Hello, everyone!
I've been so busy for the last few days with 'home stuff,' jumping around between Superthreads on the main DL forum (there are Theme Weeks going on in both of them, and I am the one who kicks off each theme week), as well as trying to prepare another couple of threads-in-the-works for the near future
and work on some other non-DISboards personal projects. Other than popping in here over the weekend to take on my critics
, I haven't had time to really reply to posts that came in after my last TR installment (which was Thursday, I think?).
Again, I just wanted to thank
Michele, Marie, Linda, PHX, TK, Bret and Virgoinab for speaking up in my defense and in support of this TR thread, of my writing, of my Superthreads and of me. It means more than you know. And even if I am not quoting all of those posts of support below, believe me I read every word of all of them.
There have been times - though not many at all - on the main DLR forum over the years when someone seemed to be particularly hostile towards me. Sometimes others will speak up on my behalf and sometimes they won't. While I may have heard from people behind the scenes (in PM's) that they supported me against whomever the people were, it was always nice to know that someone was willing to speak up on the open forum and back me up. Of course, no one wants anything to turn into a full-blown argument that drags everyone down, but again, it's just nice to know that people have your back.
It's also really nice to know that the time and effort I have put in here (on this board) over the years is appreciated and valued, and that it has helped people in some small way to plan trips or learn about different aspects of DLR that they may not have otherwise known.
And I will reiterate these things to anyone who is out there, thinking that it's appropriate to jump into my TR thread and criticize me or it:
1) This is a trip report
thread, that includes many different TR's. It is not just one single trip that yielded a 203+ page TR. If you glance at the first post on Page 1, you will see that there are many different reports and photos in this thread, and the individual trip reports go back 4 years. Also, this thread will go to about the 250-page mark and then it will be time to close it;
2) I may very well do a blog at some point. You never know what tricks I have up my sleeve.
But, this board is where people already know me. I've been here for years. It's a built-in following. And I am reporting on
Disneyland Resort trips - 90% of this thread has been devoted to DLR trips, which is how it should be in a TR thread. I didn't even include my latest Catalina photo report in this specific thread because it was not relevant to Disneyland in any way;
3) The current Disneyland trip about which I am reporting happened last December. I am telling you the good, the bad and the ugly of what went on during this trip (hence, the "...Weepy, Wacky, Wonderful..." part of the title), and that, sadly, involves my friend "M" and her choices, and it also involves things
I said or did that I probably shouldn't have said or done. Either way, I'm telling you what happened;
4) The trip is already over and done with. It doesn't do much good to essentially say "Maybe you shouldn't have gone if you didn't have the money..." The trip is already in the past. It's a moot point now. I already went! I don't expect that everyone will go back and read the whole thread to kind of 'get to know me,' and I'm not even going to assume that everyone read my 3-part Intro/Pre-TR before the actual "Aunt Betty..." TR began. But IF you have been following this thread for a while, and IF you did read those first 3 Pre-TR installments, then you will know all that I go through in trying to make these trips happen, trying to do them in economical ways, trying to scrounge up money to go,
why these holiday trips are so important to me, why last year's trip had to happen last year, etc. I've explained all of it many times, in different ways; and
5) This is a very valid point as well - because I am one of the mods on this forum, it helps to stay 'in the know' about DLR and keep up to date on the general happenings there, as well as on my specific areas of 'expertise,' if you want to call it that. I'm not going to tackle Halloween and Christmas Superthreads if I am not keeping up to date with what's happening, and at least attempting to provide current photos and bits of info. (Staying "current" also helps with blogs, too, by the way, and provides more angles to cover for possible blogs. No one really wants to read blog after blog after blog about what the [subject in question] was like 5 years ago or 20 years ago - they want up-to-date information.)
Anyway, to my regular followers and friends, I am in between Theme Weeks in the Halloween and Christmas Superthreads (the next Halloween theme is in 3 days and the next Christmas theme is in 6 days), and I am about 5 pictures from the end of my Catalina photo report (see link in signature below, if you haven't already checked it out - it's only a few pages long)....so I am hoping that I can sneak in another Aunt Betty TR installment within the next day or two.
Halloween Time at DLR begins in 2-1/2 weeks, so I have to get crackin' on figuring out what I'm doing about that!
Where has the time gone? Not that I'm complaining - in fact, on my Facebook page the other day I was talking about the sheer delight of seeing that the perplexing "White Chocolate Candy Corn M&M's"
confused3) have hit the shelves, which is a sure sign that Autumn is a-comin' soon...thank heavens! I also said that I've decided that Summer (in my world) only exists as a vessel to bring me into Fall and make me appreciate Fall more!
That's the only purpose for it. I could not be more elated and excited that Halloween is on its way, with Christmas right on its heels!
Let me quickly give a few replies to these responses that came in over the last several days...
The Round-Up during the Halloween and Christmas season are very fun to go to. I still can't believe I didn't go in the BTR Round-Up during the Christmas season last year. But that will be one of my priorities of getting Christmas decorations pictures.
That will be very nice to see some pumpkins outside of the Cars buildings and houses. It will be very interesting to see what Disney will do with CL during the Halloween season and Christmas season.
I did heard about the Frankenweenie exhibit at in the Animation Building. After hearing about it, it doesn't sounds like there will be outside decorations. We will just hope that they will add some decorations for Hollywood Land.
A lot of nice photopass pictures at the Floral Mickey and the MS Christmas tree.
I'm sorry to hear about the problems with "M" at the Had Hatter store. Just as you said that "M" and her family should have treated you at GK the other day. It is a pain when you have to go through your bag or wallet to get your AP out and get the discount. "M" should have given you the money well in advance so non of this would be an issue. After learning the hard way with PH tickets, I got a lanyard and pouch just when I got my AP in 2009 and glad that I use a lanyard for my Disney trips.
After reading your TR about the AP discount, I remember last year when my dad's friend family from Houston joined my dad and myself in June at DL, I told them in advance about the discounts that I can help save them on merchandise and restaurants. They were well planned and every time they bought something at the stores, they handed me the money or I was with them at the register. I know that the AP holder has to be at the register to get the discount for another person, but sometimes I didn't have to hand them the money for the discount and my party member just hand the CM at the register the money and got back with no problem. Some CM's at the registers are strict about that and some aren't.
I was surprised to hear that "R" didn't want to get pictures with the characters on MS. "R" in the pictures doesn't look that happy in the pictures. I'm not trying to be rude Sherry, it almost seems like "R" is only interested in the stores and not the characters. Maybe it is just me and what you said on your update, he should be happy to be at DL and getting pictures with the characters.
At the end of your update that "M" and "R" were stopping at the stores on MS. I was surprised to hear that they were stopping at the stores on MS while they could have done it later on during the trip or at night. They are wasting precious time at DL while you could be going around the park taking pictures of the Christmas decorations.
Bret -
After this past December's trip, I'm not sure I will be volunteering my AP for discounts again - if I even renew my AP right away. It expires in November, the day after the holiday season begins. So I can get in a 'first day of the season trip' with this same AP. But, as everyone here knows, to me it never quite feels like a Christmas trip unless I go in December - even if it's just for a day.
I think that "R" had a good time at DLR but, like many 4-year-olds he just doesn't really like taking photos, and he also changes his mind a lot (like wanting to go in a store and then not wanting to go in the store, and then wanting to go in it again!). Personally, I think that all the shopping could have waited until "M" was done with the part of the trip where she was spending time with me, or I think she should have asked me, "Do you mind if we go in here?" It was my trip too. In fact, I would have taken the trip whether "M" and family had come out here or not. I think they are just so used to doing things as a big, chaotic group, in their own way, in their own time, that they didn't really stop to consider me. And I am so used to doing things in my own way, in my own time - with very little confusion and chaos - that it was a lot for me to adapt to and deal with.
Knowing how the trip ended up, in hindsight I can say that it would have been better to just meet up with "M" for a meal and then go our separate ways. I really don't think that the actual in-park part of the trip benefited us in the long run. I would have been better off by myself, doing my own thing, and they would have been better off without me in their group.
Another great day for we get several trip installments and we are closer to the ...drum roll....Aunt Betty reveal~
Love the pictures in the Reindeer Roundup. So many details that are often missed and I might say the best one was of the lamp post!
I was LOL when I was the cropped PP pic in front of the castle with B and his dad. It looks like he's wearing dark nail polish! Nice look
I knew math wasn't "M"s strong suit. YEESH! I also laughed at your comment about the funfest being over.
It sure seems like you were making the best of a frustrating situation at what is usually the happiest place on earth.
Hey Sherry, on my next trip to DL do you think I could borrow your AP to get a discount on a couple of corn dogs?
Looking forward to more festive fun!
TK -
Thank you!
Ah yes, the dark nail polish!
It does look very funny in the photos, doesn't it?
I tried to make the best of a frustrating situation, but it was hard. I kept reminding myself, "You haven't seen her in 10 years. You may not see her for another 10 years." So I was trying to roll with it.
Yep - you can use my AP for some corn dog discounts!
Sherry, I would have walked away. I get to the point that I will just shut down on a person. This would have been one of them....
Michele -
I tend to shut down too. Well, it could go either way - I will either start snapping at the person and then shut down, or I will just get quiet. It bugs me when other people just kind of go off and do their own thing and don't think about the other people with them. Personally, if I wanted to shop I wouldn't do it at any time when people were waiting on me. I
hate the idea of keeping people waiting, whereas "M" and others I have encountered seem to have no problem with it at all.
Not only did he take you the quickest and most direct way, but the 5 is currently one lane of bumper-to-bumper gridlock during overnight construction between 11pm and 5am.
MAH4546 -
Maybe the route that my shuttle driver took in December would be faster in the middle of rush hour or during a time frame when there is construction on the 5, but on that particular Sunday morning his route actually took longer than it takes when we do the 10 East to the 5 South route. From where I live it takes about 40 minutes to get to DLR on a no-traffic day in the early morning weekend hours. At the time of the morning I was traveling in December, it was after 5 a.m. and before 6 a.m. When the driver picked me up, if he had gone the route that we normally go, I would have been at the PPH by 6 a.m. and probably slightly before then. But going the way he went, I got there after 6 a.m. - and there was no traffic on the freeways to blame for the extra time it took.
In any case, the important thing is that I got to the PPH reasonably close to when I wanted to get there! That's what counts!
....BTW,
Sherry, I do hope you know I have not abandoned you!
I have been having such a hard time finding the chance to catch up and make all the comments I want to make. My DH had knee surgery and has been off work for going on 3 months now. Needless to say that my regular routine is more than a little out of whack! Never fear though, I will get around to it one of these days.... soon I hope!
Marie -
No worries. It's a long TR and it is taking a long time to get through it (both in writing it and in reading it, I think!). I know that you still follow along and read everything, then pop in to comment when you can. There will be more things coming up that you will probably want to comment on, so you may want to hold off until all the big fun is revealed!!
Wow, Sherry! I've been away visiting relatives in Kansas and come back to 5 new installments of your TR! I'm gonna need to scroll back and catch up! Can't wait to find out what happens next! Thanks again for continuing to write and post all of the lovely pics! I have never been during Christmas time but seeing all your pics makes me want to go see for myself one day!
Chereya -
I did 6 installments last week - 4 in one day and 2 in another day!
Imagine that!
I need to get hoppin' with this beast and get it over with so it can be merely a distant memory!
You're welcome - I'm glad you're enjoying the TR and the pics, and, as always, thank you for the kind words!
I don't post very often as you can tell from my post count...however, I am reading along very interested in how this trip turns out.
Sherry - I have to say when I read your take on things I'm right here going - "yep, that's how I would react". although you seem to have more patience than me. As someone who is alone most of the time as well, I also get impatient with people who say they want to spend time with me and then go off and do their own thing as if I am not even there.
I'll keep reading along...
Thank you for taking the time to share your story. I think you were right to wait and give it some perspective but also, now we have a Christmas trip report to get us excited to go to the parks at Christmas this year!
Dawn -
Thank you so much for posting and letting me know you're out there! Welcome aboard! I'm glad to know that at least one other person who probably would have had the same reactions that I had in certain cases.
You know, I didn't really
intentionally wait to do the TR to gain perspective on the whole mess but I think it was an unexpected bonus of waiting, if that makes sense! It definitely helped to have time to reflect and write the TR after the dust had settled.
It was really an accumulation of things that prevented me from making haste on this TR - being sick for 2-1/2 months and not feeling up to it, technical problems with my PC, technical issues on the DIS, being busy with some other things and just not really feeling like reliving the trip/retelling it because of how it went, etc.
Also, another big reason that I was
not inspired to whip through the TR right away was because so many other DIS friends were doing their holiday TR's at the same time - Bret/mvf-m11c, deejdigsdis, Laurie/DizNee Luver, Molly/bumbershoot, eventually Marie/mariezp, and then TK too! Several of us took pictures that looked eerily similar around the parks, and at times it seemed like some folks were at the same points in their TR's where the similar photos were being posted.
I didn't want to be yet another holiday TR competing for readers at the same time my friends were doing their holiday TR's, with more pictures that looked largely the same!
I didn't want someone to tune into my TR and see photos like what they just saw in other TR's.
So I think that waiting (unintentionally) to get going with this TR was also beneficial in that all of the other holiday TR's were long finished. Plus, I need the time to focus on this TR and not get distracted by reading other DIS friends' TR's.
As you said, hopefully this TR can somehow help to get people excited for the upcoming holiday season by delivering a little dose of Christmas in Summer!
I don't think I am very patient, but maybe I was trying to be in that situation. It is a bit different when you're used to being alone, and then thrust into this situation with a bunch of people, isn't it? The shopping could have waited another couple of days - or even a couple of hours! Not to mention the fact that one of the people in the group was "M," who has a bad habit of not being terribly considerate of others anyway. I did the best I could to handle the situation, and at the end of the whole thing, I was the one who was crying on the bench in DCA, not "M"!!
Hi Sherry! I think I forgot to let you know that I actually read through your entire TR when I came down with walking pneumonia earlier this Srping. Yes, your entire TR. I did skip some of the comments and mostly read just your entries, but yes, your entire TR. (Have I said that enough times now?!?) Of course, I have a few comments (ahem!) --
It was fun to see some of your late '80s pictures. My first trip was in July of 1989, and I definitely would have fit into your pictures -- "bigg-ish" hair, bright colors and a scrunchy or two!
I, too, like Gary Sinise, peppermint candy ice cream (thankfully B&R has it year round), and Christmas time.
I cannot believe all of the pictures from the Farmer's Market. I've never been there, so I was completely unprepared for the scope of it. Unbelievable. I might have to go there sometime.
I forget who originally said it (it has been a while), but on more than one occasion, I've used the phrase "Well that was a little much . . ." It frequently comes in handy and usually has the intended effect of making the intended target feel guilty.
Someday I hope to ride BLAB with you so I can teach you how to shoot! You've got to hold that gun up to your face and use the gun sight. I can even beat my husband who is in law enforcement. He shall remain nameless.
I'm so happy for the serendipitous things that have happened to you (the extra $123.00, a free night IIRC, and the cheapy return to PPH because of their error), and I am more than a little bit sad about the actions of one or more of your friends. (Your current TR cliff hanger is killing me.)
All this to say -- thanks for sharing and I can't wait to hear more.
One question that I have probably just missed the answer to -- but are you planning another trip anytime soon? I sure hope so!
auntiegem -
Hello again!
I remember that you posted quite a while back and said that you had read something and were going back to read the whole thread! I didn't realize that you would actually read the whole thing! Thank you
so much for that, although it was under the unfortunate circumstances of being sick with pneumonia! Yikes! I've had pneumonia before and it was awful.
I can see by your comments that you really did go back and read the whole thing!
The Farmers Market and The Grove are definitely little gems in the city. Lots of good food at FM from walk-up places. The Grove is pretty and good for celebrity-watching.
I wondered if Basking Robbins still sold peppermint ice cream year-round (I knew they used to, but I haven't been into a BR in a while). Somehow, though, I don't think I would get it if it were at any time other than September and beyond (maybe not even until November). I like to associate it with the holidays and if I were to eat it in, say, July, I think it would ruin the peppermint magic for me.
Unfortunately, there is no hope for me on BLAB in getting high scores. I have (and always have had) really bad hand-eye coordination, since childhood. I was even tested on it by puzzled teachers and 'experts' when I was a kid. I've never been good at sports because of it (can't catch or hit many balls). I can't play air hockey to save my life. I couldn't learn the piano when someone tried to give me lessons. I don't even type the way "normal" people type - I had to teach myself a way to type that was not 'hunt and peck,' and that would still move at a decent pace, because I can't do the usual method of typing. And as for something like transcription, that involves typing and using a foot pedal too? Forget about it. Not in a million years!
But it's okay because I really love riding on BLAB anyway, no matter how bad my scores are! I have fun on that ride - I don't need to get high scores! And I have even beaten a couple of people on Toy Story Midway Mania before, shockingly!
Thank you for all the kind words, and for taking the time to read everything and comment!
To answer your question - I don't have any actual trips in the works, but I have to plan something...soon! The Cars Land trip in June and the Catalina trip in July were totally out of the ordinary for me in any given year. Normally, you will not find me going out of the house in June-July-August for any reason other than to run a quick errand! So, ordinarily, there is a much longer gap in activity (and between trip reports), and I start thinking about Halloween and Christmas trips earlier than I am now. Also, normally I have finished with the previous year's holiday TR months and months and months earlier.
So this whole year has felt kind of off-kilter and out of whack for me because of being sick for so long at the beginning of 2012, and the out-of-the-ordinary Cars Land/Catalina Summer day trips and the super-delayed holiday Trip Report! It doesn't feel like a normal year, time-wise - it feels like it should be much earlier in the year than it is, like May or something, although I still expected the year to zoom by rapidly and although I am chomping at the bit for Halloween and the holidays to get here!
I just can't believe it is almost September...and yet I can believe it at the same time. I just cannot seem to get my bearings and roll with the pace of everything!
Thanks again, everyone!!
I don't get why he had to make a call about that. I'm with you...I wouldn't give a flying hairy weasel butt about who dressed "R" either. I can't even type that without L-ingOL!!
