GD and CP's Birthday Evening
 

Hello, all. My husband and I have decided that we'd like nothing better than a nice night at the park for our birthdays. We'll be at Disneyland on Friday, May 4th, one day after CP's birthday and 4 days before GD's. We'll get dinner (not sure where), ride some rides, and relax. We'd love to see you there, mostly because we always love to see you there.


:cheers:

ACK!

I will try to be there... this may very well be worth the use of a pass (not the annual kind, as I don't have one of those)...

At the least, if my schedule is crammed (which I actually expect it to be) can there be dining outside of the park for those of us sans pass? Because... Well, because I need to be there for at least a little bit of it! :)

If you go, go for yourself. Don't go out of the way for us.

Dining is very likely to be outside the gates.

Well, I'd be going for myself, because I'd love to see you two and help celebrate your birthday. It's instantly worth the pass, and probably then some.

The only hindrance is that I'm co-chairing an event a few days afterward, meaning that if people don't do their part, it's on me to make it happen. But I certainly have time for a nice dinner.

:eek: :eek: My birthday is the 4th, and my daugter's is the 8th! Wow!


And my mom's is the 7th!

I'm not usre I'll be able to make it to the park with all the BDays that weekend, but I'll see. at any rate, have a great time!!

And happy early birthdays (and I'll say it again in your threads!!).

You guys are too cute.

Someday....


ron

Alas, count me out for this day. But you two have a wonderful day and I will hope to see you later on over that weekend when I'm at the park.

Alright, more May bdays! No Tiki Bar this year??

Wish I could, but I have that Ventura County Curtain. Enjoy the day!!

I can't attend for some reason ;) but please have a Sidecar or three for me. :cheers:

I love you guys, but - as of now - I've gotta say no way.

I have to be at the Resort this Sunday for MouseAdventure, the following Tuesday, the 1st, for a certain swanker's birthday, then Saturday the 5th for Cinco de Mayo drinks with Snowflake and whoever else is out there, and Sunday the 6th all day for a wedding I'm performing at the Grand Cal and a reception at Club 33.

I don't suppose there's any way you can switch your birthdays to Cinco de Mayo??? Otherwise, with the Disneyland schedule I refer to and the wedding ceremony I'll still be trying to memorize, I really doubt I could fit another night out into that stressful week ... and Crikey, please - not another night at Disneyland!

No worries. We knew that this was last minute and that Fridays are more difficult for those that don't live 2 freeway exits away.

We're having family over for dinner on the 5th. If that breaks up relatively early (which it might as my geezer parents will be driving back to the valley that night), I wouldn't be surprised if we saunter over for whatever CdM festivities are still festivitying.

Note to all - I know there are a lot of May Birthdays and I hope I'm not hogging everyone on that Tuesday. All are welcomed to celebrate the "May's" then. :)

I should make it. Yay a dual celebration!

The planets may align...

We'll have to see what my schedule is like. I think I may have to close that night. Bleh. I'll let ya know.
:)

The Gusinator and I should be there.

What happened to crazy 30th b-day celebrations. I've got plans Friday evening already, and fighting Friday post-work traffic north is always a bitch. Otherwise I would be there.

All energy for crazy b-day anything went into crazy library-reopening madness.

It's a fair bet we'll return some time that weekend either Saturday or Sunday so you will have another chance to bask in our glorious birthday glow.

I'm working that evening. I may by able to get away for a bit.

All they need to do is install a stripper pole in the library and we've got ourselves one hell of a b-day celebration.

Maybe it would be more appropriate to remember that for my birthday though.

This is too true, BTW. Only now, after 5 days of being open, is the mist clearing from my vision. For about a month I was a worthless human being, good only for ordering office supplies, making directional signs, and mumbling incoherently about radio frequency tags. At this point I'll admit that I kinda wish things had been different. Not much I could do about that.

Anyway, I understand if people can't go...we'll see you sometime soon, no doubt. :)

I think I can make it in the evening :)

Oh, fine, and all hopes of somehow being able to make it have been dashed, now that I recall previous plans made for that night with tickets purchased.


I hope you guys can come to the resort Saturday night. Although, um, aren't you the only other swankers playing MouseAventure .. and thus I will see you Sunday for sure?

I surely want to wish you both a happy birthday.

Yes, we'll be at MA. There were a few other swankers who signed up as well.

Dude.......

You get a gold star for that word! :snap:

Oh good. You forgot we're playing, so you won't be following us around. WOOHOO!

Put me down as a tentative yes for dinner.

I will hopefully be there. Any :babette: flavor-faves I should know about?

I once knew a Polish stripper, she used to put her clothes ON!

Zing!

Happy birthdays, you'll probably see me!

I'm officially a negative. :(

Have a great time!

Who would plan a party on the opening night of Spider-Man 3, when Cinco de Mayo is the very next day??


Happy Birthday, You Two!! I love you, despite your wretched timing!

Blame our parents and their anniversaries.

Hmm, I suppose we should pick a location for the dinner, eh? I've been leaning towards Catal, mostly because it's been quite some time since we've eaten there.

Well, I usually do blame your parents for your birthdays. ;)

What about Dogal ?

It's looking less and less like I'll be able to go. I'll have to see when I get out of my co-chairing duties tomorrow night. :(

Crap, I must need to go to bed. I Googled "dogal" to see if it was some crazy fancy restaurant or something. I think there's a hand print from where I literally slapped my head when it finally sunk through my thick skull.

Hah!

Maybe that's where your headache came from earlier? :)

We're going to do our best to be there. Matthew works in the morning and I have gigs tonight and Saturday. As long as we still have a little pep in our step, we should be there. Maybe not for dinner, but perhaps for a ride or two afterwards.

I'm aiming to be there. Might be delayed due to LA traffic, but I'll try to call if I'm running horribly late.

Okay, by my count there are 8 that seem to be in the yes column, and a handful of maybes. I'm gonna call Disney dining and make a reservation for 12 for as close to 8:00 as I can. We can always adjust on the fly.

By the way, fair warning, we will NOT, I repeat NOT be trying to make it for fireworks. I'm burned out (so to speak), especially the lamed down version. We will be having a leisurely dinner then heading into the park to...gasp...ride attractions. Whether we close the park or not will be up to my darling wife as she has to work in the morning.

So the tentative schedule:

~6:30PM: GD & CP arrive, rally at the hub until at least 7
7 (crosses fingers)-8ish: ride something. Preferably somethings.
8-whenever: dinner at Catal
whenever -whenever: Whirlwind attraction hopping

Oh, the eight attendees on my list are:
GD &CP
Babette
Kevy and Gus
Morigoon
Katiesue


.....

Wait, that's 7. Did I miss someone on second count? Well, 12 still seems like a good number judging by the maybes. Let us know here if anything changes and PM us if you don't have our cell numbers.

Gah, what the hell happened to Disney Dining?!

So, I called trusty old 781-DINE. Let me walk you through it:

Clearly Recorded Voice: Hi, this is Pam [or whatever the name was], how can I direct your call?
Me: Uh, Disney Dining [isn't that the number I called?]
Live human: Okay, one moment

Now I get a menu, where Disney Dining is option number 4. So, just to recap, I called Disney Dining, where I had to be asked to be transfered to Disney Dining, where I then had to select Disney Dining from a menu.

Ooookay.

10 rings later (yes, 10), someone picks up. I ask for a reservation for 12 for Catal. He checks the computer which tells him that I have to contact Catal directly. Fine, I can dig that.

I call the number he gives me, which seems to be Patina for the whole resort, not just Catal. I tell this guy the info, he puts me on hold for a minute and comes back. He tells me, "Here's Catal's direct number. Give them a call tomorrow and maybe go in 30 minutes early." What?! Sorry, with a party of 12 I'm not going to just kinda wing it.

So instead I call Catal immediately. Their response is to call the number that just sent me there. I very politely let them know that that's what I just did and they sent me to here. Fortunately at that point the nice CM helping me (Lisette) simply said okay and took care of it right then and there.

But that was simply astoundingly ridiculous.

Aaaanyway.

Tomorrow night, 8PM, Catal. Outside patio (if we take our time, perhaps we can watch fireworks from there).

me

Okay, that was probably it. I think on my second pass I filed you under maybe rather than yes.

There is an off chance that we can make it for dinner.

Put me on the possible list again. Things are looking up, but only because some stuff didn't get sent to me, meaning I'll be busier later.

I guess I am tired. On first pass I read this as:

Sure. Tired. We'll go with that.

We're back to being a no. Sigh.

Pfft, Snowflake can't possible need more than one or two square feet of bare floor, no need to waste time cleaning up.

Won't be able to make it... my other engagement seems to be "on"

We're still on, just not sure when we will be there. But we will be there in time for dinner for sure.

I'm pretty sure what I'm experiencing right now is confusion.

I don't know what else might be interfering with NA and € showing up, but Snowflake arrives at Casa de Swank tomorrow, so today is cleanup day for them.

Sadly, clean up has to fit in between hectic work schedule for both of us. Chris has been at SONGS all week and I'm doing overnights with a sweet Golden.

A sweet Golden what? :D

Retriever.

I'm partly Pollak too :)

Thank you, clearly I have a hard time putting two and two together... worse yet, it's someone else's travel plans that I've blocked out of my mind due to my pass-less self.

Oh, and have your cell phone numbers changed? I probably won't know my status until more of the "last minute" so I'd like to be able to call you.

Well, we're on again.

Look right. Look left. Look right. Look left.

Golden retrievers to the left of me, swanky friends to the right, here I am stuck in the middle at LoT..

Good golly, now I'm dorkulating at a rapid Steelers Wheel speed...

;)

Thanks Ally, now I'll have that song stuck in my head all day! With the new lyrics of course! ;)


Oh, I should have guessed! :D

Well, as today is my Birthday, I'm going to be having dinner with my wife- so I can't make it :(.

But I'll be at DCA Saturday for some food demos and such, then off to DtD for the Spidy 3 movie!

Have a great time you two! Wish I could be there!!

And Happy BDay again!

I should be there now. Not sure about the blonde.

Yay, people are coming! I've heard that Gemini Cricket will make it as well. :D

So bring a red head.

Are you going to bring these?

I sure hope so.

Ok, with some thread scanning and phone calls, I've derived a list...

Me
GD
KatieSue
DPR
GC
Kevy
Susan
Szczerbiak
NM
Babette
NA
Euro
Gn2
& a friend

That's 14. There's a problem though - I called Catal and they're saying it's going to be really tight. They have many large parties and the whole place is mapped out. She said she'd note 14, but can't make any promises past 12.

Now, I don't want everyone freaking out and saying they won't come because they don't want to put us over the top. Everyone please come and we'll do everything we can to make it work.

Here's hoping. :)

Yipes!

Well, I'm still on the fence on whether I can go or now, and I'm afraid I'm slightly scared off from coming with the whole "we might not be able to fit 12, but we'll note 14", especially since I won't be going into the park afterward. I may just settle down into a long work session.

Have fun and Happiest of Birthdays!

:( I totally understand that it's the one last bit that tipped the scale, but we'd definitely miss having you there. All I'll say is...with Lisa in our ranks, what do you think the odds of us NOT getting something to work out are? ;)

I'll be there and I'm bringing 10 people.


























haha. just kidding.

Have a great time. We'll be at DTD later. I'm sure the Lisadar will be in full effect.

Hmmm... True, GD... True.

Let's see how much I get done in the next couple of hours...

If you showed up with 14, or even 16 people, I'm sure they'd make it work.

Actually I may not be able to do dinner, so that would be fine. We could still hang after.

I'm about to vomit. I've given myself a scare in Econ - and I'll just sit here stewing if I don't go. So I'll be seeing you, and I'll be sitting in NM's seat.

HA HA.

Sucker.

I just got off the phone with Mickey Lumbo. He just clocked out. His doggies are hurting him, but he is going to try to stick around.

Hopefully we will see him there. I miss him.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahah....[deep breath]...hahahahahahahahahahahahahah!!

Okay then. Where to start. We left our place a few minutes after six, were off the freeway at about 6:10...and in the park at 6:45. Boy aren't we all glad we have the convenience of the parking structure? Ran into Nirvanaman in the structure as we parked within 20 feet of each other. Babette was close behind, she'd meet up in the park.

The park where, oh yeah, the parade was going down Main Street. Did I forget to cross reference the schedule before planning this? Of course I did. And, as if a parade that just stops and blocks the street for 5-10 minutes wasn't bad enough, LoT eye witnesses report a breakdown requiring a tow of one of the floats further delaying things.

So we didn't leave the hub until, oh 7:15 (we being us, €, Szczerbiacsamaklkd, NM, Babette, Katiesue...am I missing any from that group?). We DID get a ride in. And no matter what the attraction board said, it was Big Thunder. Damn I love that ride.

Dinner was fantastic. I'm so sorry about the reservation confusion. I knew that if we didn't say anything about the possibility that we were short on seats, we'd have too many people and that would suck. But equally predictable was that posting would cause the opposite to happen. And indeed, they had plenty of room, we had even fewer people than our initial numbers. Oh well. The Commodore's got a tale of woe as he tried and failed to join us.

But those that were there (same group as above, minus NM and babette, plus Kevy, GusGus, NA, and bluerica) made tremendous company. And the food was delicious. Moment of the evening was someone suggesting Lisa order carrot cake for dessert...having had braised rabbit as her entree. :D

The company and food was so delightful, in fact, that dinner lasted nearly 3 hours!! It was almost 11 by the time we got back in the park. So the "whirlwind attraction hopping" became, "ride Buzz, ride Space Mountain, meet up with NM and Babette and ride Space Mountain again." Which was a fine way to end a perfectly good evening.

So thanks again to everyone who made it, thanks to those who wanted to make it but couldn't, and generally thanks to all the friends that continue to embiggen our lives. Y'all rule.

Oh, and a thanks (and happy birthday) to DPR and wife for braving a third viewing of the parade to say hi to us! :) How was the Matterhorn ride?

1) I just love this! :snap: I could never spell it myself!


2) Told ya so ;)

3) WAY Funny! But... Lisa ate a bunny???!!!:eek:


4) Lisa ate a bunny???!!!
5) As do you bud, Happy Birthday, wish I could have made it as well!

Actually, the bunny tasted pretty good. I had a bite.

She had Bugs, CP & I had Daffy.

Susan and I had Ferdinand

Thumper was, indeed, delicious. But, Chris' comment about needing a carrot cake chaser was the quip of the evening.

It was a great dinner. We even saw 1/2 of a fireworks show from the balcony. I guess the wind picked up and the fire marshal pulled the plug.

We saw one big green firework burst from the elevator shaft of ToT, now I know why it was the only one. Sorry we missed the rest of the swankers at dinner. We did get some quality time with the birthday couple (barfyness excluded).

GD & CP rock!

So there was room for us afterall? Damn. Oh well, we had friends visiting the park that were on a 1-day pass so we were spending time with them anyway. They had never been on the matterhorn, ToT, etc....

It's always interesting to go with first timers.

Mmm, applesauce.

We had a bite of bunny too. Really good, it's hard to get rabbit that tender.

I had fried rabbit one as a kid. Tasted just like chicken. So I thought, why bother?

Then I peeked through the fince to a rabbit farm and watched them slaughter some rabbits. That did it for me.

Of course I still eat chicken, even after I saw one run around without its head.....

I didn't really eat much chicken until my great uncle had me "help" with a chicken dinner once.

I now eat chicken just about three times a week- some times more.

I'm glad we were able to make a short guest appearance. We made a bonehead move to go to the matterhorn via the castle, and were treated to our 4th viewing of the parade. By that time the matterhorn line was long. How long? Long enough that Mrs. DPR suggested we go on Space Mtn. Unheard of! As we have 3 little ones, I rarely get to talk to Mrs. DPR without being interupted every 15 seconds, so the 50 minute wait in the Space Mtn line was actually a pleasure. I learned she had never been on Space Mtn at DL, and the last time she rode Space Mtn was at WDW in 1976 (I actually had to do some fact checking to verify it was open at that time, I mean this was a year before CP was born). It sounded strange to hear her say she hadn't been on Space Mtn in 31 years, we felt old.

As we got nearer to the loading zone, Mrs DPR mentioned she was looking forward to hearing the Red Hot Chili Peppers, I guess I need to do a better job of keeping her informed in the future.

We wandered around DtD looking for a place for dinner, we ended outside at Catal. We thought we might see the group, but didn't realize you were eating on the balcony, you must have been pretty quiet. It was a fun evening out for us. Glad we could stop by and say hi.

True, but nearly an hour of that was figuring out the check! ;)