Our Great Disneyland Birthday/Graduation Adventure 2014 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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.
What a great end to your day - I love the way the attractions are so close to each other in Disneyland. In fact, I love the way the parks are so close to each other as well!
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.
Sounds like you are having a great celebration. I love the coziness of the California Parks. It suits me not to have to walk miles between attractions and I love being able to move easil between parks.
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.
On the first full day, we accomplished a ton, and we were happy. Still, Joel positively yearned to see those Frozen girls! So, as Day 2 began, that was goal #1. We were up early and to the park before opening. In fact, we saw the opening show at the entrance that morning - a real bonus. It's much like the WDW version, with the train pulling up, loaded with characters, and brightly dressed performers singing and dancing. Shortly after the show ended, guests were ushered through the tunnels on either side of the train station, in an orderly manner, behind a slow-moving rope. I noticed one CM carried a small hand-held sign that looked intriguing, and indeed it was for folks who wanted to get in line for the Frozen greeting. I pointed it out to Joel, and we positioned ourselves with that line just as it was beginning to form. I have to give DL props here. There were only two CMs, one with the sign, and one that I would call a handler for the crowd. Michael had a loud but pleasant presence. He had obviously been assigned to this job because he had a genuine gift for dealing with the crowd, simultaneously keeping it orderly and entertained. We proceeded exactly according to Michael's directions, down Main Street, stopping at the hub, where we were entertained by his antics and stories of Arendelle royalty. After more instructions, we were off to the greeting area - I mean, Arendelle. Before we started moving again, I counted the number of people in front of us in this line, and there were less than 15! Still, I didn't want to get Joel too excited yet, because I didn't know what lay in front of us when we arrived in Fantasyland. I wondered if there might already be a line of people who were staying on property and had gotten early entrance to the park. Also, Michael kept warning us that they could not guarantee both Anna and Elsa, and Joel really wanted to see both, but I convinced him that we needed to be thankful for whatever we got.
We arrived at the gates of Arendelle to the greatest surprise of the trip - nobody else was in line!!!! What???? Someone asked Michael how long the wait was from our approximate location, and he said those most lovely words, "Oh, from here, only about 10 minutes." WHAT???? I was over the moon! Of course, those 10 minutes breezed by, and soon Joel was in the presence of Queen Elsa. Oh yeah, we had already been told that only Elsa was present, but that wasn't an issue at all after the 10 minute announcement. Now, Elsa was quite formal in her greeting. She maintained that kind of stiff, aloof presence that she had for most of the movie. I guess it's part of the act, but I thought a bit more warmth (ha ha ha) might have been nice. Joel didn't seem to mind. He was all about the autograph and the photo op, which went flawlessly. My favorite part was that we could get on about our day early in the morning! Oh yes, Olaf! He's perched on top of the cottage used for the greeting, and he chats with the guests waiting in line, although all of his statements are pre-recorded. He isn't interactive, but he is just adorable.
Fabulous! Now that we'd conquered the dreaded (did I say dreaded?) Frozen greeting, I was ready for some Disneyland fun. We quickly rode Peter Pan's flight, before the line got too long, and then went to It's a Small World. This is yet another case where the Disneyland version is superior to WDW. I loved the exterior loading area, and the added Disney character dolls are very cute. We saw Ariel and Flounder, Peter Pan (flying above the boat), Alice and the White Rabbit, Cinderella, Pinocchio, Aladdin and Jasmine, Nemo and Dory, Mulan and Mushu, Lilo and Stitch, and Woody and Jessie as we proceeded through the ride. When we left Small World, it was still just shy of 9:00 A.M! Toontown was about to open, and it's just around the corner, so off we went.
Goal #2 was to do everything we wanted to do in Toontown before noon. At 9:00 A.M., I should've set a loftier goal, because this took no time at all. At the opening of Toontown, all the resident characters come out and wave guests into their respective greeting locations. We saw Pluto and got a quick photo before he even got to his assigned spot. Then, Joel wanted to visit Mickey and Minnie in their houses, which we accomplished within about 15 minutes total. After that, Goofy was at his post, outside his house, which you can't visit inside. It's exterior only. Four characters, four photos, four autographs, all in about 25 minutes...not bad at all. Toontown has a couple of rides that Joel wanted to ride. We rode Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, which reminded me mechanically of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, with lots of twists and turns, things popping up, and loud, boisterous music and dialogue throughout. It was lots of fun. Then we rode Gadget's Go Coaster. This one is reminiscent of The Barnstormer at WDW, pretty short, but good fun for kids and adults alike. Before leaving Toontown, I wanted to take some photos of the general area and also some of Joel and/or me inside several of the very cute "cars" that are available just for photo ops. The theming of the entire Toontown area is just as you would expect - whimsical and over-the-top graphical design. It's a great location for pictures. We did absolutely everything we planned to do here and were still finished and ready to move on shortly after 10:00.
At this point, I didn't have a particular plan, so I asked Joel where he would like head next. He chose another greeting location, Fantasy Faire Royal Hall. When we arrived there, there was a posted wait time of 50 minutes. We got in line, and I began to engage Joel in conversation to help pass the time, because I knew he might get frustrated and impatient after 20 or 25 minutes. We hadn't been in line very long when I saw someone with a DAS going into what I figured must be an alternate entrance. Remember that DL has relatively few Fastpass attractions, and none for character greetings, so I hadn't considered using the DAS...until then. So, I suggested to Joel that we leave the line and go to a guest relations kiosk to at least ask. I figured even if we couldn't use the DAS for the greeting, all we would lose was about 5 minutes of time to go and pose the question. We approached the nearest kiosk, back in Fantasyland, and asked our question. The very pleasant CM politely told us that they don't normally allow the DAS for greetings. I looked at Joel and was just about to say, "Let's go back and get in the line again," when the CM said, "but since you came all this way, I'll tell you that I am the lead for this section, and I can okay an open time Fastpass for you. She pulled out two Fastpasses, filled in our names and the princess greeting location, and wished us a magical day. Now that is why I love Disney. I did tell her that we didn't expect her to make an exception for us, but she waved off my mild protest and handed me the Fastpasses. Far be it from me to refuse a gift, so we took the Fastpasses and thanked her profusely for her kindness. Off to see princesses! Joel saw Jasmine, Ariel, and Snow White, all of whom made great, Disneyesque conversation. Ariel told Joel she liked the "shell" he was wearing (AKA his ball cap). Three photos and autographs later, it still wasn't close to noon! I tell you, I was loving Disneyland!
How about heading over to Tomorrowland? Okay! By this time, the waits were a bit longer, so for the first official time today, we used the DAS to get a wait time for Star Tours. While we waited, we rode Astro Orbiter and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, then went to Star Tours. My young character lover wanted to see Thor and Captain America in Innoventions, so that was our next stop. In the Innoventions building, there was a specific path that we needed to take to see these guys. Thor was first. We waited about 20 minutes before being ushered into a "transport device" that would take us to Asgaard. This was extremely cool. The Thor greeting is really special. The room is designed to look like the throne room on his home planet. He comes down a staircase, all decked out in his regalia. He's engaging and funny. When Joel told him I am a fan of Loki (his much darker, adopted brother), Thor jokingly told me to get out. All of the Thor experience was terrific. Next came Captain America. Again, we waited about 20 minutes. Joel loved this guy, but I thought he was a bit bland. Still, Joel was pleased with him so photo, autograph, check, check.
As for the rest of Innoventions, there is quite a bit to see and do. Joel tried briefly to play a game at one of the Kinect consoles, but he was easily frustrated and gave up after just a few minutes. There's also an Ironman display, complete with several suits and an interactive, virtual reality kind of "suit up like Ironman" area. The wait here was about 40 minutes, and I wasn't interested in waiting, so I suggested we move on and try another day. After a quick look downstairs, we headed out of Innoventions. We knew we would be back later in the trip, and maybe we could experience more of this pavilion then.
Next door to Innoventions is Redd Rocket's Pizza Port. Joel is nothing if not a pizza lover, so that would be lunch. The pizza at DL is different than WDW pizza. Redd Rocket's has giant slices, so Joel got a slice of cheese, and I got the veggie. There were also a couple of salads available, as well as pasta with either Alfredo or marinara sauce. We just went with the pizza and a couple of drinks. I was pleasantly surprised with the veggie pizza. It was flavorful and not too heavy on the sauce. Best of all, Redd Rocket's is air conditioned, which was very nice by our 12:30ish lunch time.
Wow, a very good morning - I think that's understating it a bit! Wow, only 10 minutes to see Queen Elsa, how amazing is that? And I'm not surprised you almost ran out of things to do, you got so much polished off so early on. That was a truly magical moment with the Cast Member at Fantasy Faire Royal Hall!
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.
Sounds like you are having a great time. Isn't it so nice to be able to see so much so quickly. It leaves time later for just relaxing and people watching.
__________________
Waiting for our next adventure after enjoying our Alaska cruise. Jenn
Sounds like you are having a great time. Isn't it so nice to be able to see so much so quickly. It leaves time later for just relaxing and people watching.
It is the greatest bonus of going to the Anaheim parks, no doubt. Plus, the fact that we were walking distance to everything made everything so much more relaxing. That really is the word.
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.
Wow! I have really enjoyed this TR so far. I'm the mother of an only (6) and I love mother-son trips!
I'm so glad that there is the DAS for those who need it to enjoy the more popular attractions. It sounds like it is very easy to use, and beyond that, you got some great Disney Magic service.
I'm really interested in how you are going to pend your next few days, as you have really seen and done so much already. I'm considering a 5 day pass for our next trip to DLCA (we did 4 last time), this TR will help me with that.
Your son sounds really sweet. I love that you could make this happen for him!
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.
About This Page: 
PassPorter Guide Author
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
And I'm not surprised you almost ran out of things to do, you got so much polished off so early on. That was a truly magical moment with the Cast Member at Fantasy Faire Royal Hall! 
Waiting for our next adventure after enjoying our Alaska cruise. 
Jenn
Linear Mode
