Sparky's Gone to the World- A TR 9/13/11-9/20/11 - Page 37 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
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.
Just caught up! I really got behind. I know there were things that I wanted to comment on when I was reading, but now that I am typing my comment, I can't remember! Crazy, I know! So, I'll just leave it that I am really LOVING your TR and can't wait for more!
Don't you just hate when that happens?! Thanks for following along.
Quote:
Originally Posted by goofysdtr
May just have to send my DH on the RPDE one of these days! Sounds awesome!
My DH would recommend it highly. Just by the look on his face after it, so would I!
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Ballston Lake, NY
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 46,162
Post Thanks / Like
Likes (Given): 94
Likes (Received): 241
Thanks (Given): 0
Thanks (Received): 139
Pixie Dust (Given): 3
Pixie Dust (Received): 4
I'm all caught up!!! Sorry that DD had pink eye. Not fun to have while on vacation. Glad DH enjoyed his driving experience. And the DVD sounds like an great way to remember that ride!!
I'm all caught up!!! Sorry that DD had pink eye. Not fun to have while on vacation. Glad DH enjoyed his driving experience. And the DVD sounds like an great way to remember that ride!!
Thanks for coming back! The DVD was awesome for that! Thanks for following along, I am hoping for another entry later today.
We aren't "race" people or Nascar fans by any means. I said to Chuck "You wouldn't be interested in doing that Richard Petty Experience" and he said "Heck yeah!" LOL So something else for our future "to do" list. Thanks Sparks!
We aren't "race" people or Nascar fans by any means. I said to Chuck "You wouldn't be interested in doing that Richard Petty Experience" and he said "Heck yeah!" LOL So something else for our future "to do" list. Thanks Sparks!
Yw Coop! We aren't race people at all either. DH only likes drag racing, if he likes it at all. It's just the fact of going that fast that excited him!
OMG Sparky! Start typing or I'm coming for you! I've already forgotten Pat's name (hehe) and I'm not even sure who you are anymore! It's been a loooong time.
__________________
MNSSHP 2015: DH (Bane), Me (Batgirl), Genie, and our friends
Day 3 Thursday Sept. 15 Trying to make it to Fantasmic!
I am changing the format of this TR starting today. I just can’t seem to keep up with this, so I think I will continue by writing the highlights of the day, as opposed to a whole accounting of what went on.
We had an ADR at LTT for lunch. I had told DH that he had to order what I wanted him to because that particular entrée was the whole reason for the ADR. He was okay with that. We were paying OOP, so, we ordered 2 Pot Roasts and 2 drinks with an extra plate for DD. It was more than enough food for all of us.
DH LOVED it! It was one of our favorite meals, so tender, flavorful, and yummy creamy mashed potatoes. It is probably my 3rd fave meal on property, but I already knew that from last year’s trip!
After that, we rode some rides and saw some shows nothing noteworthy. We rode on Splash Mountain again, my DD and me and she bought a SM tee, which she immediately wanted on.
In front of Haunted Mansion
Taking a break. It was like 95 the entire time we were there.
We decided to head to the resort for a break before heading out to DHS to catch Fantasmic. As we went out we also got a couple photopass pics.
We planned to head to DHS around 5ish, but as usual, we didn’t head out till quite later. We immediately made our way to Fantasmic. The plan being that we would settle in and then one of us would go get some food. Not long after starting down, I said “Maybe we should just get food and bring it with us to begin with. This is far!” We turned around and got in line at the first CS place we came to. While in line, it came on announcement that the only room left at Fantasmic was standing room. With that, we decided to miss it. I was disappointed to say the least; I was looking forward to it…actually…after hearing such good things about it from DisneyDana.
At that point, we headed to the smoking area, to figure out a game plan. The band in the truck pulled up in front of the hat right as we were getting there. I was sitting there, not so happy, and DD started dancing. She was so happy just to be there, dancing to the music and seeing the sights. Right then and there, my whole attitude changed and I thought “Who cares if we missed it!” DD and DH were very excited when they even played a KISS song.
We started toward the buses and detoured through a few shops on the way out. Just to look around. I ended up finding a Mickey wall clock with the old style Mickey with the arms as the clock hands, with a chrome “frame”. Perfect for my kitchen to match my 50’s chrome table and chairs! It was a steal, IMO, at only $25. Purchase in hand, and much happier spirits, we made our way to the bus.
Unfortunately, there was a guy on the bus, and let’s just say he wasn’t very happy. He came onto the bus with his double stroller, put it against the back doors and then proceeded to sit down in the back of the bus. The driver at called back that the guy couldn’t leave the stroller there, he had to stand with it to hold it. At this point, the man moved back to stand with the stroller. Then the driver came on again, and said not to stand against the doors as they are only closed with air compression. If something happens or you lean against them to hard they will open and you’ll fly out. Well apparently, this guy didn’t like the bus driver telling him anything because next thing you know he is yelling “Alright! Calm down old man, I’m paying for this f’ing bus!” Luckily, that was the end of that and we got back to the resort.
After adding up the day’s accounting, it was off to bed. However, not before heading to the smoking area to talk to Lorraine a few times! LOL
Up Next: Our one day at AK
I don't know why these are huge, I resized them twice and they are smaller in photobucket, but huge here. I will work on that tomorrow.
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.
The highlight version is ! Great pictures from this day, too! Sorry about the rude dude on the bus! He must have forgotten to take his dose of happy that day.
The photos look fine to me, Spark! Not huge at all.
Maybe you were seeing them how they are today. Last night, I saw them as GIANT! They are normal size now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DisneyDana
you mean to tell me it was 95 degrees outside and not ONE of you had a straw hat? what the hay!?
You're bad! Nope, not hats for us.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
The highlight version is ! Great pictures from this day, too! Sorry about the rude dude on the bus! He must have forgotten to take his dose of happy that day.
Thanks Cam! It wasn't exactly shortened with this post, but everyone will be different. The rude dude on the bus, yeah, he must have had a long day.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
Well apparently, this guy didn’t like the bus driver telling him anything because next thing you know he is yelling “Alright! Calm down old man, I’m paying for this f’ing bus!” Luckily, that was the end of that and we got back to the resort.[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR]
I'm hoping that you didn't just edit his remark for the sake of this TR and he actually said it that way himself. If he would have used the actual word with kids on the bus I would have had to say something. Why do people think they are entitled to do whatever they want just because they paid for the vacation?!? This sort of thing just really ticks me off, and I really don't know how the CMs can be so tolerant of this kind of behavior. Okay...vent over.
Sorry you missed Fantasmic, but it looks like your daughter's happiness made up for it in the end.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
"Sparky"(My first trip.)
Day 3 Thursday Sept. 15 Trying to make it to Fantasmic!
! Great pictures from this day, too! 
Sorry about the rude dude on the bus! He must have forgotten to take his dose of happy that day. 
You're bad! Nope, not hats for us.
Great pictures!
Linear Mode
