A Dream That Came True! The First Timers TR - COMPLETED 9/10 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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Glad that they had delayed the show because so many people were running late - it sounds like you both truly enjoyed the experience. The food does look very delicious. Glad that your trip back to the resort was eaier then your trip to the Poly. Hope that you get to the YC in time for breakfast....
Isn’t Disney just great!! Getting that birthday card must have been so cool!! Plus a coupon for your photo pass…awesome!! I am glad you made it to your dinner show. I would love to see that show one day. That is where my Bff’s uncle works. Maybe one day we will go with her family. You sure like leaving us hanging & I’m loven’ it!! I hope you made it to Scottie’s birthday breakfast! Loven’ this TR!!!
So glad you were able to make it to the Luau and that you like it! We'll be doing it when w go on our trip in feburary, and so i'm happy to see some positive reviews! You are quite good at leaving cliffhangers! hope you make it to breakfast
Great updates! I love the surprise in the room - glad you made the show.
Thanks! We loved the luau show!
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Originally Posted by ilovedisney247
Oh no! I hope you found a way to get to breakfast!
Updates coming right up lol!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jessie092408
Wow, you sure do leaving people hanging. Sending retroactive "catch a cab" vibes to you.
Lol, I think those vibes might've worked!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Glad you had a great time at the luau! Great pictures!
Thanks, we loved it and would love to do it again!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcc0313
Glad that they had delayed the show because so many people were running late - it sounds like you both truly enjoyed the experience. The food does look very delicious. Glad that your trip back to the resort was eaier then your trip to the Poly. Hope that you get to the YC in time for breakfast....
The food was really fantastic! I'm so glad they gave me the recipes, in fact, I'm trying the polynesian rice recipe this week!
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Originally Posted by Stephie1551
The Luau sounds like fun!! Can't wait to experience it in August
You are gonna love it! It was fantastic!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Great time at the Poly! Glad they delayed the show for everyone! Hope you make your breakfast!
You'll find out very shortly lol!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Glad you were able to make it to the Luau!!
Thanks, it was well worth the hassle!
Quote:
Originally Posted by countrykid
Isn’t Disney just great!! Getting that birthday card must have been so cool!! Plus a coupon for your photo pass…awesome!! I am glad you made it to your dinner show. I would love to see that show one day. That is where my Bff’s uncle works. Maybe one day we will go with her family. You sure like leaving us hanging & I’m loven’ it!! I hope you made it to Scottie’s birthday breakfast! Loven’ this TR!!!
Thanks so much!! I have always loved Disney in general, but now after experiencing the magic first hand, I am truly enthralled! I hope you get to make it to the show, we loved it, corniness and all lol.
Quote:
Originally Posted by islandgirl
What a surprise for Scottie! Looks like a great time at the luau- so glad you didn't miss it!!! Great TR & pictures!!
It was a great time, thank you so much!
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Originally Posted by emvenable77
Great update! I am dying to know if you made that ADR for Scottie's birthday breakfast! Hurry back please!
One update coming right up!
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Originally Posted by tdhc
Just signing on to say I'm really enjoying your cliff hangers. I am on the edge of my seat to see what happens next.
Thanks for following!
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneyfreeeak
So glad you were able to make it to the Luau and that you like it! We'll be doing it when w go on our trip in feburary, and so i'm happy to see some positive reviews! You are quite good at leaving cliffhangers! hope you make it to breakfast
You will love it! It's just so much fun and the food so good! Thanks so much!
Thankfully, the staff at Old Port Royale were fantastic. The concierge desk in Old Port Royale was manned by two people everytime we went in there, one of them kindly called a cab company to see if they had one close enough to get us to our breakfast reservation in time. They did and before long we were on our way with a friendly cab driver. We arrived ten minutes early even! Since the Captain's Grille wasn't open yet, we looked around the lobby and took a few pictures of the christmas decorations.
Scottie loved this miniature village setup.
This is the tree in the lobby...gorgeouse!
I loved this wreath.
We were seated almost immediately and greeted by our server, Frances. She was so sweet! We hit the breakfast buffet, which was loaded with all sorts of yummy things, and sat down to enjoy.
This was my first plate with eggs benedict, frittata, bread pudding, croissant and more! It was delicious!
My second plate with chocolate croissant, cheese danish, fruit yogurt cup and fresh fruit.
After we were finished, Frances brought a special treat to Scottie! He was so thrilled! It was the beginning of a magical birthday for him.
After he finished his cupcake, we decided to take a quick look outside for a few pictures. It really was beautiful there.
We headed for the bus stop and grabbed a bus to the Magic Kingdom for the opening ceremonies! For those who have never seen the opening ceremonies at MK, the mayor comes out to introduce himself and brings out the dancers who sing "Good Morning" to the crowd. The mayor then says that we are waiting on Mickey and the other characters to arrive by train so that we can open the park. The dancers start singing "Casey Jr" and soon enough we see the train coming! As the train pulls into the station, we see so many characters on the train. They all get off the train, along with the family that has beed chosen to open the park that day. Mickey and the family join the mayor and they count down 3-2-1 ...... and the fireworks go off and the park is open!! I was able to videotape the entire show and still catch a few photos!
We walk through the tunnel and emerge into a christmas wonderland! This was by far the most heavily and best decorated park we went to. Everything was beautiful and magical. After a few pictures around the entrance area, and a stop at first aid for some bandaids as my feet were hurting and I was worried about blisters, we headed toward Main Street.
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.
The first real glimpse of the castle......there are no words for it. I fully admit, I cried. For me, it was really a dream come true. I had envisioned this day since I was a child dreaming of one day seeing Disney World. As an adult, I wanted so badly to take my children there and yet was never able to for one reason or another. To stand there, with my son, was the most magical thing of all!
After a picture, we saw the barbershop quartet nearby and stopped to listen. They were really good, and when they noticed Scottie's birthday button, they sang Happy Birthday to him and posed for a picture!
We kept going toward the hub, catching a photo here or there.
Then it was decision time.....Where would you start???
What a great birthday morning! The buffet at Captain's Grille looks like it was yummy! I'll have to try it for breakfast--we've only ever been there for lunch, which is also good btw.
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Getting that birthday card must have been so cool!!
Plus a coupon for your photo pass…awesome!! I am glad you made it to your dinner show. I would love to see that show one day. That is where my Bff’s uncle works. Maybe one day we will go with her family. You sure like leaving us hanging & I’m loven’ it!! 
I hope you made it to Scottie’s birthday breakfast! Loven’ this TR!!! 
Susan
I love the surprise in the room - glad you made the show.
TinkBrat
PassPorter Guide Author
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