My "first" trip to WDW!! (1/25-2/1) - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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 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.
I love your TR. When I went to Disney after graduating HS with my best friend at the time we did the flag thing as well. However I am really thinking that I did get a china flag but there was no mexico one. Unforunately that was like 4 moves ago and I have no idea where the flags are assuming I still have them. Although your TR inspires me to look!
Breakfast at CM's can be very ! Great character pictures there!
It was sooo yummy!! It was definitely a fun experience and one I want to do again for sure!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Love the ones of your parents - and you and your dad!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ace_Athena
I love all of your pictures! The picture of your mom and dad is super cute! Ah, heck, they are all cute!
Haha, thanks guys! I might do something with the parents picture for their anniversary (not until June though), but I'm not sure what!
Quote:
Originally Posted by southerngirl1014
I love your TR. When I went to Disney after graduating HS with my best friend at the time we did the flag thing as well. However I am really thinking that I did get a china flag but there was no mexico one. Unforunately that was like 4 moves ago and I have no idea where the flags are assuming I still have them. Although your TR inspires me to look!
Haha, let me know what you find! I guess it's just a luck of the draw as to who has what!
To everyone else I didn't quote (and please don't feel bad!!) thank you so much for readind and I'm glad you're enjoying it!
Anyway I am SOOOO sorry I haven't updated. I really thought I had posted a bit more of Epcot last week, but I guess I just forgot! It's been a bit of a stressful week; First my credit card was cancelled to due possible fraud, and it took almost 10 days for them to send me a new one. Luckily everything is in order. Second I'm going on a trip soon with my Girl Guide unit, but they just informed me I need a specific type of First Aid (not the basic one I have), so I had to scramble around to find someplace that is offering it before we leave. Again luckily my community centre (5minutes away) is offering it next weekend, 8:30-5 Sat and Sun, but I dont have work Fri, so I'll still have a day to get things done. Throw in a few work related things and
This interruption brought to you by my bunny stepping on my keyboard! LOL ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss sssde8
Well I've finished the entire day at Epcot, and since I have a lot since the last update I think I'm going to a post per country! Enjoy!! I hope it's not too long for everyone... next time I'll post in smaller increments!
Last edited by ThumperBunny; 04-10-2011 at 10:33 AM..
Germany was next and I was really looking forward to this for two reasons! First up: Caramel shop... oh my gosh, so yummy. I think one could get a sugar high just from walking in the store. There was quite a line up though, and none of us were really hungry so we didn’t buy anything, but did look around everywhere! The second thing I really wanted to see was the middle area with the fountain. This is because, again if you’ve seen the Full House episode where they go to WDW, there’s a part with Danny and Vicki where he’s trying to propose and they are sitting at the fountain. So I got a picture of it, and we headed to the toy store. Again, didn’t buy anything here, LOL but it was fun to look around. I went into all the stores asking for flags, the CMs looked around, but they couldn’t find any, she figured they must have sold out and hadn’t gotten any new ones. Boo, I was little disappointed at this point, silly I know, but it was annoying. But my mom said even though it wouldn’t be the same, we could order some online to complete the collection. As we headed off towards Italy, we stopped to look at the model train set. We all love model trains, so it was fun to just sit and watch it go around. Flag Count 2/9
The fountain in the middle
The model train set (I love how the blur makes it look like it's in motion!)
Italy was next, and although we had been there last night, its true beauty is not apparent at night. It’s funny I have a 3D puzzle of Venice, and I swear it felt like I was inside the puzzle at times. Some of the buildings were so similar looking! We went inside to look around, and I ended up buying a Italia shirt (I had been eyeing it the night before, and it was relatively inexpensive), and my mom got a pair of green “glass” earrings for her friend. I asked around for an Italy flag, and the CM looked around and such, but could not find any. Her guess? They sold out earlier in the week... blah. Well there was not much I could do by this point, so I just accepted it and moved on. My mom decided to take a little rest at the tables while I went around taking pictures. I noticed a photopass guy in the middle, so I got my dad to come over and take some pictures with me. Only thing was it was kind of sunny and windy, so the pictures either have us squinting or my hair blowing in my face. I may need to do some photoshopping! Flag Count 2/9
A different view of the front building
I swear this building is in my 3D puzzle! LOL!
Tutto! Yummy supper the night before!
See it was windy? But I like our expressions better in this one!
We headed off towards America as we could hear the Spirit of America Fife & Drum Corps playing. But in between the pavilions there was a bunch of characters, so my dad I and stopped to get some pictures and autographs while my mom hung back and listened to the Drums. Anyway I don’t know if there are regularly characters here, but it was a great find because it had a few of the lesser known characters. And it wasn’t busy at all! It was definitely a special moment during the trip! I met Baloo, Rafiki, Foulfellow, Liverlips and Big Al, and finally Goofy. I had no idea who Foulfellow was until I looked him up, but he had the best interaction! When we were about to take pictures he showed me how to pose, and then wanted to take another one after that! Rafiki did some posing too! LOL I got a picture with Big Al while Liverlips was waving to someone in another line, and then he felt bad! So I gave him a big hug and got a picture with just him, and then the two together!
We walked into the American Pavillion just as Voices of Liberty was starting. The “theatre” filled up as the performance went on, but it was pretty empty at the very beginning. It was a nice little relaxing moment, and I really enjoyed their singing. I think this was probably my mom’s favourite part of the afternoon. She’s a big American history buff (why I don’t know, but she is) and a big music fan too, and so I think she really enjoyed it! We didn’t stay for the movie or whatever it is afterwards, and just went back outside to explore and take some pictures. I loved the feel of the American pavilion, it felt very New Englandy. LOL If that’s a word. Anyway I didn’t even bother looking for a flag here, since I think I actually have one at home.
Baloo
Rafiki clearly admiring his signature!
He still wanted to pose though! Or dance maybe...
Posing with Foulfellow, takes 1 and 2
Big Al (see Liverlips waving off to the side)
But I couldn't forget him!
All together now!
GOOFY! (he must have changed quickly from Chef Mickey's! LOL!)
As we approached Japan, we saw a small crowd gathering near the entrance. As we got closer I saw it was Miyuki!! My parents had no idea, so I told them to come watch! They couldn’t believe it, they were so impressed. We watched for a good 10 minutes I’d say. She first made a pink bird and then made a horse (as per request by a young boy in the audience). We headed inside, because I really wanted to try the pick-a-pearl. It really wasn’t busy, so it didn’t take long to get going. There weren’t too many oysters in the pools, so I had to do some careful choosing. I picked one I thought looked good, and ended up getting a 7 1/4mm white-pinkish pearl! I wanted to get it set, but it was pretty expensive, but I ended up choosing a four leaf clover zipper pull/cell phone decoration, which was only like 10$. I ended up taking it off its string/pull and attached it to my necklace at home, and now I wear it all the time. They said it would take about 20 minutes to set, so I decided to go explore, but first I stopped to buy a Japan flag! Yeah, this was turning out to be my favourite pavilion by far! My parents went to sit by the lagoon, and I explored the pavilion. On my way back, I heard Matsuriza (the drummers) so I joined my parents by the lagoon as we listened for a while. A duck was walking nearby us... he seemed to enjoy it as well! Haha. I really enjoyed this pavilion, probably looking back it was one of my favourite because it had things to do as well along with things to see. Flag Count: 3/9
Miyuki - first she made a pink bird!
Then she made a horse! So talented!
I want that one!!
Ready to see what's inside!
I love this shot with Spaceship Earth in the background!
It was about 4:30 as we headed over to Morocco and my dad and I were hungry, so we stopped into Tangierine Cafe as I had heard good things about it. We got a lamb/chicken combo platter. OMG it was sooo good! The lamb was much better than the chicken I found (but I am not a huge chicken fan so take it for what it’s worth ). The most disappointing this was I ordered an iced tea, but I didn’t know there was a difference between the Canadian and US one! (The Canadian one is sweet and usually has a lemony flavour and the US one is literally just cold tea). Oh well... it was liquid. As we were eating Mo’Rockin was just beginning their set, so we had some background music! We sat inside though because it had gotten a little cool outside. After replenishing ourselves we had a look around the pavilion. It is absolutely beautiful. Side note: In our Saturday paper there’s always the travel section, and about a month ago the front page was a picture of Marrakesh (the city), and before I even read the caption I was like “That has to be in Morocco, it looks EXACTLY like Disney!!” LOL! Anyway, I think it terms of decor this was probably my favourite pavilion, it was also pretty deserted so it was nice to be able to take our time looking around and such. We browsed through all the little stores, and I found a Morocco flag! Flag Count 4/9
Entrance to the back of the pavillion
Mo'Rockin
Inside the little shops...
Not sure how I would get a rug back to Canada!
This was my favorite little section, I loved the mosaic tiles.
Notice how empty it is... and this picture is so similar to the one that was in the paper!
We slowly headed over towards France, and as we walked by Chefs De France, we could see Remy being brought out, so I stood by the window and tried to take some pictures. From the inside I realized I probably looked completely wacko, haha, but I love Ratatouille! I was taking some pictures of the fountain and there were some teenage boys/young adult men, who were probably a little happy (if you know what I mean) and were daring one to run through the fountain... LOL I think he decided not too in the end, but it was quite funny listening to them. We walked in the perfume store, and looked around a bit. My dad found out the next showing of Impressions of France would be in about 15 minutes, so we decided to walk around and explore a bit more. We stopped by the bakery but it was ridiculously busy, and we weren’t sure we’d be through the line in 15 minutes, so we passed We went into a store in the back, where I picked up my France flag (yeah!) and my mom and I tried on some hats. LOL By now it was time to head over to catch the movie. I was a little tired by this point and the video was making me a bit dizzy (another thing caused by my lazy eye), so I think I “rested my eyes” during a lot of this movie. My parents seem to enjoy it. I know my mom had talked about wanting to go to France one day. Flag Count: 5/9
Hard to see, but there's Remy! (and my reflection )
The sun was starting to set and we were all getting a bit tired, so we decided to hit up the UK pavilion and then call it a night and head back to the hotel. We would be having lunch on Sunday at Le Cellier so we would explore the Canadian pavilion then! So with that decision made, we headed over to the UK with a last surge of energy. I had read about the little garden maze in the back, so we headed there first, and my dad went in and walked around a bit, although I think he’s too smart for that and had no trouble finding his way out! LOL! We walked into the first little store and turned to our left and who did we see? Why none other than Tigger and Pooh, with practically no line up! So mom and I went over to see! My lanyard was a Winnie The Pooh one, so he was very excited and gave me a big hug! My mom had gone straight to Tigger and he took her by the hands and they bounced!! My mom had such a big smile on her face, which was sooo fun to see! To this day she’s still like “remember when I bounced with Tigger!?!?!” Definitely one of the better character interactions of the week! After our little meeting, we explored a bit, and I quickly found my UK flag! We perused the other stores (I loved the sports store!) for a while, because it had gotten pretty cool by now, before heading back outside. Even though we didn’t spend that much time at the UK pavilion, my parents really liked it because they went to London before my brother was born, and I think it really reminded them of that trip. We walked by Canada, (and I quickly got a picture with those aboriginal things that you can stick your head in!), and the headed off towards Future World and the exit. I loved the little twinkling lights in the ground as you left... it kind of made me think it was pixie dust. Dorky I know
Anyway my final flag count was 6/9! Not bad, I was able to get Mexico, Norway, Japan, Morocco, France and the UK. (Didn’t find Germany, China or Italy, and didn’t look for Canada US). I shall look into getting the missing ones, as I found some on amazon for cheap!
We didn’t have to wait very long for a bus, and soon we were back at the hotel. We all took a little pre-night time rest, and then I decided to take a shower, although I left straightening my hair for the morning. Tomorrow was to be our relaxing/DTD, so we were happy to be able to sleep in and take it a bit easier in the morning. About 9 or so, we all realized we were hungry, so I headed down to the food court to see what to get. I was already in my Tinkerbell pyjamas, and everyone commented on them! Both of my pyjamas (summer/winter) are purple and TInk, LOL. As I was picking out our deserts, a lady asked me if I had gone swimming or taken a shower (my hair was still wet and curly), so I told her I had taken a shower, it was a little too cold even for this Canadian to go swimming! She said she wanted to know because her room did not have hot water! I then apologized for probably stealing most of it, since I do tend to take REALLY long hot showers... We both laughed and headed our separate ways. I ended up getting a chicken caesar salad and the chicken nuggets, and a brownie and Mickey Rice Krispie for dessert. I managed to bring it back to our room without spilling or dropping anything (only later did I realized you could ask for plastic cover things!!). I mostly had the chicken nuggets/fries and they were so good... crispy and not at all greasy. And fresh too, considering it was like 9pm or so. After our meal, we watched a little TV before headed off to bed.
Overall, I think I was a little disappointed with World Showcase, I thought there would be more “to do” so to speak. Not that I didn’t enjoy walking around and shopping, but I felt like something was missing. Looking back I think we should have timed things better so we could have seen more of the entertainment. I think that really would have help sort of piece everything together and add to the whole. Next time too I would love to do the Kim Possible mission, LOL. It actually looked like a lot of fun and silly at the same time!
Up next: Relaxing morning and super special supper!!
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.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
! Great character pictures there! 
I guess it's just a luck of the draw as to who has what! 
I wanted to get it set, but it was pretty expensive, but I ended up choosing a four leaf clover zipper pull/cell phone decoration, which was only like 10$. I ended up taking it off its string/pull and attached it to my necklace at home, and now I wear it all the time. They said it would take about 20 minutes to set, so I decided to go explore, but first I stopped to buy a Japan flag! Yeah, this was turning out to be my favourite pavilion by far! My parents went to sit by the lagoon, and I explored the pavilion. On my way back, I heard Matsuriza (the drummers) so I joined my parents by the lagoon as we listened for a while. A duck was walking nearby us... he seemed to enjoy it as well! Haha. I really enjoyed this pavilion, probably looking back it was one of my favourite because it had things to do as well along with things to see. Flag Count: 3/9
We went into a store in the back, where I picked up my France flag (yeah!) and my mom and I tried on some hats. LOL By now it was time to head over to catch the movie. I was a little tired by this point and the video was making me a bit dizzy (another thing caused by my lazy eye), so I think I “rested my eyes” during a lot of this movie. My parents seem to enjoy it. I know my mom had talked about wanting to go to France one day. Flag Count: 5/9
I then apologized for probably stealing most of it, since I do tend to take REALLY long hot showers... 
We both laughed and headed our separate ways. I ended up getting a chicken caesar salad and the chicken nuggets, and a brownie and Mickey Rice Krispie for dessert. I managed to bring it back to our room without spilling or dropping anything (only later did I realized you could ask for plastic cover things!!). I mostly had the chicken nuggets/fries and they were so good... crispy and not at all greasy. And fresh too, considering it was like 9pm or so. After our meal, we watched a little TV before headed off to bed.
Susan
Linear Mode
