Our Stop and Smell the Roses (a.ka. ditching the itinerary) Trip Report- COMPLETE!! 2/16 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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
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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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awesome purse. Love the looks of it. Cant pictures as well. Cant wait to hear about the last date night!
Thanks! I'll be back with the rest of day 7 later today.
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Originally Posted by SARAHROO42
LOVE the purse!!! I hope they still have them when we go in March!
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Originally Posted by elisa1006
YAY! The reveal has been made. I love your purse! I can't wait to get one in May 31st. HAHA
Thanks and I can't wait to see yours! Come back and post pictures!!
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Originally Posted by eff051102
Love the bag! Can't wait to hear more.
Thanks -- more on the way.
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Originally Posted by lablady
Awesome TR!! Sounds like you had a great time so far.
I totally understand the tears over the Narcoosee (sp) debacle! I probably would've done the same thing! It's bad enough to have your plans derailed, but to have it done by someone who clearly could've made it right would've made me feel like it was personal!! I'm glad you were still able to relax and enjoy the evening.
Can't wait to hear the rest!
Aw, thanks! I appreciate that.
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
More great updates and pictures! Love the purse!
Thanks!
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Originally Posted by tdhc
Great TR! Looking forward to reading the rest!
Thanks for reading!
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Originally Posted by debrabrown
It is mighty perty indeed! Glad you took your time to pick just the right one. Anxious to hear about the rest of your trip!
-- I'm glad I took my time too, although DH and DD will tell a different story.
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Originally Posted by Cam22
the purse! You did an excellent job of picking out the pattern. I can't wait to check these out when we go in June.
Word on "the street" is that there's a new pattern coming out so maybe you'll get to see that too (and report back for the fans at home).
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Originally Posted by chezp
Love the purse!
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Originally Posted by ilovedisney247
Love your purse! I'm happy you found one you liked! Can't wait to hear about dinner!
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After dropping DD at the Neverland Club we walked to the TTC and hopped the monorail to Epcot for date night. First stop was Soarin’. Good thing we’d gotten FPs earlier in the day because the stand-by line was a 60 minute wait. We sat next to a little boy who was riding for the first time and he was so excited.
We were originally booked to have dinner at Marrakesh this night, but between lunch at Tangierine and dinner at Kouzzina earlier in the week, we’d had our fill of that type of cuisine so we’d cancelled the ADR. Our new plan was to snack around the world – sort of our own mini version of the F&WF.
First stop was France for a Grand Marnier slushie.
Oh boy was this delicious! We shared it but I secretly wish I’d gotten my own. It was made even better by the gorgeous view from the café table we’d gotten right by the wall along the water.
In that last picture you can see the scrim where the construction is going on for the CS restaurant in Mexico.
I also had DH get us an order of crepes with chocolate sauce. I've wanted to try these forever! Oh my, they were so good. We gobbled them up so fast that they escaped photos!
As part of our new “stop and smell the roses” attitude, our goal for the night was to explore parts of WS that we generally skip over. I think sometimes we go on auto-pilot when we’re touring and we do the same things over and over, generally staying in the front parts of the countries and not really exploring the backs of the pavilions.
It’s been years since I’ve gone through Morocco. So many pretty details, especially at this time of night.
Our next stop was Japan, where we were hoping to get some sushi. On our first visit together we’d eaten in the little sushi room next to Teppan Edo. I didn’t realize that this is now gone and had been incorporated into the larger Tokyo Dining dining room. On a whim we decided to ask if they had any tables for two available (a long shot on an EMH Friday night!) and much to my surprise they were able to seat us right away! At that point our “snack around the world” plan went out the window and we decided to just go for a regular dinner.
I started off with a glass of pinot grigio and DH had a saki martini – a cherry blossom it was called. I really loved the look of the space that used to be the sushi room. There was a screen showing soothing images of Japan. Then at one point during our meal it went to a live-cam of the sushi chefs and they did a demonstration.
We ordered several dishes to share. We started off with seaweed salad.
Next we had a spicy tuna crunch roll and a California roll.
For our entrée we share the shrimp and scallop tempura platter.
Everything was delicious and our server was a total sweetheart! She came over and chatted with us about Japanese cuisine – she was curious to know if we eat it often (we do!) and what our favorites are. I’m so glad we decided to wing-it because it gave us the chance to try a new place.
After dinner we headed down to the candy kiosk to pick up my latest obsession, Pocky! I bought a box at Border’s to put in DH’s Christmas stocking and we were hooked. We picked up a large box of the almond crush and a few large boxes of the regular chocolate.
More Pocky inside the department store!
We found a dark chocolate version, which we picked up as a gift for my dad. I always have to secure my wallet when I enter Mitsukoshi because I invariably see tons of things I want. Like this bullet train platter that they use for the kids’ meals in the restaurant.
So wanted it but I resisted.
Or this cute guy (DD would’ve loved him).
Resisted again!
After a good amount of browsing we moved on to the U.S.A. to pick up some pressed pennies for DD. We also bought the new 2-CD park soundtrack. We listened to it on the way home from the airport and it’s great!
We took a stroll through Italy. I loved the look of the outdoor dining at Tutto Italia. This one is definitely on my list for next time!
Would you believe that in 16 trips to WDW I have never, ever gone into the China pavilion?? I can’t do 360 degree movies (I get too dizzy) so since we can’t do the attraction here we end up passing by the whole pavilion. Boy, what was I missing? It is so pretty in here.
More cuteness in this store too – love these towel/washcloth sets presented as pastries.
(hey, no calories!)
We hadn’t had dessert and I was still craving ice cream so after a quick browse through Mousegears, we headed toward Fountainview. Unfortunately the line was out the door (it actually looked like they had a CM at a podium letting people in). We didn’t feel like waiting so we settled for a frozen banana from the snack cart.
By now it was getting close to DD’s pick-up time so we took a quick ride on SE before hopping the monorail back. On the way to our room we stopped at Gasparilla’s for some soft-serve ice cream. That was probably a mistake because DD ended up wired!
Some pics of the Sugar Loaf lounge in it's peaceful (closed) state.
We couldn’t get DD to settle down until about 11 p.m. At this point we figured it was highly likely that we’d need to cancel our ‘Ohana ADR for breakfast the next morning. We decided to sleep on it and make the call in the morning.
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I miss a lot when I'm away from the boards for the weekend! Great updates. It looks like you had a great couple of days. Next time I really want to try the afternoon tea. It looks like a lot of fun.
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That purse is so cute! Aww It sounds like you and your husband had a great date night. I'm having so much fun reading your trip report btw, thanks for all the great pics!
All caught up!! Wonderful report & pictures!! I your purse!! I came across several styles, including the one you chose at Mouse about Town in DHS. I took some pics and will post them later in my TR. They are so cute!!
Your date night looks wonderful -- a Grand Mariner Slushie, the chocolate crepes (which I love to get as a snack), beautiful views from World Showcase, and a score on dining at Tokyo Dining!
Great updates!! I'm so looking forward to tea again in a few months - I'm glad you enjoyed it. And how great to have several date nights! Score!
Enjoy your tea!
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Originally Posted by KMB733
I miss a lot when I'm away from the boards for the weekend! Great updates. It looks like you had a great couple of days. Next time I really want to try the afternoon tea. It looks like a lot of fun.
You definitely should try tea -- it's so relaxing and great food!
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Originally Posted by xrosario
That purse is so cute! Aww It sounds like you and your husband had a great date night. I'm having so much fun reading your trip report btw, thanks for all the great pics!
Thanks so much!
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Originally Posted by elisa1006
Great update. Sounds like you and your dh had a wonderful evening strolling WS. The last day is always sad.
I know.
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
What a great night! Love the pictures!
Thanks!
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Originally Posted by debrabrown
Sounds like a fabulous (and tasty!) date night.
It was! As we sit here preparing for a blizzard, I wish I was in WS with a slushie right about now.
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Originally Posted by chezp
What a great night - and I am so with you about having to hold on to my purse whenever we go into Mitsukoshi as well!
Haha! It's one of my favorite places to shop. Good thing there isn't one at the local mall.
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Originally Posted by islandgirl
All caught up!! Wonderful report & pictures!! I your purse!! I came across several styles, including the one you chose at Mouse about Town in DHS. I took some pics and will post them later in my TR. They are so cute!!
Can't wait to see your pictures! I think the shop at DHS is the only one I missed.
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Originally Posted by Cam22
Your date night looks wonderful -- a Grand Mariner Slushie, the chocolate crepes (which I love to get as a snack), beautiful views from World Showcase, and a score on dining at Tokyo Dining!
It was a great night. I'm so glad that we discovered the kids' club because it's a win-win for everyone. DD has a great time and we get a date night. Perfect.
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Originally Posted by Hugmonster
Just caught up. Great pictures. How expense was the Tea?
Tea was about $70 and that included 2 Buckinghams, 1 Mrs. Potts (the kids tea), one side order of strawberries for DD ($6.95), tax and tip. We could've done without the side order of strawberries because the waitress said DD could subsitute them for her pastries. I figured she'd balk at not getting pastries but in the end, all she wanted was the strawberries for dessert anyway. I think the Buckingham itsself was somewhere around $20.
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Anxious to hear about the rest of your trip!
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I can't wait to check these out when we go in June. 
I can’t do 360 degree movies (I get too dizzy) so since we can’t do the attraction here we end up passing by the whole pavilion. Boy, what was I missing? It is so pretty in here.
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