A Dream That Came True! The First Timers TR - COMPLETED 9/10 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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I am so glad you made it to Captain's Grille for breakfast! It sounds & looks like it was a nice way to start your day. I bet pictures don’t do it justice…that miniature village is so cute. We have never been to opening ceremony, but after your description it sounds like something we would love. I got all teary eyed when I read how you felt seeing the castle for the first time! I know how you feel it is just tooo magical for words. I tear up a lot at Disney….it is just so special to me! I love all your pictures, & I can’t wait to read more!
Can't wait to hear where you decided to start at Magic Kingdom. Wonderful descriptions and great pictures too. I am so ready to go in March. I, too, like the idea of writing in a different color to make the report stand out. I am hopefully starting a PTR soon. Thanks for the great report.
What a great birthday morning! The buffet at Captain's Grille looks like it was yummy! I'll have to try it for breakfast--we've only ever been there for lunch, which is also good btw.
I would definitely go back, the food was so good and the service was fabulous!
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Originally Posted by chezp
Wonderful updates - and what a magical birthday morning!
Thank you! It was such a special day for him and that was just the start!
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
What a great start to the day! Love the pictures!
Thank you! I do wish I'd figured out how to take the time stamp off though lol, or at least changed it to am!
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Originally Posted by OCEANGRLLG
Just gettin in here! Sounds like you guys are having an awesome time! So glad that you are enjoyin yourselves!
Thanks for joining us! We had a fantastic time at Disney!
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Originally Posted by islandgirl
What a way to start a birthday!!! Park opening ceremonies sounds so .....maybe I'll get to see it someday! Great pictures & update!!!
The park opening was definitely ! I loved it when Mickey came up and counted down.
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Originally Posted by countrykid
I am so glad you made it to Captain's Grille for breakfast! It sounds & looks like it was a nice way to start your day. I bet pictures don’t do it justice…that miniature village is so cute. We have never been to opening ceremony, but after your description it sounds like something we would love. I got all teary eyed when I read how you felt seeing the castle for the first time! I know how you feel it is just tooo magical for words. I tear up a lot at Disney….it is just so special to me! I love all your pictures, & I can’t wait to read more!
It still makes me weepy just remembering how it felt! Update coming up!
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Originally Posted by Disdadnmi
Cinderella can't be far away, right????
Brent
Hang in there Brent!! She IS coming, I promise!
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Originally Posted by emvenable77
So glad you made Scottie's birthday breakfast and that his day was so great! I'll be waiting for more when you are ready!
He will never forget this special birthday and neither will I.
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Originally Posted by tdhc
What a relief! I am so glad you made it to Scottie's bday breakfast. I look forward to seeing what you did first. Could it be one of the mountains?
D
Hmmmm...you may be on to something there!
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Originally Posted by Cam22
What an awesome way to start Scottie's birthday!
It really was awesome!! And it just kept getting better!
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Originally Posted by elbodans
I am loving this trip report--especially the photos! Fantastic! I can't wait to read more!
Also--I love that you are writing in purple. It makes it so much easier to follow. I shall have to do that...next time. (yay for next times!)
Thank you so much!! I found it easier to read other TR's when they used a different color for their updates, so I borrowed the idea lol.
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Originally Posted by KMB733
What a wonderful way to start off Scottie's Birthday!
It really was, he still has the balloon weight on his desk as a reminder of "the best birthday ever" lol.
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Originally Posted by ttnmama
Can't wait to hear where you decided to start at Magic Kingdom. Wonderful descriptions and great pictures too. I am so ready to go in March. I, too, like the idea of writing in a different color to make the report stand out. I am hopefully starting a PTR soon. Thanks for the great report.
Thank you so much! I can't wait to go again lol. I'll watch for your PTR!
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We decided to hit Space Mountain first because we were afraid we'd have to get FP's, so off to Tomorrowland we headed. I loved the view we got of the castle and had to snap a picture and send it to my mom and BFF.
We arrived at Space Mountain and again had 5 minute wait times! We both loved it! It was fantastic! Then Scottie wanted to do Buzz Lightyear, which we thoroughly enjoyed. After that, we decided to try Astro Orbiter. This is one of my favorite pictures from our trip.
We got several more photos, but the sun was so incredibly bright that day that it was hard to look at the photographers. I wish we had gotten some later in the day where our eyes weren't so screwed up lol.
We decide to head to Adventureland next and what do I see? Aloha Isle, which I had heard so much about. So, we shared a pineapple dole whip.
I now know what all the fuss was about, it was delicious! We headed straight for POTC, Scottie had been so looking forward to this ride being the pirate fanatic he is lol. When we arrived, we saw a short line for none other than Pirate Goofy! This was such a cool character interaction for Scottie, Goofy really played around with him.
After "goofing around" with Goofy, we got on the ride in about 10 minutes and we're off. We really loved this ride! After the ride, we browsed around in the pirate themed shop, where Scottie was in heaven! After he decided what to buy, he went to the counter and told the clerk how much he loved pirates. The clerk was a kind older gentleman who took Scottie back through the shop and showed him a couple of really cool "artifacts". Scottie begged me to take a picture of the two items the CM showed him. They were high up on a shelf of decorations and I imagine most people wouldn't see them at all, so I thought it was really cool of the CM to show him! Wrapped around this vase is the actual coin medallion that Elizabeth Swan wears in the first movie...
Hanging on this vase is the actual key to the Dead Man's Chest...
As we left the shop, we noticed the Captain Jack pirate tutorial was starting! We rush over to watch and end up right up front. This was the cutest, funniest little show! The CM playing Jack Sparrow was spot on! He delivered a wonderful performance.
After the few chosen kids had their tutorial, Captain Jack asked anyone who wanted to be a member of his crew to hold their hands up. Scottie was chosen to step up! The children were lined up and made to swear an oath of allegiance to Captain Jack and then given a special certificate.
This certificate has become Scottie's favorite souvenir.
After the show, Scottie wanted to do Splash Mountain, so off we went. Splash Mountain was such a fun ride! Scottie loved it. Next up is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, but wait....why are they turning people away? Oh no, the ride is down! Scottie was so upset, but we decided to take a short rest and bathroom break before moving on. When we got out of the bathroom the ride was back up! We had a 15 minute wait but it was well worth it! We both loved this coaster! It was such fun! We're heading through Frontierland and Scottie is hungry, so I bought a turkey leg for us to share (although he ate most of it lol).
We sit down to eat it when Scottie suddenly jumps up and practically throws the turkey leg at me before he runs off. What IS he doing???