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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I had some serious catching up to do as for some reason, I got unsubscribed from this thread!
The Grand Canyon is just incredible!! Your cabin and cottage choices are perfect for this adventure!! Another beautiful place to stay!! I love the story about the mouse!!!
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Last edited by Tara O'Hara; 10-14-2017 at 09:26 AM..
Beautiful shots of the canyon! And does look like a California Condor! Wow! Not so comforting to have a mouse in the house, especially if it's not Mickey.
Thanks!
Yeah, we zoomed in on the bird and thought it looked like a condor as well!
Mickey's cousin was definitely not welcome! :
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Stunning shots of the Canyon! Oh my goodness, that is too funny about the mouse and being in the mountains. Thank goodness Mickey or Minnie was on his/her way after that...
Yeah, I guess wildlife is to be expected...but a little unnerving to have it scurrying around the room!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ella678
Amazing photos of the canyon and a really fantastic shot of that bird! How beautiful to see the sun setting over the canyon. Adding a trip like this to my travel bucket list!
Thanks!
It really is a trip of a lifetime! So many beautiful things to see!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tara O'Hara
I had some serious catching up to do as for some reason, I got unsubscribed from this thread!
The Grand Canyon is just incredible!! Your cabin and cottage choices are perfect for this adventure!! Another beautiful place to stay!! I love the story about the mouse!!!
We really loved the cabins! (minus the mouse!)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Love all the pictures! Sorry you had an unwanted visitor!
Thanks Marnie!
Yeah, the mouse was a little unnerving!
We woke up about 4:00, and got up around 5:00. We dressed warm and headed out to the rim at 6:15 to see the sunrise. There were groups of people here and there, but we walked until we found a spot to stand. Everyone was so quiet, talking in whispers, just waiting to see the sun come up. Very cool.
We made it to Sedona and The Green Tree Inn about 10:30. Our room was not ready so we headed out to see the Holy Cross Chapel. Parking here was pretty crazy. The entrance road wound its way up to the top and there were several little cut-outs for 4 or 5 cars which were full. When we got to a larger parking area there was an attendant there directing traffic, so that was helpful. He told us to go up to the top, make a U turn and come back down so it would be easier to pull into a space. There were people walking, and cars pulling in and out, so a little harry, but we eventually got into a space. This is a beautiful chapel built into the mountain! The view from up there is just amazing!
We didn’t stay too long. Just enough to go inside and then look at the grounds outside. I took a couple pictures as we were driving back down the road.
I had been in touch with Kim, a HS girlfriend of mine, (she stood up in our wedding) who lives in Sedona. She was so excited to see us and show us around. So, when we got into town I texted her and told her our plans for the morning. She told me about a nice place for lunch and said when we were checked in, we should give her a call. So, after the Holy Cross we went to Hideaway House for lunch. I had a ½ GF grilled cheese and GF minestrone soup. Jeff had a ½ turkey club sandwich and a bowl of minestrone as well. Both were good and the view was just amazing. Though I didn’t take any photos.
We went back to the hotel and our room was ready, so we took our bags inside and got settled.
Then we headed out to Kim’s place. It was only about 5 minutes from our hotel.
We sat and chatted on her 2nd floor patio for quite a while, catching up on everything that’s been going on in our lives. I brought some recent photos to show her and also gave her a copy of a book my brother wrote.
Kim does not like her picture taken, so I was glad to get at least one...
Then she took us around and showed us some sights. Our first stop was Jerome…a former copper mining town that was built into the side of a mountain. After the copper mine closed in the 50s Jerome was promoted as a ghost town. Now it’s more of a tourist town, inhabited by artists, musicians, writers, museums, and Bed and Breakfast owners. We parked and walked around a bit.
Then we went to Airport Mesa to watch the sunset. With both Jerome and Airport Mesa, I was glad Kim was driving! The roads were crazy with twists and turns and there were people walking along the road in many spots!
After dinner we went back to Kim’s place to get our car and then headed back to the hotel. We realized this was the first time on this trip that we’d driven in the dark.
When we got back to the hotel we looked through a hiking book that Kim had let us borrow. We were trying to decide what we wanted to do the next day. There are so many hiking trails that it’s a bit overwhelming! In the end we decided we’d go to Red Rock State Park. I had read about it in my research and it seemed a little tamer than some of the other hikes (that were really climbs.)
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What a wonderful day and I'm so glad you got to spend time with Kim. Another beautiful sunset as well - you really lucked out with the weather this trip!
Some great times at the Grand Canyon and the scenery is so overwhelming. The south rim is always more crowded than the north rim. Looks like you are off to a good start in Sedona.
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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!
Another amazing day and hw cool that you got to hook up with Kim! Everything about your trip is just so cool!!!!!!
Thanks Tara! It sure has been an awesome trip!
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Originally Posted by pamcarey
Another day of gorgeous sights! How great to get together with Kim!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Meeting up with Kim was one of the highlights!
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Originally Posted by Cam22
Beautiful day from sunrise to sunset with great meals between. So neat to get to reunite with an old friend.
It was so cool to see sunrise in one place and sunset in another!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
What a wonderful day and I'm so glad you got to spend time with Kim. Another beautiful sunset as well - you really lucked out with the weather this trip!
Yes! We had beautiful weather!
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
Some great times at the Grand Canyon and the scenery is so overwhelming. The south rim is always more crowded than the north rim. Looks like you are off to a good start in Sedona.
That was one of the reasons we decided to visit both rims. Such a different feel there! Not only crowds, but the landscape is to different too!
We woke around 5:30 and got showered and ready for the day. The Green Tree Inn had a complimentary breakfast in a small area near the main desk. It was not fancy, but really a nice perk with some hot and cold offerings. They had little pre-made omelets, three different types. I had one with ham, peppers and onions. Jeff had one with just cheese. They also had breakfast potatoes and sausages and bagels, bread and waffles (that you could toast). Jeff had one of the waffles. In addition they had yogurt and fruit along with coffee and juice. A very nice selection I thought!
After breakfast we went back to the room and got ready to head out to Red Rock State Park. We headed out at 8:00. It was just a 12 minute drive from the hotel. There was a $14 charge to get in ($7 per person), so we paid that and found our way to the parking area near the visitor’s center. The visitor’s center didn’t open until 9:00, so we decided to get going on the trails and stop there on our way out. We had gotten a map of the trails when we entered and that was very helpful. There were quite a few different trails and they were well marked, but you really had to look at the map to know which way you wanted to go when you got to an intersection.
We followed a few different trails and ended up meeting another group of two couples from NC. It was fun to chat with them as we met up various times along the trail.
We had some great views of Cathedral Rock, Seven Warriors, and Three Sisters.
We finished up about 10:15 and stopped at the visitor’s center. They had a little hummingbird garden outside, and some educational rooms inside along with an exhibit area and a small gift shop.
Then we headed back to the hotel. We gathered up our laundry and went to a near-by laundromat that the desk clerk had told us about. It was in a plaza that included a grocery store. It was very clean and had lots of machines. We put our clothes in the washer and went out to explore the plaza. There was a Goodwill Store in the plaza so we headed in there to browse. Jeff said he could use a belt and before you know it he had found a practically new one along with a pair of Docker shorts. Both came to $12 and it was ½ price day! So, total came to around $6. We joked that we came across the country to bargain hunt, but who can pass up a good deal like that?
We went to the laundromat to switch our clothes to the dryers, then went to the grocery store…Basha’s, for some lunch items. We ended up with a 4 pack of yogurt, some cut fruit, some bulk granola, a pack of beef jerky for son-in-law Pat, and a Sedona magnet.
We got back to the laundromat and our clothes had another minute or two in the dryer. After we folded everything we headed back to the hotel, sat on the balcony and ate our lunch looking out at the pool.
We relaxed for a bit in the room with some coffee and tea and may have had a nap. (It’s getting a little foggy by now and I didn’t write down a lot of things.)
At 2:00 we drove to a place called Tlaquepequa. This is an old mission that was converted into shops. There were some beautiful things…gorgeous carvings, art, music boxes, toys.
Great photos of Sedona and along the various trails! Good idea to stop at the mission as it looks like a very interesting place.
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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!
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Your cabin and cottage choices are perfect for this adventure!! Another beautiful place to stay!!
I love the story about the mouse!!!
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Not so comforting to have a mouse in the house, especially if it's not Mickey. 
: 
Thank goodness Mickey or Minnie was on his/her way after that...
PassPorter Guide Author
We joked that we came across the country to bargain hunt, but who can pass up a good deal like that? 
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