The Third Time’s the Charm! Fourth (Third) Annual Mom and Me Trip--Updated twice on 10/21--now COMPLETE - Page 16 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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 $5.95.
okay so i HAD to get on here and post and say that i'm so glad i finally got to meet you! I really still hate we missed each other at the MNSSHP but so glad we finally got to meet up at Epcot! Sorry if i talked your head off*LOL* But it was nice to meet a familiar face there!
Meeting you two was definitely one of the highlights of my trip. I like being able to put a voice (and cute accent ) to your names & faces.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JoanW
I want your job that allows you all this time off and travel fund$. I'm just sayin.
Are Mike and Ike's fruity or are they licorice? I like the fruity.
More please. And I am so riding ToT with you at Mousefest.
They were the fruity Mike and Ike's. And TOT at Mousefest is a must do!
Quote:
Originally Posted by FanOfMickey
What a great view from your room!! Sorry your flight was delayed, you were missed at the illuminations mee, we were all looking forward to seeing you and your mom.
Love the Candy apple Wasn't it delish? I got the same one from Nancy
Quote:
Originally Posted by tammyd_rn
I am glad to see you have started your TR although it reminds me I needed to get started on ours. I am so sorry we missed you at the Illuminations meet. I kept looking for you around the park. Sounds like I missed you at Epcot on Monday too after reading Crissy's note. We were there sampling our away around the world too.
Sorry I missed you both. It would have been good to see you again Janine, and I really wanted to meet you Tammy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tkd lisa
Enjoying this! I can't believe I missed this before you left. Since we were IN EPCOT on the 27th and didn't know to look for you!
Can't wait to hear more, especially about your DVC tour.
I should have known! We're there at around the same time so often!
__________________
Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
Day Two – Saturday, September 27 Geeking Out at TOT
Mable’s Sweet Tip: It’s never too early for chocolate cake.
I was still asleep when our wakeup call came, which is a bit unusual for me. I let DM sleep because I knew she wouldn’t be joining me for EMH at DHS. I decided to step out onto the balcony before doing anything else. It was still dark, but it was 6:30. I don’t want people thinking I’m that much of a psycho tourist.
I could see that our bags hadn’t been delivered, so I hit the bell services number on the phone. Unfortunately something was wrong with our phone and I got a number that went right to voicemail, but the voicemail wasn’t set up.
I called the Front Desk to let them know what happened, and then the CM transferred me to Bell Services. I requested our suitcases and there was a CM knocking on our door within minutes. I unpacked and then got ready to head out.
Before I left, I had to spend a little more time out on the balcony.
While I was enjoying the balcony, I could see the boat for the Studios come and go, but I couldn’t pull myself away to get started. So I decided to walk over. When I got down to the courtyard, I heard “Is that a princess?” and turned around to see Terri (DrDolphin) and her DBF Chris I was delighted to see Terri again and happy to meet her boyfriend. We chatted for a bit and then parted ways – they went to Spoodles for breakfast while I headed off for a TOT marathon.
I enjoyed the walk and because it was so early, I almost had the path to myself. I also discovered that along with being very close to the elevator, lobby, bus stop and boat dock, we were just a quick stroll from the pool. Fantastic location! On my walk, I had a visit from an old friend…
Luckily, this wasn’t the evil, scary bunny I encountered that time over at POR.
I liked the Boardwalk’s location a little better than the YC/BC because to me, it’s about the same walk to either Epcot or DHS. I was always too lazy to walk to the Studios from the Beach Club. And while I walked, my excitement built as I got closer and closer.
The park was open when I arrived, so the turnstiles had cleared out. I considered TSM, but decided it would be easiest for DM to find me at TOT, because she had no idea where TSM was.
It was still quite early, so this is what greeted me…
13 minute wait = walk on!
If I’d been excited before, I completely geeked out when I saw that Joshua, my absolute favorite bellhop EVAH!!! was on duty this morning! Thankfully, I didn’t do anything dorky . As I’d expected, I walked right into the library for the preshow. Then I walked right through the boiler room and boarded an elevator.
After that ride, I headed right back on for another drop. And another. And another. Occasionally, I would stop and chat with Joshua for a bit. I wish I’d thought to take a picture with him. He was really fun, and stayed in character the whole time he was joking with me. On my last trip through (I’d gotten a FP which was ripe, but I really didn’t need to use it) Joshua went to his next post, but I didn’t see him inside. I really enjoy him most when he’s putting people on the elevators. He’s so spooky and fun.
Anyway, just as I headed in for my 5th drop of the morning, I got a call from my DM. She was at the park, but had forgotten her AP I was done with my TOT marathon, and I was going to ride TSM another day, so I told her I’d meet her at the boat and headed for the front of the park after drop 5.
I arrived at the dock and found DM, and then a boat arrived about 2 minutes later. We rode over to the BWI and headed to the Boardwalk Bakery for some breakfast. DM surprised me by getting a non-sweet breakfast (egg & bacon croissant) while I went for the sugar-laden treat.
We discussed our plans for the day (well, besides eating at the F&WF, we really didn’t have plans). I mentioned the bounceback offer to DM and told her we should book it, especially since we were already planning a big family trip in August 2009. DM surprised me by saying she wanted to do the DVC tour!
I was willing to go with her because I’m a new DVC member and I wanted to see the rooms at Bay Lake Tower, so we went up to the room for a bit to get her AP, then back down to the lobby. We visited the DVC kiosk and made new friends with the two CMs there. We really enjoyed talking to them. One of the guys was listening to my DM tell doofy stories about how we’d been coming to Disney since I was 4. I guess they didn’t mind, because the other CM, who I was talking to, actually pulled out a photo album of pictures of him on Disney trips since he was 5! It was so cute!
Anyway, our van arrived shortly and it was a quick ride over to the preview center at SSR. We checked in with oh, gosh, I want to say Nancy? Anyway, Nick, my guide wasn’t in, so we had Nancy. I told Nancy that I was a member and DM was thinking of joining. Since DM was familiar with DVC, Nancy told us she’d show us the models and then go over the points and incentives with DM. When she asked DM if she had any questions, DM asked “Do you want to buy my timeshare?” Nancy (I hope that’s her name) went over how points work and the current offer. DM completely shocked me by signing on the dotted line before we even got to tour the models.
Once the paperwork was out of the way, we went to see the models. It was quite surreal how you’re in SSR but once you open the door, you’re in a hallway at AKL. She showed us the studio and one bedroom, then took us over to the Contemporary (well, across the hall) and showed us the BLT villa. I’d seen photos of them online and wasn’t really too impressed, but in person I really liked them! The fake MK views out the window were so cool I wanted to hang out on the balcony.
We had a little ice cream before hopping in the shuttle. We wanted to go to Epcot, but we got dropped off at the BWI since that was closer to WS. We decided to drop off our stuff in the room. When we got to our room, we saw that the Mousekeeper was there! We quickly put down our stuff and headed back out.
We planned to walk, but a boat was just arriving, so we decided to grab it. The park was pretty crowded, but with it being the first weekend of the F&WF, I was expecting that. We bypassed France because I wasn’t really in the mood for anything there (I don’t like quiche and won’t eat snails , and wanted food rather than the tasty chocolate crčme brulee). So off to Morocco.
I got something from the Marrakesh, Morocco kiosk.
Kefta (grilled beef and hummus in a pita pocket) $3.95
It was good. Sort of a Moroccan hamburger. DM didn’t want any, but we did decide we needed to come back for more on another day. The next kiosk we stopped at was Wellington, New Zealand. It was a tough choice here, but we ended up with the scallops.
Bay Scallops with baby greens and cranberry vinaigrette $3.75
It was pretty good, but I found it to be much tastier when you ate it all together like a salad rather than just picking out the scallops (umm… which my DM was doing. Yeah. )
Our next stop was in San Francisco.
Seared Beef Medallion with Cheese Polenta $3.75
I really enjoyed that, particularly the polenta. By the time we made it to Japan, I was ready for some sweets.
I have to admit I found it very difficult to pass up a kaki gori this trip. I wish I had one right now. There’s no doubt this is my favorite WDW snack (which, when you think about it, is really kind of odd).
We made our next stop the Bologna, Italy kiosk. Italian food is my very favorite but I have to say I was slightly disappointed with the offerings (pizza? ziti? how exotic ). I got over that in a NY minute, once I’d tasted the cream puffs! (Oh, and we got pizza too, because it looked so tasty.)
Sausage Pizza $4.50
Cream Puff with Mascarpone and Gianduja Chocolate $3.50
As I said, the lines were pretty long, and the man in front of me made a comment to the CM about how long he’d been waiting. A man in the group ahead of him (a group that was drinking their way around the world, according to their t-shirts) said something to one of his companions that Mr. Complainy heard. Mr. Complainy took issue with Mr. Commenty and they exchanged words, and then hard glances. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and there was no bloodshed.
By now, DM and I were both pretty full, even though we’d been sharing almost everything. We kept walking around at a leisurely pace, picking out stuff we’d like to try on our next lap. We got to Germany just in time to see the Hummels.
I remember we watched the acrobats in China before continuing our stroll. We went in the Mexico pavilion to ride the Gran Fiesta Tour, but it was temporarily down.
When we got to the… what do you call that area where FW & WS connects? Well anyway, when we got there, we were both thirsty. I got a frozen blue drink and Mom got a frozen mocha drink. I didn’t take a photo of Mom’s (it was just like mine, but brown, so use your imagination )
All that walking had given us room for something else so we stopped at the Canadian kiosk and got some salmon.
Maple Glazed Salmon with Roasted Corn and Arugula $4.25
I’m not a fan of salmon, so this was all for DM. She loved it so much that I had to have a taste. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. I’d eat it again, if that means anything.
We’d completed our first lap, so we headed out at the IG. There was a boat coming, so we decided to ride to the BWI.
Up Next: It Isn’t a Disney Trip Until I Get Carded
__________________
Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
DVC for your Mom and Dad, plus their timeshare---I see lots of Disney trips in the future. Great pictures, your making me very hungry. Sounds like you and your Mom are having a wonderful trip.
great update sharon
food looks yummy
now I can't wait to go back to the f&w festival in a couple of years
how awsome for your mom and dvc
hurry back with more please
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.
I liked the Boardwalk’s location a little better than the YC/BC because to me, it’s about the same walk to either Epcot or DHS. I was always too lazy to walk to the Studios from the Beach Club. And while I walked, my excitement built as I got closer and closer.
For some reason - I just this picture. It's early morning and you can just feel the excitement!!
You were sure up at the crack of dawn but what a beautiful view you woke up too...5 drops sounded like the perfect way to start your day. How great that your mom bought into the DVC...(I'm guessing she has some trips up her sleeve, now we know where you get it from )
Great first run over at the F&WF...everything looked so delcious, sounds like you both had a great afternoon. Looking forward to hearing 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.