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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.
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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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We got up really early and the late arriving boys were definitely tired. We got ready for the day, packed everything up, and checked out. At this point, I was really wishing we were already at All Star Resort. We drove straight to All Star Resort and checked in. We parked and took a bus to the Magic Kingdom.
We arrived about 30 minutes before park opening and waited a bit through the bag check before they finally let us in. Even once in, we couldn’t go past the central hub until 8am. Once the park was truly open, we headed for Barnstormer. One family was in front of us, it was a woman with two very small children. The CM was telling her that due to their height, an adult had to ride with each child and since she had only one adult- they couldn’t ride. I volunteered for one of her little ones to ride with me which she quickly accepted. This left Wesley to ride alone, but he didn’t mind. We had a fun, albeit short ride on Barnstormer.
We stopped for a quick bathroom break before heading to Dumbo which was a walk on as well.
Next, we headed for Under the Sea ride which had no wait- the first hour or two is always great! We then stopped inside Gaston’s Tavern and got three huge cinnamon buns. We each split one as they are huge and we tend to eat lunch on the early side so didn’t want to be stuffed.
After our cinnamon buns, we headed for Philharmagic where we had to wait close to 10 minutes for the next show. I just love this show!
It was about 9:15am when we made it to Small World which had a posted 10 minute wait but was really about half of that. Haunted Mansion was next with a posted 20 minute wait, but again- the wait was about half of that.
It was now about 10:45am and we were ready for lunch. Everyone except Wesley wanted Peco Bill’s. I had the fajita platter, Dillon had a burrito, and the other three had tacos. They have an excellent toppings bar and the meal was very good. Wesley went to Main Street for a macaroni hotdog and was going to bring it back and eat with us. However, he returned with just popcorn. He said the line was too long and he got popcorn as a hold me over instead. I told him he should’ve just got in the line- it probably would have been quick.
After lunch, we headed to Country Bears which we had not seen in the last several trips. We had good timing as we walked in just minutes before the next show was to start.
Around noon, we headed to Carpets of Aladdin which had a posted 15 minute wait and it was pretty accurate. Up next was Pirates of the Caribbean which we had a fast pass for. I was glad to have the FP as the wait time was 40 minutes.
We then headed to Splash Mountain. I hate to get wet, but I love this ride so I brave it with a poncho. We had a fast pass for Big Thunder that would not be good for another thirty minutes, so we took a full circle train ride while waiting. After our train ride, we enjoyed Big Thunder Mountain RR.
I wanted to meet Mickey but when we checked our wait time app it was posted at about an hour and a half, so we decided to put it off for now.
We rode Peter Pan with a 2:30pm Fast Pass before heading off to the Tiki Room where we had just missed a show which meant we had about a 15 minute wait. Wesley was starving as he still hadn’t eaten, but all the eatery lines were long. I told him he was just going to have to suck it up and wait in a line. But he didn’t.
We had managed to get an additional fast pass for Jungle Cruise (Jingle Cruise) where my kids acted like this was the first time they had heard all of the corny jokes and thought it was just the driver. I assured them, it is the same jokes every time and they just didn’t remember.
Even though it was not even quite 5pm, I was exhausted and proposed going back to the resort. No one needed their arm twisted- we headed for the buses. We had dinner at the resort which had very limited choices. I had really wanted a pasta dish, but they didn’t have any pasta other than spaghetti and meatballs which I did not want. I had a burger and most of the other kids had burgers as well. Wesley and Madilyn went back to the parks for a bit later that night; they were able to get a few fast passes. They stayed until about 11pm.
I did not enjoy our room location at all. I usually get preferred rooms, but didn’t because it was a short trip and I knew we would be spending so much time in the parks, that I wasn’t concerned about being near the main resort area- food court, etc. However, I did care about being close to a parking lot as we drive ourselves to all parks other than MK. I didn’t realize there were buildings that were not only far from the lobby, but also far from the parking lot. This was not enjoyable. I thought all rooms were near a parking lot- turns out I was wrong. We did have connecting rooms and they were clean, but the location was no fun. We got a good night’s sleep and were all set for Animal Kingdom the next day.
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Nice day at the MK. Nice gesture on your part so the woman in line could have her son ride Barnstormer. Some good eats in the MK. Wesley is definitely a bit stubborn and not much patience as he didn't want to wait in the food lines! It's expected at WDW and I'm sure he knows it from your several visits here.
Will there be any videos in this TR synched with music? I've always enjoyed those from your previous TRs!
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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!
Wow, you packed a lot into your first day. I like the way you were able to make the best use of your Fastpasses later on and got rides in on the less popular rides first thing. I'm not surprised you were all exhausted though. That was a long day!
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Great day at MK! You did get a lot done. That stinks about the room location, especially if you drive since you have more stuff to take in the room, or if you're like me, you store your suitcases in the car.
Great start - and wow, the first night booked less than 24 hours before you left. I'm sure there's an interesting story to that...
Yep, I kept putting off booking that first night because our plans were ever-changing on when/how we would all get there. Thanksgiving is a busy week so I was thankful there were still rooms to be booked....
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Can’t wait to hear all about it!!
Thanks.
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Originally Posted by SuperDave
Looking forward to seeing the story develop. Glad you were able to book that hotel with less than a day to spare!
You and me both!
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Originally Posted by Cam22
Signing on!
Thanks
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Originally Posted by DMA
Signing on! Can't wait to hear all about it.
Thanks!
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Originally Posted by SuperDave
It was a little complicated with getting there but at least it worked out. Even though in two separate cars. Funny, how the school plans always throw a wrench into things, even though you had it worked out.
Hope you will be doing your videos like you have for your multi state trips. I guess you haven't done one of those in two years.
Yep, we still have one more road trip to do, but the kids schedules as they get older make it more and more difficult. As of right this second, we have plans to road-trip this coming summer. Yes, I will be doing a video/already have.
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Originally Posted by chezp
Wow, and we say we're tired when we get to Disney (jetlag in our case) - I bet you guys ran us close that first morning as well.
Yep, I wasn't willing to drive through the night and my oldest was desperate not to wait a whole other day to start the trip- so this was our compromise.
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Originally Posted by patclairesmom
Wow, that seemed like a lot to figure out. Glad it all worked out!
Me too!
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Glad everyone made it!
Me too! I was a little apprehensive letting the boys drive through the night like that. I told them several times to stop for a hotel if needed.
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Originally Posted by pamcarey
Great start! I love that most of your kids are in marching band! Ours is a band family too!
I've loved having a band family also. All of them are/were in the band. My oldest was in the band all through middle/high school, but chose not to pursue it in college. He's the only one no longer in the band.
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Originally Posted by Cam22
Glad everyone made it safely to Florida!
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeL
Your adventure so far remind me of an Greatful Dead tune "Playing. Playing inthe Band. Day break, Daybreak in Adventure Land" Sorry paraphrased a bit
Nice day at the MK. Nice gesture on your part so the woman in line could have her son ride Barnstormer. Some good eats in the MK. Wesley is definitely a bit stubborn and not much patience as he didn't want to wait in the food lines! It's expected at WDW and I'm sure he knows it from your several visits here.
Will there be any videos in this TR synched with music? I've always enjoyed those from your previous TRs!
Yes, Wesley is bad to avoid things with a long line (food, rides, etc) but my philosophy is just jump in the line- it will only be longer later. And Disney is good about moving their lines pretty quick....
Yes, I've already made a video
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Originally Posted by purplegal
So nice of you to ride with the young child. You guys sure accomplished a lot on your first day.
I thought we got a lot done also! The crowds were pretty minimal this first park day....
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Originally Posted by Cam22
You all packed in quite a bit at MK for heading back to the resort. Bummer about your room location!
Lesson learned for me, stick with the preferred rooms.....
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Originally Posted by DMA
You really accomplished a lot!
I thought so too!
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Originally Posted by chezp
Wow, you packed a lot into your first day. I like the way you were able to make the best use of your Fastpasses later on and got rides in on the less popular rides first thing. I'm not surprised you were all exhausted though. That was a long day!
We were definitely exhausted! We had made our FP's later in part because when we made them I wasn't sure if we would be there for park opening because at one point we were going to all ride together and just leave super early Sunday morning..... Even though it turns out we could have made earlier FP's, it still worked out!
Quote:
Originally Posted by patclairesmom
Great day at MK! You did get a lot done. That stinks about the room location, especially if you drive since you have more stuff to take in the room, or if you're like me, you store your suitcases in the car.
We hauled everything to the room and it was a long haul. For some reason, I thought all the buildings backed to a parking lot. But, oh well....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great day at MK! Sorry your room location isn’t the best!
Lesson learned, I'll be sticking with the preferred rooms going forward...
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Originally Posted by pamcarey
Wow, you accomplished a lot! Getting there before rope drop is such a good plan! Sorry you don't like your room location!
Monday November 20 Animal Kingdom 8am- 10pm (7am EMH)
We drove to the park this day and arrived just before 7am EMH opening. We headed straight for River Journey. The wait was posted at 20 minutes, but it was a walk on. We loved this ride!
The park was crazy busy, but everyone was heading for Flights of Passage.
We now headed for Dinosaur which was a walk on. I wasn’t planning to ride this as I am not a fan of jerky rides and this one tends to be super jerky. I rode anyhow and I was pleasantly surprised that it was less jerky than I remembered, but it may be because I braced myself well to avoid being jostled.
Next we headed for Prime Evil. Again, I don’t like jerky rides and I really can’t brace myself on this one to avoid being jostled, so I sat out. All of the kids rode with a posted 10 minute wait which was pretty accurate.
We headed for the Boneyard, but it wasn’t open yet. So, we headed for Kali Rapids. It was chilly this morning and no one wanted to ride except Wesley and Winston. While they rode, the others got snacks. Kali was a walk on.
We watched the (loud) monkeys for a bit and took some pictures before heading for Festival of the Lion King. We barely got in for the 11am show. This is one of my favorites!
We were now ready for lunch. Half of us wanted Flame Tree BBQ and half wanted Restarauntasaurs. Flame Tree had a long, long line. I tried to figure out the online ordering, but couldn’t get it to work. The line moved at a decent pace and it was worth it- because I definitely didn’t want burgers again. I had ribs and chicken and it was delicious! The Restarauntasaurs kids made their way to us about the time we were finishing up our food.
We had a fast pass for the Safari, so we headed there next. After the Safari, we watched Flights of Wonder which I just love. I think my kids were less than thrilled.
We then rode Expedition Everest which had a bit of a wait.
We were able to slip in to the Finding Nemo show before it filled. I just love all of the shows here!
We had some snacks- I ate a Mickey bar. The kids had other ice cream treats.
We had a 3:55pm fast pass for the coveted Flights of Passage. We were all super excited to ride! I was worried about fitting on it as I am very overweight and I had heard several people couldn’t fit. I didn’t bother trying to sit on the out front model as I had read it wasn’t fool-proof. I was relieved that I fit with no problems and the ride was absolutely fantastic!!!
This was our last ride before exiting the park. We ate Golden Corral for dinner on the way back to the resort. It was good. Back at the resort we went to bed at a decent hour as we had plans for Epcot the next morning.
Great day at AK and you packed so much in! Funny with everyone not being able to come to an agreement of where to eat.
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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!
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Some good eats in the MK. Wesley is definitely a bit stubborn and not much patience as he didn't want to wait in the food lines! 
It's expected at WDW and I'm sure he knows it from your several visits here.
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