TR - A Gregarious Ghostly Gallivant - Final Thoughts Finally Posted!

[Tat2ddisneymom]

Sorry I haven't been around. I took a week off posting.

I read your last "update," and I have to say, I equate Menudo with tragic disappointment, too. I'm sure you already knew that.

I remember you telling us before about Bean cutting her hair. Kids are so funny. My daughter ended up with a mullet one time when her brother decided to give her a haircut. I wasn't leaving the mullet, so she ended up with a pixie cut. She was just little, but I can't imagine letting a 4 year old cut my hair. I'm not sure where I was when this went down. Bathroom probably.

 

[Leger13]

Oh yeah!

It was a lithograph from Mickey's 80th birthday... Disney artist Paul Felix's "Putting a Smile on the World". 20"x30":

Also got the first magazine, which is very high quality and has some very cool content. It looks like I missed out on getting the D23 pin, but have the membership certificate and card.

Pretty cool overall, I'm happy with the investment.

Cute Cute Cute! Glad you are happy with the investment! I think I'm gonna try and pick up a copy of that magazine at B&N this weekend.

 

[mnmrmustard]

Cute Cute Cute! Glad you are happy with the investment! I think I'm gonna try and pick up a copy of that magazine at B&N this weekend.

Thank you and good hunting!

 

[Leger13]

Nothing new on the planning front, so I thought I’d invite y’all along on a little trip down memory lane. As I may have said, I’ve been to Disneyland twice in the past.

PART 1

The first time was part of a one week whirlwind adventure in a rented Chevy Citation (now THAT was a stylin' ride!) in 1976. It was me (age 7), my big sister (age 11) and my mom and ex stepdad. We hit Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Lion Country Safari (now closed), Sea World, and the San Diego Zoo.

I have no pictures from the trip. It seems like there should have been some, but nobody seems to know about them. Due to this I did some fishing on flickr and snagged a couple of images that other people took on trips there in '76 ;-]

Disney itself was a bit of a blur, us trying to cover everything in one hot summer day. I specifically remember all of the red-white-and-blue theming for the Bicentennial. I also remember how cramped the submarine was and how much walking we did. Some of the high points were PoTC, Peter Pan’s Flight, and the Matterhorn.

From a nostalgia point of view I am happy to have been one of those “older folks” who go to ride on the Skyway

I really liked the "America on Parade" uhhhh, parade Here's a sticker that I remember us putting on the Citation:

I was going to post pictures of the parade, but found a site that does it a lot more justice than I ever could. If you're interested just click on the URL.

http://www.yesterland.com/americaparade.html

I remember REALLY wanting to ride up in the top bubble of the monorail. And no, it didn't happen.

And then there was the big letdown. I couldn't ride Space Mountain I sat outside the gleaming white facade while Menudo (or at least that year's incarnation of them) were performing in front of it. I remember looking forlornly at it while they danced and sang. To this day I still equate the name Menudo to tragic disappointment

But then there was the end of the day and my curbside seat for the Main Street Electrical Parade. That was the capper, that was the one bit that really got me. Without knowing it then, it is what really made me the Disney fan that I am today.

There was a feeling of total immersion in the experience. The lights, the theme song (which still gives me a bit of a charge when I hear it), and the pure Disney magic of it. It was a perfect way to end the evening and it washed away any tiredness I may have felt. I remember going to sleep in the hotel room humming the song (much to the consternation of my big sister, with whom I was sharing a bed - lol).


PART 2

Even though I had that Disney magic, it lay dormant inside me for the next 29 years It wasn't until my DDs were old enough to really enjoy Disney (ages 5 & 8 at the time) that we planned a trip. I planned it and it was a bit of a goof on my part as to when we went.

I found a website that showed crowd levels and apparently the week after new years was some of the lowest numbers in the park. What I neglected to cross-reference it with was the amount of rainfall that So Cal gets in early January. Soooo, we basically went there during the wettest month of the year

It was to be a 3 day visit to the parks. part of it would be just us, the other part with one of my bro-in-law's and his family. Granted, we had a lot of fun and the rides that were open had basically no lines. Unfortunately it rained for over half the time we were there, ending with an outright downpour that flooded parts of CA.

Here are some pics from that little adventure. They are a bit grainy as they are actually captures from video that I took there:

Any you may have wondered about Bean's haircut being kind of "boyish". The little imp had decided to give herself a haircut a week before we left. That was how short it had to go to even out the chunks she had taken out of it - lol

There are more pictures but not too many as it was too wet much of the time we were there to film stuff. And a lot of them were just the girls posed by all of the different themed Mickeys they had stationed around CA.

But as I said, no lines. Among the stuff we rode:

Matterhorn - 4 times
PoTC - 8 times
Splash Mountain - 4 times
All the fantasyland rides multiple times
Soarin' - 3 times
ToT - 7 times for Bean (I only rode it 3 times)
Haunted Mansion - closed to change back from the Nightmare Before Christmas theme :-[

AAAAANNNNNDDDDD - SPACE MOUNTAIN - CLOSED FOR REFURB!!!!! Still haven't rode that bugger. Also, no parades and no fireworks due to a mix of off season and bad weather.

So obviously there was some stuff we missed out on. It was part of the reason I started planning our 2008 WDW trip back in 2006. I wanted to make sure we didn't miss out on anything ...or at least see as much as we could without going crazy or having our feet fall off.

So there ya go - a brief interlude on what has brought me here now, planning for a trip that is still 6 1/2 months away ;D Tune in next time when I ........ummm, when I.....

....


....Hey Look - IT'S BIGFOOT!

*points behind you and disappears under my desk*

Wow so you STILL haven't gotten to ride Space Mountain at DL???? Did you at least get to ride it at WDW? I'll cross my fingers that it isn't closed when you go this year.

One of my best memories from WDW as a kid is of spectromagic as well! There's just no mistaking that music. I get goose bumps just thinking about it.

That stinks that it rained so much on your last trip to DL. I'll never understand how you can take such long gaps in between your trips too. Glad the gap isn't as long this time

And Bean cracks me up. I can't believe she tried to cut her own hair

 

[Leger13]

Thank you and good hunting!

Thanks but I didn't get to even look last weekend. Ran out of money between going to see Observe & Report in theater and buying Bedtime Stories on Blue Ray and groceries. I don't think it's going to happen this weekend either since I'm going to see Crank 2 in theater and probably pick up my copy of Pinocchio on Blue Ray with my $6 off coupon and then groceries again. I'll eventually get to look for a copy.

 

[mnmrmustard]

Sorry I haven't been around. I took a week off posting.

I read your last "update," and I have to say, I equate Menudo with tragic disappointment, too. I'm sure you already knew that.

I remember you telling us before about Bean cutting her hair. Kids are so funny. My daughter ended up with a mullet one time when her brother decided to give her a haircut. I wasn't leaving the mullet, so she ended up with a pixie cut. She was just little, but I can't imagine letting a 4 year old cut my hair. I'm not sure where I was when this went down. Bathroom probably.

Hey Nikki!

No worries, I've been busy too. Just the nature of the beast with work and home life and such

Yeah, Menudo will always hold that not so special place in my heart

LOLOL, I'm sure big bro chose his moment well to give your daughter her "new look" - it is amazing what they can do and how fast they can do it when they get and idea in their head ;D

Wow so you STILL haven't gotten to ride Space Mountain at DL???? Did you at least get to ride it at WDW? I'll cross my fingers that it isn't closed when you go this year.

One of my best memories from WDW as a kid is of spectromagic as well! There's just no mistaking that music. I get goose bumps just thinking about it.

That stinks that it rained so much on your last trip to DL. I'll never understand how you can take such long gaps in between your trips too. Glad the gap isn't as long this time

And Bean cracks me up. I can't believe she tried to cut her own hair

Nope, no SM at DL. I rode it twice at WDW and was suprised how much that sucker jerks you around. I've been told that the one at DL is smoother - we'll see.

Yes, Spectro was very cool as an adult, I can only imagine how cool it would have been as a kid. Disney light parade goers of the world unite!

As far as the gaps, we just didn't have the $$$ for it. Heck, I'd be at either WDW or DL every 6 months if we could swing it financially It is a pain to travel from southern Oregon, especially flying. But having lived in several parts of the country I haven't found a better place for raising our family. Just one of those give and take things I guess

Yup, she just picked up the scissors and went crazy on her bangs and a good couple of chunks out of one side and the short pixie cut was the only way to salvage it

Thanks but I didn't get to even look last weekend. Ran out of money between going to see Observe & Report in theater and buying Bedtime Stories on Blue Ray and groceries. I don't think it's going to happen this weekend either since I'm going to see Crank 2 in theater and probably pick up my copy of Pinocchio on Blue Ray with my $6 off coupon and then groceries again. I'll eventually get to look for a copy.

Hehehe, sounds like you've got some fun stuff going on. Bedtime Stories was a fun movie - how was Observer and Report? We still haven't purchased any Blue Ray disks and now our big living room TV (where we have the PS3/Wii/PS2 set up) has flaked out and is at the repair shop I'm in gaming withdrawl already - lol.

Thanks for stopping by - I hope to have some new content up here very soon, just busy again

 

[kaoden39]

I miss the Sky Buckets. I thought they were great. Honestly the best tthing foe me about them was my Dad and I would ride them alone because my sister was afraid of them and I got to ride with Dad alone. Just like if we went to Santa Cruz I got to ride with my Mom on the big Roller Coaster because my DS was afraid of it. I look back and it seems she was afraid of all the cool rides.

 

[mnmrmustard]

I miss the Sky Buckets. I thought they were great. Honestly the best tthing foe me about them was my Dad and I would ride them alone because my sister was afraid of them and I got to ride with Dad alone. Just like if we went to Santa Cruz I got to ride with my Mom on the big Roller Coaster because my DS was afraid of it. I look back and it seems she was afraid of all the cool rides.

That makes for some great memories for sure, getting that focused time with a parent. I really got that with Bean on our second MGM day, just her and me all day at the park And with my Pumpkin Girl, she is really into photography. So we've been able to have a couple of outings taking pictures together of the local scenery.

Ahhh yes, I had an uncle who lived in Santa Cruz and we went to the Boardwalk several times. Sounds like your DS's fear paid off for you in mom time I remember one time riding that old wooden roller coaster 6 or 7 times in a row with my cousins

 

[Leger13]

Nope, no SM at DL. I rode it twice at WDW and was suprised how much that sucker jerks you around. I've been told that the one at DL is smoother - we'll see.

Yes, Spectro was very cool as an adult, I can only imagine how cool it would have been as a kid. Disney light parade goers of the world unite!

As far as the gaps, we just didn't have the $$$ for it. Heck, I'd be at either WDW or DL every 6 months if we could swing it financially It is a pain to travel from southern Oregon, especially flying. But having lived in several parts of the country I haven't found a better place for raising our family. Just one of those give and take things I guess

Yup, she just picked up the scissors and went crazy on her bangs and a good couple of chunks out of one side and the short pixie cut was the only way to salvage it

Glad you got to ride it at WDW. It's being renovated right now. Totally re-done. Roomer has it that they are completely revamping it to be like the DL version.

Ah yeah I hear ya there. We've been lucky to go the last two years in a row. I'm surprised we are going again this year because the plan was to go to NYC but that all changed obviously LOL! You're right, once you find a nice spot to raise your family at better to just stay and then travel to where you can when you can. Raising your family right is the most important thing.

Oh man that crazy girl! Hopefully she learned her lesson!

And yeah, I do have a lot of stuff going on right now. Observe and Report was awesome!! I highly recomend it. You probably won't fully enjoy it until the very end. At least that's how it was for me and now I can't wait to watch it again.

 

[mnmrmustard]

Man, I want to do something in regards to the trip but I'm just spinning my wheels. October seems very far away atm

Gotta find some time to work on the T-shirt designs I guess.

Wheeee

 

[mnmrmustard]

Glad you got to ride it at WDW. It's being renovated right now. Totally re-done. Roomer has it that they are completely revamping it to be like the DL version.

Ah yeah I hear ya there. We've been lucky to go the last two years in a row. I'm surprised we are going again this year because the plan was to go to NYC but that all changed obviously LOL! You're right, once you find a nice spot to raise your family at better to just stay and then travel to where you can when you can. Raising your family right is the most important thing.

Oh man that crazy girl! Hopefully she learned her lesson!

And yeah, I do have a lot of stuff going on right now. Observe and Report was awesome!! I highly recomend it. You probably won't fully enjoy it until the very end. At least that's how it was for me and now I can't wait to watch it again.

Cool, you'll have to let me know how the new improved version rides. Let's hear it for making time for Disney! And amen to the raising the family thing. I've lived in too many bad places and know how good we have it here.

I think she has, now she's just testing her boundaries with listening to us in general. I am NOT looking forward to her becoming a teen

I think I'll wait for Observe and Report to go to DVD. We spent too much $$$ for my B-day so no movies for a while

 

[Leger13]

Cool, you'll have to let me know how the new improved version rides. Let's hear it for making time for Disney! And amen to the raising the family thing. I've lived in too many bad places and know how good we have it here.

I think she has, now she's just testing her boundaries with listening to us in general. I am NOT looking forward to her becoming a teen

I think I'll wait for Observe and Report to go to DVD. We spent too much $$$ for my B-day so no movies for a while

I sure will. I'll do a full review after our trip in December for sure.

Oh man, good luck with that one for sure!

haha I know how that goes.

So, I'm sure you saw on my FB that I'm looking for an SLR camera. I'll be getting one in July with the money I'm saving from our Disney trip in December (we booked through my friend that works there and got her employee discount....50% off!! ) so I was wondering what you thought about the ones that are out there now? Everyone keeps telling me to go Nikon but I just love the Canon point and shoot that I have now and I loved all the pictures you put on your TR from WDW last year and I know you have a Canon, don't you? The XTi? Maybe I'm wrong but I was sure I remembered you having a Canon. Anyways, it's a toss up right now over the Nikon (not sure which one really) and the canon XSi

 

[mnmrmustard]

I sure will. I'll do a full review after our trip in December for sure.

Oh man, good luck with that one for sure!

haha I know how that goes.

So, I'm sure you saw on my FB that I'm looking for an SLR camera. I'll be getting one in July with the money I'm saving from our Disney trip in December (we booked through my friend that works there and got her employee discount....50% off!! ) so I was wondering what you thought about the ones that are out there now? Everyone keeps telling me to go Nikon but I just love the Canon point and shoot that I have now and I loved all the pictures you put on your TR from WDW last year and I know you have a Canon, don't you? The XTi? Maybe I'm wrong but I was sure I remembered you having a Canon. Anyways, it's a toss up right now over the Nikon (not sure which one really) and the canon XSi

I'll look forward to hearing what you think about it and I'll give you my comparision between the old WDW SM and the upgraded DLR version

As far as cameras go, I have the Canon Rebel XT, which is the older 8 megapixel version. Both Nikon and Canon make good cameras and they are very similar in feature and price. Traditionally Canon is a bit cheaper off the shelf.

I have also been a long time canon user so I went with it after doing some research. One of the big differences between the two is that the Canon DSLRs have a LOT more options with lenses. For instance I prefer the Tamron line of lenses as they are cheaper than Canon lenses and have a better warranty. If you buy Nikon you're pretty much stuck buying their lenses, which can be very $$$.

The one thing the Nikon D60 has that outstrips the Canon is its ISO, which equates to how fast the camera can take a picture. This is important in low light and for taking action shots. The Nikon has twice the ISO speed as the Canon. But the trick with high ISO is that it can make your images come out grainy. I've found that the 1600 ISO the canon has plus a fast lens does great action shots.

Here's a good website to show the similarities and differences of the two:

Canon Vs Nikon

If I had it to do over I'd still chose the Canon and may actually do just that and pick up the Rebel XSi (12 megapixel) and give my XT to Kyra.

Oh, and keep in mind that this is a camera only, so you won't be able to do movie clips like on the point-n-shoots

 

[Leger13]

I'll look forward to hearing what you think about it and I'll give you my comparision between the old WDW SM and the upgraded DLR version

As far as cameras go, I have the Canon Rebel XT, which is the older 8 megapixel version. Both Nikon and Canon make good cameras and they are very similar in feature and price. Traditionally Canon is a bit cheaper off the shelf.

I have also been a long time canon user so I went with it after doing some research. One of the big differences between the two is that the Canon DSLRs have a LOT more options with lenses. For instance I prefer the Tamron line of lenses as they are cheaper than Canon lenses and have a better warranty. If you buy Nikon you're pretty much stuck buying their lenses, which can be very $$$.

The one thing the Nikon D60 has that outstrips the Canon is its ISO, which equates to how fast the camera can take a picture. This is important in low light and for taking action shots. The Nikon has twice the ISO speed as the Canon. But the trick with high ISO is that it can make your images come out grainy. I've found that the 1600 ISO the canon has plus a fast lens does great action shots.

Here's a good website to show the similarities and differences of the two:

Canon Vs Nikon

If I had it to do over I'd still chose the Canon and may actually do just that and pick up the Rebel XSi (12 megapixel) and give my XT to Kyra.

Oh, and keep in mind that this is a camera only, so you won't be able to do movie clips like on the point-n-shoots

Oh you don't know how huge of a help reading this review is to me! I was getting SO confused with the talk about ISO and all that stuff. I had no idea what it meant. Thank you SO much for putting it in lamens (sp?) terms!! (aka idiot speak )

Thanks for the web site too. I'll for sure be visiting there. I've noticed the dSLR's don't do video but that's not a big deal for me since I don't really use that feature on my Point and Shoot very often. And if I want to use it I can always just keep my Canon PowerShot as a back up Which I had planned on doing anyways because I'm sure there will be times where I won't want to lug around that big camera.

Just based on what you said about the grainy pictures from Nikon and the fact that I would have more options with the Canon on the lenses I think that's my deciding factor to go with Canon right there.

Thanks again! This REALLY helped! I knew you'd be the right man to come to with a question like this (everyone else was telling me to go Nikon)

 

[mnmrmustard]

Oh you don't know how huge of a help reading this review is to me! I was getting SO confused with the talk about ISO and all that stuff. I had no idea what it meant. Thank you SO much for putting it in lamens (sp?) terms!! (aka idiot speak )

Thanks for the web site too. I'll for sure be visiting there. I've noticed the dSLR's don't do video but that's not a big deal for me since I don't really use that feature on my Point and Shoot very often. And if I want to use it I can always just keep my Canon PowerShot as a back up Which I had planned on doing anyways because I'm sure there will be times where I won't want to lug around that big camera.

Just based on what you said about the grainy pictures from Nikon and the fact that I would have more options with the Canon on the lenses I think that's my deciding factor to go with Canon right there.

Thanks again! This REALLY helped! I knew you'd be the right man to come to with a question like this (everyone else was telling me to go Nikon)

You're welcome on the info, glad to be able to break it down for ya It is easy to equate the Nikon/Canon battle to the Mac/PC battle. Nikon users pay a premium for what they feel is something of a higher quality, but the Canon is the workhorse that most people use in their daily life

Yup, ISO is just the digital eqivalent of what speed of film you had in a 35mm camera - you know, 200, 400, 800 etc. On digital cameras is is just how fast it can capture the image. And I do want to clarify that the Nikon has ISOs in the same range and therefore the same quality as the Canon, it just also takes that extra step to 3200 ISO, which in my opinion is unnecessarily fast in relation to picture quality.

The other speed factor is on the lens side with "f-stop" (another term you may have heard thrown around). It has to do with how fast the shutter on the lens itself can open and close (also called aperture) to capture images. The tricky bit is that the LOWER the number in f-stop, the FASTER the lens is. A 4 to 5 f-stop is a standard starting point, with a 2.8 or less being fast.

Okay, I'm done geeking out on camera specs now - lol. Good call about keeping the point-n-shoot handy, it is a lot to tote a camera bag w/lenses around a park and sometimes it isn't worth it. I carried a full camera backpack the whole WDW trip, but I am a bit of a nut job.

 

[mnmrmustard]

Okay, I did an aside about this, but I'm going to make a little graphics chapter here. As I may have said, we do up custom T-shirts for out trips. Last year we did a plain white T and a tie-dye'd version using this logo:

we got lots of compliments on the tie-dyed shirts - we were quite the site walking around

So I decided to put together some designs with a Halloween theme to them.

I'll probably turn the black to transparent if we do them on black Ts.

This one seems a bit on the plain side, but I'm not sure what else to do with it - suggestions?

I like the way this one turned out - just finished it this evening

And as always, if anyone wants a design done up with their DISnames I'm happy to do so!

EDIT:

Just finished the second Jack Skellington logo:

 

[kaoden39]

I love the Jack Skellington one. I love him.

 

[mnmrmustard]

I love the Jack Skellington one. I love him.

Thankyee! He's pretty cool.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Those designs are all really awesome!!! Very cool!

 

[mnmrmustard]

Those designs are all really awesome!!! Very cool!

Well we love to go all out on Halloween!