2017: The Year of All the Disney Trips - Page 6 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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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
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.
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So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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hello all. sorry for the long pause. here's the short version of my travel woes. actual TR coming soon:
-i made it to orlando. my flight was scheduled to take off at 3:50pm. it took off at 11:30pm and i made it to the dolphin by 2:40am on sunday morning. it was not a good day.
-mom's flight was cancelled and they couldn't re book her until 2.5 days later. she arrived on tuesday afternoon.
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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!
Hello, just read up to date with your plans. That's awful about the flight delays for you and your mum. Hope it all gets better. Looking forward to reading more.
alrighty! i'm back and i have actual time in my schedule this week, so i'm going to continue with the PTR from my last trip.
because i've done so many overly detailed TRs and PTRs, i'm going to make this one rather short and to the point. thus, i'm organizing it like this:
a disney trip in three parts
part 1: solo because snow
part 2: mother daughter trip
part 3: husband and wife weekend
i feel like this makes the most sense, as the trip really was three different trips in one. heck, i stayed at four resorts. so shortening it to three parts is already summarizing.
i will then close with two conclusions:
conclusion 1: things i was surprised i did NOT like
conclusion 2: things i was surprised i DID like
let's get started, shall we?
part 1: solo because snow
since i finally checked in to the dolphin at 2:40am, i allowed myself to sleep in a bit on sunday morning . i feel that's fair. i spent a bit of time out on the balcony enjoying the sunshine and watching the marathoners, who i could clearly see from my balcony. but i couldn't linger too long because i had to go out into the world to find breakfast. you know, because i hadn't eaten since the free guacamole i had in the club lounge at PHL around 2pm the previous day.
i checked out of the dolphin at around 10:30am (that had to be the shortest stay there EVER) and made my way over to the boardwalk to drop off my bags. i had to cross the marathon route, which was thankfully possible, even while wheeling a carry on bag. i dropped my stuff off with bell services at the boardwalk and continued on my way to epcot. the route was altered because of the marathon, so i ended up stopping for a while and cheering random people on simply because i could.
breakfast had to happen by this point; it didn't even matter what i ate, i had to eat something or i feared i would stop being able to walk. so i went to the first place that served food--les halles in france. feeling rushed to order, i picked the first savory thing i saw on the menu--the tarte au fromage--and it was absolutely terrible. but, unlike me, i ate at least half of it because i had to.
oh, and also unlike me--i ate it inside. because i tried to eat outside but there's something i failed to mention--it was FREEZING. like 35 degrees and windy. so that wasn't an option. i was also wearing EVERYTHING I BROUGHT WITH ME. brrr!
i spent the rest of the morning walking around world showcase learning how to use my gopro. i don't recall if i ventured into futureworld--i don't think i did? and then i made my way back to the boardwalk to get some work done because epcot was the end point of the marathon and thus it was PACKED.
after spending the afternoon relaxing at the resort--in a one bedroom villa which was definitely ridiculously huge for one person but mom was still trapped in PA so it was all mine--i headed back to epcot for my one fastpass of the day, frozen ever after. the plan was then to meet up with heather and have dinner in morocco.
but.
after my frozen FP, heather texted me that she was off of work and headed in my direction. when i mentioned that i was standing in line at cava de tequila just to get out of the cold and because it didn't matter where i was in epcot, there were lines EVERYWHERE, she asked how quickly i could be back at the boardwalk. i said seven minutes, got out of line, and jogged back. she was waiting in the valet area and whisked me away to an off property sushi bar for dinner, which was very much welcome in light of the INSANE CROWDS at epcot that night.
after sushi we parked back at the boardwalk and had a drink at the abracadabar before heather headed home for the evening and i went to bed, all alone in my giant one bedroom villa.
and then i checked OUT of my giant one bedroom villa because one night stays are how we roll, apparently. i took my stuff back to bell services (they spent more time with my stuff than i did at this point) and returned once again to epcot, where i had a soarin fastpass for 10am. i sincerely do not recall what else i did in epcot that morning. let's see if looking at photos i posted on facebook help...
ah yes. after soarin' i again needed breakfast/lunch and again went to the closest place i could find. which was mexico. i had nachos. they were only ok, but they were HUGE. seriously, a family of four could eat these nachos. and then i believe i walked around and tried to watch all of the movies in world showcase, but the one in china wasn't playing so the only one i did was the canada one, which i still love. and i bought a piece of caramel from the shop in germany which i squished in my bag and attempted to have for breakfast the next day except it wasn't very good (too chewy, not enough flavor. i ordered poorly.)
and then i took the monorial to the TTC and continued on past the floridian--where i probably should have gone--and on to the magic kingdom. it was around 2:30pm. the magic kingdom was oddly both crowded and not crowded. you see, it wasn't like there were excessive waits for rides. but all i wanted was something to drink--anything to drink, warm water would have worked at that point--and all of the lines for anywhere with food were UNBELIEVABLE. like even little carts selling popsicles were out of control. so i left, and took the boat back to the floridian. which was a good idea. because when you get off the boat, you first pass by the main pool area. which has a bar. which serves drinks. which i ordered. one pretty fruity mixed (alcoholic) drink and one large glass of ICE WATER, which i inhaled. the water, not the alcoholic one.
and then, as it was after 4pm, i went in to figure out why i'd not received my check in text yet. as it turns out, i arrived to the lobby of the floridian right around the time when cinderella and prince charming lead some kind of adorable waltz with all of the kids (and adults) present. it was adorable.
it turns out that my room had been ready for quite some time, but that for some reason the computer didn't text me. they gave me my room number and i walked over to the villas to retrieve my stuff from bell services once again, which was super easy. the service at the floridian is amazing.
i believe i had plans to try to have dinner at citricos that night, but heather texted me with a better idea. which i will share in a moment.
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Nice start to your day even with the late check in at the Dolphin. Sounds like you and Heather had a good time at the sushi bar. What is the name of it? Too bad about the crowds in the MK for the food lines!
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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!
Great start to your TR. Sorry it was such a trial getting there and so chilly, too!
Thanks for cheering on the random strangers--it's always a nice boost to see a friendly face!
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What is the name of it? Too bad about the crowds in the MK for the food lines! 
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