From no trip to celebrating 20 years together… planning it all in less than 100 days! UPDATED 6/30 - Page 78 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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
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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'm so glad that you got the room location that you requested! It does make you feel like Disney cares when they listen to the request. We thought they did a beautiful job at WL when we visited in May. We're thinking of trying to stay there for a night or two on our January trip and then move onto another resort closer to the other parks.
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Why would they email instead of text? That doesn't make any sense. Well, at least they were right and honored your request! Happy to hear all was quiet on the balcony too.
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From no trip to celebrating 20 years together… planning it all in less than 100 days! UPDATED 5/28
Boulder Ridge Villas is beautiful! I always seem to get the room location email too. I don't know why they can't just email AND text. How hard is that?
Makes much more sense to text with this then email you regarding the room being ready! Boulder Ridge looks quite nice as is your room with a nice view! I'm hoping to visit here on my October trip. Those bungalows will be something once they're done! I can't imagine them being quite as expensive as those at the Poly but they won't be cheap either.
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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!
Boulder Ridge Villas is beautiful! I always seem to get the room location email too. I don't know why they can't just email AND text. How hard is that?
Much as I love Disney, this is technology we're talking about, and heck, we all now how good Disney are with that!
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Makes much more sense to text with this then email you regarding the room being ready! Boulder Ridge looks quite nice as is your room with a nice view! I'm hoping to visit here on my October trip.
I can't wait to see photos from someone who either visits or stays there after everything's finished - I think it's all due to be done in mid-July from memory. I bet it will look amazing.
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Those bungalows will be something once they're done! I can't imagine them being quite as expensive as those at the Poly but they won't be cheap either.
I've already seen the points charts and they are not cheap! I'd love to have used some spare points for a stay there, but sadly those are now tied up in a transatlantic cruise next year...
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.
Friday 3 March – part eleven: it’s probably just as well he didn’t know what the meats were before he ordered!
We headed down to the lobby just before 6:00pm, having been told we needed to be there around 6:00pm “or as close after” to pick up our wristbands for the Moonlight Magic party for DVC Members at the Magic Kingdom, as apparently last week, they’d run out of wristbands, and people then had to pick them up from the park, where there were much longer lines, and apparently they had a few unhappy people, reading between the lines.
We got ours fine, and they appeared to still be handing them out around 8:00pm, when we’d finished dinner, so maybe they were better equipped this week.
We made our way over to Artist Point…
I was horrified at most people’s dress for this place. Now, unless I’m wrong, this is a signature restaurant, and therefore you make a bit more of an effort. I lost count of the number of people I saw in shorts, faded jeans, and tennis shoes, and the such like. To me, and I know I’ve said this before, so if you’ve previously read one of my trip reports, this probably won’t come as a shock to you, but if you’re going to a fine dining restaurant, please respect that, and make a bit of an effort. I know sometimes people do come straight from the parks, and I accept that, but this many people? I know the dress code isn’t that strict, but we made an effort and I wore a dress because I thought it would be appropriate to do so, and I felt so out of place as a result, which frankly was just depressing.
I think unfortunately we should have realised something from the style of dress we saw when we arrived in terms of the market Artist Point is aiming at these days. I’ll leave that thought with you for one moment…
Anyway, we were presented with a beautiful table right by one of the windows, which had a lovely view outside…
For those who haven’t been here before, this is a cavernous restaurant with massive high ceilings, and I really love the feel of the place.
We were soon introduced to the wonderful Katy, who really knew every inch of the menu, and frankly she struck me as a perfect server for a signature restaurant. She took really good care of us, and literally we would take a sip of our water, and she’d be over to refill it. I don’t doubt part of that was because the restaurant was deserted early on – it did fill up later – but she was an absolute gem, and got a very good tip for her work.
Anyway, on to the food and wine. We ended up opting for a bottle of sweet Riesling. I hadn’t spotted it on the menu, I spotted the Washington white wine flight first, which included that on it, then Katy suggested maybe we should just go for that, and we ended up with a bottle, after she said we could take anything left back to our room. We both had what we thought were a couple of glasses each, but it was like the magic never ending bottle (and we like those! ) as when we got back to the room, we figured there were probably another couple of glasses worth to come out of it.
We started off the meal with bread, which was superb. There is something about the salted butter you guys over here that makes everything taste so much better.
We explained we were on the Deluxe Dining Plan, but there were no restrictions at all on what we could order, which was good. After hearing that some people come here just to sample the smoked mushroom bisque with crispy foraged oyster mushrooms, nasturtium oil and fresh herbs, I was sold and went for that. I have to say it was delicious, but very rich, and I’m glad Katy warned me that I might think it was bacon, but actually it wasn’t, it was the smoked taste, as otherwise I would’ve thought I’d been served up with bacon.
Mark went for the handcrafted charcuterie, made up of butchers’ meats, marinated olives, mustards, preserves, and artisan bread. Now Mark had no idea what the meats were until Katy bought out a board containing the details. Apparently that’s because it changes daily, but I strongly suspect if he’d seen these before ordering, he might have made a different choice…
The options were:
Rabbit rillettes, a traditional French confit of free range rabbit
Venison sausage using wild venison, accentuated with notes of thyme, rosemary, and floral peppercorns
Cheshire spalla cottta, which originated in Italy, here it uses Berkshire hog hand-trimmed and rubbed liberally with salt and spices before curing
Berkshire prosciutto, a 16-month-aged ham, where hind legs of handpicked hogs are cured and air dried (as a non-meat eater, typing that up honestly nearly made me sick )
Heritage hog terrine, a country-style pate that uses Cheshire hogs and sweet breads accentuated with notes of mace, anise, and clove
Anyway, he was very game, and gave it a go. As he said, if you’re on the Dining Plan, and it’s been pre-paid, what have you got to lose, but I think it’s fair to say that he didn’t really like what was on offer, which was a shame, but at least we weren’t paying out of pocket for it.
Oh my gosh!! You are really making me feel like I made the right choice in staying here in November!! The WL is simply beautiful!! We are also planning a meal at Artist Point so I am excited to hear about the rest of yours !!
P.S. I will totally get dressed up for all of my fine dining meals!!
Great photos of the WL. Last time I was there was 2005.
I'm planning on wearing a dress when I go to the California Grill, on June 16. I have a 9:30 reservation. So looking forward to seeing the fireworks from there.
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We thought they did a beautiful job at WL when we visited in May. We're thinking of trying to stay there for a night or two on our January trip and then move onto another resort closer to the other parks.
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Happy to hear all was quiet on the balcony too.
PassPorter Guide Author
Boulder Ridge looks quite nice as is your room with a nice view! 
I can't imagine them being quite as expensive as those at the Poly but they won't be cheap either.
I bet it will look amazing. 
) as when we got back to the room, we figured there were probably another couple of glasses worth to come out of it. 
You are really making me feel like I made the right choice in staying here in November!!
The WL is simply beautiful!! We are also planning a meal at Artist Point so I am excited to hear about the rest of yours !!
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