Thanks to the PCRU, We Get to Go to DLR Too! **COMPLETE 8/21/2010** - Page 9 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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 am continually impressed by how much you were able to get done! It just makes my hankering to go to DLR that much worse!! If only I could make the planets align for an August trip!!
After a nice rest at the Grand Cali, we made our way towards Steakhouse 55. It was a quick, five minute walk from our hotel to the Disneyland Hotel and we were able to get a bit of a feel for the Disneyland Hotel as we passed the Towers and the infamous pool area. The Disneyland Hotel definitely has a lot more Disney nostalgia to it since there was tons of memorabilia; we really enjoyed taking a few moments to soak it all in. I don’t know if it was because of the towers, or how we entered the hotel but it reminded me a bit of the Contemporary at WDW.
We checked into Steakhouse 55 and went over the allergies. I was thrilled when we were seated in an intimate corner and had an amazingly wonderful server who went above and beyond in securing Izzy a covered straw for her drink! The menu was lovely, very old time steakhouse selections and it was perfect for my carnivore loving family; steak is a rarity at home. I apologize ahead of time for the poor picture quality….I was snapping quickly and never actually checked the quality.
APPS:
"Wedge" Iceberg Lettuce, Vine-Ripened Tomato and Gorgonzola dressing
Overall, we had a really lovely meal here. The food and service were wonderful and we definitely would not hesitate to eat here again!
After dinner was over, the boys hustled over to DLR and got in line to pick up out Fantasmic Dessert Party seating assignments. Izzy and I strolled over towards the monorail to ride into the parks. No one had warned me that the monorail is more of an attraction and less of a mode of transportation. There were about 40 people ahead of us and we had to wait almost 35 minutes to get onto the monorail. It was cool to ride and I am glad we did it once but it is not something I think I would repeat again. On top of which, it let us in the corner of Fantasyland and we then had to hoof it over to the boys. Still, I am glad we rode it and checked it off the ‘to-do’ list. J
The boys were the third party in line; I relieved them of waiting, handed them some FPs, and had them take Izzy to go on some rides while I waited it out. The seating is released at 8pm and it was about 7:40 so it wasn’t too terrible. I chatted it up with a nice Mom and Daughter who had driven down from Oregon; we shared tips and our opinions of how our trips had been thusfar. Soon enough, a CM came out to the podium and it took just a minute to pick out our seats. We were lucky to score front row, aisle, center….what could be sweeter?
I had a little time to kill and I knew that Laurie, mechurchlady, was also planning to do the dessert party that evening. A quick scan and I found Laurie and her mom waiting towards the side. It was great to meet Laurie and thank her in person for all the invaluable advice she had given me in planning this trip. Thank you, Laurie!
Around 8:45, my crew came back and we made our way towards the seating area. The view was fabulous and I was happy to be seating in a reasonably comfy chair! A CM was coming around handing out the dessert trays and taking drink orders. I was fairly impressed with the boxed tray; it had some fresh fruit, cheese, crackers, mini desserts, and truffles. I was honestly too full from dinner and also didn’t want to eat all that dairy with Izzy right next to me so I put my box away for later. AJ was thinking along the same lines as he and I were flanking Izzy, so we had two boxes put away. DH, who always can find an appetite, happily munched away.
I don’t have a ton of pics here because I was really trying to enjoy the show as it was my first time ever seeing it. I will say, I was blown away and felt it was far superior to F! at WDW. We all really enjoyed the show and were happy to learn we could stay in our seats and enjoy the fireworks which were to follow a few moments later. This wasn’t a castle view so you missed Tink and Dumbo as well as the Castle backdrop but it was still a nice way to view the fireworks and not have to stand or be crowded in.
It was another great day at Disneyland and we still had two more to go! J
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~Shoot for the moon, if you miss, you will land among the stars~
So glad you had a fantastic meal at Steakhouse 55 and oh my the desert looks delicious. Did they have anything Izzy Safe fduring the Fantasmic Dessert Party? Glad to hear you loved Fantasmic at DLR. What a wonderful day indeed. More please Danielle.