The Good, The Bad and The Buggy - Nov 2011 TR - Page 13 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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Just got caught up again. All of the food looked delish and is making me miss Disney reaaaallly bad.
Love the earrings. Pearls are my fav. I had a ring made out of the one I picked, it has since fallen off. I need to take it to the jewelers and have it fixed.
Loving your report.
Just got caught up again. All of the food looked delish and is making me miss Disney reaaaallly bad.
Love the earrings. Pearls are my fav. I had a ring made out of the one I picked, it has since fallen off. I need to take it to the jewelers and have it fixed.
Loving your report.
Thanks. We are having Disney withdrawl too. They told me that the setting is just glued. That concerns me some. I'm just careful.
Quote:
Originally Posted by southerngirl1014
Trust me a 9am ice cream sundae is not much better then a 4am one! Tee hee
We got up today at 6 am (with the alarm). We started out at AK. Made it there just after rope drop.
We got our picture taken with the tree then walked over to Harambe. We wanted to go to see if the vets were working at the Rafiki Planet Watch but it was still closed. It didn’t open until 10 and we needed to be on our way by then. We did get a cup of coffee and a muffin and sat down to people watch. All the people rushing to get to KS. We then walked the trails around the tree taking pictures.
It was a very peaceful, quiet morning in one of my favorite places. We sadly had to make tracks out of the park.
Love the AK Christmas Tree!
We knew this would be our last visit to this park this trip and we were both a bit melancholy. After one last goodbye to the Tree of Life we walked over the bridge and went out to the busses. We then caught a bus to AKL in order to transfer to a bus to DHS.
We made it to DHS
and went back to TSMM but the FP were gone and the wait was too long. We had an 11:30 ressie at HBD for Dine with an Imagineer. We walked through One Man’s Dream but didn’t have time to take in the movie. We really didn’t have much time to do anything but we had too much time to do nothing. It was a big hurry up and wait. We did do some shopping. I got Chuck a Mickey watch we had been looking for since last year. We also got a laptop sleeve (40th anniversary) and some antennae toppers. We finally went to check in for the lunch and got name tags (these were not just the write your name on “Hello my name is” tags. These were molded plastic with our names engraved into them) and had to wait while they had one couple “open” the restaurant. They gave them hats and a boa, took pictures and gave them priority seating after they cut the ribbon. It was cute. Then all of us who were dining with an Imagineer were lead back to a special room (The bamboo room).
There were 2 other families( one of 5 and one of 3) and Chuck and myself. Our Imagineer was David Hardiman, Show Design and Production Manager Associate. He was very engaging. He is responsible for most of the refurbishments. He told us how he started, worked his way up in the company and what he has worked on in the past. He couldn’t answer some things because they can’t divulge some information. During this, we had wonderful service from Moses our server! He was fantastic. I asked for the pomagranite lemonade and he said they didn’t have it but he would have the bartender mix some up special for me! We had lobster bisque soup (well, Chuck had it. I found it a bit too fishy for my taste)
, the next course was an individual classic Cobb Salad which was very good
Moses told us the story of how the Cobb came to be. Then we had a choice of filet of beef glazed with a red wine reduction over white truffle whipped potatoes OR a noodle bowl with grilled chicken, soy beans, sugar snap peas , bok choy and shiltake mushrooms in a red curry broth OR coriander dusted Grouper with cauliflower risotto, pea tendrils, crunchy sun chokes and a yellow tomato coulis. Most of us got the filet.
Only one guy got the noodle bowl. Then for dessert we could choose either the grapefuit cake (they are noted for this) or the double vanilla bean crème brulee with dark chocolate dipped biscotti. We got the cake.
It was good, not too sweet. It had a little tartness to it. After we were done, David had to excuse himself because he had a meeting he had to get to. He did sign souvenir plates for each of us and we got a group picture and our menus and nametags to keep as well. Overall, it was fun. This was an OOP meal and I probably wouldn’t do it again while on the DxDP. It was a good couple of hours though.
We went to the front of the park and took the boat over to Epcot, International Gateway.
This is park #3 and it is only about 3 in the afternoon. But by now we were full and getting tired. So we didn’t do much in this park. We basically walked through and Chuck got an espresso. We got our pics taken with Spaceship Earth. Then we headed out to the monorail to head back to the resort.
We got back to the resort and wanted to hit the hot tub for a bit before we headed over to MK for the evening and MVMCP. After the pool and hot tub, and I think we played some ping pong too. Then we got cleaned up and took the monorail over to MK (Park #4) for MVMCP. We went through the no bag lines. I was trying to avoid the bag lines and kept most of what I needed in my pockets. I’m liking that. We got our bracelets for the party and made our way in.
We first went to Haunted Mansion, then over to Fantasyland because that’s the area we haven’t done anything in yet. So we went to Mickey’s Philharmagic, IASW, SWSA, Cinderella Carosel. By then we were getting hungry again so we worked our way over to Casey’s for a hot dog. (another first for us). Once at Casey’s with our food, we hunkered down for the MM&Y Castle show and the fireworks. We were too far from Main Street to get a really good view of the parade. In between shows, we went for cocoa right outside of Crystal Palace but after standing in a non-moving line, I told Chuck to stay put and I was going to check things out. I came back and said let’s go. The thing wasn’t even open! We started walking out to the front and stopped in some stores. We ended up getting 2 new pins. One exclusive for AP holders and 1 exclusive for the MVMCP. By then - my feet were killing me and Chuck didn’t really want to stay for the second parade. We ended up walking back to BLT. It was faster and less crowded than waiting for the monorail. If I had waited any longer, I may not have been able to walk back - after 4 parks and swimming - I was toast! When we walked in, we were met with more bugs! Right in the hall by the elevator! All these little black spots were bugs. The only thing they were doing for them was vacuuming them off the walls. Ewwww.
We went up to our room, shared our treats from Goofy’s Candy Company and then went to sleep. It was a long, busy, fun day!
4 parks in one day, how'd you do that? I think I would have been sleeping by the end of park #2, lol. And those bugs, ewww!
We started early. And having the MVMCP that night helped.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OneLittleSpark
I can't believe you got it all done! I love all the pics with you holding out the number fingers of what park it is that day. Super cute idea.
I am not looking forward to what the rude awakening was. I hope it wasn't bugs.
Holding the fingers up was Chuck's idea. In some of the pics his mouth is open because he's explaining it to the photographer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Awesome! 4 Parks in 1 Day! I am impressed!
Thansk Cam! It was a very busy day. I was surprised that we also got in some swimming too!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovedisney247
What a great day! I'm so jealous of your Lunch with an Imagineer--that's something I haven't done yet, but I really want to!
It was really good. Very interesting. The one family of 5 were very reserved and didn't talk much but the other family was very social. Our Imagineer was very laid back and funny.
Quote:
Originally Posted by southerngirl1014
Its fruit it should count! That is my story and I am sticking to it! Lol
I agree!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Wow, you certainly made the rounds today! Lunch with an Imagineer looked great!
It was very busy! And Lunch with an Imagineer WAS great!
Today constitutes “the bad” part of the TR. I don’t mean it to be down or anything. I just have to include it because - well, it’s part of the trip.
I woke up this am to a horrible leg cramp! Crying, writhing in pain I screamed for Chuck. Who wasn’t there?!?!?! I tried to get up out of bed and my leg collapsed. I caught myself on the loveseat and sat down crying. I tried to work it out. Finally I was able to stand and in walks Chuck. I immediately asked where he was and his answer was “I went to look for a paper” Hmmmm. He doesn’t read the paper. Then he asked if I wanted coffee. Yes! At this point I was going to just drink it while in bed because I have totally given up on using the balcony due to the bugs. But Chuck suggested we go out on the balcony anyway. And this was why. Why he was out “looking for a paper”, why he wasn’t there when I was writhing in agony, and why I love him so.
We didn’t have any solid plans today except for our dinner ressie later. So we talked over coffee. Really talked about how the trip was going, what we were upset about, were we expecting too much, etc. Our talk revealed this: We were very disappointed with BLT. The bugs that seemed to be everywhere, the fact that it is supposed to be a “locked” building but anyone can get in because the doors are broken, the fact that the rooms seem old for such a new building (ie the carpet was very worn, the toilet paper holder was broken, the bathroom faucet leaked), the fact that there was no enforcement of the rules (ie the hot tub kids), there was no Mickey head towel on the bed when we arrived. We talked about leaving. Yes, leaving our vacation early because we were so upset about these things. I told Chuck that we would probably lose $$. We would def miss our Yachtsman ressie and miss seeing the Osborne Lights. We toyed with the idea though - that’s how bad it was. We decided to stay anyway. Since we had no real plans for the day, we decided to go resort hopping and see other DVC places that we could book for our next trip. So with that, we walked over to MK to catch a bus. On the way (either today or earlier in the week - I forget exactly when we did this but) we stopped by the car to put some dirty laundry and souvenirs in it. REMEMBER THIS FACT! Chuck took his car key off his key ring and just put it in his pocket afterward.
We walked over to MK and waited for a bus to OKW. We were the only people in line and it took a good 30 mins before a bus came. By the time we got to OKW it was almost lunch time and we were getting hungry. We didn’t have any breakfast other than the coffee. I figured that there had to be somewhere at OKW where we could get some food. And boy was there. We found Olivias! They were just opening so we had to wait maybe 10 mins. I headed to the bathroom and encountered a little girl who was just walking out and then out of nowhere - protein spillage! Ewwww. I managed to dodge it. Then I found Chuck in the gift shop. We browsed for a few mins and then finally Olivias opened and we got seated. I had the ceasar salad, Cuban sandwich and key lime tart.
Chuck had onion rings, chowder (chow-dah) and a half of a beef sandwich, and key lime tart.
Those key lime tarts are A-MAZ-ING! We continued our talk about how disillusioned we were. After lunch, we “toured” the area. Walked out by the pool and the dock. Then we went to talk to the DVC guy. We said “we are already members, but just wondered if we could see a studio here as we are looking to maybe stay here next time” He sent us to the Concierge who was very happy to accommodate our request. He had a few minutes before there was someone who could take us to see one , so he started asking us questions. Where were we staying now? How did we like our stay? Boy was he opening the wrong can of worms at that moment! He got an earful. I felt bad that here we were sharing our complaints with someone who had nothing to do with it. All he could say was how sorry he was that we felt that way. We did thank him profusely that he allowed us to tour his facility. Then they took us across the street and up a flight to an empty studio. It was nice! Very nice! We have found our next resort! (Chuck always wants to go back to AKL because we had such a great trip last year there and we both loved it but I want to try new things)
After touring and eating, we had to go to DTD to catch a bus to CR. Once back at BLT, Chuck laid down for a bit while I went to pick up his watch (that we bought yesterday from DHS) at BVG (Bay View Gifts) and fill our mugs from Contempo Café (the only time we did a free refill) Once I got back to the room, we decided to go swimming for a bit. After that we came back to the room and got ready for our dinner ressie at Jiko!
It was very good. I had a cheese board, the filet (and an order of the mac and cheese on the side because it is served over corn risotto now) and an apple cobbler with beet ice cream. The beet ice cream was interesting. Not really sweet. It made a strange combination with the apple cobbler.
Chuck had some sort of salad thing with Ahi tuna for an app, the Grouper for a entrée and cheesecake for dessert.
After dinner we went to the Mara to pick up some Zebra Domes to go! (use up a couple of those snack credits) Then we took the bus to DTD in order to switch busses to CR. After going to our room and putting away our Zebra Domes, we went to the concierge so we could go to the Top of The World Lounge for the fireworks. There were about 8-12 people in line so they said “hold up your KTTW card” (because it is only for BLT residents who are staying on DVC points - remember this fact) One girl next to me held up a KTTW card and said “I’m not from here but . . .” But what? Then you shouldn’t be here. You shouldn’t be allowed up. But they let her on up anyway. Like I said - rules are not enforced! So we got to the top about 15 mins before the fireworks. And guess what - there were bugs all over the place! They were on the wall, on the benches, by the lights, I mean everywhere! We stayed for the fireworks - itching all the way. It was ok but we got to see just how far away the fireworks are from the castle. You think they are right there but nope - from the view from the side they are way back. You can see in some of these pictures.
After that we thought about going to MK for EMH but decided no. We weren’t in the mood. We were ornery, upset and tired. We just went to bed.
Up next - MK, Osborne Lights, the best meal of the trip and starting packing.
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It was a big hurry up and wait. We did do some shopping. I got Chuck a Mickey watch we had been looking for since last year. We also got a laptop sleeve (40th anniversary) and some antennae toppers. We finally went to check in for the lunch and got name tags (these were not just the write your name on “Hello my name is” tags. These were molded plastic with our names engraved into them) and had to wait while they had one couple “open” the restaurant. They gave them hats and a boa, took pictures and gave them priority seating after they cut the ribbon. It was cute. Then all of us who were dining with an Imagineer were lead back to a special room (The bamboo room). 
"Sparky"(My first trip.)
Crying, writhing in pain I screamed for Chuck. Who wasn’t there?!?!?! I tried to get up out of bed and my leg collapsed. I caught myself on the loveseat and sat down crying. I tried to work it out. Finally I was able to stand and in walks Chuck. I immediately asked where he was and his answer was “I went to look for a paper” Hmmmm. 
He doesn’t read the paper. Then he asked if I wanted coffee. Yes! At this point I was going to just drink it while in bed because I have totally given up on using the balcony due to the bugs. But Chuck suggested we go out on the balcony anyway. And this was why. Why he was out “looking for a paper”, why he wasn’t there when I was writhing in agony, and why I love him so. 
Then they took us across the street and up a flight to an empty studio. It was nice! Very nice! We have found our next resort! (Chuck always wants to go back to AKL because we had such a great trip last year there and we both loved it but I want to try new things)
Loved the sand heart! 
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