TR - WDW 12/2 - 12/10 - Family Reunion - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
So, Day 2 (12/3) arrives and it finds us doing what we hate - packing! Not much, but it's still a hassle when we had to move from Jambo to Kidani. At least Disney makes it easy - you take the luggage to bell services and they move it to the other resort for you! We did that and were off to DHS for a little relaxing stroll around the park before our lunch at Hollywood Brown Derby.
Now the Derby is probably our favorite restaurant (ok, maybe tied with Jiko). We got engaged in a restaurant in Chicago called Petterino's. It's in the Goodman Theater building downtown. It has a very similar decor to the Derby - all the caricatures on the walls. We were married one year to the day of our engagement and our Honeymoon was at WDW, so our first dinner on our first full day of marriage was at the Derby. So, every time we go to WDW we have to eat at the Derby.
This time we had our normal fabulous meal. We shared an appetizer of Blue Lump Crab Spring Rolls, Snow Crab Claw, and an Asian Slaw with spicy Miso Aοoli. Then DW had Coriander-dusted Grouper, Cauliflower Risotto, fresh English Peas, crunchy Sunchokes, and a Yellow Tomato Coulis. My entrιe was Char-grilled Filet of Beef with Cotswold Butter over Fingerling Potatoes, Asparagus, Ugly Ripe Tomatoes, and a broken Cabernet-Shallot Vinaigrette. For dessert we shared a Double Vanilla Bean Crθme Brϋlιe with Dark Chocolate-dipped Biscotti. Now for the best part. Paired with the Crθme Brϋlιe was Royal Tokaji Red Label 5 Puttonyos, Hungary 05. Absolutely divine!
We did have two minor issues at this point. I asked if I could buy a bottle of the Tokaj to have delivered to the room. I was told they can't sell the bottles - not for carry-out, package pick-up at the gate, or delivery to the room. What? The waiter told us to contact our resort concierge to find out how to source it. That's odd, but ok. (I went back at the end of the week and asked at the front desk if I could buy a bottle and they grabbed a server who got it, wrapped it, and sent me on my way. So, pixie dust depends on who you talk to and when I guess, but we did get a bottle to take home, so now I know what to look for. It's really that good. An excellent dessert wine.)
Ok, so second issue. It seems that, on your last day, sometimes a weird phenomenon occurs with the DDP. All remaining credits expire at 11 AM or upon checkout - whichever comes first. So, about 1 PM after our checkout (our 1 night studio was one reservation and one DDP day with the 7 other days as another reservation number and DDP package). It took about 30 minutes for them to get it all straightened out. I mentioned in an earlier post that we were through with issues. Sorry - forgot one.
So, we then did the normal park thing. Rode some rides, made some purchases, etc. Then back off to Kidani to get in our room and wait on family (little did we know about the confusion that I mentioned earlier was about to happen). Finally got everyone in their rooms, all luggage taken care of, then off to Boma for dinner. Once again, a great meal. Was worried that my parents, who aren't adventurous eaters would have a problem finding something they liked. They went back for multiple plates! So, if anyone is scared that they won't like Boma, the offerings are vast enough that something will be recognizable and you'll find something you'll like - especially the Zebra domes!
Since my parents drove, we then used their car to make a Super Target run for some breakfast stuff and snacks. Brother-in-law and sister took kids to MK since it was open late (not EMH - just open late). We all finally got back to our rooms and crashed for the evening.
Next morning - AK here we come.
__________________
Upcoming - DVC ABD to NYC in Oct, Feb 2015 Princess Half Weekend and DCL 7 night afterward.
Great update and great meal! Sorry for the issues with the DDP. The credits aren't supposed to expire until 11:59 PM on your checkout day! Glad you were able to get it resolved!
Yeah, I know. The DDP credits are supposed to expire at midnight, but the waiter (and concierge at Kidani) said that sometimes there is a glitch in the system that kills the credits upon checkout.
So, everybody, watch out for that. They said it is rare, but you may have a hard time using those snack credits you have left after 11 AM.
__________________
Upcoming - DVC ABD to NYC in Oct, Feb 2015 Princess Half Weekend and DCL 7 night afterward.
We wake up bright and early and eat breakfast. Niece and nephew enjoyed eating breakfast on the balcony watching the animals eat their breakfast too. That became the morning activity each day.
After breakfast, it was time to go to the Animal Kingdom. We head to the park with the goal of doing the Kilimanjaro Safari Adventure first thing. We head back and fast pass it so we can look around some before its time to ride. We then went back boarded then saw a few creatures on the ride, such as:
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Great pictures! 
The waiter told us to contact our resort concierge to find out how to source it. That's odd, but ok. (I went back at the end of the week and asked at the front desk if I could buy a bottle and they grabbed a server who got it, wrapped it, and sent me on my way. So, pixie dust depends on who you talk to and when I guess, but we did get a bottle to take home, so now I know what to look for. It's really that good. An excellent dessert wine.)
PassPorter Guide Author
<--- Disney Fantasy 2016!
Linear Mode
