Robin's 1st Time West of Chicago and DL Girls Trip!! *Updated 3/26* - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Robin - Glad you've started. I noticed your new sig pic. I Laguna Beach! It is beautiful, has great restaurants and wonderful shopping. Can't wait to hear about your visit there!
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.
Great start Robin! Love the pics from the plane. I guess I take it for granted that others haven't traveled great distances from your surprise at the size of the plane. That's usually the size I travel in to get to Dominican Republic!
Although, like you, on my trip to Spain last year, I experienced my first "double decker"! Like what our British friends are used to jumping the puddle on! Now those are huge!!!!
Anyways, can't wait to read more about the zany passporter gals on the west coast!
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.
February 27, 2007 Day 1 Part 2: Where do I go? Now I am all confused!
Our bags were some of the first to come out of the carousel. Finding the shuttle ended up being a bit more difficult then we thought. We went out to where the green sign was and waited. There was no sign that said, “Disneyland Express”. Were we in the right spot?? We went back inside and I called from the courtesy phone (by the way ICK…airport phones…I am glad I had my hand sanitizer!) I asked what time the shuttle was coming and she said 4:00. It was almost 4:00 so we went back outside. Just after 4:00 the pretty shuttle decorated with Sleeping Beauty’s Castle pulled up to the green bus stop. The driver loaded out bags into the shuttle and we were on our way.
First we went to Disneyland Hotel where they collected Cindy’s ticket and I had to buy mine. Then we headed over to Howard Johnson. Check-in was quick and easy. As we were checking in another girl came up the desk and asked, “Are you Robin?” I told her I was. “Someone has been trying to call you all afternoon.” Our room was in building 2 (way in the back…ugh). Our room was very easy to find it was very close to the elevator and had a “pool view”…which was better then the other side of the building…they had a I-5 view. We could see the monorail tracks from our balcony! Just as we were settling in and unpacking the phone rang. It was Karen (that was you right Karen?? Or was it Eileen?) Anyway….they wanted to let Cindy and I know that they were going to make Margaritas in their room before dinner. Cindy wanted to relax a bit and unpack I decided to head to Grand California Hotel (GCH) and join the crew for a few drinks. I went down to the front desk to find out exactly how to get to GCH. Eric had NO clue how to get there. HUH? You work for a major hotel across the street from Disneyland and you don’t know how to get to one of the Disney owned hotels??? The other front desk person got out a map and showed me how to get to Disneyland and found the hotel on the map. I decided to walk.
The walk to Disneyland was very simple, follow the monorail tracks until you see the sign for Disneyland then turn right. I kept walking but got a bit confused when I got to baggage check. I looked around and thought, “this can’t be right” A CM saw me and asked me where I was going, I told her and then said, “I am use to Disney World!” She laughed and said, “We do things a bit different at Disneyland. I am heading over that way let me show you were to go.” As we walked through the courtyard I noticed Disneyland on my right and California Adventure on my left. It felt like a dream. When we got to the other baggage check she pointed out where I needed to go and I headed through the exit.
Downtown Disney at Disneyland is so much different then Downtown Disney at Walt Disney World. The only stores they had that were similar were Basin, Lego Store and World of Disney. Everything else was totally different. Even their Rainforest Café was themed different. And the weirdest thing…the monorail runs right through the center of the plaza! Very cool!
GCH was breathtaking. The resort reminds me a lot of Wilderness Lodge at WDW. It has a very rustic feel to it. I was running a bit late so I made my way up to Eileen and Karen’s room. I felt like I walked FOREVER (I must have taken the wrong elevator). I kept walking and turning corners and walking and turning another corner and walking…you get the point. Anyway I finally found the room and entered just behind Crystal and Doug. Margaritas were already being served. After hugs all around I was handed a glass with yummy Margarita and enjoyed the company of my Passporter friends. Janine gave me a Mickey container filled with M&Ms, Liz gave me a cool glowing necklace (purple ) and Sarah gave me my t-shirt that she made for me for the tour the next day. guys I didn’t expect GIFTS! BTW they came out VERY cool! It was great to see friends I had met before and it was great to meet people I had read so much about and chatted with online and FINALLY got to meet. Some of us ( ) may have had one too many Margaritas. Karen makes then very good…who can resist?
Ms. Emilie and Ms. Eileen were checking out the Downtown Disney View.
Karen was playing bartender. She makes some yummy Margaritas!
Dawn and Karen enjoying some fine icy treats!
Sarah is wondering why I am taking so many photos and Tina is just happy to be out of the UP!!
Dinnertime was approaching so we all headed down to Tortilla Jo’s. The walk seemed much shorter then the first time. Maybe it was because we found the RIGHT elevator? Cindy met us out front and within 10 minutes we were seated. I am not a huge fan of Mexican type food but I found a couple of things on the menu. I got a cup of Meatball Soup and Tequila Barbecue Chicken Wings. Both were VERY good…especially the wings. Crystal ordered Margarita to share with the table. For some reason the pitcher came with a very large straw which by the end of the meal Crystal was actually using. Karen was laughing so hard I thought she was going to fall out of her chair.
Tina once again happy she is out of the frozen North (ie the UP)
Eileen is saying “Hello” from the end of the table.
__________________
Robin Twitter name: @NKsDogwalker Find me on FB: robinkay6573@yahoo.com 38th Birthday with Mom, Dad and friends 2011 Next Trip: Cruise on Jewel of the Seas for Christmas 2012
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.
OK. What exactly am I doing with my left hand in this picture? Trying to prove that unlike my friend Dawn I can take a close photo without the gratuitous tush grab? What a dork am I!
That night was so much fun, and I made sure y'all thought so to by getting you sauced! Although there were virgin margaritas too!
__________________
Karen, aka Zack's Mom - Lover of all Things Disney and the San Francisco Giants!
About This Page: 
Laguna Beach! It is beautiful, has great restaurants and wonderful shopping. Can't wait to hear about your visit there!
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Angie
We could see the monorail tracks from our balcony! 
Just as we were settling in and unpacking the phone rang. It was Karen (that was you right Karen?? Or was it Eileen?) Anyway….they wanted to let Cindy and I know that they were going to make Margaritas in their room before dinner. Cindy wanted to relax a bit and unpack I decided to head to Grand California Hotel (GCH) and join the crew for a few drinks. I went down to the front desk to find out exactly how to get to GCH. Eric had NO clue how to get there. 
HUH? You work for a major hotel across the street from Disneyland and you don’t know how to get to one of the Disney owned hotels??? The other front desk person got out a map and showed me how to get to Disneyland and found the hotel on the map. I decided to walk.
) and Sarah gave me my t-shirt that she made for me for the tour the next day. 
guys I didn’t expect GIFTS! BTW they came out VERY cool! 
Cindy met us out front and within 10 minutes we were seated. I am not a huge fan of Mexican type food but I found a couple of things on the menu. I got a cup of Meatball Soup and Tequila Barbecue Chicken Wings. Both were VERY good…especially the wings. 
PassPorter Guide Author
Thanks for the update, and the photos!
Linear Mode
