Sunshine, Freedom, and a Flower: A Cam and Luke PTR Updated 5/19 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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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.
Great plans. We were supposed to be going to WDW April 1st and enjoy the Flower & Garden Festival but My husband had to go to Charleston SC for some training for a month at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. He is on his way there now. So we had to postpone our trip until June. Love your dining plans. I want to try Skipper Canteen but there is absolutely nothing on the menu that my son would eat at all. So we are not sure how to work that one out. You will love the Boathouse. Our dinner there was so good. We are trying Teppan Edo for the first time in June, so I can't wait to see your review of that. Also Morimoto Asia sounds interesting so I hope it is a great meal for you. So excited for you . Have a wonderful trip.
Great plans. We were supposed to be going to WDW April 1st and enjoy the Flower & Garden Festival but My husband had to go to Charleston SC for some training for a month at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. He is on his way there now. So we had to postpone our trip until June. Love your dining plans. I want to try Skipper Canteen but there is absolutely nothing on the menu that my son would eat at all. So we are not sure how to work that one out. You will love the Boathouse. Our dinner there was so good. We are trying Teppan Edo for the first time in June, so I can't wait to see your review of that. Also Morimoto Asia sounds interesting so I hope it is a great meal for you. So excited for you . Have a wonderful trip.
So sorry you've had to postpone your trip! The Skippers Canteen does have an interesting menu. Hope you can work something out. We've eaten at Teppan Edo a number of times and never once had a bad meal. I think some things on the menu have changed, so I'll have to see what I end up choosing.
One of the saddest things Disney-wise for me last year was that we did not renew our Annual Passes in October as we have done for several years now. Since we were headed to Disneyland in October 2015, we wouldn’t be needing them. Knowing we’d need passes in order to get FastPass+ selections, Luke logged in to the DVC site on March 1, and we became annual passholders again. We chose the DVC Golden Passes as the blackout dates will not be a problem for us. We don’t intend to visit either at Easter or Christmas But FP+ selections are for another update. Later I’ll post a photo of all our Magic Bands, too. Our AP bands have already arrived, but our regular bands won’t be here until mid-April. Technically, we won't have the passes until we exchange the vouchers when we arrive.
I enjoy keeping up with Disney food news and subscribe to Disney Food Blog’s website to get a weekly e-mail, which is free. Recently, they had an article on the best of the Flower & Garden Festival food booths. Of course, I took notes on the articles recording the selections they mentioned that I don’t want to miss. These are the food or drink items I’ve decided are must dos: La Isla Fresca – Jerked Chicken; Fleur de Lys – Tarte a l’Onion Alsacienne and Kir Imperial; Lotus House – Gaoli Beef Bun (I think we’ve had something similar to this before and liked it.); Bauernmarkt: Armer Ritter (This is one I absolutely will not miss. German French Toast with Cherries. I love cherries!); Hanami: Beef Teriyaki Udon (This earned the top favorite rating from Disney Food Blog); and Smokehouse – Warm Chocolate Cake with Bourbon Salted Caramel Sauce (That is a mouthful, and for me another I absolutely will no miss.).
If you are curious about any of these food items here is the article on Disney Food Blog. Their photos are larger than our guidelines of 600 x 400.
Another bonus of spring for Luke and me is warm weather for outdoor walking. This winter had quite a few warmer days, so we’ve managed just under 30 miles in January, 36 miles in February, and so far in March 64.32. Christmas 2014 Luke purchased me an Orbit fitness band by Runtastic because I had already been using their app for tracking our walks for four or so years. The band worked fairly well and was even waterproof. Unfortunately, when our health insurance began an incentive program last year, they did not recognize my particular fitness band or app. So I couldn’t get any credit for our walks. Fast-forward to the beginning of this year. My Orbit no longer is waterproof, but after a night in rice it did come back to life. I’ve also downloaded another app to get credit with my health insurance. But that meant running two apps every time we walked, one to sync with my fitness band and the other to sync with my health insurance.
I’ve been studying Fitbit fitness bands for about a month now because they are recognized by my health insurance. They do get great reviews from most users, especially those like me who aren’t hardcore athletes. I’m not sure why I waited until yesterday during our walk to ask Luke about a Fitbit because I know he is an expert at price comparison and review of products on line. He discovered my best deal would be Target where we could get 5% off with our Red Card. It was also the last day on their deal to get a $25 gift card with purchase. After church last night, we headed to Target, and I am now the proud owner of a Fitbit Charge HR in plum. The plum made me happy because purple was Stefanie’s favorite color. I charged it last night, so I could monitor my sleep. I wasn’t surprised this morning when it showed I was quite restless. The carpal tunnel in my right hand/wrist kept waking me up. Today the Fitbit got its first real workout when Luke and I took a 4.32 mile walk on a local Greenbelt. Such a beautiful Easter day with sunshine and a temperature in the upper 60s.
Looks like great plans and good going with the DVC AP as that sounds like a no brainer as you'll be returning in the fall! I too subscribe to DFB and check out their food reviews in WDW all the time! One slight mistake in your post as you said the food booths are for the Food & Wine Fest and not Flower & Garden Fest! Easy gaff to make!
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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!
I have a garmin and absolutely love it. I ended up getting this one as it is completely waterproof and evrything I read about fitbit said it wasnt completely waterproof and I am so bad about jumping in the shower with it on. Cant wait to read all about the yummy eats your having !
I needed to come back here...I missed you all so much! And what better way to come back than with a Cam and Luke PTR!!
I loved the new details about you and Luke! But not the news about Mama Melrose. That's a favorite of ours too. One of the places Jason can eat and enjoys eating. Let's hope they stay the same
There's no sadder feeling than not renewing an AP, even with the excellent reason you had. Welcome back to the club! Does your AP include the Memory Maker? I love that new feature, since I travel solo. That gives me plenty of pictures to prove I was there.
Congrats on being Annual Passholders again! We have to renew ours before our June trip as we plan to go back next April for Flower & Garden Festival since we had to miss this years festival. Congrats on the Fitbit! I take the one we have, which is nothing fancy - just a basic one that Mike won at work) and use it to track our steps when we are in the World. It is nice to have. I just keep in my bag since I don't need it on my wrist to track steps. I can't wait to hear more about your plans.
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.
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Love your dining plans. I want to try Skipper Canteen but there is absolutely nothing on the menu that my son would eat at all. So we are not sure how to work that one out. You will love the Boathouse. Our dinner there was so good. We are trying Teppan Edo for the first time in June, so I can't wait to see your review of that. Also Morimoto Asia sounds interesting so I hope it is a great meal for you. So excited for you . Have a wonderful trip.
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Later I’ll post a photo of all our Magic Bands, too. Our AP bands have already arrived, but our regular bands won’t be here until mid-April. Technically, we won't have the passes until we exchange the vouchers when we arrive. 
I charged it last night, so I could monitor my sleep. I wasn’t surprised this morning when it showed I was quite restless. The carpal tunnel in my right hand/wrist kept waking me up. Today the Fitbit got its first real workout when Luke and I took a 4.32 mile walk on a local Greenbelt. Such a beautiful Easter day with sunshine and a temperature in the upper 60s. 
Easy gaff to make!
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