Well, Photobucket is working for me now - it seems to be a very evening-specific problem, as I assume that's when they are working on the transition to the new format. For the last 2 days I could get in during the day and then at night, all kinds of problems occurred. What I find curious is that Photobucket did not send out any announcements via e-mail or otherwise - not that I've seen anyway - to indicate that there would be some site maintenance happening that could affect us being able to get into our accounts (especially the Pro accounts that people pay for). If they had done that and said "Everything will be fixed by X date," at least I'd know what to expect in the interim.
In any case, I am now anticipating that I will once again not be able to get into Photobucket later tonight, so anything I need to do with photos has to be done while it's still light outside!
I have a TR installment coming up right after I post this reply, and I am going to try to work on the next installment as well as prepare tomorrow's new theme for the Halloween Superthread. Hopefully Photobucket doesn't incorrectly assume that people don't access their photos over weekends, because I will be working on the Christmas Superthread's first theme for Monday on Saturday and Sunday, and I have to do some Catalina-related stuff as well.
Bret -
I think there may be a random Halloween-ish or Autumn-ish garland here and there on the lampposts on BVS, but I have a feeling that DCA is not going to have much in the way of decorations this year for Halloween Time. I think that we would have heard about it already. I have a feeling that the Parks Blog or
Disneyland News would have already said something about new decorations for Halloween Time in DCA if they were going to be anything noteworthy.
I think they could do some fun Halloween decorations for Cars Land, making it look like the
Cars characters decorated each place for trick-or-treaters. But they won't do it this year, IF they ever do it at all.
Over in A Bug's Land, they could have a lot of fun with the idea of giant discarded candy or candy packages. Maybe an overturned trick-or-treat bucket, spilling candy. They could set up one of the giant candy corn things from Candy Corn Acres, just for photos. They could string up some Halloween-colored lights.
Really, it would even be easy (and clever) for TDA to decorate Toon Town for Halloween. Even though Toon Town isn't open all night long, they could still put jack-o-lanterns on the porch or in front of Mickey's, Goofy's and Minnie's houses, or hang spooky decorations on City Hall.
There is a lot more they could do for Halloween Time at DLR, in both parks but especially in DCA. I think that TDA just doesn't want to invest the money in it. They are willing to invest some money in the holiday season because that's huge business for them, but Halloween Time is always treated as the lesser of the two holidays.
So I don't think you will miss much in the way of DCA decorations by not going to DLR for Halloween Time this year, If anything, I think that next year there may be more of a chance for extra Halloween decorations in DCA in September/October.
Thank you,
TK
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I'm glad you enjoyed everything, and were singing along!
Would you believe that the wooden Indian picture was harder to get than it looked, because - even though there was no one around me in that specific area - I happened to be standing in the exact spot where two elderly people wanted to stand to get their picture taken?
So I was oblivious, minding my own business, standing there trying to frame the shot in some way, and this man asked me if I could step aside so they could pose with the Indian?
I spoke up for myself, all right. Wait until you read "M's" answer when I finally get daring and bring up the Goofy's Kitchen payment fiasco to her (yes...I went there with her, tacky though it may be!
). I know she likes to keep people waiting for her when she can't get up and get going - she has always been that way. I said in one of my previous installments that Shawn and I had to leave her in the hotel room/apartment in Catalina years ago when "M" wouldn't get up. I guess I just thought she would have gotten a little bit better about it as she got older.
Oh, did I ever tell you that someone on the DIS last year mentioned that they had seen the gingerbread cookies with mouse ears at Goofy's Candy Company (is that what it's called?) at WDW? When you were last there and you didn't see any cookies floating around anywhere in the parks, did you look in Goofy's Candy Company? Maybe they are there?
Michele -
It's hard to stay in bed for very long when you know you have a lot of things to do - either fun things, work things or chore-type things. Even without regular work on my end, I am never at a loss for things to do. I always have things I can be doing - in fact, I don't even have enough time in the day to do everything I want or need to do. I can't loll around for 10 hours unless I'm sick or unless I am in pain and can't move. I don't have kids, of course, but I can only imagine that if I had any and I took them to DLR for the first time, I would want to get up earlier than I might normally get up at home. After all, Mickey Mouse is not going to come to us - we have to go out and find him!
Deej -
Make it five installments to get caught up on, as I am just about to post another one! I've mentioned you several times in this TR, especially when certain photos come up, so your ears should be burning a lot!
I'm glad to know that someone else couldn't access Photobucket either. Well, not
glad about it, but you know what I mean.
I am relieved to know that I'm not the only one having the issue, because the more people who have the problem, the more people who will flood Photobucket with complaints.
Jenny -
When we get to the end of this TR you will all find out what the status of things with "M" is now, post-Disneyland trip. Let's just say that I won't be trying to get together with her on any future Disneyland trips.
"M" is one of those people - and I think we have all known someone like this at some point - who acts lovely and wonderful and charming to certain people, but then puts on a totally different face to certain other people. It's like there are two totally different sides. Sometimes she acts lovely and charming and wonderful to me too, but then something kicks in and she ends up treating me badly, with seemingly no thought or accountability.
So then I always end up thinking, "Okay, I know it seems black and white to
me the way things happened, but maybe whatever I said or did contributed to it and made it worse." Then I think, "If 'M' can act so great to these other people, then maybe I am just somehow bringing out the worst in her? Maybe she just secretly resents me for some reason?"
Although, I know I'm not the only one she is like this with. She has major problems with her cousin too.
I think that when you don't have any family - and when I say I have no family, I mean I have
no family of any kind - your good friends or longtime friends become your family by default. And, just as family members may butt heads and have conflicts from time to time, and you may go for periods of time without communicating or seeing them, they're still always your family at the end of the day.
I hadn't seen "M" in 10 years, and I figured some things had to have changed (what's funny is that you guys would reallllllly cringe if you knew some of the stuff she pulled in the old, old days - probably far worse than her Disneyland antics). I figured that over the decade, some of that 'stuff' would be gone. I figured that "M" may value me more as a friend now, and not want things to go badly.
As it turned out, I guess I figured wrong. But I had to see her and go through this whole DLR experience - which ultimately ended with me sitting on the bench in DCA, crying - in order to learn that it is probably a lost cause. If things haven't changed by now, they probably never will.
Deej -
Thank you for the update. I bet it's a nighttime-only problem, because Photobucket thinks that none of us have to access our photos past sunset!
They made me smile!
I will reply to you all tomorrow - hopefully with a new installment to go along with the replies! We are getting soooooooo close to the revelation of what exactly an "Aunt Betty" is, and I'm on a roll!
I do understand longevity and letting go. It's very hard even when someone shows you who they are over and over again. 
Can I say I’m glad you spoke up for yourself?
Jackpot! PhotoPalooza is great! I think my favorite of installment 3 was the wooden Indian with the festive shops in the background.
LOVE the glass snowman picture!
