22nd Anniversary WDW/Wonder 11/5-11/8 Trip Report - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Hi all!
We had a great time on our 7 day Disney World stay and 3 night Disney Magic cruise on November 5th.
Cast:
Steve (me) 46, Pat (DW) 52
Occasion: Wedding anniversary.
We started planning this vacation back in April. We had not been to WDW since 1998, though we had been to DL and California Adventure a couple of times since then. We started thinking about how long we would like to cruise, and how long we would like to stay at WDW. Since we hadn't been on a cruise since cruising with RCL to Mexico in 2004, we decided on a 3 day short cruise to get our feet wet for cruising. We purchased the Passporter guides to Disney World, and the guide for Disney Cruises. These were invaluable to our planning. We also found out about discounted Disney Park Hopper passes from Undercover Tourist via Mousesavers.com. Isn't the Internet a wonderful thing?
Since I had three weeks of vacation to burn, and Pat has always wanted to see the Riverwalk in San Antonio, we decided to get in the car and drive from AZ to Florida. We would spend the first five days at WDW, get on the ship for three days, and then spend another two days at WDW before we returned. We both were excited about the road trip, since we hadn't done a cross country trip in 22 years of marriage. It would be a chance to see parts of the country you don't see from a plane.
It took us 3 days to get across country, during which we encountered snow in El Paso, 83 degree temps in Beaumont, TX, and driving sheets of rain in Louisiana. So, as you can see, we got all kinds of weather.
Day 1 - Downtown Disney
We arrived in WDW around 2:00 and checked into our room at the Best Western Lake Buena Vista Resort. We have stayed at the Carribean Beach twice in the past, but decided to stay at the Best Western this time. We stayed on the 12th floor, and had a great view of Downtown Disney from our balcony. We decided to rest for awhile, and made the trek to Downtown Disney later that evening. First mistake: It was Halloween, and every family from the Orlando area must have been there to go trick-or-treating. It was a zoo! Also, it was very hot and humid. Being from the desert, humidity is not something we are used to.
We looked around the shops, but the crowds and heat were getting to us.
I spotted the tent for Cirque Du Soleil - La Nouba. We figured, why not? It was amazing! Those of you who have seen it know what I am talking about. After the Cirque performance, we returned to our room, viewing Downtown Disney from our balcony, and got ready for Day 2 at Epcot.
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.
We got up bright and early, excited to go to Epcot. We usually split Epcot into two consecutive days, one for Future World, and one for the World Showcase. We caught the bus to Epcot from the Lake Buena Vista. Easy to use and not as crowded as the On-Property busses. We packed the backpack with our rain coats, sweaters and water bottles. I felt like a Wilderness Explorer
We were excited to get to Epcot, as it is one of our favorite parks. Pat likes the World showcase more, but me, being the techie that I am, like Future World better. We rode Spaceship Earth first, and loved the "Your Future" video it created out of the answers you gave it.
We next went to Innoventions East, where we saw the stormstruck exhibit, which simulates a hurricane. I would probably skip this one next time, since I generally don't like stormy weather such as tornadoes and hurricanes.
I then went on the new Sum Of All Thrills ride, which is a ride where you design your own rollercoaster, then ride in it via a simulator. It was great.
We ate lunch that day at the Coral Reef. It was excellent and the huge aquarium in the restaurant is great. I would highly recommend making advance reservations 90 days out. It makes the wait time at restaurants much faster, as they are more crowded now with the Disney Dining Plan.
After leaving Epcot for the day, we got in the car and drove over to one of our favorite resorts, the Boardwalk The Boardwalk reminds us of the Boardwalk in Atlantic City. We ended the night at JellyRolls, listening to Dueling Pianos. It was a great way to end day 2.
Highlights: Mission Space, Sum of All Thrills, Spaceship Earth, Test Track.
We planned to do world showcase on day 3. As a foodie, I was in heaven that our vacation was scheduled during the Food and Wine Festival. There were dozens of food stands with wine and food from all different countries, so that added to the fun.
We got a late start that morning as World Showcase didn't open until 11. We visited the Canadian and United Kingdom pavilions, and were having a great time until disaster struck in France. I lost a screw to my glasses and the lens popped out. Luckily, nothing happened to the lens, but I felt like a one-eyed pirate the rest of the day. We continued touring, determined not to let circumstances spoil our day.
The French Pavilion had a very funny duo of acrobatic French Chefs performing.
We had made lunch reservations at Tutto Italia. We remembered it in 1998 as Alfredo's, and loved it back then. We didn't know if we would like the new Italian restaurant, but we did enjoy the food and the atmosphere.
We continued touring, and ended the night at the San Angel Cantina in the Mexican Pavilion. We had read in the Passporter guide that this was a great place to see Illuminations from. We staked out a table around 6:30 and had a leisurely dinner. Illuminations was great, and it was good to see that Disney changes the show so you don't feel like you've seen it all before.
We left the park after Illuminations and retired to our hotel room and balcony to enjoy the night air and the view of Downtown Disney.
Highlights- Lunch at Tutto Italia and the food stands.
Lowlights - Broken glasses.
Love Epcot, and can't wait to see Sum of All Thrills in December! (My husband, the engineer he is, loves math and science.) And you dined at my two favorite restaurants in Epcot (if not in all WDW!). Lovely day!
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.
Oh my gosh! I realize I never finished this trip report! My apologies..... We have had a busy year moving into a new home and trying to sell our old home.... But never the less, here goes.....
Pat and I took the day off from the parks today and did some "resort hopping". One of our favorite things to do at WDW is to visit other resorts.
I started the day finding an optical store to fix my glasses. Got them fixed and picked up Pat and went to the very first resort we stayed at in 89 - Carribean Beach Resort. This is one of our favorite resorts. When we came here first, the Beach Boys had the hit song Cocomo(sp?) out and we would sing along on the radio as we drove into the parking lot each day So we have a lot of fond memories of this resort. We walked around for a while and then left to eat lunch at Downtown Disney. I discovered the Earl of Sandwich, one of my favorite restaurants at DTD.
I stopped at Walgreen's and picked up some sea bands, which we were glad we did, as you will understand shortly
I went to sleep that night with visions of the Disney Wonder dancing in my head.....
We got up early and packed. The Best Western Buena Vista allowed us to store some of our luggage in their storage as we were coming back to stay after the cruise. What a blessing that was!
We left around 9:30, as I was anxious to get to Port Canaveral. Pat was much more relaxed than I was. I was worse than a kid, anxious to see the ship and start the next part of our trip.
The drive to the port was very easy, and took about 90 minutes. As others have mentioned, the first sight of the ship when you cross over the bridge is exciting! I dropped Pat and the luggage off at the terminal, and parked the car in the lot.
Our wait to board wasn't too bad. Going through the line to get our KTTW cards was smooth and easy, and we were able to board shortly. Captain Mickey was out and about, and it was neat to see the model of the ship.
Our only issue with dining was that we were to be in Animator's Palette on Saturday, our anniversary. We had already made plans to celebrate our 22nd anniversary in Palo's. Once onbard, we went to the area where you can change dining and got the rotation changed so that we would be in Animator's Palette our first night. This was very easy to do.
We then went and had the lunch buffet at Parrot Cay. Very good food indeed.
After lunch, we were able to go to our room. We love crusing in rooms with a Verandah, as we enjoy sitting out on the balcony at night and early morning.
I took the ship's tour after lunch, while Pat went to the shopping seminar.
I enjoyed the ship tour, and afterwards met up with Pat. She was taking notes on all the great shopping places in Nassau.
After the shopping seminar, it was time to get ready for Muster. We donned our life jackets and went to our muster group. This was very uneventful and went very smoothly.
We went on Deck 10 for the All aboard party, which was a blast. One of the Cast members went to high school here in Phoenix with our niece, so it was a kick seeing her after 3 or 4 years. We introduced ourselves later that evening at Bingo and she remembered our niece and us right away.
Dinner that evening was at Animator's Palette. I don't remember what we ate, but it sure was good, and the changing of the wall colors was entertaining.
Seas were rough the first evening, as we were unaware that tropical storm/hurricane Ida was in the area
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
Linear Mode
