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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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What an amazing trip so far! Bryce Canyon was gorgeous and the Grand Canyon is amazing! I’ve only been to the South Rim. Those trails with no railings would make me a wreck too. I now know that I can’t go there with my 22 year old son, because he’d be walking right on the edge, giving me a heart attack.
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Oh my goodness! Your pictures continue to look like postcards! Sorry that the trail was longer than originally thought. We have done that as well and it is no fun to not be prepared.
Your dinner looks wonderful in every way! The view looks stunning and the food fabulous!!
Great pictures from the trail and your dinner! Thank goodness you didn't get too far before realizing you were low on snacks and water! Dinner sounds great!!
The trail looked beautiful, but it's not fun to have too little water and no snacks. Dinner looked amazing both for food and the view.
At least most of the trail was in the shade!
Yes dinner was wonderful!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
What an amazing trip so far! Bryce Canyon was gorgeous and the Grand Canyon is amazing! I’ve only been to the South Rim. Those trails with no railings would make me a wreck too. I now know that I can’t go there with my 22 year old son, because he’d be walking right on the edge, giving me a heart attack.
Yeah, that made me nervous! Jeff would step back for a photo and I'd say, "That's far enough!"
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tara O'Hara
Oh my goodness! Your pictures continue to look like postcards! Sorry that the trail was longer than originally thought. We have done that as well and it is no fun to not be prepared.
Your dinner looks wonderful in every way! The view looks stunning and the food fabulous!!
It's not hard to take wonderful pictures when you have such wonderful scenery!
Yes, dinner was awesome!
Quote:
Originally Posted by purplegal
That’s quite the hike, dinner looked delicious.
The hike was a little more than I'd bargained for!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great pictures from the trail and your dinner! Thank goodness you didn't get too far before realizing you were low on snacks and water! Dinner sounds great!!
I stupidly said I wouldn't need a snack thinking it wouldn't be that long of a hike. Not a good plan. :
Neither of us had a good night sleep. We both had a headache (probably from too much wine ) Also, at 3AM the ladies in the adjoining room woke up and started chatting. Then, at one point, I thought I heard a mouse in our cabin.
We got up at 5:00, and after a shower, I went through all the clothes in my suitcase to make sure there were no mice!
We left the room at 5:45, stopped at the Saloon for a cappuccino for me, and went down to see the sunrise. Temps were in the upper 30s so I had on my heavy fleece, gloves and a knitted headband. We went to the Bright Angel Trail, but only walked a short way out. We had a great view!
They had a lovely buffet, but we both chose ala carte items. I had gluten free pancakes with blueberries and sausage. Jeff had the North Rim breakfast – 2 eggs, sausage, potatoes and toast. He also helped me finish my pancakes and sausage.
Then back to our cabin where we packed up and loaded our stuff in the car. We left for the South Rim about 8:00. It was a beautiful trip with gorgeous scenery along the way!
We made two stops – one in Marble Canyon to use the restroom and one in Cameron to get gas. When we got gas, we noticed a lady in front of us who was filling her car, but also fussing with something on the hood of her car, I think it was her water bottle. When she was done with that, she hopped in her car and was ready to take off. We pulled up next to her and had to tell her the nozzle was still in her gas tank. She thanked us and got out to take care of it.
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Oh my ggoodness, how can you absorb all of that beauty?! The sunrise is stunning and it looks like it was a beautiful drive to the South Rim! I wish you guys were next to me one day when I left a coffee on top of my car!
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Oh my ggoodness, how can you absorb all of that beauty?! The sunrise is stunning and it looks like it was a beautiful drive to the South Rim! I wish you guys were next to me one day when I left a coffee on top of my car!
Yes! the beauty really is overwhelming!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
The beautiful scenery alone makes your trip worth it. Thanks for all the photos!
So glad to share!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
What a stunning sunrise you were treated to!
It was just beautiful!
Quote:
Originally Posted by purplegal
Gorgeous sunrise and your breakfast looked delicious.
A great morning all around!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Beautiful sunrise! Great pictures from Desert Watch as well!
It was so different from the North Rim!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
What a gorgeous sunrise! Worth getting up early for! Both the saloon and main dining room looked very nice.
After our stop at the Desert Watch Tower, we headed for Grand Canyon Village, another 45 minute drive. No pictures here because we were trying to follow the map and find our way around. The Bright Angel Lodge was at the far end of the Grand Canyon Village and when we found it, there was no place to park. We drove around in a big circle and ended up pulling over to look at the map and devise a plan. We ended up parking near the El Tovar hotel and walking to Bright Angel Lodge. Our cabin was not ready but we found out a little more about the parking situation and returned to the car to see if we could find a closer spot, which we did. The one piece of advice we got was if you find a good spot, stay there! Take the shuttle instead of your car. So, that’s what we did. The issue is that many folks make a day trip from Sedona, Phoenix or Vegas, so there are a LOT more cars vying for parking in the middle of the day. And numerous tour buses unloading as well. It really was a zoo, and so different from the peaceful, secluded feeling of the North Rim.
After moving the car, we went to a little counter service place called The Fountain for some lunch. It was mainly an ice cream place but they did have some grab and go items available. I don’t have the receipt, but I think Jeff got a grab and go egg salad sandwich and I got a yogurt and a banana. Then we found a place along the rim wall to eat. The South rim is a LOT more “touristy” than the North Rim and there were people everywhere! After lunch we walked along the rim for a while. Then at 2:30 we headed inside to see if our room was ready. It was!
It was in a great spot that was close to the shuttle line and the rim. And it was a single! No noisy neighbors in the middle of the night! We got settled in the room and I had some tea.
Then we checked out our dining choices. There were several table service restaurants connected to Bright Angel Lodge, but for this evening we decided to take the blue shuttle line to Maswik Lodge which had a food court. We liked this place right away, as it seemed to have a good range of food items. Jeff ended up getting a chicken pot pie and I got a chef salad.
We intended to hop on the shuttle after dinner to go to the Visitor’s Center and then the rim, but when I went to take photos of our meal, I realized the camera was not in the case. Oops! I took it out in the room and didn’t put it back before we left! I can’t believe I didn’t realize the case was a lot lighter than usual!
So, we decided to walk back to our cabin, which was just a 10 minute walk. We got the camera and headed out for the shuttle again. There were lots of stops before we got to the visitor’s center and when we finally got inside, they made an announcement that they would be closing in 5 minutes.
Then we walked back to the Visitor’s Center to catch the shuttle back to Bright Angel Lodge. We got back at 7:00 and relaxed for a bit. Then about 7:30 Jeff asked if I wanted to go to The Fountain for ice cream. No need to ask me twice! We split a double scoop bowl – one scoop of vanilla, one scoop of peanut butter cup. They were very generous scoops, so we were glad we’d decided to split it! It was delicious and really hit the spot!
After the ice cream we browsed for a bit at the gift shop and then we inquired about breakfast at the table service restaurant - Harvey House Café. Not sure if we’ll do breakfast there tomorrow or the following morning.
We were back to the room at 8:00 and ready to settle down.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
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Sorry that the trail was longer than originally thought. We have done that as well and it is no fun to not be prepared. 
Dinner looked amazing both for food and the view. 
:
) Also, at 3AM the ladies in the adjoining room woke up and started chatting. Then, at one point, I thought I heard a mouse in our cabin. 
PassPorter Guide Author
The one piece of advice we got was if you find a good spot, stay there! Take the shuttle instead of your car. So, that’s what we did. The issue is that many folks make a day trip from Sedona, Phoenix or Vegas, so there are a LOT more cars vying for parking in the middle of the day. And numerous tour buses unloading as well. It really was a zoo, and so different from the peaceful, secluded feeling of the North Rim. 
I took it out in the room and didn’t put it back before we left! I can’t believe I didn’t realize the case was a lot lighter than usual! 
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