A special birthday, a diamond anniversary and a west coast adventure COMPLETED IN THIS FORUM 12/2 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Sorry the reception was disappointing with no characters I've noticed Disney cutting out things overall while still raising prices which is very disappointing lately.
We've noticed that in the parks, but I hope it's not a trend on the cruise ships as well.
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Tuesday 1 September – part five: did you see the whale?
We headed outside on to deck four to take in the view on one side of the ship…
… then the other…
Then we took the elevator up to deck nine, and took the stairs up a deck further. We wandered around one side again…
… then went to the front of the ship…
Now, from here, I liked the look of the views on the other side, and this was apparently my big mistake. Mark stayed put at the front of the boat, and saw a whale surface, get the shock of its life no doubt, as it saw an even bigger beast rapidly bearing down on it, and back down it went. Anyone who read about our last Alaskan trip four years ago will know (and Barb will vouch this too, I’m sure… ) anytime there was a whale sighting, I never saw it. The classic was when I went to use the restrooms on formal night, and everyone else got an eyeful of whale. I came back and honestly thought they were joking, but if they were, no-one’s let me in on it in all that time. It looks like this cruise will be no different…
We headed back to the room, and I got loads more photos as we slowly cruised along. I couldn’t help but marvel at the beauty of the scenery, and how stunningly quiet it was. Well, of course, that was apart from the other whale that Mark sighted, and no I am not joking. Did I see it? What the heck do you think?
We also used the tripod to get some photos of ourselves out on the veranda. I was working on the theory that we’d paid for a veranda, we may as well make the best use of it.
However, it did get cold after a while, so even with my waterproof jacket, and later on with my new Alaska sweatshirt on, so in the end, I moved inside to the warmth, where I still had a great view of the superb scenery outside.
I think this is one of the best aspects to a cruise, and particularly an Alaskan cruise, being able to see such stunning scenery, and to appreciate how small we are in the world, as there are just vast expanses of the planet that are home to nothing more than nature, which man still hasn’t touched. Given that we’ve explored nearly everything, that to me is truly amazing.
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Beautiful scenery pictures! It has to be nice to see something besides water. You perspective is spot on. Moments like that do make you realize how small we are in the world. Sorry you didn't get to see the whale(s)!
I love what you say at the end there. It's beautiful.
Glad you're making use of the balcony!
But I can't believe your luck with the whales!
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I'm one who never tires of the view of just water and sky, as it changes every minute, but I do agree with you that sailing the inside passage is spectacular with beautiful scenery all around you all the time.
Such amazing photos of the Alaskan scenery! This is something I would never get tired of. Glad the weather improved for you to experience so much more of this! I too enjoyed sitting out on the verandah of my cruise and just taking in all the scenery, even if it was mostly sea and sky for me, but not always!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
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We never end up seeing the whales while on the ship, so I know your feelings. I do love sailing the Inside Passage as it is so scenic. It looks like it wasn't too cold for you as you were on deck with light jackets, or none, in Mark's case. I'm glad the weather is clearing for you.
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I've noticed Disney cutting out things overall while still raising prices which is very disappointing lately. 
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Anyone who read about our last Alaskan trip four years ago will know (and Barb will vouch this too, I’m sure… ) anytime there was a whale sighting, I never saw it. The classic was when I went to use the restrooms on formal night, and everyone else got an eyeful of whale. I came back and honestly thought they were joking, but if they were, no-one’s let me in on it in all that time. 
It looks like this cruise will be no different… 
I too enjoyed sitting out on the verandah of my cruise and just taking in all the scenery, even if it was mostly sea and sky for me, but not always! 
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