Dreaming of a Disney spring break - part three COMPLETED - Page 13 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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What a crowded day at Epcot, but glad they were able to get you in to VN before your ADR time. You lunch looked delicious and I am so happy tohear that not only did you have a good meal but also good service as well. If I remember correctly from your live updates you did seem to have better service on the thrid leg of your journey than you did your first, holding out hops that we hear more good service as this section of the trip progresses.
Another great update! Thanks for sharing those wonderful pics of the China pavilion (I haven't been able to do it yet, but one of these trips my goal is to slowly and thoroughly toureach Pavilion inside and out!).
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The photopass pics in China were great. I've often wondered why they don't have more photopass photographers in the countries. We've seen them in Germany, France, UK and Morocco, but never with any regularity.
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I can't believe that line for SE. Some June mornings it is that way because all the folks not going to Soarin' stop as it is the first ride. But later in the day it is a walk on. Last June there were several PP photographers in WS and we took advantage of every one of them, getting pictures in Germany, Italy, Morocco, and Norway. But there were none this year. Your experience at Via Napoli sounds very much like ours. We had the Arancini, too. We'll definitely go back next summer as not only was the food good, but the price was a good deal, too.
The photopass pics in China were great. I've often wondered why they don't have more photopass photographers in the countries. We've seen them in Germany, France, UK and Morocco, but never with any regularity.
And I'm willing to bet that, in each of those countries, the reason they're there is to photograph characters when they come out.
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We explored the whole restaurant, getting photos of the decor, which was truly something.
Then it was back outside into the heat. It was once again unbearable and so much hotter than usual at this time of the year, at least according to the news we see every day.
We got some photos on the way around World Showcase and stopped in Japan for me to get to a Kaki Gori, which was very much needed.
While in Japan, we got some Photopass pictures:
We made it as far as Morocco and caught the Friendship from there. The whole world seemed to have had the same idea. I have never seen so many people standing. It was like the subway in rush hour and I got a lovely teenager who stank of body odour, standing by me. I was very glad when that trip ended and we could get off the boat.
We hurried as quickly as we could to the entrance, finding any air conditioning on the way, with a stop at Club Cool on the way for some liquid refreshment.
It really was awful out and when we made it to the monorail, we thought that we would get some relief. Not a bit of it! : The air conditioning wasn’t working properly, so we sweltered all the way over to the Ticket and Transportation Centre.
When we got there, we watched the Cast Member signal the monorail to go, just as we walked up with no-one else behind us. We were not happy with her for that.
About 10 minutes later, the next one arrived and thank goodness, that one had air conditioning that was working. However, that was like being on the Hong Kong or Tokyo subway, it was so loud with a group of girls, who were staying at the Grand Floridian. As Mark said “I bet they know they’ve got them...”
We made it back to the Contemporary, marvelling at how many people had been able to cram into our cab. The couple who came on last really were pushing their luck.
We headed to the gift shop to get a baby Dumbo for Wendy, as we knew that she wanted one. We got it shipped to her for not a bad price and it saves a trip to the post office.
Then it was back to the room to enjoy the air conditioning and spent some time relaxing. Mark took the opportunity to sleep and I took the opportunity to catch up on the boards.
While I was doing that, I was busy e-mailing Sara asking about changes to our Fantasy cruise and, by the time we came back from dinner, she had worked her magic and we were in a category 5C cabin midship, rather than a category 6B. Yay!
Thank you - it's Sunday, but I feel like I need all the luck I can get. I wanted to run at least some of it, but my knee hasn't held up well to runs I've done over the last few days.
Just do the best that you can. Even if you do walk the whole way- at least you took part.
More great pics of Epcot too. I love the F&G photpass borders.
Sorry it was so hot. That makes such a difference to everyone's mood. And then a ride on the monorail with no a/c!! I'm glad you got the stateroom location you wanted on the Fantasy!
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That Baby Dumbo was teh best surprise ever!! He is just so adorable!!! Carlee had fallen in love with the Baby Bambi, so I picked it up in June. He's not as cute as Dumbo though.
I'm there with you in spirit. Give all those girls a hug from me and tell them Thank You!.
That food looks so good at VN. I keep hearing mixed reviews, but I do want to try it.
I might have to pick up a baby Dumbo for Claire this upcoming trip. She got baby Marie and baby Bambi this past trip and loves the, She got a baby simba a few years ago.
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I don't think I'd do over 45!
Your experience at Via Napoli sounds very much like ours. We had the Arancini, too. We'll definitely go back next summer as not only was the food good, but the price was a good deal, too. 
: The air conditioning wasn’t working properly, so we sweltered all the way over to the Ticket and Transportation Centre. 
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