Florida flowers and Caribbean cruising LIVE TRIP REPORT COMPLETED 3/8 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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.
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!
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I think a lot of people ended up with two different user names when Disney changed their computer system and DVC, Disney, movie club, D23, etc, all rolled into the same. I still have terrible issues with D23, often not being able to get it to even acknowledge me.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
My daughter and I arrive the same day. Two weeks from today I will be sleeping in my favorite place! Maybe our paths will cross. Our flight gets in at 9:30am ish
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
My daughter and I arrive the same day. Two weeks from today I will be sleeping in my favorite place! Maybe our paths will cross. Our flight gets in at 9:30am ish
Pre-trip report – part seven: you’re going to be on the cruise with us?
Sunday 12 October
Despite it being 132 days to our trip, I have sort of started packing… let me explain before you wonder what planet I’m on! It’s now firmly into autumn over here. The boots and gloves are out, and trust me, at this rate, the winter coat won’t be far behind. That means that my wardrobe needs to be emptied of my cropped trousers, summer dresses and vest tops, so they are now in a pile in our spare bedroom, ready to pack for Florida, as that’s the next conceivable time that I can see me wearing any of them… so that’s what I mean by the packing has started!
I’ve also submitted a complaint to Viator today about the hot air balloon vouchers we bought from them, because despite emailing the company we went through in late August and again over a week ago, I still haven’t heard a word from them about whether we can use the vouchers for this trip or not. Quite frankly, while I love the idea of doing the hot air balloon ride, they’ve exhausted my patience now, and there comes a point where enough is enough. As far as I’m aware, and I’m sure this must be the case, they’ve had our money since summer 2013, when we first made the booking, and we’ve had nothing in return, and that’s not acceptable. We’ll see what happens now, as I’ve asked for a refund on the vouchers. If we get it, that will be a nice little windfall towards other holiday things…
I decided to go and have another look on the Disney website to see if I could sort out any of my remaining breakfast issues, and this time I lucked out – there were reservations for the “Good Morning Breakfast with Goofy and his pals” (trips off the tongue, right? ) at Ravello at the Four Seasons for our departure day, so I took that, cancelling the Crystal Palace (I know, missing an opportunity for my donkey ), so now we get a very different character breakfast and a completely new experience at a completely new resort to us – nice way to finish things off! In truth, it will also be a lot more convenient than the Crystal Palace, as we can drive off there, then drive to Downtown Disney to drop our luggage off, before returning to the Beach Club Villas, checking out, and then heading to Epcot.
I had another look to see if we could book breakfast at Fresh Mediterranean Market, but still joy! How frustrating… oh well, it’s now their loss, as I figured I’d book something in its place. I had a look at the options they had, and one interested me – Olivia’s Café at Old Key West. We’ve only had dinner there once many years ago, but I’ve heard lots of great things about it, so I decided to check out the menu for breakfast on All Ears Net. Now hopefully by the time you read this, it won’t have changed much, as the second I read the menu, I was sold!
First off, I was very impressed by the fact they had fresh strawberries and cream, but the one that got me was the Conch Republic Omelette (sorry I just can’t write it the American way! ), made with shrimp, avocado and pepper Jack cheese. Oh wow, that sounds so good! It sounds like it’s one of their signature dishes, so hopefully it will still be there when we go… If not, the crab cake eggs benedict, two poached eggs and two crab cakes on an English muffin with key lime hollandaise sauce and Olivia’s potatoes, sounds pretty amazing too! And then they have banana bread French toast – decisions, decisions! I am no great breakfast person, but it does sound like a superb menu!
I also messaged both Heather (ilovedisney247) and Angie (poohsgirl, I think – she’s so rarely on the boards these days ) who both now work at Disney. They’ve got our vacation dates, but I haven’t involved them in any dining plans up until now, as I figured neither of them would have regular working schedules, but I figured I’d at least check with them, as if they have, then perhaps we can make some plans. If not, we’ll no doubt sort something out nearer the time.
Sadly, although Angie does have regular hours, she’s part-time right now, and hopes to be full time by the time we visit (I hope it works out! ), so we can’t really plan anything with her right now. However, Heather does have a regular schedule, so she’s now joining us, along with Bob and Larry at Il Mulino and the Flying Fish Café!
I also had a look for park hours for the other Orlando parks we’re going to this trip and how annoying is this? Every single one of them (Busch Gardens Tampa, SeaWorld Orlando, Universal Orlando and LEGOLAND Florida) with the exception of the Kennedy Space Center, which is open year round from 9:00am to 5:00pm, don’t have hours past the end of the year! Don’t they know I’m a Disney planner and used to getting my hours six months ahead of my visit?
We’ve also decided not to bother with Lunch with an Astronaut at the Kennedy Space Center when we head there. There are a couple of reasons, mainly around the timing. It would be at midday, and we’d be getting off the Dream, when we’d have stuffed ourselves for breakfast. I can’t imagine we’ll be ready for lunch by then. Also, it would make our day there a bit of a nightmare. It opens at 9:00am, and the first bus tour sets off at 10:00am, and usually they tell you to allow two to three hours for that, so we probably wouldn’t be able to make the best of it.
Tuesday 14 October
Oh my goodness, you seriously won’t believe this…
Are you ready for this?
No, like seriously, are you really ready?
This is one of the most surreal things ever…
Ok, that’s enough hyping up. I was doing a PassPorter podcast with Jennifer and Sara tonight, and at the end of it, Sara asked me what other Disney trips we’d got coming up. I mentioned our Disneyland Paris trip next month (in the dim and distant past by the time you read this ), then said we were off to Disney World next February/March. Suddenly there seemed to be more interest, and Jennifer asked when we were going to be there, as our trip might overlap with hers. I figured it was probably unlikely – I mean, heck what are the odds right? Wrong!
I said we’d be there for a few days, then off on the Dream on 23 February, which was a four night itinerary, and immediately Sara was checking, saying “I think that’s the cruise Jennifer’s on!” No way! And it is – now how cool is that? I’m so glad we know, as it would’ve been worse to discover afterwards perhaps that she’d been on our cruise, and we’d never seen her, as let’s face it, it’s a big ship, and there’s no guarantee you’ll bump into someone…
Friday 17 October
I’ve been keeping an eye out for a decent deal on valet parking at Gatwick Airport while we’re away, as that’s something we always do. I thought I’d never come across anything, with the average price being around £80-£90 ($130-$145) for the time we’re away. That perhaps wouldn’t be so bad, but for our Med cruise in the summer, which was a similar amount of time, we only paid £50. I knew that was a good deal at the time, which makes these sort of prices even tougher to stomach. Well, today I got a flash sale deal through, and valet parking was at least down to £73, which was the cheapest price I’d seen while I’d been looking, so I decided to just suck it up and book it – one more thing done!
Saturday 18 October
I logged on to All Ears Net this morning, only to find a link from the front page to a section all about spring 2015! Of course, when they’re covering a whole season, there are going to be bits that aren’t relevant, and the first section was all about the marathon weekend in January. not going to be there for that… However, the next one was of a lot more interest – the opening of Trattoria al Forno at the BoardWalk. I really want to eat there, and I’m currently eagerly awaiting the news that bookings are open, so I can hopefully snag something for our trip.
I wasn’t so keen on the next one, all about pro soccer at ESPN Wide World of Sports. Now while Mark may enjoy football (as we call it! ), I really don’t, and there is no way we’ll be going over to see any of these games during our stay. The next entry was also a sporting one, and that one I am interested in, as it’s about the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend, and I do want to try and get over to the parks to support some of those runners, as I think what they do is amazing.
Now here’s one I didn’t know about – another Starbucks location for Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Neither of us even drink coffee and I think we’ve maybe been into a Starbucks once in our lives, with Jennifer and Dave when they visited London a number of years ago, but I must admit the idea of a classic trolley car as the location sounds neat. We will of course check out the work at Downtown Disney to see what’s happening there, although I suspect there will be a lot of building work, and not much open by the time of our trip.
But they saved the best until last – the Flower and Garden Festival, and one of the main reasons we’re going at that time of the year. I cannot wait to see Epcot transformed with topiaries and floral delights, as it always looks amazing during the Festival. I can’t wait to sample offerings from the Outdoor Kitchens, as that’s a new innovation since our last Flower and Garden Festival visit back in 2011. I’ll eagerly be awaiting more details of the menus for those.
Next: ugh, Disney your website is just a nightmare!
What a fantastic surprise about your fellow cruisers! That's the best kind of coincidence. Too bad to have to give up on the balloon ride, but it does sound like a good idea at this point to just get a refund... if you ever hear from them!
Hope you hear back from the company on the balloon situation!
You're getting lots of PP's included in your plans - now even on your cruise, not just ADR's.
Florida flowers and Caribbean cruising PRE-TRIP REPORT UPDATED 2/7
My goodness, terrible customer service from Avis! I've never heard of having a rental car given to you that wasn't full! I'm glad you decided to try another company this time. Too bad Avis didn't know that they are losing your business.
Hope you hear back from the company on the balloon situation!
You're getting lots of PP's included in your plans - now even on your cruise, not just ADR's.
I love the way it happened, especially as when we started, there was no-one else whose vacations were coinciding with ours...
My goodness, terrible customer service from Avis! I've never heard of having a rental car given to you that wasn't full! I'm glad you decided to try another company this time. Too bad Avis didn't know that they are losing your business.
I did think of writing to them to say that, but to be honest, after our dealings with them, I figured they just wouldn't care, so I couldn't see the point.
Your lead in for the next post sounds familiar! It is just so unbelievable that a company as large as Disney who works so hard to bring technology into their experiences has such a poor website. In trying to explore excursions on the cruise line site the other day, I had a pop up survey. They are looking at redoing that area and it had all types of questions about that. Sounds encouraging at least.
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It’s now firmly into autumn over here. The boots and gloves are out, and trust me, at this rate, the winter coat won’t be far behind. 
That means that my wardrobe needs to be emptied of my cropped trousers, summer dresses and vest tops, so they are now in a pile in our spare bedroom, ready to pack for Florida, as that’s the next conceivable time that I can see me wearing any of them… so that’s what I mean by the packing has started! 
We’ll see what happens now, as I’ve asked for a refund on the vouchers. If we get it, that will be a nice little windfall towards other holiday things… 
) at Ravello at the Four Seasons for our departure day, so I took that, cancelling the Crystal Palace (I know, missing an opportunity for my donkey 
It sounds like it’s one of their signature dishes, so hopefully it will still be there when we go… If not, the crab cake eggs benedict, two poached eggs and two crab cakes on an English muffin with key lime hollandaise sauce and Olivia’s potatoes, sounds pretty amazing too! And then they have banana bread French toast – decisions, decisions! I am no great breakfast person, but it does sound like a superb menu! 
), so we can’t really plan anything with her right now. However, Heather does have a regular schedule, so she’s now joining us, along with Bob and Larry at Il Mulino and the Flying Fish Café! 
Don’t they know I’m a Disney planner and used to getting my hours six months ahead of my visit? 
It is just so unbelievable that a company as large as Disney who works so hard to bring technology into their experiences has such a poor website. In trying to explore excursions on the cruise line site the other day, I had a pop up survey. They are looking at redoing that area and it had all types of questions about that. Sounds encouraging at least.
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