The way We do a Disney Re-Do ~~ Beach club Aug 13-22 - FINISHED!!! 1/20 - Page 20 - 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.
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
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Moving on with the current of the years.
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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.
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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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OH my goodness. You have me hanging at the edge of my seat with every update. Thank goodness you went to urgent care and got antibiotics. I don't even want to imagine what you would have felt like if you let that drag out untreated.
I admire the sense of balance you create for your family and I loved your story about making amends. I took some mental notes for sure. I'm sorry about the heat. That can have such an impact. I know it makes me down right crabby (especially as I'm getting older I seem to be less tolerant of it.)
All caught up again! I'm loving your TR!!! Glad you were able to get taken care of at urgent care and glad you were still able to get into CP, even though it wasn't your best dining experience. We are trying CP for the first time on our next trip, just Peter & I.
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Unnecessary teaser—the rest of the night was FANTASTIC!!!
We headed to a couple more attractions that would provide relief from the heat before getting to the promised Carousel and Dumbo. We had fastpasses left for all 3 of the mountains. We were also willing to use our GAC for the rest of the night. I do not have a clear memory of the crowds. They were never an issue resulting from crowds, so I assume the level remained manageable.
We started with Monsters, Inc. and Astro Orbiter, since they would not be available during EMHs. We did not experience either one during our last trip. Loved them!!! So amazing to see MK with all the evening lights from Astro Orbiter! Every time Delaney got off a “thrill” ride, she would joyfully squeal “Let’s do it again!” In my PTR I described her as “happy to be…anywhere;” This was especially the case at WDW.
We moved to Buzz Lightyear, which we loved last year, but was now a bit of a disappointment compared to TSMM.
We headed to the People Mover (another new one for us—it’s like we had never been to WDW before!). We walked right on and really enjoyed the ride around MK. This time as we were getting ready to exit, and Delaney squealed, “let’s do that again!” the CM offered to let us stay in our car for another turn. There were more empty cars than people waiting in line. We switched seats with the kids so we could all get a new vantage point. It was a great moment for us!
We did BTM, which Delaney squealed to do again, but we got her to follow us by promising another big roller coaster--Splash Mountain. We had some convincing to do to get Hannah to join us on this one. She HATES getting splashed. We did not ride it last trip, so she did not know what to expect. The boys had ridden that morning (was that still today?). DH loved it so much he did not want to sit out with Hannah. He convinced her that the ride is more of a story than a roller coaster and there is not really much of a splash. She reluctantly agreed and we could all go on it together.
She really seemed interested in the “story” and was talking about it as we went along. Before we went over each “hill,” she braced herself for the horror that never came, at least not until the end. She got herself worked into a panic over Peter Rabbit bring tied up and about to be cooked in the soup…She was angry and upset…and then the hill and the splash came….I am sure the entire park heard her murderous scream. Within seconds, we learned that Peter Rabbit had escaped, was safe and the bad guy had gotten his dues. It was too late for Hannah.
A “Hannahism” –As we were exiting the ride, Hannah said, in her clear, direct, and emphatic tone, “That was NOT the moment I had been waiting for”. “I HATED THAT RIDE.”
Another attraction to add to Hannah’s growing “never do again” list.
I am CERTAIN if the big drop happened AFTER she knew the rabbit was safe she would have liked the ride. She was so upset about the rabbit when the drop came, that she associated the feeling of horror with the drop, making it worse than it was.
Time for Space Mountain. Delaney does not yet meet the height requirement for this one. I had never done it, but it was the boys’ favorite from last trip. DH and DS did not want to go another day without their favorite ride! We were surprised that Hannah wanted to ride it—even with the Splash Mountain experience so fresh in her mind!
I took the little one to get a snack while we waited. As DH and the big kids approached us, Hannah looked happy. I asked her what she thought of the ride. She announced, “IT STUNK!” DH was perplexed. He turned to her and said, “I thought you said you liked it?” She replied, “I did. But it stunk. Next time I will breathe through my mouth.”
We all headed back towards fantasy land to ride Dumbo. We found a long line. We then realized it was almost time for fireworks. We wanted to find a spot where we would not be consumed by the crowds. As we thought through which direction to go, the show began. We were right in front of Dumbo. There were a lot of people, but it was not overwhelming. We had an amazing vantage point. The fireworks were directly over our head. We heard the music clearly. DH and I smiled at each other, he put on the stroller break and told the girls they could get out an watch if they wished. The Dumbo ride was still operating. We wished we would have gotten in line! We now understood why it was so crowded—how cool it would have been to ride Dumbo during the fireworks!
Disney magic happened for us here. Our plan was to rush to a place where the view would not have been good, but the crowds would have been tolerable. We never would have chosen this spot. We were "stuck" there... and it was amazing!
The Dumbo line was still too long at this point, but we said we would try the carousel. The dispersing crowds were still a bit of a challenge, but we happened to be almost directly in front of the carousel as they were taking down the ropes and re-opening the line. We were the first ones in line!
I suggested we “quit while we were ahead.” Hannah agreed, but DH and the other two kids wanted to stay for more rides. We decided to split up and meet back at the resort.
On our way out, Hannah stopped for a castle pic, and we searched in all the shops on Mainstreet until she found the perfect item for her sister—a mini “Marie” baby on a clip. She could not wait to give it to her sister.
Hannah and I were sleeping a bit after 11pm. I vaguely remember the others coming in. We all slept well.
Tomorrow we planned to spend the latter part of the day at AK. We would decide in the morning how to spend the first part of the day. We had no wakeup call. We needed a leisurely pace.
Hannah and I were up before the others (we went to bed at least 2 hours before them!). First thing Hannah did….put the “Marie” on Delaney so she would see it when she awoke.
Hannah actually missed the waking up part and the realization of what and why (in the bathroom). But I saw every moment, and helped to fill in the blanks. Our precocious 3-year old noticed almost instantly that there was an unfamiliar toy on top of her. She picked it up. Looked confused, and said, “huh??” I told her that Hannah got that for her and told her why. Huge smiles and hugs between both girls!
Still loving it later…
And later…
Once we were all awake, we discussed the options of SAB or DTD before AK, and decided to go to DTD. DS has been looking forward to spending his souvenir money at Legoland! Besides, it look a bit like rain.
We had to wait a long time for the bus to DTD (we seemed to have much longer waits for transportation that I recalled from our last visit at CSR. The buses were also not as crowded…I can assume there were not as many running?) It seemed like we stopped 36 times on our way to DTD. I am sure it was not that many…
What a great day at MK, well except for the stroller accident. But glad everyone was OK. Never saw the fireworks from Fantasyland, but I can imagine it must be pretty cool.
How sweet of Hannah to get her sister the Marie clip ( she is my most favorite since I was little) the pictures of the girls are too sweet.
Looking forward to more!!
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I still have to go back and read your last post, but just wanted to say that I'm glad you were able to get such good medical care so quickly. That is really reassuring. Also, I've never tried CP for any meal other than breakfast, but it is one of our favorites. A must-do. You should try it.
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Okay, all caught up again. I love that SM literally stunk, lol. Glad you had a great evening at MK. I got "caught" watching the fireworks from Fantasyland 2 years ago and it really is so different and exciting. Can't wait for another update.
Another great update. I will have to remember to give the Astro Orbiter another try at night time (we are going at Thanksgiving 11/18-11/28 this year. We have never been during a busy time, but have to b/c of dd's school. Hoping our trip will be better than your experience was last year. Any tips???) The first time we went it was during the day, and we were not impressed and we waited FOREVER to get on it, but I bet it is a much different ride at night.
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He turned to her and said, “I thought you said you liked it?” She replied, “I did. But it stunk. Next time I will breathe through my mouth.”
That cracked me up too. Hannah is adorable.
So glad that Delaney loved her Marie clip. The pictures are so sweet, and I ♥ that Hannah looks as happy as Delaney.
Glad you had a fabulous day at MK!
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What a great day at MK! You guys got a ton done. We've watched the fireworks from FL before and enjoyed the show very much - it's definitely a different experience than watching from Main Street! We had the luck of getting on Dumbo in August at the same time as the fireworks. I must say it was pretty cool! Can't wait to hear how DD and AK go!
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15 total family trips with stays at the Poly, AKL, Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club, Swan, Dolphin, POFQ, Pop Century, All Star Music, Movies & Sports, and Coronado Springs.
Loving this! we must of have crossed paths, we were at Beach club end of August beginning of September, I LOVED the resort. and Yes, huge difference with the Deluxe we got the royal treatment!
Great evening at MK! You all got to do so much! I'm agree with Hannah on liking to be splashed. Glad she enjoyed Space Mountain. I'm pretty sure I'll be checking out the smell the next time I ride. The baby Marie clip is so adorable! Hannah!
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he put on the stroller break and told the girls they could get out an watch if they wished. The Dumbo ride was still operating. We wished we would have gotten in line! We now understood why it was so crowded—how cool it would have been to ride Dumbo during the fireworks! 
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