Checking off that Bucket List ~ Disney Style! - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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You sound so excited that I wonder why did you bother with the plane and DME you could have beat them both on foot I think. Room looks absolutely stunning all the detail Had to go and check faucet shot to make sure what I thought was what I saw. Can't wait for more
Great start. POR is my favorite moderate resort and I'm thinking I need to break down and stay at least one night there on my next trip to experience that wonderful "royal" room!
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Love the royal room, especially the fireworks. You three really do hit the ground running, don't you. Two minutes in the room, then PARK TIME!!
Thanks! Yes we do!!! it was a short trip - gotta get it going!!! LOL!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by OCEANGRLLG
WOOHOO!! You started your PR!!! So glad yall made it with no problems, nice and smooth! Great room and pics!!! Cant wait for more!!!
Thanks!! Coming soon!!!
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Originally Posted by apqsmom
This is great! I LOVE all the pictures!!! The room looks awesome!
Thanks!!
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Originally Posted by llgmommy2
So excited to read all about your trip. We are staying in a Royal Room in May and I cannot wait!
Thanks!! You will LOVE it!!!
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Originally Posted by kingfamily1129
Yay!!! So excited that you started your TR! I'm so happy you posted pics from POR because that is where we are staying now (long story) haha. It sounds like a very relaxed beginning to your trip Can't wait to hear how your first night HOME was
Thanks!! hmmm.......gotta fill us in!! But you will LOVE these rooms!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by JKnott17
Great start! Love the pics of the Royal Room, we're hoping to stay in one this August
Thanks!! Wow - so many of you are staying here soon!! So glad to share so many photos of it!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily
I am sooooo excited you've started your TR!!! It's making me even more excited to stay in our Royal Room! Love all your pics!!!
Thanks!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeL
You sound so excited that I wonder why did you bother with the plane and DME you could have beat them both on foot I think. Room looks absolutely stunning all the detail Had to go and check faucet shot to make sure what I thought was what I saw. Can't wait for more
Ha!! I probably could have!! Behave!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grammy Grumpy
Great start. POR is my favorite moderate resort and I'm thinking I need to break down and stay at least one night there on my next trip to experience that wonderful "royal" room!
Thanks! You should!! It was great!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Great Start!!! Love the pictures of your room!!
Thanks!!!
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Originally Posted by Suzie-Q
You took the words right out of my mouth, Cheryl! Bring it on!!
Thanks!! I will!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mushu22
signing in
Welcome!!
__________________
Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
So after getting everything settled in our room - it was time to get this party started!!! But we had a few things to take care of first!!!
First stop: to exchange my Photopass+ voucher for the card – (side note here: When I entered the line, it was probably 40 people deep! I had the red voucher in my hand and a CM was walking through the line – and noticed my voucher and took me aside to exchange my voucher for the card – saying there was no need for me to wait in that line just to get my card!!! Yippee!!! I thought that was fantastic Customer Service!!)
While I was doing that, Scott was over at Guest Services to get his GAC – now, usually we get his GAC so that if it gets busy and he needs it, he uses it – usually we will get fastpasses for most things anyway – he really has a “hidden” disability – where he has major discs issues in his lower back and cannot stand for periods of time in one area – he is okay with walking – it’s the standing on hard surfaces for any length of time – he has actually collapsed while waiting due to his back giving out – not a pretty sight – and a bit too big for me to be scooping up off the ground – but he really hates to utilize the GAC, however, sometimes it is just necessary – and I keep reminding him that I could just plop his butt in a wheelchair and then he can let the whole world know that he really is a crippled….so he usually just accepts it and gets the dang card so that we don’t have issues and I don’t have to say “I told you so….” – well, again, hindsight being 20/20 – we were so GRATEFUL for the GAC card this trip – as it is the busier time – and we used this more than we usually do (although – again, don’t get me wrong – we GET fastpasses for most things anyway). Sorry – got a little sidetracked there – but anyway – we quickly met back up on Main Street in front of the Flag and were stopping for our first of many photopass photos of this trip!!!
And now we were hungry as it was nearing 9pm – so we headed over to Tommorland Terrace (Emily was disappointed that it was closed when we were here in October) – so we quickly got our food here – Emily & I sharing the Pasta Alfredo with Chicken and Scott had a cheeseburger.
Of course – Emily was calling the shots tonight (only tonight......the rest of this weekend would be all about me!! ) – and stated that we HAD to ride Space Mountain as the first ride (as usual) and off we went – I still don’t really like this ride – BUT I ride for the sake of my family – and yes, I usually manage to put on a brave smile for the camera!! Then it’s all screams after that – and a bit of yelling for my mother – like she’s gonna hear me all the way up in CT!!! And we rode the Alpha side, which I swear is faster than the Omega side?!?!?
After our ride through Space, we decided to let our stomachs settle and rode the People Mover…………ahh……and nice slow paced ride for Mom!
Then we headed for Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin – Emily & I riding together, and Scott by himself – and wouldn’t you know it – the dang cameras were NOT working – so NO photo. Bummer – guess we will have to try to fit this in again (I was determined to get my money’s worth of Photopass+ again!!).
Now Emily wanted a snack (I swear, she is your typical bottomless pit teenager when it comes to eating! ) so we stopped for some Cinnamon Glazed Almonds – they were delicious!!!
Next it was time to start checking off that list!!! We headed over to the New Fantasyland area – and we were able to basically walk on Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid with minimal wait. We were so impressed with all the details put into this! It was absolutely beautiful – even at night in the rain! Before I knew it, our clam shell was arriving – I rode with Emily and Scott went solo. I did try to get some photos in here; however, with the low lighting and constant moving, it was difficult.
Warning though - I did manage to get some - so if you DON'T want to see pics of the ride - skip through this!!!
After we exited Under the Sea, we went for our first Character meet of this trip – and headed into Ariel’s Grotto ~ again the details put into this was AMAZING!!! I was so excited to see Ariel in her original home with her mermaid tail! She is just adorable! Ariel was the first to sign my photo mat – and she wrote a special “Happy Birthday” message to me!! I was quite pleased!
When we exited the Grotto, it was raining kinda hard again……….but we braved it and made a dash for Enchanted Tales with Belle (it was late and the fireworks and the parade were about to happen, so we knew the wait was probably less than it would be during the day) – we had about a 20 minute wait – not too bad considering.
We were again just amazed at the details of Maurice’s cottage – taking lots of pictures along the way – Emily was very excited to see the portrait of Belle and her mom. Of course, Scott does not research things like I do ~ therefore had no idea of what was about to happen when we entered Maurice’s workshop………..he was quite surprised!
Emily is taller than Belle was at 18!
The library was beautifully done and the cast of characters to tell the story with Belle had been chosen………..side note here………a little guy (maybe 5-6) had been chosen to play the part of Beast, however, when we entered the library – he changed his mind and gave his cape back to the CM – who then asked for a new volunteer – and a young man (adult) had stepped right up to the plate…..and did a FAB job! – everyone did a fine job telling the story of Beauty & the Beast and then those who participated were able to have a photo op from Belle and she gave each person a bookmark – I think this is where Emily (although she will be a teen and say no ) was a bit bummed that she did not participate!!! She loves bookmarks!! And who wouldn’t want a photo op with Belle!
Next up was Mickey’s PhilharMagic – a favorite for all of us!
Then we strolled over to Adventureland to seek out some Pirate adventures on the Pirates of the Caribbean!
Then it was after midnight but we were ready for a famous snack………….Dole Whips!!! Well, Scott & Em ordered Dole Whips, I took bites from each!!!
We started heading towards the exit, stopping for some photopass photo ops and some shots from my camera as well along the way –
and then into The Chapeau for some new Mouse Ears!!! We had all decided that rather than making special tees for my birthday – I would get the Mickey Birthday Ears with my name embroidered!!! Then Emily & I also wanted some snazzy ears to wear for the weekend – I chose the glittery Silver Sequin ones, while Emily went for the Black Sequin with Red Bow!
Happy with our progress and purchases, we were beat and left the park at 1:20 a.m.!!! We didn’t wait long for a bus to head back to POR and call it a night!!!
__________________
Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
I am SO jealous that you got to see Enchanted Tales with Belle. I was gutted that the line was always too long during our trip. I have to say the two castles in the Fantasyland expansion look amazing at night.
Love all the details of Fantasy land! We are planning to hit it right after eating at Crystal Palace, which should be rope drop if all plans go accordingly. Can. Not. Wait!
I am SO jealous that you got to see Enchanted Tales with Belle. I was gutted that the line was always too long during our trip. I have to say the two castles in the Fantasyland expansion look amazing at night.
We actually had gone later in the evening - while the parade and fireworks were getting ready to go off - we figured that was our best bet of getting in - and it worked! It was absolutely stunning - the pics just don't do it justice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JKnott17
You sure packed a lot in tonight, you must have been pooped when you left!
Love all of the pictures, and the new birthday ears!
Yes we did!! And yes we were!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzie-Q
you are delivering just what you promised! lots of great photos and food porn - love it!
Yep!! Wasn't teasin' ya!! I like to tell my stories through pictures........can you tell I am a scrapbooker?!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Wow, what a night at MK! Love the pictures (and ears)!
Thanks!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily
Love all the details of Fantasy land! We are planning to hit it right after eating at Crystal Palace, which should be rope drop if all plans go accordingly. Can. Not. Wait!
That's a good plan - or go during the parade/fireworks times - we found it to be a shorter wait during these times. but if you go immediately following breakfast you should be good too.
__________________
Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
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A great way to kick off your trip! Glad to see that you got to see Enchanted Tales with Belle and ride The Little Mermaid ride! Love the birthday ears!!
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You took the words right out of my mouth, Cheryl! Bring it on!!
Guess where we were headed??
I thought that was fantastic Customer Service!!) 
– not a pretty sight – and a bit too big for me to be scooping up off the ground – but he really hates to utilize the GAC, however, sometimes it is just necessary – and I keep reminding him that I could just plop his butt in a wheelchair and then he can let the whole world know that he really is a crippled….so he usually just accepts it and gets the dang card so that we don’t have issues and I don’t have to say “I told you so….” – well, again, hindsight being 20/20 – we were so GRATEFUL for the GAC card this trip – as it is the busier time – and we used this more than we usually do (although – again, don’t get me wrong – we GET fastpasses for most things anyway). Sorry – got a little sidetracked there – but anyway – we quickly met back up on Main Street in front of the Flag and were stopping for our first of many photopass photos of this trip!!!
as it was nearing 9pm – so we headed over to Tommorland Terrace (Emily was disappointed that it was closed when we were here in October) – so we quickly got our food here – Emily & I sharing the Pasta Alfredo with Chicken and Scott had a cheeseburger.
) – and stated that we HAD to ride Space Mountain as the first ride (as usual) and off we went – I still don’t really like this ride 
Then it’s all screams after that – and a bit of yelling for my mother – like she’s gonna hear me all the way up in CT!!! And we rode the Alpha side, which I swear is faster than the Omega side?!?!? 
Bummer – guess we will have to try to fit this in again (I was determined to get my money’s worth of Photopass+ again!!).
I was quite pleased! 
…….but we braved it and made a dash for Enchanted Tales with Belle (it was late and the fireworks and the parade were about to happen, so we knew the wait was probably less than it would be during the day) – we had about a 20 minute wait – not too bad considering. 
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I have to say the two castles in the Fantasyland expansion look amazing at night. 
It was absolutely stunning - the pics just don't do it justice.
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