A Whole New World - Disney Vacation 2015 - Page 4 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Your dinner and evening at Narcoosie's looked wonderful. And, your morning at Epcot also looks nice.
(we were following behind you, as we arrived on the 8th)
Thanks! I am going over to check out your report!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cealeigh8
What a great trip journal! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for reading! More to come!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
OH MY!!! Your dinner at Narcossee's looks AMAZING!!!! And what a fantastic view your had!!!!
It was awesome!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Great start to your Epcot day! Your meals looked delicious, and now I'm thinking maybe we need to try here for lunch. The red phone booth Mickey t-shirt is adorable.
It was yummy!! I really should have bought the shirt then, but that's me....I drive Peter crazy! He sees it, he buys it....me, I often come home with nothing!
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMA
Love all the photos of the Downton stuff! Sounds like you had a nice relaxing morning in Epcot!
I just finally gave in and started watching it. I'm hooked! I loved all the stuff they had!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Your dinner looked AMAZING!
Love your pictures of France & UK!
It was awesome! Thanks! More to come!
Quote:
Originally Posted by oldmom
love your photos! I think I need to learn Photoshop so I can take the crane out of pictures!
We walked back around to Future World in hopes of riding Test Track. JAPAN
(this was one of my favorite pictures..that sky!!)
ITALY
GERMANY
(I skipped the caramel shop, hoping to go back later, but never did. We stopped to check out the train though).
I love the detail...
Peter spotted a lizard..do you?
MEXICO
This picture doesn't do the sky justice....
Peter loves all the Purple Martin houses!
The stand-by wait was 60 minutes for Test Track and at first we got in line, but it was so hot, we decided to try it another time. Peter loves the showroom and gift shop, so while he went in to browse around, I bought a diet coke and found some shade.
the fountains come alive...
Next, we headed back over to The Land for our second ride on Soarin'. We got the front row this time!
Hello & Welcome to Soarin!
After our ride, we picked up a little snack. Popcorn for Peter and a Mickey Bar for me. $7.50 or 2 SC
We decided to take a little break and head back to the resort. On our way back to the bus, I asked a photographer to get our picture.
This picture makes me laugh! We barely stopped eating our snacks long enough to get our picture taken. We sure do love to eat!!!
We got back to the resort and headed to the pool area. We filled our mugs and sprawled out in the lounge chairs.
Our Resort: All Star Music
The Main Pool
Our section:
Broadway/Section 8
The pool + laundry room for our area.
(Very close to our room)
Our room:
We went back to our room and got ready for dinner in Epcot. Tonight, we were dining at Via Napoli in Italy. This was a first for us and we were anxious to try (well, at least I was, since I'm the pizza lover of the family). :O) We had an ADR for 7:45, so we took the bus over and checked in. We had about a 10 minute wait, and we were seated. It was very busy (and a little loud) here, but the atmosphere was nice.
Side note: I had decided before leaving to get a birthday pin to wear during this trip (even though my birthday isn't until Mach 20). Since I'm turning 50 this year, I thought why not make it special and celebrate Disney style!
I had my birthday pin on my camera strap and purposefully semi-hid it as I had a feeling some fuss might be made over my birthday here. My feeling was right, because sometime during our meal our waiter and other staff came over to the table, with a cupcake complete with candle. They sang Happy Birthday (very joyfully and loud) in Italian. There was much clapping and laughter as they sang! LOL Anyhow, the waiter must have noticed my pin anyway....it was sweet, but very attention getting....Disney folks sure do make you feel special!
Back to dinner: we ordered the house salad - leaf lettuces, diced tomato, peppers, cucumber, mushrooms, olives, peperonicini, and red wine vinaigrette. We also got the large pizza - Wood Fired Authentic Pizza Napoletana Build Your Own - w/pepperoni, Italian Spicy Sausage, and mushrooms. OH MY!!!!! We both agreed BEST PIZZA EVER!!!!
$58.58 + cash tip (OOP)
We would definately return here again and are both still talking about that delicious pizza!
We settled up our bill, and then went to find a spot to view Illuminations. We ended up out right in front of the restaurant at the railing. We had a great view...an awesome place to watch from.
What a gorgeous night!
We caught the bus back to the resort and stopped in the gift shop/food court before calling it a night
That was the exact same spot we watched Illuminations from in June. We got out of Via Napoli 5 minutes before the show started and we scored a front row view. Via Napoli is one of my favorite restaurant and it's quickly becoming a Disney trip tradition.
The pizza looks so yummy! And HUGE! Did you take the leftovers back to your room? Or weren't there any leftovers??
I remember splitting a large with my two DDs and we had two or three pieces leftover, but then again, we had appetizers and dessert!
I got DH to try Via Napoli once but we were not crazy about the eggplant pizza. That would NOT have been my choice, but I let him choose. Now he doesn't want to go back.
Ah - such a gorgeous day!!! And I LOVE that photo of you two exiting Epcot with your snacks!!!
We love Via Napoli as well - so glad you enjoyed it - nothing better than a yummy pizza and a nice glass of wine for me!
It still makes me laugh! And yes, that pizza is goooood!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
That was the exact same spot we watched Illuminations from in June. We got out of Via Napoli 5 minutes before the show started and we scored a front row view. Via Napoli is one of my favorite restaurant and it's quickly becoming a Disney trip tradition.
It was a great viewing spot and not crowded at all. We will definately return to Via Napoli too!
Quote:
Originally Posted by shazza
Nice evening with Via Napoli and Illuminations! That Pizza looks wonderful.
Delish!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMA
The pizza looks so yummy! And HUGE! Did you take the leftovers back to your room? Or weren't there any leftovers??
I remember splitting a large with my two DDs and we had two or three pieces leftover, but then again, we had appetizers and dessert!
I got DH to try Via Napoli once but we were not crazy about the eggplant pizza. That would NOT have been my choice, but I let him choose. Now he doesn't want to go back.
Great viewing spot for Illuminations!
We ate the WHOLE thing!! We only got salad though, no dessert or anything extra...well, except that cupcake!
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