It’s Always Sunny in California!..Eh?...L’il Bit! - Page 20 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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There are other changes as well.
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We go on to the joy and through the tears
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Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
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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.
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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.
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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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Those fries look delicious! The sandwich... don't know if I like the concept.
Love the view from your room!
It's very popular, but to me it was just a bit strange.
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Originally Posted by pamcarey
Those fries look so good!!! But yeah, the sandwich sounds weird to me, too.
The fires were so good...the sandwich...just ok. Not really my thing.
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Originally Posted by chezp
Too funny about the view from your room!
I must admit that sandwich did sound a bit weird. So glad you enjoyed Dinosaur - it's so much fun, isn't it?
I think you mean Indy right? it was super cool. They did such a great job with that ride.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily
I have always wondered about that sandwich since I saw it. My husband would love it I'm sure. Funny the view from your room. I had forgotten that the Stretching Room was an elevator! I find that very cool!
It was exicitng to ride the one that had a real elevator! I'm a dork that way!
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Originally Posted by lfredsbo
hmmm......that sandwich is interesting ~ not so sure I would like it, but have strong feeling my DD would!
Interesting is a good word for it.
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Originally Posted by rhinohunter
Yep, exactly. I know can say I did it and once is enough!
I don't think I will ever get to DLP either.
OOPS that reference to DLP was typo should have been DLR or whatever the abbreviation is used for California Disneyland. But, you knew that, didn't you?
LOL. exactly!
Un yeah sure I knew! DLR is right though!
Quote:
Originally Posted by rhinohunter
I enjoyed your pix of the park and your new room. I agree with others, not sure I would like to eat a ham and cheese donut sandwich. It sounded interesting but a bit tooo sweet.
That is a perfect description!
Quote:
Originally Posted by FanOfMickey
Those fries look yummy!! I loved the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyand. Do not like the Indiana Jones show in DS. Wish they would bring the ride to WDW.
Yeah, it's been years since I've seen the show at DHS. We actaully tried to go see it this past March but it was full. Clair has never seen it yet, so one of these days I need to take her to see it. I am trying to get her to do a few new things each trip now.
Cass was having issues with her foot and ankle swelling up so she decided it was time to go get some ice. She came back and said that she wanted a drink as well and the machine wasn’t taking money…I think it was only taking credit cards, so she left again. She came back again and it wasn’t working still, but she couldn’t get back in the room with her key now. So we played around with that and it wouldn’t work for her, but did work for me. The weird thing is, it had worked for her once or twice already but just stopped working. I don’t remember if she found ice either or if she gave up on that. It was actually kind of comical, with her going back and forth and the 2 of us trying to get the stupid thing to work. We decided to get ready for the conference and then head down a little early so we could get the key situation taken care of.
We went to the desk and they once again issued new keys for both us of…..oh and each time they did that, they had to issue us each 2 sets as one was to be used on our last day for our extended stay. We did ask and they do recycle the keys. This guy had a little more trouble for some reason. He kept asking to see the old keys and new keys and he threw the wrong one in the recycle bin and didn’t believe us when we told him that it was there.
Once that was taken care of we went outside and took some pictures of each other.
Here is that outdoor fireplace again.
I think I called home at this point, or maybe earlier, but throughout this day I had talked to Claire who was at my MIL’s and Skip as well. Skip told me that Claire needed a bath and that Paige only came home for a short time and left for the night. His Mom didn’t think she had the right kind of shampoo. Ok, not sure what that meant, but evidently she wasn’t going to give Claire a bath either. So he wasn’t sure what to do because Claire had to have one. Now I am not sure what I was supposed to do about it, but I listened and said, that if she had to go one more day, the world would not end, but it’s not that hard to give her a bath and any shampoo would be fine to use on her. I guess if something were to happen to me, Claire would forever be stinky because no one knows how to turn water on for her and put shampoo in her. LOL
Then I saw this beautiful stained glass window and took a shot with my camera.
Cass told me it was the doors to the main entrance….really. I hadn’t seen it open? And then it did and we decided to go outside and get a shot from that side. Of course the door kept opening and closing and it took a while to get the shot.
I think we next went to the gift shop to get a drink to take along with us. We passed this cute clock along the way.
I was very unimpressed with the gift shop here. It was actually kind of small and I didn’t think it had a good variety of things.
I then tried to get a nice shot of this bouquet, but it came out blurry.
The indoor fireplace was roaring.
We then made a potty stop before heading to our conference room.
We found our conference room and picked a table to sit at. They were handing out soft drinks so I think I got one and saved the one I bought for later.
We kind of scoped the people out and noticed that Rita was running the conference. We have both been to other conferences before and Rita has been part of those too. It was nice to see a familiar face, but we knew Rita was a little strict and set in her ways. A few others sat at our table and we introduced ourselves. Some had done some of these types of conferences as well too. We really liked one girl and talked to her a bit, but some of the others we just didn’t click so well with. Not that we didn’t like them, but they just weren’t clicking with us so much. Rita called the meeting to order and we got started. We got a bit of an overview and things went on from there. The weirdest thing was happening though. One of the girls kept talking…out loud. She kept saying things like “Oh yes Rita”, “ You know it”……or if Rita would say something that she experienced, this gal would talk out loud and say her experience…..just to the air. I don’t think I am good at hiding my emotions on my face at times and I am sure I was looking at her a little oddly. I looked over to Cass and she told me to check my phone. OK….. I see a text from her and it says “So and so is so annoying!” Ok…I am in my 40’s and mature on most days…..today was not that day. I started giggling so hard, and Cass was giggling and I couldn’t stop. You know how you know you can’t laugh or giggle and then it makes it harder to stop…that was me. I am sure I was shaking from laughing and I kept trying to do the straight face and then I would think of it again and start laughing. Luckily no one seemed to notice us acting like kids and I finally was able to control the giggles. This meeting wasn’t too long and then we were being treated to a few perks and dinner. Now everything involved in these seminars are pretty much mandatory. You pay to come and learn and they want you to do everything they schedule. I am not sure what would happen if you did skip out, but my guess is they would not let you “graduate” at the end or you would not be allowed to come to future ones. I must say, most of what they schedule is fun, but I know some days it wouldn’t bother me to skip something, though today was not one of those days. We had a few minutes to use the restrooms and chat and get to know each other before we had to head out. We talked to a few girls (and a couple of guys) and I had 1 or 2 that actually knew who I was from Disboards. Cass had several followers there as well. It was kind of weird to be recognized. One of the other girls, the one who we liked at our table was also a blogger and some people knew of her blog. Cass also pointed out another girl who posts on the Disboards and I did recognize her after she mentioned it. I don’t remember the exact count, but I would say we had 35 or so people attending this conference.
Soon Rita said it was time to move on and we followed along.
Rita had a Mickey hand for us to follow. It was pretty cute.
Our destination was Disneyland!
We were going to be treated to a tour!!! A Walk in Walts Footsteps! Woo Hoo! Sadly the tour was going to be a mini version. We had time constraints and several things on the normal tour were also being refurbished. I still was excited to take a mini version.
We gathered around and Rita checked us in and then we waited a bit more…and then a bit more. I had a sweater on, but it was a bit cooler tonight. I was now regretting not bringing my sweatshirt along as well.
Since we had so many people we were divided into 2 groups. We all had a Disney character on our name tags and Rita name off 2 characters and told them to be in one group and 2 more to be in the 2nd group. Cass and I did not have the same characters and she was in the other group. Well that sucks! For some reason my group was a bit smaller than the other. I heard Rita ask if a few from the other group wanted to come over, but I don’t think anyone heard or if they did, I didn’t notice who had come over. It really was getting chilly now and I was debating on just running into a gift shop to buy a sweatshirt. I was just afraid they would all leave as soon as I did. Our guide came out and we all got some headsets and he told us how to use them.
He was pretty darn good looking too!
He started us off right there and told us some stories.
While standing there I caught a glimpse of Daisy and zoomed in on her.
Cass’s group had started out earlier than ours so we were basically going behind them with our tour.
Once their group moved on, our group went to the one place I was most looking forward to…..the firehouse!
I am sure most of you know the story…When Walt was in the park he would leave the light on in the window, which is where his apartment was, so all knew he was there. After he died, they decided to leave the light on always. Walt never leaves the park now. We got a little info and then we again were split in half because not everyone could fit in his apartment at one time. I was in the 2nd group, so while the first group went back stage to head upstairs, we listened to our guide, Eric.
After he was done talking we were invited to take pictures around the area.
This girl would be taking us up in a little bit.
Now I have heard that often there is a lady upstairs in the apartment…often referred to as Hitler. She is very strict and passionate about the apartment and God forbid you touch something. I have heard of many people getting scolded by her. I asked Eric and a few other CM’s standing there if the Hitler lady was up there. LOL. Some of the CM’s didn’t know what I was talking about but he did! And no she was not there today. The ones that knew her did say she was very passionate about her job, but she even scared them. That’s when another CM had it click and she knew who we were talking about then. LOL!!!!
I took more pictures as we waited around.
Finally we got to go upstairs. We were told no pictures back stage and when we went upstairs we had to place all our belongings in the hallway and cameras on a table. At the end they would take ONE picture of you with your camera.
We gathered around and were told info about the place. It was really small. I mean…. I knew it was small…..but it was really small. I am gonna have a confession here….I touched things…yes more than 1! I only lightly touched, but I just had to. These were Walt’s things! I did ask if any of the chairs or carpet was original and they said that sort of. The carpet has been replaced, but they try to keep it close to the same and the chairs have been reupholstered a few times over the years, again with them trying to keep it as close to the original as they can. It then came time for pictures. I gave my camera and set it to auto so the girl shouldn’t have any issues with it. She took one picture and said “Ugh, that’s not good”.
And here it is…..I look scared!
She took a second one and said that wasn’t good either. Actually it wasn’t that bad, only I was not in focus, the background was.
I then took the camera and set it to some manual settings. One of the girls in my group was also a professional photographer and said she would do it if I wanted, but I said that was OK…I should have let her.
This was the 3rd one. I just gave up. It came out pretty grainy and I had a look on my face like I was wondering if she was doing it right. Had I had the professional take it, I am sure it would’ve been much better.
The CM offered to take another one yet, but I declined. I already had 3 taken so I was lucking out already and I didn’t want to make those waiting on me to get mad.
After our pictures we then headed back down to join the rest of the group.
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That was a great tour. Love all of the pix. Funny about Claire and lack of bath helpers. That should have made her very happy for a little time anyway.
we haven't and I think maybe we need to on our next trip. We did the holiday one on our last visit and our previous couple of visits were flying ones - literally only a couple of days, so we didn't have time. Hopefully if we get back to Disneyland next fall, we can do it then...
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I loved the Walk in Walts footsteps tour. I would love to take it again someday.
I would love to do it again and get the full version!
Quote:
Originally Posted by rhinohunter
That was a great tour. Love all of the pix. Funny about Claire and lack of bath helpers. That should have made her very happy for a little time anyway.
It was a nice perk and fun to do.
Yes, for some reason no one wanted to give her a bath, yet they all agreed she needed one. And she can put shampoo in her hair, but her scrubbing techniques are much to be desired, unofortunately. Plus she likes to fill the tub up as full as possible so she can pretend she is swimming.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
What an amazing opportunity to take the tour! I would have had to touch also . And by the way, I actually like the B&W photo!
It was a great opportunity and I was so happy it was included. I did think the B&W one wasn't too bad.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
we haven't and I think maybe we need to on our next trip. We did the holiday one on our last visit and our previous couple of visits were flying ones - literally only a couple of days, so we didn't have time. Hopefully if we get back to Disneyland next fall, we can do it then...
You must give that one a try. They include a lot more in the normal tour too and I would love to go back and give it another try!
After our fabulous tour of Walt’s apartment, we headed further down Main Street.
Yes! I took this next picture because the person is wearing long, orange, dreadlocks.
Eric pointed out windows along Main Street and their importance. I believe this one is the newest one if memory serves me right.
Walt’s dad.
We stopped and talked a little more.
And this next picture is one of my favorites that I took the whole entire trip.
We then moved on, going through the castle.
Eric did not always talk the whole time we walked, but he did talk a lot and always giving us great little tidbits of information.
We stopped again and talked about an opening party Walt had on one of the ships.
We moved on once again. Eric did tell us that on a full tour we would be riding certain rides. I know I have read about this tour, and not everyone rides the same rides, but on this one we would’ve road Peter Pan and I think 2 others, but I don’t remember which he said anymore.
Nice tour--If I ever get to Disneyland, I think I might've just added that tour to our itinerary!
And those orange dreads were amazing--not a wig, I'm guessing?
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So glad you enjoyed Dinosaur - it's so much fun, isn't it? 
it was super cool. They did such a great job with that ride.
DLR is right though! 
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The tour so far sounds really neat! 
we haven't and I think maybe we need to on our next trip. We did the holiday one on our last visit and our previous couple of visits were flying ones - literally only a couple of days, so we didn't have time. Hopefully if we get back to Disneyland next fall, we can do it then...
And she can put shampoo in her hair, but her scrubbing techniques are much to be desired, unofortunately. Plus she likes to fill the tub up as full as possible so she can pretend she is swimming. 
for that.
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