The Mighty Morphing Birthday Trip - Thread 2 - COMPLETE!! - UPDATED 12/1 - Page 19 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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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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Hey guys! I didn't get to update yesterday... things have been crazy this week. I am so glad that this week is over! I had a final due today for one of my grad classes that 5 different parts to it, including a 2 year financial plan for my school library But I got it sent in today... And my stupid right eye is all swollen up with a yucky stye so I had to go to the doc today... BUT, I'm relaxing now, so here's the next update!!
After Illuminations was over we waited for the crowds to clear so we could enjoy the evening EMH. Evening EMH at Epcot means quality time between me and my camera. Poor Andy, he's so tolerant of me.... I'm constantly falling behind, stopping to take a picture, but I just love being in the World Showcase and taking pictures!
First we headed into one of our favorite pavillions (it's a tie between England and here....) Morocco.
There's just something really romantic about this pavillion, especially at night. I think it has something to do with the winding street, the lighting, the open shops, it's just so....
We took our time walking through...Andy played with some instruments...
After Morocco we mosied over into Japan...
I questioned over some dishes... I really wanted to get a new set of dishes and I found a few sets that I really liked, but ended up not going back to get them... (that's okay though, I just bought a really nice set at Pier 1 )
After Japan we walked over to Italy. We really took some time to just stand around and relax in Italy. We walked over to the lagoon and took in the sights and took some pictures...
We continued to just enjoy ourselves... It was our last night and I just have to take in as much of the WS at night as I can... I was already getting a little sad
b/c I knew our trip was almost over......
We got around to the bridge on our way to Mexico and saw something we had never seen before......
this...
First we saw them blow up the barge as I call it and then they were moving the globe back into its home. We've never actually been around the WS during an EMH, so this was new to us!
On our way to Mexico I took a few photos. This one turned out as my favorite...
We were going to catch a ride on the Malestrom, but it wasn't open So we headed on into Mexico to catch the new Three Caballeros. It was cute and the new additions were enjoyable.
Another favorite thing of ours is to hit up TT at night. So we headed in that direction next. I'm telling you, there's nothing like TT at night LOVE IT!!!
Finally it was time to catch the bus back to the WL..... our trip was coming to an end... Tomorrow was our last day
Sorry it's coming to an end, but what a great evening you had - I am so with you about lingering to photograph World Showcase. I love doing that as well.
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Okay folks, strap in and hold on.... I'm taking you through the whole last day in one sitting......
Our morning started with just packing up and taking some photos around the WL....
Another one of the towel animals for the trip....
The headboard posts
And the new headboards...
Once we were all packed we made one last check over the room to make sure we didn't forget anything...and then we rolled out to store our luggage. After making the dreaded walk to do so (I hate that walk...I've commented before in other TRs that I spend my trip watching people doing it and thinking "I'm sorry dude, glad it ain't me....." But it always ends up being me eventually....)
But anyway, I digress....after that we walked around the lodge to take some pictures and just take in its grandness one last time....
We went up on the fourth floor I think it was....
I think you can see the sadness in my face here....
One from the inside...
Then we went down and took a few more of the ground level...
Our plan was to head out to the MK to say goodbye to the castle and then hop over to Epcot to catch one last show of the British Invasion. We didn't have to leave until later in the evening b/c we were only driving halfway back today.
We caught the boat to the MK
First on the plan was to head over to Splash... On our way we ran into one of my fav characters (b/c of my new found love for the ride) Brer Fox!!
And I love this picture Talk about a big hug!! You can barely see me..just the back of my head!!
We walked over to Splash to find that the entire BTG (Thanks again Sharon for coining that term) had the same plan as us. First they were eating up all the FP's and then they were hopping in line.... So of course, we were the only non BTG'ers on our boat....But it didn't matter, we had fun anyway. We weren't in our usual last seat, but the next to last. I thought we'd be okay... I mean, we didn't get that wet when we rode in the front a few nights ago......
WRONG well atleast for Andy that was wrong.... he ended up catching the overflow as a boat went down the mountain....talk about bad timing
One last pic of our beloved Splash....
We hopped over to the BTMRR to catch another final ride there as well..... then we decided to try out Tom Sawyer's Island, a first for us.
A self shot here...
I've gotten good at finding a flat surface nearby to set the self timer
Meanwhile, Andy had waaaaay too much fun running across the barrel bridge I'm just glad he didn't bust his you know what on it!! We wandered through the caves and the woods. It was a fun little relaxing adventure.
A few more pics from the island...
This next one is fav!
After our Frontierland fun we headed out to catch the monorail to Epcot. We were hungry and wanted to grab something in the World Showcase
As usual, I had to stop and take a picture of the progress...
I have to say, it was after noon by now and we were not used to being out in the hot hot hot part of the day.. We missed our WL refuge. But we were going to make the best of it and enjoy our last bit of time. But boy it was hot!! When we got to Japan I guzzled down my bottle of water with my teriyaki chicken (which was very tasty by the way!)
We sat there for a bit after we finished, just to cool off. Then we did some final shopping and headed over to England. I didn't take any pics of the Fab Four this time, just enjoyed the show....got a wave and a nod from eye love
We debated on hanging around to catch the next show, but it wasn't for another hour and we needed to get going On our way out of the park I took a few last pictures...
Alas, our time in the parks was over But we knew we'd back at Christmas, so that always makes you feel a little teeny bit better....
One last pout over the wand....and we were off to catch a bus back to the WL.
We found it only fitting to have this as the last photo of the trip....as there was a similar photo kicking of the trip in the beginning...
When we got back to the WL we retrieved our bags and our car. We drove to DTD. We wanted to get a sandwich from the Earl to take with us. We do those sandwiches and by taking it with us we were able to take a little Disney with us on the road We had our usual... me the Le Frency and Andy the Florentine. I think the sandwiches made it about half an hour in the car before we busted into them But it was a nice treat! We drove on to Brunswick and spent the night. The next morning we were up and headed on home to Mooresville. Another trip in the books.....
Final thoughts:
*As much as I wasn't happy about the wand coming down, I was glad that I was able to be there on its last night as well see the progress of its demise....(btw, I own a little piece of it....during his ebay phase Andy bought me a few pieces of the red reflectors that made up one of the letters from Mouse Surplus)
*We really liked our surprise day. We hope to try to have one of those each trip.
*Andy really liked the brie sandwich from Roaring Forks
*WL = FAB resort, FAB location, FAB atmosphere
*Birthday breakfast with my twinkie was a blast!!
Now, it's looking ahead to our next TWO trips One in thirteen days and another one coming up in March Thanks for reading and putting up with my lack of posting there for a bit. I promise promise promise not to do that with the next one!
The End.......
Wow, it's finally done. Geesh it only took you and Karen, lets see, 6 months!!! It was very fun though! I'm excited for both of our upcoming trips (although bummed we're missing each other). Can't wait for the next one (from my favorite place the BC).
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.