The trip of many changes... TRIP REPORT UPDATED 2/25 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Cheryl, so happy you finally "get it" regarding the Wilderness Lodge. We have loved it since our first stay in 1996. When we purchased our DVC points, WL was the current property being sold so we were thrilled - purchased sight unseen. We don't spend much time in our room, so room decor is not important to us. But we love the openness of the Villa's cozy lobby and the WL lobby is fabulous. And the Christmas trees in both are superb.
I think maybe if we had been buying in a couple of years earlier (we first considered it in 1999 when they were selling the BoardWalk), then maybe we would've taken a closer look. In the intervening years, we've had some bad luck with DVC rooms. There's been a joke that there's the "PassPorter" room, as so many of us have had it and it's the furthest one from the lobby, which hasn't helped. This time the location was just perfect!
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Friday 12 January – part nine: Mark traumatises Pooh!
There was a boat arriving as we got to the dock at the Wilderness Lodge, although it took us first to Fort Wilderness. At that point, the front seats emptied, so we headed outside. It was a little windy and we were the only ones out there and we ended up chatting to one of the Cast Members. He explained why they don’t do security checks at the resorts. Get this – the resorts don’t want to. He also told us that the boat docks are owned by the resorts and it’s not unusual for a light to go out on the dock and for it to take weeks to be replaced.
When we headed into the park, the afternoon sun was casting some beautiful light over Main Street USA…
We got to the Crystal Palace about 20 minutes, but we checked in anyway and I think we were seated right on time. I was told I had a bit of a wait for my donkey, so went to get some food. I didn’t take any photos of the offerings, as frankly they were a bit pathetic and meagre. Mark told one of the chefs how many dishes they usually had out and he just shrugged and said “not since I’ve been here”. It’s a shame, but as Mark said, most people are here for the characters and I guess Disney can get away with skimping on the food more at these meals. The peel and eat shrimp was good, but not spectacular and at least they had a couple of fish options, but the best part was definitely dessert. The no sugar added strawberry panna cotta was to die for. In fact, it was so good, I went back for more.
My donkey was the first to visit and our server was an absolute star. He appeared just as Eeyore was about to and was on hand to take lots of photos. Trust me, he got a very good tip for that.
Now I will say Eeyore was very into rubbing… I will be honest, that is what donkeys do, at least some of them, from what I see on the webcam at the Donkey Sanctuary, but it was a bit weird and certainly not something I’ve ever known Eeyore to do in the past.
Then Pooh arrived and this is where Mark managed to traumatise him… He was telling Pooh that Tigger and Eeyore got his approval, i.e. thumbs up, but Piglet… he then just rubbed his tummy. I think Pooh went into shock and was covering his ears and backing away from Mark. I was laughing so much, I didn’t really capture any of the interaction with photos but it was utterly, utterly brilliant. It is a long time since I’ve laughed that much.
Next was Tigger and Mark told him that he liked to eat Piglet and Tigger nodded, then realised with horror what he’d done and changed his mind!
Finally the pig arrived and Mark played with him a bit, but was actually quite restrained, although of course he managed to upset Piglet and then they made up – as usual.
At the end, our server brought out a cupcake and a card signed by the characters, as I’d mentioned it had been my birthday a couple of weeks ago and I hadn’t been able to spend it with Eeyore. That was so sweet. He and Mark also sang to me. It was such a fun meal!
The only issue we did have in here was how darned cold it was. I think we were sat right under the air conditioning, which didn’t help, but my goodness, I was in a long sleeved top the whole time, it was freezing!
Crystal Palace:
Food 7½ 7½
Service 9½ 9
Atmosphere 9 9
Value for money 8½ 9
Oh man your trip reports always get me in trouble. Every time I try and only book 2 or 3 ADRs for a trip because i quickly get feb up eating out and stop enjoying food.
And yet having already 6 reservations I'm currently looking for an opening at the
plaza.
I absolutely loved your pictures with the characters at Crystal Plaza! You can tell from your faces what a fun time was had by all. Sorry the food selection wasn't as good this time and that it was too cold in the restaurant. We found that same issue in The Plaza when we ate there for the first time a couple of years ago which ruined our meal experience. When the temps are cooler outside, I don't understand why Disney has to pump up the air conditioning that much.
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I would think the resorts don't have the final say on the security issue. If the Disney higher ups in management want security at the resorts, it will happen. I guess they're just not pursuing it hard right now.
Your meals at Crystal Palace are always the best! So glad you guys have fun with those characters. The rubbing is a little odd from Eeyore, hmmm...... (I once had Buzz get a little touchy feely on my back, that was weird enough that I stepped away from him) The photos are great though! A shame they slacked off in the food offerings.
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What wonderful character interactions at Crystal Palace. I understand what you mean about the air conditioning. I was raised in the South and appreciate AC, but it can get so very cold, especially when they crank it up for crowded places. I hate being right under a vent.
Oh man your trip reports always get me in trouble. Every time I try and only book 2 or 3 ADRs for a trip because i quickly get feb up eating out and stop enjoying food.
And yet having already 6 reservations I'm currently looking for an opening at the
plaza.
Sorry about that! I am a bad influence when it comes to food definitely!
The monorail resorts do have security before boarding the monorail and It really makes things easier for entering the MK.
Oh that's good to hear.
It felt to us as if the Magic Kingdom had got the security sorted, now they just need to do something about the security for the other parks. 20+ minutes to get through security and into a park (hello Animal Kingdom! ) is not really good enough... I was almost ready to pass out after standing that long.
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He also told us that the boat docks are owned by the resorts and it’s not unusual for a light to go out on the dock and for it to take weeks to be replaced. 
I will be honest, that is what donkeys do, at least some of them, from what I see on the webcam at the Donkey Sanctuary, but it was a bit weird and certainly not something I’ve ever known Eeyore to do in the past. 
but it was utterly, utterly brilliant. It is a long time since I’ve laughed that much. 
He and Mark also sang 
to me. It was such a fun meal! 
) is not really good enough... I was almost ready to pass out after standing that long.
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