Marchin' Through the Grand Floridian TR - Page 11 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I just read your TR from start to finish, and I'm loving it! I can't believe how long it took you to get back to your hotel! Glad you were able to stay cheerful throughout the ordeal! So cool that you found some fun people to have dinner with. I don't think I ever would have been brave enough to do that. I'm pretty shy too!
Sounds like some great dinners and a great day at DHS!
Loving all your pictures! It's making miss our days at GF and making me look forward to our vacation next weekend!
OK, so now the streets of DHS were extremely crowded, but I was feeling particularly jaunty, buoyed by my birthday ice cream cone in my favorite park. I figured the only attraction I could definitely get into would be Muppets (which I ) so I headed over there next.
Along the way, I stopped to enjoy the sights of DHS.
I spent several minutes talking with a Cast Member in a shop that highlights many of the Disney villains. (Maleficent is my favorite baddie.)
Hmmm, Rick loves pirate shirts -- but I knew he would refuse to wear this one (he doesn't like to feed my obsession), so I just grabbed a pic.
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.
I get such a kick out of the pre-show, and for once I managed to arrive just as it was beginning. Afterwards, while everyone else filed into the theater, I stayed behind to snap this pic. Then I saw the show.
Then I headed back toward the front of the park, stopping to pull on this rope.
A man standing nearby busted out and I asked if he'd like a turn. He looked embarrassed and said, "No, that's OK." After I walked away I looked over my shoulder -- and of course he was furtively pulling on the rope.
I had made a 5:00 dinner ressie at San Angel because I'd never eaten there, so decided it was time to bug out of DHS and go to Epcot. As I exited DHS, I thought, "Hmm -- bus or boat to Epcot?" and saw that a launch was waiting just for me! The boat was full so I stood on the back, taking pics as I enjoyed the breeze and talked to tourists sitting back there.
Lookee -- this sight can only mean we've reached the backside of Epcot!
And what time was it? About quarter-to-five. Which meant I would need to hustle to trot all the way to Mexico in time for my 5:00 ressie -- but I knew I'd get a table, even if I was a few minutes late. (Which I was. )
Wow -- had my conference really just ended 4 hours ago?!? I'd seen and done a lot, especially considering the crowd level. I was feeling very
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OK, gotta ask - what happened when you pulled the rope?
And too funny about the guy waiting until you were gone to give it a try!
Colleen, I cannot divulge top secret info like that! I will tell you to look for that rope to the left of the Indiana Jones Stunt theater entrance. And be sure to pull on the rope.
Well, OK, you twisted my arm -- everybody, SPOILER ALERT: If everything is working (and sometimes it isn't, so don't be disappointed if nothing happens), after you pull on the rope you hear a man with a Cockney accent yelling up at you to quit pulling on the rope. Sometimes you hear other sounds, like small crashes. It's a hoot. And the biggest joke of all is that most people see the sign and think it says "Do NOT pull on rope," never realizing the "NOT" is crossed out and therefore you're actually being INVITED to pull on the rope.