I LOVE Comedians with Guitars......You didn't tell me that part...COMPLETE 2/28/13 - Page 14 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 coffee purchase by Lisa and Brook we headed out and roamed a bit. I took more pictures.
I think we separated from Brook at some point in time.
We found a seat in the adult area and saw this helicopter go around.
I wondered if Cuba was monitoring us. Lisa said I shouldn’t have taken the picture. And then a few minutes later it circled again and she swore they were coming to get me.
I have since heard that Cuba was in fact watching us. Not sure why really, but I guess the Big Disney boat looked intimidating.
We walked around a bit more.
I think we ran into Brook again and she was going to the Cove Café for a snack so we followed her in again. (Or I could have my memory wrong and we went in the 1st time by ourselves and the 2nd with her…I can’t be for sure. LOL)
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We headed back to the room and started to get ready for dinner and just laze around a bit. We both showered and watched one of the movies playing on TV as we got ready.
Tonight dinner was at Parrot Cay.
I believe bread was Warm Banana Bread with banana butter dip.
While we made our selections I took a few random pictures.
For an appetizer I chose the Baked Crab Dip Martinique, Jumbo Lump Crab Baked in Creamy Cheese Sauce served with colorful Tortilla and Plantain Chips.
Lisa got the Cream of Green Asparagus, With Crabmeat and Asparagus.
One of us, or maybe both of us had this salad. It’s so sad, but I can’t remember for sure, but I am pretty sure we both had it. Parrot Cay Salad, Fresh tender Spinach tossed with sliced Red Onions, Mushrooms and a Warm Bacon Dressing topped with Crisp Bacon and Chopped Egg.
For my Entrée I got Mixed Grill, Grilled Beef Tenderloin Steak, Lamb Chop, Bacon Wrapped Sausage and Jumbo Shrimp on Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus and Grilled Tomato with a Cabernet Mushroom Sauce.
I don’t have a picture of Lisa’s plate, so my guess is that we got the same thing, or I just wasn’t feeling like taking another picture. LOL
Dessert!
Lisa got the Parrot Cay`s Sweet Temptations, A Trio of Crème Brûlée Cheesecake, Lemon Meringue Pie and Chocolate S`More Vanilla Cake.
I got the Ice-Cream Sundae, Cookies and Cream ice cream, served with a fudge brownie bar, Whipped Cream and Chocolate sauce.
Yum Yum Yum!!!!!
I didn’t have any complaints about dinner at all, though I think a few got something that they weren’t too happy with. Julie had tried the crab dip too. I know she had said something about it not being her thing, but she wanted the chips. Well she loved it and I am pretty sure she ate the plate clean.
After dinner I took a few random shots as we left.
And then back to our room.
Where we found this guy waiting for us.
Some of the girls were going to go to David Williamson’s adult show tonight. I wanted to go, but I made the mistake of going back to the room. It was just so comfy there and before I knew it, I threw that idea out the window and just got ready for bed. We had an early excursion tomorrow, so I decided sleep was best for now. I did leave out the room service tag for us. I just checked all sorts of things off. If it sounded good, I checked it. LOL I think this ended up being my earliest bedtime during the trip.
Dinner looked pretty good! I like the bright decor of Parrot Cay. I always do what you did that night-- make the mistake of going into the cabin and then not wanting to leave.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Great dinner. Too funny about the photos of the helicopter - do you know what? I can believe that about Cuba monitoring you. After all, to see a Disney ship round there is a novelty and they were probably wondering what you were doing. I must admit, until I looked on a map the other day, I had no concept of how close Cuba is to the States. Sure, I've seen the distance signed from Key West, but it didn't really go in, if that makes sense?
Dinner looked pretty good! I like the bright decor of Parrot Cay. I always do what you did that night-- make the mistake of going into the cabin and then not wanting to leave.
It was good. When I don;t have to cook, dinner is usually good in my eyes. LOL
Yes going back the cabin was a mistake. Or even just sitting in there for minute. If I just went in and took off again I might have made it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Great dinner!
Yes it was.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rhinohunter
Nice dinner. It sounds like you made a good decision to call it a night early.
I probably needed the sleep.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Great dinner. Too funny about the photos of the helicopter - do you know what? I can believe that about Cuba monitoring you. After all, to see a Disney ship round there is a novelty and they were probably wondering what you were doing. I must admit, until I looked on a map the other day, I had no concept of how close Cuba is to the States. Sure, I've seen the distance signed from Key West, but it didn't really go in, if that makes sense?
I totally understand. I think a lot of us in the US really don't even think about how close it is because we just aren't allowed to go there.
This one scanned weird and would only scan half a page at a time for some weird reason.
Today I woke with a phone call. UGH! It was room service at 5:45 letting me know our food was on its way. Why did they call so dang early? I think I had it set for somewhere around 6:15 – 6:30. I had my alarm set to wake up accordingly, but I guess they want you to know it’s coming. So we got up and didn’t do much, expecting food to be here at any minute.
I went out to the balcony and took some pictures. Ok, A LOT of pictures of the sunrise.
Still no breakfast, so we started to get dressed and ready.
Look there is land in sight.
Finally we got a knock at the door. The guy was very friendly and apologized for running behind. He said it was a crazy morning for room service. It arrived pretty much at the time we had it scheduled for, so no complaints about that.
We dug in and ate and then I went up top to watch us get closer to port. Of course I took more pictures.
As we got closer, I also took some more pictures around the ship.
I just love watching us pull closer to port from the top of the ship. I am always amazed how empty it is too. Sure there are others up there, but not many.
I can just make out a Carnival ship in the distance.
My land shots are not that great, but it didn’t stop me from taking them.
And while walking by the basketball court I felt the need to get a shot of that.
Playing around with the camera now.
More shots while walking around.
These comfy chairs were just outside of the Quiet Cove. Mary’s girls loved this area and usually snatched some chairs here each day. They would never leave them either. It was funny. They would take turns eating and going to the bathroom so they wouldn’t lose the beloved seats.
The hair braiding station. I’m gonna let you in on a secret…..I LOVE hair braiding. Now not the full head look, but the headband look. I have loved it for years and I had it down when I was in the Bahamas many years ago. I also used to have 2 different friends who could do this and I would often have them do my hair. I think it’s long out of style, but I still love it.
Lisa and I were often confused with the trash cans. We weren’t sure if some things were paper or plastic, or a bit of both. We often just threw things in one or the other. I wonder if they sort this trash out later? I can’t imagine we were the only ones confused.
Here was a restroom I had not spotted earlier.
I did a little more exploring, making my way back towards our room.
Lisa and I packed what we needed and headed off to our meeting place for our excursion, which if memory serves me right was Diversions.
As we walked down I got a quick shot out the port hole.
We found some seats and settled in.
Not long after we got there, Brook showed up as well. It was just the 3 of us going on this Port Adventure. We checked in and they announced that they were selling water bottles out in the hallway, so I ran out and got the 3 of us each 1. Of course I was trying to hurry and the guy in front of me was slow as can be, pulling out his phone to calculate a tip as this was all done on paper and not the computer. I’m sorry, but if they can’t have it automated, they don’t need a tip for water …but I will tell you I never left one, but one was calculated in on my bill when I checked it later.
Soon we were heading off the ship. In Grand Cayman you have to tender to port. They don’t allow the ship to get too close because of their coral reefs. If you had an excursion planned, you were taken right to a tender. If you did not, they had a meeting spot set up to get tickets to tender off till a certain time in the morning. I don’t think they want a mad rush of people trying to get off at the same time. We were the “Minnie” group, so we followed the Minnie sign out to the tender.
Brook wanted a picture with the ship behind her.
Seeing the ship out here in the middle of the ocean really makes you realize just how big she is.
Without seeing her compared next to the Dream, I didn’t think she looked very small at all.
We found some seats and soon we were off.
I really tried to take pictures of the ship as we pulled away, but it was impossible. Too many heads or poles in the way.
We saw the Carnival ship parked not too far from us.
Good bye Magic.
Hello Grand Cayman.
This could’ve been a cool shot if there weren’t poles and people in it.
It didn’t take long and soon we were at the dock.
We were told to gather at the wall with our Minnie sign guy.
While we waited, I took a few more pictures….imagine that.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.