Cam's Golden Birthday Adventure **Updated 8/23** COMPLETE - Page 9 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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With the exception of Stefanie's tummy troubles, it sounds like you had an absolutley wonderful start to your vacation!! the photos!! Can't wait to hear more
I woke up at 6:30, a whole hour before the wake up call. After trying to go back to sleep for 15 minutes, I gave up and quietly moved to the front door area of the room, hoping not to wake Luke or Stefanie, too. I grabbed my camera, PassPorter, and laptop and began to download our Day 1 pictures. With that done, I began to write the Day 1 trip report. As I was really getting into the report, the phone rang and Luke was instantly awake. I finished up the paragraph I was composing and prepared to shower.
Stefanie was a whole other story though. Yesterday she had charged into our bedroom, announcing it was Disney Time. This morning was exactly the opposite with her groaning, “I don’t want to get up” while pulling the sheets up to her head. We reminded her that all she had talked about for months was going back to Disney and spending it in bed was not part of the plan. She finally agreed to get up after I was out of the shower.
Our Sleepy Dwarf
We all seemed to be moving slowly as our poor bodies were still feeling the shortage of sleep. I also don’t remember having anything for breakfast as we hadn’t picked up any groceries yet. Our wait for the bus was short, but I just had to snap a picture of Luke and Stefanie as they waited. Stefanie was finally beginning to wake up and it was obvious she was feeling the magic.
So by 9:30 we were at Magic Kingdom for a full day of rides, attractions, and other adventures. But first, we needed to renew my annual pass as all our annual passes had expired at the end of our first day. Luke had already purchased 10 Day Magic Your Way tickets for himself and Stefanie this year instead of annual passes in an effort to save money, but he forgot our vacation was 12 days long, not 11. After checking a board other than PassPorter, he had been advised that he and Stefanie should use their tickets for one day and then convert them to annual passes in order to get the best price out of the tickets or something to that effect. So the first item on our agenda was dealing with passes/tickets, so once we cleared bag check, we headed directly to Guest Relations. Quickly, Luke purchased my new annual pass and then I greedily grabbed it from him. I just love having an annual pass as it gives me hope we might make it back sooner rather than later.
Luke at Guest Relations
Luke decided to check with the super kind Cast Member about his and Stefanie’s tickets. She told him that either way would work, so he asked about the cost difference and was pleased that what we would pay in the upgrade was significantly less than he had expected. Within minutes Luke and Stefanie were once again annual pass holders, too. Who knows maybe fate will smile on us and we’ll make it back before another 365 days slip away. But if not, a girl can always dream.
Armed with annual passes we now headed for the gates. Once inside II noticed immediately that Jiminy Cricket was available for a meet and greet. Now Jiminy is one of my favorites and though I’ve seen many others in photos with him, we had never, ever seen him. Stefanie pulled out her autograph book and we were in line in just seconds. Just as we were second in line Jiminy had to go inside to check with Tinkerbell about her preparations for Wishes that evening, but promised to be back soon. The family in front of us was new to Disney characters, becoming a bit worried that they had waited for nothing. I reassured them that when the cast member said Jiminy would return in less than 5 minutes, she was telling us the truth. The mother then asked why they didn’t have more than one Jiminy. I explained that they did and that was how he could be back so quickly. She was so fascinated by the characters and how they worked. Her kids were so excited when Jiminy returned almost running him down. Precious!
Soon it was our turn and Jiminy was excited when Stefanie told him that she and I just adored him.
Jiminy was so much fun and interacted with both Stefanie and me.
Finally a picture of me and Stefanie with our favorite Cricket!
As we said farewell to Jiminy, we surveyed the other meet and greets, and Stefanie decided she didn’t really want to wait in another line. I hadn’t made specific plans for the day other than to spend it at Magic Kingdom. On the bus ride over, Luke mentioned that he thought we should start in Fantasyland. So now we headed down Main Street and then through the castle. Luke sped up, going on ahead to pick up FastPasses for Peter Pan. Stefanie and I stopped to wait right in front of Mickey’s Philharmagic. I glanced over and saw a 10 minute Stand By wait time, and then glanced back to see that Luke was already headed back. As soon as he caught up, we began the queue to Philharmagic and literally walked right into the theater. We were sitting in the third row, the closest we had ever been. This is the Matthews’ favorite of the 3-D shows and these seats gave us a new vantage point.
Stefanie bespectacled for Mickey’s Philharmagic
Next up we headed to the right and were able to catch both Snow White’s Scary Adventures and the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh before our FastPass time for Peter Pan. These are still some of my favorite rides, probably because they are among my favorite characters. Every time we ride Peter Pan, Stefanie recalls that one of her cousins was afraid of it as a child, something she is proud never to have been. I remember how in 1997 she looked at me as we boarded Peter Pan for the first time and asked if this was another boat ride. She had Luke and I laughing so hard. This ride is just full of happy memories.
Now you may recall that we’d had no breakfast and it was now definitely lunchtime. So we decided to finally try a restaurant that I’ve wanted to try for years now. But that’s for the next installment.
Great update, Cam! Stefanie looks so peaceful in that bed! How that you were able to meet Jiminy. He is one character that alludes us. Sounds like a fun time in Fantasyland. Too funny that Stefanie thought it was another boat ride! I'm curious about where you are going to eat lunch...I'm going to guess a CS and go with CHH. Can't wait to hear more
I'm not surprised you were dragging a bit at the start of the day, after your busy first day! How fun to see Jiminy Cricket - I love the photos of you guys with him.
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You guys are having so much fun already...I can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip.
Kris
the photos!! Can't wait to hear more
Dreams, Wishes, Hopes... these are the parts of childhood we should never lose.
that you were able to meet Jiminy. He is one character that alludes us. Sounds like a fun time in Fantasyland. Too funny that Stefanie thought it was another boat ride! 
I'm curious about where you are going to eat lunch...I'm going to guess a CS and go with CHH. Can't wait to hear more
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