Thank You Doctors!!! - A Thanksgiving TR - Page 9 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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After a nice, warm ride in the Friendship to Hollywood Studios, we started to make out way back to 50s Prime Time Cafe. We slowed down to watch some street performers since we had the time. However, I was getting hungry. (Thanks for that use of smileys, Ashii ).
We got back to the restaurant and DD kept asking why the TVs weren't in color. She was also amused that our server was also named Tim. Tim was a great server and even let us participate in the ribbing of the other tables for their poor manners. Our manners on the other hand were perfect.
I got Aunt Liz's Fried Chicken, my wife got A Sampling of Mom's Favorite Recipes, DD got Chicken Noodle Soup along with Mac and Cheese. Let me just say, the chicken was to DIE FOR!!!! The breading was not too heavy and the chicken was not too oily. It was perfect. I could eat this chicken everyday. (I'd be 50 pounds heavier after a year but I could eat it.) My wife even ate the fried chicken on her plate and she is not a big fried chicken fan. She loved the pot roast and meatloaf. While, DD never met a chicken noodle soup and Mac and Cheese that she didn't like. We barely had room for our desserts of cheesecake and s'mores.
Now that we were well fed, we went back out to the park and still waited for the sun to come out. The weather forecast when we left the room in the morning called for morning clouds breaking for afternoon sun and a high around 70. However, it was now 2pm and the clouds hadn't broken and the temperature had barely cracked 60. Since we were dressed for warmer weather, DD and I were both in shorts. I believe my wife was in pants but she could have worn shorts - I can't remember. Anyway, we were starting to get chilly when we outside for long periods of time.
We decided to "warm up" by going to see the Disney Jr. show which is always a DD favorite though we don't know for how much longer. She's seven now and doesn't watch many of the Disney cartoons anymore, though, maybe the addition of Sofia the First and Doc McStuffin's may stretch it out one more visit. After the show, we walked back across the park and were able to get a good vantage point for the Jedi Training Academy. I pulled up a table next to the show while my wife and DD stood and watched. My feet were sore and I needed to take a rest and standing was really bothering me. My wife armed with the camera was able to get some pictures of the show.
Jedi Training Academy
Next, we made our way back to the center of the park and DD participated in the Disney Rocks show while I got fastpasses for the Little Mermaid show and popcorn. Getting popcorn was fun because I got to be the unfiltered voice for the cast members at the popcorn booth. There was a long order which caused the line to grow behind me. Then the next person raised a stink about not been able to get the large plastic tubs of popcorn refilled before deciding to get three boxes of popcorn and demanded the cast member refill the tubs that way. I step in and said, "NO!! You are going to get the boxes of the popcorn. Pay for the boxes of popcorn. Put one box of popcorn in each tub. Step out of the line and fill them yourself to keep the line moving." The line applauded my efforts and the gentleman moved out the line after getting his boxes of popcorn.
DD at Disney Rocks
After Disney Rocks, we were starting to get cold since sun was "setting" and night was coming. We went shopping for warmer clothes while we waited for our Little Mermaid show window opened up. We got warmer clothes and then went to watch the Little Mermaid.
My wife, during the trip, discovered a "burst" setting on our camera which take almost a "frame-by-frame" shot over a short period of time. She got a great "frame-by-frame" shot of Aurora transforming from mermaid to person. There are 15 pictures in the transformation.
With the show over, we went back to catch the start of the Osborne Light show for the evening. And that means even more pictures.
Osborne Lights
With our time at the Osborne Lights over, it was time to leave Hollywood Studios and head back for our second visit to EPCOT on the day.
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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.
DAY 4 - EPCOT (Part 2) - 4th PARK VISIT ON THE DAY
Waiting for the Friendship to EPCOT:
We headed back to EPCOT for dinner and one thing...Illuminations. My wife loves Illuminations and it was part of our original plan. Ah yes, the original plan...The Original Plan had us having a nice relaxing day bouncing between EPCOT and Hollywood Studios.
However, those plans were thrown out window first thing in the morning when DD wanted to go back to Animal Kingdom to see the safari animals again. The weather "co-operated" by not having the sun come out and keeping the temperature in the high 50s/low 60s instead of the forecast low 70s and sun. That lack of sun helped us. We didn't get tired and overly thirsty in the afternoon and need our typical afternoon break. We pushed through the afternoon and now we added a stop in Magic Kingdom after Immuminations.
But now, our thoughts were on dinner. We arrived in EPCOT a little later in the evening than we had wanted - thanks to just missing the Friendship. So, we split up for dinner. My job was to grab Fish and Chips from UK and then set up camp for Illuminations. My wife and daughter went over to The American Experience where we knew we could find something that our daughter would eat.
I got my food and just missed getting a table in the side seating area next to the Yorkshire County Fish Shop. So, I adapted quickly and found a spot in the center of the bridge over "The English Channel" between England and France. I spent the time eating my dinner, talking with another family all while playing goalie over the space that I had carved out on the bridge. People did try to claim the space next to me but the family that I was chatting with put one of their kids with blanket on the other side of me to keep to the space for my wife and daughter.
My wife and daughter got back about 10 minutes before the show was supposed to start. I spent those 10 minutes talking with them before I peeled out and went to the gift shop at the International Gateway. I'm not a big fireworks person so I got out of the way of those people who enjoy fireworks. Watching Wishes from inside The Top of the World lounge is good enough for me.
Illuminations
After Illuminations, we had a plan to get to Magic Kingdom that many people here would have thought of but not many people in general would think of. The plan was NOT to battle to the front of the park to get on the monorail and waste time in the process. The plan was to high-tail it to Yacht Club/Beach Club and get on the bus to Magic Kingdom. We timed it perfectly as the bus to Magic Kingdom was pulling up as we were about 300 feet from the bus stop. I sprinted ahead to hold the bus since there was no one waiting for the bus and was able to get on and told the driver wait for my wife and daughter who were behind me. And with that, we were off to the Magic Kingdom.
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This was the first time we tried something this ambitious. It was all dependent on DD's mood which can turn from happy to crappy in a heartbeat. She never wavered once and got through the day without a hitch, meltdown, or anything else negative. Our secret...a constant stream of snacks/popcorn.
The weather helped a bunch too with zero sun to wear us out.
Kinda unrelated to this trip report but we just booked our plane tickets for our Disney trip at the end of the September. $672.60 total for the three of us to fly from Newark to Orlando.
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(Thanks for that use of smileys, Ashii 
). 
She was also amused that our server was also named Tim. Tim was a great server and even let us participate in the ribbing of the other tables for their poor manners. Our manners on the other hand were perfect. 
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You have more staying power than us! 
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