National parks, natural beauty and a bit of Disney wonder! DISNEYLAND SECTION COMPLETED - Page 20 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Looked like a wonderful meal, in a beautiful setting. Very Napa-like.
I would want to start with that dessert tray! Yummy selection.
Carsland is going to be pretty cool from the look of it.
I didn't think I'd like CA much, but really do like the look of it. I've just started to research the attractions and food.
Thanks very much for the run-down on distances between the parks and hotels. It really does help me to figure how much I can fit into a few hours of touring!
I didn't think I'd like CA much, but really do like the look of it. I've just started to research the attractions and food.
Thanks very much for the run-down on distances between the parks and hotels. It really does help me to figure how much I can fit into a few hours of touring!
I heard so many negative things about the California Adventure that I really wasn't expecting much from it at all on our first visit there, but we loved it. We were worried about the changes they were making to the park, but with the exception of the boring entrance (we much preferred the letters), we really liked what they've done so far. I think you'll really enjoy it too.
Saturday 27 August – part eight: what an amazing show!
We had sat there chatting for so long that by the time we got up, it was about 6:00pm, having had an ADR for 4:10pm. As such, I mentioned that I really wanted to see the Aladdin show, having missed it on our previous two visits to Disneyland and having heard so many good things about it. We headed that way through Bug’s Land, as the main route through is closed off for more work on the future changes to the California Adventure.
When we got there, I showed my Guest Assistance Card and asked for orchestra seating, as told to do so by the first Cast Member I saw and I’m glad I did, as I saw how many steps some of the people had to go up. There is no way I could’ve easily done that. :
By the time they let us in, a lot of people had already gone in and I thought we’d by pretty far back, but I reckoned without Mari’s keen sight and she quickly found a group of five seats just by the aisle. She told me to sit there, as the characters go past, which didn’t go down well with Lauren, as she wanted to sit there, but Mari was adamant. I’m glad she was, as I had a great view of the show and it was very magical to see some of the characters go past me as well.
I cannot say enough good things about this show. : I have heard nothing but good things from other people and that’s why we wanted to watch it and I’m so glad we finally made it. I would’ve liked to have seen some form of programme, detailing those who were performing in it, as I felt that they deserved some more credit, so good were their performances. On the basis of what we saw, this could easily become a Broadway musical.
The highlight had to be the Genie and we were told that he has the ability to adlib and boy, did he with some very entertaining gags to Jasmine about Lady Gaga. He was hysterical and definitely the star of the show.
Having said that, Aladdin and Jasmine were also superb and I really enjoyed the guy who did Iagu. Another classic from the Genie, when he said about getting him removed from the Enchanted Tiki Room, especially as he just has been from Walt Disney World.
I cannot fault this and it really is a do not miss at Disneyland. I think it’s about time they took this elsewhere, as it would certainly work in other parks. Of course, it’s going to be on the Fantasy, but some other parks as well guys?
When we came out of there, we headed next to Monsters Inc and had the longest wait of the day. It said five minutes, so I didn’t use my Guest Assistance Card, but it was at least 10 minutes. It wasn’t to do with the number of people, it was because they were very slow loading people.
Finally, we were on and I love this ride. I thought, as we went around, that now it seems quite odd to have a ride based on this movie, as it’s not exactly one of the big name movies. Still, that makes it all the more unusual, I think...
We walked through the Hollywood area, getting some photos on the way. I don’t like the way it’s all set up for the Tron show, as to me, it really detracts from this area.
It was the same story at the entrance, as they’re working here now on the introduction of the new big red car trolley service and there’s a lot of work going on, which is a shame. I still have really mixed feelings about this work, as I think it’s making the park too much like Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World.
We carried on walking, getting various night-time shots as we walked through, past the Grizzly River Run, which is one of my favourite parts of the park.
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From your photos and description, it looks like I'll love this park! I love the music and lyrics from Aladdin and the show looks fantastic. So excited about CA now and I only hope I'll have enough time to see it properly.
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All caught up. I agree, the Aladdin show at CA is really awesome! We saw it in 2008. We wanted to ride the Grizzly River Run but the day we were there they had drained all the water from the ride. Oh well, we'll just have to get back there someday - soon!
Saturday 27 August – part nine: can I get a seat for World of Color?
Soon, we made it to the Little Mermaid ride, the other must-do for our visit here and we walked on, even without my Guest Assistance Card. So much for the three hour waits that this thing had when it opened back in June...
This is a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it. It’s what I’d call a traditional Disney ride through a great movie and I think audiences in Walt Disney World have a lot to look forward to when it opens there as part of the Fantasyland expansion. However, having said that, I’m sorry there is still no way on this earth that I would stand in line for it for three hours on opening weekend. :
We had some time to kill before the preferred dining area opened for World of Colour, so we walked around getting photos and admiring Paradise Pier at night.
I thought the only shame was the fact that it’s hard to get photos over to the Fun Wheel now, as people were already in place to watch World of Colour. I must admit I started to get a sense of how popular this thing is, with people camping out everywhere, even in areas where I didn’t think you’d have a great view. I was suddenly very glad that we had done the dining package.
Soon, it was 8:30pm and time for the dining package people to be let in, so in we went, along with a crowd of humanity. I was delighted to see the disabled area, complete with seating, so I went to ask the Cast Member if I could sit down, showing my Guest Assistance Card and I was told that would be no problem. Score!
I think it would be fair to say that this aspect of World of Colour had worried me, as I knew that there was no way that I could stand for the whole show (29 minutes by the way, we had been told earlier by a girl at Wine Country Trattoria, although she did put approximately in front of it! ) and now I didn’t have to. A bit of Disney magic I guess?