What will it be for trip #3? (August 5-14, 2012) - Page 18 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
This is our DHS day. No EMHs and we hope to arrive before the 9am open. I have not seen either of the 2 big shows so hope to fit them in this trip. None of us have done ToT or RnRC so we hope to experience them (although Delaney is still too small for RnRC and Hannah refuses to go upside down…so we may need to use a child swap for both DH and I to try this one….and…I will not be heartbroken if we miss ToT again…) DS did the jedi training last trip and he has moved on from his Star Wars obsession, so this is not something we need to worry about this trip.
Last trip, we were kicked out of the “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” play area after about 10 minutes, not realizing it was not open for EMH. The kids want to have LOTS of time to explore here this year. The other thing we felt bad about missing out on last time was the opportunity to meet any of the Pixar characters. The lines always exceeded an hour and we just cannot wait that long. What is the best way to meet these characters with more manageable lines?
We have a dinner ADR at Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano at 4:45 p.m. This is the Fantasmic package. We only saw Fantasmic on our first trip, and it was only with this special seating. We have NEVER been able to stay at a park from open to close (well…we tried on a first trip…but that was the bad trip…this just does not work for us….).
Again when thinking about the timing of this ADR, it seems to cut into the day. You may wonder why I have picked such early meal times…if you recall the lessons learned from the last trip…Hannah does better at restaurants when they do not start out super-crowded at the start of our meal. She seems to be able to tolerate crowds building around her better than she can going right into crowds. She also does better when she can sit against a wall. I found that the “early” dinners or unusual times provided more opportunity for us to get a table along a wall. A better meal for Hannah is a better meal for all of us!
Anyway, I think we would either need to fit in an afternoon break back at our resort or we will not be likely to make it to Fantasmic…Since we will now have a car…will it be easier to take an afternoon break not having to mess with WDW transportation?
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
On our last trip with the F! Dining Pkg, we stayed from opening 'til early afternoon and then went back to the resort to rest, returning right in time for our ADR (which was right around 5:00pm, I think.)
If you figure you've had a couple of hours to chill at the resort, and then a relaxing dinner, you should all be well-rested for the remainder of the evening.
We generally try and schedule dinner before 6:00pm to beat the worst of the crowds, and I'm not sure if it's because Mama Melrose has the F! Dining, or if it's always this way, but they were totally slammed and backed-up before we even got there.
That said, we loved the place (we had a huge booth against a wall) and with an ADR at 4:45, you should be even better crowd-wise. Just some thoughts...
I think the time works well, I definitely think you could enjoy a lot if you make rope drop and then enjoy an afternoon break before heading back for dinner. The only other option would be maybe see if there is an earlier lunch reservation with the package, this way enjoy DHS, have a midday lunch and then breaktime with a return to DHS before Fantasmic.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
When we went to DQ in 2010, I was the one who was overwhelmed with the noise. The rest of the family was fine, but I couldn't take the constant noise from all the video games and all the other games and activities that were going on. I think the earlier in the day you visit the lower the crowds should be, but the noise may still be a bit loud. I may have been ok if I had worn some earplugs, but I was ready to go long before my DH and kids were.
On our last trip with the F! Dining Pkg, we stayed from opening 'til early afternoon and then went back to the resort to rest, returning right in time for our ADR (which was right around 5:00pm, I think.)
If you figure you've had a couple of hours to chill at the resort, and then a relaxing dinner, you should all be well-rested for the remainder of the evening.
We generally try and schedule dinner before 6:00pm to beat the worst of the crowds, and I'm not sure if it's because Mama Melrose has the F! Dining, or if it's always this way, but they were totally slammed and backed-up before we even got there.
That said, we loved the place (we had a huge booth against a wall) and with an ADR at 4:45, you should be even better crowd-wise. Just some thoughts...
Thanks for saring your experience. I picked the time with crowds in mind...but not an afternoon break. We will need to be mindful of how to manage those ndueling needs....
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcc0313
I think the time works well, I definitely think you could enjoy a lot if you make rope drop and then enjoy an afternoon break before heading back for dinner. The only other option would be maybe see if there is an earlier lunch reservation with the package, this way enjoy DHS, have a midday lunch and then breaktime with a return to DHS before Fantasmic.
Thanks....I may look into an earlier package...
Quote:
Originally Posted by OneLittleSpark
I think that both suggestions above are great! I think it would be easier to get back and forth with a car.
I am trying MM for the first time this year!
It will be our first at MM as well. I am hoping a car makes it quicker....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great plans for Friday!
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
I like your plans for this day! We really like Mama Melrose's, especially with the Fantasmic Package, which we are doing again this year.
I will read all about it....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dianneq
When we went to DQ in 2010, I was the one who was overwhelmed with the noise. The rest of the family was fine, but I couldn't take the constant noise from all the video games and all the other games and activities that were going on. I think the earlier in the day you visit the lower the crowds should be, but the noise may still be a bit loud. I may have been ok if I had worn some earplugs, but I was ready to go long before my DH and kids were.
My DD does fine in arcades. I almost think it is SOOOO noisy that it all becomes like background or white noise blocking out stimuli. I understand where you are coming from, however...I often get headaches at places like that from the flashing lights and noise. But ibuprofen usually helps to manage my issues
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Great plans for DHS!! Hope you'll be able to ride ToT and RnRC!!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
This is the night that DH and I plan to “officially” celebrate our 15th anniversary (Thursday, August 9). We have dinner reservations at Narcoose’s at 7:30.
This is another first for us—for the restaurant and the date night! We will have the kids at the Neverland club at the Poly. I made the Neverland reservation long after I set my ADRs. I did not realize that in order to include dinner, kids need to get to the kids’ club by 6:30. With the amount of $ we will be spending to have our kids here for a few hours---we WILL get them there in time to eat! I was disappointed to learn that they do no prorate the time at all. If the kids are there 3 hours and 10 minutes….you will be charged for 4 hours. Ouch! I guess if we do not make it in 3 hours...we will drag dinner out a bit longer!
At the time I made the Kids club ressie, I asked about an earlier ADR at Narcoose’ s and there was nothing to be had. I just now checked and was able to get one at 7:10…That should give us just a bit more wiggle room…
Question about parking…Would we be able to park at the Poly since our kids will be at the kids club there? Or will we need to park at GF where our ADR is?
Not sure what will be in store for us the rest of the day. I plan this to be another day where we can rest and have flexibility to do what we want. We may hit a water park or DQ in the morning….
I will not gbe around the boards much in the next week or so. In addition to the usual end of school year chaos...wea re planning our annual garage sale for this week. EEEK!
Wish me luck in selling all my treasures to be able to stuff the disney fund!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
"Sparky"(My first trip.)
with the garage sale!
Good luck with the end of the year stuff and the garage sale! 
Linear Mode
