The Walt Disney World/Disneyland Double Dip Trip! - UPDATED 7/11 w/FINAL THOUGHTS - Page 13 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Great update Sharon - I love your photos of the Voices of Liberty and inside the American Adventure, I don't think I've ever seen photos taken in there before!
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.
Great update Sharon! I love Teppanyaki too. The show is just as good as the food that is prepared. The crowds sound pretty bad - hope they got better as the week went on.
Your Kaki Gori story (ooh, that rhymes!) reminded me of my middle DS's quest to get a shaved ice machine (used ones sell for around $700.- he checked) and then find out what kind of fruit syrup they are using and buy that as well and make his own. He is obsessed by this and the last two trips there we spent time at the stand trying to read what it said on the plastic jugs only to find out it said.........strawberry syrup, melon syrup, tangerine syrup etc. No name brand, in fact no other markings at all. Just the type of syrup. I told him to ask that one cast member who has been there for years what kind of syrup it is, but he hasn't gotten the chance yet.
More report!!
Suzie
__________________
Disneyland 1969
WDW 1983-2004 Disney Village Resort,Fort Wilderness Trailer,CB, PO, Dixie Landings,ASS, ASM, ASMo, Contemporary, Polynesian,PORiverside,POP,AKL,Coronado Springs, Disney Village Resorts, Grovesnor, Lake Buena Vista Hilton, etc....
Feb.2005-AKL,Oct.2005-PopCentury,Feb.2006-
Contemporary,Aug.2006-POP,Dec.2006-POR,Feb.2007-POP,June 2007- POP,Dec. 2007- POP
Excellent update even with you feeling under the weather. Hope you feel better soon!
__________________
ºOº ~*~
Oct '99: CSR ~ May '02: CR ~ Nov '04: SOG ~ May '06: SOG ~ Dec '07: Solo @ Pop ~ May '08: Pop w/friends ~ Oct '08: SOG ~ Dec '09: Pop w/LeAnn ~ Sept '10: Solo @ Pop ~ Spring '11: AKL ~ Jan '12: Pop for 1/2 Marathon ~ Sept '12: 1st trip for DL 1/2 Marathon? ~ Feb '13: Pop w/pals? ~ Mar '13: Tokyo Disney w/PP's?
Tuesday, February 20 Finally, the Royal Recognition I Deserve!!
This was our MGM day and our plan was the same as it had been the day before: get there at opening before the crowds descended. We were a bit more fortunate than the day before, but there was still quite a crowd at opening.
DM doesn’t do the thrill rides, and DF doesn’t do TOT (the only ride at Disney that he doesn’t like). This is OK with me, since I get three times as many FPs. Anyway, the plan was for DF and I to hit the standby on RNRC and DM would get three TOT FPs while we were riding.
We were sort of in the middle of the pack, and by the time we got to the line, it was a 10-minute wait. Not horrible. And definitely better than the day before.
The queue was under construction at the time and it seemed clear to me that a single rider’s line was being added. Good news for me. But at the moment, everything was boarded up and not where it should be. Also, with everyone going to the lower area of the pre-show, you couldn’t see Steven Tyler wipe his spit on blue shirt guy (hi Karen ). Would an Aerosmith fan be kind enough to tell me the name of the tall blond guy in the blue shirt? I’d appreciate it ever so much!
OK, so where was I? After our spin on RNRC, we headed out and found DM. The FPs she’d picked up weren’t quite ripe, so she suggested we do some shopping. So we put DM on his bench and dropped a little cash.
When my FP window opened, we all headed down Sunset Boulevard. DM & DF headed in to see Beauty & the Beast, and I figured my three trips on TOT would take me about as long as the show, so we agreed to meet across from the theater.
The standby line was pretty long and I’m one of those people who feels no guilt about using FP (and in fact enjoy passing up the unfortunate folks in the standby line ). I’m so bad that I often try to remember the faces of the people in line, so that when I pass them again (and often even a third time), I can gloat to myself a little more. Aint I a stinker!
Anyway, when I got to the front of the FP line, the CM made me wait for the next group and started taking people from the standby line. This made me quite happy! Why, you ask? Well, I just happened to notice a couple of Dream Squad members standing next to the library doors (the ones I’d be going into!!!).
Kidding! Heh. I just told you I was a stinker! Anyway, the CM let me and a few others (about 10 in all) into the library, and we were joined by the Dream Squad Guys. I was the only one who knew who they were, and I started to get excited. I wasn’t sure how many Dreams were going to be given out, so I decided to increase my chances by looking exceptionally perky and enthusiastic.
I was next to the door, and so were the DSG, so I made sure they could see me reciting the words to the preshow movie (well, at least I think they could see me in the dark. I wasn’t actually speaking, just mouthing the words). Unfortunately, nothing happened.
When the film ended and the lights went on, however, the DSG were blocking the door and they asked us if we’d heard about the Year of a Million Dreams. I and a few others said that we did. Then they told us that we’d all won a dream. Now I get all excited with the “woohoo” and a big cheesy grin on my face. Everyone else just kind of murmured approval. One of the DSG asks if we’d like to know what our prize is and I’m like “Yeah. Woo!” Everyone else: {crickets chirping}. Anyway, we all won a Dream Fastpass for the day.
Now I’m known as the FastPass Queen here on the boards, but Disney just made it official! And on my favorite ride, no less! The only thing was, my DF and DM didn’t have a fabulous Dream FP like I, the Official FastPass Queen, did, so I’d have to put my Official FastPass Queen skills to good use. So pay attention. A lesson in FastPass maximization is imminent.
Now you might be thinking that perhaps I let that go to my head a little. Of course you would think that, because you are an ordinary Disney guest. But I’m not pretentious or anything. I’m still the same down-to-earth Princess I always was! Just a little better than you, that’s all. Kidding! Anyway, I do think it’s really cool that I won a Dream FP while on my favorite ride, and I couldn’t have been more excited (well, except if I’d won the Castle stay or the DVC). Disney knows what they’re doing with these Million Dreams.
After all that, I still had my 3 FPs plus a Dream FP to use. I was able to skip a bunch of people in the boiler room being a single rider (a bunch of people who, I need to point out, were ordinary park guests, and not “chosen” like me).
After that ride, I headed right back in line. I was so excited that I forgot to look at the people in the standby line. But I take comfort in the fact that at least one of them noticed me going by again and was jealous.
I’m kidding about this, really. The ladies who were on the Disneyland Girls Trip will confirm that I am quite humble and pleasant. Right, girls?
I used my final FP for another trip into the Twilight Zone, and then it was time to meet up with my parents. The show wasn’t quite over, so I headed back over to RNRC and used my Dream FP to ride it.
Once I got out, B&TB had let out and I found my parents. I had DM document me with my Dream FP.
It’s Official!
I am a little embarrassed by how happy I look in that photo. I’m such a dork! It was busy at the park, but I figured we’d be able to hit everything with some careful planning, especially considering there are a number of things DM doesn’t ride.
We’d had a little breakfast before hitting the park, but I wanted a milkshake, so I got one. We also grabbed two FPs for the Indiana Jones Stunt show. I enjoyed my milkshake while we made our way to the back of the park. On the way, we grabbed one FP for Star Tours since DM won’t ride it (remember, we had three park tickets). We happened upon Mulch, Sweat and Shears, so we stopped to enjoy them for a bit.
As I was finishing up my milkshake, we headed in to Muppet Vision. The CM saw me frantically sucking down the last of my shake and told me to keep it. She didn’t want me getting a severe case of brain freeze!
After Muppet Vision, we headed back and picked up two FPs for LMASS. The LMASS FPs are just handed out by CMs, so you walk up and tell the CM how many you want, and the CM hands them to you. So in case you lost count, we had 2 FPs for Indy, 1 FP for Star Tours, and 2 FPs for LMASS at once, plus my Dream FP. Now you know why Karen dubbed me the FastPass Queen.
By this time, our Indy FP was ripe, so we headed in to watch the show. Ordinarily, this is something I skip, but I hadn’t seen it in a while. Also, the CM playing Indy was pretty cute, so I enjoyed it. DM and DF had seen it, but they forgot about the “ringer,” and enjoyed it too.
When we got out of Indy, it was time for LMASS, so we went and watched that. I’d seen this show twice before and feel that there isn’t much repeatability factor, but I know DF enjoys it. Unfortunately, there was no cute Indy in this show. But it was still good.
After the show, DM went and picked up 2 FPs for VOTLM while DF and I got on Star Tours. I took a few pictures in the queue.
When we got to the loading area, I noticed a very small kid in the row next to us. For those Star Tours chickens out there, have a look at the “extreme” kid in the row next to us:
Now that’s hardcore!
The picture is at a wacky angle because my Stealth Photography skills were thrown off by my Dream FastPass excitement. Obviously, that baby is too small to ride ST, and his DM was just doing a baby swap, but it was funny to see them waiting to ride with everyone else! As we were waiting, a couple of Stormtroopers came out and made menacing gestures in our general direction. With extreme baby to protect me, I was so not worried.
This is another ride that I tend to skip. But perhaps that’s because I’ve never actually seen any of the Star Wars movies. But the ride’s still fun when I do actually ride it.
Up Next: Disaster Strikes
__________________
Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
All hail, all hail the official Fastpass Queen! Now that is a serious lesson is using FastPasses! By the way, great photos of the Indy show - I haven't seen that in years. I guess I'll have to put that right in December.
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.
According to Aerosmith.com , his name is Tom Hamilton
And I thought it was something worse than spit....
Now, I have to go back and read the latest update (I was too anxious to spread my store of useless knowledge and had to post a response before I read on... )
I am a little embarrassed by how happy I look in that photo. I’m such a dork!
OMGosh... that's the BEST photo!! I totally ADORE how *thrilled* you are and I practically burst into happy tears when I first saw it. I swear, I just made it my backround picture on my desktop because it gave me so much joy to see it!
So totally rockin' that you won a Dream Fast Pass, Sharon. It's like the planets were aligning or something
Eileen
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.