The Fun-Old-Fashioned Family Vacation 3.0 - Page 12 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Just found this fun TR! I love all the details you include! Can't wait for more!!!
So glad you found it! I'm going to post an update shortly
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hugmonster
Lol... I swear 90% of the time we have to do laundry because of the husband.
SOOOO true!
__________________
The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
[URL="http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-adventure-disney-world-trip-reports/288847-ch-ch-changes-ptr-july-16-24-a.html"]
I'd set my fitbit alarm for 5:30 because I knew my mom would call me at 5:45 sharp to wish my a Happy Birthday as she's done every year. I grabbed my mug, and my cell phone and headed toward Captain Cook for some early morning caffeine and to make sure the crew got a little extra sleep before our wake-up call at 6:45. Why so early? We had an 8 AM ADR at BoG, a first for us.
My phone rang at 5:45 just as I was putting the lid back on my mug, and I answered it to my parents sleepy and very-off key singing of Happy Birthday. They must have been loud enough, because the CM at the cash register smiled, and brought me a cupcake with a "Happy Birthday" It was a very sweet start to my day!
As I headed back to the room, I snapped a couple of photos of the sleepy resort:
Unfortunately, the only one that turned out was this one: [IMG][/IMG] because my phone lens was too foggy, and the pictures turned out too dark. I would get some great shots the following day.
Back in the room, I showered and the phone rang at 6:45 with a wake -up from the Mouse himself. Brian flipped on the TV and took his turn getting ready while I woke up the three sleeping bears. This sight was always quick to get them up and around though:
[IMG][/IMG]
Green monorail...again. I don't think I ever got a picture of another monorail color, but I do know the boys would get really excited and yell out "Orange Monorail" "Oh...Gold monorail" "Blue - it's blue now". It was pretty cool to hear there excitement as they tuned in to the Safety videos while getting dressed.
We had a brief discussion - monorail or boat (monorail won) then stroller or no stroller (I won and we took the stroller though no one rode in it at first). At exactly 7:15 we were heading up the GCH stairs to the monorail station. The boys were given another set of monorail cards (gold this time, they'd been given green the day we'd arrived), and were excited when the GOLD monorail pulled up. Nolan swore it was a sign that "today is going to be perfect".
We arrived at the MK gates at 7:35 and encountered confusion. There were three lines, and a lot of people just sitting around I took the stroller and the bag through the bag check line, while Brian and the boys headed to investigate the lines. The far right line? It was for the tours. The middle line? It was for the Y.E.S. class and the huge line to the left? It was the breakfast ADR line. There were several CM's with tablets who verified ADR's and directed you to the line. Another CM stood at the back of the line with a large sign stating "ADR's". The problem? The line backed up to where the bag check line emptied out and people who were "day guests" where getting into the line thinking they could be let into the park early. Several large parties were told by the CM with the tablet that they needed to exit the line, yet they insisted on remaining right up to the gate, where they even scanned their bands and it was confirmed they didn't have an ADR. It really held up the line, and I was starting to worry because it was now 8:00 and we were just being welcomed through the gates.
As we walked, I snapped a few pictures. I was excited to see the Scrim's along Main Street were gone, giving a clear view of the castle.
[IMG][/IMG]
It was very cool to see the park so empty!
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
The shirts? They were Brian's one request "goffy, matching vacation shirts that have something to say about the vacation 3.0 with the years listed".
There were CM's stationed at various points, directing us through Cinderella's castle. I'm not sure what happened, but later that day, the passage was blocked off and remained that way the other two days we were there?
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
We scanned our bands at the entrance to the bridge and were quickly led inside to the ordering kiosks. I almost wish we could have spent a bit more time with the Knights. The boys kept trying to wake them up as they were snoring quite loudly
[IMG][/IMG]
A lovely woman named Mara led us to an available kiosk as we hadn't taken advantage of the pre ordering because I was worried about the boys' allergies. She told me to go ahead an order the non allergen meals and she'd be right back to help us order for the boys. Brian choose the meat and cheese plate, Nolan choose the cro-nut with the carmel and ganache, and I had the ham and cheese (though I did forget to hit customize to have them leave off the fried egg). Cullen decided on Fruit loops and juice, so I only needed help with Patrick's dish. He wanted scrambled eggs, fruit and a breakfast meat. Mara returned and helped me through the process, noting that Patrick had a dairy allergy. Once everything was put in, we were given a receipt...just a piece of paper and directed to choose a seat. We headed into the main ballroom[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
I was blown away by how beautiful this restaraunt is, and the attention to detail given to it. We got our drinks, found a table and the older two set out to investigate the "stormy room" when suddenly a cart pulled up and our meal magically arrived! How did they know where to find us? Brian asked several CM's the secret but they just told him to "Be Our Guest and enjoy the rest!" He even examined the receipt to see if we'd been assigned a table
The food was delicious, and halfway through Brian and I swapped meals. Nolan's doughnut was wonderful, though way too sweet for me to eat the entire thin (or maybe it was too sweet because I'd already had a sweet cupcake with my Diet Coke that morning?).
With our bellies full and our drinks refilled, we exited the restaraunt to head toward the 7D for our first ride of the day. This was just being built on our 2012 visit. It was exactly 9:00 and the ride already had a posted wait time of 20 minutes It was warm already, but the line moved quickly. We loved the little interactive touches in the standby line and all too soon we were at the front. As a party of five, we knew someone would have to ride alone. Nolan and Patrick asked the CM if they could ride together and were told that kids 7 and 10 were able to. I couldn't figure out how she knew their ages until she winked and pointed to the MB scanner in her hand
We were ready to move to the side when we heard "Party of 5?" from a CM who was loading a train. We raised our hands and were led to a car where Brian rode with a gentleman, Nolan and Patrick were together and I rode with Cullen. His reaction? "This ride is AWESOME!!!!!" I have to agree with Cullen Brian thought it was pretty cool - especially the way the cars swung back and forth. Patrick giggled the whole way and we couldn't tell if Nolan liked it, though his face showed terror on the Photopass pictures[IMG][/IMG]. We adored the videos that we were given on this ride, and the pictures and the video were a complete surprise because as we exited the ride, Brian said, "wait - we're not dumped in a gift shop??? I can't believe a ride this new doesn't have some type of photo thing that you can buy a picture from!" So, I made sure we got a photopass picture with the ride in the background.
[IMG][/IMG]
As we exited, Cullen was begging to get back in line to ride again, but the wait was now 60 minutes. I reassured him that we had a FP+ for the ride later in the week, but we needed to find something with a shorter wait. We headed toward The Little Mermaid ride (another family first for us). I was surprised that this was a walk-on. We took our tour under the sea, and I "embarrassed" Nolan because I sang through the entire ride - it's my favorite movie after all!
Once we left Ariel, the boys declared they were "hot, and thirsty like now!" so we headed to Gaston's tavern to check off another "must do" on the boys' list: LeFou's Brew. I ordered one brew (1 snack credit) and one bottled lemonade (paid the $2.99 for that) and we found a seat in the room to the left of the ordering stand. The boys found it hysterical that the "darts" had landed everywhere BUT the target yet Gaston was clearly beating his friend. Disney did another great job with the theme here!
Refreshed, we got in line to meet Gaston himself. Unfortunately, there wasn't a Photopass person??? The meet was hysterical because he had me feel "his amazing manly biceps" and challenged Brian to "flex" for me. Patrick, after studying Gaston, spoke up and said, "hey, I thought you put fireworks on your head and DIED?" Gaston bent down and looked at him and said, "Well, that was an imposter...you know EVERYONE wants to be me." He signed the autograph book "GASTON, as in the REAL GASTON - no fireworks included" We were laughing so hard I couldn't get any pictures. After we left the area, Gaston needed to "go lift weights" so I think maybe we caught the photographer at a break too? Either way, we headed out toward the stroller and found a bored looking photographer in front of the fountain so Brain and I took a few pictures:
[IMG][/IMG]
Up Next: Prince Charming, 4D and a boat tour that is heard across the country.
__________________
The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
[URL="http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-adventure-disney-world-trip-reports/288847-ch-ch-changes-ptr-july-16-24-a.html"]
Fun morning so far! Gaston really seems to always have great interaction with guests.
So sweet that your folks call every year - I assume at the time of your birth? 5:45 is a bit early for me - but I guess it could be worse and you could've been born at 3 am!
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.
In case you haven't guessed by now, the BOG food delivery CM finds you by tracking your Magic Bands. We are always panicky that we'll be wandering around trying to decide where to sit with the cart following us.
The place looks fabulous, doesn't it? Honestly, the decor is the biggest reason to eat there. The food is okay to good, but the atmosphere is incredible.
__________________
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
You have made me super excited to try the Be Our Guest breakfast we have scheduled twice for our next trip! Tim wants the cronut. I love the theming in there, which I guess is why we will be eating there for breakfasts, lunch, and dinner. You have great interaction with Gaston. Though it is sad the other Gadton died that way, this Gaston handled that well. I love the Little Mermaid ride. I wouldn't have minded Nolan singing through it.
In case you haven't guessed by now, the BOG food delivery CM finds you by tracking your Magic Bands. We are always panicky that we'll be wandering around trying to decide where to sit with the cart following us
Fun morning so far! Gaston really seems to always have great interaction with guests.
So sweet that your folks call every year - I assume at the time of your birth? 5:45 is a bit early for me - but I guess it could be worse and you could've been born at 3 am!
Gaston is a blast! I loved his quick witted response to Patrick's question too
I was born at 5:45 in the morning, and my parents do call each year...unless I'm there and then they'll wake me up with their song. I'm very glad I wasn't born at 3 am! My mom swears there's a movie where the mother calls her child each year on the birthday and the producer took the idea from her
__________________
The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
[URL="http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-adventure-disney-world-trip-reports/288847-ch-ch-changes-ptr-july-16-24-a.html"]
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.
What a wonderful start to the day so far! I cannot wait to try Be Our Guest for breakfast, as I'm sure it will be really cool to start your day there.
We adored breakfast there. It's one meal that we agreed we'd probably pay for OOP next time and save the credits for a more expensive lunch. It was awesome to see the park so empty...it wouldn't be the case on our next visit
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMA
Sounds like a fun morning!
We had a great morning!
__________________
The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
[URL="http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-adventure-disney-world-trip-reports/288847-ch-ch-changes-ptr-july-16-24-a.html"]
I think the Gaston meet-and-greets are the best in the parks these days. He told me to "Smile like you're making me a sandwich"!!
"Smile like you're making me a sandwich"
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tara O'Hara
What a great morning!! I love your pictures too! . Gaston is way cool!!
Thank you! Gaston was great and it was a great morning!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Her Dotness
In case you haven't guessed by now, the BOG food delivery CM finds you by tracking your Magic Bands. We are always panicky that we'll be wandering around trying to decide where to sit with the cart following us.
The place looks fabulous, doesn't it? Honestly, the decor is the biggest reason to eat there. The food is okay to good, but the atmosphere is incredible.
I thought the food was actually pretty good considering the price. We had five breakfasts for less than four at Captain Cook's. Now, don't get me wrong - it's not going to fill a person up like our TH breakfast, or the breakfast we had on the 20th at 'Ohana, but it was a perfect way to get a light meal before heading out for fun. The atmosphere is incredible! I figured the food delivery had something to do with the magic bands, though my husband prefers to go with the McDonald's theory....the double line drive through's at McDonald's keep the orders straight because they snap a picture of the front of the car Brian figured the kiosk snapped a picture of my (since I did the ordering) and the CM's then played "match the picture to the person"
Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily
You have made me super excited to try the Be Our Guest breakfast we have scheduled twice for our next trip! Tim wants the cronut. I love the theming in there, which I guess is why we will be eating there for breakfasts, lunch, and dinner. You have great interaction with Gaston. Though it is sad the other Gadton died that way, this Gaston handled that well. I love the Little Mermaid ride. I wouldn't have minded Nolan singing through it.
It was so nice, and we will be back. I'm excited about your lunch and dinner as we couldn't get either on our other two MK days. Make sure you have time to visit Gaston - with Tim in tow because the interaction is priceless BTW - it was ME belting the tunes to Nolan's horror
__________________
The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
[URL="http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-adventure-disney-world-trip-reports/288847-ch-ch-changes-ptr-july-16-24-a.html"]
We didn't pre order our food, but there were people who were handed roses as they walked in (I'm guessing they ordered their meal ahead of time?) The people with the roses were being directed to the other dining room (it had a music box with Beast and Bell dancing).
__________________
The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
[URL="http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-adventure-disney-world-trip-reports/288847-ch-ch-changes-ptr-july-16-24-a.html"]
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
It was a very sweet start to my day!
I took the stroller and the bag through the bag check line, while Brian and the boys headed to investigate the lines. The far right line? It was for the tours. The middle line? It was for the Y.E.S. class and the huge line to the left? It was the breakfast ADR line. There were several CM's with tablets who verified ADR's and directed you to the line. Another CM stood at the back of the line with a large sign stating "ADR's". The problem? The line backed up to where the bag check line emptied out and people who were "day guests" where getting into the line thinking they could be let into the park early. Several large parties were told by the CM with the tablet that they needed to exit the line, yet they insisted on remaining right up to the gate, where they even scanned their bands and it was confirmed they didn't have an ADR. It really held up the line, and I was starting to worry because it was now 8:00 and we were just being welcomed through the gates. 
It was warm already, but the line moved quickly. We loved the little interactive touches in the standby line and all too soon we were at the front. As a party of five, we knew someone would have to ride alone. Nolan and Patrick asked the CM if they could ride together and were told that kids 7 and 10 were able to. I couldn't figure out how she knew their ages until she winked and pointed to the MB scanner in her hand 
PassPorter Guide Author
Linear Mode
