Feelin’ Groovy: A Cam and Luke TR Completed 7/31 - Page 37 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Your day at Epcot sound wonderful and the meal fabulous. My son Evan loves those sorts of places so I'm sure that will be on our list during our next visit
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.
I was checking the Weather Channel online and heard there was a tornado in Louisa and after a Google search I was glad to hear it's about 300 miles or so from you! I don't even need to say anything more!
Thankfully, we only ever had a tornado watch. It rained heavily but nothing was terribly bad here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wheezie
I loved your pics of Teppan Edo and your review. We have ADRS there for our upcoming trip, and we are so excited.
I really hope Joy and Sadness stick around. My dd loves Sadness. Your moment of grief brought tears to my eyes as well. It just comes from out of nowhere sometimes, doesn't it?
I look forward to reading more, though I'm sorry you're getting sick at this point in the trip.
You are absolutely right. I was super excited to meet Joy and Sadness, and then the photo from the movie made me miss Stefanie.
At this point in the trip it was a just tickle every now and then in my throat, so I didn't actually feel sick.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdobereiner
Finally caught up!
Ah, Teppan Edo is one of our very favorites! I *think* they either give you TIW or AP discount for lunch on weekdays but it's been quite a while since we've asked about it (since we are never over there dining for lunch on a weekday!) so I'm not sure if that's still the case. I do, however, really miss the mushrooms and quantity of zucchini that used to be included with the vegetables- now there are no mushrooms and less zucchini since they added the cabbage and carrots But the Yum Yum sauce more than makes up for it!
Can't wait for your next update!
Mel
There is a DVC discount at lunch for Teppan Edo, and because of that we have done lunch here before. But I totally forgot this time. I would like the mushrooms to return, too, though I'm fine with less zucchini.
I FINALLY got all caught up!! It's been an interesting week and weekend. But I'm back on track....sort of!
First I'm sending lots of to Luke. I hope he is doing well.
I really enjoyed your pictures from you DHS day, especially the Star Wars pictures. I always have to laugh at this. During one of our trips, I told Travis we needed to go to Disney during May because of Stars Wars weekend. (He and Terry are huge fans of Star Wars!!) Travis just looked at me and said, "Mom, why didn't you tell me there was a Star Wars Weekend? We could be going then. You know how much I like Star Wars. Ummm....I'm sorry? I thought you knew!!" We decided we were going to make it a quick future trip. However, life had other plans.....
Anyway....
Terry and I went to Teppan Edo this trip. We LOVED it!!! We had a young female chef and she was so funny! Since Terry has to have Gluten Free food, the manager came over and went over the menu with him. He asked me how she knew he had to have Gluten Free and I told when I made the ADR's I put that info in the reservations!! He enjoyed his meal and this will be a place we return to on our next trip!!
I enjoy all your pictures of the topiaries!! I love how they make them look so real!!
I'm going to put up a Luke update shortly. The new Launch Bay and some of the other Star Wars additions are just so cool at WDW, and no need now to wait for special weekend events.
I've decided that Teppan Edo probably needs to be on every other trip for us.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommapants
Your day at Epcot sound wonderful and the meal fabulous. My son Evan loves those sorts of places so I'm sure that will be on our list during our next visit
Thanks! The Disney touches add to the Japanese grill theme of Teppan Edo.
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.
Luke Update: Luke had his follow up visit with the urologist today, and it was not good news. Very little damage was done to this huge kidney stone that the doctor now describes as diamond hard. So we return to the hospital tomorrow for a laser procedure. I'm really hoping this works as the next course of action would actually be surgery going from his back into the kidney. We really don't want to go there. So pixies that the doctor is able to break up, remove, and rid Luke of this kidney stone tomorrow.
We're going out to eat tonight with an aunt and uncle from Ohio, so if I have time when we get back home, I'll post the next update.
Oh my...Sending many more [emoji14]ixies for Luke. That must be the stone of all stones to be virtually unchanged from the initial procedure. Hopefully the laser will do the job.
Thank you all for the pixies! Hopefully, the pixies will finally help this pesky kidney stone to break apart and go away.
NEXT: Peeking at Pandora
Day 7 Saturday, May 14, 2016 Part 1
We had a rather lazy start to the day even though we would be meeting Pam and Charlotte again, though this time we’d be at Animal Kingdom, a short bus ride away. Luke also had a covert mission to accomplish prior to meeting them. At Animal Kingdom Luke directed me into Rainforest Café because he had heard that from the back of the restaurant it was possible to see the construction on Pandora. We could see some of the upper level work, including workers. Luke even captured a bit of this with my camera.
After about 10 minutes of snooping, we exited the restaurant area through a single gate that had no other guests but us. Cool! Smoothest entry ever into any park. Pam had sent a text that they were in a bit of traffic, so we started up toward Discovery Island for a photo op. But within seconds I got a text that Pam and Charlotte were in the parking lot, so we made it no further until they joined us.
Our first stop would be Riverside Depot/Disney Outfitters/Island Mercantile. I was on a mission to find the Animal Kingdom dish towels, which the Shop Parks app told me were there. Luke had also been eying a BB8 pouch. His idea was to use the BB8 charm on the pouch as his key chain. That is exactly what he did when we got home.
As we came out at the end of Disney Outfitters, we stopped by the Tamarin monkeys to see if they were active again. Boy, were they! Pam and I almost couldn’t pull ourselves away, taking photo after photo. They are just soooo cute!
I also wanted the 2016 long sleeve t-shirt, which showed up in the Island Mercantile. So we headed there next and picked up the t-shirt. I was carrying my Kilimanjaro Safaris backpack that I’ve had for years, so I just stuffed everything in the bag rather than shipping to the resort. It was all small and light so it was groovy.
Someone (maybe all of us—I don’t remember) needed a restroom break and we were near Pizzafari when we came out of Island Mercantile. Then since it was a 11:45 the smell of pizza led to lunch. No food photos, but I had Pepperoni Pizza (an individual pizza freshly baked with tangy tomato sauce, mozzarella and spicy pepperoni slices – Love Disney’s description). The pizzas are now served with Antipasto Salads. Pam had a Mediterranean Pizza (topped with Alfredo sauce, mozzarella, parmesan, pesto, roasted tomato, roasted red pepper, kalamata olive, arugula, and red onion. Hers also came with the Antipasto salad. Luke didn’t want pizza, so he picked the Heart of Romaine Salad with Chicken, which had a fresh heart of romaine with herb-marinated chicken breast, crunchy croutons, and a sharp Caesar dressing. Charlotte wanted the kid’s Macaroni & Cheese with grapes and carrot sticks and water. Fortunately, we were able to get it for her. Charlotte choose the “Upside Down” room for our dining experience. We finished and got up just in time for a very nice family to have a table. This worked in our favor because Pam forgot her camera on the chair. She didn’t realize it until we were almost to Creature Comforts/Starbucks. She ran back and they were holding it, knowing as soon as one of us noticed it missing we’d be back. So sweet and very groovy!
Finally, we were ready to conquer some attractions, beginning with the Wildlife Express. We had a few minutes before the train was due to arrive, so I used that time to get some photos of a nearly empty train station, something that has never happened to us before. I kept telling Luke how much it reminded me of the old Facebook game, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Explorers as one of the scenes was set up like the train station. I still miss that game as it truly educated me about so many animals.
Of course, the Wildlife Express drops us off at Rafiki Planet Watch where we used the restrooms and then wandered the center for about 10 minutes. No one was interested in the petting zoo, so we leisurely walked back to the train station for our return trip to Africa.
I hope the laser treatment works so Luke doesn't have to go thru surgery. I believe the mystery picture of the crab was taken in Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge. (Rough guess). You were very lucky with the tamarins. I do not think I have ever seen them so active.
__________________
Last edited by rhinohunter; 07-06-2016 at 12:47 AM..