National parks, natural beauty and a bit of Disney wonder! COMPLETED - Page 23 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Wow, that view from the room sure is worth planning ahead for! And the distances you mentioned...yeah, I think I'll have to plan very well if I go with the kids...I think if we have to backtrack a lot, it will waste a lot of time and create one tired mommy!
I am loving every bit of your trip...the hotel looks beautiful (and now, of course, I'm adding WL to my must see list). Billy is just too cute, and I'm sure I'll have to add him to my family when I see him!
You're so right - I think backtracking would be a nightmare. I'd plan to do a whole circular trip from one way or the other. Two days felt like about enough time, although we could've easily filled a third day as well. However, if you don't plan on doing much hiking and will be mainly driving and visiting the main sites, you can do a lot in two days. The problem is how to get there, as a lot of airports aren't that close. That's why I really liked Bozeman, as it was only a couple of hour's drive away from Yellowstone.
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.
Loved your pics of the room. Back in the early 80s we stayed there and our bathroom had a huge old fashioned claw-foot bathtub! I see that they've renovated. What a fantastic view!
How cool that you've stayed there before - I didn't realise that!
Friday 9 September – part nine: the best dessert ever?
Once Old Faithful finished its performance, we headed down to the dining room to check in for dinner, getting a few photos on the way.
This is a beautiful place and I can see why reservations are very strongly recommended here, as the place was packed and basically, as soon as the stuff was moved off a table and it was re-set, another group would come in to enjoy dinner.
Mark decided to go for the signature dinner buffet, which consisted of natural carved prime rib of beef, deconstructed Caesar salad, fried cauliflower, green beans amandine, rice Pilaf, Italian mushrooms, twice baked potatoes with fixings, red pepper with smoked Gouda soup and rolls.
I was very intrigued by the soup, which was offered as an appetiser, so Mark said he’d bring me some back and I could try some and very good it was too.
Mark really enjoyed the rest of the buffet, although I think the meat was a little too rare for him.
I went for the King Alaskan salmon, with fresh melon chipotle salsa, wild rice pilaf and seasonal vegetables. I am not the greatest fan of Alaskan salmon, as its taste is very strong to me, but I went for it on Eric’s recommendation, who was our server. I have to say that this is some of the best Alaskan salmon I’ve had, as they put some other very strong flavours with this, which helped to combat the taste of the salmon, if that makes sense...
I was still hungry, so asked for the dessert menu and found an unusual item on there, huckleberry ice cream. Not having heard of this before, I asked to try a bit of it and we ended up with a full scoop to share. My goodness, it was good and very sweet.
As a result, I went for the Yellowstone sundae, rich and creamy huckleberry ice cream rests atop a tempting crumb cake and is smothered with our refreshing mixed berry topping. Oh my goodness, this was seriously one of the best desserts that either of us had had in many, many years. It was just beautiful and the flavours went together so well.
We made sure to tell Eric, so that he could pass our compliments on to the chef. He brought us the check and, with a bottle of White Zinfandel between us, which we couldn’t finish us, as we were finding the effects rather strong, it came to $79, plus a good tip for Eric, who had looked after us well.
Old Faithful Inn Dining Room:
Appetiser 9 9½
Entree 8½ 8½
Dessert 10 10
Service 8 9
Atmosphere 9 9
Value for money 9 9
Average score: 9.04
The next step was to go and sort out the laundry, as this was the only place I’d been able to find where there were laundry facilities for the rest of our stay and we needed to get one final wash in. We headed back to the room and changed into warmer clothes, having seen people coming into the restaurant, as the meal went on, with jeans and sweatshirts. Collecting the dirty washing, we set out and actually the temperature didn’t feel too bad outside. It was supposed to get down to 29, but there was no way it was that low. :
We headed for the Snow Lodge, which is where the laundry is located. We found it on the second floor and put our load in for washing. It would take 24 minutes, so we headed back to our Inn to see Old Faithful erupt, but sadly I think we just missed it. I couldn’t get any great photos in the dark...
We stopped back at the room for Mark to get a book and me to get the laptop and headed back to the Snow Lodge, moving the washing into the dryer, which would take 45 minutes. We then settled down in the lobby, with me writing up the trip report (I did look at going online, as this is the only place to have wi-fi, but it was $5 an hour) and Mark reading.
At the appointed time, we went back up. It was literally about three minutes before the laundry was due to close and I was dreading the washing still being wet, but it was 100% dry so we grabbed it and walked back to the room and it was off to bed.
The weather today was hot and sunny with temperatures in the 80s. The best thing today was seeing all the bison and the amazing sights around the park. The worst thing today was how tired and thirsty we got. The funniest thing today was walking into the Old Faithful Inn and feeling like we’d been transported to Walt Disney World! Today we tried driving around Yellowstone And the result was it was beautiful scenery, but pretty exhausting for Mark to drive it. The most magical moment today was the bison rutting and crossing the road in front of us.
What a great meal! That dessert has me salivating, as berries are my absolute favorite. This looks like a real winner! Glad you were able to get your laundry done without much of a bother.
Oh My Word....I can't even describe how amazed I am at your pictures. That is just such a beaitiful plase. I love all the wild life as well. But I wouldn't want to get too close either. That one bison was HUGE!!!!!
The lodge is just gorgeous. And the meal looks fabulous as well. I am now hungry. Thanks! LOL
Oh My Word....I can't even describe how amazed I am at your pictures. That is just such a beaitiful plase. I love all the wild life as well. But I wouldn't want to get too close either. That one bison was HUGE!!!!!
The lodge is just gorgeous. And the meal looks fabulous as well. I am now hungry. Thanks! LOL
It is a stunning place - you guys are so lucky to have sights like that in your country - I won't say "on your doorstep", as I know just how remote it is!
Saturday 10 September – part one: are they getting the hot water from the geysers?
We got up just about in time to see Old Faithful in action, although I think we’d missed the best of it by then.
We headed downstairs for the breakfast buffet in the dining room and they had a great selection of items to eat, including my favourite French toast (that’s what sold it to me when I first saw the menu! ), eggs, bacon, sausage, pastries, cereal, grits, fresh fruit and yoghurt. It was well worth the $11.95 we each paid for it.
The service was a little slow, considering that we’d only asked for hot water. I guess maybe they headed to one of the geysers to go and get it?
Once we were done with breakfast, we headed back to the room and then we took two of the three big cases down to the car and headed to Old Faithful.
The Visitor Center
Then we headed out to take the trail around the various geysers.
My goodness, it was a longer walk than we thought. We figured we’d do the trail, which was supposed to be a mile long and we had about 35 minutes before Old Faithful was due to erupt. I thought that would be plenty of time to get round the trail, even going slowly. : that was not the case at all. I guess maybe there were far too many photo opportunities for us...
I have to say that the colours here were glorious and reminded me of how we’d started out at Mammoth Hot Springs yesterday.
The first geyser we came to was called Chinese Spring...
Then we found this beautiful blue geyser – isn’t it stunning?
While these photos show you the visual impact, they cannot convey the noise of the water, in some cases the smell and in other cases the heat we felt. It really was an assault on all of your senses.
From here, we also got some wonderful views back across to Old Faithful Inn.
Great time at Old Faithful--dinner looks like it was wonderful and breakfast was a pretty good deal for all the offerings! The photos of Old Faithful are really neat and it's amazing that you could see it from your room. The Inn really does look a lot like the Wilderness Lodge--the details Disney was able to capture are really amazing!
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.
Wow, that blue geyser is stunning as well. You are really making me want to go there. I can't even imagine how many pictures I would take at a place like that.
Ok, I'm going with you and Mark next time. Seriously we were there, but didn't see half the sights you saw. My father took us on the speed tour of everthings. I think we parked, walked into the visitors center, walked outside to see Old Faithful, he went to the car and the kids and I spent some time in the visitor center.
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I'd plan to do a whole circular trip from one way or the other. Two days felt like about enough time, although we could've easily filled a third day as well. However, if you don't plan on doing much hiking and will be mainly driving and visiting the main sites, you can do a lot in two days. The problem is how to get there, as a lot of airports aren't that close. That's why I really liked Bozeman, as it was only a couple of hour's drive away from Yellowstone.
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What a fantastic view!
: 
all the 
in this TR. Can;t wait to 
more of your adventures.
), eggs, bacon, sausage, pastries, cereal, grits, fresh fruit and yoghurt. It was well worth the $11.95 we each paid for it. 
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