Making lemonade out of lemons…. In a titanic way! COMPLETED 5/13 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
The Dark Hedges were used as part of the Kings' Road way back in season 1 or 2 of Game of Thrones. I heard that they were damaged in a storm, so there used to be more than what you saw, I think.
Interesting.... that's a shame if some were lost in a storm.
The Causeway was amazingly beautiful although I can see why walking carefully would be very important. I've only seen part of season 1 of Game of Thrones but have read the books and those trees seem like a perfect setting for the story. The donkeys looked so sad.
The Causeway was amazingly beautiful although I can see why walking carefully would be very important. I've only seen part of season 1 of Game of Thrones but have read the books and those trees seem like a perfect setting for the story. The donkeys looked so sad.
Sunday 16 April – part five: the saddest teddy ever
We were the first people to arrive for the tour of the house at Springhill, and despite the fact that there were quite a lot of cars in the car parks, we hadn’t seen many people around, so I was hopeful that perhaps we might even be on our own for this tour… sadly of course, that didn’t turn out to be the case. We were joined by a family of four, who were fine, then about five minutes after we’d started, we were joined by another family of four, except one of the children was a baby.
That was fine until the dining room, then it started to scream. The father immediately took the baby out, and I think we all breathed a sigh of relief, thinking “good, that’s sensible parenting, he’s gone to look after him/her”, but he was back five minutes later, and by the last room on the tour, the baby was screaming its lungs out to the point where none of us could hear what our poor tour guide was saying, although she valiantly carried on, and tried her best. I felt so sorry for her.
Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself. The first room we went into was the impressive gun room. Wow, the stories we were told in here, including how one of the family (don’t ask me which one – there were a lot of Wills in there, one our guide called Good Will to differentiate them) used one of the blunderbusses in here to try and kill a rat. He fired it, and was sent flying backwards, couldn’t hear, and then saw the thing still alive, so he fired again. Well, I’m sure you can see where this is going… it was a bit like one of the scenes out of Ratatouille… the rat lived and the room where it happened was peppered with holes!
The wallpaper in here dates back to something like the 17th or 18th century, if I remember right, and it was only uncovered totally by accident when the conservation team were doing work in here. Until that point, it was completely covered up by wooden panelling, which no doubt helped to preserve it.
Also in here was this amazing piece of history. It was the warrant to execute King Charles I during the English Revolution. Apparently various copies were made to prove that he had been executed, but when the Revolution was crushed and Royalty were returned to power, everyone listed on this document was executed. The third name down is Oliver Cromwell, who led the English Revolution. By this point, he had already been killed, but to get the message across, they dug up his body, and hung him out publicly…
The next room we went into was the library with its amazing collection of books, including one of the first editions of one of the Alice in Wonderland books.
This picture was apparently one of the first ever painted of Giant’s Causeway, and even back then, there were visitors going to see it, as the painter depicted figures on the rocks, which you can see if you look very closely.
The next room we moved into was an add on in the Regency era and it was a living room, again with some fascinating stories. We discussed how high the ceilings were here, and then there was a discussion about how the mirror was located high above the fireplace. Mark suggested it was so the men could properly adjust their top hats!
The collection of the toys in here is because the nursery is currently closed for conservation work, so they put some of the items you’d normally see in there into this room instead. There’s a very sad story about the teddy bear. Apparently, he’s never been hugged. It’s because he was also very rare. They think he’s a Steiff bear, and the children were never allowed to play with him as a result. They would only get him out on special occasions, and all they were allowed to do was to rub his nose, which is why his nose is a bit worn out. It was such a sad story, poor thing.
We also heard about the woman in one of the photos in here, who sailed on the Titanic, but got off at Cherbourg. She wrote a letter home on White Star Liner paper, and it became exceptionally valuable, and was eventually auctioned off. When the woman heard about it, she ensured that she bought it back, and left it to the National Trust. They did have it out on display, but the paper is now deteriorating, so sadly it’s had to be locked away.
Next: this is getting scarier and scarier by the minute
All of those books! My dd and I would be in hog heaven I think. We're both avid readers and she has a thing for old books. What an interesting (but horrible) tale of Oliver Crowell being dug back up and hanged.
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.
Well this house sure has some interesting stories to tell. Highly amusing thus far!
The bit about the woman on the Titanic is pretty cool! A shame the paper is deteriorating though, especially after she bought it!
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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.
All of those books! My dd and I would be in hog heaven I think. We're both avid readers and she has a thing for old books. What an interesting (but horrible) tale of Oliver Crowell being dug back up and hanged.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Quite an interesting visit to this house with so much history and stories inside of it! Too bad about the teddy bear as that's an odd story as well as the woman who was on the Titanic! You talk about threading a needle!
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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!
Sunday 16 April – part six: this is getting scarier and scarier by the minute
We then headed into the dining room at Springhill. The marble around the fireplace dates from the 14th century, and was brought over from Italy. The table was laid out just as it would’ve been for a family meal, complete with name tags on there, which was pretty cool.
From here, you got some neat views of the gardens beyond…
We spotted these on the way out, and our guide told us they were made by Wedgewood. Instead of baking a pie, they were put over the top of the meat, so that it looked like a pie, then you’d lift it off for the contents inside.
On the way out, I found this, which I thought was really neat, an invite to the Queen’s coronation all the way back in 1953.
We then made our way upstairs to our final stop of the tour, the blue bedroom. I didn’t take any photos in here, as it was quite a small room, and was therefore quite crowded. There were various stories about the resident ghost here, a woman, who has been seen a number of times – thankfully not in our group, although we did wonder whether that was why the baby started to scream. Perhaps it saw the ghost?
With that, the tour was over. The 45 minutes it lasted had really flown past, and it had been a fascinating tour. We made our way out, and started to drive over to Belfast.
About halfway to Belfast, there was a noise, and I looked at Mark and asked what it was, and he told me it was the car. Apparently a warning light had come up to say that there was a problem with the parking brake. We got the manual out, and yes that’s what it was telling us. Ok… A little while later, another warning light came on about the transmission. That was it, I decided we’d take it straight back to Avis.
On the way, we went on a motorway, and honestly, the car wouldn’t go over 60 miles an hour, and it felt as if it was limping the whole way. It was getting scarier and scarier by the minute. Honestly, I was guiding us using Google Maps, and every time we finished another mile, I was secretly heaving a sigh of relief. When we got to less than a mile away, I figured at least if the worst came to the worst, we could walk back to Avis.
Thankfully, it didn’t come to that, and we made it back safely to Avis. I was so relieved, about as relieved as the last time we had car problems in Maui, and then it was bloody Avis again. The guy on the counter did everything he could to help us, after we described what had happened to us, and he was determined to get us another car that was the same size as the one we’d had. However, after 20 minutes in there, with time ticking by, and me thinking that our day was almost over, I told him we’d take anything. A family had just dropped a smaller car off, so we took that one.
Before we did, a guy came in to hand back his Toyato Avensis, the same car we’d had. The guy at the counter asked if everything was Ok, and we were amazed when his reply was that he’d had a warning light come up about the parking brake. Good grief, two of the same car with the same problem on the same day? What are the odds? Scary indeed. Even worse, a third Toyota Avensis was sitting outside, with the boot (trunk) open, because they couldn’t get it go back down. There were five guys around it when we left, and when we dropped back our second car later, we asked if the five of them had got it sorted. apparently it left the lot with it open – my goodness, can you imagine driving behind that car? I bet that was a sight!
We headed out in our new car, and fortunately had no further problems with it, although the second we got out on the road, the rain came down. As a result, when we neared Belfast, I didn’t manage to get particularly great shots of the ocean…
I also managed to get a few water logged shots as we went past Belfast…
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We're both avid readers and she has a thing for old books. What an interesting (but horrible) tale of Oliver Crowell being dug back up and hanged. 
Too bad about the teddy bear as that's an odd story as well as the woman who was on the Titanic! 
Apparently a warning light had come up to say that there was a problem with the parking brake. We got the manual out, and yes that’s what it was telling us. Ok… 
A little while later, another warning light came on about the transmission. That was it, I decided we’d take it straight back to Avis. 
The guy on the counter did everything he could to help us, after we described what had happened to us, and he was determined to get us another car that was the same size as the one we’d had. However, after 20 minutes in there, with time ticking by, and me thinking that our day was almost over, I told him we’d take anything. A family had just dropped a smaller car off, so we took that one.
apparently it left the lot with it open – my goodness, can you imagine driving behind that car? I bet that was a sight! 
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