Gastronomical Adventures at the Grand (Feb 8-12, 2015) - Page 3 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
I agree, that was poor management of the monorail situation. Sorry for the yucky weather. I'm glad BOG was a success, especially since you were dining with friends. Awesome pics!
The day started so beautiful as you two headed to breakfast, but the rain seemed to set in quickly and stick around. I love your pictures of GF. We're still hoping to stay here some day, but couldn't get days together for it in May. I totally agree with you on how the monorail situation was handled. Poorly! So glad that BOG was better for dinner for you all.
We did enjoy staying at the GF. The monorail situation continues throughout the week, but we did a better job of adapting to it . The Magic Band issues also continue but we had made it into a big joke by Day 3
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Wow, sounds like the monorail situation was handled really poorly! I'm glad that you enjoyed your meals at BOG!
We were pleasantly surprised at how good the food was at BoG. And, the atmosphere is exciting for people's first visit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great pictures from your day! You certainly made the best if the rain! Sorry about the monorail issues and the rude CM! Dinner looked delish!
Thanks - the issues gave us something to laugh about later in the trip.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Sorry for the crappy weather and the troubles. So glad you liked dinner at BOG!
Thanks, Mayra.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jambo
I agree, that was poor management of the monorail situation. Sorry for the yucky weather. I'm glad BOG was a success, especially since you were dining with friends. Awesome pics!
The rain didn't bother us much. It was enough to clear out some of the crowds, but we were fine with our ponchos.
More gorgeous photos! Glad you didn't let the rain stop your touring. So glad you enjoyed BoG. We've done dinner and lunch and enjoyed both, but it does seem to be hit or miss.
More gorgeous photos! Glad you didn't let the rain stop your touring. So glad you enjoyed BoG. We've done dinner and lunch and enjoyed both, but it does seem to be hit or miss.
I'm glad we had a good dinner at BoG!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Bummer about the rain, but glad you still enjoyed some attractions anyway!
And glad that you all enjoyed BoG for dinner!
Nope - the rain wasn't bad at all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tara O'Hara
Sorry about the rain but it does not seem to have gotten in your way at all! . I love your photos!!
Thank you!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Thank goodness dinner was good after all you went through to get there!
LOL - yes, it turned out to be a good evening after all the hassle.
V&A looked like the perfect way to start off this trip. Everything looked amazing. We sent my parents here for their anniversary two years ago and they still talk about the experience.
Sorry about the rain but seems like you had fun at the park anyway....until the commute back to the MK, glad that you finally made it over for dinner and that everyone enjoyed their meal. I have to agree, we have had good meals there but I always find that it is really just loud....the way the dining rooms are set up it seems that everything just echoes so loudly.
A couple of things before we go into the next update:
First, apologies for whining about the monorail and the Magic Band issues. I don't like to complain in a trip report unless it's really something bad, and these were not big in the scheme of things. Just frustrating, because we have had these issues on our last few trips. On the last trip, I was just delighted to be in Disney - how soon we forget to count our blessings
Second, I wanted to mention the Fitbit. A friend suggested I try the Fitbit, since I was frustrated at my lack of progress hitting my exercise goals. I got one in early January, and began wearing it every day.
I was shocked to see I was only getting in about 2,000 steps a day - under 5,000 is considered sedentary, and 10,000 is the recommended daily level (maybe 8,000 for us older gals). I set my goal initially at 5,000 steps per day, and was able to reach that with a little work - mostly by taking the dogs on longer walks. I was able to get 8,000 steps on a few days.
Imagine how surprised I was to see I had walked 15,419 steps on Monday! That's over 6 miles. Now, this is nothing compared to many PassPorter folks who routinely do 15 miles or more at WDW. But, for me, it was pretty good
Tuesday, Feb 10, 2015 - Another Day at the Magic Kindgom
We had an 8:30am breakfast reservation at the Crystal Palace. Everyone was up and ready to go, and we grabbed the monorail for the quick ride to the Magic Kingdom. After verifying our name was on the reservations list, we entered the park. Oops - guess whose Magic Band doesn't work - again But, a world of difference in the way it was handled - first, it wasn't crowded since the park didn't open til 9am. And, second, the lady who fixed it handled it with humor, and also reset Grumpy Bear's finger print - he never had another issue with it.
We enjoyed walking down the mostly empty Main Street, and also greeted the Mayor. We were seated at a nice table by the window, and served by a CM who hailed from California, very near where I grew up. We all enjoyed breakfast - especially the puffed French Toast. Lou missed the omelet station, so we will try that next time. And, of course there were a few special friends hanging around:
(I have no idea why I was holding the camera at such an angle :roll eyes: )
And, even though I don't have a photo of me from breakfast, I will put this one in that Kathy took later in the day ... just to get it over with. If you saw my last report, you may remember that I have been hair-challenged. As you can see, it is starting to come back in, a bit on the wild and curly side:
During breakfast, I made some FP+ reservations for the day. Again, there was no problem getting a selection. We went on Pirates, which everyone enjoyed. I still couldn't convince anyone to try out Splash Mountain. I'll have to go on it by myself next trip.
After walking through Adventure Land and Frontier Land, we decided to go for a spin on the Liberty Belle - always a favorite of ours. It was a beautiful morning for a relaxing ride.
Next up was a spin on "It's a Small World." We were going to check out PhilHarmagic, but it was closed for a while that morning. I switched our FP+ to the Pooh Ride ... this was a first for all of us. Ummm, it is cute, but once is probably enough unless we've got a youngster along
It was noon at this point. We sent K & S off to Tomorrowland with a FP+ for Buzz, and Lou and I went back to the Villa (after a couple more spins on the Train). After resting a short while, I headed back to the Magic Kingdom to stake a spot out for the Festival of Fantasy Parade - I was finally going to see it! I arrived at Main Street Train Station a little before 2pm, and found a chair up on top by the railing. Once the parade started, I had a good view for photos.
It can be difficult to get good shots of the characters, because not everyone bothers looking up at the folks hanging out at the Train Station.
It was difficult to capture photos of Anna & Elsa, since they rotate on the float. But, Anna was very animated the whole time, and Elsa appeared to be trying to hold back laughter, so I'm not sure what antics they were up to:
This is my favorite float in the parade - so intricate and very clever:
Here's what I've been waiting for ... the Fire-Breathing Dragon!
Alas, the Dragon must have a cold, because there was no fire-breathing today
The focus of the parade is on many of the face characters, but the classics show up to close the parade.
Even though the Dragon didn't Roar, I quite enjoyed the parade. K&S watched it from the curb on Main Street, and also enjoyed it. We raced each other back to the Villa - I took the boat, and they took the monorail, and funnily enough - we crossed paths just in front of the DVC Villas.
Wonderful day so far at the MK, breakfast at CP is always a great way to start the day (I love the puffed French Toast). Love your pictures of the parade (I just fell in love with all the colors and the floats when we saw it).
Looking forward to hearing all about dinner at the CG.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Finally, a CM who can and did fix the MB problem. Breakfast looked fun, and your pictures around the park really make me wish I were there right now. You had an awesome location for viewing the 3:00 parade. Love your photos!
I love watching the parade (and the fireworks) from the train station. It's true the angle from above means you don't have the characters waving right at you and I think the dragon shows better with the sky as background, but it's so nice to have an unobstructed view. The floats look amazing. It looks like Peter Pan smiled right at you! The photos from breakfast are wonderful. I like your curly hair! I don't want to call it "short" curly hair, because it's really LONG in comparison!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
. The Magic Band issues also continue 
but we had made it into a big joke by Day 3 
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
PassPorter Guide Author
But, a world of difference in the way it was handled - first, it wasn't crowded since the park didn't open til 9am. And, second, the lady who fixed it handled it with humor, and also reset Grumpy Bear's finger print - he never had another issue with it.
Breakfast looked fun, and your pictures around the park really make me wish I were there right now. You had an awesome location for viewing the 3:00 parade. Love your photos! 
Linear Mode
