All Work and a Little Play Makes Jen a Happy Girl! - Page 2 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Great start to your trip! The beach is beautiful and your room looks very nice! Those are some large iguanas walking around there!
It was really a great day and so nice to be on the beach. I rarely stay at a beach resort and it's not always important to us...but when I do I love it.
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Originally Posted by rhinohunter
Beautiful arrival day. Are you sure you are going to be working?
now you sound like Skip!
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Originally Posted by Cam22
Very nice room, and that view is perfect! Love your sand writing photos!
Thanks....I used the 2017 one for our Christmas Card!
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Originally Posted by lindawdw
What a great start to your trip! The hotel looks beautiful and such a great location right on the beach.
It was a great spot to be. If you are stuck at a resort, being on a beach is the way to go!
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Originally Posted by chezp
Your resort and room looks beautiful.
Thanks! It was really nice and I had to pinch myself that I was lucky enough to have this opportunity.
Before it was time to meet, I decided to head out front and take some pictures of the hotel. This light fixture was in the elevator area and I thought it was really neat.
The resort is really nice, but it’s not close to anything really besides the beach. Not many restaurants in the immediate walkable area and no stores or attractions. So you really need a car to get to anything if you are staying here for more than a couple of nights. The resort, like many in the Ft. Lauderdale area, does charge a resort/parking fee. Some have both, some cover all amenities and parking.
I headed back in as it started to sprinkle again and went back to my room for a little bit more, then headed down early before dinner again.
We all met in the lobby and introduced ourselves to all the new comers. We still all were not here (there ended up being 13 of us total for the Hello Sunny Tours), but half had now arrived.
We decided to get 2 Lyft’s to take to the Whale’s Rib.
It had a fun vibe and kind of reminded me of a Margaritaville….sort of.
We were seated and at first our waiter seemed frustrated when we said we wanted separate bills. He was trying to say no, but we kept saying yes. He was busy and said he would be back in a bit. A manager came over and was talking to us and we asked all sorts of questions about the place, told him why we came and of course asked what Guy Fieri had ordered. After that, when our waiter returned he was much more pleasant and fun. I think we kind of took him off guard, but he softened up to us and was joking with us by the end of the evening. Maybe the manager told him to treat us good as well.
Our waiter took a picture of all of us. First a nice one.
Whale Fries is something that Guy had and what this place is famous for. The Fries are kind of an in between of chips and fries and the sauce …if I remember right…was like a honey mustard mayo sauce. They were good!
“M” got the sandwich that Guy had tried (he also had oysters, but none of us got those). I think the Sandwich was the Key West.
I went with a Caesar Salad with the special fish of the day…which I cannot remember what it was. It wasn’t fishy at all and very meaty. I thought it was good, but I should have asked for more dressing as I like a lot and there wasn’t a lot on….but I worried about flustering our server.
Our waiter did do separate bills and had no issues. He said he was worried we wouldn’t want to wait while he did each one….we didn’t care! We were having fun.
I think most of us liked the food. I know one didn’t seem to care for hers so much, but I think she may have gotten a steak and the place is known more for fish.
The Whales Rib is in Deerfield Beach and there were a lot of ritzy homes on the drive to and from. One even had Christmas lights up… I am all about Christmas early but it seemed just a tad too early for houses to have lights on. The area where the restaurant was looked to have a lot of bars and restaurants and would be a fun area to be. I do hope to get back down again someday and try some more places.
We ordered 2 more Lyft’s and headed back to the hotel. Everyone was tired and we all went to our rooms to chill out and get some rest. I called home and was talking to Skip and I was on the balcony and J hollers up that she can hear me. LOL
We had to meet bright and early tomorrow morning at 8AM so we could be in our shuttle and on our way by 8:15.
That looks like a lot of fun was had by all on that dinner out. The manager must have told the waiter that you girls were VIPs (being TAs should make it so) and to treat you right.
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That looks like a lot of fun was had by all on that dinner out. The manager must have told the waiter that you girls were VIPs (being TAs should make it so) and to treat you right.
I have a feeling he may have as well. if we like it, we will recommend it for sure.
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Originally Posted by chezp
It sounds like a fun evening out.
It really was and it was nice to start to get to know the girls.
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Originally Posted by purplegal
Looks like you have a nice room, I like the decor throughout the hotel. Neat that you got to try a restaurant from the show.
I thought it was a nice hotel too. I really so grateful to be lucky enough to have this experience. I really think this added to my whole conference experience.
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Originally Posted by lindawdw
Glad you enjoyed your dinner with the ladies.
It was nice. We got to know each other a little bit and soon we were being silly, but still having clean fun.
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I slept great and it had been a long day yesterday, so it was nice to get some sleep. I got up and ready early. I took a look out on my balcony to see the beautiful sun coming up.
Once I was ready, I headed down to the lobby and met the rest of the clan. We all met Gonzalo who would be our fearless leader over the next few days. Gonzalo was new to Hello Sunny and I believe we may have been his first tour group he has led on his own. He did a great job and we all just loved him.
Our shuttle arrived. I believe our drivers name was James. He was a quiet guy, but you could tell he was listening and smirking at times.
We met our tour guides and split into smaller groups to go and look at some rooms. The resort is being renovated so not all the rooms are updated yet and the lobby had some construction as well.
We went in and out of several rooms and I’ll just post a couple pictures.
We were each then given bags and got a group photo. That is the one group photo I never did get. They sent it to Gonzalo supposedly but I am not sure he ever got it.
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Love your sand writing photos! 
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