Two's company, Three's a crowd...let's make it four! TR - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We found quite a lot of drinking fountains, but that might have been because I was actively looking for them all the time!
We found quite a few as well, but many of them were not cold. I know water is water when you're thirsty, but when your HOT and thirsty, it helps when it's cold.
I just read through your entire report so far.... Sounds like y'all have been having a wonderful time!!
You have some really terrific pictures also!
When it is so hot out- you would almost think they would just set up some water coolers and small cups so that guests have easy access to water around the parks.....
Looking forward to hearing more about your trip....
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I just read through your entire report so far.... Sounds like y'all have been having a wonderful time!!
You have some really terrific pictures also!
When it is so hot out- you would almost think they would just set up some water coolers and small cups so that guests have easy access to water around the parks.....
Looking forward to hearing more about your trip....
Thanks for joining in!
In fairness, there are drinking fountains near almost every restroom, and we did take advantage of them. Just that many of them were not cold.
Love all the animal photos on your safari, which looked like a great one! I'm pretty sure it's only the CS places that have the ice water.
Yes, it was a great Safari! Lots of animal sightings!
That's understandable that the CS restaurants have the free ice water, since some people would order it with their meal. But it's not very convenient if you're just looking for a cup of water.
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.
After the show we walked to Discovery Island to use our FPs for Adventurers Outpost. We also browsed around in Discovery Trading Company, and stopped for a PP picture.
Then we walked a couple trails, but couldn’t get too far in as they were closed off.
At one point we spied Flik. Tom and Jeff weren’t too interested, but Kayla and I decided to get in line.
Then back to Africa for our 12:45 lunch ADRs at Tusker House.
We checked in and were given a buzzer.
It was odd though because they told us when your buzzer goes off wait to hear your name called. Our buzzer went off within a minute or two, but it was a few more minutes before the seating CM came out and called our name. I guess if your party is quite a distance away it would give you time to get back to that area, but we sat close by.
Anyway, we were seated and very soon our server, Yun, came over to take our drink orders and explain the procedure. She said I should wait for the chef to come and go through the buffet with me, which I did. Soon after everyone left for the buffet, Mickey came in the room and started making his rounds. I was still waiting for the chef when Mickey came to the table so I said hello and that we’d catch him the next time around. Soon after the chef came and escorted me to the buffet line. It was pretty confusing because for some sections she told me what I could eat and other sections she told me what I couldn’t eat. I ended up going back to the beginning and choosing from the items I was sure about. It’s too bad they can’t make a little print-out of the items, listing which ones are safe for the various allergies. Something people could carry with them to the buffet.
Anyway, back to the meal. Tom had a Tusker Lager and the rest of us had iced tea or lemonade. Here’s some pictures of our plates, but I have no idea what everything was!
Goofy, Daisy and Donald came around and then Mickey again. Depending on who was at the table at the time, we got some pics on phones, others on my camera. But here is a sampling of those character visits.
And one with my eyes closed...
Then at one point they made the announcement about the parade. Goofy came in with maracas and marched around to the music but none of the kids joined in. Tom was rolling his eyes for that because the music was pretty loud and in his mind, obnoxious. So I had to remind him that Disney is for little kids too!
Yun came back to take plates and asked once about drink refills. She was good, but I wouldn’t say outstanding. Kayla thought at one point that she was upset with her for some reason. I think Kayla asked for water in addition to her lemonade and she said Yun seemed put out by that. I didn’t see her reaction, so I can’t say for sure, but she seemed pleasant enough to me. The lunch buffet was $42 per person and the bill (minus TiW) came to $181.64. A bit more than we usually spend on TS dining, but I understand it’s a character meal and a buffet. Even so, it’s not one we’d rush to go back to in the future.
After lunch we headed toward the park exit.
On the way out, by sheer luck, we came upon Winged Encounter, the macaw show! It was already in progress, but we were able to see the last few minutes and most especially, their exit!
A few more animal sightings and then we were ready to leave.
What an amazing day at AK!! We love Tusker House and I'm sorry your server wasn't great because I think that can make a difference in a place like that!! I also agree that an allergy list at any buffet is a good idea!! Great photos, too! I love the ones with the four of you in them and I love your bird photos!!
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Last edited by Tara O'Hara; 10-17-2016 at 11:00 AM..
Oh Ok the Winged Encounter was not what we saw then - I'm not sure what we saw.
I agree with you - I wish they did a printed out copy of what you can eat at buffets as well, that would make life a lot easier for those of us with allergies.
Tusker House is on my list for next year. But I want to try it for breakfast.
I agree they should have print-outs of allergy safe food. Or at least have a placard in front of each dish stating which allergies are safe to consume said dish.
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I'm pretty sure it's only the CS places that have the ice water.
We love Tusker House and I'm sorry your server wasn't great because I think that can make a difference in a place like that!! I also agree that an allergy list at any buffet is a good idea!! Great photos, too! I love the ones with the four of you in them and I love your bird photos!!
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