My first solo adventure - Disney style!! - Page 5 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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
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Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
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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.
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I wasn’t planning on writing a trip report. In fact, I’ve only written one before and it’s sooooo time consuming!!! For those of you who are so faithfully dedicated and write one with every trip – kudos to you!! I don’t know how you do it. I completed this trip over 8 months ago, but I keep reminiscing about it – you know, like when I have those “Calgon, take me away!” moments?! So I thought I’d write it down and try my best to remember it. So here goes!!
A little background to my trip:
I first had a brief sampling of a semi-solo trip in January 2008 for the Half Marathon. I ran and shared a room with my friend, but she travelled with her family on different dates. So I flew alone and had a few alone moments here and there which I thoroughly enjoyed! Flash forward 7 months and another spark in my mind occurred on our WDW family trip in September 2008. I thought to myself, “what if – just WHAT IF – I didn’t have the whole fam damily with me, I would have time to squeeze in a quick ride on Thunder Mountain.” And then later I thought again, “I could sit down and enjoy my meal from start to finish without interruption.” And again, “I would just love to sit on this bench for about 10 minutes and soak it all in!!” To all the Moms out there – I think you may have heard this voice too from time to time. Am I right?!
A seed was planted. Upon return of that trip, the seed started to sprout. The kids are still little enough that it’s OK if I’m gone for a few days. My mom is recently retired and happy to watch them while I’m gone. My DH had gone on 2 week long fishing trips (one per year), so I figured it was my turn now. I imagined a solo trip and all the things I could do without worry of making sure the rest of my family was happy all the time. I imagined a resort I had yet to try, maybe a behind the scenes tour, and if I timed it right, even a special event. The wheels were turning and a trip was beginning to form. I originally planned on mid-November 2009, a long weekend trip so I could “pre-test” Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party for a future trip with the kids. Value season hotel prices, it all looked good.
But then I remembered the free admission for your birthday promo and tried to plan around that. My birthday is November 3 and it fell on a Tuesday in 2009. That would make a long weekend even longer. Instead, I decided on Nov. 1-5, Sunday-Thursday, still like a 4 day weekend but during the week. It would be too early for MVMCP, but I would catch the end of the Food and Wine Festival. Sounded good to me! Once the F&WF events were announced, there was one thing that really appealed to me. OK, more to my sweet tooth – the Sweet Sunday brunch. Two of my favorite things, breakfast and dessert!!! The only problem was that it’s on Sunday morning. I wasn’t planning on arriving until late Sunday morning, after the brunch. So my sweet DH said sure, go ahead and leave on Saturday night. Even if it is Halloween!! (that man took all 3 kids trick-or-treating by himself. Love him!)
Dates were now set, airfare purchased (actually, I used hotel points for that), park hopper purchased, and hotel was booked. I decided on Caribbean Beach Resort after much debating between a split stay at POP as well. Again, my DH said why bother switching. Just pay a little bit more and stay at the bigger place. (did I mention I love that man?) I booked the AAA discount as soon as I could and started to plan my days!
Coming up: Planning fun or Planning obsession?
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Tanya
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