From no trip to celebrating 20 years together… planning it all in less than 100 days! UPDATED 6/30 - Page 90 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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That one is a little more wild for me! Good to know, thank you!
Yes, I definitely appreciate that Disney keeps their parks more hidden. Makes it feel more exclusive. Well, except for Disneyland. Walt learned his mistake there!
Have a great time!
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Those water rides look scary to me. My idea of a water ride is a lazy river. The park is very pretty.
Years ago, my daughter worked at Sea World of Ohio at the Commerson's Dolphin area. They were her favorite as they were very friendly. She wasn't fond of the fish she sold for food , though.
Have a fun trip to Scotland.
Liz
Thanks for sharing all your pictures of the water park. It really looked like a lot of fun! It's always the best when you pull up to your Disney resort after being away at another theme park for the day. Disney just has the magic. Have a magical time in Scotland!!!
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Great pictures from Aquatica. I would have totally stayed away from the wave pool. After almost drowning in the one at Typhoon Lagoon, I steer clear of them!
Looked like a good time at Aquatica even though you didn't do any attractions. Just enjoying the exploring! Nice photos overall and especially the dolphins!
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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!
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Just catching up again. I loved getting a chance to see Discovery Cove & Aquatica as I've never been to either park. Although if I ever do make it to Discovery Cove, I definitely won't be feeding birds. I'm kind of freaked out by the thought of a bird sitting on my head - whether or not it leaves anything behind.
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
I just caught up too. I don't think I have ever seen black and white dolphins...they are so neat!
I am so glad you went on vacation and I didn't get too far behind...but I leave in less than a week and you will be back and then I will be so far behind when I get home. LOL. I'll live though.
I have been seeing your pictures on facebook and it looks like you are having a wonderful time.
I just caught up too. I don't think I have ever seen black and white dolphins...they are so neat!
I am so glad you went on vacation and I didn't get too far behind...but I leave in less than a week and you will be back and then I will be so far behind when I get home. LOL. I'll live though.
Yes, I suspect you will be a little behind when you return. I hope you have a wonderful time!
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I have been seeing your pictures on facebook and it looks like you are having a wonderful time.
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Well, we're back from our road trip around Scotland, so it's now time to resume this trip report...
Saturday 4 March – part nine: “he’s going to miss the dock”
When we got back to the Wilderness Lodge, I headed into the Mercantile, as I wanted to use up a couple of our snack credits, so I got a Diet Coke (I know we have refillable mugs, but I couldn’t be bothered to go all the way down to the Geysir Point to refill them), and a rice krispie Mickey treat in the shape of an Easter egg, as I had the munchies. Wouldn’t you know it that as soon as we got back to the room, they disappeared?
When we got back to the villa, we put a load of washing on. Oh my goodness, it sounded like we were going to take off at one point! I tell you that washer is nowhere near as quiet as the ones in the BoardWalk. In fact, the variation between the different resorts has been interesting to say the least. We always thought of them as being relatively similar, but not a bit of it. They do have huge differences between each of them.
While working on the trip report, I decided to check my Fastpass choices for tomorrow, as I couldn’t remember them. I looked at our itinerary, and couldn’t see breakfast anywhere. Hmmm… a bit odd. Anyway, I couldn’t change my Fastpasses, so I went to investigate breakfast a bit more. Somehow, I’d managed to book it for 3 May! Wow, good catch!
Now here was a chance… what was available tomorrow? We were going to go to the Grand Floridian Café at 8:30am, but I figured as we’d be checking out, maybe we should make it a little later to give us a bit more time. I managed to find a reservation instead for 1900 Park Fare, and as we’re on the Dining Plan, that would make much more sense to do that while we’re on the Plan, and heck Mark always love the ugly sisters, so that should be fun.
The plan now is to go to Fantasia Gardens afterwards for a spell of miniature golf, as Mark asked earlier in our vacation if we’d be doing that, and I had to say but given we’ve done all the work we need to do, and the plans for tomorrow were never set in stone, why not go and do that?
As our reservation at the California Grill was at 7:40pm, we headed out just before 7:00pm. We’ve learnt now to allow a lot of time to get to our destination when we’re using Disney transportation – something to do with bad experiences with it in the past. Tonight’s would be interesting to say the least…
We walked down to the dock, and waited for the boat to arrive that was just pulling into the dock.
We watched it pull in, then we stood there with another guy, all saying “he’s going to miss the dock”, and sure enough he did. Ok, it’s a little breezy, these things happen. As the boat went further and further away from the dock, we were trying to work out whether or not he was turning it round, but apparently not. He came in for attempt number two, and that didn’t work out too well, although it was a lot closer than the first try. Finally, on attempt number three, he moored the boat… although it didn’t give us much confidence, as we’d soon be out with him… He had someone with him, and for a small boat like that, that’s not normal, so we figured he was training.
We stepped aboard, a bit apprehensive, and set off for Fort Wilderness, as you stop there, before getting to the Contemporary. On the way there, we literally did a zigzag through the water, which was a bit surreal, and we nicely managed to hit the wake from a larger boat, which I thought you always tried to avoid.
We managed to moor up first time, although we did give the dock a bit of a thud. The boat was packed after that, as it was literally completely filled up, with no room left to sit. It felt a lot heavier in the water, and I did wonder how our new captain would cope with this. We set off, and we seemed to be Ok, except at one point, we literally did a right turn in the water. From where I was sitting, I couldn’t see, but Mark told me it was because we were heading for the island!
Let’s just say when we got to the Contemporary, we were the first ones up and off the boat, as we wanted to be on dry land! Wow, that was certainly a thrill ride… not sure it’s one I wanted though Disney!
We headed over to the resort…
Now if you notice here there suddenly appear to be smears on the photos. I discovered when I got up to the California Grill that there was a mark on the lens, and I couldn’t get it off. Mark eventually did, but it literally must have happened as we came ashore, as the previous photos were all fine. Thank goodness that was a quick fix. I was mortified when I noticed that!
We checked in, and they asked us for an American cell phone number. I didn’t have it with me, as I was carrying my small clutch bag, and hadn’t put it in, so they send you straight up to the bar area to wait instead.
The only chairs we could find were at the bar, so we kind of had to order drinks before dinner, which we weren’t necessarily planning on doing.
The bar tender asked us once, but we were having a crisis with the camera at the time, and then after that, we had missed our slot a bit. Eventually, we got our orders in, literally just as they came to take us to the table! Mark stayed put to close that check off, while I headed over to the table. Disappointingly, it wasn’t one by Wishes, but it was still a window table with a perfect view of something much more important… towards Epcot, so we’d be able to see IllumiNations!
Anyway, Mark eventually made it over with our drinks. He had the modern old fashioned, made up of bullet rye, pure cane syrup, bitters, and luxardo cherries. He offered me a sip, and said I’d like it. I did ask if it had anything in it that I couldn’t have, and he said so I wasn’t too impressed when I saw the menu, but thankfully no problems…. Phew! However, it was absolutely disgusting. We’ve been together over 20 years, and how he thought in any way whatsoever I might like that, I do not know. Ugh!
At least I was happy with mine, which was a twisted Mai Tai, made with Mount Gay rum, crème de noyaux, orange juice, and pineapple juice with a splash of lime. It was just sweet enough for me.
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Thankfully Mark was able to get whatever was on the camera lens off the lens. Too bad you weren't able to get a table with a Wishes view, but at least you had a view of Illuminations.
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.
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Have a magical time in Scotland!!!
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Hmmm… a bit odd. Anyway, I couldn’t change my Fastpasses, so I went to investigate breakfast a bit more. Somehow, I’d managed to book it for 3 May! 
Wow, good catch! 
but given we’ve done all the work we need to do, and the plans for tomorrow were never set in stone, why not go and do that? 
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