Rain, Sunshine & Cupcakes ~ June 24 - July 3 - Page 14 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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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.
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.
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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!
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Next time I go to DHS I will do a little experiment. I'm going over to TSMM early in the morning and get in the stand-by line. I want to know if those wait times are really true. No way they're that long only 15 minutes after opening.
When we were there last week, TSMM was the first place we headed at park opening. My hubby went straight for the fast passes. He grabbed those, and we headed into the stand-by line. Got on within a few minutes, got off, and immediately got back in the stand-by line. This time I want to say the wait was about 15 minutes. We still ended up having time after our 2nd ride before our fast passes were good.
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I am just now getting caught back up so I am good with you taking a break. Sounds like you guys had a great trip and I'm glad the rain has started slacking up some finally. It seems like the crowds were not bad at all. Looking forward to whats to come!
I'm impressed you are juggling all three boys in soccer right now - I have two playing and it's enough to put me over the edge. I don't even want to know what it will be like when all three are playing. I may have to put a bed in the back of the minivan and simply camp out at our field.
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The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
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hopped on a bit late, but can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip! Boy do I know about things getting crazy with school lol!
School is kicking my butt this year!
Quote:
Originally Posted by DisneyMamaSarah
When we were there last week, TSMM was the first place we headed at park opening. My hubby went straight for the fast passes. He grabbed those, and we headed into the stand-by line. Got on within a few minutes, got off, and immediately got back in the stand-by line. This time I want to say the wait was about 15 minutes. We still ended up having time after our 2nd ride before our fast passes were good.
I will be definitle doing that next time I go. I hope my experiment has a positive outcome.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
No worries! We'll be here when you're ready for the next update!
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tabitha34
I am just now getting caught back up so I am good with you taking a break. Sounds like you guys had a great trip and I'm glad the rain has started slacking up some finally. It seems like the crowds were not bad at all. Looking forward to whats to come!
I was expecting larger crowds but they were like last year's when we went in may/june. They were totally manageable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mfirst
I'm impressed you are juggling all three boys in soccer right now - I have two playing and it's enough to put me over the edge. I don't even want to know what it will be like when all three are playing. I may have to put a bed in the back of the minivan and simply camp out at our field.
They are all 3 in soccer, but right now only Abniel and Adriel are playing. AJ's category (12-13) is not complete so they are unable to play. But still, last sunday I had to stay for 3 games.
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneydreamer33
Hope everything settles down soon. Get back when you can.
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by honeybee723
Totally understand. Look at my poor TR, and I don't have any kids in school yet.
Thanks for understanding! I've made it my goal to finish this before the year ends. I still have some time.
Today was our non-park day. I didn’t set the alarm but I woke up at 8. I quietly got ready as I wanted to take a walk around the resort. AJ woke up and decided to join me.
First I went to the laundry to start 2 loads. I know what some of you are going to think. Laundry on vacation! But with 5 people laundry really adds up.
We then went to Riverside Mill to grab a bite to eat. We shared a cheese danish and I had some coffee.
I grabbed some coffee for Arben and headed back to the room. I took some pictures along the way.
AJ went back to the room and I went to check on the laundry. I popped the clothes in the dryer and made my way back to the room. Everyone was up, so the decision was made to head to DTD. As they got ready and ate breakfast, I ran to the laundry room to get our clothes. We left the room at 10:30 and made our way over to the boat dock. We didn’t have any wait at all and we were on our way in no time. Of course, I took a few (ok a lot ) of pictures along the way.
There was no plan, just walk around and browse the stores. But I did have something on my mind; I’ll get into it in a bit. As we were walking the kids saw Marketplace Fun Finds and wanted to go in. After looking around for a bit, Adriel and Abniel decided on the mystery bags. With purchases in hand we continued our touring.
As I mentioned before I didn’t have a plan but Abniel certainly did. He had been dreaming about going to the Lego Store. He is a huge Lego fan and he was eager to spend some of his money here. Since it was early, the store was not busy at all. After what seemed like forever and after some discussions about what to buy (if it was up to Abniel he would’ve bought one of each) the boys decided what they wanted. Abniel got a set (which I don’t remember) and a large container of lego pieces. Adriel also got a set and a small container of lego pieces which he said he was going to share with his brother. So sweet! AJ got... nothing. Pre-teen kids, they’re really hard to please.
Here are the boys playing with Legos
We then went into WOD where Adriel proceeded to try on 1,500 hats.
He ultimately decided on the original Mickey ears. I purchased his ears and headed out only to realize that I had bought the adult one. Back I went to make the exchange.
After the kid's shopping spree it was time for some lunch. And I had only one place in mind.
The line was huge but I was willing to wait. There were 2 CM making the rounds and explaining how things worked. I was glad for the introduction crash course because after all I was an EOS newbie. I asked the kids what they wanted and sent them to get us a table. For a reason unknown to me Abniel was mad again. And he decided he wasn’t going to order anything. What a fine teenager he’s going to be.
Anyways, I placed our order, settled the bill and waited patiently for our food. After a short wait I finally had our precious sandwiches. Arben and I had the Earl’s Club; AJ had the BLT; and Adriel had the kid’s Pizza Sandwich.
Earl Club
Adriel savoring his sandwich
I have only one word to describe this: Superb! I could eat here everyday if I had my way. Everything tasted so delicious. It was a huge hit for my family.
In the middle of our lunch, guess who suddenly got hungry.
This guy.
I told him he would have to wait because he had been asked a couple of times if he wanted something and he refused. I felt kind of bad but I had to teach him a lesson.
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.
Photos of POR are great! It's so peaceful walking around that resort! And I love taking the boat to DTD! So relaxing! So glad you chose EoS for lunch! It's one of our favorites as well! It was nice that they had CMs working the line to give everyone an idea of how things worked. When you first look at the line it's a bit overwhelming, but it does move faster than you think.
We were ready to go back to the resort. We headed over there and were soon back at our room. We quickly changed and walked over to the main pool. Arben and AJ went to the food court to get Abniel’s lunch while the rest of us searched for some chairs. I finally saw a couple way in the back. We got settled and the boys went in. I stayed back to wait for Arben. To my surprise, when he came back he had a little something for him too. I got Abniel so he could eat and then got in the pool myself.
The kids went down the slide a couple of times. I tried to swim but it was so crowded. Arben went to the hot tub and then called me over. I went in and lasted about 2 seconds. Hot water is not my thing.
I played around with AJ for a while, tricking him into going under those skull crushing waterfalls . After our share of pool fun, it was time to head back to the room. The kids did not like this pool at all. The said it was too crowded. The prefered the quiet pool close to our room. Weird kids.
We showered and got ready. We left the room at 5:30. A MK bus arrived shortly after. We got to MK and hopped on the monorail. Our first stop: the Grand Floridian.
I was so excited to finally be there. I fell in love with this resort the first time I saw it from the ferry in 1994. Ever since, I dreamed of staying there someday. But for now, I’ll have to conform myself with just seeing it.
When I walked in I was in awe. I was so happy and it showed. I took some pictures as we explored.
After our fair share of fanciness it was time to move on. The boys had to use the bathroom so they went on while I waited. They came out so excited because even the bathrooms were fancy. So funny!
After a final glance at the lobby , we went to catch the monorail to the Poly. Dinner tonight was at Ohana, which I was so looking foward to. It was too early to check in so we just explored the resort.
Finally it was time so I went to check us in. I thought about requesting a window seat but I didn’t. They gave me a buzzer and told me to have a seat. The kids (Abniel and Adriel) were getting a little antsy. Let’s just say I lost my cool for a little.
Our buzzer went off and we were escorted to our table. Luck proved to be on our side because look at our view.
Score!
Our server came by and took our drink order. Not soon after, our food started to arrive. And oh my, did it come.
Everything was so delicious! My favorite thing was... everything! As for my picky little eaters, well at least they tried. Abniel ate the least, but I did ask him he wanted something different but he said he’d eat what we got. He made an effort but I know he didn’t enjoy it.
It was time for our dessert and what can I say. Delish!
Our server, whose name I forgot, brought all 3 kids a cupcake. Then he had the entire room sing “Happy Birthday” to Abniel.
It was time for Limbo and Adriel was the only one willing to participate. The other two are too cool for that.
Our server came back with the check and told us we were welcome to stay and enjoy Wishes right there from our table. My original plan was to watch from the beach but decided we were comfortable there so we stayed. The view was spectacular!
I have to say I absolutely loved Ohana. Food was so good and the service was excellent. But as much as I loved it, I don’t think I’ll be able to come back soon. Not at least until the kids are a little older and with a more diverse palate.
After Wishes, we headed back to MK to catch our bus. The lines for the ferry and monorail were a madhouse. Again, we were so glad to be staying on-site. There was a bus waiting at the stop and although it was standing room only we were happy we didn’t have to wait. We got back to the resort and it was lights off at 11:30.
Great day! You got some great pictures of POR, it's getting me excited for November!! Sorry the kids didn't like the pool, too bad it was so crowded.
I just love the GF too, it's so beautiful! I remember my jaw dropping the first time I walked into the lobby last year. Even Chris said, "are we still in Disney", lol!
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I may have to put a bed in the back of the minivan and simply camp out at our field.
Liz 
. I know what some of you are going to think. Laundry on vacation! 
) of pictures along the way.
So sweet! AJ got... nothing. Pre-teen kids, they’re really hard to please. 
Back I went to make the exchange.
Hot water is not my thing. 
. After our share of pool fun, it was time to head back to the room. The kids did not like this pool at all. The said it was too crowded. The prefered the quiet pool close to our room. Weird kids. 
, we went to catch the monorail to the Poly. Dinner tonight was at Ohana, which I was so looking foward to. It was too early to check in so we just explored the resort. 
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It looks like an absolutely beautiful day weather wise.
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