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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Dieting and visiting Rome sure does'nt mix well. Love all of the food shots and your discriptions. Guess all of the walking helps get rid of extra calories. You continue to look great and relaxed without any outward signs of stress.
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How great to have time to just meander around on your own like that! Gladiator Donald was cute! Your nephew would have liked him I'm sure!
Even though he's only 5, he's much more into dinosaurs and Transformers these days. Poor Donald would probably spend the rest of his days being the victim of various monsters.
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Originally Posted by Big Baloo
I love the Piazza Del Popolo, because it's just fun to say!! Great pics from your last night in Rome--looking forward to Day 5.
It is fun to say!
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Originally Posted by coffeechef
Nice Update... and sorry to hear that yo left your memory card behind .. I have been known to to do similare things. Once left the spare batteries back in my room, so rather than go back to get them , I bought batteries at the Park I was in. But at least you had your phone camera to capture some moments. The Gladiator Donalds were cute... but still just as cute in a picture.
I've been there! But now that my camera takes a special battery, I have to make a point to remember to bring my spare!
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Originally Posted by lauriep
It's great that they build in a lot of free time on the ABD tours. I always worry that I won't have enough time for shopping! Oh, boy, you're going to Orvieto next! I'm glad they're not taking you right to Tuscany. A stop in an Umbrian town is perfect!
The itineraries are really well planned. They take you to the major sights, then give you time to explore on your own. And the food - if you're not an adventurous eater, there are always "safe" choices, but the meals on your own give you a chance to try the local specialties!
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Originally Posted by honeybee723
You could have bought the stuffed Donald to give to yourself. It would have been a nice souvenier.
I came pretty close to buying it for myself! But where would I put it?
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Originally Posted by chezp
Great evening - I love exploring the Disney Stores in different countries to see what they have.
Me too! I made a point to visit one in each city on this trip.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rhinohunter
Dieting and visiting Rome sure does'nt mix well. Love all of the food shots and your discriptions. Guess all of the walking helps get rid of extra calories. You continue to look great and relaxed without any outward signs of stress.
I suppose all the wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables available wouldn't be so bad, but it was great to eat such delicious treats! And yeah, no worries with all the walking I did!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caldercup
Oy, that toxic waste container. It really adds something...
Why must you always post toxic comments? If you can't say something nice...
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
I got up when the alarm went off and got showered and dressed. Then I packed my bags and put it outside the room. Then I got all my stuff I’d need for the day and put it in my backpack and headed downstairs. One of my fellow Adventurers was checking out ahead of me, and when he finished I went. I only had one charge of €7 (for 3 hours of internet, which I thought was a pretty good price). I paid it in cash and then I was done.
I headed up to the restaurant and had some breakfast (my final morning of the green apple juice). I loved the little individual jar-shaped packets of Nutella (may have even taken a few extras for a taste of Italy (literally ) when I got home ).
I took a last few photos outside.
And then I went inside to meet up with the group. When I’d gotten my gift card, they’d forgotten to take down the number, so Tina asked me to remind her to get it on the bus and she gave me her phone to activate it. It’s an ABD gift card, so I’ll probably keep it for my scrapbook once it’s used up.
Then we boarded our bus with our new driver, Giuseppe. We’d soon learn why we had a new driver. Giuseppe was a specialist. We started our drive out of town (to the tune of Arrivederci Roma) and the guides handed out snacks and water for us.
During the drive, Marco told us about the history and culture of Italy. Interestingly, Italians have more regional pride (or what would be state pride for us) than national pride. He told us it’s a bit rare to see Italian flags. He said there was a period a while back where everyone was flying the Italian flag – just after Italy won the World Cup. Apparently, it didn’t last too long.
SPOILER! If you don’t want to be spoiled, skip to the next post. Then we learned that Tinkerbell had dropped off some envelopes for us.
They’re actually postcards that can be mailed.
You get these on every ABD and I love them so much that I always keep them as souvenirs. How cool are they?
I guess the drive to Orvieto took about 90 minutes or so, but the guides did a good job of entertaining us, so it didn’t seem so long. I enjoyed looking out the window and watching the scenery.
We passed a town on a butte, similar to Orvieto. Unfortunately, I was on the wrong side of the bus for photos.
Before long, we were arriving in Orvieto. We stopped for a bathroom break for those who needed one, then we all headed up to the funicular.
There is a train station right next to the funicular, so you could get the train from Rome if you wanted to visit Orvieto. I didn’t have a spot near the window to get shots, but I did get some on the way back down.
Orvieto is in Umbria and is situated on a butte. I guess it’s most well known for its Duomo, its Etruscan roots and underground city, but we were told the pottery here is outstanding. There was also something about boar being very popular here, and I noticed boar heads in a lot of different places (though I didn’t try any). Not that this is important, but I might have given it a little taste if I had the chance. It’s practically a pig, so I’ve got no issues with it.
Anyway, when we arrived at the top, we walked up the hill together as a group. They told us even if we were tempted (and we would be) we shouldn’t stop to get photos. Anyone who’s ever seen me knows that this is a non-issue. So I’ve got photos and I didn’t hold up the group!
It was Sunday morning, so many of the shops weren’t yet open and there were hardly any people around. It did pick up later in the day and most of the shops opened up as well.
I thought the combo of pizza, hamburgers and hot dogs was kinda funny – “American food here”
When we got near the top of the hill (it’s quite a steep climb), the guides pointed out the bell tower and told us we could climb it, but warned that we should time it properly to avoid hearing damage. Then we continued our walk.
The pottery in Orvieto is indeed beautiful!
They pointed out the best gelato place in the town, and I stored that bit of info, as daily gelato while in Italy is a must do.
Then we walked for a bit more and suddenly… a reveal!
You can see a little piece of…
A huge duomo!
Like I said before, this was one of the coolest things about Italy for me. You’d be walking along and turn a corner and then boom! There was something amazing! And believe me, the Duomo in Orvieto is amazing.
Our guides told us where to find a couple of good restaurants, where the visitors’ center was if we needed a map, and to meet back at that spot at 1:30 (it was about 10:45). They mentioned that they had a great spot for photos if we wanted to follow them. They didn’t lie.
We walked past the Duomo and down a little hill and came to the most breathtaking sight I’d seen in at least 5 minutes.
Seriously, Italy is gorgeous, y’all.
I lurved that castle and wanted to move in immediately. Unfortunately, the owner is being stubborn, so I’m still trying.
Then a group of us walked back to the Duomo. I was able to get some detail photos.
We wanted to get in, but because it was Sunday, we had to wait until mass was over. The rest of the group decided they wanted to walk down and climb the bell tower, but I didn’t really think there would be enough time to make it worth the climb, so I decided to do some shopping.
There were so many lovely shops and an Etruscan museum, which I didn’t have time to explore. I ended up getting some pottery, though, a really cute giraffe bell/ornament because I didn’t want to try to get anything bigger home (though many of the places would happily ship purchases home).
I came upon an interesting set of pots to put spices and such in.
I realize it’s a great idea to put your strychnine in a labeled container so you don’t mix it up with corn starch or something viagra, but is it really a good idea to put your illegal drugs in labeled containers? Just sayin’.
It gave me a good chuckle anyway!
Loved this suit of armor! Too bad it wouldn’t fit in my suitcase.
There was a really cute toy shop called the Wizard of Oz.
No photos were allowed inside, so I can’t share any pics, but there was a ton of stuff to see. The owner (who speaks less English than I speak Italian) asked if I were American and then showed me a really cute bear that plays the piano. You stick different hats on his head and he plays a tune to match it. Like he’d play western tunes if you put the cowboy hat on him and patriotic songs when you put the Uncle Sam hat on him. There were a lot of toys and stuff in there. I so wish I’d been able to take pictures. It’s definitely worth a visit if you go to Orvieto.
I continued my shopping and ran into my friends who’d gone to climb the clock tower. They were headed back to see inside the Duomo, so I rejoined them. The inside of the Duomo is just as lovely as the outside.
Then the group headed down to check out the famous caves, which were discovered fairly recently.
I couldn’t help wondering: are Italian comic conventions full of Star Wars geeks? Or is it some Italian sci-fi movie?
On the way down, we had to wait for a parade of classic cars, as there was a car show in town that day. We found the caves without a problem and paid the €3 entrance fee. If I’m being honest, the story was more fascinating than the actual underground city, but it was cool imagining them in use so many years ago.
The well is the star of the caves, and it was a little disconcerting leaning over and looking all the way down. I could tell it was really deep before I even looked because one of my friends looked down and said something and it echoed.
It was built this way so you could roll barrels down the stairs
There was a gift shop of sorts, but there didn’t seem to be anyone there working.
And a lovely seating area/café.
We’d gotten a recommendation for a place for lunch, so we didn’t eat here. We did stop for a bathroom break though. When we were done touring, a little old man came up to me and said, “come, come, come.” And started walking backwards. I hesitated and he said it again. I figured he looked harmless enough, and I could take him if it came to it, so I followed him, and he showed me in the restaurant they have a cutout where you can see all the way down (covered by glass). The picture didn’t turn out so well, though.
We were all ready for lunch, so we went to a place recommended by Linda and Benjamin. I wanted a half portion of two kinds of pasta, but I didn’t make myself clear and ended up with two giant portions. Oh well, I gave it my best shot, but I didn’t come close to finishing it.
So much better than the Subway I'll probably have for lunch today
Then we went to get some gelato. This gelateria was also kind of a sweets shop. Lots of yummy looking goodies on display!
I got banana again.
Sorry Jilly!
After our treat, we climbed the hill again and met the rest of the group at the Duomo.
We were among the first to arrive, so we got to enjoy some of the classic cars while we waited, which were parked next to the Duomo. The car making the biggest impact was an old Cadillac convertible. I have no idea what year it was, but when I say “convertible” that probably gives you an idea of its age. I didn’t take any photos, but I have no idea why.
And there was a wedding at the Duomo. The bride arrived in a black VW bug convertible (is that a limo in Italy? The cars are smaller there ). I kind of loved her non-traditional purple wedding gown!
SPOILER! If you don’t want to be spoiled, skip to the next post. Then we were given our pin for the day.
When I got the photo CD, I discovered the guides were having some fun without us!
Kim (our guide in training)
Tina
Marco
We walked back down to the funicular. We took a different route down. Instead of passing all the shops, we went through the residential part, which was really cool.
There wasn’t enough room for our whole group to fit, so we ended up waiting for the next one (and then we had to wait a bit for that to fill up, so it was about a 10 or 15 minute wait in total). I was able to score a spot next to the window, so I got a few pics on the way back down.
I seem to recall there being a reason I’m making crazy eyes, but I don’t remember it!
We climbed back aboard the bus and they started a movie for us, Under the Tuscan Sun.
I watched it, but not really closely because I wanted to read some. After about an hour of driving, we stopped at a sort of rest stop/7-11 place to get some snacks. Our hotel in Artimino is in a very isolated location. There isn’t a store nearby, so they encouraged us to pick up some snacks.
I bought some candy, some Cheese Shock chips (looked and tasted just like Cheetos but far less neon-orange) and a couple of bottled drinks. I knew I could get water anywhere. Then we climbed back aboard the bus for the remainder of our journey.
After the movie ended, Marco gave us a fun Italian lesson with common phrases and told us how to correctly pronounce things (and even gave us some gestures – now I know how to say “you’re crazy” in Italian hand gesture ).
Up Next: The Tower of Tuscany
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
That is just beautiful. Every. Stinkin'. Picture. That's what I picture when I picture Italy in my head. Gorgeous!!! I love the little shops, gelato place, flowers everywhere... Amazing!
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Tanya
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Wonderful day! I'm afraid I'd have done more damage in the ceramics shops than you did! I bought a vase in Orvieto years ago and always wished I'd bought more. I guess I'd have given the strychnine pot a miss, though! The scenery is just breathtaking!
WOW!!! Amazing!! I missed a few days so I had to go and read like 5 pages....I'm all caught up now...
Looing forward to more...
I need to go to Italy someday
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.. I have been known to to do similare things. Once left the spare batteries back in my room, so rather than go back to get them , I 
bought batteries at the Park I was in. But at least you had your phone camera to capture some moments. The Gladiator Donalds were cute... but still just as cute in a picture.
It would have been a nice souvenier.
If you can't say something nice... 
).
We started our drive out of town (to the tune of Arrivederci Roma) and the guides handed out snacks and water for us. 
Then we learned that Tinkerbell had dropped off some envelopes for us.
Then we continued our walk.
Unfortunately, the owner is being stubborn, so I’m still trying. 
the pics!
PassPorter Guide Author
Our 3 princesses LOVE the RED SOX!!!!
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