Four if By Land, Six if By Sea Updated 3/29 COMPLETE - Page 36 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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
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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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So cute! I can just imagine both your girls someday on the CP and playing the part of a princess.
__________________
ºOº ~*~
Oct '99: CSR ~ May '02: CR ~ Nov '04: SOG ~ May '06: SOG ~ Dec '07: Solo @ Pop ~ May '08: Pop w/friends ~ Oct '08: SOG ~ Dec '09: Pop w/LeAnn ~ Sept '10: Solo @ Pop ~ Spring '11: AKL ~ Jan '12: Pop for 1/2 Marathon ~ Sept '12: 1st trip for DL 1/2 Marathon? ~ Feb '13: Pop w/pals? ~ Mar '13: Tokyo Disney w/PP's?
What a great way for the girls to spend their last night...riding their favorites and having some one on one time with mom and dad. Love the pictures of Maddie with the princesses. I am sad to know that this report is almost over Jill you need to hurry and get another trip planned soon...we will need a Jill PTR fix.
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What a great day at HS and MK. Absolutely love all the pics! Hate to hear this TR is coming to an end, but there is always the next one on the horizon! Thanks so much for letting us come along with you all.
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.
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.
What a fun afternoon you all had together at DHS!!! I'm glad Tom was able to get his cards back - that would have been a bummer if he had lost them Those pics of Maddie with Sleeping Beauty are just so adorable. Your story of MD talking to herself on the walk back really cracked me up. When my girls were younger they would do the same thing, and if we looked at them, they were get all embarrassed and stop doing whatever they were doing! They have such great imaginations at that age. So sad your trip is coming to an end.
Our vacation was apparently catching up with us because no one stirred until 8:30 this morning. Of course, Maddie and I were the ones stirring so we were up and off to the lounge in no time. I drank my last café mocha and ate my last cinnamon roll with a heavy heart because today was our last day.
As Maddie and I walked back to the room, she wanted to know what park we would be going to today. It literally broke my heart to tell her that there would be no parks today because we would be leaving this morning. She started , but I couldn’t really blame her since I wanted to cry too.
Once back at the room, Maddie kept insisting that we go to a park. The Disney loving little girl in me was trying to figure out a way that we could spend a couple of hours at Epcot and still get home at a reasonable time, but the mature mother in me finally agreed with Thom that we needed to leave this morning so that the girls could get a good night of sleep before going back to school the next day. Being an adult just really tanks sometimes.
While I finished getting ready, Thom took both girls to the lounge for breakfast. Maddie was already declaring that she was hungry again. Once they returned, we finished packing the bags and then decided that we couldn’t prolong the inevitable. Since we didn’t have a lot of luggage, we decided to take it ourselves.
Once the valet brought our car, we got the bags loaded, the girls situated and then we were off. We did have one stop to make since we discovered that we received four free lithographs with our AP room. We found DTD with relative ease and Thom dropped me off at WoD. I was in and out with the lithographs within about two minutes, but I wish that we had parked so that everyone could have come inside the store. We hadn’t been to WoD in years and I knew that the girls would both just freak out seeing all of the “stuff.” Oh well, we have lots of days in June to do just that.
Thom picked me up and we oohed and aahed over the lithographs before we got on the road for real. It was 10:15 by this time and we arrived home exactly at 5:15. As much as I love eeking out every second of time possible at Disney, it was nice to get the girls home at a reasonable hour. It made the transition back to the real world the next morning a lot easier . . . that is until Maddie asked what park we were going to that day!
Continued in next post with final thoughts . . .
__________________
Sometimes words aren't needed . . .
Last edited by Jillybean; 03-30-2009 at 11:04 AM..
The “land” portion of our trip ended up being another “fly by the seat of our pants” kind of trip. Besides a general idea of what parks we were going to each day, we didn’t have one single other plan . . . no ADR’s . . . no nothing. And it was wonderful!
I had originally booked BW concierge for us because I had read such glowing reviews about it. Well, now I’m pretty sure that the people who raved about BW concierge did not have young children. Right away, I noticed that the BW lounge was not as kid friendly as the other lounges when I saw that it did not have a children’s area. The CM’s never spoke to our children and, frankly, almost showed disdain for them. Actually, they really weren’t friendly to anyone.
During our entire stay, one CM in the lounge spoke to us in pleasant tones.
About five or six people in the lounge one evening were drinking white wine, so the bottle emptied quickly. I just kind of sat back and watched how the CM’s would respond to this. Several of them were standing around when a guest finally had to let them know that the bottle was empty. Of course, when a CM replaced it, several people helped themselves and it was quickly half empty again. I literally watched as the same CM who had replaced the bottle walked by again, picked up the half empty bottle and rolled his eyes at another CM. That pretty much summed up the attitude of most of the CM’s working in the lounge.
We’ll stay at the BW villas again, but I can’t see us ever spending the money again to stay club level at the Inn again. The room was beautiful and the lounge itself was nice, but I just didn’t feel comfortable there.
We did eat well in the lounge which helped out our food budget tremendously. The only food that we bought was lunch in the parks each day and a few snacks here and there. CHH was new for us and we all absolutely loved it - - the food and the view! Although I had tried Y&Y CS for the first time in December, this was new for the rest of the family. The price and the quality of the food for a CS restaurant just cannot be beat - - especially when you throw in a Yak Attack. Finally, we were able to add in one old favorite, Sci Fi, which was actually requested by the youngest member of our family. The onion rings, the chili and the ginormous margarita are fast becoming one of my favorite meals (odd as it may be ) at Disney. Watching the pure delight that this restaurant brings my daughters (and yes, Thom too ) is probably the real reason why it holds a special place in my heart.
Although the food in the lounge was just fine each evening, I was pretty relieved that my parents had not come with us after the fact. You see, my dad does not eat chicken, so he would have been living off of cheese and crackers since chicken was on the menu almost every evening. He does enjoy cheese and crackers, but I would have preferred for him to have more of a gastronomic experience.
The weather was a bit chilly for the first two nights of our trip, but the days were absolutely gorgeous with not a cloud in the sky. If I had to vote for chilly or rainy, I would go for chilly every single time. I think that the beautiful blue skies had a little something to do with us having such a wonderful time in the parks - - that and the fact that the parks weren’t terribly crowded (despite the 4/3 offer).
Maddie’s “on again” relationship with the characters makes for such sweet memories. Seeing her bury her entire body inside of a big furry creature’s hug or chatter away to a princess quite honestly makes me want to find a corner somewhere and cry big ole proud Momma tears. And then watching how her enthusiasm was rubbing off on her big sister . . . well, it just made me so darned happy that I had waited to marry this man and have these children.
And even though this was Mary Devall’s 18th trip, she still managed to find new adventures. This was the trip where she finally conquered all of the mountains. I don’t think she’ll be begging to ride SM over and over again the way she does with the other mountains, but it might grow on her eventually now that she’s braved that first ride. Another first for her was the single rider line which I believe was just as exciting for her as conquering a new ride. I’m pretty sure that it was a “rite of passage” moment for her . . . kind of like when she got her training wheels off of her bike a couple of weeks ago.
As much as I absolutely loved our cruise, it will never replace my first love of Disney World. Most experts suggest that you begin a combo trip with the Disney World portion, so that you can regroup and relax on the cruise portion (which is probably why you never hear of a sea/land package; only a land/sea ). We do it in the opposite way though because I like to save the best for last!
I guess when I really think about it what I love most about these little trips of ours is that we’re together. Even when we split up for an hour or so to let the girls ride their “favorites,” neither Thom nor I really care if we end up riding Space Mountain or TTA. Just watching those little faces light up is what really matters.
Mary Devall confirmed everything that I have just written when, out of the blue, she told me yesterday “Mommy, the Disney boat isn’t about family.” Now that is harsh, but I knew that she didn’t mean it the way it sounded. She quickly followed up with “We didn’t do a lot together as a family.”
Thom and I were so busy making sure that they were able to experience everything that the kids’ club offered that we forgot that sometimes they just want to be with us. After three days of non-stop togetherness at Disney World, I guess the few things that we actually did as a family on the cruise looked a little lame. Although the next cruise is only a gleam in our eyes at this point, Mary Devall and I discussed in depth how “next time” she could choose exactly which activities she wanted to do at the kids club and then what activities we would do together as a family.
Our time together at Disney World is one of the most precious gifts that I could ever have, but to realize that my daughter thinks so too . . . well, that might just be the greatest gift of all.
Thank you for reading this very long tr! It's been so much fun reliving our trip and it makes me so look forward to our next one in June! Until then . . .
__________________
Sometimes words aren't needed . . .
Last edited by Jillybean; 03-30-2009 at 11:23 AM..
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Jill you need to hurry and get another trip planned soon...we will need a Jill PTR fix.
She looks so happy!! 
More please!! 
ANGIE
Those pics of Maddie with Sleeping Beauty are just so adorable. Your story of MD talking to herself on the walk back really cracked me up. When my girls were younger they would do the same thing, and if we looked at them, they were get all embarrassed and stop doing whatever they were doing! They have such great imaginations at that age. So sad your trip is coming to an end.
Of course, Maddie and I were the ones stirring so we were up and off to the lounge in no time. I drank my last café mocha and ate my last cinnamon roll with a heavy heart because today was our last day. 
, but I couldn’t really blame her since I wanted to cry too. 
Right away, I noticed that the BW lounge was not as kid friendly as the other lounges when I saw that it did not have a children’s area. The CM’s never spoke to our children and, frankly, almost showed disdain for them. 
Actually, they really weren’t friendly to anyone. 
Finally, we were able to add in one old favorite, Sci Fi, which was actually requested by the youngest member of our family. The onion rings, the chili and the ginormous margarita are fast becoming one of my favorite meals (odd as it may be 
I don’t think she’ll be begging to ride SM over and over again the way she does with the other mountains, but it might grow on her eventually now that she’s braved that first ride. Another first for her was the single rider line which I believe was just as exciting for her as conquering a new ride. I’m pretty sure that it was a “rite of passage” moment for her . . . kind of like when she got her training wheels off of her bike a couple of weeks ago. 
After three days of non-stop togetherness at Disney World, I guess the few things that we actually did as a family on the cruise looked a little lame. 
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