Living the dream and remembering the Bagman LIVE UPDATE 10/2 - Page 26 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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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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Oh they are wonderful! I couldn't quite remember who did them and I didn't want to credit the wrong person. I love them.
When did you last go to Palo? They have changed their menu a lot - my favourite dish is gone, but I complained (I think on the last two cruises we did?) and both times they just got it for me, so I couldn't understand why they'd changed the menu, only to still offer the same things, if you asked.
We last went to Palo on our EBTA last year. Which, coincidentally, was our last cruise! None until Nov-Dec 2017
We last went to Palo on our EBTA last year. Which, coincidentally, was our last cruise! None until Nov-Dec 2017
Ok, we were on board in February 2015 on the Dream and August 2015 on the Wonder and I could've sworn they'd changed the menus on both cruises, but maybe not...
Pre-trip report – part twenty five: what will our T-shirts look like?
Sunday 19 June
We returned home today from our Baltic cruise, so I suspect our planning for this trip will once again go into overdrive again.
We had an email from Disney Cruise Line about the Zika virus. It doesn’t really tell me anything I didn’t already know from the various news reports. It just gives you the precautions to take to avoid mosquito bites, which I would think anyone would take ordinarily anyway. I suspect it’s just caution on Disney’s part, as I don’t know that there are any specific alerts for anywhere we’re going to be sailing to…
In the All Ears newsletter (I think it was this week’s one, but I hadn’t got around to reading it while we were gone, so I don’t know for sure), they were talking about a new animated “Magic Shot” as part of Photo Pass and Memory Maker, which sounds like a lot of fun.
They also have a new “Savour the Savanna” experience at Animal Kingdom, where a private safari vehicle takes you around and you then get to sample regional beers and wines with African inspired tapas, but like everything else coming out of Disney recently, it’s also stupidly expensive at $169/person.
I was reading Coop’s pre-trip report and realised she and Chuck are going to be at WDW at the same time as us. They fly in on Saturday 24 September, but the bad news is I’m not sure any form of meet will work out, as they seem to have very different plans to us, including at different parks which is a real shame, as I’d love to meet them.
Out of interest, I decided to try and see if I could get the Skipper Canteen for any later in the day on that Friday. I managed to snag 4:55pm, but flag retreat is at 5:00pm, so I wanted it to be later. Good grief, the Disney website drove me nuts. It took me about four or five attempts to actually make a booking, but eventually I got there. At first, I was looking at 5:30pm, but then the website had a problem. Next it was 5:25pm, but the website had another glitch. Finally, third time lucky, and I snagged a 5:20pm reservation – much better!
We also found a note saying that our T-shirts had arrived from Zazzle, and had been left with a neighbour. While I caught up on the washing (four loads of laundry that day ) Mark kindly went to see them and offered profuse apologies that they’d had to hold on to the package for so long, explaining it wasn’t supposed to dispatch so quickly and should’ve been here when we got back from holiday.
We excitedly ripped the package open, and the T-shirts looked fine, but unfortunately neither fitted us. I was so disappointed, given we’d followed the size guidance on the website. I figured we’d just return them and get ones in the right size…
Tuesday 21 June
I’ve also been in touch with Jan, Bill’s widow. I’ve been meaning to message her for so long, and I feel so bad for not having done it sooner, and I don’t know why. Maybe it’s just not quite knowing what to say? Anyway, I finally did message her to see how she’s doing. Mark and I talk about her so often. She told me the good days are now outnumbering the bad, which I took to be a really positive sign. I cannot begin to imagine what she’s gone through over the last few months, and I hope none of us ever have to find out.
On a happier note, Frozen Ever After is now officially open as part of the new summer offerings, and I saw Deb Wills from All Ears Net had posted that there’s a 300 minute wait at the moment, with the line stretching back past China. I knew it was going to be popular, but that’s insane! As someone said, the only way to go is Fastpass…
I did go to buy our Disney tickets, as I was planning on getting the Disney Vacation Club Member offer, but I noticed on the front page, it did say you had to purchase them by 31 March 2016. Ooops… Oh well, the site still allowed me to go ahead – until I got to the payment page that was, then I couldn’t pay for it, and after trying three times, I gave up. The only reason I wanted to do this was because I’d be paying in dollars, and if we vote in the referendum to leave the European Union in two days’ time, the pound will crash through the floor.
It does mean I’ll have to pay more for our tickets through the UK Disney website, but when I worked it out, as they include free Memory Maker, actually it’s no additional money really, so that’s something.
I had a look at the Zazzle website, and could not for the life of me fathom out what to do if you weren’t happy with your package, so I ended up emailing them to ask. We’ll see what they come back and say…
Wednesday 22 June
I heard back from Zazzle today, and they just told me to let them know what size we wanted, and they’d send us new shirts out. I think where I got confused was I assumed you’d have to return the goods, but you don’t need to. When you think about it, it makes sense, as you’ve created the shirts, and they’re not going to mean anything to anyone else, so why would you return them? D’oh!
I had a read through the All Ears newsletter, and told Mark he was out of luck… it’s a small world will be closed for refurbishment, but it re-opens on 15 September. He wasn’t very impressed with that! Just as well we’re not great fans of Dinosaur, as that will be closed while we’re there. It’s down from late July until 17 October.
There was also a review of Frozen Ever After, and while I knew all about the waits for it, I hadn’t heard much about the ride. Here’s what they said about it:
Bottom line, without giving any spoilers: Frozen Ever After is the next generation dark ride. It's very well done, with great Audio Animatronics, and a lot of fun! Be sure to get a FastPass+ or expect long waits for a long time to come.
I also saw mention of the dessert party for the Christmas Party (if that makes sense? ) and I had a quick look at the HalloWishes dessert party, but not for $79. I have been thinking about the Galatic spectacular dessert party at the Studios for the Star Wars fireworks, but they’re only taking bookings through until 9 July, so I don’t even know if that will be on when we go.
I also had a look at the Disney Cruise Line website just to see if there was anything else I wanted to book, outside of the adult dining. There were no new options for shore excursions on Castaway Cay, although there were some interesting new additions for on board fun. I knew about the Frozen and princess meet and greets, but I wasn’t aware that you could book either golf or sports simulators. Not our sort of thing, but interesting to know… You still can’t book the Rainforest passes online, so there’s nothing else spa wise that appeals. I always prefer to wait until we board to see what sort of deals they’re doing.
Someone posted on the boards that Animal Kingdom’s hours had been extended for October, and when I had a look at the day we’re going in September, they’ve changed from 5:00pm to 7:30pm, so at least that’s something.
Thursday 23 June
I’ve emailed Zazzle to ask for the T-shirts in a bigger size, and they’ve emailed back to confirm that, so fingers crossed these fit. Neither of us have ever had to order T-shirts in such big sizes, and I am convinced it’s their sizing that’s out, not that we’ve put on a lot of weight on the cruise. Ok, I know I’ve put on some weight – but not that much!
I went into town at lunchtime and bought some Canadian and American dollars, just in case…. It’s the referendum today on whether the UK should leave or remain in the European Union, and trust me, if we choose to leave, the pound will crash through the floor from tomorrow. It’s nothing to do with politics, it’s economics. The markets hate instability, and this would be the most instability any country has faced in… well, probably forever actually. I hope we don’t end up in that situation, but if we do, I’d be kicking myself for not having bought today.
Today was the day we could make our booking for lunch at Universal. I was going to go for the Kitchen at the Hard Rock Café, but when I went to book it, somehow I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I had a quick look at the City Walk eateries, which generally don’t take reservations, and despite the idea behind it, I liked the idea of Cowfish. part of it is indeed the name. It’s a burger and sushi place, and of course the attraction for me is the sushi, but I’m sure Mark won’t say no to a burger.
Next: putting the remaining parts of the puzzle into place
See, you wanted to buy your dollars before the vote, while I was happy I waited until AFTER to buy my pounds. We saved pver $100 on our hotel in London with the current exchange rate, compared to what I was figuring it to be when I booked 9 or 10 months ago.
Hope the second try at t-shirts worked. I wish everyone just used a standard size guide.
Ok, we were on board in February 2015 on the Dream and August 2015 on the Wonder and I could've sworn they'd changed the menus on both cruises, but maybe not...
We were on the Magic...maybe his Osso buco is still on the new menu then! I'm horrible about remembering things like that. I will have to go look at the photos and see what he ordered. I believe we ate at Palo's the day after I had a migraine so I was still a little fuzzy-brained.
Cowfish sounds delightful, if even just for it's name! How cute is that? Perhaps we will put that in the hopper for our one day in January!
edited to add: after reviewing photos of that cruise, Dave had what appears to be lamb or veal chops, another favorite of his that I won't cook : So, perhaps the Rosso buco was already gone or he just decided lamb instead.
It sounds like Zazzle is a good customer service company (as it should be!). I am getting more and more excited for you guys! Things are coming together nicely!!
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See, you wanted to buy your dollars before the vote, while I was happy I waited until AFTER to buy my pounds. We saved pver $100 on our hotel in London with the current exchange rate, compared to what I was figuring it to be when I booked 9 or 10 months ago.
I'd forgotten that - your stop off in the UK must've been nice and cheap for you...
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Hope the second try at t-shirts worked. I wish everyone just used a standard size guide.
Oh me too - and the worst thing was we used their size guide, which gave you some standard measurements for waist etc. and they were so far out, it just wasn't funny.
It sounds like Zazzle is a good customer service company (as it should be!). I am getting more and more excited for you guys! Things are coming together nicely!!
I was very impressed with them, they seemed almost as good as Disney at fixing something once it had gone wrong.
Those times for the Frozen ride were absolutely insane in the beginning. Insane! For fun, I just checked. It's 75 mins at 11:45 on a Sunday. Much better. Still too long to wait, but better!
Very nice that Zazzle is making this easy for you too.
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Those times for the Frozen ride were absolutely insane in the beginning. Insane! For fun, I just checked. It's 75 mins at 11:45 on a Sunday. Much better. Still too long to wait, but better!
Oh thank goodness - that is getting better. And, while I know that a lot of American schools have already gone back, this is still a much busier time of year than when we're there, so fingers crossed, it'll be even less when we visit...
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Very nice that Zazzle is making this easy for you too.
Sorry, to hear your t-shirts didn't fit, but at least it sounds the exchange will be easy! That's crazy with all these new offerings by Disney and how ridiculously expensive they are!
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I couldn't quite remember who did them and I didn't want to credit the wrong person. I love them. 
None until Nov-Dec 2017 
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They fly in on Saturday 24 September, but the bad news is I’m not sure any form of meet will work out, as they seem to have very different plans to us, including at different parks which is a real shame, as I’d love to meet them. 
) Mark kindly went to see them and offered profuse apologies that they’d had to hold on to the package for so long, explaining it wasn’t supposed to dispatch so quickly and should’ve been here when we got back from holiday. 
She told me the good days are now outnumbering the bad, which I took to be a really positive sign. I cannot begin to imagine what she’s gone through over the last few months, and I hope none of us ever have to find out. 
I knew it was going to be popular, but that’s insane! 
Oh well, the site still allowed me to go ahead – until I got to the payment page that was, then I couldn’t pay for it, and after trying three times, I gave up. The only reason I wanted to do this was because I’d be paying in dollars, and if we vote in the referendum to leave the European Union in two days’ time, the pound will crash through the floor. 
you don’t need to. When you think about it, it makes sense, as you’ve created the shirts, and they’re not going to mean anything to anyone else, so why would you return them? D’oh! 
He wasn’t very impressed with that! 
It’s a burger and sushi place, and of course the attraction for me is the sushi, but I’m sure Mark won’t say no to a burger. 
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