Dreaming of a Disney spring break! THIS SECTION COMPLETED - Page 19 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Dinner at Boma was absolutely superb - Sharon said to us that that was the best meal they'd had so far this vacation.
We got to see loads of animals out on the savannah as well, both before and after dinner.
Today we're moving out and over to the Villas at Wilderness Lodge and are hitting the Magic Kingdom first thing. One day we will get to the Studios and Animal Kingdom - we haven't made it as far as either yet.
I enjoyed my short stay at AKV Jambo House. Sunday morning was actually very relaxing because we didn't set a wake up call and didn't bother trying to squeeze in a park before DME dragged us to the airport kicking and screaming.
I'm not sure why I don't get as excited about Boma as others do. I tend to prefer a somewhat more sedate venue. Also, if given a choice between Boma and Jiko, Jiko is going to win out every time because it is one of my favorite restaurants anywhere. I have only eaten at Sanaa once, but would also go back there in a heartbeat, so that puts Boma third on my list at AKL. That said, I have enjoyed my meals at Bona and will gladly return if others want to eat there. I think it is better with a larger group.
So glad you got the royal treatment yesterday. I am wondering if they would do a paraffin treatment for arthritic hands.
Have fun. The cold front came through here last night, rather loudly. We had a tornado watch, but the only warning was miles to the south, so no worries except hail, lightning, high winds and torrential rain.
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Playing catch-up here! Glad to hear that you're having lots of fun, even if it's hot as Hades! Sorry you had to say good-bye to Wendy. Goes so fast doesn't it?
Which Segway tour would you recommend for someone doing one for the first time? I'm thinking it's something my DH would love to do sometime, & I'm sure both would sound wonderful to him. Which one did you like better?
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So glad you got the royal treatment yesterday. I am wondering if they would do a paraffin treatment for arthritic hands.
Have fun. The cold front came through here last night, rather loudly. We had a tornado watch, but the only warning was miles to the south, so no worries except hail, lightning, high winds and torrential rain.
It's got to be worth asking. They probably would you know.... sorry about the weather you've gone home to...
Playing catch-up here! Glad to hear that you're having lots of fun, even if it's hot as Hades! Sorry you had to say good-bye to Wendy. Goes so fast doesn't it?
Which Segway tour would you recommend for someone doing one for the first time? I'm thinking it's something my DH would love to do sometime, & I'm sure both would sound wonderful to him. Which one did you like better?
It does go fast
For the Segway, I think I'd go for one of the Epcot ones - maybe Around the World on a Segway. Don't forget, we've done those before (me twice and DH three times) before moving on to the other Segway tours. I'd say that would give someone who's a first timer their best grounding.
We are now over at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge in a studio that's about as far from the lobby as it's possible to be. It's interesting to stay here and good to do the final DVC resort on property, but I don't think either of us are overly in love with this place...
Yesterday, we went to the Magic Kingdom and did a few more rides and saw some characters - for those who haven't seen the Haunted Mansion since its rehab, you need to. The interactive graveyard is just amazing.
We had lunch at Coral Reef with Bruce and Marta and the food wasn't bad at all, although again, not great service, which is becoming a bit of a theme this vacation. I don't think I'd rave about this place, but it was certainly better than the disaster we had there a few years ago.
We then did a few rides with Bruce and Marta, before heading back to VWL to get our room (no text message, although it was ready) and then we had about an hour before we were off again to Le Cellier for dinner with Heather and Brandon. I wasn't overly impressed. None of my courses wowed me in the way I hoped they would for a signature dining experience and we all found our food to be quite salty. The service was again OK, but nothing spectacular.
We finished our day watching IllumiNations, before returning Heather and Brandon to Animal Kingdom Lodge and saying goodbye to them.
This morning it's our Nature Inspired Segway tour...
No bueno on your dining experiences. Can't wait to hear about your Segway tour, maybe they will let you take a couple back to WL so you can use them to travel to and from the lobby!!
We are now over at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge in a studio that's about as far from the lobby as it's possible to be. It's interesting to stay here and good to do the final DVC resort on property, but I don't think either of us are overly in love with this place...
You must be in the same studio we were in on our January trip! LAST door down the longest hallway off the Villas lobby.
I think I would have enjoyed staying there more if I just stayed in the Wilderness Lodge itself, not the DVC part. But hey - now you've done all the DVC resorts! Will you try to catch Princess Sharon and her feat of staying at ALL resorts?!
Any improvement in the heat? My weather app on the iPhone doesn't look like it's cooling off much there - mid to high 80's in the day, and mid 60's at night. But maybe some of the humidity has gone?
I know you guys really enjoy the dining aspect of your WDW trips, so that's kind of disappointing to hear the service hasn't been up to par. You've still got more ahead, so here's hoping that part improves..... And at least you still have your CRUISE to look forward to!!!!!!
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Hope you enjoy your VWL stay. It is my second favorite. 
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It's interesting to stay here and good to do the final DVC resort on property, but I don't think either of us are overly in love with this place... 
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