A Very Merry Surprise ~ The TR (11/4/11 - 11/12/11) - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel 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
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
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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A Very Merry Surprise ~ The TR (11/4/11 - 11/12/11)
It's time to get this TR started! If you'd like to read a little background on myself, or just catch up on our pre trip planning you can head over here http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...12-2011-a.html to catch up on my PTR.
If not, here's a quick review:
WHO:
Myself (Jenn), age 35
A true Disney fan, I have a healthy "obsession" with the mouse I've been travelling to WDW since I was a small child, I have many wonderful memories of those visits. It's so nice to now see the World through the eyes of my own children now!
DH (Chris), age 36
While not as "obsessed" as I am, he is still a huge fan of Disney. Only being to the World a handful of times, he loves to visit the parks, and I am very lucky that he indulges my desire to visit more and more.
Here's one of my favorite pics of us from our trip in 2009:
DD (Kaeli), age 7
With her third trip under her belt, her love of WDW is growing. Favorite characters include Rapunzel, Phinneas and Ferb and Duffy the bear.
A silly pic from last year's trip:
DD (Abby), age 5
A fun loving and silly little girl, I love seeing WDW through her eyes. Another big fan in the making. Some favorite characters include Tinkerbell, Duffy the bear and of course Minnie and Mickey.
Here she is last year, lounging at the Boardwalk:
WHEN:
11/4/11 - 11/12/11 - our second visit during "Jersey Week", and our first visit for all of the Holiday festivities, including our first MVMCP!!
WHERE:
A two bedroom villa at the Marriott Vacation Club's Harbour Lake Resort (near Sea World)
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Day 1, Part 1 - Friday 11/4/11 Travel Day and the Surprise Reveal
I'm actually going to start with the day before we leave, Thursday 11/3. Chris was supposed to work a day shift this day, but he decided to use one of his personal days to add one more day to his vacation. I was very thankful, as it gave me time to head to the spa and get a last minute mani/pedi in the morning while he stayed home with Abby (she is in half day Kindergarten, in the PM session). When I returned home it was about time to drop Abby at school, we walked her over and quickly returned home to hop in the car and head to the mall for the Disney Store. I had set aside souvenir money for the girls, but decided at the last minure I would put it on Disney gift cards for them. Gift cards in hand, we left the mall and headed to the bank to take out some cash for the trip, and then we made our way home. We had a little time left before we had to pick up the girls, so we packed up the back seat of the car with the travel bags I put together for them and Chris set up the DVD player as well. He decided to pull the car out of the driveway and park in front of our neighbors house so that Kaeli and Abby could not see all of the things we had just piled into the backseat.
Since nothing much else got done after school let out, fast forward to dinner time. We grabbed a quick pizza, cleaned up our mess and got the girls up to shower and get ready for bed. Thankfully they were both tired and they were off to bed by 8 , which gave Chris and I plenty of time to get the car all packed up and spend some time relaxing before bed. I was giddy with excitement and knew I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, so I stayed up reading some TRs and checking Facebook. Probably around midnight Chris yelled down to me, wondering if I was going to come up. Finally, I did, and surpisingly it didn't take long to drift off to sleep.
5 AM came around too quickly and I immediately hit the snooze button on my alarm clock a couple of times, finally getting up around 5:20. I got myself cleaned up and dressed, and then finished packing up some last minute things into my toiletry bag. I went downstairs to get the goody bags ready for the surprise reveal, and a little after 6 I headed back up to start waking Kaeli and Abby. They were both very groggy and did not want to get out of bed. Can't say I don't blame them, it was still dark outside and at this point they had no idea we were leaving for WDW today! In an attempt to lure them out of bed I told them that Daddy and I had a surprise waiting for them downstairs. This definitely got their attention, their little heads popped up and they were out from under the covers in no time.
Chris wanted to videotape the girls reaction, so once I knew he was ready with the camera, I sent the girls down. I told them that we were not going to school today, but instead we had somewhere special to be, and that there were clues to where that place was inside of the bag on the kitchen table. They immediately began to dig in, pulling out various Disney trinkets, but not quite yet understanding. Finally they made it to the Tshirts and I asked them to read what they said to me, Abby yells out, "I'm going to Disney World!" and flashed a big smile, but still looked confused. I then said that we would be getting in the car shortly to start our drive today to WDW! Abby immediately shouts out, "But, why? It's nighttime, it's still dark out!" Then, Kaeli mentioned something about not being able to go because they had school today. I laughed and assured them that it was ok to miss school, and then sent them back upstairs to get dressed. I could tell the confusion had worn off as I heard them singing "We're going to Disney!" over and over while they got themselves cleaned up. It was definitely not the immediate jumping up and down, excited reaction I was expecting, but once they got over their confusion, excitement and happiness had really set in and they couldn't get in the car fast enough!
While the girls finished up getting dressed, Chris packed up the car with some last minute things and I took the time to check the house over, making sure doors were locked and that all of the lights and electronics were turned off. Finally, we were all set and it was time to set off on our journey!
Up Next: Driving off into the sunset, er, sunrise!
Abby immediately shouts out, "But, why? It's nighttime, it's still dark out!" Then, Kaeli mentioned something about not being able to go because they had school today.
Sometimes a surprise is so exciting it takes a while to sink in! I love the delayed reaction. You're off! It'll be fun reading your report and thinking-- that's the day I did ...
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That's awesome! I love the kids who are so clued in to their regular schedule that they're like the ants in Bug's Life. My friend surprised her DD7, saying that she was going to pick her up early from school for a check-up. The balloons, the family, the luggage, everything was in the parking lot, but she was totally confused. Precious little thing - days later she was still asking about rescheduling the doctor's appointment.
Sounds like it didn't take too long for your girls to adjust!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
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I've been travelling to WDW since I was a small child, I have many wonderful memories of those visits. It's so nice to now see the World through the eyes of my own children now!
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, which gave Chris and I plenty of time to get the car all packed up and spend some time relaxing before bed. I was giddy with excitement and knew I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, so I stayed up reading some TRs and checking Facebook. Probably around midnight Chris yelled down to me, wondering if I was going to come up. Finally, I did, and surpisingly it didn't take long to drift off to sleep. 
I then said that we would be getting in the car shortly to start our drive today to WDW! Abby immediately shouts out, "But, why? It's nighttime, it's still dark out!" Then, Kaeli mentioned something about not being able to go because they had school today. 
I laughed and assured them that it was ok to miss school, and then sent them back upstairs to get dressed. I could tell the confusion had worn off as I heard them singing "We're going to Disney!" over and over while they got themselves cleaned up. 
It was definitely not the immediate jumping up and down, excited reaction I was expecting, but once they got over their confusion, excitement and happiness had really set in and they couldn't get in the car fast enough! 
PassPorter Guide Author
Glad the girls are excited to go! 
Hybrid Mode
