Forever Young: A Disneyland Trip 50 Years in the Making COMPLETED 1/16/16 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
The Grand Californian is a beautiful hotel. I've never stayed in the DVC rooms, but the room I had on my ABD trip was in a terrible state, and did not give me a good impression of how the property is run. I'm glad to hear you had no such issues.
I was so glad to see that you started your TR when I checked in tonight!!! Sounds like your drive to the airport and the flight went quite smoothly. LAX is a crazy airport and the traffic always makes me so nervous around there. We heard that flying into John Wayne Airport was so much easier so that's what we did for our last trip out to DL. It's such a small airport and much easier to get to DL! So happy that the GC met your expectations!!! We're hoping to stay there next October.
When we lived in LA, I would've told you 'Rush hour' is almost round the clock. Sadly, DC traffic has now been said to be worse than LA's.
Love the Hotel! We haven't had a chance to stay there yet, despite owning points.
You were lucky to,spot the Hollywood sign!
Glad to see this has started! Isn't the front door of the GC gorgeous?! I managed a picture, but it took awhile as the doors kept opening. This is a busy place.
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.
Glad you have the TR up and running! Seems like you had an uneventful flight with the small inconvenience of having to change planes in Denver! Loved the sunrise photos!
Glad you made it to the GC without any problems. The hotel lobby looks beautiful and looking forward to photos of your room!
Does the Disneyland Express transportation come with your hotel stay or did you have to purchase it separately? Is it run by DL like DME is in WDW?
__________________
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!
I remember how horrible the traffic is in LA. It was a good thing I didn't do any of the driving there, because I had my eyes closed most of the time when we were on the interstate! The Grand Californian looks beautiful.
So glad you weren't the one driving.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shazza
So glad the Grand Californian did not disappoint!
I lived in Southern Calif for years, and certainly don't miss the traffic!
I don't know how anyone could ever get used to that much traffic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
The Grand Californian is a beautiful hotel. I've never stayed in the DVC rooms, but the room I had on my ABD trip was in a terrible state, and did not give me a good impression of how the property is run. I'm glad to hear you had no such issues.
It makes me sad to think of any part of Disney in disrepair. Everything we saw about the resort was in great shape.
Wow, the GC looks beautiful! I would never make it in LA traffic. LOL
I'd probably just give up driving altogether.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lindawdw
I was so glad to see that you started your TR when I checked in tonight!!! Sounds like your drive to the airport and the flight went quite smoothly. LAX is a crazy airport and the traffic always makes me so nervous around there. We heard that flying into John Wayne Airport was so much easier so that's what we did for our last trip out to DL. It's such a small airport and much easier to get to DL! So happy that the GC met your expectations!!! We're hoping to stay there next October.
We checked John Wayne Airport, but couldn't get a flight there using our SWA points, so it was out for this trip. I found the SWA terminal of LAX quite manageable both coming and going. The traffic around the airport though was another thing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
When we lived in LA, I would've told you 'Rush hour' is almost round the clock. Sadly, DC traffic has now been said to be worse than LA's.
Love the Hotel! We haven't had a chance to stay there yet, despite owning points.
You were lucky to,spot the Hollywood sign!
One of my goals was to find the Hollywood sign, so I was very focused looking for it.
Glad to see this has started! Isn't the front door of the GC gorgeous?! I managed a picture, but it took awhile as the doors kept opening. This is a busy place.
Can't wait to see if you get a good view!
GC was definitely busy and that poor door pretty much never gets to close.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
Glad you have the TR up and running! Seems like you had an uneventful flight with the small inconvenience of having to change planes in Denver! Loved the sunrise photos!
Glad you made it to the GC without any problems. The hotel lobby looks beautiful and looking forward to photos of your room!
Does the Disneyland Express transportation come with your hotel stay or did you have to purchase it separately? Is it run by DL like DME is in WDW?
The Disneyland Express is not Disney owned, but has official status. It has to be booked separately and unlike DME, it does cost though we felt it was a great value with the traffic.
Tuesday, October 6 -- What does room 2522 look like and do we have a view?
As we came in to the room, Luke who is now very used to my TRs and the photography, kept the suitcases over by the door until I photographed everything. this guy! Meanwhile, he explored the room himself and eventually said, “I don’t care what anyone says, DVC is the best investment we’ve ever made.” Just as a side note, I did put the camera battery on the charger immediately after photographing the room. So without further ado, here is room 2522 at the Grand Californian.
Our room key folder and Luke's birthday button, which worked so incredibly well that he wore it every single day of the trip, expect the last.
Kitchen, dining, and living area
Living room couch. I really liked these end table lamps.
Living room TV and door from here to the balcony. I really like the shade and the little lamp here, too.
Living room, which along with the kitchen and dining, felt so very spacious.
Broom closet
Bathroom off the living area, across from the kitchen.
Washer and dryer in the hall closet
Master bathroom with a set up that reminds me of SSR, BC, and BWI. One of my favorite bathroom set ups for DVC villas.
Every bathroom needs one of these.
The vanity was a little high for me, but I managed. Also good storage with two drawers and four shelves.
Whirlpool Tub
Master bedroom king-sized bed
Master bedroom desk
Sliding glass doors to the balcony
Master bedroom TV and dresser, again quite a bit of storage with 6 drawers. I only used two for my stuff and three for Luke's, but I could have combined stuff.
Master closet complete with two robes.
Once the battery was on the charger, we walked back through the villa, marveling at just how beautiful it was. Our small balcony only had an obscured view of Disney’s California Adventure. Mainly the view was evergreen trees, which reminded me of our own backyard. We have 9 or 10 evergreens we've planted here since we moved in 14 years ago. So much prettier than a fence.
A little wee view of DCA from our balcony.
Now this bit of the view would offer us a little bit of World of Color each night, and even with the sliding glass door to the balcony shut, we could hear the music. it!
We freshened up a bit, and then began our first explorations. Back in the main lobby, we found the gift shop and checked out the wares. No purchase – yet! :wink: Luke showed me the Grand Californian’s special entrance to DCA, and then we turned the other way to visit Downtown Disney District for the first time. Everything really is compact here.
Whoa, I logged in at the right time! Love a few things here.
First, this:
Quote:
“I don’t care what anyone says, DVC is the best investment we’ve ever made.”
You don't get better than that, especially after you've forked over such a lot of money. Great that he still feels this way. So very nice.
I love the hard-backed cushioned chairs and desks that are in hotel rooms. They remind me of how I wish my life felt a lot of the time. Orderly, comfortable, but energizing. Sigh...
I love the little view of the death wheel, um, fun wheel. (I actually love this, but will ever think of it as the death wheel after reading other TRs here!)
Lastly, I bet that tub paid dividents after long days walking the parks. I know we tend to do 10+ miles each day, I'm sure you are no different.
Thanks for sharing your trip with us!
__________________
Themed environment junkie
Last edited by KimmyAnn1147; 10-18-2015 at 09:06 PM..
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Loved the sunrise photos! 
Is it run by DL like DME is in WDW? 
Everything we saw about the resort was in great shape.
this guy! Meanwhile, he explored the room himself and eventually said, “I don’t care what anyone says, DVC is the best investment we’ve ever made.” Just as a side note, I did put the camera battery on the charger immediately after photographing the room. So without further ado, here is room 2522 at the Grand Californian.
Linear Mode
