Have a Happy Birthday - Part One - Updated 9/30 COMPLETE - Page 15 - 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.
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So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Oh Jill - while reading the whole BBB experience - from the time Mary Devall realized her present all the way through the pictures and the *TA DA * beautiful picture of Princess Mary Devall - I am just sitting here crying like a baby! What a magical day for Mary Devall! I would say that those pictures of her are priceless!
I can't wait to read about Thom and Maddie's reaction!!!!
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As soon as we were back outside, I called Thom and found him and Maddie in line for Barnstormer. Mary Devall and I headed that way and decided to do our own photo shoot while waiting. We went directly to Minnie’s house where we took pictures of Mary Devall on anything pink and girly.
Continued in next post . . .
__________________
Sometimes words aren't needed . . .
Last edited by Jillybean; 09-12-2008 at 08:11 PM..
When we were finished, I spotted Thom and Maddie up ahead of us walking towards the strollers. I didn’t say a word, but just let Thom’s eyes find Mary Devall. When he finally really saw her (and it did take a moment for him to realize that it was Mary Devall ), I could tell that he was as pleased as I was. She was beautiful and she looked like a princess, but she still looked like a little girl.
The sweetest moment though was when Maddie first saw her sister standing in front of her. She looked her from head to toe with this incredible smile on her face and then she said in awe “You a pincess, Mar Vall.”
Now what does a girl do after becoming a princess? Well, ride Space Mountain with her dad, of course! While Thom and Mary Devall ran to use their FP’s, Maddie and I ran a couple of errands. First, we grabbed FP’s for Pooh and then we dropped by BBB to give Sandy a tip (I had zero cash with me before and I noticed that tips were being given to some of the FGIT). Sandy had moved to the first chair in the salon, so it was easy to find her. I thanked her for taking such good care of Mary Devall and then introduced her to Maddie and showed her the real challenge by taking off Maddie’s baseball cap. Maddie’s eyes darted around in wonder the entire time that we were in BBB, so I may have another BBB convert on my hands.
Our final errand was to check on a cake for Mary Devall at LTT. The CM at the check in desk informed me that I could just let them know when we came back for dinner (I was beginning to wonder if we were ever going to find someone who would say “Yes, I will have a cake ready for you.” ). I was also informed that the only decoration on the cake was a Mickey, so I was planning to find a little Minnie statue to add to the cake.
The clouds were really rolling in, so Maddie and I bought a tub of popcorn and water from a nearby kiosk and then found a covered bench under the LTT porch. Within minutes, the rain started coming down. We enjoyed eating our popcorn and watching people running for cover. The rain was blowing so we did get a little wet on our backs, but nothing like the people running through the rain. At one point, a mother and daughter came to sit beside us and Maddie struck up a conversation with them. When the rain let up and they stood to go, she asked them where they were going and why.
I had yet to hear from Thom and Mary Devall, so I finally gave him a call when the rain became drizzle. He said that they were making their way towards us and had hid out under a tree during the downpour. I expected two drowned rats to meet us, but the tree must have protected them well because they were just as dry as Maddie and me.
By this time, the rain had all but stopped so Thom ran to get FP’s for BTMRR while I took the girls to the bathroom. We then crossed back over to Pooh and used our FP’s for a quick ride. Mary Devall simply cannot wait for the day when she and Maddie can ride side-by-side. They probably could have this time, but they load you so quickly on this ride that we didn’t have time to get them situated and get ourselves in. Watching those two little girls giggle in front of us will be a treat, so we’ll try to make sure that they ride together our next trip.
Now when just the girls and I are together, we can snack all day without stopping for a meal. When Thom is with us, he wants lunch. We were near Pinocchio Village Haus and had never eaten there before, so we decided to give it a try. We found a secluded table in a back corner (near the bathrooms beside Ariel’s Grotto) where we were able to park the strollers and spread out. Thom ran for our food which consisted of a pizza for him, chicken nuggets for the girls to share and Figaro fries for me. I love fries so the idea of these had intrigued me for a while. They were pretty good, but I think I’m more of a plain fries with ketchup kind of gal.
Mary Devall needed to run to the restroom, so I took both girls (Maddie was thinking about potty training at the time, so I let her go whenever Mary Devall needed to - - unfortunately about all she did was think about it ). When we returned, I went to take a sip of my diet coke and realized it was gone. Thom had finished every single thing to drink on the table - - his coke, my diet coke and the girls’ chocolate milk. He was from ear-to-ear at his latest tomfoolery (they didn’t name him Thom for nothing ). Thankfully for him I had only opened one of the girls’ chocolate milks so they had another one waiting in the wings.
The FP’s for BTMRR were almost ripe, so we headed in that direction (after picking up more FP’s for PP). While they hopped in line with instructions to meet us later at the Laughing Place, Maddie and I first stopped by the Briar Patch to see if they had any Minnie figurines. Nothing really struck my fancy, but we spent a great deal of time letting Maddie try on hat after hat. From there, we ventured into the Splash Mountain area. Now, I rode SM once over 10 years ago, but I have no memory of this area at all. I would have had zero clue that a playground even existed back there if not for Beth (mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince).
Maddie and I quickly found the Laughing Place and she immediately jumped into the fun by climbing, sliding and running around like a crazy girl. I sat there watching her about 20 minutes before I decided to call Thom knowing that they should have long been finished with their BTMRR ride by now. Sure enough they had been finished for a while, but had been looking for us since then (I should have realized that if I didn’t know where the Laughing Place was then Thom wouldn’t either ). I stood to where I could see Maddie but still be on the look out for them. It didn’t take long to spot them and wave them over. When Mary Devall spotted the playground, she joined her sister in the fun. She was a bit over the age limit, but she wasn’t big enough to hurt any of the little ones so we let them play for a while longer.
After the girls had run off some steam, we moved on to Adventure Land. In no time at all, we had done PotC, the Magic Carpets (with Mary Devall insisting on letting the camels spit water on us ) and the tree house.
We had completed one round of MK, so it was time to start all over again! By the time that we reached Tomorrow Land, it was sprinkling again, so I suggested that we go on Carousel of Progress since Thom had never ridden it. I think that the cushy seats and air conditioning were his favorite parts although he did enjoy it!
The rain had stopped for good by the time that our ride was over. While Thom headed over to SM to snag more FP’s, the girls decided to take a spin on the TTA. Mary Devall decided that she was going to be the play-by-play announcer for us and kept a running commentary throughout the ride. There was a car full of wild screaming children behind us, so I think that was Mary Devall’s way of keeping up with them.
Up next . . . more birthday celebrating at LTT
__________________
Sometimes words aren't needed . . .
Last edited by Jillybean; 09-13-2008 at 10:19 PM..
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Jill just catching up. What a great day you are having. Mary DeVall makes a beautiful princess just as I knew she would of course. I didn't realize that playground had a name so you clued me in there. My DS spent quite a bit of time there on our last two trips and loved it.
Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to more.
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Maddie’s eyes darted around in wonder the entire time that we were in BBB, so I may have another BBB convert on my hands. 
). I was also informed that the only decoration on the cake was a Mickey, so I was planning to find a little Minnie statue to add to the cake.
We enjoyed eating our popcorn and watching people running for cover. The rain was blowing so we did get a little wet on our backs, but nothing like the people running through the rain. At one point, a mother and daughter came to sit beside us and Maddie struck up a conversation with them. When the rain let up and they stood to go, she asked them where they were going and why. 
We were near Pinocchio Village Haus and had never eaten there before, so we decided to give it a try. We found a secluded table in a back corner (near the bathrooms beside Ariel’s Grotto) where we were able to park the strollers and spread out. Thom ran for our food which consisted of a pizza for him, chicken nuggets for the girls to share and Figaro fries for me. I love fries so the idea of these had intrigued me for a while. They were pretty good, but I think I’m more of a plain fries with ketchup kind of gal. 
Thom had finished every single thing to drink on the table - - his coke, my diet coke and the girls’ chocolate milk. 
) and the tree house.
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