To Alaska and Beyond! Updated 4/28 x 3 and it's COMPLETE!! - Page 27 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I am just getting caught up on your report! We just booked one of the DCL Alaska cruises for 2011 so I am soooo enjoying all your pictures and info on the things that you did!
Way to go on getting up and singing - I would have never been able to do that! Love the Macarena video too! Macy was already in bed and got up to see what I was doing when she heard the music. We got a great laugh out of your Macarena story. What fun times!
Promise me you'll finish every last detail of this report - even if it takes you until 2011 - I'll be here reading and waiting of my turn to see Natures Museum!!
I'm excited to read your updates again! It's letting me relive my own cruise!
Quote:
Originally Posted by statelady01
Today's character accosting was brought to us courtesy of a moose with abnormally large antlers. We had quickly learned it was better to submit to the photo op rather than decline. I did not have my camera though so no photos for this.
I quite agree about the characters! My husband always tried to duck out of the way when passing the characters at the Windjammer, but they would still try to follow him! I would just stop, make a funny face, and move on. Made things so much easier! And it made it fun to find the picture later that evening, to see how goofy I looked. I pitched all of them; we don't normally buy the pictures.
Did you check out Sugar Mamas in Skagway?
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MVC Owner - HHI, Myrtle Beach, Branson, Orlando
DVC Owner - VWL
Yearly trips (or more!) to Orlando since 2007
WDW Resorts: BLT, SSR, WL, POR, CBR
8 cruises on Royal Caribbean, 2 on DCL
SevenWonkas- Oh yes we most certainly did check out Sugar Mama's! That little tidbit is only an installment or two away!!
Erin stopped the bus a time or two more to allow us shutterbugs a few more photo ops. I was absolutely stunned that nearly half the bus didn't bother to get out! LOL!
Here's my adventuring child, getting back on the bus:
We finally made it to the sled dog/ mushers camp. The bus was parked, it seemed like in the middle of nowhere- and we trekked about 1/4 a mile or so up to the camp. This was one of the most stunning landscapes indeed!
We could hear the dogs barking from our starting point of the walk. The boys ran up ahead of Kevan and I. I was surprised at how small the camp was. There was a shelter, with the puppies and young dogs, the musher's presentation area, a gift shop and then each of the dogs had their own doghouse in a giant yard. This was the musher's presentation area:
Almost immediately, we noticed the HUGE horseflies. At first, it was a small nuisance but I can tell you by the end of the excursion, most of the 18 people in our group had really had it. The weather was unseasonably warm, as I mentioned before- which a few of the staff members mentioned as a contributing factor to the large presence of these really pesky critters.
We were directed over to a central meeting area, where John, one of the staffers gave us some general information about the health and welfare of the dogs- and how they are looked after. We were introduced to Mouse, one of the more experienced sled dogs, but Mouse did not look all that impressed with being the star of the show.
He taught us how to do a health check and also harness a dog up for a sled pull. After the demo, we were asked to go over to a line of willing dogs- who were clearly ready to say hello. Almost immediately, a beautiful dog approached us.. and we all were quite taken with him. John came over, handed us a harness and told us to give it a try. He also told us that Bear was one of two pure Siberian Huskies in the entire camp. Most of the others were Alaskan Huskies- which were essentially- mutts and mixed breeds.
Bear was my buddy. And I wouldn't necessarily call myself a dog person so this canine had some real talent at pulling on the heartstrings.
After we visited with Bear, he very willingly let us attempt the harness. Kevan had a real knack for it and was the first out of our group to have our buddy correctly suited up.
As we waited for others to finish, Mouse found his way over to us so I quickly made friends with him and he seemed quite content to let me to take his picture.
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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.