Adventures By Disney - A Tale of Two Cities - Page 44 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Princess Sharon, are you there? The cops didn't take you away and lock you up did they? Don't they know who you are. We want to know what happens next. The suspense is killing us.
So glad to have caught up today because those pictures are really amazing. I just kept going back to look at them. Versailles is amazing and I want the other bedroom if your taking that one I need some curtain for privacy...and thoes fireplaces are the largest fireplaces i've ever seen in my life! WOW! Truly a beautiful place. I remembered when i took french for two years in high school we actually studied alot of the sites and it was my favorite part of the french classes*L* weird.....
Cant wait to hear all about the cops being called!!!
Sharon, I love reading your trip reports, it makes me want to go and travel with you. You're funny and bubbly and look like so much fun to be around and traveling with. Where do you meet all those people that you already know and organize meets with? I don't know how to post pictures and i don't have a digital camera. Were they Adventures by Disney pants that you were wearing? I've been to Disneyland many times and Disneyworld 3 times with my teenage daughter. We are going back September 5 to 21, 2009. Will you be at Disneyworld during that time? I am so glad that i am reading your solo trips because i am a big Disney fan and my daughter going on to 17 years will probably soon not be traveling with me anymore so you helped me see that i can go on a trip by myself and may be organize meets. The only thing that i am scarred would be dining solo at table service restaurants, but they are so good at Disney. I love the food at Disney. They have the best food, even the counter services are good and bakery items.
Thanks! I had an ABD backpack (and was wearing an ABD lanyard), but no pants. The folks I met up with in London are actually members of this board. If you are taking a solo trip, definitely check out the meets board and if one isn't scheduled during your trip, you can start your own! Dining solo is probably the toughest hurdle on a solo trip. I would suggest choosing restaurants where you can sit at the bar or counter and chat with the CMs. I will be at WDW the first few days of your trip. If you see me, say
Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovedisney0_0
SHARON!!! (impatient...) I am ready to read some more!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by taylan1
Princess Sharon, are you there? The cops didn't take you away and lock you up did they? Don't they know who you are. We want to know what happens next. The suspense is killing us.
I actually have the next update written up and ready to go (for a few days ) but every time I come on here I do too much reading and get distracted! More coming soon!
Quote:
Originally Posted by christiejay
She's not in Disney again, is she?
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
We had some free time, and we just happened to be near the gift shop. So what’s a girl to do? I picked up a few things and then headed outside to wait for the rest of the group to gather. While waiting, I got some pictures.
Once we all were back together, we headed to the gardens. But before we did anything else, we had to pose for a group photo. I was chosen to be the holder of the sign.
Best sign-holding performance, evah!! It was so good that everyone wanted a copy on their own cameras. We had three guides and everyone handed over their cameras. Laurent called out “Cameras for sale!”
When we got our cameras back, we turned the tables on the guides and they had to pose for 20 cameras! Here’s my version.
Posted especially for Douglas!
We enjoyed the gardens (and I didn’t take a lot of pictures, but not for lack of beautiful things to photograph, just because).
These are from the Photopass CD. I liked how they look in black and white.
Then we boarded a little tram and took a ride through the gardens, passing lots of beautiful sights on the way (and some horses).
When we reached our destination, I spotted some folks boating, which I thought looked like fun!
We went to La Flotille, where we were scheduled to have lunch.
The day before, we had made our choices for both this meal and our farewell meal at Ladurée for our farewell dinner. I know there was a fish dish, but I decided to go with the chicken. We had a delightful lunch with good conversation. And the food was pretty good too!
Once lunch was over, we split up into two groups. Some folks opted to play petanque, and I went with the group going for a bike ride through the gardens. It had been a while since I’d ridden a bike, but like they say, you never forget how!
I just have to mention Andy, the guide who went on the bike ride, encouraged us to wear helmets (it is Disney after all). We all walked on the wild side and decided not to wear helmets. You’ll be happy to know that I can report not a single brain injury among us! Andy “decided” to wear a helmet (it is Disney after all ). Unfortunately for him, they only had kid-sized helmets available, so he ended up wearing a helmet that was too small.
The bike ride was really fantastic, and I felt like I enjoyed the gardens more riding through them. It was just lovely. It seemed like it might start raining, but it only slightly drizzled for about 5 minutes and then it stopped. I didn’t get many pictures while riding, but we did make several stops along the route. You were allowed to go at your own pace, but most of us stayed together.
Here are some photos from our first stop.
These guys will make another appearance soon – dun dun DUNNNNNNN!
After getting all the photos I wanted, I climbed aboard the bike again.
When we reached the next designated stop area, I got some more pics.
Then did some more riding. Andy got a photo of me as I was riding at about 14.5 mph. I can estimate how fast I was going based on how much my hair is blowing.
We’d been told that the bike ride wasn’t strenuous and we were allowed to go our own pace. There was, however, a rather steep hill in the trail. Luckily, someone spotted the “chicken” exit and most of the group opted to take that. Once we’d finished our ride, there was still time to explore.
After getting pictures, I found the group playing petanque. Petanque is like bocce ball. My BFF Samantha Brown played it in her Passport to Europe show about Paris (but she called it boules). I watched a few rounds…
… until Eddie insisted I try it out myself. So there’s one more thing my BFF Sam and I have in common.
I let someone else have a turn and suddenly those policemen on horseback were there, making frowny faces and talking in fast French. Our ABD guides speak French (and of course so does Laurent, our local guide). Laurent ended up doing most of the talking. Apparently the policemen thought we were playing for money and were giving them a hard time about it. It was pretty funny – all frowny faces, stern voices, way up on a horse to be intimidating. Then one of them got off his horse and he was shorter than I am. Not so tough now, eh Frenchy?
In the end, nobody was arrested (and why they decided to raise this issue when ABD does this just about every week is beyond me ). By this time, it was time to head back, so the group gathered and we got that day’s pin.
Then we headed back to the bus for our trip home and free evening.
Up Next: Les Champs
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
Wow, those pictures show just how enormous the "hunting lodge' and grounds are, very beautiful. I thought pentaque was the french Canadian term for boules. My friend told me it's called pentaque 'cause that's the sound the boules make when the hit each other.
Thanks! I had an ABD backpack (and was wearing an ABD lanyard), but no pants.
I know the French have a reputation for being liberated, but still, Sharon ...
I know what you mean, just kidding!
All your photos are lovely. I would have chosen the bike ride also, especially with all the sights to see. I loved the swans! But this picture is my favorite:
Very strange about the police incident. Today's pin was really cute. Looking forward to more.
I was worried when you said you picked up a few things in the gift shop. I thought this might be the reason for the police vist. That bike ride looks awesome.
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Not that we konw of 
. Oh Sharon, where are youuuuu? 
I need some curtain for privacy...and thoes fireplaces are the largest fireplaces i've ever seen in my life! WOW! Truly a beautiful place. I remembered when i took french for two years in high school we actually studied alot of the sites and it was my favorite part of the french classes*L* weird.....
I actually have the next update written up and ready to go (for a few days 
) but every time I come on here I do too much reading and get distracted! More coming soon!
It was so good that everyone wanted a copy on their own cameras. We had three guides and everyone handed over their cameras. Laurent called out “Cameras for sale!” 
Andy “decided” to wear a helmet (it is Disney after all 
and talking in fast French. Our ABD guides speak French (and of course so does Laurent, our local guide). Laurent ended up doing most of the talking. Apparently the policemen thought we were playing for money and were giving them a hard time about it. 
It was pretty funny – all frowny faces, stern voices, way up on a horse to be intimidating. Then one of them got off his horse and he was shorter than I am. 
). By this time, it was time to head back, so the group gathered and we got that day’s pin.
I know what you mean, just kidding!
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