A Magical voyage across the pond LIVE UPDATE 9/30 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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How wonderful that Sara will be joining you on the cruise! Your visit to the hospital and chapel sounded so interesting. Truly amazing that they have things that date back to the 11th and 9th century!!!
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How wonderful that Sara will be joining you on the cruise! Your visit to the hospital and chapel sounded so interesting. Truly amazing that they have things that date back to the 11th and 9th century!!!
We are so lucky to have things that date back that far over here, but even though we do, I still marvel at it every time.
Well done shopping for Mark! He should be set for awhile now.
Your day in Canterbury looked wonderful. I know, I know, the heatwave, but the blue skies and sunshine do make for such great photos. Especially the flowers!
Mark's hand through the eyeball, of course!
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Well done shopping for Mark! He should be set for awhile now.
Oh my goodness, he certainly is!
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Your day in Canterbury looked wonderful. I know, I know, the heatwave, but the blue skies and sunshine do make for such great photos. Especially the flowers!
Isn't it funny? The heatwave now feels like it was a million years ago, but it was only a couple of weeks ago that we had the last of it. Today it's tipping down with rain, windy and generally miserable. In fact, it's a typical late August long Bank Holiday weekend!
Nice visits in Canterbury. A lot to see from the architecture and the gardens which are quite beautiful. Glad to see the clothing issues for the trip are well set.
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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!
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Sounds like your packing list is coming along...you will be starting off very shortly now! How exciting!
Good going with the clothes for Mark! I'm with you, I love dressing up a bit on a cruise and think it all looks so lovely with everyone turned out in their best. I was particularly saddened on our recent cruise to be seated near a family who did not dress up, indeed wore tee shirts and shorts even on formal night. Now that is not what really bothered me, it was is loudly made comments about the people trying to be what they were not and we all were just horse's patooties (but not actually saying patooties) and we were all full of ourselves., he for one was on VACATION and wanted to be comfortable. A joy for 14 nights! Not. Thank goodness he was not seated at our table!
Sounds like you've gotten your clothing ideas well underway. I love the photos around Canterbury, especially those with the wildlife. I'm betting that is Mark's hand.
Sounds like your packing list is coming along...you will be starting off very shortly now! How exciting!
Less than two weeks now!
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Good going with the clothes for Mark! I'm with you, I love dressing up a bit on a cruise and think it all looks so lovely with everyone turned out in their best. I was particularly saddened on our recent cruise to be seated near a family who did not dress up, indeed wore tee shirts and shorts even on formal night. Now that is not what really bothered me, it was is loudly made comments about the people trying to be what they were not and we all were just horse's patooties (but not actually saying patooties) and we were all full of ourselves., he for one was on VACATION and wanted to be comfortable. A joy for 14 nights! Not. Thank goodness he was not seated at our table!
Oh my goodness! Wow, that is not nice. I have no problem with people who don't want to dress up, although personally I would feel so uncomfortable with everyone else dressed up that I'd just go and hide somewhere that evening. However, to criticise other people for wearing their best - that is not nice!
Pre-trip report – part twenty four: where is my currency?
By late July, it was time to start turning my attention to the currency we’d need on this cruise. I knew I had remnants of American and Canadian dollars and Euros from our previous vacations, which are three of the currencies we’d need, along with British pounds as well. Hmm…. I think we’ll be fine with those as well.
Now I ran into a few problems, as I went to where I keep all my foreign currency, and I could only find my American dollars. Good – so I had a few of those. Great start, but where was the rest of it?
I looked in all the obvious places and with no luck. I’m sure you know how frustrating that is. Just as I was about to start looking in all the less obvious (for that read stupid!) places, I realised where the Euros were. Having been on a day trip to the World War I battlefields of Northern France in early June (if you haven’t read the trip report, you can find it in the Globetrotting trip reports forum), I put them in my carry-on luggage, ready for this trip. Sometimes I’m too organised!
I couldn’t find my Canadian dollars anywhere, although I had various other currencies. Eventually it occurred to me that perhaps we hadn’t actually come back with any Canadian notes. It was possible. I went through all the coins I had and discovered that there were a lot of Canadian ones, so I guess all I had left were coins…
I promptly ordered some more Canadian currency, something I’m not used to. Euros and American dollars are freely available everywhere over here, and I mean that. I can probably name at least a dozen places I can pick them up near where I work. I know it’s not like that in the States, as foreign travel isn’t quite as common, but here it’s very much the opposite. A few days later, my Canadian currency was in, although they ordered more in than I’d asked for, due to a mistake at their end. They said they were going to send them back and I decided I may as well take the lot. After all, while we’re in Canada, we’ll be on cruise shore excursions and you can’t exactly put a tip for a tour guide or bus driver on a card. Mind you, I say that – I’m sure the day will come when you can….
Disney have also just made an announcement about the work they’ll be doing to stamp out single use plastic. I have to say, it’s about time. I’ve been absolutely shocked and appalled by the waste we’ve seen on our last couple of trips to Disney. Of course, it’s been no worse than in previous trips, but our perception has changed.
In autumn 2015 (I seriously cannot believe it’s been that long already ), a 5p charge for plastic carrier bags was introduced in England. At the time, it took some getting used to, but in all honesty, I think everyone got used to it very quickly. These days, we all carry reusable bags with us or just carry what we buy. And the figures bear that out. Use of plastic carrier bags has reduced by an amazing 90%.
So imagine how it then feels to be presented with plastic carrier bags every time you buy anything at a Disney theme park or on a Disney cruise ship… very weird, I can tell you.
They certainly moved quickly. Just a day or two after the initial announcement, someone posted in the Facebook group to say they’d just got off the Dream and all the straws were gone, along with the plastic tops for the cups. The straws don’t bother me, as I only tend to use them when I’m on holiday. However, the plastic tops is a bit of a worry. I often go up to the top decks and make tea and bring it back to the room. If the ship’s going to be moving, a hot cup of tea without a lid is going to be downright dangerous. I immediately figured that some of the refillable mugs we’ve ended up with from previous Disney vacations needed to come with us, so I’ve put a couple away to ensure they come with us…
A lot of people have commented that they don’t like paper straws and I have to say, I’m not a fan, but I can deal with them. However, having said that, I was figuring I just wouldn’t bother with a straw, so how pleased (and slightly amazed) was I when Mari said that she had stainless steel straws and she’ll bring some with her for us. Cool! I never even knew they did those sort of things. You really do learn something every day!
Next: Disney Magic on a not so magical day weather wise…
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Your visit to the hospital and chapel sounded so interesting. Truly amazing that they have things that date back to the 11th and 9th century!!!
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He should be set for awhile now.
In fact, it's a typical late August long Bank Holiday weekend! 
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Wow, that is not nice. I have no problem with people who don't want to dress up, although personally I would feel so uncomfortable with everyone else dressed up that I'd just go and hide somewhere that evening. 
I immediately figured that some of the refillable mugs we’ve ended up with from previous Disney vacations needed to come with us, so I’ve put a couple away to ensure they come with us… 
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