Hubby got a Camera & I got Christmas!!! 51 Chapters Completed!! 926 Pics!

[DizNee Luver]

Well I think I fixed the photobucket issue, but page 35 seems to not want to come back.....I'll check it in the morning & if it is still missing.....I guess I'll try to redo those posts.

 

[Happy 2 B Me]

Laurie, You have taken some VERY VERY good pitures of the Castle with the firworks. You could blow those up and use your work as gifts. Don't buy pictures when yours are so wonderful. When the divas have the christmas exchange you could do a collage for who ever you get I am sure they would love it. The new camera was such a good idea am so glad your husband thought about it .

Have a nice night -- stay warm -- seems to be a bit chilly here

Patty

 

[DizNee Luver]

Laurie, You have taken some VERY VERY good pitures of the Castle with the firworks. You could blow those up and use your work as gifts. Don't buy pictures when yours are so wonderful. When the divas have the christmas exchange you could do a collage for who ever you get I am sure they would love it. The new camera was such a good idea am so glad your husband thought about it .

Have a nice night -- stay warm -- seems to be a bit chilly here

Patty

Well thank you so much Patty......those were taken with my camera I got over a year ago......I didn't take Mike's new camera.....I'm not sure I could even begin to know how to work it.....lol

It's warmed up here & is raining like crazy!

 

[DisneyStitch626]

I agree! The photos of the fireworks are amazing. Love them.

The corn dogs there are so yummy, especially with a little bit of ketchup (don't like a lot). I can never eat the full thing either. Too big. I want one now though.

That Mickey Mug is so cute!

 

[DizNee Luver]

I agree! The photos of the fireworks are amazing. Love them.

The corn dogs there are so yummy, especially with a little bit of ketchup (don't like a lot). I can never eat the full thing either. Too big. I want one now though.

That Mickey Mug is so cute!

Thanx!!

The corn dog was really good....I also used a little ketchup.....lol !!!

The mug had a little plastic cup inside with the mousse in it.....so think dixie cup (you know, the disposable paper cups you keep in the bathroom). So it's a little mug.....very cute!!

 

[Sherry E]

Laurie -

From one avid photo-taker to another, I really think it would be a very worthwhile investment for you to upgrade your Photobucket account (the one with the bandwidth issues) to a Pro account! It only costs something like $25 each year, and when you are someone who takes TONS of photos like we do, it's important to access the account a lot and not have the pictures disappear from view!

I have 2 Photobucket accounts - at first they were both free but I upgraded one of them to Pro and paid the $25 in January (in fact, it's time for my renewal in a few weeks). I knew that I couldn't continue to deal with the issues of the photos disappearing when the bandwidth had been exceeded. If I take a trip to DLR or anywhere else and come back with thousands of photos (or even hundreds), the bandwidth will surely be exceeded.

So I upgraded one account, and that Pro account is the one to which I upload all of my photos now. The free account still has a lot of photos in that I have posted various places on the DIS so I keep that one active, but I don't upload anything new to it. All the new stuff goes on the Pro account.

What happens is that any time anyone sees your photos - even if they simply click on a link to a photo in a DISboards e-mail alert or look at them in your TR - that uses up bandwidth.

When you advertise "869 Pics!" in your title, that means that all of the lurkers out there who see that and simply look at your photos (either by viewing what is posted on the page of the TR or by viewing them through a link to Photobucket) are using up your bandwidth! It applies to old photos, new photos recently uploaded, etc. You even exceed your bandwidth if you load more than 250 photos to each photo album in the free account, or if you create more photo albums and sub-albums than what is allowed for free bandwidth.

So I really think you should upgrade the account with the most photos in it to Pro. It's really worthwhile and I am so glad I did it. (Deejdigsdis also upgraded one of her accounts to Pro as well.) Think about it - you have a Diva trip coming up and you don't want to deal with this same hassle of exceeding bandwidth! You want people to be able to view all of your photos (whether they are lurking or active in your TR) without causing them to become un-viewable!

If the price for Pro were something crazy like $100, I wouldn't suggest it. But for $25-ish per year, and considering all the photos you take, I think it would be a good investment!

 

[DizNee Luver]

That account used to be pro but ran out at the end of summer when financially we were strapped for money.....so I didn't renew. I went on last night and did a quickie fix & paid for one month without an automatic renewal.....when they remind me that it's about to expire, I'll pay a years worth again. I had no idea how that bandwidth was being used. I just figured after I uploaded so many photos, it would say I maxed out.....had no clue that someone clicking on the link, etc also added.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Chapter Forty Nine~~A New Day to Accomplish EVERYTHING!!

Today started even earlier than Day Two.....Sherry got up to start her packing & I believe when I looked at my cellphone, it was only 5:30am. I did mention, mornings and I aren't friends.....lol Anywhos, Liza (FunatDisney) had sent a text saying she'd be at the hotel probably just before 7am. I wasn't ready to be up yet, so I pulled the covers up over my head for a while longer. When Liza arrived, I think I got myself up & into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

Everyone made sure they had all their stuffed packed & we took everything down to the bell desk to be held until we were ready to leave. We had talked about doing Goofy's Kitchen & then it switched to Surf's Up & then this morning it was decided that Goofy's Kitchen was where we'd be going. I was secretly happy about this, as GK is the reason Sherry & I became friends on the boards a few years ago.....so it was only fitting that on our first meet up we should eat there!!

I had arranged ahead of time to treat Sherry for this meal as a thank you for inviting me & sharing her great room!! We all paid for our meal & waited to be called to the photo area. Well in the past, everyone that had a camera would get a picture on their camera as well as the photopass one. For some strange reason that morning, that was not the case. I had been closest to the desk & my camera was on the counter before they made that announcement. I felt bad that I was the only one getting the picture, but knew I would be able to share once I got home. Anyway, here's the pic!!

We got seated & while Sherry & Liza were up at the buffet, Snow White stopped by.

After they got back, Captain Hook also stopped by....both pics are a bit blurry...I guess he wasn't feeling photogenic today......lol You'll find that Sherry & I gladly posed with the characters, where Liza did when she was there & Molly....not so much so! (Liza misplaced her daughter's AP & had to run back over to the PPH to look for it during the meal).

Pluto was next......

Followed by the Mad Hatter!! I love him.....so funny. I hadn't seen him at this meal since 2005.....so that was a nice surprise!

Next was Dale.......

I just had to pinch their little chipmunk cheeks!!!!

Then Chip!! Liza was back to get in on this picture.

Pluto came back & got some up close & personal face time with Sherry.......lol

We pointed out to Pluto that Molly really needed a little love too.....she got attacked!!

I wish the picture had come out clearer....she was pretty pink in the cheeks......lol

The meal was great, the characters we're wonderful this time (last couple times, not as much interaction) & the company was even better!!!!

I stopped to get a picture of the Goofy's Kitchen Christmas Tree on the way out.

Sherry & Liza were going to head home, so we said our goodbyes & thank you's again & Molly and I decided to spend the rest of our time together. Let's go see if the monorail is up & running today......it is!! Here's a couple pics from our ride into Tomorrowland.

First order of business......go and get a FP for Star Tours! Now that we had that in hand......we headed to Space Mountain to ride. I've NEVER stood in the stand-by line for this ride......it was strange going a different route. We had 2 young kids in line in front of us.....we thought they were with the family in front of them....but eventually figured out they were riding alone. The were play fighting, messing with the chains, not moving forward with the line.....you know.....kid stuff (annoying) but kid stuff. I'm not sure the girl really was old enough to be riding with her brother....but they knew what age to say to get on. I can't imagine letting Anthony (who's 10) go get in a ride line by himself.....but oh well. Here's Molly & I posing for the camera!

We really didn't have much of a plan on what to ride, so if we saw something...we went & did it. We stopped & did a ride on Buzz Lightyear next.

We still had time before we could use our FastPass, so we headed to NOS to get a ride on Pirates. I decided just to ride & not take pics. I usually take tons of pics on all the rides (except the fast ones).....so I decided that I had taken a ton of pics of the holiday stuff....that today would be a lighter camera day. It was nice to just ride, look around & enjoy it. When we exited the ride, I got a couple more pics of the NOS decorations.

We were nearing our FP time for Star Tours, so we cut thru Frontierland & the Rancho mexican restaurant & crossed the bridge to the left of the castle to head back towards Tomorrowland. We did make a stop on that bridge for a couple castle pics.

Up next: In a Galaxy, Far, Far Away......

 

[DizNee Luver]

Chapter Fifty~~In a Galaxy, Far, Far Away......

Time to use our FP's for the new & improved Star Tours. I hadn't been on them since their major refurbed, so was excited to see all the changes.

As we entered the line.

The queing area is filled with all sorts of visual stimuli!!

These "windows" were fun to watch, as you would see different shadows passing by.

This was cool, but never could figure out where the camera was pointed at.....

We were lead to our Gate for loading.

And here we go!!

We were in the back row & poor Molly ended up on the end with no chairs in front of her to brace her feet on. The back row sits higher....I'm long legged & can't reach floor without slouching or being on tip toes. So during the ride she got whipped around & I hear "Boom"......it was her head hitting the wall.....poor Molly!! I ended up with an iPhone in my visual sight of the screen for most of the ride. It was annoying, as I was trying to look over & around it....but of course the light kept drawing me in like a moth to a flame. He was 2 rows in front of me so I couldn't smack him in the back of the head. NO VIDEOTAPING ALLOWED!!

Good thing Molly was there, so I could report more thoroughly on this. We went to Hath. On our way out, the CM asked how we liked it & I mentioned the idiot videotaping & he had us wait & we got to ride it again!!!

This time we ended up in the front row. I was thinking, woo hoo a 2nd ride.....but really, that's not a good idea I was feeling a bit queasy before it was over. I still enjoyed it....just needed to take a short break from it by closing my eyes. Well we went to Hath again.....but the middle & end was different.....so it was still really neat to experience 2 different trips.

I really needed to get on BTMRR again....but Molly doesn't do this ride....so I picked up a FP & we headed up to ride the Winnie the Pooh ride in Critter Country. Again....no pics...just rode & took in all the psychedelic colors & patterns.

We headed back over to BTMRR & I got my ride. LOVE this ride!!!!!

We stopped into the Rancho del Zocola mexican restaurant so Molly could refill her water bottle.

We made our way up Main Street.....bidding Disneyland goodbye!!


Next will be us Soarin' Over to California Adventure!!

 

[Trentmom]

I guess the official answer would be that IASW Holiday starts on the first day of the holiday season - and the opening date of the season changes every year. This year it began on 11/14. In 2012, it's anyone's guess.

But, honestly, IASW Holiday seems to always (quietly) open a couple of days before the official start date of the season. So, while the season began on 11/14 this year, if I recall correctly, IASWH was open in its holiday form on 11/11 or 11/12/11.

And IASWH seems to extend far into January. It may not be official, but it always seems to be open until at least Martin Luther King Day. Apparently Disneyland doesn't want to shut down IASWH to remove the overlay while they have Haunted Mansion closed. They don't want both rides down at once, so IASWH stays up while Haunted Mansion Holiday goes back to the normal Haunted Mansion.

Thank You

That makes sense to not close both of those attractions at same time

 

[Trentmom]

Breakfast at Goofys Kitchen looked like a lot of fun

Great shots of the castle and fireworks

Wish our space mountain were two seater. so jealous

 

[DizNee Luver]

Breakfast at Goofys Kitchen looked like a lot of fun

Great shots of the castle and fireworks

Wish our space mountain were two seater. so jealous

Goofy's was lots of fun!!!!

Ummmmm, what's your Space Mtn seating like?? I know your Splash is side by side seating & I'd be more willing to ride it or feel comfortable letting my little girl ride it if it was that way here.....don't like that single row of people logs.

 

[Happy 2 B Me]

Goofy's looked like so much fun. When we went over mother's day week, ( My birthday was same day to ) Baboo got benind me for maybe 2 mins before son-in law asked me wht that was behind me. Oh, Ya I woke sleeping babies -- I screamed so loud even baboo checked to make sure I was ok. I am sure who ever was in that big boy suit Laughed so hard. No reason but I just like Goofys. I think because it was first character meal our daughter and her friend ever went to.

Funny thing about you all --- you just look like you go together-- like old college friends. The picture of you and bumper on SM turned out so nice-- actually.

Keep the report going .

Patty

 

[tksbaskets]

Hi, I have no idea how your great TR escaped me until two days before our DL adventure. Don't tell my DH that this is what I've been doing on the computer.

Finally caught up. Love all your pictures. Looks like you all had a ton of fun! Thanks for sharing.

TK

 

[DizNee Luver]

Goofy's looked like so much fun. When we went over mother's day week, ( My birthday was same day to ) Baboo got benind me for maybe 2 mins before son-in law asked me wht that was behind me. Oh, Ya I woke sleeping babies -- I screamed so loud even baboo checked to make sure I was ok. I am sure who ever was in that big boy suit Laughed so hard. No reason but I just like Goofys. I think because it was first character meal our daughter and her friend ever went to.

Funny thing about you all --- you just look like you go together-- like old college friends. The picture of you and bumper on SM turned out so nice-- actually.

Keep the report going .

Patty

Baloo is one of my favorites......Addy sang the Bare Necessities to him on one of our trips.....wasn't a dry eye in the house!! We all got along really well.....which is awesome. You just never know what will happen with people you meet online. But so far, every single person I met on the DIS, became friends with & got to meet in person has worked out. I've enjoyed spending time with everyone I've got to meet & it makes chatting with them more personal now!!!

I love the on ride pics....now that I know where they are to ham it up for!!

Hi, I have no idea how your great TR escaped me until two days before our DL adventure. Don't tell my DH that this is what I've been doing on the computer.

Finally caught up. Love all your pictures. Looks like you all had a ton of fun! Thanks for sharing.

TK

WooHoo......Holidays at Disneyland......you'll LOVE it!!!!! I know nothing......no, she's been busy cleaning, cooking & packing....not on the computer.......

I'm glad you stopped in & enjoyed the pics!!!!

 

[pixleyyy]

Just found your trip report and read it all the way through. Looks like a fabulous time! Love all of your photos too. Can't wait to read more.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Just found your trip report and read it all the way through. Looks like a fabulous time! Love all of your photos too. Can't wait to read more.

Well thank you & welcome!!! I have a little more to go & then add photopass pics once I get the CD ordered & back.

 

[Sherry E]

Okay, I have to clarify a few things, Laurie!

1. I don't recall when it was ever decided that we were switching to Surf's Up on 12/8, definitively. In my mind that was never decided. I had suggested that it could be a good alternative for us, depending on what kind of progress we were making with packing. You had suggested hitting Goofy's when it opened (which would have been at 7 a.m.), and then to come back to the PPH to pack.

I said that it didn't make much sense to head over to the DLH and then race back to the PPH to try to pack before the 11:00 check out time, and then back to the parks to hang out or whatever. Too much running back and forth.

So I said that a possibility was to go to to Surf's Up because it would be more convenient, but that we'd play it by ear and see how things were going. That is specifically why I didn't want to make a reservation for any particular restaurant beforehand - because I wasn't sure where we would end up on 12/8. Goofy's had always been my first choice, but Surf's Up was going to be an alternative, depending on timing. I recall reading in your Pre-TR that we were doing Surf's Up on 12/8, and I was thinking, "Oh...did we decide on that for sure?" And then I thought, "Oh well, I guess that's where Laurie wants to go."


2. Liza only showed up early on 12/8 because I asked her to. Since the idea of getting to Goofy's "when it opened" was a possibility you and I had discussed - again, depending on the progress made in packing, etc. - that would be 7 a.m. That's when it opened. So she showed up early because I told her I was not sure if we would end up there when it opened, or what would be happening. She initially wanted to come later but I didn't want us to have to wait for her to show up if we happened to be ready to go early! It was better to have her there early in case we were all ready early for a 7 a.m. Goofy's meal (or Surf's Up, or wherever it was going to be). If I had known for sure that we were eating at a later time, I would have told her to show up later - but it was undetermined what we were doing.


3. I had to get up earlier than you and Molly - I had more stuff to pack, spread out in more places (different drawers, in the closet, in the bathroom, etc.). Remember, I was in my room for twice as long as you and Molly were there, so I had unpacked on my first night. I know myself, and I knew it would take me a while to get my stuff together, and I didn't want to wait until 8 a.m. to do it or else it would hold up our breakfast!

This is one reason why I like to have hotel rooms to myself most of the time, if I can swing it - or share them with others who are used to waking up really early (like my friend Shawn is used to it)! This way I can wake up without worrying that I am disturbing another person, or having to address why I got up early! Now I know I disturbed you (and I know I disturbed Molly too), which is what I didn't want. But I wouldn't have been able to sleep if I just stayed in bed, so I had to get up and start assembling my stuff and cramming it into bags!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Okay, I have to clarify a few things, Laurie!

1. I don't recall when it was ever decided that we were switching to Surf's Up on 12/8, definitively. In my mind that was never decided. I had suggested that it could be a good alternative for us, depending on what kind of progress we were making with packing. You had suggested hitting Goofy's when it opened (which would have been at 7 a.m.), and then to come back to the PPH to pack.

I said that it didn't make much sense to head over to the DLH and then race back to the PPH to try to pack before the 11:00 check out time, and then back to the parks to hang out or whatever. Too much running back and forth.

So I said that a possibility was to go to to Surf's Up because it would be more convenient, but that we'd play it by ear and see how things were going. That is specifically why I didn't want to make a reservation for any particular restaurant beforehand - because I wasn't sure where we would end up on 12/8. Goofy's had always been my first choice, but Surf's Up was going to be an alternative, depending on timing. I recall reading in your Pre-TR that we were doing Surf's Up on 12/8, and I was thinking, "Oh...did we decide on that for sure?" And then I thought, "Oh well, I guess that's where Laurie wants to go."


2. Liza only showed up early on 12/8 because I asked her to. Since the idea of getting to Goofy's "when it opened" was a possibility you and I had discussed - again, depending on the progress made in packing, etc. - that would be 7 a.m. That's when it opened. So she showed up early because I told her I was not sure if we would end up there when it opened, or what would be happening. She initially wanted to come later but I didn't want us to have to wait for her to show up if we happened to be ready to go early! It was better to have her there early in case we were all ready early for a 7 a.m. Goofy's meal (or Surf's Up, or wherever it was going to be). If I had known for sure that we were eating at a later time, I would have told her to show up later - but it was undetermined what we were doing.


3. I had to get up earlier than you and Molly - I had more stuff to pack, spread out in more places (different drawers, in the closet, in the bathroom, etc.). Remember, I was in my room for twice as long as you and Molly were there, so I had unpacked on my first night. I know myself, and I knew it would take me a while to get my stuff together, and I didn't want to wait until 8 a.m. to do it or else it would hold up our breakfast!

This is one reason why I like to have hotel rooms to myself most of the time, if I can swing it - or share them with others who are used to waking up really early (like my friend Shawn is used to it)! This way I can wake up without worrying that I am disturbing another person, or having to address why I got up early! Now I know I disturbed you (and I know I disturbed Molly too), which is what I didn't want. But I wouldn't have been able to sleep if I just stayed in bed, so I had to get up and start assembling my stuff and cramming it into bags!

I guess for some reason I thought we were leaning towards Surf's Up, since it was just downstairs. I would have been happy with either one.....but Goofy's made more sense for us to do together!!

Ok, so I mentioned the being up early thing.....really, on any other trip I would be up before 6am & ready to go......for some reason, not having kids to worry about & being with 2 other adults, my body said......sleep. It really wasn't a biggie & I knew you had packing to do. Things were never super clear on how we were handling that morning of check out, so having Liza there before 7am again, no big deal......my body was still rebelling but if you had told me we're getting up at 4am to do stuff.....I would have (and probably still moaned about it........)

Really, I think 3 strangers coming together & sharing a room worked out nicely. No one sleeps on the same schedules, I'm sure I snored (hubby says I do & thinks it's apnea.....so if I did....I apologize) We didn't seem to fall over each other or each other's stuff. We weren't fighting for the bathroom.....so it's all good. I would gladly share a room with you again in the future if the opportunity ever arose.

I really didn't mean for my report to come off that my whole day was ruined because I got woke up early.....because it wasn't!! I needed to be up to get as much done as possible. If my family had been there.....they'd all be throwing pillows at me for waking them up.....because I'd be the early bird!!!

I had a blast!!

 

[kaoden39]

Laurie, I sent you a message on facebook about something I read earlier. Check it out!!