A tale of two cities… and a few other places… COMPLETED - Page 12 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Interesting with the elevators.... that always freaks me out when they're packed! Breakfast sure looked good, but it's a shame it didn't taste quite right.
Your photos look familiar so far at CDG! I know exactly where you were. If it was a clear day, you could look out the window and see the Eiffel tower. I had a lot of time to kill, so I noticed it.
And yeah, the signage was not the best. Upon return where the Disney shuttle dropped us off, I knew I should have walked to the right, but sign said 2A to the left. Stupidly, I followed the sign and of course it's way wrong and took me to 2F. So I walked all the way back and around to 2A. Ugh.
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Tanya
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Glad Jan's plane landed early and nice views from the room. CDG airport is definitely tough to navigate!
Oh it was a complete and utter nightmare! I hate London Heathrow, but trust me, I am never going to complain about it again. Compared to Charles de Gaulle, it's a breeze...
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Of all the airports I’ve been to in the world, I think CDG has been the worst. I landed there at about 2 am, maybe from India (can’t recall), and had a 5 hour layover before my flight home. The part we were in didn’t even have seats, and nothing was open. Which is fair at most aiports. But there were LOADS of flights coming in at that time, and all I wanted was some water, and a bite to eat. Nothing. And I was so tired, I may have even started to cry at one point!
Well, frankly given your description, I'd have been crying too! Yikes!
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Anyway, glad you found the train, but I can imagine feeling a bit stressed wanting to make sure Jan knew you were there!
Just a bit, although it was all a bit irrelevant, as you'll see...
Your photos look familiar so far at CDG! I know exactly where you were. If it was a clear day, you could look out the window and see the Eiffel tower. I had a lot of time to kill, so I noticed it.
Oh really? Wow! Dang it, I wish I'd known, I'd have done a lot more looking...
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And yeah, the signage was not the best. Upon return where the Disney shuttle dropped us off, I knew I should have walked to the right, but sign said 2A to the left. Stupidly, I followed the sign and of course it's way wrong and took me to 2F. So I walked all the way back and around to 2A. Ugh.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Sunday 17 September – part two: how long is this taking?
We found our way over to terminal 2E, and the arrivals area, and frankly it was a mob scene!
I felt so sorry for the people trying to actually arrive, because as Mark said the area they were supposed to walk through should’ve been about 12 feet wide, but now because of everyone thronged around the arrivals area, it was more like four feet wide.
I found out where the baggage claim was for Jan’s flight, and headed that way. When I got there, I could see that the luggage hadn’t even arrived. Ok, this was about an hour after the plane landed. This wasn’t a good sign. I saw about four people waiting for cases, and I think they were on the Atlanta flight.
I went back to tell Mark, and he’d moved in the time I’d been gone, which led to a lot of frantic searching on my part. Oh my goodness, I was terrified I’d lost him, as he didn’t have his cell phone with him. What if I couldn’t find him? After what felt like five minutes, but was probably more like a minute, I spotted him. Phew!
I told him the situation, and said I’d head back to baggage claim, and keep an eye out. The luggage did start to arrive, and I saw maybe 20 people coming through, but it was painfully slow, and the suitcases were all doing their lonely dance on the carousel, waiting for someone to claim them.
I went back to tell Mark that I figured we could both go to baggage claim, as there was no way I could see Jan being through for some time. Thankfully, at that point, my phone buzzed, and it was Jan messaging to say where she was. Thank goodness I’d heard from her. I didn’t know if she’d have roaming, and without it, it would’ve been a complete nightmare. She confirmed she hadn’t yet cleared immigration, so we both headed to baggage claim, where it was quiet, cooler and they had seats, and we waited there.
I told her where we were, and we occasionally got updates from her. An hour and 10 minutes later she was through. I couldn’t believe how long it had taken. Her case was one of about 40 left on the carousel by this point, and it had been a full flight, so you can imagine how many people had already come through.
It turned out she was in the last seat of the plane, which didn’t help, and there were quite a few flights we spotted that I suspect would’ve been “high risk” for immigration, if you know what I mean, and of course, she’d have been in that line, being from outside the European Union. Dang it, that will be us eventually.
She told us it had been a nightmare and she would never fly into Paris again in her life. Wow. I felt so sorry for her. It was her first ever international flight, and to be greeted like that is not the way you want to start a vacation.
We made our way back to the train terminal, and I’d already forgotten what a long trek it was. We boarded the train, and headed back to the relative tranquillity of terminal 3.
When we got there, the escalators were broken, so Jan and Mark caught the lift up with the cases and I went up the escalators. Good grief, I’ve done more than enough exercise already today!
We headed out of the station and back towards the Hilton…
By the time we checked Jan in, it was 11:00am, and her flight had landed at 7:45am. Crazy, just crazy.
She headed to her room, which thankfully was ready, for a shower, and I asked her how long she needed. At first she said an hour and a half and I told her that wouldn’t work, given we had tickets for the Eiffel Tower at 3:00pm, and I did not want to be late for that, and I wanted to show her some of the city as well. We settled on 11:45am, and we headed back to the room, where I had a shower, as I was feeling dirty and sweaty, after racing around the airport earlier on…
Jan surprised us by being downstairs before we were – impressive, given that she was jetlagged! We headed down and made our way over to the station, figuring out the tickets at the machine, and getting what we needed.
We headed down to the platform and a train was waiting, so we boarded. It was deserted, and stayed that way until we got into Paris, as it was an express up until that point.
Poor Jan, not a great experience for her first international flight. I have only ever flown into Lisbon international and unfortunately I find their customs a bit lacking and we get through quickly, I think they need to ask a few more questions, if that makes sense.
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I can see how Jan would feel that way after her ordeal getting through customs. Glad her room was ready. I always find a shower can help tremendously. And given the time she arrived, the worst thing would have been to have enough time to lay down for a quick nap! If you can stay going unti 7 or 8 pm, then I find your adjustment to local time is a lot easier.
2E is insane!! Not only are there friends and family greeting a bazillion people exiting their planes, but also about 30+ private drivers holding signs. I was there for about 3 hours waiting on Amy (delayed flight and then lost luggage!), so I watched the crowds ebb and flow. It seemed to calm down after 1-1:30pm though. So many international flights must arrive in those morning hours, hence the insanity! So funny to see your pictures, as I didn't take any!
Oh wow, that took Jan forever. That's a shame. My plane landed at 10:45 in 2A, and I was over at 2E by 11:30 (hoping against all odds Amy caught the earlier flight, but she didn't). Jan definitely did not have a good first impression. But at least her hotel room was ready!
__________________
Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
Poor Jan, not a great experience for her first international flight.
No, not at all, but I don't think it will put her off, given how much fun we had after that - at least that's what I hope.
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I have only ever flown into Lisbon international and unfortunately I find their customs a bit lacking and we get through quickly, I think they need to ask a few more questions, if that makes sense.
Yes completely. I'd rather know people are taking their time and doing things properly. In fact, I know I make a similar comment to yours about our return to England later on in this trip report....
I can see how Jan would feel that way after her ordeal getting through customs. Glad her room was ready. I always find a shower can help tremendously. And given the time she arrived, the worst thing would have been to have enough time to lay down for a quick nap! If you can stay going unti 7 or 8 pm, then I find your adjustment to local time is a lot easier.
She did amazingly well with the adjustment to the time zone, especially as she's never dealt with jet lag before. She was an absolute trooper, as you'll see as this day goes on.
2E is insane!! Not only are there friends and family greeting a bazillion people exiting their planes, but also about 30+ private drivers holding signs. I was there for about 3 hours waiting on Amy (delayed flight and then lost luggage!), so I watched the crowds ebb and flow. It seemed to calm down after 1-1:30pm though. So many international flights must arrive in those morning hours, hence the insanity! So funny to see your pictures, as I didn't take any!
Yes, that's what I figured that there were a lot of international flights all coming in at the same time. When we walked back through that crowded area, the crowds had all gone. Typical!
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Oh wow, that took Jan forever. That's a shame. My plane landed at 10:45 in 2A, and I was over at 2E by 11:30 (hoping against all odds Amy caught the earlier flight, but she didn't). Jan definitely did not have a good first impression. But at least her hotel room was ready!
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If it was a clear day, you could look out the window and see the Eiffel tower. I had a lot of time to kill, so I noticed it. 
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I hate London Heathrow, but trust me, I am never going to complain about it again. Compared to Charles de Gaulle, it's a breeze... 
Yikes! 
It's always so disappointing to bite into food that looks good, but ends there. 
she was through. I couldn’t believe how long it had taken. Her case was one of about 40 left on the carousel by this point, and it had been a full flight, so you can imagine how many people had already come through. 
We headed down and made our way over to the station, figuring out the tickets at the machine, and getting what we needed. 
2E is insane!! Not only are there friends and family greeting a bazillion people exiting their planes, but also about 30+ private drivers holding signs. I was there for about 3 hours waiting on Amy (delayed flight and then lost luggage!), so I watched the crowds ebb and flow. It seemed to calm down after 1-1:30pm though. So many international flights must arrive in those morning hours, hence the insanity! So funny to see your pictures, as I didn't take any!
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