Going north, south, east and west - LAS VEGAS - COMPLETE - Page 8 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
Just to play the tourguide for a moment...
The single-story reddish buildings to the left (with white roof) are the Las Vegas Premium Outlet (where you went to Disney, Cheryl?). The big buildings behind it are the World Furniture Mart and the red semi-circular buildings to the right are our County Govt. Center. The Govt Center has a beautiful outdoor ampitheater with frequent free shows - we saw Rockapella there in October.
The blimp in a later picture is advertising the opening of M, which is a hotel opening March 1 at the corner of LV Blvd and St. Rose Pkwy (just off of I-15). This blimp has been flying around Vegas for several months - it has a digital screen on the side, too.
The rides at Stratosphere:
Insanity - the one with 4 chairs that spins (looks like 4 prongs)
Ex-scream (X-Scream?) - the one with the guy who turned a bit green, it leans forward off the edge of the building like a teeter-totter
Big Shot - the one in the center, like Maliboomer in California Adventure.
The only one of those I'd be remotely convinced to try would be is the Big Shot, since you don't hang over the edge in any way. But I've never done any of them! They used to have a roller coaster (called the High Roller), but I guess it wasn't extreme enough so they got rid of it in favor of the Ex-scream and Insanity.
Cheryl, I love how well you learn a city when you visit! Many people don't realize that the Stratosphere, though located on Las Vegas Blvd, is not on The Strip (it runs from Sahara to Russell (Mandalay Bay). Did you know that The Strip is not technically located in Las Vegas (nor is the airport), the city proper?
Many people don't realize that the Stratosphere, though located on Las Vegas Blvd, is not on The Strip (it runs from Sahara to Russell (Mandalay Bay).
I didn't know that. My Insight Guide is several years old.
Quote:
Did you know that The Strip is not technically located in Las Vegas (nor is the airport), the city proper?
Now, that I did know.
__________________
ºOº ~*~
Oct '99: CSR ~ May '02: CR ~ Nov '04: SOG ~ May '06: SOG ~ Dec '07: Solo @ Pop ~ May '08: Pop w/friends ~ Oct '08: SOG ~ Dec '09: Pop w/LeAnn ~ Sept '10: Solo @ Pop ~ Spring '11: AKL ~ Jan '12: Pop for 1/2 Marathon ~ Sept '12: 1st trip for DL 1/2 Marathon? ~ Feb '13: Pop w/pals? ~ Mar '13: Tokyo Disney w/PP's?
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Just to play the tourguide for a moment...
The single-story reddish buildings to the left (with white roof) are the Las Vegas Premium Outlet (where you went to Disney, Cheryl?). The big buildings behind it are the World Furniture Mart and the red semi-circular buildings to the right are our County Govt. Center. The Govt Center has a beautiful outdoor ampitheater with frequent free shows - we saw Rockapella there in October.
The blimp in a later picture is advertising the opening of M, which is a hotel opening March 1 at the corner of LV Blvd and St. Rose Pkwy (just off of I-15). This blimp has been flying around Vegas for several months - it has a digital screen on the side, too.
The rides at Stratosphere:
Insanity - the one with 4 chairs that spins (looks like 4 prongs)
Ex-scream (X-Scream?) - the one with the guy who turned a bit green, it leans forward off the edge of the building like a teeter-totter
Big Shot - the one in the center, like Maliboomer in California Adventure.
The only one of those I'd be remotely convinced to try would be is the Big Shot, since you don't hang over the edge in any way. But I've never done any of them! They used to have a roller coaster (called the High Roller), but I guess it wasn't extreme enough so they got rid of it in favor of the Ex-scream and Insanity.
Cheryl, I love how well you learn a city when you visit! Many people don't realize that the Stratosphere, though located on Las Vegas Blvd, is not on The Strip (it runs from Sahara to Russell (Mandalay Bay). Did you know that The Strip is not technically located in Las Vegas (nor is the airport), the city proper?
Thanks for sharing that - that's really interesting, especially as that part didn't look that far away!
Thursday 30 October – part five: the best buffet in Vegas?
By now, our stomachs were calling us though. I knew it was bad when I told mark that the McDonald’s sign was calling me, but he was insistent that we stick to the original plan and go to the Wynn buffet, which was meant to be one of the best in Vegas and I’m glad he did insist on that, as people were right with what they say about it.
Some shots on the way to the Wynn
We waited about 20 minutes to get in there, but that wasn’t because it was busy, it was just how long it was taking everyone to pay and be seated. In Vegas, you pay as you enter the buffer, which is a sensible system.
Almost immediately, our server came to see us and she was very good, unlike last night’s one, who we had barely seen. She got a good tip, as she made sure to keep our drinks filled and cleared our plates away very promptly. Score one for the Wynn.
Then there was the food. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a huge selection of food in my life. With most buffets, you get two halves and usually each serves the same. Not here. It was all totally different on each side, with different sections such as Asian, shellfish, the grill and pizza. Just when you thought you had come to the end of it, then you found more. I waded my way as best I could through the salads, which were delicious and here, they had an incredible choice, which was a nice change. Then I headed for the shellfish and, even here, there were two sections, one with the cooked fish and shellfish salads and the other with the shrimp and Alaskan king crab legs. Then I had a very little bit of the Italian section and a couple of bits of sushi, but that was it, as I had to save space for dessert. And again, wow, what a selection they had with that as well. I ended up with the chocolate mousse, the apple pie and some coconut and pineapple ice cream, all of which was just wonderful.
Some of the food I sampled
We both said that we wishes we had more room to go back for more, but sadly we didn’t have that room. This was just such a good buffet and well worth every cent we paid for it. If you are in Vegas, definitely try this place, but do come hungry, as there’s a lot to eat.
Wynn buffet:
Food 10 10
Service 9½ 9½
Atmosphere 9½ 9½
Value for money 10 10
Average score: 9.75
We picked the car up from valet, which took longer than at the Stratosphere. Obviously they were a lot busier or didn’t have as good a system. I don’t know why you would ever self park in Vegas, as the valet parking is free, so it’s lovely to do that. There was a Ferrari garage opposite where we waited, so Mark went to eye up his new purchase…
We headed back to the room and watched a couple of shows with the fountains. This is something I don’t think I would ever tire of seeing and I like the variety of shows that they do. The only one that seems to be guaranteed at the same time every night is the national anthem that finishes the night’s entertainment at midnight.
We headed out just after 9.00 to head for our second Cirque du Soleil show, Love – their tribute to the Beatles. Our idea was to go to Bath and Body Works, but my goodness, we had forgotten how big this place was and the fact that there is just no other way out. We walked and walked and went up escalators that we didn’t need to take, which was frustrating. Eventually we realised that we just weren’t going to make the show in time if we carried on and so we turned back, although it was quite a hike back to the entrance into the Forum Shops. Fortunately, as soon as we made it to that entrance, the Mirage was right next door, so we made it with time spare and were able to get some drinks before we went in there.
We took our seats, which were pretty high up. As this wasn’t something that we were desperately keen on (neither of us are huge Beatles fans ), so I went for the lowest priced seats, right up on the top row. Actually, I’m glad we did. It didn’t detract from anything. We could still see everything and were better places for the aerial scenes in the show. We also got to see the whole of the Octopus Garden, where the boat they use becomes a ship on the waves, with the waves being a huge sheet pulled over the heads of the audience down below, so you wouldn’t have seen any of that from down there.
This wasn’t what I would call a traditional Cirque du Soleil show. It’s probably the best introduction to Cirque for anyone who hasn’t seen any of their shows before, as the music will be very familiar. There are fewer acts than you’d expect to see at a Cirque show, but the emphasis is more on dancing, which is very impressive and colourful in itself. Some of my favourites were the opening sequence that just blew me away, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and the finale, which was definitely full of flower power!
We both really enjoyed this show and more than we thought we would. It’s a lot of fun and it made me feel proud to be British, as there were a lot of references to the Beatles’ heritage, including the Union Flag as you walk in. All in all, I’m glad we went to see this show. It’s certainly not traditional Cirque, but all the same, it’s a lot of fun and well worth seeing.
We walked back to the hotel and then it was off to bed.
Today we walked 3.48 miles The weather today was hot and sunny with temperatures in the 80’s The best thing today was the Valley of Fire state park. The worst thing today was not getting to Death Valley for the second time. Today we tried the Wynn buffet And the result was it’s superb and better than the Bellagio. The most magical moment today was entering the Valley of Fire.
Yay, finally caught up on the last three updates. I love all your pics, as always, but especially the ones you took on the Stratosphere Tower. I, for one, would LOVE to go on that free fall tower up there - and the X-Scream thingy. I love thrill rides, and that's the ultimate! I'm still sad we didn't have time to get to the Stratosphere Tower when we were in Vegas in 2005.
Love those nighttime shots of the fountains! I'm glad that you enjoyed LOVE(it's Cirque, who wouldnt?)and I'm really glad to hear that the cheap seats were great!
Wow, with such an amazing view, I'm not sure I'd leave the hotel room! The Wynn buffet sounds terrific. I will have to try it when I return to Las Vegas. Glad you enjoyed LOVE.
__________________
Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
So, you prefer the Wynn buffet to Ballagio? Hmmm, we'll have to try it to compare the two.
Quote:
I don’t know why you would ever self park in Vegas, as the valet parking is free, so it’s lovely to do that.
I rarely valet park, because I can't stand waiting for my car afterwards. Especially going to a show, when you have hundreds of people all wanting their car at once!
One of the boys in LOVE (of the 4 young boys) goes to my kids' gym. His grandmother owns it and so he's there on his nights off - in fact, I'll most likely see him tonight! It's a trip knowing who all he's met doing this show and the fact that he performed on the Grammys when they did the Beatles tribute a couple years ago.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
The rides of the Stratosphere....................never in a million years. Not enough money minted to even make 2nd thoughts. 'course, you know me.....no thrill rides,ever!!! I'll stick with Small world and toy story mania....those are about as thrilling as I'll get!
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.
About This Page: 
Dreams, Wishes, Hopes... these are the parts of childhood we should never lose.
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
My Insight Guide is several years old.
ºOº ~*~ 
PassPorter Guide Author
), so I went for the lowest priced seats, right up on the top row. Actually, I’m glad we did. It didn’t detract from anything. We could still see everything and were better places for the aerial scenes in the show. We also got to see the whole of the Octopus Garden, where the boat they use becomes a ship on the waves, with the waves being a huge sheet pulled over the heads of the audience down below, so you wouldn’t have seen any of that from down there. 
Claytrgtshooter (Minnie Lor's Hubbie)
. Not enough money minted to even make 2nd thoughts. 'course, you know me.....no thrill rides,ever!!! I'll stick with Small world and toy story mania....those are about as thrilling as I'll get!
Linear Mode
