A very personal Decade of Dreams tour! UPDATED 6/5 - Page 16 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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It's not too personal at all. : I looked into it, but I couldn't justify it. The only place we could've used our points would've been at Tokyo Disney. There, I think it was something like 50 points a night from memory and, to be honest, for the price, it wasn't worth it. I think it cost something like £900 (about $1350) at the current exchange rate and for 150 points I figured I'd rather pay the money....
Plus then you still have them to use when you come over here. I mean, you've got to use them up.
Your hotel looked fabulous! Great views! I thought the food looked pretty yummy. I wonder if the high-ish price has to do with the fact that they probably pay their wait staff a decent wage, as they don't do the tip thing. Just a thought. Can't wait to hear more, Chez!
Cheryl, your meal looked delicious and what a view in your hotel room, especially from that high up The toilet looks interesting. I don't think I'd be able to keep DS away from the toilet though and he would also be one to flood the hotel from the toilet buttons. Thanks for a wonderful installment. That hotel looks incredibly like a First Class Hotel you see in Movies. More please
The lobby of the hotel is absolutely stunning! I'm glad that after you ate, your room was ready, I can tell you needed it - or at least Mark did! The room looks very nice, I like having the desk in there. Wonderful views! And I love the little pictures/icons on the toilet buttons!
For some reason, I could so very clearly seeing the lady doing her exercises and you putting on your glasses to make sure. That had me in hysterics.
We just informed DBIL Aaron that for his HS graduation trip he would like to take a trip to Japan. This being because MIL would never go and probably ask us to.
Monday 30 March – part three: a British pub with local beer in Tokyo
After an hour or two in the room, we set out to explore the area, handing back our key at reception as we left, as that’s the system they operate here. I think that’s kind of cute, but it’s something you have to get used to and I must admit I was expecting a more high tech system here.
The umbrella holders outside the hotel
We headed down through Akasaka itself, along a small side street and, as we went, found some much cheaper dining options, which was a relief. Of course, it included good old McDonald’s.
[b]Our hotel
Some of the famous Japanese cherry blossom A Japanese road sign, fortunately in English as well as Kanji!
A number of the restaurants we passed also had photos outside of the dishes, which makes getting what you want a lot easier, especially when you’re not prolific in Kanji, as I’m sadly not. Although we had seen a lot more signs in English already, the restaurants tend not to have, so you’re left with some very confusing menus and I think it would take a good few more years of Japanese study before I’d be able to translate them.
We also found a grocery shop and got some drinks, along with what we believed to be a doughnut (well, the giveaway was that it said that on the side of the package in English! ) and a rice cake for breakfast in the morning. It should be fun trying those out to see if they are what we think they are…
We walked a little further down the street, admiring the myriad of restaurants here, which included a genuine English pub, complete with Kentish beer, brewed 20 miles down the road from where we live (I kid you not!), a couple of Italian places and even a Spanish place. It’s like having the world on your doorstep and obviously the Japanese love enjoying food from around the world.
We then found the entrance to the Hei-Jinga Shrine, with its history dating back to 830. Although the buildings you see here today are all modern, like a lot of Japan, as they tend to rebuild anything that doesn’t make it through the years. Set in the middle of an area of office buildings, it’s amazing to come upon this. It’s literally overlooked by skyscrapers and reminded me of some similar shrines that we found in Hong Kong. It was very peaceful there and I could see why people come here, as it’s a real respite from everyday life.
A water feature outside the temple
We made our way out of there and back down to the main road and headed towards the hotel, so we could leave our stuff, before heading out again. Well, at least that was the plan. It didn’t work out like that, as Mark didn’t want to go out again in the cold. As the sun had set, it had suddenly got very cold outside and I guess that’s not unexpectedly, as it’s fairly similar at home at this time of the year.
Instead, we went to look at the view as night set in from some of the other floors, as well as from our own room. This city is truly more breathtaking after dark and it seems as if it really comes alive then.
Sadly, we were far from coming alive ourselves and it was as much as we could do to stay awake until a decent time of the night. In the end, I ended up heading off for a nice, relaxing bath, which helped me to warm up, as the room was getting quite cold (what is it with us and the air conditioning in hotel rooms this vacation?!) When I came out, I decided to be traditional and put on the cotton dressing gown that they use (called a yukata) and slippers and both were very comfortable, much more than I thought they would be.
Having managed to stay wake until a decent hour (past 8.00, which wasn’t bad, considering how little sleep we had both had), we gave in and headed to bed.
Today we walked 1.42 miles The weather today was in the mid 50s and sunny, but colder when the sun set. The best thing today was arriving in Japan. The worst thing today was the room not being ready when we arrived at the hotel. The funniest thing today was the woman with her exercises on the plane. Today we tried a meal at a Japanese restaurant And the result was it was excellent. The most magical moment today was seeing Tokyo at night from our bedroom window.
Monday 30 March – part three: a British pub with local beer in Tokyo
After an hour or two in the room, we set out to explore the area, handing back our key at reception as we left, as that’s the system they operate here. I think that’s kind of cute, but it’s something you have to get used to and I must admit I was expecting a more high tech system here.
The umbrella holders outside the hotel
We headed down through Akasaka itself, along a small side street and, as we went, found some much cheaper dining options, which was a relief. Of course, it included good old McDonald’s.
[b]Our hotel
Some of the famous Japanese cherry blossom A Japanese road sign, fortunately in English as well as Kanji!
A number of the restaurants we passed also had photos outside of the dishes, which makes getting what you want a lot easier, especially when you’re not prolific in Kanji, as I’m sadly not. Although we had seen a lot more signs in English already, the restaurants tend not to have, so you’re left with some very confusing menus and I think it would take a good few more years of Japanese study before I’d be able to translate them.
We also found a grocery shop and got some drinks, along with what we believed to be a doughnut (well, the giveaway was that it said that on the side of the package in English! ) and a rice cake for breakfast in the morning. It should be fun trying those out to see if they are what we think they are…
We walked a little further down the street, admiring the myriad of restaurants here, which included a genuine English pub, complete with Kentish beer, brewed 20 miles down the road from where we live (I kid you not!), a couple of Italian places and even a Spanish place. It’s like having the world on your doorstep and obviously the Japanese love enjoying food from around the world.
We then found the entrance to the Hei-Jinga Shrine, with its history dating back to 830. Although the buildings you see here today are all modern, like a lot of Japan, as they tend to rebuild anything that doesn’t make it through the years. Set in the middle of an area of office buildings, it’s amazing to come upon this. It’s literally overlooked by skyscrapers and reminded me of some similar shrines that we found in Hong Kong. It was very peaceful there and I could see why people come here, as it’s a real respite from everyday life.
A water feature outside the temple
We made our way out of there and back down to the main road and headed towards the hotel, so we could leave our stuff, before heading out again. Well, at least that was the plan. It didn’t work out like that, as Mark didn’t want to go out again in the cold. As the sun had set, it had suddenly got very cold outside and I guess that’s not unexpectedly, as it’s fairly similar at home at this time of the year.
Instead, we went to look at the view as night set in from some of the other floors, as well as from our own room. This city is truly more breathtaking after dark and it seems as if it really comes alive then.
Sadly, we were far from coming alive ourselves and it was as much as we could do to stay awake until a decent time of the night. In the end, I ended up heading off for a nice, relaxing bath, which helped me to warm up, as the room was getting quite cold (what is it with us and the air conditioning in hotel rooms this vacation?!) When I came out, I decided to be traditional and put on the cotton dressing gown that they use (called a yukata) and slippers and both were very comfortable, much more than I thought they would be.
Having managed to stay wake until a decent hour (past 8.00, which wasn’t bad, considering how little sleep we had both had), we gave in and headed to bed.
Today we walked 1.42 miles The weather today was in the mid 50s and sunny, but colder when the sun set. The best thing today was arriving in Japan. The worst thing today was the room not being ready when we arrived at the hotel. The funniest thing today was the woman with her exercises on the plane. Today we tried a meal at a Japanese restaurant And the result was it was excellent. The most magical moment today was seeing Tokyo at night from our bedroom window.
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The boards aren't letting me delete the double post or sort out the photos that are the wrong way round and I have to head out now, so I'll try and deal with it later.
Cheryl, another great installment, and I love the pictures. I'm sorry to hear your room wasn't ready and the weather was a tad bit chilly, but by the looks of it you and Mark had a fabulous day, despite being sleepy. Looking foward to reading more. Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us
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: I looked into it, but I couldn't justify it. The only place we could've used our points would've been at Tokyo Disney. There, I think it was something like 50 points a night from memory and, to be honest, for the price, it wasn't worth it. I think it cost something like £900 (about $1350) at the current exchange rate and for 150 points 
I figured I'd rather pay the money....
I mean, you've got to use them up. 
The toilet looks interesting. I don't think I'd be able to keep DS away from the toilet though and he would also be one to flood the hotel from the toilet buttons. Thanks for a wonderful installment. That hotel looks incredibly like a First Class Hotel you see in Movies. More please
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