Go your own way - Decade of Dreams - UPDATED 6/24 - COMPLETE!! - Page 27 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Great updates! The pics at Fort Wilderness are great. We always say we are going to venture over there but never get around to it. I am worried now Wendy about what is coming next!
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Another great update! Great pictures of the resorts. That's really weird that CR had the wrong address for both you. I'm curious to see what Wendy means when she said its about it get worse!
Just got caught up. The spa treatment sound wonderful. I agree with you Cheryl that I get a little jumpy when I get foot or leg massages. That must have been quite the sight when Wendy shoved you aside for the bear. Just shows her excitment of really good finds. Can't wait to read more
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But the address came back as someplace in New Jersey.
Ya know, if you both lived in New Jersey, we could have ALOT more Passporter meets!
Quote:
Duck butt. Remember?
There seems to be alot of fascination with duck butts....
Great pictures of BLT, Chez! But I have to say, it does take some getting used to it being there after all the years of just seeing the CR. And Humphrey is cute!
Cheryl, I've just gotten started and caught up on your TR. I'm just like you when I have to leave Luke; it's like the tears just can't be held back. As Stefanie says, we all just like to be together. Your pictures are great as usual, but I especially the one of Illuminations from your room at BW. I feel something ominous about to happen at CR.
Wendy, for the tag teaming as it's so good to hear from both of you. You've got me very anxious for the next installment.
Cheryl, I've just gotten started and caught up on your TR. I'm just like you when I have to leave Luke; it's like the tears just can't be held back. As Stefanie says, we all just like to be together. Your pictures are great as usual, but I especially the one of Illuminations from your room at BW. I feel something ominous about to happen at CR.
Wendy, for the tag teaming as it's so good to hear from both of you. You've got me very anxious for the next installment.
We found our way to the room, although we did have to guess a bit, as all we had was a room number and no floor. We tried floor nine and realised that we needed to be a floor lower, but we got there in the end. The room was easy enough to find, as it was right by the lift. By the way, I now know how to work out which floor a room is on – you add the first two digits of your room number together to give the floor. It works for every floor, except the 14th floor, which starts 49. That’s because there’s no 13th floor.
We walked in and were just taking in our surroundings, when a Cast Member, Ashley, turned up with the gift basket I’d ordered for Wendy. What great timing! At first, she couldn’t work it out and then a great big smile spread across her face. It was such a great look.
We spent the next few minutes checking out the room and taking photos:
Wendy modelling the storage areas!
Our balcony and the great views from it:
The next challenge then was to get our luggage. Wendy called and they told us that our luggage wasn’t there yet. Not a good start. About 20 minutes later, I called, as I was getting a bit mad, as my glasses were in one of the cases and I really needed to take my contact lenses out. They told me that it should be about 20 – 25 minutes, as the BoardWalk “had messed up” and the bags were on their way over now. We called Sabine to be on the safe side to let her know what was happening and that there was no way we would make it before our ADR at 5.30, as we had agreed to meet beforehand.
I got so mad with the whole situation that eventually I called and asked to speak to a manager to discuss the problem. I finally got through to someone who was in charge of bell services at the BoardWalk and I told him what I thought of our situation very politely and said that I didn’t see why we were having to pay for a taxi to get to Sanaa for our dinner. He agreed and said that he would see what he could do. I wasn’t holding out much hope, but this guy did deliver and a few minutes later, called to say that if we went down to front desk, we could ask for a Cast Member and he would sort out a lift over to Kidani Village for us.
In the meantime, our luggage finally arrived, but not until 5.10, which was just crazy. We quickly changed and I was finally able to take my contact lenses out and then we went down to front desk to ask for Garron. He came out and sent a Cast Member to take us over to Kidani Village and, in the meantime, promised to phone Sanaa to let them know what had happened, so that we didn’t lose our ADR there.
We went outside to wait for the Cast Member to arrive and when she showed up, we realised it was Ashley, who had earlier brought the gift basket to the room. She was in a really nice car, although my goodness, there was one almighty step to get into the thing! It was so nice to be chauffeured across to Kidani Village and, to be honest, that did make up for all the hassle we had had with the luggage. I’m glad I pushed this issue, as it was a mess and Disney needed to do something to make up for it and they did.
As we pulled up to Kidani Village, my first impression was not a great one. Because the rooms are facing the savannah, it looks a bit like a prison camp from the other side and it’s almost as if you’re seeing something backstage when you arrive. It’s a shame, as it gets your visit off to the wrong start.
It got better when we got up to the main entrance. This looked like Animal Kingdom Lodge, but it did have its own feeling to it, if that makes sense. I loved the welcome home sign and the second we walked into the lobby, I was sold on the place. Admittedly, the lobby is nowhere near as big as at Jambo House, but I guess that’s to be expected.
We immediately saw Sabine and Manuel…
After a few photos, we headed downstairs with them. Just like Jambo House, you have to go downstairs for the restaurants and we saw the sign for Sanaa at once. I just felt a great sense of relief that we had made it and, a couple of minutes later, they showed us to our table, pointing out bits of artwork in the restaurant on the way and explaining about the food they serve here. There was a lot of information and, although it was really interesting, it was really hard to take it all in.
The bar area
Next: trying out a new Disney restaurant on night one
I can't believe how long it took me to figure out who sent my basket as I was just completely taken aback. No one can surprise me. But I reckon being 3500 miles apart, it's a bit easier! LOL! I want to give Memories by Betsy a plug... A Mickey, a Contemporary pin and a coffee mug--absolutely me and my style!
I remember Cheryl saying to me "I'm surprised you didn't get the job done with the luggage, you being the mom" and I said "Oh I wouldn't have been as nice as you". Which is the exact truth. You know that saying You get more flies with honey?? Yes, that was true with Cheryl!!
Once Ashley came up with the car, I hopped right in while Cheryl had a bit of a struggle. Of course, she was in a dress, but I didn't really think anything of it and laughed when she said it was a big step! I have the same type of car, only mine is a Ford Excursion and this was a Chevy Suburban I think. Same type of vehicle.
We had such great moments that day, but the not so great moments really added up and started to get to me----oh but I don't want to get ahead of ourselves
The great moments of the day so far(and we've only been awake for 12 hours by this point) is meeting with Joy and then FINALLY meeting Sabine and Manuel! Such a lovely and in love couple.
I'm glad you took all those pics Chez. I cannot wait to show the guys for next month!
How nice to wake up nice and early to an update, ladies!! The room looked soooo nice. I never thought I'd like the CR, but those rooms are beautiful. I also Memories by Betsy (I get something every trip) - how nice of you to do that for Wendy, Chez. Good for you for pressing the luggage situation, sometimes that's the only way to get anything accomplished. More please. . . . .
Phew!! I'm glad you got all that sorted out and made it to Kidani Village on time for your ADR. I'm laughing about that big step up as well - I'm on the short side - and John ALWAYS drives a Chevy (or GMC) Suburban, so I'm quite used to the step. Running boards help.
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the one of Illuminations from your room at BW. I feel something ominous about to happen at CR.
for the tag teaming as it's so good to hear from both of you. You've got me very anxious for the next installment.
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Danny and I at Epcot 8/14/08
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