Forever Young: A Disneyland Trip 50 Years in the Making COMPLETED 1/16/16 - Page 14 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Your breakfast looks delicious and I am so happy that you are thoroughly enjoying yourselves!! Great photos!!!. Glad you tried the Matterhorn!!!!
This will turn out to be one of our most incredible vacations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SharonK0527
Breakfast looked yummy and loved all of the shots in front of the castle
Glad you tried the Matterhorn - it is a classic. We loved that ride when we went to DLR quite a few years ago. Perhaps it has gotten more bumpy over the years?
I don't if it's gotten bumpy over the years or not, but this day it was kept knocking the breath out of me with the jolts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roxie2006
What a huge breakfast. The castle looks really small. I'm not sure I could ride The Matterhorn because jerky rides hurt my back. I have trouble with the 7 Dwarf Ride, but I do it any way and pay later. The PP photos are awesome. What a great photographer.
I'd said you'd be best to avoid the Matterhorn if SDMT is hard on you as it is way smoother than the Matterhorn.
Love all your photos! We never did ride the Matterhorn. The line was always pretty long, and I wasn't so sure it would have been my kind of thing. Sounds like I made a good choice.
Yummy breakfast! I'm adding Jolly Holiday to our list. Bonus too that they offer a DVC discount!
Add me to the list of people who do not like the Matterhorn. I couldn't wait to ride it, and then I couldn't wait to get off it! It was pretty soon after running the DL half marathon and it made my already sore body even more sore.
We weren't DVC owners yet when we lived in LA and went to DL all the time, so I didn't realize they give more discounts! That is great - a very nice perk (hear that WDW?!)!
I can't do the Matterhorn - too jerky for me! And that was BEFORE I started having back trouble. But it's definitely something to try once, due to it's classic status!
I have never been to DL and I am on the edge of my seat reading this! So awesome! I'm loving all the information you have and the pictures!! Can't wait for more!
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.
Love all your photos! We never did ride the Matterhorn. The line was always pretty long, and I wasn't so sure it would have been my kind of thing. Sounds like I made a good choice.
It was huge, wasn't it? I think you probably made a wise choice on the Matterhorn.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Amy L
Yummy breakfast! I'm adding Jolly Holiday to our list. Bonus too that they offer a DVC discount!
Add me to the list of people who do not like the Matterhorn. I couldn't wait to ride it, and then I couldn't wait to get off it! It was pretty soon after running the DL half marathon and it made my already sore body even more sore.
Almost every place we ate counter service had the DVC 10% discount. it!
I can't imagine riding the Matterhorn after running a half marathon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
We weren't DVC owners yet when we lived in LA and went to DL all the time, so I didn't realize they give more discounts! That is great - a very nice perk (hear that WDW?!)!
I can't do the Matterhorn - too jerky for me! And that was BEFORE I started having back trouble. But it's definitely something to try once, due to it's classic status!
I had the same thought that WDW could learn from this over and over on this trip. I'm glad I rode the Matterhorn once, but I'm not sure how eager I'll be to get back on this next trip.
I have never been to DL and I am on the edge of my seat reading this! So awesome! I'm loving all the information you have and the pictures!! Can't wait for more!
Thank you! I'd better get busy on the next update.
Alert/Warning: This update is overloaded with photos. You have been warned.
Wednesday, October 7 – Finally 35 years later . . .
Once upon a time, a 22-year-old girl visited the most magical place on earth, the Disney World during college spring break in February 1980. She used almost all her tickets from A to E. One little A ticket remained as a souvenir. Whenever anyone asked the girl, what her favorite ride had been, she would comment – 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. Eventually, she returned to college to finish her B. A. in History, get married to her best friend, and begin her career as an educator, and unfortunately, Disney World became a faded memory. A little later, she had two kids, and began thinking someday, their family would plan a Disney vacation. But life can get in the way. Finally in 1997, the long awaited trip was planned. Imagine her great disappointment when she realized that 20,000 Leagues had been removed years ago.
Fast-forward to 2014 when I finally realize that we would be heading to Disneyland. I may have squealed with delight because I would get to ride the Nemo Submarine Voyage, a modern rendering of 20,000 Leagues. Now back to the regularly scheduled TR update. While in line for the Matterhorn, I kept getting glimpses of Nemo’s Yellow submarines. (Anyone else now singing, “We all live in a yellow submarine. Love the Beatles!) I may have been bouncing a bit in the queue as well, so Luke promised we’d head there next. I did stop to capture a photo of the monorail as well as the subs before we were off to ride.
Our standby wait lasted about 15 or so minutes before we were climbing down into our sub and taking our seats, which were each situated across from our own personal portholes. You’ve probably guessed what I did next. I aimed my camera at the porthole. So join me for our submerged tour of the lagoon.
Absolutely wowed me as the original had 35 years ago. it!
Continuing our Tomorrowland tour and since it was close by, we moved into the standby line for Autopia. I don’t really like driving this sort of car, but riding along as a photographer/passenger suits me just fine. And here is the proof.
Both of these photos are of our car. If you looked at it one way it was green, but in another it was blue. Cool paint job!
I couldn't get over the car's changing color.
Next, Luke decided he was ready for a Monorail ride. He knew, but I was clueless, this version of the monorail does NOT have air conditioning. Thank goodness, we rode it today rather than later in the week. Today it was merely stuffy, but I have a feeling it was scorching when the temperature reached 105 degrees. As we waited for a monorail to arrive, I discovered some great views from the platform, and true to form, I took photos. I did not take any aboard the monorail as I just wanted to enjoy the ride.
I loved this viewpoint of the yellow submarines. (Anyone singing again??)
Back at ground level, we were somewhat hungry, but we didn’t want to eat too much as we had an ADR for Café Orleans at 3:30. So we stopped at Tomorrowland Terrace, which looks more like Launch Pad, than its WDW counterpart. We got 2 large Cokes and 2 Mickey Ice Cream Sandwiches. Cost = $12.31 after the $1.27 DVC discount. We found a covered table and sat down to enjoy our cold treat.
When we finished eating, we backtracked in order for me to get a photo of the Autopia sign for scrapbooking.
Since I didn’t take notes, I can’t exactly, or even vaguely, remember when we returned to Space Mountain to get FastPasses. But these were now ready to use. By the way, as some of you had advised I took Bonine this morning, and it was working. Back to SM, at this time of year, it becomes Ghost Galaxy. We entered the FP line, and moved rapidly through the queue.
And here is my number photo.
Ride photo -- Looks like I might be reconsidering.
I actually did better on this version up until the last bit of track when the icks hit. Thankfully, the feeling passed quickly and pretty much passed by the time we climbed out. The Ghost Galaxy overlay is cool, at least, what I witnessed when my eyes were open. Both Luke and I feel the Disneyland version is considerably smoother than the Magic Kingdom one. When I asked Luke last night about the quality of the Matterhorn ride, he compared it to MK’s Space Mountain. I really enjoyed riding side by side with Luke on this one, too.
Back on earth again, we discovered an interesting back drop complete with a PP photographer. The effect was to simulate being in Frozen. I did want to get my money’s worth from the PhotoPass+, so we got behind a family and were second in line.
Here I'm playing Elsa and Luke is playing Sven.
As we exited this backdrop, we saw a second one. The effect of this one was to make it appear we were climbing the Matterhorn. We will end up finding several more of these throughout DL, and I wouldn’t mind seeing some of these at WDW, too.
Right behind where we were in the Matterhorn photo shoot, there was a group of artists creating art that incorporated Disney characters into letters. They would spell out whatever you wanted, for a price. I thought about coming back later to have one made, but that never happened.
NEXT: Entering Fantasyland for the first time ever
You got some great photos on the Nemo subs! I couldn't believe how clever the seating on the subs were. They sure used every useable inch in there!
Didn't you love getting the DVC discount for QS and snacks? It seems like we got a DVC discount on everything we purchased at DLR. That sure is something I wish WDW would do, offer more DVC discounts. And what cool photopass pictures! Wish they would do some of those at WDW too. Like you, I often found myself thinking that this thing or that thing was much better at DL than WDW. Most of the rides we experienced that could be found at both parks I found to be much better at DL.
You got some great photos on the Nemo subs! I couldn't believe how clever the seating on the subs were. They sure used every useable inch in there!
Didn't you love getting the DVC discount for QS and snacks? It seems like we got a DVC discount on everything we purchased at DLR. That sure is something I wish WDW would do, offer more DVC discounts. And what cool photopass pictures! Wish they would do some of those at WDW too. Like you, I often found myself thinking that this thing or that thing was much better at DL than WDW. Most of the rides we experienced that could be found at both parks I found to be much better at DL.
The subs definitely don't have any wasted space. The first sub I saw unloading, I counted how many folks climbed. It was a little surprising how many could fit in each sub.
We felt the same way about the duplicate rides. So many of them were just so much better or longer or cooler.
I'd definitely vote for more DVC discounts at WDW.
Very cool PP shots! Love the ones of you climbing the mountain!
I have to say, I don't know much about DL, so excuse my silly question...the monorail station is in Tomorrowland? And you just ride the circuit and get off where you got on? Or is it an actual means of transportation?
Oh I so get you about the submarines - I loved those on my first visit to WDW in 1981 with my parents. We went back a couple of times and I loved them again, then we went on our honeymoon in 1999 and they were gone. I too was so excited to finally get to try them again in Disneyland and it didn't disappoint!
You were lucky you rode the monorail when you did, as I know it was closed for large chunks of time during our visit because of the heat.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Great photos!!!
. Glad you tried the Matterhorn!!!!
This will turn out to be one of our most incredible vacations. 
. The castle looks really small
. I'm not sure I could ride The Matterhorn because jerky rides hurt my back. I have trouble with the 7 Dwarf Ride, but I do it any way and pay later. The PP photos are awesome. What a great photographer. 
It was pretty soon after running the DL half marathon and it made my already sore body even more sore.
it!
PassPorter Guide Author
Linear Mode
