Budget SE Asia trip, Summer 2016 Updated real-time - Page 10 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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Oh, we did tell the bank. They blocked it anyway. Twice, actually. Oh well, they're a small credit union. They don't do great with exceptions. I think it's sorted out now.
In keeping with our plan for overland and cheap travel, we took the bus and the train to get to Vietnam, with change over in nanning , China. We didn't see another westerner on the entire 36 hr journey. We had beds the entire trip as well. We had sleeper bunks on the train and bus both. Hard to beat watching all of China pass by from the comfort of your own bed!!!
We're now in a really beautiful room in Hanoi, 22 us per night, and are eating and drinking like kings. for fruit we've had lychee, mangstein, passion fruit, rambutan....mmmmm!!!!
Failed to mention that we did get to Hadley last Thursday. Ds and I went for one day. I had sticker shock and had no food with me, it was very hot and shade as hard to find at times...we did our best but I hope to go back again in August and do a better job. Highlight of the day was great interaction with sleeping beauty.
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Disappointed that our magical day was less-than, I returned to the park promenade to watch the fireworks from outside the gates the night before leaving hong kong. I then toured both hotels on my own in a Disney trance. I felt like I finally got my fix!!!
It's so much easier to enjoy the parks solo for me these days, anyone else have that issue? My family really just doesn't get it!!!!
Glad to hear that this whirlwind of a tour is off to a great start and enjoying it so much there so far!
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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!
Spent 3 days in Hanoi just fooling around. The highlight was the museum of ethnography. They had MANY traditional Vietnamese village buildings built with primarily traditional methods including palm lashing and bamboo flooring. The buildings that visitors could enter and explore independently. Talk about authentic themed environments!!! Overall Hanoi was noisy and polluted, but we enjoyed finding our way around ingot and by public transporation. Food was inexpensive, coffee nice and strong ( though getting it without sugar added was hit and miss), oh, and PASSIONFRUIT!!!!!!! H-to-the-yeah!
We left Hanoi by the night train yesterday , arrived in Da Nang this afternoon . Got ripped off by not asking the price coffee straight off the train. I argued and brought the price down a bit but it was still high. We then successfully beat off the cabbies and cabbie wanna bes and caught the local bus for the beach town of Hoi An. We meet up here with DSILs tomorrow for 3 days of down time on the beach. DS has gecko fever. Hasn't caught one yet but he did catch a June bug just now. He's pretty psyched.
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Themed environment junkie
Last edited by KimmyAnn1147; 07-03-2016 at 07:09 PM..
Seems like all is going well for the most part with the exception of the coffee! Thanks for the update!
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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!
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
Fixed some autocorrect mistakes in the last entry. Not used to posting from an iPhone! Yes, all is going well. DH has a cold, so he's pretty down. For whatever reason, he's had a fever with nearly every virus he's had in the last 5 years. But he's taking it in stride, just laying low.
Fixed some autocorrect mistakes in the last entry. Not used to posting from an iPhone! Yes, all is going well. DH has a cold, so he's pretty down. For whatever reason, he's had a fever with nearly every virus he's had in the last 5 years. But he's taking it in stride, just laying low.
Sorry, to hear about your DH and not the way you want to spend your vacation! Hope for a nice recovery for him!
On a two week trip to Europe in 1995 (my first trip to Europe), I caught a nasty cold (probably from the dingy puddle jumper flight from London to Rome with a stop in Lyon). I'm sure that's where I got it as there was another couple on my tour on this flight, who got the same thing. Had it from about day 3 to the end, but made the best of it. Not too bad the last few days.
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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!