The Holi-Canoli! Whirlwind Trip That Wasn't Supposed to Be - Page 23 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Great DHS day! I love your pictures from AA-even Michaels! Great update & pictures!!! I can't believe how few people were there compared to when we went in Jan- it was sooooo crowded!
and I couldn't help but admire the wonderful food pictures you took compared to mine
Can't wait to read more!!!!!
I remember seeing your pictures in your TR. I couldn't believe how empty is was when we went either. No kidding. We were on the last row of people and we weren't even to the middle of the bottom floor. Crazy! Yes, your food pictures cracked me up! At least you enjoyed your meal!
Laura love your TR. i booked a trip for the end of May to DLP, i am actually doing a Cosmos tour of England, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and France and then staying an extra 5 days at DLP at the Thomas Cook hotel with a 5 day DLP pass. In september (last 2 weeks) i want to return to WDW with Amanda for the free disney dining
I'm truly impressed with how much you all got done at DHS this day! HDDR looks like so much fun besides being ! More great PP pictures, too! And Michael's drawing of Carl is cute!
I can't get to sleep so I thought I'd post an update.
By the way, we turned down the post in Alaska. Yay! I won't be moving to 40 below winters.
Victoria loves DisneyQuest. We have only been once before. Since our tickets included DisneyQuest, we decided this would be as good a time as any to go back. Victoria was thrilled. DQ opens pretty late so we got to sleep in and hang out at the resort for a while before driving to DTD.
On the way, we went through the beautiful gate. I couldn't resist a picture. I also snagged a picture of the DHS entrance.
I took a few pictures of DTD as we walked to DQ.
As we entered DQ, the CMs manning the entrance noticed Victoria's birthday button and sang a rousing version of "Happy Birthday" to her. I wish I had it on video. They did a fantastic job! What a great way to start the day at DQ.
I love the "foyer" with the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious around the top of the dome.
We knew what we wanted to do first ~ Pirates of the Caribbean. It is the best thing there. We were in line behind a father and son from England. They had never played this game before, and we started telling them what they needed to do, and we said it was easier to maneuver everything with more people. They talked to each other and then asked if we would like to join them. Sure! So, we joined the father and son duo, and with our force of five against the pirates, we did a fantastic job and collected lots of booty. They thanked us afterwards for joining them as they wouldn't have done so well by themselves. It was a lot of fun!
We rode the virtual Jungle Cruise. I never have liked this game and still don't. Oh well. I gave it another chance.
We went upstairs and went on Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride. That was fun! I liked it better this time than I did before.
From there, we played games here and there together and then we'd split up. We had fun.
This motorcycle game was AWESOME! I played it a lot. I really liked it.
Buzz Lightyear's AstroBlasters is also a hoot.
I finally found Victoria and Michael. They are in the little purple car on the right.
All in all, we had a fun day at DQ. I can't believe I didn't write down what we did for lunch and dinner. I'm not sure. I have a feeling we went to Earl of Sandwich for dinner because we ate there a couple of times on this trip. Perhaps I took pictures on another day.
The day was relaxing which is just what Michael needed. He didn't want to feel like he was on the run every single day of his R&R. Tomorrow would be a busy day!
We knew what we wanted to do first ~ Pirates of the Caribbean. It is the best thing there. We were in line behind a father and son from England. They had never played this game before, and we started telling them what they needed to do, and we said it was easier to maneuver everything with more people. They talked to each other and then asked if we would like to join them. Sure! So, we joined the father and son duo, and with our force of five against the pirates, we did a fantastic job and collected lots of booty. They thanked us afterwards for joining them as they wouldn't have done so well by themselves. It was a lot of fun!
This is my idea of Disney Magic! I love spontaneous moments like that one.
I have never been to Disney Quest. Your trip report reminds me that maybe I should go before it goes the way of Pleasure Island.
I love your picture inside Bruce. Classic! As is the photo of Victoria's reaction to Beverly.
Thank you so much for posting the pictures of the Food and Wine Festival kiosk menu boards. It was so informative for me. My boyfriend's birthday is October 29 and he wants to go away somewhere to celebrate. I'm thinking that this would be an excellent option. Your trip report might prove to be good ammunition. Right now he is thinking about New Orleans, Montreal, or Quebec City. We shall see. It's his birthday and not mine so we'll do whatever he wants.
The Photopass pictures in France are suitable for framing. You all look great and have a wonderful backdrop.
You keep on mentioning how hot it was in Epcot. What would be your guess as to the temperatures?
You did a great job in describing your SheiKra experience. I totally "get" your need to feel secure. I am the same way. That drop is INSANE! Since we're both coaster freaks we should meet up in Cedar Point one day!
I do not understand Victoria. She passed up chocolate truffle cake for pickles!?! Hasn't she heard that butter, cream, sugar, and chocolate are the best friends anyone can ever have EVER!?!
Hands in the air in front of the castle makes me chuckle too.
I would kill to have a picture taken with all seven dwarfs.
That Cruella video was AWESOME! Miss Cruella totally broke character the entire time. LOVE IT!
This is my idea of Disney Magic! I love spontaneous moments like that one.
I have never been to Disney Quest. Your trip report reminds me that maybe I should go before it goes the way of Pleasure Island.
You should try it at least once especially if you like video games. I love the oldie goldie ones that I grew up with. Fun!
I love your picture inside Bruce. Classic! As is the photo of Victoria's reaction to Beverly.
Hee hee! They crack me up! I love taking fun pictures.
Thank you so much for posting the pictures of the Food and Wine Festival kiosk menu boards. It was so informative for me. My boyfriend's birthday is October 29 and he wants to go away somewhere to celebrate. I'm thinking that this would be an excellent option. Your trip report might prove to be good ammunition. Right now he is thinking about New Orleans, Montreal, or Quebec City. We shall see. It's his birthday and not mine so we'll do whatever he wants.
You are so welcome! Too bad I didn't take a picture of all the boards. I had never seen them before either. Tell your BF that he can try food from all of the places he wants to visit right there in Epcot!
The Photopass pictures in France are suitable for framing. You all look great and have a wonderful backdrop.
Thanks!
You keep on mentioning how hot it was in Epcot. What would be your guess as to the temperatures?
You know, I don't know. I'm thinking it was in the upper 90s. Yes, we live in Texas now and yes, my DH was home from Iraq where temps were in the 130s and they had to wear their full body armor. However, Texas doesn't have the humidity that Orlando has, and it was draining the life right out of us! Phew!
You did a great job in describing your SheiKra experience. I totally "get" your need to feel secure. I am the same way. That drop is INSANE! Since we're both coaster freaks we should meet up in Cedar Point one day!
I have heard great things about Cedar Point! I have always wanted to go. That would be fun!
I do not understand Victoria. She passed up chocolate truffle cake for pickles!?! Hasn't she heard that butter, cream, sugar, and chocolate are the best friends anyone can ever have EVER!?!
I was wondering if anyone was going to pick up on that! It shocked me when she chose a pickle over cake. LOL! At home, she'll sit and eat a whole jar of pickles. No kidding!
I would kill to have a picture taken with all seven dwarfs.
Another good reason to get to WDW in October and go to MNSSHP!!!
That Cruella video was AWESOME! Miss Cruella totally broke character the entire time. LOVE IT!
Thanks! She was hilarious! When she said, "Shut up!" I almost lost it. That was SOOOOO NOT something Cruella would say.
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Sounded like a fun day at DQ. I can't wait to try it, but I am waiting until my youngest is tall enough for everything. I think there are height restrictions on some of the things?
Sounded like a fun day at DQ. I can't wait to try it, but I am waiting until my youngest is tall enough for everything. I think there are height restrictions on some of the things?
I think the height restrictions relate to the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters and the one where you design your own roller coaster and then get to ride it. Victoria's always been tall enough, so I'm not sure. It's fun to go and play the old arcade games that we grew up with.
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