Going north, south, east, west - Chicago UPDATED 1/7 - Page 6 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Now I REALLY have to get back to Chicago next year. It looks so great. Your pictures are wonderful. You know, your pictures are great for the tourism industry.
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Even with the foggy weather the scenery is just beautiful. I kind of liked the pictures of the buildings with the fog covering the tops...very surreal, and the special settings on the camera really give the pictures totally different looks....really cool (definitely something I would like to look into for my next camera).
Glad though that you went up to the top for your view yesterday though...I could feel the cold just by looking at you with your warm coat and gloves, but the smiles on your faces say you are having a great time. Hoping it warmed up a bit for your afternoon.
Saturday 25 October – part two: this is more like it!
We came out of the park and headed past the Art Institute of Chicago and then it was off to go and get our tickets for the Grayline tour.
On the way, we got a little distracted by the Architecture of Chicago shop, where I got a book and a couple more postcards. From there, we walked over to the Plaza Hilton to get our tickets. My goodness, what an awesome lobby this place is! It really is stunning.
Tickets finally in hand, it was back out to find the bus stop and then a wait for the bus. Isn’t it always the way that the bus seems to take forever to come and that was the case today. When it did, it was open topped and no seats inside and because it was a damp and misty morning, of course the seats were all wet, so we had to wait for them to clean them. They didn’t do a bad job, but let’s say I perched very carefully, as it wasn’t 100% dry, even after they finished drying them off.
Very French! Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears football team – universally hated by every single Chicago resident, from what we could gather. The extension they’ve added does look like a flying saucer landed. It’s pretty horrible. The Planetarium
Five minutes later, we were at the museum campus and it’s probably just as well we weren’t on there for any longer, as the wind was really biting up there. Although the cloud had lifted a fair bit by now, the wind had got a lot stronger, compared to first thing this morning. Well, I guess they call it the windy city for good reason!
We got off at the bus stop for the Planetarium and took a few photos of the city skyline, which was still looking a bit bleak. It was there that we encountered that Japanese or Chinese tour group again for the second time today. That done, we headed inside.
I knew that the biggest attraction here were the various planetarium shows and we could’ve got tickets to two of them with out Go Chicago Cards, but with the timings of them, we probably wouldn’t have time, so we opted for just one, Skywatchers of Africa at 11.30, in 40 minutes time. Then it was in to see the various exhibitions. Let’s just say that the exhibitions were way better than I had expected and more what I had hoped to see at the Kennedy Space Center. This really did take you through the achievements of space travel and focused more on recent space exploration, as well as the moon landings and the work leading up to them, which was a pleasant change.
Galileo’s Cafe
We all really enjoyed walking around and learning more about the subject. As Lesley said, there were lots of hands on exhibits for both little and big kids to enjoy, so Mark was kept very happy!
Trying to land a moon lander! There are even silly photo ops here!
As for Soldier Field - you're right! All Chicagoans hate the "update". For a city that has so much wonderful architecture - what they did here is a monstrosity! They tried to keep the old exterior columns (the memories of the soldiers) and put a modern stadium in the middle. It just doesn't work! : And you can't travel south of the Loop without seeing it. It is just ugly. Ok - enough of my vent.
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Well, I guess they call it the windy city for good reason!
A little Chicago trivia for you....It's called the windy city because of the wind coming out of our politicians' mouths, not because of the wind off the lake. That being said - it was a bit bitter and cold riding on the top of that bus. Brrrrrrr! It felt good to get inside.
I think this is the first time I had seen Soldier Field since the update. That growth really is ugly. Wonder what the architects were thinking? Is this where the high dollar suites are?
A little Chicago trivia for you....It's called the windy city because of the wind coming out of our politicians' mouths, not because of the wind off the lake. That being said - it was a bit bitter and cold riding on the top of that bus. Brrrrrrr! It felt good to get inside.
Mark has told me that before, but I have to say I think the name is more suited to the weather, especially from our experiences that day!
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Just got caught up with this part of your TR and am enjoying it so much Cheryl! Your pictures really make your readers want to visit Chicago! It wasn't exactly on my must see list of cities but I've changed my mind now! Sorry the weather wasn't very good on your second day, but it was good that you chose the first day to go up to the John Hancock Tower for that great view! I've done the John Hancock Tower in Boston and it too has wonderful views of the city! Can't wait for more.
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They tried to keep the old exterior columns (the memories of the soldiers) and put a modern stadium in the middle. It just doesn't work! 
: And you can't travel south of the Loop without seeing it. It is just ugly. Ok - enough of my vent. 
Claytrgtshooter (Minnie Lor's Hubbie)
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