A Family Affair: May 12-19 - Day 7 - UPDATED 6/26 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
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Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
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To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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This is my first-ever trip report, so let me know what you think!
Our Party:
-Bonnie (me)
-DH Seth
-DS Sammy, 7
-DD Bradie, almost 5
-Parents, Jim and Nevalyn
-Sister, Jenny
-Jenny’s husband, Chris
-Jenny’s daughter, Katie, 14 months
-Brother, Matt
-Matt’s girlfriend, Aline
All except Katie and Aline have visited WDW before, though Sammy and Bradie were very young (<3 and <1) during the last trip. Most of us have been multiple times since childhood.
Our Journey:
My group arrived May 12 and left May 19 by plane. Other families in the group came and went a day or two before and after us.
Our Lodging:
We all stayed at Port Orleans-Riverside (with one night at Pop Century for my family at the end of the week), in the Acadian House with four rooms all together.
Our Special Plans:
-A retirement party for Mom
-A birthday party for DD
-A “date night” to celebrate our 9th anniversary
-(We also had DS wear an Un-birthday pin and gave him un-birthday cards one day, so he wouldn’t feel left out of the many celebrations!)
__________________
DD and DS, May 2008
"I am purple today; Bright and happy like a butterfly in the air." -Kira Willey
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Question: The unbirthday pin, Did you make it for him or did you get it a WDW?
I used a birthday pin I got from WDW. I used a Sharpie to write "UN" on it. It didn't really show well enough, though. I should have had a brightly colored sticker and written "UN" on that, to make it really obvious. It was okay, though--we just had to explain it when people wished him a happy birthday. That made for some fun moments, though! More on that later!
__________________
DD and DS, May 2008
"I am purple today; Bright and happy like a butterfly in the air." -Kira Willey
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
I enjoyed the print in our POR room. Bradie noticed that the men on the end of the boat appeared to be setting off the fireworks. She kept looking for boats around Disney World that had the "fireworks men"!
Our First Day: The journey and an evening Downtown
First off, let me make a note about this trip: My mom loves all things Disney, and especially WDW. None of us were surprised, then, when she declared that her retirement party would be held in Disney World. Anyone who cared to celebrate with her was welcome to join her in Florida. Three siblings and their families accepted her invitation. (Two brothers and their families didn’t come for cost reasons.) For much of the trip, we saw the extended family in the mornings but went to the parks alone. We coordinated schedules for portions of several days, and I’ll mention when other family members are joining us, but most of what I write will be about just the four of us.
Our journey officially started at 2:20pm on Monday, May 12, when our plane departed from Nashville. This was the first flying experience for DH, DD, and DS! We were able to get seats together, with the boys right in front of the girls, and the kids sitting by the window so they could see out. The flight was great and the kids were well-behaved. We’d gotten them each a Disney Game It for Christmas, and the games entertained them in the airport and on the plane.
We were a bit baffled by the Orlando airport and getting to the Disney Magic Express area, but we finally got there and hopped a bus to Disney World. We were all so excited! We checked in and found that we’d been assigned to the Acadian House. I was a bit disappointed that we weren’t in the building I’d requested (Magnolia Terrace), by my sister and family had already checked in so we couldn’t change at that point. Acadian House ended up being fine, though. It wasn’t nearly as far away from everything as it appeared on the map!
Finding our room was another small challenge. We found our building and our elevator pretty easily, but then our room was about 200 corner turns and 500 miles from there! (Okay, so that’s a bit of an exaggeration…) Once we found a better route (minus the elevator) to the main area, we had a much shorter trip to and from the pool, restaurant, etc.
Once we found our room and got settled, we headed back to the Riverside Mill, the food court, for supper. I had a chicken and fish basket with fries, and a chocolate muffin for dessert. Seth ordered a muffaletta sandwich and pasta salad, with an apple pie for dessert. The kids had chicken and fish also. All of our food was great, though my muffin would have been better warm. (I saved it and ate it that night, and didn’t have a way to warm it.) Seth’s little individual-sized apple pie was very good!
After supper, we hopped on the ferry to Downtown Disney for an evening of shopping. We only had a couple hours (it was already close to bedtime!), so we just hit a few high points. The boys went to the Lego store while we girls went to World of Disney. We found a Cinderella Minnie for a friend, and Bradie bought an Aurora Minnie for herself. (The kids saved their money for a year, so they had their own souvenir money to spend.) I got the Mickey Crocs I’d wanted but couldn’t find at home.
Next we stopped by Once Upon a Toy, where Seth and Sammy had a blast creating light sabers. Seth went for the dark side and made a double-sided saber a la Darth Maul, while Sammy stuck with the Jedi side. We didn’t know that they would get cool Sith/Jedi pins when they bought their light sabers! That was a bonus treat! Bradie and I played some with the My Little Pony things while the boys built, but we didn’t actually buy them.
Finally, we went to Wonderful World of Memories, the scrapbooking shop. I was frankly very disappointed with this shop. I’d looked forward to a whole shop with nothing but Disney scrapbook stuff, but it ended up being more stationary and magazines than scrapping supplies! In fact, I don’t think I saw anything there that I didn’t see later in the resort gift shop! I only got a sheet of stickers and a coloring book there.
We hopped back on the ferry back to POR. It was a bit chilly, but a great trip other than that. We found the ferry ride to be very pleasant, much more so than the crowded buses, and it didn’t take any longer than riding the bus.
We got back to the resort and found our luggage waiting for us. We changed into PJs and the kids fell asleep quickly while we unpacked the suitcases and got organized for the next day.
__________________
DD and DS, May 2008
"I am purple today; Bright and happy like a butterfly in the air." -Kira Willey
Last edited by happyhedgehogs; 05-21-2008 at 06:55 PM..
Finally, we went to Wonderful World of Memories, the scrapbooking shop. I was frankly very disappointed with this shop. I’d looked forward to a whole shop with nothing but Disney scrapbook stuff, but it ended up being more stationary and magazines than scrapping supplies!
I so agree with you on this. It was very disappointing to me. I was able to find way more Disney scrapbook stuff once I got back and went through my friend's Rogers Catalog.
Sounds like a fun start! This will be the first time we get to experience Legoland. My DS (7) is extremely excited for this. I think it's great that you have the kids save their own money for the souvenirs. It teaches them the importance of using their money wisely and that when it's gone it's gone. I'm a big believer in this and we usually take the money they get and turn it into Disney Dollars so that they are not tempted to use it on junky stuff like candy or poorly made dollar store toys.
At 6:55am, Mickey Mouse and Stitch called to wake us up for our first day in WDW. (We were disappointed to discover that the same pair made every morning’s wake up call, no matter what time we scheduled it for! I hoped for a little more variety!) After showers and cereal, we stopped by Jenny’s room to see her family and say good morning. (The rest of the group hadn’t arrived yet.)
The day was warm and pretty, though a bit windy, as we headed to Epcot. We hoped to get there for morning Magic Hours, but didn’t arrive until around 8:30. However, we still found that lines were pretty short. We were able to ride Mission: Space (the green version), Spaceship Earth, Soarin’, and Imagination before lunch. We loved the new feature on Spaceship Earth, where it takes a picture of you and puts your face in a little movie! It was really neat to see our picture on the world (after we got off the ride) and then see where we come from on the map.
Bradie loved Soarin’, especially the parts where we were flying over water; she and I had a great time “splashing” our toes in the lakes and rivers! As with our last visit, I was disappointed in the new version of the Imagination ride, but was delighted to see my old pal Figment (even if only in the ride…).
One funny thing happened as we waited for Soarin’. I love to talk to strangers on the bus, and I’d made friends with a little boy who sat next to me that morning. When we got to the place in line where you’re actually lined up in your spot for the ride, I looked up and there was my little buddy from that morning! It turned out they’d ridden the same rides we had so far, even though we’d only seen them here. I thought it was such a funny coincidence that we would just happen to be in the same group of 20 or so people riding the ride together!
For lunch, we took a FriendShip and headed to Germany’s Sommerfest and I quickly discovered that I hadn’t planned well. Sommerfest has no kids meals at all! Seth got bratwurst there, and the kids and I headed to America for our lunch. I chose a bacon double cheeseburger, which was *huge*, and the kids had PB&J and a cheeseburger. For dessert I had apple cobbler, but it was cold and not very good.
After lunch, we stayed in the World Showcase area. We went to the KidCots in most countries. I’d printed little passport slips with country names and Disney characters, and the kids asked the KidCot CMs to write their name and something in their language. We also picked up a few pressed pennies in World Showcase.
In Morocco, we finally found our first PhotoPass photographer. I’d pre-purchased the CD and was eager to get my money’s worth. (I did, if anyone wonders!) It turned out that the photographer was from the same town in Brazil where my dad teaches a college class each year! After she took our picture in front of the Moroccan fountain, she pointed out that Aladdin and Jasmine were out and that the line was short. She ended up going over to them and taking our picture there also!
Japan was one of my target stops, because I wanted to get a pearl necklace. I chose an ugly, hairy oyster as recommended by others. I got a gold-ish colored pearl that was right at 7mm, and I had it set in a little silver cage thingy (so they didn’t have to put a hole in it). It’s so pretty! And I love that it’s a Disney souvenir that I can wear to work! I was disappointed, though, that Japan didn’t have the Mickey origami paper I used to buy as a child. In fact, they had no Disney-specific paper at all! L
We enjoyed supper at Norway’s Restaurant Akershus. Bradie had a picture with Belle, then we were seated and waited on by Kasper. We didn’t care much for the appetizers, but the other food was great! Seth ordered the Veggie Stuffed Pasta, and I had the Traditional Kjottetakes (which were yummy beef and pork patties with a lingonberry sauce). The kids both had grilled chicken, and their portions actually seemed to be bigger than our adult ones! For desert, we all shared the three small desserts they bring out. Bradie loved the rice cream with strawberries, Seth and I liked the princess cake, and everyone (even the kids!) liked the mocha cheesecake.
And of course, the princess meets couldn’t be beat! We saw Ariel (with legs, of course), Aurora, Cinderella, and Alice. They spent only short amounts of time with us, but were happy to sign autographs and take a picture with Bradie. Alice, in particular, was friendly and talked with Bradie. I think she was a bit surprised that Bradie, at not quite 5, knew Alice in Wonderland pretty well and talked about favorite parts of the movie! I was particularly glad that we met Ariel once I learned the next day that Ariel’s Grotto had just been closed for renovation. I hadn’t read about that closure and had been expecting Bradie to get to meet her. She would have been so disappointed if she hadn’t met Ariel at all!
By this point in the trip, I had already become frustrated with my new camera. I got a PowerShot SX100 just before the trip, because my Kodak wasn’t working so well. The PowerShot uses AAs instead of a specific camera battery, and by 6:00 that day, I’d already gone through 3 sets of batteries! Luckily, I’d brought rechargables and rechargers, but I had a hard time keeping batteries going, especially at crucial photo times. Pal Mickey also broke around this point, refusing to respond even when we turned him off and back on. Luckily, a store CM took pity on us and gave us a new one, saving some serious disappointment.
Camera and Mickey troubles aside, we moved next to Maelstrom. In all my Disney visits, I don’t remember ever riding this. I thought it was delightful, though! Next, we walked around to a couple more KidCots. We lucked out in UK, with a character meet (Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore) and a great KidCot CM! He really played up his role, and pretended to be a knight fighting dragons. He said that green dragons could change into humans, and he declared that Seth was a green dragon in disguise! J Finally, we headed over to Mexico to ride El Rio del Tiempo (or as I call it, “the Mexican Small World”!).
We watched Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, the last show of the night. Bradie didn’t like the scary points, but Seth did a good job of covering her eyes during them. I hated the mice-on-your-feet part—it just felt too real!!! The kids had fun playing with the water worms outside the show. I remember that being one of my favorites as a child, too! J
At this point, we didn’t have much time before Illuminations, but we decided to hit The Seas and ride the Nemo ride. It was cute, but not my favorite in the world. We did enjoy Turtle Talk with Crush immensely, though! We spent a few minutes looking at the fish and climbing in Bruce before we picked up a pressed penny and headed out.
We parked ourselves in Canada for Illuminations, and it turned out to be a decent spot. There wasn’t much of a crowd, and nothing like trees in our way. We brought earplugs for Bradie, but she still didn’t like it much. She would let me hold her for a few minutes at a time, but then she would climb in the stroller and cover her ears. She hates loud noises, and even the neat fireworks and pictures on the big globe couldn’t tempt her!
Two things in particular didn’t work well on this day: The stroller and waiting after the fireworks. The kids fought constantly over the stroller, even going so far as to push each other out of the way, so we declared that we wouldn’t take it the next day. (After they spent a day walking everywhere, they decided to behave themselves and they earned it back for the following day.) We also followed advice I’d read, and stayed in the park for 30 minutes or so after Illuminations ended. It turned out, though, that everyone in the world was staying at POR that night. By the time we got to the bus stop, the line was taking up two full slots. We waited nearly an hour, even after they started sending two buses at a time!
A beautiful view of the Epcot ball at night: IMG_0280 [].JPG
__________________
DD and DS, May 2008
"I am purple today; Bright and happy like a butterfly in the air." -Kira Willey
Last edited by happyhedgehogs; 05-21-2008 at 10:59 PM..
Reason: Added a picture
Sounds like a fun-packed day. Sorry you had to wait so long for buses. When you're exhausted it's tough to wait...add tired children and it creates quite a mix. Can't wait to hear more.
Sounded like a great first day...except for the long wait at the buses. We too found that on certain nights it seemed that everyone was going to POR...
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