What a Wonderful World!!! PTR updated 11/26/2014 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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
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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.
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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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Sounds like the perfect day on Castaway Cay!! From the pictures, it looks like you couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. The kids looked so cute all dressed up for dinner. What a wonderful way to celebrate your anniversary!
Everyone looked so nice dressed up for formal night, love Andre's little bowtie. So cute! Arnaud is definitely racking up on the brownie points so far, what a sweet moment for you both while you enjoyed some cocktails and time alone.
Sounds like fun times at CC. How old do the kids have to be to snorkel? I know Mallory would be upset if Cameron got to and she didn't. We're cruising in 2016 either before or after her 4th birthday.
Also, wonderful way to spend an evening. Tipsy and with a sweet gentleman!
sounds like a glorious day at CC until Mr Cranky appeared. Not that I can blame the little man. I love that you are pacing yourself on posting because I am pacing myself on catching up and now I'm not too far behind.
Evan and I will be heading down to your neck of the woods. We are having lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe on Tues 8/12 and then heading to my sister's in Wildwood for a few days- my little consolation vataction (it ain't Disney but it's something)
Loving the pics!! Great to read a trip report with young'uns cuz I can totally relate to the crankies and napping and potty issues. I think I will go with your rule of just a couple hours in the kids club. I think my guy will be okay, now he seems to have a regular time to go and I can just catch him then. But still a teensy bit worried...
First day at sea, of the 6 day stretch………THIS is what I had been waiting for to be quite honest. I didn’t know what to expect of the seas, so I was expecting just about ANYTHING to happen.
We slept until we felt like it, well sort of. This was the second day of setting the clocks FORWARD. I mean, we could have slept in much longer, but we were all turning and tossing and just decided to get moving and hit Cabanas for some grub. The ship was rocking quite a bit this morning and Arnaud mentioned at breakfast he was feeling off……..uh-oh….oh god no………this can’t be good. We have 6 whole days off this. I did have a minute of panic, but he’s good with downplaying things and just decided to not eat so much and said let’s go back to the room so he could pop a Dramamine pill before we hit the pool. So we did just that.
We set up camp at the kid’s pool this morning, which is kind of a drag because they only have tables and chairs, no loungers. However as I am typing this out now, I guess I can see the point……….so the parents just aren’t dozing off I guess. Anyway, we had NO problem finding a spot since we were the only ones there and it was seriously pushing 11am at this point!!! That time change was starting to set in on everyone, I knew we had to just keep plowing through though if we wanted to make the best of things.
The ship was rocking so much the little kiddie pool became a small wave pool and the kids were having so much fun. However the skies were cloudy and the sun wasn’t shining as much as I would have liked, so it seemed cold to me, again, so I sat on the edge and watched them play. Then it was time for the numerous slides on the Twist and Spout. After the kids were finally getting the drill of it, I was OK with them walking up on their own, because I could see them, we would wait down the bottom of the slide but the rule was Andre would have to go down first and Josie would go after him. They were OK with this rule, so the 2 of them had full run on that slide for about a good 30 min before some other kids started coming into the mix. Another thing I like about this slide is, the lifeguard at the bottom has a TV screen he can watch with the kids in line at the top, and if they start goofing off in anyway, he comes over a speaker up there and they all just FREAK!!! It’s AWESOME!!!
The kids had enough of the kiddie pool and wanted to go over to the goofy pool at this point, plus the sun was breaking through the clouds, so I was ready to go in now too. BUT, this is also when my kids were all like “ Mommy it’s your turn to go down the Aqua Dunk Now” Oh for crying out loud……………the things you will do for your kids just to prove a point to not be scared, even though YOU ARE!!!!! UGH!!! So OK, I swallow my fear and walk the 957 steps to get up there, as if I’m not already breathing heavy from fear, I am now from being exhausted . I get up there and the guard tells me I have to take my necklace off………uhmmm, say what??? He’s like you can just hold it in your hands, it will be fine?!?!??? He then tells me to get inside the tube, lean back, cross my feet, cross my hands across my chest …………OK STOP!!! Toooo many directions for a silly water slide if you ask me. But at this point, it’s too late, I look down below at my cheering children, the door starts closing in on me, and then Donald Duck starts counting down…………3,2,1 ( gosh his voice never annoyed me as much as it did at this very moment) then BAM!!!! Flushed down the toilet I went!!!!! I almost want to say it was fun, but the anxiety of everything leading up to it made me hate it!! Once I was at the bottom in the pool of water and my one piece bathing suit was in every area it shouldn’t be, the 2 guards standing there were just laughing and asking if I liked it and all I could say was………”Geesh, just give a girl a minute” which made them laugh even harder. Once I got out and started walking back to the main pool, I was just shaking my head the whole way thinking ……….again………….the crap you do for your kids!!!!!!
Once back at the pool I was greeted with cheers and high fives by my family so I guess in the end it was all OK. Would I do it again…………IDK?? Probably yes, IF they asked me too, not on my own free will that’s for sure.
I'm LOL at your description of your aqua dunk experience, but -- no way! The setting the clock forward thing is why I will only ever do a Westbound repo. Gaining an hour or sleep every few days is very nice. I really hope you don't have seas like this for the whole 6 days. My one and only transatlantic sailing was not on a cruise ship and it was horrible and cold the whole time.
I love the photos of the kids in the water. So cute that Josie loved the snorkeling and was so excited about her "discoveries". You all look gorgeous gussied up for dinner. Andre with his bow tie--adorable! Nice romantic moment at Keys and great photos around the ship. I'm ready for 6 sea days now!
OH- Just you wait, I could have taken 12 of those sea days, they are theee best!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
What a fun day at Castaway Cay - although I couldn't help but think how weird it was to then go into the formal night, as usually that tends to follow a day at sea, certainly all the cruises we've been on. We absolutely adored Keys and spent a fair bit of time there.
I agree, I thought that was weird too, even more so for such a long sailing, but whatever the reason, we had a nice time, and Keys was lovely.
Quote:
Originally Posted by honeybee723
Sounds like an awesome day. I mean, how could it not be when you're at CC? And what a sweet moment that Arnaud made happen. It's the little things in life.
It really was a sweet moment, just wish I wasn't sooo tipsy at the time, whoopsie
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
Ah! CC! Can't wait to get back there. Sounds like you had an awesome day there - up until Andre's incident, but sounds like he just needed a nap!
You all look so good on formal night! Arnaud is sure a keeper!
And I'm so glad you loved the ship so much - we're trying it out next year!
Andre is the thorn in my side.........a cute one, but man can he have his meltdowns like no other. You will love the Magic, I know we sure did and one BIG factor was that slide, since we could ALL ride it and that was great fun!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Looked like a gorgeous day on CC! That clear, blue water... love it!! You all looked so wonderful on formal night! What a beautiful family! The bands that the kids are wearing look just like Magic Bands in the pictures. Is that what they're using in the kids' clubs now?
I haven't used the Magic Bands in the parks yet, they look similar and you tap them the same way on the Mickey heads, so maybe they are?? They are much better than what they had before on the ships though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JKnott17
What a perfect day on CC!
Everyone looked so nice dressed up for formal night, love Andre's little bowtie. So cute! Arnaud is definitely racking up on the brownie points so far, what a sweet moment for you both while you enjoyed some cocktails and time alone.
Yeah, he did rack up quite a few brownie points on this trip I'd say
Quote:
Originally Posted by stardust190
Sounds like fun times at CC. How old do the kids have to be to snorkel? I know Mallory would be upset if Cameron got to and she didn't. We're cruising in 2016 either before or after her 4th birthday.
Also, wonderful way to spend an evening. Tipsy and with a sweet gentleman!
Snorkeling was either 5 or 6, I can't remember now. Andre didn't seem to care or notice though. I thought it might have been an issue when he saw her and Daddy going off, but it was OK in the end. That splash area can diffuse any situation though.............or at least an ice cream cone can. Tipsy might be an understatement .....oh well, it's vacation and the hubs ordered me a really strong and over priced martini, what was I to do, not like I was driving anywhere
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommapants
sounds like a glorious day at CC until Mr Cranky appeared. Not that I can blame the little man. I love that you are pacing yourself on posting because I am pacing myself on catching up and now I'm not too far behind.
Evan and I will be heading down to your neck of the woods. We are having lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe on Tues 8/12 and then heading to my sister's in Wildwood for a few days- my little consolation vataction (it ain't Disney but it's something)
LOL.............thank you for putting that so kindly.........I am pacing myself right, don't want anyone to get to tipsy on my TR right You should hold out in AC an extra day for the air show, Evan would LOVE that. It's on the 13th this yr and I think they might have the Blue Angles or Thunderbirds back again, not sure, but I'll check for you. Josie LOVES it, gets scared, but loves it all at the same time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SOmommy
Loving the pics!! Great to read a trip report with young'uns cuz I can totally relate to the crankies and napping and potty issues. I think I will go with your rule of just a couple hours in the kids club. I think my guy will be okay, now he seems to have a regular time to go and I can just catch him then. But still a teensy bit worried...
Yeah, with Andre 2 hrs is his max in the kids club.............plus I feel bad leaving them longer than that, I'd take them back again later too, but that's a good time frame for us, we check in with each other, re-group, than go back out for whatever we want to do.
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Linny, the description of your AquaDunk experience has me cracking up over here! The things we do for our kids! I hope that the rough seas don't last for the entire 6 days.
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