Our Fall 2014 Trip Report - Coming to You Barely Live from Orlando - Page 4 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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
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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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So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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I'll tell you the truth Sharon, I quickly went through your TR so far and only caught little bits and pieces. I have to come back and read it much better but this comment caught my eye.
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I know you didn't need to see all those pics,
Yes, we do need to see the pictures. I love the photos you take and share with us so please share as many as you want. There are no such thing as too many from you IMO.
Now that I've subscribed to your TR and will be able to find it again, I'll come back and actually read it instead of quickly go through and make more comments.
I just knew Lou would love this tour as he sounds just like Luke when it comes to trains. We had one of the conductors as our guide and then one of the engineers talked with us, too, which made Luke's day. Great pictures, too!
Sharon - so glad you started this - I was wondering how you were doing with all the rain I have been hearing about. Sorry it "dampened" your first MNSSHP. And the fact that it was a Friday night too - we made that mistake....once.... Along with the mistake of attending on Halloween ON A Friday night! But your photos are AMAZING as usual!!!
And I am enjoying your photos of the steam train tour......as you already have WAY more than Scott took on his tour in July!!!
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Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
Sounds like the rain hampered some of the activities at the MNSSHP but you certainly kept a positive attitude! Your pictures of the Castle Projection Show and HalloWishes were so beautiful!!! Glad you both enjoyed the Steam Engine Tour!
Great update with the Steam Train Tour. I was interested in doing this, but since the train is in refurb when we will be there, we couldn't do it.
Great pics!!!
Very cool photos of the trains. I'm not an enthusiast, but love to see these well-built machines and admire those who create and care for them. How great that you remembered the CM who helped to make a special moment last year!
I'm like you - I appreciate the trains, but I do not breathe to learn more about trains, like someone else in our house The CM was so cute - he spent several minutes talking to us.
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Originally Posted by rhinohunter
We really liked this tour as well. Love your pix.
Thanks, Michael. I bet you enjoyed the tour - you guys and your trains.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CinderAbby
I'll tell you the truth Sharon, I quickly went through your TR so far and only caught little bits and pieces. I have to come back and read it much better but this comment caught my eye.
Yes, we do need to see the pictures. I love the photos you take and share with us so please share as many as you want. There are no such thing as too many from you IMO.
Now that I've subscribed to your TR and will be able to find it again, I'll come back and actually read it instead of quickly go through and make more comments.
Now that
Thank you, Darlene. You've told me that before. I don't know why I worry about boring people with too many pics. They can easily skim past them, so I'll just keep including them and not be too concerned.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
I just knew Lou would love this tour as he sounds just like Luke when it comes to trains. We had one of the conductors as our guide and then one of the engineers talked with us, too, which made Luke's day. Great pictures, too!
We are lucky we didn't have an actual engineer - Between Lou and another guy who liked trains, we would probably still be there.
Sharon - so glad you started this - I was wondering how you were doing with all the rain I have been hearing about. Sorry it "dampened" your first MNSSHP. And the fact that it was a Friday night too - we made that mistake....once.... Along with the mistake of attending on Halloween ON A Friday night! But your photos are AMAZING as usual!!!
And I am enjoying your photos of the steam train tour......as you already have WAY more than Scott took on his tour in July!!!
We have been skirting the rain, and that is working well. Yes - no more parties on Friday nights Scott was probably enjoying the tour, not taking pics
Quote:
Originally Posted by lindawdw
Sounds like the rain hampered some of the activities at the MNSSHP but you certainly kept a positive attitude! Your pictures of the Castle Projection Show and HalloWishes were so beautiful!!! Glad you both enjoyed the Steam Engine Tour!
Thanks, Linda. My attitude is positive, in general, but of course I was disappointed that my night didn't go as planned. There's something about remembering just how lucky we are to be on the trip that helps keep things in perspective.
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Originally Posted by llgmommy2
Wow that looks very interesting. I may book that for my DH. Not sure how he would feel about getting up so early though.
If he likes trains, he will enjoy this tour, even though it's early.
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Originally Posted by KimmyAnn1147
Signing on! Hope you are having a blast!
Once past the first evening, things are on track and going well!
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Originally Posted by disneydreamer33
Great update with the Steam Train Tour. I was interested in doing this, but since the train is in refurb when we will be there, we couldn't do it.
Great pics!!!
Sorry about the refurb - Michael told us they didn't even tell the guides until just recently. I was surprised to be able to book the tour just two weeks in advance, since it was the last day before refurb.
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UPDATE: Day 2 Part 3: Finishing up The Steam Train Tour and Lunch with the Beast
We finished our break, and followed Michael up the stairs to the Train Platform overlooking Main Street. More history and stories about the trains in the parks. You can see, there are quite a few more people here now than there were in the early morning:
We moved into the air conditioned train station, and Michael continued the presentation for about 30 minutes. He presented us with a cool gift - photo to come later. We were through with the tour by 10:30am. Lou thought Michael did such an excellent job, he wants to send a letter into Guest Relations complimenting him.
As we finished our tour, the Trolley Dancers were putting on a show, so we watched their performance. Kudos to them for dancing so energetically in the heat:
So now what? I have lunch reservations at BoG starting at 11:20am. I made these using the fast pass website, never did get an invite. We decided to ride the train:
They're still trying to start the fire:
Thunder Mountain is running...
We came back to Main Street, and decided to ride on to the Fantasy Land Station. As we circled for our third time, we had Katherine, this CM laughing at us. She was so excited we took the Steam Train Tour (we were still wearing our name tags):
We exited the train, and started walking briskly towards the BoG - I guess The Beast was hungry. I snapped just a few photos along the way:
We checked in and had no issues with our FP - we entered right away and found a table at the end of the ball room where the snow falls. Things went downhill from here. They didn't tell us to pick up our drink cups and choices before sitting down (I should have asked, I thought they brought a cup for you to the table). Plus the silverware. We waited about 5 minutes before our cart showed up, and food was rather unceremoniously dumped on the table. Now - I am a fan of the Castle Dining experience. I also rarely complain about meals. This was, in a word, not-good. Okay, maybe that is two words.
I had the Croque Monseiur:
Lou had the Carved Beef Sandwich:
The fries were terrible. They were cold, and were just not good at all. The sandwiches were also cold. I don't know how warm I would expect them to be, but certainly I expected my Grilled Sandwich to be a little warmer to the touch. We also thought they tasted funny (this is probably just a personal preference for the flavorings).
I ate half my sandwich. Lou ate one bite. He didn't want any thing else. In fact, this could be him after our lunch:
As luck would have it, a lady taking surveys outside asked his opinion - he told her. He also said how much we had enjoyed our previous dinner at the Castle, and this was nothing like that experience. Does anyone see where this one is going? I forgot to explain to him that the Castle was a fast food shop during lunch - meant to be a totally different experience. Score another demerit for me. This doesn't excuse the fact that neither of us liked our food, but he might have been a little more willing to except a cold roast beef sandwich if he knew the facts. The french fries were just not acceptable under any circumstances.
I'm really sorry to give a negative review to the BoG lunch experience, I think if your expectations are right, if you've never been for dinner, and if you order smarter than I did, you can still enjoy the experience. But, I will stick to Dinner from now on
We were toast for this day, having been up so early for the Train Tour. We walked back to the entrance where we took a boat back to Bay Lake Tower. A boat? Yes, A boat, or shall we say, two boats. First we cruised to Wilderness Lodge, where we switched to a boat to the Contemporary. What can I say? Someone likes boat rides.
It rained off and on all afternoon:
Up Next: Dinner at the Wilderness Lodge - will Artist Point Save the Day for Dining?
That sounds like a "not good" dining experience whether you were expecting fast food or table service! Now you have me worried about your AP meal that night-- If Lou doesn't like his meal there you may need to sell your DVC points and just give up!
I really hope we have a better experience at BOG, but I have heard as many bad experiences as good, so I guess it is just hit and miss with lunch.
Loving all of your pics. The ones of 7DMT are amazing!!!
WOW love the pix. Yours are always so full of color. The ones on the mine train look more like paintings than photos. Is that a treatment in Photoshop?
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Along with the mistake of attending on Halloween ON A Friday night! 
But your photos are AMAZING as usual!!! 
Your pictures of the Castle Projection Show and HalloWishes were so beautiful!!! Glad you both enjoyed the Steam Engine Tour!
Liz 
Scott was probably enjoying the tour, not taking pics 
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