A DREAM is a wish your heart makes...Halloween on the High Seas edition - updated 09/14/2014 - Page 26 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
I think I was the first awake today. And I snuck outside and sat on the balcony while we pulled into Castaway Cay! Wow! I think I could take that view in every day! Once I heard others stirring we got dressed and headed to Cabana’s for breakfast. Then we came back to the room to grab the stuff we’d need for the day – forgetting something I’m sure. When we returned to the room from breakfast our stateroom host had already made the beds and dropped off those luggage tags. L Today was our last day and we needed to make the most of it!
No land yet!
Land ho!
I knew Melissa had said they were going to get off early so they could grab a spot on the family beach before it filled up too much so that was our plan as well. We made our way off the ship and stopped to get a picture with the Dream in the background before hopping on the tram since it pulled up as we were walking to the bus stop.
Once off the tram we saw characters out and Pluto had no line so we hopped in and the boys got their picture taken with Pluto – on the beach! How cool is that?! We wandered through the souvenir shop but nothing called out to me so we moved on to find a spot.
We walked closer to the water hoping to see Melissa, Chad & Hope as I’d forgotten the wave phone in the room – see told you I forgot something! Well we didn’t see them and once we were close to the end of the family beach we picked some spots near the lifeguard tower. We made sure to save some extra chairs for Melissa & fam hoping they were behind us and then hit the water. Lukas isn’t much of a water fan so we played in the sand instead. Dylan really wanted to go try out the slides on Pelican Plunge so Mike took him over there. I think they went down a few times and once they were back I had Mike stay with the boys and went in search of Melissa & fam. And soon enough I spotted them! They ended up moving to where we were as the beach where they were had a lot more shells and was rough on your feet and we had more sand. playing with the squirt gun from Ms. Melissa
Lukas & my creation - I had brought sand toys from home
Once everyone was together we went out and just hung out. Then I realized my pump was coming out so I took a walk to First Aid to get some medical tape hoping that would tide me over. The gentlemen in First Aid were so nice! I told them my situation and they gave me a whole roll of tape instead of just a few pieces. Thank you! So I went back to our spot and tried taping it down. Well water and trying to stick something that is wet to your wet skin just doesn’t work. So much for wasting my time with the walk to First Aid now I was going to have to go back to the ship. Getting absolute no insulin is not a good thing, especially as it was nearing lunch time – actually I think it was already the beginning of lunch time. So I left Melissa with the 5 kids and headed back to the ship. I luckily didn’t have to wait long for the tram. Made it on to the ship and back to our room quickly. I decided I wasn’t going to mess with the pump anymore at CC so instead I grabbed a syringe and a bottle of insulin. While in the room I checked my blood sugar and was actually low so I took to the candy stash we’d gotten on the ship.
Finally I returned to our spot on the beach and we headed to Cookies II for lunch. Waiting in the end somewhat paid off as there wasn’t a crowd and from what I remember there was still plenty of food. I think Chad & Hope grabbed us a table while the rest of us got food. Then I left my boys at the table while I got drinks and condiments for everyone. Soon we were all together eating. And I really enjoyed this meal. It was so relaxed and we enjoyed the food and more importantly the company. [Makes me teary reminiscing about this day. If not for the pump mishap it would have been absolutely perfect, but lunch was perfect in itself!] I believe this is when I found out about Chad going out too far and the lifeguard yelling at him and my reaction is totally me – well duh! Why do you think the ropes are there?! I’d been shaking my head at people all morning (before they joined us) because the lifeguard by us was constantly yelling at people for going past the ropes – mostly on the floats. I think once he even had to go out and pull someone back. It was time for dessert and we all had some combination of cookies & ice cream – I made an ice cream sandwich with my cookies. So good! This may have been my favorite meal of the trip – because of the food, company, & just pure joy!
After lunch we headed back in the water for a bit but no one seemed too interested in anything so we convinced everyone to head back. We convinced Dylan & Hope they could ride the Aquaduck before cleaning up and that’s what sold them. We had had a great day on CC and solidified our friendship as well. I took Lukas back to the room with me while Mike took Dylan on the Aquaduck. I think the line ended up being a little long – maybe 20-25 minutes so they were only able to ride once as the line had grown even more after their first ride. Once back they got cleaned up and rested. took this underwater
Castaway Cay has got to be the best place on earth. I’m not much of a beach person and I did miss a bit of the day but I had such a great time. It’s beautiful and feels so secluded – like you’re in a different world and nothing else exists. Bliss!
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This has not been a good trip as far as your pump goes! Seems like a good decision just to ditch it for the day and go back to the old-fashioned way. Doesn't seem to have marred this day much, though. Perfectly gorgeous weather for the island and your description of lunch matches Melissa's. Fun times and a real bonding moment for both families. I love the sand creations and photos of Lukas playing, but I do NOT like the sight of those luggage tags!
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