A Dream That Came True! The First Timers TR - COMPLETED 9/10 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel 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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A Dream That Came True! The First Timers TR - COMPLETED 9/10
Our trip to Walt Disney World!
I have finally started our TR! Sorry about the wait for those who were waiting, it's been a hectic month for us here.
For those just starting you can read my PTR here: http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...-ever-ptr.html
This was a first time trip for both me and my son for his 12th birthday, provided by his older brother!
Day One ~
Ok, so the plan was to have my dad take us to the airport, no easy task when our flight is scheduled to leave at 6:30am! He was to pick us up at 3:30am, giving us plenty of time to get to the airport and still have two hours to get through check in and security. However, dear old dad got the times all mixed up and arrived to pick us up at 2am!! Thankfully I was already up, and knowing he wanted to get back to bed as soon as he could, I got Scottie up and ready to go in record time. I figured he could sleep some more at the airport. So, one quick stop to get some batteries (that I forgot to buy!) and we were off to the Dallas/Fort Worth airport. We arrived in record time (no traffic at that hour!) only to find that the AirTran desk doesn't even open until 5:30am. It was 3:30am when we arrived at the airport!
So, we decided since neither of us were the least bit tired (yet!) that we would wait with a couple other passengers in the line for the AirTran check in. Thankfully, I had packed some things for Scottie to do while on the plane and he didn't really notice the wait. We just sat on the floor with a very lovely lady who also had an early flight. We discussed how stupid it was to have such early flights and no way to check in for them until an hour before the flight lol.
Once we were checked in it was off to security. I have to say this was the easiest time I've ever had getting through a security check point lol. Not everyone had it that easy, but I was totally prepared! We got through the metal detector fine and even had a playful TSA agent who told my son there was no way he could take his lanyard and pins on the plane and that maybe he should just let her keep them for him! He laughingly told her that she could have ONE if she wanted, but he was gonna trade the rest. (A theme for him the rest of the trip!)
Ok so now we're at the gate, it's 6am and we're ready to get going!! Not.....
We look around and there's no one there, I mean completely and totally empty! That's what I get for not checking
the flight listings lol, the flight was delayed till 7:30! K well, we eventually got on the plane and the flight was
fantastic. Next stop......Orlando and DME!!! We found the DME check in easily enough and went to the desk
as we hadn't gotten our luggage tags and needed them to get our bags....but wait....what do you mean we're not listed???
We were supposed to be registered for pick up and drop off, but somehow it wasn't in the system. No Problems,
says the nice lady in blue! "I'll just set that up for you right now." That's it? We're good now? Yep, they'll get our
luggage and we are set for drop off as well! Wow, that was easy! We set off for our bus and it's there ready to go,
so we hop on board a lightly crowded bus and we're off! First stop, Caribbean Beach Resort!!!
OMG! Seeing that big beautiful sign for the first time is a moment I will never forget. Welcome to Walt Disney World!! We were so excited we could barely watch the video playing, although it was really cute! When we arrived at
the Caribbean Beach Resort, we were greeted with a cheery "Welcome Home!" Check in straight ahead, and what? we've
been upgraded to a preferred room? Really?? How awesome!! Wait....It's ready? Really?? At this point, the CM
checking us in was outright laughing at my reactions, but in a very nice way. So, off we head to Martinique Building #25, right next to the Old Port Royale! Our room was gorgeous, we loved all the Nemo touches.
We headed over to Old Port Royale to get Scottie an autograph book. We also found him a cute backpack with the four world logo on it and some cute postcards for my scrapbook. We got our mugs and headed back to the room. After a
quick stop in the room, we headed off to the bus stop. I must say, that we never had a major wait for any bus while at
the Caribbean Beach. I know that is one complaint others have had about this resort but we didn't have that problem at
all. We jump on the bus and we're off to Hollywood Studios!
Off to a great start! LOL at the airport fiasco! I love early morning flights because you don't have to be at the airport 2 hours early if they aren't open yet! Awesome that they upgraded you! Can't wait to read about your first day at the Studios!
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Off to a great start! LOL at the airport fiasco! I love early morning flights because you don't have to be at the airport 2 hours early if they aren't open yet! Awesome that they upgraded you! Can't wait to read about your first day at the Studios!
The airport was a total fiasco, but we enjoyed it anyway lol simply because we were on our way!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Disdadnmi
Great to start reading about your trip. Do we get to see Cinderella soon??
Brent
You will see Cinderella Brent! I think Scottie took a real liking to her!
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneyfreeeak
great start glad you're liking CBR!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Even with the delay you all have had a great start to your trip!
Quote:
Originally Posted by PamelaK
An awesome start to your trip. A surprise upgrade is always a wonderful bit of magic.
It was a great start and I still am in awe that they upgraded us! But there was much more magic to be had!
The airport situation made me laugh. That is TOTALLY something that I would do. Glad it all worked out in the end, and that you had some nice people keeping you company. Glad you made it to the resort okay. Great start!
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
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
I somehow missed the pictures the first time I looked at this. I'm loving them! The Christmas decorations look so pretty. I hope that I'll be able to see them in person some day!
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Love all the photos of the Caribbean Beach! 
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