Merrie Olde England TR - Read but Don't Reply! - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Everybody -- I made a glitch on page 23 of this TR -- don't try to click on it or you're in for several minutes of nothing. And because of the glitch, please don't try to reply to anything on this thread -- your reply won't go anywhere. Instead, please go into Part 2 of my TR in a separate thread to post your questions & responses: http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...-part-two.html SORRY for the inconvenience! - Cindy
Who: Rick (57) and Cindy (56)
What: London and Bath
When: I'm Kate's Maid of Honor, hadn't you heard?
No, we are definitely going to skip past all that hoopla and go in mid-May.
OK, here's what I absolutely must share right away. Rick is NOT a theatre person -- that's putting it mildly . But he assumed that I would insist on going to a play in London, and I decided to let him keep assuming that.
Rick is a military buff & really likes military history. So between that and the cool puppetry involved in this show, I figured he might actually enjoy it.
So in addition to getting to NYC's Broadway for three shows in early March, I'll get to add one play in London's West End -- and that's before I go to a summer filled with musical productions here in St. Louis.
Saturday afternoon, overnight flight to London. Arrive 8:30 a.m. Sunday and immediately take a bus to Bath. Why? Because travel guru Rick Steves says Bath is a great place to decompress after the miserable night flight, and I believe him -- it will mean about a 3-hour bus ride after being on a plane all night, but what the heck? I wanted to see some of the countryside on this trip and not spend all of it in London.
We're staying at a B&B in Bath that sounds lovely -- you may assume the photos will be forthcoming!
Monday we'll explore Bath in the morning and then take a bus tour of Stonehenge & Lacock in the afternoon.
Tuesday we'll spend the day touring the Cotswolds. Then explore Bath more that evening.
Wednesday we'll further explore Bath, check out of the B&B, and take the train or bus to London where we'll check into another B&B. Time & energy permitting, we might check out the London Eye or just roam the streets on our own.
Thursday: Imperial War Museum, Churchill Museum & War Rooms. We might climb the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral.
Friday: Tower of London (Crown Jewels, Beefeater Tour, White Tower Tour), check out the Tower Bridge. Perhaps take a short cruise on the Thames. Visit Westminster Abbey. That night, the Victoria & Albert Museum is open late and our B&B is quite close to it -- so we're thinking we'll go there that evening.
Saturday: British Museum & maybe Sir John Soane's Museum. That evening is when we'll see "War Horse."
Sunday: Doubledecker bus tour, stop at Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard. Take it easy -- just doing whatever.
Monday: Take a train to Windsor Castle and spend most of the day there. Then return to London & do whatever we feel we must before yelling "Pip, pip! Hooray!" or whatever we're supposed to do before leaving.
Tuesday: Fly home.
So what do you think of our plans????
For those readers who know about previous trips with our dear friends Paul & Robbie, never fear -- they still like us. Their daughter Sarah is getting married in June, so they've been spending all their time and money on that. They hope to rejoin our vacation planning next year!
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Sounds great, I am so jealous. England is on my Bucket List. Guess I need to win the lottery to start ticking off some of those items. Can't wait for the B&B pictures.
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Great start! And great plans.
We spent 4 days in London last summer after our Disney Baltic cruise and want to go back sometime for a much longer stay.
We bought our London Eye tickets ahead of time and on line, and I think we got a much better deal. A great planning site I found was londontown.com. They have all kinds of great information, and I used several of their walking tours. We stayed just across from Kensington Palace, and walked through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park every day. One really fun thing we did was rent a paddle boat one evening on the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park. So much fun!!
Your plans sound great! I'm sure you'll want to go back for more, but you've narrowed it down enough that you'll see a lot but not be dashing about too much. I LOVE going to the theater and ballet in London and saw a piece on TV about the puppeteers from War Horses. Those puppets are magnificent! Can't wait to read all about it!
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.
Great start! And great plans.
We bought our London Eye tickets ahead of time and on line, and I think we got a much better deal. A great planning site I found was LondonTown.com | The Number One Internet Site for London England - London hotel and event review. They have all kinds of great information, and I used several of their walking tours. We stayed just across from Kensington Palace, and walked through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park every day. One really fun thing we did was rent a paddle boat one evening on the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park. So much fun!!
Colleen, thanks for the advice. Although we might save money on the London Eye by purchasing tickets in advance, we're not sure what day we'll try to hit that so we're going to play it by ear. I've heard the lines can be quite long.
Our B&B in London is in South Kensington, so we will definitely check out Hyde Park. Love the paddle boat idea.
Sounds like the trip of a lifetime! I cannot wait to hear what you think of War Horses. I saw something about it on CBS Sunday Morning...truly fascinating. I don't know you from Adam, but I've enjoyed reading about all of your excursions...you have an excellent writing style. Carry on!!
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Plans look great!!! There are a few double decker bus tours that if you purchase a ticket its good for 24 hrs, and you can get on and off at any stop. It's an awesome way to see the city!
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Sounds like the trip of a lifetime! I cannot wait to hear what you think of War Horses. I saw something about it on CBS Sunday Morning...truly fascinating. I don't know you from Adam, but I've enjoyed reading about all of your excursions...you have an excellent writing style. Carry on!!
Thanks, Jomama! That's very encouraging! I will keep if you'll keep
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Plans look great!!! There are a few double decker bus tours that if you purchase a ticket its good for 24 hrs, and you can get on and off at any stop. It's an awesome way to see the city!
Oh yes, we will definitely make use of at least one double decker bus tour -- Rick has already downloaded a list with their routes. (He's an engineer -- we make a good team when it comes to travel planning. He looks up all the logistics of everything and I look up all the fun stuff. )
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Your plans sounds great - London is a great city to visit. My DH dragged me to the Imperial War Museum last time we went to London and i actually enjoyed it. The tour bus is always good fun, as is the London Eye.
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. But he assumed that I would insist on going to a play in London, and I decided to let him keep assuming that.
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I was terrified that real horses were all bound up in that contraption! 
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