A June Joyride...*****COMPLETED!!! 7/9***** - Page 19 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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After our scrumptious dinner, we decided to try out the AK as it was EMH that evening. We decided to drive over, hoping to score a great parking spot….which we did. We were just a few rows back and able to walk to the turnstiles. There was a fair amount of people arriving and once through the turnstiles, even more people on line for their EMH bracelets. Fortunately, we knew better places to pick them up! Paul headed to Guest Services to upgrade our tix to APs while I made my way to Dinoland with the kiddos.
Since I am a big ride wimp, Andrew and Izzy hopped in line for Triceratops Spin.
After their quick spin, we met back up with Paul and picked up our wristbands…where there was no line whatsoever!The standby line for Primeval Hurl was ten minutes so the boys hopped in line. Izzy is still about an inch too short although I don’t think she has any interest in riding it, anyway. As the boys were in line, I was surprised to see the FP open and dispensing FP for EMH times. Not to look the proverbial gift horse in the mouth, Izzy and I meandered over to Dinosaur and picked up four FPs. I figured by the time we made it back, we would just catch the boys exiting PW. No such luck. Apparently, they shut one of the tracks down and the 10 minute wait was closer to 30. I hated to but Izzy and I passed the time by indulging in some over priced carnival games…which she won…NADA. Ahh, money well spent!
We also passed time calling some family. ( You probably can't see it but Izzy's rash was back and she had more meds...I was glad to be heading home tomorrow and try to figure out what was going on)
The only bonus to a longer than expected wait was that the Dinosaur FPs were ripe. Back we went. I knew I wasn’t going to ride but was interested in at least going through the queue and preshow. I was able to go all the way through and then wait for my adventurous group at the exit. This was Izzy’s first foray onto Dinosaur. The verdict…although unscathed, she decided it was “too crazy”.
As we exited, we noticed the humidity had definitely risen, it was a sticky night. The kids asked to do It’s Tough To Be a Bug which we hadn’t been on in awhile. Literally, there were about 10 of us waiting for the show. However, we met the most amazing CM. Matt took a shine to Izzy and made such a fuss over her. He told her she was going to be the ‘queen bee’ and lead everyone into the theater. We chatted with him quite a bit as he was on the College Program and had some great insights and observations to share with Andrew (who aspires to be part of the CP). He pointed what he said was one of the smallest hidden mickeys in the AK and then told us about the biggest one carved into the Tree of Life. Our ten minutes spent with him were so very meaningful and the highlight of our evening. (I made sure to include Matt in my letter to guest communications). We were sorry to say goodbye but it was time to head in for the show. He let Izzy pick her seat and she chose front and center. Wow, the show was a little crazy from that close up….especially the smoke….I couldn’t see a thing…but thoroughly enjoyable.
It was about nine o’clock by now and we offered to take Andrew to ride EE. I was surprised when he was lukewarm in his response. As there wasn’t much more the kids were interested in doing at AK, I made them an offer I thought they would love….a night swim! The kids were all over that idea so we made our way back to the car. As always, Paul and his long legs were strides ahead of me. He had sped along pushing Izzy’s stroller while Andrew and I made our way at a pace that wouldn’t cause my heart rate to jump forty points! (Remember this…it becomes important in about five more minutes). I caught up with Paul who had Izzy strapped in her car seat and the stroller folded in the trunk. So, Andrew and I hopped in the car for our quick trip back to the AKL.
The kids were all atwitter with the idea of a night swim….this seems to be something we rarely do at WDW. When we arrived at the Lodge, I reminded Paul to grab the backpack. Insert look of shock, here. His mouth his somewhere around the floor….
Paul: Didn’t you put it in the car?
Danielle: Me? No. You had the backpack on the stroller. You went ahead and put the stroller in the trunk.
Paul: No, I put it on the ground next to your door. I guess it was dark and you didn’t see it.
Me: what I wanted to say…Of course it was dark…did you miss the fact that I wasn’t wearing my night vision googles??? Did it dawn on you to tell me you put something there??? What I did say… I didn’t realize it was there.
At this point, we are both flipping out. It was not because my wallet, driver’s license, credit cards are in the backpack. It is because ~ALL~ of Izzy’s emergency meds are in the backpack including a variety of inhalers and two epi-pens…which of course, cannot be replaced without a prescription. Paul literally takes off back to the AK and leaves skid marks behind him. I take the kids up to the room and pace. The kids, not realizing the possible gravity of the situation, proceed to change into their bathing suits. Fortuantely, my pacing ends quickly as Paul calls me to inform me the infamous backpack is sitting on the ground where we (he) left it ten minutes prior. Sigh, I can breathe easy. Lesson learned: I already travel with a miniature pharmacy…in the future, I am added extras of everything to leave in the room…just in case!
Disaster averted, we headed down to the pool for a swim. Seriously, I don’t know why we don’t do this more often. It was so relaxing and refreshing and a great way to settle down after a busy day at the parks. We swam, floated, and frolicked about for about an hour before trudging our weary bodies upstairs. We rinsed off, hopped into bed, and were fast asleep lickety-split.
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~Shoot for the moon, if you miss, you will land among the stars~
Sounds like a great evening at AK (apart from the terror of the missing backpack, of course!) Glad you enjoyed your night swimming...it is always one of Evan and Alec's favorite things to do!
I hope I have as much fun as Matt seems to be having when I get down there on the CP. (Unfortunately, I wasn't picked for attractions, but oh well, I'll still be there on the CP!) That's such great news that your bag was still there. I know what it's like to lose important things like that.
Wow, close call with the backpack - thank goodness it was where you left it. It sounds like a great night at the Animal Kingdom - and how wonderful that it was that quiet.
Dinner looks amazing and now my stomach is gurgling and there is a puddle of drool on my keyboard . So glad the backpack crisis was averted...that would have been awful. We too spent every evening, this last trip, winding down at the pool and it was aperfect way to end the night and wind down the kids.
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Margaret
I am not a Disney employee. The postings here are my own and do not represent the positions or opinions of the Disney Company
A fun evening at AK EMH. It looks like ALL of the kids on Dinosaur didn't care for it. We did late-night swims on our last trip and had a great time... I agree with you.. I think it's a great way to unwind after a day in the parks.
PHEW! I'm glad that the backpack was safe and sound, I would have been a basket case. I'm always double and triple checking to make sure I have everything I came with before leaving. DW knows my routine, and answers my questions before I even ask them sometimes....
Me:"Backpack?"
DW:"In the backseat"
Me, getting in the car.
DW:"Backpack's in the backseat."
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