Our Island Hopping, Rain Dropping, Champagne Popping Adventure - Page 10 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We were up and out of the room fairly early . . . but thankful that we had the later seating so that we could sleep a little later. Monica brought the rest of the Baileys to breakfast so we enjoyed our coffee immensely. Breakfast wasn’t half bad either. As we left, we exchanged and goodbyes with our fantastic servers.
I hate having to leave the boat, but love how you can just walk right off when you’re ready. We easily found our luggage and a porter had us outside before we knew it. About the time we walked outside, we realized that we were going out one entrance and the Mitchells would be going out another. The porter told us that we had reached the point of no return.
Monica and I sent texts back and forth and the decision was made that we would meet them at the rental car place for our goodbyes. The hotel shuttle was already waiting, so we hopped right on and were back at the hotel in no time.
We were soon at the rental car place and waited only a little while before the Mitchells arrived on the shuttle bus. It’s hard to have that good of a time with people and then have to say goodbye. There was a lot of before we both hopped in our cars and pulled out. They were going to DTD before their flight and we were headed back up 95.
We had a pretty good day of driving except that we went through some rough storms in Georgia. There was so much rain at one point that we actually had to put off lunch until the rain stopped and then we ended up stopping at the same McDonald’s as we did on the way down in Darien, GA. We got home just in time for dinner, so we dropped our bags and headed back out to our favorite Mexican restaurant (a.k.a Mexico). Our favorite servers had missed us.
The next day, it was back to the real world . . . like the real, scary world . . . as in back to jury duty. It could have been my last month, but lucky me was the first one pulled for another 6 months. Even that couldn’t wipe the vacation smile off my face though!
Final Thoughts
We’ve been averaging a cruise about every 3 years. Without a doubt, each cruise gets easier and more fun as our girls get older and can enjoy all that the ship has to offer. Whether it be at Castaway Cay, the Aqua Duck or a movie, we simply had fun just spending time with them.
Speaking of having fun . . . the Mitchells could probably make a fortune if they would rent themselves out as cruise companions. We had the best time with them and were frequently wiping away tears from pure tee hysterical laughter. There were so many classic moments, but my favorites have to be Charlie’s reaction to sparkling water and mine and Monica’s failed attempts to escape from the bathroom at Palo.
Not only are they tons of fun, but Monica has cruising down to a science. From knowing to order champagne for the room so that you can have nice champagne glasses for the rest of the cruise to knowing how to book our day at Atlantis through Comfort Inn at a significant discount, Monica is the “go to” lady for any and all cruise questions.
Even though Macy and Gem were the cool teens of the bunch, they still hung out with us a good bit. You could just tell that they were having a blast, but the thing I loved was how sweet and kind they were to my little girls. It’s hard to believe that Macy was just about Maddie’s age now when I first met her. She’s always been a cutie and now she’s growing into a beautiful young woman (and, more importantly, beautiful on the inside too ).
I had only sailed on the Wonder before and I had my doubts that Disney could improve upon that ship, but . . . as only Disney can do . . . they managed to with the Dream. It is a gorgeous ship and I was full of awe from the moment I stepped on to the sad, sad moment when I had to leave. I suspect that it won’t be another 3 years before we sail again . . .
for following along on our land and sea adventure!
It sounded like the perfect family vacation Jill Thanks once again for taking us PP's along for the ride. I'm not sure when we'll get to take a Disney Cruise but I've learned a lot for when we actually do!
What a fantastic vacation. You really can't beat a Disney cruise for a family get-a-way with lots of different ages. Doing this two-family get-together sounds like it was perfect. Love the last photo of all the girls with the servers.
What a great cruise! Thanks for sharing this wonderful TR with us! Your cruise TR when Maddie was a baby was one of the first TR's that I read on these boards, and I can't believe how quickly the time has flown!
So, Jill - this is my question. I have sailed on the Wonder, and our next cruise is on the Fantasy. I worry, though, about then going back to the Wonder or Magic - do you think the Fantasy and Dream are so gorgeous, that they have kind of ruined it for the smaller ships?
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Saturday, October 9, 2014 - Kaitlyn and I before the Happy Haunted 5K at ESPN Wide World of Sports
I'm trying to get caught up, Jill, but I've only made it through the first day. How great that y'all got to cruise with Monica, Macey, and Charlie!
I ate at Fish Lips on my one and, to date, only business trip to Kennedy Space Center and loved it!
I nodded my head to the bottle of Conundrum, which seems to have become our crowd's signature wine. And had a good chuckle picturing Charlie commenting on the "toilet water"! Woohoo!
I'm looking forward to the rest of the cruise. Sorry to be so late to the party, but I have finished my latest TR!
So, Jill - this is my question. I have sailed on the Wonder, and our next cruise is on the Fantasy. I worry, though, about then going back to the Wonder or Magic - do you think the Fantasy and Dream are so gorgeous, that they have kind of ruined it for the smaller ships?
Amy, I will be able to answer this more accurately in late March after we sail the Magic for the first time. We sailed the Wonder for our first few cruises then did the Dream and now that the Magic is sailing out of Galveston which is only about 4 hours drive from our home we decided to give it a try. I can tell you that I was a little nervous at first about going back to the older ships but, as much as we loved the Dream, we are still looking forward to sailing on the Magic.
I'll be back soon with my final morning and thoughts
And had a good chuckle picturing Charlie commenting on the "toilet water"! Woohoo!
Larry, the laughing for this incident and most of the rest of the cruise was on the same level as our lunch a few years ago at Yak & Yeti - but with a much smaller group - if you can imagine that!! Fun times...
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Monica brought the rest of the Baileys to breakfast so we enjoyed our coffee immensely. 
Breakfast wasn’t half bad either. As we left, we exchanged 
and goodbyes with our fantastic servers. 
We easily found our luggage and a porter had us outside before we knew it. About the time we walked outside, we realized that we were going out one entrance and the Mitchells would be going out another. The porter told us that we had reached the point of no return. 
There was a lot of 
There was so much rain at one point that we actually had to put off lunch until the rain stopped and then we ended up stopping at the same McDonald’s as we did on the way down in Darien, GA. We got home just in time for dinner, so we dropped our bags and headed back out to our favorite Mexican restaurant (a.k.a Mexico). Our favorite servers had missed us. 
It could have been my last month, but lucky me was the first one pulled for another 6 months. 
Even that couldn’t wipe the vacation smile off my face though! 
There were so many classic moments, but my favorites have to be Charlie’s reaction to sparkling water and mine and Monica’s failed attempts to escape from the bathroom at Palo. 
It’s hard to believe that Macy was just about Maddie’s age now when I first met her. She’s always been a cutie and now she’s growing into a beautiful young woman (and, more importantly, beautiful on the inside too 
for following along on our land and sea adventure! 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
"Sparky"(My first trip.)
Thanks once again for taking us PP's along for the ride. I'm not sure when we'll get to take a Disney Cruise but I've learned a lot for when we actually do! 
PassPorter Guide Author
Fun times...
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