Yo Ho Yo Ho A Pirate's Life for We Halloween *2012* PTR has begun!

[deejdigsdis]

OK OK I'm starting...geez it's tough to have so many fans...what a world! I made some changes to the first post if any would like to mosey over there and take a peek...

So pop your popcorn and put it in one of your collectible popcorn tubs from DL...(Our current favorite one to USE is the NBC one we got last christmas the Mickey one is full of cookies!)
Grab your beverage of choice adult or otherwise and snuggle up in your comfy chair with a laptop (or the awkward desk chair at your desktop if need be) and don't forget to put on your seatbelt cause with my family along it is apt to be a bumpy ride.

I've been mulling over TR names and here are some of the possibilities....



Yo Ho Yo Ho a pirates life for we...
Pirate ships and DCA do overs...
Why can't we wear our pirate swords & pistols at DL?
Riding Pirates as Pirates...
Halloween in Colton's World
Journey to the Pirate's Lair...
In search of Capt Jack
The Buccaneer Bailey's go Boo!
Hunting for Pirate Gold at DLR
Our first APs the perfect treasure...

Input is needed...must keep the fans happy after all...what do you love what do you hate what makes you go huh? What scares you a little or a lot inquiring minds want to know...

Next up introducing the Cast of Characters for those that are new to this Epic Tale....and some new information about us for those that have been hanging around a while so you won't be bored...

My top 3 picks are:

Yo Ho Yo Ho A Pirate's Life For We
Riding Pirates As Pirates
The Buccaneer Baileys Go Boo!

I definitely like the Pirate theme!

Hi I am Sherri and I will be your tour guide for this journey....remember to keep all hands and arms indside your ride vehicles at all times...we will not be responsible for lost or stolen posts so keep track of your valuables at all times. If you have any questions please save them until the end of each post then I will be happy to answer them. It might be a bumpy ride so pay close attention to all posted safety information and I hope you all enjoy yourselves.

My family moved back to Southern California when my Dad got out of the Army when I was about 5 years old. From that moment on vacations that were not related to extended family events were always Disneyland! We ALWAYS hit the land on New Years Day as back then it was one of the quietest days of the year at the Happiest Place on Earth (Oh how times have changed) and there were usually 1-2 other trips at random times of the year.


Those were the days when you had a limited number of lettered tickets and you had to prioritize what was most important to you. The days when every land had ticket booths in case you ran out of "E" tickets and had to ride the Matterhorn just one more time. The days of the Skyway, characters that roamed without handlers that you could just walk up and hug (NO lineups!),The days when you saw men in suits and ladies with hats,gloves & heels as the normal get-up for a day at the land, and the days when a family of 4 could hit the land for the day and the tickets only cost about $20 for everybody if you were lucky enough to have a Magic Kingdom club card. the days of no cable TV, no Home computer no DVDs, VCRs or DVRs but instead the wonderful movies only to be seen in theaters and Sunday nights when the whole family watched Wonderful World of Disney together. OK now you all know I am OLD! But amazingly at DL I will forever be that 5 year old girl with stars in her eyes seeing it for the first time.

I spent Grad night at DL in 1985 which was my first foray to the land without my parents and siblings...and it seemed a gateway to growing up..(and I did wear the dress and heels that I wore to Graduation to the park that night as did everyone in my class (well the boys were in suits LOL)

I married and had 3 kids of my own who I took to DL every chance I got even after we moved from Southern California in 1990 to Arizona...The day before we moved was spent at Disneyland...I was afraid I would never be back.
But we did go back (well my family was mostly still there after all and they could be used as an excuse to go to DL right?) Not as often as before but still pretty regularly at least once a year.

I divorced and remarried and in 2002 my daughter Kari asked if for her birthday just she Brant & I could go to DL to see the NBC overlay on the Haunted Mansion. She was and still is today a devotee of Tim Burton and we rode the HMH about 10 times in that 1 1/2 day trip. That trip was 100% guided by my teenage daughter and it was a blur of HMH, POTC and the coasters. Little did I know that this was to be my last trip to DL for a very long time. Had I known just how long it would be I like to think I would have stopped and enjoyed every tiny Disney nuance to soak it in and keep it close to my heart. Alas this is not what happened.


Fast forward to 2008 when life was much different. The 3 oldest kids were grown and busy with their lives. We now lived in a tiny town in Northeastern Montana about 50 miles from the Canadian border. My 2nd husband & I had a new little one about to turn 4 and my thoughts turned to DL again. Over the next two years we scrimped & saved and planned and on December 25th, 2010 Christmas Day I arrived in DLR after 8 years away with tears in my eyes, I was home! All the details of this magical trip are yours to enjoy in the previous pages. My disney love was re-kindled...there would never be a drought like this one again! Before we were even home we began to plot how to do this again and the Halloween 2011 trip was born...and here we are with the PTR for our next adventure already begun. ENJOY!!!!

Aw, great start Sherri! It brought back some good memories of my own. Count my mom in as one of the ladies that was wearing heels! I remember her wearing heels with her 70s pantsuits. No gloves though. If I remember I'll post a pic on my TR of me and my siblings with Pluto back in those pre-handler, pre-lineup days...with other people just sidling up into our photo. Those were the days...when the characters would roam freely.
What great memories you have. Thank you for sharing.

I have 16,373 views of this Thread and only 435 replies...come out come out whereever you are...OK all you lurkers...it doesn't have to be Fancy just say "HI" already! I DO NOT bite unless asked.

Well at the time of this writing (or typing, rather), I have about 4 more replies than you, and about 10,000 more views -- granted mine covers 5 TRs -- so I must be even scarier! (Clowns are about the scariest thing out there to me. )

 

[Sherry E]

Buccaneer Baileys Go Boo is my pick.

(Or something like....the Buccaneer Baileys Go Bump In The Night.)

There's no question in my mind that the Buccaneer Baileys should be the title out of the choices you gave us. The other ones don't jump out at me. That one does.

I have way more views of my TR than actual comments - and remember, this is the same TR I have had going for 3 years; I've just been adding to it as trips happen. People have come and gone through the course of it, but there have been long periods where no one was commenting at all.

Most of the people who read these things we write don't comment, I would say. It's okay, though - there are lots of trip reports out there, and maybe the silent people are reading a lot of them. Sometimes you can get more reading of many TR's done if you don't stop to comment. And if you comment once, then the author of the TR may expect you to stick around. I would imagine that some people just want to comment once and be done with it, and they feel like if they pop in they will be expected to stay there forever so they don't say anything!

 

[skiingfast]

i have 16,373 views of this thread and only 435 replies...come out come out whereever you are...ok all you lurkers...it doesn't have to be fancy just say "hi" already! I do not bite unless asked.

hi

 

[PrincessInOz]

I have 16,373 views of this Thread and only 435 replies...come out come out whereever you are...OK all you lurkers...it doesn't have to be Fancy just say "HI" already! I DO NOT bite unless asked.

Hi! ...and I'm not asking to be bitten....






























































.....yet!

 

[albertamommyof4]

Hi, can't wait to read your PTR for halloween. i am a sahm of 4 and we went to disneyland( our first family vacation) in april 2009. I promised to take the kids back when carsland was done but i am not sure when to go lol. Would love to go either christmas or halloween but then it would cost more as we would drive 9 hours and will save over $2000 ( don't want to drive in winter lol) We live in alberta canada , northern that is .
Thanks for sharing your trip report. The times we are thinking is october when halloween decorations up( could drive the 9 hours for cheaper flight) or 2 weeks before christmas for a week or christmas week or January 1 for a week, so we could still see christmas decoarations for part of it.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

My top 3 picks are:

Yo Ho Yo Ho A Pirate's Life For We
Riding Pirates As Pirates
The Buccaneer Baileys Go Boo!

I definitely like the Pirate theme!



Aw, great start Sherri! It brought back some good memories of my own. Count my mom in as one of the ladies that was wearing heels! I remember her wearing heels with her 70s pantsuits. No gloves though. If I remember I'll post a pic on my TR of me and my siblings with Pluto back in those pre-handler, pre-lineup days...with other people just sidling up into our photo. Those were the days...when the characters would roam freely.
What great memories you have. Thank you for sharing.



Well at the time of this writing (or typing, rather), I have about 4 more replies than you, and about 10,000 more views -- granted mine covers 5 TRs -- so I must be even scarier! (Clowns are about the scariest thing out there to me. )

Those happen to be my 3 favorites too but we brainstormed for quite a while amongst ourselves and came up with that list....We are going to appear at the TOTP as pirates so something with pirates was a natural thing. I will probably use that smiley alot in this PTR and in the actual TR.

I love daydreaming back to those early DL days and my Mom thinks I am crazy since I asked if I could go over and hunt through the many many boxes of pictures in her basement and find some of us in the early days...I promise to share what I find no matter how silly the 70s outfits or the silly matching outfits we wore at some points in our history.

I spent about an hour on the phone with my Dad yesterday and he gave me some new memories of those days, like stories about the one and only time he & my mother went to DL without us kids. I will share this conversation and whatever photos I find when I need filler for the PTR later on I know it will come to that point since I have 5 months to fill up.

I know our first couple of trips Mom wore dresses & a hat & gloves...then into those groovy 70s pantsuits and later into matching shirts for the family she made every year.

Buccaneer Baileys Go Boo is my pick.

(Or something like....the Buccaneer Baileys Go Bump In The Night.)

There's no question in my mind that the Buccaneer Baileys should be the title out of the choices you gave us. The other ones don't jump out at me. That one does.

I have way more views of my TR than actual comments - and remember, this is the same TR I have had going for 3 years; I've just been adding to it as trips happen. People have come and gone through the course of it, but there have been long periods where no one was commenting at all.

Most of the people who read these things we write don't comment, I would say. It's okay, though - there are lots of trip reports out there, and maybe the silent people are reading a lot of them. Sometimes you can get more reading of many TR's done if you don't stop to comment. And if you comment once, then the author of the TR may expect you to stick around. I would imagine that some people just want to comment once and be done with it, and they feel like if they pop in they will be expected to stay there forever so they don't say anything!

You also picked one of my top 3 and I like your variation too! Maybe I should take those 4 and post a poll.

I know that is true about the number of people that read and lurk...but I like to goose them every so often and see if I can't get a couple more out of hiding...esp those that have TRs of their own linked in their signature that I can go and explore.

hi

HI! I was kinda hoping to get at least a FINALLY! out of you since I finally reviewed the dining plan. No title vote from you either

Hi! ...and I'm not asking to be bitten....



.....yet!

We will have to save that for when you road trip through Montana next and we take your beautiful family to visit our dinosaurs.

Hi, can't wait to read your PTR for halloween. i am a sahm of 4 and we went to disneyland( our first family vacation) in april 2009. I promised to take the kids back when carsland was done but i am not sure when to go lol. Would love to go either christmas or halloween but then it would cost more as we would drive 9 hours and will save over $2000 ( don't want to drive in winter lol) We live in alberta canada , northern that is .
Thanks for sharing your trip report. The times we are thinking is october when halloween decorations up( could drive the 9 hours for cheaper flight) or 2 weeks before christmas for a week or christmas week or January 1 for a week, so we could still see christmas decoarations for part of it.

Welcome aboard! If you read my last TR you know I totally sympathize with the whole driving in the snow thing! How old are your kids? I guess I could be qualified as a SAHM too...sort of...I have two jobs that require some travel (a travel blog just getting started and I produce my husbands film work) but mostl of both jobs gets done sitting here on my computer or by phone, so I get to do great stuff with my kid like be his room mom at school, always be around when he gets home from school to make a snack and hear about his day and coach his little league team...things that I remember about my Mom therefore I find them as important or more so than work, though work I must so that we can go to DL! On top of all I already do I am starting school on the 16th of this month to finish up and get my teaching degree.

We have planned for our first visit to Carsland to be September or October of 2012 once all the kids are back in school (I will take mine out of school for DL) and most of the NEW craziness has settled a little bit.

Now I have said hi back to you all ....on with the show!

 

[mvf-m11c]

You know that I will be on your TR and can't wait to see it in October. How u doing Sherri?

 

[TheColtonsMom]

You know that I will be on your TR and can't wait to see it in October. How u doing Sherri?

Glad to see you are still around. I am doing pretty well. We are really looking forward to your trip in a couple of weeks to help us pass the time until we get back to DL!

 

[TheColtonsMom]

Here is a pic of my Hubby riding on Skye

Now my husband's Disneyland childhood experience was about as different from mine as it could be unless he had not had any experience at all.

He grew up in Mesa Arizona...not all that far from DL, after all when I moved to Arizona I still made a DL trip annually. At the age of 12 he went on a bus tour of Southern California with his mother and Grandmother that included 1 day at DL in 1985. This was his first and only trip to DL before he met me. Remember in 1985 I was spending my High School Grad night at DL so yes I am a cougar

During that trip he did not even ride the Haunted Mansion which blows my mind...how do you go to DL and not ride the HM???

He did not do any ride that involved a boat (even ones without water) due to his Mother having a fear of boats that no one ever understood...neither she nor any of her family could ever shed any light on that one. So there was no POTC, no Storybookland, No IASW, Nothing on the ROA, No Peter Pan! Wow that took out some good rides!

The only coaster he rode was BTMRR. They spent the day almost entirely in Fantasyland...though he did get to ride the skyway through the Matterhorn over to Tommorrowland where he rode Autopia and they did the Grand Circle on the DLRR.

Can you imagine taking a 12 year old boy to DL and that is all you did...no wonder DL was not quite a magical experience for him. His best memory of that trip was actually the 15 minute break the driver took along the side of Pacific Coast Highway when he found out my hubby had never been to the ocean and he got to wade in the surf for the first time not DL related at all.

He did not return to Disneyland or California at all until he met & married me!
To this day everytime we drive to California the VERY FIRST thing we do is hit the beach any beach no matter what time of day or what time of year it is, so he can dip into the Pacific and remember that first moment when he dipped in his feet.

Before the long DL drought the only time we went to DL together was in October 2002 when we took my daughter Kari to DL for her birthday to see the HM NBC overlay for the first time. At the time it was all about my daughter and I still didn't know the extent of his Disney depravation...He went on this trip because Kari wanted him to...He did not get excited..I did learn in the course of this trip that he had never ridden HM or POTC but not that he had even been deprived of things like PP. That trip we did not spend ANY time in FL or Toontown. The trip was all about Kari as I said before and being a teenager (she was 15 at the time) she worked her way around the park doing thrill rides and NOS including at least 10 trips through the HMH to get her Tim Burton fix.

After this trip he agreed it was a nice amusement park...but still just an amusement park and a costly one...He did not get my Disney obsession at all ...thus Disney money was not on the priority list for the next few years as the kids grew up and went out on their own our money was tied up in their once in a lifetime moments a whirl of proms & graduations and first cars.

In the midst of this whirlwind of all my kids growing up we welcomed our last child into the family in November of 2004. So now we had the money but my hubby argued we should let DL wait until our son was big enough to enjoy it.

In October of 2006 we left Arizona and California behind and moved to NE Montana to live my dream of owning a place where we could have horses. The Disney dream once again faded to the background as we set up house in a new place far far away from the Land.

In July 2009 when his mother passed away I put my foot down life was too short! We were going to DL one way or another and he finally reluctantly agreed. So I alone started planning and saving for my son's first journey which took place in Dec 2010. My husband was along for the ride all he had to do was show up and drive to the airport. Although a few times in the process he tried to talk me into taking Colton by myself to save money...I didn't budge this was to be a family trip.

Well our wonderful son worked the miracle that I was sure would never happen. Visiting the land through his son's eyes my Dear Hubby finally "got it" he is now intimately involved in the planning of our next trip for Halloween 2011, he was instrumental in the decision to get APs and do three trips in a 12 month period, he went behind my back to find out if we could renew our vows aboard the Sailing Ship Columbia while dressed as pirates on our Halloween trip (way too pricey but what a sweet thought) He is friends with DL on Facebook and frequents the website "couponing to Disney".

Now not a day goes by that some mention of Disney or our past or future trips is brought up by him not me...what a dream come true...magic really does happen at DL...with a little help from Colton! With an entire household of Disney lovers there will never be an 8 year DL drought in this family again!

Next up I will spend Mother's Day telling you all about our children and Grand children...Colton will always be along for the ride but one or the other of my 3 grown children or Brant's daughter will be along on some of our future trips with their families...we are working on prying Kari away from the plans for her Halloween night wedding to spend her birthday with us at DL for a day or two. I am keeping my fingers crossed! Since we have 3 upcoming trips to the land I would like it if I could get at least 1 kid per trip with us.

So I bid you goodnight for this evening with a wish for a Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms out there in DISland with a little vintage feel to it...goodnight

 

[AussieDisneyNut]

Hi Sherri, I have been enjoying your TR all along, I'm just not a big chatter! When I read about your experiences with Colton I just feel that I am having the same amount of fun with my DS who is almost 6! We have just recently returned from our "once in a lifetime" trip and now I am secretly dreaming of planning another trip in 2014. Keep up the great work on your PTR, I love hearing all about it.

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

I loved your trip report.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

Hi Sherri, I have been enjoying your TR all along, I'm just not a big chatter! When I read about your experiences with Colton I just feel that I am having the same amount of fun with my DS who is almost 6! We have just recently returned from our "once in a lifetime" trip and now I am secretly dreaming of planning another trip in 2014. Keep up the great work on your PTR, I love hearing all about it.

Thanks for chiming in! I think with my girls age 4 might have been my favorite...they are SO into helping at that age..but six is my overall favorite age for any kid LOVE helping at school and having a whole room full of them around!...ah that they would stay this crazy loving amusing when they are teenagers LOL ....why not twice in a lifetime or more...go for it!

 

[TheColtonsMom]

OK now there are four children between Brant & I that do not live with us in Montana, however I am hoping to get different mixes of these kids and their families to join us on one or the other of our 3 upcoming DL trips...so a brief intro to them is what I will stick to here and when & if we have a confirmed trip I will go into further detail.

Amy DD24 my oldest daughter is a redhead with all the temper that implies She is my girly girl... the one that dressed like a doll from the day she entered this world...she honestly never got dirty until she was about 5 years old. she loved dresses and shoes and gloves & hats...was a Disney Princess for Halloween almost every year of her life. Her favorite color is and always has been pink.She was a challenge as a child and still is as an adult. The mother's curse worked well on this one...she now has a 3 year old red headed version of herself my darling Granddaughter Kari-Lynn (much easier to be the grandmother of one at 3 years old than it was to be the mom) She is named after my 2nd daughter Kari and my middle name Lynn. Amy is a very talented singer and has preformed at both Knotts Berry Farm & Disneyland. She is engaged to be married and here I have nothing to say because Thumper says "if you can't say something nice don't say nothing at all" If they join us at DL it will either be Amy & Kari-Lynn or just Kari-Lynn who has not yet seen DLR. Amy's favorite Disney Movie is Beauty & the Beast and as far as Amusemment Parks DL included go...show her to the kiddie land.. Fantasyland, Camp Snoopy whatever.. will not go on anything resembling a thrill ride to this day.

Kari-Lynn

Kari DD23 came into our lives prematurely at 7 1/2 months just 11 days before Amy turned a year old. She was the model baby from day one she slept through the night before we left the hospital...she was her sisters polar opposite in all things a complete Tom Boy... her favorite color growing up was plaid...any plaid. The mother's curse worked well here too she has my 2nd Granddaughter Zoey a perfect little well behaved dirty tom boy of a little 1 year old whirlwind. She is getting married on Halloween this year to Jessie who I love dearly...he is the perfect match for my daughter they play off each other so well and they are wonderful parents they make a great team.
Kari's favorite Disney movie growing up was 101 Dalmations..she wore out 3 VHS tapes. She is a thrill seeker as far as Amusement parks go..but though she loves coasters in general her all time favorite ride is HMH.

Zoey

Nathan DS21 My first boy and a carbon copy of his big sister Kari..they have the same laugh, the same smile the same devil may care go with the flow attitude. They even look alike. If seen together there is no doubt they are brother & sister. They both draw cartoons...and dream of being animators for a living someday. He married Martha who is like another daughter to me last year and she melded into the family like she had always been there. We often meet them in Vegas when we are on a road trip as they love it there and visit it whenever there is an excuse. Aside from Colton, Martha was the first of my kids to wish me a Happy Mothers Day today.

All three of these grown children and their families live in the Phoenix Metro Area in Arizona the distance from them all is one thing I do not love about my new home in Montana but we do go down every year and have Thanksgiving in Arizona with the whole crowd. This year we are skipping the Thanksgiving festivities for Kari's wedding instead.

Fancy DSD15 lives with her mother in Austin Texas another tom boy for sure but was born with a full head of red hair and by 5 she was the spitten image of Ariel from The Little Mermaid. She has never been to DL as her Mother has an aversion to planes and we usually visit with her in Texas due to the time constraints of driving somewhere and then having to drive her all the way back. She did drive to WDW with her Mother & Grandmother so she has not been totally Disney deprived. She is a free spirit and a musician but still manages to be an honors student. There have never been any step issues between us.. I loved her the moment I first saw her and I still do.

OK so there are the 4 older kids in very small nutshells we shall elaborate later as the occasion arises.

Next up the man who has more TR fans than his Mom "The Coltinator"

 

[PrincessInOz]

WOW Sherri! A Grandmother for real!! You must have been practically a baby when you started having kids...either that or you have great genes. You hardly look a day over 40!

Your kids and grandkids sound delightful....

so....Happy Mother's (and grandmother's) DAY!

 

[TheColtonsMom]

WOW Sherri! A Grandmother for real!! You must have been practically a baby when you started having kids...either that or you have great genes. You hardly look a day over 40!

Your kids and grandkids sound delightful....

so....Happy Mother's (and grandmother's) DAY!

I think it is a little of both.. I was 19 when Amy was born so yes I was a bit of a baby but I probably would not have qualified for one of those teen mom reality shows. My Grandmother did not go gray until her 70s and the women in my family generally live to a very ripe old age.. My Great Grandmother just missed a hundred by a couple of months. I am a little more than a day over 40 and will be another year older in a couple of weeks.

Happy Mothers Day to you too!

 

[kaoden39]

My grandpa was a little over a month from his 99th birthday when he died. It is so wonderful to see someone live such a full life.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

My grandpa was a little over a month from his 99th birthday when he died. It is so wonderful to see someone live such a full life.

Until shortly before she died my Great Grandmother took care of all her "little old ladies" in her neighborhood. She did their grocery shopping, took them to Drs appointments and generally walked her neighborhood visiting all the way to make sure no one needed anything daily. Most of the "little old ladies" she took care of were decades younger than she was...boy she was a pistol. I think if I can be like her I wouldn't mind getting that old.

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

I loved seeing your older kids.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

I loved seeing your older kids.

Since they were largely left out of my earlier TR I figured it was time to make them a little more than the cardboard cutout "my older kids" I really hope we manage to get each and every one of them to DL with us at some point in the near future. Kari is my first victim as her birthday is October 18th when we will be at DL and that is a little less than 2 weeks before her wedding I think a little break at DL would be just the thing at that point in time...she & I disagree on this a bit however but I am slowly converting her to my idea...

 

[kaoden39]

Until shortly before she died my Great Grandmother took care of all her "little old ladies" in her neighborhood. She did their grocery shopping, took them to Drs appointments and generally walked her neighborhood visiting all the way to make sure no one needed anything daily. Most of the "little old ladies" she took care of were decades younger than she was...boy she was a pistol. I think if I can be like her I wouldn't mind getting that old.

My grandpa was still going up on his roof and such. He scared us half to death. I honestly think he didn't realize how old he was.