Dreaming of a Disney spring break - part three COMPLETED - Page 67 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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The safari pictures are wonderful. Sorry to hear about your lack of sleep. That makes for a very long day. Hope you were able to sleep on the way home.
Sorry that you did not have a good night sleep but glad that Disney compensated you for the issue, even though I think a good night sleep would have been better.
What an amazing safari, I so wanted to do this on our trip but it was too late in the deal to get a conceirge room this time around but it is on the top of our list for the next trip. I loved all the wonderful pictures and the close ups, I do not think I have ever seen one of the hippos outside the water before - what a great shot.
Was glad to hear Disney made good on your rough night. I think that was the right way to take care of that problem. I think you have some great photos from the Safari. Bumpy start, but a great finish!!!!!!!!
Your rating of Boma sounds very much like mine and Luke's after this past June's trip. The desserts were great and the soups we had as appetizers were very tasty, but nothing was as outstanding as we've felt on other visits here. Super pictures from the Sunrise Safari!
Sorry about the poor nights sleep... but I have to say that the one time I was able to stay Savannah view at AKL... I was up all night continuously to go out on the balcony and see what might be out there, It was quite the distraction for me to begin with. Your trip is coming to an end
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So I'm curious as to how exactly the Disney compensation on your room worked out because you were staying on points. I love the Sunrise Safari and it looks like you got some great shots--I've never seen the Hippos out of the water before!
Sorry about the poor nights sleep... but I have to say that the one time I was able to stay Savannah view at AKL... I was up all night continuously to go out on the balcony and see what might be out there, It was quite the distraction for me to begin with. Your trip is coming to an end
I hear you! I think every time we stay there, as soon as I wake up, I'm outside, checking to see what's out there...
So I'm curious as to how exactly the Disney compensation on your room worked out because you were staying on points. I love the Sunrise Safari and it looks like you got some great shots--I've never seen the Hippos out of the water before!
They took it off our room bill, which obviously included dining etc. They told us that they were going to do that, as we were staying on points and it made sense to us.
Sunday 24 April – part two: a superb end to our safari
We saw the monkeys come out, with the keeper feeding them. Apparently, they have around 260 animal keepers in total, with about 25 who work exclusively at night. About 98% of the animals go in at night, as that’s the way they get fed. If they stay out, they get less food.
We also saw the elephants come out, with the keeper again in shot feeding them, which was fascinating to see.
Around the corner, we got some serious close-ups of ostriches....
... and even saw the cheetahs stretching their legs, which was very neat.
All in all, it was a superb tour and worth every penny we paid for it. Our next stop was Pizzafari for a private breakfast, which was packed with things, such as fresh fruit, pastries, hot items, including French toast and syrup and plantains – my favourites. It was a really good spread, although at first, it was insane, as all 58 people rushed up and there was a complete melee. I decided to visit the restrooms and come back when people were done and I think that was the best plan.
At this stage, we were finished and everyone just drifted off. It’s a shame that it ended like that, but I’m not sure how else they could do it. We headed outside:
Oh your breakfast looked just scrumptious! I think you've gotten the best shots of the cheetas that I've ever seen--I never see them up and about! I am calling AKL Concierge tomorrow to ask if there is room for us on the Sunrise Safari in October--it was great the first time we did it and I think we'll have a great time the second time through!
You captured some beautiful pictures of the animals on the sunrise safari!!! Nice to hear that Disney compensated you on the noise factor. We experienced something similar when we stayed at the Grand Floridian for our 20th Wedding Anniversary years ago, but sadly we did not get the same type of customer service that you did. Sad that your TR is coming to an end but very much looking forward to hearing about your upcoming trip!
Sorry about the bad nights sleep! I'm glad you were compensated. The safari pictures are awesome! What great views. That boy would have freaked me out announcing that he wanted to swim with the alligators and then standing up. What a way to get your heart pumping early in the morning! The breakfast looks yummy. Thanks again for sharing all the wonderful pictures, and I can't wait to read about your best Eeyore experience!
What the heck kind of plant is that??? Mark looks very interested in it.
Glad to hear the safari was a success. I'm like you, let everyone kill themselves to get to the food because they lack the patience to wait...it happens all over the parks.
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. I think you have some great photos from the Safari. Bumpy start, but a great finish!!!!!!!!
It was quite the distraction for me to begin with. Your trip is coming to an end
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It was a really good spread, although at first, it was insane, as all 58 people rushed up and there was a complete melee. 
I decided to visit the restrooms and come back when people were done and I think that was the best plan.
Nice to hear that Disney compensated you on the noise factor.
We experienced something similar when we stayed at the Grand Floridian for our 20th Wedding Anniversary years ago, but sadly we did not get the same type of customer service that you did. Sad that your TR is coming to an end but very much looking forward to hearing about your upcoming trip!
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