The Great Big East Coast Adventure - PTR - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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.
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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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Well we didn't get on the 6am, but we got on the 1030am (after it was delayed an hour or so). What a relief!
Tonight when I get back from downtown, I'll do a detailed report of the day, with photos. But for now, we're going to hightail it downtown to see the sights for about 3 hours.
The day started at 430am, when we left the house and headed to the airport. We checked a suitcase and then got in line for security. Got through with no trouble, no scan, no pat down, and headed for Einstein Bagels, where we always stop for coffee and juice for these early morning flights.
We camped out at the gate and got comfortable... and I worked a little while Meri colored and watched planes. We missed the 6am flight by one lousy seat, lol. We had a long four hour wait til the next flight, so we killed time by playing hide and seek, go fish and just running around in an empty gate area for a while. We wandered into the B terminal and found a little cafe called the Blue Note Cafe. I decided we needed real food to sustain us, so Meri got pancakes and I got a ham and cheese omelet. Of course it was a smidge overpriced, but not too bad for airport food. And it tasted great!
After that, I did some more work at the gate while Meri played with a new game on the iPod called Air Penguin. Right up her alley. We ended up on the 1030am flight, which didn't depart til a little after 1130am. But we arrived in Chicago and got to the hotel around 2pm.
This hotel is absolutely stunning. It's the InterContinental, and it's just... just wow. Beautiful in every aspect! I can't wait to give that bed a spin in about 45 minutes! We had a lovely lady named Anika check us in. She was so sweet. She talked to Meri endlessly and asked her preference for a room (one bed vs two, what kind of view, etc). We ended up with a lovely room with two beds and a city view. And we also got toothbrushes and toothpaste! Sweet!!
Anyway... we headed downtown at about 3pm, and by the time we got down there it was about 4pm. We took the blue line down, and it was a piece of cake. Something like 15 stops to Lake / Clark, I think. Anyway, I had absolutely NO plan here, so we just started walking towards Michigan Ave. We stopped at a Dunkin Donuts to get coffee for me and a glazed donut for Meri. We walked around a corner and got NAILED by the wind. It was FREEZING! And we were in tshirts and light sweaters. It was a joke. We froze. Absolutely froze.
We walked a while, and finally we just couldn't take it anymore, and we hopped a taxi to the Rainforest Cafe. We sat in front of the gorillas. At first Meri wasn't sure about that, and wanted to sit on my lap to eat, lol, but we discussed the gorillas and finally she decided they were interesting, not scary. Phew! Meri got the kiddie turkey sandwiches, and somehow I got suckered into a souvenir cup. Can't say I'm too surprised, lol. It also came with a little frog toy so ultimately it was probably worth the cost.
I got the Bourbon Chicken and Rice. All I can say is OH MY GOSH IT WAS SO GOOD! Absolutely outstanding. I cannot wait to eat there again so I can get it. It was out of this world!
After RFC we walked towards Navy Pier. About 4 blocks from Navy Pier, Meri was over it, and SHE hailed a cab! I couldn't believe it! But I was cold, too, so what the heck. For $5, it was worth it.
We headed right for the Ferris Wheel, because I knew it would be a perfect view of the city. We got on ($12 for two of us - geez) and all was great. Until we were about 3/4 of the way to the top. And all of a sudden, out of NOWHERE, I had an epic panic attack. I was gripping the side, and thinking I might pass out. I have no idea where this came from. I'm no fan of heights but I love Ferris Wheels, and we were enclosed so I'm not sure what the problem was. I had to actually phone my mother and have her "talk me down" as I sat there and cried, and tried to hide it from Meri, who was fortunately looking at the view most of the time.
It was the strangest thing ever. I've never had a reaction like that to anything. Totally caught me off guard.
After the ferris wheel, we hit the carousel ($10 for two of us - again, ouch) and that was fun. We were the only ones on there (probably because it was FREAKIN COLD).
Then we cabbed it back to the train station, and took the blue line back to the hotel. It was funny because while on the train, there was a girl in her maybe early 20's with bright red hair (and I do mean bright). Meri was fascinated, and hollered (in a typical unfiltered 5 year old voice) "WOW MOMMY HER HAIR IS AWESOME! SEE HER RED HAIR???" Half the train chuckled and the girl completely ignored her. Bah humbug, she meant it as a compliment!
Now Meri is sacked out and I'm going to take a hot bath before going to bed. We have to be up at 4am and on the 430am shuttle to the airport for our 6am flight. Ew, right?
So you'll all hear from me tomorrow night from my cousin's house on Long Island! It will be another very long day, but I'm excited to see the family again!
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Chicago doesn't have the name "Windy City" for nothing! That wind can be brutally cold, even in the spring/summer (just be glad it wasn't January!).
Sorry about the panic attack on the Ferris Wheel - that had to be pretty terrifying!
But other than that, sounds like you had a great day. Sorry you didn't enjoy any Chicago pizza, though! It is FAR superior to that NY stuff! (OK, I'm ready for the rocks flying my way!)
Ooooh, that Chicago wind! Yikes!! But despite the cold it looks like you both had a great first day. And I love that chaise in the hotel next to the window. I'd love to curl up there with a book and veg.
What a wonderful first day! I can't believe how cold it is, this late in May...
It really was ridiculously cold. Especially since it was so nice a week prior.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Glad you had a great time in Chicago! Great pictures! Safe travels for today!
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
Chicago doesn't have the name "Windy City" for nothing! That wind can be brutally cold, even in the spring/summer (just be glad it wasn't January!).
Sorry about the panic attack on the Ferris Wheel - that had to be pretty terrifying!
But other than that, sounds like you had a great day. Sorry you didn't enjoy any Chicago pizza, though! It is FAR superior to that NY stuff! (OK, I'm ready for the rocks flying my way!)
I'll throw the first rock! I am sorry to tell you I LOVE NY pizza and despise that "other stuff" (lol). But my friend in Chicago swears by it. And yeah it definitely lived up to its nickname up there. BRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
You got some pretty good pictures for just holding up the camera and snapping away!
LOL thanks, I was pretty surprised!
Quote:
Originally Posted by dsteiny23
Ooooh, that Chicago wind! Yikes!! But despite the cold it looks like you both had a great first day. And I love that chaise in the hotel next to the window. I'd love to curl up there with a book and veg.
Meri commandeered that right away. But I took a good picture of it because I want one for my bedroom one of these days. It's AWESOME!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Great day! Too bad it was so cold! I would hate that.
[COLOR="purple]Yeah it definitely put a damper on things, that's for sure.[/COLOR]
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Pixie Dust
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
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I can't believe how cold it is, this late in May... 
Great pictures! 
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