Feelin’ Groovy: A Cam and Luke TR Completed 7/31 - Page 57 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Glad that the long trip home was uneventful but sorry for the sickness when you got there. Looking forward to your ptr for October. You'll be there before us so it will be fun to read your report .
Great ending to a great trip. I just got caught up on your last couple of updates. I'm glad Luke is feeling better.
I just booked the Boathouse for our date night on our upcoming January trip. It was between that and Morimoto Asia, but I ultimately settled on the Boathouse. After reading about your meal at Morimoto Asia, now I'm thinking of changing it. Decisions, decisions.
Sounds like a long day. Chattanooga is our halfway point. Glad that if you had to feel bad, at least you made it home first. Great trip! Thanks for sharing.
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.
Hate that you got sick; but at least it held off till after your trip!
Me, too! Being sick at home is bad, but it would have been worse if it had messed with vacation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NanaTink
I can't wait to try Morimoto! It sounds fantastic! Sorry you were ill once you got home, but at least it waited until you were home and didn't really impede your time in the bubble. Dave likes straight through driving home much more than I...and ours is only 758 miles, slightly less than yours. Now, I don't mind as much going...
Hope you all love Morimoto's, too. I was so glad that I didn't feel really ill until the morning after we got home. I don't like my vacations messed with.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
The sad drive home is even sadder when you're not feeling well. But it was a great trip! Looking forward to your final thoughts!
It was really weird on the ride home as I kept telling Luke that I had a tickle in my throat. That was making me cough some, but at that point I wasn't feeling congested.
Sounds like a decent drive home but sorry you got sick
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It really wasn't a bad trip home. We commented that we saw no wrecks on the way home. We had seen so many on the way down on that side of the interstate that we had wondered what it would be like on the drive home.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
How lousy to have ended up sick - but as you said, better that you were home at that point.
Thanks for sharing another great trip!
That was the most persistent cough, and I even wondered at one point if I had bronchitis. But thankfully it passed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily
I am glad the sickness waited until you got back. Tater toros from Sonic are some of my favorite things in the world. I don't like them anywhere but there and Disney.
We have a local place that has an even better grilled cheese and tater gems and it is even cheaper than Sonic.
Oh I'm so sorry you got sick when you returned, but as others have said, it could have been so much worse if the cold had put in an early appearance!
I notice your comments about the final restrooms - I assume this is unusual then, for them to be below par? We are so used to utterly appalling public restrooms in the UK, it would be such a pleasant surprise to find that in the USA they were a lot better than ours! Service station stops on our motorways are usually not too bad, but anywhere else is to be avoided, generally.
As far as my experience goes, restrooms in the US are a mix of exceptionally clean and tidy and downright deplorable. Our state rest stops used to be quite clean and in good repair, so I don't know if this one is an exception or not. It's Tennessee counterpart on the other half of the interstate is immaculate and very new. Stefanie always had tummy issues when she got excited, especially when traveling to WDW or family gatherings. Over the years we visited a lot of restrooms. She was quite picky (and I never blamed her). Sometimes we had to quickly scurry somewhere else. And on well traveled roads, she would let us know which restrooms to visit and which to never go to again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lindawdw
Sounds like a long trip home but the restroom/gas and food breaks helped break it up a little. I'm sorry that you got sick at the end of your trip. There's nothing like climbing into your own bed that first night after an exhausting travel day.
I was so happy to be back in my own bed, especially over the next few weeks as I just didn't feel that well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SharonK0527
Glad you made it home safe & sound but so sorry to hear you came down sick Can't wait for your next PTR to start - I love following along with yours & Luke's trips!
I'm very excited about getting the the new PTR started as they always seems to help pass the time until WDW.
I remembering you mentioning how I'll you had gotten in earlier posts - so glad it hit only after you returned home. I really loved this TR and I'm so sad it is over. Your pics captured everything so well.
I'm so glad I got well before Luke has had to deal with all his kidney stone issues as I wouldn't have been much help otherwise. Thanks! Photographing WDW is one of my favorite things to do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommapants
Sorry you came home and got sick - that stinks but better to be sick at home then on vacation. Looking forward to the final thoughts. Sounds like you really had a great trip
I've only been sick once at WDW with the norovirus (UGH), and there was one year when Luke got a very bad sore throat and earache, so I think we've been quite lucky.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Sounds like a pretty good trip home. Sorry to hear that you ended up bringing home a cold though.
As travel days goes this one was uneventful in the best kind of way.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wishes
Great TR, as always! We have such good Asian food in our area, that eating it on vacay doesn't really appeal, but after reading about Morimoto's, I may just rethink that. My DS would love it! Sounds like a quick, uneventful trek home; thank goodness you didn't get sick till then. Who wants to be sick at Disney? Looking forward to your next PTR!
We watch Hawaii 5-0 and one episode this past season had Morimoto on as a guest. I was so fascinated by his Honolulu restaurant and so glad I had booked the one in Disney Springs.
Glad that the long trip home was uneventful but sorry for the sickness when you got there. Looking forward to your ptr for October. You'll be there before us so it will be fun to read your report .
Now that this TR is wrapping up, I'm very excited to focus more on the Sept/Oct trip.
Quote:
Originally Posted by brandy_mel
Great ending to a great trip. I just got caught up on your last couple of updates. I'm glad Luke is feeling better.
I just booked the Boathouse for our date night on our upcoming January trip. It was between that and Morimoto Asia, but I ultimately settled on the Boathouse. After reading about your meal at Morimoto Asia, now I'm thinking of changing it. Decisions, decisions.
We ate at both The Boathouse and Morimoto Asia this past May and thoroughly enjoyed both. I don't think you could go wrong with either one. We'll be back at Morimoto in October and hopefully The Boathouse in May.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coop
Sounds like a long day. Chattanooga is our halfway point. Glad that if you had to feel bad, at least you made it home first. Great trip! Thanks for sharing.
It was a long day, but 8:30 was an early arrival time for us, so we did well. Traffic really didn't slow us down as much coming home as going down.
When/Time: We love visiting WDW in May, especially to see all the colors on display at Epcot during the Flower & Garden Festival. The addition of food booths to this event a few years ago has been an added bonus to these spring trips. We already have our resort booked for next spring though we will be arriving a little earlier at the end of April. The idea is to get three trips out of our annual passes. Overall, the weather was nice with highs in the upper 80s and manageable humidity. We only had rain on our last two evenings, which cancelled some of our plans.
Where/Resort: I’ve already given an extensive review of our room early in this trip report. Suffice it to say, Animal Kingdom Lodge is still my absolute favorite resort at WDW. Our room’s location this year near the exit to the bus stops, lobby, laundry, gift shops, etc. was blessing. We’ll be back at AKL next May, but this time we’ll be at Jambo House.
How/Transportation: This was our third trip traveling by car, covering a total of 1, 675 miles from start to finish. We have discovered for us that, even though this is a much cheaper way to travel, we don’t enjoy it. With my arthritis, I’m not comfortable sitting for lengthy periods of time. Yes, I know we could stop more frequently, but that just adds to the 25 hours and 40 minutes it takes with at least six stops now. On the way home, Luke looked over at me at one point, and said he didn’t really want to drive anymore. For us, it just feels like a waste of time that would be better used at WDW or home. Soon after arriving home, we were already working out the budget and plans to fly down in October. You’ll have to see in the upcoming PTR how that turned out.
Who/PassPorter and Family Meets: We loved meeting Regina for the first time, and I especially wanted to support her in returning to WDW after the loss of Travis. We also loved meeting Linda again, and getting to spend even more time with her over three days. Hopefully, we’ll be meeting up with her and Pete for even more time next spring. My DSis Pam and DNiece Charlotte also got to spend three days with us, two in the parks and one at the resort. Now that Pam has an annual pass it’s so much easier to get to spend time with her.
What/Firsts: On the ride home we made a list of things we did or didn’t do for the first time. Starting with the negative, this is the first trip ever that we did not see Illuminations. In fact, we only stayed the first evening, which was at Magic Kingdom, for the final show at any of the parks. We’ve turned in early a night here or there, but never almost every night of the trip. Blame that on an emergency appendectomy. Missing out didn’t bother us though. We visited a number of new dining locations: The Boathouse, Skippers Canteen, Morimoto Asia, Wolfgang Puck Café, The Wave, and Harambe Market. We have stayed many times at Animal Kingdom Lodge – Kidani Village, but this was our first stay in a studio rather than a one-bedroom villa. Since the laundry was just a few feet down the hall, I didn’t miss having the washer and dryer in our room. We have bought art pieces as souvenirs before but never as much as bought on this trip. We were just so excited to meet the artists themselves. Larry Dotson and Greg McCulloch were both friendly and willing to share about the prints we selected. Some new characters were available for meet and greets: both Chewbacca and Kylo Ren at Star Wars Launch Bay, Joy and Sadness at Epcot, and Olaf at Studios. We’d met Olaf in Disneyland last October, but not at WDW. This was our first trip since the addition of the Force Awakens segments were added to Star Tours. While we were there on Sunday, May 15, Disney Springs officially opened, but there are quite a few shops and restaurants that have opened since we returned home. In fact, we’ve got lots of firsts to look forward to in September/October.
I truly appreciate all of you following along as I retold our Disney adventures. I enjoy writing and it offers me an opportunity to remember the trip all over again, too. Keep watch for a PTR to arrive on the boards soon, probably not tomorrow though.
Can't wait for your PTR! I so enjoy your PTRs and TRs. You have a great gift of making one feel as if they are seeing it as well!
We haven't stayed at AK DVC yet, but will try to rectify that soon. Thanks for bringing us along!
Thanks for your trip report. I always enjoy them! Looking forward to the next one. I would like to know what Disney apps you have on your phone that you use at home and at Disney that keep you up to date. Thanks again.
Great final thoughts. We also love AKL. This trip we were not able to get two rooms together as we have a friend going along with us that needed a studio of her own. So we will be at SS and OkW. We also enjoy OKW , not so much SS. Looking forward to your PTR. Sad we will miss you by 2or 3 days as we arrive on the 11 of October.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
But it was a great trip! Looking forward to your final thoughts!
I truly appreciate all of you following along as I retold our Disney adventures. I enjoy writing and it offers me an opportunity to remember the trip all over again, too. Keep watch for a PTR to arrive on the boards soon, probably not tomorrow though. 
]
Linear Mode
