A tale of two cities… and a few other places… COMPLETED - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Sunday 17 September – part seven: how long is this line?
Oh my goodness, when we got out on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower, we were in for such a huge shock – the line to get up to the summit was insane. Seriously, it just went on and on and on. Mark actually managed to cut some off it, as when you came out of the first car, you could cut the line, but I don’t think people realised that’s what was going on, so that took some time off our wait, but honestly it was like waiting for a hot new ride at Disney.
We fortunately passed our time taking photos as we waited…
Sacre Coeur in the distance The La Defense area of Paris Jan touching the tower!
Notice how the sky is gradually clouding over? Let’s just say wee knew rain was on the way, it was just a matter of how long it would take to make it to us…
We also saw this – we just couldn’t believe the stupidity!
We also got chatting to the family in front, as the woman asked if we could feel it swaying, and we couldn’t, but we warned her it would be worse at the top, which almost finished her off. In fairness, we couldn’t feel anything up at the top, and we did see her up there, and I think she was Ok. We told her she had to be brave for her kids, as they couldn’t grow up seeing her have fear, and she agreed with that…
Finally we were at the cars, but even then it was crazy. There were two lines merging into one, and when you got through, they told you to move up as far as you could, but you didn’t know which lift would turn up next, and it turned up to be one of the first ones, so I’m glad we didn’t move too far through. This was so disorganised, and I’m sorry if you pre-booked, I think you should’ve been able to get a jump on the crowds to go up. In the end, I managed 40 minutes standing in line, which is the most I’ve ever done since I’ve had my chronic fatigue.
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The La Defense area looks so... not Paris like! You guys went all the way to the top?! Wow, those views must be amazing. They already look good from the second floor!
40 minutes? Well done. Not sure I could tolerate that and I don't have your issue! Wow.
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I know Paris is a major city, but still so weird seeing the La Defense area. It’s so....modern city. Not the image of Paris I have in my head at all.
Funny they were just talking about weird maladies on the radio. And there’s actually one people get from the shock of seeing Paris. Realizing parts are dirty and smelly, like most cities, and not the romantic, glamorous place of their imagination. I think they said they treat nearly 80 people a year with this!
Beautiful pictures from the Eiffel tower. The views are amazing. Sorry about the long wait. I'm glad you were able to manage the wait in that line.
Jan's experience sounds terrible.
Liz
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No, it's not really, but I like it. If I remember right, I think it was built in the late 1980s. I remember visiting early in the 1990s and it being quite new then.
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You guys went all the way to the top?! Wow, those views must be amazing. They already look good from the second floor!
40 minutes? Well done. Not sure I could tolerate that and I don't have your issue! Wow.
Yes, it was a stretch, but I was determined to make it to the top...
I know Paris is a major city, but still so weird seeing the La Defense area. It’s so....modern city. Not the image of Paris I have in my head at all.
The funny thing is it's as much a part of Paris to me as the rest of it, as I've just grown up with it.
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Funny they were just talking about weird maladies on the radio. And there’s actually one people get from the shock of seeing Paris. Realizing parts are dirty and smelly, like most cities, and not the romantic, glamorous place of their imagination. I think they said they treat nearly 80 people a year with this!
Oh my goodness, that's classic! Mind you, I can understand it. Yes, it's definitely dirty and smelly in places...
Sunday 17 September – part eight: the views from here are stunning!
When we got out at the top of the Eiffel Tower, the views did make all the standing in line worth it. I had honestly forgotten how stunning the views were from here. We haven’t done it since Sue and Steve were over with us in May 2008 – can you believe that’s nearly 10 years ago now? Where does the time go?
Notre Dame cathedral The Louvre – yes, it is this huge! The pyramid – we were there earlier! The new buildings at La Defense Le Palais de Chaillot, just over the River Seine from the Eiffel Tower The River Seine Arc de Triomphe People on top of it! The glass building is the Grand Palais And here’s a close-up of it… I think this is Holy Trinity Cathedral A sightseeing boat passing under one of the bridges on the Seine… Two of the bridges over the Seine, including the Pont Alexandre III (furthest from shot), my favourite one Les Invalides, a military museum
Can you see the clouds and the rain closing in? It was quite daunting seeing that coming at us…
Mark pointed out the Olympic rings, as Paris will finally be hosting the Games again in 2024, 12 years after it lost out to London for 2012.
I even zoomed in on the concert in Place de la Concorde…
… and Mark found the Sacre Coeur, as I just couldn’t see it!
We all ended up using the restrooms up here, which were more spacious than I expected. At least now we can say we’ve used the restrooms at the top of the Eiffel Tower!
Oh wow. Wow!! Yes, that's definitely worth waiting for. And with your camera, we're all treated to a fantastic tour! Love all the zoomed in shots!
But yes, seeing that rain coming at you is a wee bit scary!
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Tanya
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Great views from up there! I can’t believe there’s room for bathrooms, too!
The rain definitely looks ominous! Do they close the observation deck for weather?
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With that many stairs, I'd always opt for the lift! 
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In fairness, we couldn’t feel anything up at the top, and we did see her up there, and I think she was Ok. We told her she had to be brave for her kids, as they couldn’t grow up seeing her have fear, and she agreed with that… 
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