Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
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04-27-2005, 08:19 PM
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#16
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The Original BagMan
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Shalimar, FL
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 22,002
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Re: Austins in the Big Apple- Pre Trip and Background
[img]http://smileys.*************.com/cat/23/23_30_104.gif[/img]
A Maureen Trip Report!!!!!
 MORE [img]http://smileys.*************.com/cat/23/23_31_4.gif[/img] |
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Sponsored links
Check out the many e-books by PassPorter. The e-books are free to download if you have a PassPorter's Club pass.
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04-27-2005, 08:57 PM
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#17
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Dopey's biggest fan!
Join Date: May 2004
Location: China Spring, TX
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 26,975
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Re: Austins in the Big Apple- Pre Trip and Background
I  NYC!!!
Great installment, but sorry to hear about Nemo!!! 
More please!!!  |
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04-27-2005, 09:17 PM
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#18
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Tulsa, OK
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 21,627
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Re: Austins in the Big Apple- Pre Trip and Background
Sorry about Nemo....glad you had a good flight. More please!!!!
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04-27-2005, 11:38 PM
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#19
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Robbinsdale, MN
Posts: 7,526
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Re: Austins in the Big Apple- Pre Trip and Background
Great start, Mo! More please!  |
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04-28-2005, 05:45 AM
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#20
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Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Newtown Square, PA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 23,859
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Re: Austins in the Big Apple- Pre Trip and Background
Great report, Mo! I am sorry about Nemo!  Love the picture of Kevan! Can't wait to hear more!! |
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04-28-2005, 09:03 AM
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#21
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Community Rank: Scout 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Lafayette, LA & BCV
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 4,751
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Re: Austins in the Big Apple- Pre Trip and Background
Maureen those pictures of New York from the plane are really great!!! Hurry back with more...
Sorry to hear about Nemo.
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04-28-2005, 09:09 AM
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#22
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Wannabe Snowbird
Join Date: May 2002
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 34,137
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Re: Austins in the Big Apple- Pre Trip and Background
Sorry to hear about Nemo, Maureen.
More, more, more, please. |
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04-28-2005, 09:22 AM
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#23
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Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Corona, New York
Posts: 3,436
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Re: Austins in the Big Apple- Pre Trip and Background
<font color="purple">Poor Nemo and poor Matthew. 
I wonder what Kevan would do if he ever found out that you'd posted that picture?  Hmmm, I smell some blackmail in your future! 
Those are amazing shots from the plane! Can't wait for more!</font> |
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04-28-2005, 10:31 AM
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#24
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,547
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Re: Austins in the Big Apple- Pre Trip and Background
Great start, Maureen! I'm SO excited for your trip report, I love hearing people's reactions to coming to the city - it's an amazing place, isn't it? The plane ride sounds like it was pretty cool - the last time I was on a plane was coming home from Florida in 2001 and we got back at around 11:00PM. We also flew into LaGuardia and the view of the city was amazing! I can't wait to hear more!!
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04-28-2005, 11:16 AM
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#25
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Columbia, SC
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 7,014
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Re: Austins in the Big Apple- Pre Trip and Background
Poor, poor Nemo!
Kevin actually looked quite peaceful napping away. My DH would have his mouth open with drool pouring out.
NYC offers the best "flying in" views of any city!
Can't wait for more! 
Jill |
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04-28-2005, 01:51 PM
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#26
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Fort Smith, Arkansas
Posts: 10,721
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Re: Austins in the Big Apple- Pre Trip and Background
After what seemed like forever, we finally were out in the airport and headed for baggage claim. Jeannine was to be in that area- while Tommy circled around with the car. She spotted us first and gave us huge hugs- it was a lovely welcome. Kevan’s case was out in no time and as usual, mine took forever! Finally we got them both!
Tommy pulled up and we got to meet Sydney- their darling 2 year old daughter. I brought a Jo Jo with me and while a little shy at first, “Jo Jo coming with me on the plane to see her”- sure warmed her up quick. She sang a few Wiggles tunes for us as Tommy and Jeannine pointed out all the sights on the way in to Manhattan. They did use a ton of abbreviations for the highways- so I was confused and very glad I didn’t have to drive!
It was the typical scene one expects driving in Manhattan- Tommy had to utilize the horn a few times and once I thought we were going to be taken out- but we were in excellent hands- and in less than 20 minutes time we were at the Grand Hyatt. We unloaded the bags- said a quick goodbye to Jeannine, Tommy and Sydney- we would see them again for breakfast on Sunday morning. We were SO grateful for them picking us up- it was a wonderful way to begin our NYC adventure.
The lobby of the Grand Hyatt is simply beautiful. During the course of my research, I found out that the hotel underwent a $65 million dollar renovation last year- it was truly magnificent. There was an exquisite and large marble fountain that encompassed two levels- I don’t know what it is but the sound of water is so relaxing to me in a lobby- probably why the Polynesian ranks supreme for me?
Anyway, up to the Lobby level and there was a short wait at the check in counter. We were waiting our turn when the agent at the Gold Passport desk noticed we were in line and motioned us to come to his counter. He wasn’t serving anyone and I really thought that excellent customer service to wait on us, even though we weren’t in the Gold Passport program.
Very courteous and efficient, we were checked in within 3 or 4 minutes. We had been given a corner, king bed room on one of the top floors. We took the bags up ourselves to save time and as we rode up, I mentioned to Kevan not to expect the room to be big- that hotel rooms in Manhattan especially, were known to be very small- the average being about 200-250 square feet.
When we opened the door- we were seriously impressed! The room had to have been a bit bigger and was done in a great contemporary and modern décor. There was plenty of room I thought- a big television and one of my favorite features- the window actually opened so we could have fresh air and sounds of the city when we wanted. Here are some photos:
 
Here's the view from our room looking down:
We were dying to get out and explore so while I changed my clothes, Kevan got us unpacked (yeah, even for three days- I’ll unpack. Just like it that way.) By 1:30 we were on our way out for our afternoon plans- after we got one quick shot of the lobby and yours truly:
First order of business was to satisfy our Dave Letterman kick with lunch at Rupert Jee's Hello Deli (if you watch the Late Show, you probably figured it out- otherwise- stay tuned) and to see the Ed Sullivan Theater, followed by some serious shopping and a visit to Times Square.
Coming Up Next: "Sometimes he gives me a few minutes notice, sometimes a day's notice- all I do is stand here like an idiot..." |
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04-28-2005, 02:33 PM
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#27
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Community Rank: Globetrotter
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Corona, New York
Posts: 3,436
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Re: Austins in the Big Apple- Pre Trip and Background
[ QUOTE ]
the window actually opened so we could have fresh air
[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="purple">Fresh air in NYC?!? If you say so Maureen! 
Keep it coming! </font> |
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04-28-2005, 03:56 PM
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#28
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PassPorter Message Board Manager
 PassPorter Guide Author
Community Rank: Legend VIP 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Maidstone, Kent, UK
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 190,285
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Re: Austins in the Big Apple- Pre Trip and Background
I'm sorry to hear about Nemo, but I'm glad to hear the flight was OK - I loved that photo of Kevan!  |
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04-28-2005, 04:26 PM
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#29
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Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ohio Football Hall Of Fame
Posts: 42,304
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Re: Austins in the Big Apple- Pre Trip and Background
Your hotel room looks really nice Maureen!I just love visiting NYC. I have been to two tapings of David Letterman, but it has been about 8 years ago now. Sounds like the two of you are off to a great start!! Can't wait to read more!!
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04-28-2005, 06:46 PM
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#30
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Living Seas wannabe
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 31,940
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Re: Austins in the Big Apple- Pre Trip and Background
Sorry about the loss of Nemo - but your trip to NYC sounds like it started out great!!! Can't wait to read more.
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