How will we ever use 42 snack credits? A Free Dining trip report - UPDATED 11/5 - Page 2 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
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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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Thanks to everybody who has tuned in so far! Glad you're along for the ride!
Day 1, August 26
We took the first flight out – 7:35 am – in order to get down to WDW as early as possible so we could spend some of our first day in the parks. (At least, that was the plan!)
FIL drove us to the airport so we wouldn’t have to pay for parking. We flew Delta, and since our son is in a wheelchair, we were first to board. The crew was awesome, and we’ve dealt with crews that were not, so this was a wonderful way to start the trip! We took up the entire row, and the kids behaved themselves quite well on the way down. A lovely gentleman named Allen helped us transport all of our baggage down to the DME counter, spoke to a cast member to let them know we’d need a handicapped-accessible van, and led us past the line to a separate waiting area. Before he left us, we gave him a Cast Member appreciation card along with his tip. He didn’t work for Disney, but he sure could have!
We didn’t wait long before our DME bus arrived and we were on our way to Pop Century, by way of Caribbean Beach and Animal Kingdom Lodge. The kids loved the video, of course, and talked excitedly about all of the attractions they couldn’t wait to experience! We arrived at Pop around noon, and I went to check us in. We had asked for two connecting rooms, one standard room with two double beds and one room with a king bed. We were planning to ask for a rollaway for our son, and not only did they provide what we needed, they offered it at no extra charge, saving us between $10 – $15 per night! Our king room was ready, but the standard room was not.
A CM named George from New Jersey helped us get the bags to our room in the 80s building, and while we walked, he told us about his brother, who had special needs. I felt so badly, because he really deserved a tip, but we’d given out all our singles. Instead, I gave him a CM appreciation card and told him that we’d look him up later.
We discussed whether we should go to Epcot to eat, or eat here at Pop. The heat was already getting to everybody, so we chose to eat at Everything Pop and see how we felt afterwards. I really like the food court at Pop (at least I did at the beginning of the trip!) There are lots of options, and it’s laid out pretty well. The kids were so excited to be on the dining plan, so they could get whatever they wanted! We were excited because it was FREE!
Our afternoon plans were determined for us when DD10 took a little nap in the booth at Everything Pop. We all headed back to our rooms, which were both ready by now, and took a rest. I told the kids if they rested until 4:00, we could swim for an hour before heading off to dinner at Chef Mickey’s. They all rested relatively well, so I took the girls to the pool while DH and DS continued their siesta. We had to be careful with DS, since he’d just gotten out of the hospital the week before. We didn’t want to wear him out at the beginning of our vacation! I was a little bummed that we wouldn’t be getting to a park today, but I tried to go with the flow, just like Crush.
NOTE: You may have noticed the lack of pictures in this update. There is a reason for this, but you’ll have to wait for the next update to find out what it is!
Up next: our dinner with the Mouse!
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Last edited by mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince; 11-05-2010 at 09:44 PM..
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Great way to start the trip. Sometimes a little nap is just what the doctor ordered!
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Susan
We flew Delta, and since our son is in a wheelchair, we were first to board. The crew was awesome, and we’ve dealt with crews that were not, so this was a wonderful way to start the trip! 
We took up the entire row, and the kids behaved themselves quite well on the way down. A lovely gentleman named Allen helped us transport all of our baggage down to the DME counter, spoke to a cast member to let them know we’d need a handicapped-accessible van, and led us past the line to a separate waiting area. Before he left us, we gave him a Cast Member appreciation card along with his tip. He didn’t work for Disney, but he sure could have! 
We were excited because it was FREE! 
We had to be careful with DS, since he’d just gotten out of the hospital the week before. We didn’t want to wear him out at the beginning of our vacation! 
I was a little bummed that we wouldn’t be getting to a park today, but I tried to go with the flow, just like Crush.
Hope it's nothing bad!!
PassPorter Guide Author
Cassie
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