The "There's Too Many Titles for This TR" Trip Report - COMPLETE!! 6/29/10 - Page 20 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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.
Love your trip report and can't wait to hear about Castaway Cay! thanks so much for posting the navigators, we are doing the Western double dip on the Magic in November so I am excited to get a sneak peak at what we have coming.
__________________
The three of us on our November 2009 Disney cruise
I am all caught up and what a wonderful time you guys have been having, except for your back. Sorry you have been in so much pain, not fun on vacation.
Day 10 – Friday August 28, 2009 – Castaway Cay – Someone got bit, lots of sunburn, and enough already!
Well, the HARD sofa bed worked, because I was up with very little pain this morning! I could still feel a few pings and pangs, but nothing like the day before! Hopefully today would be a much better day! Since I was up early, I took the tip receipts and headed down to Guest Services to charge it to our room account. I also brought with me my Disney Visa Rewards card to have that money applied as well. There was only one person in front of me, so it went pretty quickly. Although when I got back to the room, I realized I didn’t have the tip receipts to put into the envelopes! I went back down again, and discovered I had dropped them right near the Guest Services desk! Tickets back in hand, I headed back to the room! I spent some time out on the verandah as we approached Castaway Cay. The magic went in bow first (when we were on the Wonder we turned around) so we ended up being on the beach side of the island again!
Breakfast was at Topsiders again. Then we lubed ourselves up with sunscreen, gathered our snorkeling masks, and headed down to Deck 1 to disembark! Boy it was sunny, and it was going to be HOT!
We thankfully took the tram to the Family Beach, and found a spot in the front row under an umbrella and close to the jungle gym in the water!
First up was snorkeling. We had our own masks, so we just used those. We should have purchased the fins, as that would have made it much easier. Lesson learned! We went pretty far out! Lots of good things to see, although we never found the Mickey! L It was lots of fun though! Next up, the kids wanted to go back to the Jungle Gym thing in the water, so we headed over there. The tide was lower at this point, which was easier for me to stay out there and watch them!
While we were swimming over there, Colin complained that something had bit him on the cheek. Needless to say, he had some sort of bite mark, and it was swelling up his cheek. So off to First Aid we went! The nurse put some benedryl lotion on it, and said it was probably a fish bite! He was fine after that, but we needed some time out of the water, so we headed for lunch. Cookies started serving just after 11, so we went for an early lunch and some down time. Tummies stuffed, and after some ice cream, we watched the crab races near the Gazebo before heading back to the beach! We did more swimming, and then it was time for Alexa and I to head over to Marge’s Barges for our parasailing excursion. The boys were going to rent bikes and see the island.
The parasailing was great! As par for the course, you had to go tandem even if you had booked single, but I was prepared this time (last time I had to go with a stranger) since I had Alexa with me! I think we were the third group up, and had a great time! The pictures are still in the disposable camera….I’ll try to get those developed today! All in all, it was a great time and Alexa really enjoyed it! The boys bicycled all over the island and went to the observatory (which wasn’t here on our last visit)!
It was 2:30 about now. After our parasailing, Alexa wanted to go back and swim so more! Ugh! We walked back to the Family Beach, and hit the water. No signs of the boys. Alexa went out to the Jungle Gym again, and I just couldn’t stay out with her. The tide had come in, and I had to tread water to stay close, which wasn’t going to happen! So I went back to the lounge chair and sat under the umbrella in the shade! I had had enough of the sun and the heat at this point! I could still see her, so I was comfortable with her out there (she’s a strong swimmer anyway), but she got all upset seeing me sitting on the chair and leaving her. Ugh! Finally the boys arrived back. Now Colin wanted to go swim, since they had just been riding the bikes and he was hot. Thankfully Alexa was also done, so her and I headed back toward the ship, and the boys would follow later. We stopped at She Sells on the way out, and Alexa got a CC t-shirt. We took the tram back to the dock, and I stopped briefly in the Post Office to mail my postcards that I had written out prior to getting off the ship! Then it was back on board. But no rest for the weary! We were flying home tomorrow, and it was almost 24 hours before our flight left, so Alexa and I headed down to the internet café near the Promenade Lounge. There were plenty of computers, and I signed in, checked my email, and then got our boarding passes and printed them out! A17-A21 and then A27-A30 (we were connecting in Baltimore). That done, we headed back upstairs for showers. The boys arrived soon after, and we all got ready for dinner (and started the packing process)! As you can see from the pictures, there was hardly a cloud in the sky, and that sun was hot today! I found it amazing as I was sitting on the verandah of how quickly they got the beach back in order (umbrellas down, chairs moved, boats lined up) as I guess the Wonder would be docking tomorrow!
Our last dinner was at Animator’s Palate (our third time here)! I had the chicken satay, and chilled Florida citrus and spinach salad, along with the beef tenderloin. Matt had the tuna sashimi, and the lobster bisque, and I think the seafood linguine pasta. Not sure what the kids had, other than Colin had pizza. I think Alexa had the same. It was a good meal, and Ali had some last magic tricks for the kids!
After dinner, we headed to Shutters to pick up the last of our pictures (mainly the ones from CC that they had taken today). Then we went to the stores and made our last minute purchases. We decided we’d all go to the show tonight, Remember the Magic. Of course, Colin complained, but he didn’t have much of a choice. Then it was back to the room to finish up the packing and to get the bags out into the hallway!
That done, we watched movies and fell asleep. The space shuttle was due to launch from Cape Canaveral that night, around midnight. Brent had told us during the show, that we should be able to see it off the port side, so we made the decision to just stay on our verandah. Of course, I fell asleep, but luckily had left the TV on CNN, so I awoke to the shuttle on the launchpad with its engines firing! I raced out to the verandah, and nothing! The stateroom next to us came out as well, and I told them it had just taken off but they couldn’t see it either. So Matt and I raced up to deck 10 to see if we could see it, but we were too late! I was so mad at myself for falling asleep!
The weather today was…….. hot and sunny, low 90s.
The best thing today was……being at Castaway Cay.
The worst thing today was……..missing the shuttle launch and having to pack to go home.
Today we tried………parasailing (Alexa)
And the result was…….she loved it!
The most magical moment of today was……….snorkeling with the tropical fish on Castaway Cay!
Coming up next……..A sad farewell, some shopping, and who turned the heat off?
sounds like a perfect day ! Glad your back is on the mend. I didn't see Mickey either he's waaaay out. Mike and Rachel found him eventually. I did see Minnie though.
You're lucky on our cruise the verandah was facing away from the beach
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.
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.