Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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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.
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07-01-2006, 10:04 AM
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#31
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Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: NC
Posts: 3,536
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 6-26
<font color="blue"> <u>Sunday, June 18th- I would like to go in a store.......</u>
[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rain.gif[/img] Rain, Rain, Go Away, Come Again Another Day [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rain.gif[/img]
We woke up today to dark clouds and rain. But it almost seemed fitting. And for once I wasn't getting (WET!!!) from a ride but from the skies. I had to start the day with a presentation to my father- Happy Father's Day!!!. I had purchased a card and gift prior to leaving so he was shocked and surprised when he received his gift. I was really glad that I was able to spend father's day with him especially with him now living in Florida.
The rain finally stopped in the late afternoon, although it would remain overcast, but that's okay up to this point I have gotten a lot of sun.
So it is off to Downtown Disney we go and boy am I getting excited. As we pass the hotels in Downtown Disney my father asks me if this is where Antonio and I stayed the last time we were there. I explained [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img] we didn't and got to use some of my expertise about Disney (that I learned from all you guys) in telling him where we stayed and the difference. So we park and once again it is up to Antonio to remember where (Lot C) and we enter the Marketplace. It is quite crowded and it throws me alittle because it is the first real crowds that we have seen, but than again we are on Disney property now. This would become photo heaven for my father who loves taking pictures. I however was itching to go in a store. But at last it was not to be [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/pout.gif[/img]. After walking around taking pictures my father was ready to move on to the West Side.
Now here is where I digress. At this point I realized why I enjoyed Antonio's and my last trip so much. Other than the obvious, being at Disney, we were free to go and see and do everything we wanted without having to clear with anyone else. Does this make me selfish? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ukid.gif[/img] Well in anycase I think that that is why we had such a great time at Universal and though I was not going to be a baby about it, at that point I knew that next year when we came down we would do our whole week at Disney, on site, so we could do our thing and than afterwards we would spend a couple of days with the family.
Okay so we head to the West Side and I really can't recall having ever really spent any time over here so I was quite interested in soaking it all in. At some point my father says that we should probable stop in at least one store[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img]
Okay I wish he would have made that suggestion when we were on the other side. So I quickly pulled him into the candy store. I couldn't help it those apples were calling my name. Thanks to Sharon's trip reports I really wanted one [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/yuma.gif[/img] but my father suggested we all split a piece of fudge and though I really didn't want it, I wanted that apple I agreed and put the apple on my next time list. I must say that fudge was really good and very sweet!! So compromise can be good. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]
Up next: Pleasure Island and International Drive [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img] </font>
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07-01-2006, 10:24 AM
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#32
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Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ohio Football Hall Of Fame
Posts: 42,304
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 6-26
Another great update Maria!!! Sorry you didn't get to shop like you would have liked to. Can't wait for more!!!
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07-01-2006, 11:49 AM
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#33
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Community Rank: Scout 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Songtan, South Korea
Posts: 4,681
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 6-26
Isn't nice to have a list of things to do next time? I have a list 2 miles long now just from reading these boards. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img]
Great report. Looking forward to more.
Laura
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07-02-2006, 07:10 PM
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#34
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Community Rank: Globetrotter
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: NC
Posts: 3,536
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 6-26
<font color="blue"> As we left the West Side we decided to walk briefly through Pleasure Island. Now it has been years and years since I have been to Pleasure Island. The last time I wasn't even old enough yet to get into all the clubs but still had fun none the less. Things have changed since than and there was a lot of remodeling going on as well. Having seen everything we wanted we made our way towards Lot C when we saw a Disney bus. My father commented on how neat they were and once again I got to share with him my new expertise. I explained how the buses will transport you to the theme parks and that Antonio and I used them the whole time we were down there. He seemed impressed and for the first time I felt a bit of sadness. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] How I longed to be climbing onto one of those busses right now and being transported back to the resort. I had always felt that nothing beat staying on property and after having finally done that and now going back like this I realize I was right. Nothing beats being there on property totally immersed in the magic. Once we located the car we decided to head down International Drive. My father really wanted to show me the areas that have been added recently that I have not seen. So after some site seeing and driving around it was back to the house. By this time evening had set in and so it was shower, dinner, and the Spanish soaps. Finally the night I had been waiting for. I knew that tomorrow we would be going to the Animal Kingdom and I could not wait. This would be our only Disney theme park for this trip and I was so ready for it.
Coming up: Animal Kingdom at last!
</font>
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07-02-2006, 07:47 PM
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#35
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Community Rank: Adventurer 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: loveland, colorado =)
Posts: 689
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 6-26
Just got caught up, sorry that you didn't get to experience Downtown Disney in your own way...but it sounds like your getting fun ideas for next time!![img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
Looking forward to hearing all about Animal Kingdom [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/love.gif[/img]
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07-02-2006, 08:47 PM
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#36
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Community Rank: Scout
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Songtan, South Korea
Posts: 4,681
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 6-26
Looking forward to hearing about AK!
Laura
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07-03-2006, 04:43 PM
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#37
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RED SOX NATION!!
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 6-26
More great updates Maria [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] Can't wait to hear about AK [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
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07-03-2006, 09:51 PM
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#38
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Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: North Central Ohio
Posts: 21,629
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 6-26
Looking forward to your visit to AK! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
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07-04-2006, 06:50 AM
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#39
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Columbia, SC
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 7,014
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 6-26
Traveling with extended family (even staying onsite) is fun, but I love the freedom of just being with my little family. Hope that AK is everything that you want it to be! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
Jill
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Sponsored links
 | | PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World
It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book!
Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95. |
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07-07-2006, 02:50 PM
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#40
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Community Rank: Globetrotter
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: NC
Posts: 3,536
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 6-26
<font color="blue"> <u>Monday, June 19- Animal Kingdom</u>
The day has finally arrived where I will finally get to step onto Disney porperty and boy was I excited [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img]. My aunt would be joining myself, Antonio, my dad, and my younger brother on this outing. As it stands Antonio and I were the only two to have gone to Animal Kingdom before so I knew I would have many opportunities to show my stuff. We dressed and were at the park at 9:00 on the dot. We parked in the Unicorn section not too far but as we unloaded a tram was approaching so we all squeezed our way on. Antonio on my lap which i think is a no,no. We purchased our tickets and promptly decided which line to get in. At this point there are three huge lines extending off to the sides of the building where you purchase tickets. And everyone is just waiting [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/whistling2.gif[/img]. Now I know that there are more turnstiles beyond that building and am curious as to how long they are. Well of course they are not long at all so I gather the clan. And a mother and child who hears me report that yes there are smaller lines. And within 5 minutes we are in. Now the first order of business, get Everest fastpasses. So we take off and I am sure that I take the longest route possible. This is only my second time at the AK and the layout still has me somewhat confused. But my family follows me faithfully. We finally reach our destination and I gather the tickets and proceed to get fastpasses for everyone but my aunt. She is not into the roller coasters. So I than explain that we can go do something else until out window of time opens up. I knew that my father and aunt really wanted to see the Safari so we head there. We had a 20- 30 minute wait but it wasn't too bad. Before you know it we were traveling through Africa and there were a lot of animals out. Everyone gave it a thumbs up and we were now ready to face the Yeti. I was so excited I didn't know what to do with myself. My brother, not so much, this would begin what would happen for the remainder of the day. Whining, crying, complaining about every single ride. I found it quite aggrevating and used the opportunity to thank God that he gave me an adventurous child who at 7 likes to do it all. And my brother who is 10 didn't want to do anything. Well my father made him go on Everest and yes he survived but that would be his last trip on that mountain. As for the rest of us, holy cow, that ride for lack of a better word is the bomb!!!! I loved it, so great in fact that upon exiting I promptly got 4 more fast passes because we knew that we wanted to do this again.
At this time we begin to head towards Dinoland because my aunt wants to ride Dinosaur. As we enter we see Primeval Whirl. Now the last time we went Antonio wasn't tall enough to ride so I really wanted to give it a try. Well I knew my aunt wouldn't and sure enough my brother almost started crying at the thought [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zcry.gif[/img]. I was going to bypass it because the wait was pretty long and than as we were walking by they changed it. So we gave it a whirl and I will never again, [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ouch.gif[/img], this ride hurts. My father and Antonio sat together so I was all alone and everytime we whirled or jerked I would be rammed up against the rubber wedge seperating the seats. It did not feel to good. My father describes this ride as being in a car accident. Well at least I can say we did it. On to Dinosaur where my brother started the waterworks [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zcry.gif[/img] as soon as he saw the big dinosaur outside of the ride. My father wasn't letting him out of this one so I did my best to calm his fears, it went something like this:
DB: Is it really daek?
Me: No, not at all!
DB: Do the dinosaurs jump out at you?
Me: Of course not, they are just standing around so that you can see them.
He, he, insert evil laugh here. It may have been very wrong at the amount of joy I received from dupping him but he was really getting on everyone's nerves and taking away from us being able to enjoy ourselves. I did have to get Antonio to go along with me. I told Antonio to wait till he was strapped in and than we could tell him the truth (ha, ha). I still probable get just a little too much pleasure out of that. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/jester.gif[/img] Well we journeyed back in time and had a blast, I do believe my brother covered his face the whole time and of course he would never believe me ever again.
We had some time for lunch before hitting Everest again. I chose Tusker House because last time we ate at Flame Tree and I wanted to try something new. We enjoyed out lunch and heading to the mountain. I must say there is nothing like going on a rollercoaster with a full stomach [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/dizzy.gif[/img] but I managed to hold everything in and I enjoyed Everest even more the second time around. My brother did not join us on this ride so I suggested we give away that extra fast pass because I knew we wouldn't use it. My father found someone to give it to and now it was off to figure out what to do. I really wanted to catch a show. I knew my father would love the bird show but I saw that last time and would have rather revisited the Lion King. So we agreed we would split up for the shows since they were at the same time. Well it figures that we didn't make it to any shows. No matter how hard I tried things just didn't fall into place.
Has that ever happened to you? The first time we went to AK everything just fell into place. Everytime we turned around there characters everywhere. We saw three shows, Tarzan, that bird show, and Lion King. It just so happened that would be walking by while they were letting people in so we got to all those shows and we got to ride everything we wanted. This time we couldn't make it into a show to save our lives and I saw no characters. It wasn't the perfect day by any means but we still had a lot of fun.
The last must see ride was Kali River Rapids and I suggested we save that for the end because I knew we would get wet. We got fastpasses but realized with 4:00 fast approaching we couldn't wait to use them so, we waited in the standby line, the longest line of the day. We had to leave by 4:30 in order to pick up my grandma so we knew we were getting crunched on time. Finally we boarded the boat and we all got a taste of that water but my aunt got soaked [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img], boy did I get a good laugh about that. Don't worry for all my evilness I would get paid back tomorrow. I decided to make a stop for ice cream so Antonio and I relaxed with some sweet stuff. I must say it felt good to just relax. The others went on the Jungle Trek and than we slowly made our way out of the park.
As we were waiting for the tram to come give us a lift I couldn't help but look wistfully at the resort buses, but knowing that that will be me next year made me feel better. We made it to the unicorn and it was time to say farewell to Disney [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/bye.gif[/img]. Though I only got a taste of what I have grown to love, I couldn't help but be happy. Up until this past May I had no intentions of even coming to Florida this year much less visit any theme parks. So even if this wasn't my ideal way to visit the world. I know that I was so lucky to even have this one day. I had waited two years to come back, so I guess I can handle waiting one year to visit again.
Well we made it to the house and settled in to our nightly routine. You guys know what it is now. Tomorrow would be our last day at a theme park. Antonio and I were headed to Islands of Adventure. My father decided not to come based on my brothers behavior that day and not wanting to ride anything. As I got some sleep I had no idea what tomorrow would bring.
Up next: Islands of Adventure, I think not!!! </font>
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07-07-2006, 03:21 PM
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#41
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Community Rank: Scout
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Songtan, South Korea
Posts: 4,681
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 6-26
Great report. I'm sorry you didn't get to see any of the shows. But, you have a wonderful attitude about the whole thing...next year!
Waiting for more...
Laura
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07-07-2006, 06:36 PM
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#42
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RED SOX NATION!!
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 6-26
Another great update Maria [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] Glad you enjoyed EE and the rest of AK [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
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Sponsored links
| | PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World
It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book!
Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95. |
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07-07-2006, 07:22 PM
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#43
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Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ohio Football Hall Of Fame
Posts: 42,304
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 6-26
Great update Maria!!! Sounds like a great time at AK!! More please!!
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07-07-2006, 08:07 PM
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#44
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Columbia, SC
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 7,014
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 6-26
Maria,
You guys hit all of the big rides - - EE twice, Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl, Kali River Rapids and the Safari! That really is a lot for one day! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
Jill
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07-07-2006, 08:38 PM
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#45
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Community Rank: Navigator 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Peoria IL
Concierge Level: 1
Posts: 6,423
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 6-26
I agree about Primeval Whirl. I always feel like I have been beat up after a ride on that one! And I also agree that EE is the bomb!
Sorry you missed the shows but glad you have a plan to catch them on a future trip.
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