Living the dream and remembering the Bagman COMPLETED IN THIS FORUM - Page 5 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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That's the downfall for those of us who plan ahead - we forget such things as "oh yeah, we got a new car in the meantime!" Glad they figured it out though. You're such good customers!
Well, in fairness, we do use different valet parking operators - it's whoever's the cheapest for the dates we want....
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.
That sunrise seemed to have been the reward for such a rude early awakening.
Glad they finally found you at the airport, even if you were somewhat in disguise!
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Very strange with the fire alarm going off and didn't seem to be handled all that well by the hotel staff! Not that pleasant with the disco and the pounding bass, when you were trying to sleep. This happened to me once when I was staying at a hotel in Montmartre. You breakfast looked quite good and especially the "house made" smoked salmon!
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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!
Saturday 10 September – part two: can I book a massage?
I was so glad we were flying Upper Class, as the lines to check in for economy were insane, they were pretty bad for Premium Economy, and there was even a line at Upper Class, the first time I think I’ve ever seen that. We waited about five minutes to be seen, and then there was a query, as we had no return flight on our e-ticket, but I explained that was because I’d booked each leg using points from one of our accounts, as we each only had enough to book two Upper Class flights. Once I explained that, it was all fine.
We headed up in the elevator towards the Clubhouse, but it was very confusing. We finally worked out you had to scan your boarding pass to access the fast track security, but we weren’t the only ones, as the people behind us didn’t appreciate that either, so we felt a bit less foolish.
After Mark had checked to see if the bookshop had any books he wanted (they didn’t), we swiped our boarding passes, and headed through to security. This is the first time I’ve ever known a line for security for Upper Class, and it was then I had the feeling that perhaps it might be a busy day today…
We were through in about five minutes or so, then we made our way through the duty free shop, attempting to keep our mouths shut as much as we could, given the scents from the perfumes were overwhelming. I feel like I say this every time we fly, but why on earth do this to people, as they may have allergies to some of these overpowering scents?
We made our way over to the lounge, and instead of taking these…
… we decided to take the lift, and inside we were amazed at what we found!
They really do think of everything! We were swiped in, and my goodness, it was packed in the Clubhouse, worse than we’ve ever seen it before. At first I was worried we might not find somewhere to sit, but Mark quickly scoped somewhere out, while I got in line to enquire about massages. I think if you were on an earlier flight than we were, basically you were out of luck, as I know the woman in front of me got put on the waiting list, but I was in luck, as they had space at 11:00am for a half hour back massage, so I took that. You can get a couple of treatments free of charge, but this one wasn’t one of those, so I paid my money, and we settled down.
I wandered around and got some photos of the Clubhouse…
… and then we ordered some drinks. Mark stayed with a soft drink, but I was admiring the cocktail list, and asked for something relatively sweet. The woman came up with something called “Brown Bear”, I think. I’m not sure, given it wasn’t on the menu. I know it had gin, blackcurrant liquor and something else in it, which I can’t remember now but she said it was quite the presentation. Just as I got back from using the shredder to get rid of the papers I no longer needed (I had to get a member of staff to help me work it ), it was waiting for me, and it was very impressive!
I was told to drink it quickly, as the ice bowl on top would collapse, so I think I drank it a little quickly. While it was very nice and easy to drink, it certainly had a kick to it, let’s just say that. I only made it halfway through it, which was a shame, but I was glad I got to see what it looked like and to try it…
We surfed the Internet for a while, and the time literally flew by. Before I knew it, it was time for my massage. I honestly don’t know where the previous hour and a half went. Trust me, this is the place to hang out – of course, if you can afford to pay for Upper Class. I thanked our Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles on more than one occasion during this stay.
The massage was lovely, and better than the one I’d had here last year. During that, I’d felt a bit rushed, as I remember the woman coming in before I was ready, and that didn’t exactly relax me. However, this time I had a lot more time, and I liked the fact the woman talked more to me, checking whether the pressure was too much (it wasn’t, it was fine), and talking to me about my chronic fatigue, and saying she’d specially chosen the massage oils based on that.
We did have a discussion about how tight my neck was, and she asked if I swam breaststroke, after I mentioned it shouldn’t be, as I’d been swimming. I told her not to go there as a consultant I’d seen about the numbness in my hands (it turned out to be scoliosis of the spine pinching a nerve) had suggested I stop breaststroke, as he thought that’s what the problem might be. I stopped for months, and no improvement, and eventually my doctor told me to go back to it.
By the end of the half hour, my back, neck (she particularly worked on that) and shoulders felt a lot better, and I struggled to get up and bend down. I know that sounds funny, but I know it means I’ve had a good workout.
I headed back to Mark and we spent a final half hour chilling where we were, with him getting some cold meats, salmon and bread, and me getting some cheese. Eventually, our gate number came up, although there was no call. I figured that they’d call us when they were ready for us, but we thought we’d make our way down. We were amongst the first when we got to the gate, despite the gate having been showing for about five minutes on the screen. In fact, we were so early, the crew were still waiting there.
We settled down to wait near them, and when they got up, we followed them to grab their seats. One of them turned around, and asked if we were joining them!
I got up and grabbed a couple of photos as we waited…
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.
That lounge looks like something from a James Bond movie. Ultra sleek! Glad you got your drink and massage. Every trip should start like that. Thank goodness for those miles!
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Tanya
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What a wonderful start to your adventure! I love your Club Lounges and it's just the perfect beginning to a long flight with a massage to relax! Looking forward to hearing all about your Upper First Class experience.