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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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
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Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
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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.
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.
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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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My DF really wanted to see ITTBAB, so we did that next. I don’t think this was the first time the boys did this, but I know we skipped it last year, so it’s been a while anyway.
Then we got the train over to RPW. On the way, the boys had their picture taken in front of the TOL.
A train was just leaving, so we had to wait a few minutes for the next one to arrive. We started off inside, with the boys petting some of the animals, including a ferret.
They also got to meet Rafiki, but those pics were taken by DSIL, so I don’t have them, and there wasn’t a PP photographer around. There wasn’t anything going on in the vet window, but I wasn’t surprised to find that this late in the day. The boys still enjoyed seeing a few of the creepier-crawlier animals up close.
Then we went outside to pet some animals. The boys loved that!
Noah had to cry uncle – his face paint was too hot and he needed to wash it off (and it was looking a little creepy because it was all sweaty and everything). So he went into the bathroom to scrub his face and Isaiah suckered his mom into buying him a snake and a big ugly spider. Made of rubber, of course!
Then we caught the train back to Africa. And it was time for KS! Imagine that. The animals weren’t as frisky as they’d been the other day (though we’ll have one hippo make up for it in his own way later). I only took a few pictures.
What? Ten pictures is “a few” compared to what I usually do! After KS, the family split up a little, with DM and DF going off to catch the FOTLK show. I never did get to see it, so it’s a priority for my next trip!
Anyway, while they were doing that (and DF recorded it because it’s his favorite show), we walked the PFET.
One of the hippos was in the tank, and we could see him but he wasn’t close and wasn’t swimming around or anything. Then we suddenly saw a huge burst of bubbles. Okay, then. A few seconds later, Isaiah (who I needn’t remind you is a 6-year-old boy) says (in that loud, shouty, six-year-old boy way) “Who farted?!” Of course, I didn’t catch on and figured it was one of his brothers (Isaiah will happily own up to his own farts ), so I just moved back to the other end of the room, out of smellin’ range.
Well, about 5 seconds later, I smelled something. And it was vile! Peeeee-yuuuu! It could’ve peeled the paint off the walls. We finally figured out it was the hippo who’d farted. We’re a little slow on the uptake! But you know it’s bad if we could smell it through that thick Plexiglas! Needless to say, we moved on to the gorillas.
They were out, apparently enjoying snack time.
Lilly was very playful this day and we had a lot of fun watching her. At one point she was facing the window, but shuffling sideways very quickly. I said she was doing football drills, which my three football-playing nephews thought was hilarious.
We needed to catch up with Mom and Dad, so we finished up and started walking that way. Back together, we continued on to Asia, where we took a quick spin through the MJT. Believe it or not, I only took one photo.
And then, a couple more rides on EE. Frankly, I lost count. I had to get our final ride photo, though, mostly because of Daniel and Isaiah!
Pure joy! And that’s how I feel when I look at that picture! The park was closed so we couldn’t do any more rides. We slowly made our way out of the park, remembering to pick up Daniel’s dinosaur on the way. This is the first time I’ve ever been at AK from park open to park close!
So we needed to get to the Poly for dinner. Because we were at a park, it would be an easy task. And happily, a bus to our destination arrived right away, so we were at the Poly in practically no time.
DB Eric had driven down to visit with us, so we were happy to have him join us for dinner. He was waiting for us when we got there and I checked us in about 10 minutes before our ADR time. The CM checking me in let me know that we’d be seated right about our ADR time. Liar!!!!! Eric and Eddie sat at the bar and the rest of us grabbed seats in the waiting area.
And we waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. A full 40 minutes after our ADR, 50 minutes after checking in, I decided to talk to the CM who’d given us our pager to make sure the dang thing was working. She assured me that it was indeed working and it wouldn’t be much longer.
More waiting, and the pager still didn’t go off. I was getting angry at this point. What made me even madder was knowing that this is one of those places where you usually have a bit of a wait even with an ADR, so I figured they’re just routinely overbooking their tables.
We were all very hungry and ready to sit down and eat already! The boys weren’t bad because they had new toys to play with and even made new friends (who had been waiting 25 minutes). My brothers were at the bar, so I’m not sure they even realized how much time it was taking. When it got to be 60 minutes after my ADR time, I went back to the podium and asked to speak to a manager.
When the manager arrived, I calmly explained to him that I’d made a reservation six months ago and now we’d been waiting an hour for a table. He apologized and explained that there are only a few large tables and they can’t ask people to leave, etc. He was actually very nice and offered to bring us out some appetizers. I told him we just wanted to sit down! He asked me if we were planning on going to a park after dinner and I told him we weren’t. Then he asked if we were guests at the Poly and I told him we were at AKL. He assured me that we were next on the list and that they’d get the table cleared out as soon as it was vacated, and that he’d take care of us.
Believe it or not, it was another whole 30 minutes before we were finally, finally seated. Hallelujah! I made an ADR for a 90-minute wait? In my head, I was thinking about what compensation I was hoping to get and then it occurred to me that it would be really nice not to have to fight the closing crowds at the MK and take a bus back to AKL. I’d purposely made our ADR for the time I did so that it wouldn’t be an issue, but with us being seated around the time I expected to be leaving, now it was, so I’d hint around that we wanted a taxi back to AKL. Spoiler alert: we didn’t get a free taxi ride.
Almost immediately after we were seated, the singer (and I totally forgot her name) came over and congratulated my parents for their anniversary. I’d noted their celebration on the ADR, but I hadn’t said anything when we checked in or when I’d spoken with the manager. She also offered to have them star in the show or have my brothers star in the show. My parents voted for Eddie and Eric (and so did the rest of us ). Both of them are good sports (and the visit to the bar probably helped as well), so they volunteered.
When the server came for our drink orders, I decided to get the pina colada, even though it’s not as delicious as it used to be (they used to make them fresh). Then our food started coming, and we were all pretty much starving, so we all dug right in. I totally filled up on bread and wings, a total rookie move. But I love those wings so much I can happily make a meal of them, so no biggie, I guess. Anyway, the food was delicious as always and everyone was happy again. The manager even came over to check on us and I assured him we were happy. I didn’t have a chance to hint about the taxi.
Anyway, between bites, the show started and we had fun laughing at my brothers. The boys happily joined in the parade without even having to be asked – after all, their Dad and Uncle Eric were already participating. It was great!
Aunty (that’s what I’ve decided to call the singer because I don’t remember her name ) then announced to the restaurant that it was my parents’ 50th anniversary and DM and DF (but especially DM) were thrilled with the attention. After the limbo, my brothers came back to join us and we got three sets of the fancy, gold-glittery chaka maracas. Usually they only give out one set, so don’t tell anyone that part.
Then, to my utter surprise, they brought out a cake for my parents! The funny thing is, I’d considered getting a cake for them for this very night, but then decided against it, figuring we’d all be too stuffed to eat it! And we were all too stuffed to eat it! But the manager had really made it up to us, so I figured asking for a cab ride back to AKL wasn’t necessary anymore.
DM asked for a box and took the cake back to AKL. In fact, they didn’t even eat any of it until they got home the next day! As we finished up, Wishes was starting, but everyone was so tired and we were kind of far away from the windows that we didn’t bother to stay and watch. The manager came to our table to be sure we were happy and walked us out.
Now that I had the whole “taxi back to resort” bee in my bonnet, I really didn’t want to take the monorail to MK and fight the end-of-day crowds. We’d arrive at the MK about 5 minutes after the end of Wishes. DISASTER! So I suggested to the family that we take a taxi and offered to pay for it. DM thought that was the most brilliant idea ever. She didn’t even know taxis were readily available! This is because I plan everything.
Eric had his car so he and Eddie and the two older boys went with him and the rest of us grabbed a taxi and were back at AKL within like 15 minutes. We were thrilled not to have to face crowds or stand on a crowded bus after a long day.
Back at the resort, the boys hadn’t arrived. I was wiped out, so I just headed to my room, telling them to send Daniel over when he was ready for bed. But to my utter surprise, there was a little something waiting for me in the room.
It was from the folks at ‘Ohana! They really didn’t have to do this. At this point, I was starting to feel guilty about all the stuff we got. The bag was full of wonderful AKL stuff including two mugs, two chocolate roses, some wine corks, some cute animal figurines, a couple of nice AK dishes, and of course a photo of Minnie and Mickey Mouse. And the reusable bag was also a nice touch – easier to pack than a basket, too. Also, reusable bags are often my souvenir of choice (I’m always lugging stuff to/from work), so it was added to my collection.
When I brought it over to DM, I promised her I’d been nothing but nice to the manager, and I had. I hadn’t even raised my voice! Heck, I hadn’t even put the angry tone in my voice (what I call getting “New York” on somebody ).
It was a wonderful end to that part of our trip (the gang would be heading home in the morning), and I made sure to send a complimentary email about the manager. I forgot to write down his name, so now I’ve decided that any time anything like that happens again, I’ll write the name down immediately!
Anyway, he totally made lemonade out of our lemons. In fact, he made us a freakin’ Italian margarita out of those lemons. And you know I love me an Italina margarita!
After a while, I got sleepy, so I went over to collect Daniel. He didn’t have a key on him and I didn’t want him to be knocking on my door for 20 minutes trying to wake me up. We both pretty much went right to sleep after that.
Up Next: The saddest goodbye ever
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
Wow! What a day! The character M&G were just so much fun! So sorry about the 90 minute wait at O'hana, but glad they more than made up for it. All of you have so much fun together, it is a joy to read about and see pictures of. All that family love is a blessing! Sorry it has to end so soon though.
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I LOVE that EE ride photo! Those two boys just couldn't look happier. Glad the boys got to Affection Section. The piglets are getting so big! Sill VERY cute. That wait at 'Ohana was ridiculous, but you ended up making out just fine!
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Just getting caught up. Looks like you had a great day at MK, despite the heat and humidity. The boys looked great with their pirate makeovers!! Also looks like a great time at AK. And then we come to dinner at Ohana's. That's ridiculous that you had to wait a full 90 minutes after your ADR time before you were seated! It was wonderful customer service that they made it up to you in the end.
That was quite a wait! I'm so glad that the manager was so kind and did his best to make up for it. It looks like a great time and I'm really, really hungry now. Mmmmm, I need some sticky wings!!!
WOW! I canNOT believe you had to wait for 90 minutes, WITH an ADR! The manager definitely made up for it - but all of that could have been avoided if they just did not overbook their tables! Otherwise, though, what a fantastic day! I am so glad your brother got to come, and participate in the festivities!
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Saturday, October 9, 2014 - Kaitlyn and I before the Happy Haunted 5K at ESPN Wide World of Sports
Yikes a 90 minute wait for an ADR? I'd have definitely been grumpy, too, but I suspect the New Yawk may have come out JUST a little in my voice, even if I wasn't at all rude... lol. I'm glad that the experience more than made up for it, though!
I have to say, I'm not at all surprised that Isaiah love the Hulk. So does Meri. When we watch The Avengers, she pretty much tunes out except the Hulk parts, lol.
Love all of the photos - and the character interactions! And especially the hippo part. OMG I'm just cracking up imagining the stench. Meri always tells me that her friends dog farts are the WORST EVER! I may have to share your story with her, so she knows that no, hippo farts are actually the worst ever.
What a great time you had at AK! Love the pictures! Sorry about the unexcusable wait at 'Ohana! Ridiculous! Glad they made up for it in the end, but geesh!
I have never had good luck at Ohanas. I think our shortest wait was 45 minutes and they were never polite about it. The food is wonderful though and so is the atmosphere and it is so hard to skip.
Everything else sounded like a lot of family fun. Lots of great pics and rides on EE.
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Great update! You guys really had a terrific day at AK! I love AK too and glad you posted about RPW. In all our trips we have yet to make it over to there, but it's definitely must-do for December. I am hoping this will be one of the less crowded areas of the park. BTW, I have to admit, everytime I saw a pic of Isaiah with the eye paint, I had to chuckle... that boy is such a ham, he is absolutely adorable. Great pics of him (and his brothers!) with the characters! Must remember to tell my little one to say "squirrel" to Doug. Too funny!
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There wasn’t anything going on in the vet window, but I wasn’t surprised to find that this late in the day. The boys still enjoyed seeing a few of the creepier-crawlier animals up close.
The animals weren’t as frisky as they’d been the other day (though we’ll have one hippo make up for it in his own way later). I only took a few pictures.
Ten pictures is “a few” compared to what I usually do! 
After KS, the family split up a little, with DM and DF going off to catch the FOTLK show. I never did get to see it, so it’s a priority for my next trip!
Okay, then. A few seconds later, Isaiah (who I needn’t remind you is a 6-year-old boy) says (in that loud, shouty, six-year-old boy way) “Who farted?!” Of course, I didn’t catch on and figured it was one of his brothers (Isaiah will happily own up to his own farts 
), so I just moved back to the other end of the room, out of smellin’ range. 
And it was vile! Peeeee-yuuuu! 
It could’ve peeled the paint off the walls. We finally figured out it was the hippo who’d farted. We’re a little slow on the uptake! 
But you know it’s bad if we could smell it through that thick Plexiglas! Needless to say, we moved on to the gorillas.
The park was closed so we couldn’t do any more rides. We slowly made our way out of the park, remembering to pick up Daniel’s dinosaur on the way. This is the first time I’ve ever been at AK from park open to park close!
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And waited. 
And waited. 
And waited. 
A full 40 minutes after our ADR, 50 minutes after checking in, I decided to talk to the CM who’d given us our pager to make sure the dang thing was working. She assured me that it was indeed working and it wouldn’t be much longer.
Spoiler alert: we didn’t get a free taxi ride. 
I totally filled up on bread and wings, a total rookie move. 
She didn’t even know taxis were readily available! This is because I plan everything.
,
Liz 
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