DrDolphin's Great California Adventure *COMPLETED* - Page 21 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I am so glad I'm not the only one who took pictures of the light fixtures in Ariel's! My mom thought that was taking it a bit far. I told her to back off!
Great pictures, Terri!
__________________
*~*Tina
Picking up our Brasilian exchange student at the a/p
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It's a Bugs Life for Me!!
After lunch - we headed into Flik's Fun Fair. I never made it here 2 years ago -- and it was very fun and the theming was just fabulous - I was taking lots and lots of photos!
First ride after lunch - Heimlich's Chew Chew Train!
Crystal and (a headless) Doug wave as we go by!
We even saw a few characters - like Pricess Ada (? Sarah did I get that right? - Sarah had to tell me - I never saw the movie!)
Move theming!!
Then we headed over to -
Sarah videoed this and it's on Youtube - but this was VERY fun!
Then we went to -
It's a combo of tea cups spinning with a switchback system... it was hard to spin - which may not have been a bad thing so soon after lunch!
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Donald has a tumor!! Or at least that's how I drew him!
After all of these rides - we headed toward Hollywood again and ran into Dawn, Janine, Eileen, Sharon, Tina and Karen. We went to see Crush, as well as into the animation studio - it was really interesting!
Emile and Dawn found out who they truly are!
We all knew Dawn was a Princess!!! This just confirms it!
Then we headed into the Animation Lesson -
It was very appropriate that my pencil was labeled "beginners"
My version of Donald Duck - see the tumor on the right side of Donald's face? First I said it was a tooth abscess - until I remembered duck's don't have teeth!!
We also went to Turtle Talk with Crush - I am not sure which set up I prefer better - the DL set up or the new WDW set up!
Next - an afternoon riding rides and a spa appt for me!
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.
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Lots and Lots of rides
The gang headed back to Paradise Pier and our first stop was California Screamin with the Red Hot Chili Peppers! All of us (except Sarah, Em and Doug) went on the ride - and as we were boarding - I called Sarah so that she could go to the edge of the water to take our picture before we launched. Hopefully she'll post it here.
After the ride - we made our way around the pier and rode -
Jumpin' Jellyfish -- here are Karen, Em and Sharon skipping on the way to the ride (its hard to capture skipping with the camera).
All of us went on Jumpin' Jellyfish except for Dawn and Sarah - who took pictures
Then we went on the Golden Zypher - here is Emilie.. she and Karen were in front!
We also squeezed into Mulholland Madness - and I mean squeezed!
This is when I had a moment!! I had a spa appt scheduled for 4pm... and my head math from east coast time (I had not reset my watch) and so I said my goodbyes and skipped over to the Grand Californian spa. I walked in, signed in and the nice young lady behind the counter asked me why I was an hour early I insisted I wasn't... and she confirmed I was... So - I said I'd be back in awhile and here is where I pulled a DUMB move. I had NOT gotten my had stamped when I left the park - and that meant the CM had to CALL and find out when I used my ticket - and then admonished me to ALWAYS get my hand stamped. lesson learned.
So I ran back to Paradise pier and everyone looked at me like I had 2 heads. See they all knew what the real time was - and I was too busy running away to listen... so....
We left Paradise Pier and headed over by Grizzly river run and the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. We ran into Mater and Lightning McQueen and Crystal had fun bonding with Mater....
After this - it actually WAS time for me to head to the spa for my Swedish massage with Ryan. I skipped off - and while I was headed to the spa - I ran into Miss Eileen coming from White Water snacks - I seem to recall her talking about a chocolate cake!!
I went into the spa, was checked in, assigned a locker and got changed before Ryan came to get me. I really enjoyed my massage and found it a little funny when he commented that I had some swelling in my left knee (gee - you think? ). It was a really nice relaxing time and was a good warm up before our group dinner at Napa Rose. Made me feel a bit foo-foo - and most of you know - I'm not really a foo foo girl.
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.
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Napa Rose -
I went back to the room after the spa treatment (to tell you the truth - I can't remember if Sarah and Em were in the room or not), but I took a shower and got dressed - then did my hair and face. I walked over to the Grand Californian and Napa Rose to meet everyone. Liz had called a bit before to find out where we were all were. I met her in the lounge and we got a drink and waited for the others to arrive.
After everyone arrived - we were seated at a long table and had a wonderful time eating wonderful food, drinking great drinks and talking!
My salad
I had the tuna steak
Tina looks wonderful!
Liz and Sharon
Dawn and Karen
Cindy and I
All of us dressed to the 9s!!
After our dinner - I took a photo of the entrance to the restaurant!
I had such a wonderful evening!! Thanks to everyone! The white asparagus still makes me giggle and Eileen - that wine we shared was really really good!!
Great updates, Terri! the photos, including the headless Doug!
As for the reason for all these updates.....me thinks you are trying to finish before Sharon starts AND finishes hers before the rest of you girl trippers!!
As for the reason for all these updates.....me thinks you are trying to finish before Sharon starts AND finishes hers before the rest of you girl trippers!!
I think so too! I'm happy to take the credit for these fantastic updates. Now I want more!
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
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moment!! I had a spa appt scheduled for 4pm... and my head math from east coast time (I had not reset my watch) and so I said my goodbyes and skipped over to the Grand Californian spa. I walked in, signed in and the nice young lady behind the counter asked me why I was an hour early 
I insisted I wasn't... and she confirmed I was... So - I said I'd be back in awhile and here is where I pulled a DUMB move. I had NOT gotten my had stamped when I left the park - and that meant the CM had to CALL and find out when I used my ticket - and then admonished me to ALWAYS get my hand stamped. 
lesson learned.
Trying to finish all the reports before having to start the Med cruise one, heh 
Great pictures too!
the photos, including the headless Doug! 
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