Trip Report "Dreams Really Can Come True" 6/1/09-6/8/09 - COMPLETED 7/19 - Page 33 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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
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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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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I absolutely LOVE that picture of the castle with the sunset colors behind it, beautiful!! Great last night at MK...your boys are super troopers to be raring to go so late. Sorry it is coming to an end, but I really enjoyed going along for the ride with you and your family.
What a great way to spend your last evening at WDW. We always have to spend it at MK. As you said there is something just so magical about the MK at night. Glad you got to enjoy some rides to cap off your evening and that you got to have your Dole Whip.
what a great shot of the castle
sound like a fun time had by all at the mk
can't believe your trip is coming to an end
hurry back with your last day soon
I got up early on Monday to finish packing. My neat, scientific, compression/reduction, space bag method for packing went out the window, as it always does at the end of vacations – wrinkles be darned! I never did feel like doing laundry, as we had packed extra outfits. I felt bad for the poor airport dogs! We had our yummy breakfast from MSB while still in the room. We had intended on checking out early, leaving our bags with bell svcs, and spending a little time at DTD before we left. ME would pick us up at 3pm sharp for our scheduled departure at 6:07pm. We had gotten our DME envelope the night before (both and at the same time). I was surprised to see that there was no information on it as far as our flight. I called ME and they said they had no flight number for us. Trying not to panic and praying at the same time, I called AirTran. Our flight number had changed and our flight time had been moved up 2 whole minutes to 6:05pm. I wasn’t even mad, just glad that they hadn’t moved it up a more significant amount of time.
We ended up half-heartedly deciding not to go to DTD, but instead hang out at the resort. This had been a storybook vacation, and I didn’t want any drama or rushing around trying to get back to the resort on time for the ME bus. Anything could happen and I just didn’t want to chance it. (Paranoid - yes. Missed the flight – no.) We had finished clearing out our room (don’t forget under the beds!) and checked out right at 11am. (We said goodbye to our room, vowing to stay in the exact same room next time.) There was a scale at bell svcs which came in handy, helping me to even out our luggage weight (50lb max each). When we checked in for our flight, we were able to pay there by calling the number on the card bell svcs gave me for AirTran. We also left our (7!) carry-on bags with them and then went to the Mara for lunch.
I’m so happy that the Mara had good food, or it would have put a cramp in our dining. We had eaten there several times during the week and it totally suited our needs. The kids split a cheese flatbread from the adult menu (they were like, “finally!”), a brownie and chips. I got the double cheeseburger and DH got the chef salad that he said was pretty good. We had our last meal there with mixed feelings. On the one hand, we were a little sad that this was our last meal. On the other hand, paying for lunch with cash (total = $30.31 ) was not fun and it was a glaring sign that vacation was over!
After lunch, we had about 2 hours left, so we basically just moseyed around the resort, soaking it in and doing some last minute video taping. We staked out some comfy chairs and a couch in the lobby and hung out. I had left my camera in my carry on, so I didn’t get any pictures on this last day, but here are some more that I took the day before. I tried to add pix that you may not have seen before (yeah right ), but I thought these were interesting.
Female Mask
comfy chairs to relax and watch the animals on Arusha Savanna
looking up from the rocking chairs
From our balcony - obligatory giraffe picture
You probably have seen pictures of the beautiful AKL lobby ceiling, but have you ever seen the hidden mickeys? (Hint: look at the wooden posts)
While DH relaxed with the boys, I went into the marketplace to finally do some souvenir shopping. This place had everything I needed for my friends and family. I got a spoon and fork set from Tanzania made out of mahogany for my sister. I truly regret not getting some small instruments for my 1st grade homeschool group. They would have loved them! Okay – executive decision made: I will contact Disney mail order and see if I can get some from the marketplace mailed to me. I especially liked the thumb pianos. I was looking for two items in particular that they did not have. They didn’t have the earrings I wanted (silver Mickey ears) or a plain old Mickey wrist watch. I guess I should have tried to get them from DTD or the parks
Before bringing all my goodies to the counter, I took one more look at the pin board, trying in vain to find Miss Piggy. I had found the entire set, except for her and Kermit was lonely at the top of my lanyard. I had been scanning every CM up and down for the past couple of days looking for her, but I was bracing myself for disappointment. I just figured that it would be fun to find her next time. I scanned the CM ringing up my things – she didn’t have her either. Just as I was picking up my bag, leaving the store I suddenly caught a glimpse of those familiar Mickey ears. Could it be? No… YES! Miss Piggy was on the hip of the CM at the next register! TOTAL SCORE! Giddy as a kid on Christmas morning, I politely (barely) asked to trade for her. I explained that I had been looking for this pin all week but I was just about to go home, and she had just made some very cool magic for me. She said that she had just traded it for a Jack Skellington pin just 5 minutes ago. She told me to remember to give her kudos for it, but in my self-absorbed excitement, I forgot to write down her name
So just before we were to get our bags and board our bus to the airport, Tinkerbell had sprinkled some last minute magic. I had traded for an entire 7 pc Muppets set – retail $29.99 on the DW website. (Okay, I could get the set off eBay for $17.99, but it was more fun saying that way.) I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to our most awesome and dream fulfilling trip.
Our trip to the airport was uneventful. Our bus driver played the “going home” movie but I fell asleep, waking up as we were arriving at MCO. We got to our gate in good time, with maybe a 45 min wait. While we waited, we watched as a big-time storm rolled over the airport through the big picture windows. Our plane still hadn’t arrived by the time we were supposed to be leaving – no surprise. (The board still said “arrival on time”, ha ha) It arrived in about 15 minutes and we boarded. During the flight, I tried to write some notes about our trip, but my heart really wasn’t into it and I think I was just tired.
We arrived at Baltimore and immediately began noticing how un-Disney things were. We knew for sure that our vacation was over when it took 45 minutes for our luggage to finally start coming off the carousel. The waiting was bearable because we had some Mickey gummies so it was okay. We headed home, stopping at Burger King, lamenting not having the DDP. We finally got home and no matter where you go, coming back home is always good.
Sorry you had to go home. Sounded like a relaxful day to unwind before heading back to reality.
I am so glad you found Miss Piggy! Too cool!
I know how you feel about leaving. At this point I just want my vacation to get here and I don't EVEN want to think about having to come home, just yet.
Everything sounded wonderful. I do hope you get back soon!!! Especially now that your DH knows a little more about WDW and seems to have things HE wants to do next time!
So sorry your trip has come to an end. I enjoyed the ride. And, now am looking forward even more to our trip in Sept to AKL. Thanks for taking us along.
The PassPorter has a great place in the back to record some memories. I’m glad I filled some of it out, because it makes for easier (and more succinct) reflection.
“Our Magic Memories”
Our most memorable day was Tuesday, June 2 because we got to see Wishes after almost giving up on it, riding in the front of the monorail, DS7 got a towel cake and DS4 got “Happy Birthday’s” to him all day.
Our most memorable place was Chef Mickey’s because of the 1:1 character time (times 3 with each character!), saving us line time at the parks.
Our most memorable attraction was a toss up between Toy Story Midway Mania and Expedition Everest – super duper fun!
Our most memorable activity was the Jedi Training Academy because DS7 got picked the first time and he fought against Darth Maul.
Our most memorable meal was a tie. Hollywood Brown Derby, because it was so good and because it made up for Boma dinner for DH. The Wave because our server took her time with us and I felt like a “grown up” learning about wines.
Our most magical moment of all – TMTC (medical term for “too many to count”)
What would you do again and why? Magical Express – convenience. Animal Kingdom Lodge – just gorgeous, great room, everything we wanted and more. The Dining Plan – we saved money and ate well. The timing – the first week of June was great for decent weather and decent crowds.
What would you never do again and why not? The steak at Tony’s Town Square. Otherwise, I’m willing to try some other dishes there. Boma for dinner, but breakfast, a hearty and hale “Yes”! One time on IASW was enough. We won’t try to do Animal Kingdom in one day again. Finally: get that souvenir, merchandise or pin when I see it – don’t wait until later!
Best tip I got that I didn’t use: mailing items ahead.
Other musings:
I really liked my passholder, but I didn’t see even one other person with a pp badge or passholder . I’ll still use it next time, b/c it was convenient.
I have to settle my camera issues before I go on my next vacation, or even sooner. I have to decide if I want the convenience of a point-and-shoot, or the power and capability of a DSLR. I was disappointed that I didn’t get as many pictures that I wanted. The door of my manual 35mm broke and that hurt.
If we are going to go back to DW again, there are two things for us to consider. 1. Our family needs to be there longer than 7 or 8 days, or 2. We need to consider DVC so that we can take mini-trips.
We were totally spoiled by AKL. We would need to stay somewhere like the Poly or Wilderness Lodge if we couldn’t get AKL.
We may try the DxDDP next time. We like to sit down to eat. We were talking about this the other day – we did not have a single ice cream, Mickey bar, or any other treats outside our dining plan. Well, except for our Goofy’s Candy Co. treats. I think we were really trying to stick to the plan and ended up using snack credits mostly for breakfast. Or we’ll have to make a snack budget
I learned some things about my children. My robust, all-boy, loud, karate kid 7 year old liked the water, hands on stuff, parades and shows more than the rides. My skin and bones, quiet comedian 4 year old, who still say’s “I want my mommy”, liked the rides. He still says he liked Expedition Everest the best. Even after he was scared witless in Stitch, he wanted to go back and do it again. Go figure.
Extremely wishful thinking, tentative plans for next time:
More pool time, a water park at least once, Fantasmic, more time for shopping, more rest time, ‘Ohana, CRT, California Grill, Tokyo Dining (!) mini-golf, some boating or fishing, park hopper passes, maybe a Pirate cruise, a behind the scenes tour, Mom’s solo time at World Showcase, maybe while the boys are at Disney Quest? Since I’m really dreaming, let’s throw in a fireworks cruise, or Richard Petty Driving Experience.
One thing is for sure, we are going back and I can’t wait! Reading TRs and looking at all the pictures will have to do until then. Now that I’m finally done with this TR, I can settle in and get comfortable with all the TRs I’ve been wanting to dive into!
Thanks everyone for reading about our trip. Forgive me for all the fragmented sentences and run-on sentences, they seem to be my specialty. I hope to get to meet with you one day!
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I love your shot of the castle against that beautiful sky. 
Guess where we were headed??
I never did feel like doing laundry, as we had packed extra outfits. I felt bad for the poor airport dogs! 
We had our yummy breakfast from MSB while still in the room. We had intended on checking out early, leaving our bags with bell svcs, and spending a little time at DTD before we left. ME would pick us up at 3pm sharp for our scheduled departure at 6:07pm. We had gotten our DME envelope the night before (both 
and 
at the same time). I was surprised to see that there was no information on it as far as our flight. I called ME and they said they had no flight number for us. 
Trying not to panic and praying at the same time, I called AirTran. Our flight number had changed and our flight time had been moved up 2 whole minutes to 6:05pm. I wasn’t even mad, just glad that they hadn’t moved it up a more significant amount of time.
.) We had finished clearing out our room (don’t forget under the beds!) and checked out right at 11am. (We said goodbye to our room, vowing to stay in the exact same room next time.) There was a scale at bell svcs which came in handy, helping me to even out our luggage weight (50lb max each). When we checked in for our flight, we were able to pay there by calling the number on the card bell svcs gave me for AirTran. We also left our (7!) carry-on bags with them and then went to the Mara for lunch.
), a brownie and chips. I got the double cheeseburger and DH got the chef salad that he said was pretty good. We had our last meal there with mixed feelings. On the one hand, we were a little sad that this was our last meal. On the other hand, paying for lunch with cash (total = $30.31 
) was not fun and it was a glaring sign that vacation was over!
), but I thought these were interesting.
Female Mask
The waiting was bearable because we had some Mickey gummies so it was okay. We headed home, stopping at Burger King, lamenting not having the DDP. 
We finally got home and no matter where you go, coming back home is always good. 
Liz 
I hope to get to meet with you one day!
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