The "Thank Goodness for Normal" Trip PTR - Page 7 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Cam - I am seriously jonesing for one of those breakfast sandwiches...no matter how hard he tries DH can't recreate it. And he's good at that kind of thing. That's why SS and I decided they must have crack in them.
Sorry about the less then perfect meal, we had one great one there, one just ok and our last the kids actually asked to cancel for more time at the pool. I think every restaurant just has their good days and some bad days. We loved the food at the Coral Reef but we never had great service which kept us away for awhile, we are giving it another chance this trip but like you said, there are just so many great places to try, sometimes getting one out of the way leaves room to try so many others.
What a great day at MK with the boys, got to love their thinking nothing like a Dole Whip and some fudge...(I can never leave without fudge it is so my addiction).
Your TR is totally a hoot (I love your writing style). Congrats on your DSS's cancer finally going away. SOrry for the less than expected service and food at LeCellier as I would love to try them out one day. You had me cracking up over your comment over your SS never remembering to turn in completed HW, but can remember fudge while slurping down a Dole Whip (that was the comparison my parents used to tell me, and still do, never remember the important things like HW, but anything else I'd remind them of). I als oloved your comparison of how your DS is like Stitch and he runs right over to Stitch (my 2 year old DS is Stitch to a T). How funny someone in the hot tub actually introduced you to your own son. I would have been dying of hysterics there and then. Looking foward to reading more please! Happy Mother's Day!
Ahh! I fell a little behind on your trip report. Sorry to hear Le Cellier wasn't as good as you expected. Your trip to MK sounds great and I am thinking I might have to get my self some crack on sandwich from MSB next time I visit
When we got back to CBR DH was doing laundry. The boys were eating fudge, with the typical useless warning not to spoil their appetites, and I hung out with DH. We caught a bus around 4 to head over to MK to catch a boat to WL.
The boat ride was really nice and the boys got a real kick out of it. It wasn't raining (for once) and we just relaxed. I have to admit...when I'm in the bubble I try to ignore the "issues" other families go through...not knowing about ADRs, time issues, crying children, etc. I just suck as a people watcher. But....no one could have ignored the family on the boat with us. It was a husband, wife and 5 children under the age of 6. And they were struggling, not just with the kids, but with each other. Apparently the dad thought that when you went to MK the kids could run around without parental supervision. They were debating whether to go home the next day or not and they had only gotten there the day before. And their ressies were for a week.
We got to WL and wandered up to the lobby. We had the first seating at WCC so we just sat in the lobby taking pics.
We were seated pretty quickly. We had a nice enough waitress. She was from NY so I was the only one who understood she was just talking fast, not an actual different language. We ordered the canyon skillet and DS got chicken nuggets. The boys got milkshakes, which they raved over, and DH got a beer. The food was really good, and I was kind of surprised. The 'Smores cheesecake was out of this world . DH did get a kick out of everyone asking for Ketchup. We all ended up cheering the families on. And we had straws to take back to the room. The funniest thing was DH and this one waiter for another section. Every time he walked by he would bang the tray holder thingie (yes, that's the technical term) really hard on the floor right behind DH. After the third time DH told him there were people in MK who hadn't heard him so the waiter started hittind DH's chair with it. When DH went to the bathroom the waiter stopped and started asking questions, like had I finally dumped him? When he saw DH was back he did it louder. It was just fun.
We took the boat back to the resort and since the boys had hot tub dates with some cougars we skipped the park and decided to go swimming. I went to the hot tub and had a banana drink and relaxed.
We called it a night around 11...DHS was the next day.
Weather: rainy and cloudy
best thing: hanging on Main St with the boys
worst: rain
Funniest: DS playing high five game with photo guy (on Main St when we went to look at our Epcot pics ... DS and he were having a ball) and DH head butting Pluto during a photo op.
We tried: taking it easy on Main St
reslut: excellent
Magical Moment: giving the little girl on the train pins.
Sounds like a great time at WCC! That poor family must have never seen a PassPorter!
Seriously...I want little business cards that read something to the effect: "Please do not try this again until after you have read a Passporter" giving the link.
Could you imagine...a whole day with nothing but people who have read Passporter. It would be like heaven on earth.
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Originally Posted by mojjo
Seriously...I want little business cards that read something to the effect: "Please do not try this again until after you have read a Passporter" giving the link.
That's a great idea! It boggles my mind how many people go to Disney World without doing any sort of research or planning.
Now that I've read your review of WCC I am even more excited about trying it next trip!!! Sounds like you & your family had an awesome vacation! Too bad not everyone knows about PP & trip planning! I was lucky enough to find PP about 1 month before we left for our trip in '08. Just by reading as much as I could for even that short amount of time, I managed to add a little more magic to our trip! Those business cards are a great idea!!!!
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more please!
Deb
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And I'd have reminded you of the fudge, too. You are making me want MSB for breakfast so bad. 
PassPorter Guide Author
They were debating whether to go home the next day or not and they had only gotten there the day before. And their ressies were for a week. 
. DH did get a kick out of everyone asking for Ketchup. We all ended up cheering the families on. And we had straws to take back to the room. The funniest thing was DH and this one waiter for another section. Every time he walked by he would bang the tray holder thingie (yes, that's the technical term) really hard on the floor right behind DH. After the third time DH told him there were people in MK who hadn't heard him so the waiter started hittind DH's chair with it. 
When DH went to the bathroom the waiter stopped and started asking questions, like had I finally dumped him? 
Those business cards are a great idea!!!!
Susan
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