First Ever Disneyland Trip Updated 10/13 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
I'm looking forward to hearing all about your DLR trip! The last time I was in California, I really wanted to go, but none of the people I was with wanted to. They said it was "boring". The closest I got was driving past it when we were going somewhere else.
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.
So happy you started this PTR right after you finished the WDW TR. Now we don't need to wait for another Cam and Fam trip. Signing on - can't wait to read more.
I'm so excited you've started a new TR!! I'm anxious to hear after your trip how DLR is compared to WDW since you are like us and have been so many times. We have never been to DLR, but it is on our bucket list!
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.
Yay, another DL PTR! I'm so hungry for action here on my home park! Hope the rest of your ADR plans go smooth. I'm planning a trip in Dec and it's frustrating that all my plans are already pretty much complete...I long for the complexity of WDW! But I know the trip will be great, and airfare to WDW isn't an option for me anyways.
Major advantage of DLR for me these days is the minimal transportation time. Such a huge perk!
Who would have thought we'd miss the complexity of planning a WDW trip! But this has thrown me for a loop.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
I'm looking forward to reading about your planning. I hope to make it to DL in the next few years myself.
It's definitely a different sort of planning than WDW requires, but in all our researching there are rumors that some of the new stuff, e.g. Magic Bands, will be coming to DLR.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jandsdennis
We have not been back to DL in many years as we hated the fact that we had to rent a car and drive to the resort. Neither of us are lovers of driving in the LA traffic. Wish they had an option like the ME from LAX to DL. Looking forward to your thoughts
We will be using a shuttle service from LAX to DLR, but unlike DME, we will be paying for the service.
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.
Signing on! Great plans so far! The Grand Californian is so nice! My husband and I went to DL in 2013 for a running trip. There were quite a few PP's there for the same races as us. We had a blast and I still remember how yummy our meal was at Tortilla Jo's! The planning was so different than our trips to WDW, esp. ADR's. It was weird to have to call rather than go on-line to make the reservations. We had no problem getting the reservations we wanted and I'm pretty sure most of them I didn't make until we were under 30 days out from our trip. Your PTR will be a great source of inspiration to me for our trip in November. I have a feeling Luke is going to love California Screamin! Looking forward to your next update!
So good to hear that Tortilla Jo's is good! I have been making all our reservations so far online so that has evidently changed. Luke is definitely looking forward to California Screamin'.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hugmonster
Looking forward to following along as we will be making this trip for the first time in March.
Hope something here will be helpful.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily
I am so excited to hear about this trip!! We have wanted to get back to Disneyland and something always seems to get in the way. The planning is so different! You are actually going at the same time as a good friend of mine and they are going to the party too. They actually like Disneyland better than Disney World. And as far as reservations not necessarily needed, i beg to differ. They aren't quite the same way as fr as being booked up six months in advance but we couldn't get into Blue Bayou.
Now you have me nervous as Blue Bayou is the ADR I hope to book tomorrow. It was the first place we knew we absolutely wanted to do. I better cross my fingers.
Signing on! I can't wait to read more. I don't know a thing about DL, so I'm really looking forward to this PTR and then your actual TR.
I thought I knew a little, but planning is helping me to learn just how much I didn't already know at DLR.
Quote:
Originally Posted by taylan1
So exciting! I am looking forward to reading all this and taking notes. Since we plan to go to California in a few years and to visit Disneyland and I am looking forward to your journey there!
Hopefully, there will be some helpful information here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by melduckie
So excited for you guys!! You never know, your favorite fall park could become DLR!! I've read about that Monte Cristo sandwich as well, and can't wait to hear your review when the time comes!!
I actually hope not as it is much more expensive to fly here than drive to Orlando. But I have a feeling that I'm still going to love it there.
signing on for another great trip! I've wanted to go since I was little, watching Disney on Sunday nights. With your great writing and photos, it will be like being there.
That is so sweet of you to say.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mombrinson
Signing in. Can't wait to read your PTR and TR!
Thanks for signing on!
Quote:
Originally Posted by DawnK
Well what a Grand adventure this will be!! So looking forward to it!!
It is obvious that the two of us are getting more excited with each new ADR.
Looks like I'm jumping on board here at a good time. I really need to get going on planning a DLR trip. Good plans so far.
Glad you are along. Several times now I've wished that I'd done a little more research earlier.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Momof2Disneyboys
Joining in! We are in the beginning stages of planning our first ever Disneyland trip for April 2016!
Thanks for joining in! Hope I have something helpful to share.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Soarin829
REALLY excited about this PTR, as I love your TRs and I also really hope to make it to DL in the next few years! It'll be great to "see" it through the lens of your PTR/TR.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks! One of the things I'm excited about is all new material to photograph, so I'm sure I'll have a lot of photos.
I can't wait to read more - I have only been to DL once, and it was when I was in 10th grade (after many family trips to WDW). I can't wait to see the current version as it compares to my memory of the park.
I'm getting excited about seeing everything there for the first time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Terrio
I'm looking forward to hearing all about your DLR trip! The last time I was in California, I really wanted to go, but none of the people I was with wanted to. They said it was "boring". The closest I got was driving past it when we were going somewhere else.
That is so sad, though a few folks who have found out we were headed to DL, have said they've been and it was boring. I just don't get them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommapants
So happy you started this PTR right after you finished the WDW TR. Now we don't need to wait for another Cam and Fam trip. Signing on - can't wait to read more.
I'm hoping by starting early with the PTR I can get lots of helpful feedback.
I'm so excited you've started a new TR!! I'm anxious to hear after your trip how DLR is compared to WDW since you are like us and have been so many times. We have never been to DLR, but it is on our bucket list!
We do pretty much have WDW planning and the parks themselves memorized, so this will be an interesting change.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pams10
Cannot wait to hear how your Disneyland trip goes. Know it will be exciting new adventure.
I didn’t realize until I was reading some of the responses that it hasn’t been that long since Disneyland ADRs could be made online. By the time we decided on this trip, online reservations were set up, and we both began studying the menus. I’m glad that part is at least like Disney World. I got on the Disneyland website around 8:00 yesterday morning. But my experience was nothing like the previous two days. First of all, the site would not sign me in properly. Eventually, I tried another browser, the new Microsoft Edge as I’ve upgraded to Windows 10. There I was able to log in properly. Then I immediately went to Things to Do, Make Dining Reservations, and scrolling all the way down to World of Color Package. I selected Wine Country Trattoria, and then hit the drop down menu for the date. The calendar for October was only showing I could book for October 1 – 3. I rechecked that booking could be made 60 days in advance and that was correct, but the calendar was not showing it. When I was checking, I saw that I could also call, so out came the phone. When my call was answered, I chose 2 for dining. Then I was shocked to hear the phone immediately ring. Two rings later a CM answered, too. Wow! First of all, she was not the most cheerful of CMs, not the least bit chatty like so many at WDW dining. I explained what I wanted quickly, and she said that those events had not yet been set up on the computer so neither she nor I could book them yet. She did add that I should keep checking as the dates should open up later this week. So if you’ve guessed it, I’ve checked today. Three times! Nothing past October 3 yet. And you know, I’ll be checking every single day. Honestly, it seems someone failed at their job since the website clearly says 60 days in advance. As of now, Thursday, October 8 still does not have an ADR. L
Making today’s ADR went much better as I managed to get Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen for Friday, October 9 at 6:00 PM.
Now a question: Luke has been researching the various means to get us from LAX to Disneyland Resort. So far Super Shuttle is looking like the most affordable/best value. Have any of you all used their service and would you recommend it?
NEXT: Another ADR (and crossing my fingers for two) and the Grand Californian
Well, making dining and package reservations sure is a drawn out, and sometimes frustrating process, isn't it? Hoping you are able to book the World of Color Package very soon.
DLR does not seem as organized as WDW with all that is set up on their web sites! With a big resort like DLR, anything for 60 days out on ADRs should be available to book! Something is wrong there and you mya want to voice your opinion to HQs!
Actually, I used Super Shuttle once and it was in Los Angeles from LAX, back in 1998 when I went on a tour of the SW USA and through some of the national parks covering parts of CA, AZ. UT and NV. They are pretty well known and I see their vans at some of the NYC airports as well. I had no complaints about my trip that I can recall (it's been a while as 1998) and they seemed prompt and efficient! I'm sure you could Google for reviews if you want!
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
About This Page: 
The closest I got was driving past it when we were going somewhere else.
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Holly: 
But this has thrown me for a loop. 
The planning was so different than our trips to WDW, esp. ADR's. It was weird to have to call rather than go on-line to make the reservations. We had no problem getting the reservations we wanted and I'm pretty sure most of them I didn't make until we were under 30 days out from our trip. 
Your PTR will be a great source of inspiration to me for our trip in November. 
I have a feeling Luke is going to love California Screamin! 
Looking forward to your next update! 
You never know, your favorite fall park could become DLR!! I've read about that Monte Cristo sandwich as well, and can't wait to hear your review when the time comes!! 
That is so sweet of you to say. 
With a big resort like DLR, anything for 60 days out on ADRs should be available to book! 
Linear Mode
