Sleepy and Grumpy visit Tatooine–A SWW TR! - The End - All done and Link to new TR

[Sandy321]

awesome!

as busy as you are you still take time to feed us updates!!

PS - how are the kitties doing in their new digs?

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Every time I hear about your move, I just start to feel exhausted myself! Hope things have slowed down by now.

The Disneyana convention looks really cool. It's neat to hear the stories and the history of Disney days gone by. I think it's neat how so many of the older generations of artists have maintained a connection to Disney through the years. They seem to really work to maintain the history of the company.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Just caching up! Been to Disney and on The Dream last two weeks. Had a blast.

Loving photos of Parade. Omg I thought it was just me that awful music why! So tinny. I don't care for it either with all the beautiful songs and musicians why use that! I am tempted to use the ear plugs from the plane lol....

The game looks fun! We are yet to try this. But like you say no two trips the same I love that always new, old and surprises in the mix! Been a great TR. Look forward to the next!

 

[franandaj]

That sounds like an amazing, but very tiring few days. I love the kitchen storage jars.

Corinna

It was fun. I'm glad that Fran signed us up for it. I'm looking forward to going next year, but it falls over the 60th Anniversary of Disneyland so I'm not sure how that will go. We already have our reservations at the VGC for two nights over the Anniversary.

The storage jars are on the counter more as art than function. I'm not sure what we will put in them, but not flour, sugar or anything messy!

Sounds like you had a great time at the Disneyana convention and you finally purchased your Marie picture.

It was fun and interesting, we will be back for that one next summer as well!

That was one heck of a week! Seems like you and Fran did real well out of the convention.

Love the pictures of the mouseketeers. Not that I know who is who! LOL.
And Jane Banks still looks like Jane Banks.

It was pretty fun, the Mouseketeers were before my time. I really didn't know who most of them were either.

Nice wrap up!

You need to stay home a bit and get some rest! I'm exhausted just hearing about all your adventures. Good luck getting everything cleaned out of the apartments! The convention looked really interesting. Love the Knott's history.

Jill in CO

It's been nice being at home for a while. We have gotten a lot of stuff put away, but there is still a ton of stuff at the old house. Like yesterday we spent two hours packing up boxes in the kitchen. Seven boxes later and we still have anther trip to finish the kitchen.

That would be cool. I sent you a PM.

You two had a great week of able to do all these different events. The Disneyana Convention looks great and it would have been fun to attend.

When I saw the Monorail display that looks like the original layout when the Monorail began back in 1959 (before it was expanded to the DL Hotel), that was so neat to see the vintage Monorail toy train and track layout.

It was really fun, we met some new friends and learned things too!

Bonus material indeed! You ladies have more Disney fun than anyone I know.

How fun to see Jane Banks as an adult.

Love the canisters.

The scary thing is that I know people on FB who get out there far far far more than we do!

Your trip looks like it was a fun experience. I'm glad you were able to get your parade pictures... twice on the last night. I'd want to make that last night in MK a long one too. If you've got to leave you might as well spend as many of the last few minutes there as possible.

You've really had a busy summer! Good luck getting everything moved and organized and getting your vacant places rented out.

The Disneyana Convention looks like a lot of fun. I'm kind of sucker for the "history of" type things, so thanks for sharing!

I guess we were making up for all the nights that we fell asleep early!

I’m not even done with July yet! I have a few more bonus features in the works. I’m trying to keep them as short as possible without losing some of the fun, since there isn’t any more Disney related in the Summer, but in a little bit, I’m going to get another great Disney experience!

History would have been my second major in college if I hadn’t pursued such a lucrative field as music.

Wow you were super tired to nap in the car! I know touring the park with us a few days before added to that. Sorry

Cool facts about Knottsberry Farm. We haven't been since 2007 for the Halloween event they have there. Never again

What a fun convention! And love those canisters. I wouldn't put anything in them either.

Uh, you TOTALLY have enough room in your house for that monorail set!

No worries about exhausting me out, that’s easy to do! I did the scary farm last year. You’re right, never again. on the bold!

 

[franandaj]

awesome!

as busy as you are you still take time to feed us updates!!

PS - how are the kitties doing in their new digs?

I don't have anyone else who will look at my photos!

The kitties love their new house. There's plenty of space for everyone. We're even starting to let a few go outside, and as long as they stay in the yard, they get repeat privileges. Tesla still insists on being a brat and wrassling with anyone who won't swat him in the face.

Every time I hear about your move, I just start to feel exhausted myself! Hope things have slowed down by now.

The Disneyana convention looks really cool. It's neat to hear the stories and the history of Disney days gone by. I think it's neat how so many of the older generations of artists have maintained a connection to Disney through the years. They seem to really work to maintain the history of the company.

I know, the whole move is overwhelming. One more day of boxing (coming after I do this post) and I will have the kitchen of our main apartment cleaned out. I've almost got all the old kitchen put away in my new kitchen!

Next, winter clothes, books and unnecessary stuff.

Just caching up! Been to Disney and on The Dream last two weeks. Had a blast.

Loving photos of Parade. Omg I thought it was just me that awful music why! So tinny. I don't care for it either with all the beautiful songs and musicians why use that! I am tempted to use the ear plugs from the plane lol....

The game looks fun! We are yet to try this. But like you say no two trips the same I love that always new, old and surprises in the mix! Been a great TR. Look forward to the next!

I enjoyed your posts on FB. I'm glad you had a good time.

You don't like the MSEP music either!

Next TR will be on the cruise, it's coming up really soon! I need to get going on the FE gifts.

 

[Pinkocto]

The Disneyana convention looked like fabulous fun! All that history is wonderful. Cute about the guy eating Walt's muffins.

Too cool about Karen Dotrice. I could have sworn I saw the kid who played Michael Banks in a recent movie only to look him up and find out he died very young. I was sad to find that info.

What was the special picture Fran got?

Love the canisters!



Oh yes, before or after the cruise I'd love to see the new house!

 

[franandaj]

The Disneyana convention looked like fabulous fun! All that history is wonderful. Cute about the guy eating Walt's muffins.

Too cool about Karen Dotrice. I could have sworn I saw the kid who played Michael Banks in a recent movie only to look him up and find out he died very young. I was sad to find that info.

It was fun just sitting back and listening to everything. I just don't remember very well without my notes!

What was the special picture Fran got?

I'm confused by this question. There were four pictures in question here.

1) Donald on Canvas which now hangs in the KVC. It's the one over the TV set.



2) The Herb Ryman sketch from Disneyland. This is safely behind a chair in the living room awaiting a frame. (I stole this picture from the internet)



3) Marie and the Butterfly which is in the hall off my kitchen.



4) The Maggie Parr picture. This is still in it's box in the closet. We have to locate the other Maggie Parr pictures and we'll put them all on a wall together.

Love the canisters!

Oh yes, before or after the cruise I'd love to see the new house!

The canisters are very pretty, I like them too!

And of course, I would be insulted if you didn't come to visit or stay!

 

[skier_pete]

OK - So I had already said I was coming in super late but would post some comments anyways.

I read through Days 1 - 3. I really am enjoying this! We have never been able to get down for Star Wars weekends. When DD was young enough to go before school started, she didn't like Star Wars. Now she loves Star Wars, and would LOVE SWW, but unfortunately schools in NY don't get out until late-JUne and you just can't pull your kid out of school at the end of the year. I keep telling her we will go when she's in college. She is not very happy with that (she's only 11). I am also a big SW fan, having been 7,10 and 13 years old when the OT came out. (Return of the Jedi is the movie I've seen the 2nd most in a theater.)

Anyways, so I like seeing what they have for SWW. We of course would never be able to get the premium package, but it's fun to live vicariously through others! Your first day looked like a lot of fun, though I have to say it's funny what they consider a celebrity at SWW. When Cliff Clavin is your top draw ----hmmmm. (Though personally Ray Park is a pretty cool get, as he's done a lot more than just Star Wars.)

Gosh, the Grand Floridian is gorgeous. I would never in a million years hope to stay there. Now that we are DVC members, maybe there's a chance someday. (Part of the excitement to us of being DVC is the chance to stay at these resorts that we would never even be able to consider at Disney prices.) When I asked DWs choice of where she'd most want to stay, that was her #1. (It's like #5 on my list, but I do have to say if we ever saw nights available there at the 7-month mark for a trip I would probably pounce on it, even for just a couple nights.)

It's funny what you say about Coronado Springs reminding you of "home", because I've never wanted to stay there simply because it reminds me of "my mom's house" - she lives in Arizona. I like Southwest architecture fine, it's just not a theme that appeals to me. Kind of like SSR - "oh goody, upstate New York themed, that's where I live!"

I gotta go, but will continue with the remaining days when I get the chance.

 

[franandaj]

So I left off with the Disneyana Convention. I’ll give you another short life update.

I thought that I would have the kitchen cleaned out last weekend, but it was a much larger job than I thought, but now it’s down to one more trip. I don’t know when that will be though because we have a more pressing task at hand. In 7½ days I will be having house guests arrive. While we got the place all spiffyied up for my parents last month, we have since trashed the place again. Rather than bring more cra…er “Precious Items” into the house, we need to go through the boxes that are here and get them put away.

Our cruise trip is 22 days away, and parts of that are becoming very real. I gave up the idea of making something crafty for our FEE this past weekend, although for a time there, I was inspired by Captain Oblivious’s daughter and her skills with duct tape. Especially when I found “Frozen” inspired duct tape, but I realized that no one on the cruise probably wanted a duct tape pair of shoes, or a wallet, so I went back to food, mostly chocolate, cookies, and booze filled chocolate bottles. With Princess Crayon sets for the girls and glowing light saber key chains for the boys.

As if we haven’t been around this lovely country enough this year, Fran decided that it was time I got know my relatives (my sister and her family don’t travel as her DH has a fear of flying). So we are going to Seattle for Thanksgiving instead of spending yet another holiday by ourselves while my parents diplomatically alternate with which daughter they spend the November and December holidays. It didn’t hurt that a World Class Car Museum opened outside Seattle recently either.

So back to the non TR. We left off with Fran and I having attended the Disneyana Convention. The next week was relatively uneventful, and I went a whole whopping two days without visiting Disney. On the third day, I couldn’t take it any longer. Just kidding! Actually I had booked a spa appointment with a TravelZoo voucher. Though I didn’t go into the parks it was a nice break from my otherwise monotonous days of packing and moving.

Monday, July 28

I was back out at the park for some fun with



Captain Oblivious, Mrs. Knowitall and their family (kids not pictured here). But you can always join in on his TR here where you will find plenty of pictures of the kids and Baby Drew.



We had a wonderful time, and they continued on long after I had headed home.

And then began the final whirlwind of the summer, where my trips all blurred into a couple weeks of fun. After which I was dying to stay home for a while. I’ll try and keep these updates brief since they aren’t Disney related, but I have some fun pictures and since my 3D friends don’t like to look at my photographs, I thought could share them with you all.

Wednesday July 30

Now this TR started off with Star Wars Weekends, but we are equal opportunity Space People. We packed up the car and headed off to Las Vegas for the largest Star Trek Convention in the world. We had registered for the Gold package which gave us all sorts or privileges like being first into the shopping area, guaranteed seats in the presentation room, assorted gifts throughout the weekend, and just the feeling of being overall really cool.

Registration for Gold package holders began at 6PM. I wanted to be checking into the hotel at 3PM, settled and ready to go at 6PM when everything started. Sadly this did not come to pass. At 6PM we were arriving at the hotel. The check in line went forever and it took probably half an hour just to reach the front. We did make it down to the registration area prior to the Silver folks check in time opening up, and soon we were in the shopping area. This is the vendor where we probably did the most damage. They had great stuff and we got a lot of T-shirts, shot glasses and other useless but fun merchandise.









They had lots of neat little photo opportunities and since the area was open on a limited basis we thought we should grab our photos now before the crowds hit.









After we were done shopping it was nearly 10:00PM and all the decent restaurants were closing. We ended up at the Seafood restaurant and it was quite good. We had some clam chowder, Oysters and split a plate of Mahi Mahi. We passed on dessert and headed up to the room to go to bed.

Thursday July 31

The next morning was the first real day of the show. John DeLancie (aka Q) was going to be the first panel of the show and I thought he would be an interesting guy to see. But we needed breakfast. Someone told me about this place, I think it was Brandi, the Hash House a GoGo. It’s a farm to table style breakfast place and I was all in the mood for a good sit down style breakfast. There was always a wait for this place, because it was so popular. It was also the only real breakfast place in the hotel. I got the pancake, it was delicious. And yes it was the size of a steering wheel.



Fran got the Buttermilk waffles and proclaimed them as delicious too.



These are the only food pictures you’re going to get from me on this trip. I figured that the people were more of a spectacle than the food, but at this restaurant the food was certainly a spectacle!

We took our seats in the auditorium for the opening and welcome. It turns out that John DeLancie had to cancel at the last moment. They had this “house band” that played in between guests and we didn’t care for them. Some people in the crowd just loved them, but we weren’t fans, so we headed out to the shopping area to see if we missed anything. Fran found a couple of patches and I got a bottle of wine from “Chateau Picard”. I’m not going to open it, it’s probably rancid by now, but I can put it next to my empty bottle of Klingon Blood Wine. Eventually it was back to the theater for Nichelle Nichols appearance (Lt. Uhura). But not before we ran into this crowd of Zombie red shirts.



They had this sign posted outside the theater.



And I had to take advantage of wearing my red shirt for this photo op.



Then we headed in for Nichelle Nichols panel. This was the stage that they designed for the Expo.



Nichele Nichols was a joy to listen to when she spoke. For a woman 82 years young she is still incredibly vibrant. That said, it was obvious she had rehearsed her speaking. She was great during the portion where the announcer was interviewing her, but in the Q&A with the audience she kept repeating her main shtick. What I didn't know about her was the work she did in the 70s. I don't remember exactly how it came up, but somehow she told NASA that their Astronauts were an "old white boys club". Their response was that was all they had. They had no idea how to recruit anyone else. This began a campaign on her part to visit colleges across the nation and encourage students of all races, sexes, backgrounds to apply for the space program. Through her efforts, many new young people joined NASA and diversified the space program.

Fran wasn’t feeling well so after this she went back to the room for a nap, but I stayed because next up was the Men of TNG (The Next Generation). They had Brent Spiner (Data), Levar Burton (Geordi La Forge) and Michael Dorn (Warf). This was absolutely the most fun panel EVER! These guys were a riot! Brent Spiner was a total smart aleck and just made everyone laugh so hard it was silly. I couldn’t even tell you the stupid things that they said except I remember him asking the audience what we all watched now that Star Trek wasn’t making new episodes. It appears that most folks are now watching Dr. Who instead.



One of the questions asked of Brent Spiner was that his character Data had the opportunity for relations with both Tasha Yar and the Borg Queen, which one was better? This caused the audience to laugh wildly, however, we never learned the answer because Spiner said that he would never “kiss and tell”.

After this I picked us up a sandwich from the QS deli in the lobby. We hung out in the room for a few hours before heading back down to hear Harlan Ellison talk. He wrote The City on the Edge of Forever. The episode with Joan Collins in the pre WWII era where Kirk, Spock and Bones go back through the time portal and Bones changes the course of time.

It was interesting to hear him talk. He was a “speak what’s on your mind” kind of guy and he dropped a lot of F-bombs. He was highly opinionated and really hated the final outcome of the episode, evidently major changes were made to his initial screenplay. The funniest part was that he called Joan Collins a bimbo and said that she never got the point of the episode. He said she went around on all the late night talk shows and said that she was Hitler’s girlfriend. I’ll have more on him later.

After his talk was the Ladies of TNG. Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, and Denise Crosby.



They were almost as funny and entertaining as the men, except my face didn’t hurt from laughing after their panel.



Each one had some great stories, one talked about needing a restraining order from a fan, and several other humorous anecdotes. However the best was from Denise Crosby who talked about when a friend of hers was able to get her backstage for a filming of Saturday Night Live, among the musical acts were the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nirvana. After the conclusion of the show she got into an elevator and the members of both bands were in the elevator with her. She rode the elevator silently in awe of being in the presence of two rock bands that she idolized. The ride was uneventful as both bands talked about their performances and how they felt about their playing. As the elevator came to a halt, one of the guys from one of the bands turns around to look at her and says, “Oh my god! You’re freakin’ Tasha Yar!” Funny how fame works.



We had to cut out a little bit early from this one as we tickets for Borg Bingo. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but they had some great prizes for the winners, of which we were not. Basically we played four games of Bingo and three of the games were called by actors from various episodes. Those who remember Lwaxana Troi will know her man servant Mr. Homm. The actor who played him called a round. Also the man who played Adonis in one of the original series episodes called another. I can’t remember who the third celebrity was, and the first round was called by one of the founders of Creation Entertainment (the company who hosts the convention).

Once Bingo was over, we headed up to the VooDoo lounge for the Captains party. They had a great buffet with Prime Rib, Caesar Salad, Mashed Potatoes, Chicken, vegetables, lamb chops and Chicken Parmigiana. We also got two complimentary well drinks. Problem was there were so many people and so little chairs, we got there sort of late and everything was taken, so we ate our food, had our drinks and decided to head to the casino and play a little Black Jack. We found a comfy table with a low minimum bid and played for a while before going to bed.

I woke up in the middle of the night to see the Rio tower illuminated through the window and decided that I should take some nighttime shots of Las Vegas.








[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

Friday August 1

The next day we woke up late and I picked us up some Starbuck’s breakfast. Fran didn’t really care about the panels, so I went down to hear the folks from DS9. It was entertaining, but there wasn’t anything that really stuck out in my mind regarding any of the actors. I was happy to see that they were all still alive and well.



Another lunch from the deli QS and we sat down for a few rounds of blackjack before heading to the panel with Grace Lee Whitney and Harlan Ellison. Yeoman Rand was my idol on The Original Series. I loved her hair and thought she was the prettiest woman I had ever seen (until I saw "the Redhead"). I didn’t realize that she had a substance problem back in the day, but has been over 25 years sober now. Evidently the Ellison and Whitney had a falling out and hadn’t talked for quite some time. Back in the day, they were getting ready to go out for a friendly dinner and while she was waiting in his living room, she decided to light up a joint. He came back to find her toking away and became thoroughly enraged and threw her out of the house and the two didn’t talk for about 20 years. It appears that his house was a place where Vietnam refugees were being housed after they were smuggled into the country while enroute to their final location. The last thing he needed was for someone to be doing drugs in his house to alert the authorities to come snooping around.



The two had some great stories and were fun to listen to. Eventually they opened up for a Q&A. When Grace saw this girl in the line for questions, she had her come up on stage.



We headed back to the room to get ready for dinner. On the way we saw this fellow. Even the staff at the hotel was getting into it!



Originally we had planned to stay through until Tuesday, but Fran realized that we had so little time before our next trip so we decided to leave Monday. We had one dinner reservation for Monday night and if we wanted to still dine at this restaurant Friday (tonight) was the only time to do it. So we got ourselves dressed up and headed off to Des Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse.

So I lied earlier when I said there wouldn’t be any food porn. I forgot about this meal. Anytime we eat at Del Frisco’s we take pictures, it’s just that good! I started off with half a dozen oysters.



We split an order of onion rings.



And we had some tomato salad. Every one of these items was just delectable, as expected.



Now when we first sat down we were disappointed with the menu. They didn’t have our normal Tomohawk Rib Eye listed there. We asked the waiter why they didn’t have the Tomohawk Rib Eye and he told us that, yes, in fact they do have it. Would we like to order it? Of course! Sorry about the blurry picture.



The steak with Creamed Spinach and Au Gratin potatoes.



I don’t know where we found room, but I got a flourless Chocolate cake with some sort of tasty ice cream.



Fran got some kind of Caramel Cake, both were really rich and this was one of those meal where we wheeled out of there in a food coma. I love that!



Fran may have stayed downstairs to play Blackjack, but I know I went right to bed!

Saturday August 2

Being active for the past few weeks was starting to take it’s toll on us. I went down to Starbuck’s again for breakfast while Fran stayed in bed. This day was mostly Cosplay and presentations by Make Up Artists, Costume Designers, and some really cerebral panels that were too much for me to wrap my brain around today.

Instead I just went down to the Convention area with the intent to take photos of the various folks dressed up in their costumes. There were Star Fleet officers.







Star fleet officers from specific movies



Star fleet officers from specific episodes



There were Klingons.





There were Borg.





Even the Borg Queen made it out for this auspicious event.





[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

There were these guys sporting their Star Fleet bathrobes.



And then there were the random characters. Kes and Nelix.



Q



I think she is from the original series, but I really don’t know.



This guy fancied himself as Adonis





These two were adorable. The Ferengi wanted Latinum for me to take his picture, but agreed when I told him that I only carried credit cards.



These folks were great! From one of the Original Series episodes.



Data as Sherlock Holmes



And his sidekick



The Black and White guy from the Original Series



I don’t remember what the heck species this guy is, but great make up job!



These two were interesting



A Gorn!



This woman even had a Horta.



But this was the part I loved. Walking past the Hash House A Go Go you saw a table of Star Fleet officers.



And a table of Klingons



After my costume photographing we decided to play some Black Jack. I believe that Fran did this for the entire afternoon. I took a break to go listen to a panel, but it ended up being canceled so I was right back at the tables with her. We had a concert to attend that evening, but Fran had also purchased a Groupon for the buffet at the Rio, we got two dinners for the price of one and a bottle of wine! Then we headed back to the theater to hear the Nevada Pops Symphony perform music from Star Trek.



Following the concert, they had a dessert reception where you could view various props and other artifacts. There were huge tubs of ice cream, Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry with all sorts of toppings. After a big bowl of ice cream, the lactose got to me and I believe I went back to the room to sleep, Fran may or may not have played some more Blackjack.

[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

Sunday August 3

There was not a whole lot going on this day, and there was really only one panel that we wanted to see, so we ended up going down late in the morning and browsing the shopping area. I took some random photos. They had an area in the Convention section where you could buy food and adult beverages. However beyond this door was just a convention room with tables and chairs and your standard hotel snack bar with packaged hot dogs, hamburgers, sandwiches and salads for exorbitant prices.



Speaking of exorbitant prices, here is what they were charging for photo ops and autographs.





We ran into this guy in the Expo area.



William Shatner was giving an appearance that day and the house was as full as it had been during the entire convention. He spoke for about 45 minutes. He was amusing. Almost as much as the TNG guys.



Fran barely made it into the theatre in time for his talk. Because? She was purchasing a Borg Tribble. It was also sound activated, so every time that the audience clapped, laughed or whatever it started doing it’s little “coo, coo, coo” and would vibrate. Finally I located the off switch, but it was rather embarrassing for the first few minutes of the presentation.



After Shatner’s presentation we had to get some photo ops with our new Borg Tribble. It was kind of hilarious because as people noticed that it was a Borg tribble, they started taking pictures of themselves with our tribble! We had to sit there for like 10 minutes while everyone got a shot of themselves with the Borg tribble!



Even this guy got in on the action for a bit.









After stowing our tribbles in the room, we played Black Jack for the rest of the day. Turns out we were quite a bit ahead at the tables so it was a fun and lucrative way to spend the day. The only thing left that night was at the end of the convention, they had a chance for folks who would be returning for the following year to get better seats for the next year. We had been given a card when we turned in our registration which gave us a spot in line to choose our seats. So we will be repeating all this fun next year too!

The rest is history, we checked out of the hotel and decided to visit the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace. After a wonderful lunch at the Palm Restaurant we walked the entire mall and found nothing of interest. Everything was too overpriced and trendy, so what did we do? You got it, played some more Black Jack! There were thunderstorms and flash flooding going on until about 5PM so we figured we were safest in a casino. Unfortunately Caesar’s Palace was not as kind to us as the Rio and after losing a lot of the money we won at the Rio, we packed it up and headed home. Another memorable adventure in the books!

 

[jedijill]

That's the trouble with Tribbles....they make noise at inappropriate times.

The convention looks like a lot of fun. I really loved TNG..I watched DS9 too. You and Fran have the best adventures!

Jill in CO

 

[franandaj]

OK - So I had already said I was coming in super late but would post some comments anyways.

I read through Days 1 - 3. I really am enjoying this! We have never been able to get down for Star Wars weekends. When DD was young enough to go before school started, she didn't like Star Wars. Now she loves Star Wars, and would LOVE SWW, but unfortunately schools in NY don't get out until late-JUne and you just can't pull your kid out of school at the end of the year. I keep telling her we will go when she's in college. She is not very happy with that (she's only 11). I am also a big SW fan, having been 7,10 and 13 years old when the OT came out. (Return of the Jedi is the movie I've seen the 2nd most in a theater.)

Anyways, so I like seeing what they have for SWW. We of course would never be able to get the premium package, but it's fun to live vicariously through others! Your first day looked like a lot of fun, though I have to say it's funny what they consider a celebrity at SWW. When Cliff Clavin is your top draw ----hmmmm. (Though personally Ray Park is a pretty cool get, as he's done a lot more than just Star Wars.)

Gosh, the Grand Floridian is gorgeous. I would never in a million years hope to stay there. Now that we are DVC members, maybe there's a chance someday. (Part of the excitement to us of being DVC is the chance to stay at these resorts that we would never even be able to consider at Disney prices.) When I asked DWs choice of where she'd most want to stay, that was her #1. (It's like #5 on my list, but I do have to say if we ever saw nights available there at the 7-month mark for a trip I would probably pounce on it, even for just a couple nights.)

It's funny what you say about Coronado Springs reminding you of "home", because I've never wanted to stay there simply because it reminds me of "my mom's house" - she lives in Arizona. I like Southwest architecture fine, it's just not a theme that appeals to me. Kind of like SSR - "oh goody, upstate New York themed, that's where I live!"

I gotta go, but will continue with the remaining days when I get the chance.

Thanks for persevering Pete! I'll be happy to read your TR when you get it started. It's funny because John Ratzenberger really was the big draw. That's pretty much how we ended up at the VGF, I was astonished when there was availability at 7 months out. The California desert is much like Arizona and that's what Coronado Springs totally reminded me of as well.

Glad you are still on board, the TR is starting to veer off course now drastically.

 

[mvf-m11c]

I have to find somewhere to get the Herb Ryman early sketch of Disneyland one day. I have some original big size park maps and that will be nice to have in my house.

That was a nice idea of going to the DL that Monday July 28th which was my last day during the July trip. I was in DCA for most of the morning and I was able to go to DL that morning and ride AiW with the new updates. I know that will be one of the rides that we will ride next week.

I remember really well that you and Fran attended the Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas. You two really did a lot of seminars and seeing all the different actors/actresses from the show and movies. It must have been fun to go to that event. There were a lot of fans dressed up as the characters which doesn't surprise me for those kind of events.

That was neat that you got to see William Shatner that Sunday. I did get to see William Shatner that weekend (Friday and Saturday) which he was in San Antonio during the Wizard World Comic Con on Friday and Saturday and he flew to Las Vegas for the Star Trek Convention that Sunday.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I can't believe how close your cruise is getting, but then again it is now less than 5 weeks until our big trip. That sounds nice that you get to spend Thanksgiving in Seattle. Looks like us coming to visit may have to wait for another year. Are we still OK for the Monday though?

I have never got Star Trek, but the convention sounded interesting. Looks you got a nice balance between attending events and just chilling.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

I would have been totally star struck at the Star Trek convention! What fun!!!!


The print I was curious about was the one that there was only 1 of, so the fourth picture I gather? They're a all great though, very few Disney art that I don't like but that Marie one is soooo cute!

 

[skier_pete]

Thanks for persevering Pete! I'll be happy to read your TR when you get it started. It's funny because John Ratzenberger really was the big draw. That's pretty much how we ended up at the VGF, I was astonished when there was availability at 7 months out. The California desert is much like Arizona and that's what Coronado Springs totally reminded me of as well.

Glad you are still on board, the TR is starting to veer off course now drastically.

Dare to dream for next August? Not a busy season, maybe we'll get in there. DW would die!

Actually, I would love to see cliffy / Pixar's lucky charm. Never thought his 15 seconds of Star Wars would rate him SWW "celebrity" though.

Oh, and the Star Trek stuff, I was a much bigger Star Trek geek (from 1984 - to around 1994 or so) than Star Wars. Would never dress up in either costumes though.

 

[eandesmom]

Now if you were following along on the PTR you should be scratching your head and asking, “Weren’t they supposed to pick up a rental car last night? Wasn’t today the day for Theme Park Connection?” Well a couple weeks before the trip we sort of hit a proverbial wall. That’s when the plans for the Haunted Mansion Theater Room went on hold. We also decided that there wasn’t a need to accumulate more stuff (yeah you could tell that by the way we put the reins on our shopping, right? ) But believe it or not, Fran did exercise restraint this trip.

Since we were not going to be spending all that money on a rental car or new merchandise, I took it upon myself to find another way to use up that money. I booked myself into here starting around 11:00AM, but I headed over a little earlier to make use of the other facilities.






Even though my treatment included a spa bath, I still used this for a little while.



And then I laid down on one of these tile loungers. Now anyone who knows how these things work, please share! When I laid down on the thing, it was room temperature or close to it. By the time that I finally got up, the lounger was toasty warm and I can totally see how people fall asleep on them. Just looking at it you wouldn’t think it was so comfy being all rigid, but after laying on it, wow! I’m going to book the Rainforest Room on one of my days on the cruise!



Anyways, I had two treatments booked, one was from 11:00-11:45 and the next from 12:10-1:00. The same technician would be doing both treatments and she asked if I wanted to do the concurrently and I was happy to oblige. That way I wasn’t wasting half an hour just sitting in the spa. I had a bath with some special minerals in a really cool tub, then she rubbed my body with mud or salt or a little of both, wrapped me up in a cocoon, and gave me a scalp massage and a foot massage. Then I showered, and she massaged the rest of me. When I left there, I was so relaxed, it was wonderful.

What an excellent choice of "excess fund" use. Well done!!!!!!!! I did NOT know that about those loungers, they've always looked so uncomfortable to me I've never actually tried them.

Then we were off to make good on a wrong that we were going to make right today. The new Ice Cream shop in France. The Menu.



They had lots of delicious flavors.



And a cute Mickey head.



I went for the Ice Cream Martini with Grand Marnier. People confused me before telling me the flavors of Ice Cream. I thought it was predetermined, but you can choose your own flavors. I was very happy with that. I think I got Salted Caramel and Chocolate Chip. It was quite yummy!



Up next, our attempt at drinking around the world, and a documented DISmeet![/COLOR][/SIZE]

I still haven't made it there, must fix that in Feb!

Well its been so long since an update, I suppose that a recap is in order. But first a couple daily life updates. We are done traveling for two months. Our next trip is two months from yesterday so we hope to have some time to get settled in. I may do a few short updates at the end of this TR on our three trips/events since the car show a few pages back. As far as upcoming trips we have booked our excursions and dining for the cruise.

Cruise Trip Itinerary

Day 1 - Halloween - we still need to choose costumes for that night.

Day 2 - at sea. We will be dining at Palo for "dress up" night.

Day 3 - Grand Cayman. We have chosen the "Island tour" which includes a visit to Hell and the Turtle Farm. We will definitely stop at the shop across from the dock for their mini rum cakes!

Day 4 - Cozumel. We are going to Chankanaab, following Corinna's lead we will just catch a cab there ourselves. That night back on the ship will be Pirate night and our first time to experience this. Normally we just go to Palo and avoid it. I plan to skimp on dinner so we can hit the late night buffet per Pam's suggestion.

Day 5 - Day at sea. Palo Brunch.

Day 6 - Get off the ship and head to the Embassy Suites Ft. Lauderdale for four days of immersion in all things band, along with over 200 of our other bandos from across the country and around the world.

Our next big trip is in April to WDW for a week. We are staying at VWL with two of our friends from here. One of two couples we know locally who actually "get" Disney. After that we're taking a four night cruise on the Dream. ADR time is coming up soon and we've pretty much settled on our choices. Not necessarily in this order: Garden Grill, Whispering Canyon (breakfast), Artist Point, Be Our Guest, Hoop De Doo Revue, 1900 Park Fare. Most of our other meals will be in the room (like cereal and yogurt for breakfast) or grazing from the Flower & Garden Festival booths.

We'll probably take a few trips to Vegas over the winter. There is also our annual mid week weekend at the VGC in February, and I'm sure we'll make it up to the SF Bay Area to visit my parents too, but thats it for now.

And Seattle for Turkey Day

It wasn’t as if we were attempting to “drink our way around the world.” We had not been to Karamel Kuche and it was already the sixth day of the trip. So we meandered toward Germany, we stopped in the German shop and happened upon some kids working on an Agent P mission. These beer steins began to sing as part of the mission. The kid actually made them go several times as dorks like us were fascinated and tried to take pictures of the entire thing.

not that there is anything wrong with drinking your way around the world....
I want to see those sing one of these days

Oh look, it’s the margarita stand at Mexico. Two please!

ah manual settings, some day I will figure them out

or not

Fun meet and greet and pics with Pam. I love the cronut but Jeff is with you, not his thing at all.

Lunch looks insanely good, I've still not eaten at LeCellier. Good to know that they had so many lovely vegetarian options.

That's tough on the FP timing but it does seem it worked out ok thanks to EE being down. I need to eat at Sanaa during the day, we can never see a thing outside! Love that place.

Bellies full and tired from our early start, we headed back to the room. Which from lack of pictorial evidence tells me that we both took a nap and didn’t leave again until the next morning! So as a consolation, I will give you another lizard shot.

[/COLOR]

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Oh my that Star Trek convention looks amazing. Lol re Klingon blood wine. Great photos! I just love Vegas and Star Trek what a great combo great view from your room.

Love tribbles lol. I would love to watch you guys playing at Black Jack. I adore the game but am not too good at it. I could be your mascot! I tried to play it and got looks when I asked for cards I get the impression I should have not done. Think I ruined the chances for the table! I got rolled eyes...

Oh my that steak. Drool! Two please! Fancy it not being on the menu. One would think it was the signature dish!

Your upcoming cruise on The Dream yippeee! Can't wait to hear about that. Lol re the car museum coincidence in Seattle.