/Cruising on a Dream Full of Frights and Friends: 10/12/13-10/19/13 TR completed 4/21/2014 - Page 9 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Yea sure when you just say we drove and drove and drove and didn't experience it, it seems quick. Wait until you hear about our drive home!
And why don't I remember what this crappy ending is?! Maybe I willonce I read about it. And now I guess I better get started on mine or I'll be WAY behind since I've got days beforehand to write about.
You notice that Linny never answered my question. And yes, you need to get started on that report ASAP. I'm going to be on the cruise before you've even left your house.
Quote:
Originally Posted by stardust190
Sounds like the drive went great! You're very lucky that Hope was so well behaved. We can't even make it 1 1/2 right now in the car without a major meltdown from Cameron. I'm dreading Thanksgiving and our 2 1/2 hour car ride.
I was extremely shocked. She's usually asking for my phone to play with or why the ride is taking so long, but she was either super excited about her upcoming surprise, OR she was just completely content with everything she had to keep her busy in the car.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PrincessSharon
Glad your drive down was mostly uneventful. I'm a bit worried about what's coming.
Thanks! Oh you just wait...it won't disappoint.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DilBrooksmom
Great trip report so far (I'm catching up...). Amazing luck on the deal on the new car and stay at AKL!
Long car drives to (and home from) Disney are the worst! I feel your pain even though it sounds like a doozy of a post is coming next. Hope it's not too bad!
Thanks for jumping in! The car ride home is definitely worse than the car ride there, but the whole thing was just not my idea of a good time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommapants
great drive down. I sure it felt like forever - I hate the drive, too long, I don't like sitting in the same postition for so long.
Apparently my body doesn't like sitting in the same position either. Or I'm just getting old and starting to really feel it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by num1DVCfan
We drove down last year for our cruise and I agree, that drive is a bit brutal. I didn't think we would ever get out of Virginia. Chris and I got a good laugh and a few eye rolls at the billboards going down 95, luckily Sean can't read yet
The billboards in NC going into SC are probably the worst. And I think that South of the Border should stop spending money on billboard advertising and use it to fix up that entire place...or demolish it all together.
We drove down last year for our cruise and I agree, that drive is a bit brutal. I didn't think we would ever get out of Virginia. Chris and I got a good laugh and a few eye rolls at the billboards going down 95, luckily Sean can't read yet
We got just as many on the way we came - oh boy! Next year should be interesting as Dylan is learning to read. Not looking forward to explaining that!
Quote:
Originally Posted by honeybee723
You notice that Linny never answered my question. And yes, you need to get started on that report ASAP. I'm going to be on the cruise before you've even left your house.
I just posted mine! And we have arrived at AKL - barely. And now I have to write about 3 more days before I get to where you're at time wise.
As someone who's never done a road trip on those routes, my imagination is running wild trying to picture those billboards... I probably don't want to know what they are, but am going to google it and see what comes up!
As someone who's never done a road trip on those routes, my imagination is running wild trying to picture those billboards... I probably don't want to know what they are, but am going to google it and see what comes up!
I'm sure if your imagination is running wild, you are on the right track
South of the Border has got to win the award for tackiest place ever. And the billboards are awful - several are racially or culturally insensitive/inappropriate.
Just got all caught up. We mostly drive to Florida so I know how that ride can be. Last year we saw cotton growing. I forgot what state, maybe SC. Yes and the billboards something else. Can't wait to hear more.
As someone who's never done a road trip on those routes, my imagination is running wild trying to picture those billboards... I probably don't want to know what they are, but am going to google it and see what comes up!
Besides being bombarded by South of the Border billboards (think one for every one or two miles...each way), there also your billboards of the provacative variety.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
South of the Border has got to win the award for tackiest place ever. And the billboards are awful - several are racially or culturally insensitive/inappropriate.
Yeah, it's pretty bad. I always wonder if anyone actually ever stops there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by patclairesmom
Just got all caught up. We mostly drive to Florida so I know how that ride can be. Last year we saw cotton growing. I forgot what state, maybe SC. Yes and the billboards something else. Can't wait to hear more.
At least it was cotton, and not something else.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jakesmom1118
Great start! I just found this but am all caught up. I look forward to reading all about your cruise!
Day One: Saturday, October 12th
Part Two: The Worst Ending to a Pretty Decent Day
When we pulled into the hotel’s parking lot, Hope was happy to finally be able to get out of the car for longer than 10 minutes.
We unloaded the car with just the essential suitcases, and headed inside to check in. The lobby was completely empty, and I think the entire check-in process took a total of 5 minutes. We were staying at the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Titusville, FL, and the hotel was right off the exit for 95. At check-in she handed me the voucher for the 40% off of the port parking, just like I was promised, and then we were off to find our room.
The room was your basic hotel room, but this hotel had just undergone a huge renovation, so everything looked shiny and new.
By now we were pretty , and at first we were just going to run next door to Cracker Barrel and grab dinner via carryout so we could eat in our room…and our pajamas. But that idea was nixed since the only table in the room was a writing desk, and both Chad and Hope needed one to be able to comfortably eat their food. We weren’t sure how crowded the place was going to be, and I know Cracker Barrel has a tendency to get super crowded where we live, so we sent Chad over ahead of us so he could put our names in. Meanwhile, I made myself and Hope a little more presentable since our current look screamed vagrant, and I just wanted to tone it down to at least well-traveled.
About 10 minutes after he walked out of the room we got a call from Chad saying there was no wait, and to come on over because they already had a table waiting for us. With just a short walk to the restaurant, we were seated in no time, and you have no idea how nice it felt to be sitting at a table instead of sitting in a car.
We couldn’t have asked for a better waitress. She was the sweet motherly type that couldn’t do enough for us, especially after learning that we had just finished up a 14 hour drive from Maryland. She brought us drinks and took our orders in record time, and then she made sure to bring us a huge plate of biscuits and rolls. We must have looked like we hadn’t seen food or drinks in months because as soon as she laid our drinks down on the table, we chugged them down and needed a refill by the time she walked past us again. I honestly think she refilled my iced tea about 5 or 6 times throughout our entire meal. Once our food came it was pretty much a feeding frenzy. I think if anyone had attempted to clear something off our table, they might have risked losing a hand.
Now, before we had even left our hotel room, Hope had told us more than once that she was SUPER , so when her small order of pancakes arrived, I was sort of surprised that she was having a really hard time eating any of it. I had cut one whole pancake up for her, and she had only eaten about 4 bites of it in the entire time it took Chad and I to pretty much clear our plates. Eating dinner is a constant battle for us at home, and even more so when we go on vacation because it just messes up her entire routine, so I wasn’t about to start out our trip with her wasting another meal. I want to teach her that you just can’t order food and decide you don’t want to eat any of it. Not only is it extremely wasteful, but we can’t keep throwing money away like that.
I split up the pieces of pancake into two piles, and told her that she needed to finish one of the piles before it was time for us to go back to the room. At first she put up a little fuss, but then she started to SLOWLY eat her pile of pancake pieces. She was down to her last two pieces when she started whining again, but I pointed out that she was almost finished, and that I knew she could do it. She got the second-to-the-last piece in her mouth and after chewing it for what seemed like 10 minutes she swallowed it. By this point I could tell she was struggling, and I didn’t want to push it. Besides, I had been so hungry that with Chad’s help, I could easily polish off that plate of leftover pancakes for her. Just as I was about to tell her to forget that last piece, she had already put it in her mouth, and when she tried to swallow it, she did a little gag, not once, but twice. My hand immediately flew underneath her chin and I told her to spit out the pancake, that she didn’t have to swallow it. And then it happened. Something that has never happened before. Not in public, not at home, not when she’s been sick or when she’s felt fine…just never ever. She threw up…EVERYWHERE!
Why I thought my cupped hand would be able to hold the amount of vomit that came out of my child I will never know, but every time it did come out, my had was right there ready to try and catch it. At one point I must have had my palm turned up, which happened to be at the perfect angle for it to be propelled at my face and into my hair. I wanted to die. Without me knowing, Chad had flown out of his chair and grabbed the waitress, who ran and got us a bunch of towels for the cleanup. By the time she was finished, it was all over her plate, her lap, her hair, my clothes, my face and my hair, but all I could think of was my poor baby. She had tears streaming down her face, and the first thing she said to me was “I’m sorry”. I told her that “I was the one who should be saying I’m sorry”, and then I started to clean her up as best as I could.
I felt bad for the other diners in the restaurant, but to be honest, there weren’t very many of them in there, and the ones that were, were extremely sympathetic to us. I told the waitress I would clean the entire area up, but she told me to get Hope back to the hotel room and they would take care of it. I was so thankful for her and the rest of that crew because they made me feel so much better about the entire situation. I left Chad behind so he could pay the check, and then I hauled butt back to our room.
During our walk back to the room Hope told me she was sorry for getting my clothes dirty because I had to carry her. Then she told me she had wished all of those people didn’t see her get sick, even asking me why I hadn’t taken her to the bathroom so she could throw up in the toilet. Plus she couldn’t stop shaking.
Once we finally made it into the hotel I was praying no one would get in the elevator with us because I knew we smelled…BAD. And thankfully no one did. I headed straight for our bathroom and once I got the water going in the tub, I stripped her down, threw her in there and cleaned her as fast as I could. By the time I was getting her out, Chad was walking in the door, so he took over the drying and dressing duties while I hopped in the shower to clean up. Afterwards I put all of our clothes in the sink and washed them by hand with shampoo of all things, and then hung them up so they could air dry for a few hours. I also had to scrub the bathroom floor because some of it had fallen off of our clothes while we were undressing.
Finally, after everything was clean, I sent Chad out to get her some ginger ale because she kept saying she was thirsty. I asked her if her stomach still hurt, and she said it wasn’t upset, but it hurt to the touch, so I knew it was her muscles that were sore from the heaving. Even though I knew in my gut that she had only thrown up because her system got messed up from all of the snacking in the car while watching those movies, I was still nervous that she might have caught something, and if you’re vomiting due to a stomach bug, they won’t let you on the ship.
Once she had a few sips of ginger ale she started getting sleepy, so I turned the lights off at 9:35pm, and no lie, by 9:36pm the girl was out. I called her name to make sure she was okay and all I heard was heavy breathing. That made Chad and I laugh because I don’t think we’ve ever seen anyone fall asleep that quickly. I was just hoping I could be as lucky in that department as she was, but somehow I didn’t think that was going to be a problem, and I was right…it wasn’t.
Up Next: The Big Reveal!
__________________
Melissa
Last edited by honeybee723; 11-01-2013 at 02:08 PM..
As I started reading this update I was all set for the hotel room to be a major disappointment, a problem with your reservation.... something like that. I never expected the disaster that followed-- who would?? Good heavens, what a terrible scene. Poor, sweet Hope apologizing and feeling bad for the other people in the restaurant, and poor you!! I'm so glad I already know you had a great time on the ship because otherwise I'd have been afraid that Hope was really ill and you'd have spent the next day at the local ER! I suppose the good thing is that you were already checked into the hotel and had a room to dash to for clean-up. If this had happened on a road stop it would have been another story!
Poor Hope, at least you were close to your hotel and able to clean her up quickly. Sean has thrown up a few times in public and we've had to strip him down to his underware before getting him in the car seat to go home. It's not pleasant, but I'm glad after the incident she started perking up and could get some sleep.
UGH! Not fun at all. I'm the worst with vomit. I have taken to dealing with it for my children's sake, but it is not my cup of tea at all. Of course now Hope has an excuse to not eat "remember mom when you made me finish and I puked?" It's not your fault at all. I have the same issues with Cameron and probably would have done the same thing to him. My guess it was the combination of the snacks in the car and just the traveling in general. Probably threw off her little body a bit.
About This Page: 
And yes, you need to get started on that report ASAP. I'm going to be on the cruise before you've even left your house. 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
I probably don't want to know what they are, but am going to google it and see what comes up! 
And thanks for tagging along! 
~ Jenn 
and then we were off to find our room.
, and at first we were just going to run next door to Cracker Barrel and grab dinner via carryout so we could eat in our room…and our pajamas. 
But that idea was nixed since the only table in the room was a writing desk, and both Chad and Hope needed one to be able to comfortably eat their food. We weren’t sure how crowded the place was going to be, and I know Cracker Barrel has a tendency to get super crowded where we live, so we sent Chad over ahead of us so he could put our names in. Meanwhile, I made myself and Hope a little more presentable since our current look screamed vagrant, 
and I just wanted to tone it down to at least well-traveled. 
With just a short walk to the restaurant, we were seated in no time, and you have no idea how nice it felt to be sitting at a table instead of sitting in a car. 
She brought us drinks and took our orders in record time, and then she made sure to bring us a huge plate of biscuits and rolls. We must have looked like we hadn’t seen food or drinks in months because as soon as she laid our drinks down on the table, we chugged them down 
and needed a refill by the time she walked past us again. I honestly think she refilled my iced tea about 5 or 6 times throughout our entire meal. 
Once our food came it was pretty much a feeding frenzy. I think if anyone had attempted to clear something off our table, they might have risked losing a hand. 
and even more so when we go on vacation because it just messes up her entire routine, so I wasn’t about to start out our trip with her wasting another meal. I want to teach her that you just can’t order food and decide you don’t want to eat any of it. Not only is it extremely wasteful, but we can’t keep throwing money away like that. 
but then she started to SLOWLY eat her pile of pancake pieces. She was down to her last two pieces when she started whining again, 
By this point I could tell she was struggling, and I didn’t want to push it. Besides, I had been so hungry that with Chad’s help, I could easily polish off that plate of leftover pancakes for her. 
My hand immediately flew underneath her chin and I told her to spit out the pancake, that she didn’t have to swallow it. And then it happened. Something that has never happened before. Not in public, not at home, not when she’s been sick or when she’s felt fine…just never ever. She threw up…EVERYWHERE! 
but every time it did come out, my had was right there ready to try and catch it. At one point I must have had my palm turned up, which happened to be at the perfect angle for it to be propelled at my face and into my hair. 
I wanted to die. Without me knowing, Chad had flown out of his chair and grabbed the waitress, who ran and got us a bunch of towels for the cleanup. By the time she was finished, it was all over her plate, her lap, her hair, my clothes, my face and my hair, but all I could think of was my poor baby. 
She had tears streaming down her face, and the first thing she said to me was “I’m sorry”. I told her that “I was the one who should be saying I’m sorry”, and then I started to clean her up as best as I could. 
I was so thankful for her and the rest of that crew because they made me feel so much better about the entire situation. I left Chad behind so he could pay the check, and then I hauled butt back to our room. 
even asking me why I hadn’t taken her to the bathroom so she could throw up in the toilet. Plus she couldn’t stop shaking. 
And thankfully no one did. I headed straight for our bathroom and once I got the water going in the tub, I stripped her down, threw her in there and cleaned her as fast as I could. 
By the time I was getting her out, Chad was walking in the door, so he took over the drying and dressing duties while I hopped in the shower to clean up. 
Afterwards I put all of our clothes in the sink and washed them by hand with shampoo of all things, and then hung them up so they could air dry for a few hours. I also had to scrub the bathroom floor because some of it had fallen off of our clothes while we were undressing. 
I sent Chad out to get her some ginger ale because she kept saying she was thirsty. I asked her if her stomach still hurt, and she said it wasn’t upset, but it hurt to the touch, so I knew it was her muscles that were sore from the heaving. Even though I knew in my gut that she had only thrown up because her system got messed up from all of the snacking in the car while watching those movies, I was still nervous that she might have caught something, and if you’re vomiting due to a stomach bug, they won’t let you on the ship. 
so I turned the lights off at 9:35pm, and no lie, by 9:36pm the girl was out. I called her name to make sure she was okay and all I heard was heavy breathing. 
That made Chad and I laugh because I don’t think we’ve ever seen anyone fall asleep that quickly. I was just hoping I could be as lucky in that department as she was, but somehow I didn’t think that was going to be a problem, and I was right…it wasn’t. 
Linear Mode
