Friends and Flowers April 2011 Complete Updated 5/4 - Page 20 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Glad you arrived safe & sound, and sounds like you have a perfect room location!
Hope you had a good night's sleep, and are rested & ready for the next few days at WDW!
We actually got up and going when we were supposed to and arrived at Epcot's front gate at 9am. We missed the actual opening, but that's okay--it means we also missed the stampede.
We got FP for Soarin and then waited for the British contingency. We rode all together and then headed for the Seas where we met Nemo and then hung out with Crush. After the Seas Brandon and I split off and headed for Mission: Space, which we much prefer over Test Track, which is where the rest of the gang was going.
It was almost time for our lunch reservation, so we started to make our way around World Showcase. We took lots of photos along the way. You'll get to see them all when I get back!
Lunch was at Tutto Italia and I had a cocktail (a frezzini maybe?) with Campari, Mandarin juice and prosecco. Brandon had a glass (or two) of prosecco. We ordered the Antipasti Plate and it was fabulous! I highly recommend this one . . . they put together a fabulous plate with meats, cheeses, artichokes, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, olives, and white bean salad. At $28 it was more than enough for lunch for the two of us! We also drank a bottle of San Pelligrino.
After lunch we continued around World Showcase taking photos of the topiaries. In France we stopped to meet both Belle and Aurora because neither one had a line . . . I've never seen that happen!
We completed our World Tour and headed back to Future World to see Captain EO. There is a TON more merch outside than there used to be, including stuffed animals and magnets! (Yes I bought the magnet and the Flower and Garden Festival magnet)
Then we returned to the Land, grabbed a soda and rode Living with the Land and used our Soarin FP!
We stopped at Innoventions to see if there was a line at the Visa Character Meet and Greet--guess what? No line--and I have quite the funny story to share from this encounter!
Finally, on our way out of the park, we stopped to ride Spaceship Earth. Does anyone know if you select another language at the beginning if Judi Dench narrates in that language?
We hopped right on a bus to AKL and are now relaxing before dinner at 'Ohana. Brandon just discovered that the sheer curtains on the sliding doors are Lion King Characters in the lace!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
for a savanna view! Glad you were able to fix the situation at CM! A question was the Rose Garden a good spot to view the new show on the castle before Wishes? I can't wait to see your pictures and Cheryl's of the F&GF as I still want to do this one so badly!
Wendy and I went for the Spanish version of Spaceship Earth and : it's not Judi Dench - very disappointing...
Oh I was so hoping to hear Judi in German
Quote:
Originally Posted by mpwife153
Sounds like you are having a great time!
We are, but we're tired out early tonight!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ariel14
Sounds like a blast!!!! Have loads of silly fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sadly we have not found new ears that excite us but we're still looking
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
for a savanna view! Glad you were able to fix the situation at CM! A question was the Rose Garden a good spot to view the new show on the castle before Wishes? I can't wait to see your pictures and Cheryl's of the F&GF as I still want to do this one so badly!
The rose garden is a good spot to view the show, but NOT to see the actual photos they are putting up on the Castle. You have to be straight on and pretty close up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by buzzspal2
Great room, great friends, great trip. Thanks for sharing.
There's more to come!
Quote:
Originally Posted by tdhc
Glad you all arrived safely! Sounds like a great first two days!
It's been absolutely lovely
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Another great day! I love the sheers at AKL. Tried to get a photo of them, but couldn't get the lighting right.
Dinner tonight was lovely. I really enjoyed the evening. We headed over to the Magic Kingdom by bus and then took the boat to the Poly. We walked into the Poly and ran into everyone in the gift shop. Just so ya know--you can now get a Poly Magnet again--and I am a proud new owner!
Brandon and I headed upstairs to have a cocktail in the Tambu Lounge. There weren't any seats at the bar, so we grabbed a table and were soon joined by Mark. Cheryl and Wendy followed soon after.
Seating happened in a timely fashion, but the service started out a little bit odd and a little bit slow. Our server seemed to get on track after a bit.
I'll do a more in depth review of 'Ohana when I post my full report, but I have to say that everything from the salad dressing to the dessert was super sweet. Talk about a sugar overload tonight.
After dinner we said goodbye to Wendy. Brandon and I know that we'll be seeing her in June!
Everyone decided it was just a good idea to go back home after dinner. Honestly, we got a little more sun today than we had planned, and didn't take a nap, just a break.
We grabbed some after dinner drinks from the lounge and sat out by the pool for a bit.
I'm finishing up the wine that I put in the fridge earlier today and I'll be off to bed. Brandon is working on a couple of beers and then he'll be tucked in too!
Tomorrow morning we're up again early and off to DHS, I rode one ride at the Studios in October and Brandon hasn't been since June. We're going to get some rides in during the morning hours and then eat lunch at HBD. My goal is to see at least one of the shows we haven't done after lunch: LMA, Beauty and the Beast or Indy. I'm thinking we're going to leave AIE out of the list.
We should be back at the Lodge for an update and a mid afternoon break!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
: it's not Judi Dench - very disappointing... 
Linear Mode
