The trip of many changes... TRIP REPORT UPDATED 4/25 - Page 43 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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The desert meets the ocean. Makes it a pretty unique island! Population 119,000something, I've heard.
Really a shame the stupid guide could just about ruin the entire thing. Let's hope it was his last day and that's why he didn't care what he was saying or doing... Because if he does this with every tour, it truly wouldn't take that long for it to actually be his last day! Complaints should be rolling in with him!
__________________
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
Wow, this tour does not sound very informative at all! I'm with you on the whole tip thing too. If someone does a great job then I'm more than happy to give a tip but I don't want it pushed in my face either. If he was looking at his phone while driving, he should be reported. That's so dangerous to do especially with a tour bus full of people! I'm glad you felt the tour was organized and that you didn't feel rushed.
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I’m with you on feeling put of when someone starts hammering on wanting tips.
Oh thank goodness it's not just me.
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And being on his phone while driving would’ve really tipped me over the edge. Glad he didn’t go off the road!
Well, that was one of my worries...
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I never get used to seeing people’s pictures of all t(e cacti on Aruba! Just doesn’t fit with my idea of tropical.
No, me neither. I was convinced that every Caribbean island would be tropical and, to me, Aruba sounds so tropical too - I think it's the name, so I was in for a shock to find out what it's really like.
The desert meets the ocean. Makes it a pretty unique island!
It certainly does.
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Population 119,000something, I've heard.
Now where did you hear that?
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Really a shame the stupid guide could just about ruin the entire thing. Let's hope it was his last day and that's why he didn't care what he was saying or doing... Because if he does this with every tour, it truly wouldn't take that long for it to actually be his last day! Complaints should be rolling in with him!
Wow, this tour does not sound very informative at all!
It wasn't particularly...
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I'm with you on the whole tip thing too. If someone does a great job then I'm more than happy to give a tip but I don't want it pushed in my face either.
It's so good to know that others feel the same way...
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If he was looking at his phone while driving, he should be reported. That's so dangerous to do especially with a tour bus full of people!
I think it's crazy dangerous, but I didn't say anything at the time because I wasn't sure if it was illegal or not.
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I'm glad you felt the tour was organized and that you didn't feel rushed.
I would not have expected all the cacti on Aruba. I feel the same way about pushy folks who remind me that I need to tip them. This dude does not seem to have done anything tip worthy. :
You're all making me feel better saying this. I honestly thought everyone would know that Aruba was dry and arid and I'd be the only one who didn't realise that. I guess not!
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I feel the same way about pushy folks who remind me that I need to tip them. This dude does not seem to have done anything tip worthy. :
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Friday 19 January – part three: you’re standing out there?
Our first stop was the Casibari Rock Formations, which we weren’t that impressed with. They were fine to view, but after Ryan warned us against going to the top of them (which most of our bus ignored), I decided we wouldn’t venture up there, as I didn’t want to risk my ankle. As a result, it was a bit too much time for us, although it did give me the opportunity to get lots of photos of cacti and rocks!
Mark ended up taking photos of another family, while I was waiting to do a selfie, so she returned the favour and took a couple of photos when they were done. She was commenting about how light my phone was and asking what it was. I told her it was just a very old Samsung – it’s due for a renewal in about a month’s time now. However, when she passed me her iPhone, I could see why she was saying that, as my goodness, hers weighed a ton!
We headed out, with me feeling so much better now we were in the front seats of the bus. The fresh air had helped and I’d also popped a travel sickness pill, so I think you get the idea of how bad I was feeling.
We then made our way out to the north coast and wow, it is stunning!
We were heading to this…
As you can see, this is the Natural Bridge. Made of coral limestone and formed naturally over thousands of years, the bridge stood 25-feet high and 100-feet long before it collapsed into the sea in 2005. Today the remnants are a reminder of the beauty that once existed. It is also the spot of another natural archway, the Baby Bridge. When we got there and looked at the collapsed bridge, all I can say is thank goodness it fell away overnight, otherwise no doubt people would’ve died!
We were shocked to see people going out to be photographed on the baby bridge, as there were signs telling you not to do so, as it’s dangerous and we’d been warned by Ryan. You could see the cracks leading to it and you know one day that too will also plunge into the sea, especially the way the waves were pounding the coastline here.
It's a shame that most of the people on the tour are ignoring the rules. But, as we observed when visiting the Grand Canyon, people will do anything, even put themselves in danger, for a photo op!
It's a shame that most of the people on the tour are ignoring the rules. But, as we observed when visiting the Grand Canyon, people will do anything, even put themselves in danger, for a photo op!
Yes, sadly we saw that at the Grand Canyon as well. To me, your own health and your safety comes before anything else, but maybe I'm alone in thinking that...
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Love cactus!
The natural bridge is beautiful but I too don't understand why people are so stupid. The north shore sure looks different than the west shore where the beaches are!
__________________
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
Love cactus!
The natural bridge is beautiful but I too don't understand why people are so stupid. The north shore sure looks different than the west shore where the beaches are!
It's funny you say that. When we get to the west shore and the beaches, you'll see that they look amazing, but literally just across the road where there's been no development, it's back to desert and cacti again. They never seem to be far away in Aruba.
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