Don't Stop - part one of Disney trip 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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People can be so mean. I'm glad Mark spoke up.
Mark is so cute with that hat. Your pictures are awesome. I know I say that everytime but they are great!!!
Ugh, sorry about that rude guest at GS. But at least I'm sure you have had enough interactions with Americans to know that he's the exception, not the rule.
Definitely As I say, we love America to bits - and we've come to realise that every nation has its small share of idiots. I know the British certainly do!
Those pictures of the questors in action are FABULOUS!!! I was told that you had some good ones! I absolutely love the expression on their faces!
And I hope that every notices that Eileen and I were actually standing . . . and not sitting in those rocking chairs . . . in the pictures you have of us as you're approaching HM!
You also made me remember that the first stop the Eileen and I actually made that morning at MK was to see Bob & Larry at the bakery that morning! I had totally forgotten! I bet the other guests in there that morning must have thought they were famous (excuse me . . . let me rephrase that . . . must have realized how famous they were) .
And the photo of the guys with the mystery guest?!? Too funny!
Jill
Well of course they're famous!
Duly noted that you guys were standing in that shot!
Absolutely love the photos with Donald!! He is my number one man (after DH, of course) so that makes me smile! And I agree with you about TTA. I was missing the old narration myself, in fact I even said out loud (on my solo trip!) "paging Mr. Tom Morrow." I missed it too.
The story of the idiot at Guest services is just unbelievable. I just don't understand some people. You're right, that is a disgrace. How embarassing. But I am glad to hear that Mark fought back. Good job!!
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Tanya
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Great Updates! So sorry to hear about the stupid (to be frank) person. I hope you forgive us over here ! Most of us aren't like that - i guess you could say he's a bad apple
I loved Mark's hat! Had he not been traveling with a security detachment (us), he might have been mugged by the characters as well as dozens of guests.
[The terrible thing is that you cannot buy that hat in the States.]
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I loved Mark's hat! Had he not been traveling with a security detachment (us), he might have been mugged by the characters as well as dozens of guests.
[The terrible thing is that you cannot buy that hat in the States.]
Friday 11 December – part five: everybody stops for tea!
I went to try and buy our Tables in Wonderland card, but our room key wouldn’t charge and the guy couldn’t figure out why. It turned out that they didn’t link the reservations properly for the two nights, as they had both come through the wait list at different times and we would have to go to guest services outside of the park, so off we went, Mark with a headache and me shaking, as sadly, that’s how I got now when I get really stressed. We finally got the problem sorted out with our room keys and got our Tables in Wonderland card and then it was off to catch the launch to the Grand Floridian.
We made it in good time and were the first in the lobby, which is unheard of for us. It gave us a chance to browse round the gingerbread house and see the chef there, who was doing various demonstrations.
Soon, others started to show up. In the end, it was Lorie, her friend Le-Ann, Barb and Bob, Maria and Ben, Molly (who is a joy in real life, just as all her posts suggest) and Joey, Deb, Don, Lisa and Liz.
Left to right: Ben, Maria, Molly and Joey And this is why Deb’s called Eeyore Tattoo! Two Donald hats together! Molly is presented with her Mickey Vinylmation – did I get that wrong? (you can tell I knew nothing about this craze at all.. ) ... and it’s time for Molly to get the cheque book out to pay Don for the Vinylmation....
We were on a table with the latter four. The Garden View Lounge is not the place for a big meet, as we were on about four different tables, which did make it hard to chat to people.
I went for the Grand Tea and Mark had the Prince Edward tea. Both of us were very pleased with our choices, although my goodness, there was so much food! It was staggered well, but towards the end, we were both feeling very stuffed, so Chef Mickey’s would not now be happening for us. There was no way we could do that on top of this. :
Time for tea! It comes with its own tea cosy... ... and wouldn’t you know it, Mark can find a use for it! Demonstrating the very British way to drink it! The drinks arrive... “Smile, you’re both on camera!”
The service here was superb. You did really feel like royalty and I loved the way that they served the tea. We each had our own teapots and I got three cups of tea out of mine, which I thought was good. Mine was nice, but not as good as PG Tips, of course! The sandwiches were very nice, especially the eggs ones and the caramelised onion tarts were beautiful too. Mark gave me his Stilton and I got Liz’s prawn sandwiches, so I did well.
Our server
The desserts were excellent as well. I had the scones with jam and then the English trifle, which was pretty similar to the trifle you get at home.
Deb got a lovely swan for dessert... ... and she promptly murdered it!
All in all, it was a great experience, but sadly the only downside was how cold it was in there. We mentioned it when we arrived and they said that they would do something about it, but it didn’t last long and the place was soon freezing again. It was a shame and took the edge off an otherwise great meal.
Garden View Lounge afternoon tea
Main course 8 8
Dessert 8½ 7½
Service 9½ 8½
Atmosphere 9 9
Value for money 8 7½
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So much fun!!! I love the china they use at the Tea, but hmmmmm, this might confirm why I never do it. I can just see me breaking a piece or too. Is it really that frou frou as it looks?
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People can be so mean. I'm glad Mark spoke up. 
Katie's graduation
PassPorter Guide Author
As I say, we love America to bits - and we've come to realise that every nation has its small share of idiots. I know the British certainly do! 
! Most of us aren't like that - i guess you could say he's a bad apple 
<--- Disney Fantasy 2016!
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