The Unexpected Welcome Us Home Summer Break Trip Report Day 4 Updated 9/13!!! - Page 7 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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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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Day One: Arrival Day
Part One
We got up around 7:00 am to get ready to go. We have a tradition of getting breakfast at Chick-fil-A on the way down so we had to make a stop there for some Chicken Minis. Actually, Scott broke tradition and got a chicken biscuit but we will let him by this time. A few miles up the road was the Florida Welcome Center. It is also tradition for us to stop there. We get some Disney brochures that tell us everything we already know and some Florida orange juice. Logan got a kids travel book and we also took a couple of funny pictures of him there.
We arrived at AKV around noon. We pulled up to the security booth and got our first “Welcome Home” of the trip. I was so excited that were we finally at our home resort. Although we have stayed at AKL three times prior, this time was very different! We pulled up to get assistance with our luggage and the free valet for DVC owners. I just love the fact that the valet is free! Once inside, mom and Logan went to sit down while Scott and I went to check in. We got another “Welcome Home” and the CM was really great. I told her that I had requested the Arusha Savannah and she told me that she would look but could not guarantee our request. At first she said she didn’t think she had anything available. Then she asked if we had a birthday in our party and I said yes, we would be celebrating my son’s birthday on this trip. She then found us a great room, 5413 on the Arusha Savannah on Zebra Trail. She said the room was ready which was a great surprise!
We collected Mom and Logan and headed to the elevators. The 5th floor is now marked Disney Vacation Club on them. We headed to our studio room and found it to be not only beautiful but very spacious! I loved the layout and the kitchenette! The view from the balcony was terrific! We were right to the side of Arusha Rock, directly in front of the feeding area. It just couldn’t get any better than this!
We waited for our luggage and Scott got a text message that our Owner’s Locker had arrived! The service of Owner’s Locker is just unbelievable!
We got our luggage settled and our Owner’s Locker brought up. The locker was big and it had instructions for everything we needed to know about it. By this time, a storm had come up. The weather forecast was pretty iffy for the evening. We decided to go down to Mara and eat to wait it out. We used the dining plan for counter service there. Mom and I got cheeseburgers, fries, and zebra domes. Logan got a kid’s cheeseburger and Scott tried something new and got the falafel sandwich. He really liked it and I tried a bite and was surprised at how good it was.
After getting our stomachs full, we went back up to the room to get ready to go to Hollywood Studios for the evening. The rain had stopped so we were anxious to get to a park!
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WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
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After lunch, we headed off to Disney Hollywood Studios. We took the bus over. I am still not used to the new name of the park, so I will probably call it MGM forever. First of all, we had to exchange our DVC AP vouchers for our real APs and get my Mom a 10 day park hopper. We get up to the counter and hand in our vouchers and our APs are taken care of really quick. Then, the CM asks about my mom and we tell her she wants a park hopper. She asks why we don’t get her the AP with the DVC discount as it would be a better value. She asks if she will be coming back during the next year and we say yes, in October with us. She again says we should get her the AP with the DVC discount. Scott and I look at each other because we know that my mom is supposed to live with us to get that discount. I tell her that my mom doesn’t have her ID with her which is true and she says “I don’t need it unless she is trying to get a Florida resident pass, I will just put your address on her AP.” We look at each other again and say ok. This saves my mom $195.00 if you include the passes she would have bought in October. I felt a little weird about it but the woman offered and said we could have the discount so I did not argue with her. So Mom now has an AP on her first Disney trip!!
After securing our passes, we head over to The Great Movie Ride. I thought my mom would really enjoy seeing this and thought it was a great place to start. We had a short wait and then boarded for the ride. They make us scoot over and put a man on the end beside my mom. For lack of a better word, the man was Stinky!! I had no idea but my mom suffered through the whole ride because the man smelled so bad. She told me after the ride that she wasn’t feeling well and that the odor had made her feel sick. I felt really bad for her! Ok, not a great start here.
Next, we went over to One Man’s Dream. We looked around and watched the movie. Mom enjoyed seeing about Walt’s life and really enjoyed learning more about him. If you have never done One Man’s Dream, you have to see it at least once!
Then, we headed over for Muppet’s 3D. Mom still wasn’t feeling well and excused herself to the restroom. That stinky man had really ruined the start of this evening! Luckily, she made it back right as the doors were opening to go in. I always enjoy this show and love the old guys bolted to the seats joke! It cracks me up every time!
After Muppets, we headed over to Mama Melrose for our ADR. Just as we went in, it came up a little shower outside so we were lucky not to get wet. We waited a very short time and were shown to our table. We ordered the Artesian Breads and Spreads to start with and Scott got a glass of wine. Mom and I ordered the Four Cheese Flatbread, Scott got the grilled chicken flatbread, and Logan got the cheese pizza and a salad. Logan never got his salad so we had to get our waiter to get him one.
During the meal, our waiter and the manager came over and told Logan he had been chosen to be Chef of the Hour. They put a Chef’s hat on him, joked with him, and then gave him a magical moment certificate. Logan was truly…..embarrassed!! He is starting to get to that age where he doesn’t want everyone looking at him! It was really funny because he felt like he had to keep it on while all the time is being embarrassed by it.
For desserts, Scott and I had the tiramisu, Logan had the ice cream sundae which is the only dessert ever one those kid’s menus (don’t get me started but do they think kids want to eat ice cream sundaes every day?), and mom had gelato. Honestly, mom really liked her meal but she couldn’t eat most of it due to being sick at her stomach over the whole stinky man. The rest of us really enjoyed our food and the service was really good too.
After dinner, we headed over toward the entrance for Fantasmic. People were literally running out of the park at this time. Over head there was some very ugly clouds and there seemed to be a storm coming.
It was like a scene in a horror movie with people running towards the exits looking very fearful. Of course, being the Disney die hards we are, we kept going toward Fantasmic. That is until it started to pour down rain and I mean pour. We turned around and went back down toward the entrance to one of the shops. We were drenched! Obviously, the people running out were a lot smarter than us!! After waiting it out for a while, we could see that it wasn’t going to clear up and we headed for the bus area. We got a bus very quickly back to the resort. We went to the room and hung out on the balcony for a while before bed.
Sorry that your mom's evening was less than spectaular due to the "stinky" man but what a great surprise to be able to get her an AP with your discount....
Dinner sounded delicious...
Sorry Fantasmic was a wash out...the pictures of the storm clouds and the sky were amazing though....
About This Page: 
I was so excited that were we finally at our home resort. Although we have stayed at AKL three times prior, this time was very different! We pulled up to get assistance with our luggage and the free valet for DVC owners. I just love the fact that the valet is free! Once inside, mom and Logan went to sit down while Scott and I went to check in. We got another “Welcome Home” and the CM was really great. I told her that I had requested the Arusha Savannah and she told me that she would look but could not guarantee our request. At first she said she didn’t think she had anything available. Then she asked if we had a birthday in our party and I said yes, we would be celebrating my son’s birthday on this trip. She then found us a great room, 5413 on the Arusha Savannah on Zebra Trail. She said the room was ready which was a great surprise! 
ANGIE
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I tell her that my mom doesn’t have her ID with her which is true and she says “I don’t need it unless she is trying to get a Florida resident pass, I will just put your address on her AP.”
I had no idea but my mom suffered through the whole ride because the man smelled so bad. She told me after the ride that she wasn’t feeling well and that the odor had made her feel sick. I felt really bad for her! Ok, not a great start here.
He is starting to get to that age where he doesn’t want everyone looking at him! It was really funny because he felt like he had to keep it on while all the time is being embarrassed by it.
Of course, being the Disney die hards we are, we kept going toward Fantasmic. That is until it started to pour down rain and I mean pour. We turned around and went back down toward the entrance to one of the shops. We were drenched! Obviously, the people running out were a lot smarter than us!! 
After waiting it out for a while, we could see that it wasn’t going to clear up and we headed for the bus area. We got a bus very quickly back to the resort. We went to the room and hung out on the balcony for a while before bed. 
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