A special birthday, a diamond anniversary and a west coast adventure COMPLETED IN THIS FORUM 12/2 - Page 30 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Your choices at the buffet looked so good. Nice start to your excursion. I'm loving all the photos of the breathtaking scenery, especially this one.
As I was uploading this update yesterday, I was reminded just how beautiful the scenery was and I actually thinking to myself that I couldn't just pick one photo out of all of the ones I posted as my favourite!
Soon, we were coming into Haines and I have to say it didn’t look that big to me, but it was beautiful.
What was also beautiful were the eagles we saw sitting on the top of the pier. I was so amazed by this sight, but let’s just say it was not going to be the last eagle we’d see today.
We headed up the ramp of the boat dock to meet with our guides…
…. and grabbed our places on the bus. They told us that where we were going was a nine mile drive away, but we would be stopping on the way.
Explaining where we’d be going…
The scenery the whole way along was once again just stunning.
We stopped at the side of the road to see surfing scoders (I think that’s what he called them anyway ). Our guide explained how they line up, then they dive down one by one to fill their stomachs with mussels. Apparently they don’t need to digest them, their stomachs do it for them. It was a fascinating sight to see and I’m so glad we learnt about this. It was like seeing a nature documentary in front of you.
Our first proper stop was in this beautiful location…
The first thing I spotted was something in the trees and it was a pair of bald eagles! I couldn’t believe it, me who never manages to see anything – wow!
We also saw lots of dead salmon here, which was a bit surreal and also some salmon jumping out of the water, again that was something I knew they did, but I have only ever seen it on the TV before.
There were also harbour seals bobbing around in the water and we did even see one catch a fish, but I couldn’t get a shot of it in time.
There was also a baby eagle, but he was so far away, he was pretty hard to photograph.
Already this was turning out to be an amazing excursion and we were only just getting started…
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All this activity, I can't believe it's just only just begun. Cool!! The eagles are awesome.
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Tanya
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You certainly got some more amazing photos of the glaciers. I can't believe how great the weather is for you on the cruise!
Sorry, to hear about your misfortunes at dinner! I hope things improve later in the cruise.
That was some deal you got for a massage and you certainly seemed to enjoy it!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
You certainly are seeing some amazing scenery and your excursion is just underway. Love the photos of the bald eagles and all the other wildlife in the area. I can't believe the variety and uniqueness of all of it here! I know this excursion is going to be quite special!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
You certainly got some more amazing photos of the glaciers. I can't believe how great the weather is for you on the cruise!
Neither could we!
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Sorry, to hear about your misfortunes at dinner! I hope things improve later in the cruise.
That was some deal you got for a massage and you certainly seemed to enjoy it!
I always enjoy massages!
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Originally Posted by SuperDave
You certainly are seeing some amazing scenery and your excursion is just underway. Love the photos of the bald eagles and all the other wildlife in the area. I can't believe the variety and uniqueness of all of it here! I know this excursion is going to be quite special!
I love the shot of the pair of eagles in the tree. Good for you for spotting them! I so wish this excursion was available throughout the season, although I suppose the wildlife sightings wouldn't be as good.
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Nice start to your excursion. I'm loving all the photos of the breathtaking scenery, especially this one.
). Our guide explained how they line up, then they dive down one by one to fill their stomachs with mussels. Apparently they don’t need to digest them, their stomachs do it for them. It was a fascinating sight to see and I’m so glad we learnt about this. It was like seeing a nature documentary in front of you. 
I couldn’t believe it, me who never manages to see anything – wow! 
I hope things improve later in the cruise. 
Love the photos of the bald eagles and all the other wildlife in the area. 
I know this excursion is going to be quite special! 
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