The Good, The Bad and The Buggy - Nov 2011 TR - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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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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Up before the alarm again. Took our time getting ready though. Coffee, shower, you know the drill. Then off to Epcot. We had another 12:45 lunch ressie this time at Via Napoli. We got there earlier than expected and checked out Soarin again. The standby was only 60” so we decided to wait. This was a first for me going through the standby line (I've only ridden it when I had FP's) and I didn’t realize it had all those interactive games on the wall.
I white knuckled it over California and then we hopped a boat to see where our food came from. I really like LWTL and some day may do the Behind the Seeds tour.
After doing those things, we made our way over to Via Napoli.
We only waited a few minutes for our table and people were starting to come in and try to get a walk up only to be met with a LONG wait because they turned around to leave. I had the arancini and Chuck had the calamari.
I had a pepperoni pizza and Chuck had one with eggplant, ham, artichokes and mushrooms (Quattro stagioni)
I had a black cherry/chocolate gelato and Chuck had pistachio (pronounced pistackio) gelato.
The best part of the meal? The gelato! I swear we have a restaurant here that makes pizza just as good.
After lunch we decided to walk it off. That lasted all the way to Morocco where we promptly caught the next friendship boat to FW. We worked our way out of the park as we were on our way to MK for the afternoon. We did stop at the photo shop to pick up a new neck strap for Chuck’s camera and we got a photo album for this trip. We stopped by BLT and dropped off our packages. Then took the monorail over to MK. There was this guy on the monorail who was standing just this shy (imagine two squinchy fingers) of the doors and refused to sit even though there were plenty of seats. He also insisted on reciting EVERYTHING. Not just “Por favor, mantenganse alejado de las puertas” but “we are now approaching the Grand Floridian, home of Citricos . . . “ etc, etc. He was just WANTING someone to say something to him. You could tell. So as we were getting off at MK - he got his wish. Another passenger said “You must ride a lot. You have that down” Lady - don’t give in to his narcissism.
Anyway, we got to MK at about 3 pm but we got a lot done as they had the MVMCP at 7 pm so we only had a few hours. We rode POTC, Jungle Cruise, TTA, Buzz, and COP. We got a couple of photo pass pics. Then we decided to go back to the room to get ready for our evening ressie at WCC. We took the boat over to WL and checked in for dinner. We were given a buzzer and had a seat in the lobby.
It was loud and rowdy in the restaurant and Chuck was beginning to worry. We were both kind of tired by then and really didn’t want to be messed with. They must’ve sensed that because we went through the restaurant and got seated on the “back patio”. Our server, Nique, was very good and took her cue from us. We had homemade western chips and spinach and avacado dip for apps.
I thought (briefly) about the skillet but I opted not to because that’s a lot of food! I had the grilled New York Strip
and Chuck had the Whiskey Maple-glazed trout - which he made me try.
It was very tasty and hardly fishy at all. For dessert it was bread pudding and chocolate cake.
Good food - just not a memorable night. We were either tired or off our game or something. When we settled up the bill, we checked out their pin kiosk and got a couple exclusive to DVC and D23 to add to Chuck’s growing collection. Then we took the boat back - we were the only two on the boat from WL to Fort Wilderness, which was kind of romantic. Then we picked up everyone coming back from HDDR. Once back at the room, I checked in online, had a glass of wine and we were in bed by 11:30 pm. We were going to go to the Top of the World Lounge when we got back but it was too late and we had missed the fireworks.
Great meals at both Via Napoli and WCC! We had a ressies at WCC a couple of summers ago and we tired like you all when we arrived. It was so nice to be seated out of the rowdiness and still enjoy the wonderful food here.
I've often wondered about the Soarin' line. Thanks for including a pic! The Disneyland version doesn't have interactive games in the line, just lots of interesting pictures about aviation history.
Sounds like a good day...not a fabulous incredibly yummy fun day, but not a terrible day either. I could live with days like that! So how are you doing with the DxDP at this point? Are you feeling like you're eating just enough, or are you feeling pressured to use up those credits? I really want to try the DxDP some day!
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Great meals at both Via Napoli and WCC! We had a ressies at WCC a couple of summers ago and we tired like you all when we arrived. It was so nice to be seated out of the rowdiness and still enjoy the wonderful food here.
It was nice that they took their cue from us and didn't mess with us. Chuck heard a waitress shouting at the top of her lungs and just looked at me like "not tonight". I had to agree. But on that back area (don't really know what to call it), we still could relax and have a nice meal but quietly.
I've often wondered about the Soarin' line. Thanks for including a pic! The Disneyland version doesn't have interactive games in the line, just lots of interesting pictures about aviation history.
Sounds like a good day...not a fabulous incredibly yummy fun day, but not a terrible day either. I could live with days like that! So how are you doing with the DxDP at this point? Are you feeling like you're eating just enough, or are you feeling pressured to use up those credits? I really want to try the DxDP some day!
You are right. It was just a good day, not exceedingly memorable but not horrible. By this point we were full. We knew we would have left over credits but we didn't feel pressured at all. We like the DxDP because we can eat at Sig places and not have to worry if we have enough TS to cover it. When we did the reg DP, we were ordering apps anyway and those are included in the Dx. We are debating which way to go next year but it will most likely be the Dx again. We figure we have def eaten our $85/day/person easy! I've been toying with the idea of the TIW card, but I don't like that it adds on your gratuity and that we would have to bring $ for food. The DP is prepaid and we don't have to worry about how much something costs. (Spoiler alert-as you will see when I get to our dinner at Yachtsman. One word - caviar!) So all in all I'd say go for it! As long as you know, you may have extra credits and will still eat VERY well for less than $90 a day per person.
I wondered about not using enough dxdp points,but you can't save them for another trip either.So you use your adr's as an anchor for the day and fill in the others with quick service(they will connvert those) and walk-up table service and you'll be ok.
Oh Coop, I love bleu cheese and bacon! The more the better!
That pepperoni pizza looks yummy. I love pistachio too!! Sounds like a great day, glad you were able to have a quiet dinner and romantic boat ride.
More please.
There was a LOT of blue cheese on it! And everything is better with bacon!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
You certainly had some great eats today! Great pictures!
We ate really well!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChukkerB
I wondered about not using enough dxdp points,but you can't save them for another trip either.So you use your adr's as an anchor for the day and fill in the others with quick service(they will connvert those) and walk-up table service and you'll be ok.
Save them for another trip! That would be great. After all, you've already paid for it. If you could only . .
Up before the alarm. Why were we even setting alarms at this point? We didn’t have far to go for breakfast. We went to The Wave at the Contemporary. We got there and didn’t really have to wait to be seated. But we did have to wait for service. They finally came over and got our beverage order after almost 10 mins. We placed our orders at the same time as our beverages (didn’t want to inconvenience them by making them come back) The whole meal was kind of meh. I had the sweet potato pancakes which were dense but good. Chuck had the frittata and said it was ok.
After breakfast we hopped the bus over to AK. We first went through Maharajah Jungle Trek because we missed that the other day.
Camera shy
Then we went on Kilamajaro Safari because that is one of our favorites.
Then we went over to FoTLK. We were giraffes again. I asked Chuck if he wanted to go ride EE and he said no but we did walk over there and looked in the gift shop. We didn’t end up buying anything though. We were getting a bit hungry though and wanted something as our evening ressie wasn’t until almost 8 pm. We decided to try for a walk up at Yak and Yeti. This was another first for us. We were told that there would be a 15 min wait which was actually <5 mins. We were taken to our table and first up for me was a Yak Attack!
All I can say is YUMMMMM. I got the pot stickers app and Chuck had lettuce cups.
I had the bourbon chicken and Chuck had the Kobe burger. He gave me a bite and WOW - that is an AWESOME burger!
Then for dessert I had the wontons and Chuck had mango pie.
It was a great meal and will def be on our list to repeat! We walked around the park for a while taking pictures. We did walk directly into DiVine!
After a while we decided to go back to the resort and swim/hot tub before our evening out.
We went back to BLT and hit the pool and hot tub. Most of the time we were at the hot tub - there were kids. Unsupervised kids. Swimming in the hot tub. Swimming underwater in the hot tub! I couldn’t help thinking that they were frying their little brains by swimming in a hot tub. I was also wondering where the parents were as there was a sign clear as day that anyone under 12 should be supervised by an adult and WE were not the adult in charge of supervising them! Anyhow, after trying to relax - we went to the room and got ready for our dinner.
We took the monorail over to Epcot and worked our way over WS. We stopped in Japan again and I ended up getting 2 pick a pearls which I had made into earrings. (I will have to take a pic of them to post) They would take 40 mins to make and we couldn’t wait because our ressie was coming up so they said they would be open until 11 pm. Yay! We could go back after dinner! We got our receipt and made our way over to Rose and Crown. We asked for a patio seat and the hostess told us that would probably not be happening because people who were already there didn’t seem to be leaving. We told her we understood and took our buzzer and went to sit on a bench and wait (and I did complain to Chuck about the people who didn’t time their dinner but insisted on hoarding the table just so they could see Illuminations) I admit, I was getting a bit ornery. Soon, our buzzer was going off and we went back to the hostess stand. They took us to our table - ON THE PATIO! Yay! So my sulking worked? We were under the awning and didn’t get to see the high fireworks but we did get to see most of the globe part.
It was in time with our dessert. For our apps I had the cheese board. (Last year, we had the cheese board and that was my first taste of blue cheese - Stilton! And I fell in love with it) This year it was good but they removed the Stilton. Replaced with another blue cheese - good just not my beloved Stilton. Chuck had a very nice mixed green salad with apples.
For dinner it was Sunday roast with Yorkshire pudding and Chuck had the fish and chips.
For dessert Chuck had the trifle and I had sticky toffee pudding. (these pics aren't as good because it was dark for Illuminations - sorry)
After dinner and Illuminations, we walked back over to Japan to pick up my earrings. They are beautiful. Then we walked back up to the front to catch the monorail and make our way home. I was glad to be home because I was getting blisters! I knew that moleskin was going to be in the “getting ready” plan from here on out!
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Coffee, shower, you know the drill. Then off to Epcot. We had another 12:45 lunch ressie this time at Via Napoli. We got there earlier than expected and checked out Soarin again. The standby was only 60” so we decided to wait. This was a first for me going through the standby line (I've only ridden it when I had FP's) and I didn’t realize it had all those interactive games on the wall. 
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We had a ressies at WCC a couple of summers ago and we tired like you all when we arrived. It was so nice to be seated out of the rowdiness and still enjoy the wonderful food here. 
So how are you doing with the DxDP at this point? Are you feeling like you're eating just enough, or are you feeling pressured to use up those credits? I really want to try the DxDP some day!
"Sparky"(My first trip.)
Great pictures! 
They finally came over and got our beverage order after almost 10 mins. We placed our orders at the same time as our beverages (didn’t want to inconvenience them by making them come back) The whole meal was kind of meh. I had the sweet potato pancakes which were dense but good. Chuck had the frittata and said it was ok. 
I was also wondering where the parents were as there was a sign clear as day that anyone under 12 should be supervised by an adult and WE were not the adult in charge of supervising them! Anyhow, after trying to relax - we went to the room and got ready for our dinner. 
Soon, our buzzer was going off and we went back to the hostess stand. They took us to our table - ON THE PATIO! Yay! So my sulking worked? We were under the awning and didn’t get to see the high fireworks but we did get to see most of the globe part. 
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