Have Pen, Will Travel: A Solo Trip Report--Includes Dining and CSR Reviews and Photos! - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Have Pen, Will Travel: A Solo Trip Report--Includes Dining and CSR Reviews and Photos!
Day 0--
Whew! What an exhausting trip! I’ve been back for over 48 hours now, so I think I finally have the energy to start a trip report. First, the details...
Who: Me!
I’m a writer, a teacher, and a huge fan of travel (and Disney!) While I am married, this was a solo trip. I do not have any children of my own (though I ‘have’ 130 13 year olds, as I teach middle school.) I don’t know if this was my first, second, or third trip to WDW--I went once for 45 minutes when I was 10 years old--I hated it and insisted upon being returned to the hotel, so I’m not sure if that counts. I went last November for a convention and managed to work in three parks (briefly), but as it was a convention trip, I’m not sure if that counts (thought it is when I started loving Disney, so I guess it has to count!) This trip was my first ‘just Disney’ trip, but as you’ll see in the ‘Why’ section, it wasn’t entirely a vacation, either.
Where: Coronado Springs Resort.
Why: I booked this trip because I needed to do research for a book proposal I’m writing. The details of that are quite dull to most people, so I’ll spare you. You’re welcome. If you really are interested, read my PTR here: http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...-solo-ptr.html
Ok. I think that covers it. Now on to day zero...
I worked until 3:45 on the day of my flight out, which was at 5:45. The airport is quite close to where I live--maybe a 20 minute drive--so I wasn’t worried. My husband was driving me, and we decided to take a short cut to avoid the highway traffic during rush hour. BAD IDEA! We encountered an accident involving a school bus (no one was hurt), which caused us to become VERY delayed. We turned around in the street and cut through town, which caused a 20 minute trip to turn into an hour. My palms were literally sweating--it was very good that I wasn’t driving!
traffic...
(photo deleted--too big and won't resize)
I finally arrived at the airport at around 5:00--less than an hour before take off. Fortunately it is a very small airport, and even though my bag was searched at security--because I was carrying a monopod for my camera--I made it with about 20 minutes to spare.
The flight was uneventful--and actually quite relaxing in comparison to the mad dash to the gate!
Upon arrival at MCO, I located the DME pick up area. I was extremely worried about Disney’s Magical Express. I’m not a very patient person, and I imagined a horrific wait at the airport, along with multiple stops on the way to my resort--CSR. From touchdown at MCO to sitting in my room at CSR--with dinner and bottle of wine in hand--it was less than 90 minutes. This included a restroom stop, DME, check in, a stop off to pick up a sandwich and a bottle of wine, and walking to my room. There’s no way a taxi would have been any quicker (even given the fact that I didn’t need to pick up any baggage, as I don’t check anything ever)--and a taxi would have cost more than $60. The verdict? DME is both magical AND express!
As an added bonus (and part of the magic), as we drove toward the WDW archway, the Illuminations’ finale was happening, creating the absolute best welcome to Walt Disney World I could possibly imagine. I cried.
While the trip was beyond speedy, due to my late flight, it was now well past my bed time. So after 1/3 of a crummy sandwich and a glass of wine, I set my alarm for 7am and drifted off to sleep.
crummy sandwich...
The plan for Day 1--Rope drop at MK! The concern for Day 1--CSR bus service. Would it be as bad as the bus service on our last trip? (Spoiler--no, it would not. It would be amazing, actually!)
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