Adventures Down Under take on the World!!!!!!!!! A Pre Trip Report Jan 2008 - Page 2 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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Congrats on the upgrade! Deck 7 is a great place to be
Have you got any information you could share about your cruise expereinces, secret tips etc. This is my first cruise and i am so excited! i want to know everything!!!!
Have you got any information you could share about your cruise expereinces, secret tips etc. This is my first cruise and i am so excited! i want to know everything!!!!
I'd suggest you get a DCL Passporter, if you haven't one already. Keep your eyes out in the DCL Passporter Forum for some great info and tips. And read previous DCL trip reports. Mine is here ........http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...d-10-18-a.html
Your plans sound so great. I'd love to hear about your cast member experiences! Congrats on getting your adrs, your upgrade, and your room number. I know you'll have such a wonderful time. By the way, my husband's family thinks my Disney obsession is a little weird too. My family completely understands because they're as bad as I am. LOL
What wonderful ADRs! You two are going to have fun eating away! I eat anything and everything while I'm at Disney and I've never had a problem gaining weight while I was there (even both times I went pregnant!). I think all of the walking counteracts all of that good eating!
How cool that you've already been upgraded on your cruise! This is going to be some more vacation!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Due to popular demand, (hahahahah) here is some of my cast member experiences. There is so much to tell so ill probably do this over a few posts.
It was April 2000 and my life had taken a rather horrible turn, I was 19 years old and I had been engaged for a year to my high school sweetheart (now my husband). After the constant reminder of how young we were, especially by his father and friends he ended the relationship. I was completely devastated. Everyone told us that we were to young and how did we know we had found the right person if we had only been with so few thus far. We both knew that we were soul mates after 5 years of friendship but I guess he just had to find out that for him self.I very realised saw that this break up was for a good reason as I would never experienced being a cast member if we were together as I wouldn’t have moved away from him. It is ironic to think that the worst time in my life managed to become the best time in my life. All it needed was a little MAGIC!!!!
I have so much to tell i don’t know where to start. I saw the job advertisedin the travel section of the paper in 2000. Requirements were universitystudent 18-35 years, speaks english. As i fit all of those criteria i wentto the interview. I t was in a hotel in Sydney and there were hundreds of other Australians there. I was so nervous, I have never wanted anything more in my life. We sat there watching presentations about WDW and life as a cast member. We were so excited. We then were given an interview time and we all sat and nervously waited. The interview went well and I was fairly confident that I had got it. I am very bubbly and I can talk, especially Disney!
It was an agonizing 5 month wait but ill never forget the day the acceptance letter arrived. We went to Orlando on a J1 visa. We lived on Disney property in the international and cast member housing called Chatham. It was pretty much the Truman show. All the building were identical. I remember arriving and thinking, “how an I ever going to find which house is mine?” I lived with 3 other girls and all up there were 200 Australian and New Zealanders.After arriving at about 12pm and all of the excitement I don’t think we slept that night. The next morning they took us on a bus to Wall-Mart. Wow what an experience! I had never seen a store that big, it even had a McDOnalds inside it. We went crazy buying groceries. We were amazed by the size of the portions and the strangest discovery was “cheese in a can”. How strange. I was also completely blown away by the fact that there were guns for sale in the store. That was the first time I had ever seen a gun.
We were assigned our jobs on the 2nd day. I was very lucky and i had a greatjob in Animal Kingdom at ODF (out door foods). (ice cream crats, hot dogcarts, tarzan show popcorn etc). People worked in all different areas of theparks and resorts. Some were mickey mouse, some in the parades, onegirlfriend drove the safari trucks at kilamanjaro in AK, some where burger flippers at pinnochios, some where in merchandise at tinkerbell’s treasures at MK.
I probably enjoyed going through the training days at the Disney university called Traditions the most. I loved learning all about the WDW history, Mickey Mouse and of course Walt Dinsey. Of course I new all of the answers to everything they asked. It was quite strange that of the 200 Aussie and NZ not many of them actually had an interest in Disney. I was labeled the Disney freak shortly after that day, a name I wore proudly.I very rarely worked!
I only ever worked enough to pay for my accommodation and I was always the first to put my had up to go home early. As a CM, we were given free entry to all of the parks. I wanted to play not work.
I spent way to much money on merchandise but it was hard not to. There is this great place called Property Control. It is a big store that is under big tents. They sell all old stock and broken stock at really cheep process., I remember I got a snow globe for $5!!!!!!!!!!!!
There were many great things that CM got to experience.At the end of my time we had a graduation ceremony and our diplomas were presented to us by Mickey mouse. I had a wonderful time exploring the tunnels at MK, not that I was allowed to be there because only MK cast members were allowed. But nothing was going to stop me from experiencing the tunnels. It is amazinghow easy it is to get back stage.... I am worried when i go back Iespecially want to go back stage to where i used to work in AK. I think illask a cast member it can’t hurt to try. We had great discount at the resort but i only had time to stay at All Star Music. At Christmas time we had 50% off merchandise and all year round I think it was 30% or 40%.I should probably stop now, I have probably bored you all to death.
Sorry, once I get started I just can’t stop. If there is anything else that you specifically want to know, just ask. It is really hard to summarise 3 months worth of memories into one page.
I think i only had one bad experiences as a cast member. I remember it being my first day of work. My back stage area was at the back of pizzafari in Animal Kingsdom. I walked around the corner and i say Chip and Dale both with their heads off and they were smoking. I burst into tears. I didnt want to see them with their heads off ever again. I guess it was a good thing that i didnt have to be a character as it would have just spoled the magic to much for me. I made sure that i was always walking with someone any time i turned a corner when walking back stage from that point in.
Glad you had a great time as a CM Jess Sounds like a lot of fun! I have to laugh about the "cheese in a can" That's a big thing here on the Passporter boards Thanks for sharing your experience with us
I am trying to attach some photos i hope this works. Just thought you would like to see me and DH. Ist two are in Hong Kong Disneyland and the second is my wedding day.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Just a quick question. How do you put photos in the body of your message?
Great pictures Jess You're halfway there. Click on your picture which should bring up a new window. Copy the URL of that picture. Go back into your post and edit it, and put your cursor where you want the picture to go. Click the icon that looks like a mountain/sun scene which should bring up a window asking for a URL address. Paste the URL that you just copied into that window and hit OK, and the picture should be in your text. Let me know if you have problems
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Sounds like a lot of fun! I have to laugh about the "cheese in a can" 
That's a big thing here on the Passporter boards 
Thanks for sharing your experience with us 
at the "cheese in a can" reference too! 
Easy Cheese (look in his pocket!)
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