Southern Fried in Mickey's World Updated 12/31 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Great start. Is it bad that when I read the title of your trip report the first thing I thought of was Southern fried chicken?
The weather is Florida sounds horrible. It was unseasonably hot when we were there in September. I'm glad it finally got cooler at home.
I can't wait to read more. It doesn't sound too promising, though.
Liz
As it turns out, my DS and DiL were in Disney the same time you were. The weather sounds hot and miserable. But all in all, they had a great time, hoping that you did as well.
Sounds like you had a great day and Luke enjoyed his birthday, even if you are the one who got all the goodies. I'm sorry the weather treated you poorly in FL, but that's just the way it goes sometimes. No doubt you are thoroughly enjoying the fall weather now that you are back home.
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 am in full agreement about the terrible heat and humidity in Orlando this fall!
Sounds like you made out quite well at the mall! Luke’s birthday dinner sounded great as well.
I”m surprised your Early Bird didn’t get you better numbers, but I guess it all depends on how many others utilize it.
Luke was surprised when he checked in and we were so far down the line for boarding. It was a full flight so maybe more folks than usual paid the EBCI.
Great start. Is it bad that when I read the title of your trip report the first thing I thought of was Southern fried chicken?
The weather is Florida sounds horrible. It was unseasonably hot when we were there in September. I'm glad it finally got cooler at home.
I can't wait to read more. It doesn't sound too promising, though.
Liz
Not bad at all as that is where I got the idea for Southern Fried in the title. I'm so glad it is cooler here at home now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dj1028
Glad you enjoyed Chuy's. It's one of our favorites...as a matter of fact, we are going there for my birthday this weekend!
and enjoy dinner Chuy's. We'll definitely be going back, especially since my DSis June let us know there is one at a town halfway from their house and ours where we often meet up for a meal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by oldmom
As it turns out, my DS and DiL were in Disney the same time you were. The weather sounds hot and miserable. But all in all, they had a great time, hoping that you did as well.
Our trip had more ups than downs, but the heat definitely had a negative impact on what we could do. I consider myself a southern girl and Kentucky has its share of heat and humidity, but this was the first time I thought it might beat me.
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.
Sounds like you had a great day and Luke enjoyed his birthday, even if you are the one who got all the goodies. I'm sorry the weather treated you poorly in FL, but that's just the way it goes sometimes. No doubt you are thoroughly enjoying the fall weather now that you are back home.
We're sort of feeling like we are cursed with hot weather as we have had a string of trips with hotter than usual temperatures. So I may need to warn folks not to go at the same time as we do. Even our Disneyland had record breaking highs. I am basking in our fall weather back in Kentucky. it. Luke and I have always loved fall and winter. I know most people don't like winter, but we do.
Great start, though the next update doesn't sound so great.
I'm with you, I love the winter and not sure I want to move further south when we retire. I like the snow and the cold. But I'm only 1/2 of the equation. We shall see!
I LOVE you got all the goodies on Luke's birthday!
Great start, though the next update doesn't sound so great.
I'm with you, I love the winter and not sure I want to move further south when we retire. I like the snow and the cold. But I'm only 1/2 of the equation. We shall see!
I LOVE you got all the goodies on Luke's birthday!
Luke wondered at one time if I'd want to move further south because of my arthritis. But that's not what I want. I need my four seasons. I'm very lucky that Luke likes to spoil me, though I had saved up money for the jeans and Bath & Body stuff.
Today started dark and early at 5:30 AM. Thankfully, the Best Western had a free continental breakfast where we headed at 6:30. I had a large waffle and orange juice while Luke had eggs, three slices of bacon, a biscuit and orange juice. We returned to the room to brush our teeth and get our suitcases. Check out was a breeze, and by 7:00, we were walking out the front door. Luke got our suitcases back in the back, and I put some items in the floor of the back seat that did not need to tag along with us to Florida. Think dirty laundry. The Edge was in line at Executive Travel and Parking by 7:10. We loved the closeness of this hotel to our parking service. Woohoo! In another ten minutes our bags were unloaded at the terminal where we headed inside to the self-check kiosk. Another easy, breezy check in with all our four large suitcases tagged and dropped off.
From bag drop off, we headed straight to TSA Pre-Check. For the first time, we both had our boarding passes downloaded to our phones, and the best part was we would not need Internet to access them. When I laid my phone down on the pad at the TSA podium, the device made a high-pitched squeal that made me jump and squeal myself. The TSA agent looked at me amused, causing me to whisper out that this was my first time to use my phone. I was not expecting all that noise. Having our passes on our phones was actually easier than carrying the paper passes. We and our bags passed the security check quickly without any glitches. Our plane would be meeting us at gate C7, which was one of the closest gates we’ve ever gotten. We found seats near the boarding sign for A45 – 46 (I was one off on these in yesterday’s update). Now an hour wait, spent emailing Luke’s mom and texting my DSis June. I also picked up a regular size Coke at Burger King after a bit of confusion on my part. I’m used to being at one of the furthest gates, so I headed to the right, which lead me back to security. I couldn’t figure out what they had done with all the restaurants. Luke had a good life when I came back the first time empty-handed and wondering where the restaurants were. He advised me to turn left and Burger King should be just around the next curve. And it was!
Boarding began at 8:50, right on schedule. This would be a full flight, but we got seats in row 11. Not bad! I had downloaded two movies to my Hoopla app on my Kindle prior to leaving home. I tried watching both, but I only managed about five minutes on each. I couldn’t get the volume loud enough to understand the dialogue on either. Beside the volume issue, one was just weird, and the other was tiringly slow. Instead of a movie, I listened to an audiobook that I had already begun and knew I was loving. Our planed landed and made it to the gate by 12:15 as noted when we booked. Good deal! We were off the plane in a few minutes and stopping at the first restrooms. Then we made our way down to DME, now decorated with cute fall décor. Once in the line for pick up to Animal Kingdom Lodge—Kidani Village, we waited and waited and waited. The wait was lengthy.
Finally, we were directed outside to a bus.
The ride was pleasant, stopping first at All-Star Music, new to us as we had never been back there. Next was Coronado Springs. At this point about half or more of the bus had emptied out. On to Animal Kingdom Lodge, stopping first at Jambo House where the remainder of the bus, except for Luke and me got off. We had our own private bus for the short ride to Kidani Village. While on the DME bus, I received a text that our room was ready in the Pumba section, Room #7670. I joked as we walked the quarter mile to our room (truthfully, we measured it) that we were being sent to the butt end of Pumba. We are aware and accept the fact that someone has to stay in the remote rooms, but the worse part was our savanna view. Take a look!
Those are painters and construction workers. We had received no information prior to entering our room that refurbishing would be going on. Disney keeps dropping the ball on these resort construction issues. The Wet Paint sign was put up, I’m sure, because I came out on the balcony and took their photo.
I was trying not to let this derail me this early in the trip, but then I went to the bathroom to change out of my jeans and discovered a dirty towel on the floor in front of the toilet. I yelled to Luke about the towel and he said there was another in the kitchenette sink. Boo! We had seen several housekeepers in the hallways on our long trek, so he stepped out to find one. I was NOT touching that towel in the bathroom. : Yuck! I heard him talking to a man and wondered what was going on because we had only seen women housekeepers. Right outside our room, he had met the manager of housekeeping. He came into the room, removed the offending towels, and then informed us of the painting and construction. Alex, the manager, told us that the painters would be there every weekday from 7:00 to 5:00, so animals would NOT be on the savanna until they left. Great! : Six months ago at the 180-day mark I had made dining reservations and almost all of those were for 5:00. Where was my savanna view? Grrr! On the housekeeping misstep, he offered us every other day housekeeping. I didn’t want to move as I still needed to change because Hollywood Studios was beckoning us with our first FastPass. So we took that as sufficient compensation. Alex chatted to us for a little while, telling us how before recently becoming the housekeeping manager at Kidani, he had been working on the Toy Story Land project.
Eventually, Alex left, I got change, and we headed to the bus stops for our first ride to a Disney park.
That was a nice birthday dinner for Luke and very nice that Felicia didn't charge you for the dessert! Luke must have an iron stomach when it comes to spicy food! Some nice purchases at the Opryland Mall!
Glad all went well with the flight and arrival. Too bad you had a long wait for DME and that you were the last two to get off! That is not good with the room situation! First the dirty towels and now the painting and without a savanna view! I hope they do more for you besides the housekeeping service. I know you want to get to the parks, but perhaps you can have your room changed tomorrow! You are paying for the view even though you are DVC members with the points for this room than a standard one, which would be less.
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Sorry about the heat and humidity you experience this trip, I find it really tires a person out. I can’t believe they didn’t tell you about the work going on, and how did they miss the towels in the two spots. Hope the room ends up working out for you.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Parlor Panther in 'stalking mode'
I can see why you changed the title of your trip report....
and enjoy dinner Chuy's. We'll definitely be going back, especially since my DSis June let us know there is one at a town halfway from their house and ours where we often meet up for a meal. 
I am basking in our fall weather back in Kentucky. 
it. Luke and I have always loved fall and winter. I know most people don't like winter, but we do. 
]
We and our bags passed the security check quickly without any glitches. Our plane would be meeting us at gate C7, which was one of the closest gates we’ve ever gotten. We found seats near the boarding sign for A45 – 46 (I was one off on these in yesterday’s update). Now an hour wait, spent emailing Luke’s mom and texting my DSis June. I also picked up a regular size Coke at Burger King after a bit of confusion on my part. I’m used to being at one of the furthest gates, so I headed to the right, which lead me back to security. I couldn’t figure out what they had done with all the restaurants. Luke had a good life when I came back the first time empty-handed and wondering where the restaurants were. He advised me to turn left and Burger King should be just around the next curve. And it was! 
Disney keeps dropping the ball on these resort construction issues. The Wet Paint sign was put up, I’m sure, because I came out on the balcony and took their photo. 
: Yuck! 
I heard him talking to a man and wondered what was going on because we had only seen women housekeepers. Right outside our room, he had met the manager of housekeeping. He came into the room, removed the offending towels, and then informed us of the painting and construction. Alex, the manager, told us that the painters would be there every weekday from 7:00 to 5:00, so animals would NOT be on the savanna until they left. Great! 
On the housekeeping misstep, he offered us every other day housekeeping. I didn’t want to move as I still needed to change because Hollywood Studios was beckoning us with our first FastPass. So we took that as sufficient compensation. Alex chatted to us for a little while, telling us how before recently becoming the housekeeping manager at Kidani, he had been working on the Toy Story Land project. 
Linear Mode
