A Swiss spring break with friends TRIP REPORT COMPLETED 6/27 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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.
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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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Best of all – look what we came across a bit further along…
It turned out the rest of his herd was around, but we couldn’t see them, as they were grazing on a steep incline literally just at the side of the road, but because of the incline, we couldn’t see them when we drove past.
We were heading here - the chocolate factory!
On the way in, there was a family who were trying to get a photo with their baby in it. The baby wasn’t playing ball and was just scowling and look at what Sarah did to try and get a smile. Eventually she managed it!
We got our tickets and we had a few minutes to wait for our tour, so we wandered through the shop…
I loved the various displays they had here..
Yes, that is made of chocolate!
You should’ve seen the shopping basket full of chocolate that one couple had. I dread to think how much it cost.
Meanwhile, Mark was considering a new hat, but didn’t in the end…
Well once you are in the Swiss countryside there are going to be cows and so many of them as you've hit the jackpot! Like what I see so far in the chocolate factory as well themed inside and I'm sure plenty you can purchase! Did you ever encounter any Oompa Loompas while you were here?
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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!
Well once you are in the Swiss countryside there are going to be cows and so many of them as you've hit the jackpot! Like what I see so far in the chocolate factory as well themed inside and I'm sure plenty you can purchase! Did you ever encounter any Oompa Loompas while you were here?
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Glad you enjoyed the cheese tour and were able to make many cow purchases! Great pictures on the way to the chocolate factory! Can’t wait to hear about that tour!
Glad you enjoyed the cheese tour and were able to make many cow purchases! Great pictures on the way to the chocolate factory! Can’t wait to hear about that tour!
Sunday 6 May – part seven: learning about the history of chocolate
We literally sat down to wait for the tour at the chocolate factory, then we were called. You go into a waiting area, where you have an introduction through your audio guide for a couple of minutes. You get to see advertising for Cailler chocolate over the decades in there as well…
The first area you go into tells you how cocoa was first discovered. In its earliest form, the Mayans used cocoa to create a beverage that was shared at engagements and marriage ceremonies.
Then it takes you through the story of how cocoa was brought back to Europe. At first, the church disapproved, but as soon as they changed their minds, everyone wanted some.
The next room tells you about how popular it was in Europe, but things did change when the French revolution happened. Chocolate was seen as being a favourite of the elite and it didn’t help that Marie Antoinette asked for hot chocolate for her final meal. We all said that we’d have gone for something a bit more substantial…
Then we started to learn about the whole Cailler history in the next room. They explained how it had been started by Francois-Louis Cailler and how others had been trying to do the same thing, including one named Nestle. Haven’t heard of that one before…
In the next room, we saw the “factory” with an idea of the production line at around the start of the 20th century. They talked us through how they managed to make it through the difficulties with the economy in the 1920s, when they were taken over by Nestle.
Then we were done with the “group” part of the tour, where you move from room to room when each section is done and you were free to wander around and take your time. The next section explains where the ingredients for the chocolate come from – and it is literally from around the world.
Then you can hear from some of those who contribute to making the chocolate through your audio guide. Guess which one I first picked?
Outside of Gwendoline (I love the way they have talking cows here! ), I listened to her farmer, and one of the chocolate buyers. It was all fascinating.
Then there were the ingredients that you could feel and smell – very interesting…
This was the fat that comes off in the process…. Yes I know, not a nice thought, but just think if they take the fat out, it must be fat free and therefore good for you, right?
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the chocolate factory! 
Like what I see so far in the chocolate factory as well themed inside and I'm sure plenty you can purchase! 
Did you ever encounter any Oompa Loompas while you were here? 
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