Is this real life - or is this just Fantasy? updated 05/19/2016 - Page 4 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I was up without an alarm today at 7:30. Out on the verandah and taking in the sun.
Chuck slept until after 9 am. We went to the shops before they closed because of us being in port. Chuck got a shirt and a hat. We ended up going to Cabanas for breakfast because we didn't want another repeat of yesterday.
After breakfast, we walked up to Satellite Falls to check it out. We had planned to stay on board today. There was no excursion we wanted to do, we didn't want to shop the "high end" places and we didn't want to have to fool around with tendering just to "check things out". Chuck wasn't feeling great anyway - so that made the decision even easier.
Grand Caymen Port
Tender Boat
We ended up getting our suits on and heading back up to Satellite Falls. Then we hit the pool and the hot tub. We grabbed an ice cream cone (soft serve strawberry!) and headed back to the room. We decided to go see a movie. AntMan was playing and it was really cute. We got some popcorn and a drink from the concessions. Yes - I know, it costs $ but the guy was really nice and gave us an extra large size for regular price! After the movie, we headed back to the room to rest before dinner. We ended up napping and watching Nemo. Very lazy day!
Dinner tonight was the Prince and Princess dinner.
Shrimp app
Sparkling wine with berries
Duck Terrine
Turkey dinner with sweet potato mash and giblet gravy. It was Delish!
Chuck had a steak
Chocolate mousse cake bar type thing
Bread pudding
It was very good and everyone at our table was beginning to gel. We found out that Trevor and Pricilla were joining us on our High Tea at the Good Hope Estate in Jamaica as was Linda and Dan! Then we found out that Toni and Scott were going to be doing a "similar" excursion at the same estate - not high tea but a tour and lunch. We all ended up chatting well after our dinner was over. Our assistant server, Oseman, joined in the fun and made a special napkin presentation for us all.
We could've stayed even later but we figured that the staff would like us to leave so we bid farewell with promises to see each other in the morning. Chuck and I just returned to our room for the evening. It was a very slow, relaxing day.
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Looked like a good day in port with some nice activities on board the ships, some tasty drinks and a great dinner! Did you ever disembark and explore Grand Cayman a bit, but I'm guessing you didn't Even, though I've only taken one cruise I think, I'd like to get into town for a bit on the port stops even if I had been there before as I'd feel I would be missing something! Even just for grabbing lunch and having some local cuisine!
As you were in Cozumel, I updated my TR on Sunday and here is the Mexican Cuisine Workshop, which I enjoyed so much as well as other photos from Playa Mia in Cozumel! Enjoy!
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!
So glad to hear that you're both doing well and getting back to a somewhat normal routine. Your relaxing day sounded so wonderful! The turkey dinner looked delicious!!! Glad you had such a nice time with your tablemates at dinner.
Luke and I are finding that slow and relaxing is suiting us more and more. Dinner looked delicious, making me wish we had a cruise in the near future. That is the coolest napkin art with the swans in the glasses. Can't wait to here how High Tea goes!
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Finally able to get on and read this!!! Great start so far!!! I am so jealous that you had Palo!!! When we go on our first Disney cruise next month - Scott and I are skipping Palo because Em is not old enough to go there (although I KNOW she would enjoy it) - and your laid back style sounds so relaxing!!!
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Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
Looked like a good day in port with some nice activities on board the ships, some tasty drinks and a great dinner! Did you ever disembark and explore Grand Cayman a bit, but I'm guessing you didn't Even, though I've only taken one cruise I think, I'd like to get into town for a bit on the port stops even if I had been there before as I'd feel I would be missing something! Even just for grabbing lunch and having some local cuisine!
As you were in Cozumel, I updated my TR on Sunday and here is the Mexican Cuisine Workshop, which I enjoyed so much as well as other photos from Playa Mia in Cozumel! Enjoy!
Thanks - no we didn't get off the ship in Grand Caymen. I've been following your TR as well.
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Originally Posted by chezp
Glad to hear you're both doing better. Sounds like a lovely relaxing day on board.
Thanks.
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Originally Posted by lindawdw
So glad to hear that you're both doing well and getting back to a somewhat normal routine. Your relaxing day sounded so wonderful! The turkey dinner looked delicious!!! Glad you had such a nice time with your tablemates at dinner.
Somewhat "normal" - just getting over the flu for me.
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Originally Posted by MsLydia
Checking in ! Food looks amazing.
Welcome and Thanks!
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Originally Posted by MikeL
Happy to see you back and things getting back on track.
Trying!
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Originally Posted by Cam22
Luke and I are finding that slow and relaxing is suiting us more and more. Dinner looked delicious, making me wish we had a cruise in the near future. That is the coolest napkin art with the swans in the glasses. Can't wait to here how High Tea goes!
Hmmmm - well, stay tuned. The gory details are coming up!
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Originally Posted by DMA
What a nice relaxing day! Dinner looked wonderful!
Thanks!
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Originally Posted by xwewhisper
Another great day and glad things are settling at home!
Thanks!
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Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Finally able to get on and read this!!! Great start so far!!! I am so jealous that you had Palo!!! When we go on our first Disney cruise next month - Scott and I are skipping Palo because Em is not old enough to go there (although I KNOW she would enjoy it) - and your laid back style sounds so relaxing!!!
Welcome! You should NOT skip Palo. Yes, I'm sure Em would love it too - but if you can do a "date" night or a brunch without Em - you should. It's awesome!
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Wednesday November 18, 2015 - WARNING PICTURE HEAVY!
I was up again at 7:30 (I think that's about the time Cabanas gets hopping and since it's right above our room, I could hear all the chairs and tables being moved) Chuck, still not feeling good, slept until about 9 am. We both got ready and headed up to Cabanas for breakfast. I was liking this because they have Krispy Kreme doughnuts!
After breakfast, we came back to our room to get ready for the day. Chuck said he was feeling ok. I could tell he wasn't feeling great and I offered to skip this excursion but he insisted that he was good to go.
Port in Jamaica from our verandah
We met up at the D-Lounge and found chairs near Dan/Linda and Trevor/Pricilla. Soon, we got our stickers and were on the bus. The driver was corny but entertaining. He was teaching us words from "patois" which is the fast shortened English spoken in Jamaica. Ya Mon. Nene and Patid (good) were said a lot! After a longish winding ride up a dirt road that looked like it should be one way but wasn't (eek) , we got to the Good Hope Estate. It's the oldest Plantation on the island. Ramona was our tour guide and was very informative.
Picture of how the plantation used to be
This was their money room
The kitchen
View from the porch
I was so interested in the hummingbirds - they had about 6 of these nectar things around the porch. Unfortunately - it did bring bees as well
She took us on a tour and she gave us all sorts of information on how the plantation used to be run. During the tour, Chuck had some snide comments and kept rolling his eyes. He needed to sit a lot and needed some water as well. There was no air conditioning in the estate itself and he was starting to have problems. He never really told me but at one point he did ask me to check his pulse. At this point, I was done with it. Done with the tour, worried about my husband and really didn't want to hear him complain anymore. We finally got to the "high tea" portion and it was awful! It was NOTHING like Grand Floridian tea. They basically gave you a Lipton tea bag and some water. They provided a plate with cucumber sandwiches, a bite of jerk chicken, a scone, a banana bread muffin and some fruit.
The problem was that there were a lot of flies and bees. So after the flies had landed on the food - we really didn't want to eat it anymore. During this, the other group came around and Toni and Scott poked their head out the window to say hi to us (as they got to eat their lunch INSIDE) By this time - Chuck was just done. The only thing he wanted to do was get back to the boat. But we had another half an hour ride back! So he did drink a couple glasses of water and had 2 bottles of water to boot and said he started feeling better.
Jamaica Selfie
When we got back to port, I wanted to look in some shops (again for something that said "I was in Jamaica") but Chuck kept on walking. He had his own agenda and that was to get back on the boat. When I did stop in a shop and asked about a price on something, he just walked out of the shop. He said he was hoping that they would change their mind and lower the price. But this wasn't that kind of shop. So by the time we got through the port and back on the ship, we were in a full fledged fight. I had waited almost 20 years to go to Jamaica and he ruined it! I get that he wasn't feeling well - but he should have been honest with me. We just would've stayed on the ship and rested. That would've been better than snide comments and everything.
Once back on board, we went to the pool/hot tub and got a drink of the day and cooled off a bit. We ended up getting a bite to eat (because we didn't really have anything at the tea). Burger for me and brat for Chuck followed by some ice cream. We went back to the room and Chuck took a nap while I wrote up some notes.
We got dressed for Pirate Night and headed to Royal Court. Toni and Scott were dressed up as well but the others just did t-shirts and bandanas.
Our Fun Table
Another Fun Trick thanks to Oseman
We had another great meal with our new friends and then headed up to deck to find a spot for the fireworks.
Fireworks at sea are really cool! I guess because of all the darkness around.
Even Duffy got into the Pirate spirit!
After the fireworks, we headed out missing the dance party. Back to the room for bed. It was a long tiring day.
Great update and loved so much of it! Your breakfast looked great and I see that smoked salmon tucked away on your plate! I don't know how I missed the smoked salmon when going to Cabana's each day on my Magic cruise, but I did as I guess I just frequented the hot food side and lost out on the cold choices! Lost out on other things but the salmon is the key....I can never get enough of that as I love it so much!
A nice tour in the plantations and inside the homes, The tea experience seemed ok, but then again you cannot expect that to be up to the standards of the Grand Floridian High Tea, which I have experienced as well and was such a great undertaking (is that a good description) for me back in 2010, when I stayed at the GF for the first and only time with a great rate! I hope to do the High Tea once again and I think it's time to do it soon!
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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!
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.