A very personal Decade of Dreams tour! UPDATED 6/5 - Page 47 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Sorry you missed the tour, but as you say at least you did not lose any money on it. I love how they used an airplane to make the sign for that shop! Glad that you found some well-priced souvenirs and had an enjoyable end to the 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.
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Cheryl, sorry to hear you missed the Geisha Walk (I would have been so bummed), but at least you didn't lose any money on it. Your pictures are still wonderful, and I'm goad to hear you and Mark were able to find something to eat. I understand completely about the sore ankles (I injured both of mine badly and my knees all at the same time 14 years ago and they bother me all the time). I'm glad you both were able to make the best of the situation.
Too bad about the Geisha walk, but I'm glad you found other interesting things to see. I really do understand the "finding good food" thing! And McDonalds is usually consistant.
Sunday 5 April – part one: how does this subway system work?!
We had a very leisurely start to the day, after our packed day yesterday. We didn’t leave the hotel until well after 10.30. We quickly found the subway station, but that’s where the fun started. At the ticket office, they told us to use the ticket machines, which was fine, but nothing was in English there and we couldn’t fathom out how to use them. Fortunately, a Taiwanese couple took pity on us and explained where we were going wrong, which was that we needed to put our money in first before selecting our fares. I had been trying to do it the other way around, which was why it didn’t work. D’oh!
Thanking them profusely, we went to the train with them.
It turned out that they were also going to Nara, which was our destination today. We had only booked tickets to get to the main Kyoto station, thinking that we would need to change trains there to get to Nara, but we quickly realised that the train we were on was actually going to Nara, so we decided to stay with this instead. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to our new helpful friends, as they had the Japan Rail pass, which is valid for all Japan Rail trains and that meant they were getting off at Kyoto station to get a Japan Rail train from there. It’s a shame, as they were lovely and her English was impressive.
We found a seat and settled down for the journey, still half wondering if we were on the right train, but we were.
Just under an hour later and we were pulling into Nara station. We quickly found the fare adjustment machine, that allowed us to pay for the extra part of our journey (a very good system and one other countries could easily introduce) and then we were on our way.
We came out of the station and headed towards Nara Park. Nara was founded in 710, which is why we saw signs everywhere that they would be celebrating their 1300th anniversary next year. I guess they plan some pretty big celebrations then... It was Japan’s first capital and many of the buildings have survived from then, which was why I wanted to head over here today.
Our first stop was the Kofuku-ji temple, which was founded in 669. Only a few buildings remain today out of the 175 that were there when it was founded, but what is left is spectacular. Perhaps the best and ironically it looks best from a distance, rather than close up, as you just can’t pick out the details in the photos, is the five storey pagoda. It’s got something of a chequered history, as it’s burnt to the ground five times since it was built, but the latest one does date from 1426. Not bad going, considering its past before that...
The beauty of this temple is that you have to explore it. The further you walk, the more buildings you find hidden away around nooks and crannies.
Mark planning our next move!
As we did, we were getting hungry, so we decided to try what looked like cakes from a nearby stall and, fortunately, they were just that, sponge cakes with no nasty surprises instead them for once!
Next: don’t mess with the messengers of the gods! :
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.
It does look like the grounds go on forever! Love your pictures of the pagoda with the trees and the mountain in the background. Glad you were able to get the subway situation figured out.
Sunday 5 April – part two: don’t mess with the messengers of the gods! :
We carried on walking through Nara Park, seeing the many deer that roam freely here. They’re regarded as messengers of the gods and I did even see some people bowing to them, which was a bit surreal. I made the mistake of making a joke about them as we walked along. We were commenting how mothballed they look and I said maybe the gods shot the messengers and that was why. Well, I won’t joke about them again, as that second, I twisted my ankle, fortunately not badly, but it was enough to make me stop and think! We didn’t feed the deer by the way, but we did manage to sneak our photos of them.
Hands up, who thinks I look scared?!
We passed Nara National Museum, which was built in the 1870s. It’s a lovely building.
From there, we walked up towards the Todai-ji Temple. On the way, we stopped to get some rice balls with Mark being very daring and getting the sakura ones, that’s right cherry flavoured ones, which he didn’t really like. I was boring and stuck to the plain ones.
Mark’s disgusting cherry flavoured rice balls!
Then we stopped to get some noodles as well. I was convinced that they contained meat, but when we got them, there was no sign of any meat, so we ended up sharing it and it was lovely.
Full again, it was off to the temple complex. The construction of this was finished in 752 and was built to house Nara’s Great Buddha.
A not very good self portrait!
The first sight that greeted us just after we got our tickets was one of unbelievable beauty. You could see the Daibutsuden (Buddha Hall) in front of us, with cherry blossom trees all in full bloom lining the way down there. As Mark said, you could tell someone was watching over this place, as they had made sure that they were all out at the same time for us. It was a beautiful sight and we moved very slowly towards the hall, taking lots of photos as we did.
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It was Japan’s first capital and many of the buildings have survived from then, which was why I wanted to head over here today. 
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