Trip Report "Dreams Really Can Come True" 6/1/09-6/8/09 - COMPLETED 7/19 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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We headed out and thought it might be time for Dinoland. It was a little after noon and we wanted to see that part of the park before it started raining. It was still hot and sunny at the time. I think it was while walking toward Dinoland that we saw It’s Tough to be a Bug only had a 5 minute wait. DS7 had already made up his mind that he wasn’t going to like it. He had thoroughly read his Birnbaum’s Guide for Kids which said it was “dark and scary”. By this time, DH was getting frustrated because our son was starting to be scared of everything. (Stupid book! ) He was literally dragging his feet now. On the way to the show, we got to see some of the Tree close up. This one of my favorite pictures from AK:
What makes it special to me is that there was a tiny bit of moss in the giraffe’s eye that made it come alive.
I had such good memories of Flik and the gang. I just remembered it being hilarious. I guess it is really a different show through a child’s eyes. I knew it was all over when Chili the Tarantula came out. The boys hated it Plus, it is dark and spooky in the theater. I’m pretty sure that DS4 had his 3D glasses covered by the time the spiders came down from the ceiling, at least I hope so. Actually, they thought it was funny when the roaches left the theater – that was the best part! (I had recorded a special on the Travel Channel about Animal Kingdom. I’m pretty sure it was the Travel Channel. We just watched it tonight. When they did the piece on It’s Tough to be a Bug, it was really shown as a funny 3D show with the audience cracking up. If you saw it and never read any reviews on it or warnings, it could be a big surprise for a little one. Just a thought.)
So with that disaster behind us, Dinosaur was completely out of the question for the kids! I selfishly wanted to ride it still, so DH took the kids to the Boneyard for a while. I happily left all the stuff with them and the stroller and took off around the corner to the Institute.
This is one of those pictures where you have a fill-in-the-blank caption…
(Dinosaur wait time = 20 min) I love this ride! This was one of the rides I remember from back in the day as being one of the best of Disney. I know other folks think Disney had a brain fart when they made it, but I love it! The darkness, the bumpy jeep ride, surprises around every corner, a great storyline… What more could you ask for? I already knew what to expect, so I just enjoyed listening to the other people’s reactions, while I was crackin’ up riding the bumps. Yes, there was absolutely NO WAY my boys would enjoy Dinosaur – and they love dinosaurs!
I headed back over to the Boneyard and the boys. They were really having a good time. (It also gave DH time to catch up on some internet surfing. ) They had found the place to dig the bones up.
Kudos to Disney for forward thinking: They used teeny-tiny rocks as “sand” instead of real sand. It’s so much easier to get out of shoes, pockets, etc. (Although I did find some when I did the laundry…)
I really wanted to explore more of Dinoland, but no dice. DH wanted to get some more attractions in before the rain. I hadn’t read too much about Primeval Whirl, all I knew was that it was supposed to be like "tea cups on a roller coaster". DS7 was actually excited to get on it (it wasn’t dark or scary!), but my poor little one was just a bit too short. DH took him to ride Triceratop Spin, while we stood in line for PW. The wait was about 20 min. I can’t explain the theming of this ride. It’s totally midway, but as if midway had millions of dollars. The imagineers must have had a ball doing Dinoland – it’s so over the top and absolute genius at the same time!
This is the queue almost at the end getting on the ride. The colors are so crazy! (By this time, I had pretty much given up on my digital. It was either low batt, or not enough light. Again, this is from my iphone.)
Check the lava lamp on top of the machine!
DS7 remembers the “funny guy” directing the line. The CM was making jokes and getting people to do silly stuff and calling out birthday people. It made waiting easier. He obviously likes his job. Okay, the ride: Primeval Whirl is like "tea cups on a roller coaster", ha ha. You get the crazy sensation of spinning and the drops all at once! It was really fun and DS7 had a good time. This is definitely a must-do for next time.
We met up with our other half and regrouped. It was still relatively early, but it was starting to get overcast. According to my receipt for frozen cokes and frozen blue raspberry drinks at the Drinkwalla, it was 1:47pm. (I think those frozen cokes were our favorite snacks the whole trip!)
The Drinkwalla shop. All this detail just for a drink stand. Amazing.
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) He was literally dragging his feet now. On the way to the show, we got to see some of the Tree close up. This one of my favorite pictures from AK:
The boys hated it 
Plus, it is dark and spooky in the theater. I’m pretty sure that DS4 had his 3D glasses covered by the time the spiders came down from the ceiling, at least I hope so. 
Actually, they thought it was funny when the roaches left the theater – that was the best part! (I had recorded a special on the Travel Channel about Animal Kingdom. I’m pretty sure it was the Travel Channel. We just watched it tonight. When they did the piece on It’s Tough to be a Bug, it was really shown as a funny 3D show with the audience cracking up. If you saw it and never read any reviews on it or warnings, it could be a big surprise for a little one. Just a thought.)
my boys would enjoy Dinosaur – and they love dinosaurs!
) They had found the place to dig the bones up.
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