The Trip Full of Thanksgiving and Christmas 11/19-11/28 - Page 12 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 photos of Osbourne Lights and the photopass ones are quite good as well! You made another typo. It's back in your first update today I think where the photo of the tree is in the beginning of the post. It's a funny typo, but does make sense in some way!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Great photos of Osbourne Lights and the photopass ones are quite good as well! You made another typo. It's back in your first update today I think where the photo of the tree is in the beginning of the post. It's a funny typo, but does make sense in some way!
Oh my word! I fixed it but I am definitely laughing over that one!! You can tell I haven't been sleeping well. And if did make sense in some way lol!
Sounds like you all did quite well with the DTD shopping! Sounds like you and Caden had a relaxing morning. Stefanie picked out that same Donald and she too wanted Donald to meet Donald. You all got in some great firsts this day from the Beauty and the Beast show to the Osborne Lights. Glad you all lasted through Fantasmic, too.
Sounds like you all did quite well with the DTD shopping! Sounds like you and Caden had a relaxing morning. Stefanie picked out that same Donald and she too wanted Donald to meet Donald. You all got in some great firsts this day from the Beauty and the Beast show to the Osborne Lights. Glad you all lasted through Fantasmic, too.
I love that Stefanie did that too! I am going to embrace this time while he still does it. He may change and think it is not cool anymore any day now. Or maybe not. He may always be like this and that is okay too. I had forgotten the Beauty and the Beast show in my list of firsts. And Tower of Terror.
Oh my word! I fixed it but I am definitely laughing over that one!! You can tell I haven't been sleeping well. And if did make sense in some way lol!
These have been too funny as accidental! Looking forward to more lapses like this as they are entertaining!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
We got up bright and early the next morning and got a bus to Magic Kingdom. From there we debated taking the boat or the monorail to The Grand Floridian, and decided on the monorail. It had been breaking down a lot lately and it made me a little nervous. There was a slight pause but it was on its way soon enough and we arrived quick enough.
I love the Bus Stop signs at Coronado Springs.
Picture taken from the monorail.
And our first time being in The Grand Floridian was met with this sight.
Even the steps were decorated.
We just stood there in awe.
We went in to 1900 Park Fare. All Photpass pictures will be posted later. There was a Christmas tree there that we posed in front of.
We were seated and Alice came right away. She noticed we hadn't gotten anything to eat yet, and recommended the strawberry soup. She said she herself hadn't eaten it yet. I asked her if her curious nature hadn't made her want to try it. She said no, because it is soup that is cold, and it is supposed to be hot.
I just adore Alice.
It was time to go eat, so the boys and I went to go load up our plates. As I was near the breads on my way back, I see Tim waving his arms at me mouthing something. I try desperately to figure out what he is saying. You want a croissant? No? And then, I hear a familiar voice that stops me in my tracks.
I was standing next to Josh Gad! For those who don't know, he is the voice of Olaf, and he was in the Book of Mormon on Broadway, as well as a long list of movies and TV appearances. He was talking on the phone. I made my way back to the table, to Tim and I talking at once about it. He was trying to mouth to me that was who it was. He was so giddy!
Josh Gad was there with his family and a plaid vested guide. One of the party members had noticed Tim waving me down, and had a panicked look on her face for a moment at being recognized, but Tim just smiled at her in a way to show he wouldn't make a scene. She smiled back.
See, there I am walking right by him.
It turns out he was in Magic Kindgom soon after that taking pictures with Gaston. He is going to be LaFou in the live action Beauty and the Beast, so how perfect!
Tim said he knew this breakfast was going to be good, but he didn't know Olaf was going to be there! It made his trip.
Soon The Mad Hatter was upon us being all silly. I asked him what his favorite tea was and he said Insanity! The boys really liked him. Tim was finally up getting his food at the point and missed him.
And then Tigger came. He has always been a favorite of Caden's, who has always loved bouncing.
Then Pooh came and he pointed to our food mentioning that it looked good. I told him that he must have a rumbly in his tumbly, which he agreed as he had only had a small smackrel of honey that morning. Tim mentioned that he thought the Mad Hatter may have more, so he took off after him.
This was my first plate. Strawberry soup, eggs Benedict, salmon with capers and a croissant that I thought Tim wanted me to bring him, but I ate and it was good. Also corned beef hash, fresh fruit, and a hashbrown cake.
Mary Poppins was soon there and for me, she was the reason we were there. I was like a little kid and just giddy. I asked her what adventures she thought she would be having. She said she probably would pop through a chalk picture with Bert.
Second plate with Mickey waffles, a spinach cheese pastry, cheese blintzes. So good. Oh and bread pudding with custard sauce. The biscuit and gravy was decent and the bacon was typical Disney bacon.
I got a picture of the organ.
We had full bellies and loved the characters. This is a definite place we have to return to.
Next update: The Most Amazing Gingerbread House ever.
How cool to have seen Josh Gad at breakfast! The food all looked yummy too I love how they do the mini tree photo around the holidays as your Photopass
Oh wow, that is such a cool celebrity sighting - and I loved the fact you recognised the voice, as opposed to the person!
It was a very cool sighting. It was pretty cool to hear Olaf in real life.
Quote:
Originally Posted by xwewhisper
How cool to have seen Josh Gad at breakfast! The food all looked yummy too I love how they do the mini tree photo around the holidays as your Photopass
The food was delicious. It was definitely a place we will return.
I'm all caught up! Even thought I knew it all, it was still fun to relive it through your eyes a second time and see some new pictures I agree, my absolute favorite family photo is the one of you guys in front of the lights
You should have made that a Christmas card this year!
Unrelated p.s....have you seen my countdown?! Maybe I should start to figure plans out
Well, breakfast looked great with all the foods and characters, but Josh Gad was definitely the highlight! So very cool!
Definitely! And I loved finding a new family favorite.
Quote:
Originally Posted by num1DVCfan
I'm all caught up! Even thought I knew it all, it was still fun to relive it through your eyes a second time and see some new pictures I agree, my absolute favorite family photo is the one of you guys in front of the lights
You should have made that a Christmas card this year!
Unrelated p.s....have you seen my countdown?! Maybe I should start to figure plans out
I should have made a Christmas card, period, but I didn't. Sigh. Plans would probably be a good idea. My dead was asking about ours, but there are still quite a few things up in the air as far as our exact dates, and airfare getting there. It is so weird lol!
Just getting caught up! Boy, what a great time you've been having at Epcot and DHS! Love all the pictures. Cool celebrity sighting! And my gosh, all the great eats!