Don't Stop - part one of Disney trip COMPLETED - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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 decided to start a new thread for the actual trip report, as the pre-trip report had got quite lengthy. The pre-trip report can be found here, if you want to learn more about our plans beforehand.
Wednesday 9 December: where did all this traffic come from?
Today is a bit like day zero for us. It’s not actually the day we fly out, but it’s the day our vacation does begin, although it also includes our last day at work, so it’s always a bit of an odd day.
Mine didn’t get off to the greatest of starts when a van right in front of me managed to plough into the back of a car, who was doing a pretty stupid manoeuvre at the time. Fortunately, our car’s anti-lock brakes came into play and I ground to a halt almost immediately and managed not to hit the van and, even more fortunately, the guy behind me did the same, so any accident averted. Only a few miles further down the road I passed a car that had run into the back of a truck. Not the best start to the day!
Fortunately, at least it got better from there on in, especially when my manager greeted me with the words that she didn’t feel it was necessary for me to go to a meeting in the afternoon. I half protested for a while, then gave up and told her that worked for me, as I could just leave a bit earlier, so instead of getting out at 4pm, I managed to exit at 2.30pm, a big improvement over what I was expecting.
That gave me plenty of time to get all of the silly jobs out of the way at home, so by the time Mark got home, everything was pretty much done and two of our three suitcases were packed. Best of all, those two were well under our weight limit, which amazed me. I did worry about the third one, but no problem, that also came in a good bit under weight as well.
We were ready earlier than we thought we’d be, so we called Mark’s brother-in-law Sean, who’d offered to drive us to the airport to say that we were ready and could he come a bit earlier. He had no problem with that and was there at the agreed time and off we went. It was all plain sailing, until probably about 10 miles out from the airport, where one motorway joins another and there we sat and sat and sat. Although we did move along from time to time, generally it was stationary traffic and very frustrating.
Finally we got on to the other motorway, and although we moved slowly, often at no more than 40mph or 50mph, we were moving. That was, until we got to the junction for the airport and there we crawled again. There was no rhyme or reason for it, it just appeared to be an issue with the junction and sheer weight of traffic. As to why on earth there was so much traffic, I have absolutely no idea. It was a midweek evening, more than two weeks before Christmas (bear in mind most Brits usually go for a two week holiday) and the schools were still in, so it was a traditionally quiet time of year to travel. Not on the roads it appeared. :
We finally made it to the hotel an hour and 20 minutes after we left home, a journey that should take about half an hour. We said our goodbyes and thanks to Sean and headed inside with our luggage. The reception at the Hilton was no better than the roads outside. There was a huge line to check-in and it must’ve taken us about 10 minutes to get to the front. Again, I’ve never seen anything like it and couldn’t fathom what the issue was and why so many people were eager to get away tonight. Very odd.
Our room was on the second floor and we headed up there to dump the suitcases. I got a couple of quick photos of it:
Then hunger drove us straight out again. The package we’d booked came with dinner tonight and that was valid for either £15 off at one restaurant or the buffer in another restaurant. We’d eaten at the buffet before and knew it was good, so we opted for that. We were quickly seated, although Mark did end up asking for a seat nearer the buffet, so that I didn’t have too far to walk, which was very sweet of him. Our server wasn’t great sadly and, even worse, the 10% service charge was included in the bill, so he’s obviously not got any incentive to be any good either. It took him forever to take our drinks order, and although he did warm up as the meal went on, my goodness, he was hard work. We ordered a bottle of White Zinfandel and that helped to relax both of us a lot.
Thankfully the food was much better than the service. I don’t have any photos, just because we were both very hungry, so my apologies. There was a salad bar, which included things like smoked salmon and freshly cooked bread. Suddenly I could see why everyone was asked to sanitise their hands as they came in, as each individual is expected to cut the bread.
The main section had a variety of meat dishes, one vegetarian, salmon with dill, which was exceptional, and lots of vegetable side dishes. I couldn’t fault it at all, although I did manage to burn myself a bit, while lifting up one of the tops on the hot dishes, which said to me that the lights that they had on that buffet were a little too hot...
The best part for me was the dessert, although the signage left a bit to be desired. After seeing a sign for black forest gateau right above something that looked like a lemon cake, I grabbed hold of a chef to ask him what things actually were and ended up discovering that the lemon cake was in fact pineapple cake, so I grabbed some of that, along with the passion fruit brulee, something I’ve never come across before. Both were absolutely superb and a wonderful way to die! By the time I finished those, I was absolutely stuffed to the gills!
We headed out, filled up and much more mellow, thanks to our bottle of wine and headed back to our room, getting some photos of the hotel on the way:
Can you tell we’d just consumed a bottle of wine?
We didn’t last long and then it was off to bed.
The weather today was dry, but cloudy and in the mid 50s. The best thing today was the pineapple cake and passion fruit brulee. The worst thing today was the traffic on the way to Gatwick. Today we tried getting someone to drive up to the airport. And the result was it was great to have Sean drive us, but the traffic was a pain. The most magical moment today was taking the first bite of the pineapple cake!
Next: don’t we look like we should be in Upper Class?
Yay, it's a Cheryl TR!! Can't wait to hear more. I have decided that having someone/anyone else drive you to and from the airport is the way to go. You're already stressed enough, why subject yourself to traffic too.
Yay, it's a Cheryl TR!! Can't wait to hear more. I have decided that having someone/anyone else drive you to and from the airport is the way to go. You're already stressed enough, why subject yourself to traffic too.
It truly is the best way to do it! That or do the hotel thing the night before so you don't have to get up insanely early.
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Awesome start! I love all the details about the food. Actually sounded pretty darn good!
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Yay... so glad the TR has begun! Glad you were able to scoot out of work early and get a jump start on your vacation. Dinner sounds good, and the hotel looks very nice. Looking forward to hearing more!
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I did worry about the third one, but no problem, that also came in a good bit under weight as well. 
: 
There was a huge line to check-in and it must’ve taken us about 10 minutes to get to the front. Again, I’ve never seen anything like it and couldn’t fathom what the issue was and why so many people were eager to get away tonight. Very odd. 
Our server wasn’t great sadly and, even worse, the 10% service charge was included in the bill, so he’s obviously not got any incentive to be any good either. 
We ordered a bottle of White Zinfandel and that helped to relax both of us a lot. 
There was a salad bar, which included things like smoked salmon and freshly cooked bread. Suddenly I could see why everyone was asked to sanitise their hands as they came in, as each individual is expected to cut the bread. 
and headed back to our room, getting some photos of the hotel on the way:
More Please....
Cute picture of you!!
Deb
Dreams, Wishes, Hopes... these are the parts of childhood we should never lose.
Aimee
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