Disneyland Trip Report 5/9/18 to 5/18/18 - Page 4 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 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.
Our Super Shuttle is scheduled to pick us up at between 8:00 and 8:15 a.m. for our 11:20 flight, so we are up early. We have another fine breakfast at Captain Kidd’s. We then wait in our hotel lobby for the shuttle. It’s on time, and off we go. We are the last 3 on, so it’s straight to the airport.
A lot of lane closures near LAX, but our driver gets us in ok. We get assistance with our only checked bag (those self-serve kiosks are confusing), then we are quickly through security to our gate. Plane is on time, but there’s some noticeably rough turbulence during the flight. We land on time and have the usual 20 minute O’Hare taxiing around to our gate.
Baggage claim is a little slow. Our limo company sedan is timely enough but Friday traffic is heavy. We get home at bit after 7:00. A full day of travel as we lost 2 hours flying east.
Well, it’s always wonderful to be home no matter how great the vacation! (Going back to work is the tough part.)
Overall
Well obviously, we had a lot of GREAT days!
It was so nice to have a free breakfast buffet each morning. It saved money on groceries or park snacks, and a lot of snack places in the parks were not open until 11:00 anyway.
The convenience of just being able to walk everywhere for all the Disney activity was awesome. I did not miss the Disney buses (except I did miss Magical Express). For the non-Disney part, the shuttle to and from the airport, our private van tour, and the ART bus were all very timely and comfortable.
Disney in California is NOT small. We had heard from many sources how “small” Disneyland /California Adventure is. Some had said that we might be disappointed. Maybe they lowered our expectations – because I was actually impressed with the overall size. Yes, I missed Epcot and Animal Kingdom some, but there was plenty to do. We did not get bored. We repeated our favorites just like we would at WDW. Of course, they had many rides that WDW does not have, which helped to make our trip extra special.
When we first planned on going to Disneyland, I thought if it goes well, then we will return in 10 years or so. Now, I want to go back in 3 or 4 years!
Side trips: Knot’s Berry Farm was very good. The “Walt Tour” was awesome.
Since we always stay on-site for WDW, it was a little odd staying off-site. But, we were right across the street from the entrance, so it felt like we were still “in the World.” The most noticeable difference was not having all the Disney channels on the TV, especially the Disney Must Do’s with Stacey J. Aswad.
Favorite rides & attractions: For me -- Guardians of the Galaxy Breakout and Hyperspace Mountain. For my wife and daughter – the Paint the Night Parade and the Frozen show. I really enjoyed a lot of the live music, two special favorites: the Pixarmonic Orchestra and the jazz band at the Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disneyland.
We were blessed with great weather – no rain issues . A few degrees warmer in the evening would have been nice, I guess, but at least we were not fighting any 88+ degree heat during the day.
The only disappointment was being there during all the Pixar refurbishments – no big Mickey Fun Wheel or California Screamin’ roller coaster. If only they had finished them a month earlier (or checked with us first ). Aside from that, the vacation was near perfect!!
(Thanks to all of you who read my trip reports and/or commented. I usually don't do trip reports, but the Disneyland boards are so quiet, I wanted to contribute and show it love.)
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.
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.
You are all welcome! Glad you enjoyed the daily reports! Your thanks makes it worthwhile to put all the effort into writing them.
Having just finished my WDW one and got all the thanks, I really hear you about that. Writing the trip reports takes some work, but it makes it worthwhile when people thank you for doing it.
Just read through your whole TR and was glad that you all had such a magical time. We were in DL three years ago and really loved it. It was nice that you were able to enjoy your time in Downtown Disney at night when your family went back to the hotel. They do have some great entertainment in the evening! Thanks for sharing your vacation memories.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
(Going back to work is the tough part.)
It saved money on groceries or park snacks, and a lot of snack places in the parks were not open until 11:00 anyway.
We had heard from many sources how “small” Disneyland /California Adventure is. Some had said that we might be disappointed. Maybe they lowered our expectations – because I was actually impressed with the overall size. Yes, I missed Epcot and Animal Kingdom some, but there was plenty to do. We did not get bored. We repeated our favorites just like we would at WDW. Of course, they had many rides that WDW does not have, which helped to make our trip extra special. 
. A few degrees warmer in the evening would have been nice, I guess, but at least we were not fighting any 88+ degree heat during the day.
). Aside from that, the vacation was near perfect!! 
for that.
Linear Mode
