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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I can't believe this TR is over, but what a wonderful report it was. That breakfast did look delicious, and you're right, what a way to travel back to the airport. Sorry all of the movies you picked ended up being blah, but at least they worked. When we came back from Italy, I think I tried to watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 5 times before giving up. It would always get stuck at least halfway through the movie so I said "forget it".
Breakfast looks amazing, especially the fruit salad! That definitely has to be one of the best rides to an airport and, once you got through security, a pretty easy flight home. What a great trip! Yep, gotta book another trip to spend those euros.
Hey, any excuse to go back works for me!
Quote:
Originally Posted by goofysdtr
Sorry about all the delays, but I'm glad you got home safely! Sounds like Italy was sorry to see you leave . . . sunshine when you're there & tears from heaven when you go.
I guess Italy loved me as much as I loved Italy!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caldercup
Of COURSE your passport picture is H.O.T! It's of YOU, girlfriend.
I giggled when you said the rain started just as you took off -- you have some kind of vacation weather mojo. It's why I'll always invite you to travel with me, even when Jill and Karen are making noise about ditchin' ya!
Love your trip reports almost as I love you
You are SO good for my ego, girlfriend! And now I'm afraid I've jinxed myself with the good weather bragging. I should've kept my fool mouth shut!
Quote:
Originally Posted by fan4abd
Sharon, this is a fabulous trip report. The gold standard for Viva Italia trip reports has been CIRCARAMA'S at Micechat.com done in 2008. The trip report by DISKIDATHEART at Disboards is very good too. But your report exceeds expectations. You have more pictures and we all can feel your passion when you explain every single detail. We are planning to take this trip next year but having seen it through your eyes we will enjoy it more.
Thanks for the kind words! I am a planner (which is how I found the boards in the first place). Back before I took my very first ABD, I needed to know what happened on the trip and searched for TRs to get an idea. Most of them I read were pretty vague, so I decided when I wrote mine that I'd make it very detailed, but be sure to note when I was spoiling the surprises. If I were reading this TR and hadn't written it myself I'd read it but skip the spoilers, since I love surprises. I feel like you can get all your planning accomplished without reading the spoilers, but I know there are people who want to know everything, so I still include it. But I do feel like it's important to know what the group activites are, so you can easily plan your on-your-own time! You will really enjoy this trip!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Corky441
Love the Club 33 shirt you wore that last day.
I was really surprised to hear that there were that many cruise ships at one time in Venice. No wonder the locals are leaving.
I have to tell you how much I love wearing that shirt! It's just like Club 33 itself. Most people will see it and not have a clue, but those in the know are like "I like your shirt." wink wink, nudge nudge It's so much fun!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Disneybine
Ugh, I don't like to hear that people are smoking everywhere. I hate that
As we've used Delta on a lot of our trans-atlantic flights, I felt like I'm right back in that seat when I saw this photo:
I always find that the flight towards our vacation destination is fine but the long-distance flight back home goes on and on and on. I'm starting to dread flying I wish it wouldn't bother me so much since I absolutely LOVE traveling and I wanna see the world!
Anyways, I'm glad your trip home went smoothly.
I wasn't as bothered by smokers in London or Paris, but it seemed like everyone in Italy smoked. Even young teens. It wasn't terrible, but after 9 days, it definitely got old. That's really the only foreign travel experience I have. The thing is, so many Americans are non smokers, so I think it may be just a matter of what I'm used to!
I love to fly, so it wasn't bad for me, but it was fun having lots of stuff to play with! And I'm wondering if you can see where you live on that map!
Quote:
Originally Posted by doccoc2002
WOW!!! Love the TR, as always!
Breakfast looked amazing.
Can't wait to hear your thoughts and have you started your new TR??? It's coming up so fast.
I hope to start the new TR today. It's coming up faster than I expected! How does that happen? It seemed so far away, and now it's almost like I'm not ready!
Quote:
Originally Posted by brandy_mel
What a fabulous trip! I loved hearing about every minute of it. The mask making was really neat. And yours looked great!
You have me convinced that when I finally get to Europe, it will only by with ABD. I'd better start saving up now.
ABD isn't a cheap way to travel, but it's certainly worth the money. And with all that's included, I'd say it's worth every penny!
Quote:
Originally Posted by honeybee723
I can't believe this TR is over, but what a wonderful report it was. That breakfast did look delicious, and you're right, what a way to travel back to the airport. Sorry all of the movies you picked ended up being blah, but at least they worked. When we came back from Italy, I think I tried to watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 5 times before giving up. It would always get stuck at least halfway through the movie so I said "forget it".
Can't wait for your next report!
I don't watch a lot of movies, so it was fun to try and watch as many as I did. I just wish I'd made better choices! I should've gone for Black Swan!
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
The first thing I need to say is that Adventures By Disney undersells their trips. They leave out some fun added surprises, and it just never looks as good on paper as it is in real life. I am absolutely hooked on ABD!
This trip was wonderful – even more wonderful than I expected it to be. And because this was my third ABD trip, my expectations were fairly high. The itinerary is well planned and well executed, and the guides push everything right over the top. I will be taking another ABD trip next year, but I haven’t yet decided where.
I have no qualms about traveling solo, but ABD makes it even more enjoyable for me. I can have company when I want, and do my own thing when I want. On every trip I’ve taken, it always felt like we were a little family by the end of the trip. I haven’t been on any other tour group trips besides ABD, but the way ABD encourages everyone to get to know one another really makes it easy for me to find friends to hang with if I want.
I was excited to go to Italy because I knew how beautiful it was. This itinerary showed three different types of beauty. The bustling city of Rome is beautiful in all its history and culture, Tuscany is relaxing and visually stunning, and finally Venice is uniquely beautiful and full of charm. I felt each city was wonderful on its own, but perfectly complimented one another.
Tina and Marco were terrific guides, very “Disney,” and full of knowledge about sights and restaurants not part of the itinerary.
Now that the trip is over, I feel like I really got to know Rome and Venice, but I would love to visit Florence again (but that’s not to say that I’d turn down a return to Rome or Venice!). I also want to see the Amalfi Coast, Naples, Pisa and lots more, so I expect to visit Italy again before long.
The weather in late May and early June was delightful. It was warm enough that I never needed a jacket (except for one night in Artimino), and during the day it was sunny and warm (except for one day in Rome I’d call “hot”). The crowds weren’t bad either, so I think I chose an excellent time of year to visit!
Delta Airlines:
This was my first time flying Delta in a very long time. I didn’t score the best bargain ever, but I was able to get the flights I wanted (direct) at times that were convenient for me. On the way, it was an Alitalia flight run by Delta, and as you’d expect, the food and service were better, though it was an older plane. I rather enjoyed both flights and would consider using Delta again, particularly for international travel.
Accommodations:
Just like the individual cities, the hotels were unique in their own way. The Hotel Bernini Bristol in Rome felt very Roman to me, and with its great location in the heart of the city, it was a perfect choice.
In Tuscany, we stayed in a sleepy little villa on top of a mountain. The Hotel Paggeria Medicea used to belong to the Medici family and, being a fan of the Renaissance, that was a very nice bonus for me. It was a very small hotel, which added to the intimacy. I mentioned before that I felt like a guest of the Medici family rather than just a paying hotel guest. It was also a lovely change of pace from the hustle and bustle of Rome.
And finally, the Hilton Molino Stucky in Venice was very American feeling, but also Venetian, what with cruise ships sailing by its front door! There were a few minor bumps at check in, but the hotel was just lovely. It was in Giudecca, a short shuttle ride away from the main attractions. I never did have a chance to explore around the hotel, which is too bad.
And so another PrincessSharon trip report comes to an end. I want to thank you all for reading such a long, detailed report and making so many wonderful comments. Writing TRs is a labor of love, but knowing there are folks out there enjoying it along with me makes it so much more worthwhile. I apologize for the delay in getting it started, but hopefully I made up for it with timely updates once it did get going.
As is often the case with me, as one trip report ends, a new one begins. If you’d like to follow along with my adventures at WDW, I hope to start a pre trip report over there soon, possibly even today! Meet ya over there!
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
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Wonderful wrap-up as always, I am a total fan now of ABD (not that I have gotten to take one), but through your reports, you can see what an amazing package they put together. Italy looks fantastic...and as you said each area has there own special sights and atmosphere. Your litle villa on the mountain...just plain heavenly.
Interested to see where you let ABD take you next....have a wonderful trip and keeping my fingers crossed that the storm decides to veer off some...like really far east.
Great wrap up! I forgot you were heading to Disney - stay dry! We're leaving on our cruise Thursday and I'm just hoping the darn hurricane turns well into the ocean! Then we'll both stay dry
__________________
Stacey
Why do these kids look so pathetic?
Find out in: A New Grade, A New House, and A Surprise!Final Thoughts 01/30
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What a wonderful TR Sharon!! Now I have to figure out how to get DH to start booking ABD trips instead of letting me do ALL THE PLANNING.... could ya work on the boy??
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Loved your wrap to your TR! Sad that it is over though , I am one who reads the spoilers as well, I just love all the detail that you give and I look forward to my own ABD trip some day. I can't wait until your next trip, I will keep checking back to see when you post it.
Fantastic wrap-up, Sharon! As you know, I'd pretty much decided to do an ABD trip in 2012 before this trip, but your TR pushed me happily right over the edge! I loved it all, including the spoilers! Can't wait to see which trip you choose next. I'm sure I'll be jealous at the "return guest" perks you get!
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I should've kept my fool mouth shut! 
I am a planner (which is how I found the boards in the first place). Back before I took my very first ABD, I needed to know what happened on the trip and searched for TRs to get an idea. Most of them I read were pretty vague, so I decided when I wrote mine that I'd make it very detailed, but be sure to note when I was spoiling the surprises. If I were reading this TR and hadn't written it myself 
I wish it wouldn't bother me so much since I absolutely LOVE traveling and I wanna see the world!
How does that happen? It seemed so far away, and now it's almost like I'm not ready!
,
Thanks so much for taking us along for the ride! 
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