Castaway Cay Sandwich - 13 Glorious Days of Disney! - COMPLETED!! - Page 2 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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.
Sounds like an awesome trip! Can't wait to read all about it.
I still haven't finished reading your June TR.
I'm finally starting!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Great start! And what a tease with those photos!!!
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
From the photos, it looks like you had a blast! Can't wait to hear all about it!!
Starting right now...
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcc0313
Love the photos....looks like you had an amazing trip!!!
It WAS amazing - our best ever!
Quote:
Originally Posted by xwewhisper
Such a tease! Looks like a blast I can't wait to hear all about ir
Coming right up!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mojjo
Love the teasers. Can't wait for the stories.
Thanks, lots coming up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by crazy4monkeez
Just found this and can't wait to read more. Great photos!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by JKnott17
Great photos! Looks like a fabulous trip, I can't wait to hear all of the details
Totally fabulous, loved it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tabitha34
Love all the photos! Can't wait to read all about it!!
Many more to come
Quote:
Originally Posted by mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince
In the words of Mama Odie: "This is gonna be goooooood!"
I hope you like it
Quote:
Originally Posted by dsteiny23
Oooh, I like the photo tease! It's like coming attractions to a good show
**************************
Thanks everyone for waiting for me to start...
Castaway Cay Sandwich - 13 Glorious Days of Disney!
Who: The Jenkins' Four - Me (think Marlin, Nemo's dad), the Hubster (think Cobra Bubbles), Maximus (think 12 year old Maximus, yes the stallion), and Titus (think 10 year old Mickey Mouse) When: September 3-15, 2014 Where: 4 nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani Village - 1 BR, then 4 nights on the Disney Dream, Bahamas, then back again for 4 more nights at The Boardwalk Villas, 1BR What: We have 5 park tickets, tickets to MNSSHP, and one day with the YES Program. Surprise! The kid's didn't know about the extra stay after the cruise or the Halloween Party Why: Because we loved last year's cruise so much that we booked another one
I hadn't really started planning this trip in detail until I got back from my trip to DW in April for a conference. That was the first time I'd been to Disney without the hubs and kids, and truth be told, I missed them a lot. (What?! I know, right? ) When we took our cruise last year, we didn't go to the parks, but instead, stayed and relaxed at the resort. (It was very easy to do so at the Beach Club.) This means they hadn't been to the parks since our Thanksgiving reunion in 2012. They were really excited to experience new things and old favorites. DH didn't care - he really doesn't like talking about Disney until almost time to go, then only begrudgingly . He only loves it when he gets on Magical Express at MCO, lol. I guess between me and the kids, Disney something-or-other somehow always finds its way into daily conversation. It's probably annoying...
I apologize for taking so long to get started on this thing after posting some teaser photos when I got back. School, home, life, work, blah blah blah, y'all know how it goes. I only used my iPhone for a camera this time and I took over 1,800 photos - good golly I'm still uploading them, but I wanted to get started on this before I started to really forget stuff, if I haven't already I've gotten some pics off of Dh's Samsung, but 1. it doesn't take pictures as well as my phone, and 2. he had loaded many of them onto his laptop, so I have to email them to me, and it's a BIG hassle. You might be able to tell which ones are mine or his (not that it matters, hee hee, yes it does #Appleforevah) but I won't waste time designating which camera - who cares anyway! I'm going to try my best to not make it super long and I promise not to bombard you with 1,800 photos. Maybe 1,600 - Kidding !!
Sept 3, Wednesday 4:15am ("o'dark thirty" as we used to say in the Army)
I think I posted my last entry on my last trip report sometime in the evening, the night before the trip. I don't think I had ever finished packing before midnight on a trip to Disney, ever. I was pretty proud of myself, I must say . Dh had packed the car and the house was in order. We were ready to go ! The kids had never been able to sleep the night before, so this time they had a plan - they would just stay up! At this point I was like, "whatevs", I knew they would sleep on the plane. We had only made plans to relax at the resort and just take it easy, so it was all good.
We were on the road by 5:30am (Max had eventually gone to bed, Titus got in about 30 minutes according to him.) It took us about 45 minutes to get to BWI. I was worried about traffic, but it was minimal. Our usual long-term parking lot "FastPark" doesn't offer coupons anymore , but they now have a rewards account, so we signed up for that. We did our usual routine: Dh drops us off, we check in our bags, either at curbside or inside, depending on the line inside. He parks the car and takes the shuttle back to the airport. Me and the kids go through security, head to the gate and have a light breakfast. Dh joins us later. I'd rather just stay together, but he thinks its best this way, so I've learned to go with it instead of argue. He's never missed a boarding time, so no problemo. We always fly Southwest (can't beat the bags flying free), and I had boarding #B01, so we'd have pretty good seats.
After eating Auntie Anne's for breakfast, we waited to board. Poor little Titus was bushed already and didn't eat his.
He napped until it was time to board. Max and I practiced artful selfies in the meantime. The flight wasn't crowded, so we all had room to stretch a bit. It was all smooth sailing (ha ha) when we got an announcement that "...a little light has come on up here in cockpit and we're gonna have to switch out our A/C and it's going to be a bigger unit so we need more fuel..." or something like that . Whatever they were doing, it took 45 minutes. I wasn't worried - I've been on airplanes since I was a baby (45 years!) and I've never experienced any real problems. (I always say a little "traveling mercy" prayer, I don't know if that's why, but hey, why not? lol) I especially wasn't worried because earlier I had spotted the actual pastor of our church boarding ahead of us (not going to Disney )and we ended up sitting right behind him! Dh and I got to chat with him for a bit, and I figured if God had plans for our pastor to "go home" today by way of airplane ...ahem "mishap", then we'd be right there with him .
Finally in the air.
I have to teach my son how to give the peace sign. It always looks like he's saying he's two years old. LOL The trip only took about 2 hours, enough time for me to watch my free SW rewards movie. I watched almost all of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" - except for 14 minutes at the end (I'm going to catch it, don't tell me!) Everything went smoothly and we found our way to Magical Express without any problems (not like a few months ago when I got lost and stuff ). Here's our traditional picture of the boys in front of the AKL sign. My how they've grown since our first trip! (They were under the sign in 2009)
We made it "home" in fine style, checked in, and ended up with a room exactly 2 doors down from our room from our last stay there . I had planned for the kids to join their Wednesday online Mandarin Chinese class at 12pm, but we were too late, oh well
I have the Argus app on my iPhone to use as a pedometer. Our room was exactly .23 miles from the lobby, 551 steps I think - that's almost a quarter mile! When I was able to check in online, I was able to choose "savannah view", even though we booked a standard view. I chose that over "near the lobby" in the outside chance they would hook us up. It's considered partial savannah, but we were happy, just like the last time we got it but my goodness, it was a hike. I'm not complaining - they would've had to build the resort with higher floors in order to accommodate the same number of rooms. Then it wouldn't look like an African lodge somewhere out in a savannah, and then it wouldn't be cool. Like it is now
My magic band wouldn't open the door, so after relaxing for a bit watching the animals, we went down to the lobby to have it fixed. Then we headed over to Jambo house for lunch at our favorite counter service, The Mara. I know it's not on many people's radar for CS, but we love the selection, the indoor seating, refillable drinks and the A/C! Plus afterwards, we get to roam around and take in all that is Animal Kingdom Lodge. It had been a while since we stayed there and it really felt like the proverbial weight coming off my shoulders walking into that lobby.
After lunch and our mini walkabout, we went back to the room to chill. The kids wanted to go swimming, so Dh took them to the pool while I napped. I took some more shots first.
Sometime during the afternoon, the luggage came, then the Garden Grocer items were delivered. I made a dinner of chili dogs - the dining plan is no longer a value for us (but missed, believe me! ) After that, we spent the evening relaxing in the resort. We went down to use the night vision goggles to see some animals on the savannah, and soak in some cozy bonfire. We met another homeschooling family (lots this trip) and found that we had many of the same Disney habits and likes We also met a family who was visiting AKL for the first time, just for dinner. The mom was just amazed at the whole place. She said they had always stayed at All-Star Sports for years because that's what her tween son wanted. She had been wanting to stay in a deluxe resort, but was always "out voted". She was incredulous when we told her about our 1 BR with a full kitchen and 2 bathrooms. I thought to myself that she should exercise some veto powers next trip. I hope she gets to stay somewhere else, ANYwhere else on Disney property. Nothing's wrong with AS-S, but there are so many different resorts to try and experience.
Feeding time!
After a while, we dragged ourselves away from the fire and the rocking chairs to let someone else enjoy. There are only so many goggles to go around and we didn't want to be stingy with ours. We walked over to the pool and the boys had a little fun competition. (Always turns into serious competition ) Then when everyone was all happy, we headed back to hit the sack. Tomorrow would be the first time the rest of the family had been in the parks in 2 years!
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.
Yay, you've arrived!! Glad that the issue with the plane wasn't something too serious. AKL looks so beautiful, with scoring the savannah view room! I'd love to stay there someday.
I would love to get the boys to stay at AKL. Craig and I did in 2009 when we did the EE5k. But, I can't get Craig out of the BC. And I do like Mara. I also think AKL has the best gift shop of the resorts.
Yay, you've arrived!! Glad that the issue with the plane wasn't something too serious. AKL looks so beautiful, with scoring the savannah view room! I'd love to stay there someday.
I hope you get to stay there one day - it's awesome!
Quote:
Originally Posted by dsteiny23
I would love to get the boys to stay at AKL. Craig and I did in 2009 when we did the EE5k. But, I can't get Craig out of the BC. And I do like Mara. I also think AKL has the best gift shop of the resorts.
We really loved BC too, but we had to settle for BWV as there was no availability for a 1BR
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Great pictures of the resort! I loved staying at Kidani Village! Such a beautiful resort. And I also enjoyed eating at the Mara.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Wow! The boys are getting big! Great room for a standard! . And love that you all just relaxed your first day!
Yeah, for us, we have to take it easy the first day or we're toast the rest of the trip!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grammy Grumpy
What a relaxing and wonderful start to your vacation. I'm sure it's full of adventures and I'll be waiting to hear all about them!
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.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
The kid's didn't know about the extra stay after the cruise or the Halloween Party 
) When we took our cruise last year, we didn't go to the parks, but instead, stayed and relaxed at the resort. (It was very easy to do so at the Beach Club.) This means they hadn't been to the parks since our Thanksgiving reunion in 2012. They were really excited to experience new things and old favorites. DH didn't care - he really doesn't like talking about Disney until almost time to go, then only begrudgingly 
. He only loves it when he gets on Magical Express at MCO, lol. I guess between me and the kids, Disney something-or-other somehow always finds its way into daily conversation. It's probably annoying... 
I'm still uploading them, but I wanted to get started on this before I started to really forget stuff, if I haven't already 
I've gotten some pics off of Dh's Samsung, but 1. it doesn't take pictures as well as my phone, and 2. he had loaded many of them onto his laptop, so I have to email them to me, and it's a BIG hassle. You might be able to tell which ones are mine or his (not that it matters, hee hee, yes it does #Appleforevah) but I won't waste time designating which camera - who cares anyway! I'm going to try my best to not make it super long and I promise not to bombard you with 1,800 photos. Maybe 1,600 - Kidding 
. Dh had packed the car and the house was in order. We were ready to go 
! The kids had never been able to sleep the night before, so this time they had a plan - they would just stay up! At this point I was like, "whatevs", I knew they would sleep on the plane. We had only made plans to relax at the resort and just take it easy, so it was all good. 
, but they now have a rewards account, so we signed up for that. We did our usual routine: Dh drops us off, we check in our bags, either at curbside or inside, depending on the line inside. He parks the car and takes the shuttle back to the airport. Me and the kids go through security, head to the gate and have a light breakfast. Dh joins us later. I'd rather just stay together, but he thinks its best this way, so I've learned to go with it instead of argue. He's never missed a boarding time, so no problemo. We always fly Southwest (can't beat the bags flying free), and I had boarding #B01, so we'd have pretty good seats.
. Whatever they were doing, it took 45 minutes. I wasn't worried - I've been on airplanes since I was a baby (45 years!) and I've never experienced any real problems. (I always say a little "traveling mercy" prayer, I don't know if that's why, but hey, why not? lol) I especially wasn't worried because earlier I had spotted the actual pastor of our church boarding ahead of us (not going to Disney 
)and we ended up sitting right behind him! Dh and I got to chat with him for a bit, and I figured if God had plans for our pastor to "go home" today by way of airplane ...ahem "mishap", then we'd be right there with him 
.
). Here's our traditional picture of the boys in front of the AKL sign. My how they've grown since our first trip! (They were under the sign in 2009)
Linear Mode
