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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 slept a lot better, but still woke up pretty early – around 5:00. The routine was similar to yesterday and we were ready to head out for breakfast around 7. I had the oatmeal again and Jeff had corned beef hash and eggs with rye toast.
We went back to the room, packed up and left for the North Rim at 8:20. It was a gorgeous 3 hour drive. We only made one stop, for restrooms and to fill up the gas tank (our first fill up since we left Vegas).
We arrived at 10:30, AZ time. Our cabin was not ready yet so we went to the Deli in the Pines for something to eat. We bought a yogurt parfait (at $6 a real deal compared to yesterday!) and a couple bananas. Then we went back to the car and ate in there. Jeff got his leftover quesadilla from the cooler and ate that as well.
We decided to check out the trails and found that the Bright Angel Point Trail was nearby and was only ¼ mile long so we thought that would be a good start.
OMG! We got part way out and I realized that there was a drop to the canyon on BOTH sides of the trail. I could not look one side or the other, only straight ahead. I was in a panic! There were some spots with a wall on the right side, but even then, the wall had crevices that you could look down and see the canyon far below! We made it about ¾ of the way and I couldn’t go any further. Along the way we saw many people who had no sense whatsoever – they left the marked trail and walked or climbed out onto dangerous ledges.
After we got back we checked in with the desk again and found that our cabin was ready. Yay!
She showed us a map and it was a great spot as we were very close to the lodge. We got our keys and while Jeff went with the porter in his little golf cart to get our bags from the car, I walked over to the cabin. Very cute from the outside…
It had a teensy bathroom with soap and lotion dispensers at the sink and shampoo, conditioner and shower gel dispensers in the shower. I wasn’t sure about this at first, but it really makes sense…especially at the National Parks where they try to be as “green” as possible. One thing we didn’t care for was the eco-friendly tissues and TP. They were both very scratchy!
Oh the lodge looked so nice from the outside. Sorry it didn't really come up to par on the inside.
Wow, that trail sounds terrifying. Mind you, I do remember people behaving like complete idiots the last time we were at the Grand Canyon and, like you say, no cares in the world, heading towards sheer drops. They must be nuts!
Finally... you found Billys... oh sorry I mean buffalo. Long story short, dating back to Yellowstone and a close encounter with buffalo followed by finding a cuddly toy one waiting for us in our room. Needless to say he came home with us and promptly became known as Billy!
I am so with you on the not looking down thing! When we went to the Grand Canyon, I could not fully enjoy myself because of all the crazy lookouts with no railings! My kids had a ball torturing me. Your pictures continue to be just beautiful and I love your second cabin as well!
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Oh the lodge looked so nice from the outside. Sorry it didn't really come up to par on the inside.
Wow, that trail sounds terrifying. Mind you, I do remember people behaving like complete idiots the last time we were at the Grand Canyon and, like you say, no cares in the world, heading towards sheer drops. They must be nuts!
Finally... you found Billys... oh sorry I mean buffalo. Long story short, dating back to Yellowstone and a close encounter with buffalo followed by finding a cuddly toy one waiting for us in our room. Needless to say he came home with us and promptly became known as Billy!
Yes, it did look so cute from the outside, didn't it? Just a huge change from the room we'd just come from at Bryce. The bed was small and uncomfortable, and there was not a lot of room for all of our stuff. We ended up using the twin bed for a luggage rack.
At Bryce there were so many signs to stay on the trail. I didn't really see that here. Not that it would have made a difference!
Nice story! I'm thinking the real buffalo was not as cuddly!
I am so with you on the not looking down thing! When we went to the Grand Canyon, I could not fully enjoy myself because of all the crazy lookouts with no railings! My kids had a ball torturing me. Your pictures continue to be just beautiful and I love your second cabin as well!
I would have had the very same issues with that trail. Heights can overwhelm me, so looking down would not be an option. Cute cabin, but paper thin walls are not good. :
No way could I have walked that trail! I hear you about the crazies hanging out way too close to the edge in my opinion. I'm surprised that there aren't more accidents at the GC, the way people hang on the edges.
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I would have had the very same issues with that trail. Heights can overwhelm me, so looking down would not be an option. Cute cabin, but paper thin walls are not good. :
Yes, it was cute! I just wish they'd have put a bit of insulation in the dividing wall.
Quote:
Originally Posted by purplegal
Great pictures, I would have been heading back up the trail too, my husband would have been one of those hanging out on the edges.
There's one in every crowd!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pris
No way could I have walked that trail! I hear you about the crazies hanging out way too close to the edge in my opinion. I'm surprised that there aren't more accidents at the GC, the way people hang on the edges.
One of our bus drivers on the south rim told us they average 15 deaths each year.
Great pictures from the GC! Sorry the cabin was so small. They are no frills, but like you said, you'd expect them to be! Can't wait for more!!
Of course at a National Park, no frills is to be expected. But coming from the huge cottage we'd had at Bryce Canyon it really was spartan! And, to tell you the truth, when we reserved a cabin, I expected that we'd have a whole cabin. Maybe that was naivete on my part, but since this was a first time for us, I just assumed...
After we freshened up from our trip we headed out to walk another trail. On the way out we stopped at the lodge to inquire about breakfast. (We had made dinner reservations months ago, but not breakfast.) We found out that the “Saloon” was a coffee/pastry shop in the morning and that it opened at 5:30AM. The lodge dining room opened at 6:00 for a full breakfast.
We started out on our trail hike…The Transept Trail. It was a gorgeous trail that wound through some wooded areas and every now and then went back to the rim for a wonderful view of the canyon.
We had read the map wrong thinking it was 1.4 miles out and then we’d catch the Bridle Path Trail which was just over a mile back to the lodge. But Jeff was just looking at the one major leg of each of the trails. In actuality, the Transept was 2 miles out and the Bridle Path was just under 2 back. We had one large bottle of water and I didn’t bring a snack. When we realized our mistake we took a shortcut to Bridle Path through the campground, but it still wound up being a lot longer than I had anticipated. I got a little grumpy at one point, but we kept plodding along. When we passed through the campground we were able to use the bathroom and fill our water bottle at the General Store. Then we sat on a bench for a rest. And Jeff shared his Cliff Bar with me. So, that gave me a little more energy and I was feeling a little less grumpy.
When we got back to the Lodge area, we went to the Visitor’s Center to look at the displays and purchase a few souvenirs.
Then we went back to the cabin to freshen up for dinner.
Our reservations were for 6:00 and we headed out a little early to check out the large gift shop. This is different from the one at the visitor’s center and has a beautiful selection of Native American items such as jewelry, blankets, and pottery. We browsed around for a while but didn’t purchase anything. Then we headed over to the lodge for dinner. We were seated soon after we arrived, at a lovely table just one row in from the huge windows overlooking the canyon. Just a gorgeous view!
Our server, Nate, was wonderful! He knew every inch of the menu and said that any of the items could be prepared gluten free. I chose the seafood special which was Mahi Mahi with a strawberry jalapeño sauce. It came with rice and the vegetable was asparagus.
We splurged on a bottle of pinot grigio to enjoy with dinner. We asked if we could take it back to our cabin if we didn’t finish it and the answer was “yes, of course!” But, it ended up that we didn’t need to do that! Everything was wonderful! The view, the meal, the wine! All were perfect! To top it off we ordered a gluten free brownie with ice cream for dessert.
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We made it about ¾ of the way and I couldn’t go any further. Along the way we saw many people who had no sense whatsoever – they left the marked trail and walked or climbed out onto dangerous ledges. 
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Mind you, I do remember people behaving like complete idiots the last time we were at the Grand Canyon and, like you say, no cares in the world, heading towards sheer drops. They must be nuts! 
Everything was wonderful! The view, the meal, the wine! All were perfect! To top it off we ordered a gluten free brownie with ice cream for dessert. 
Dinner looked amazing both for food and the view. 
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