A 40th celebration to end the world! COMPLETED 6/24 - Page 40 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 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.
Oh, how I love your little Snowman!!! You day seemed to have less visitors, which is great for you and Mark.
I wonder whether some of it is to do with the fact that Disneyland is very much a locals park and most locals would probably have celebrated Christmas at home before heading to the parks.
Quote:
I miss the submarine ride. It was a sad day when Disney decided to take it way from Florida.
I almost forgot that we were still on your first day....what a whirlwind but a fun one. Love the pictures from WOC, I am keeping my fingers crossed that next year we finally make it there.
What a beautiful sunrise for Christmas morning...I love the look on the little Nemo ride.
California Adventure is so beautiful at night! Great pictures! You all go so many super PhotoPass pictures. That older gentleman is perpetuating thoughtlessness to his children and his grandchildren. Nice beginning to your Christmas Day!
I agree that it is great to have the subs running somewhere - I just loved those!
I assume the parks won't stay that empty all day!
They do get busier as the day wears on, which you'll see, but I have to say, I don't think it ever got as bad as the Magic Kingdom does on Christmas Day.
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.
I almost forgot that we were still on your first day....what a whirlwind but a fun one. Love the pictures from WOC, I am keeping my fingers crossed that next year we finally make it there.
I hope you do, as I know you'd love it.
Quote:
What a beautiful sunrise for Christmas morning...I love the look on the little Nemo ride.
Tuesday 25 December – part two: scares and a Disney classic!
When we came off, we headed back towards the castle…
… where we found a Photopass photographer.
We also got some photos ourselves…
… then we figured we’d go and ride Pirates of the Caribbean…. Apparently not! There were ropes across, and we were told that only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland were open until 8:00am, which we thought was a shame. As far as we’d seen yesterday, there weren’t any restrictions on what was open at the California Adventure (certainly not in the areas we’d gone in anyway… ), and I was expecting the same here. Oh well.
We headed through the castle. I liked the way it was decked out for Christmas, although in my mind, it’s still far too small.
… and realised that we could go inside the castle to see the story of Sleeping Beauty, which was very neat. It’s one of those things that’s all too easy to miss, and really you shouldn’t, as it’s well worth seeing.
We came out into Fantasyland, and grabbed some photos…
… before deciding to go on Snow White’s Scary Adventures, which we literally walked on to. I’m sad it’s gone from Walt Disney World, but my goodness, this version is still very much the full-on scary version. That witch is everywhere in this!
Our next stop was Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride – well, you just have to when you’re in Disneyland, don’t you? It’s a classic, but as we rode through it (and forgive me for saying this ) but I couldn’t help but wonder how much longer Mr. Toad will be resident here, as this ride really is showing its age. Its simplicity is its problem, there really isn’t much to it, and there never seems to be much of a wait. I hope I’m wrong, as it’s part of Disneyland’s history, but I can’t help but think I wouldn’t be surprised if it disappeared at some point in the future…
Too bad the rest of the park wasn't open yet, but at least at DL there's a lot to do in both Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. Toad will always be one of my favorite rides, just because it's such a crazy, off-the wall story line. Snow White is a very scary ride at DL! I wish the parks would open at 7am in Florida! That would suit my normal schedule very nicely. I'm always hanging around the room waiting for it to be time to head to the parks.
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.
The more I think about it, the more I think we have butter cream frosting over here - that's ringing a bell when you gave that recipe, but as to what's in it - I'm not sure. I figured just butter and sugar.
I think you are right about that. Uncle Geoff has been taking cake decorating classes and was going to make Claire's 1st Communion cake, but the thing was ....none of us like the frosting. It was a European Butter cream. He did some research and it appears this fancy frosting he was making was loved in Europe, but those of us in the States just don't care for it. It was very rich and buttery and not sugary enough for us. In the end we ordered a cake because he didn't find a recipe he felt comfortable using.
I remember Mr. Toad from WDW and we loved it. You are right though, very simple. I wonder how long it will last at DL, but I do know when they took it away from WDW, MANY people complained, so maybe they will keep it for a while longeer because of that.
Too bad the rest of the park wasn't open yet, but at least at DL there's a lot to do in both Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. Toad will always be one of my favorite rides, just because it's such a crazy, off-the wall story line. Snow White is a very scary ride at DL! I wish the parks would open at 7am in Florida! That would suit my normal schedule very nicely. I'm always hanging around the room waiting for it to be time to head to the parks.
If you're there at the really busy times, they do usually open that early. I'm trying to remember when we were last in WDW for Christmas in 2009, I think the Magic Kingdom either opened at 7:00am or even 6:00am - it was definitely 7:00am at the latest....
I think you are right about that. Uncle Geoff has been taking cake decorating classes and was going to make Claire's 1st Communion cake, but the thing was ....none of us like the frosting. It was a European Butter cream. He did some research and it appears this fancy frosting he was making was loved in Europe, but those of us in the States just don't care for it. It was very rich and buttery and not sugary enough for us. In the end we ordered a cake because he didn't find a recipe he felt comfortable using.
I think you've hit the nail on the head - we're used to different types of frosting on different sides of the Atlantic and you tend to like what you're used to.
Quote:
I remember Mr. Toad from WDW and we loved it. You are right though, very simple. I wonder how long it will last at DL, but I do know when they took it away from WDW, MANY people complained, so maybe they will keep it for a while longeer because of that.
I suspect that's one reason it's stayed, because there was such a backlash when it was removed at WDW and I think it's nice to keep some of the older, classic rides. It's certainly nice to see the original scary version of the Snow White ride still operating...
Well, Mr. Toad has quite a line Labor Day weekend! I think I waited 25 minutes or so, but this was a few hours after opening and we'd already been on Peter Pan, Matterhorn, Alice, and... something else. I agree it's a simple ride, but that's why I enjoy it so!
How odd only the two sections of the park were open thus far. Oh well. I really enjoyed the Sleeping Beauty walk-through as well. I wish they had something similar at WDW.
__________________
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
Well, Mr. Toad has quite a line Labor Day weekend! I think I waited 25 minutes or so, but this was a few hours after opening and we'd already been on Peter Pan, Matterhorn, Alice, and... something
else. I agree it's a simple ride, but that's why I enjoy it so!
I'm glad to hear it's still drawing in the crowds, that's positive.
Quote:
How odd only the two sections of the park were open thus far. Oh well. I really enjoyed the Sleeping Beauty walk-through as well. I wish they had something similar at WDW.
I wish they did too, especially as they have a really cool couple of sections in the castle at Disneyland Paris. I really miss not having an additional attraction in the castle at WDW.
Well you know it could be, they let some of the CM's have alittle Christmas time with family, so other parts of the Park open later then the others.. I think they need to open an "Old Ride" museum, just for retired rides, it would be nostalgic.
About This Page: 
PassPorter Guide Author
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
.
That older gentleman is perpetuating thoughtlessness to his children and his grandchildren. 
There were ropes across, and we were told that only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland were open until 8:00am, which we thought was a shame. As far as we’d seen yesterday, there weren’t any restrictions on what was open at the California Adventure (certainly not in the areas we’d gone in anyway… 
), and I was expecting the same here. Oh well. 
) but I couldn’t help but wonder how much longer Mr. Toad will be resident here, as this ride really is showing its age. Its simplicity is its problem, there really isn’t much to it, and there never seems to be much of a wait. I hope I’m wrong, as it’s part of Disneyland’s history, but I can’t help but think I wouldn’t be surprised if it disappeared at some point in the future… 
Linear Mode
