A tale of two cities… and a few other places… COMPLETED - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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.
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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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Thursday 21 September – part one: wow what a selection!
When we arrived last night, the guy who runs the bed and breakfast was trying to persuade us not to go to the Thermae Spa for 9:00am, and it soon became apparent why – they only do breakfast from 8:30am to 9:00am. I told him we had a lot planned for today, and he relented and agreed to 8:15am, so that was our meeting time.
When we headed down for breakfast, wow what a selection greeted us!
We also couldn’t get over the number of tables set out, especially as we knew there were only three bedrooms here:
Mark suggested that perhaps they lay them all out, and then remove the settings, depending where people sit, and wouldn’t you know it, he was spot on.
Mark went for the traditional English breakfast, made up of grilled bacon, pork sausage, tomato, baked beans, and mushrooms, with a free range egg, either fried, scrambled or poached.
… while I opted for the smoked salmon with scrambled eggs…
Our bed and breakfast owner very kindly gave us a parking permit, which was good for quite a few roads around the area, so we set off, looking for a parking space, and found one about five minutes down the road, which saved us having to walk that.
We got out, and headed into Bath, crossing over Pulteney Bridge that we’d driven across earlier, getting ourselves the Ł30 fine, as we later found out. Most of the shops along here weren’t open yet, but it was still nice to see a variety of independent places…
My favourite! Shame it was closed at the time…
We stopped to get some daytime shots of the bridge…
… and then walked past Parade Gardens, which looked beautiful…
I remember enjoying walking through this many years ago, before they sadly decided to introduce admission charges. It’s not a lot, but even so…. It’s the principle of the thing!
Next: how is Jan going to like her first spa experience?
Great start with that breakfast. Score!
The park looks beautiful, but indeed a shame they charge admission now. Bummer.
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Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
Great breakfast setup and an even better room with some nice views! The park looks very nice. Too bad the shops weren't open to get your macaroons. At least this time you walked across the bridge instead of driving!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Great breakfast setup and an even better room with some nice views! The park looks very nice. Too bad the shops weren't open to get your macaroons. At least this time you walked across the bridge instead of driving!
Yes, thank goodness, otherwise it would've been another fine!
Thursday 21 September – part two: how is Jan going to like her first spa experience?
We walked over to Bath Abbey….
… and also got to see some of the external portion of the Roman baths…
We made our way through the city centre…
… and over to the Thermae Bath Spa. Our bed and breakfast had given us a Bath Rewards Card, which entitled us to an additional hour free in there, which was a great deal. We already had free vouchers from our visit in January, when they were putting the wellness suites in, and all we could hear during much of our visit was hammering. Hardly peaceful!
We were there about half an hour after opening, and we changed, and headed up to the rooftop pool. I will confess I wasn’t sure how Jan would like it, given she’s never been to a spa before. I always feel very nervous when it’s a situation like that. The first time Mark came to a spa with me, I was the same. Will they like it? Oh my goodness, I really needn’t have worried. She absolutely loved it!
Now I need to say here that photos are very strictly banned, so where I can, I’ve included links to photos, so you can get an idea of what it’s like…
We went straight up to the rooftop pool, and there were only about 10 people in it when we arrived, including ourselves, so hardly busy.
We sat in the area with bubbles for a while, and then Mark and Jan headed off to use the shoulder massage unit. Essentially, it’s a jet of water that you can use for your shoulders or back, and Jan really enjoyed it for her shoulders.
Eventually, we decided to move out, especially as I pointed out we’d been in here about 45 minutes. Jan couldn’t believe it – the time had just gone by so quickly!
We headed downstairs to check out the new wellness suites. They have a series of showers that are either hot or cold, with either an overhead unit or units along the wall. I then tried the sauna, and was very disappointed with it, as I didn’t realise it was infrared, and therefore not as hot as usual saunas. I assumed it wasn’t working but apparently they designed it that way to ensure people can use it, as a lot of people can’t use traditional saunas. Good thinking!
We then tried the Roman steam room, which was very nice, although I couldn’t see much Roman about it. However, I will say that’s probably because it’s covered in steam, as if you look at the photo below, you definitely can see the Roman vibe in it! I did like the fact that somehow they’d managed to “under cool” the seats, as often you can’t sit on these for long or without a towel…
There’s also an ice room, which wasn’t overly cold, just nicely cool, so we hung out there for a little bit, cooling down. I must admit I’ve always said that the spa needs somewhere cool, as everything here is about heat.
Next we tried the Georgian steam room, which had some nice window designs in it, with garden images in there. For anyone who’s been on the Disney Dream or Fantasy, think about the designs on the windows as you walk into the Enchanted Garden restaurant, and you’ll get the idea.
We wanted to try the next area, which had a series of heated chairs, but they only had five, which is a woeful number for a place like this, and of course we couldn’t get near them. We did try a couple of times, but each time, it was the same answer. That’s the only thing I would say they got wrong here. They definitely needed this area to be bigger…
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Well you can't visit Bath and not go to the spa! So glad she's enjoying herself. The heated loungers room looks so neat! Too bad you guys couldn't relax in there for a bit.
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Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
Glad Jan enjoyed the spa, it sounds very relaxing.
It is such a lovely place and I think it's probably the right place to say it here, because I don't think it will feature anywhere else... we're going back on Good Friday for a twilight package there, as Jan treated us to say thanks for everything we did for her. to her - we were so surprised, what a lovely thing for her to do!
Well you can't visit Bath and not go to the spa! So glad she's enjoying herself. The heated loungers room looks so neat! Too bad you guys couldn't relax in there for a bit.
That was the only downside for the day, but if that was the only downside, it was a pretty good day!
Glad Jan enjoyed the spa so much as you were a bit concerned whether she'd enjoy her first spa experience! Once you do this and like it, you're hooked as I only did my first a few years ago with several since then. Love the facials as so relaxing and personal attention and detail! I remember the rooftop pool and spa from one of your other TRs on a visit to Bath. I remember you commenting how amazing the details and rooms were here like a Roman bath/spa.
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
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Most of the shops along here weren’t open yet, but it was still nice to see a variety of independent places… 
Shame it was closed at the time… 
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Pixie Dust
The park looks very nice. Too bad the shops weren't open to get your macaroons. 
She absolutely loved it! 
to her - we were so surprised, what a lovely thing for her to do! 
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