A Marriage Proposal, a Little Gustav and a Whole Lot of Magic! TR - Page 10 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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First of all - congrats on the engagement!! Now, did I miss the end of this TR? Is it in another thread? I wanted to know how the rest of your trip was. Hope you had a great time.
Congrats again!
No you didn't miss anything! I've been swamped with an upcoming conference so I haven't done the last day and a half of our trip yet! But I will get another update in tomorrow
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For the second day in a row we overslept! Of course that really means that we woke up at 7:30 ish, but to me that's oversleeping! Especially since today was our last full day on property....and it was jam packed with activities! So we took a quick shower and run out of the room to head over to HS for the morning. Unfortunately I forgot to put on sunscreen. Thankfully I remembered before we boarded a bus (I have this really annoying condition - which is a bad word but I can't think of another way to put it - where I need to always put sunscreen on, but to add insult to injury I am allergic to most sunscreens! Go figure!). Anyway DFia stays to wait at the bus stop. I came back and was excited to find out that we did not miss our bus! What I didn't realize was the wait for a HS bus took about an hour. I think when we tried to figure out the exact time from when we arrived to when the bus finally came it took about 56 minutes - but keep in mind we didn't see the last HS bus leave. In addition, there were about 6 MK buses, 5 Epcot and 4 AK buses.....a CM was standing keeping track of the buses and we asked if she knew what was going on, and she replied they were running on schedule - I guess she had to say that. So not the best start, but either way we were in Disney we refused to let this get us down!
We finally got to HS. We first headed to RRC and got fast passes. Our first ride was ToT! The wait wasn't too bad, except there were high school football players in front of us who kept talking to their friend "Dave" and just kept repeating his name. I actually thought it was just the players who could be this annoying, but we ran into some of the coaches and they kept the Dave comments coming. "Hey Dave - don't worry Dave - it's not so bad Dave - Dave aren't you excited Dave?" Literally over and over and over (for the entire 30 min. wait!). But a bunch of us around these guys started doing the same thing to one another. So DFia would say "Karyn - what's going on Karyn" etc....actually created a bonding moments between us and a few other families which was nice. How strange those moments pull people together.
DFia and I in the mist at ToT - to our right are the "Dave" people....unfortunately I never took a picture of them...
After we rode ToT we headed Toy Story Mania to get fast passes there - but the were already gone! It was only around 10:30 at this point - so they went quick! The wait was over 80 minutes....so unfortunately we weren't willing to wait that long - which is why I was so happy we rode TSM our first day, even when we weren't thinking it would be fun. Our fast passes were ready for RRC so we headed there and hopped right on! No matter how often I rode that ride it still took my breath away - in a good way .
Our first day we missed Indiana Jones' show - so we made sure to make this a priority. What a great show - so much fun! I will say it was EXTREMELY hot in that pavilion - it was uncomfortable, especially since they had everyone packed in so close to make room...I really think they needed to add more fans. The poor man next to me whispered to his wife that he had to leave because he felt faint..... But the heat didn't take away from the great show they put on!
The finale:
Taking pictures before lunch:
It was around lunch time - so we headed to Starring Rolls and had a great lunch! Highly recommended - although the seating was limited we were lucky enough to snag a table outside. DFia and I split a sandwich (which were enormous!) - everything was so fresh and tasty!
From here we headed over to the boat that would bring us to Epcot! No wait this time! We hopped right on and took off . It was the first time I had taken the ferry - or the first time I remember taking it anyway. I really enjoyed seeing the other resorts - especially since neither of us had stayed in any of them. Certainly got me thinking about future trips! On our way to Soarin' I spotted the hopscotch outline and couldn't help myself - I'm supposed to be a big kid right!
Some ducks on near the boat(my mom and I are semi-obsessed with ducks)
The hopscotch scene:
The line for Soarin' was too long, I don't remember the wait at this point - but we wanted to head over to MK before the afternoon - so we skipped it. We did ride Mission Space - and my observation about the wine from the Luau held true! In fact the ride stopped while we were in the Rome room - divine intervention of some sort - which gave us a laugh. We really didn't stay long in Epcot - just long enough for DFia to take some great pictures (which was great because Gustav was on the way!).
One of DFia's pics:
From here we head over to the MK. More to come soon....Plus you have to find out why we took this picture....
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I just read through your TR today. Congrats on the engagement! How special to get engaged during Wishes. Someone posted it before, but you guys really are the cutest couple. Your wedding pictures will be amazing with those natural smiles. Can't wait to hear how the trip ended. Love to see a pic of you with the new haircut. Did you happen to think of donating the 9 inches to Locks of Love? Just an inquiry on my part since I'm thinking of doing it myself. Looking forward to the rest of your TR.
Such sad faces! Great update!! Sounds like a great day once you were able to get to DHS!! Love the photo of you playing hopscotch! Looking forward to more
I just read through your TR today. Congrats on the engagement! How special to get engaged during Wishes. Someone posted it before, but you guys really are the cutest couple. Your wedding pictures will be amazing with those natural smiles. Can't wait to hear how the trip ended. Love to see a pic of you with the new haircut. Did you happen to think of donating the 9 inches to Locks of Love? Just an inquiry on my part since I'm thinking of doing it myself. Looking forward to the rest of your TR.
You know, I wanted to donate my hair but was told because it had been highlighted that it wouldn't be accepted...... So unfortunately I did not....
I also realized that I have not taken many pictures since this haircut. I do have a couple Halloween pictures.....which I'm posting so you can see the difference. These pics were taken over a month after the cut - so it did grow out a bit since the original "do" (my hair grows super fast). I also have NO pictures of the back of my head....so I'm putting in the one with me and Chewie just so you can see it's actually shorter in the back than in the front. Keep in mind we all look ridiculous! It is Halloween after all
The girl in the middle of that picture is my Maid of Honor
Ok - so I look awful there....but a really cool thing about this picture is you can easily see the Mickey necklace some friends bought me as an engagement gift - so so cute. It's a mickey head and next to it is his hand. This side it's all sparkly - the other side is white - I have no idea where they found it but it really is perfect
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.