A Magical voyage across the pond TRIP REPORT UPDATED 12/31 - Page 56 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I am so glad that you enjoyed your dinner this time around at Rapunzel's!! That show sounds very cool and a nice way to end the evening as well!! I think your towel animal looks more like a walrus. They sure are being artsy with those guys!!
First off, say hi to Hazel for me. I miss seeing her on the forum boards. Too bad that Mark didn't care for the champagne sent to your room but I'm sure you enjoyed your share. Your meal looked absolutely delicious and that seafood sampler did look like the choice of the night for appetizers! How fun that you got a kitchen tour arranged as I'm really looking forward to hearing all about it! Andrae sounds like a gem so it's nice that you'll be able to get him on your next cruise even with him being a head waiter. The show sounded wonderful even if it didn't have all the glitz and glamour of most shows. The 3D art of the ship is a wonderful souvenir and your Olaf is just so cute.
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.
I’m going to have to remember to ask about a galley tour on our next cruise! (Remind me in September)
I LOVE Once Upon a Song! Glad you made it, and enjoyed it so much. The talent on those ships is tremendous. I love seeing that someone on a Broadway show started on DCL. Of course, Jennifer Hudson is probably the most famous DCL alum!
I am so glad that you enjoyed your dinner this time around at Rapunzel's!! That show sounds very cool and a nice way to end the evening as well!! I think your towel animal looks more like a walrus. They sure are being artsy with those guys!!
They are! Hmmm…. a walrus? That never even crossed my mind...
First off, say hi to Hazel for me. I miss seeing her on the forum boards.
I've passed it on!
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Too bad that Mark didn't care for the champagne sent to your room but I'm sure you enjoyed your share.
Oh I did!
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Your meal looked absolutely delicious and that seafood sampler did look like the choice of the night for appetizers! How fun that you got a kitchen tour arranged as I'm really looking forward to hearing all about it! Andrae sounds like a gem so it's nice that you'll be able to get him on your next cruise even with him being a head waiter.
He was the best.
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The show sounded wonderful even if it didn't have all the glitz and glamour of most shows.
I think some of the stripped down shows are the best.
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The 3D art of the ship is a wonderful souvenir and your Olaf is just so cute.
I’m going to have to remember to ask about a galley tour on our next cruise! (Remind me in September)
I will try!
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I LOVE Once Upon a Song! Glad you made it, and enjoyed it so much. The talent on those ships is tremendous. I love seeing that someone on a Broadway show started on DCL. Of course, Jennifer Hudson is probably the most famous DCL alum!
I did not know she started on Disney Cruise Line. Neat!
Well the rest of dinner was totally worth it. Yum! You'd think they would have more of the Bailey's sauce on the plate though, that is odd.
So glad things are working out great with Andrae! And finding out about the kitchen tour to boot, awesome!
The mysterious towel animals continue... maybe they're imaginary creatures now.
Once Upon a Song sounds fantastic! I guess not many guests can appreciate the show, which is a bummer. Well, glad you got to see it!
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Both of your desserts look delicious, and peanut butter fudge pie also sounds yummy! I am fairly sure that I saw Once Upon a Song on my Western Caribbean cruise back in 2012. Maybe they showed it more often back then?
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.
Both of your desserts look delicious, and peanut butter fudge pie also sounds yummy! I am fairly sure that I saw Once Upon a Song on my Western Caribbean cruise back in 2012. Maybe they showed it more often back then?
That's entirely possible. It could be something that used to be more regular and maybe now it's "semi retired"?
Friday 14 September – part one: it’s pitch black and raining!
I woke up at 5:40am and couldn’t get back to sleep, so what else was there to do, but get up? It was very surreal to look out and see nothing but pitch black…
I decided to get up and go for a wander around the ship while it was quiet. I headed down to deck five and got some photos of an empty atrium…
Then I headed down to deck four, where I came across about half a dozen other people either walking or jogging around the deck. At least I wasn’t the only idiot up at this early hour! I did a complete round of the deck, noticing things I hadn’t seen before. I swear you can only see through the portholes at night, as when I walked this yesterday in the day, I couldn’t see into any of them at all.
You can even get a glimpse into the kitchen of Animator’s Palate.
Interestingly, it was raining outside, the first rain we’d seen all this trip. We had been so lucky so far with the weather.
After I completed my circuit, I headed upstairs…
Then I wandered around various decks, having a look at people’s stateroom doors. There were some more wonderful creative ideas…
Look at all those stateroom keys from previous cruises!
Once I was done with that, I headed up to deck nine to make the tea and went back to the room, about 40 minutes after I’d left.
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That show sounds very cool and a nice way to end the evening as well!! 
I think your towel animal looks more like a walrus. They sure are being artsy with those guys!!
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Pixie Dust
Your meal looked absolutely delicious and that seafood sampler did look like the choice of the night for appetizers! How fun that you got a kitchen tour arranged as I'm really looking forward to hearing all about it! Andrae sounds like a gem so it's nice that you'll be able to get him on your next cruise even with him being a head waiter. The show sounded wonderful even if it didn't have all the glitz and glamour of most shows.
The 3D art of the ship is a wonderful souvenir and your Olaf is just so cute.
PassPorter Guide Author
It was very surreal to look out and see nothing but pitch black… 
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