The 'This Trip Keeps Getting Longer' Trip: PTR - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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.
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So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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-the importance of taking (most of) a day off from your disney vacation.
AK was super empty. we rode everest on standby, met up with mom and chris, did the safari, walked the harambe trail, and then went back to everest again to ride with chris (chris wasn’t impressed). we had lunch at the new food court area (harmbe village?) and then mom got sick so we all left. later i solved the mystery of why mom got sick (she took her meds with lunch, one of which is an estrogen blocker. and she had the veggie stack, which contains tofu, which is soy, which produces estrogen. doctors should really warn people about this—i knew it, but she didn’t.)
doug and i spent the afternoon at the turtle pond pool at OKW and then drove over to DS. which was a mistake, because i somehow got REALLY drunk. i believe the one beer i had was really high ABV. we had a great time, though my husband stayed sober so he could drive us back (i always drive, so that was nice of him.) we had a lot of fun. we began the evening with one cocktail at jock lindseys, had sushi and a beer at the bar at morimoto (who needs a reservation? not us!) and then…it got kind of blurry. i know we shopped. i found some shoes that i liked but knew better than to buy shoes when drinking. doug spent some time at the star wars store. and…that’s all i’ve got. he drove me back to OKW and i went to sleep.
Table of Contents Day 7
-my not so solo adventure
hmm. this is actually the day i went to epcot solo and ran into my mom. which means i don’t know what i did on day 4…? hmm. perhaps what i meant by ‘food and wine not-solo’ was that we went with mom an chris that day. yes. that must be it. which is odd, as i’m typically on my own there, or just with doug or just with heather. it was definitely different being with a small group. anyway, yeah. insert the story about me going to epcot solo and ending up with mom and doug HERE.
so…after my time at food and wine fest with my mom and doug, doug and i went to DHS. on the boat. which is slow but at least you get to sit.
-why being in a hurry in WDW is not a good idea
we tried to do star tours on standby (posted as 10 minutes) before meeting up with mom and chris at toy story, but the sign lied, and then we had to shuffle out of star tours behind like a hundred slow moving people. we made it to TSMM just in time to make our FP though. note: meeting up with people in WDW is challenging.
-a fantasmic disappointment (don't worry, it's kind of funny. sort of.)
this is too funny to be told in a short version. ahem…
so my mom got us the fantasmic package at HBD, which is expensive. and we had to eat at like 4:15. but whatever. she wanted good seats for fantasmic. ok. so we arrive at the theater a half hour before fantsmic begins and try to get preferred seats like we paid for (sort of). and mom is in a scooter. except ALL of the scooter parking in the good area is taken. ok. not a big deal. they put us somewhere else. basically the package is worthless at this point but whatever. so we sit. and we wait. and we wait.
and we wait.
and we wait.
the show was supposed to start at 8. around 8:15, there’s an announcement which is only in portuguese and spanish. it says something like ‘sorry, we are delayed’. it’s longer than that, but i got the basic gist in spanish.
fifteen minutes later—same announcement, only in english.
fifteen minutes LATER—45 minutes after it was supposed to start, it started. YAY!
so it starts. and mickey comes out. and he does the opening stuff. and there’s that moment when he points across the stage and water is supposed to shoot up and things are supposed to start projecting. except…nothing happens.
and mickey scurries back into the shadows. it’s like he was like ‘i’m hideous, don’t look at me!’
and then they cancelled the show.
my mom was REALLY upset. i cheered her up later by calling her, after we were both back at our respective resorts. i said something like ‘do you know what? we just did something awesome! we had a NEW DISNEY EXPERIENCE! i’ve never been to a show that got cancelled in the middle before!’ and she was slightly cheered.
and now, every time my husband and i talk about something that’s anticlimactic, we do the ‘mickey not being able to make water happen’ gesture. it’s basically pointing to your left with your right hand, fanning that pointing hand over to the right, looking horrified, and then taking three steps back. we will probably do this until we die, and that’s pretty great.
Table of Contents Days 8 and 9
-did we take it easy these days?
we did not.
on day 8 we: went to the magic kingdom, checked in to AKL, watched the sun set over our surprise savannah view room*, and had dinner at jiko.
*we pretty much had the best room ever. it was directly at the end of the bridge that hangs over the lobby, and looked out onto a tiny savannah. my love for AKL is renewed.
on day 9 we: went to AK early (it was SUPER empty and we rode everest three times in a row in the front within a 15 minute period), spent the afternoon at the pool, went to MK in the late afternoon which was a HUGE mistake (it was packed) and escaped by boat to the poly where we tried to get in to trader sam’s but there was a wait and there was also no seating on the terrace. we befriended two sisters who were also waiting for a table outside while stalking a table. we shared said table with them until both of our buzzers went off—and then we all went to trader sam’s together and hung out in there too. it was pretty much the best. heather met up with us in trader sams and then the three of us (minus the sisters) went to dinner at ohana (not sure how i snagged that reservation—i believe it became available the day prior) which was good but i don’t have to do it ever again. we then watched wishes from the beach while heather sang the wishes song for us.
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Table of Contents: The Final Day
-three reasons why i'm not sad to be leaving
1. i had a fantastic trip. this was easily the best disney trip i've taken. it was also rather long, which was a good thing.
2. i actually like the life to which i was returning. while yes, this was a much needed escape, by the end of the trip i was ready to get back to work (and get back to work i did, as is evidenced by how long this TR took me to complete!)
3. you guys guessed this one already: the third reason i'm not sad is because i'm going back. like...a lot.
i've already told you all that mom and i are returning in january for my birthday, and that just recently we extended that trip to include my husband (and span my actual birthday day.) i'm super excited about that and have been in planning mode for a while now. i'm probably going to immediately go start a new PTR for that trip so y'all can help me plan that one.
but we are also returning in march. you know, because why not? for a while we were toying with the idea of returning to spain for my husband's spring break. he teaches a grad class in the spring semester so we can't travel in the spring except during the one week his class doesn't happen--the first week in march. two years ago we went to spain because it was cheap and warm (we have air miles and hotel points--it's actually far more expensive for us to go to, say, the caribbean during spring break than it is to go to the south of spain.) so we were thinking of doing that again. but honestly, i'm not well enough to travel in 'the real world' yet. not this year anyway. and that's why we both got APs--because we decided that 2017 would be our Year of Going to Disney A Lot. and so we shall.
in march, we've already booked five nights at SSR in a studio. we will be adding two nights to the beginning and two nights to the end, as we did with this trip, ideally somewhere off site with a nice pool (i do not love disney pools.) the plan is to get there, relax for a day at the pool, do disney for a week, and then have a final pool relaxation day before returning home. i'm looking forward to it. but i haven't even sort of started planning it yet. i should probably start thinking about it, but hey, it's the trip AFTER next.
so, in conclusion, i have to say that this TR was aptly named. after all, it really IS the trip that kept getting longer. and longer. and longer. it's now spanning all of next year!
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Some new experiences in WDW and especially with Fantasmic! Too bad the one night was a bit of a blur as you got a bit tipsy but still had a good time. So great you have some more trips to look forward to.
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Too bad the one night was a bit of a blur as you got a bit tipsy but still had a good time.
here's the thing that bothers me about that night: i'm not a non-drinker. in fact, i drink. a lot. how i got so drunk on one cocktail and one beer i have NO IDEA. i looked up the beer the next day, and yes, it was a rather high ABV (golden monkey, in case anyone was wondering--they also sell it at the bar outside tusker house at AK, which i noted and then avoided.) but again, i drink high ABV beer all the time. also i'm not a small person and also i ate food with it. doug blames it on vacation--that i finally relaxed enough and it went to my head. either way, it was fun, but still. i remain perplexed.
Probably just a nice vacation sinking in! It happens.
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
I'm guessing someone added something to your beer....but I've also been on jury duty the last two days.
A great trip, and a fun format for your TR.
Love the story of Fantasmic, especially the fact that it gave you a new 'thing' with the failed water spout routine.
I'm guessing someone added something to your beer....but I've also been on jury duty the last two days.
A great trip, and a fun format for your TR.
Love the story of Fantasmic, especially the fact that it gave you a new 'thing' with the failed water spout routine.
That sucks for you with jury duty and not the way I want to spend my day! Rather be at work than do this!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
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