Fall, Firsts, Food And The Final Frontier TR - UPDATED 11/11 - COMPLETE!! - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Fall, Firsts, Food And The Final Frontier TR - UPDATED 11/11 - COMPLETE!!
Well, I’ve been back for about a week from Disney and have spending a lot of time organizing my photos and it’s time to get my fifth TR/PTR going. I haven’t finished all my photos yet as I used both a digital camera and my Galaxy Note 5! Glad it’s not a Note 7! Putting these in chronological order, by going back and forth between the two sources takes some time and I did it by making different document albums, renumbering the photos and then combining them. I have the first three days of my trip done, so that should hold me for a while in this TR.
Here are the specifics of my trip:
Who: Moi When: October 15-22 2016 Where: Walt Disney World and a visit to the Kennedy Space Center Resort: B Resort Hotel and Spa in Disney Springs on Hotel Plaza Boulevard Meets: One short Passporter Meet on Day 5 Activities: WDW Parks, Disney Springs, Epcot Food & Wine Festival, Dining, Kennedy Space Center and more!
Here’s my PTR, in case you haven’t had a chance to catch up on the planning of this Disney World trip!
Saturday, October 15th Today, I guess it was today, but looked more like the middle of the night, which it was as my alarm went off at 3:30 am and got up at 3:40 am. Any longer and I could easily go back to sleep! I got ready for the day and had a quick breakfast with some coffee, a yogurt and a banana. My colleague Sharon from work would be driving me to Westchester Airport, which is only thirty minutes away and even better being a small airport. She should arrive around 5:15 am, which is not for another 45 minutes. In the meantime, I finished packing just a few more items into my bags and made sure I had everything.
I also watered my plants and shut off my thermostat as no need to keep it on and it won’t be too cold or hot while I’m away to keep them at the minimums, which I’m supposed to do in the bylaws of my condo association. I also spent a little time catching up on the boards, while I waited to be picked up. There was a comment on my PTR from Cheryl, who couldn’t believe my first ADR is tonight!
I brought my bags downstairs just before 5:15 am and waited for Sharon to arrive. Before this I locked up everything and turned off all the lights. She arrived at practically 5:15 am sharp! It was a pretty cool morning and somewhat cloudy and still dark as it would be until about 7 am. It was a pretty noneventful drive and we arrived at the airport at 5:50 am.
When we pulled up to the terminal, I could see there was a long line for check in. I did online check in with Jet Blue yesterday, but I still had to check in one bag to have tagged. When I got inside the terminal the line was still long as there were quite a few passengers, who were a bit unorganized with check in. Why does it always seem like it’s some travelers first flight? It took about ten minutes or so and finally I checked in my bag and I was all set to go. I still had about forty minutes or so until boarding, so I just explored this small terminal for a while, before going through TSA as it’s always a quick line here plus I have an “Even More Speed” seat, which allows me to jump ahead in the security line!
Always good to see this!
At about 6:45 am I went through the “Even More Speed”, security line which is a separate entrance and there were only a couple of people in front of me. This is also used for those who need assistance as well. I showed my ticket and I.D. and was through to the front of the line. I was cleared in just a few minutes. I made the short walk to my gate and waited for boarding to begin. It began on time and I was one of the first to board with my seat as I have 1A by the window.
The flight was scheduled to take off at 7:30 am and we were officially in the air at 7:40 am, which is not too bad.
Just after takeoff and some beautiful scenery!
We flew over Manhattan, a few minutes into the flight, which looked amazing, but I couldn’t get a good photo!
There was mostly cloud cover for most of the trip, but some good views along the way. About 30 minutes into the flight they started snack and beverage service. Being in row 1, I was one of the first served and certainly a good perk! I had a coffee and two small bags of Terra Blue Chips. Most of the flight, I just watched various programs on DirectTV. At about 9:45 am or a bit before, we began our descent into the Orlando area.
It’s cloudy and raining a bit as I’d find out shortly.
We landed 15 minutes early at 10 a.m. and there was a fairly, steady rain! Not what I wanted on arrival! The good news is this would be the most rain I’d see during my entire week! So, no complaints.
We disembarked the plane rather quickly, even though it takes several minutes to get to the gate from the runway and tarmac areas.
My Jet Blue flight.
It was great to be in the airport as I’d probably be in Disney in just two hours or so! I took the monorail to the main terminal and just a short wait as usual. I walked downstairs to baggage claim, where I immediately saw my luxury sedan driver Denise waiting for me. She greeted me and we went over to the bag carousel and waited for my bag. It took a while as it seemed there were so many bags before mine. I got my bag and we walked outside to where Denise was parked. It wasn’t a sedan but an SUV, which was even better and roomier. She gave me a bottle of water and a poncho, which was nice and soon we were on our way to my resort.
We talked a bit on the way to the B Resort in Disney Springs and she gave me some tips on certain things. I told her this was my 12th trip to WDW. She gave me her business card , just in case I wanted transportation to various sights or dinner. That could become very expensive as the bus, boat, monorail and taxi transportation will work for me.
We arrived at the B Resort Hotel and Spa in about 30 minutes just after 11 am. I was immediately greeted by one of the hotel valet staff and went inside to check in.
The concierge counter. Love the white and very bright color and feel to this hotel.
I went to check in, but unfortunately my room was not ready yet. They said they would get my room ready as soon as they could. They would text me, when it was ready. In the meantime, I got changed for the Florida weather and checked out the hotel’s lobby level a bit.
A nice amenity to my resort and right in the lobby.
At about 11:50 am, I received a text from the hotel staff that in fact my room was ready. I checked in and all was good. My room is on the fifth floor and room #510. I went outside to bell services and got my bags. I took the elevator to the 5th floor and my room was directly to the right, once I stepped off the elevator. This would never be a problem as I could never hear the elevators from my room.
Now for what awaits me and my room tour!
I love the blue and white cheery colors of the room. It is very spacious as you’ll see.
I love this couch and the king bed isn’t too shabby either!
No way to avoid the mirror shot!
Quite a nice bath.
Not much of a view except for the highway!
Cool looking bedside lamp.
The room looks very nice and seems very comfy and warm! The climate control system is a bit noisy but works well. I unpacked a bit and got settled in. I also got everything I would need for the rest of the day as it would be an active day and I probably wouldn’t return to the resort until about 11 p.m.
EDIT: Photos aren't posting so will have to change this later!
EDIT 2 Got them showing now!!!
NEXT: My First Park and Don’t Know Why I Seem to Do This One First!
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Last edited by SuperDave; 10-31-2016 at 12:11 AM..
Signing on for the TR! Glad you mentioned at the end that the photos weren't showing up. I thought maybe it was just my iPad. A few in the beginning were ok, but that's it.
Can't wait to see and hear about B Resort! I remember hearing about that when it first opened, but haven't heard from anyone who actually stayed there.
Signing on for the TR! Glad you mentioned at the end that the photos weren't showing up. I thought maybe it was just my iPad. A few in the beginning were ok, but that's it.
Can't wait to see and hear about B Resort! I remember hearing about that when it first opened, but haven't heard from anyone who actually stayed there.
Thanks for your patience on this as I remember I had the same problem with Photobucket on my last TR (with photos) which was my cruise. Photos don't link well through Firefox, so I have to use Chrome. But the PP boards have some editing problems with Chrome. A bit of a dilemma but all worked out!
All photos are there now, including those of my hotel at the B Resort! Such a nice hotel and glad I chose it and even better with a great rate! It's basically a deluxe resort and much less than half the price of WDW deluxe, even with a promotion!
There are a few amenities you lose by not staying at a WDW resort but not a lot and the trade off was definitely worth it!
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Last edited by SuperDave; 10-30-2016 at 11:45 PM..
Great start! Your room looks great! How lucky it was ready so early! More please!
I was happy I only had to wait about 30 minutes or so for my room and the hotel staff came through on that one, so I could get to the parks sooner.! It's a great room and just love the colors and warm feel of it. I know it's over 400 sf in size!
Just getting started, but this was an extensive post as I wanted the room photos in the post as I don't want to disappoint Cheryl! She gave it to me on my last TR, when on day one with my first post (my cruise) I covered up until entering my room on my pre stay at the MCO Hyatt! Not the way she wanted the post to end and I don't blame her! I had this part up shortly as we cannot disappoint here!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nemo125
Great start! And great photos! Can't wait for more!
Thanks and much more to come!
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Last edited by SuperDave; 10-30-2016 at 11:41 PM..
Nice start! I love flying from Westchester Airport, yet don't really want people to know how great it is.
The hotel intrigues me. I have to go look it up. Do you mind me asking what type of promo did you have?
I'm happy for you that you managed combining your two sets of photos and being able to post them. I still don't have the patience to take the time to figure it out.
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.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
Great start Dave! Sounds like a very smooth morning for you. Your resort looks beautiful and I love the color scheme of the room. Looking forward to hearing what your first park day was like.
About This Page: 
Any longer and I could easily go back to sleep! I got ready for the day and had a quick breakfast with some coffee, a yogurt and a banana. My colleague Sharon from work would be driving me to Westchester Airport, which is only thirty minutes away and even better being a small airport. She should arrive around 5:15 am, which is not for another 45 minutes. In the meantime, I finished packing just a few more items into my bags and made sure I had everything.
It took about ten minutes or so and finally I checked in my bag and I was all set to go. I still had about forty minutes or so until boarding, so I just explored this small terminal for a while, before going through TSA as it’s always a quick line here plus I have an “Even More Speed” seat, which allows me to jump ahead in the security line!
I had a coffee and two small bags of Terra Blue Chips. Most of the flight, I just watched various programs on DirectTV.
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
She gave it to me on my last TR, when on day one with my first post (my cruise) I covered up until entering my room on my pre stay at the MCO Hyatt! 
Us 
PassPorter Guide Author
Great start - you're there and your hotel and room looks great. 
Linear Mode
