Sparky's Gone to the World- A TR 9/13/11-9/20/11 - Page 33 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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.
Well, I've spent the last couple of days catching up on this thread, & have really enjoyed it! Your DD's response was too cute! I'd love to surprise somebody with a trip someday. Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.
Thanks for following along! DD was really cute, I don't think I would have had it any other way (if I had the choice). That is the last surprise for us. I don't think we could ever pull it off again. Next trip we take DD will be at least 10.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ashli
Oh geez, I didn't know FFP had to check in. Of course I'm here reading.
Yeah, I knew you were. Something you said on FB told me that. But of course I like that you "checked" in.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DisneyDana
Of course you do! I wasn't subscribed...I only like TR's not PTR's...those aggravate me because I don't care about times and dates and ADR's unless they pertain to ME! lol
Just you wait Dana! In a few more months, my PTR for FFP kind of will be started. I plan to do my own PTR with just my survey progress, not an official FFP PTR. I won't start that, which I expect entries on from other FFP members, till about 6 months out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommapants
what a great first day
Thanks Holly!
I should get another day posted up today sometime. Be on the lookout!
Just you wait Dana! In a few more months, my PTR for FFP kind of will be started. I plan to do my own PTR with just my survey progress, not an official FFP PTR. I won't start that, which I expect entries on from other FFP members, till about 6 months out.
LAMO! Here's my post for the FFP PTR from 6-3 months out: "It's still over 3 months away! I can't think yet!" LOL
__________________
MNSSHP 2015: DH (Bane), Me (Batgirl), Genie, and our friends
this is me joining in! can't wait to hear about your trip--and see some pics!!!
Hi! I missed seeing you anywhere in the world. I just got my photopass pics today, so this is great with my next entry. I will be getting it up this weekend. Thanks for following along!
I need to play around with and figure out photobucket....
Hi! I missed seeing you anywhere in the world. I just got my photopass pics today, so this is great with my next entry. I will be getting it up this weekend. Thanks for following along!
I need to play around with and figure out photobucket....
photobucket takes a while to get used to. you want to upload all of them first. i resize as i go--just click 'resize' and select anything OTHER THAN the largest size (which is too large) and then copy the FOURTH (and last) code that's given in the box on the right. paste that into here and you're good to go. it took me a WHILE to be able to do it quickly!
we must have been in different parks at different times! i guess i'll know after reading your TR!
photobucket takes a while to get used to. you want to upload all of them first. i resize as i go--just click 'resize' and select anything OTHER THAN the largest size (which is too large) and then copy the FOURTH (and last) code that's given in the box on the right. paste that into here and you're good to go. it took me a WHILE to be able to do it quickly!
we must have been in different parks at different times! i guess i'll know after reading your TR!
I will be posting another entry today or tomorrow.
Please forgive me before hand. There will be lots of pics, as I couldn't decide which ones to put in. I do not like posting too many pics of my DD, but I couldn't help myself this time. So after a period of time a lot of these pics will be deleted. Thanks!
I awoke the next morning when the alarm went off at 6 am. DH and I had decided that I would get up and go down to get drinks in the morning, that way he had a cup of coffee before he even got ready to leave. This ended up being a routine, and it worked well.
Once I got back I unpacked DD Cinderella dress and shoes, and laid them out at the end of her bed. Then I got ready to go myself. While DH was getting ready, I woke DD and she immediately saw the dress. She got very excited saying “I get to be Cinderella!!” I told her that we have an appointment to get her princess makeover at BBB. With that she was out of bed and on the move. While getting her ready DH said he was going to run up and grab another coffee and he would be right back. I noticed when DD was getting ready that her eye was red, and she kept rubbing it. It looked like something might have been in it. But I figured it would clear up when she stopped rubbing it. No biggie.
Once we were ready we headed out to the smoking area right outside our building. I figured this way I would see DH because he would have to pass us to get back to the room. After finishing a cigarette, DD said “Let’s go find Daddy!” We made our way to the caf. and he was nowhere to be found. Back to the room we go. He was at the room because his mug was there. I decided to wait at the smoking area right next to our building. After a few minutes he showed up. I don’t know how we had missed each other, but in the whole process we did miss about 30 minutes!
We left for MK right away, and arrived at BBB at about 8:55, with 5 minutes to spare. DD was given her special brochure with her name on it, and we were taken right in. DD ended up with a fabulous Fairy Godmother, Angela. She talked to DD and sang along with the music in BBB. She had a fantastic voice too!
DD picked the Diva hairstyle with blonde/blue extentions, the blue face crystals, blue eye shadow, and the blue nail polish. Right away, DD asked if she could have a crown and I whispered to the Fairy Godmother Angela, that we had brought a special crown for DD and when she was ready for it to let us know.
Once DD was a primped, we gave her the crown we bought ahead of time. DD loved it and was so happy to see herself after the reveal. She looked in the mirror this way and that way, checking every angle. During the morning while getting ready had we discovered the light up Cinderella shoes I had gotten for DD were too small. Of course at this point, we had to tell her we would buy another pair later. While picking out shoes, she spotted the gloves and purse. Completely thrilled, we paid for her makeover and the extras, thanked Fairy Godmother Angela for a perfect makeover and made our way across the hall to CRT!!
Getting ready to get primped!
Waiting patiently
Getting nails done.
Watching Fairy Godmother, Angela, intently as she sings. Don't forget to hold upthe already painted hand to dry!
I'm ready for Pixie Dust!
Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo!
AND the final results!
Wow I do look like a princess!
I'm liking this...this side, now that side.
See my crystal face jewelry?
I look good and I know it!
One very happy little princess! This is one of my top faves.
DH says nothing beats than eating in the castle! I am so glad he feels this way, because both DD and I love it as well. It became a family favorite after our first visit and I don’t know if any trip to the world would be complete without it now.
We waited our turn to visit with Cinderella, and DD had her picture taken with her. Cinderella was impressed that DD looked just like her and even had her doll with her too.
Giving Cinderella hugs upon greeting.
Once seated our breakfast was served, and was delish as always. DD was so excited that all the princesses were there.
Ariel
Our southern accented Aurora, aka Sleeping Beauty aka Briar Rose
the cutest part was when Snow White came up to our table. DD immediately says to her “Don’t eat the apple!” She laughed and thanked DD for giving her the warning and said she would be sure not to do that!
We left CRT feeling very full of delicious food and princess memories, another great visit!
I am unsure at this what we did in what order. I know that we saw Monsters, Inc.; Stitch’s Great Escape; DH rode the Teacups with DD (I can’t, that ride makes me sick); maybe looked in some stores.
First teacup ride of the trip. One of my fave pics!
In front of the new Fantasy Land Expansion wall.
A ride in Dumbo
Throughout the day, DD kept rubbing her eye. Even with her sunglasses on she covered her eye (over the glasses) and complained that the sun was hurting her eye. Though, she was by no means ready to leave yet.
We made our way to Adventure Land with the intent of circling around through Frontier Land. We made a quick stop off to ride Pirates first. Love seeing Capt. Jack as always, and even DD was excited to see him. As we were exiting Pirates, I saw that the show at the Enchanted Tiki Room was about to go on. We got in line, as we have never seen this show before. After the bird serenade, I said “Let’s head over and see what the wait is for Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. DH reluctantly, agreed. DH isn’t much of a rider, and has never been on either of these rides. After watching them on YouTube a few times, he told DD he would ride them once a piece with us. He was nervous though. DD has ridden SM but not BTMR.
Up first, BTMR! DH kind of “Whoa-ed” the whole time, and didn’t seem to like the corners. DD was afraid of the loudness inside the ride, but was fine the rest of ride. Me? Hands in the air and screaming, I love that ride! When we got off, I said to DH “So, what did you think? Was it that bad?” DH answered, “Not as bad as I thought, but I didn’t like the corners! I don’t know if I am ready for SM.” I said, “Let’s just do it and get it over with. The wait is short.” Again, he reluctantly agreed, DD on the other hand was raring to go.
Within minutes, we were in our log. DH made me promise in line, that I would ask for another seat if we were given front row and I agreed. I didn’t have to request anything though, as we were given the last row of the log. This of course made DH a happy boy. As we started our journey, every tiny bump we went over DH would say “Is this it?” I finally told him, “I will tell you when the drop is coming. Don’t worry.” He seemed to enjoy all the parts of the ride that were flat. He was surprised how much he had missed in this ride. As we approached Chick a Pin Hill, I let DH know this is it (you know, in case he hadn’t figured it out with the spooky music, the vultures, and the big climb. LOL) and in a blink of an eye, we were down. DD screamed her head off all the way down, it was great fun! Once at the bottom, DH said “Well that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be! I don’t care to ride it again this trip, but I will ride it once every trip from now on. I can do it!”
First SM ride for DH
It was around this time that we decided to head back to the resort for a break before our Garden Grill ADR at Epcot that night. I was very excited about this ADR, as we didn’t end up making the ADR for it back in 2009. I know it’s a fave of some of my friends, and I have been wanting to try it ever since. At least this was what our schedule said we were going to do….
Up Next: Did we make it to Garden Grill? Did we like it, if so? If not, what did we do instead?
photobucket takes a while to get used to. you want to upload all of them first. i resize as i go--just click 'resize' and select anything OTHER THAN the largest size (which is too large) and then copy the FOURTH (and last) code that's given in the box on the right. paste that into here and you're good to go. it took me a WHILE to be able to do it quickly!
Thank you so much, I went to Photobucket as you can see, and it's easy peasy!
I just had to figure out the sizes of the pics, and couldn't figure out how to change 2 of them down smaller. I apologize for the 2 giant pics!
Glad you DH tried BTMMR and Splash Mountain! Your BBB experiences was so magical! All the pictures are absolutely wonderful! She makes a beautiful princess!
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: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Holly: 
"Sparky"(My first trip.)
I just got my photopass pics today, so this is great with my next entry. I will be getting it up this weekend. Thanks for following along!
Getting ready to get primped!
Waiting patiently
Getting nails done.
Watching Fairy Godmother, Angela, intently as she sings. Don't forget to hold up the already painted hand to dry!
I'm ready for Pixie Dust!
Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo!
Wow I do look like a princess!
I'm liking this...this side, now that side.
See my crystal face jewelry?
I look good and I know it!
One very happy little princess! This is one of my top faves.
Giving Cinderella hugs upon greeting.
Ariel
Our southern accented Aurora, aka Sleeping Beauty aka Briar Rose
the cutest part was when Snow White came up to our table. DD immediately says to her “Don’t eat the apple!” She laughed and thanked DD for giving her the warning and said she would be sure not to do that!
First teacup ride of the trip. One of my fave pics!
In front of the new Fantasy Land Expansion wall.
A ride in Dumbo
First SM ride for DH
Your BBB experiences was so magical! All the pictures are absolutely wonderful! She makes a beautiful princess! 
Linear Mode
