Rides, Rainclouds and mishaps....Disney Style - Page 9 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
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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.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
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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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Sounds like a very magical lunch!!!Great photos and Abby took a great one of you and your husband!! What a long day, but you got quite a lot accomplished!!
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Even with the rain your day at Epcot sounded wonderful. Glad Abby was able to meet all her princesses (and that Ariel and Cinderella were there too). When we were thre I had hoped to see Ariel but it was not meant to be...(she is the only princess we miss everytime - but then again my little one just never has the patience to wait to see her at Ariel's grotto)
You got so much done....how great that you were able to take in so much of the WS and that you were able to retrieve so many pressed pennies...
I am sure Abby was so exhausted (as were you as well) after such a busy day but it must have been so well worth it to get to enjoy so much of Epcot...
What a busy Epcot day! You're seeing so many characters at all the parks - ! Glad to see that you were in some of the pictures today! That's the thing about being the photographer - sometimes it seems like you weren't even there!
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A Fairy Godmother wannabe -
Look what a little Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo can do!
Wow! Looks like a great day with seeing all those characters and getting a good tour of WS and getting pressed coins! Great! I hope we have time to do all of that next time we are there!
Wow what a lot you got done in one day. Abby sure is the little trooper. Love the pictures. You sure saw a lot of them. We usually hit PSB for dinner and have seen Ariel there. Its DD's favorite. Sounds like a great day at Epcot. Can't wait to read more.
WHEW - I got tired just reading your report! You guys really accomplished a lot, and Abby looks like she is having such a great time!
BTW, one of DH's sisters is a CM and she told us the REAL meaning of Epcot...It doesn't stand for the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, but rather Every Person Comes Out Tired!
Wow! You got so much done! I love the picture of the sea horses. Too sweet! So glad the CM didn't get hurt from the scooter. Oh my! Abby is such a trooper. Can't wait for more!
We probably could have explored the countries more but we didn't. I had a list of where the pressed pennies should have been so once we found them, we went on to the next country. I think that's what kept Abby going. Between her and Lenny, they wanted every penny they could find.
We're glad too the CM didn't get hurt. I don't know what Disney would have done if that happened as it is his personal scooter. IMO, it's one thing for the CM to move around the ones that Disney owns, but I really don't think they should move someone's personal scooter that they might not know how to operate or what the quirks are of a particular scooter.
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What a great day in Epcot! You certainly got a lot done! We too saw Ariel and Cinderella at PSB lunch, but that was 3 years ago Love the pictures! Glad you ran into Lisa too!! More please
By the time we were done, I actually couldn't wait to get out of WS. Thanks about the pictures and I'm glad I ran into Lisa too. It was nice seeing her a couple of different times and talking to her.
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Sounds like a very magical lunch!!!Great photos and Abby took a great one of you and your husband!! What a long day, but you got quite a lot accomplished!!
It was a great lunch. This year Abby was in no rush to leave the restaurants. 2 years ago at every meal, she kept saying things like I'm ready to leave, Can we go now? Not once did I hear that at a meal this year - including the non character meals. It was a long day, but you never seem to realize how long until you get someplace to look at a clock.
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That's a great picture Abby took of you and Lenny.
Another wonderful day, hope to read more before I go.
Lenny and I joked that we have a future Photopass Photographer on our hands. It's amazing how some kids pick things up. Pictures are obviously Abby's things. I'm going to try and post more today, so you should be able to read some more.
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Great update! And so wonderful that you got to see so many characters in Epcot!!!
Thanks. It was nice to see the Characters as I didn't expect to see any with all the rain that morning. And they way I got Belle and the Beast was out of luck. I happen to see a small crowd of people so I went to see what they were doing.
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Even with the rain your day at Epcot sounded wonderful. Glad Abby was able to meet all her princesses (and that Ariel and Cinderella were there too). When we were thre I had hoped to see Ariel but it was not meant to be...(she is the only princess we miss everytime - but then again my little one just never has the patience to wait to see her at Ariel's grotto)
You got so much done....how great that you were able to take in so much of the WS and that you were able to retrieve so many pressed pennies...
I am sure Abby was so exhausted (as were you as well) after such a busy day but it must have been so well worth it to get to enjoy so much of Epcot...
We won't melt and even though Abby doesn't like to be out in the rain (she used a poncho AND an umbrella every time it rained) I told her I wasn't in Disney to stay inside a hotel because it was raining. We would stay in the parks because there were plenty of indoor rides to do out of the rain and she was fine with it. I'm sorry to hear you miss Ariel and I don't blame your little one for not going to the Grotto - the line can get long. I was surprised Abby was willing to wait in it this year, but I guess her desire to meet Ariel as a mermaid was what helped her wait.
We did get a lot done, but the funny thing is, I never planned on spending that long in WS. I though an hour or two tops and we'd have the pennies and be on to FW. We ended up spending something like 5 or so hours in WS and by the time we were done there and in Mouse Gear, it didn't leave much time to tour FW because Lenny wanted to see Illuminations. It all worked out though because we did a couple of EMH attractions and then went back on Lenny's birthday to finish up FW - which is how he wanted to spend the day.
What a busy Epcot day! You're seeing so many characters at all the parks - ! Glad to see that you were in some of the pictures today! That's the thing about being the photographer - sometimes it seems like you weren't even there
It was busy, but enjoyable. I was surprised at all the characters we saw this year. Abby saw them, but since she's still shy with the "fur characters", she was content to see them at a distance. I took the pictures so she could remember who she saw. As for being in the pictures, I don't like to be in them, I'd rather take them. But since it was a family vacation, I got in a few.
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Wow! Looks like a great day with seeing all those characters and getting a good tour of WS and getting pressed coins! Great! I hope we have time to do all of that next time we are there!
It was. I didn't realize WS was so large until this year. But be forewarned, you will come out tired - I know I did. I actually couldn't wait to get out of WS.
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Wow what a lot you got done in one day. Abby sure is the little trooper. Love the pictures. You sure saw a lot of them. We usually hit PSB for dinner and have seen Ariel there. Its DD's favorite. Sounds like a great day at Epcot. Can't wait to read more
I don't know which Abby enjoyed more this day - the PSB meal, the fiesta atmosphere of Mexico or looking for all the pressed pennies. She's been learning too about some of the countries on her computer games so that might have kept her wanting to see the next country too. Who knows. It could have been just being in Disney that kept her going.
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WHEW - I got tired just reading your report! You guys really accomplished a lot, and Abby looks like she is having such a great time!
BTW, one of DH's sisters is a CM and she told us the REAL meaning of Epcot...It doesn't stand for the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, but rather Every Person Comes Out Tired!
Can't wait to hear more!
Abby did have a lot of fun, but she was also allowed some say in what we did. She wanted to stay in WS and see the countries and get the pennies so that's what we did. Had she been miserable, we would have left WS.
And I agree 100% with your DH's sister. This was the only day that Abby was cranky by the time we got to the hotel. She even put herself to bed she was so tired.
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Great update!! Other than the rain (that you didn't let get you down ), it sounds like you had the perfect day!! Can't wait to hear more
Even rain is different in Disney. It's not something to run away from IMO. Of course I go prepared with ponchos and whether it's mean or not, I walk around the park laughing at the people who are hiding inside from it and peeking out. We're still having fun going from attraction to attraction and they're standing there wondering when it's going to stop enough for them to come out.
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What a busy time you had at Epcot - sounds like you had a great time with the Princesses at Akerhaus.
I was worried about this meal most of all before we left. Not necessarily because of the characters but because of the food. I figured that if there was no food that Abby would enjoy that she wouldn't want to stick around for the Princesses. Luckily, there was Genoa Salami on the buffet. Abby loves it so she munched on it until she got her hot meal, then she ate that. All the while keeping an eye out for the princesses.
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Wow just caught up. I love the auto train...never heard of that before...how cool! Love Abby's excitement at IaSW and that those random people could put a big smile on her face with some friendly waving. Can't wait to hear what is up next!
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Margaret
I am not a Disney employee. The postings here are my own and do not represent the positions or opinions of the Disney Company
Wow just caught up. I love the auto train...never heard of that before...how cool! Love Abby's excitement at IaSW and that those random people could put a big smile on her face with some friendly waving. Can't wait to hear what is up next!
The Auto Train is cool. For us, it takes the boredom out of driving. Instead of driving for 3 days, we only drive one full day plus a couple of hours then the train takes us the rest of the way.
I don't know what it is about SW, but Abby just loves that ride so much. I was on it more this year than in all the years I went growing up. Added to the last time we went to Disney in 2006, I've probably been on this ride 20+ just in 2 trips. Abby loves the ride and gets off smiling - the people waving just put an even bigger smile on her face so it's times like that IMO that make going on this ride worth it and not the torture some people think it is.