Thanks to the PCRU, We Get to Go to DLR Too! **COMPLETE 8/21/2010** - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
That meal looks like it was pretty darn good. Glad to hear you were able to get in a drawing class and your Jack turned out wonderful. So good, I think it should go in a frame and be on a wall.
Sorry WOC was a let down, but I agree that standing all that time wouldn't be any fun. Perhaps as the hype dies down, things will get better.
Okay, I am not quite sure Jack deserves to be up in the gallery! Especially since we have the real artwork!!
danielle
__________________
~Shoot for the moon, if you miss, you will land among the stars~
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
I totally understand your issues with WoC. My hubby did the whole wait and stand thing for WoC but not only did I need to stay with our little boys to get them to sleep but there is no way I would go through all that to see it. I keep hoping the craziness will die down and they will make the process easier and then I will be up for it.
Your food always looks so good and you seem to be having a great time! More please...
Nice update, Danielle. Your meal looked delicious and I give your drawing an A+ Thanks for the review of WoC - now I don't feel like we've missed a must see. Looking forward to more!
I totally understand your issues with WoC. My hubby did the whole wait and stand thing for WoC but not only did I need to stay with our little boys to get them to sleep but there is no way I would go through all that to see it. I keep hoping the craziness will die down and they will make the process easier and then I will be up for it...
From your lips to the Disney's powers that be ears!
danielle
__________________
~Shoot for the moon, if you miss, you will land among the stars~
Nice update, Danielle. Your meal looked delicious and I give your drawing an A+ Thanks for the review of WoC - now I don't feel like we've missed a must see. Looking forward to more!
Thanks, Dyan....maybe you can see about getting my transcipt changed....nope, i am not bitter...not at all.
danielle
__________________
~Shoot for the moon, if you miss, you will land among the stars~
This was our last real day at DLR since tomorrow’s flight would not allow for any park time. It was yet again a Magic Morning which I had not anticipated. I was told by the CMs that since it was grad night and the parks would close early, they added a MM. Yup, this was our third 7am MM in four days and needless to say, we were dragging a bit. Still, we knew it would be a long time before we ever headed back to DLR and were determined to make the most of it. I had asked he kids to each pick there top three in DL with the plan to hit all six that morning.
We hit the Matterhorn first and of course, came across the non-existent line.
Two rides back to back by 7:15. We continued in FL for Mr. Toad, Alice and Snow White…by 7:40.
Strolled over to Tomorrowland taking our own sweet time and then used some more of our Give A Day FP so they kids could zip through Space Mountain two more times.
We went to see Captain EO as Izzy was really taken by the whole 80’s look of it….she is super into the 80’s right now and is currently channeling Madonna circa 1985! While Paul and the kids had seen EO a day or two before, it was my first time. I think the seats move around a little more than I would like but it was overall fine.
Lastly, we did the castle walk through. Sadly, my picture quality is really poor and doesn’t translate well. We really enjoyed the castle walk through; I love the attention to little details at DLR.
Alrighty, having conquered our top six (+), we zipped across the esplanade to DCA, for opening. Once again, the kids each had an agenda. Paul headed to California Screamin with AJ who had built up enough courage to ride solo since he is stuck with wimpy parents. I took Izzy towards Mike and Sulley to the Rescue as that is way more my speed! Guess what happened? We were the very first guests to ride so they made Izzy an honorary screamer! We had a cute certificate that would allow us to come back anytime and as many times that day for a skip the lines and head to our very own taxi for a ride.
After our VIP ride, we met the boys in the Animation Building as both my kids were so taken with the displays and activities there. We spent quite a bit of time watching the zoetrope and heading through the various rooms. I then dragged all of us back on Mike and Sulley….couldn’t let the pass go to waste!
We then grabbed an early lunch at Taste Pilot’s Grill….sadly no pics. I distinctly remember not wanting to eat here but then really enjoying my meal.
Why, the quickie, early lunch? Well, we had big plans…another Aladdin show! We really fell in love with the show, the Genie is hysterical; I knew this would be a priority. Since we had sat in the center orchestra for the previous show, we really wanted to sit front row mezzanine. This was quite a trick because they don’t open up the mezzanine seating until the orchestra section is full. You should have seen us skulking around, waiting for the CM to open it up. :0
Lucky for us, there was only one other couple who were also vying for those coveted seats. Happily, we all were able to enter together and snag ‘em.
DH and I then flip-flopped, he and Izzy went off to conquer Mulholland Madness two or three times while I brought AJ back to Cali Screamin’. We still had a load of FPs to burn and I was glad we had them because the line was standby line was L.O.N.G.
AJ had a couple turns on that before I proposed the idea of buying him a soft serve ice cream. This is a rare treat in our family as none of us like to eat food Izzy is allergic to when she is around. AJ happily obliged my request and enjoyed a ginormous vanilla and chocolate twist.
Don’t feel too bad for Izzy. As AJ was busy enjoying his cool treat, DH and Izzy had five turns on Grizzly River….yup, gotta love those Give A Day FPs!!!!
It had been a great time at each of the parks, taking in our favs. We headed back to the hotel for a little rest before dinner and fireworks! J
danielle
__________________
~Shoot for the moon, if you miss, you will land among the stars~
Izzy's been channeling mid-80's Madonna? So THAT explains why I like her look so much these days!
I am once again amazed by all you accomplished in such a short period of time. I really hope Rich will have to go out there for business (and bring us, of course) SOON!
Paul and Izzy headed back to the room while Andrew and I stopped by Ridemakerz as it was opening day. The premise of this shop is like Build-A-Bear but with model cars instead….oh yes, and a whole lot more money, too! AJ walked around a bit and decided to try his hand at building one for himself. The process is pretty basic, you pick the car, wheels, rims and then of course, the umpteen extra accessories; and then you go to a station where they set a stopwatch while you put the thing together. Afterwards, you can buy extra batteries, upgraded remote, etc. By the time we were down, it was close to three digits….ouch. (As an aside, at LAX, they took the whole thing apart because I guess they thought it could have been some sort of device….the car never was put back together appropriately and there went $$$ down the drain). Oh well, lesson learned.
It was time for our dinner at Storyteller’s Café so DH and Izzy met us just outside. I checked in at the podium, reminded them of the food allergy and waited about five minutes before we sat down. Without doing into a major dissertation, this meal was a disaster. Lots of little problems like a not-so-friendly server who took way to long to come to our table despite the fact the restaurant wasn’t even half full yet and a chef who was very inflexible about a safe meal for Izzy. But the real problem was Izzy’s meal which came out with her usual fruit plate and a nice, big bowl of yogurt. Alright, I am pretty sure the kitchen should know that yogurt is a dairy product…. Now you have to understand, with a kiddo like Izzy, who has been 911’d too many times, I need to trust that a kitchen knows what they are doing and has a priority on safety. In any case, the real problem was that no one wanted to accept responsibility and just apologize. The server blamed the chef, the chef blamed the kitchen, the manager told us the regular chef was on vacation and on and on the excuses went. At this point, I became pretty annoyed, er, angry. I think I might have even lost my temper a bit and I really gave it to the manager. (I did send DH and Izzy up to the concierge t see I they could get us into Steakhouse 55 immediately so at least she wasn’t there to witness me becoming a bit unglued.)
You know what was the saddest part? All they had to do was say “We are sorry we made a mistake.” I can accept human error, we all make mistakes. What I abhor, is when you don’t man (or woman) up and take responsibility. And I told the manager just that as I walked right out of the restaurant. I give him credit; he followed me out, finally apologized and offered to pay for our dinner at Steakhouse 55. I thanked him, took the card he handed me, and made my way over to the DL hotel where Paul and Izzy were waiting for AJ and me.
I was still stewing a bit and AJ was conspiring to order the most expensive items on the menu. We chatted a bit about it and by the time we met the rest of the family, all was good and we knew we had to order a responsible dinner. And, we did just that. I think I was so distracted; I really didn’t take many pics. I will say the food was scrumptious and the service fabulous…same as it was a few nights earlier. We loved both our visits to Steakhouse 55 and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back here again and again.
After dinner, we walked back into DL for the last time. We took some time to visit the Disney Gallery at the Main Street Bank and then a showing of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. It was wonderful to see all the memorabilia; ¾ of us enjoyed the show…it was a little over Izzy’s head.
The park was closing early at 9pm with fireworks scheduled. We made our way in front of the castle and found a great spot front and center about 30 minutes ahead. We sat down and chatted with a family next to us which, of course, made the time pass quickly.
What can I say about the fireworks? They were awesome; I love Tink and Dumbo! I did snap a few pics but once again, they do not do justice to the real thing.
It was a wonderful evening and a great way to cap our last moments in the park. We slowly strolled out and through Downtown Disney, meandering in and out of the shops, as we made our way back to the Grand Cali.
danielle
__________________
~Shoot for the moon, if you miss, you will land among the stars~
Gosh Danielle, sorry for another nightmare meal! Really poor customer service, especially with a life and death situation! Glad you were able to get into Steakhouse 55 and had a great meal!
We went into that make your own Ride store! Thank goodness Colin didn't want to make one! Sorry you had to take your's apart and haven't gotten it back together again!
About This Page: 
Especially since we have the real artwork!!
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Waiting to eat with Goofy - DLR May 2010
Sounds like a great day so far!
PassPorter Guide Author
Glad you were able to get into Steakhouse 55 and had a great meal!
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Linear Mode
