A special birthday, a diamond anniversary and a west coast adventure COMPLETED IN THIS FORUM 12/2 - Page 13 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Such amazing photos of the Alaskan scenery! This is something I would never get tired of.
That's how we felt about it too.
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Glad the weather improved for you to experience so much more of this! I too enjoyed sitting out on the verandah of my cruise and just taking in all the scenery, even if it was mostly sea and sky for me, but not always!
It's very difficult, once you've had a veranda for a cruise to go to an inside stateroom - at least that's been our problem.
We never end up seeing the whales while on the ship, so I know your feelings.
I guess some people are luckier than others when it comes to whales...
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I do love sailing the Inside Passage as it is so scenic. It looks like it wasn't too cold for you as you were on deck with light jackets, or none, in Mark's case. I'm glad the weather is clearing for you.
It really did improve - as you'll see from our clothes as the cruise wears on....
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Agree with you about the gold/platinum reception being disappointing. Part of me wonders if they're focusing too much on first time cruisers? I think they may be losing more repeat cruisers to other lines as their prices are getting more out of hand.
And I am another who loves getting ready in the spa area on the Dream & Fantasy. Thought they had better dryers on the Wonder too. What a disappointment!
Agree with you about the gold/platinum reception being disappointing. Part of me wonders if they're focusing too much on first time cruisers? I think they may be losing more repeat cruisers to other lines as their prices are getting more out of hand.
That's possible...
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And I am another who loves getting ready in the spa area on the Dream & Fantasy. Thought they had better dryers on the Wonder too. What a disappointment!
We headed down to the lobby atrium just before 4:45pm, as we were due to meet up with Sharma (silverangel879) and Obi and we found them, and chatted for a few minutes.
We noticed that photographers seemed to ready to go, even though it wasn’t yet 5:15pm, so we were first in line for one of the backdrops…
Then we asked the photographer if she could just take a photo of the four of us, not with the backdrop, but apparently it’s her contract that she can’t take anyone’s camera. We ended up getting a formal shot of the four of us, although Obi did concede that he needed to change.
Obi also got a selfie of the four of us on his camera, which seemed to come out quite well, but I don’t have a copy of it, so I can’t share it with you.
We next headed over to the backdrop of the Wonder…
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… and then the format shots on the stairs…
We gave up on Captain Mickey, as he was just mobbed upstairs. Maybe we’ll get him later in the cruise.
We had a much more important priority right now, and that was finding the free drinks! We ended up finding two each, and the cocktail, the Yellow Bird, which was made up of very sweet things, was perfect for us.
We got chatting to first officer Jonathan from Ireland, and he was so lovely to talk to. I knew immediately from his accent that he may be from Ireland, but he hadn’t spent much time there, and so it proved to be, as he’d grown up in England. We chatted about how he’d got started in maritime, and how he’d ended up in Disney, and how the newcomers now can’t do anything without GPS, and he has to teach them how to navigate the old fashioned way, which is a bit of a worry. It was fascinating to hear from him, and I’m glad we got the chance to talk to him.
We got so engrossed that suddenly I looked at my watch, and realised it was dinner time, so we set off for Animator’s Palate. Norma and Tony were there when we got there, although Tom and Rhonda were a bit later, as they’d been watching orcas outside. don’t tell Mark that – as he’d have loved to have seen that!
As the meal went on, I got some photos of the restaurant:
An appallingly bad photo of Sorceror Mickey
I have to say Allwyn did seem to be a bit more on the money tonight. Tom did ask him whether he’d been Ok last night, as he seemed to be stressed, and he said that the bar had been backed up, and that hadn’t helped. I had no issues with him tonight, but I know Rhonda did when he delivered a vodka and tonic, and there was barely any tonic in the thing! It was quickly changed out. It wouldn’t be the first thing that would need changing tonight…
To start off with, we both went for the smoked salmon tarter with dill, capers, onions, pickles and a horseradish cream, and this was excellent.
Next I had the black truffle pasta purseittes, pasta purses filled with truffle-scented cheese and coated with a delicate champagne sauce. This were as good as ever in terms of flavour, but I was disappointed that they weren’t as warm as I would normally expect.
Mark opted next for the chicken and walnut salad with craisins, red onions and a cranberry dressing, which he wasn’t overly impressed with, saying it didn’t have that much of the billed chicken in it.
So sorry that you missed out on the whale sighting again! I hope that wasn't the last one of the trip! The scenery is just so beautiful and you're right about it being still untapped by man. It's great that the cruise allows you a glimpse into nature's world there! Great pictures of formal night and how lovely that you got to talk with one of the officers. Sorry that you missed the Orca sightings!!! Your salmon appetizer looked delicious and I'm glad to hear that your service at least went well this evening.
Wonderful photos of the two of you! Sounds like a very nice conversation with the Irish officer too.
See, this is the part that makes me wonder about an Alaskan cruise. I would be torn between watching the scenery outside for orcas and other cruising essentials - like dinner!
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This is something I would never get tired of.
I too enjoyed sitting out on the verandah of my cruise and just taking in all the scenery, even if it was mostly sea and sky for me, but not always! 
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We ended up finding two each, and the cocktail, the Yellow Bird, which was made up of very sweet things, was perfect for us. 
don’t tell Mark that – as he’d have loved to have seen that! 
It was quickly changed out. It wouldn’t be the first thing that would need changing tonight… 
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