Rides, Rainclouds and mishaps....Disney Style - Page 4 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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Once back at the truck, we decided to leave some of our suitcases at the hotel. The rooms weren’t ready and since we had no idea when they would be, we wanted to leave what we could so we would be able to get Lenny’s scooter out at the park. We ended up checking 10 bags - I didn’t realize I had packed that much stuff. And we still had a couple I wasn’t comfortable checking - mainly our HBA bag with all our meds and my computer bag. When we got our luggage receipt, Abby wanted to go play Mini Golf at Winter Summerland. We chose to do the winter course once there.
For us as adults, it was cute and relatively easy. Abby had a little more difficulty and when Lenny got his first hole in one early on, Abby had a meltdown. And not a little one either. This of course set the tone for the rest of the game, which for me didn’t end soon enough. We finally finished and turned in our clubs where we were all given free Stitch golf balls. We don’t play golf, so I have no idea what I’m going to do with them. As we were walking back to the truck, I called the number I was given in hopes the rooms would be ready. They were so we headed back to the hotel. Our bags weren’t in the rooms when we got there so we went to luggage services where we were told we would get them right away.
refurbished room pictures
I then went in the main building to get our HDD tickets while Lenny and Abby headed back to the rooms. Tickets in hand, I walked in the room to find Lenny and Abby ready for the pool. This surprised me. I thought for sure that Abby would want to go right to the park, but no, she wanted to swim. I let them continue on their way and I used the time to unpack some of our stuff.
2 o’clock came and I gave Abby the option to stay in the pool or go to the MK before our dinner. She chose to get out of the pool.
With Lenny and Abby out of the pool, we got ready and soon were at the TTC.
We were able to get on the ferry fairly quickly and once at the park, it only took a few minutes to get through security and the turnstiles. Our first stop was to get pictures in front of the train station. There was a Photopass Photographer there so we got a card and some pictures. He was funny and instead of your standard stand here attitude (he took that photo too) he had Abby cover her eyes while Lenny and I kissed. He told us he would count to 3, then take the picture. Instead of counting to three, he started with one, then said something to Abby. He said 2, then talked to someone else, but then 3 never came. We were wondering what was going on when he said something like "Okay, break it up already. I took the picture long ago." We laughed and then he had us kiss Abby’s cheeks at the same time. He was nice and it was a fun way to start. Next stop was City Hall for a new GAC for Lenny and Abby. It was just as well we had to do that. The afternoon parade was at that section of Main Street so there was no where to go.
Once the parade was gone, we had a few more photos taken on Main Street then headed to Fantasyland for Abby’s first ride - the carousel.
For being mid afternoon, I was surprised that the line for the carousel was so short. We didn’t wait long and in no time we were searching for a horse. When Abby found one and started to climb up, the adult standing next to it told Abby she couldn’t ride, that she (the adult) was going to ride it. I thought to myself if that’s true, why aren’t you on it already?? Not too happy with that woman (and not wanting to be near her) I told Abby we’d find her a different horse. When the CM saw us still looking, I told her what had happened. She apologized even though it wasn’t her fault and helped me to find another horse for Abby. From the carousel, we went to Small World, still one of Abby’s favorite rides. After SW, it was time to head back to the monorail as we had a 5:05 PM ADR for Chef Mickey’s. Abby wanted no part in leaving the MK until I told her it was a character meal. I asked if she wanted to see characters and she said no. But I could see some excitement from her so I said let’s go and give it a try.
Soon we were at the Contemporary and instead of checking in, Lenny stopped to get some pressed pennies. Once we finally checked in we had our pictures taken. Knowing I could add them to my photopass, I planned on buying them no matter how it came out. Pictures taken, we didn’t have to wait long before we were seated which was a good thing. We were all getting a little grumpy from being so hungry (we had skipped lunch). We were no sooner seated when Goofy came over. It happened so fast that I never thought to take out Abby’s autograph book when I grabbed the camera. After seeing Goofy, even though she was a little shy with him, Abby kept a lookout for the rest of the characters. She was excited to see them and just couldn’t sit still. As for the buffet, I don’t remember what any of us ate, but I do remember we really enjoyed it all - the plates were always taken away empty. Between Abby’s excitement, the characters and the meal, we all walked away with full bellies and big smiles. It was a great 1st meal that I truly enjoyed and would do again.
After dinner we went back to the MK where we had a few more photos taken before heading to Peter Pan. Abby then wanted to meet Ariel. Once we got up to meet her, autograph book in hand this time, Abby handed her the book and I took a few photos. Right before Abby was going to get up, a photopass photographer showed up and snapped a couple of quick pictures as well. Next came Pooh, then Dumbo and Small World again. Abby then wanted to see the parade. We were going to try and watch it from Main Street but it was just way too congested. We couldn’t even make it all the way over the bridge by Cosmic Rays so we turned around with the intention of going to Frontierland (the only spot I ever watched the night parade from growing up). Even though it had only been a couple of minutes, the path to behind the castle was already roped off so we had to take the long way through Fantasyland by way of Cosmic Rays and the tea cups to get to Frontierland. Once we got there, we found some really good spots right by the ropes that had been set up. I then ran to Pecos Bills for a soda and I got out just in time to cross back over to where Lenny and Abby were waiting.
Without comparing this years video to the one made 2 years ago, I don’t know all the changes that were made but 2 do come to mind right away. Those "Spectromen" at the beginning look way better now that the glowing faces are gone. And the volcano from "Night on Bald Mountain" opens up which I thought was cool. I’m not positive but it also seemed like there was more recognizeable music (to me at least) for each segment of the parade unlike 2 years ago when I didn’t seem to recognize much of it. I also think a few of the floats have either been changed or new ones added. Until I compare the videos, I won’t know. What I do know is this. I am so glad Abby wanted to stop and see the parade this year. IMO, it was way more enjoyable this year than last and I’m glad we saw it before it stopped running due to the bridge repair. Lenny was able to video it for Abby too which made her happy. After Spectro, Abby wanted to see the fireworks. Mom had told me they were good in Fantasyland so we headed there. Abby saw Peter Pan and she just had to ride it. Since we had time, we rode it, then went over by the carousel to watch the fireworks.
It was definitely different watching them from Fantasyland. We felt like we were in the middle of them. I found it kind of disorienting looking all around trying to see everything. From a distance is much better, and more enjoyable, because you can get the whole effect, not just portions of it. After Wishes, we headed, with the rest of the crowd, to the front of the park to catch the monorail. I wasn’t paying attention and we ended up at the resort monorail by mistake. It didn’t make much difference to me at least because I knew that one would stop at the TTC as well. Once back at the truck, it only took a few minutes to get the scooter loaded up and be on our way back. It had been a long day for all of us so we couldn’t wait to get to the hotel and crash for the night.
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What a wonderful first day Darlene...you got some great pictures as well. Can't wait to hear more and hopefully sleeping in a comfortable bed will let you get a good night's sleep...
I'm all caught up again - and what a great first day! How awesome that the train got there early and you certainly managed to pack a lot into your day.
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You definitely ate at one of our favorites-Chef Mickey's-we always eat there on arrival day. Nothing says being at Disney better than those to-die-for garlic mashed potatoes!!
I love your pictures but especially the underwater ones!! I'm going to have to get an underwater camera myself and take some pics of the kids. Those are just too neat!!
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How awesome that the train got there early and you certainly managed to pack a lot into your day. 
I've been jingled! Thanks Rella!
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