A Coast to Coast Christmas - Phase One WDW - Page 10 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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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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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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Day Two, Part Two Smiling with every one of your teeth
Thanks to the taxi, we were on time for our ADR and arrived at the GF with a little time to spare.
Karen even had time to stop for some roasted chestnuts.
Karen is the only person I know who likes roasted chestnuts. The CM there tried to get me to try some. Umm, no thanks! When I told him I’d tried them before, he just said, “Oh.” Even he knows they’re yucky! Actually, they must be good, because the hot dog guy on the corner of my office building was selling them on his cart. But I suspect people only ever try them once. It must be an acquired taste, because Karen does like them. And I bet Heather likes them. Do you, Heather? You have a more sophisticated palate than I do, so probably.
We met Joan and her family in the lobby and checked in. We had two separate ADRs but they were able to seat us all together. We had a table right in front of the door, which wasn’t ideal, but we managed to have fun anyway! I have a lot of really unflattering photos from this meal. A lot! I don’t know what was going on! And I think some others may have some unflattering photos as well. Here’s some advice for them: do not post them. The life you save may be your own.
I did get a few good ones in the bunch.
Drizella (or whichever one wears the blue dress) made her presence known by sidling up to Eileen mere seconds after the chef had presented her with her “safe” dessert. She didn’t say anything, just stared.
It was hilarious. And Eileen wouldn’t even share with her, even though she said she wanted some. Poor Drizella or Anastasia. Oh, and sorry for always forgetting your name.
I’ll say one thing for her, she knew how to smile big. I mean B-I-G! She could smile and show you every tooth in her mouth. I bet when she goes to the dentist, she doesn’t even have to open up. She tried to teach Karen and Jill, but they got face cramps, so the picture looks like this…
I just cracked myself up with the whole face cramp thing. And yes, I realize it’s funny to nobody but me. But MAN, I’m hilarious!
After dinner, the group kind of split up. Joan and her family went back to SOG, the guys went back to the WL and the CLQ went shopping. I picked up some bath bombs for DM. She has a giant tub in her bathroom that I’m kind of jealous of. I, on the other hand, have a short tub and long legs. I have to take a bath with my knees bent. So I haven’t taken a bath in years. Of course I shower, so I don’t stink or anything.
This picture has a hidden Cinderella
We took the monorail over to the Contemporary, and had a peek at their decorations in the process.
Love the white chocolate monorail!
Then we got a boat to the WL. We had to wait for a bit for one to arrive. I didn’t have a jacket or anything, so I was a little chilly. When the boat came, we all snuggled up in the back seat. Now I’m beginning to suspect I know how we got our reputation in the Old Faithful Club
Back at the WL, Karen and I changed into festive party attire and headed out. We took a bus to the MK and arrived at the Party well after it had started. Unfashionably late! It didn’t matter. Karen and I were both only interested in the party-specific activities, and we had plenty of time for that.
We noticed there was a 10-minute wait to meet Mickey and Minnie. There appeared to be no line to meet the princesses and their princes, but the wait time was posted at 60 minutes. We had practically no wait to see Minnie and Mickey in their oh-so-cute holiday attire. We got lots of kisses from them, too.
I’ll have to add the photos here when we get the Photopass CD.
Karen asked the CM if the princess line was really as long as was posted and he confirmed that it was, even though the queue looked empty. He must’ve been right, because when we exited, we saw the posted wait had increased to 85 minutes!
So no princesses and princes for us. We consoled ourselves with some photos of a decked-out Main Street U.S.A.
We had some time before the Magic, Memories & You show was due to start, so we went to Cosmic Ray’s to boogie with Goofy. First order of business was to procure some cookies and cocoa. Both were tastier than they’ve been in the past. Goofy wasn’t there, but Dale and Pluto were. And the DJ kept saying that Goofy would be there in a few minutes. He and I have a very different idea of “a few.” We had fun dancing with Dale, though (and more bad photos that I’m not posting. You’re welcome, Karen ).
After doing the Cupid Shuffle, we cried uncle and had to leave to catch the MM&Y. Goofy still was due in “a few” minutes.
We found a nice spot to watch MM&Y.
I’ve seen it a couple of times now, so I decided to try to get some good photos. The holiday portion was über cool, too! I’m glad I got to see it.
Then, Holiday Wishes. I only got one photo, then just enjoyed the show.
We moved a bit closer to the castle so we could see the castle show. I saved our spot while Karen went and got us some cider. We were both kind of disappointed that it wasn’t cider, just apple juice. While people watching, I noticed some kid who was frantically looking for her family, but I didn’t worry, because she was obviously on the phone with her parent right then. After she’d described well enough where she was, her family found her.
I enjoy the show a lot, but I sure do miss the old Night Before Christmas show.
After the show, we went to find spots for the parade in Frontierland. We scored a spot right in front of the ropes and had a seat. I took a gazillion photos (and am not really thrilled with any of them).
I was pretty tired and convinced I should call it a night, but when we got up and walked for a bit, I got a second wind. We walked through Fantasyland and got a photo with Donald.
I’ll add it when the Photopass CD comes.
Then we popped into the dance party in Cosmic Ray’s and Goofy was there, in his Santa outfit. Karen got a cute photo of us, which she’ll hopefully post soon.
Then we noticed that Phineas and Ferb had a manageable line, so we joined it. There were a lot more adults in the line than there were kids. And half of the kids in line were asleep! The guys went in for a break with one group in front of us but came back quickly.
I was happy to get to meet new characters, and I loved their Santa hats and holiday background.
I’ll add the photos when I get the CD.
We were happy with all we’d accomplished in just over 3 hours. We even got some Ghirardelli peppermint chocolates on the way out! It was about 11:35 when we left the party. We caught the bus back to the WL. Eileen was asleep, but Jill was still awake.
Karen and I got ready for bed and we all turned in. Eileen woke up just enough to perform a little shenanigans and that sounds really dirty! No wonder we have a reputation. I don’t know what was going on, because I fell asleep shortly after Karen said “Hey!”
Up Next: They want us to ride without them, honest!
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
I'm going to break in here and comment on this picture:
Obviously, the CM knows roasted chestnuts are NAS-TAY! I mean, seriously! Look at his face! He's all "you better not spit this out in the flower bed of poinsettias like your friend over their did two years ago."
'Cause... I did. I did spit out the wallpaper paste flavor of NAS-TAY chestnuts in the poinsettias in 2009.
I did.
And you would too if you'd made the mistake of believing Karen's delight in these bits of nastiness.
Ugh...
And, Shashi -- I mentioned writing the "Three to a Bed" report when it was still a secret. And then YOU went and blabbed about it up front, thereby robbing me of the joy of telling the tale and adding in all the supporting PhotoPass pics of our fun. So it's YOUR fault I'm not writing a TR... not *mine.*
The CM manning the roasted chestnut station looks downright apologetic about having to hand those out! I don't think I've ever tried roasted chestnuts, and I think you've convinced me that I'm ok with that!
LOVE your pictures of MM&Y! I tried to get a few in November, but they came out terribly. Can I ask what kind of camera you have? I agree, the holiday edition was very cool, love the gingerbread castle!
Roasted chestnuts...ok, can't eat them so trying them has never been an option, for some reason they do smell good when the guy on the corner sells them, but I think it is a ploy just to make people want to try them...I have watched a few people eat them and well let's say I would think it was the last time they did that...but my dad thinks they are pretty cool, so I guess he and Karen share the same palette and it goes to prove that there are those in the world who actually like them.
Love the pictures of the castle show...I love that show, another makes me cry, also another show I could not get any good pictures of (don't know Sharon, figured I understood that zoom thing on my camera, it just does not like me).
I LOVE the Drizella smiles! Gives me face cramps just looking at that photo . Great time at the party and I really enjoyed the parade and castle show holiday pix. I'm so excited that I'll be there for one of the parties this year. I'm not a fan of roasted chestnuts either, but I make chestnut soup occasionally and love it.
Yay! You're back! Great update. You girls make everything fun "funner." So, are you going to leave us hanging about the type of shenanigans Eileen woke up to perform or would that ruin your "reputations?"
Sounds like you and Karen had a lot of fun together at the MVMCP! I agree with you about the old Twas the Night Before Christmas show. I missed seeing it in when we went to the party in 2010. Glad you got to have some good character interaction at the party
I must be in the super duper minority, because I love roasted chestnuts! I've been eating them since I was a kid. I wonder if maybe the kind my mom always gets me isn't the kind that everyone else has? Nah, can't be! Now I'm craving some!
All the party festivities look great!
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Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
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I'm trusting you and never trying roasted chestnuts! It does appear that Karen and Jill have the face cramps! Great character interaction! Lots of fun at the party, too!
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When I told him I’d tried them before, he just said, “Oh.” 
Do you, Heather? You have a more sophisticated palate than I do, so probably. 
She tried to teach Karen and Jill, but they got face cramps, so the picture looks like this…
I just cracked myself up with the whole face cramp thing. And yes, I realize it’s funny to nobody but me. But MAN, I’m hilarious! 
I, on the other hand, have a short tub and long legs. I have to take a bath with my knees bent. So I haven’t taken a bath in years. Of course I shower, so I don’t stink or anything. 
It didn’t matter. Karen and I were both only interested in the party-specific activities, and we had plenty of time for that.
We had fun dancing with Dale, though (and more bad photos that I’m not posting. You’re welcome, Karen 
).
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Pixie Dust
While people watching, I noticed some kid who was frantically looking for her family, but I didn’t worry, because she was obviously on the phone with her parent right then. After she’d described well enough where she was, her family found her.
The guys went in for a break with one group in front of us but came back quickly.
It was about 11:35 when we left the party. We caught the bus back to the WL. Eileen was asleep, but Jill was still awake.
PassPorter Guide Author
. Great time at the party and I really enjoyed the parade and castle show holiday pix. I'm so excited that I'll be there for one of the parties this year. I'm not a fan of roasted chestnuts either, but I make chestnut soup occasionally and love it.
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
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