A New Grade, A New House, and A Surprise! TR August 21-31 - Page 25 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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Love all the character shots and so glad that Cast Member was able to help out at the Sum of All Thrills.
Thanks Cheryl! I was so relieved that all was made well for Sabrina
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
What a great time at Epcot! Love the pictures!
Thanks Marnie!
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Originally Posted by KMB733
The meets with Mary Poppins, Tigger and Pooh sound like a great way to cap off your day at Epcot!!
It was lots of fun!
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Originally Posted by Cam22
I love your meets with Mary Poppins and Pooh and Tigger! Great pictures of the day! So cool that the CM at Sum of All Thrills could fix the ride for you all!
Thought of you Cam when we met with these characters - I know how much Stefanie loved them.
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Originally Posted by disneydreamer33
Wonderful Disney magic made by the CM at Sum of All Thrills. Great character interactions too!
It certainly was magic! I don't give in to tears over "silly" things, but she had a legitimate reason to be upset (I thought), so I felt bad and this made it all better!
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Originally Posted by shazza
Great pics - looks like really good character interaction.
It was fun!
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Originally Posted by mommapants
All caught up.
In bed by 10. Doesn't sound too bad since you had a very busy day and tired kids is no fun for anyone.
10 was not too shabby - now I am longing for it! LOL!
Quote:
Originally Posted by llgmommy2
Just found this TR can not wait to read more!
Welcome aboard! Thanks for joining in
__________________
Stacey
Why do these kids look so pathetic?
Find out in: A New Grade, A New House, and A Surprise!Final Thoughts 01/30
Today we had our wake up set for 6:30 and it was Sabrina's turn to answer the phone (we've got to avoid fights!) We were up and at the boat launch for 7:40 and we waited about 10 minutes for the boat to MK.
We arrived just in time for opening, so we didn't have the greatest spots, but could see well enough. We made our way to Buzz, which was a walk on, then we grabbed FPs for SM which was already a 25 min wait!
Next, it was time for the kids to get their 'license' at the Speedway. They were so pumped that they were going to 'drive' for the first time. I think both of them need to wait a bit before the real ones
We wandered over to the Tea Cups where we met White Rabbit - our first time meeting him. He was fun with lots of comments from his handler 'friend' about him being late for a very important date :). After our meet, the kids and I jumped onto a teacup.
Next up, we rode SM for the first time. And of course, since it was our first time, it had to break down as we were sitting in the vehicle waiting to 'launch'. We sat there for almost 10 minutes, locked into our seats, with Dave getting more antsy by the minute (he doesn't do well with roller coasters - motion sickness - but goes on them for the kids). Finally, we were on our way! The verdict? I liked it as much as I had as a kid, Sabrina liked it, but was worried she was going to hit her head, Alex and Dave? Not fans!
Stitch was just making his way out when we came off of SM, so we popped over for a visit with him. He wasn't very playful today....
We met up with Chip and Dale on our way to breakfast at MSB and the kids had some fun with them - it was the first time we had met them while they were wearing their space gear too.
It was time for Sabrina's most anticipated meeting of the trip - Rapunzel!! The Town Square Princesses had less than 10 minute wait, so we hopped in line. We ended up being the last ones let into the 'royal' room (probably before a break), so we got extra time with Rapunzel and Belle, which was really neat. Rapunzel came over to our spot in line and chatted with the kids, and they asked her lots of questions (all of which I forget now of course!)
Rapunzel made the mistake of asking Alex if he liked her shoes. His reply was a very emphatic "Uh uh!" They were pink and sparkly - definitely not his style!!!! LOL!
Walking out of Town Hall, we saw a band coming around the circle at the start of Main Street. I spotted the sign and realized it was a band from Essex and that I knew the conductor! I made it in time to shout at her as she passed. Her face was funny when she realized it was me We had no idea the other would be there at the same time, so it was a cool coincidence that we spotted each other.
We headed over to Adventureland next and rode Magic Carpets, then made our way to Pirates, which was down. Sharon were you in the park now? LOL!
BTM had a 40 minute wait and Splash a 60, so we passed on those for now. We did grab FPs for BTM because the return time was better for us than the one for Splash. With these out of the running for now, we went to HM - it had a postedwait of 15 minutes, but even with playing in the cemetery, it was probably less than 10. After riding, Alex decided he is no longer a fan of this!
Much to Dave's dismay, we rode Small World next where we were shown exactly how small a world it really is Remember that this is the day that we were planning on surprising Sabrina with a lunch date with her friend that moved? Well, we were next in line to board a boat. One pulled up and sitting in the exact row we were about to get into was Sabrina's friend Hannah and her family. Well, the girls' reactions were priceless - Hannah looked up and screeched "SABRINA!!!!!!!!" Sabrina couldn't believe her eyes and Hannah's mom and I just laughed - so much for the lunch surprise! We chatted as we swapped spots and agreed to meet soon for lunch.
Once done with Dave's favourite ride, we rode HM, then BTM with our FPs. Dave kindly went and grabbed Splash ones for later too. Tummies grumbling, it was time for our not so surprise lunch. We met up at Cosmic Rays and spent the next hour and a half catching up, enjoying each others company. The kids all sat together at their own table and they had a blast!
We walked together to Splash, then split up, with us heading to Splash, them to BTM. Sabrina and I got completely soaked on Splash - darn front row! But it was fun and well worth it. Thoroughly soggy, we decided it was time to head back to WL where we swam for an hour or so. The kids joined in on the pool games - beach ball 'volleyball' and noodle races being their favourites, then we got ready for dinner at 'Ohana.
Before we got soaked
Up Next: Her retainer went where????!!!!????!
__________________
Stacey
Why do these kids look so pathetic?
Find out in: A New Grade, A New House, and A Surprise!Final Thoughts 01/30
Great MK day! So nice that the princesses gave the kids a lot of attention, especially Rapunzel. You couldn't have planned the surprise meeting with Sabrina's friend any better if you tried! On Small World-- too perfect!
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Sounds like a great time at MK.. Another great day of interactions with the characters. Even though Sabrina didn't get to have her surprise at lunch, at least she was still surprised to see her friend!
What a fun suprise! We did the same thing this pass year in May for our daughter. My BFF showed up behind us in line and said, hey lady fancy seeing you here and then she saw her daughter. The girls then slept in my room the next 5 nights! Good thing our rooms connected!
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You've certainly already packed a lot into this day! I love all the pics with the characters.
We did manage to get lots done that morning - thankfully because we lost some time after dinner (story coming up!)
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Great MK day! So nice that the princesses gave the kids a lot of attention, especially Rapunzel. You couldn't have planned the surprise meeting with Sabrina's friend any better if you tried! On Small World-- too perfect!
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
What a great time at MK! Love the pics! How funny to run into your DD's friend!
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Originally Posted by shazza
Beautiful pics with the characters and princesses, and the surprise sounds fun too.
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Originally Posted by mommapants
Nice update. Could not have planned that surprise meet any better it truly is a small world after all.
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Originally Posted by KMB733
Sounds like a great time at MK.. Another great day of interactions with the characters. Even though Sabrina didn't get to have her surprise at lunch, at least she was still surprised to see her friend!
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Originally Posted by JKnott17
Great morning! What a perfect spot to have run into your daughter's friend, I bet there reactions were funny!
Thanks everyone!!!!!! I still laugh about it - shows what a 'Small World' it is!
Quote:
Originally Posted by llgmommy2
What a fun suprise! We did the same thing this pass year in May for our daughter. My BFF showed up behind us in line and said, hey lady fancy seeing you here and then she saw her daughter. The girls then slept in my room the next 5 nights! Good thing our rooms connected!
Too cute!!!!!!!
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Originally Posted by NanaTink
Such a wonderful way for the girls to see each other...I love it!
Sounds like you were having a great trip so far!!!!
More please!
It was good so far! A little snafu coming up, but nothing major
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneydreamer33
What a great day at MK. Sounded fun. Sorry your surprise was revealed a little earlier than planned.
I am actually glad at the way it worked out - it was a surprise for all of us and a story to tell!
__________________
Stacey
Why do these kids look so pathetic?
Find out in: A New Grade, A New House, and A Surprise!Final Thoughts 01/30
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I love all the pics with the characters. 
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