Solo and Not So Solo TR - updated with final Magical Moment! - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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Monday, Feb. 8 was a beautiful day -- still chilly, but nice and sunny. Since AK had early EMH, I took the tram from BW to there and arrived a little after the 8:00 opening. Why wasn't I there sooner? Because I OVERSLEPT. Now, this may not seem earth-shattering to you, but I never-ever oversleep and I certainly never oversleep at Disney World. But now I guess I do.
An African Spoonbill:
I always enjoy these zebras and have to take a photo of them.
I did the Safari first thing, which was a chilly ride. I hadn't stopped for breakfast yet, and since I felt so cold I thought "Let's try the Tusker House." I love lunch there, so why not? I'm wearing my birthday button on my coat, and right away people start feeling sorry for me. (Poor dear -- all alone on her birthday. ) They pulled out a chair for me that would have had me facing away from families, so I quickly took the other seat. I like to look at kids having fun at Disney World. I mean, who doesn't ?
There was a threesome near my table, which I assumed consisted of a grandpa, a grandma, and their little granddaughter who was faced away from me -- I only saw her from the back. Well, until suddenly she was standing next to my table. "Happy birthday," she said shyly. I was astounded that she would have come up to a complete stranger. "Thank you," I replied, as my eyes went back to her table. Her grandmother was smiling and holding up the girl's coat, which had a birthday button on it.
"Is today YOUR birthday?" I asked her. "Uh huh." Turns out her name is Avery, and she had just turned 5. I said, "That's interesting, because guess what? I'm turning 5. . . 5." Avery's eyes got big. I walked her back to her table and asked her grandmother to take our picture. It's pretty blurry, but Avery looks adorable in it, so here goes.
For the rest of the meal, every few minutes Avery would turn around in her chair to smile and wave at me.
I hadn't seen the Lion King show in about 5 years, and the first show was starting up just as I hit the Minnie-Mickey Trail. So I went in and had a great time.
Such a joyous production -- you can't help singing along. Everybody's swaying to the music. Love it, love it! '
Then I rode Expedition Everest twice (God bless the Single Rider Line). Since Goofy had so thoughtfully come to my birthday breakfast , I didn't feel the need to stand in line to get my photo taken with him again.
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Since I'll be going to San Diego at the end of June for an HR conference (any other PassPorters out there who attend the SHRM conference???), Rick will join me afterwards and we'll spend a day each at the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park. So I didn't want to overdose on animals (is that possible ). But it was such a beautiful morning that I thought, "Maybe I'll go visit the cats." Turned out to be a good idea, because they were quite active.
I like all the details at the AK, don't you?
Gosh -- It's so beautiful here!
Then there's the cat on the Tree of Life:
Tree of Life? Here's another of my favorite "animals" at AK:
Of course, I had to do It's Tough to Be a Bug. You know how at the end of the show you "feel" all these bugs under your seat? Well, I'd read online that if you look up, you'll "see" fireflies going over to the door and lighting up the Exit sign, just for a moment. It's true! I saw it! That is such a cute show.
I'm so proud to have been named an Honorary Bug.
Good thing I saw the show before going to Yak & Yeti's. . . . I didn't want to eat much for lunch since I'd had the buffet at Tusker for breakfast AND because my first dinner at Jiko would be coming up that evening. So I moseyed along until I came to a stand where I purchased some popcorn -- that's a vegetable, right?
I then walked to Yak & Yeti's and asked if I could perhaps sit at the bar and order a drink only. It was exactly noon at this moment.
Well, what do you think they said? COME ON IN.
Did Cindybelle get her very first Yak Attack? And did she think it was every bit as yummy as she'd been told? WHAT DO YOU THINK?
My first thought: Oh wow, is that HUGE. And BEAUTIFUL. What colors!
My second thought: Wow, this is but then brain freeze! So I resolved to savor it slowly. I chatted with the bartender and ate my popcorn, and periodically someone would walk up to me and inquire about my beverage. I leaned over the menu to point out the description and promptly spilled some popcorn -- right into the bartender's margarita salt dish. I was a bit embarrassed, but the bartender was quite sweet about it. He was probably thinking, "Poor dear. Drinking alone on her birthday."But I was feeling quite .
Then I felt like I'd done enough at the AK. Now, usually I can stay on EE all day long, but somehow after that Yak Attack (and yes, I drained the glass), I was somehow loathe to repeat that ride. Since it was so beautiful outside, I decided to take the tram to Epcot and enjoy the ambiance of World Showcase. So I took my leave of Animal Kingdom.
Now, I'd love to tell you that I lined up this shot AFTER having my liquid lunch, but in all honesty I took this one just before purchasing the popcorn. It's one of my very favorite shots of the trip. You've got your manmade tree and your live vegetation -- and it's all put together by the magical people at Disney. When people ask me why I love Disney World so much, I tell them it's all about the details and the people. So much effort goes into making all the magic, whether tourists notice the details or not. I like to slow down every so often and really notice stuff. And I'm so glad to have done that on this trip.
Sounds like your having a great time thus far!
Glad you got settled into a quiet room!
Two sitting of Philharmagic at MK sounds great- that's possibly my favorite MK attraction
What a great birthday breakfast with nice table neighbors!
Sounds like a great time at AK so far......
Still feeling a bit "subdued" after my Yak Attack, I took a leisurely stroll around Epcot for the rest of the afternoon -- no rides. (Although I did stop for Impressions de France, which I love to watch even though it's been showing for 20+ years. I always wonder if the young married couple is still together -- I sure hope so!)
Did I try some "arty" shots? Of COURSE I did. Leave it to Disney to make me feel like a good photographer.
Strolling through England, I spotted Alice. And then I came upon another Brit:
An older married couple was hurrying by at this point, and the man muttered, "Who's that?" His wife smugly replied, "That's Bo Peep." Well, I simply could not let that go. "Excuse me," I said, "but that's Mary Poppins." The woman burst out laughing, and said "Oh my, of course it is! I can't believe I thought it was Bo Peep." I said, "Hey, it's all good. She can be anyone you'd like her to be."
I stopped in Germany to look at the miniature town and watch the little train.
Then I took another "arty" shot.
I spotted two princesses and snapped a quick pic.
I love to watch parents with young "comatose" children. Now, it was definitely too chilly for shorts that day, but I can't fault this young dad for his headgear -- anyone who dresses like Goofy is in my book.
I mentioned that I didn't ride any attractions at Epcot -- well, as I was exiting the park to get to my tram to AKL for dinner, I thought, "There's not much of a line for Spaceship Earth. I'll just do that before leaving."
You guessed it -- the ride broke down when I was about 7 stories up. We sat for days (well, maybe 15 minutes), listening to a voice intone, "Please stay in your seats. The ride has halted momentarily." It kept droning on and on, occasionally interrupting itself to make the announcement again. Finally a cast member started unlocking doors so people could get out -- all the way up until she got to MY car, and then she stopped. "I'll be right back," she promised.
You guessed it again -- we sat for several more days/minutes/who knows and then a cast member came from the floor ABOVE us and started letting people out. So the people seated in front of me and I were the VERY LAST guests let off the ride. -- but you know you just have to .
It was kind of cool to walk down part of the ramp next to the attraction and get a "close up" look at some of the Animatronics. But then we were led to a boring stairwell and had to climb down the seven flights. Oh well -- now it was DEFINITELY time to head to AKL.
Sheri (Skateycat) didn't care for AKL when she & David stayed in December, but I think they were too close to the lobby or something. (Sound familiar?) I was there for two nights in 2005 and absolutely loved the savannah view.
This is a terrible photo, but it's an example of one of those special Disney "details" that you can miss if you're rushing about too much. This is just off the AKL's lobby. Some African musicians are playing the drums and other percussion instruments and are solemnly teaching some children how to play along. If it hadn't been time for my dinner reservation, I would have joined them!
The French Onion Soup looked great and what a wonderful thing for a chilly day.
I love me some Yak Attacks (had you guessed?) so I am happy that you enjoyed your first one! May you enjoy many more.
I loved the picture of the two princesses.
I had to chuckle over you getting stuck on SE. Bob & I had a real issue with Big Thunder Mountain RR one year--it broke down the first two times (separate days) that we tried to ride it!
Loving all the details and you sure got around. I love the Boardwalk. Looking forward to reading about your meal at Jiko, one of my favs!
gee, i see you started without me. this ought to be good...ha ha ha. esp. since i know what happened...um, some of it that i recall...he he he. sorry about losing lumi...i have not scoured my car adequately, so perhaps he is hiding in there. and i will check at the boardwalk lost and found as well next time i go.
our room was great...i loved it. and much as i love love love me my YC, i also love love loved the BW...those of you who know me well prolly coulda guessed that, right? we sure did miss you all...esp. all our friends from DoD this past may...gee, we should do that EVERY year, right?????
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) They pulled out a chair for me that would have had me facing away from families, so I quickly took the other seat. I like to look at kids having fun at Disney World. I mean, who doesn't 
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PassPorter Guide Author
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, I didn't feel the need to stand in line to get my photo taken with him again. 
but then brain freeze! 
So I resolved to savor it slowly. I chatted with the bartender and ate my popcorn, and periodically someone would walk up to me and inquire about my beverage. I leaned over the menu to point out the description and promptly spilled some popcorn -- right into the bartender's margarita salt dish. 
But I was feeling quite 
.
I need to start going inside & ordering my Yak Attacks b/c girl That glass is HUGE & I LURV me some Yak Attacks!!
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