A very personal Decade of Dreams tour! UPDATED 6/5 - Page 21 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Cheryl, your pictures are fantastic. I feel like I'm there just from your TR. The shrines look amazing, sorry I can't really comment about the Cherry Blossoms that much since we have them here in Virginia and the Washington, DC area and the petals are such a pain to pick up when they fall, otherwise they are quite beautiful to look at though. You sound like me when I went to London though with all the comfort foods like McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, etc. The water cruise looked like it was so much fun and like a relaxing way to take in more of the city. I loved the picture of Mickey and Minnie A Hidden Mickey in Japan (not in Disney). Looking foward to reading more of your TR in your next installments. You're an excellent writer and you and Mark are excellent photogrpahers.
I also liked to read your post about eating KFC - reminded me of when we ate McDonald's when we went to Versailles.
Can't wait to 'see' more!
And us who went to McDonalds in Montreal.
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Oct '99: CSR ~ May '02: CR ~ Nov '04: SOG ~ May '06: SOG ~ Dec '07: Solo @ Pop ~ May '08: Pop w/friends ~ Oct '08: SOG ~ Dec '09: Pop w/LeAnn ~ Sept '10: Solo @ Pop ~ Spring '11: AKL ~ Jan '12: Pop for 1/2 Marathon ~ Sept '12: 1st trip for DL 1/2 Marathon? ~ Feb '13: Pop w/pals? ~ Mar '13: Tokyo Disney w/PP's?
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Alright Cheryl - I was supposed to be in bed 45 minutes ago but could not tear myself away from reading straight through from the beginning!
I love seeing Japan from your eyes - and as many new things as I learn, there are always about a hundred more questions I have and things I want to know!!!Tantalizing, aren't you?
I'm so happy you and Mark are having a great time - and can't wait to read more.
Cheryl, your pictures are fantastic. I feel like I'm there just from your TR. The shrines look amazing, sorry I can't really comment about the Cherry Blossoms that much since we have them here in Virginia and the Washington, DC area and the petals are such a pain to pick up when they fall, otherwise they are quite beautiful to look at though.
I guess, if you don't have cherry blossoms, you don't think of that side of things!
Tuesday 31 March – part four: from duck hunting to designer names
Perhaps the most fascinating part was going past the Tsukiji Fish Market and then heading in through a small opening to our destination at Hamariju Grdens. These were built in 1654 as a retreat for the family of the shogun, who hunted duck here and they even have the duck hunting areas still on show, which was interesting to see.
Sadly, once again, al of the original villas, trees and vegetation burnt down during a bombing raid in 1944 during the Second World War. Bearing that in mind, they’ve done a superb job of re-constructing it and I’m glad they did, as it’s a real oasis in the heart of Tokyo, a bit like Central Park in New York, just on a smaller scale. There were skyscrapers all around the park, including a fair few hotels, such as the Conrad – I bet some of those rooms have wonderful views of this park.
The duck hunting areas Some of the work being carried out on one of the moats in the gardens Enjoying a break in the gardens
Having seen much of the park, we headed out and towards Ginza, which is the shopping heart of the city. We were going to head for the subway, but it turned out to be about the same distance to get to Ginza, so we just kept walking and I’m glad we did, as we saw some great views on the way there.
Suddenly we turned down a street and it was like walking into another world. It was full of designer shops and rivalled the most glamorous cities in the world. The designer names were everywhere and the Swarovski store was something to see.
We kept walking up this road and came to the Ginza Yon-Chrome crossing, one of the busiest in the world and immediately we both looked at each other and said “Times Square”, as that’s what it reminded us off. It’s a smaller version admittedly, but still just as vibrant and packed with lots of superb stores, many of which were familiar names to us.
There were some that I knew to look out for from my guidebook, such as the Wako department store that was built in 1894. Its clock tower is a well known land mark in Ginza and while we were there, we were lucky enough to hear it chime the hour, which was neat.
Along one road was Mitsukoshi, a name that should be familiar to anyone who’s visited Epcot in the past. Sadly, no photos are allowed in there, so our visit there didn’t last too long. A bit further up the road is the Matsuya store, another huge name in Japan. We also saw the Apple Store, Cartier, all decked out in gold, so it was easy to spot that one! We also saw Mikimoto, which produces pearls. That looked beautiful as well.
I guess, if you don't have cherry blossoms, you don't think of that side of things!
I can imagine how you feel wanting to go and see them. When I first moved to Northern Virginia (we live 45 min outside of Washington, DC) and I heard about the Cherry Blossoms I thought "oh I can't wait to see them" and here by us, you get the petals all over your car and all over the walk ways, it looks like pink snow, but harder to pick up since they fall all over the place. They are however so beautiful especially this time of year when you walk outside. They're so different from bare trees in the winter.
Cheryl, your installment defanitely made me think of NYC a little bit but miniature version from your pictures. How beautiful all those flowers and Cherry Blossoms look in Tokyo (not fallen yet). I remember hearing when I traveled to London no Cherry Blossoms in the UK At least you did get to see them in Tokyo. More please Cheryl. Your trip keeps sounding better and better. Thank you so much for sharing a TR from your's and Mark's Tokyo Anniversary Trip.
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Starting this installment in the park, I just kept thinking: "such beauty within the concrete jungle"! The twisted trunks of the trees just make it so interesting to see.
Then we transition into that concrete jungle and see a completely different kind of beauty. Perhaps it's just the photos, but it looks so clean over there!
Another very interesting update, Cheryl... thanks!
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Cheryl, I have only now, just clicked the link in your siggie, so I am just starting to read. So happy that you also are able to plan a trip that you have always dreamed of! AND find a huge savings along the way..... Feels good, huh? And the hours and hours on the computer are happily spent, aren't they?
This sounds fabulous...... Goin back to read some more.
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A Hidden Mickey in Japan (not in Disney). Looking foward to reading more of your TR in your next installments. You're an excellent writer and you and Mark are excellent photogrpahers.
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I guess, if you don't have cherry blossoms, you don't think of that side of things!
At least you did get to see them in Tokyo. More please Cheryl. Your trip keeps sounding better and better. Thank you so much for sharing a TR from your's and Mark's Tokyo Anniversary Trip.
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