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There are other changes as well.
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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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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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Who: myself, DD, (Erin), DDBF (Katrina)
When: 10-24 through 11-2, 8 nights
Where: The Paradise Pier Hotel, with a park view and connecting rooms
How: Flew from Reno to John Wayne (Santa Ana)
One thing different I tried this time was ground transportation. On our last trip I had rented a car for the entire time we were down there. we only ended up using the car about 3 times during our stay. this time I chose only to rent a car when needed, which we did twice, I soon regretted this. I didn't save any money going this route because we ended up using a taxi more then planned due to a trip to the drug store and a problem back home that needed to be solved through Western Union. My thoughts during these moments were why doesn't the DLR have an site a pharmacy and WU? Although I love flying I always shop way to much and even though I had my sister send the bulk of what we boght home to us (which as of this moment I'm still waiting for, don't care for that). I think the freedom of having your own vehicle is a plus. So, for the next trip I will be driving the 11 hours from No. California to the DLR. Ok, on with the TR.
Wed 10-24
It took forever for us to get out of here. I had to wait until the girls got off work which wasn't until 5pm. We didn't get out of town until almost 7pm then it was another 2 hours to Reno. On the way there was road construction so it was about 2.5 hours really. Finally we pulled up to the La Quinta checked in and the plan was to go straight to bed but, we were to excited of course and may-be got about 3 hours of actual
Thurs 10-25
5am got a taxi to the airport, check in was quick and painless. we were flying on Aloha because it was the only straight flight from Reno to John Wayne. I have never flown Alhoa and was happy were were not going on to Hawaii. the seats were very uncomfortable.
Flying over Southern California was the smoke was incredible. You could not see the ground at all and it wasn't until we were alomst touching down that you could see anything. This was worrisome because we had just been through three weeks of our own forest fire at home and everyone ended up getting very sick because of it.
My DS (baby sister) picked us up and we had a fairly good ride down to Anaheim. Traffic was a bit slow but, not to bad due to the end of the morning rush hour. It was also nice to see that the smoke was not as bad in Anaheim, much better then at the airport. We made it to the Paradise Pier Hotel (PPH) and checked in. All of my request were honored which is one of the reasons I love this hotel At that time my DS said her goodbyes until later and we left our bags with the bell hop.
It was still early so we went to the Rainforest Cafe' for breakfast and then headed over to Disneyland. We walked around showing DDBF all the sites (it was her first time there). this was also the time we descovered that something was not right with the digital camera We checked the batteries put new ones in no, that wasn't the problem went through all the troubleshooting we could figure still no go boy that gives you an attitude. After the camera fiasco and getting over the fact that we can't do anything about it we went on some rides change in attitude!
We went back to the hotel around 1pm hoping may-be the rooms would be ready because we were so tired from our no the night before and up before dawn day. No such luck At that time we went to the little shop there in the lobby and bought some disposable and felt better about having some pictures. I did think of all of you though because I was hoping to share some photos with you. Oh well, next time.
So after a rest in the lobby we went over to DCA. We grabbed a quick bite at the Bakersfield Bakery and it was off to Soarin and then over to Screamin both those rides. The girls then headed over to the Tower don't that ride. I went to do my first round of shopping.
Finally the rooms were ready and we could take a rest. We had room service for dinner unfortunately they didn't get the order right no biggy, we sent the waiter back to get what they missed. That was it for us on our first day and boy, did we that night.
Great start to your report! What a nightmare with the camera and that sounds scary to see all the fires from the air. Thank goodness it didn't sound too bad in Anaheim itself.
Great start! Sorry about your camera. Thank goodness for disposables. I'll be taking notes while reading, because I'm planning a trip for about the same time next year!
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
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So, let me see if I can describe the Halloween decorations at the DLR. Well you definately knew it was Halloween time. There were various assorted everywhere. There were that looked like the Classic Disney characters. that were very traditional. in all shapes and sizes. At DCA there was candy corn everywhere, hanging off trees, light poles, everywhere candy corn. At DL was my favorite display right by BTMRR and the Rancho de Zocola, it was all Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). There was a stage for a Mariache band (oh I don't think I spelled that right). It was a nice little enclosed garden type area with lots of great decorations. Again bummer no camera! On with the show
Fri 10-26
DD's 19th birthday
So, my baby is all grown up sort of. Anyone who is dealing with very young adult children know that they still very much rely on you. It was DD's so we let her pick what we were doing for the day. First off we went to City Hall to get a birthday button. DD was disappointed about not talking to Goofy on the phone this time. We did all the rides outside of Fantasyland and Toontown. The only ones we got fastpass for were Indy and Space Mt. We decided early on because of the line for Nemo that we would wait until a weekday to do it, smart move on our part.
By 1pm DL is getting more and more packed. This was our first encounter with parents and infants on rides. We were on POTC and this young couple had a baby under a year old with them. I felt bad for the baby because he was not a happy camper. He started fussing in line as we left the dock he started more then the turned into full blown screaming. This went on for the entire ride. Not pleasant. several people in our boat as well as in others were making comments about bringing such a young baby on the ride. So, after that one we made a point of not getting in line with people who have young babies. More on this at the end of my TR.
We had planned to eat at the French market but that didin't work out. We got there to late and the line was We put it off for another day. We had also planned to watch the fireworks that night too however, we had fastpass for Indy and missed the first part of it so, that was put off until Sunday.
By this time I'm beat and girls took off to find a spot for the 2nd showing of Fantasmic. I headed back to the hotel via Monorail. Now I'm not sure if there was a legitimate reason for this but sure was not very efficient. They only had one Monorail running the entire time we were there and it wasn't the Nemo one. Anyways it was a very busy weekend as usual and it would have been nice to of had more then one Monorail running.
This is also where the down side of staying at the PPH comes into play. It is quite a walk back on those aching sore feet I got back though and had a nice long hot bath. The girls were back and I went straight to
Sat 10-27
Early Entry day but, due to it being Sat and us being veterans of DL, we avoided DL altogether this day. Sat have always been as far as crowds go, for me when it gets that bad its not much fun. So, it was off to DCA. We got on all the rides without much wait time. The only ride we got a fastpass for was Screamin and after using the fastpass we were able to get on it 3 more times fairly quickly, very Soarin was a walk on each time we went on it. I always get a little teary eyed and for my daddy on Soarin. He was a WW11 veteran in the USAir Corps, big time airplane guy.
We met up with DS, DBIL, DN (niece) and DN (nephew #3, #2 is at college) and had lunch at the House of Blues. It was our first time there. Not to bad. I bought DS (son) a couple of shirts. Us girls went off for a bit of shopping and the guys went to the ESPN Zone. After that DD, DDBF, and I went back for another round at DCA.
DCA had this private party (Mickey's Halloween Treat) going on every night leading up to Halloween. The park would close down and those that had tickets to this party could go into the park dressed in costume. I was talking to one lady who had done this one night with her family and she wasn't to happy about the restaurants not being open. She said one of the reasons they didn't have dinner was they thought they were going to be able to have dinner in the park, all they had was and candy for dinner. Other than that she said they had a great time. We got to watch the fireworks from our rooms that night it was very
Sun 10-28
This was the day we were suppose to go to San Deigo Zoo. It seems that everyday we were suppose to do something we just didn't get to Well we didn't go because of the wildfires in that part of the woods. We picked up the rental car. Alamo has a rental office right next to the Disney Travel Co on your way to DTD and you pick the car up in the parking lot right next store. Its the same parking lot you park your car in if you are not using valet service at the Grand.
Anywho it was south on the I-5 to my DS's house. They live very close to the Santiago fire one of the fires that was set by arson. It was huge and scary and awful. We had a pizza lunch and belated birthday cake for DD. After lunch we decided to take a drive out to Laguna Beach. What a nice day at the beach. No one was there, the water was warm, clear and blue. And best of all no smoke. We got to see some dolphins swiming north having a great time playing in the water.
We drove back to Anaheim, had a light dinner and then the girls headed over to DL to find us a spot for the fireworks and I headed to the Mandara Spa I had a Swedish Massage and Foot Treatment just what I needed After that I was off to meet up with the girls. I'm so glad we waited for Sun to do this. The crowd was definately thinned out from Fri and we weren't there Sat thank goodness.
Here again though we encounted overtired kids, with stressed out parents that made it unpleasant for others around them. This was something we saw a lot on this trip. More at the end of the TR.
What can I say no one does fireworks like Disney at least that is my opinion. It was a great show even though we have seen it before you don't get tired of it. After the show I was off shopping again and the girls were off doing more rides.
Mon 10-29
Early Entry day but, we had reservations at Goofy's Kitchen for breakfast. . We stuffed ourselves until we just couldn't eat anymore. DDBF had a crisis at home and had to wire some money home so we had to take a taxi to the closest Western Union. Why they don't have one on property beats me. They also need a pharmacy.
For those of you who have read my TR's before you will know that my DS caan drive me absolutely on our DL trips. She is never where she says she will be or when she will be there. Well nothing has changed. She was late again however, this time it was ok because we had to take car of the WU business which killed time. Then there was another slight crisis. We were suppose to meet DS and DN and friend in DCA. Well, I had to go out of the park to go pay for DS and DN tickets to get in because all she had was a credit card in her husband's name only and no ID Big sister to the rescue. Does anyone else encounter similar issues with younger siblings?
The CM at the ticket booth was very understanding because she also had a baby sister that she seems to bail out of jams such as this to. Finally it was off to have some fun.
We did rides, rides, rides and ate at Taste Pilots Grill. then it was back on more rides. By around 3pm DS and party had to go home so we said our goodbyes. We went back to our rooms for a rest and then back over to DL for a little bit in the evening.
Coming up are we going to make an Early Entry on this trip
Early Entry day but, due to my DS always changing plans at the last minute. Although it was really her MIL's last minute change I have not seen her MIL since the wedding. Anyways we had breakfast at Mimi's on Harbor. Good place to eat, good food. We had a nice breakfast and visit.
After breakfast DS dropped us off at the entrance and we walked over to Disneyland. The plan was Nemo. The line for this ride on a weekday is on the weekend Its one of those things you have to see. Waiting for a tuesday morning was a good choice. It said a 45 min wait but really turned out to only be about 30 min. Every thing was fine most of the way. Everyone was having a good time with laughs and then the screaming began. "I DON'T WANT TO GO!" " NOOOOO NOOOOO I DON'T WANT TO!" This went on for 15 of the 30 mins we were in line. Oh yes, we timed it. This little girl was about 8 and she didn't want to go as everyone heard over and over again. Luckily for us she was not on our sub. I'm not sure either if the CM's let her go on a sub. It was pretty awful. Mom and Dad were not getting out of that line no way. More on this at the end of my TR. The ride is really cute and hopefully over the years the line mania will decrease. No I take that back its Disneyland So we had a light snack after Nemo and headed over to Splash this ride and we didn't have to much trouble getting on it. Then it was over to Haunted Mansion and POTC. The girls then went their way and I went shopping and headed back to the room.
We rested up a bit and then it was go pick up the rental car and we headed over to Medieval Times. So, we have done Medieval Times the last three times we have been to the area. I guess it is now a tradition. And again nothing has changed with DS being as late as usual. I tell her to leave early because of rush hour but she never listens to me. You would think that she would know this, she's the one who lives there. We had to check in before she got there to get our tickets. Leave her ticket out front and wait for her. Finally she showed up and the show began. Lots of fun.
Halloween 10-31
This was a very slow and easy day. We slept in and took our time moving. We had lunch at Ariel's Grotto. It was cute, all the princesses were there. After that it was time to get in line for Aladdin. I this show, if you haven't seen it put on your must do list. By the time the show was over it was time for the park to close so they could get ready for the Halloween party. We didn't pay for it and we were not to interested in it. So, I stopped off at Napaloni to get a pizza to go and met the girls back at the room. I made it an early night. The girls headed off to Downtown Disney.
Thurs 11-1
This was also a kick back day. We did meet up with DS again at the House of Blues for lunch. She wasn't late this time so, there was a miracle that did occur on the trip. DS wasn't late for once We did of course some more shopping. After we said our final goodbyes to DS me and the girls headed over to Disneyland. We did everything over again. Then we went over to DCA to do it again. More shopping and then it was to the room for an early night.
Coming up: flight home, and final thoughts on our Halloween trip.
Ugh, I can't stand when parents force their kids on a ride they're scared of. OK OK I admit I did it once on BTMRR but Kylor was quietly sobbing, not screaming and carrying on. And he loved it, as I knew he would I have definitely seen CM's not allow a freaked out child on the ride. Then they waited in line 30 minutes for nothing
Sounds like a nice trip, Susan!
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*~*Tina
Picking up our Brasilian exchange student at the a/p
Trust me, Aladdin is on my must do list for our next visit - I even changed our prospective dates to incorporate it! I hope by the time we get back out there, those lines have reduced for Nemo - from what I hear, it's just crazy now.
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the smoke was incredible. You could not see the ground at all and it wasn't until we were alomst touching down that you could see anything. This was worrisome because we had just been through three weeks of our own forest fire at home and everyone ended up getting very sick because of it.
At that time my DS said her goodbyes until later and we left our bags with the bell hop. 
We checked the batteries 
still no go 
boy that gives you an attitude. After the camera fiasco and getting over the fact that we can't do anything about it we went on some rides 
At that time we went to the little shop there in the lobby and bought some disposable 
and felt better about having some pictures. I did think of all of you though because I was hoping to share some photos with you. Oh well, next time.
both those rides. The girls then headed over to the Tower don't 
for dinner unfortunately they didn't get the order right 
no biggy, we sent the waiter back to get what they missed. That was it for us on our first day and boy, did we 
my baby is all grown up, kind of!
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Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
I'll be taking notes while reading, because I'm planning a trip for about the same time next year!
everywhere. There were 
line for Nemo that we would wait until a weekday to do it, smart move on our part.
as we left the dock he started more 
We put it off for another day. We had also planned to watch the fireworks that night too however, we had fastpass for Indy and missed the first part of it so, that was put off until Sunday. 
I got back though and had a nice long hot bath. The girls were back and I went straight to 
Soarin was a walk on each time we went on it. I always get a little teary eyed and 
for my daddy on Soarin. He was a WW11 veteran in the USAir Corps, big time airplane guy.
and candy for dinner. Other than that she said they had a great time. We got to watch the fireworks from our rooms that night it was very 
to hear about your camera! Can't wait to hear more
So we had a light snack after Nemo and headed over to Splash 
I have definitely seen CM's not allow a freaked out child on the ride. Then they waited in line 30 minutes for nothing 
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