The trip of many changes... TRIP REPORT UPDATED 2/25 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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The trip of many changes... TRIP REPORT UPDATED 2/25
Ok, it's time to get this show on the road, so without further ado, let's get underway...
Tuesday 9 January – part one: shall we be a bit radical tonight?
We headed out of the house just after 5:00pm, and everything went into the boot (trunk) of the car… eventually after a little re-arranging! At least when we land in Orlando, it will be someone else’s problem to get our luggage into the car…
I’d been a bit radical and suggested to Mark that perhaps we could go and get dinner at our local pub/restaurant before we headed out to the airport. We were due there at 7:30pm, and we had time. I think at first he was a bit shocked, as he looked like a deer in the headlights when I suggested it, but given neither of us had eaten much all day, he soon realised it made sense.
When we got there, I have to admit the car park was busier than I expected, but thankfully we had no problem getting a table for two.
We were scouring the main menu, deciding what to eat, when I realised that they were supposed to have a taste of winter menu as well. They did, but only sort of, because apparently they’d had a problem with their supplier and out of the two appetisers, four entrees and one dessert, they only had two entrees available neither of which appealed. They were both meat, which wouldn’t work for me. Back to some tried and tested items then…
I started with the mushroom soup, which was very nice…
Mark had the bubble and squeak, savoy cabbage and baked potato cake with smoked streaky bacon (Piglet as Mark said! ), free-range poached egg and smoked Hollandaise sauce, and I have to say it looked very nice…
I had one of my usuals from the menu – the sea bass and seared scallops served on a prawn, pea and chive risotto, which was nice, but it was a little too strong on the pea and chive for me tonight.
Mark had the signature mixed grill, made up of a 28-day aged rump steak, chicken breast, 7oz gammon steak, pork sausage, black pudding, free-range fried egg, grilled tomato, onion rings and jacket potato, and a mountain of food arrived!
Mark ready to tuck in!
Unsurprisingly, he was stuffed after this, but I still had room to try the cookie bake and treacle toffee ice cream, white chocolate mousse, salted caramel sauce, and crumbled Cadbury’s Flake. I had high hopes for this, but honestly, it wasn’t very nice at all. It was just way too sweet, and I couldn’t manage it all.
It was fine, but I’ve had better here.
Chiltern Hundreds
Appetiser 8 8½
Entrée 7½ 8
Dessert 5 N/A
Service 7½ 7½
Atmosphere 8 8
Value for money 7 7½
Average score: 7.50
Once we were done, we still had time to pop round and say goodbye to Mark’s parents, as we hadn’t seen them since before Christmas. We then headed to the airport, and had a good run, despite the fact it was misty.
We called the valet parking company when we were 10 minutes away, as instructed, and there was a guy waiting for us when we got there, so we handed the car over, and headed towards the terminal with the luggage. Oh my goodness, it was freezing as we made our (very slow!) way up the escalator towards the terminal. I was already regretting my choice of cropped leggings, as I suspected I might. Once I got inside the terminal, I hoped and prayed that, if everything went to plan, this would have been the last time I’d be out in the British weather until we returned at the end of the month, as everything else should be undercover.
We headed over to baggage drop, and we were literally the only ones there. In fact, I counted less than a dozen people in the whole terminal. It was quite freaky. We sent our bags on their way, and stopped off for Mark to have a browse in the bookshop. It was so quiet in there that the shop assistant was standing there reading a magazine! We couldn’t work out whether it was boring for them or whether it was the shift everyone wanted, as it was so quiet.
We headed over to the Hampton by Hilton, checked in, got some drinks (white zinfandel for me and Peroni for Mark) and headed up to our room, which was very nice. Standard Hampton, but nice and roomy and, as Mark said, it was so quiet, you wouldn’t know we were at an airport.
Yes, it was a quiet night, but we needed a good night’s sleep, ahead of our adventures starting tomorrow…
The weather today was misty with drizzle and a breeze and temperatures in the low 40s. The best thing today was we’re on our way! The worst thing today was how cold it was outside! Today we tried eating at our local pub before heading to the airport. And the result was it was Ok, but not great.
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Mark’s dinner looks similar to an English breakfast, too bad your dessert wasn’t better as it looks delicious.
Hope you get a good nights sleep for the busy day ahead.
Smooth start to the trip, which is always nice.
Wow, that's a huge platter of food for Mark! Sounds like he scored high on the food choices that night, and you didn't quite reach what you were hoping for. I like my desserts too, but wow, I can see how that one put the sweetness over the edge!
That's a very nice looking room at the Hampton!
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i'll be watching to see if Mark eats anything else soon - good grief that was a meal Your dessert looks like one to share. Your pub certainly isn't skimping on portions. I had to look up treacle - I know it from the song in the Mary Poppins broadway show ... "molasses" for Americans
Hoping your next post is to say you've had a restful night's sleep, but somehow I supsect maybe not. hmm ...
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I finished your pre trip report yesterday so surprised to find your TR today. Sounds like dropping of luggage the night before is very quiet and relaxing compared to just before a flight.
i'll be watching to see if Mark eats anything else soon - good grief that was a meal
Well I can tell you he was up for eating the next day.
Quote:
Your dessert looks like one to share. Your pub certainly isn't skimping on portions. I had to look up treacle - I know it from the song in the Mary Poppins broadway show ... "molasses" for Americans
Ah, sorry about that - I know most of the translations by now, but not that one.
I finished your pre trip report yesterday so surprised to find your TR today. Sounds like dropping of luggage the night before is very quiet and relaxing compared to just before a flight.
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At least when we land in Orlando, it will be someone else’s problem to get our luggage into the car… 
neither of which appealed. They were both meat, which wouldn’t work for me. Back to some tried and tested items then… 
), free-range poached egg and smoked Hollandaise sauce, and I have to say it looked very nice… 
We then headed to the airport, and had a good run, despite the fact it was misty. 
We couldn’t work out whether it was boring for them or whether it was the shift everyone wanted, as it was so quiet. 
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