A Magical voyage across the pond TRIP REPORT UPDATED 12/31 - Page 18 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We just recently returned from our WDW trip so I'm catching up on your latest updates.
Welcome back!
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That mango/papaya soup sounded so wonderful! Your dinner at Palo looked wonderful and those scallops are definitely something I would have enjoyed!
If you liked scallops, you'd love these!
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Glad your service was so outstanding and you certainly had a great view of the kitchen. I love the decorations on the cruise ship door! I can tell already that you really enjoyed this transatlantic cruise!
Oh my goodness, we did! We were so lucky with everything, especially the weather. I think if that had been different, perhaps we wouldn't have enjoyed it quite so much...
Did I spy a movie playing on the screen by the pool? I'm a little surprised they would have something showing that early in the morning!
I don't think it was a movie. They had something that I want to say was called Good Morning Magic which was basically a sales pitch all about Disney Cruise Line and especially the Magic.
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Too bad you couldn't request to watch a Dr. Who episode, seeing as how you guys were the only guests up there.
Now that would have been very neat!
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Such beautiful photos over the water, with the sun and the clouds. Wow!
I had to go back and take a peak at Mark's tie Love it!
Lovely shots of the deserted ship, how nice to be able to get those shots with nobody in them!
OMG, Signals! I LOVE what they've done, now I imagine that is the place everyone wants to be in! Nice and shady, yet still outside. Like the chairs outside Cove Cafe.
Some nice photos up on deck 10 of the coastline and other areas of the ship. That is so different then I remember Signals as quite a nice makeover! The new enclosed lounge area is quite nice and gives you some isolation of the pool area, which can be a bit noisy at times. This is the adult pool, so not usually too bad.
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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!
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I had to go back and take a peak at Mark's tie Love it!
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Lovely shots of the deserted ship, how nice to be able to get those shots with nobody in them!
That's always my favourite, if I can snag snots with no-one in them, makes me feel as if we've got the place to ourselves... and we pretty much did have!
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OMG, Signals! I LOVE what they've done, now I imagine that is the place everyone wants to be in! Nice and shady, yet still outside. Like the chairs outside Cove Cafe.
Some nice photos up on deck 10 of the coastline and other areas of the ship. That is so different then I remember Signals as quite a nice makeover!
It's beautiful, isn't it?
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The new enclosed lounge area is quite nice and gives you some isolation of the pool area, which can be a bit noisy at times. This is the adult pool, so not usually too bad.
Generally it's not too bad there. The only time I've ever known it get noisy is on the newer ships, where the pools aren't really pools, but places to still and when people start drinking, then it can get quite loud there....
I must admit I did a double take when I read this, as it already feels like so long ago in this trip report, then I remembered how far back you were from being on vacation.
Monday 10 September – part three: it’s a genuine mistake!
We made our way down to Fathoms a bit earlier than our scheduled 9:15am meet time. We assumed there were a couple of different excursions leaving from there, but I guess ours was very popular, as there were two coaches going there. We were assigned to the first group, number 23, but as we sat there and waited for Mari and Raleigh, I realised this would be a bad plan, as they appeared to be about to leave and there was no sign of Mari and Raleigh.
We went back to see the crew members to see what they could do and we did get a bit of a lecture about waiting for our whole party to get there. Yes, I understand, but it was a genuine mistake. They changed it for us and thank goodness they did – it was a good decision, as we would later find out….
A few minutes later, Mari and Raleigh arrived and when everyone was assembled, we headed out. I got a shot of the Magic from the quayside…
We boarded our bus and managed to get seats opposite Mari and Raleigh. On the way out of Portland, I got some photos…
We then made our way along the causeway that links Portland. Our guide Terry told us that before this was built, there was a ferry that ran between the island, as that was what it was then, and the mainland. He also explained how there was a huge tidal wave in the 1920s that deposited millions of stones to the left of the causeway, which was fascinating. I got some photos of it on the way back….
To the right though, we had views of the Magic…
We made it on to the “mainland”…
… and headed through some lovely countryside…
We passed by Poundbury, which we learnt was built by Prince Charles. As Terry said, he didn’t do the building work himself, but it was the Duchy of Cornwall (where Prince Charles gets all his money from) that did the building work. We were really interested by this, as we’ve driven past this place a couple of times and have always admired it, but never knew the background to it.
We headed back out into the country again and I didn’t take many photos, as some of the roads were quite narrow, even though it was officially an A road, which is supposed to be our second highest class of road.
We were soon passing by the Cerne Abbas giant…
As you can see, it’s a chalk figure, although it certainly didn’t look as bright as the last time we saw it a few years ago. We commented on this and Terry picked up on that and agreed. It’s 180 feet high and depicts a nude male figure and the site is owned by the National Trust. Its origin is unclear, as is its age. Some people think it dates from the 17th century, as no clear mention of it can be found before then. However, over the years, people have speculated that it may date back to the Saxon or Celtic era.
We arrived in the village of Minterne, which was lovely…
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.
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which was basically a sales pitch all about Disney Cruise Line and especially the Magic. 
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The new enclosed lounge area is quite nice and gives you some isolation of the pool area, which can be a bit noisy at times. This is the adult pool, so not usually too bad.
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