Two's company, Three's a crowd...let's make it four! TR - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Next we headed for TSMM to use our 2nd FP of the day. We switched things up a bit and put Jeff and Tom together and Kayla and I together. If I recall correctly, Tom won on their side and Kayla won on our side.
Kayla had mentioned that she’d never seen Voyage of the Little Mermaid, but the boys weren’t really interested in that, so they went to SW Launch Bay and Kayla and I did VOLM. We were ushered right in to the pre-show area. In fact as we approached the end of the outside queue, the CM was counting and let us in but stopped the next group, so we thought we’d just made it and would be let into the theater right away. But we waited…and waited…and waited. Then they let in more people and before we knew it, the room was packed. And still we waited. Finally the doors opened and we were able to enter the theater. But then we sat there for a good 5 minutes before the show started. No announcements or anything, but finally it started.
Kayla really enjoyed it and was surprised by the water spray and the bubbles. The show was great…right up until the end. Right before the ending, when the fog enveloped Ariel, a brown curtain came down and we were only able to hear the closing lines. We didn’t get to see her with legs! So, that explained what the long wait was all about. They were probably trying to fix whatever had gone wrong. It would be interesting to know what had happened in the previous show.
Jeff took the camera with him, so here are some pictures of Jeff and Tom’s Launch Bay wanderings…
By the time we regrouped, it was time for our ST FP. I recall that we got the underwater version of the tour, and Tom was glad for a change in the show since it was the same the two previous times.
After ST it was time for lunch at Sci-Fi Dine in Theater.
We checked in and got a buzzer. It was a little bit of a wait – probably 10 minutes - before begin seated, and the waiting area is not very big, so it was pretty crowded. Eventually a bench opened up and we were able to sit down until our name was called. We were finally shown into the theater and seated in our car. I just love eating here! The theming is so cool and the food is yummy!
Our server was Patti. She took good care of us and answered all our questions. I ordered the Buffalo popcorn chicken appetizer which could be made gluten free. I asked if it was enough for a meal and Patti said it was, but suggested that I could supplement with a side of fries if I wanted, so that’s what I decided to do. The chicken was really good, but not at all what I expected. The term “Popcorn” made me think it would be smaller, bite-sized pieces, but what came was what we Buffalonians call chicken fingers. And there were 6 of them! I ended up eating 4 and with the fries, I was stuffed! Tom and Jeff each ate one to help me out. They were deliciously spicy, and came with blue cheese for dipping. YUM!
Jeff got a chocolate milk shake and a turkey sandwich. He said it was just ok. I think he wished he’d made a different choice.
Tom got the pulled pork burger and a Hopagedon IPA and Kayla got a Bousin Burger which was the specialty burger of the day and a Key West Wheat beer. They were both very happy with their choices.
It was such fun watching the movie clips and drive-in "advertisements" during the meal!
The total bill came to $93.91 which includes the TiW discount of $18.20.
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The VOLM must have been weird at the end! The SW Launh Bay looks really cool and I'm with you on the SciFi!! I that campy place!! How did you get such great pictures in there?! Mine did not come out that good.
The VOLM must have been weird at the end! The SW Launh Bay looks really cool and I'm with you on the SciFi!! I that campy place!! How did you get such great pictures in there?! Mine did not come out that good.
My SciFi pics of the room were just on a no flash setting. The ones of the food I had to use a flash because it's so dark!
Yes, voyage of the little mermaid was very weird. And since Kayla hadn't seen it before, I was trying to tell her what really should have happened!
Looks like some great times your having from the AK with great photos at KS. Your meal at Trattoria al Forno looked so good and plan to try it on my next trip! Lot of great time at Studios with the attractions and SciFi, which can be hit or miss!
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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!
How strange the problem with VOLM! Looks like the guys had fun at Launch Bay. Love your review of Sci-Fi so much that I'm adding it to our list for our next trip.
What is VOLM at Launch Bay as this is new? I was there on Friday.
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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!
Looks like some great times your having from the AK with great photos at KS. Your meal at Trattoria al Forno looked so good and plan to try it on my next trip! Lot of great time at Studios with the attractions and SciFi, which can be hit or miss!
Trattoria al Forno was a great meal! You should definitely try it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
What is VOLM at Launch Bay as this is new? I was there on Friday.
VOLM is Voyage of the Little Mermaid, which is across animation courtyard from the launch bay. Sorry for the confusion! Kayla and I went there whole Jeff and Tom went to the launch bay.
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. I agree with Cheryl!! Those Olaf photos are adorable!!
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Pixie Dust
I agree with everyone else, your photos with Olaf are terrific. 
We didn’t get to see her with legs! 
The SW Launh Bay looks really cool and I'm with you on the SciFi!! I 
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