The "WOW... Where'd the week go?" Trip Report - UPDATED 10/21 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel 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
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.
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So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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The "WOW... Where'd the week go?" Trip Report - UPDATED 10/21
OK, here goes my first ever attempt at a trip report for our first ever trip to the world!! Bear with me people.... it could get bumpy. We just returned in the early hours of this morning so I'll keep this first installment quick and to the point. Tomorrow (after lots of sleep and coffee ) I will get to the juicy stuff and include the pictures .
Cast of characters: Me (of course), DH and DD age 10. Dates of trip: Sept. 26 - October 4th Special Events: Early celebration of DD's B-Day, Food & Wine Fest and of course MNSSHP Resort: Port Orleans French Quarter
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
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.
We started this day VERY early after driving overnight from MD to WDW. We arrived at POFQ and needless to say we were super tired and slightly cranky (well I was ) and we were hoping that we could at least pick up our park tickets and go veg out until the room was ready. The Disney magic began right away for us! Not only was our room ready... but we had been upgraded to a river view room!!!!
Upon our arrival in the room we were happily greeted by Mickey head on the bed and a welcome basket sent to DD by one of our/her friends!!!
She was so excited and happy that I was already teary eyed. Her basket was a pirate hat filled with pirate bounty. This was perfect since she is going to be a pirate for MNSSHP later in the trip!
Well, the plan was to drop off our stuff and head into the parks but DD promptly flopped onto the bed (pirate hat and all) and fell asleep. DH and I agreed that it looked like a wonderful idea so we happily settled in for a nap as well.
I'll stop here since I just realized that I am going to need my photopass pictures and I need to get on that...... Hope the pictures in this post show up OK and that you all are enjoying this so far ....
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.
Let me just start by saying that I will be adding the photopass pictures as soon as my CD arrives . For now we'll make due with the ones from my camera .....
After a nice long nap the family decided to head out to Hollywood Studios. First we had to stop and pick up our refillable mugs (we love these!) and check out the resort a little more.
We chose to drive our car to the parks during this trip. I know that the bus service is great and all but we like being able to do what we want. And during the ENTIRE trip, we were never farther than the 1st parking lot. So off to DHS!!!
We started our day at the park at about noon. Of course the first thing we did was get a Fastpass for Toy Story Mania. But it wouldn't be good until 6:00 PM
DD wanted to so see the Narnia area next (big disappointment, Caspian wasn't even there). Then we headed into the animation area where we met these guys!
We also met a few others, but that wil have to wait for the Photopass pics!
From there the family felt the "need for speed" so we headed over to Rockin Roller Coaster. This was a HUGE hit with DD and DH, but sadly, I am a wuss and could only muster one attempt on this ride. Of course Tower of Terror was next. DD had been telling us the entire time we were planning this trip that there was "no way" she was doing this one. But when she saw it she decided to be brave. Oh boy did she scream. After it was done she stated "That was so cool (loudly) but I think once is enough (quietly)". The troop was getting hungry so we headed to Fairfax Fare for some salads for me and DD, DH went to Catalina Eddie's for a Muffalata Sandwich
Very tasty and very filling. I don't think we even came close to finishing the desserts. After that we proceeded to run rampant through the park jumping on any ride we could find . The waits were so short! It was like everyone was busy standing in line for Toy Story and forgot the rest of the park! We decided that we HAD to have Mickey Bars so we headed to the dino. DH was taking tons of pictures and was taking forever to get there so this is the look I gave him (he said I HAD to include this picture... I guess I really wanted my Mickey bar)
Before we knew it the Fastpass for Toy Story was ready and we headed on over. This ride was great!!! We had so much fun! If it hadn't been such a long line we definetly would have done it again. DD and DH decided that they wanted to end the day on Rockin Roller Coaster so we headed back over there and I wandered around snapping pictures
The park was closing and we decided to head "home" for some dinner. We didn't have any plans or reservations so we decided to take the boat to POR and see what they had. We ended up at Boatwrights (sorry no pics). Very tasty, great service but..... (and this is not the resorts fault)... a HUGE storm hit and the lobby/food areas filled up with people so eating there was a very loud experience. The storm was a big one and thunder began booming through the building. DD does not like thunder and began to get scared so we decided to shop. The first of many stuffed animals was purchased at this point (it became a trend). We stepped outside to see how bad the weather was and try to figure out how to get home (pouring rain, flooding... it was crazy) and that is when another magic moment happened. As we stepped to the curb a van pulled up and the window rolled down... "Going to the French Quarter" a nice voice asked. Low and behold, our resort had sent over a troop of vans to pick up the wayward, wet wanderers. How great is that!!! We ended the night with DD happily snuggled up with her new Halloween Mickey.
Up next: Day 2 - Animal Kingdom and a lot of magic
I love reading this so far - not only because I love reading TR's, but because we're going to be staying at FQ in less than a month, so it's exciting to me to hear about it!!
That's so cool that the FQ sent vans to pick people up from RS... very thoughtful and cool! I'm excited to hear about the rest of the trip! Love the look on your face in that one pic, lol!
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.
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The "WOW... Where'd the week go?" Trip Report - UPDATED 10/21
and coffee 
) I will get to the juicy stuff and include the pictures 
.
and of course MNSSHP 
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Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
) and we were hoping that we could at least pick up our park tickets and go veg out until the room was ready. The Disney magic began right away for us! Not only was our room ready... but we had been upgraded to a river view room!!!! 
. The waits were so short! It was like everyone was busy standing in line for Toy Story and forgot the rest of the park! We decided that we HAD to have Mickey Bars so we headed to the dino. DH was taking tons of pictures and was taking forever to get there so this is the look I gave him (he said I HAD to include this picture... I guess I really wanted my Mickey bar)
I'm excited to hear about the rest of the trip! 
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