10 Nights of Magic in The Orlando Trifecta-TR - COMPLETE!! 12/10 - Page 16 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Many beautiful pictures and a great, yet very full travel/first day! I wouldn't have lasted that long. I found it interesting how few people seemed to be around in many of your pictures.
Beautiful pics Dave! Portofino Bay looks so beautiful at night.
It is and quite special!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tara O'Hara
You are making me so homesick for Portofino Bay with your beautiful pictures!!
I can see why and you know what you need to do! Glad you enjoyed the photos as there were quite a few of them.
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
The resort is so beautiful! Thank you for taking such wonderful pictures. That was a great but long first day!
It is and amazing resort and loved it during my few hours there! Glad you enjoyed the photos. It was quite a long day and am perplexed how I stayed up that long. I enjoyed every bit of day 1.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lindawdw
It really is such a beautiful area to soak in with a glass of chianti! Glad you had such a fun evening.
It made the evening more enjoyable by relaxing with a glass of wine and taking it all in. I felt transported back to Italy.
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Many beautiful pictures and a great, yet very full travel/first day! I wouldn't have lasted that long. I found it interesting how few people seemed to be around in many of your pictures.
Glad you enjoyed these as I gave the resort great coverage. I was amazed I lasted that long with a nearly 21 hour day! It wasn't crowded there at all but the bars and seating surround the perimeter of the piazza, which is quite expansive. It will probably never seem crowded here regardless and I'm sure that's the idea.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
The Portofino Bay is truly beautiful at night! I'd love to stay there sometime, although cost is a bit prohibitive!
It is so amazing at night and must be seen personally to experience it and take it all in! It is the most expensive of the deluxe resorts at Universal and you can do it like I did and visit the resort. It is no where nearly as expensive as the WDW top deluxe resorts. Probably in the price range of the WL and you can get discounts.
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
It's so beautiful, quite amazing and must be experienced at night to enjoy it!
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Thursday, October 5th (Part I) It was a slow go this morning as I slept in after such a long day yesterday being up for nearly 21 hours! I felt I had a good sleep but wasn’t feeling 100%. Partially due to a cold I was fighting and the cheese in the burrata which was bothering my stomach a bit. Things would improve as the hours passed.
I got up at 9:30 am and I wasn’t in a hurry to get to Universal as I covered much more than I thought I would yesterday. Originally, I was going to visit Harry Pottertoday (covered it yesterday) and do whatever else I had time for today. Instead, I would be going to the Universal Studios portion of the park. After getting ready for my day, I went downstairs to the Orchid Lounge which has quick service breakfast options and works for me. I had a fruit pastry, coffee and Oikos strawberry yogurt. This hit the spot and helped me on the way to recovery.
Orchid Lounge at Royal Pacific
Entrance to Royal Pacific lobby
I returned to my room for a bit and gather a few things I’d need in Universal for the next several hours and went back downstairs. Most importantly is my phone was fully charged for plenty of photos! I walked to Tower 3 and took the elevator down and walked to the boat dock. It was tipping with rain (as Cheryl says), but wouldn’t let this deter me from having another fun day in Universal.
When I got to the boat dock the rain was coming down quite fierce, but I had my rain jacket on. It wouldn’t let up for nearly thirty minutes and then be gone. I only had to wait a few minutes for a boat and there were about fifteen Royal Pacific guests waiting. Shortly, we were on our way.
Dr. Doom’s Fearfall attraction seen from boat dock at Royal Pacific
In just a few minutes we arrived at City Walk and I headed towards the Universal Studios gates to begin my day. I could already tell it was much more crowded than yesterday even with the rain. I waited in line to scan my park ticket and I was through.
The Hollywood Rockit rollercoaster which is quite a thrilling ride
It was time for my first attraction of the day and this one is quite new and debuted over the last year. It’s Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon.
I used the Express Pass, but I was told I wouldn’t need it until later. The lobby was well themed with tributes to other hosts of The Tonight Show.
The waiting area was well themed and there were also some interactive games as well. We were told to wait in here and once the light by the stairs turns green we could head up in the appropriate line. It was crowded in here and the express pass made a difference. First you enter a small theater with an introduction to the attraction. Then to another theater for this simulator attraction. It was quite good with plenty of action.
Close by was Minions, which is another simulator ride. It’s more for the kids but I decided to go on it anyway. There was quite a line for it and the express pass saved me some time. Pretty much like many of the simulator rides in a theater. With these attraction types, you’re usually donning 3D glasses. I thought this was just ok.
Next up was Transformers the Ride 3D. This was another attraction I hadn’t experienced as this was my first time in Universal since 2009. Once again, this was another simulator ride. What is it with Universal and the simulator rides as there are so many of these? Welcome to Sim City! I do enjoy many of these, but I think there may be too many. So, what do we have for these types? Spiderman, Skull Island, HP’s Forbidden Journey, Minions, Jimmy Fallon, Transformers, The Simpsons and to a certain degree Hogwart’s Express. Quite a collection!
This was a good attraction with a lot of twists, turns and dips during the sim experience. It was extremely loud.
After these three attractions, I did a bit of walking around and exploring the area before going to my fourth attraction, which would not be a sim!
Caught the end of this show, which I always enjoy!
My next attraction and one of my favorites in Universal
There was quite a long line for the standard line at The Mummy attraction. The Universal Express Pass is coming in handy at times. This is an indoor roller coaster and the experience is quite unique to other coaster experiences. I enjoy this attraction so much and didn’t disappoint as always! Although, it had been since 2009. I decided to go on it again for an encore!
Will this be another simulator attraction?
I walked deeper into Universal Studios and get a few more attractions in.
At least when they closed the Jaws attraction they left this!
The San Francisco themed area of the park
My next attraction and another favorite. Much like TSMM in HS and Buzz in the MK with shooting at targets to get points. I didn’t do that well this time.
It was nearly 2:30 pm and I had yet to have lunch. The Simpson’s Ride was nearby and there was a hot dog kiosk in front of the attraction, so I decided on this. I had a hot dog with mustard and onions and a coke. Just enough to hold me for a few hours as I’d be having an early dinner before Halloween Horror Nights tonight.
Across the bay from the Simpson’s
This was my next attraction and another favorite.
Even with my express pass the wait was a bit long for this attraction. It’s my second favorite sim attraction in Universal next to HP’s Forbidden Journey. This one is a lot of fun with so much going on during the ride.
There was one more thing I wanted to do at Universal and that was the Hogwart’s Express from King’s Cross to Hogsmeade as I had ridden this from in the other direction yesterday and I know the experience is quite different.
NEXT: How Much Different Will the Experience Be?
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Last edited by SuperDave; 01-21-2018 at 05:45 PM..
Just getting caught up Dave! Glad you had a wonderful meal at Bice! Sorry something in the cheese didn’t agree with you. Great pictures from Portofino! That was quite a long day! It looks like your day at US is going well so far!
Just getting caught up Dave! Glad you had a wonderful meal at Bice! Sorry something in the cheese didn’t agree with you. Great pictures from Portofino! That was quite a long day! It looks like your day at US is going well so far!
BICE was a great eatery and will definitely return! Just that little drawback with the cheese but all else was great! Glad you enjoy the photos as the resort is amazing at night! It was such a long day but seems I recovered well the next day. Enjoying US on day 2 so far.
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
You got a lot accomplished this day, thanks to that express pass.
Yes, I did for sure! Glad I had it and made much more of a difference than I thought! Better being as it's included with my RP resort reservation. Quite a savings as it costs $89 to buy it separately.
Today (Thursday) was much busier in the parks than yesterday! Probably has something to do with the Halloween Horror Nights being later this evening, which I will be attending shortly. I was told that the parks are much busier on these days.
I have one more update until we get to Halloween Horror Nights!
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
I enjoyed every bit of day 1. 
It wasn't crowded there at all but the bars and seating surround the perimeter of the piazza, which is quite expansive. It will probably never seem crowded here regardless and I'm sure that's the idea. 
I felt I had a good sleep but wasn’t feeling 100%. Partially due to a cold I was fighting and the cheese in the burrata which was bothering my stomach a bit. 
Things would improve as the hours passed. 
I only had to wait a few minutes for a boat and there were about fifteen Royal Pacific guests waiting. Shortly, we were on our way.
I do enjoy many of these, but I think there may be too many. So, what do we have for these types? Spiderman, Skull Island, HP’s Forbidden Journey, Minions, Jimmy Fallon, Transformers, The Simpsons and to a certain degree Hogwart’s Express. Quite a collection! 
Linear Mode
