A very personal Decade of Dreams tour! UPDATED 6/5 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Did you ever have to use the Japanese style toilets? I used them in my younger years, but I don't know if I could squat now that I'm older. I remember even back then, I would sometimes get leg cramps. I would also have to take a leg out of my pants, because I just couldn't balance correctly.
In a home, there are slippers especially designated for using in the toilet. (You also take off your street shoes and slip into house slippers when you come in from outside.)
[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Irma/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.jpg[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Irma/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg[/IMG]
The Japanese style toilet looks much better than the Turkish version, which is just a tiled square, about3 or 4 feet square, with a 4 or 5 inch in diameter hole in the floor.
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.
What great updates...the buffet and the view from the restaurant looked beautiful, what a nice selection of food they had and coupled with the sights, looks like it was a great choice, and so did your decision to go to Nikko. It really amazed me how the scenery changed as you traveled on the trai...first you had the city, then the suburbs, then the farmland.
Love the pictures of Mt. Fuji and the shrines in Nikko are stunning....
Did you ever have to use the Japanese style toilets? I used them in my younger years, but I don't know if I could squat now that I'm older. I remember even back then, I would sometimes get leg cramps. I would also have to take a leg out of my pants, because I just couldn't balance correctly.
In a home, there are slippers especially designated for using in the toilet. (You also take off your street shoes and slip into house slippers when you come in from outside.)
[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Irma/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.jpg[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Irma/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg[/IMG]
All I'll say in answer is that you'll find out as this trip report progresses... stay tuned!
Thursday 2 April – part four: discovering more delights of Nikko
Then it’s a final set of steps up to the Yomeimon Gate, lavishly decorated with beasts and flowers. The 12 columns here are carved upside down and there are statues of Imperial ministers in the niches, watching over you. This really is the pinnacle of this place and you can’t believe just how much detail and effort they put into the carvings here. It’s so lavish, it’s almost sick.
This is the final courtyard and this is the part where you have to pay more to go and see the sleeping cat carving, but we opted out of that. We also opted out of going into the Hondon inner sanctuary, as there were no photos in there and we had to take our shoes off. It just seemed like too much trouble.
From there, it was back out again, although it took us some time, as we just couldn’t stop taking photos of it all. It really had been well worthwhile coming here to see this and it should be on any visitor to Tokyo’s must do list.
After that, nothing could really compare and so it proved to be. We made our way to the Futara-san shrine, but there was nothing really to see there. It was literally a case of walking straight in, taking a few photos and then going out again, which was a bit of a shame, but there was just nothing to keep us there.
By now, the sun was beginning to sink and, as we had found in Tokyo itself, it was starting to get really cold here. There were still some small piles of snow lying on the ground at the places we had visited, which gives you an idea of how cold it must’ve been here. So we decided to retreat and head back to Tokyo.
We were lucky enough to be right by a bus stop (spotted by Mark!) just before one was due, so we caught that and were back at the station about 10 minutes later. From what we saw as we drove back, it certainly looks like Nikko is a thriving town, thriving no doubt on the thousands of tourists that come here every year. Despite that, it’s still managed to retain its charm and it seemed to be full of small businesses, some restaurants and some craft places. It was a shame we didn’t have longer to spend here, but cold was driving us on by now.
Getting on the train back was easy enough. All we had to do was show our pass and that was it. We boarded the train, but here I made the first of my miscalculations. I thought it was about to leave, so made no restroom stop. No, I had read the information board wrong and there was another 15 minutes before it was due to go anywhere. Well, that I could live with, but worse was to come…
Next: what do you mean, that’s the train to Asakusa?!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Even more beautiful pictures from Nikko Cheryl. Too bad it was getting too cold for you and Mark to enjoy more of your day in Nikko. Oh no about your many miscalculations and what's about to come in your next update(s).
More beautiful pictures.
I'm sure we have all been in the "#$%^, I should have gone to the restroom when I had the chance" situation... but what could be worse!!?
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