A Little Trans-Atlantic Magic - The (somewhat) LIVE TR! -updated 07/03/13 - Page 10 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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I've always wanted to see Gibraltar and am so glad you loved it! Rest up... Barcelona will be a lot of walking! I'm so glad this trip doesn't end when the cruise does. That would be just too painful!
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Chris and I LOVE the Magic!! I love her because I've spent more time on her than any other Disney ship - and of course we honeymooned on her - doing basically the same itinerary you are on now. I would love to do that again. I love at sea days!!
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Well... killing the last 30 minutes of internet time on my plan... I printed the Disneyland Paris tickets tonight, though, which definitely takes a bit of the sting out of the impending departure!
We watched the show tonight, "Remember the Magic", and then we did the "Til We Meet Again" thing in the lobby, where a bunch of characters come out for half-hour for final autographs and photos. I warned Meri that we MIGHT get to meet 2 or 3, so have a couple of favorites in her mind, and we'll go from there. The girl setting up re-iterated that to her, and so we had very low expectations. Imagine our surprise that we managed to meet eleven!! I will say, in that eleven was AnnaMarie (from the Dreams show) who was with Peter Pan, and then also included was "Scar" (the guy who played him in one of the shows) and the beautiful lady who sang in the show. So really it's eight characters and three "extras", but still... eleven is pretty impressive for half hour, if you ask me.
Anyway, at the end, all of the characters said goodbye to the group, one by one, as they went up the stairs... and of course Mickey was last - and when he waved, I just knew. I looked over at Meri, and her face just crumpled. I called her over to me (she was a few feet away) and then the tears came. Oh dear. Which, of course, made ME tear up. Bless her little heart. I don't blame her a bit.
So, now we're in the cabin. She's finally asleep (it's around 11:30pm as I type this) and mom is reading a bit. I'm all packed... it's ridiculous how much crap I have. We have two boxes to ship back and I STILL have three overflowing suitcases just for myself and Meri. Of course, to be fair, I also have something like six bottles of wine, four new "friends" (what we call her stuffed animals and dolls), a couple of FE gifts we've saved (some people went all out on this, I swear), a new sweatsuit, two new tshirts for me and one for Meri, and a bunch of souvenirs. Oh dear. I think I might have to mail a box home from Paris, too! Or buy another suitcase, since at least going from Paris to home, I can check two bags each for free, up to 70 lbs each. I bet it takes me a month to unpack!
Anyway, I hope you're all well! In 12 hours (yikes) I'll be in my apartment in Barcelona! Crazy, right?
Been there, done that on the sobbing in the atrium! And I reared up thinking of poor little Meri's face crumpling now, and then you starting. Yes, I do cry too easily!
How with all those sea days, did you manage to accumulate so much more stuff? Had you packed only clothes that come in little cubes, and then pop out when you add water? 'Cause I know you can't make those get back into small little cubes again (we've tried!)!
Enjoy Barcelona!! Have a glass of Cava for me!
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Oh, dear! Now I'm crying thinking about that moment when Mickey waves good-bye and feeling for Meri and for you! That's amazing that Meri got to meet 11 of the characters. So much stuff to deal with! Hope you have no problem getting a big-enough cab to get to the apartment.
So sorry to see the cruise come to an end - but wow, what a way to end it with all those characters!
I'm sure getting a new suitcase won't be an issue, if you need one. I was talking to Hazel last night about a quick (ish) stop off at a supermarket after lunch on Saturday, as I need ( that's right need ) new supplies of the great wine she's got me hooked on - and I guess they'd probably have suitcases there, but Hazel can advise for sure, as it's her local...
Ok, now I'M tearing up!!! Sad but happy for you guys! Can't wait to hear about Barcelona!
We arrived today, and are settled into the apartment. It was a very long morning, but a very calm and quiet afternoon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
Been there, done that on the sobbing in the atrium! And I reared up thinking of poor little Meri's face crumpling now, and then you starting. Yes, I do cry too easily!
How with all those sea days, did you manage to accumulate so much more stuff? Had you packed only clothes that come in little cubes, and then pop out when you add water? 'Cause I know you can't make those get back into small little cubes again (we've tried!)!
Enjoy Barcelona!! Have a glass of Cava for me!
Well, see, the sea days were actually the problem. Those *&(#^! shops aren't open while we're in port. And I barely had time to shop in the ports, so I didn't accumulate TOO much stuff. But we came home heavy 4 tshirts, a sweatsuit (mine), four new "friends" for Meri, four bottles of wine... you get the idea. I shipped home two boxes of stuff (princess dresses, formal dresses, misc junk we wouldn't need, some souvenirs) but we still have a lot of stuff! The funny thing is, unpacked, it doesn't look like so much!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Oh, dear! Now I'm crying thinking about that moment when Mickey waves good-bye and feeling for Meri and for you! That's amazing that Meri got to meet 11 of the characters. So much stuff to deal with! Hope you have no problem getting a big-enough cab to get to the apartment.
Somehow we managed to fit all of the stuff into a little cab. I did laugh when the guy lifted my suitcase. Took him two tries. I think he expected it to be lighter the first time he tried, and he didn't put enough muscle into it. *snort* It was pretty funny! Poor guy. I did give him a good tip though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jakesmom1118
Oh no poor meri!!!! I've never cruised but this is high on my list now! I hope you enjoy Barcelona and then Paris. It sounds like a dream come true!!!
Oh cruising is wonderful! One of my favorite ways to see new places!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
So sorry to see the cruise come to an end - but wow, what a way to end it with all those characters!
I'm sure getting a new suitcase won't be an issue, if you need one. I was talking to Hazel last night about a quick (ish) stop off at a supermarket after lunch on Saturday, as I need ( that's right need ) new supplies of the great wine she's got me hooked on - and I guess they'd probably have suitcases there, but Hazel can advise for sure, as it's her local...
Sounds great! I'm hoping I won't need one, but either way, I'll love wandering! I'm sure I'll find SOMETHING I "need". What's this wine??
I was so excited to switch on my phone and get all those messages from you - I just love technology! When Mark got back, I was like "Melanie's been texting me from Barcelona" - now how good does that sound?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Principessa_di_Fata
Sounds great! I'm hoping I won't need one, but either way, I'll love wandering! I'm sure I'll find SOMETHING I "need". What's this wine??
You'll have to ask Hazel for the details - she's the one who got me hooked on it. It's a lovely French rose wine and I've just enjoyed another nice of glass of it. I'm on the final bottle and can finally enjoy it, knowing I can stock up next weekend! I may also get some of my other favourite rose wine at the Calais terminal of Eurotunnel, as they've got a deal - basically buy three bottles, get another three free!
So sorry to see the cruise come to an end - but wow, what a way to end it with all those characters!
I'm sure getting a new suitcase won't be an issue, if you need one. I was talking to Hazel last night about a quick (ish) stop off at a supermarket after lunch on Saturday, as I need ( that's right need ) new supplies of the great wine she's got me hooked on - and I guess they'd probably have suitcases there, but Hazel can advise for sure, as it's her local...
The supermarket outside my house doesn't sell suitcases but there is one about 10 minutes away if you need to i can take you there.
The wine is the cheapest French Rose in fact the French say it is not real wine but I love it and now it seems so does Cheryl.
I was so excited to switch on my phone and get all those messages from you - I just love technology! When Mark got back, I was like "Melanie's been texting me from Barcelona" - now how good does that sound?
You'll have to ask Hazel for the details - she's the one who got me hooked on it. It's a lovely French rose wine and I've just enjoyed another nice of glass of it. I'm on the final bottle and can finally enjoy it, knowing I can stock up next weekend! I may also get some of my other favourite rose wine at the Calais terminal of Eurotunnel, as they've got a deal - basically buy three bottles, get another three free!
In fact I have a couple of old suitcases in the cupboard I asked Graeme to throw out when I bought our new ones but like the good hubby he is he forgot so i can give you a suitcase.
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that's right need 
) new supplies of the great wine she's got me hooked on - and I guess they'd probably have suitcases there, but Hazel can advise for sure, as it's her local... 
When Mark got back, I was like "Melanie's been texting me from Barcelona" - now how good does that sound? 
I'm on the final bottle and can finally enjoy it, knowing I can stock up next weekend! I may also get some of my other favourite rose wine at the Calais terminal of Eurotunnel, as they've got a deal - basically buy three bottles, get another three free! 
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