Gastronomical Adventures at the Grand (Feb 8-12, 2015) - Page 8 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Getting caught up. Your pictures of the Grand Floridian are beautiful! So sorry about all the flooding and the mess that followed. That sounds like a nightmare!
We dined in the Queen Victoria Room in June and had many of these same dishes. Your photos bring back lots of yummy memories! I love that you did catch the wisps of smoke from the lamb dish. The Reisling that it was paired with was a perfect choice, and quite frankly, was one of the few times I actually "got" what sommeliers mean when they make their suggestions.
We dined in the Queen Victoria Room in June and had many of these same dishes. Your photos bring back lots of yummy memories! I love that you did catch the wisps of smoke from the lamb dish. The Reisling that it was paired with was a perfect choice, and quite frankly, was one of the few times I actually "got" what sommeliers mean when they make their suggestions.
That was definitely one of the highlights of my experience there back on April Fools Day, when I dined in the same room. Between the wine pairing, presentation and experience of this course was phenomenal! I had this course on one other occasion in QVR (this is my 3rd time in this room). They change the menu quite often, which is good for a venue as such!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Hi everyone. Thanks for the kind words of sympathy for our flood . It wasn't fun, but after almost a month, we are back to normal. We have had contractors in the house almost every day, but we now have new water heaters, new carpet in the guest rooms, drywall repaired, new baseboards, and a fresh coat of paint.
We have good insurance coverage, but the deductible is still quite high. A good reminder of the importance to keep savings in an emergency house repair fund.
Now, on to better news. We have company arriving from Indonesia this week to visit for a month - our niece, her husband, and their adorable 16 month old son (who just happens to be named "Louie."). We will be taking them to Disney World Apr 20-24th. With that said, I should get this TR back on track later today!
Edit: Oops, forgot to add one other trip. Since we couldn't manage to get to Disney during the flood debacle, Lou suggested I get a couple of days for May. We will now stop at Disney for a 2 night stay at the Wilderness Lodge May 20-22. The pups are booked at Best Friends, and we will continue to Maine after our short Disney Holiday.
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Glad the work on the house is finally done, and just in time for your guests! Have a wonderful time with them at home and at WDW! It still seems very much like winter here, so I forgot you'd be heading to Maine soon! Good idea to fit in another short trip before heading north.
Sounds exciting that you have family coming in and can take them to WDW, especially when one of them is a little kid. Our May trip ends on May 20 just as you all arrive.
Glad things have gotten better for you, even with the hefty expense! I couldn't believe those rains when watching the PGA golf tournament from Palm Beach Gardens nearby you! Unfortunately, water can be your best friends at times or worst enemy at others! Looking forward to more of the TR!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Just joining the ride - thanks for having us along! Your trip sounds wonderful so far, and your photos are amazing! I especially love the early morning shots, and hope I have the energy to borrow that idea on our trip this summer.
Glad to hear things are looking up for you guys now!
Thanks, Cheryl!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Glad the work on the house is finally done, and just in time for your guests! Have a wonderful time with them at home and at WDW! It still seems very much like winter here, so I forgot you'd be heading to Maine soon! Good idea to fit in another short trip before heading north.
Yes, hard to believe we will head North soon. This has not been the relaxing winter break we envisioned
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Sounds exciting that you have family coming in and can take them to WDW, especially when one of them is a little kid. Our May trip ends on May 20 just as you all arrive.
Looks like we will just miss you on the May trip, and just missing Lisa in April
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
Glad things have gotten better for you, even with the hefty expense! I couldn't believe those rains when watching the PGA golf tournament from Palm Beach Gardens nearby you! Unfortunately, water can be your best friends at times or worst enemy at others! Looking forward to more of the TR!
Thanks, Dave. Fortunately, we've not had much damage at the house in the past decade, even going through a few hurricanes safely.
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Originally Posted by OhToodles!
Sounds like you have some things to look forward to!
Yep - things are looking up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tinkinc
Just joining the ride - thanks for having us along! Your trip sounds wonderful so far, and your photos are amazing! I especially love the early morning shots, and hope I have the energy to borrow that idea on our trip this summer.
Thanks for joining in.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Glad everything is working out! Congrats on the trips!
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Glad everything is pretty much settled now!!! Bummer that we will miss you in Disney!
But if you stop in CT along your way to Maine - let me know!
Someday, we will get together!
I planned an update yesterday, but couldn't find my camera to download the last pics - the guys did too good of a job putting the house back together. But, just found it!
Glad everything is pretty much settled now!!! Bummer that we will miss you in Disney!
But if you stop in CT along your way to Maine - let me know!
And myself as well!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!