Forever Young: A Disneyland Trip 50 Years in the Making COMPLETED 1/16/16 - Page 17 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Wednesday, October 7 – Entering Fantasyland for the first time ever
After I looked over photos for this next update, I realized my title should have been, Riding the Original it’s a small world. I may have gotten carried away with photographing it. As a kid, I dreamed of riding this classic. Then in May when we saw the movie Tomorrowland, I got so excited that I would finally be able to ride. The moment we walked into Fantasyland, I was in awe, though for some reason I kept wishing the attraction had more trees behind it. The blue, blue sky did make a great backdrop.
Once again we were riding standby, which was listed at 20 minutes, but that just gave me more times to photograph everything. By the way 20 minutes seemed to be the standard wait time today. The queue is outdoors as the ride itself begins outdoors. So cool! In fact as we entered the ride, the train came through.
I loved the large animal topiaries that line the canal at both the beginning and end of the ride. First, a moose.
Then a bear.
Followed by a horse.
As we got closer, I had an interesting angle on the moose, one Stefanie would have liked as she always noted the animal butts on the safari.
There is a whole menagerie, including an elephant, zebra, and giraffe that I’ll get a better view of later.
Back to the moose on more time.
Finally, it was our turn to board a boat. We joined a family of four with two boys who were so excited about everything. So fun to share the adventure with them.
Now join us on the happiest cruise that ever sailed.
I loved the Canadian Mountie.
One way this version is different from the Magic Kingdom one is that a while back, Disney movie characters were added to the doll collection. Luke would find them and direct me as to where to point the camera. I apologize ahead of time that some of these are blurry, but usually I had only a small window of opportunity for the photos. First up was Alice in Wonderland.
The next character was Pinocchio.
He was followed by Mulan.
As you may have noticed from other characters and the nearby photos, each character is in the country in which their movie is set. So now we’re in Africa and there is Simba, Timon, and Pumba.
Mexico had the Three Cabelleros.
I can’t remember where we were country-wise at this point, but Ariel followed Donald.
In the Polynesian islands, Lilo and Stitch were at play.
In the American West, Jessie and Woody were riding with the cowboys.
The finale scene didn’t seem as overwhelmingly white as the MK version, but I still loved it with its unity of the small world.
Signs at the end of the ride are in the form of postcards.
Now as the boat exited the building, we came close by the rest of the topiaries, including that giraffe.
As we climbed the ramp and steps back into Fantasyland, the clock began to chime. Perfect timing (pun intended)!
And my friends is a round trip cruise through a small world in a small boat.
I love iasw at DL - in part because of how it starts outside, and in part because it looks so much like one of the buildings in Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen.
I love the Disney characters in IaSW! We had so much fun trying to spot them! I didn't know dolls came out when the click chimes. I'm sad I missed that!
I love iasw at DL - in part because of how it starts outside, and in part because it looks so much like one of the buildings in Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen.
I remember the first time I went to MK in 1980 that I was at first confused that the ride didn't start outside.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
I love the Disney characters in IaSW! We had so much fun trying to spot them! I didn't know dolls came out when the click chimes. I'm sad I missed that!
Looking for the characters was kind of like a scavenger hunt. As I said our timing was just right to get to see that.
Oh wow, you found way more movie characters than we did - I never knew there were characters from Alice in Wonderland in there for example. Mind you, we only did it once over the Christmas period in 2012 and we didn't make it on there this trip, it was just too busy whenever we went near it.
I love all your photos of IASM! Very cool that dolls of movie characters are included.
The topiaries remind me of our first trip to WDW in1976. As we approached MK on the monorail from the parking lot we saw some fun topiaries of Mickey and his friends!
Great photos! I really liked iasw in Disneyland and it was so fun to try and spot the movie characters. This, for sure, was one of the attractions we found to be much better in DL!
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Reading this, I found myself humming the song...now it will be stuck in my head all day! LOL! I didn't know about the characters...nice touch to the ride!
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Your photos and descriptions of IASW make me feel like I am there with you!!. I love this ride in DL!!! So cool to see the movie characters incorporated!!
I love IASW at DL!!! It's so neat how they added the characters from Disney movies It looks like you had some beautiful weather and the wait times were manageable at 20 minutes!
LOVE!!!! I usually hate it when they update classics, but iasw with characters doesn't bug me too much. In fact, some of these I hadn't even recognized my last ride through! I agree with your assessment of "not as overwhelmingly white", but everybody loves a classic. I also really love that the riders board outside. I think this leads to a more immersive feeling.
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I love the DL version of IASW. My dad got to ride this ride at the 1964 World's Fair, so getting to ride it made it extra special for me. I love how they have the characters throughout the ride. I want to make it back for Christmastime at some point to see the building all lit up with lights!
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Mind you, we only did it once over the Christmas period in 2012 and we didn't make it on there this trip, it was just too busy whenever we went near it.
So cool to see the movie characters incorporated!!
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