The Don’t Postpone Your Joy and Birthday Celebrations Mousefest Trip - UPDATED 12/31 - Page 3 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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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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The tiaras were the best!!! I loved getting to see you again and meeting MJ and Louise. That smile that was always on Louise's pretty face is even more precious now that I know how stressed she must have been. from one caretaker to another! (I care for my perpetually ill, 86 year old uncle. Love him, crankasaurus that he is! )
We hopped on a monorail to Epcot. I kept trying for that front seat, but someone always beat us to it. Don’t they see our tiaras? Don’t they know a Disney Virgin when they see one?
So we enter Epcot and ooh and ahh over the lights coming on. We decide we are hungry and want to eat in England. We meander towards England and see the wait for Rose and Crown. But we can get fish n chips and beer at the Yorkshire. Score. The line was not too long, but we encounter a group of teens singing show tunes and Christmas carols. Loudly. Nonstop. We give eye roll to each other in line. Finally it’s our turn. We all order the same fish n chips and choice of ale or lager. I had the Harps. A nice tall FAB. FAB #1 for those counting. Not a frozen, but Frothy just the same.
As we get our condiments, we meet CM Rodger, that’s Rodger with a “d”. And he inquires of our royal lineage and celebrations. I inform him that Princess Louise and myself are celebrating our upcoming "significant year" birthdays. And Princess Mary Jean is chaperoning us, well sort of. And here is where the Power of the Tiara comes in. He inquires where we will be watching Illuminations, and I tell him we hadn’t thought it out yet as we had just arrived in Epcot within the half hour, via Royal Monorail, no less. Well, Rodger with a D tells us that Princesses need VIP Royal Treatment and tells us to meet him back at 9:15 for a VIP location just for watching. SCORE! I’ve heard the wedding ears have power, but now my homemade foam tiaras have powers too! And now the P in VIP stand for Princess.
So we headed over to the shops in England to pop a squat and eat our fish n chips, which were very tasty and hit the spot. Or we were so hungry we could have eaten fried sticks and beer. But the beer was quite deelish. And gone quickly.
After we were refueled and a refreshing at the ladies room, we headed around the World to see what FAB’s we could find. We went to Germany and oohed and ahhed over the ornaments.
I showed Mary Jean the Oktoberfest and we spied some pretzels and beers. So, we felt that if we were partaking that evening, we might need more of a base for our FAB’s. And we needed to help the economy too. And we were thirsty. So, FAB #2 and a pretzel.
Quite good, not too much salt. And gone as fast as FAB #1. This is where I encountered something really funny. I must attract them, as I was camera ready. One of the German CM’s was coming out the side door where the bier stand is located. Two young men had just received their order and were walking out next to me. The CM knocked the bier out of one of the guy’s hand and it spewed all over the ground. Without missing a beat, he pretended to be having a protein spill, and I took photos.
We sauntered over to Norway and saw the frozen coffee FAB’s, but decided on less caffeine so I would search more.
So we went to Mexico and had FAB #3
Which were FANTASTIC. And ice cold! I need my gloves! So we slurped those up quite nicely. We continued people watching, looking a the countries, and then decided it was time to return for our VIP Illuminations, but a biological break first. And then we decided those Margarita’s were pretty darn tasty, we’d need a second one, FAB #4 for watching. I went with the non layered Margarita this time. Equally scrummy.
So, refreshed and refueled again, we made our way back to merry old England to find CM Rodger with a D.
We met Rodger with a D at the appointed time, and he was waving a red light up wand. I’ll admit it, I had Wand Envy. Rodger was happy to see us return (perhaps some VIP’s don’t return???)
Anyway, he escorted us to this little area behind the Yorkshire and we had primo viewing of Illuminations. Once they began, I got all verklempt and sucked up my second Margarita quite quickly, thus eliminating the cold feeling. Now I was feeling all warm and happy. If only I had my cell phone I could call or text "my people." Like the CLQ-1. If you notice, we have not had one encounter of any Passporters our whole first day. And no one knows of my newly established royalty.
Louise doesn’t like loud noises.
Once Illuminations was over (and Mary Jean and I so totally sang Let There Be Peace on Earth), we headed out, thanking Rodger with a D profusely, hugs all around, and meandered towards the monorail. And the CM's upon arrival at the monorail thanked us Princesses for coming to Epcot today. Royal wave, royal wave, royal wave to all.
I think we got back to our room around 10:30 or 11:00. We checked out the Shades of Green tree, which was so pretty.
We got up to our room, which seemed farther away from the lobby as the trip went on. Back in the room, I checked my fully charged cell phone and found that I had missed the CLQ-1 and Bob and Larry in MK by minutes! Crestfallen, I vow to be fully connected from now on.
Up Next: We discover HAB’s and continue our quest for FAB’s and Passporter Love.
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We met Rodger with a D at the appointed time, and he was waving a red light up wand. I’ll admit it, I had Wand Envy.
Love it! Wand Envy! You had me at FAB #1, but this caused hot tea (I know - it should have been an AB of some kind, but it's frigid here in Chicago and tea is so warming ) to spew over my computer.
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Hey Joanie Baloney!! LOVE the TR and the crowns were fab - I was having some crown envy!! So glad to meet you , Sis and Dn!! can't wait to do it again!
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I loved getting to see you again and meeting MJ and Louise. That smile that was always on Louise's pretty face is even more precious now that I know how stressed she must have been. 
from one caretaker to another! (I care for my perpetually ill, 86 year old uncle. Love him, crankasaurus that he is! 
)
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Pixie Dust
Awesome updates and great pictures! Looking forward to more!
thanking Rodger with a D profusely, hugs all around, and meandered towards the monorail. And the CM's upon arrival at the monorail thanked us Princesses for coming to Epcot today. Royal wave, royal wave, royal wave to all.
Hurry back with more!! 
Aimee
) to spew over my computer.
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