Living the dream and remembering the Bagman LIVE UPDATE 10/2 - Page 46 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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.
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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 will be attending the D23 Destination D event in November. There's an event on the last night that is a surprise but is "not to be missed". There's some chatter that it's the unveiling of Rivers of Light. Of course its conjecture/ rumor. And I'd be suprised if Disney waited that long after closing the Jungle Book show to open a new show - but who knows? It seems the challenges of ROL have taken them by surprise. And perhaps the JB show folks were contracted for a specific limited time. Anyway, food for thought.
I think that's probably quite likely. The time we're visiting is a quieter time of the year for Disney, so in truth, while I'm disappointed, I'm not overly surprised at the lack of a night-time show in Animal Kingdom. If there's any time to go without, September/October is probably it. November is heading towards holiday season and I was wondering if they'd get Rivers of Light up for then, so that would fit into my thinking anyway...
Pre-trip report – part forty one: I’m sold… but would Mark be?
Wednesday 31 August
Well Tara (Tara O’Hara) certainly knows how to excite me! I got home tonight and looked at the pre-trip report, and she’d posted photos of their recent visit to Niagara Falls. Oh wow! I so cannot wait to see this – it’s been so many years in the making, as I first looked into a quick weekend trip (yes, I am being serious here!) to Toronto and Niagara Falls back in 1997… where does the time go?
Tanya (Disney duke) also mentioned something that wasn’t so great. Apparently, now they don’t give out parking passes any longer, but they scan your MagicBands at the toll booths. Ok… except we won’t have any MagicBands if we go straight to Epcot. Oh well, if we have to pay and get reimbursed when we check in at Animal Kingdom Lodge, the that’s pretty much the least of our problems.
I settled down to read the All Ears Net newsletter later on, and I’m sure there are more things down for refurbishment than when I last read it – either that, or I wasn’t paying attention in recent weeks. Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom, the Swiss Family Treehouse (that one I do remember) and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom will all be closed during our trip. Mind you, if that’s the sum total, it’s really not that bad, considering it’s not exactly a busy time of the year we’re going at.
Thursday 1 September
Well, now I finally get to say it – this month, we’re going on vacation!
And that’s not the best of it… it’s also time for the single digit dance… so time for a bit more dancing! How lovely to be able to finally post that on the boards!
As I was driving home from work, I heard a really cheery piece on the lunchtime talk show (I don’t usually work half days, but I was working at a different office and heading home a bit earlier to beat the rush hour on the horrible M25 – I still got stuck in traffic both ways! ) about the United Airlines flight that was on its way over to London Heathrow from Houston: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-37228479 United really have not had a good week, after two of their pilots were prevented from flying after being breathalysed and found to be over the legal limit. Oh my goodness, the account of what happened on board when that plane hit turbulence was just terrifying. Now I know why they say to keep your seatbelts fastened at all times, even when seated.
On the way home, I stopped off to buy some more blank CDs to back the photos. I have about 50 or 60 at the moment, but I’d rather get some more, as I suspect there will be a lot of photos during the three weeks we’re away. By the way, just in case anyone wonders if I ever use them – yes I do! I made a mistake with the photos from our Disneyland Paris earlier this year and deleted some of the photos from the laptop. No problem, it’s backed up on the desktop… except it wasn’t. For some reason, I only got to a certain point in that day backing them up, so I had to copy the rest of them off CD, so yes it does come in very handy. I was so relieved I take so many back-ups, I can tell you!
I also got a couple of 32gb memory cards. Mark suggested I get some new ones, as he pointed out I’d had my existing 8gb and 16gb memory cards for a number of years, and they don’t have an indefinite shelf life. It was a good point. It was a big deal for me to move up in size though with my memory cards, and that comes from Bill. I remember once discussing it with him, with me saying I’d get the biggest size I could, and him telling me very wisely to stick to smaller cards, as what would happen if something went wrong with that card? Very good point. You know he used to back up the photos he took on to a mobile storage device for exactly that reason. A very sensible guy and I miss his advice on matters like this.
In the Facebook group tonight, Jennifer (forgive me, I can’t remember her board name ) posted that her documents had all arrived and Stephanie (NanaTink) posted that the trip is now just three weeks out… wow! I cannot believe three weeks today we’ll all be gathered around at the BoardWalk for the photo walk and then Epcot remembering Bill.
On the boards, I also got some reminders of our forthcoming trip, firstly courtesy of the question of the day:
Welcome to another new month! September has arrived!
September brings the very fun and famous Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and the very yummy Food and Wine Festival to Walt Disney World.
Have you ever been to either of these fun events?
If so, what is your favorite part of either or both of these events?
Of course we’ve been to both before and we’ll be back to both in this trip! My favourite part of the Halloween Party has to be the parade, although if all the dwarves are out together, that’s another huge draw, as it’s the only time Mark gets to see his Grumpy!
As far as the Food and Wine Festival goes, really the only bit we do partake of is the booths, so that’s my favourite part. I’d love to say something else, but we never go for any of the paid events.
Elsewhere, on the Globetrotting trip reports forum, Jennifer (jenseib) is currently posting her NYC Thanksgiving trip, and it was fascinating to see the difference in Times Square. She commented on how much it had changed from her last visit, and I know what she means. The last time we saw it was 2008, and wow, what a change since then! I love the way they seem to have made it more pedestrian friendly, and I can’t wait to see the new version for myself…
On my own trip report, Tanya (disney duke) warned me that all the road signs in Quebec will be in French, so while I won’t be worrying about taking my French book with me, I’ll obviously need to be alert while we’re driving and keeping Mark updated with what to do – and more importantly, not to do.
The final list of films showing on our flight are now out, given it’s 1 September. Eye in the Sky is on, which is the one I would like to see, and given I’d like to get some sleep, I’m fine with just the one. I know Mark wants to see that, but he’s going to have some tough choices to make, as he’s also keen on seeing Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Marvel's Captain America: Civil War and maybe The Revenant, none of which appeal to me at all. At least Spotlight is still showing, if I need a second film, as we enjoyed that on our Baltic cruise.
They also give you an idea of the new films coming on for the next month, and of course that applies to us as we’ll be flying home on 1 October. I couldn’t believe what I saw! Finding Dory, Independence Day: Resurgence and Star Trek Beyond, all of which we wanted to see at the cinema, but none of which we got around to seeing! This is not fair… it’s a red eye flight and you go and give us all those choices. Oh boy, we are going to have to pick carefully, as I’m only going to have the time to watch one I would think, as I want some sleep on the way home… thanks Virgin Atlantic!
Mark said to me later on that he’d told work that he had to leave on time, as we were heading up to a hotel near the airport. I know why he’s done it, as he wants to get away, and doesn’t want to be late. He worked Sunday and will be working this weekend as well, as he’s got so much to do. Sigh. Anyway, that got the wheels whirring in my mind. Maybe we could spend the night in a hotel near the airport. Hmmm….
I looked at hotels right by Heathrow, but none of the ones we’ve stayed in have really grabbed us, and they were all coming in at around £100 ($130). Ok, I don’t mind paying that for a nice hotel, but not for something that’s quite basic. I widened my search, and found Foxhills Club and Resort. Go have a look at the website, and I guarantee you will be as wowed as I was. The spa section especially sold it to me… and even better, I got a price of just £135 ($175). I’m sold… but would Mark be?
I mentioned to him I’d had an idea, and told him to look the site up. He was impressed, but I think he was wondering how much it was. When I told him, he was very taken aback, and told me to go ahead. A couple of clicks later, and we were booked – so now what he’s told work is true. He does have to leave by a certain time! So long as we’re there in time to use the spa, which closes at 9:45pm, I’m happy! It opens at 8:00am on weekends, so we won’t have time to use it the next morning. This sounds like the perfect start to our vacation!
However, slightly more depressing news on the BBC News website when I saw Hermine had been upgraded from a storm to a hurricane. I feel for anyone in Florida right now, whether resident or visitor. They did say that it was the first hurricane to strike Florida since 2005, which surprised me. I thought they were more often than that, but I guess not.
Friday 2 September
Well, after yesterday’s mammoth update, there’s not much today. Thankfully Hermine seems to have passed through Florida without too much impact, and I don’t say that lightly, as I know thousands are without power. I mean in terms of lives lost. As far as I’ve heard, there haven’t been any, and that’s the main thing.
When the grocery order turned up this evening, I took great pleasure in the things that I’d ordered for our vacation – the AAA batteries for our noise reducing headphones (for use on the plane) and the cotton wool balls (I was running out of them), but my biggest thrill was a very sad one. I looked at the best by date on the milk I’d bought and celebrated when I saw it was a date by which we’d already be away. Not only would it be good for the week (my sensible first concern), but then my silly, childish side came out and I was like “we’ll be in the States by then”!
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Sounds like you are getting a lot accomplished. Have you ever considered using flash drives for your back up photos. They are so tiny and hold so much more than CD's. I would think it would be much easier to travel with them.
I read that beginning as - forty-one: I'm old. Had to start over!
All that photo back up is sooooo important. When our computer crashed, I had nothing except what I'd uploaded to Winkflash and Shutterfly. But I'd lost videos. Always, always back up the photos! Lesson learned.
Starting out at a spa is the way to go, for sure. Looks very nice too!
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Finally finished the pre-report - I always love reading your PTRs, how they start with an idea and by the end everything falls perfectly into place, and this trip there were definitely a bunch of shifting dates
Can't believe you are in the final days countdown to what sounds like an amazing, heartfelt trip.
Sounds like you are getting a lot accomplished. Have you ever considered using flash drives for your back up photos. They are so tiny and hold so much more than CD's. I would think it would be much easier to travel with them.
I have looked into them before, but I've also had problems with them before, so I stick with my good old fashioned CDs...
I read that beginning as - forty-one: I'm old. Had to start over!
Well, I'm 43 now, so 41 now seems young to me...
Quote:
All that photo back up is sooooo important. When our computer crashed, I had nothing except what I'd uploaded to Winkflash and Shutterfly. But I'd lost videos. Always, always back up the photos! Lesson learned.
When we lost our last laptop (just wouldn't turn on one morning for no reason), I was so thankful I had everything backed up and literally lost a couple of updates to documents I'd done the night before and that was it...
Quote:
Starting out at a spa is the way to go, for sure. Looks very nice too!
Finally finished the pre-report - I always love reading your PTRs, how they start with an idea and by the end everything falls perfectly into place, and this trip there were definitely a bunch of shifting dates
Very much so!
Quote:
Can't believe you are in the final days countdown to what sounds like an amazing, heartfelt trip.
Love the look of the spa. I'm thinking you need to check in mid-day to really take advantage!
Well, that sounds nice, but given we both have a full day of work to get through on Friday, sadly that won't work. Given we're already off for three weeks, I don't think asking for another day would go down very well!
I'll dance with you!
And nice job getting the hotel for the night before--makes it a lot less stressful in the morning, doesn't it? (Can someone convince my DH of this? Please?)
And nice job getting the hotel for the night before--makes it a lot less stressful in the morning, doesn't it? (Can someone convince my DH of this? Please?)
We can both work him on Sunday, if that's not going to be too late for you...
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I got home tonight and looked at the pre-trip report, and she’d posted photos of their recent visit to Niagara Falls. Oh wow! 
I so cannot wait to see this – it’s been so many years in the making, as I first looked into a quick weekend trip (yes, I am being serious here!) to Toronto and Niagara Falls back in 1997… where does the time go? 
Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom, the Swiss Family Treehouse (that one I do remember) and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom will all be closed during our trip. Mind you, if that’s the sum total, it’s really not that bad, considering it’s not exactly a busy time of the year we’re going at. 
) about the United Airlines flight that was on its way over to London Heathrow from Houston: 
Oh my goodness, the account of what happened on board when that plane hit turbulence was just terrifying. Now I know why they say to keep your seatbelts fastened at all times, even when seated. 
At least Spotlight is still showing, if I need a second film, as we enjoyed that on our Baltic cruise. 
Finding Dory, Independence Day: Resurgence and Star Trek Beyond, all of which we wanted to see at the cinema, but none of which we got around to seeing! 
I feel for anyone in Florida right now, whether resident or visitor. They did say that it was the first hurricane to strike Florida since 2005, which surprised me. I thought they were more often than that, but I guess not. 
Had to start over!
Well, I'm 43 now, so 41 now seems young to me... 
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