Going north, south, east, west - Chicago UPDATED 1/7 - Page 8 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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During this, I really had to fight hard not to fall asleep and a couple of times, my eyes did close, although I never really fell asleep, unlike some others. Let’s just say, at one point, I looked to my left and Lesley was out for the count and then I looked to my right and so was Mark!
I swear those seats are comfortable. They're reclining and after all of the fresh air and exercise keeping up with Cheryl and Mark..... Actually - I think I've dosed in them more than once during a show.
I really enjoyed the Planetarium. The exhibits are really interesting. You could certainly spend most of a day there if you tried to see more than one show.
I think the best view of the Chicago skyline is from the Planetarium (except maybe from a boat). You used to be able to drive out there and we would always take visitors there at night. The lights of the city are amazing from that view.
Saturday 25 October – part four: no, we’re not waiting in that line! :
We then headed into the Nature Trail and essentially this takes you through a number of different scenes with dioramas of stuffed animals, with different sections looking at different types of birds and animals and different parts of the world. A lot of the animals came from places like zoos, where they had died a natural death. Although I’m a vegetarian and the idea of taxidermy is a bit repulsive to me, I still find the whole thing fascinating. I did prefer the ones though that showed the animals in their natural habitats. You would round a corner and suddenly be confronted by an amazing scene that really took your breath away. It was quite something.
I hope you can read this – this story really touched me
From there, we went through the Ancient Egypt exhibition, Egyptian Mastaba, which reconstructs two rooms from a 4,400 year old tomb, with visitors able to roam through it. It was good, but I think probably after seeing the Pergamonmuseum in Berlin, we weren’t as taken by this as we would’ve been otherwise.
Our final stop before we got thrown out of the museum was the Underground Adventure, which shrinks you down to insect size of about one and a half inches, so you can walk through worm tunnels and meet giant bugs. It’s a fascinating journey that you then go on. It’s not too scary, although Lesley and I drew the line at the bit about fungus. Seeing that thing moving was too much for us. You see, there was also a small amount of animatronics in there, which was neat to see, although at that point, it was a bit too much.
By the time we got towards the end of that exhibition, we were literally being shooed out of the building by museum staff, as it was nearly 3.00. They were certainly determined to clear the building on time, as Lesley got told that she couldn’t play on the computers at the end of this exhibition, which was a bit harsh.
Once outside, we had a long wait for our GrayLine bus and we were about to get a taxi, when I finally showed up. It was a very cold ride back into the city, as the wind had really got up and I was very glad when Lesley said that we had to get off at the next stop.
Another shot of Wrigley Field The Buckingham Fountain, which is undergoing a massive restoration
We walked back to our hotels to have some down time and we agreed that we would meet Lesley at Maggiano’s, where we were having dinner with our fellow PassPorters and we would go to the Sears Tower on our own.
An hour or so later, we headed out again and got a taxi from the hotel to the Sears Tower, which cost us $9. We went straight in, as we knew that our Go Chicago Card was only valid for entry until 5.30 and we wanted to make sure that we got inside in time. We made it, but only just. First you had to take an elevator down to the basement to get your tickets, but before you got there, you had to have your obligatory photo done with the Chicago skyline superimposed behind you. Everyone seems to do this now. Then you had to wait for your tickets, although when we got there, we were told that we didn’t have to wait and could just go straight through.
We were directed into the Fastpass line, which fitted in with the information we had about missing all the lines with the Go Chicago Card. Anyway, that worked until we met an officious guy who told us that we had to watch the movie first and that was 20 minutes long, with a 10 minute wait before the next one started. We thought about it for a second and then argued our case with him, telling him that we just didn’t have time and this wasn’t how it was marketed to us, as they said that we could bypass lines with our card. He gave in and let us go through in the end, saving us at least 30 minutes and it also saved us waiting in the line behind the movie that you couldn’t see. I dread to think how long that would have been. As it was, we had about a 10 minute wait and then we were finally on the elevator to get up there. I can understand them wanting to make it a real touristy visit with lots of different elements and it also controls the number of people waiting to go up to the top of the tower, but I don’t think I’d mind as much if they tell you beforehand, so you know what to expect when you get there.
I could just read the Panda story, and I, too, was touched. I'm glad you were able to get past the taxidermy thing and take the pictures, because the displays were fascinating to me! Actually, that is the first thing to tempt me to want to see downtown Chicago... (I've only seen it from the cab of a truck and it wasn't near as nice from that angle, you see )!
As someone else said, you guys sure do get a lot done, even if you have to push things a bit. I've seen Chicago from an airplane and from the highway at sunset, but I can't wait for your pictures from the Sears Tower.
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Just getting caught up. Count me in as another one from the the area that hates what they did to Soldier Field. Everyone pretty much agrees they destroyed that place.
The planetarium is a frequent napping place. My mother and I were just talking the other day about how easy it is to fall asleep in there. It has to be the reclining seat and darkness.
I'm glad you had time to hit up the Field Museum. It's my favorite museum in Chicago. Actually the Shedd Aquarium is my least favorite. It's ok in the beginning but after about 20 minutes, you do tend to get tired of seeing fish swimming around.
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Glad the sky cleared up a bit (even though it sounds like the cold stuck around). The Fields Museum looked really interesting, sorry that you did not get more time there (or get to go to the Aquarium). Can't wait to hear all about the Sunset adn your wonderful dinner w/ PP's.
Just wanted to clarify that this is Soldier Field, not Wrigley - which is where the Cubs play and is further north of downtown (in a section called "Boystown"). Hmmm, can you tell I grew up with a Cubs fan in the family? And I married a White Sox fan. Poor Dad.
Also, can't wait to hear about Maggiano's! I love this place. In fact, DH and I just went to the Vegas one the weekend before Christmas...
I couldn't believe how much we saw in the Field Museum in the hour we had there. There is no loitering when you tour with Cheryl and Mark. The underground exhibit was really cool - although with me dislike of bugs there were parts I passed by very quickly. They certainly did hustle us out of there! I found out later that they were getting ready for a VIP reception to open their latest exhibit - "The Aztec World". There were amazing flower displays all over!
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They're reclining and after all of the fresh air and exercise keeping up with Cheryl and Mark..... Actually - I think I've dosed in them more than once during a show.
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There is no loitering when you tour with Cheryl and Mark. 
They certainly did hustle us out of there! I found out later that they were getting ready for a VIP reception to open their latest exhibit - "The Aztec World". There were amazing flower displays all over!
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