Our Fall 2014 Trip Report - Coming to You Barely Live from Orlando - Page 18 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Beautiful last day photos. Glad you were able to enjoy (mostly) trip. Perhaps one day we will get to meet. Enjoy a nice fall in Maine. I am sure that you will be able that mother nature will give you a lot of beauty to photograph while there.
The weather was perfect on your last night, and the photos really show it. They are beautiful! Glad that dinner at R&C was just as good the second time around. I had fun reading along, I'm sorry that your trip has come to an end
I know that I keep repeating myself but your pictures are just so beautiful!I love the balloon pictures from the MK along with the Haunted Mansion!!! I'm so glad that you had such nice weather for your last evening in Epcot! Thank you so much for allowing us to tag along on your trip!
Love all your photos!!!
WAT looks like a lot of fun and a definite must do on one of my future trips.
Your Elsa picture is priceless....!!! It looks like you had a wonderful day at MK.
I enjoyed looking at your Boardwalk pictures because very soon, I'll be arriving there for our trip!!! I can't wait and since I'm and early-to-rise person, those morning pictures made me even more excited for my trip!!
Thanks, Regina - I'm glad we did MK that last day. Only 10 days left for you!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Beautiful photos of your last evening and early morning. I love waking up super-early in Florida. The best air of the day! The photo where the boat's wake messed with the reflection turned out very cool! Glad you got some beautiful weather for your last night. Even with the iffy weather, this seemed like a really good trip and a big step for you on the path to full recovery.
Beautiful last day photos. Glad you were able to enjoy (mostly) trip. Perhaps one day we will get to meet. Enjoy a nice fall in Maine. I am sure that you will be able that mother nature will give you a lot of beauty to photograph while there.
Thanks, Michael. Unfortunately, wind and rain are messing with fall leaves, but we are still enjoying Maine.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
You're right about that beautiful evening light - perfect and as for your early morning shots, just breath taking!
Thanks, Cheryl.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Beautiful photos (as always ) around the Boardwalk!
Thanks, Lisa - notice I didn't get up and early on very many mornings this trip. Lazy in my old age.
Quote:
Originally Posted by elbodans
love love love love love your photos. sad your TR is coming to an end.
Thanks for joining in. I've been checking out your blog - so interesting!
The weather was perfect on your last night, and the photos really show it. They are beautiful! Glad that dinner at R&C was just as good the second time around. I had fun reading along, I'm sorry that your trip has come to an end
It had to end, but there are more on the horizon...thanks, Jenn.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Wow, the weather really did look gorgeous on your last night!
thanks, Pam - weather was great that last night.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lindawdw
I know that I keep repeating myself but your pictures are just so beautiful!I love the balloon pictures from the MK along with the Haunted Mansion!!! I'm so glad that you had such nice weather for your last evening in Epcot! Thank you so much for allowing us to tag along on your trip!
Thank you for joining in, Linda.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great last night!
Thanks!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by princetoaprincess
Glad the weather was so nice. Hate you had to leave. But great pictures until the end.
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.
Absolutely fantastic! I thoroughly enjoyed every bit! Thank you for sharing
Carnival Elation 2010
Disney World 2011
Carnival Fascination 2011
Carnival Ecstasy 2013
Disney World 3013
Carnival Dream 2014
Carnival Liberty 2015
Disney World 2015
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
It’s difficult to succinctly wrap up this trip; the weather was not good, we had a shaky start for the Halloween Party, and it seems we only accomplished 60% of what I’d hope to do. On the other hand, we got to spend a whole week at Walt Disney World, we had nice accommodations, we shared delicious meals, and I was able to do about 50% more than I thought I might just a month before the trip.
Accommodations - I’ve stayed at BLT before on a solo trip, and loved the proximity to the Magic Kingdom. I still value that, but for us, the boat ride from WLV is not a big deal, so even the location of BLT isn’t that big of a draw for future trips. I thought I was okay with the more sterile environment, but once we checked into The Boardwalk - it just felt like we were really in “Disney.” No doubt, the size of the one bedroom unit at BLT was huge - and the second full bathroom would be a boon to a family. I thought Lou might be taken with the size of the unit at BLT, but he much preferred The Boardwalk (and the Wilderness Lodge Villas). This was also our first stay at The Boardwalk since becoming DVC owners there. We made the right decision for us - love the Beach Club, but being able to book the Boardwalk View is our preference.
Crowd Levels - These were predicted to be low for this time period, and they were (except for the crush at MNSSHP). We especially enjoyed a crowd free day at Hollywood Studios.
Dining - Our dinner at Rose & Crown with the surprise Illuminations viewing was spectacular and a nice surprise. Dinner at Monsieur Paul was better than expected, Artist Point and La Hacienda lived up to previous visits, and Flying Fish was really good. Lunch at Brown Derby was also excellent. Tony’s at The Magic Kingdom was just right for lunch on a hot day. Be Our Guest for lunch was our only disappointment. Lou would have liked more sit down breakfasts, as he looks forward to that on vacation - next time.
Food & Wine Festival - We are glad we experienced it, but I don’t think we’ll make a special effort to go back. This may not be the popular view, but the Festival wasn't the best fit for us. Sure, weather and other circumstances may have taken away from our experience. But, I think we are just too happy to spend time enjoying a full, relaxing meal at the restaurants in The World Showcase. We’d rather have lunch inside the atmospheric San Angel Inn, or join the festivities inside the Biergarten. We enjoy dinners too much to trade that time for visiting the kiosks. I love the idea of beer and wine samplers, but just don’t drink much. I do think we would have enjoyed the Festival more when we were younger, and not so keen to use valuable touring time for a sit down meal in a restaurant. This is just our view and I can see why some folks love the Festival.
MNSSHP - Not the best overall experience, so I will have to go again some time in the future. I did get some of my favorite castle and fireworks photos, so it was not a total bust. I was sorry to miss my meet up with Rhinohunter.
Special Tours - Both The Magic Behind Our Steam Trains Tour, and the Wild Africa Trek exceeded expectations. So glad we did both of these.
In summary, it wasn’t a perfect trip, but it will go down as one of the best ever. I was shaky about my stamina when the trip started, and we were also just coming up on a year from Lou having Open Heart Surgery. Being at Disney gave me the motivation to get out and walk. The first few days were difficult, but I finished the week much stronger than I started, and Lou is in better shape physically than he has been in years. This was a big positive for both of us, and the past year will soon be a distant memory.
Future Travels - I’m always concerned I will overdose Lou on Disney, and he continues to surprise me. As we were driving home, he asked me to check on a Disney Cruise over the holidays. It turns out the kids and grandkids are coming to visit us in Florida. I wasn’t quick enough, so he checked himself and picked out a New Year’s Eve Cruise (!!!???!!!). I explained we wouldn’t be able to get our choice rooms, he’d have to wait in line to get on the ship, and it might be crowded. He’s OK with all of this, so we are now booked on a 4 Night Bahamas Cruise on The Dream. It’s a repeat of last year’s cruise, but the grandkids are ecstatic.
As for Walt Disney World plans, we will be back in February to share a stay at the Grand Floridian with good friends, and are also scheduled to be back at The Boardwalk in April. We’re on for another trip (non-Disney) to Alaska in August, and I’ll be looking to book December at the Wilderness Lodge. This should keep us out of trouble for most of the year.
Thanks for reading our report, and for your generous comments. It’s a privilege to be able to share a trip report with all of you.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
) around the Boardwalk!
It looks like you had a wonderful day at MK. 
Linear Mode
