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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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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.
Okay.. I got off my duff and started the trip report.
Days one, two and three:
I had packed the car the night before, so I ‘slept in’ until 0400. I shaved, showered, and got dressed and hopped in my Donald Duck Blue car and headed towards Sacramento airport. Half way there I spotted an open Starbucks and got a double shot non-fat mocha to finish the drive.
I parked my trusty car in Economy parking ($9 per day), noted down my parking location (yes I had a pen and business card piece of cad ready to write it on), and caught the shuttle bus within three minutes. The bus dropped me off at the ‘old’ terminal (there is one relatively new one and a replacement for the old (meaning almost no services-cafes etc). As I got to check in I had a good start on which would not be my best flight experience on United. I was offered an upgrade to first class on the San Francisco to Vancouver leg. The price was reasonable so I grabbed it. I checked my main bag and headed through security. It was an interesting wait. The flight before mine’s passengers were being recalled to the ticket desk as the pilot for their plane had called in sick… We, however, were on time . We walked down the stairway to the turbo prop aircraft awaiting us. First they took our carryons and gave us gate checks for then. The luggage racks were too small for regular sized carrions. We boarded the three per row (one on left and two on right) aircraft and departed SMF on time and arrived at SFO on time.
We had two hours until our next flight. When I looked at the screen, low and behold this was a non meal flight (2 ½ hrs 11 am-1:30 pm). I figured that since I booked first class there would at least a snack served. Luckily, I was smart enough to buy a sandwich (smart move, but bad sandwich-dry as a bone and no mayo etc to put on it) and a soda. Boarded first … and not even offered a drink while boarding. : After we took off, they delivered our snack..Two bags of pretzels instead of one. I did have first onboard drink. (I was going to get something besides legroom for the extra $$.)
We arrived at Vancouver on time. Of course we had to walk the entire length of the terminal on the top level before we could go down to immigration. It was motorized walkway, and wonderfully decorated, but did not have time to get my camera out of my carryon. Being from the US, immigration went almost as fast as the Canadians were experiencing. Went to get my bag, and guess what..Going First Class did not help. I and four others, all of whom changed planes in SF, and all with at least 2 hours for United to move them, were all in the same boat..NO LUGGAGE! The United representative checked our tags on the computer, and , yes, all of them were in SF. The good news is that there were 3 more flights that day from SF to Vancouver. She would message down, but did not expect them to make the next flight, but estimated they would get to my hotel about 6PM. After taking a copy of the lost bag report to a customs officer (yes they might check the bag when it arrives).
I then cleared customs with my carryon in tow and on exiting saw a lady with a ‘Royal Caribbean’ sign. The good news was she had my name on the list of people who they were to transport to their hotel (I arrived 2 days early to enjoy Vancouver). The bad news was she was out of ‘taxi vouchers’. I was told to pay the cab driver cash (about a $35 trip to my hotel), and the RC rep at the hotel would get my reimbursement. I followed my instructions, but on arrival, there was no RC rep…l but she had left instructions and a taxi-cruise terminal voucher.
I checked into the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle.
Hotel:
Room (on 19th floor)
View from room
I then decided to venture out in Vancouver. Good idea, but not good circumstances. I had worn some dress loafers to wear on formal nights on the cruise, and both my tennis (trainers to some of you) and my $130 walking shoes (that can double as semi-formal shoes) were in my carryon. Not wanting to waste the time, I started walking the streets.
I found a lunch counter near where the stockbrokers worked, and got a chicken Panini, salad and coke for around $10. I walked A LOT in shoes not designed for walking. In fact (using an online interactive map of Vancouver to reconstruct my walk) I walked between 6.5 and 7 miles viewing a lot of ‘downtown’ Vancouver. I returned to my room about 5:30 and lay down for a nap. At 6:05 I got a call stating my luggage arrived and did I want it up. Two minutes later I had my missing bag, was happy to tip the bellman, took a shower, put on fresh clothes. I went out looking for dinner. The hotel was too expensive (special starting at $35)---besides I wanted simple food in Vancouver, since I would have lots of multicourse meals on the cruise ship-and found a deli around the corner. So I got a roast beef sandwich, salad and coke. By then I was tired from all the walking and returned to get a good night’s rest.
I got up Thursday at my normal 5:30 am, and at 6 meandered over to the Starbucks conveniently across the street and got my usual Mocha. About an hour later, I went to a little crepe restaurant nearby and got a ham and egg crepe.($8). At 8, having read their free guidebook, went over to Vancouver tourism, to look at brochures. I asked which was better, the ‘Big Bus’ or the “Trolley” tour. They said both were good, but the trolley was cheaper, and did two different routes. A two day senior ticket was $40..but there it was $38.
I caught the trolley and took both of its routes. Worth the money. Got back near my hotel at about noon and it was time to do some more walking (walking shoes this time). I walked over to Gastown and had lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory $13.50 for minestrone, spaghetti with meat sauce and a beverage.).I then did my Vancouver shopping, a little in Gastown and some on Robson street (Ladies this is a mile + of prime retail therapy.) I walked around more of the town (today was only about 3 ½ miles) and dropped my goods off in my room and returned to the deli from the night before (they gave me a 10% off card the first night). This time I grazed their buffet which was sold by the KG. I paid $9.56 for my plateful, with a Pepsi One (I could not find regular Diet Pepsi in Vancouver, but Pepsi One was all over the place.)
Some photos of Vancouver
Skin of Time Sculpture
Street corner Mosaics
Flowers everywhere
Park below my room
Seaplane port
Flame from Winter Olympics
Steam Clock
‘Gassy’
Western rail terminus
Marine building
Exterior
More exterior
Convention center roof
Help wanted… a man in Kilts will arrive
Friday, I got up, and returned to Starbucks , and walked over to the cruise terminal/convention center area. I had breakfast in a LARGE food court in the building across from Canada Place.
I returned to my room, and at 10:45 headed down to the street level, luggage in tow and took a taxi to the Cruise terminal.
A couple of comments on Vancouver. Expensive (what major city isn't ) CLEAN --it was hard to find litter FRIENDLY--the people did not just want your money, they wanted you to enjoy their city. SAFE--even what few panhandlers there were were clean, stayed against the building and were even quietly asking for donations. Felt very safe, day or night. You have to look for the old buildings, etc. as many are hidden among all the modern ones.
I couldn't agree with you more about Vancouver. We found everyone to be super friendly- including our cab drivers who were clearly very proud of the city. Bringing back GREAT memories already!! More please!
Well we're off to Seattle tomorrow morning and then on to Alaska Sunday! I'm so excited I could burst! Looking forward to more of your trip report when I get back!
Sounds like you really enjoyed your time in Vancouver! And from the looks of your photos, the weather was nice, too? I somehow expected clouds and drizzle...
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Thank
Pixie Dust
for the delay.
PassPorter Guide Author
No worries....
), and caught the shuttle bus within three minutes. The bus dropped me off at the ‘old’ terminal (there is one relatively new one and a replacement for the old (meaning almost no services-cafes etc). As I got to check in I had a good start on which would not be my best flight experience on United. I was offered an upgrade to first class on the San Francisco to Vancouver leg. The price was reasonable so I grabbed it. I checked my main bag and headed through security. It was an interesting wait. The flight before mine’s passengers were being recalled to the ticket desk as the pilot for their plane had called in sick…
We, however, were on time 
. We walked down the stairway to the turbo prop aircraft awaiting us. First they took our carryons and gave us gate checks for then. The luggage racks were too small for regular sized carrions. We boarded the three per row (one on left and two on right) aircraft and departed SMF on time and arrived at SFO on time. 
) and a soda. Boarded first … and not even offered a drink while boarding. 
: After we took off, they delivered our snack..Two bags of pretzels instead of one
. I did have first onboard drink. 
(I was going to get something besides legroom for the extra $$.)
I walked A LOT in shoes not designed for walking. In fact (using an online interactive map of Vancouver to reconstruct my walk) I walked between 6.5 and 7 miles viewing a lot of ‘downtown’ Vancouver. I returned to my room about 5:30 and lay down for a nap
. At 6:05 I got a call 
stating my luggage arrived and did I want it up. Two minutes later I had my missing bag, was happy to tip the bellman, took a shower, put on fresh clothes. I went out looking for dinner. The hotel was too expensive (special starting at $35)---besides I wanted simple food in Vancouver, since I would have lots of multicourse meals on the cruise ship-and found a deli around the corner. So I got a roast beef sandwich, salad and coke. By then I was tired from all the walking and returned to get a good night’s rest.
. About an hour later, I went to a little crepe restaurant nearby and got a ham and egg crepe.($8). At 8, having read their free guidebook, went over to Vancouver tourism, to look at brochures. I asked which was better, the ‘Big Bus’ or the “Trolley” tour. They said both were good, but the trolley was cheaper, and did two different routes. A two day senior ticket was $40..but there it was $38. 
) CLEAN --it was hard to find litter 
FRIENDLY--the people did not just want your money, they wanted you to enjoy their city. SAFE--even what few panhandlers there were were clean, stayed against the building and were even quietly asking for donations. Felt very safe, day or night. You have to look for the old buildings, etc. as many are hidden among all the modern ones.
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