest of the trip...kind of disorganized and not really considerate of other people. But...things were still good, somewhat, on this particular day when we met up at the DLH. It was the next day (Tuesday - Day 3) when things began to go south...which I hate saying, because that was also the day when Laurie and Molly arrived and it should have been a good day because of that fact. But things went downhill quickly and it only got more confusing and disorganized on Tuesday.

Let's not jump ahead, though. I still have to get through the rest of Day 2, and the Goofy's Kitchen meal! I will be glad when I am done with this TR!

 

[PHXscuba]

Ok, I am voting that I like the 2010 ice cream cone with the crushed peppermint better than the 2011 version with sprinkles, although anything with sprinkles is a winner. More research needed? I volunteer!

I can see (especially since you've hinted before) how frustrating your time with your old friend could turn into. Different expectations already even though you're just meeting up, and adding her family into the mix.

PHXscuba

 

[tksbaskets]

We're voting?? I too vote for the crushed peppermint on the chocolate part of the cone too!

Why am I craving peppermint ice cream in August??