For the plans they are a changin’ TR - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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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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I slept in until 7, and Jeff until 7:30. We got up and had a leisurely breakfast. Then after we showered, we took some laundry down to the Kidani laundry room and started a couple loads.
On the way back we checked out the pool. It had a ton of lounge chairs around it and many in the shade, so that was a plus. At this time of day, there was no one around except a few cast members. We decided we’d come back later to swim.
Then we walked down to the savanna near the pool and chatted with Irene, a lovely CM who is from Uganda. She told us about a refuge for chimpanzees where she works. We talked with her for about 30 minutes and it was fascinating!
This guy was sunning himself while we talked to Irene
Then we went to the laundry to switch our clothes to the dryer.
We went back to the room for a bit and then decided to head over to Jambo. We walked to the entrance and took the shuttle. We looked out at the Savanna there and saw some giraffe. The first ones of the trip!
Then we found our way to Mara. I got a Cobb salad which I took back to the room for lunch.
On the way we stopped to get the laundry. And then we got a movie from Johari Treasures – War Horse. When we got back to the room Jeff made himself a sandwich and we ate lunch. Then we called to order a DVD player because we remembered the rooms do not have them anymore!
After lunch we changed into our swimsuits to try out the pool. But when we got there we had a quick change of mind. You see, the Jambo pool is closed for refurbishment, and neither resort has a quiet pool, so EVERYONE at AKL was using the pool at Kidani. It was jammed! Not my idea of a relaxing afternoon at the pool!
We ended up going back to the room and started watching War Horse.
At one point we thought about our plans for the evening. Our dinner ADRs were at Sanna, but we thought maybe after dinner we’d head over to AK and check out Pandora at night.
At 4:00 we took the shuttle back to Jambo for the culinary tour of Jiko and Boma. It was very interesting! We spent 15 minutes at Jiko and 15 minutes at Boma, with a representative from each restaurant giving the tour. At Jiko, we found out that the rings around the posts represent the rings that people wear around their necks in Africa.
And these are birds are flying off into the sunset.
We also found out that Jiko has the largest selection of South African wines, outside of South Africa!
Then we tasted some breads and accompaniments.
At Boma we discovered that the table we were sitting at for breakfast the other day would have been the place for visiting royalty to sit! It was in a group of three tables that were set apart from the rest of the restaurant. We also found out that the word Boma means “enclosure.” So that explains the fence that makes its way around the seating. We all got to sample some carrot/ginger soup which was outstanding! Then they came around with a zebra dome for everyone. I declined because they are not gluten free. With that they tour was over and we said our thank yous and good byes. We were so glad we’d taken the time to take the tour as it was really very nice!
We took the shuttle back to the room and watched the rest of our movie. At one point Jeff noticed the gazelles running around, chasing each other and jumping in the funniest way! We could hear the folks on the balcony next to ours laughing as they watched as well. They we doing that for about 5 minutes. It was hilarious!
We left for our dinner at Sanaa about 6:50, and arrived a bit before 7:00. We waited about 15 minutes for a table, but it we were able to go out to the savanna and see some giraffe, along with other animals.
Michael was our server. He was personable and very knowledgeable. We ordered the bread service which we had heard so much about! They offer gluten free naan, so Jeff chose three of the regular offerings – regular Naan, garlic naan and Paneer Paratha, and I had 2 GF, and we had all 9 accompaniments. He liked the regular and garlic, but the paneer paratha was a bit odd he said. The GF naan was good as well. And the accompaniments were yummy! I liked the spicier ones and Jeff liked the sweeter and not so spicy ones, so it worked out perfectly!
Jeff ordered a watermelon lemonade and I had club soda.
For our dinner we decided to split the South Africa Braavleis, which was fire grilled pork, lamb chop, a wild game sausage and accompaniments.
We were glad we decided to share as it was a large portion.
It was a nice leisurely dinner which was good, but didn’t end up leaving us time to head back over to AK for the night. But that was ok. We stopped at the gift shop to pick up the pint glass we bought at R&C and we also bought some ice cream – a Mickey bar for me and a crunch bar for Jeff.
When we got back to the room we put them in the freezer and had a cup of tea to relax. Then our ice cream. YUM!
There was one song on the TV loop we’d been listening to off and on that I could not place, but every time it came around, I just loved it! We ended up googling it and found out it was Le Festin from Ratatouille. Ah! My new favorite Disney song!!
The weather today was – hot and humid, but partly cloudy
The best thing today was – our conversation with Irene from Uganda
The worst thing was – the crowd at the pool
The funniest thing today was – the jumping gazelles
Today we tried – the free culinary tour and Jiko and Boma
And the result was –wonderful tour with some yummy samples!
The most magical moment today was – finally some giraffe sightings!
What a nice leisurely day at the two AK resorts. You enjoyed so much and it shows you that you can have a great day in WDW even without visiting the parks! Sounds like your time with Irene was very interesting and informative as was your tour of the Jambo House eateries. That's interesting about the rings as I've noticed those on the poles in Jiko, having dined there several times. I knew about the SA wine collection at Jiko as one of my servers told that to me on one of my visits. Quite a nice dinner at Sanaa as all looks good and have enjoyed it myself on a few occasions. You had some nice views on the savanna and funny with the gazelles!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
What a wonderfully relaxing day and how lovely to be able to spend so much time enjoying the resorts. We still never seem to have enough time to do that. You certainly learnt a lot from the tour.
It sounds like a lovely day Donna. Sometimes you just need those types of relaxing days while at Disney. Your tour of the AK restaurants sounded so interesting. How much do they charge for that tour?
Great pictures from AK! Glad you enjoyed your dinner at Tiffins. And a nice relaxing next day! You finally found the giraffes! Sounds like a great tour of Boma/Jiko and a great meal at Sanaa!
What a nice leisurely day at the two AK resorts. You enjoyed so much and it shows you that you can have a great day in WDW even without visiting the parks! Sounds like your time with Irene was very interesting and informative as was your tour of the Jambo House eateries. That's interesting about the rings as I've noticed those on the poles in Jiko, having dined there several times. I knew about the SA wine collection at Jiko as one of my servers told that to me on one of my visits. Quite a nice dinner at Sanaa as all looks good and have enjoyed it myself on a few occasions. You had some nice views on the savanna and funny with the gazelles!
Yes Dave, it was a great day. In the back of my mind I keep thinking that one of these trips we could do a resort stay and skip the park passes. I wound not miss the attractions, but I think I’d miss the dining opportunities.
What a wonderfully relaxing day and how lovely to be able to spend so much time enjoying the resorts. We still never seem to have enough time to do that. You certainly learnt a lot from the tour.
It was a very pleasant day and I’m glad we decided to do it!
It sounds like a lovely day Donna. Sometimes you just need those types of relaxing days while at Disney. Your tour of the AK restaurants sounded so interesting. How much do they charge for that tour?
It certainly was a good break from the parks. .
Amazingly the culinary tour is FREE! . Sanaa has a similar one...they call it a cultural tour.
Great pictures from AK! Glad you enjoyed your dinner at Tiffins. And a nice relaxing next day! You finally found the giraffes! Sounds like a great tour of Boma/Jiko and a great meal at Sanaa!
I was so excited to finally see some giraffes! We had a great view from our balcony, but I was just a little disappointed that we didin’t have any giraffes. So, it was nice to see some on the main savanna. .
Nice leisurely day all around! Glad you all enjoyed Sanaa. We neither one like the paneer paratha, but the naans are delicious. Excellent giraffe pictures!
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Tiffins is still on my list to try. Awesome photos- both the PP ones and the ones you took!! 
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