National parks, natural beauty and a bit of Disney wonder! COMPLETED - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I am glad you explain the rasual treatment. I have heard of it, but was never sure exactly what it was. Are you in private the whole time then?
I can't wait to read more.
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Wednesday 31 August – part six: don’t mention the allergy! :
I did go for a walk at one point to take some photos from deck four and it was mayhem out there, with people waiting for photos and to get into the late show. I was suddenly very glad we’d done things early.
Finally, it was time for dinner and off we headed to Triton’s and we were all like princesses coming down the staircase!
We had no wait to get in and I was pleased to see a round table for tonight’s meal, as it made conversation a lot easier than last night.
For appetiser, I went for the caramelised bay scallops served on a leek and sun-dried tomato risotto. It was Ok, but it was nothing spectacular, if I’m being honest.
Sue gave me a taste of her crispy cheese ravioli, breaded envelopes encased with tomato concasse and lemon zest, which I had thought about getting, and from the taste I had, I really wish I’d gone with that, as it was a much better option.
For the soup/salad, I had to try the sangria bisque, which was listed as being a chilled fruit puree lightly flavoured with red wine. I had an idea of what the colour might be, but when it turned up, I was in for a bit of a surprise. I never thought it would look this colour...
Mark had the crispy Romaine and chicory leaves with smoked turkey, avocado, tomatoes, chopped eggs and chives, which was supposed to be topped with a Roquefort cheese dressing.
Now Mark made the mistake of mentioning that he had a slight (and he emphasised the word “slight”) dairy allergy and you would think that the whole world was ending. Suddenly, our server was telling us how it would be his responsibility if anything happened to him and the fact that Mark explained, at least three times, that the worst he would get was a headache, that didn’t convince him. As a result, he had sauces taken away from his entree and was really left wishing he hadn’t said a word. As for me, with my (slightly more serious) allergy to tree fruit (i.e. apples, peaches, pears, nectarines, plums and cherries – my mouth swells up if I have them), I decided to keep my mouth shut. I figured I’d do what I’d for years ever since I was diagnosed with it about three years ago and just play safe on the menu.
For entree, I opted for the jumbo shrimp and porcini mushroom tagliatelle with a garlic-porcini mushroom sauce topped with parmesan shavings.
Mark went for the Yachtsman Steakhouse grilled NY strip with marinated green asparagus, oven-baked potato and topped with garlic butter, although of course Mark never saw the garlic butter.
During the course of the meal, one of the photographers came round to get some shots:
He came over really tired by the end of the meal and departed before dessert, meaning that was all he had....
For dessert, I went for the golden chocolate award, a milk chocolate mousse, chiffon cake with ganache, but to be honest, it wasn’t that great.
I tried a mouthful of Sue’s Tahitian vanilla bean crème brulee with honey infused raspberries. That was, again, a lot better than my choice, and I got to try a bit more of it. Obviously, there was a lot left over, as we had about another five or six different desserts brought to our table for us to sample.
Eventually, we were all shattered and followed Mark’s lead, heading off to bed, via Shutters to have a look at our formal night photos, which were superb. I was really pleased with them and I suspect that a photo package will be in our future...
The weather today was dry and cloudy and in the high 50s, but breezy at times. The best thing today was formal night. The worst thing today was Barb not feeling well. The funniest thing today was meeting up with Chip and Dale. Today we tried the Exotic Rasul treatment And the result was we really enjoyed it, I think much more than we thought we would. The most magical moment today was having all the formal night photos together done as a big family group.
Next: I never knew you could do that with napkins!
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How disappointing to have so many things at dinner disappoint! From the picture, your appetizer looked like it had spent too much time under a heat lamp. At least you were with good friends - who were willing to share their food!
I think you should have ordered whatever Sue did since she seemed to be making the better choices. Poor Mark...I think if you're giving consent to eat what you want at your own risk, they should give it to you, afterall, you're the one paying for it!
Just caught up with your report at work as I have been powerless at home.
One suggestion for Mark would be to describe his dairy problems as an intolerance rather than an allergy. Very few adults have a true allergy to dairy which could result in anaphylaxis but rather an in ability to properly digest dairy resulting in headaches and stomach problems. A student at my DD's university with a peanut allergy ate chili with peanut butter (the secret ingredient) at a local restaurant and did not survive so I can understand a restaurant wanting to be extra careful.
Sorry your dinner wasn't top notch but it looks like the scenery was.
I think you should have ordered whatever Sue did since she seemed to be making the better choices. Poor Mark...I think if you're giving consent to eat what you want at your own risk, they should give it to you, afterall, you're the one paying for it!
You are so right and I should've learnt my lesson after that night, because Sue always (well, nearly always ) seemed to pick pretty well with her meals.
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Just caught up with your report at work as I have been powerless at home.
One suggestion for Mark would be to describe his dairy problems as an intolerance rather than an allergy. Very few adults have a true allergy to dairy which could result in anaphylaxis but rather an in ability to properly digest dairy resulting in headaches and stomach problems. A student at my DD's university with a peanut allergy ate chili with peanut butter (the secret ingredient) at a local restaurant and did not survive so I can understand a restaurant wanting to be extra careful.
Sorry your dinner wasn't top notch but it looks like the scenery was.
I think you're 100% right - an intolerance is a perfect description. We just weren't prepared for the reaction when we said the "a" word!
Thursday 1 September – part one: I never knew you could do that with napkins!
Boy, it was a rough start to the day! I woke up about 5:00am, as the boat was rocking so much. I honestly thought, at points, that I might fall out of bed, it was that rough. Eventually, I remembered that I’d left a glass out in the bathroom and, in the current conditions, I could imagine something very nasty happening to that, so I figured that I’d better go and move that. Fortunately, after a while, I got back to sleep again, as I didn’t particularly want an early morning.
We finally surfaced after 8:00am and, as we were told by most people later on, that meant that we missed the most amazing double rainbow outside. I saw Barb’s photos and it looked stunning. I guess this isn’t going to be the trip for me to see amazing sights....
However, one amazing thing did happen this morning – we actually got a cell phone signal and a pretty good one too at points! By now, we were in Alaska, having apparently crossed the border just after midnight, but as there was nothing in evidence on the shoreline, no town or anything, I was surprised to get a signal. I immediately got a few text messages sent, as this was the first time the cell phone had worked since leaving California on Sunday. There was no way I was going to bother with Internet time on board, having heard from Sue last night at dinner that just to do some banking stuff had taken her 20 minutes. Everyone was telling me it was painfully slow and I knew that would only wind me up, so I figured it was easier not to bother.
I had noticed a Vista salon sampler on today’s Navigator, which seemed like excellent value, so I called up to see if I could book it. It included the Frangipani scalp massage, neck and shoulder massage, foot and ankle massage and hand and arm massage, all for $99. Of course, you had to book it today. Well, I figured that if I could get something after we’d finished with Tracey Arm, then I’d go for it. Lo and behold, they could get me in for 5:30pm. Perfect!
We got going and headed up for the character breakfast at 9:45am at Parrot Cay. It’s a certain law that says that we got this just 45 minutes before our brunch at Palo. However, we were determined to go and see the characters, even if we weren’t actually eating. We got a message from Sue to say that they’d just go straight to Palo, so it was just us, Barb and Bob. Well, all I can say is that they really missed out.
It was day three and finally we had some fun with our server. We spotted some people with what we thought were hats that they’d bought with them, as they were wearing what appeared to be Minnie bows on their heads. Suddenly, we saw another table with something similar and then our server offered to do some for us.
What we’d seen so far was nothing. : These guys are so creative. We all got something different. Bob was Captain Jack Sparrow, Mark was Aladdin (the side profile was very interesting ), Barb got the Minnie bow and I was Pocahontas. It was so much fun and we laughed so much.
Barb also got a new addition as well, which we think was either a rat or a mouse. Our server made it jump at her and she just grabbed on to it. A new favourite obviously...
However, there was even more creativity at other tables, with serving plates used for ears and then coffee cups for earrings for other pirates. I kid you not! : It was absolutely amazing what the servers managed to come up with.
We didn’t get to see all the characters, as they only came out at 10:00am, but despite that, we still got to see Mickey....
.... Goofy....
... and either Chip or Dale – someone will be able to tell me which one we saw, I’m sure...
What fun! And it must have made Mark's day, starting the day off with "hats"--and I'm pretty sure that was Chip, with the chocolate colored nose.
Hope your brunch at Palo's was just as fun as Parrot Cay looked to be.
I'm pretty sure that was Chip, with the chocolate colored nose.
that's how I always remember them, too - Chip with the chocolate chip nose. And Dale has a gap between his teeth.
I'll have to look for the double rainbow pictures in Barb's TR. Sorry you missed it! (although I can't hear double rainbow without thinking of the ridiculous you tube video with the guy crying over one!)
Glad you were able to take advantage of the spa deal!
Just got all caught up with your last few updates after having no power for five days from the snowstorm that hit the east coast here in the U.S. last weekend! You all look so nice dressed up for formal night! Sounds like you should have chosen the meal selection that Sue chose that night. I get the whole allergy thing as I have some IBS issues with my meals cooked in hot butter and I've learned to say that I have an intolerance to butter, because the minute you say you have an allergy, they are very cautious to allow you to eat anything with butter in it. The show looked very entertaining Breakfast looked like a lot of fun with your server Can't wait to hear about Palo
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Suddenly, our server was telling us how it would be his responsibility if anything happened to him and the fact that Mark explained, at least three times, that the worst he would get was a headache, that didn’t convince him. As a result, he had sauces taken away from his entree and was really left wishing he hadn’t said a word. As for me, with my (slightly more serious) allergy to tree fruit (i.e. apples, peaches, pears, nectarines, plums and cherries – my mouth swells up if I have them), I decided to keep my mouth shut. 
I would have a hard time choosing , as it all sounds good.
I woke up about 5:00am, as the boat was rocking so much. I honestly thought, at points, that I might fall out of bed, it was that rough. Eventually, I remembered that I’d left a glass out in the bathroom and, in the current conditions, I could imagine something very nasty happening to that, so I figured that I’d better go and move that. Fortunately, after a while, I got back to sleep again, as I didn’t particularly want an early morning. 
), Barb got the Minnie bow and I was Pocahontas. It was so much fun and we laughed so much. 
Breakfast looked like a lot of fun with your server
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