For the plans they are a changin’ TR - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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A nice ending to your tour and looks like it was so worth doing! Too bad the FPs didn't work on your MBs! Glad you got a good ride on TT. I'm sure getting back to your AC room was so welcomed!
Definitely was an awesome tour!
In fairness, the CM was going to let us on Soarin’ when we said we’d taken the tour. But we chose to turn around when we found out about the wait. Stay tuned to see if we eventually were able to take advantage of those FPs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Your tour sounds wonderful! I must do it some day!But the heat sounds horrible! I don’t deal well with that! :
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Yes, it was a great tour! I don’t deal well with the heat either. I was mad at myself for forgetting the neck cooling towel and mister fan!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Glad I'm not too far behind! I hear you about the heat and humidity. I was not expecting that in the middle of October, but Orlando seems to be stuck in that mode right now. The heat is energy zapping. I really want to do this tour, but I'm wondering if they will continue the backstage portion for the new nighttime show. After reading Cheryl's TR and now yours, I'd really like to do this one.
I hope you get a chance to do this tour. I think you and Luke would really enjoy it!
I can’t believe the heat and humidity hung around this long! When we were there, they were saying it was unseasonable for mid September!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
So glad you enjoyed the tour! Sorry it was so hot! Ugh! I like your room location. Maybe Disney wouldn’t notice if you trimmed the hedges a bit!
About 5:00 we started to get ready for our dinner at Flying Fish. We left at 5:50 and since we were a bit early, we sat on a bench and enjoyed the scenery for a bit.
Then we checked in to FF and were seated in a few minutes. We ordered our food and then enjoyed the GF rolls and bread. For dinner Jeff had the char-crusted NY Strip steak and I had the oak grilled salmon. I also had a Pacific Island Punch, which was very yummy! We really enjoyed our dinner here! The atmosphere along with the outstanding service and fresh, delicious food – it is really evident that this is a signature restaurant.
After dinner we watched another street performer for a few minutes. He did not talk, but had a whistle in his mouth that he used to communicate….kinda. But he was entertaining and engaged the audience so it was a fun show.
Then we headed over to Epcot.
Gondola construction at the IG
We were able to use our FP for Soarin’ without any trouble. And then we headed to WS and the VIP viewing area to watch Illuminations. After we were admitted to the area we saw and chatted with some of the folks who had been on the tour with us. While we were waiting for the show to start we were sitting on the concrete rail of the roped off section. So, facing the Italy pavilion, and just people watching. And then, out of nowhere, a rat…yes a RAT… came scurrying into the viewing area, ran RIGHT UNDER OUR LEGS, and then disappeared around the bend! Everyone had seen it and we were all in a state of shock. Someone made a joke about Remy, but I’m sorry, a real rat running under my legs is not funny! :
Eventually my heart stopped racing, and everyone calmed down. And soon they were dimming the lights for Illuminations. We stood up and turned around to watch. But you can bet my feet were doing a little dance down there to ward off any rodents!
I didn’t take any pictures. Just wanted to enjoy the show. And as always it was wonderful!
After it was over we made our way back to the IG and Boardwalk. It was still very hot and humid out and we were both exhausted.
We got ready for bed and Jeff fell asleep almost immediately, but I had to place the order with Amazon Prime Now for our grocery delivery the next day at AKL. I got in to my shopping cart and was frustrated to find out that some of the items I’d placed there were no longer available. The only flavor Greek yogurt they had available was pineapple, so I ended up with 8 of those instead of peach, raspberry and black cherry. They were out of orange juice so I ordered a cranberry pomegranate juice. Nothing too drastic, and it all worked out in the end. I finally placed the order and went to sleep.
The weather today was – Hot, humid and very sunny
The best thing today was – dinner at Flying Fish
The worst thing was – the rat in Epcot
The funniest thing today was – the street performer
Today we tried – DestiNations Discovered Tour
And the result was – A great tour with lots of info!
The most magical moment today was – VIP viewing of Illuminations (except for the uninvited guest!)
That was a nice meal you had at FF and seems from the many reviews I've read since the rehab, new executive chef and menu that this is up there with the best sigs on property. I've dined here in the past before the makeover and had some good meals and some mixed.
Glad you got to ride Soarin' after all.
That was quite the unexpected in the VIP viewing area for Illuminations and unfortunately something you'll remember with the critter! Not something I'd want to see on vacation or anywhere! It's quite a nice VIP section as I had this in 2016 with my Disney Visa card when Chase was sponsor of the F&W Festival but no longer.
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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!
That was a nice meal you had at FF and seems from the many reviews I've read since the rehab, new executive chef and menu that this is up there with the best sigs on property. I've dined here in the past before the makeover and had some good meals and some mixed.
Glad you got to ride Soarin' after all.
That was quite the unexpected in the VIP viewing area for Illuminations and unfortunately something you'll remember with the critter! Not something I'd want to see on vacation or anywhere! It's quite a nice VIP section as I had this in 2016 with my Disney Visa card when Chase was sponsor of the F&W Festival but no longer.
FF was such an enjoyable meal! I forgot to mention that the manager came over at one point and asked us how everything was. She was very genuine and chatted with us for a while.
We did love the VIP viewing area, and I remember you saying you watched from there in the past.
Dinner at the Flying Fish looked wonderful. So glad you enjoyed it! I have a feeling I would have screamed and shrieked if I saw a rat. Kind of steals the magic!
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Wow, that is not the sort of company you want in the VIP area of IllumiNations! I can imagine the Remy jokes, but I'm not sure those would have made me feel better either...
YIKES!!!!! You were calmer than me...they would have heard me way over in Mexico!
Glad your FF dinner was so good! The last time we ate there, the food and service were eh. Always glad to hear when a former favorite starts shining once again!
Your dinner looks delicious!!! I Flying Fish and it's nice to hear that it is still a good place to go!! How cool that you took advantage of the perks for your tour but my goodness!! I hate rodents ( except Remy and Emil) and would have freaked out!!
Dinner at the Flying Fish looked wonderful. So glad you enjoyed it! I have a feeling I would have screamed and shrieked if I saw a rat. Kind of steals the magic!
Wow, that is not the sort of company you want in the VIP area of IllumiNations! I can imagine the Remy jokes, but I'm not sure those would have made me feel better either...
No, most of us were not in the mood for kidding around at that point!
YIKES!!!!! You were calmer than me...they would have heard me way over in Mexico!
Glad your FF dinner was so good! The last time we ate there, the food and service were eh. Always glad to hear when a former favorite starts shining once again!
It just happened so fast, that we were all in shock! There were a few screams, and then it was gone, so we all kind of looked at each other, like “Did that just happen?”
This was our first time at FF, so I’m glad it was such a good experience!
Your dinner looks delicious!!! I Flying Fish and it's nice to hear that it is still a good place to go!! How cool that you took advantage of the perks for your tour but my goodness!! I hate rodents ( except Remy and Emil) and would have freaked out!!
I remembered you saying how much you loved FF, so I was hoping we’d enjoy it as well!
One of the women we were talking with mentioned that MK has feral cats that come out at night to keep their rodent population down. It’s not the sort of thing we like to hear about the most magical place on earth!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
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Too bad the FPs didn't work on your MBs! 
Glad you got a good ride on TT. I'm sure getting back to your AC room was so welcomed!
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It's quite a nice VIP section as I had this in 2016 with my Disney Visa card when Chase was sponsor of the F&W Festival but no longer.
PassPorter Guide Author
I can imagine the Remy jokes, but I'm not sure those would have made me feel better either...
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Flying Fish and it's nice to hear that it is still a good place to go!! How cool that you took advantage of the perks for your tour but my goodness!! 
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