A Maria and Ben “Mousefest” TR: The Greatest Gift of All Update Finished 5/3 - Page 17 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Maria! You need to finish this TR, so you can start your next one: "Molly and Trav come to visit Ben and Me while we're trying to live some semblance of a normal life....and they just won't leave!"
Maria! You need to finish this TR, so you can start your next one: "Molly and Trav come to visit Ben and Me while we're trying to live some semblance of a normal life....and they just won't leave!"
So after dropping Molly and Joey off at their villa Ben and I drove to the Saratoga Springs lobby to get a better look at their trees and garland.
Ben with Mind that Bird...ahhh Derby jokes
I am not a big horse girl but the decorations on their tree were some of my favorites of all the trees on property.
Molly had pointed out the garland on the day we checked in…if you looked really close there were all kinds of horse things weaved inside…I couldn’t get a great picture but here are a couple of mediocre ones.
After enjoying the holiday décor I showed Ben around the Saratoga Springs a little bit b/c he had never really been there. I took him to see the Turf Club area because it’s very manly looking and I thought he would like that.
I also showed him the main pool and the different hot tubs. I could actually grow to love this resort if things were not so spread out.
We decided to head over to the Polynesian to look at their decorations. We drove over and parked in the over flow parking lot at the Poly which was pretty much just like parking at the TTC. We enjoyed our nice walk to the lobby.
We saw this sign and thought it was so neat how they were going to have a camp fire here with Christmas movies kind of like over at the Fort Wilderness…cute.
I love the Polynesian so that made up for the fact that I wasn’t that impressed with their Christmas decorations.
I did love the poinsettias they were really pretty as part of the waterfall.
This is the tree that is upstairs near the entrance to Ohana..
We were done with the Poly as there wasn’t much to look at and we decided to head over to the Contemporary to get a bite to eat and so I could admire the gingerbread tree again.
We arrived in no time and went over to see the monorail modern art Christmas tree piece in one of the gift shops…I want to own this.
And then the gingerbread tree…Ben wasn’t as impressed as I was with it…maybe it was due to the fact that we had just saw it with Molly and Joey the night before…but I love things made of gingerbread.
We then headed over to the Quick Service place at the Contemporary “Contempo Café”…Ben had one thing on his mind BURGER. He was sure after the Saratoga didn’t have a burger on the menu that he was out of luck but lo and behold
6 Ounce Angus Cheeseburger - served with choice of cheddar, American or Pepper Jack cheese
I was so proud of him b/c he didn’t even complain that it was served on a whole wheat bun…oh wait yea he did.
I had chicken noodle soup and green bean salad… and it was delish.
We looked at the time and decided to head over to Hollywood Studios for the Osbourne lights. But first I glimpsed the tree in front of Chef Mickey’s and fell in love with it…
I wanted all of the ornaments off of it for my tree at home.
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.
seeing those pics remind me of how much I loved disney at Christmas! Too cool about the monorail tree...I thought that was really neat (yes I used the word neat*L*).
That burger actually looked really good wheat or not wheat bun The bonfire at the poly at christmas sounds fun too! Disney really out does everyone at christmas! Love all the pics you took
Loved seeing all the holiday decoration pics Maria!!! The tree at Saratoga Springs was so beautiful. I love all things horses so that was my favorite from your pics! I'm with Ben on the whole wheat bun. Can't wait to see your pics of the Osbourne Lights.
Location: Exported from Morgantown, WV to Shreveport, LA
Posts: 4,104
Post Thanks / Like
Likes (Given): 0
Likes (Received): 0
Thanks (Given): 0
Thanks (Received): 0
Pixie Dust (Given): 0
Pixie Dust (Received): 0
I have to say, I was less-than-impressed with some of Disney's decorations this year, but the Saratoga Springs garlands and trees were by far my favorite. They even had tiny little riding hats and boots, buggy whips, and other awesome riding accoutrement scattered within the tree!
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Danny and I at Epcot 8/14/08
Susan
to see so many trees.
Deb
PassPorter Guide Author
The bonfire at the poly at christmas sounds fun too! Disney really out does everyone at christmas! Love all the pics you took
Linear Mode
