Nineteen nights of MouseFest, Disney and Christmas - THREAD 1 - UPDATED 1/11 - Page 5 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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We will definitely say hi if we see you guys!!! Uhoh sounds like your niece has a different favorite character do I see ADR changes in your future?? Ready for more!
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Glad to hear you got the room situation sorted out - that would have been a whole lot of moving around otherwise!! I am right with you in the lack of patience department. Waiting is not something I like doing at all.
Can't wait to hear all about your ADR's! Being at Disney for nearly 3 weeks means lots and lots and lots of great meals .
Glad you got your resort situation sorted out! And how that you've got so many PP meets scheduled! I'm looking forward to meeting you at one of them Hurry back with the dining details.
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
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Pre-trip report – part four: what do you mean, you now like Minnie????
A couple of weeks later, I also phoned up to book some behind the scenes tours. We decided to try out Wild by Design for the first time and also do the Yuletide Fantasy tour again. We’d loved that, but because we took the tour on Christmas Eve before, the holiday warehouse was closed. Now I know that we won’t see much in there, but we’d like the opportunity to see it and, besides, it was something that Mark’s mum Barb wanted to do, so it seemed a great idea to try it again.
Then we decided to do the Segway tour – for the second time for me and the third time for Mark. We opted for the earliest tour on the first full day we’d be there, knowing that, with our jet lag, we were bound to be up sickening early. After booking that for 7.45, I jokingly mentioned it to Sue and said how cool it would be if she, Steve, Bill and Jan were to join us. I never in a million years thought they would – I mean, who in their right minds would get up to do a Segway tour at 7.45 on a Sunday morning? Well, apparently they would! I got a message from Sue, just called Segway tour, which said they were all booked – now how much fun is that going to be?
Of course, I’m never happy if I’m not planning, so eventually in August, we decided that we should make some plans for our days at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens. After much debate about whether to take a backstage tour at SeaWorld, we decided to go with the Dine with Shamu option, as that sounded like a lot of fun and that would be lunch sorted for the day. I was also figured that as we haven’t been there in five days, there’d be a lot to see in a day, so I didn’t want to eat into any of that time with a tour, even if it would only be an hour.
For our Busch Gardens day, we went for the Saving a Species tour, during which we’d go backstage and see rhinos, which sounded like a lot of fun. Again, there were lots of different options to pick from, so it was a hard choice to make. All the theme parks have obviously realised the market that’s available to them for backstage tours, as there are a lot available now.
And still there were changes and additions to be made. Early in September, we got an e-mail from Angie, with the subject line as “Okay so now that I’m back from Disney”... with the first line going on to say “I can start thinking about getting back there in December”. By the time we’d finished, she was joining us for a couple of meals and the Christmas Party and might even be coming with us to spend the day at Universal.
The next challenge came at 90 days out and securing an Illuminations cruise. As anyone who knows us can testify, Mark loves Illuminations and always wants to get a cruise. I do keep explaining that it’s easier said than done, but this time we did really strike lucky. We discussed with Wendy whether to get a cruise for the night they were in Disney and decided to go for it – the two of us tried, as it was a Sunday and I could call from home, and I snagged one! I couldn’t believe it!
Even better was to come a few days later. We’d agreed with Claudine that we’d try for one with her as well and had a couple of dates in mind. This time, it was Marnie, previously Queen of the Illuminations cruises, and Claudine trying and guess who snagged one? The new owner of the title Queen of the Illuminations cruises is now officially Claudine! So we were set – and would now be taking two Illuminations cruises during December.
By this time, as everyone who was waiting eagerly to book at these restaurants will know you still couldn’t make ADR’s at Tutto Italia, Yak and Yeti or Tusker House. Eventually a Cast Member persuaded me to book a Candlelight Processional package at Tutto Italia, telling me they didn’t know if they would even open ordinary booking for the restaurant during December and they may just rely on the packages. Well, OK then. One down...
As we (not so!) patiently waited to get into the other two, we had another family gathering and someone asked Hannah what her favourite character was. Now remember that she stunned us all last time by declaring Donald Duck? Guess what? He wasn’t her favourite any more. Typical! Three months out and the toad decides she prefers Minnie Mouse. Thanks to Wendy one phone call later and we were all booked in for breakfast at the Cape May Cafe on Christmas Day morning. Lucky escape! Not long afterwards, booking opened for Tusker House and hey, we weren’t going to miss that, even if our niece didn’t like Donald any more – we still did. We booked it for the two of us to give it a go.
It was late October when I got notification through from Virgin Atlantic of a change in time to our outgoing flight. Instead of leaving at 10.45 and getting in at 3.10, we’d now be half an hour later going out. That really annoyed me, as if all things were equal, the British Airways flight, that gets in at 3.25 would now be first in, which would mean long lines for customs. Great – and we would only have two hours between landing and dinner at Spoodles... this could be tight. We’ll have to see how we get on. If you happen to be in Orlando International Airport that day and see a couple racing through the terminal building, you’ll know that it’s us!
All the time, we were adding things in – perhaps meets with fellow PassPorters and, after reading Melissa’s trip report, I decided that we’d also get a photo session booked through Gifts of a Lifetime. I loved the professional photos that we got on our cruise around the Med and wanted more of the same. After chatting things through, we agreed on an afternoon, where we’d meet at the Beach Club, get some photos around our favourite resort and then head to Epcot.
Then there was ICE at the Gaylord Palms Resort as well – boy, for a trip that was going to have some free time and not be too commando, it was rapidly becoming commando. It’s amazing how quickly you can fill up 19 nights at Disney World!
Sounds like you have a wonderful trip planned. snagging the Illuminations cruise. I'll have to read about your itinerary when I get back 'cause I'm out of here.
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šOš ~*~
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?
Great update Cheryl! In my defense , I had an incompetent CM who took all my information, and then had to reboot her computer. I'm glad Claudine was one of the other callers and was able to snag one (and had a competent CM)
Cheryl, ANYTIME you need an ADR, just let me know!! I'm happy to do them for you!!
I am so glad you were able to get that cruise because I was bummed that I didn't!!
And, if I wasn't getting that 1 magical night of my own, I might be jealous of your 19 nights at WDW!!
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that you've got so many PP meets scheduled! I'm looking forward to meeting you at one of them 
Hurry back with the dining details.
PassPorter Guide Author
I got a message from Sue, just called Segway tour, which said they were all booked – now how much fun is that going to be? 
By the time we’d finished, she was joining us for a couple of meals and the Christmas Party and might even be coming with us to spend the day at Universal. 
So we were set – and would now be taking two Illuminations cruises during December. 
you still couldn’t make ADR’s at Tutto Italia, Yak and Yeti or Tusker House. Eventually a Cast Member persuaded me to book a Candlelight Processional package at Tutto Italia, telling me they didn’t know if they would even open ordinary booking for the restaurant during December and they may just rely on the packages. Well, OK then. One down... 
Three months out and the toad decides she prefers Minnie Mouse. Thanks to Wendy 
šOš ~*~ 
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