The Will We/Won't We Pretrip/Trip Report - COMPLETED 8/15!! - Page 24 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
I'm a little behind but not by much thank goodness *L*
The EPCOT day sounded great even though you didn't get to see illuminations
I do love the Churros...yummmy but I myself didn't have any this time around either!
The review of GG sounds just like all the other reviews lately and Im not impressed. I don't see us eating there anytime soon.
Its great that you could go back to AK because you had some great giraffe pics
love those guys!
I devine and was so upset that we missed her on this trip!!!! Is there a way to find out when she is out and about???
I cannot believe you had to wait that long at AK for a bus back to the resort. We have always had long waits at AK to go back to a resort. You would think they could fix this issue a little.
Cant wait to hear more!
I devine and was so upset that we missed her on this trip!!!! Is there a way to find out when she is out and about???
My mom asked a CM on our way in and it was 10:30 or 11:30 and she comes out a gate at the front of the park. I don't know if she just makes her way around the park or if she goes back behind the scenes and then comes out from somewhere else.
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.
fyi: was just checking Steve Soares' site earlier today for my sister-in-law. He lists Divine's "show" times, and even has a link to her website. Look toward the bottom of the page, under the Africa section.
Sorry guys I haven't updated sooner. I have been lucky to be on here when I have been, but haven't had enough time to put more report together. This master's program in accounting is kicking my rear end. It is making me want to get out of accounting. Ugh!
So let's continue.
We headed out of the resort around 3 I think. A lot of this is fuzzy since I didn't take good notes and it has been so long now. We had an ADR at Teppan Edo at 5:20.
I know we rode SSE as we came in. Then I think we headed to TT and it had a 45 min wait. My mom and I argued throught the whole queu which line was the single rider line and which was the FP line. The FP line came all the way out the building so he was arguing that it was the single rider line. My mom and I said no, because they all have pieces of paper in their hands. We finally won when we got close to getting to the movie.
After that we headed to WS and I took some pics of Mexico, Norway, China and Germany.
We headed to Japan to check in for dinner. Our ADR was at 5:20. I know we only waited a couple of minutes and we were seated. We had 3 ladies and a young girl with us.
Teppan Edo, again, was delicious.
Our chef was amazing and very funny. We were all laughing and everyone around us kept staring at us. We had the best time.
We came out and went through the store. I love looking in this store. Lauren wanted to get something for her teacher. She picked out a beautiful fan and had it personalized.
I got some great shots of the girls in front of the coy pond and the greenery.
I think my dad headed back to the room and my mom, the girls and I did the KimPossible mission twice then we decided to head back too. No Illuminations for me. By this time my cold was really kicking in, so I wanted to sleep.
I did catch them bringing out the world ball for Illuminations. We had to wait for them to go past the bridge.
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.
Well, I am going to finish this report even though it has been almost a year since our trip and no one probably even cares anymore. I got all my pics transferred off my poor old laptop and can now quickly add them to my report. I think it is about time for my laptop to head to the computer graveyard.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
We headed out to MK for AM EMH. I believe we hit POTC, JC, HM and went and got FP for PP. The fairies were top on our agenda today, no matter how long we had to wait.
The wait said 90 minutes, but I think it ended up being about 75. The only thing about that is that it is a boring queue. I will be glad to see what Pixie Hollow has in store for us.
When it was our time, we shrunk down to pixie size and made our way in.
We saw Silvermist first. She was so pretty. We got great interaction with all three of the fairies we saw.
This one is my favorite. They were all great with the girls, but Rosetta? was the best.
After we were back to normal size we headed out of Pixie Hollow to use of PP FP. I believe my dad then called and said he was done with golf and hungry. We met him and went aroung the castle and I got these two pics of the girls with the wishing well.
We headed to Cosmic Ray's for lunch and it was good as always.
We left Cosmic Ray's and headed over to the Tomorrowland Speedway to let the girls drive and give us whiplash. My DM decided to sit this one out and people watch. I rode with Maddie and DD rode with Lauren.
We then went and did everything in Tomorrowland, except for Stitch. We will never step foot in that ride/show/whatever, again.
We decided then to head back to the resort and rest before our dinner at O'Hana's.
After our rest we drove over to O'Hana's since nothing would be open by the time we got done eating.
I got these shots while we were walking around the resort.
We checked in for our 8:05pm ADR, took our buzzer and found a seat by the window. I am used to having to wait 10-15 minutes past the ADR. I understand it is not an actual reservation, but a time they try to hit if at all possible. Well when 20 minutes hit, I went back to the podium to see what was going on. Well, there computers were down and they were having to do it all by hand. I can tell you they were not organized with this. We saw several people come in after us with the same party size be seated before us. At 9:00 I was livid. We were about to leave and I checked one more time at the podium. They got real put out with me and told me to wait one minute and then the seated us. We got seated just in time to watch Wishes with an obstructed view, but we could still see it, so that helped a little bit.
Our server was sweet, but they must have been short handed because she was not real good at getting us refills and more food. The girls were so tired we didn't even wait for her to get us dessert. This is the second time we have gone and have had an extensive wait and not so good service and the food was not good at all. We won't be back to O'Hana's for a while.
We went back to the resort and crashed. My cold was getting really bad. I went to the gift shop and got some cough drops and some sudafed before I hit the hay.
About This Page: 
And Lauren's face under Rafiki's beard is priceless!!
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
devine and was so upset that we missed her on this trip!!!! Is there a way to find out when she is out and about???
Liz 
This one is my favorite. They were all great with the girls, but Rosetta? was the best.
Linear Mode
