Originally Posted By chickendumpling Okay, happy things, happy things,just focus on the happy things. The Park was great. It was a little hot now and then but that's why we brought our little mister fans and that's why God made shade. We went on Space Mountain first. It was the first time DD had been on it since the refurb. She was speechless. And totally and completely in love. My little roller coaster fiend. What a great kid. We did AstroBlasters next. I scored like 107,900 or something. I really have fun on that ride. I was so glad I brought ear plugs for DS though. He used them on this ride and a bunch of other times throughout the week. You know, being old and hard of hearing now, I forget how loud some things sound to fresh, newly made eardrums. He had a great time on AstroBlasters, but in his book everything paled in comparison to Star Tours. He is on a HUGE Star Wars kick right now and he could not get enough of this ride. It was so cool to just watch him during the ride. I was enthralled in his enthrallment. We did Autotopia next. I know, I know, but its *funner* saying it that way. I love this ride (can't think of a ride I don't love) but you gotta admit it can be a time suck. Anyway, it was part of a compromise so I just went with it. This was when Happy started in with "I guess Disneyland just isn't our cup of tea." And, to her DH, "What do you think about Hawaii next year?" This was a Ride #3 of Day One, mind you. So lunch approaches. DH thinks Blue Bayou sounds good so we stroll over there. I look at my watch, 11:40. Okay, this is do-able, I think to myself. Our reservations aren't until tomorrow but it's early yet so maybe we won't have too long a wait. "Ew. A party of 9? That'll probably be 30 -45 minutes or more, we have a lot of people ahead of you," said the nice CM at the podium to DH. Happy frowns. I'm totally beaten down by this point. I lean in to the CM and say, "You know, I know I have reservations here but right now I just can't remember if they are for today or tomorrow." "What's the name?" asks the CM. "ChickenDumpling," says I. "Oh, Chickendumpling, we've been waiting for you, right this way." YEAH! OH, YEAH, I GOT IT, OH YEAH! I was never so happy to have a reservation in my life! What a great meal. What great service. And, they serve bread before the meal! You know, that is the mark of a good restaurant. I'm still not totally sure but I think Marmarl and I had lunch next to each other and didn't even know it. I sure could've used a little LP connection on this trip. I had planned on stopping in at City Hall every morning and posting a *meet* spot for any LP'ers in the park that day but with the way my trip was going I didn't want to contaminate anybody else so I didn't do that. Too bad. I really wish I would have. At this point, my *tour* plan was shot so we just did whatever. There were countless times we just stood there saying, "What do you want to do?" "I don't know. What do you want to do?" There is nothing I hate more than that. Somehow I had driven @1200 miles straight into Hades and there I stood, listening to this "What do you want to do?" "I don't know. What sounds good." The screaming in my head was quite loud at this point. The kids had a great time. They had no clue anything was off. I know sometimes parents trick themselves into believing that when it is not at all true, but honest, it was true. They went on every single ride they wanted, when they wanted, in the order they wanted. It was great. They had decided to get autograph books and we saw all sorts of characters. We didn't stand in line for any but they did pretty good for their books. Kids are demanding lunch now. Be back in a while.
Originally Posted By GrumpysWife Ya know, people laugh when I talk about our Excel spreadsheets, timelines, schedules, etc., but having gone to DL many times in groups from maybe 5 to as many as 15, the only way to avoid the "what shall we do now, I don't know" routine is to have a definate plan. You can always change your mind if something or someone has a better idea, but at least you have somewhere to start.. At least it didn't rain all day...
Originally Posted By chickendumpling Yes. I couldn't agree more. I would dump the *plan* at the drop of a hat if someone had a better idea or it was really important to them to do X next and not Y. But that wasn't what was happening here. I was *the bad guy* for just having a plan in the first place. I swear I wasn't *forcing* the *plan* on anyone. Just the fact that I had a suggestion when someone said "What should we do next?" seemed to irritate the heck out of Happy. I wasn't trying to tell everybody what to do. Honest. I was really watching myself to not do that because it had gotten to be such a touchy situation and I was discretely checking with DH because he is BRUTALLY honest with me if I get too Disneyed. But seriously. We'd be standin' there with them saying, "What to you want to do?" and I'd just go with the flow and then when they decided I say, "Great lets go," and I start walking there and Happy would natter behind me "Where is she going now? I guess we're not doing X after all, I guess we just have to follow Dumpling." I was in a no-win situation. I was being attacked for knowing the shortcuts and not having to look at a map. I am so sorry. This has just turned into a huge rant and not a trip report at all. I'll try to get back on topic.
Originally Posted By GrumpysWife Actually, it probably helps to rant a little. Isn't it the worst when people won't give an opinion of what to do, but then when you lead out (after a group decision), you're the one keeping them from doing what they wanted? AAAUGGG! Besides, if they'd have just relaxed and tried your plan, they might have enjoyed it a little more... Definately a no-win for you
Originally Posted By pennyring OMG, Chickie!!! {{{hugs}}} This reminds me of The Most Horrible Trip Ever â„¢. Back in Feb '01, I went to WDW with CK's step-mom and little sister. Step-mom is a great person (at home), but her hang-up is that she MUST be the expert at EVERYTHING, ALL OF THE TIME. She was beyond peeved that I knew things about WDW. It wasn't like I was *trying* to show her up, I'm just obsessive about Disney. Right so, the crowning moment of the trip (and this was after DAYS of abuse)... we were planning to do an "E Ticket Night" which is for resort guests only. Therefore, you must buy the ticket AT THE RESORT. Makes sense, right? Well Lady Tremaine says to Lil Sister and me, "We'll just stop at City Hall to buy tickets." I took a deep breath, paused to put a pleasant smile on my face and suggested gently, that maybe we should double check at the front desk before heading out to the park -- just in case. Lil sister had never done E-ticket night and I didn't want her to miss out. Well you'd have thought I suggested clubbing baby seals or something. Her face screws into this disgusted scowl as she marches to the phone and dials the front desk. "Uh huh.. uh huh... I see." SLAM! Throws the phone back into the cradle, turns to me and snarls, "Well! You just have to be right about everything! DON'T YOU!?!?" HO-MY-GAWD! What did I do???? I am so sorry about your trip, Chickie! So glad you had a great time at Blue Bayou though! We've had great experiences with large groups there too.
Originally Posted By chickendumpling DH took Happy's DS surfing for the first time in his life. He loved it. DH went every morning and met up with one of his high school buddies - the one we hung out with at the Reunion in early August. He is just great. What a neat guy. His dad has a place on Seal Beach and so they would all go surfing and then Dad would have this fantastic *lunch* spread laid out for them when they got back to the house. Of course, *lunch* would be at like 8 am because they got up at 4, surfed, ate *lunch* and then met us at the park before opening. Now, that's our crazy, crazy idea of FUN! The last morning, DH went and met high-school bud alone. DS wasn't allowed to go. Well, technically he was but Happy had made it extremely clear she would not be pleased if he decided to go. DH got stung by a string ray that morning. Ouch. All those years of surfing and that had never happened to him before. Well, him getting stung made us a little late to breakfast at Goofy's. (I'll leave out the bad parts of that.) We love Goofy's Kitchen and had a blast. We didn't see as many characters as we usually do but we didn't get to stay as long as we usually do either. We went to USH too. That's a neat park. I'd like to go back there. I hadn't been since I was a kid and the only thing that's the same is part of the Tram Tour. Right before we left, we watched the Blues Brothers show. (I'll leave out all the snotty Happy comments.) What a blast that show is! Those performers are so good. They have the physicality down and everything. Great fun! We sang along, where appropriate, and Happy's 2 eldest actually got on stage and danced! (See, told you the kids had a blast.) It was so much fun! The guy who played *Jake* came up to us after the show and told us to wait for him. We were all giddy with anticipation. When he came back he handed Happy's DS a pair of RayBan's and said "You can't do all that work and not get a pair of glasses out of it." Is that AWESOME or WHAT?! That was a great part of the trip. The other fun part of the trip was getting dared (by Happy) to go in that Vampire walk thru thingey. What's that called? Van Helsing's Dracula? Okay. That was scary. It was so, so dark and, I don't want to ruin it for you if you haven't been, but things move and it scared the *&%@ out of me a couple of times! hahahaha. The funniest part was that it was just Happy's DS and me in there and he, being 14, was trying to act all big and bad but I could tell he was just as scared as I was. He was so cute though and every once in a while he'd say, "Here, its kinda dark in here, give me your hand, I don't want you to trip." Oh Yeah, right!!! I just thought that was so darned cute of him. He's a good kid and I'm glad he had such a good trip. Oh, and we saw Shrek 3D. Okay. That was just too early in the morning for me and because I had already had to put up with so much )*&%$ on the drive over that having snot sprayed in my face was just demeaning. If I went back I think I'd enjoy a lot more. If you haven't done USH yet, you should go. I think you could spend a whole day there easy and I would have loved to have stayed to watch a live taping. That would have tocked. We actually saw Shrek too. And Donkey. (I'll leave out the part where Happy made mean fun of me for having a Bic XXL pen and then said "Oh. I get it now." When she saw Shrek's hands and how nice it was for him to have an XXL pen to sign the girls autograph books with.) Donkey was a hoot! I could have stood there half the day talking to that actor. He was one of the quickest wits I'd ever come across. I really enjoyed him. We also saw the Tut exhibit. That was just me, my mom, my really cool and nice lil' bro-in-law, Happy and Happy's DS. (I'll leave out the part where I talk about how Happy trashed California and Californians again, this time in front of my native Californian mom and brother-in-law. Who still live there and have all their lives and probably will all the rest of their lives. And I'll leave out the part about how she complained about all her perceived shortcomings of the exhibit even though it was her idea to go and see it.) I thought the King Tut exhibit was fascinating. To think about what we were really seeing was like being in a little time machine. It was cool. And I was glad to have seen it. Especially since I've heard its not coming back to the States. Thursday night the guys all went to see the Angels play the A's. Now, I myself would never have gone to see the Angels if the Dodgers were playing at home, but they weren't so I almost ordered tickets for all of us but Happy and I had decided that we would just let the guys have a night out and the girls would just go to LibbyLu and Build-a-Bear and just do all the *girlie* stuff. Yeah. That didn't exactly happen. The guys went to the game and had a great, great time. Happy and her girls just called it a night. DD and I went into the park just the two of us and had a magical time. We have never done that before and I want to make sure we do it every time from now on. She was 100% in charge and we had one of the nicest evenings ever. She took me to Pizza Port for dinner (which we had never done before) and saw Honey I Shrunk the Audience (which we had never done before), wandered around and shopped and talked (she's 8 you know. there's nothing like just *chatting* with an 8 year old). We watched the tail end of F! and then watched Remember from the bridge over PoTC. It was pure magic. Then we took the last train back to Main Street. All the CM's were at their posts waving the last train home. We saw other CM's closing down their posts or just strolling the empty walkways heading home. It was really mellow. And sweet. It was like being in a sleepy little town where they were rolling up the sidewalks for the night. I wish I could go back right this minute. Well, Friday, the last day, DH took the kids and Happy's dwarfs and did the last of the things they wanted to do. I went shopping. It was the best, most relaxing part of the trip (aside from the other times in the park away from Happy.) Usually when I'm at Disneyland I walk around with a big, ridiculous smile on my face. You know, *permagrin*. Well, I found it again on Friday. But by then it was time to leave. Fun little report, huh. Well, I can't wait to start planning our next trip. My other brother-in-law is in Florida and so the plan is WDW next May. WooHoo. I've never been. I'm secretly planning a Christmas trip in an effort to reclaim my Disneyland joy but don't tell the rest of the Dumpling Gang. DH says I should leave the kids with him and just go with some other Disneylandfreaks to make up for this trip. Hmmm, that might be fun. Know anyone?
Originally Posted By chickendumpling Thanks, GW. Yes, it is THE worst << when people won't give an opinion of what to do, but then when you lead out (after a group decision), you're the one keeping them from doing what they wanted?>> I think << AAAUGGG! >> is a perfect way to express that! lol. Live and learn, I guess. I sure learned a lot this trip. And oh, Pennyring, thanks! I didn't see your post until after I posted my last, worthless, un-funny, boring section. <<Well you'd have thought I suggested clubbing baby seals or something. Her face screws into this disgusted scowl as she marches to the phone and dials the front desk. "Uh huh.. uh huh... I see." SLAM! Throws the phone back into the cradle, turns to me and snarls, "Well! You just have to be right about everything! DON'T YOU!?!?" HO-MY-GAWD! What did I do????>> I SOOOOO identify with you!!! What did you do? I'm hoping that by reading of my misery other posters might be able to figure out ways to prevent this from happening to them or maybe figure out ways to salvage their trips if they unexpectedly find themselves in the 7th circle of he** like me.
Originally Posted By marmarl ChickenDumpling- trips like this are why I HATE going with others!! Our group was up to 14 ppl at times. We had a strict itinerary and I made it clear, "We have a strict schedule, and you can stick to it or you can go do your own thing. Either way is fine with me. Here's our schedule, you'll know where to find us." Why do peopole have to be offended by that?! It really helped. In four days, there was only one time where we stood there saying, "What do you want to do? I don't know, etc..." A friend of mine that went with us met us there, and I think her feelers were hurt that I wouldn't wait up for her at breakfast, lunch, diaper changes, nap times, snacks, and so on. I told her months in advance, "We're making a schedule so nobody stands around debating what to do next, and people can stay with us or go do something else." She told me, "I'm with you, I'll keep up." We didn't talk for one whole week after the trip (we usually talk every day, though she lives in AZ and I in CA). I really think she was upset. I mean, in the time it takes her to get Baby Boy's diaper changed I could've gone to get a fastpass somewhere or taken my kids somewhere they wanted to go, and she can just catch up with us. Do we all 14 have to hang out @ the restroom?
Originally Posted By chickendumpling <<Do we all 14 have to hang out @ the restroom? >> Apparently, yes. lol. << She told me, "I'm with you, I'll keep up." We didn't talk for one whole week after the trip (we usually talk every day>> This is exactly what happened to me. I mean I made it very clear how serious I was about this trip, about how it needed to be planned and how there had to be a touring plan of some sort at least as a back up plan so we didn't stand around with our thumbs up our noses. I ran into trouble when I tried to be accomodating to the Queen because what ended up happening was that I just had a truly miserable time. I mean it go so bad at some points that I didn't even want to go into the park because I didn't want another Disney memory ruined. The thing that was so frustrating to me was that I would try to talk to her and remind her that there was a method to my madness and that if we do X rides and get X fastpasses first, we will miss all the lines and be able to have a nice, leisurely afternoon. She say that she *got it now* but then would turn right around and attack me for making suggestions. Ugh! We just talked for the first time last night. Exactly a week later. We usually talk every, single day without fail. I didn't exactly let her have it but I was extremely frank with her. She claimed not to have any clue about how she was being. She said that she was just tired. The whole week. I don't know, maybe she was but sheesh. So were you able to repair your friendship after your trip? I think we've done all the repair we can for now. It's never gonna be the same I know that.
Originally Posted By chickendumpling On second thought, you don't have to answer that because this is supposed to be a trip report and I don't wanna get bumped to Community or The Kvetch Pit. Do we have a Kvetch Pit here at LP? Anyway, that was part of my trip report. Here's more kvetching if you're into interested... <a href="http://mb.laughingplace.com/default.asp?WCI=MsgBoard&WCE=T-66578-P-2&Refresh=0911162035" target="_blank">http://mb.laughingplace.com/de fault.asp?WCI=MsgBoard&WCE=T-66578-P-2&Refresh=0911162035</a> <a href="http://mb.laughingplace.com/default.asp?WCI=MsgBoard&WCE=T-66449-P-2&Refresh=0911162138" target="_blank">http://mb.laughingplace.com/de fault.asp?WCI=MsgBoard&WCE=T-66449-P-2&Refresh=0911162138</a> I think I'm done now. (p.s. my email is in my profile)
Originally Posted By 5formickey You poor thing. I so symphatize with you. We took my sister's daughter one year and what a terrible experience. I didn't think anyone could be so miserable at the Happiest Place On Earth. And she is 21 for goodness sakes. The worst week of all our lives. If we went left she was mad we didn't go right. If we wanted to eat, she was mad we weren't riding rides. If we wanted to go to Splash she had to throw a fit about not going to Pooh instead. And the worst thing......she keeps telling us she wants to go again...NEVER!!!!! which makes it kind of hard to hide your excitement about going when you try to keep it secret. Thanks for posting......you made me feel so normal.
Originally Posted By 5formickey You poor thing. I so symphatize with you. We took my sister's daughter one year and what a terrible experience. I didn't think anyone could be so miserable at the Happiest Place On Earth. And she is 21 for goodness sakes. The worst week of all our lives. If we went left she was mad we didn't go right. If we wanted to eat, she was mad we weren't riding rides. If we wanted to go to Splash she had to throw a fit about not going to Pooh instead. And the worst thing......she keeps telling us she wants to go again...NEVER!!!!! which makes it kind of hard to hide your excitement about going when you try to keep it secret. Thanks for posting......you made me feel so normal.
Originally Posted By mj9401 Thanks for reliving your trip and posting chicken....I seriously would have lost the plot on her!!!
Originally Posted By MickeyChick Oh God, chickendumpling, I’m so sorry! I though MY trip was filled with bad luck, but I’ve got nothing on you! I definitely think you need to go back again to get the bad taste out of your mouth. So I’m curious. Where do you live that you are 1200 miles away and it takes you 16 hours to drive there? We’re driving down in a month from northern Oregon, and I’m trying to figure out how long it will take us to get there.
Originally Posted By melekalikimaka I simply cannot wait to use the "bread baskets are the mark of a good restaurant" comment. Of course, I will say it, then start giggling and everyone will think I'm nuts. Can't wait for that!
Originally Posted By gardenrooms I'm glad I found the rest of your report and that things got better (sorry for telling you on another thread to quit reading and finish your report - just kidding, of course, but I wanted to find out about the rest of your trip). So - you got over the Grapevine ok I guess? Hey, any time you want to stop off in Los Gatos (SF Bay Area) on the way south for another trip to DL, I'll be waiting -with my cooler! That's cool about the Blue Bayou. I've never gotten my DH and DS to eat lunch there, though I always have a res (which I do cancel when my guys won't go) and I always go in the parks night we arrive - gotta get that magic started ASAP, don't want to waste a minute! That's cool that you could see the fireworks right from your room, though. Sounds like that time with your daughter would have made even the worst trip worth it. Luckily, as time goes by, that will be what you remember, and the rest you'll laught at! Disney magic lives on! And you KNOW your daughter will probably count that as her best trip ever because of that magical time with her mom. I feel sorry for Happy's daughters.
Originally Posted By MissCandice You poor, poor, poor thing! I was joking in your 1st topic about how there was no blood or drama but I am sorry I said anything. You were so abused, I feel so angry at your "friend". SHe sucked the fun out of you trip. I say go in December, and get that magic back.
Originally Posted By MissCandice <<<I simply cannot wait to use the "bread baskets are the mark of a good restaurant" comment.>>> OMG! She just used that comment in a remark to me, she wasn't kidding!
Originally Posted By chickendumpling Mickeychick - We are very, very, very close to where you are. For us it is actually @ 950 miles (just felt like 1200 because of what was going on) and it took us almost perxactly 14 hours. We did have to make a couple of unscheduled stops but we still made decent time I think. I'm guessing your trip will probably be a little longer because of the weather and stuff then but I think 15-18 hours is just about right. Feel free to e-mail me - You are probably an expert but I love talking @ road trip prep stuff. Gardenrooms - LOL @ telling me on another thread to quit reading and finish my report! I don't think I've seen that yet but I think I know where to look. And yeah, we got over the Grapevine ok. I do have to admit that I was sorely tempted to take the *Old* Grapevine just to be mean to Happy but I just couldn't to it. How funny would that have been though! Oh, man, she would have killed me! <<Hey, any time you want to stop off in Los Gatos (SF Bay Area) on the way south for another trip to DL, I'll be waiting -with my cooler!>> Hey, even though you probably just meant that as a joke, I'll keep it in mind on our next drive down. LOL. j/k (unless you're not.) So why don't your my DH and DS to eat at Blue Bayou? Are they put off by fancy places that serve bread before the meal??? hehehe. And yeah, the fireworks from our balcony were just so, so neat. It really helped me to have that as part of the trip. You know, at first I felt really sorry for Happy's daughters but I think maybe this is a case of ignorance is bliss. It was their first time and they had a great time by *normal* people standards. They did miss out on having an *LP freak* time and I will always be a little sad about that but c'est la vie. Miss Candice - I was so, so, so tempted to make up some totally funny blood and guts story (a la Dan Akroyd doing Julia Child) but, as you can plainly see, FunSucker sucked the humour right out of me.
Originally Posted By chickendumpling Mele - LOL @ the whole bread basket thing! I hope I get to hear you use it in person one day.
