Sparky's Gone to the World- A TR 9/13/11-9/20/11 - Page 43 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
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.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
I am back (a bit) as I start thinking of my summer trip. Caught up to this point. Sounds olike this has been an amazing trip!
HI Shelly!!! It was an amazing trip for us. I can't wait for your trip and to read about it, I always enjoy them.
I am less than a year from my next trip to meet up with a couple of gf's from PP. I will be finishing this TR before Xmas and starting my new Pre PTR, about saving for my next trip by doing surveys. That one should interest you!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
I will have to admit at this point, for some reason...all notes stopped. So the next couple days will be random and short with what I can remember.
This is finally the day when we slept in...8 am for me and 9 am for the rest. We were at Epcot by 11:00 and I insisted we stop and get a couple pics in front of Spaceship Earth. DH and DD were not happy about it at all. DD wanted to get to Imagination and that was all she cared about. DH I think just had enough of getting pics done after 6 days. I love the following pics because you can see it all over their faces that they have had enough pictures. Me, on the other hand, look just as happy as I did in the first picture taken of the trip.
After that was done, we made our way to Imagination. Now I know I have said it before, but until it's made right, I will say it again and again. I OH SO much prefer the old version with the Dreamfinder, but it still gets to my heart because of sentimental reasons. I will never not ride this ride, unless they were to do the unthinkable and take Figment out again! But I never wish for this ride to be taken out.
DD loved it so much as soon as we were done with it, she asked to ride again. We said sure! So into Figment's Imagination we went!
In the gift shop I ended up buying a long sleeved Figment tee shirt that I had spotted last time we were at Epcot. I am so glad I did each time I put it on in these cold winter days. I have 3 short sleeve shirts already so I thought this long one would be perfect.
We finished just in time to make it to my most anticipated ADR at Le Cellier. Which is my favorite meal on property (for food purposes) period. I knew going in that I was about to make it DH's fave too. I told him, "Don't even look at the menu."
I ordered 2 of the Le Cellier House Burgers and a Tomato Stack appetizer. Ahhhh, my beloved Tomato Stack! I also ordered Mac & Cheese for DD...bad idea. She didn't like the cheddar cheese it had, I on the other hand thought it was marvelous. I would have eaten it myself if I weren't so full.
The tomato stack was divine! When the waitress came over to take the plate she asked how it was and I said "Awesome! I would come just for that alone! It's my favorite." So she replies, "You should come for dinner sometime and get it then. They make it slightly different at dinner, that way you can try them both!" Thank you(whatever your name is that I can't remember) waitress! Shelly (benjiboo25), that means when you had your last year and I said it looked different...apparently it is different. Therefore, you can't say that I failed in my recommendation of it.
When the burgers came out, I said to DH "Your about to taste the best burger in your whole life!" He SO didn't believe me! One bite in he grins and says "Omg, I think your right!"
Once we were stuffed to the gills, we headed towards Finding Nemo. On the way DH says to me "Hey, that burger was so good. Next trip...can you try to book it for the beginning of the trip AND the end??" Well okay, don't have to twist my arm. So that is my mission for next trip. To not just get 1 ADR for LC but 2! Wish me luck with that!
We arrived at Finding Nemo and took 2 spins around the ocean in a clamshell. Visited all the tanks and ended with Turtle Talk with Crush. Which we had never seen before. It was wonderful! We loved it and the kids were so cute. A definite for the next trip! . When we exited the building I looked at the time and realized we had been in there for just over 2 hours! We had NO time to really check out the WS before heading to our 1900 Park Fare ADR. We decided to head to Japan, to do my pick a pearl. On the way stopping in France for my Grey Goose Limon Slushy. As I drank that, we watched a show with a guy balancing on chairs and bottles. It was pretty neat!
With drink gone, we headed to Japan. I looked and looked around the tank and decided upon my oyster. It was opened up and it was a white 7.5 mm pearl. I was hoping for a blue, but there's always next time! The girl about 12, behind me picked hers and she did get a blue one. I told her and her mom how blue are more rare and that was what I was hoping to pick. That maybe I should have had her pick for me! They laughed and thanked me for the info as they had no idea, that blue ones were more rare.
I picked a clamshell for my pearl to be mounted on and was given a 20 minute wait time. After a quick browse around the gift shop and a smoke in the smoking area. We had clamshell and pearl in hand, heading to China to get me a Cantaloopy.
Well, I have to say, whoever had said that it tastes like they stuck a straw in a cantaloupe...was absolutely correct! Fabulous! Marvelous! Super tasty! It officially knocked the slushy out of the #1 spot.
I drank my Cantaloopy as we headed toward the entrance as we had an ADR to get to. I was excited about this one too, as I thought that my DD would just love the stepmother and sisters.
I had to laugh because as we were leaving, my DH leaned over to me on my scooter and says "You do realize that you are OUI-ing it right now!??!" Operating Under the Influence.
Yeah, I technically was! I said "It's all good. I'm good." And I was. I had both those drinks in about a 2 hour span. He knew it too, he was just being funny.
We hopped on the monorail to get to the GF. My poor DH, he does not like the monorail. It scares him. He won't not ride, but he doesn't like it and if a bus or boat is available he would rather do that. I kept riding the monorail though because it's faster.
I will try to take a pic of my pearl in the next few days.
Up Next: DH's favorite resort...a HUGE surprise to me!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Ballston Lake, NY
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 46,162
Post Thanks / Like
Likes (Given): 94
Likes (Received): 241
Thanks (Given): 0
Thanks (Received): 139
Pixie Dust (Given): 3
Pixie Dust (Received): 4
Sounds like a great time at Epcot. Love the expression on DH and DD's face. You can totally tell they've had enough with the pictures! Glad you had a great lunch at LeCellier!!
Glad you had a great time in Epcot and at Le Cellier!
Thanks Marnie!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Sounds like a great time at Epcot. Love the expression on DH and DD's face. You can totally tell they've had enough with the pictures! Glad you had a great lunch at LeCellier!!
It was a nice time. Too short though. Epcot is my second fave park but we spent so little time there this trip. However, I would change a thing. I really enjoyed the time we spent. The small moments.
I love that pic too. You can read it all over their faces!
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
"Sparky"(My first trip.)
I wish I had bought that pic, my etes were so wide. It was hilarious!
Day 6 Sun. Sept. 18- Epcot Part 1
Linear Mode
