Three Things...Gratitude Thread

[SpaceMan5]

Slow paced stories- Yes, you want some big moments to keep you engaged, but I think this is part of why TV binging is so popular. Don't get me wrong, I love a good movie. Still, there's something to be said for telling a story over the course of 5 seasons, each with ten+ 60 minute episodes. That slow pace gives you time for everything from character development to drawn out subplots.

For me its the books that are 2-3+" thick authored by the likes of Tom Clancy and Mark Greaney. Much more deeper and complex as Tigger described.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Hugs to all with an extra sweet dream hug. Love all your answers as always. Thank you for sharing I wish People Mover would come back to Disneyland! I agree with reading, walks, and board/card games too. I do also enjoy Word Searches and Hidden pictures meant for kids. Good night to all.

 

[DawnM]

Red- Blood-thankful my blood is still flowing and I am still here
White-My doodle is white, he is such a love bug
Blue-Sky, thankful we have blue skies above us

 

[PollyannaMom]

Today's Topic (Thu, 5/30) - 3 vacation memories you're grateful for

 

[slo]

Good Thursday Morning!

#1 - Rocket Launches - The last 2 years we’ve seen 4 rocket launches. They are so cool to see.

#2 - My girls napping on Spaceship Earth & The Peoplemover - thanks to all the CMs over those years for allowing us to stay on each ride for 45min to an hour so they could sleep.

#3 - Last years girls only WDW trip - This was one of the best trips of my life, so I’m saying the whole trip is one big memory.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Good morning everyone

Dad and I were so blessed back in 2008 to enjoy a trip to Oregon and Washington together. Beautiful part of our country.

So many years later, I remember visiting my beloved grandma and cousins in Houston. At that time (early 90s or so) there was an old fashioned 5 and 10 store adjacent to a Half Price Books. Such fun both places were.

Dad and I God willing, will enjoy a Disneyland vacation next spring.

 

[WDWEPCOT]

Alaska Cruise- too many things to mention but the whole cruise was amazing

First Trip to Disney - did it in August and did it pregnant- time was picked pregnancy was unexpected blessing !! Best part first walk down Main Street seeing the Castle thinking about ALL those Sunday nights watching the wonderful world of Disney and thinking I’m finally here so magical !!! Back from the park was open till three in the morning almost every night the good old days!!

All those camping trips / someone Always getting hurt nothing serious thankfully - disaster nonetheless - kids falling into boxes - Kids getting attacked by bugs oh the screaming they made - these were not bugs that were going to hurt them they just scared them - torrential downpours that flooded everything - The various dogs and the mayhem they got up to - I don’t know why we ever went camping it never went well

 

[WDWEPCOT]

I do miss the old five and dime stores I used to enjoy shopping in them when I was a kid !! And having lunch at the counter!! we’re going way back for this one!!! Showing my age here!!

 

[DawnM]

Good Thursday Morning!

#1 - Rocket Launches - The last 2 years we’ve seen 4 rocket launches. They are so cool to see.

#2 - My girls napping on Spaceship Earth & The Peoplemover - thanks to all the CMs over those years for allowing us to stay on each ride for 45min to an hour so they could sleep.

#3 - Last years girls only WDW trip - This was one of the best trips of my life, so I’m saying the whole trip is one big memory.

Wanna hear a funny rocket launch story? I was friends with the sister of an astronaut when I lived in California. He was flying from CA to FL for the launch and sat next to a guy who struck up a conversation. Steve (my friend's brother) invited them to the launch and gave them passes. Turns out the guys he was talking to were Aerosmith, going to Disney for either the filming or launch of Rockin' Roller Coaster. Steve didn't even know who he was talking to!

 

[mumto3girls]

1. Another vote for the slow cooker. I use mine often and like having dinner almost ready when I get home.
2. Dog walks—I can go much faster without her, but I enjoy my walks with her even though I keep saying, “more walking, less sniffing”.
3. Auto train—it’s a slower way to get back and forth to Florida but I enjoy the ride.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Hug WDWEPCOT. I'm so glad you also enjoyed 5 and dime stores. I vaguely remember still as a kid going to Pic N Save (Big Lots took over). Grandpa Sam loved that place and I sure loved him. There was also a neighborhood store called Bargain Circus where grandpa got me a red stuffed animal mouse. It became the recently gone out of business 99 Cent Only Store. Dad and I do have 2 Dollar Trees each a good half hour away. God willing when I am recovered it will be fun going there again.

 

[mumto3girls]

Vacation Memories:
1. Oldest DD was asked to join the end of the parade during the Christmas party one night at the Magic Kingdom. She was 4 and still remembers bits and pieces.
2. Watching turtles hatch at Vero Beach—amazing.
3. Eating French fries with middle Dd in a hammock at Hilton Head. Oldest DD was doing an activity and then we were headed home so we were waiting and she got hungry. She was so happy just swaying and eating. She was probably 2.

 

[Tink-osophy]

I'm going to enjoy pondering this one and come back later!

 

[newski_mom]

My first job was at a five and dime store! I loved that job. We had a candy counter right by where you checked out! We also made bows for people, so I learned how to make beautiful bows while I was working there.

 

[newski_mom]

Vacation memories - so many good ones!

1. Our first cruise as a family. DH and I had been on a few and we decided to try one with the kids. They all loved it!

2. When I was a kid, we took at trip out east and went to so many places. Hershey, Philadelphia, Gettysburg, Amish Country, Washington DC, NYC, Niagara Falls, (I'm sure I'm missing some) and we ended with a Cardinals game! It was one of the two vacations I took as a kid (the other was to Disney) and we had such a great time!

3. Our trip to Hawaii - my mom treated my family and my sister's family and we were all able to take a two week trip (only one I've done as an adult) - we cruised around the islands and stayed at Aulani afterwards. It was a perfect trip!

 

[TiggerTrigger]

There are too many good ones to narrow it down to three. So, I'm going to pick categories...

1. Photos and Video - My favorite souvenirs are often the ones that come from my cameras. In my film camera days, I had to be much more conservative, but with digital, I come home with thousands of recorded memories. I'm not as good with videos, but I'm getting much better about taking them. Over the last 10 years, I've added nearly 100,000 photos to my Flickr archives.

2. Disney - A lot of those pics in #1 are from our various Disney trips...both to FL and CA. So even involve some fun trips to the old Disney Stores and the port when we got our first DCL ship. The girls were 2 and 4 on their first visit and will get some level of Disney this summer at ages 15 and 17. My 70-something year old parents are even have APs for WDW. It's been such a blessing to watch them still enjoying the parks on a regular basis in their retirement.

3. National Parks - I feel like a broken record with this sometimes, but seeing these natural wonders in person has been life changing. In fact, Disney helped inspire some of this travel and opened the door to a whole host of different non-Disney memories. It's no secret that Walt appreciated these natural wonders and the Imagineers have used several to inspire features in the parks and resorts. As magical as WL feels, it's nothing compared to being in the Old Faithful Inn and stepping outside to see the Upper Geyser Basin. As much as I love Big Thunder, the thrill of waking up early to grab shots of sunrise in Bryce Canyon is a whole different kind of wow. The Grand Canyon Diorama on DL's railroad is very cool, but having a hotel room or a restaurant table with a view of the actual South Rim is a real pinch yourself moment.

Honorable Mention - International Travel - DH and I were in the World Showcase in 1998 when I had this lightbulb moment. As much as I love Disney, why spend all of this money on Disney's version of these places when we can see the real thing? About 2.5 years after that moment, DH and I went to Europe. Sadly, we have not been able to make it back but we were able to visit 7 European countries during that trip, including four of the World Showcase countries (UK, France, Germany, Italy). Austria, Switzerland, and Belgium were the other three. I had already been to Canada several times, which sparked the idea to see them all. We've also been to Mexico...so about a handful left to go!

 

[1420Elexismc]

Any of our Disney World trips
Going to Hershey Park and the Philadelphia Zoo with my little family for our first vacation
Our Honeymoon was a blast...we did a cruise for half and Universal for the other half as two big kids

 

[bluecastle]

3???
1. Disney moments: seeing the castle for the first time, see the castle with the little twinkling lights for the first time, seeing the WL lobby for the first time, walking into that lobby and seeing the Christmas tree for the first time, my DD getting engaged at Cinderella’s wishing well (even though that marriage has ended, they’re still on good terms and the memory is still a good one), my Mom/Daughter trip when we suspected she might be pregnant (and was!), my beating cancer trip with my DH and all the wonderful interactions with CMs, and finally, every single moment of our DGD’s first trip in November 2022, from calling to the giraffes from our balcony to interacting with the characters and believing they were real.

2. Our trip to Maine in 1998, especially Acadia. One of my favorite moments was hanging out in front of Stephen King’s house and watching my DD do cartwheels and round-offs on the grass along the sidewalk.

3. My dad got 2 weeks of vacation every summer and we always combined visiting family with seeing the sights-which more often than not, had to be “educational.” The museums in Philly, Sturbridge Village in MA, Mystic Seaport in CT, Gettysburg in PA, and Washington DC.

 

[fla4fun]

Vacation memories . . .

Family road trips - being in the car for two or three days with new toys and coloring/puzzle books to pass the time, eating in restaurants (which we did not do at home), staying in motels, and having snack and water breaks when Dad stopped for gasoline along the way. Every gift shop along the highway to Florida smelling like orange blossom perfume and pecan logs. Good times!

WDW - Sitting behind what is now the Christmas store in MK (antique store at the time) eating ice cream while Mom and Dad decided what to use our remaining tickets for (in the era of ticket books). Watching everyone run at rope drop to Space Mountain when it first opened. We made our first visit the first year WDW was open and have gone at least once a year ever since, so there are too many memories to list.

London - Standing in front of Buckingham Palace for the first time and watching the Queen’s mail carriage go by (didn’t know what it was at the time, but looked it up when I got home). Exploring the city on foot and, as a Titanic fan, finding the White Star Line offices had been turned into a Tex-Mex restaurant (now closed, but the food was great). The best was touring historic sites I had only read about. Definitely a bucket list level experience.

 

[Tink-osophy]

Vacation Memories

An informal cricket match with family and friends on holiday here in England.

In the Caribbean, on the beach in the evening with the waves gently lapping the shore. It was so peaceful.

The heaven of River Country! It was such an easy-going water park and so well-themed. Whenever I was there, it was never too busy, so you could spend lots of time enjoying slides and rapids, rather than most of the time in line. ...Ooh, also, cycling round Fort Wilderness on the last day of a trip, when we also dashed back to do something in MK, HS and Epcot!!!! ...And on a different trip, lying on a lounger at POR listening to the Spectro music before heading back to the airport. It felt like an extra stolen moment.