DN's first trip to Walt Disney World COMPLETED **Updated 6/29** - Page 3 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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.
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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!
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Day 2 – Monday
This morning we had an early ADR at MGM’s Hollywood and Vine with the Playhouse Disney pals. Mom and I were very worried about how Kevin’s body would react to having to get up at 630am eastern – his body would think it was 330am…
He did ok – probably better than the adults did. He wasn’t entirely sure what we were doing or why. We tried to explain that we were going to a place called MGM – which was part of Disney World and we would have breakfast with friends from Disney Playhouse like JoJo and Goliath and Little Einstiens. Kevin wasn’t too sure what all this meant, but we lined up – went through the turnstile (Kevin even put his own ticket in – he was very big on doing that). We went to Oscar’s and got a stroller and an ECV for the male members of the family before heading down the street towards the big hat and were guided to Hollywood and Vine.
We were quickly seated and made the rounds of the buffet while waiting for the characters to visit us. This was Kevin’s first exposure to the characters. I am not sure if he understood in the beginning. We got some breakfast and the characters came around. We (Kevin and I) went and danced with JoJo and Goliath (which my parents were much too happy to take lots of photos of! ).
After a great breakfast – we headed to meet Lightening McQueen and Mater – two of Kevin’s favorite characters. You can see that Grandpa got into the scene as well.
After meeting Mater and LM – we headed back toward the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. I think this was Kevin’s favorite activity the entire we were at WDW!! He could have stayed there all day if we’d let him.
After we came out of the playground – we saw the Power Rangers. Kevin’s favorite ranger is the Green Ranger – so we waited and struck a pose (not exactly sure what Kevin is posing… but he’s posing).
After the morning - we saw the Light Motors Action Show - which I thought Kevin would LOVE -- well.... this was Kevin's general opinion of his Aunt's ideas... One thing I noted -- when the girl was talking to Herbie about all the "pretty actresses" - while the script used to say "like Linday Lohan" now it doesn't. They also cut the cutting Herbie in two parts thing....
We decided we might need a swim break. It was getting really warm and everyone was tired. On our way out the gates – we ran it Donald and Daisy!! Kevin was so excited (Donald is his dad’s favorite character).
We left MGM and headed back to SOG for a swim and rest break. I think that this was a wonderful idea. We went to the pool (this I think was Kevin’s 2nd favorite activity at WDW) and grabbed some lunch. I had really hoped that Kevin would be convinced to take a nap… which I NEVER succeeded at. He never took a nap.
After an afternoon break, we headed back to MGM for our Fantasmic dinner reservation at Mama Melroses. It was a very enjoyable dinner and we finished with dinner with ice cream for Kevin, a lemon crème for mom and I can not remember what dad and I had for dessert. I did notice that people were being turned away at dinner without ADRs.
We did the behind the scenes tour - which seems to be a shadow of it's old self - and were not willing to wait in a 50 minute line for the Great Movie Ride. We took a zip of a trip to Endor (and for once I did not get sick!!!) When it was time to see Fantasmic, we headed to Oscar’s and shuttled our way up the long and winding hill (while racing grandpa with Kevin’s stroller) to get our seats in the reserved section for Fantasmic. Kevin had some money from his mom, his grandma and me – and one of the things he wanted was a “string thing” – a glow in the dark string… so he bought one (after seeing many children playing with them) and played with it throughout the evening.
Fantasmic was wonderful – as usual – and by the time it was over – Kevin was asleep. I carried him to his stroller and we ended up at the car with a very sleepy boy on our hands. Of course – it never fails that if a child falls asleep in the car – he won’t sleep for HOURS after returning to the hotel room. I think that he finally fell asleep about 1130pm…
Next – Day 2 – we finally make it to the Magic Kingdom!!
What a great day at MGM Terri! It must be cool to enter the park with hardly anyone there Great pictures of Kevin with all the characters. Looks like he had a great time! Sorry he wasn't thrilled with LMA. It is very loud
What a great dinner! I hope Kevin made it thru most of Fantasmic before falling asleep! Can't wait to hear about MK
Looks like Kevin is really enjoying himself!! Nothing like seeing Disney through the eyes of a child.
Fantasmic is one of my favorite shows. Your pics are wonderful.
Your pictures of Fantasmic have me excited all over again! I can't wait to see it again in a couple of months. Poor Kevin, it sounds like the jet-lag finally hit him pretty hard. But you are doing tons of fun things with him...what a wonderful bonding experience for the two of you!
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Saturday, October 9, 2014 - Kaitlyn and I before the Happy Haunted 5K at ESPN Wide World of Sports
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MK day!!
Today was our day to head to the Magic Kingdom! We woke up early, which, in itself was amazing given Kevin’s late night, and Pacific timezone body chemistry. We planned an early morning, an after lunch break and a character dinner, parade and fireworks.
During morning discussions about breakfast – we decided to hop over to the Polynesian and see if we could get a table at the Kona Café – which we successfully did and had a really nice breakfast. I didn’t take photos of what most of us ate – but I did take pictures of Kevin’s “Mickey pancakes” that he did not eat. His body being on Pacific time was still making meal time interesting.
After riding the monorail to the MK and getting the stroller – we headed to the Indy Speedway. This was Kevin’s first MUST DO!! He and I hopped in line and were racing around Tomorrowland in a very short time. I videoed the entire ride – but it’s too large to post on YouTube. Kevin kept saying to me “I’m driving”…. To which I said – "yes you are". Kevin driving on the Indy Speedway
After our ride – we headed back into ToonTown to see Mickey and the gang and ride Goofy’s barnstormer. I was hoping that this would be Kevin’s introduction to the wonderful world of Disney roller coasters. He and I lined up and were rather quickly seated in our aeroplane. As most of you know – I adore roller coasters. It seems that my nephew does not.
Kevin and I are under the "wing" of the aeroplane (behing the bush)
After our ride, I was informed that he didn’t want to do that again (mental note to self – cancel plans for BTMRR and Splash). Following in the trend we found the day before – we found the PLAYGROUND in TT and had to play on Donald’s boat – the Miss Daisy.
Kevin playing on Pooh's playground We finally convinced Kev we needed a break from the playground and wanted to take a ride on the train. Now Kevin didn’t want to take a ride on the train. He thought this would be a rollercoaster… We had to convince him that grandma would not ride rollercoasters and so she wouldn’t want to get on the train if it was a rollercoaster. SO – we took a lap around the park on the Walt Disney Railroad and then returned to TT to claim the stroller and get grandpa’s scooter and head out to Fantasyland. We had decided we wanted to take a ride with Pooh, and (GASP) play on Pooh’s playground (told you this kid had a thing for playgrounds). After our ride with Pooh (and based on wait times elsewhere) we decided to take a ride on one of grandma’s favorite rides (and Aunt T’s too) – “It’s a Small World”. We were getting into line and almost had a major incident and the entrance. The line was backed up and my dad bumped into a gentleman’s foot with the ECV – this guy went BALLISTIC (very un-Disney) – my dad apologized, and the CM came and let us – and another family with an autistic child – into the exit so we could access the boarding area for guests with special needs. We took a ride on the Happiest Cruise that Ever Sailed…. And Kevin even liked it.
After Small World - we decided we need lunch and opted for Comic Rays. Well - this left SO much to be desired. UGH is the best I can come up with. the chicken sandwich was dry - mom and dad said their wrap and salads were ok - and I ended up helping Kevin eat his chicken nuggets and grapes.
After we finished with lunch - I ran SOMEWHERE that I can not remember at the moment - but mom, dad and Kevin headed to the park entrance and I went to catch up with them. I thought I might have passed them - and so I went and found a spot to watch the Family Fun Days Parade with Horace, Daisy, Chip and Dale.
Since I could not find mom and dad - I headed under the train station - where I found them sitting under a tree at the park entrance chatting with a CM who had given Kev a sticker - while promising that his Aunt was not lost. We left the park via monorail, back to the Polynesian and then back to SOG for an afternoon break.
NEXT – Another afternoon break, LTT dinner and Spectromagic.
Wow! I've missed a few updates. Kevin is so cute. Love that you all are having such a good time. It's interesting how much he likes the playgrounds. The Mickey pancake is adorable. Can adults order that? Hurry back with more.
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Great pictures of Kevin with all the characters. Looks like he had a great time! Sorry he wasn't thrilled with LMA. It is very loud 
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