Wine, friendship, crème brulee and dinner on the Seine! COMPLETED - Page 22 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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It is funny to hear you comment about the USA and UK and shopping on sundays as I've always said where my sister lives in the UK, in the north is much more rural and things are just starting to open on Sundays. I said it is like living in the US in the 1950's. So many women are stay at home moms and head to the market each day to get that day's meal. It is quaint in a way but not at all how I'd like to live. I know the sothern part of England and near London is much more...I don't know what is the correct word..."modern"???
Now just out of interest, is that because you're a dog person? Not that I know... just curious what makes you say that...
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Why yes, yes I am a dog person! My neighbor/friend has two cats, so I'm somewhat versed in cat behavior. Our experience is that our dogs do more of the begging/staring for what they want - much more than her cats do!
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Tanya
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It is funny to hear you comment about the USA and UK and shopping on sundays as I've always said where my sister lives in the UK, in the north is much more rural and things are just starting to open on Sundays. I said it is like living in the US in the 1950's. So many women are stay at home moms and head to the market each day to get that day's meal. It is quaint in a way but not at all how I'd like to live. I know the sothern part of England and near London is much more...I don't know what is the correct word..."modern"???
Wow, I'm so surprised to hear you say that. Sunday trading started over here in the late 1980s or early 1990s and has been really widespread since then. Sure, if you're in a small village, where they're sole traders or it's a family run business, I guess they won't open on Sunday, as they may have no-one else to pitch in and help, but for supermarkets and shopping centres, it's the norm to have everything open.
The only thing is they only open for six hours. That's the only caveat with our laws and it changes from one area to another. For example, in London, most shops open from midday to 6pm. In our area, 10:30am - 4:30pm or 11:00am - 5:00pm is much more usual.
By the way, you remember me mentioning C&A? When we started Sunday trading over here, they were still going strong here. They are the only big chain that I remember refusing to open on a Sunday (I think there might have been one other that quickly gave in) and it was like that for years. It was so bizarre to go into a shopping centre and every store was open except for them!
Why yes, yes I am a dog person! My neighbor/friend has two cats, so I'm somewhat versed in cat behavior. Our experience is that our dogs do more of the begging/staring for what they want - much more than her cats do!
That's really interesting. I've never had a pet cat or dog, so I have no idea on these things. The only time I've come across cats and dogs in other households, I've found they can both be very persuasive at begging and staring - either that, or I'm just a soft touch!
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Good deal with the macaroons at McD's! Are they any good there? Just wondering as I'd expect much better ones at a French patisserie!
Nice photos of the local towns, but not quite those quaint French villages you may be looking for as I had on my France trip. You need to go off the main streets for those and small towns of course!
Glad that Graeme got the bubble wrap! Just wondering if this would work on oneself in the rain without having a Mickey poncho on hand?
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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!
Good deal with the macaroons at McD's! Are they any good there? Just wondering as I'd expect much better ones at a French patisserie!
They are very good. We first had them in Paris last December and were so impressed we got some more when we went to Mallorca in January. Considering where they come from, I think they're almost as good as from a patisserie.
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Nice photos of the local towns, but not quite those quaint French villages you may be looking for as I had on my France trip. You need to go off the main streets for those and small towns of course!
I loved all those local towns. I just love seeing "normal" places that you wouldn't normally find if you just stayed in the centre of Paris for example.
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Glad that Graeme got the bubble wrap! Just wondering if this would work on oneself in the rain without having a Mickey poncho on hand?
Monday 24 March – part two: going round the roundabout of death!
Graeme had told us that it can vary with how long it takes to get into Paris, and I figured we were leaving in plenty of time. Soon we were into Paris, and heading towards the Arc de Triomphe, which is currently undergoing some form of renovation work. Hazel had warned me that it had scaffolding up one side of it, but honestly, it didn’t detract from it. It’s still one of my favourite buildings in Paris.
There was a variety of buildings along the side of the road as we approached the Arc de Triomphe…
Soon we were going round the roundabout of death, otherwise known as the gigantic roundabout that surrounds the Arc de Triomphe. Now when we drove around this back in 2010, it was a Sunday morning, and relatively quiet. Not today! We made it across most of it without incident, although when it came for us to pull off it, there was a car coming from the right that just kept coming and cut straight in front of us. Poor Graeme had to practically ground to a halt to let him go, before he could get off at the turning he wanted. It didn’t seem to faze him at all. I told him that, after driving in Paris, Australia would be a piece of cake!
I was trying to photograph the Arc de Triomphe, but this guy obviously wanted to take centre stage!
We were then travelling down the Champs Elysees….
… and I was amazed by how many major roads in Paris are still cobbled streets. I honestly thought the only city that had this was London, but apparently not and Paris still has a lot of what I’d call busy roads that are not exactly built for cars with the vicious cobbles on the roads.
We headed down various tree lined avenues…
… and soon we were getting glimpses of the beautiful Sacre Coeur.
At one point, we stopped at traffic lights, and Mark pointed out we were right next door to the famous Moulin Rouge…
I have to be honest, it looked like a bit of a dump during the day. Whether it’s any better at night, I have no idea. We did wonder how much a show there costs, but to be honest, I dread to think how much it is, as it’s one of those “must do” things for a lot of tourists (not me I hasten to add! ) and they can probably charge as much as they like as a result.
Kudos to Graeme for the driving skills and also to you for your ability to get photos from a moving car! I've seen this in person, too-- when Mark was driving us around London last year I was getting fuzzy triangular shots of Windsor Castle with mostly car window in the frame while you were getting shots that looked like you were standing still! And bumping around on cobblestones doesn't help! There are areas of Boston I can't go to any more because driving the scooter on cobblestones is so uncomfortable. Bad enough that my neighborhood is all old brick sidewalks-- not much better!
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