Dreaming of a Disney spring break - part three COMPLETED - Page 51 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Whew...all caught up again. GOLF...you either love it or hate it. I played Junior Golf as a child...my DD started me playing when I was 5, felt like I grew up on the golf course. I think he had designs of me being the female Tiger Woods. Problem was...I wasn't that great. By the time I was 13 my DD stopped playing and that was it for me. I do miss it sometimes...but walking that much in the heat of Summer...don't miss that! I did learn a few choice words while playing with my DD...he got a little heated at times. Clubs flying across the green or up into trees...got to see that too!
Beaches and Cream...so want to be at that counter right now! I could do with a milkshake. And a burger. And some fries....and some more ice cream (with sprinkles)!
Glad you enjoyed the new Sea World show...I so want to get there someday. I want to see the whales!
What a neat way to spend Earth Day! It sounds like the new show at Sea World is a success! I'm so glad they were able to accommodate you! I cannot wait to get back to the AKL Club Lounge. It is my favorite way to vacation and we'll be there in October! It took me ages to find an affordable version of the lavender earl grey tea they serve there, but I spotted one in the grocery a few weeks ago and I'm enjoying it now!
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Your Illumination shots are just really awesome. We have never watched from that side of WS, but I think we will next time!!!!.. I had no idea that Sea World has so much to see, I do now only because of your TR. The whales look like they put on a great show!!!!!!
Just getting caught up! Sorry golfing wasn't for you! How great you got to see Delores again! Great meal at Tokyo Dining and great shots of IllumiNations! The new Shamu show looks great!
The Seaworld show looks great... glad you were able to get in ad they helped you with that. I have not been to a Seaworld since August 2007 when the nephews and I went to San Diego. we had a blast there.
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Aug,1978- LBV;Apr,1987-Disneyland;March,1993-offsite;Jan,1997-offsite;Aug,1999- CBR;Sept,2000- ASMo;Aug,2001- ASSP;Aug,2002- ASMU/AKL;Jan & July 2003-POR;June,December 2004- PC;January 2005- ASMU; Aug 2005-PC;Dec 2005-AKL;Jan 2006-CBR ; July/Aug-Saratoga springs; Dec. PC;April 2007- Disneyland;Aug 2007-Disneyland & So Cal;Dec 2007-POFQ; Aug2008-POFQ & Nov 2008 PC,Y&B May 2009 ASmu, June 2009 PC ; Nov 2009 WL & POFQ;Jan 2010 BW & WL; June 2010 POFQ ; Aug 2010 Poly ;Oct 2010 WL; Jan 2011 PC
Tokyo Dining, is one of our favorites and I'm always surprised that more people aren't into it.
I think that spot for Illuminations is a must do for us, those pics were great!
Glad the new Shamu show was a success. We saw the old one a few months before the accident took place and I'm glad they found a way to still put on a great show for everyone.
LOVE the nightime pics ok AKL!!! I hope to do that VERY soon!!!
Whew...all caught up again. GOLF...you either love it or hate it. I played Junior Golf as a child...my DD started me playing when I was 5, felt like I grew up on the golf course. I think he had designs of me being the female Tiger Woods. Problem was...I wasn't that great. By the time I was 13 my DD stopped playing and that was it for me. I do miss it sometimes...but walking that much in the heat of Summer...don't miss that! I did learn a few choice words while playing with my DD...he got a little heated at times. Clubs flying across the green or up into trees...got to see that too!
Friday 22 April – part two: ... and you mean there’s more?
The finale was quite something as well. First, I thought that lots of people were leaving already and then I noticed that actually they were streaming in, all in One Ocean T-shirts of all colours. There were hundreds of them. That wasn’t the end of it either. They did a special performance of One Ocean sung by Scott Lee. We’d never heard of him, but maybe you guys have?
During that section, all the whales were still swimming around and would come up for food. Obviously, no-one had told them about the additional finale for the world premiere and they were wondering where their treats were!
All in all, it was amazing to see and a definite highlight.
I figured that if this was all we saw while we were here, I’d be happy, but when the stadium emptied out, we went to see what the line for Wild Arctic was like. It said 20 minutes for walking, which was what we wanted to do, but it was more like five minutes and even better, we were allowed to walk straight through, instead of having to sit through the movie first.
As a result though, there was a crush at the other end to see the beluga whales, but people quickly got bored and moved away. We struggled to get decent photos of them from above, so eventually we moved on as well.
The polar bear was asleep, so there wasn’t much to see there...
.. but the walrus was another story. My goodness, he was active, although as a certain law dictates, after we went down to the underwater viewing area, he spent most of the time with his head above water. We did get some good shots of him in the end.
We still couldn’t get anything great of the belugas underwater, so we headed out.
We stopped for a brief look in the shop on the way out and then started to wander out towards the exit.
We headed to the Dolphin Nursery...
Then it was time to leave. We got the car from valet and commented on the crowds waiting to get in. The guy there told us that there was new management and they had come up with a new way of getting people into the parks and decided to try it out this weekend. Good plan... not! : As we said to him, a good news story about One Ocean could so easily become a bad one if people told the press about the wait they had to get in today. As he said to us “I suspect that heads will roll over this”. I think he’s probably right...
Our next stop was to get some gas, as the car was gasping for it and fortunately, we found a station pretty nearby and put in $15, just enough to get us around and to the airport, as the car has to be returned empty.
We headed back towards Disney property, going first to the Caribbean Beach Resort, as I had a bit of research I needed to do for a future project.
While there, we got asked if we wanted to make our own landfill drink out of sweet things. It was very good, as it did explain to kids of all ages how landfill works, but the creation you make is truly disgusting and it comes in a plastic cup, which is not very environmentally friendly. Of course this was all to market Earth Day and it was a nice touch.
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. The whales look like they put on a great show!!!!!!
Great meal at Tokyo Dining and great shots of IllumiNations! The new Shamu show looks great! 
PassPorter Guide Author
: As we said to him, a good news story about One Ocean could so easily become a bad one if people told the press about the wait they had to get in today. As he said to us “I suspect that heads will roll over this”. I think he’s probably right... 
Of course this was all to market Earth Day and it was a nice touch. 
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