Halloween, Hawaii and holiday celebrations - THIS SECTION COMPLETED 12/27 - Page 35 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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your safari pictures, especially the muddy rhino and, of course, the giraffes. Were you using your great zoom lens as some of these feel so close?
I didn't use that much zoom, as the more I used, the harder it became to get shots...
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I'm pretty certain that the baby giraffe is Mosi as he was a Masai while Gordon, the other baby is part reticulated and looks more reticulated than Masai. And I recognize Stefanie giraffe by him.
Friday 1 November – part two: this is definitely not a fairy tale
When we came out of there, we headed into the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, as we always do. I always say if I’ve done the safari, this and the Maharajah Jungle Trek, then I feel as if I’ve done Animal Kingdom. Wrong maybe, but that’s how I feel, as for me, I come to this park to see the animals.
We certainly saw a fair few birds, and they were certainly making a heck of a noise. It appeared to be in the middle of nesting season, so whether that had something to do with it, I don’t know.
When we got to the meerkats, they looked as cute as ever…
… then we saw this guy:
And the Cast Member there told us a story. Once upon a time, although trust me, this is no fairytale there were five little bunny rabbits who lived here. Now there are only two. Is your mind going the right way on this one? If you’re wondering what happened to the other three little bunny rabbits, and if it had something to do with the usual inhabitants in this enclosure, then you would be absolutely spot on. Apparently one little bunny rabbit went down a meerkat hole and was never seen again. Another little bunny rabbit didn’t disappear in such a subtle way. Apparently, the meerkats set on them in the enclosure and, as the Cast Member said, thankfully there were no children to witness this. That would certainly make them think again about sweet little Timon…
There were no signs of gorillas at the first window, so we carried on going, and these two were hiding about as far away as they could from us. Thank goodness for my 50 times zoom…
Then this guy arrived… I absolutely love this photo, because of the flowers in it. As an aside, I saw quite a few flowers that I don’t usually see in this park, so I guess maybe that had something to do with the time of the year.
He decided to go for a wander…
That done, we headed out of Africa, getting some photos of the building work going on here…
We headed over to Asia and, on the way, found a Photopass photographer…
Our next stop was, unsurprisingly enough given my earlier comments, the Maharajah Jungle Trek, where we first said hello to the Komodo Dragon…
…. Then we walked past one part of the tiger enclosure… no sightings. We thought it was a bust at the second part, the one with the big windows, until someone pointed the three of them out to us. One you could see a tail and a leg, as he was right up against the wall underneath the window. The other was under a tree and you couldn’t see him at all. The other one was up against another wall, again hidden. Not a good day for tiger sightings…
Now does anyone else remember peacocks being here before, because I didn’t…
We also saw these guys…
Once again, the birds were going nuts, and Mark heard a Cast Member explain that one bird has four nests (how do you deal with that? ), so maybe that was why…
A bit disappointed at the lack of tiger sightings, we headed back towards the park entrance.
We made our way back to the car, and headed off property…
By the way, if there's no update from me in the morning, don't worry. I don't know if I'll have time to do one or not before we leave, as we're heading over to Paris for the day!
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Have fun in Paris, it must be so nice to have it so close and economical. I can't say I am going to Churchill for the day, it is in the same province as Winnipeg but at least $1000 in air fare. Love the shots of the gorilla's, next to the Tigers they are my favourite.
Your animal shots are beautiful! Especially the gorilla. Too bad the bunny rabbit story does not have a happy ending. It's odd that they would house both species together. Or did the bunnies just find their way into the meerkat enclosure on their own? Either way, you'd think the keepers would get the last two out of there before they disappear.
Another great round of pictures! Zoom is definitely better when you aren't moving along in a bumpy vehicle, one move and you can't figure out what you're pointing at any more!
Again, that zoom prevails! Awesome shots! Sad about the bunnies. I, too, wonder if they're in there intentionally or just wandered into the enclosure. Bummer about the tigers. They're my favorite and I don't always see them at AK either. Oh well, you saw a bunch on the safari. So that's good for something!
Au revoir!
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Tanya
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Well a consolidation prize I guess to the not so relaxed, drawn out meal was that you got to enjoy the Eat to the Beat Concert. Love all your photos of the WS at night, the lighting just looks amazing.
Great time at AK, wonderful safari photos, I was looking over my photos from the summer and it is so sad whe I see the pictures of Mosi
I have a whole noew outlook now when I think of Timon and his friends....brave little bunnies who still chose to frequent the meerkat enclosure.
What a fun day in EPCOT with friends! .I am surprised Monsieur Paul's was rushed? I expect it in other table service places, but not at a signature meal!
You got some beautiful shots on the safari! Once again I am thinking I seriously need to upgrade my camera to a DSL :SIGH:
All caught up! It sounds like you've had a spectacular time thus far!! Too bad for your balloon ride It will happen when it's supposed to though! And your photos on the safari are just superb!! The detail on the animals' skin is unreal! Have fun in Paris!!!
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your safari pictures, especially the muddy rhino and, of course, the giraffes. Were you using your great zoom lens as some of these feel so close?
People were dancing everywhere and there were no seats left in the concert area. People were watching from everywhere. 
If you’re wondering what happened to the other three little bunny rabbits, and if it had something to do with the usual inhabitants in this enclosure, then you would be absolutely spot on. 
Apparently one little bunny rabbit went down a meerkat hole and was never seen again. Another little bunny rabbit didn’t disappear in such a subtle way. Apparently, the meerkats set on them in the enclosure 
and, as the Cast Member said, thankfully there were no children to witness this. That would certainly make them think again about sweet little Timon… 
We thought it was a bust at the second part, the one with the big windows, until someone pointed the three of them out to us. One you could see a tail and a leg, as he was right up against the wall underneath the window. The other was under a tree and you couldn’t see him at all. The other one was up against another wall, again hidden. Not a good day for tiger sightings… 
(how do you deal with that? 
Liz 
Bummer about the tigers. They're my favorite and I don't always see them at AK either. Oh well, you saw a bunch on the safari. So that's good for something!
Once again I am thinking I seriously need to upgrade my camera to a DSL :SIGH:
*Melissa
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