Happy 10 Years - The Anniversary of Our DREAM- updated 04/06/2014 - Page 11 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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What a nice, relaxing last night on the ship! Glad you and Chris got some alone time! It's nice to have those moments once in a while.
Yes, it was a nice evening! Sadly, those quiet moments are few and far between these days, so we appreciate them even more when they happen
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
It's too bad the last night is always a bit confusing because of having to get the bags packed up and outside. You managed to have a nice, quiet spell before that, though. That's the part of cruising I love most. Just sitting on deck and watching the sea and sky.
I really wish we had more time to stay up there, I think I could have watched the sky for hours!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Sorry it was such a rush for packing, but apart from that, it sounds like a great final night.
The rush was all my fault, I kept putting the packing off until I no longer could. We had such fun that night though, so it was worth it in the end
Quote:
Originally Posted by xwewhisper
It's always so hard to pack up that last night!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I suppose that's why the adults area was so quiet that night, everyone else was back in their rooms packing
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Bummed that it's your last night - but sounds like a great evening!!!! Well except for the mad packing......that's the part I don't like about cruising
Can't wait to hear about AoA!!!
__________________
Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
Bummed that it's your last night - but sounds like a great evening!!!! Well except for the mad packing......that's the part I don't like about cruising
Can't wait to hear about AoA!!!
Thanks, Lisa!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommapants
last night aleady? sorry you had to do a rush job packing. Let me tell you Chris' dinners looks more than a "little" fatty.
I know, it did. I would have complained, but i guess since he had another entree, there was enough meat there to satisfy him.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMA
What a great final night!
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by iwonathomas
You had a great last day. I always hate packing on the last day never any fun I try to do as much as I can early in the morning of the last day.
I usually do that to, but our town car was picking us up at 8:30 the next day, and I knew I would not want to get up any earlier to pack
Sounds like you had a nice Anniversary dinner. Despite the whiny children. Isn't it fun when one's mood brings the others down and you have 2 whiners? I know I just LOVE that. At least you were able to figure it out and get the girls to the club so you could just relax.
Sounds like you had a nice Anniversary dinner. Despite the whiny children. Isn't it fun when one's mood brings the others down and you have 2 whiners? I know I just LOVE that. At least you were able to figure it out and get the girls to the club so you could just relax.
Oh, I just love when they are both whiny together! It's like they feed off of each others whininess, until it's just one big mess. Ugh! At least they got it settled and eventually got up to the kids club like they wanted. I was thankful to have some alone time!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Oh, how I hate packing on that last night... it's so stressful!
Tell me about it! Thank goodness I didn't have to worry about airline weight limits, I'm not sure I would have made it.
Our wake up call came around too quickly this morning, and we were all hoping for just a little more sleep but had to get moving if we wanted to meet our car from Quicksilver on time. We got ourselves dressed, and Chris took the girls up to Cabanas for something quick to eat while I packed up the rest of our toiletries in our carryon. I think I snacked on some granola bars that we had packed with us too.
In what seemed like record time, we were all packed up and ready to go. We said a final goodbye to the stateroom we had called home for the past few days and promised that someday we would be back. Our room steward was in the hall as we left, so it was nice to give him one last goodbye and thank you before we left.
We made our way down the halls and to the atrium, all the while a feeling of sadness was growing in me. These past few days had just flown by and we had fallen in love with the Dream, we truly did not want to leave! The girls were excited to check out AoA though, so that helped to keep the sadness down to a minimum. We made our way down through the terminal and into customs, where we had no problems at all. Our passports were checked and we were allowed through, making our way outside to find our town car. Our driver was there waiting as promised, he packed up our bags into the trunk and we were soon on our way back to the Orlando area.
The ride was pretty uneventful, Chris was up front chatting with the driver, while the girls and I caught some zzz’s in the back seat. Soon enough we were passing under those magical gates again
And then we had arrived at our final destination of the trip.
Our driver helped unload our bags, and we thanked him for his service. Before heading into the lobby we stopped by Bell Services to make sure that the bags we had left at POR before the cruise had been delivered as promised, and they were. We left our larger bags with them as well, only taking our carryons with us into the lobby to check in. I didn’t think that our room was going to be ready since it was still before 10 am at this point, and even if it was I really did not feel like lugging all of the bags with us on the long trek to our room. We had booked a Little Mermaid room, so I knew from looking at the maps that we would have a long walk from the main building to find our room. I figured it would just be easier to have Bell Services deliver all of our bags when we were ready.
I was right, our room was not ready, so we decided to stop in the food court to get something to eat. I have no idea what any of us ordered, but I know they were still serving breakfast at this point. I don’t remember having any complaints, so I’m sure everything was tasty and hit the spot. After our second breakfast , it was time for some exploring! The girls wanted to do some swimming, so we stopped for a quick bathroom break and change before heading outside. I got lots of pictures, so I’m just going to let them speak for themselves.
Listening to the music underwater
After some swimming, we decided to take a walk around the Nemo section, the details that they put into this resort are just amazing.
Looking across the lake to POP
We made our way into the Cars section
And eventually found the Cozy Cone Pool.
The girls and Chris had some fun splashing in the pool, while I did some relaxing on a nearby lounge chair. At some point I got a phone call on my cell phone, it was someone from the hotel calling about our room. When I booked this room, I had requested a VIP cleaning because Kaeli sometimes has issues with her asthma in hotel rooms. They were calling to let me know that the room would not be ready for at least 3 hours, as they had not been able to get in to shampoo the rugs yet, and then when they did, the rug would need time to dry. I must have sounded shocked, because the woman asked if I did in fact request a special cleaning. I told her that I had, but did not realize that it involved a carpet cleaning. I thought it just included a changing of the vent filters and extra dusting. She apologized profusely, and I told her we were fine enjoying the pool for now. It was a little after noon at this point, so I was a bit worried about getting back into our room to have enough time to shower and change for dinner tonight, but tried to not let it bother me too much.
Eventually the girls grew tired of the pool and our tummies were growling, so we packed up our stuff and headed towards the main building for some lunch. It’s at this point that Chris thinks he lost our waterproof camera, as the last place he remembers seeing it was at the Cars pool.
Again, I didn’t get any pics or take notes about lunch. I vaguely remember getting a create your own pasta, and it was good. Not as good as the pasta they have at Riverside Mill, but still enjoyable. We were not expecting it, but during our meal I got a text telling me that our room was ready. I was surprised, as it should not have been ready for another couple of hours according to the woman I spoke to earlier.
So, we finished up with our lunch and started our trek all the way over to the Little Mermaid section.
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Love so the pictures from around the resort! Glad they were really taking the care to clean the room correctly too, even if it did mean a little longer wait!
Oh Jenn - you are TEASING me!!! You know I am dying here to see your room!!! just kidding...........but really I want to see it!
Glad that the girls are happily playing in the pools though! That resort is so neat with all the details!
I have another update with all of our room pictures ready to go, just for you
Quote:
Originally Posted by lexiemom
Isn't the theming at AoA fantastic? We loved the Big Blue pool, too. Can't wait to hear what you think of the Little Mermaid rooms.
They really did a great job with this resort, it really feels like you are a part of all of the movies they are portraying. We LOVED the LM rooms
Quote:
Originally Posted by xwewhisper
Love so the pictures from around the resort! Glad they were really taking the care to clean the room correctly too, even if it did mean a little longer wait!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yes, and that's what made the wait worth it. I knew that Disney was making sure that we would have a nice and clean room
So, off we went, in search of our room in the Little Mermaid section of the resort. Of course, lots of pictures were taken along the way. It is a very long walk back to the LM section, but we didn’t mind as there were lots of things to see along the way.
First, we had to make our way through the Lion King section.
Finally, we made it to the LM section.
I don’t remember our room number, but we were on the third floor of the Ariel building which is straight back behind the pool. We had a standard view, so our room was on the backside of the building, facing the parking lot. I couldn’t wait to get into the room to check it out, and once I did I was like a little kid looking at every detail and taking pictures.
I loved the lights in the headboards!
This is the curtain that divides the sleeping area from the vanity/sink area.
A cute little coat hanger on the connecting door.
This is the tabletop, it has the music and lyrics to Under the Sea painted on it.
This was my favorite part, the shower was made to look like Ariel’s treasure cove!
Abby found this one, it’s a Hidden Mickey on a necklace in the treasure cove
So far, we LOVED this room! There were so many details, it was perfect for my two Little Mermaid fans.
While I was walking around taking pictures I realized that the floor was completely dry. I guess that the woman I had spoken to earlier canceled the shampooing of the rug since I wasn’t really expecting that to be a part of the VIP cleaning, so that’s probably why our room was ready earlier than she had told us it would be. Bell Services had delivered all of our bags, so I took some time to reorganize things and then we just relaxed for a bit before showering and getting ready to head out to DTD for the evening.
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It's like they feed off of each others whininess, until it's just one big mess. Ugh! At least they got it settled and eventually got up to the kids club like they wanted. I was thankful to have some alone time!
Our room steward was in the hall as we left, so it was nice to give him one last goodbye and thank you before we left. 
These past few days had just flown by and we had fallen in love with the Dream, we truly did not want to leave! The girls were excited to check out AoA though, so that helped to keep the sadness down to a minimum. We made our way down through the terminal and into customs, where we had no problems at all. Our passports were checked and we were allowed through, making our way outside to find our town car. Our driver was there waiting as promised, he packed up our bags into the trunk and we were soon on our way back to the Orlando area. 
Soon enough we were passing under those magical gates again
, it was time for some exploring! The girls wanted to do some swimming, so we stopped for a quick bathroom break and change before heading outside. I got lots of pictures, so I’m just going to let them speak for themselves. 
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