Don't Stop - the Pocono mountains section COMPLETED - Page 21 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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.
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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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So were those 3 hours spent waiting on the plane? I'm not a big fan of flying, so I think I would have been nervous the whole time about that system problem. Anyway, I'm glad you made it back safely, even with the delay.
So were those 3 hours spent waiting on the plane? I'm not a big fan of flying, so I think I would have been nervous the whole time about that system problem. Anyway, I'm glad you made it back safely, even with the delay.
Pretty much I think we were delayed for maybe half an hour or so before we boarded?
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I'm sad that this TR is coming to an end. You sure had such a nice time with Sue and Steve! Sorry that you had such a long delay but at least you were in Upper Class!!! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful TR with us. You're such an interesting TR writer and I always look forward to reading about your adventures together.
I always think that the airlines should let everyone off the plane in situations like that, although I suppose it would make it harder to get them reboarded later. But it's terrible to keep everyone cooped up like that for so long... cold, stuck in your seat, no power, no toilets, no beverages... yuck!!
It was so sad to see the last day of your trip approach, glad everyone survived the "partying"from the night before
Dinner at the hotel looked delicious but wow that was a lot of food, I would have been stuffed as well. Sorry about the delay of your flight, three hours is a long time to be stuck on the tarmac, glad you had lucked our with First Class (which looks just so cool by the way).
Looking forward to hearing about how your flight was and of course your final thoughts, I always dread coming to the end of your TR, at least we still have your France trip to read....think it is time to head off for another "drive" somewhere soon so we will have another report to take over once the France TR is complete.
Looking forward to hearing about how your flight was and of course your final thoughts, I always dread coming to the end of your TR, at least we still have your France trip to read....think it is time to head off for another "drive" somewhere soon so we will have another report to take over once the France TR is complete.
Don't worry - there will be one, there's another road trip planned for September, so I'm sure the France trip will take you at least part - if not all of the way there - then there'll be another one to enjoy after that.
Saturday 2 January – part two: just keep filling those drinks up!
As we taxied down the runway, we were able to get a far off glimpse of the Manhatten skyline and the Empire State Building, which was neat. It was a shame that we hadn’t made it in there this trip, but no doubt we will get back there again one day.
It did seem weird to finally be leaving America, after so long in the country. I dearly wish that all our trips could be this long, as it really offers you the chance to relax and enjoy it.
Fortunately, for this flight we had one of the newer aircraft, so we could watch what we wanted when we wanted, rather than waiting for the other movies to end, with the ability to stop and pause the films, whenever you wanted. This is the life and I hope they soon phase out the remainder of the planes that don’t posses this ability yet or get them upgraded.
My entertainment system took a while to get going, but finally it did. I wasn’t relishing the prospect of six and a half hours without it, but fortunately, it didn’t come to that. The first movie I watched was Carriers that I hadn’t heard of before, but the plot intrigued me and it turned out to be quite good.
During it, we went through a couple of bits of turbulence that were pretty bad, so bad in fact that the crew had to sit down both times. What is it with us and turbulence on the flights to and from the States?
Our first meal, once airborne, was breakfast and I went for yoghurt and fruit and cinnamon bread with strawberry jam.
Me with my food! Mark’s breakfast I can see you!
We both then took advantage of the freedom menu that allows you to order anything you want whenever you want it, with Mark getting a burger and me getting some cheese. The amount of port that came with my cheese was just obscene and I knew that I could never finish it and so it proved to be.
The view outside
The guy who had served me that much port was called Tim and he offered to take some photos of us at the bar, so once the turbulence was done, we took him up on his offer. We then sat at the bar for a while, talking to him and enjoying beer for Mark and Bailey’s for me, which Tim kept topping up again and again and again...
Before we knew it, it was time for dinner (amazing, when you’re flying how quickly dinner follows breakfast! ) and for appetiser, I had the scallop and red pepper salad. I didn’t have the dressing, as it tarragon in it and I can’t stand the stuff. : The salad wasn’t bad, the scallops and the red peppers were beautiful, but the salad didn’t do much for me.
Waiting for dinner to be served!
My main course was salmon with a beautiful dill sauce, which was lovely, but I just couldn’t finish it, as I think I had already had too much to eat and possibly to drink...
Mark had the same appetiser as me, plus the sauce and I’m guessing, looking at the photos that maybe he had chicken for dinner, although I never noted down his choice.
The next movie I watched to pass the time was Julie and Julia, which was so wonderful and so enchanting. It was a great choice and helped to lighten the mood, after the previous film, which hadn’t exactly been cheery...
As we flew along, it got darker and darker outside, although sadly there was no real sunset to see tonight. It was a very weird feeling, as usually when we fly home, it’s getting lighter and lighter outside, as we take the red-eye flight. It did make me feel more tired and that was no bad thing, as we did need to sleep when we got back home to help minimise the jet lag.
A couple of hours before we were due to land, they turned out all the lights and, for the life of me. I couldn’t figure out why, as this was a day time flight. Still, I did notice on a trip to the restrooms that Mark was enjoying some shut-eye, which is rare for him on a plane.
We landed on time, well taking into account the two and a half hours that we had sat on the runway for before takeoff, anyway. That meant we landed at 10.30 at night, when we were originally due at 8.00. We were quickly off and, although the line to clear passport control looked awful, in truth we were probably through it in about 10 minutes.
We headed for baggage claim and three of our four cases were already on the belt when we got there and we quickly found the fourth. We cleared customs and met up with Mark’s parents. I felt so sorry for them, having such a late night, because of our flight delays. We headed outside to the car, with me saying how mild it was and it was! It was in the high 30s, which was a very pleasant change to us, after the last few days.
By the time we got home, it was about 12.30 in the morning and we made ourselves a cup of tea and put on some washing before heading to bed. We did struggle to sleep at first, but finally, we got off. We were home with a day to recover and catch our breath before work beckoned again...
The weather today was dry and in the high 30s when we landed. As for New York, it was probably in the low 20s when we left the hotel in the morning. The best thing today was flying Upper Class. The worst thing today was the flight delays we suffered. Today we tried sampling the freedom menu in Upper Class And the result was we both enjoyed it. The most magical moment today was sitting at the bar, chatting to Tim.
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Looks like you had comfy surrounding to keep you occupied! 
Anyway, I'm glad you made it back safely, even with the delay.
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
PassPorter Guide Author
I think we were delayed for maybe half an hour or so before we boarded?
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful TR with us. You're such an interesting TR writer and I always look forward to reading about your adventures together.
I can't remember how long this trip was, you've done so much in it!!! 
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