How will we ever use 42 snack credits? A Free Dining trip report - UPDATED 11/5 - Page 7 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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Just found your TR and have gotten caught up! What a magical first night you had at Chef Mickey's! So sorry you don't have the pictures and video to help relive that memory over and over again, but like your BFF said, at least you only lost that one day of pictures! And, you're right, no one can take away your vivid memories. So excited to see that Vidia is now at Pixie Hollow! I can't wait to read more!
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.
I'm so glad your little one got to meet Vidia! Although I must admit that with my DD's being older I've no clue who any of the fairies aside from Tink are. Lunch at LTT sounds yummy, we've never been there, but it's on our list for some day!
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Before our lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern, I ran over to Adventureland to ask about getting DS and his wheelchair onto one of my very favorite attractions: Jungle Cruise! First, I grabbed FPs for all of us, then I found a skipper. (I should have asked first; I didn’t end up needing the FPs!) I asked about the procedure for loading a wheelchair onto a JC boat. Here’s what I learned:
If you have a member of your party in a wheelchair, you have a special queue all to yourself, and you do not need a FP. To get to the h/c queue, you have to go past the steps leading to the attraction, toward the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. Here, there’s a gently sloping ramp down into the attraction area. Then you go all the way over to the left, past the FP machines. There are several skippers hanging around this area, and they will direct you and your party to your very own line. When the h/c accessible boat comes along, you and your party can theoretically hop right on!
I thanked Skipper David, who I remembered from a past trip as one of the funniest skippers ever, and headed back to meet my family for lunch. Since I didn’t need the FPs, I looked for someone to give them to. There was a couple waiting at the end of the standby line, so I was able to give two away, but after that you would have thought I was trying to pull something over on some of these people, judging by the reactions I got from them! Finally, I was able to give them to a family of 3, and they were so grateful, and they thanked me in really cool Irish accents!
After our wonderful lunch at LTT, but before everybody was completely ready to go, I ran over to Frontierland and picked up FPs for BTMRR. Once we were all back together again, we headed to the Jungle Cruise. We ended up waiting quite a while for the accessible boat to come along, but one of the skippers gave the kids “Guest Skipper” cards while we waited. Finally, the boat came along and they were able to load DS using a really cool contraption. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures, because it would be really hard to explain it.
Dh and I have been on this attraction many times, and I like it more and more each time. However, this was the kids’ first ride, and we really didn’t have the best skipper. I don’t even remember the name, or if it was a male or a female. The other disappointing thing was that DS was directly facing the skipper, so he really couldn’t see all the cool stuff on each side of the boat. The jokes were just as corny, though, and the girls loved hearing them in person after listening to me say them for so long! Overall, the kids didn’t really know any better, so they were happy to have finally ridden Mom's favorite!
After our river cruise, we were hot and tired and ready for a break. Break time was a little later than I’d hoped, but we really needed it, so we headed out about 2:00. We were fortunate enough to see the Dapper Dans on our way down Main Street. These guys are celebrities to us, since DH and DS love barbershop music. We actually knew two of the guys, and talked with them for a bit after listening to their set.
We left around 2:25 and were on the bus to Pop at 2:50.
Our break lasted from 3 – 6, and then we were ready for more park time! On our way in, the girls saw hula hoops lying all over Town Square, and they had to get in on the action! DD9 is particularly good at hula hooping, so she was thrilled! We let them hoop it up for a few minutes, but we had hopes of getting on Space Mountain this evening, so we didn’t stay long. We did stop long enough for DD5 to spend a little of her money on a bubble blower from one of the street carts. On our trip together last December, she was entertained by another little girl blowing bubbles in her direction as I was taking pictures of this or that. She’d been wanting one of her own ever since!
What happened next was so funny! Lou Mongello is always telling us on his WDW Radio show to look down, look up, don’t miss all the cool details as you run to get on the next attraction. Well, who should we run into as we rushed to Space Mountain? The man himself! I was way ahead, taking the shortcut through Tomorrowland Terrace, pushing the stroller and leaving DH and DS behind in my dust, when all of a sudden I heard DH calling my name. I stopped to see what he could possibly want that would be more important than Space Mountain, and I heard him say, “Lou! LOU!!!” I turned around and headed back in their direction with what must have been a sheepish look on my face. Busted!!!
We’d met Lou in January over marathon weekend. His meet-of-the-month was one of the highlights of the trip for us. He was here doing video promos for the new Liberty Square audio guide. Disney Shopping | WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello (Just purchased that one today!) He said its release had been delayed, but when it came out, we would know why it had been delayed, and it would be worth it! As it turned out, he released a surprise audio guide for Toon Town at the same time. We chatted for a little while, but we both had places to get to, so our conversation didn’t last very long. We told him we might see him at one of the two meets that he was having this weekend, and said good-bye.
There weren’t any FPs left for Space Mountain, so grabbed one for Buzz Lightyear and did our other Tomorrowland favorites instead. First up was DH’s favorite, Carousel of Progress. (My phone plays “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” when DH calls!), and next DH took the girls on one of DD5’s faves, Tomorrowland Transit Authority. This attraction is not h/c accessible, so I gave DS a drink via his feeding tube while we waited near the exit. We used our FPs for Buzz next, and we were all able to ride together, since DS can stay in his chair for this one. I’m not a fan of video games, and while this is not my favorite attraction, it was our first time riding all together, so I was happy.
Our plan was to head to Liberty Square to get a spot in the wheelchair-only parade viewing area. We were so excited about seeing the Main Street Electrical Parade! It was a favorite of mine since my very first visit to Walt Disney World in 1980, and I couldn’t wait to share it with my kids! We found a great spot, and DD5 and the boys stayed put while the big girls and I took off to Pecos Bill’s to get some carryout. I used the self-serve kiosks to place our orders, which worked out just fine. While we were waiting for our food, I heard a very disappointing sound: rain! Pouring rain! I was so concerned about DH back in Liberty Square with both the wheelchair and the stroller! DS hates rain in his face and it often causes him to gag and even vomit. I deposited the girls at a table, told them to stay put, and ran to help DH with the other two.
I was relieved to see that he had complete control of the situation. We’d packed ponchos, and he had both kids covered up when I arrived on the scene. We hurried back through the rain to find the girls still seated, right where I’d left them. The first time, I’d only ordered enough food for us all to split, so while DH got the kids settled and fairly dry, I ordered some more food at the kiosks. We hunkered down to eat and wait out the storm, knowing that there was no way they’d run the parade in this weather.
After we finished eating, we tried to catch the 9:30 show at the Hall of Presidents, but we were too late. Instead, the boys took shelter in Pinocchio’s Village House while the girls and I used the Peter Pan FPs from the morning. (PP is another non-wheelchair accessible attraction.) We found out that the fireworks were going to go ahead as planned, but we decided to head out and catch them another night. We caught the bus at 10:25 and poor DD5 fell asleep on the way back to Pop! Even with the break, it had been a pretty tiring day.
Since we’d missed MSEP, I had to do some scrambling to figure out when we’d be able to fit it in. We were planning on two more MK days, but the parade was not running on either of those nights, and we did not have Park Hoppers. Would we be able to see it?
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Last edited by mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince; 11-05-2010 at 09:46 PM..
What a great day (at least up to the rain). Sorry that you missed the parade but knowing your wonderful "planning" I am sure that you figured out a way to fit it in later in the trip. Glad that everyone enjoyed your "favorite" ride. Can't wait to hear more.
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.
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.
All caught up now. Can't wait to see if you were able to see the MSEP. Sounds like you are having a great time so far. I feel so bad about your memory card. I can't believe someone would do that.
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So sorry you don't have the pictures and video to help relive that memory over and over again, but like your BFF said, at least you only lost that one day of pictures! And, you're right, no one can take away your vivid memories. So excited to see that Vidia is now at Pixie Hollow! 
I can't wait to read more!
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Thank
Pixie Dust
Lunch at LTT sounds yummy, we've never been there, but it's on our list for some day!
Liz 
I asked about the procedure for loading a wheelchair onto a JC boat. Here’s what I learned:
Finally, I was able to give them to a family of 3, and they were so grateful, and they thanked me in really cool Irish accents!
The other disappointing thing was that DS was directly facing the skipper, so he really couldn’t see all the cool stuff on each side of the boat. The jokes were just as corny, though, and the girls loved hearing them in person after listening to me say them for so long! Overall, the kids didn’t really know any better, so they were happy to have finally ridden Mom's favorite!
We let them hoop it up for a few minutes, but we had hopes of getting on Space Mountain this evening, so we didn’t stay long. We did stop long enough for DD5 to spend a little of her money on a bubble blower from one of the street carts. On our trip together last December, she was entertained by another little girl blowing bubbles in her direction as I was taking pictures of this or that. She’d been wanting one of her own ever since!
I was way ahead, taking the shortcut through Tomorrowland Terrace, pushing the stroller and leaving DH and DS behind in my dust, when all of a sudden I heard DH calling my name. I stopped to see what he could possibly want that would be more important than Space Mountain, and I heard him say, “Lou! LOU!!!” I turned around and headed back in their direction with what must have been a sheepish look on my face. Busted!!!
He was here doing video promos for the new Liberty Square audio guide. 
It was a favorite of mine since my very first visit to Walt Disney World in 1980, and I couldn’t wait to share it with my kids! We found a great spot, and DD5 and the boys stayed put while the big girls and I took off to Pecos Bill’s to get some carryout. I used the self-serve kiosks to place our orders, which worked out just fine. While we were waiting for our food, I heard a very disappointing sound: rain!
Pouring rain!
I was so concerned about DH back in Liberty Square with both the wheelchair and the stroller! DS hates rain in his face and it often causes him to gag and even vomit.
We’d packed ponchos, and he had both kids covered up when I arrived on the scene. We hurried back through the rain to find the girls still seated, right where I’d left them. The first time, I’d only ordered enough food for us all to split, so while DH got the kids settled and fairly dry, I ordered some more food at the kiosks. We hunkered down to eat and wait out the storm, knowing that there was no way they’d run the parade in this weather. 
Even with the break, it had been a pretty tiring day.
PassPorter Guide Author
Cassie
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