Return to Disneyland - Final Thoughts - TRIP REPORT COMPLETED - June 10 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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.
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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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After we get back from WDW I absolutely HAVE to talk my DW into DLR. Reading these trip reports make me want to go even more. My DW has a very serious dislike for the entire state of California, and I've yet to figure out why.
Barry
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The early bird may get the worm...but the 2nd mouse gets the cheese
Disneyland was opening at 8 a.m. this morning so, after grabbing a quick bite to eat at our hotel's complimentary continental breakfast buffet, we were soon in line, waiting for our first glimpse of the trip of Sleeping Beauty Castle. The lines were already a fairly good length when we got to the entrance plaza but, like smart little tourists, we got into the line the farthest to the right, next to the early entry line. Sure enough, as soon as park opening time arrived, they turned that early entry line into a regular line so we just scooted right over there and were inside the park in no time. We enjoyed riding Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Toad, Pinocchio, Snow White, Jungle Cruise, the Tiki Room, Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean plus Kirk took a turn around Big Thunder Mountain solo since I've tried the one at WDW before which did a real number on my tummy so I didn't want to take a chance on this one. Kirk was actually rather disappointed with Big Thunder and said that, though the ride experience itself was okay, that there was really not a lot to see and enjoy on the ride.
By this time, we'd worked up quite an appetite so we stopped into the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon for a bite to eat plus to catch a show featuring Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. These guys are so entertaining even though neither my son nor I are normally big fans of bluegrass music. However, the Billies are so talented and so funny that I defy anyone not to be exceptionally amused by their antics. The food at lunch was also very good. We both had chicken strips and we made the mistake of ordering the "Mile High Chocolate Cake," thinking that we would share that dessert. Don't get me wrong - the cake was absolutely delicious - but it was roughly the size of the state of Texas. I hadn't expected that as they only charge about $5.00 or so for the cake. Suffice it to say that it is very aptly named. Kirk and I were only able to eat about half of it. When we exited the saloon, the Laughing Stock company were putting on one of their hilarious skits. We stopped to watch before heading back to our hotel for a break.
After our nap, which we sorely needed due to the whole time change thing the day before followed by our very early rising, we headed back to Disneyland in time to catch the parade. We were able to snag seats above the train station. I highly recommend this spot for parade viewing. You get an excellent birdseye view of the parade plus you can sit and watch it in comfort without fear of anyone leaping in front of you and blocking your view. We chatted with a lovely family from Texas who were seated on the bench next to us. Their daughter was celebrating her birthday the following day and she was such a sweetie that I asked her who her favourite character was and, upon finding that it was Mary Poppins, I removed my Mary Poppins collectors pin from my vest and gave it to her as a day before her birthday present. Well, you would have thought I'd given her the moon. She was so excited and her parents were thrilled. It tickled me pink to be able to help someone else have a "magic moment" or sorts.
Following the always excellent parade, we rode Winnie the Pooh and Haunted Mansion and then killed some more time browsing in all the shops in the French Quarter while waiting for the time for our reservation at the Blue Bayou restaurant. Even though we specified upon check-in that we wanted a "riverside" table and were willing to wait for one, we still only waited for about ten minutes. And it was well worth the wait. The view was stunning and both the food and service were superb. We had the gumbo to start and then Kirk had the seafood jambalaya while I opted for the pork chop with Blue Bayou potatoes. The pork chop was cooked in a rather unique barbecue sauce that gave the meat a sweet taste and the potatoes were basically au gratin potatoes. We took our time to savor this lovely late dinner before then leisurely strolling back to our hotel for the night.
Joy
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1968 - Disneyland
1976 - Offsite
1984 - Offsite
February, 2003 - All Star Music
August, 2003 - Animal Kingdom Lodge & Wilderness Lodge
December,2003 - Wilderness Lodge
December, 2004 - Beach Club Villas
August, 2005 - Port Orleans, French Quarter
November/December, 2005 - Old Key West
July/August, 2006 - Disneyland Hotel
January, 2007 - Boardwalk Villas
Your Blue Bayou meal sounds superb - and what a wonderful thing to do for that girl, what a great birthday present and a lovely way to spread the Disney magic!
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It's amazing how opinions differ on rides. BTMRR at WDW is one our favorite rides, in fact it is my DW's favorite. The best part for her is the scenery and no big drops. Are there any differences in the 2 versions?
BTW, now I wanna go to DL even more. The Billies and the Mile High Cake "as big as Texas" are right up my alley.
Barry
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The early bird may get the worm...but the 2nd mouse gets the cheese
OH Boy ... another Disneyland trip report. I love it. I loved reading your last trip report. SO cool that you hit the parks before closing on your arrival day.Blue Bayou sounds good.
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Aug,1978- LBV;Apr,1987-Disneyland;March,1993-offsite;Jan,1997-offsite;Aug,1999- CBR;Sept,2000- ASMo;Aug,2001- ASSP;Aug,2002- ASMU/AKL;Jan & July 2003-POR;June,December 2004- PC;January 2005- ASMU; Aug 2005-PC;Dec 2005-AKL;Jan 2006-CBR ; July/Aug-Saratoga springs; Dec. PC;April 2007- Disneyland;Aug 2007-Disneyland & So Cal;Dec 2007-POFQ; Aug2008-POFQ & Nov 2008 PC,Y&B May 2009 ASmu, June 2009 PC ; Nov 2009 WL & POFQ;Jan 2010 BW & WL; June 2010 POFQ ; Aug 2010 Poly ;Oct 2010 WL; Jan 2011 PC
Today was our first day for California Adventure so since it didn't open until 10 a.m. that meant that we could sleep in a bit and catch up on our sleep. We got to DCA as soon as it opened and as we posed for our first Photopass photo opportunity of the day, who should come up behind us and surprise us by jumping into the photo but Pluto. He was exceptionally playful and he clowned around with us for a while before continuing on to wherever he was originally headed.
Our first stop was Monsters Inc. where we once again helped Mike and Sully get Boo back to her bedroom before we moved on to watch the Muppet Labs erupt into chaos yet again in their delightful 3-D movie. We then wandered into the Animation building where we watched the Crush show, tried our hand at drawing Donald Duck, then entered the Beast's Library where, much to our delight, both Snow White and Belle were mingling about, playing with the computers and interacting with guests. This is one thing that I truly love about DLR as opposed to WDW - the way the characters show up unexpectedly and indulge in spontaneous antics with the guests.
We had grabbed a Fastpass for Soarin on our way into the park so it was now time to take to the skies over California. Oh, how I love this ride! We meandered over to the Mission Tortilla Factory and watched the tortillas being made for a wee while before sampling one of them fresh off the presses so to speak. We were still a little hungry so on our way out of the park for our midday hotel break, we stopped for some churros. Kirk had never tasted them before and, as I suspected he enjoyed them as much as me.
After our break, we returned to DCA for our dinner reservation at the Wine Country Trattoria. It's one of our favourite restaurants at DLR. Kirk had the chicken lasagna alfredo and I had the lasagna bolognese. We both had the chocolate mousse cake for dessert. Dinner was absolutely scrumptious. And we got our first Sebastian collectors pin (you're given one if you have an AP and spend $30 or more at several of the table restaurants at DLR.
We still had Fastpasses to use for Grizzly River Run but I wanted to make that my last stop of the night in case I got drenched. So we watched a showing of Golden Dreams first and then it was off to the wild and woolly great outdoors to brave the rapids. We got a little soggy but not completely soaked. I far prefer this ride to WDW's Kali River Rapids.
At this point Kirk and I split up - I went off to do a bit of shopping and then make an early return to the hotel while Kirk just had to have his daily dose of Haunted Mansion so he headed over to Disneyland where he first watched the parade again and then rode the Haunted Mansion twice. We reunited at the hotel later where I forced him to admire all my shopping treasures which he obligingly oohed and aaahed over. What a kind son!
Joy
__________________
1968 - Disneyland
1976 - Offsite
1984 - Offsite
February, 2003 - All Star Music
August, 2003 - Animal Kingdom Lodge & Wilderness Lodge
December,2003 - Wilderness Lodge
December, 2004 - Beach Club Villas
August, 2005 - Port Orleans, French Quarter
November/December, 2005 - Old Key West
July/August, 2006 - Disneyland Hotel
January, 2007 - Boardwalk Villas
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Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
You got so much done, and had a great meal to boot 
Tenya
BTMRR at WDW is one our favorite rides, in fact it is my DW's favorite. The best part for her is the scenery and no big drops. Are there any differences in the 2 versions? 
Hurry back with more!
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