Dreaming of a Disney spring break! THIS SECTION COMPLETED - Page 87 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Duck butt!! During Decade of Dreams, there was a group of us girls walking towards the Crystal Palace and we saw a bunch of ducks in the water. All of a sudden, one dove for a fish or something and showed us it's butt. We giggled a lot over that(call it the joy from all being together) and from then on I would point out duck butt to Chez.
She got me good though with the picture of Donald's butt.
That was such a funny moment - and ever since then duck butt has been the (scuse the pun) butt of so many jokes!
Isn't DTD peaceful in the early morning? That's the best time to be there - even if the lack of merchandise isn't all that great. I had to laugh when I saw the photos of the Hotel Royal Plaza's lobby! I'm thinking most people wouldn't bother to do that when just stopping in for a Tshirt. Thanks for sharing though as I haven't seen it since 1990!
Hey, you never know when it might come in handy for the PassPorter photo archive, an e-book or even articles...
I love getting to DD early in the morning. It's true that in recent years the selection hasn't been so great, but I still enjoy a morning of intense browsing through all the shops!
My plan is to hit DTD early in the morning....it just gets so crowded in WoD that I can't stand it. Glad to see it can be empty. Sorry they didn't have anything in your size, that can be such a downer.
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Monday 11 April – part three: this is so good, maybe we should get another treatment...
We were a bit early and hungry and thirsty, so we headed for the main building and then on to Gasparilla’s Grill.
I’ve never eaten here and was very impressed by both the size of it and the selection they had on offer. I got some sushi, while Sharon got a sandwich and I also got one of those frozen pineapple bars that I’ve already fallen in love with.
Then it was off to the spa to make sure we were there 15 minutes early. We were checked in and taken through to the changing area. As there was no-one in there, I was able to get some photos in there.
We took off our jewellery and then settled down to dunk our legs in the Jacuzzi until we were called. That was very pleasant.
We were both having the soothing, tired legs treatment that I’d had before and had recommended to Sharon and also the paraffin treatment for the hands, which Sharon had recommended to me. Both were excellent, although my goodness, when you first put your hands into the paraffin, it is hot! I don’t recall having a massage chair the last time I did this and that was a godsend and a very nice added extra.
Sharon decided that she wanted to get her toenails painted, having seen the woman in between us get hers done and I was asked if I wanted a paraffin treatment for my feet as well. Well, why not? If I thought it was hot putting my hands in this stuff, I hadn’t felt anything yet! : This was almost burning, it was so hot, but a couple of minutes later, it felt so good.
I was fascinated at how easily the paraffin peels off once it’s cooled down and how lovely and soft you feel after it. My feet felt wonderful. As Sharon said to me, you probably get more benefit from that, because as soon as you use the restroom, you’re washing your hands and washing away the effects.
We headed back to the changing area, so Sharon could dry her feet a bit more and I could get some more water. It’s just so lovely and peaceful in there.
Then it was out into the lobby for a few more photos and settling up the check. Gotta love that DVC discount here!
We headed back to the car, getting a few final shots on the way....
... and then we headed for the Beach Club, with a few more photos as we drove along, making an unscheduled visit to the Hess Garage by accident. I can’t fault Sharon’s driving – it was really good and it was such a good day out, allowing us to both do things that we really enjoy doing.
I headed back to the room and waited for Mark to arrive back. He was probably about 40 minutes after me and we showed each our photos from the day and our purchases. Apparently he’s not writing anything about his day so you’ll have to be content with the photos he got at the Kennedy Space Center. He tells me it was a very enjoyable day, which is the main thing.
He wanted to know how Liverpool had got on (his football team) and I told him. He then promptly went into the bedroom, turned on the TV and found the match live, so watched the last of that.
Poor Mark didn’t have long in the room before we had to set off again. I’d agreed with Sharon earlier that we’d meet them at 5.30pm to give us some time to show them around the resort and so that they could see the savannahs before dinner.
I'm so glad you enjoyed your treatment at the GF Spa--I had a horrid issue with them after my last treatment--they charged me twice and then insisted that they hadn't--I eventually got a refund. What they had charged me twice for was a canceled treatment. I have found SSR a much more enjoyable experience!
Thanks for your update! I now know it is time to go to sleep! That's how I plan my evenings -- once Cheryl posts it is time to go to bed!
I'm so glad you enjoyed your treatment at the GF Spa--I had a horrid issue with them after my last treatment--they charged me twice and then insisted that they hadn't--I eventually got a refund. What they had charged me twice for was a canceled treatment. I have found SSR a much more enjoyable experience!
Thanks for your update! I now know it is time to go to sleep! That's how I plan my evenings -- once Cheryl posts it is time to go to bed!
Just as well I'm fairly consistent with the time I post most days...
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