Sue and One-eyed Steve bridge the gap in the UK! COMPLETED 7/1 - Page 4 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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
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Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
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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.
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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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Sue this is really amazing and it is bringing back so many memories of my trip!.
Love, love, love the photos of around Buckingham Palace.
I am really glad you guys stayed at the Royal Garden as when we get back to London, that's where we hope to stay!!
I finally uploaded Steve's pictures to Photobucket, so I wanted to share a few of them here before I continue:
The hotel at night:
Our meal at The Prince of Wales Pub:
A few night shots of BayWater and Kensington High St: (His night shots came out much better than mine, so you will see quite a few as the trip report progresses)
The Eye:
Cool shot of Big Ben:
The Horse Guards:
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Great photos Sue!!! That must have been a spectacle to see the blue dress girl get over that fence!
It was....um.....interesting.....
Just wanted to add a few of Steve's Hyde Park pictures:
Ok...the last of Day 3!
We left St James' Park and caught the tube back to I believe, Tower Hill. We were headed for our river cruise. Chez had opted for us to do that today, since it seemed like today might be the only nice day of our trip. It was both refreshing and reassuring to know that the Weather Channel in the UK can be as inaccurate at the Weather Channel in the US can be!
We passed what used to be the old city wall, which was thousands of years old:
At least, that's what Mark told me. For all I know, it could have been put up the day before yesterday, but I believe everything Mark tells me!
We used our London Pass for the cruise, and were soon boarded.
A few shots from the river:
Correct me if I'm wrong, I believe this is City Hall:
The tower bridge:
An old building:
And a new one:
The most famous bridge in London:
I think this is BlackFriars Bridge:
Pylons from the old bridge:
A shot of the river:
Steve's pictures:
Trash barges:
One of the other cruises:
More of the Thames:
After the cruise, we were feeling the effects of a long day, and headed back to the hotel. Chez and Mark needed to collect their luggage and settle in, Steve took a quick nap, I took a quick shower and we all chilled for a bit. Soon, we met up again and were on our way to The Lyceum Theatre for "The Lion King".
We don't get to see too many shows here, so any show is an adventure to us. When I asked Steve what he wanted to see, he initially said "Mamma Mia", which we had seen when it toured in Scranton, but which we had both loved. We also thought about "Spamalot", since we are both huge Monty Python fans. We finally settled on "The Lion King". It seemed fitting to see a Disney play since we were travelling with Disney friends.
We were initially thinking about a pub for dinner, but our time was a bit tight, and we were all pretty hungry. So after arriving in the area, we decided to head over to...
McDonald's!!! lol
So now we can tell everyone back home that we travelled halfway around the world and all the way across the pond to eat at Mickey D's!
We actually had a meal, which really filled us, and we got to the theatre:
Ok, get ready....say it with me....
Awwwwww.....
The show was OUTSTANDING! OMG, I can't believe how well it was adapted to the stage. Lots of music and colors, and of course, one of my favorite story lines. The seats were great, we were on an aisle, and not only did the characters come by but we had leg room! Cheryl and I had a glass of wine with the show. I don't recall what Mark had, Steve ended up with a rum and coke.
A phenomenal show, I am so glad we chose this one!
After the show, we headed back to the hotel. We said goodnight to Mark and Chez after seeing their room, and headed back to ours. We settled in, and no sooner did I get comfortable when I heard those words from my husband... "I'm hungry!" He opened the mini-bar, and looked around... : ...if you are hungry, get room service, DO NOT use the mini-bar! He found the room service menu, and was soon ordering pizza and sodas! When he asked the size, he was told "About a dinner plate" and he asked if I wanted one, too. No, dear, I'll have a piece of yours. Luckily I didn't get one. In about 20 minutes, our order arrived, and a "dinner plate" was the size of a small American pizza!
After our snack, we finally went to sleep! Tomorrow was shaping up to be another fun day!
Next...The almost changing of the guard, the zoo and the missing link!
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Pixie Dust
Previous trips: POFQ 2005 & 2007, Boardwalk 2008, BCV & AKLV 2009 (our honeymoon) & 2012, BCV & BLT 2011, BCV 2013, AKLV 2014
PassPorter Guide Author
The seats were great, we were on an aisle, and not only did the characters come by but we had leg room! 
: ...if you are hungry, get room service, DO NOT use the mini-bar! He found the room service menu, and was soon ordering pizza and sodas! When he asked the size, he was told "About a dinner plate" and he asked if I wanted one, too. No, dear, I'll have a piece of yours. Luckily I didn't get one. In about 20 minutes, our order arrived, and a "dinner plate" was the size of a small American pizza! 
Tomorrow was shaping up to be another fun day! 
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