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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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After taking our ride Under the Sea, we moved on. We still had a little time before our dinner ADR, so we decided to just check out the area. We ran into these clowns right by the Storybook Circus area.
I have never heard about them and I don’t know if they are there all the time or just during busy seasons. I have not read of anyone else encountering them since I have been back either.
There is a good chance we went in there to look around.
And I guess we watched the train go by.
Soon it was time to head back toward Be Our Guest for the 2nd ADR of the trip. We found a photopass photographer and had a few pictures taken.
We made it over and checked in and my parents were waiting for us as well. While we waited I tried for that perfect castle shot I am always trying to get.
We did have to wait a little bit, but soon we were called in and today we were seated in the ballroom.
Our server was much more friendly today and she told us to look on the ceiling and see if we could find the hidden Mickey and the hidden Minnie. I looked directly up and asked of that was it and she looked at me in awe and asked if I had known where it was. I told her no, but I just looked up and he stood out. LOL. She said that was the fastest anyone has ever found it before.
Can you see it?
I kept looking for Minnie, but was have troubles finding her. The server told us where to look and Mom and Claire could find her, but I just couldn’t see it.
We looked over our menus and decided what to have tonight.
And we dug into the rolls.
Claire went with steak….again. But she loves steak so as long as she is happy and filling her belly, that’s all good with me.
Mom and dad decided to share tonight. They had actually gone to Sci Fi for lunch earlier today. They were able to get a walk up reservation and were seated within minutes. I was shocked. They were still somewhat full so they decided to just share the Chicken Breast Provencal - pan-seared and simmered in a rustic blend of heirloom tomatoes, olives, white wine and fresh herbs with seasonal vegetables and roasted fingerling potatoes…which they substituted for mash potatoes.
I got the steak tonight as well and I think I substituted the pommes frites for mash potatoes as well.
Our dinner was very good once again.
For dessert, Claire ordered the Triple Chocolate Cupcake - chocolate sponge cake, chocolate mousse filling, and chocolate ganache. She wanted the strawberry one again, but I told her she had to have something different and we could share.
I went with the Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcake - - vanilla sponge cake, strawberry mousse filling, and cream cheese icing this time.
Both were fabulous and I could go to BOG just for dessert alone!
While we were eating Claire could see the portrait in the west wing and she could see it change to the beast every so often. She would tell me and I would look and it was always back to the Prince before I got a glance. I think it became a game for her and she thought it was so funny that I could never catch it in beast form. After we ate we went in the west wing and I tried to wait for the portrait to change….but of course it never did while I was watching.
The hidden Minnie is in here. I can’t see her right now. I know that part of her head has the bow. I never saw it at the restaurant and it was only after being home that I saw it in someone elses picture. I think she might be upside down in this picture and I will have to stare at it a bit to see it again.
Maybe this way shows it better???
Claire did not want to get her picture with Beast again tonight but I made her do it anyways. She grumbled a bit, but I told her too bad. My parents left and Claire and I got in line.
Doesn’t she look thrilled.
There…now we got a smile out of her.
And once again we headed out the “wrong” way and went to the bathrooms….and no one said a word to us.
And you just have to get a picture of the pantless Prince.
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Great photos from Be Our Guest! I will confess it took me a moment to find the hidden Mickey, but then I spotted it. Neat, as I didn't even know there was one in there.
Love the magic shot with Chip. I've never seen that one. The steak at BOG is my favorite. I need to go back so I can try those yummy looking cupcakes! We were too full for dessert when we went.
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Nice visit to BOG. NO, I can't seem to find Minnie in either view. It probably is very obvious just not to me.
I think she is the shadow and it's her profile with a bow on her head.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Great photos from Be Our Guest! I will confess it took me a moment to find the hidden Mickey, but then I spotted it. Neat, as I didn't even know there was one in there.
I have no clue how I just looked up and saw him so fast.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KimmyAnn1147
Knowing Mickey was there, I was able to see him quickly. No Minnie for me.
Those cupcakes are so pretty!
The Minnie is much harder.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Love the magic shot with Chip. I've never seen that one. The steak at BOG is my favorite. I need to go back so I can try those yummy looking cupcakes! We were too full for dessert when we went.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
I have seen that magic shot before, but I think it was a first for us.
The steak is very good, but you must have room for cupcakes!
We had left our sweatshirts in the car which was parked at the GF, so we decided we would go back and get them as it was starting to get chilly out. I had thought about buying new ones, but I decided we would wait till the end of the trip to get them so I didn’t have extra bulk in my suitcase for the cruise…..and then I could never find the one I wanted….of course.
The waterless moat.
We had thought about getting a light up hat for Claire, but in all honesty she would only wear it 5 minutes so we passed on that.
I am always trying for a balloon shot.
We stopped off at the locker to pick up some things to take back to the car and jumped on the monorail back to the GF.
We got our jackets and dropped off our junk and headed back towards the park.
There was some sort of emergency going on, but I no longer remember what it was.
We decided to go into Basin to look for some bath bombs. I had been promising to get Claire some and this seemed like a good time. We each picked out 3 big ones and paid for our purchases. Claire said she would only use them for special times. She still has 1 of her 3 left. I have asked a few times if she is ready to use it and she tells me she isn’t wasting it on whatever occasion it is I want her to bath. LOL.
We hopped back onto the monorail and back to MK. We stopped back at the locker to drop off our new purchases there to make my bag less heavy.
We walked by Aloha Isle and there wasn’t too long of a line so we got a Dole Whip Float to share.
Claire was complaining that we hadn’t been on the Jungle Cruise yet so we hopped in line. It was at least a 30 minute wait, probably longer, but everything had long lines so if we wanted to ride anything we had to suck it up.
And of course we have to hit my favorite ride.
You can never have too many pirate pictures…..but I did try to get different angels this time.
This is always a family favorite. Skip’s brother used to be a big drinker of rum (he no longer drinks) and he loves cats. We often call this pirate Dave because he is drinking his rum and saying “here kitty kitty kitty” and I swear he says it in the same tone that Dave would.
After that, Claire and I sat down for a bit. It was still so busy and we were so tired. We discussed calling it a day and heading back to the Marriott. We decided that is what we would do. But then we got to talking about Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Claire asked if she liked it and I told her she has in the past, but sometimes she acts like it is too fast for her. We decided we would walk by and check out the wait before heading out. SCORE! It was only a 10 minute wait. People were now starting to clear out of the park. YAY!
I played the “where are we” game and posted pictures to facebook and no one could get it figured out.
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So glad that you had such a nice meal at BOG and I didn't know that they had the hidden mickeys on the ceiling! I'll have to check it out on our upcoming trip Looks like a beautiful night at the MK and how great that you only had a 10 minute wait for BTMRR!!! Your granddaughter's pictures are beautiful