The Disneyland Snowball Effect

[bumbershoot]

Bump...

It seems like a good time to resurrect this thread, as I suspect some of us are falling victim to new aspects of the DLR Snowball Effect as the magical holiday season approaches. Come share with us your stories! You know you want to!

What? There's no snowball effect hitting my family. What are you talking about, woman? No snowball, nothing like that, nothing snow-y or snow-ish or anything like that at all, my friend.......

...so I added 2 nights to the GCH. (which I have yet to mention to DH )

Oh gracious and I thought I was bad for being about to add Motel 6 to the 5th so we can check into PPH bright and early on the 6th and get TWO Magic Mornings!

What? What did I say? Ignore me, there's no snowball, nothing at all, hubby didn't trade days so we can fly out early on the 6th and that CERTAINLY did not get changed to "let's fly out after work on the 5th" no no no it did NOT.

 

[Gisele]

Ha ha! I like that Fairykin, that was funny!

 

[Sherry E]

What? There's no snowball effect hitting my family. What are you talking about, woman? No snowball, nothing like that, nothing snow-y or snow-ish or anything like that at all, my friend.......



Oh gracious and I thought I was bad for being about to add Motel 6 to the 5th so we can check into PPH bright and early on the 6th and get TWO Magic Mornings!

What? What did I say? Ignore me, there's no snowball, nothing at all, hubby didn't trade days so we can fly out early on the 6th and that CERTAINLY did not get changed to "let's fly out after work on the 5th" no no no it did NOT.

Hee hee hee You can't fool us! No one escapes the Snowball! NO ONE! [insert evil laugh]

Your December trip in and of itself is a result (sort of) of the Snowball Effect, right? And now it is growing ever larger!

 

[disneymom23]

This is a fun thread. I'm glad so many fall victim to the snowball effect!

 

[Sherry E]

This is a fun thread. I'm glad so many fall victim to the snowball effect!

Oh, it is embarrassing how I convince myself that some 'minor alterations' to an existing, perfectly reasonable plan "make more sense" (i.e., adding extra nights onto hotel stays because it will be "good to already be down there" at DLR early in the morning, which is what I did in October). Maybe they DO make some sense in certain ways, but deep down, I know I am secretly just trying to squeeze some extra Mouse time into my trips!!!

 

[disneymom23]

Oh, it is embarrassing how I convince myself that some 'minor alterations' to an existing, perfectly reasonable plan "make more sense" (i.e., adding extra nights onto hotel stays because it will be "good to already be down there" at DLR early in the morning, which is what I did in October). Maybe they DO make some sense in certain ways, but deep down, I know I am secretly just trying to squeeze some extra Mouse time into my trips!!!

Absolutely! I got AP's for myself and DD10 because we're going to do a trip with just the 2 of us. So, now we have to stay on-site so we can do the MM's.

 

[Sherry E]

Absolutely! I got AP's for myself and DD10 because we're going to do a trip with just the 2 of us. So, now we have to stay on-site so we can do the MM's.

Well, of course! And, if you end up in a situation like Bumbershoot was describing, where it looks like you will only have one MM, then you have to add on another night at the hotel to get in TWO MM's!

 

[bumbershoot]

Oh, it is embarrassing how I convince myself that some 'minor alterations' to an existing, perfectly reasonable plan "make more sense" (i.e., adding extra nights onto hotel stays because it will be "good to already be down there" at DLR early in the morning, which is what I did in October). Maybe they DO make some sense in certain ways, but deep down, I know I am secretly just trying to squeeze some extra Mouse time into my trips!!!

Embarrassing is the right word! I almost felt like keeping it a secret, b/c I felt so embarrassed.

Well, of course! And, if you end up in a situation like Bumbershoot was describing, where it looks like you will only have one MM, then you have to add on another night at the hotel to get in TWO MM's!

Again, embarrassing, b/c officially I don't feel the need for MMs. BUT if you were looking at the skimpy hotel availability was on the weekend hubby could go, and at the prices of the few rooms that are available (other than Motel 6), you'd be looking at ways that the Disney hotels have extra benefits, too! If you can get the Courtyard, not even the Fairfield, for nothing under 200...you're going to think that 179 for Sat is a bargain, and if remembering about the MMs helps ya justify, then MM justification it is!

Embarrassing, seriously.

 

[mickey+minnie91]

I have to admit that my summer trip has snowballed into the trip we are taking next week. My husband said no when we were down there this last summer. Then I have had this bee in my bonnet about this christmas season. We were going to drive down and now we are flying!!!!

 

[Sherry E]

I have to admit that my summer trip has snowballed into the trip we are taking next week. My husband said no when we were down there this last summer. Then I have had this bee in my bonnet about this christmas season. We were going to drive down and now we are flying!!!!

Christmas is SO much more magical than summer is at DLR, so you CAN'T miss out on the holiday season! It defies logic to miss it! Your husband must understand that!

 

[Sherry E]

Again, embarrassing, b/c officially I don't feel the need for MMs. BUT if you were looking at the skimpy hotel availability was on the weekend hubby could go, and at the prices of the few rooms that are available (other than Motel 6), you'd be looking at ways that the Disney hotels have extra benefits, too! If you can get the Courtyard, not even the Fairfield, for nothing under 200...you're going to think that 179 for Sat is a bargain, and if remembering about the MMs helps ya justify, then MM justification it is!

Embarrassing, seriously.

And you can use the special DLR hotel guest-only entrance to DCA through the GCH (pondering the extra benefits to make the money worthwhile!).

Strangely, I have never used my MM's during any of my DLR hotel stays, ever! I don't know why - I am always an early riser, but sometimes it is hard to get other people up and going. I would like to try using an MM at least once to see if it is productive for us. But I can't ASK whoever is with me if they want to do it because that leaves room for hemming and hawing and ultimate rejection of the idea. I have to just tell them (like I told them where we were eating this last trip because no one can seem to make a darn decision!) that we are using the MM and see what happens. If you hear of someone being tossed out of the hotel window, it could be yours truly!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

Sherry, we need to have some training classes for you on assertiveness. Also for your friends in "just b/c Sherry is leaving an hour early doesn't mean we have to even wake up...Sherry is allowed to do things on her own and we are big kids and can FIND HER in an hour or two".

OK maybe you just need to remind yourself and them of that!

 

[Disney Dreams]

Gisele..You had a snowcone effect.. where it got smaller and smaller.. like a snowcone getting nibbled on.

The So. Cal sunshine melted away her snowball.

 

[LavenderPeach]

My snowball hasn't actually gotten any bigger since my last post from awhile back but I admit that I keep thinking about how a hotel stay could be added somehow. And if we're going to stay in a hotel it might as well be a disney-owned one.

But that snowball hasn't gone any further than my brain. We're going to DLR tomorrow so i don't think we will be doing the hotel thing this time but we have a whole year's worth of visits to do at DLR with our APs so I'll have to see if i can fit a hotel stay in there somewhere. Afterall, I've never stayed at any of the disney hotels so shouldn't I do it sometime soon when i can get a good discount with the AP?

Right now I just have small snowballs since i keep buying things that I "need". I just bought glow bracelets that I "needed" (100 for $10 on amazon!). Those are necessary! They are to help DS on dark rides and of course fun for me too!

 

[fairykin]

disneymom23... just think how much money you saved on the flight!

It makes me feel better to know i'm not alone in this.

Have a Happy Day Everyone!

 

[Sherry E]

Sherry, we need to have some training classes for you on assertiveness. Also for your friends in "just b/c Sherry is leaving an hour early doesn't mean we have to even wake up...Sherry is allowed to do things on her own and we are big kids and can FIND HER in an hour or two".

OK maybe you just need to remind yourself and them of that!

I think I will be better off with a solo trip at some point. Then, I can tackle any of those little odds and ends I don't get done when I have the friends with me. As it is, I only see these friends very rarely, so I don't want to split up from them for long chunks of time at DLR in short trip when I may not see them again for another year or two or more (we have gone years and years without seeing each other in the past). The more I ponder the MM concept, I know if I had really wanted to do it in the past, I just would have. I do everything by myself. I am pretty used to being solo and independent and doing what I want to do on a daily basis, without having to report to anyone. But I also like to eat an early breakfast before we get anything else done (or else my blood sugar goes haywire), and so do my friends, so I know that the MM would have conflicted with our breakfast PS time or vice versa, and it just wasn't a big enough deal. I would like to try MM sometime in the future and see how much more I/we can get done, but it is not a huge priority. Seeing as I am not 100% sure if our December trip is going to happen yet, and if it doesn't happen, will I make it into some sort of solo trip or not, I don't know for sure if the MM maiden voyage will be this year or another time!!! The December group trip is still tentative, but I will get to DLR one way or the other in December (even if by myself) to see all the holiday stuff!

But if this December trip goes as planned, it will ALL be the result of the Great Snowball Effect!!! It went from, "Hey, let's make sure to go back to DLR around the holidays JUST FOR THE DAY to see all the great Christmas stuff," to "Well...it will be tough to squeeze everything into one day, so let me see what the hotel discounts are like with the new AP I have," to "Well, we didn't have a great experience at the PPH this last time, and we DO get so much more accomplished when we stay at the GCH (as proven last year in December), so why don't we just stay there because it is closest..." And when it appeared that my friend MAY have to work on the 26th (though I highly doubt many people will be working that day) and won't be able to get as early a start as we would need to beat the post-Christmas crowds, I began brainstorming on getting there myself first in the morning and starting the day until she can join me later!

It is a vicious cycle... Evil, evil Snowball...

 

[Brady's Mom]

I love, love, love the DLR snowball. We planned way back in early Dec. 2007 to go on a Disney vacay with my parents, our very best friends and us in Dec. 2008. When our oldest son discovered who was going he was a little put out since we were going without him (he is out of the country). So we changed our plans a little and moved our trip up to March, just before he was leaving. We had a really great time together and got a lot accomplished. It was a first trip for a couple of people in our group and that made it even more fun. I found DisBoards just before we left, so I had some good info, just hadn't really internalized it all. Well, DH and I were talking about how we were a little disappointed to miss Dec. and all of the Christmas decorations and other great holiday stuff. But, we consoled ourselves with being able to go with our oldest son and make some great memories before he left (he'll be gone 2 years).

In June, DH calls me from work and tells me about a retroactive Cost of Living Adjustment that is coming through and tells me that we *can* go to DLR in Dec. after all. Woot Woot!! So, I start haunting the boards again and planning a new trip. We are staying at HoJo for the first time (it's our first trip within walking distance) and I am armed with tons of info. We even signed up for photopass! I am making some custom t-shirts for our group. We decided to do 6 days instead of 5, because the difference in price is $5 and Alladdin doesn't start until the day we need to leave. By adding the extra day we can see Alladdin and then leave DLR early afternoon. And the best part, the same (almost) group of people that we had a great time with in March, is coming with us again!!

Whew!! Talk about a giant snowball! Hooray for snowballs!

 

[PinkBudgie]

My snowball hasn't actually gotten any bigger since my last post from awhile back but I admit that I keep thinking about how a hotel stay could be added somehow. And if we're going to stay in a hotel it might as well be a disney-owned one.

But that snowball hasn't gone any further than my brain. We're going to DLR tomorrow so i don't think we will be doing the hotel thing this time but we have a whole year's worth of visits to do at DLR with our APs so I'll have to see if i can fit a hotel stay in there somewhere. Afterall, I've never stayed at any of the disney hotels so shouldn't I do it sometime soon when i can get a good discount with the AP?

Right now I just have small snowballs since i keep buying things that I "need". I just bought glow bracelets that I "needed" (100 for $10 on amazon!). Those are necessary! They are to help DS on dark rides and of course fun for me too!

It is all part of the snowball! Like when I needed to get a new camera that was smaller to carry around, and then a new case for it. You bought a new bag recently, that counts too!
Have fun today!

 

[bumbershoot]

It is all part of the snowball! Like when I needed to get a new camera that was smaller to carry around, and then a new case for it. You bought a new bag recently, that counts too!
Have fun today!

Speaking of that I have GOT to get a camera wriststrap! Anyone have one for their Canon S3 that you can recommend?

 

[Sherry E]

I am bumping this thread which was originated by the great PinkBudgie. Why? Because it is TIME! It is time for a new crop of people to share their DSE (Disneyland Snowball Effect) experiences, or for old, seasoned DSE vistims to relate their latest DSE encounters. Bring it on! Tell us about the simple one-day trip to DLR that turned into a 14-night stay at the GCH! Tell us about that little $6.00 keychain you wanted which turned into $500 worth of merchandise. Tell us how you visited a Disney message board to just get a little bit of info on Ridemax and then 1-1/2 years later, ended up becoming a moderator on that board because you posted so darn much (Oops! That's me!).

I know you are out there, planning that next trip to DLR, devising ways to make it last longer, justifying the cost of Premium APs for the whole family, pondering buying into the DVC! Let's hear it! Let's hear the Snowball stories!