A Dream That Came True! The First Timers TR - COMPLETED 9/10 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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 a quick photo in front of the giant tree we enter Hollywood Studios.
I don't think there is any way to prepare anyone for the sheer size of Disney parks. We literally just stood for a moment soaking it all in. We were amazed by how surreal it all was.
The first thing Scottie wanted to do was Rock N' Roller Coaster, so we headed there expecting to have quite a wait. Imagine our surprise when we see a wait time of 5 minutes!! We practically ran to the ride, we were so excited to get on our first ride at Disney. We get strapped in and Whoosh! That take-off is really incredible! Of course, we both loved it and quickly rode it again. Next up, ToT and another 5 minute wait! I absolutely loved this ride, the whole thing, but Scottie....well I think seriously petrified would be a good description of him on it. He was fine until we dropped and then he grabbed my arm so hard that he literally left bruise marks! Poor guy was so scared we were the last to get off as he couldn't move, there was a really nice man behind us who got him talking and moving for me. I had to promise that he would never have to ride anything like that again before he started breathing normally again. (For the remainder of the trip, he told anyone who would listen how much he HATED that ride!)
So, after that we grabbed a frozen lemonade and a fruit cup and headed to find a spot for the Bloc Party Bash. Scottie and I both thought this was a fantastic parade! It was upbeat and really made you want to dance along. At one point, the green army man started singing "I had the time of my life..." before he stopped and said "oops, wrong song" lol.
Mr. Potato Head stopped right in front of us and danced.
The green army dude rocked!!
Woody came over and said hi!
Mr. Incredible popped up out of the smoke!
Next up was Sully from Monsters...
After the parade, we headed for TSMM although I wasn't expecting to be able to ride it this day. Sure enough the wait time was 75 minutes and the fast passes were all out. Scottie decided he wanted to see Prince Caspian, so off we went.
Scottie really enjoyed "being part of the movie lol" and he loved looking at all the replicas from the movie. I must admit, it wasn't really my thing but it was worth seeing him so excited.
After that, we were walking by Voyage of the Little Mermaid and the next show was fixing to start, so we decided to see it next. We both loved this show! I loved the way they changed the lighting to make it feel like you were really underwater and the bubbles that kept coming down from the ceiling. Scottie said he really liked that it combined real people with the animatronics and computer graphics. After the show, we both decided we were getting a bit tired, so we decided to head back to the resort for a short rest before dinner.
A few more shots at Hollywood Studios...
We grabbed a bus back to the resort and headed to the room. We were happily surprised to see that our luggage had been delivered already! Within 5 minutes of arriving, we had a knock on the door.....who could it be?
The airport situation made me laugh. That is TOTALLY something that I would do. Glad it all worked out in the end, and that you had some nice people keeping you company. Glad you made it to the resort okay. Great start!
I told you we sounded alike! lol
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Originally Posted by bsblady01
more please
Thanks for following!
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Originally Posted by Disney4us2
Except for the airport, you had a great first day.
We really did Marci, I still can't believe you ended up right below us!
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Originally Posted by Jessie092408
I somehow missed the pictures the first time I looked at this. I'm loving them! The Christmas decorations look so pretty. I hope that I'll be able to see them in person some day!
I really didn't do them justice! I was using my brother's camera as mine broke just before we left. I hope you make it someday to see them, they really are gorgeous.
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Originally Posted by chezp
Great start! Love all the photos of the Caribbean Beach!
Somehow, I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted to of the resort. I took video though and as soon as I can figure out how to get a still shot from the video I'll have more!
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great start and pictures!
Thanks so much! I can't wait to show you all the photopass pics. Now if they'd hurry up and arrive lol.
I am glad you are writing your TR. I have been looking forward to it. You really made the most of the airport situation. I think I would have been less happy about the whole thing. I am not a morning person to say the least…lol! I admire your attitude about the whole thing. From there it all sounds wonderful! I love seeing the Disney sign…..it always makes me tear up with happiness!! The CBR sounds, & looks amazing! I love all the pictures of it. The Christmas decorations add even more magic. Getting a room upgrade must have been a real treat! Hollywood Studios is a great place to start. That huge tree looks very cool! Rock n Roller coaster first thing… now you sound like us! It’s always RnRc & Tower of Terror first thing!! I am sorry to hear Scottie didn’t like ToT! I love all the parade pictures! We didn’t get to see that while we were there. We also never rode TSMM the wait was always too long & they were always out of FP’s. Everything sounds, & looks great so far! I can’t wait to read more….who could be at your door…what a great way to keep us anxious to read more!
Wow that short of a wait for both ToT and RRC? That's awesome! Sorry that Scottie didn't like ToT. I was the same way when I went on it my first time, too.
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So glad I found your trip report. I have been looking forward to reading about your trip! Sounds great so far! Love all the pics. RnR and ToT are two that I didn't get to do but want to try them at least once. The bad thing is that I will have to ride alone as it will be only DH, DD (3) and me again on our next trip. Can't wait to read more.
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Great pictures at CBR! It truly is a beautiful resort! You all had great luck with ride wait times at DHS! Can't wait to find out who is knocking on your door!
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Isn't it amazing that these days the wait for what used to be the headline attractions--RnRC and TOT can be so short but the wait for TSMM is always a disaster! Can't wait to read about the mysterious knock and dinner as well!
Sorry for the long wait for your flight but I think going through those WDW gates made up for it. Love the pictures from the resort and it sounds like you had a great start to your trip at DHS (minus a not so enjoyed 13 story drop for Scottie). Can't wait to hear more.
I love RnRC, and if we aren't trying to ride TSMM first thing, we head there! Last trip, we rode twice in a row with no wait, and then had a ten or fifteen minute wait before our third ride. (This was in September.) When we came out the third time, the wait time had jumped to forty minutes, so we headed to TOT.
Sorry Scottie didn't like that ride. Tell him that when my brother was 10, he went on that ride with us, and came off very green. My dad, being a joker, couldn't help asking "Do you want to ride it again?" Jake turned WHITE as a ghost. That ride is definately not for everyone.
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Glad it all worked out in the end, and that you had some nice people keeping you company. Glad you made it to the resort okay. Great start!
just before we left. I hope you make it someday to see them, they really are gorgeous.
Love all the photos of the Caribbean Beach! 
I admire your attitude about the whole thing. From there it all sounds wonderful! I love seeing the Disney sign…..it always makes me tear up with happiness!! 
The CBR sounds, & looks amazing! I love all the pictures of it. The Christmas decorations add even more magic. Getting a room upgrade must have been a real treat! 
It’s always RnRc & Tower of Terror first thing!! I am sorry to hear Scottie didn’t like ToT!
Everything sounds, & looks great so far! I can’t wait to read more….who could be at your door
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