A 40th celebration to end the world! COMPLETED 6/24 - Page 72 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Friday 28 December – part two: “now sir, I thought you would’ve guessed that”
As we left the park, we were surprised to see that the lines were longer for the California Adventure than the Disneyland Park. I guess that goes to show how big a pull Cars Land is.
We headed through the gates, and got a Photopass pic done as soon as we did:
Then we walked through a mainly deserted Town Square, where we got some more Photopass pics done by the Christmas tree:
… and we got some shots of Town Square and Main Street.
We got to the hub just before 8:00am, which is when the other areas of the park, outside of Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, that open to resort guests an hour early, would open to everyone. We sat down, and listened to the opening announcement, before following the crowds into Adventureland.
We ended up being on the very first boat of the day for the Jungle Cruise, and we had Aaron as our driver. He was great, full of corny jokes. I loved the one about the Indian elephants – “how can you tell the difference between these and African elephants?” Mark replied “their ears”, but the skipper said it’s because we’re in India. When we got to the African section, he asked the same question, and a kid piped up “because we’re in Africa”. said our skipper, “it’s because of their ears”, and without missing a beat, he turned to Mark and said “now sir, I thought you would’ve guessed that.”
Of course, we had the famous backside of water, and Aaron screamed, and celebrated that fact for about a minute.
We came off, and walked on to Pirates of the Caribbean, which as always, was a lot of fun. This is so much better than at Disney World, and for anyone who comes here, this is something you really should go on, so you can compare the two for yourselves.
We came out into New Orleans Square, and we browsed the shops there, but the Christmas decorations now were all 2013. We’d noticed this over the last couple of days, with more and more 2013 merchandise coming out. I get that 100%, but where the heck was the 2012 stuff? We hadn’t seen any at all our entire stay, so whether they sold out or offered it for sale before we came, I don’t know. It was a shame we missed it.
Friday 28 December – part two: “now sir, I thought you would’ve guessed that”
As we left the park, we were surprised to see that the lines were longer for the California Adventure than the Disneyland Park. I guess that goes to show how big a pull Cars Land is.
We headed through the gates, and got a Photopass pic done as soon as we did:
Then we walked through a mainly deserted Town Square, where we got some more Photopass pics done by the Christmas tree:
… and we got some shots of Town Square and Main Street.
We got to the hub just before 8:00am, which is when the other areas of the park, outside of Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, that open to resort guests an hour early, would open to everyone. We sat down, and listened to the opening announcement, before following the crowds into Adventureland.
We ended up being on the very first boat of the day for the Jungle Cruise, and we had Aaron as our driver. He was great, full of corny jokes. I loved the one about the Indian elephants – “how can you tell the difference between these and African elephants?” Mark replied “their ears”, but the skipper said it’s because we’re in India. When we got to the African section, he asked the same question, and a kid piped up “because we’re in Africa”. said our skipper, “it’s because of their ears”, and without missing a beat, he turned to Mark and said “now sir, I thought you would’ve guessed that.”
Of course, we had the famous backside of water, and Aaron screamed, and celebrated that fact for about a minute.
We came off, and walked on to Pirates of the Caribbean, which as always, was a lot of fun. This is so much better than at Disney World, and for anyone who comes here, this is something you really should go on, so you can compare the two for yourselves.
We came out into New Orleans Square, and we browsed the shops there, but the Christmas decorations now were all 2013. We’d noticed this over the last couple of days, with more and more 2013 merchandise coming out. I get that 100%, but where the heck was the 2012 stuff? We hadn’t seen any at all our entire stay, so whether they sold out or offered it for sale before we came, I don’t know. It was a shame we missed it.
The first two pics in your update are perfect for those who've never been to DLR and ask how close the two parks are. It looks like you took one pic and then turned around and took the other, right? The parks really are that close to each other!
Great picture of the piranha. I don't think I've seen anyone else post a picture of them before!
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The first two pics in your update are perfect for those who've never been to DLR and ask how close the two parks are. It looks like you took one pic and then turned around and took the other, right? The parks really are that close to each other!
that's exactly what I did.
Quote:
Great picture of the piranha. I don't think I've seen anyone else post a picture of them before!
I love trying to get a shot of them, as I remember loving them, as I seem to recall they were one of the new additions as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations.
Oh how I love Jungle Cruise!! You had a great skipper - love it when that happens. I remember on my second JC ride at DL we got all the way to the end, and there was trouble with the boat at the dock. So our boat, and the line of boats behind us (maybe 3) had to go in reverse through the whole thing! We got likely over halfway through and then were told to stay put, and then could go forward again to the end! It was the longest JC ride ever, but our skipper never missed a beat. He kept on with different jokes and talking with all the folks in our boat. It was so much fun!
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Great photos from Jungle Cruise. Getting a wonderful driver on that ride is such a treat! I agree with Jeannie about the park entrance photos. I just LOVE how close they are! The photopass pics from the front of the park are wonderful.
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Great pics of town square and photo pass! I had to look twice at the PP pics of you in front of the tree - for a moment the ornament behind your head make it look like you are wearing a turban or little hat.
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Great pics of town square and photo pass! I had to look twice at the PP pics of you in front of the tree - for a moment the ornament behind your head make it look like you are wearing a turban or little hat.
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Great pics of town square and photo pass! I had to look twice at the PP pics of you in front of the tree - for a moment the ornament behind your head make it look like you are wearing a turban or little hat.
Oh how I love Jungle Cruise!! You had a great skipper - love it when that happens. I remember on my second JC ride at DL we got all the way to the end, and there was trouble with the boat at the dock. So our boat, and the line of boats behind us (maybe 3) had to go in reverse through the whole thing! We got likely over halfway through and then were told to stay put, and then could go forward again to the end! It was the longest JC ride ever, but our skipper never missed a beat. He kept on with different jokes and talking with all the folks in our boat. It was so much fun!
Oh my goodness, that sounds like an absolute blast!
Great photos from Jungle Cruise. Getting a wonderful driver on that ride is such a treat! I agree with Jeannie about the park entrance photos. I just LOVE how close they are! The photopass pics from the front of the park are wonderful.
It's one of the great things about Disneyland. Nowhere has two parks so close - even at Disneyland Paris, it's a few minutes walk apart... well a few more than this anyway!
Great pics of town square and photo pass! I had to look twice at the PP pics of you in front of the tree - for a moment the ornament behind your head make it look like you are wearing a turban or little hat.
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it’s because we’re in India. When we got to the African section, he asked the same question, and a kid piped up “because we’re in Africa”. 
We hadn’t seen any at all our entire stay, so whether they sold out or offered it for sale before we came, I don’t know. It was a shame we missed it. 
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I remember on my second JC ride at DL we got all the way to the end, and there was trouble with the boat at the dock. So our boat, and the line of boats behind us (maybe 3) had to go in reverse through the whole thing! We got likely over halfway through and then were told to stay put, and then could go forward again to the end! It was the longest JC ride ever, but our skipper never missed a beat. He kept on with different jokes and talking with all the folks in our boat. It was so much fun!
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