A Little Trans-Atlantic Magic - The (somewhat) LIVE TR! -updated 07/03/13 - Page 27 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
I'm loving your leisurely mornings. That sounds positively dreamy. And the calms seas are amazing! Almost kinda spooky looking.
Pirate night, what a blast! Every photo looks like more fun than the last one. I suppose after such a fun night, a disappointing buffet would be a bit of a downer. But maybe it's supposed to be foods that pirates ate? That's why it's so... blah? Just a guess!
And the food photos.....
__________________
Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
What a wonderful couple of days at sea! I still can't get over how calm it was for you.
That's the one I was telling you about when we met - we were on the first ever Med cruise, directly after the repositioning and quite a few guests did the repositioning, then stayed on board for the Med cruise and everyone talked about how appalling the weather was. That's what put me off a Transatlantic cruise.
However, I did have a look at the itineraries and I have to say if, in the future, they came up with one like the Westbound next year that goes back to San Juan, I'd be interested in that, as that's a great itinerary. Obviously it would have to be Eastbound, as the main attraction is not dealing with the crippling jet lag coming home, but I just love that one - stops at St. Kitts, St. Maarten and Antigua before the crossing (I'm dreaming it's going Eastbound now!) - now you're talking my language.
I would love those stops on an Eastbound! I'd be there!!! And the calm seas were perfect. I had fun with the rocky boat for the one day it was rough (after Madeira) but six days straight of that would have gotten old fast...
Quote:
Originally Posted by rlb38
Love all the characters in their pirate outfits. Did you space out handing out your goodies in the FE's. You showed us the glasses , I'm just curious about what other goodies you received.
We did space out handing them out. We did some here and some there... and saved a bunch for the second to last day, just so people still got treats. I'll take pictures of some of the other FE gifts we got. A lot of them were really cool, I have to say.
Quote:
Originally Posted by disney_duke
I'm loving your leisurely mornings. That sounds positively dreamy. And the calms seas are amazing! Almost kinda spooky looking.
Pirate night, what a blast! Every photo looks like more fun than the last one. I suppose after such a fun night, a disappointing buffet would be a bit of a downer. But maybe it's supposed to be foods that pirates ate? That's why it's so... blah? Just a guess!
And the food photos.....
Leisurely mornings were fabulous on the cruise. I miss them almost as much as I miss the food!!
Our fourth day in a row at sea... and I still wasn't stir-crazy in the least!!! This morning we needed to get up at 9:30am because Meri wanted to learn the Do-Si-Do with Snow White. We went to Parrot Cay for breakfast, leaving mom to sleep because she had a rough night with reflux, and then headed to the Oceaneers Club. Unfortunately (for me), it was Open House, so I had to stay. I always hate when they have Open House at the club. I know, I know, no “mom of the year” award for me, but seriously… I want to drop my kid off there, not stay and learn a dance, lol. Of course, because I DO love my kid, I stayed and played and learned the Do-Si-Do. I’m just being honest, lol, I’d rather have been in the Cove Café with a cup of coffee. I felt like they had entirely too many "open house" events at the club. I think I've complained about this before to you guys... but it was ridiculous. Every at-sea day was some sort of open house in either the club or the lab... and it wasn't a short one, it was a 3+ hour long one. And while you might think the club and lab are interchangeable, I assure you, they aren't. But oh well, it was what it was.
Anyway... first we checked out some stuff on the computer, since the Do-Si-Do wasn't ready to start yet...
Then we all gathered in the main room of the Club, and the fun began. First, one of the CM's from the club began by telling the story of Snow White - and she had parents come up and act out certain parts. You won't be surprised to learn that I was Dopey. *sigh* Of course. After that, we all got together and learned the Do-Si-Do with our kids. Then Snow White came out and told a story.
After that, we headed back to the cabin, but we got distracted by Goofy and Max in the atrium, and had to stop to say hello!
I love this next shot because she's hugging Goofy, but holding his nose, and it just tickles me.
Then we continued to the cabin, where Meri changed into her bathing suit, and by 11:45am, we were headed up to the Mickey Pool for a bit.
After about 15 minutes of frolicking with a little boy there, it was off to the Goofy Pool, where Meri swam and watched Toy Story, and I worked on my trip report and read a book.
I know it’s illogical, but I wish there were outlets out by the pool, lol. I can’t plug in anywhere, and my battery stinks on my laptop. I get MAYBE an hour out of it. *sigh* Oh well, poor me, right?
We stayed at the pools for nearly 5 hours straight! Meri and Timothy swam, and Katrina and I sat in the sun at two different tables, side by side! I read my book and just relaxed… had a burger and some corn bread, and then relaxed some more!
My burger from Pluto's Dog House
Then there was an ice cream break...
and then MORE relaxing and reading! The great thing about Meri being able to swim is that I don’t have to be with her when she swims. Especially when Timothy is with her – I know there’s always someone paying attention to her. At one point when I peeked over to check on her, Meri was being carried around the pool by a trio of pre-teen (or possibly teenaged) girls. She was laughing and cackling, and they were passing her around and whirling her around the pool. It was funny to watch. Silly kid.
Finally at 4:30pm I had to drag her out of the pool and bring her to the room to get bathed and ready for dinner. She took a nice warm bubble bath and then I got her ready for dinner and stuck her in front of the tv until dinner. She definitely needed some down time after such an active morning!
At 5:45pm, I brought Meri up to Lumiere’s for dinner. Mom and I were dining at Palo, but Katrina and Dale graciously offered to take charge of Meri for dinner so that she could dine with the other kids instead of in the club. I have to tell you, I felt so awkward walking into Lumiere’s on semi-formal night in a pair of denim capris, a tshirt and sneakers! LOL! I felt like I had to tell everyone, “I’m just dropping her off and leaving, I swear!” No one was at the table, so Kadek told me he would keep her company until everyone arrived, bless his heart! As if they don’t do enough for us, now he wants to add babysitting to his repertoire! Fortunately, Katrina walked up just then, so off I went!
Mom and I hung out in the cabin for a bit, watching Joyful Noise as we got ready, and finally, it was time to go.
Our reservation was for 7pm and we were a few minutes early, but we were seated right away. Our server was Evandro, from Brazil, and unfortunately, he was a bit difficult to understand when he talked fast, but he was very efficient and friendly, and his food recommendations were spot on! He really knew his stuff!
For our appetizer he brought us an antipasto plate, with prosciutto, some beef that was done similarly to prosciutto, olives, roasted red peppers, fresh parmesan and a few other things.
None of it really appealed to me, but I did have some of the beef and some parmesan. Then he brought the bread – and that definitely spoke my name. I think we finished all of the bread!
It's not a great picture of the bread, but... this is all I got, so... lol...
After that, we got our appetizers. Mom got the tuna carpaccio and I got the grilled shrimp on our servers recommendation.
The tuna wasn’t what mom expected, but she ate it and said it was good, and she was glad to try something new and unexpected! The shrimp was far better than my expectations, and if I could have licked the plate, I would have. It was out of this world, every bit of it!
Evandro then brought us a small glass of sorbet to cleanse our palates. It was really good and I admit I found myself wishing it was on the dessert menu, lol!
For our entrée, mom got the sea bass, again on his recommendation. I got the tenderloin, which was another thing he recommended. We both were thrilled with our meals. Mom said it was the flakiest, best sea bass she’d ever had. My tenderloin was absolutely delicious, and it was served on a bed of mashed potatoes and spinach. Delicious!
He also brought us a sample of the lobster ravioli, which he said we just had to try. Oh dear heavens, it was so good, I found myself wishing I’d ordered that. It was so delicious and decadent… I will definitely get that any time it’s offered to me! *swoon*
For dessert, mom got the chocolate soufflé, and I got the tiramisu. I asked if the tiramisu was the same as in the dining room, and he told me no, that the dining room tiramisu was made en masse and kept for a week or two, because it will last without spoiling, but the tiramisu at Palo was made fresh and in small batches. Between us (shhhhh), I liked the dining room tiramisu much, much better. Crazy, right? But it was so creamy and delicious! But this was good, and I enjoyed it. He also brought me a soufflé because he said he wanted me to try it. I’m not a really big chocolate person, so I didn’t really eat much of it but I tried it because he seemed so excited about it, and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings! I can’t say I really liked it, but then like I said, I’m not really a chocolate person, especially not rich chocolate. So it wasn’t surprising to me that I didn’t like it much! (lol, I'm sorry Colleen!!!) Mom, on the other hand, devoured hers!
We had coffee, and then he brought us a complimentary after-dinner drink with lemon sorbet in it.
After we settled up the bill, we headed back down to the room.
We were pleasantly full (maybe a little more than pleasantly, lol… but still, I was glad for it) and put on Breaking Dawn Part 2 while we relaxed! I wasn’t due to get Meri from the kids club until 10pm, because she was doing an event, so we had time to unwind. I went to pick her up at 10, and we all finished the movie together. Yes, I really did let my 7 year old watch the big battle scene at the end. I did explain to her the “twist” beforehand, but it didn’t matter. She thought it was hilarious! Every time a vampires head (or really, any other body part) came off, she cheered. Weird kid. She thought it was hilarious and asked me, “Gosh mom, why am I not allowed to watch the Twilight movies? They’re so funny!” Like I said, weird kid. And she still talks about it.
BTW, this was our towel animal. Anyone know what it is? We couldn't figure it out. We had a few ideas, but we weren't really SURE...
Finally we set the clock ahead, making it midnight again (seems like that’s our usual bedtime these days) and we went to sleep!
You didn't like the soufflé?!?!? OMG!!! I hope your mom ate both! Did you pour the vanilla sauce in? That's the key, as it cuts the richness of the chocolate. I'm just going to shake my head on this one. No panna cotta either? That's my second favorite - but a far second...
Mmmmmm Palo! So glad you enjoyed your meal there, even if the desserts weren't to your taste. The waiters always try to force a chocolate souffle on me-- it's very hard to convince people you don't like chocolate! I love all the time the kids get with the characters on board. So different from just getting a quick autograph at the parks or even the character meals. On board you see them just walking around and interacting at the kids clubs. Love your rant about the open house hours at the clubs!
I totally understand the unexpected open house. Just when you think you've got a few hours to yourself, smack! Nope, ruined. Yeah, yeah, I love my kids too. But I totallly hear ya! You live for those moments of peace and quiet. And when it's abruptly taken from you..... yeah. But a whole afternoon at the pool kinda makes up for it.
Dinner sounded, and looked, deee-licious!! And I'm guessing the towel animal is a rabbit that's sitting? It is odd.
__________________
Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Another fantastic day and you guys packed so much into it. Dinner looked simply amazing. I think we'll definitely have to book Palo on our next cruise.
So... do you HAVE to stay at open house or can you leave your kid and look like the worst parent ever ?? LOL
While I LOVED both brunch and supper at Palo, I have to say the souffle did not live up to my expectations. I actually liked the vanilla sauce better than the souffle part. Maybe you need to love chocolate not just like chocolate.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
OMG..................drooling over dinner!!!!! ARRRGGHHHHH............I can't wait, you are killing me
You will have the best time! And trust me, you will have NO issue getting what you want for Palo. It was never full at any point in time that I dined there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
You didn't like the soufflé?!?!? OMG!!! I hope your mom ate both! Did you pour the vanilla sauce in? That's the key, as it cuts the richness of the chocolate. I'm just going to shake my head on this one. No panna cotta either? That's my second favorite - but a far second...
LOL I did pour the vanilla sauce in. Had to, because I couldn't stomach it without! I know, I know... just think, if we ever cruise together, you can have your souffle AND mine!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
I'm seriously drooling over dinner as well!
I'm hungry just thinking about that ravioli!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Mmmmmm Palo! So glad you enjoyed your meal there, even if the desserts weren't to your taste. The waiters always try to force a chocolate souffle on me-- it's very hard to convince people you don't like chocolate! I love all the time the kids get with the characters on board. So different from just getting a quick autograph at the parks or even the character meals. On board you see them just walking around and interacting at the kids clubs. Love your rant about the open house hours at the clubs!
It is true, it's hard for people to believe it when you say you're not a huge chocolate fan. I like milk chocolate ok, but I'm not a fan of anything too rich!
Quote:
Originally Posted by disney_duke
I totally understand the unexpected open house. Just when you think you've got a few hours to yourself, smack! Nope, ruined. Yeah, yeah, I love my kids too. But I totallly hear ya! You live for those moments of peace and quiet. And when it's abruptly taken from you..... yeah. But a whole afternoon at the pool kinda makes up for it.
Dinner sounded, and looked, deee-licious!! And I'm guessing the towel animal is a rabbit that's sitting? It is odd.
That's sort of what we thought. We also wondered, though, if it was meant to be stitch (the ears)... but we just scratched our heads.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dlandmom2
Another great day! Palo looks fantastic! I could seriously dine like that all the time!
My guess for the towel animal is a bunny.
If I dined like that all of the time I'd require a personal trainer to chase me around for 2 hours a day to make up for it. I think it might be worth it though!
Quote:
Originally Posted by num1DVCfan
Another fantastic day and you guys packed so much into it. Dinner looked simply amazing. I think we'll definitely have to book Palo on our next cruise.
Yes I highly recommend it! But wait til the brunch photos!! LOL!
Quote:
Originally Posted by rlb38
So... do you HAVE to stay at open house or can you leave your kid and look like the worst parent ever ?? LOL
While I LOVED both brunch and supper at Palo, I have to say the souffle did not live up to my expectations. I actually liked the vanilla sauce better than the souffle part. Maybe you need to love chocolate not just like chocolate.
Unfortunately no, you can't leave them at all during open house. It's parents and kids, or nothing. *tear*
Quote:
Originally Posted by Russi01
Looks like a fun filled day with lots of time at the pool. I would say the towel creation is a rabbit too.
It was a really nice time at the pool. I got to read and relax, and Meri got to have a blast in the water. Win-win, I say!
Ok I'm going to finally get to update tonight I hope! Life is back to its insane pace... I am so tired!!! But I really want to get moving on this TR!!!
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
I still can't get over how calm it was for you. 
PassPorter Guide Author
Deb
Oh, the humanity! 
Linear Mode
