I could used to this (except that liquid sunshine) - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
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We had lunch at Captain Cook's our first day as I said earlier, but instead of Kona for dinner (which is our usual opening for any trip) we cancelled. We had such a late lunch that we were not hungry and knew we would not be ready at ADR time, so I called and cancelled.
Now that Kaitlin was swimming, the full unpacking was completed and our tummies had been filled earlier, when it was time to get fed again what to do?
Oh I know where we can get a little something: The Club Lounge. In the evening hours from 5-7 pm the offerings include hot appetisers, as well as other tasty treats, and beverages of all sorts. I forgot to take pics of the food tonight (drat).
Here are some photos of some of the club lounge though:
I did however get a few shots of the beverages and the kids choices:
Now lest we forget there were some adult travelers in this group, Disney thought about us as well and provided various libations for us in the lounge. From 5 until about 10-11 pm daily there were wines, cordials, an alcohol laced punch available, and anytime one could get or ask for 1 of 4 different bottled beers (and kids could get milk/chocolate milk by asking anytime as well)
We had delicious food treats, and wonderful Cocktail Hours libations, mmmm one of many reasons why I say...I could get used to this, I am so spoiled already. What more can I ask for.
Oh wait, later evening is coming and I know I will be watching the fireworks over the castle, tonight from the lounge while enjoying yet more tasty offerings, and even better we are going to enjoy it with friends. Day 1 is truly turning out to be a magical one! (So Far) But what will day 2 bring in later posts ?
It is now evening of our first day first I will show you a photo of the lounge that faces the 2 story picture window facing the castle where we will be watching the fireworks.
It may not look llike it but we could see the castle and fireworks very well here. Also they dim the lights and crank up the fireworks track and it is almost like being right on main street (well pretty close).
The kids enjoyed going down to the beach before the show. They were given the opportunity to make toasted marshmallows over the firepit. Yummy, Adults were welcome to try their hand at it too, and some of us did! There was also a movie on the beach, the kids watched some of it but returned for other pursuits (eating and playing cards in the lounge).
The treats were as tasty as they look, and anytime the trays would get low, the staff would simpley remove the tray anad return with a full one, they really do mean it is all you can eat here!
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I will update again later with photos of the adults, our fun time, and later in the room where we found turndown had occurred with all that it includes, and Kaitlin gets cozy before bedtime in a special way.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Gotta back up for a moment. Just realized I did not post iany travel pics. I have some on plane, but not that great. I DO want to post 2 from the Quicksilver transport though.
Hubby is all smiles as he relaxes in the Escalade that surprised us for pick up, then Kaitlin posed with the Escalade. She said this is gonna be the car she buys in 4 years when she is 16 (dream on sweetie!)
Forward march.....
Once the evening was upon us, after the kids swam and toasted marshmallows, and watched some of the movie on the beach, everyone settled in on the sofas and chairs with snacks and beverages to enjoy a picture perfect view of the castle and the fireworks!
Once the fireworks were history (for tonight at least), it was time to return to our rooms to bed down for the night. When we walked in we found our beds turned down looking inviting complete with chocolate mints on the pillows, and Mickey had been placed at the foot of the bed. Nite nite
Tomorrow is a big day! First we celebrate at Chef Mickey's followed by a no park day full of activities. Meanwhile back at home, a phone call to dad gives me a peaceful night's sleep. All is well with him.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Good Morning, no sleeping! (LOL Mickey and Stitch wake us up).
It is going to be a BUSY day today. First we will meet with our fellow travellers and ride the monorail over to the Contemporary for Chef Mickey's Breakfast Buffet to celebrate the 12th birthday of Kaitlin and Jared. But first while I press clothes, Kaitlin grabs a robe from the closet (miss thosse robes, but I will NOT pay $100 each to bring them home). She also enjoys views from the doors.
Monday Morning July 23, 2012. We are off to see The Mouse! Yes, today we have breakfast at Chef Mickey's to celebrate 2 very special children as they turn 12. Yikes, next year they will be teenagers! So now it is time for us to all get on the monorail and ride to the Contemporary.
Everyone is anticipating a delicious breakfast. It always is.
Once we arrive and check in, we HAVE to have the obligatory photos!
First up was the birthday kids, then onto our whole group shot.
After ph0tos we waited a bit, then it was on to chowing down on the delish food at this magical place. Of course during the meal we did take time out to meet characters, take some photos of the gathering, and of course "Celebrate" in traaditional Chef Mickey manner.
As you can see the kids were loving it all. What a fun time we had, and we took so many pictures between us all. It was hard to narrow them down to a managable few to post.
I will continue withanother picture or two of our morning with the next post, and then I will let you in on our next adventure for the morning. Aiyiyi here comes that liquid Florida Sunshine. Usually it is a quick bit and then over, not today, we needed to be ducks today!
How will all this "sunshine" affect our plans for today? Well we had some "in stone" but even they melted and had to be changed due to the rain.......
Well breakfast is now over. We make our way out of Chef Mickey's with full tummies, and then decide to do a little shop hopping here at the Contemporary. Actually it was the men who went shopping while Susie and I relaxed a bit and the kids made pressed pennies.
After the guys finished with their purchases, we all rode the monorail back to the Poly to store the purchases in the rooms. We stopped in the Great Ceremonial House first and took a couple of photos.
After taking some photos, Susie and I sent the men to their rooms (ahhhh, men get to relax on vacation right), while she and I took the 3 kids boarded the bus to DTD where we dropped the kids off at Disneyquest for the afternoon (with a very capable Evan supervising of course). Susie and I then proceeded to shop the day away. Oh, of course it began to rain as soon as we dropped off the kids.
Of course we also didn't think to bring ponchos or umbrellas, but what the heck it was a tiny shower, for a minute then the heavens opened up. I am after all made of spun sugar and would melt so we needed to duck in somewhere to try and dry off. hahahahahahahaha
What did we find but this adorable dry place called Ragland Road (lol) where we found out that by enjoying a bit of wet libation we were soon feeling warm, and if not dry, at least less wet. Susie had a beer, me, I decided on the sangria which was served in a mason jar mug. Cheers! We only had one each I promise.
We shopped for quite a while. It did finally stop raining (or so we thought). We made our way back to the resort with loaded bags. We texted the kids, they were having a ball. We gave them a deadline time to start back as we had some extremely special plans for the evening. Will the plans come together, or will the rain dampen our spirits?
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