A Dream That Came True! The First Timers TR - COMPLETED 9/10 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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Great update! Sounds like Scottie is having a wonderful birthday at MK. I love that he was chosen to be an apprentice pirate! That's really cool!
Thanks! He loves that certificate lol, he has shown it to everyone we know!
Quote:
Originally Posted by islandgirl
What a great day so far!! Looks like Scottie was really enjoying all the pirate stuff! The Dole Whip looks sooo yummy.....we are hoping to try one! Great update & pictures!!!
Oh....did you get wet on SM??? I'm trying to decide if I'm going to ride or not next month.
You have got to get a Dole Whip! We only got slightly wet on SM, not bad at all. Although we were toward the back and the people up front got a bit wetter lol.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Disney4us2
Love the Dole Whips. We ate one for breakfast one day.. Sounds like a great day at MK.
They really are yummy! I meant to get a float before we came home, but forgot to!
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Originally Posted by disneyfreeeak
sounds like a great day at MK! glad you liked the dole whip
I loved it! Next time, I want a float for sure!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lazanya
Just catching up! What a great time you are having!
We really did have a fantastic time!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Great time at MK so far! Scottie got some very neat PoTC souvenirs; the certificate is very ! So nice of the CM to share the artifacts with him. I'll be looking for these when we got back in June.
They are way up high on shelves on opposite sides of the store. Scottie loved the fact that we got pictures of them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by countrykid
Great update! What a wonderful MK day so far! I love the castle picture it is just beautiful! All your pictures are great! We ended up with a bunch of pictures with our eyes squinted because of the sun. In fact my son looks funny in most of the daytime pictures. Lol ya have to get a laugh out of it! We had Dole floats for the first time on our last visit they were amazing! I think I will crave them forever now! I love that the cast member took Scottie around & showed him all the cool pirate stuff! I never knew any of that was there….ya better bet if I get to go again I am looking’ for that stuff! We seen the Pirate show too…& we all got called up on stage to take the oath! I am glad Scottie got to do that too! I am on the edge of my seat can’t wait to read more!!
Hang on to that seat! More is coming lol. Scottie loved the pirate tutorial and I must say I did too!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
What a fun day you're having!
Yes, we are!! And we had so much more!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Disdadnmi
My guess is he's realizing the day's half gone and he's gotten nowhere near to a meeting with Cinderella!
Brent
Good guess Brent! lol but not right! Scottie was not really into meeting the Princesses, but that changed at the Christmas party and now he's as smitten as you are!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Another great update from MK! Love the pictures!
Thank you! More coming soon!
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneydreamer33
Whew! I am all caught up! I am so excited for you as I read along. I remember my first trip (2005, I was 32!) and how excited I was. I was probably more excited than my girls.
I am loving reading your trip details. Keep them coming!
Thanks for following! It is so magical when you first experience Disney World.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jessie092408
All caught up again! I really want to see the Pirate Tutorial. I wish I was young enough to get chosen, I totally want one of those certificates. Maybe if I smile really nicely...Lol, just kidding. Anyway. Scottie seems to be having an amazing time, and you as well. Can't wait to find out why Scottie took off like that!
I am buying him a special frame for his certificate, it's pirate themed. It really was special to watch his face light up with excitement!
Quote:
Originally Posted by countrykid
I’m in my 30’s & I got picked to do the Pirate Tutorial. There were other adults up there with me too. Just stay positive you'll get picked!!
Yeah, we saw a couple of adults get in line with Scottie too!
Quote:
Originally Posted by smilechaser
OH MY! How DID this happen! LOL
Brent has our trip scheduled so we see Cindy EVERY day! Isn't he a Prince?!?
You know what I think? I think those men who can show that they're smitten with a Princess will treat their wives like Queens!
Quote:
Originally Posted by PamelaK
Sounds like Scottie is having an amazing birthday.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Sounds like a lot of fun is being had at Magic Kingdom! How cool that Scottie was chosen to take part in the Pirate Tutorial with Captain Jack!!
Scottie really had a wonderful birthday, I don't think he'll ever forget it!
When we were planning our trip I noticed Scottie didn't seem all that enthusiastic about meeting characters, however once we got there it was a whole different story. In fact, he became so obsessed with meeting characters that at times he would rush off, autograph book in hand, to try and catch a character. This time, he had seen none other than Frontier Donald Duck! When I realized what he was doing I jumped up to grab a picture or two.
After that we decided to head over and see the Hall of Presidents, which was awesome! It was such a neat way to see our countries history, and even Scottie was enthralled in the show. Next stop, Haunted Mansion! We loved the theming throughout the ride, although I did have to convince Scottie to get on it lol. This was a 20 minute wait but we didn't mind, there was so much to look at. Finally we head to Fantasyland, where we began noticing longer wait times. Of course, it was around 1:30pm and the park was getting a bit more crowded. We really wanted to ride Peter Pan's Flight, but the wait time was 60 minutes!! So we settled for It's A Small World which was only a 20 minute wait. We got a front row seat and off we went. Scottie loved this ride, he was constantly turning this way and that to soak it all in. I must admit, with the music playing and the dancing dolls, it was such a cool ride! After, we headed for Winnie the Pooh's Grand Adventure, but the wait time was 55 minutes, so we decided instead to do Mickey's Philharmagic. I really can't do 3D much because I get headaches, but Scottie really enjoyed this show and so did I. His favorite part was when Donald goes crashing through the back wall lol, he laughed so hard at that.
By now, it's getting close to time for Scottie's Big Birthday Surprise, so we head toward the hub. We get there just in time to catch the start of the Celebrate A Dream Parade. Unfortunately we couldn't stop to watch because we had somewhere special to be by 3:30! If you followed my PTR, you know that Scottie really wanted to go to the Crystal Palace and I was unable to get an ADR. UNTIL the week before we left!!! Scottie had no idea that he was going to get to eat there after all, so when we went up the stairs to check in he squealed so loud and smiled so big that people nearby were laughing.
Me: "You do still want to eat here right?"
Scottie: "Are you SERIOUS?? We really get to eat here?"
Me: "Yes boo bear (my pet name for him lol), Happy Birthday!"
Scottie: "You are the best mom ever!!"
Lol! By the time this was over, we had everyone around us smiling and laughing at his reactions.
We both really enjoyed Crystal Palace, although it was quite loud. We were led to our table, which had mickey mouse confetti on it! Our server was super! That might have had something to do with the fact that his name was Scott!! The food was good for a buffet style. I was really impressed with the choices. I can't remember what it was all called, but it was delicious.
The desserts, now those I remember! LoL I got a bit of everything and me and scottie shared. There was, banana bread pudding, key lime pie, coconut flan, lemon-blueberry tartlettes, carrot cake and new york cheesecake.
Can you say Yum! The only depressing part was the key lime pie (we LOVE key lime pie!) was not up to our standards. Everything else was so good.
And of course, the character interaction is fantastic! First up was Pooh!! I had been waiting for this picture all day!
Then there was Eeyore, who loved my shirt lol!
Next up was a very playful Piglet.
Here comes Tigger!
Then our special server (Scott) brought a special birthday cupcake and a birthday card signed by all four characters!! He also fixed Scottie a special cup of hot chocolate in a to-go cup!
As we left, I noticed my feet were really hurting worse and scottie said he needed a break, so we decided to head back to the resort for a bit. On the way back down Main Street, we stopped in several shops looking for me some Crocs. I thought that they might be what I needed to help my feet. Everywhere we went, they were out of my size! I gave up and we headed to the buses and back to the resort. At the resort, we headed to Old Port Royale with our refillable mugs. We picked up our photo from Rock N' Roller Coaster, which I had had sent to the resort the previous day, and I checked the gift shop for Crocs one last time. Again, I didn't see my size. I did see some postcards I liked and thought I might use for our scrapbook, so I went to the checkout. The cashier was so friendly and asked if I found everything I wanted, to which I replied "everything but crocs in my size" and laughed. Next thing I know, she is on her walkie asking someone to double check the back stock. Within a couple of minutes a young girl comes up and hands her the Crocs in my size!!! I was so ecstatic! Not only that, but since we had been talking and I had mentioned I was going to be scrapbooking our trip, she threw in the bag several different unloaded gift cards that she thought I might be able to use as well! I got back to the room and called the front desk to commend her immediately! Meanwhile, Scottie decides he wants to check out the arcade while I rest a bit. After he leaves, I decide to soak in a hot bath, when I discover something not good at all....
Congrat on the Crocs! And and wonderful meal at CP! I just love it--I had my birthday breakfast there this year! I'm a little worried about the next post, so don't leave me hanging! Something not good at all sounds not good at all!
You should do suspense Writing! Always leave us Hanging! Scottie does have a great mom to suprise him like that. And I love that you called to complement the cm. I'm sure it was greatly appreciated.
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Awesome meal and character interaction at CP! This is one of Stefanie's favorite character meals! And I think we might have even had Scott as a server, too! Congrats on getting the Crocs! My Croc Disney flip flops are so comfortable! You are so good at the suspenseful set ups for the next update.
Again, with the cliffhangers! You always leave us wanting more! Hurry back! My arms will get tired of you leave me hanging too long! (Okay, boooooo, I know, horrible joke! )
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! So nice of the CM to share the artifacts with him. I'll be looking for these when we got back in June. 
Lol ya have to get a laugh out of it! We had Dole floats for the first time on our last visit they were amazing!
I think I will crave them forever now!
I love that the cast member took Scottie around & showed him all the cool pirate stuff! 
I am glad Scottie got to do that too! I am on the edge of my seat can’t wait to read more!!
Isn't he a Prince?!?
TinkBrat
PassPorter Guide Author
And what great service on the Crocs! 
My Croc Disney flip flops are so comfortable! You are so good at the suspenseful set ups for the next update.
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