Pre-Trip Report We're Going To Disney - For the FIRST TIME! Feb. 16-Feb. 19 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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.
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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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Okay folks - here is our day-by-day plan (it will probably get revised about a million more times ).
Day One
Arrive to the hotel by 2:15 and check - in (drop off our bags - will have them call us when the room is ready).
Catch the next bus off to Magic Kingdom. Once we arrive there we plan on going to the following rides (or if the lines are too long - get fast passes). We don't have to much of a plan since we sort of want to take in the "magic"! Anyway the rides we want to do are...
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain, The Haunted Mansion, Country Bear Jamboree, Enchanted Tiki Room, Jungle Cruise?
After we do the rides depending on the time we will either head back to the hotel and go for a swim, head back to the hotel and rent a car and go to one of the Disney Outlets and maybe Publix, or stay in the park. It will all depend on how we feel !
Day Two
Will be getting up SUPER early (6-6:30 a.m.) and getting to Typhoon Lagoon at least 30 minutes ahead of opening! That day we plan on doing ALL the major attractions at Typhoon Lagoon including...
Surf Pool, Crush N Gusher, Castaway Creek, Keelhaul Falls, May Day Falls, Gang Plank Falls, Humunga Kowabunga, Storm Slides,and Shark Reef.
We will probably be done with Typhoon Lagoon by 2-ish in the afternoon and will hop the bus back to Coronado Springs. Will probably pick up lunch and then head out to most likely Epcot (I was pushing for Hollywood Studios - but in the end there are only one ride/one show I wanted to do - Tower of Terror and Muppet Vision 3D). We want to do the following rides -
Soarin, Mission Space, Reflections of China, The American Adventure, and that's about it!
That night we have a reservation at Chef Mickey's for 8:50 p.m. (later than we would have liked.... but it's Chef Mickey's - so I was happy to get a spot at ALL!!). It will be our character dining experience of the trip.
Day Three
Today we will be checking out of Coronado Springs (maybe take one last dip in the pool real early). The resort is transferring our luggage over to AKL for us - so we don't have to worry about it (don't you just love disney???!!!). We plan on going to Animal Kingdom that day! We want to be done there around 2 p.m. so we can check in early to Animal Kingdom and explore the lodge and maybe take a dip in the pool! That said we have been reading in lots of place that AK (the theme park) takes a while to go through and you really need to stop and look at the detail - so I don't know how well that goal will get accomplished - especially with the fact that I already like the sound of Expedition Everest and will most likely do it at least 3 times!!! ANYway - here are the rides we want to do...
Kali River Rapids, Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl (probably smart to do last!!)
After that we are hopping on a bus over to AKL - and be settling into our SAVANNA view room (which we got 40% off using discount code QNY). That night we have a ADR for Boma at 6:05 p.m. We did it earlier so we could have time to do something that night if we wanted to!
The next day is ... our final day ! That morning we are getting up super, super, super, super early and having fun around the resort! Exploring, watching the animals - taking in some final disney magic! That morning we depart back for the city on southwest...
I just realized that it might make more SENSE to do Epcot our first day there. Since our second day we have an ADR at Chef Mickey's which is at the Contemporary ... and since the Contemporary is a MK resort - it might be a lot easier to get too. So now it's Epcot first day - and then Magic Kingdom second day in the afternoon.
Do you guys think that makes sense - or do you think we should stick with our original plan?
Thanks everyone for reading - yea all thanks to our handy dandy passporter we were able to look at the maps and realize that was a smart decision! Will update as more happens!
to the boards! Your plans sound great! We loved our stay at CSR...great pool/hot tub! Can't wait to read more!!!
Thanks! Yea from what we here it sounds like a great pool!
I also ordered Dutch (don't tell him - although he's probably reading this) a PassPorter Pouch - that way he can be in charge of everything - since I'll forget.
I think he's a little more excited than me - not! I was a little hesitant to officially book it .... but when he found (thank you fozzy) the QNY discount code - I was hooked!