Our First Ever Real Vacation, Mexican Riviera Cruise June 1-8, 2008 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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After the Martini Tasting I went back to the room and rested. A little while later Theo and the kids came back and told me about what they had been up to. Daphne had been at an Aloha Party with Lilo & Stitch in the Club, Lucy, Cecilia, & Chloe had been in Studio Sea with the Lab playing Mickey Mania. Chloe was on the winning team and won a badge/pin thing. I don't know what that kind of pin is called but it's the same large, circular kind that you get kid sport photos in to hang on your purse strap. After that Theo took them to the Mickey Pool to try out the slide. They loved everything they did that afternoon.
Then it was time to get gussied up for Formal Night. Theo tried on the tux he had rented and it fit perfectly and looked great. I definitely can recommend the tux rental service. We ordered the tux online, it was waiting for us in our room when we arrived, and our stateroom Host Benny picked it up the last night of the cruise. It was very convenient and reasonably priced. We got dressed and to the lobby at 5:00. This was a good time for us because there were hardly any lines yet and it gave us time to go around to the different photo stations which each had different backgrounds.There weren't many (if any?) characters out yet, but I didn't care because I wanted a non-character formal portrait. Here are the two that turned out.
The downside to getting the portraits taken early is that we finished about 20 minutes before our 5:45 seating time at Parrot Cay. To kill time we went to the Promenade Lounge which is right near the entrance to Parrot Cay. Even though there was a Family Dance Party scheduled at that time, it was nearly empty so we hogged three of the two-person tables by portholes. we all enjoyed sitting there watching the ship plow through the ocean, especially since we had inside staterooms. The kids ordered Virgin Daiquiris, Theo had a Pina Colada, and I had a Citron Martini which was on the lounge menu as one of their specialty drinks. I know, I know, I certainly didn't need any more martinis that day, but it had been a few hours and I was on vacation right? Again, the martini was OK but I still like traditional ones better.
The act performing at the Dance Party was “Chuy and Danielle”, a two person act with Chuy at the keyboards and Danielle at the Bongos. I felt bad for them because they were singing their hearts out and there weren't many people there listening. Theo and I tried to compensate by clapping really loudly. The lack of audience didn't seem to bother them though. Danielle always had happy eyes and a huge smile, and it looked like they enjoyed their jobs.
At 5:45 the doors to Parrot Cay opened. Tonight was the Golden Mickeys Menu. For Dinner that night Theo had the prociutto-wrapped melon which he liked, a salad which he didn't like, swordfish that he really liked, and crème brulee which he always likes. I had the scallops with grapefruit, broccoli gargonzola soup, beef wellington, and a chocolate something with a Golden Micky on it for dessert. It was all very good. The kids all had mac & cheese for dinner. In addition Chloe had a shrimp appetizer from the adult menu (I think) and Cecilia had corn chowder from the kids menu. They all liked their dinners and Cecilia really liked that chowder. I think they all had chocolate pudding for dessert.
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The technicians I dealt with were all nice and did a good job. I'd call it a hard sell because I the techs said they wanted to help me make a plan about how I could maintain the benefits from the treatment. They made it sound like a additional value-added service like an excersize plan you might receive after a personal training session at a gym. Instead I felt trapped sitting there while the tech talked on and on about the products. However it was not a hard sell in the sense that when I said a polite "no" they respected that and didn't press it further.
In future I would stop them before they get started on a "treatment maintenance plan."
Great pictures, Sue! Did they have the white background for any of your portraits? That's the one I loved (for us) and they do fun things with the kids, if you want, like having them jump and capturing it mid-air.
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Great updates!! That treatment sounds like something else!! You're a much braver woman that I! Your formal photos are beautiful! Sounds like you're really having a wonderful time! Can't wait to hear more
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I know, I know, I certainly didn't need any more martinis that day, but it had been a few hours and I was on vacation right? 
Again, the martini was OK but I still like traditional ones better.
Glad dinner was great as well 
You're a much braver woman that I! Your formal photos are beautiful! Sounds like you're really having a wonderful time! Can't wait to hear more
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