A seed was planted and here’s what grew....Magical Memories - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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After our "bad" choice for lunch we got gas at the same station as last year - the one that advertised using "real meat" on their subs. They weren’t advertising that though this year - the sign was blank.
that is too funny they would advertise that... I always say they have great bread becasue they bake it there, but they used the cheapest meat possible , not a place I go... yet I LOVE Arbys too. the closest one to me is like 30+ miles away.
Great start to the trip report. I love your Photos. Can't wait to hear more and when you ride the train
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Aug,1978- LBV;Apr,1987-Disneyland;March,1993-offsite;Jan,1997-offsite;Aug,1999- CBR;Sept,2000- ASMo;Aug,2001- ASSP;Aug,2002- ASMU/AKL;Jan & July 2003-POR;June,December 2004- PC;January 2005- ASMU; Aug 2005-PC;Dec 2005-AKL;Jan 2006-CBR ; July/Aug-Saratoga springs; Dec. PC;April 2007- Disneyland;Aug 2007-Disneyland & So Cal;Dec 2007-POFQ; Aug2008-POFQ & Nov 2008 PC,Y&B May 2009 ASmu, June 2009 PC ; Nov 2009 WL & POFQ;Jan 2010 BW & WL; June 2010 POFQ ; Aug 2010 Poly ;Oct 2010 WL; Jan 2011 PC
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WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
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Great start! I can never sleep too well the night before vacation, so I can relate to being up as early as you were!
Can't wait to read more.
I'm sure there's a lot of people who can relate to not sleeping well. I'm just glad it's not an all the time problem though.
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Great start! Glad you were able to get on the road early and make good time. You guys were the first thing on my mind when I heard about the train problems; glad you were not affected..... More please
Thanks. It's really nice to know that I'm not just a name on here and that I'm thought of. And I'll be posting more soon.
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Great start! I was glad to hear you weren't affected by the train derailment - I'm sure that caused you some momentary stress that you didn't need though! And now you've got me hungry for Arby's
Thanks. Hearing about the train did cause some stress but had I not been up so early, it would have caused way, way more - I would have felt rushed to call and find out and that would have caused us to leave later. I want some Arby's too now but they're all a little too far away to travel too.
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Can't wait to hear about your trip Darlene!! I had heard about the train derailment and thought of you, but was glad to hear you weren't affected by it. Can't wait to read more!
Thanks, again it's nice to be thought of. And again, I'll do more soon.
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Yay your TR has begun!!! I have watching for it everyday.
Sounds like you had a great start. I love the picture of Abby. She looks very comfortable. Looking forward to reading more.
No more waiting for it to start. Now you'll just be waiting for the installments. I have it all typed up so it will really just be a matter of getting the time to post everything. And as for Abby - she was in her "living room on wheels" and what could possibly be more comfortable than that.
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YAY the TR is here!!! Great start, OH I remember your road trip woes of last year!
Thanks Chantel. There were more whoas than woes this year and you'll just have to stay tuned.
They closed all the Old Country Buffets by us - I wish we still had them around.
The underwater pics are really cool!
Can't wait to read more - the AutoTrain is still something I'd love to try one day.
Thanks. Sorry to hear you don't have any OCB's - we really like ours as it's one of the only TS places Abby eats well at. The other place is Olive Garden.
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Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to more.
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Yea! I have been waiting since you got back for your trip report. Can't wait to read more.
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Great start Darlene! Can't wait to hear about your train adventure!
that is too funny they would advertise that... I always say they have great bread becasue they bake it there, but they used the cheapest meat possible , not a place I go... yet I LOVE Arbys too. the closest one to me is like 30+ miles away.
Great start to the trip report. I love your Photos. Can't wait to hear more and when you ride the train
I've been to a few places that aren't worth a repeat trip and like you, I would try to find something positive to say. And I hear ya on the Arby's. The one location I would go to was at Emerald Square - it was kinda one stop shopping for me. There's Walmart and Target down the street in one direction, my BIL's house down the street in the other direction and the mall with Arby's and the Disney Store is right there in the middle. Sadly that Arby's closed even though they always had those good deals and decent lines that I saw. Now I have no idea where the closest one is. Wherever it is, it won't be that convenient for me anymore.
I don’t know if Lenny slept badly or if he was in a rush but when the alarm went off at 6, he got right up. After getting ready for the day and getting what little we had in the room packed back into the van, we went right to the continental breakfast. It was only 7 am at this time. With only a 2 hour drive to the train station, I’m not sure what the big hurry was but we were done with breakfast, checked out and back on the highway by 7:30. Other than Lenny being a complete jerk at one point in time, the ride was uneventful and even with a pit stop along I-70, we were still in Lorton at 9:20. When we got to the station, I shouldn’t have been surprised at the amount of people there - the train is scheduled to arrive at 9:30 anyway - but I was. Because the car carriers were still attached to the train, we were allowed to pull into the visitor parking lot (usually incoming traffic is not allowed when the train is being unloaded - I know in Sanford it’s not). Since I needed to use a bathroom anyways, I decided to try and check in while I was inside the station. I was able to do that but we couldn’t check the truck yet which we were fine with. Lenny wanted coffee and we knew a cup of it anywhere but at the station would be much cheaper so we headed to the nearest McDonald’s.
After that, we just drove around Lorton for a bit then we hit the gas station and a Subway where Lenny got a sub for lunch. It was about 10:30 at this time so instead of sitting in the parking lot at Amtrak, we choose to sit in the parking lot at McDonald’s - at least there was a tree to park under that gave us some shade. Abby wanted there for lunch, but it didn’t start until 11. So with Abby watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in the back, the AC blasting in the front and the shade from the tree, we were all set to wait out the time. Besides, I had to go inside and use the bathroom again and it was a complete madhouse in there and I wanted no part of it. Once it was 11:00, we all went inside for Abby’s meal and it was much quieter this time. Lenny had his sub and I still had the Arby’s sandwiches from the night before but those we would eat at the station. Once Abby was done, we headed back to the station because it was finally time to check the truck.
When you check a vehicle for the Auto Train, you pull up to the Amtrak attendants and they start video taping the exterior of the vehicle and other people hang around waiting to move them. IMO, it’s very rushed and stressful and in my case, it always makes me forget something we need on the train. So when we got back to the station, we pulled into the visitor lot again (all the morning vehicles were long gone by this time). Doing it this way, we were able to take all the time we needed to make sure I didn’t forget anything. When we were sure we had everything, Abby and I went to wait by building while Lenny checked the truck. With that all done, we went inside to wait until it was time to board the train. As in previous years, there wasn’t much to do except wait but this year it seemed to go quickly. I walked around to do some filming to show mom the station and Abby stayed with Lenny to color in her coloring book. I called home and talked to mom for a while too. Once we got on the train, Abby played some of the non-electric hand held games we had with us (ones I played growing up when we drove to Disney), then we played checkers as I remembered to bring them this year.
The train was ready early and we left about 3:50. After about a half an hour or so, we passed by the site of the train derailment. I wasn’t quick enough to get any pictures but the only thing to see was some overturned coal cars and a small pile of railroad ties. From what I could see, someone did a good job of getting a lot of cleanup done in a short amount of time. Soon after that, it was time to head to the dining car. This years dinner choices were beef tenderloin with baked potato, chicken with rice, crab cakes with rice and stuffed manicotti. The veggies included were kidney and lima beans, peas, and green and yellow beans. And as usual, rolls and salad were included with all the choices . The kids choices were also the same as in the past - chicken nuggets or pasta and meatballs.
Abby has never eaten the kids choices so we ordered the adult chicken for her and since Lenny and I couldn’t decide what we wanted, we ordered the beef and the crab and we would share them. Once we got the meals, I changed my mind though. After one bite of the crab cake, I decided I didn’t want it - it tasted way too fishy for me. Lenny liked them however. The beef on the other hand was perfect - moist and tender and very flavorful. I really enjoyed it. For dessert Abby got the ice cream with chocolate sauce and Lenny and I got the cheesecake with strawberry sauce. Just like dinner, it all tasted very good.
After dinner, we returned to the rooms and Lenny laid down . Abby and I watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and after a few minutes, I started writing some of my TR. About 8:30ish, Abby decided it was time for bed so we put everything away for the night. I set my alarm for 6:15 (about the time morning announcements are made) and I went to bed with the thought of how nice it would be if we could arrive early in Florida like we did one other time.
Can't wait to read more... but I'm off work in 3 minutes so I'm subscribing so I can catch up later.
I'm very intrigued to learn about the auto train since we are in MA also. My DH LOVES arbys and anytime we go on vacation we need to hunt one down since all the local ones closed. We even drove to the attleboro mall the first week in august since there was one there but that closed too!
Great start! I love hearing all the auto train details! My grandma and Pap used to winter in Florida and this was how they travelled. That way Grandma could take months worth of stuff with her all jam packed in the car! Can't wait to see if you get to Florida early!
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So glad to get another update today. The autotrain sounds like so much fun. We use to have Amtrak where we live, but after Katrina, they never got our section up and running. I wish they would though I think my girls would especially love to go on a train trip. Can't wait to read more!
Glad that the trip is going smoothly so far. What kind of hand held games did you bring along? Sometimes those "old fashioned ones" are the best. The meals sounded yummy. Can't wait for the next installment.
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at one point in time, the ride was uneventful and even with a pit stop along I-70, we were still in Lorton at 9:20. When we got to the station, I shouldn’t have been surprised at the amount of people there - the train is scheduled to arrive at 9:30 anyway - but I was. Because the car carriers were still attached to the train, we were allowed to pull into the visitor parking lot (usually incoming traffic is not allowed when the train is being unloaded - I know in Sanford it’s not). Since I needed to use a bathroom anyways, I decided to try and check in while I was inside the station. I was able to do that but we couldn’t check the truck yet which we were fine with. Lenny wanted coffee 
and we knew a cup of it anywhere but at the station would be much cheaper so we headed to the nearest McDonald’s. 
and talked to mom for a while too. Once we got on the train, Abby played some of the non-electric hand held games we had with us (ones I played growing up when we drove to Disney), then we played checkers as I remembered to bring them this year.
. The kids choices were also the same as in the past - chicken nuggets or pasta and meatballs.
. Abby and I watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and after a few minutes, I started writing some of my TR. About 8:30ish, Abby decided it was time for bed so we put everything away for the night. I set my alarm for 6:15 (about the time morning announcements are made) and I went to bed with the thought of how nice it would be if we could arrive early in Florida like we did one other time.
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