Grand Duo Birthday Trip: COMPLETE 2/5/09 - Page 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
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Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
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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.
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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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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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Love the rings, Dawn. They're beautiful and an awesome surprise! Chuck. Love the view from your room! That's a place I'd love to call home for 8 days. Your meal at CG sounds really fantastic. I'll get there one day! Ready for more, please!
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
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your new ring is beautiful - go chuck - awww
what a great meal glad you enjoyed wishes
glad you had a good lunch at teppan edo
hurry back with more please
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Hi Dawn - just getting caught up now we're back from our trip - one word for your TR so far - WOW!!!!! DH must think I'm crazy, because as I saw your room pics and the rings, etc. all I keep saying out loud is WOW!!! What a magical start to your trip. More please!
BTW, I had the same flatbread and dessert at the Cali Grill last Thursday - both were divine!! And our bill was the same - same alcohol to food ratio too. But worth every penney. isn't it???
Day 2, Part 1: Breakfast with My Favorite and Are We Really Getting through the Park this Quickly??
Breakfast with My Favorite and Are We Really Getting through the Park this Quickly??
The alarm went off around 7:00am so we could get ready for our breakfast ADR at Crystal Palace. It was time for me to get some quality time with Eeyore. We got ready rather quickly and headed over to the main building to catch the monorail. It was only our second day and I was so loving the easy access to the MK and EPCOT. I was trying the whole bag less touring this trip and eased through security and then over to the turnstiles for breakfast ressies. We headed up Main Street and had to stop for some Photopass pictures.
We headed over to the Crystal Palace, and I went to check us in. I returned to find Chuck taking pictures, a rarity as I rarely let go of the camera for long. Within about 5 minutes, our name was called and we followed the hostess over to the left side of the restaurant (a first for us) to a table for two. Our server came by and poured us some OJ and got other drink orders from us. Chuck went with coffee and I chose a Coke for my caffeinated pleasure. Piglet was about to reach our table so we held off on going up to the buffet.
After some time with Piglet, food was calling and we headed up to the buffet. I loaded up some pineapple, strawberries, bacon, and biscuits with sausage gravy. Chuck had a carb loving fest with some eggs. Not that I blame him. I love me some carbs as well but I wasn’t all that hungry. We sat down and enjoyed our choices. Before we knew it Tigger and Pooh made their way to our table.
Chuck went to refill and I just enjoyed watching the kids interact with the characters. They had the character parade and some napkin waving occurred. Our server cleared the empty plates before Chuck made it back to the table. Next thing I knew was our server returned with my birthday cupcake and card signed by the characters. As I was taking a picture of my cupcake and card, Eeyore arrived at our table. YAY! He “sang” Happy Birthday to me as well as characters can and then posed for pictures. I this gloomy guy!
We finished up and settled our bill. Our server provided me with a cup to keep my cupcake as I was too full to eat it at the time. Everything taken care of, we headed into Adventureland. First stop was a potty break for me and a smoke break for Chuck. At this time it was 9:30am, thirty minutes after official park opening. This is what Adventureland looked like.
And other than Fantasyland which is always busy during the day, this is what the park looked like all day. Amazing! After the two breaks taken care of, we headed over to the Jungle Cruise. Complete walk on. No matter how corny this ride is, I just love it. We had a great skipper. Ome pictures from our journey.
After our cruise, we headed over to the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. Since it was a complete walk on yet again, we decided to take a spin on a carpet. Chuck takes great pleasure in trying to get the camel to spit on me but alas no camels were spitting today.
Next, it was time for Pirates. We stopped and had a picture taken by the Photopass photographer as normal and headed on into the ride. Now everyone else was going to the right side so Chuck and I headed to the left where no one was. I do mean no one. We had a boat to ourselves while the people that went right had a full boat. We loved it.
But why is all the rum gone?
Now as we exited the ride, I saw another Photopass photographer that I knew had the person holding a sword and fighting Capt. Hook. Well, I convinced Chuck to do it but he was so not acting as he should. So then I took the sword and got another picture. Much better if I say so myself.
We decided to head over to Frontierland for a ride on Splash Mountain and BTMRR. But of course, I got distracted. Peter Pan was out for a meet and greet and he was one character I had yet to meet in all my trips. And the fact that line was two people deep made a had to stop.
We finally made it over to Frontier land and I was a little reluctant to ride Splash because it was still a little cool and adding water to the mixture would make it beyond chilly for me. We had a five minute wait at most and got into the third row. It was a great plummet and I’m happy to say that I only walked away with a slightly damp behind from water that was already on the seat. Next up was BTMRR. Another complete walk-on so no time for queue pictures. We got n the front seat and woo-hoo’d all the way through. When we returned to the station, there was no one in line so they asked if we wanted to go again. Only one group got off and we were off again.
We headed over to Liberty Square as it was time to grab some hitch hiking ghosts. Chuck had not seen the updates to the Haunted Mansion so off we went. Once again it was a complete walk on straight into the stretching room. I grabbed some quick pictures as we were making our way in but didn’t want to hold things up. We didn’t have a full stretching room but they closed the doors and I delighted in the fact that Chuck was saying the spiel by heart. Every once in awhile he surprises me with his random Disney moments. Chuck loved the updates and even remembered where the hidden Mickeys were in the ride. We gathered our ghost and made our way into Fantasyland.
After a quick glance at the time, we realized we had cleared the first half of MK in less than 2.5 hours. Wowsers. We had a full afternoon ahead of us to get through our favorites in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. I also wanted to head over to Pixie Hollow to meet Tink but it wasn’t a necessity.
Coming Up: 20 Minutes is a Long Wait and Chuck is “THAT” guy!
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.
WOW!! What a great time at CP and with the light crowds! I do have to say that this photo is cracking me up!! This is totally how Jeffrey would pose too!!
What a great first day you had Dawn! How sweet of Chuck to surprise you with the rings. They're really beautiful. Your dinner at the CG sounded very romantic and the waiter very attentive. I loved the view from your GF room! It must have been the perfect way to end each evening before going to bed! I can't believe how empty MK looked in your pics! Hurry back with more.
Oh Dawn, I am loving the updates. Your rings are beautiful. What a great guy you've got! The pictures fighting Hook are a hoot. I can't believe how much you got done in just 2.5 hours in MK.
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Chuck. Love the view from your room! That's a place I'd love to call home for 8 days. Your meal at CG sounds really fantastic. I'll get there one day! Ready for more, please!
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But worth every penney. isn't it???
He “sang” Happy Birthday to me as well as characters can and then posed for pictures. I 
this gloomy guy!
Chuck loved the updates and even remembered where the hidden Mickeys were in the ride. We gathered our ghost and made our way into Fantasyland.
This is totally how Jeffrey would pose too!! 
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