Halloween, Hawaii and holiday celebrations - THIS SECTION COMPLETED 12/27 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Awww, what a disappointment with the balloon ride. That must be frustrating to keep trying, and keep having it cancelled! It must be difficult for the people running the business to keep losing revenue like that, although I suppose it is all factored into their costs.
Sorry, to hear that the balloon ride was cancelled. Florida weather is too unpredictable and not like Phoenix, where I took mine. I think we had about six of us on our ride. 24 on one of these is a bit much.
Loved the photos of the villas and more that you have included. Basically, standard stuff! Wish they had included nice big Cabernet glasses, instead of the general wine glass size. No cordial glasses either. Thought, you may have that in a villa like the Grand Floridian!
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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!
I'm glad you loved the GF villas--I stayed in a studio right after they opened and it was amazing! I wish I could buy points there, but that's not in the budget! I've always felt like the GF was a bit too much for me, but I love the Villas! I'm also a big fan of Mizner's--it's the only bar in Orlando that I'm a regular at!
I'm with you on this Heather, as it's with out a doubt my favorite bar/lounge in all of WDW....easily! Can't beat it for the service and I absolutely love Tammi! She is just the best! I only come down to WDW annually, but I always get a big nice greeting from her and of course a hug as well!! That's why I love that place so much!
Need to frequent that place more on my trips. That and the Bellevue Lounge are my faves!
I think we definitely think alike in regard to this Heather!
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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!
Last edited by SuperDave; 11-24-2013 at 09:42 PM..
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So sorry about the Balloon Ride. Florida weather is so unpredictable, it's just a chance you have to take. I guess it is better to be safe. Well, there is always another time.
I figure we'll keep trying and hopefully one day we'll be lucky!
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Awww, what a disappointment with the balloon ride. That must be frustrating to keep trying, and keep having it cancelled! It must be difficult for the people running the business to keep losing revenue like that, although I suppose it is all factored into their costs.
We were discussing that and we came to the conclusion that they must have to factor it into their costs.
Thursday 31 October – part two: are those trees moving down the road?
When we got back to the Grand Floridian, we were greeted at the gate by a hugely enthusiastic Cast Member, Ingrid, who told us how amazing the Grand Villas were. Of course, I’d seen photos, but suddenly there was an idea, maybe we could see one. I’m sure you can guess what’s coming next. We asked at reception, and because there are only six, they’re all completely full right now. Oh well, it was worth a try!
As we entered the Villas, we saw some slightly surreal sights..
It was nice to finally see the place in daylight, as it looks even more beautiful.
The barbecue area
We headed inside, and got some more photos of the lobby.
A very nice Cast Member from Research took these two shots of us by the fountain in the lobby:
She told us to come by later on, as they were getting guests’ views for the next couple of days only in light of the fact that the Villas had only just opened. I would’ve done it there and then, but someone was already doing it. You know me, always happy to give my views!
We headed back to the room, and finally got to see the view from our balcony in daylight hours, and wow, what a view it is!
I was able to get some shots of the work going on at the Poly ahead of construction of the DVC villas. Wow, it looks like that’s going to be taking up a fair chunk of land!
As we stood there, we realised it was raining, as you can see in this shot!
We decided to have our cupcakes that we bought last night and never ate, and got our water from the Virgin flight, as we both had headaches, and thought we were probably a bit dehydrated. It was lovely to sit out there and relax and just watch the world go by – and it’s certainly a beautiful world too.
You really got some great photos of the Resort. The indoors fountain is just awesome. I just enjoy your reports, it is great to read what is going on in and around the World besides the Parks.
Gorgeous view from your balcony, but what a threatening sky! I'm glad you didn't end up in the balloon that morning. Hope your headaches go away. The teaser for your next update sounds like some fun!
Well, the balloon was a bust, but at least you got to spend some quality time relaxing on the balcony of your villa. With a cupcake. In my book, that's not too shabby of a morning!!!
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Florida weather is too unpredictable and not like Phoenix, where I took mine. I think we had about six of us on our ride. 24 on one of these is a bit much. 
She is just the best! 
PassPorter Guide Author
In my book, that's not too shabby of a morning!!! 
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