Back to Bath and my donkeys… COMPLETED 7/25 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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
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.
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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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I guess it just wasn't meant to be a working day. Fantastic how that worked out for you guys! Imagine if you didn't leave until later like you originally thought. Traffic would have been worse on M25 and in Bath!
Ok, I just had to plot that myself on google maps.... Bath is 57 miles from Cardiff. Holy crap!! That is some traffic.
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Fantastic how that worked out for you guys! Imagine if you didn't leave until later like you originally thought. Traffic would have been worse on M25 and in Bath!
It would've been a nightmare.
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Ok, I just had to plot that myself on google maps.... Bath is 57 miles from Cardiff. Holy crap!! That is some traffic.
Yep, it was - and it happened the next weekend as well when Ed Sheeran was playing Cardiff.
I remember you mentioning the lack of internet a few weeks ago and you couldn't post your TR updates! That is some crazy traffic many miles from Cardiff! Glad you left earlier than expected as would have been much worse! Overall, it seems you made pretty good time. That is some entrance to your hotel! Looking forward to seeing it and your room!
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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 remember you mentioning the lack of internet a few weeks ago and you couldn't post your TR updates!
Yes, that was the day!
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That is some crazy traffic many miles from Cardiff! Glad you left earlier than expected as would have been much worse! Overall, it seems you made pretty good time.
We did really well. It could've been so much worse.
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That is some entrance to your hotel! Looking forward to seeing it and your room!
Oh you won't be disappointed - it was a stunning place!
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As we pulled into the car park of the hotel, we were also greeted by a squirrel, but I don’t have a photo to share with you, as the miserable thing moved just as I took his photo.
We headed into the reception area to check in and this was beautiful. I was staggered to find out this had only been added a couple of years ago. They certainly did a wonderful job with it…
We were checked in by Anita, who was one of those people who just couldn’t do enough for you, including showing us to our rooms. I did say that it’s one of those places that’s been designed beautifully for people to photograph all the time, as there are so many great angles to be found in shots here…
As you’ll see from the photos, this is a very historic place. The manor house here dates from the 16th century and many of the bedrooms date back to 1856. The estate was originally acquired by John de Tracye in 1246 and that’s where the name Tracy Park comes from. His descendants then held the property until the end of the 16th century. It was finally sold during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and the new owner was a bailiff to Lord of Dyrham. We visited Dyrham, now a National Trust property, a few years ago. Funny how all these things link together…
Perhaps coolest of all, Anna Sewell was a frequent visitor here. Don’t know her name? Her visits inspired her to write the novel Black Beauty.
We were told we’d been upgraded into the luxury rooms in the carriage house, and wow what a building this was!
We found our room, number 30, the furthest down the corridor, which we thought would be nice and quiet… well, there would be a downside to that, which we’d find out in the morning. Apart from that though, we couldn’t fault it.
We headed back to the car to get our stuff…
We settled down in the room and reviewed the menu for both the restaurant and the bar. Usually we’d go for the restaurant, but their menu wasn’t doing much for me and the bar menu was quite extensive, so we decided to go for that instead.
That’s really a spectacular room! Wow!
I am curious about the animal sculptures on the grounds....is there an African connection to something? Giraffes and elephants aren’t exactly indigenous to that area....
I am curious about the animal sculptures on the grounds....is there an African connection to something? Giraffes and elephants aren’t exactly indigenous to that area....
Definitely not! I don't remember anything in the hotel's extensive history about them either...
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Fantastic how that worked out for you guys! Imagine if you didn't leave until later like you originally thought. Traffic would have been worse on M25 and in Bath! 
That is some traffic.
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Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
That is some crazy traffic many miles from Cardiff! 
Glad you left earlier than expected as would have been much worse! Overall, it seems you made pretty good time. That is some entrance to your hotel! 
I guess he just wasn't in a mood to pose for photos that night... maybe he'd had a long day of it! 
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