I LOVE Comedians with Guitars......You didn't tell me that part...COMPLETE 2/28/13 - Page 24 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I'm not surprised you went photo mad - I would've done too in such a beautiful place.
It was really neat to see it all.
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Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily
Love the Hidden Mickey! Amazing time at the ruins. I'm not sure how I'd feel about all the iguanas. I know they are harmless. We even own a lizard as a pet. But it's a pet, in a cage, not wandering everywhere. I don't do well with creatures, lol!
We have a lizard too. I don't touch him too often. LOL. I don't know the life span, but he is getting pretty old. Paige got him as a kid. He has to be at least 15 years old now.
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Originally Posted by travlnmom
I'm glad you went camera crazy! Great pics, thanks for sharing them with us. We've been debating on whether to do an excursion in Cozumel. This may sway us. I love the natural beauty and taking pics too!
I've really enjoyed your trip report and hope to read more
This was a fun one. I am so glad we ended up doing it.
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Originally Posted by lauriep
What a wonderful place! It makes all the difference to have a really good guide. I love the "Mayan Mickey"!
Our guide was fantastic! Very passionate about his heritage.
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Originally Posted by mommapants
Fascinating stuff. I love old things like too and thinking about the lives of the people who lived there
I love thinking what it was like living there so long ago and how different it may have looked.
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Originally Posted by rhinohunter
Very interesting hoe for the lizards. You did a good job capturing the tour.
Thanks. Those iguanas can really make themselves blend right in with the surroundings too.
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Originally Posted by wynntx
I am looking into my first Disney cruise and have loved reading all about your trip! Great pics too!
Welcome to Passporters! There are a lot of helpful people here! Which ship are you looking to sail? You will have such a fun time. I wil lwarn you, cruising becomes addictive!
It just amazes me how old this place is, and yet it still stands, even after the forces of nature.
I don’t remember why, but we did talk about this flower. It totally escapes me why now though.
Then he handed it to me and said I could keep it.
Once we went back up front though I just set it down. I surely didn’t want to get in trouble for taking plant life off the grounds and I am pretty sure I probably couldn’t take it back on the ship nor take it off when I got home.
We then got to wander just a bit on our own, basically working our way back to the front center.
One thing they had mentioned in the booklet about booking this excursion was bug spray. We didn’t bring any, nor bought any in the local stores onsite there. I did notice towards the end that I was getting bitten though. So you should probably get some if you take a tour like this.
I used the bathroom and browsed a couple of the shops. I think I got Claire a little doll in one and then headed back to the bus. They were offering water and coke as we came back, I think I had some coke, but I can’t remember for sure. Anyways, I have heard Mexican coke is different and if I had some, I don’t remember a different taste.
Soon we were loaded up and on our way.
As we drove towards the tequila factory, Caesar talked some more. Then all of a sudden the hum of the AC stopped. What! It was hot out! We were on a brand new bus too. Caesar said they would call in for a replacement bus once we got to the factory. Thanks goodness !
Soon we arrived and this is the sign that greeted us. I thought it was so funny.
Thank GOODNESS they have a free “peepee” station!
The driveway to the Tequila factory was kind of long, but scenic.
We parked behind the building and all got out.
This was our tequila tour guide. And see the lady in the green shirt. She’s the one I swore was Bonnie from the Biggest Loser.
I believe this is the agave, which is the fruit that makes tequila.
One thing we learned was that tequila can only be tequila if it is from a certain area, like champagne in France. So I don’t remember all the rules, but they did not officially grow the Agave here to use to make it, and I can’t even remember for sure if they were allowed to make it here either or just sell it. Honestly, our guy was kind of hard to understand, so I was only picking up pieces of what he said.
Looks like something fun was going on here.
We then headed inside.
We each were to pick up a couple of little cups for the tasting.
I was trying to take pictures too, but our dude said to wait till it was over and keep moving on for now.
I am not really a fan of tequila, so I was worried how much of this I would like. The first couple were the basics and pretty gross.
But then he pulled out some flavored ones and some of those were pretty darn good.
After the official tastings, we were allowed to go and taste others, but I had had enough. I don’t drink a whole lot in my “older” age, so I didn’t want to be falling down after a few too many tequilas.
I went around and took a few pictures instead.
I did use the free “peepee” station as well. And just because it was free, doesn’t mean it was the nicest. It wasn’t too bad actually, but it could use a little loving care.
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The tequila tour I went to in Puerto Vallarta was similar, but in a little town that I liked. I didn't have even one sip of tequila, but I though the talk and demonstration about how it was made was very interesting. I also liked the gift shop. This excursion looks like a good one, with the ruins and factory together.
The tequila tour looks more interesting than I thought it would be, as that's not my kind of thing.
It was neat. I am not a drinker at all, so I was worried, but I did partake and some were good, some not so good, but I am glad I tried it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
The tequila tour I went to in Puerto Vallarta was similar, but in a little town that I liked. I didn't have even one sip of tequila, but I though the talk and demonstration about how it was made was very interesting. I also liked the gift shop. This excursion looks like a good one, with the ruins and factory together.
It was interesting. It was pretty short, but nice. And great for some pictures.
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Our new bus had arrived and we all loaded onto it and set off once again.
We now were going to go to a beach, not to swim, but to get a few pictures and just look around.
We passed some beautiful scenery on the way.
What’s with all the cows just out by themselves? It was home was calling to me.
You can just barely make it out, but there was a horse alone in this picture too. You can see his brown back side.
Over on the other side, the water side, Caesar had told us about the turtles that are protected and the nesting areas. We got a glimpse as we drove by.
This was a new highway next to the road we are driving on. I guess it has been in the works for a VERY long time. 10-20 years. It was supposed to be completed already, but it wasn’t and they have once again started on it.
An unfinished area.
I have no clue what this place is.
Soon we arrived at the beach!
Was this place EVER gorgeous!!! Just stunning.
I took about 5 zillion pictures.
I just loved watching the waves crash on the shore.
Brook and Carolyn picking up shells.
This area was just pure heaven.
Brook took my pictures. Actually she took a bunch and I couldn’t figure out what she was doing.
And then I found out. She wanted a big spray of water behind me. LOL
Brook taking pictures.
I took a picture inside one of the holes and sadly there was a bit of garbage in it. I actually saw garbage here and there on the beach.
That beach is so beautiful and wild-looking. Such a shame to find trash here and there. I agree with you-- could watch the waves and the colors of the ocean for hours.