Trip Report "Dreams Really Can Come True" 6/1/09-6/8/09 - COMPLETED 7/19 - Page 15 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Thanks for the review. Sorry your dh's meal wasn't up to par. Being from KC, I have a tendency to cringe when I read about someone having a bad NY strip steak. My dh went to NY on a business trip and was invited out to eat at a very nice restaurant with an associate. They had KC steaks on the menu but had to apologize when they ordered because they were sold out!
Really enjoying your trip report - you are a very skilled writer. Love descriptions of your sons moods. With my dd11 drama queen, I understand completely.
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Thanks for the review. Sorry your dh's meal wasn't up to par. Being from KC, I have a tendency to cringe when I read about someone having a bad NY strip steak. My dh went to NY on a business trip and was invited out to eat at a very nice restaurant with an associate. They had KC steaks on the menu but had to apologize when they ordered because they were sold out!
Really enjoying your trip report - you are a very skilled writer. Love descriptions of your sons moods. With my dd11 drama queen, I understand completely.
I just found your TR and I love it. How lucky you were to have your room ready so early.
Glad you were able to navigate the DP easily.
Everything sounds wonderful for your first day.
Can't wait for more.
After being up since o’ dark thirty, it was time to leave the Kingdom. What a wonderful day! The weather was “Florida Nice”, MK was all it was supposed to be and we had some good food and good times. DH especially liked the bus system – so convenient. The bus didn’t take long to get us back to AKL. (I timed it. We waited 10 min for a bus, then the trip took 19 min, 6:35 to 6:54, including a stop at Kidani Village first.) That seemed to be the average for the week. Sometimes it took a little longer, but as long as I didn’t have to drive, it was all good.
I just loved coming back to the room every day. The kids always seemed refreshed after the arctic blast of the A/C from the bus ride and they could go out on the balcony to watch the animals while DH and I relaxed. I forgot to mention earlier that when we first entered the room there was a towel Mickey head .
There was a message on our phone – it was bell services. Our Garden Grocer order was waiting for us and it was brought up right away. We ordered Gatorades and a few snacks to have in the room. Refrigerator note: ours didn’t have a freezer! I assumed that there would be a little freezer space, so I ordered ice pops. So we ate two or three ice pops as a late snack, then threw them away in the morning. About the same time, our luggage was delivered. While I unpacked a bit, DH relaxed with some CNN and some MSNBC. It’s an addiction…
I decided to check out the Zawadi Marketplace gift shop. It’s right near the entrance in the lobby. You can also enter the shop from the outside. It’s pretty big with a lot to offer - snacks, souvenirs, jewelry, toiletries, clothing, etc. There is a display of African instruments by the entrance that kids like to have fun with, mostly drums. DH asked one of the CMs if they ever get tired of hearing the drums – “Yes!” was the hearty answer. I bought a personalized trading pin and some postcards and found a cozy place all to myself in the lobby. It looks so different at night – I love it! I had brought along a few addresses and stamps. I spent a while quietly relaxing and writing my postcards. (The mail slot is just around the corner by the Sunset Overlook, going towards the Kudu Trail. It's a hippo's mouth! ) I headed back to the room and got ready for bed. The boys were beyond tired. I set my clock for 6am, determined to get an early start.
I am so lovin' this TR! I think you have officially coined some new locations in "Cranky Town" and "Whinyland"! I expect to see them appear in other TRs in the future!
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I am so lovin' this TR! I think you have officially coined some new locations in "Cranky Town" and "Whinyland"! I expect to see them appear in other TRs in the future!
Love the picture of the tired kids! Need to get over to AKL and check it out - sounds wonderful but dh doesn't want to be that far away from the world (other than AK of course).
Love the picture of the tired kids! Need to get over to AKL and check it out - sounds wonderful but dh doesn't want to be that far away from the world (other than AK of course).
I can understand that - we were thinking about that whenever we rode the monorail...
You are cracking me up, love the reference to cranky and whiny land!! I can just feel your excitement and love the details! As for the bread at Tony's, I think you actually have to request it now! The last time we were there, they did not bring it out to us and when we questioned why we hadn't gotten any bread, they said we had to ask, maybe they were wasting too much. Not sure!
Keep the updates coming!
__________________
Teresa
Sammy 5 years and Peyton 15 months - September 2013
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I would LOVE to see a KC steak on a menu!
Liz 
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About the same time, our luggage was delivered. While I unpacked a bit, DH relaxed with some CNN and some MSNBC. It’s an addiction…
I bought a personalized trading pin and some postcards and found a cozy place all to myself in the lobby. It looks so different at night – I love it! I had brought along a few addresses and stamps. I spent a while quietly relaxing and writing my postcards. (The mail slot is just around the corner by the Sunset Overlook, going towards the Kudu Trail. It's a hippo's mouth! 
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Teresa
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