"This is Not the Trip You're Looking For" TR May/June 2011 - COMPLETE - Page 3 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I've just caught up on your report so far and I'm so glad you made it. It was a horrible start to the vacation with the weather beforehand - those scenes on the way down were so depressing. I'm hoping things get better from here on in....
i remember worrying about y'all on the day you left. i also remembering having the sense that something wasn't "right" when we finally met up at MK. now i think i might know why....
Glad to see you made it under those wonderful gates. Sorry for the delays this morning but glad to know you are all set in your room and heading for the Tea at the GF. I loved seeing the pictures of POR - we love that resort so much hoping to try out one of the princess rooms once they are completed next year.
Must have been difficult to drive through the tornado-stricken areas on your way down. NOT a magical sight. At least you spread a bit of pixie dust to the CM at check-in!
Ever since I discovered the Garden View Lounge Tea Room, I had been anxiously awaiting a chance to work it into our vacation plans. It just seemed like the perfect way to relax and enjoy a quiet moment in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the parks.
I did lots of research on it, too – reading reviews, studying the menu, looking at other guests’ photos – because it felt a bit...intimidating...at first glance.
Our family loves the Grand Floridian. As soon as we exited the monorail and stepped into the upper level, a myriad of photo opportunities presented themselves. We were running a bit late, so Cory and I only had a few moments to take some of these – although we would have liked to taken more.
The Garden View Tea Room was easy to find; there was already one guest talking to the CM at the podium, so we stood back a bit to let them finish their business. At the time, I didn’t think twice about this, but now that I look back on it, it’s rather amusing. As the four of us waited, an older (and obviously well-to-do) couple walked right up to the podium and stepped in front of us. The CM, who was still talking with the first guest, glanced our way, and the older woman (who looked like a white-haired version of Maleficent) glared at me and asked, “Are you in line?” (If you can imagine Maleficent’s voice while you’re reading that, it’s even better.)
I answered ‘Yes,” and smiled at her; she turned up her glare a notch or two and backed up a few feet – like I had totally offended her by being in line!
We were seated promptly in a beautiful table by the windows, our menus already presented in front of us and told that our server would be with us shortly.
For those of you who have been to Afternoon Tea, you’ll know this already, but for those of you who haven’t and are considering it, here are a couple things...
First of all, do not worry about the experience being ‘stuffy’ or ‘intimidating.’ This is Disney we’re talking about. And don’t worry about the men in your party feeling out of place. The tea room was filled when we arrived with all different sorts of people; an older couple taking tea silently; a table of young Princesses (obviously just come from BBB) and their moms; a young couple with an adorable 2 year old little girl, a table full of women and girls with the lone patriarch of the family who looked like he was quite enjoying himself.
Secondly, keep in mind that tea is a leisurely activity. This is not an experience to rush through; expect that you’re going to be there awhile.
Our server took quite a while to get to us, but that was okay as it gave us plenty of opportunity to look at our options. Cory says I’m studying the menu like there’ll be a test later!
(I should mention that Corinne fussed at me for taking photos during tea – “like a tourist” ; guess she wanted us to be more ‘proper.’)
I am the tea drinker in the family and Corinne sometimes tries a cup; Kelley had NEVER had any tea before – so we were totally shocked to hear her say she wanted to order the Buckingham Tea and try it herself!!
When our server arrived, she asked if we had any questions, but I must have sounded like I knew what I was doing so she never offered to bring the tea box around and proceeded to take our order. The girls all chose the Buckingham Tea; Kevin (who had just eaten before we came) ordered a cappuccino and we promised to share some of our goodies with him.
First our teapots were brought out, complete with their own tea cozys. Corinne and I both chose the Princess Breakfast Tea: “A sweet custom blend of South African organic rooibos flavored with vanilla bean and a hint of strawberries.” Kelley wanted something with orange flavor so she chose the Eros: “Medium bodied Ceylon: Sweet Mandarin orange with warm vanilla for a sweet, smooth and creamy finish.”
Kevin’s cappuccino came from another restaurant at GF – and they made it special.
The next to arrive was our plates of assorted tea sandwiches. Our server was very accommodating to Kelley and let her substitute out the varieties she didn’t like. On each plate was a curry chicken salad, egg salad, shrimp salad, cucumber and watercress and a delicious and unusual pear and gorgonzola cheese sandwich– plus a little onion tartlet!
While we were waiting for the next course, I enjoyed the view from the window. But I had to laugh because not only was it a ‘garden view’ but also a view of the pool and walkway; every once in awhile I got to view some ‘oversized’ men in too small swim trunks – and the occasional ‘supermodel’ with the teeny bikini walk by! (Good thing Kevin’s back was to the window!)
The scones with jam and Devonshire Cream were next – mmmm! There was also a little jam tart that tasted exactly like an over-filled Pop-Tart.
Finally, we had our choice of pastries, trifle or strawberries and cream. Having seen other guests’ bowls being brought out, we couldn’t resist these! Definitely big enough for two. I shared my bowl with Kevin and the girls each ate their own!
We were all completely stuffed by the time we had finished and all of us enjoyed the experience immensely. And yes, we’d do it again.
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Can't wait to hear about tea! 
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Pixie Dust
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I'm hoping things get better from here on in....
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
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