A 40th celebration to end the world! COMPLETED 4/23 - Page 22 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Both your dinners looked amazingly delicious. Your pictures with Donald are my favorites. He looks so cute in his tux. Congrats on the Mediterranean! Luke has agreed that we might could do this one in the future.
I take it "in the future" wouldn't be next year then? I have to ask!
Sunday 16 December – part five: we have the ship to ourselves!
We had a quick look over at Shutters, but all they had was our photo from yesterday when we boarded.
We had thought of going to the Tube, so we headed that way, but found it was closed until 10:00pm. Ok, looks like we won’t make it this cruise then…
Instead, we went into the Skyline Lounge, and ordered ourselves some cocktails. The menus in here are so cool – they’re backlit when you open them up.
I looked at the menu, and really wasn’t sure what I wanted, as nothing was grabbing me, so I asked one of the servers what would suit a sweeter palate. He suggested Sogno di Cioccolato, which included Sogno d’Italia Chianti, fresh muddled raspberries, sweet cocoa, agave nectar, and whipped cream. It was very nice, and definitely on the right side of sweet for my palate, and I really enjoyed it, although you could certainly taste the alcohol.
For Mark, he told him that El Conquistador, which contained Tanqueray gin, absolut pepper, fresh muddled strawberries, basil, and fresh cracked pepper was very popular, and Mark decided to give a go. To me, it sounded disgusting, and sure enough, Mark didn’t think much of it and only drank a bit.
We sat there for about half an hour and watched the various scenes rotate, getting Athens, St. Petersburg, Florence, and Barcelona while we were in there.
I was lucky enough to catch the scenes as they were changing! Can you see the ship in the shot?
We literally had the place to ourselves, which was lovely. However, we both knew about the one cocktail, so we called it a day after those, and headed along deck four, choosing the exterior route, which was lovely to walk along the deck at night.
We were heading for the shops, as Mark had seen a couple more scrapbook kits he wanted to show me, and I wanted to get there before the show kicked out. I ended up getting both, then we headed back to the lobby.
It was deserted!
Once we got there, we found a heap of photographers with no-one to photograph, as they’d set up in time for the people coming out from the show in a few minutes, so we had a real blitz! Our first stop was for a castle backdrop….
… then we walked up with no wait and did the stair photo. Now how cool is that?
Even better, there was a photographer taking shots by the gingerbread house. We were told he was only doing it as a favour, and we went and asked him if he’d take our photo. He said he would, but it needed to be quick, as the show was now kicking out, and people were now arriving, and understandably he didn’t want to be trapped there, which I could understand.
All that done, we headed back to the room, with me getting some photos from the elevator on the way back:
It had been a truly wonderful formal night. To top it off, this was waiting for us when we got back to our room:
The weather today was hot and humid with temperatures in the high 70s. The best thing today was Palo brunch. The worst thing today was how hot I got at Palo. The funniest thing today was Donald’s reaction to me saying he looked better than Mickey… Today we tried spending time in the Skyline Lounge And the result was it was really cool to just sit there and see the different skylines. The most magical moment today was getting our photo done by the stairs with no wait.
Next: this is fit for a prince, princess, King or Queen!
How cute that Mark found some scrapbook kits for you. Wow, I can't believe how deserted the ship looked and you really lucked out with all your photos.
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I'm all caught up finally! I hate playing catch-up with TRs, as I forget what I wanted to comment on in each installment. I'll just say this is shaping up to be a great cruise, with a new one booked already. You both look wonderful in your formal wear and I think you should just keep wearing that dress until it falls apart. The color and the style are perfect and every time you wear it you look lovely.
You lucked out with the empty lobby - awesome! The skyline lounge looks so interesting.
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Great timing for the staircases photos. Your dress is lovely.
I'm a little confused by your comment "we both knew about the one cocktail" Do they want you to move on after one cocktail or you & Mark were only up for one cocktail ?
The ship really is stunning.
Sorry your dinner wasn't up to par. Once again it seems like this is where DCL fails miserably. I had such high hopes for the newer ships, but they seem to be following in the footsteps of the older ships. Love all the pictures you got this night.
I'm afraid any cruise for us will have to wait until 2015. I love the changing scenes in the Skyline Lounge, but Mark's drink sounded disgusting. The gift shop is so neatly and attractively arranged. Disney definitely knows how to market their products. You timed it so well for the lobby photos, too!
I have told my hubby that once we both retire from the military that we are going to take the Mediterranean cruise!! It looks amazing Can't wait to see your TR from that one!!!
For entrée, I went for the vegetarian options, as the sea scallops were in a veal juice and although I loved the idea of the sea bass, the fact it came in a sweet chili sauce and with fava beans, which I can’t stand, put me off completely.
So am I the only one who thinks of Hannibal Lecter when I hear fava Beans?
What a wonderful night, just strolling around and taking it slow. You sure did time it right to get some fab pictures and not having to wait in a bunch of crowds.
I love that you got to stroll around "by yourselves". The Skyline looks like a nice place. I didn't really "get it" from descriptions, but seeing your photos makes it clearer. I had to smile because I think the Conquistador sounds yummy, and your drink too... I'll have to get both, lol
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Congrats on the Mediterranean! Luke has agreed that we might could do this one in the future.
I have to ask! 
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Great shots!!
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