Wait!!! Wasn't this supposed to be a weekend trip? TR COMPLETE 11/2 - Page 27 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
The final morning finally came. I had done most of the packing the night before so all I really had to do was pack our pajamas and the stuff we needed for morning showers. With that done we headed downstairs to check-in our bags with Jet Blue, and we gave our carry-ons to Bell Services to hold until our DME pick-up.
Last day or not we were ready to enjoy our last day and we headed outside to wait for the bus to pick us up for the DVC presentation. The bus came after about a 5 minute wait and the DVC reps on the bus were great. There was about 8 of us on the bus and as soon as we were all settled they gave us some door prizes. We got these really neat notebooks and pens and a tote bag. Then they started everyone going with some trivia.
Well Angel sure knows her trivia, she won herself some pretty good prizes, she got a limited edition pin and a keychain. She was a happy girl. We made it over to Saratoga Springs and had some coffee, juice and water and then headed in to the presentation. Most of the people there were already members but there were a few "prospective members" there as well. They covered alot but really spent a lot of time talking about Aulani.
Once the presentation was completed we took a walk over to see the sample rooms. They were amazing. Jasmine already decided that we need to visit Hawaii soon. She fell in love with the sample rooms.
We then headed over for some food, they had some salads, fruit, and finger foods. They had some reps there to talk if anyone was interested in purchasing or had questions. We weren't planning to purchase any points at this time so a nice rep walked us out towards the bus stop and we waited and waited. On our last day I think we had the longest wait of the trip here. Ever other bus came just no Epcot. They even has a rep there calling...finally not one, but two Epcot buses made there way towards us.
We jumped on and relaxed in the AC, soon we were pulling up at Epcot. We headed in and stopped for a picture.
There was a very little wait for SE so we headed there first as I knew we would probably not get to the front of the park again once we headed to the WS. We then headed over to Soarin but the line was at about 90 minutes, there were FP's for 4:30 - 5:30 so I grabbed three, figured we could do this for our last ride of the day, then head right back out the IG to the BW to wait for our bus.
We headed across the park towards TT, we headed over to the SRL - Angel and I ended up in the same car, with Jasmine in the car behind us.
We had done all we wanted on this end of the park so we headed off to the WS. We stopped in the store just to browse, no purchases but Jasmine liked the Duffy Ears.
There were alot of PP photographers today in the WS, I usually always seem them on the bridge and in France but we found one in Mexico as soon as we started our WS tour.
The photographer then posed Angel for a "new" magic photo...except when I got home and got the CD - there was no magic but the photos came out cute anyway.
We then headed in to enjoy the Mexican market, Jasmine had wanted to buy something here but in the end she left empty handed. Of course our trip to Mexico would not be complete without some Angel Sombrero shots
It was really hot again today, I am glad that this humidity stayed at by for most of the trip and only really creeped up the last few days which seems to happen a lot to us so now I wonder if it is just that we are so happy to be at WDW that we ignore the heat the first portion of the trip but my the end it just finally catches up to us
We browsed in Norway for a bit before heading to one of the top things on our list this trip....exploring China and seeing the Tomb Warriors.
Sounds like really great treatment from the DVC tour guides! Great PP photo of you all in from of SE! We have found PP photographers at various countries in WS on a couple of visits and I really enjoy getting them to photograph us around the world.
Sounds like the DVC presentation was fun--was it a special event? I'm glad to hear there are more PP Photags in WS--I've always felt that there weren't enough!
Boo!!! Last day!!
We're thinking of taking a DVC tour this trip. Maybe we'll do it on the last day as well. Good idea. We don't have any real plans that day.
How did your last day sneak up already?
Glad you enjoyed the DVC presentation....and kudos to Angel on her trivia knowledge!
Looks like a fun time at Epcot....love the pics but especially the three of you in Mexico....
Danielle
__________________
~Shoot for the moon, if you miss, you will land among the stars~
Sounds like really great treatment from the DVC tour guides! Great PP photo of you all in from of SE! We have found PP photographers at various countries in WS on a couple of visits and I really enjoy getting them to photograph us around the world.
I usually always see them on the bridge and by France but this day they were everywhere, Mexico, Moroco, China - we had our choice. It was great to be able to get some family shots in the other pavillions that when normally get them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovedisney247
Sounds like the DVC presentation was fun--was it a special event? I'm glad to hear there are more PP Photags in WS--I've always felt that there weren't enough!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
The DVC event does sound like a lot of fun. I'd like to know more about it as well, in terms of whether it was a regular or special event?
It was a member's only sneak peek but I found there were some non-members there too. It was funny as I really did not plan to go to one when we were there, but when the kids were trading he started talking about the sample Aulani rooms and that definitely peaked my interest. Angel was all excited about seeing characters but when they split us up after the presentation for those that were visiting with the characters and those that were ready to head to the tour she said she was too excited to see the rooms so we did not even stop for the characters.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dsteiny23
Boo!!! Last day!!
We're thinking of taking a DVC tour this trip. Maybe we'll do it on the last day as well. Good idea. We don't have any real plans that day.
I think it worked well on our last day as we had everything we really wanted to done, and the few things we wanted to do at Epcot would work perfectly for the afternoon...it ended up being a fun way to finish off the trip.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Congrats to Angel on winning the trivia! Great pictures from Epcot!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lazanya
Congrats to Angel!
Sounds like your DVC tour went well!
She surprised me with some of the answers she was getting, one of the men on the tour said...someone has taught her well....lol
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneydani
How did your last day sneak up already?
Glad you enjoyed the DVC presentation....and kudos to Angel on her trivia knowledge!
Looks like a fun time at Epcot....love the pics but especially the three of you in Mexico....
Danielle
I really liked the pictures of us together in Epcot from the last day as well - they were some of my favorites.
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.
We headed into China - this was one of the things on the top of my list since I had read about the Tomb Warrior Display, we always love wandering through China but I was so excited to see this exhibit.
It was hot...but the sun was shining (does not make leaving easy )
We headed into the exhibit - WOW it was so amazing. I can only imagine what seeing the lifesize ones would be like. Jasmine was in awe, she still could not believe that each one was different. She totally stole the camera from me...and she took dozens of photographs from every angle.
We spent quite a bit of time wandering here - we finally pulled oursleves away and headed into the store as it is one of Jasmine's favorites. Jasmine ended up making a purchase here - a pair of these hard wooden slippers that has massage bumps on them that are supposed to target all the various parts of your body. Not sure if they do that but they are super comfortable.
My co-worker had texted me to say he was going to wander by so we could say goodbye. We headed out to wait and took some pictures.
We had an ADR at Tutto Italia but the girls started checking out the menu at Nine Dragons, suddenly the woman at the podium was calling us over to tell us she could fit us in. I have always been a bit nervous about Chinese or Japanese food with the allergy issue but she said she could bring me a chef...I thanked her but I told the girls that we would add it to the list for the next trip.
Suddenly Mike and his dad wandered by and we spent some time in the shade just catching up as they were getting ready to head back to the resort as the heat was a lot for his dad.
They walked us over to Italy where we parted ways....we had a little time until our ADR so we just wandered around the showcase.
As you can see by the last picture it was pretty empty for 2:30 in the afternoon - not sure if FW was crowded or if the heat was keeping people away but we were not complaining having a pretty empty WS to ourselves.
We checked in and were soon seated alone in the long window section....not sure why we were not good enough to sit in the main section (as it was pretty empty) but we were the only ones seated alone - just joking we were not complaining about having our own little section, just was pretty funny.
The server- well I have never had an issue with a server before but either she was not happy or she was just unfriendly but right from the beginning she was very cold....I mean cold.
Now I asked if I could see a kids menu (we were paying with the TIW card and I know that it is up to the discretion of the restaurant, I counted my blessings each time a restuarant handed me one without any problem, so I had no issue if Tutto Italia chose not to let her order from the kids menu, but it was the way she said it.) So now not only was she cold as ice but she was condesending as well.
Ok no worries then she looked at the paper and said "allergies the chef would be out shortly" and walked away....did not even take our drink orders.
Anyway the manager was a doll - I was also super impressed as the allergy form that I send to special diets each trip was sitting right there on her clipboard. I never ever had a manager actually bring the form with her so she could review with us. I always thought they used the form to call ahead, never knew they actually sent the form to each restuarant.
So we reviewed...now I really enjoy Tutto Italia, but it is not allergy friendly as much as other restuarants, I knew this but it was lunch and I knew that Angel would be very happy with her pasta which is exactly what she had (and without even asking she only brought her a kids plate and that is what she charged me for ).
Jasmine and I decided to split the Antipasto Misto and a Ceasar Salad with grilled chicken. When we originally booked this meal we were planning for the Antipasto and the lasagna as Heather's review sounded so good, but it was just too hot to eat something hot. What we did order was amazing, there is just so much on the antipasto plate and the salad was wonderful.
Now when the manager had visited with us she informed me and apologized that there was nothing she could give Angel for dessert (I already knew they wouldn't from our last trip) but I told her we were not planning on dessert anyway so that was fine.
Now the manager (I think her name was April) came out with the server and our food, she came and checked on us during the meal....but our server, not one time did she come by, not even to ask if we wanted frink refills.
Now I am sure by now you figure it can't get any worse right? WRONG!!!
So like I said we are the only one in the section, our server is standing at the edge of our area with another server and they kept looking at us, with the meanest glares and then whispering back and forth, then she would glare at us again....even Jasmine said "mom is there something hanging off our heads, what in the world is her problem".
This went on for the whole meal. By this point I am ready for the check, I just want to leave....then suddenly a whole bunch of happy servers are standing at our table with our nasty, unemotional ice queen signing Angel Happy Birthday. Now I did not note it on this reservation, nor was she wearing her pin, but I realized later her pin was on her bag hanging on her chair...
Anyway she stands in the middle of the happy crowd with her sour puss face and places a chocolate mousse in front of Angel with a candle and then she blows it out and she says "you can't eat that though" hands me the bill and walks away. I even saw one of the happy servers look at her with this "what is wrong with you" look.
Don't know maybe her boyfriend broke up with her but at that point I felt like shaking her and saying"not sure what your problem is but I don't appreciate you taking it out on us".
Now don't get me wrong, thank you for wishing her a happy birthday but I wish they would not have...you know what I mean. Angel was fine...told Jasmine to eat it and she said it was not good anyway (not sure if she just said that to make Angel happy but she only took like a bite or two and that was it).
I pay the bill - so not happy that the TIW includes a 18% gratuity because if I had my way she would have got nothing. Her attitude just ruined the meal for us...totally. I was so upset that I did not even take food pictures, just having her stare at us the whole meal...just totally took away from the great food we just ate.
As we were walking out April came up to us to apologize for the birthday mix-up, she said that the server should have came to her first since there were allergies involved. I told her it was not her fault, that the server must have been having a bad day but that the food was amazing and I thanked her for the wonderful attention she gave us.
Meal before tax, gratuities and TIW: $57.00
Meal after gratuties and TIW discount: $58.83
TIW Discount: $11.40
Total TIW discount for the trip: $214.77 - $75 (for the card) = $139.77
Our rating: We loved the food and April but the server's attitude killed this meal, we never even rated it.
We headed outside and Jasmine started looking at the Via Napoli menu and said next time mom, we eat here or at Nine Dragons, at least they were excited to have us eat there.
Angel still needed a dessert and she was saving a special one for her last day, and trust me she picked the perfect day for it. We headed to the Kaki Gori stand...Angel was very happy with her snack, much better than a chocolate mousse
We let Angel relax a bit and enjoy her snack< I sat for a bit with her as Jasmine wandered around.
We wandered a bit in Japan, another pavillion I love spending time in. We checked out the store but no purchases. Our next stop was Morocco as it was the only pavillion that Angel had yet to get a stamp in so we headed over to that area.
We had one last stop and that was France, it was time for Jaz and I to enjoy our last snack from Epcot....I had a chocolate mousse and Jasmine had a pastry I think.
We had our Soarin FP's burning a hole in our pockets but we were hot...and tired so I passed along some magic to a couple with their son and we said goodbye for another year and headed towards the IG.
We still had like 2 hours until our DME pick up but we figured we would relax at the resort for awhile. Just as we made it out of the IG a boat was waiting...now I love the walk but it was hot, the boat looked so refreshing at that moment so we headed over and we pulled out a few minutes later.
We got out on the dock and headed in for a few last minute gifts at the General Store. We then hit the Candy Shop so Angel could get her last sugar tube rush and I could pick up some popcorn for the guys at work (they ended up having this neat 5 flavor pack).
Finally we decided to go relax in the lobby....at some point Jasmine said "mom, can I have a corn dog?" So I wandered off to grab her a corn dog when I heard...."mom" well Angel was behind me and she decided she wanted a snack. We headed into the bakery to get her one of her allergy free brownies when the chef from the other day smiled and said "hi Angel what can I get you" (now it is moments like this that make moments like the meal at Tutto seem irrevelent). Just the fact that he remembered her...so perfect.
She told him she was waiting for the DME to pick her up so he said "give me a minute" - he came back a few minutes later with a sandwich for the road
We headed back to Jasmine and they enjoyed their meals as I wandered outside to take in the last few minutes of this vacation.
Soon it was time so we headed to the DME bus just as the skies grew dark (now this is more like it, I much rather leave in the rain then the bright blue sky...lol)
The bus ride was quick....guess the storm was following us as I was able to get this shot.
The girls were full from the last minute meals and I was not hungry at all so after wandering the stores for a bit we headed through security. We were in the front car of our last monorail ride of the trip...
The skies had cleared once again and I took what has become one of my favorite pictures of the trip.
No delays going home, there was a bit of turbulance that lasted for maybe 15 minutes but that was it. The girls slept, I dined on some chocolate chip cookies (love Jet Blue snacks) and soon were were back at JFK. Usually my dad picks us up but it was late - it was almost 1 am so I told him not to worry. We grabbed a cab and we were home in 20 minutes.
I was glad we came home on a Friday as it was nice having two days before having to head back to work. By the time it was Monday I felt ready to head back to reality.
Now it has taken me so long to finish this TR that I am now ready to leave reality again (note to self, must plan another trip soon).
Wow, that service was unbelievable! I think, as you'd already met the manager, I would've said something, as 18% for that is just crazy. She just did not deserve that at all! :
Thank goodness at the rest of your final day was much better. So sorry to see this coming to an end though.
I dearly LOVE the pictures in these last 2 updates. For the most part, it was a great last day. For the chef to remember how special Angel is would overshadow the poor service at Tutto. I'm glad you had a good flight home. I'm sorry it has come to an end.
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.
Glad the chef at the bakery made up for the server at Tutto! Great pictures from the WS and a great last afternoon! Looking forward to your final thoughts!
About This Page: 
- Part I
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Great PP photo of you all in from of SE! 
PassPorter Guide Author
I think, as you'd already met the manager, I would've said something, as 18% for that is just crazy. She just did not deserve that at all! 
: 
Great pictures from the WS and a great last afternoon! Looking forward to your final thoughts! 
Linear Mode
