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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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There are other changes as well.
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Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
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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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It is so cool to be reading this, given I've just been working out which photos to print from our Christmas 2012 trip, so I'm seeing a lot of similar shots to the ones I've been looking at over the past few days.
I was so not surprised by your comments about the lines - I knew that Adventureland would be a nightmare from our experiences. We just couldn't work out what line went where. You certainly lucked out with the Haunted Mansion - I don't think I ever saw such a short line as 30 minutes during our visit.
Adventureland was the worse and I think having that as our first experience with the lines really worried me. The crowds did calm down after our break, but we avoided AL.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
I had not thought of the downside to the compact size of DLR. It wasn't terribly crowded when I was there, so all I saw was the convenience. I think you managed very well, though, and caught some wonderful photos of the details. The HM overlay photos are great! I feel so bad for that baby being stuck with those parents for life. The photos of Lexi looking at your cupcake-topper are priceless!
Thank you Laurie! I love catching photos that show Lexi's personality, she can be very expressive with her expressions!
Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily
Very glad you were able to ride POC and Haunted Mansion. Those were my favorite rides while there. It is very congested in that area. Sad about that little girl. No ride is worth ignoring a sick kid over. Some people baffle me.
POC and HM ended up as my favorite rides too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JenniferLynneRose521
Holy cow -- the family with the ill child -- YUCK -- why not take her back to the room for a bit -- ewww!!!
Also the picture of Lexie with the edible bumblebee is so cute - her face is priceless!
Thank you! I don't know what that family was thinking, there were so many of them that someone should have been able to use their head and realize someone needed to at least leave the line with the poor baby.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommapants
All caught up. What a fabulous trip you are having, except for the crowds and the gross family in line at POTC. I'm hoping to take my son out west next year so I'm loving your report.
Thank you! I hope you make it to DL with your son, I know you both would love it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by FanOfMickey
I loved POTC in Disneyland, Definitely better then WDW. That cupcake looked yummy!! I would have a hard time eating the bee as it is just too darn cute
The bee was very cute and if it weren't edible I would have kept it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneydreamer33
We went the week of 4th of July, so I was ready for the crowds too. Adventureland was crazy, you could hardly get through. POTC line was that way too. How gross with the poor kid and who wouldn't try to get someone to clean it up!
You had the same luck we did! How bizarre! We went from Pirates to HM and it was down. Glad you got to yge Christmas overlay.
It seems like we did have the same experience. We only experienced one other down ride after HM, but we heard several people commenting on how often the rides were going down while we were there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Russi01
Glad that you guys are having a good time even with high crowds!! The eligible bumblebee is so cute.
Thank you!
Quote:
Originally Posted by shazza
Even though it is crowded, you are doing a good job navigating through it all.
Count me as another reader getting nostalgic as I look at your photos.
Thank you! I am glad my photos are bringing back memories.
This update will be very wordy with not many pictures. I promise after this update I will have lots of pictures!
Brian had decided to sit out of our ride on the carrousel, so it was Justin, Whitney, Lexi and I.
We got to the turnstile to head into the loading area and I was right behind Lexi with Justin and Whitney behind me. Lexi went through the turnstile first and then looked at me with this look on her face that I cannot describe. It was kind of a look of horror. I told her to keep moving, but then realized what the look was for. Her arm was stuck in the turnstile! I tried to yank the bars the opposite direction and it would not budge. I got Justin's attention and he jumped the fence to the other side and tried to get the turnstile to move. By this time several people near us saw what was going on and tried to help us. One lady kept trying to push the bar forward and I had to yell at her to stop as it was pinching further into Lexi's arm. I got the attention of one of the ride cast members and asked her if she knew how to reverse the turnstile. At this point Lexi was doing okay, she just wanted out! Well the CM was as good as nothing as she had no idea what to do and got on the phone to call someone. While she was on the phone Justin got the top of the turnstile box off and all we saw inside was a bunch of mechanical crap that we had no idea what to do with. Justin is kind of like MacGuyver and can figure anything out, so I knew he could figure this out. While Justin was ripping the insides of the turnstile apart looking for a release, the CM leaned over and asked if they wanted us to call the fire department. Really?? How about you call maintenance...I told her yes if that is what it took to get my child's arm free then by all means, call the fire department. This is when Lexi started to freak out and cry, she did NOT want help from the fire department. While I was trying to calm Lexi down, Justin said he could see a little pin that he knew was the release, but he couldn't get to it. Suddenly, I saw the bar move and I yanked it back and pull Lexi's arm out. Everyone around us started to cheer. The CM was busy letting the people behind us know there was an emergency and the wait time would be a bit longer, she had no idea that we got her arm free. When she realized Lexi's arm was out she came over and asked if we needed medical attention. Lexi was fine, she wasn't in pain, she could move her arm and her fingers and she was smiling. I assured the CM that Lexi was okay and all she wanted to do was get on that darn carrousel. Justin had cut his finger in the whole process and it was bleeding, so he ran off to take care of that. Lexi, Whitney and I hopped on the carrousel and the CM came over again to make sure Lexi was okay.
When the carrousel was about to start moving Lexi started to freak out and I was confused as to what her deal was when I saw the fire department had shown up. She really did not want the fire department's help. When they saw the turnstile tore a part and a child no longer stuck they turned around and left. Lexi calmed down once they were gone and we finally got our ride on that darn carrousel.
After the ride we met up with Justin and his finger was fine, it turns out he had just pricked it on the release pin. Once we found Brian we were cracking up because he was oblivious to what had just happened and he was like, I wondered what was taking so long. I did email Disney when we got home. I felt the situation could have been handled a lot better and maybe the CM needed a bit more training because I KNOW there has to be a way to reverse a turnstile without tearing it apart or calling the fire department. I have not heard back from Disney, but later on in our day a CM did make up for it...we will get to that story later.
Unstuck and on the carrousel!
I cropped that picture and circled the mark on her arm from the turnstile. Not sure how well it shows up in the picture.
Whew! By this time we were ready for a break. We stopped in a gift shop in FL as Lexi decided she wanted to find a journal, but we didn't find any at the gift shop we stopped at.
I snapped this quick picture in the gift shop.
We passed Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Lexi asked if we could ride that before our break, so we hopped in line which was at a 20 minute wait. Lexi had a blast on this ride and she really thought she was driving!
At this point we parted ways with Brian and Whitney as they went to check in at their hotel and we headed back to DLH through Downtown Disney.
A couple photos as we head out of the park.
Lexi could not resist World of Disney as we passed and asked if she could spend her gift card . Justin pointed out that we were heading back to the room, so it would be a good time to drop off any purchases we made. Good point. We headed in to WoD for a little detour. Lexi told me she had two items she wanted to buy. First, she wanted to add to her Disney babies collection. On our last trip to WDW some of you may remember her baby Bambi. She also has a baby Eeyore and a baby Ariel. She went over each baby carefully and at first chose a 101 Dalmatian puppy, but then changed her mind and settled on Pooh to go with her Eeyore at home.
So many choices!
Our next mission was to find her journal. We located the stationary section and she immediately found the most expensive journal in the entire store. I have to say it is very cool with Sleeping Beauty's castle on the front and fireworks that light up and sparkle. This would eat up the rest of her gift card and she was okay with that, she also picked up a pen so she could start writing. I found an 'I heart MM' light up journal for myself and a few items for my sister as she was dog sitting for us.
Lexi's journal.
My journal.
Last minute I saw a fleece throw that was a special buy if you spent $40 or more, so I got that, too. That was the best purchase I made as I have used it every day since our vacation to stay warm during this polar vortex thing that just won't go away.
With purchases in hand we headed back to our room to relax for a bit. Lexi settled in her bed to watch the Disney channel and “journal”. Justin fell asleep and I got out my iPad to check my email, passporter and facebook. We rested for a good two hours and then decided it was time for dinner. Justin sent Brian a text to see what they were up to and they were eating at Subway near their hotel. We told them we were going to head to Downtown Disney to find something to eat and we would meet them back in DL near the Indian Jones ride to use our fast passes we had acquired earlier in the day.
Oh my goodness, what a terrifying incident at the turnstiles, made even worse by the Cast Member not knowing what to do! Thank goodness Justin was on hand to figure it out, although he should never have had to do that. I hope you hear back from Disney, as that just wasn't good enough.
Poor Lexi! Sounds like she was a real trooper until the mention of the fire department, but this could have been so much worse. Justin is a good man to have around, but I can't believe how useless and basically unresponsive the CMs were. Not that you were looking for special treatment, but an ordeal like that at WDW I think would have prompted the CMs to at least give you some Fastpasses or snack vouchers or a plush or something. I have noticed that the CMs at WDW do seem empowered to do guest recovery in situations like this, but at DLR they do not. Just to send a child on her way after something like that is really not good customer service.
I love those light-up journals! Haven't seen them before.
Poor Lexi! That would be terrifying for a child. I can see why she didn't want the fire department involved. That's scary stuff. I'm glad that things worked out and she wasn't too badly injured, but I think I would have expected better "help" from the CM. I didn't realize that Mr. Toad was still at DL. I remember being slightly scared of that ride and had just assumed it was no longer. The things I don't know.
What a scary situation with the turnstile. I am like you, I would think there would be an emergency release button. I am glad Justin was so quick on his feet.
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What a terrible thing to have happened to Lexi! It's crazy that the CMs didn't know what to do, thank goodness Justin was able to find the release and she wasn't badly hurt. I LOVE those journals! I saw the one you got last year in the shop outside of Space Mountain and almost got one, but for whatever reason I didn't. Next time!
Poor Lexi! I can't imagine how panicked she must have been. I agree, the CM should have been prepared for a situations like that. Glad Lexi was ok!
Love the journals, especially Lexi's.
Oh my goodness, what a terrifying incident at the turnstiles, made even worse by the Cast Member not knowing what to do! Thank goodness Justin was on hand to figure it out, although he should never have had to do that. I hope you hear back from Disney, as that just wasn't good enough.
I love the journals - those are too cute!
I was so thankful Justin didn't sit out on this ride, I am not sure what I would have done had he not been there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Poor Lexi! Sounds like she was a real trooper until the mention of the fire department, but this could have been so much worse. Justin is a good man to have around, but I can't believe how useless and basically unresponsive the CMs were. Not that you were looking for special treatment, but an ordeal like that at WDW I think would have prompted the CMs to at least give you some Fastpasses or snack vouchers or a plush or something. I have noticed that the CMs at WDW do seem empowered to do guest recovery in situations like this, but at DLR they do not. Just to send a child on her way after something like that is really not good customer service.
I love those light-up journals! Haven't seen them before.
I was not impressed with how this CM handled the situation, but another CM does make up for it later this evening.
Quote:
Originally Posted by stardust190
Poor Lexi! That would be terrifying for a child. I can see why she didn't want the fire department involved. That's scary stuff. I'm glad that things worked out and she wasn't too badly injured, but I think I would have expected better "help" from the CM. I didn't realize that Mr. Toad was still at DL. I remember being slightly scared of that ride and had just assumed it was no longer. The things I don't know.
Mr. Toad is still there and still scary. Lexi was preoccupied with "driving" that I don't think she even paid attention to what was going on around her.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Russi01
Sorry to hear about Lexi. Glad that things turned out good and she was not seriously injured! Love the journals. They are pretty cool
Thank you! The journals were a bit pricey, but one of my favorite souvenirs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneydreamer33
What a scary situation with the turnstile. I am like you, I would think there would be an emergency release button. I am glad Justin was so quick on his feet.
I noticed there was a key hole on the back of the turnstile and I am sure that may have been a way to release the turnstile without tearing it apart.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FanOfMickey
Sorry Lexi had that awful experience. Hope Disney gets back to you and gives the CM's better training on the turnstiles. Love the journals
Still waiting to hear back from Disney, I may need to send a follow up email!
Quote:
Originally Posted by JKnott17
What a terrible thing to have happened to Lexi! It's crazy that the CMs didn't know what to do, thank goodness Justin was able to find the release and she wasn't badly hurt. I LOVE those journals! I saw the one you got last year in the shop outside of Space Mountain and almost got one, but for whatever reason I didn't. Next time!
This was the first time I have seen these journals and I almost walked away without getting mine, but knew I would regret it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Poor Lexi! I can't imagine how panicked she must have been. I agree, the CM should have been prepared for a situations like that. Glad Lexi was ok!
Love the journals, especially Lexi's.
Poor Lexi held it together very well, but I could tell by her wide eyes that she was very worried. I think knowing her daddy was there helping calmed her down a bit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shazza
Justin saved the day. Lexie sounds like a brave girl, only getting upset at the thought of the fire men, but handling the ordeal like a champ.
The journals are very cute.
I was so proud of both Lexi and Justin that day!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jackid2
Poor Lexi, she sounded so brave through the whole thing.
Can't wait to read more.
She was so brave and in the next update I got her a little present to show her how proud I was.
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You certainly lucked out with the Haunted Mansion - I don't think I ever saw such a short line as 30 minutes during our visit. 
It was kind of a look of horror. I told her to keep moving, but then realized what the look was for. Her arm was stuck in the turnstile! 
I tried to yank the bars the opposite direction and it would not budge. I got Justin's attention and he jumped the fence to the other side and tried to get the turnstile to move. By this time several people near us saw what was going on and tried to help us. One lady kept trying to push the bar forward and I had to yell at her to stop as it was pinching further into Lexi's arm. 
I got the attention of one of the ride cast members and asked her if she knew how to reverse the turnstile. At this point Lexi was doing okay, she just wanted out! Well the CM was as good as nothing as she had no idea what to do and got on the phone to call someone. While she was on the phone Justin got the top of the turnstile box off and all we saw inside was a bunch of mechanical crap that we had no idea what to do with. 
Justin is kind of like MacGuyver and can figure anything out, so I knew he could figure this out. While Justin was ripping the insides of the turnstile apart looking for a release, the CM leaned over and asked if they wanted us to call the fire department. Really?? How about you call maintenance...I told her yes if that is what it took to get my child's arm free then by all means, call the fire department. This is when Lexi started to freak out and cry, she did NOT want help from the fire department. 
While I was trying to calm Lexi down, Justin said he could see a little pin that he knew was the release, but he couldn't get to it. Suddenly, I saw the bar move and I yanked it back and pull Lexi's arm out. Everyone around us started to cheer. The CM was busy letting the people behind us know there was an emergency and the wait time would be a bit longer, she had no idea that we got her arm free. 
When she realized Lexi's arm was out she came over and asked if we needed medical attention. Lexi was fine, she wasn't in pain, she could move her arm and her fingers and she was smiling. I assured the CM that Lexi was okay and all she wanted to do was get on that darn carrousel. Justin had cut his finger in the whole process and it was bleeding, so he ran off to take care of that. Lexi, Whitney and I hopped on the carrousel and the CM came over again to make sure Lexi was okay. 
When they saw the turnstile tore a part and a child no longer stuck they turned around and left. Lexi calmed down once they were gone and we finally got our ride on that darn carrousel.
. Justin pointed out that we were heading back to the room, so it would be a good time to drop off any purchases we made. Good point. We headed in to WoD for a little detour. Lexi told me she had two items she wanted to buy. First, she wanted to add to her Disney babies collection. On our last trip to WDW some of you may remember her baby Bambi. She also has a baby Eeyore and a baby Ariel. She went over each baby carefully and at first chose a 101 Dalmatian puppy, but then changed her mind and settled on Pooh to go with her Eeyore at home.
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Liz 
Poor Lexi! I can't imagine how panicked she must have been. I agree, the CM should have been prepared for a situations like that. Glad Lexi was ok!
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