My first solo adventure - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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.
I the burgers at Sci-Fi! Sounds like you really enjoyed your meal, too! It's neat sometimes to just wander around the parks, discovering stuff you've never seen before.
Day Three, Monday November 2, part one – KTTK tour
Again, the wake up call was just dead silence. I decided that was enough of that and just used the alarm clock radio from this point on. After showering, I drove over to OPR for my breakfast of Mickey waffles, bacon, and chocolate milk and then headed on to MK for my tour!! I had been so excited about this tour for such a long time. It was kind of surreal now that I was actually doing it! And we got lucky with some more great weather. It was a little cloudy but temperatures were still nice and warm – still shorts and sandals weather! I packed my windbreaker just in case I’d need it later in the day since I wasn’t planning on coming back to my room all day long. I checked in for my tour and was handed a menu for lunch from Columbia Harbor House. Knowing in advance that we would be eating there, I had already decided on the BLT salad, so I answered immediately without looking at the menu. The CM’s were a little taken back and said that was the fastest anyone had ever made their decision! Yep, just a Disney dork here, thanks. I was a full 30 minutes early so I wandered up Main street to get some people-less photos and admire the window displays in the storefronts.
When it was time for the tour, we gathered around the little garden area next to City Hall. We were a group of about 15 or so of us, and geared up with our little headsets. Thank goodness they have these things as there is no way I would have ever been able to hear what our guide was saying! For the life of me, I can’t remember our guide’s name, but he was really good. He started in custodial and slowly worked his way up!
We all introduced ourselves and then we started to slowly walk up Main St. I won’t give away all the details so those of you who have yet to do this tour can (and will) still be surprised by a few things. One obvious thing was the windows on Main Street. He pointed out a handful of those and a few other tidbits along the way.
By the time we reached the Ice Cream shop, it was 9am and the gates were open. That’s a funny sight to see!! All was calm and peaceful along Main St., and then suddenly the floodgates opened and this mass crowd was moving along pretty quickly up the street. Some even running! They were off to the races, I guess. I found it amusing, but probably more amusing was our group of 15 attempting to cross the street! We made it, unharmed, and we headed over for a sitting break at some tables near Aloha Isle. Whew!!
Like I said, I don’t want to give much away, but I think it’s safe to say which rides we got to experience. We had a private boat on Jungle Cruise where our guide did the talking instead of the skipper (bummer, but we learned some cool stuff!), and we took a ride in the doom buggies at Haunted Mansion. I’m pretty sure those are standard fare for this tour so I don’t think I gave up much there! We also got a little behind the scenes bit behind Splash Mountain. The one thing I’d like to say about this was that even when Woody was done “on-stage” with his meet and greet, he took the time to hang out with our group and played right along with our tour guide as he was talking and it was hilarious! As you’re all probably aware though, no pictures backstage. Sorry!
Lunch was also private in the upstairs room of CHH and then it was off to the utilidors. That was really cool to see, maybe even more so because this was right at the time they were switching all the décor/supplies from Halloween to Christmas. So we saw lots of that stuff lined up in the hallways ready to go upstairs!! Very neat, and highly recommend!! With the tour over, we turned in our gear and all said goodbye. I ended up wandering around these 3 young guys from California who all used to work at DL at some point. One of them even used to give the tour at DL! Two of them had on D23 shirts so I knew they were serious about their Disney addiction! So I said goodbye to them and headed over to Animal Kingdom.
Coming up: A yeti, a hedgehog, and a duck.
__________________
Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
Last edited by disney_duke; 07-12-2010 at 07:07 PM..
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.
I want to do this tour when we don't have a first timer with us or a special event going on. Maybe I'll sneak in a weekend somewhere . . . Sounds like you enjoyed it!
Sounds like you had a wonderful time on the KTTK tour. Sorry you only got dead air from you wake up call. That sucks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MickeyMAC
Glad you had a great time on the tour.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wayneava81
Great update! I would love to do the tour someday!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
KTTK is still our favorite tour ever! Glad you enjoyed it, too!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Glad you enjoyed the tour - isn't it wonderful?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovedisney247
I want to do this tour when we don't have a first timer with us or a special event going on. Maybe I'll sneak in a weekend somewhere . . . Sounds like you enjoyed it!
Now that I finally figured out the multi-quote......
thanks everyone for keeping up with my lengthy details!! The more I studied my pictures, the more I remembered from the trip! Anyway, yes, this tour is definitely worth the time and cost. I really recommend it for any Disney nut, and I think most of us on these boards qualify!!!!
More to come!
__________________
Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
Day Three, Monday November 2, part 2 – new attractions…… to me anyway!
Earlier, I had planned out this day to the minute and knew I had about 3 ˝ hours at Animal Kingdom before heading over to Epcot for some F&WF appetizers. After arriving at AK, I took some time to explore the Oasis. It's so tranquil and we usually just rush through here! After seeing a few animals, I headed straight for Mt. Everest. Habit telling me to get a FP, I did that right away and then I remembered – duh – single rider line!! So I wandered over there and got on almost immediately.
I tried to pay attention to the ride this time because for the life of me, I could never remember when exactly you stop going backwards and go forwards again! Problem solved (and Yeti still in “B” mode), I was just in time to see Finding Nemo - the Musical, for the first time ever! That is one amazing show! I was actually surprised at how good it was, but I was really missing my kids after that. I thought it best to take my mind off of them and go for one more spin on Everest!
Moving right along, another thing I had never done here was the Pangani Exploration Trail. After wandering over there, the Safari had about a 5 minute wait, so I took my 2 week safari and then explored the trail upon my return. This is such a neat little area!! I had no idea there was that much more to see than just the gorillas. I felt like such a schmuck for not doing this over the past 10 years! And inside the little building, I even saw a hedgehog! Now to most people, this is just another spiky animal. But my DD8 absolutely loves her Webkinz hedgehog and had never seen one in person. So I took a photo and could not wait until March when she could see it here!! Exciting stuff, I’m tellin’ ya.
It was just about 15 minutes from parade time and this was yet another thing I had never seen here. At first I headed along the parade route and stopped for a nice front row spot in Africa. Then I noticed that there were not many people lined up for this parade and thought it might be a better idea to be closer to the exit so I can scoot over to Epcot as soon as the parade was over. So I wandered up towards the front and still managed to score a front row spot. As the parade got closer and we could hear the music, I gave up my spot to some little kids who couldn’t see behind the crowd and they were thrilled.
This is such a cute parade!! The floats are homemade-looking and lots of fun. I was so happy to see so many characters up close too.
Maybe it’s just where I was standing, but I swear this parade is much more personal than the MK parade. Each character had their own float and I think that’s a great idea! I just about lost it when Donald came by, all waving and smiling at that duck! I just know he saw me and waved right at me!!! I'm sure I looked just like a kid in a candy store!!!
I even got a nice close up of Mickey too.
What a great way to end the parade, and a great parade itself!! I’m definitely planning on seeing this one again! I can't believe I've missed it all these years.
Coming up: a quick bite to eat around the world
__________________
Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
About This Page: 
the burgers at Sci-Fi! Sounds like you really enjoyed your meal, too! It's neat sometimes to just wander around the parks, discovering stuff you've never seen before. 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Waiting to eat with Goofy - DLR May 2010
I decided that was enough of that and just used the alarm clock radio from this point on. After showering, I drove over to OPR for my breakfast of Mickey waffles, bacon, and chocolate milk 
and then headed on to MK for my tour!! I had been so excited about this tour for such a long time. It was kind of surreal now that I was actually doing it! And we got lucky with some more great weather. 
It was a little cloudy but temperatures were still nice and warm – still shorts and sandals weather! I packed my windbreaker just in case I’d need it later in the day since I wasn’t planning on coming back to my room all day long. I checked in for my tour and was handed a menu for lunch from Columbia Harbor House. Knowing in advance that we would be eating there, I had already decided on the BLT salad, so I answered immediately without looking at the menu. 
The CM’s were a little taken back and said that was the fastest anyone had ever made their decision! Yep, just a Disney dork here, thanks. I was a full 30 minutes early so I wandered up Main street to get some people-less photos and admire the window displays in the storefronts. 
For the life of me, I can’t remember our guide’s name, but he was really good. He started in custodial and slowly worked his way up! 
They were off to the races, I guess. I found it amusing, but probably more amusing was our group of 15 attempting to cross the street! We made it, unharmed, and we headed over for a sitting break at some tables near Aloha Isle. Whew!! 
As you’re all probably aware though, no pictures backstage. Sorry! 
Very neat, and highly recommend!! With the tour over, we turned in our gear and all said goodbye. I ended up wandering around these 3 young guys from California who all used to work at DL at some point. One of them even used to give the tour at DL! Two of them had on D23 shirts so I knew they were serious about their Disney addiction! So I said goodbye to them and headed over to Animal Kingdom.
PassPorter Guide Author
Problem solved (and Yeti still in “B” mode), I was just in time to see Finding Nemo - the Musical, for the first time ever! That is one amazing show! I was actually surprised at how good it was, but I was really missing my kids after that. I thought it best to take my mind off of them and go for one more spin on Everest! 
Now to most people, this is just another spiky animal. But my DD8 absolutely loves her Webkinz hedgehog and had never seen one in person. So I took a photo and could not wait until March when she could see it here!! Exciting stuff, I’m tellin’ ya.
Linear Mode
