The trip of many changes... TRIP REPORT UPDATED 2/25 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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In general you did pretty well with the food on your flight. You should be able to declare your allergies on the airline's website and if not you can call them. Might make it easier on future flights. That was funny with the captain's announcement! OOPS! Great views from your flight on such a clear day!
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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!
In general you did pretty well with the food on your flight. You should be able to declare your allergies on the airline's website and if not you can call them.
I have looked into it and couldn't find any way to declare anything on the website and honestly? I can't be bothered to call them. It just becomes such a pain when organisations learn about my allergies, as suddenly there are lots of things I can't have. In truth, I'm fine with most things, as I don't have to worry about cross contamination, so I find it easier to self manage...
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Might make it easier on future flights. That was funny with the captain's announcement! OOPS! Great views from your flight on such a clear day!
Wednesday 10 January – part three: getting a special welcome to the States…
Afternoon tea was served with about two hours left to go of the flight. I had the cheese sandwiches…
… while Mark had the chicken. It was all very nice and civilised, just like afternoon tea should be.
Not long afterwards, I opened up the blind to see where we were, and the answer was about here…
These look like salt flats to me although I could be wrong. We were about 40 miles away from Virginia Beach, if that helps anyone?
Soon we were coming into land…
The Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center
It seemed to take forever after we put our wheels down. We then taxied for another 10 minutes before we finally got to the gate. The sun was setting as we came in and it made for some beautiful shots.
When we did, I was so glad I’d picked the seats I did, as we exited from the doors right behind, and we were the fifth and sixth people (I think!) off the plane, but you get the idea… we were doing well… so far.
We made our way down to immigration, fought with the machines and put in all the same answers that are on our customs card (don’t ask me why they do it this way – it’s just the way now! ) and had our photos taken (good grief, we looked so bad ) and fingerprints done, and then we headed into line to wait for a real life human being… to do the same thing again. We cannot see the point of this, but I guess it preserves jobs.
Just as we thought we were finishing, we noticed the guy had handed back my passport, but not Mark’s. He seemed to be looking at a screen, which did not inspire confidence at all. Then he stood up with it and started to walk off. Ok, in all our visits, this has never happened to us! Getting concerned now, Mark asked whether everything was Ok. Oh yes, he was cheerfully told, we’d been lucky enough to be randomly selected for a “secondary inspection”. Ok… goodie!
This was a new experience to us in all our visits to the States. We were taken to the customs area that you usually walk through and hand your customs form in at, but we were asked to sit down, and they asked us what colour our cases were. Black… but they don’t have our names on. They’re brand new and did have red tape around the handles, but at least we were able to tell the guy that they had Premium Economy tags on, so that no doubt narrowed it down a lot for him.
We sat there, thinking the guy would never be able to locate our cases, but Mark watched in amazement, as he found one after the other, and was soon coming over with all three. We then had to send them, and our hand luggage through an X-ray machine, after which three customs agents then hand searched each case and bag. So much for being the first off the plane.
The search, in fairness, was done painlessly and efficiently, and we were soon on our way, heading up to get the monorail. As we headed over to the main terminal, we were treated to a beautiful sunset, but my camera just couldn’t capture it.
We headed out at the main terminal, and made our way over to baggage claim A. We were due to meet at 8A, which is for international flights, I think. Now as we usually carry our luggage, we had no idea that it was on level 1, not level 2 with all the other baggage claims. We had done a fair bit of walking by then, and frankly we were both getting pretty bushed, so when we got there and the driver from Quicksliver wasn’t there, neither of us was very impressed. I’d heard so many good things about it that to not have someone there was just a huge shock to me.
I love that they do tea on the plane. That's the perfect snack!
Well if you weren't among the first off the plane and still got flagged for further inspection, you would have missed that sunset. I chuckled when they asked what color is your luggage - black. 90% is probably black! I guess it's impressive then that they found your luggage.
In Paris, we arranged for a private transfer upon arrival too. But with Amy's delayed flight and then lost luggage, they simply couldn't wait any longer due to their scheduling. I'm hoping Quicksilver could still meet you guys!!
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Tanya
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Not the greatest welcome to the States this time. Don't they know that you are practically citizens, considering how often you are here? I hope Quicksilver shows up soon and all is quickly sorted out.
I love that they do tea on the plane. That's the perfect snack!
Well if you weren't among the first off the plane and still got flagged for further inspection, you would have missed that sunset.
True!
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I chuckled when they asked what color is your luggage - black. 90% is probably black! I guess it's impressive then that they found your luggage.
I know... I was cringing, thinking "we have no real identifiers on it, he's never going to find it" but my goodness, he was good.
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In Paris, we arranged for a private transfer upon arrival too. But with Amy's delayed flight and then lost luggage, they simply couldn't wait any longer due to their scheduling. I'm hoping Quicksilver could still meet you guys!!
Wow. I never thought that was even an option for them to leave you there. What did you do? You realise you should do a trip report for this trip, don't you?
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You should be able to declare your allergies on the airline's website and if not you can call them. Might make it easier on future flights. 
Great views from your flight on such a clear day! 
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Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
although I could be wrong. We were about 40 miles away from Virginia Beach, if that helps anyone? 
) and had our photos taken (good grief, we looked so bad 
) and fingerprints done, and then we headed into line to wait for a real life human being… to do the same thing again. We cannot see the point of this, but I guess it preserves jobs. 
Then he stood up with it and started to walk off. 
Ok, in all our visits, this has never happened to us! 
I guess it's impressive then that they found your luggage.
Don't they know that you are practically citizens, considering how often you are here? I hope Quicksilver shows up soon and all is quickly sorted out.
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