OUR not so scary annual fall vacation...10/15-10/23 COMPLETED REPORT Day 10!!!! - 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.

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Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
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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!

Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!

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Old 10-27-2005, 05:56 PM   #1
angiek1024
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OUR not so scary annual fall vacation...10/15-10/23 COMPLETED REPORT Day 10!!!!

The Players:

Scott-DH, a Disney Veteran
Logan- DS, 7, a Disney youngster and lover
Me-Angela, A Disney Veteran and fanatic

When and Where:

October 15-23, 2005
Pop Century: 50’s building, room 2330

Starting Point: Chattanooga, TN Ending Point: House of the Mouse

Day One on the Road to see the Mouse: Oct 14 [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

We booked our annual trip in March 2006. We couldn’t decide where to stay and thought our son would enjoy the Pop. We made our reservations and a couple of months later added the Dining Plan. Little did we know that the Dining Plan would end up being the best decision of the entire trip. We counted down until we were able to make our dining reservations in July. Luckily, they had just changed the policy so that we could make all of our reservations at once. For me, the countdown really begins when those reservations are made!! I was on the internet daily looking for tips and trying to find new things to do this year. This is when we found out about the passporter and went to our local bookstore and bought one. I then started checking out the message board and found other people who share my obsession. I thought I was the only one addicted to all things Disney.

[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]Our morning on the 14th started early. We packed our car by 7:15 a.m. Then my husband and I took Logan to school and worked in a Spirit Day event (bake sale) my son’s class was sponsoring. Then after it was over, as homeroom mom I had to coordinate a Fall Fun Day event for his class. We got out of there about 2:15 but oops we forgot to get my prescription filled and had to hit the drug store before we left. Then ended up having to make a quick trip home. We then stopped to get a bite to eat on the way. So really we left more like 3:30. Logan had his DVD player and took Disney movies to watch on the way. We drove to Valdosta, GA and stopped to spend the night at the Quality Inn about 9:30. We had gotten into some construction traffic and stopped at Applebee’s to eat so we didn’t make great time going down.

By the time we got checked in, we were all exhausted. I kept saying to Logan…tomorrow we see the Mouse…..tommorrow we see the Mouse…..

[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/snore.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/snore.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/snore.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/snore.gif[/img]

UP NEXT: HELLO Pop and Magic Kingdom
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Old 10-27-2005, 06:01 PM   #2
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Re: OUR not so scary annual fall vacation.......10/15-10/23

Great start!! Can't wait to read all about getting to the Mouse!!
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Old 10-27-2005, 06:49 PM   #3
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Re: OUR not so scary annual fall vacation.......10/15-10/23

OFf to a great start...can't wait to hear more... [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zputer.gif[/img]
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Old 10-27-2005, 08:43 PM   #4
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Re: OUR not so scary annual fall vacation.......10/15-10/23

Great start... more more more...
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Old 10-27-2005, 10:17 PM   #5
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Re: OUR not so scary annual fall vacation.......10/15-10/23

Wonderful start! I'm looking forward to reading more.

Joy
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Old 10-27-2005, 10:27 PM   #6
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Re: OUR not so scary annual fall vacation.......10/15-10/23

keep it coming!
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Old 10-28-2005, 06:16 AM   #7
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Re: OUR not so scary annual fall vacation.......10/15-10/23

Great start [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] More please [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] Hurry back!!
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Old 10-28-2005, 09:51 AM   #8
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Re: OUR not so scary annual fall vacation.......10/15-10/23

looking forward to reading more!
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Old 10-28-2005, 10:27 AM   #9
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Re: OUR not so scary annual fall vacation.......10/15-10/23

I can't wait to hear more! We live in Chattanooga, too. I am very interested to hear about your dining plan experience, we are trying to decide if we should do it for our December trip. Thanks. Karla
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Old 10-28-2005, 10:53 AM   #10
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Re: OUR not so scary annual fall vacation.......10/15-10/23

Great start - can't wait to read more...
Eileen
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Old 10-28-2005, 11:46 AM   #11
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Re: OUR not so scary annual fall vacation.......10/15-10/23

Great start! Hurry back with more, please!
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Old 10-28-2005, 12:18 PM   #12
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Re: OUR not so scary annual fall vacation.......10/15-10/23

Can't wait to read more. That is about when we were down last year and I so miss it (although I was down in July but it's never enough - oh I'm sorry do I sound obsessed)
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Old 10-28-2005, 04:07 PM   #13
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Re: OUR not so scary annual fall vacation.......10/15-10/23

Looking forward to hearing all about it!
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Old 10-28-2005, 07:29 PM   #14
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Re: OUR not so scary annual fall vacation.......10/15-10/23 Updated!!!

Saturday, October 15, 2005
Day Two: Hello Pop and the Magic Kingdom!!!

We got up around 6:30 to get ready to leave. It is a pretty short drive from Valdosta, only about 3 hours to Orlando from there. We got ready, packed up our things and went to the breakfast at the hotel. We then went across the street to WalMart. We had packed a cooler and we got snacks there and some ice. Then it was on the road to Disney. We got to the Pop about 11:30. It was funny to see it as we drove in under the Disneyworld sign. We are all so excited to be there. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

I was very impressed with the lobby area at the Pop. The gift shop and food court area was very nice also. We only stood in line to check in a couple of minutes. The lady who checked us in was very nice and let us choose between the 50’s and 70’s building. Based on everything I had read I chose the 50’s. We were off to our room. I was surprised at what felt like a very short walk to the 50’s compared to hikes I had taken at the moderate resorts. My son was really glad to be staying so close to the bowling pin pool. That is the pool he was waiting to swim in. The laundry facilities are right by the pool there so you can’t get much more convenient. We went up to our room which was really close to the elevator. Not a great view though, we were overlooking a bunch of trees. The room was a little on the small size but roomy enough for the three of us. It was very nice and clean. We got settled and went up to the Pop Food Court to grab a counter service lunch. It was our first experience with the Dining Plan but we went by the guidelines and had no problems. Sonia at the check out register was wonderful in explaining everything to us.

After lunch we grabbed a bus to the Magic Kingdom. After a quick 13 minute bus ride (my DH timed it!) we were there. After months of planning, it was off to see the MOUSE!!! When we went in the gates my DH went over and bought our MNSSHP tickets for Thursday night. The 3:00 Share a Dream parade was going on so we caught what we could see of it knowing we would be seeing it on Monday when we went back to MK. After the parade, we proceeded to Tomorrowland after of course seeing the Castle!! I loved the way it was decorated up for the Celebration! Our first ride was Stitch. Ok, my son is going through a “scared of the dark” phase and when the lights went out during the ride he freaked out crying and grabbing me. He begged me to get him out of there. Now when you are basically strapped down in a seat, that is a little hard to do. When it was over my nerves were about shot. Not a good start folks!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

After the freaked out event we went over to the Carousel of Progress. My son loved it and we all settled down. Then we went to the TTC and rode it. My husband and son then rode the cars at the speedway. I positioned myself for a great photo op with our new digital camera we bought for the trip. Note to self….next time try it out before you use something new. I basically got a shot of the back of my husband’s head as they went by. We then went over and rode the new and improved “It’s a small world”. The colors are so much brighter in there now and it was great. It was getting time for Dinner so we headed over to Cinderella’s Royal Table for dinner at 5:45. We had a great meal and again the Dining Plan was easy to follow. We spent $128.00 there in one meal. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

After dinner we went over to ride Pirates of the Caribbean which is one of our favorite rides. Yo Ho, Yo Ho the Pirates Life for Me! You can’t seem it get it out of your head!
Then we looked around in some of the gift shops and went over to snatch a spot for Spectromagic and the Wishes Fireworks. Spectromagic was of course a beautiful show. I love Chip and Dale playing the piano! They are so cute! Then we moved across the street for the Wishes Fireworks. I held Logan in my lap. As the song played and said all my wishes will come true…. I realized my months of dreaming and planning had caused my wishes to come true. It is truly magical to hold your child and watch their face as the sky lights up!!!

UP NEXT: Day Three, Future World and the Digital Camera nightmare begins!!
[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]
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Old 10-28-2005, 07:38 PM   #15
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Re: OUR not so scary annual fall vacation.......10/15-10/23 Updated!!!

Great update - although the "digital camera nightmare" does not sound too good.
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