Forever Young: A Disneyland Trip 50 Years in the Making COMPLETED 1/16/16 - Page 58 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
That breakfast buffet looked wonderful!!
I'm so glad you loved DL so much!! I always worry when people make their first trip, especially since it is very different from WDW. I really do love it, though - in many ways more than I love WDW. It was great seeing everything through your lens! Thanks for all the work!
I really enjoyed reading your trip report and seeing the differences between DL and DW. Your breakfast looked really good.
That was a long trip home and I'm glad you made it home safely.
Liz
You had such a great trip and I really enjoyed reading this TR in every way!
Glad the flight home was uneventful and I love those doors on the Grand Californian!
__________________
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's what I thought at first as well but then re-read it and realized Cam meant four legs total - so two on the flight to California and two on the way back .
Great trip. DLR looks like a really fun place. Not sure if I will ever get there. Your TR and beautiful pix will have to be sufficient for now. The little old lady on the bench looks like she needs to have some company. You like you really need a rest.
I have so loved reading this report, as it's been wonderful to see Disneyland for the first time through your eyes. Your enthusiasm has been truly infectious!
Now did I read that right - four legs of the flight back home? Good grief! If that's right, I never cease to be amazed by air travel in the States, given we can fly straight to LAX from Heathrow.
Looking forward to your final thoughts.
Sabine got my gist in her post below. But I could have worded that better. the four flights were there and back, two each way. On the way out the two legs were more equally divided. On the way back the first leg was about 3/4 of the trip and then we just had less than an hour to reach Louisville. We will definitely be traveling non-stop next time to shorter our travel time considerably.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Disneybine
That's what I thought at first as well but then re-read it and realized Cam meant four legs total - so two on the flight to California and two on the way back
The breakfast buffet looks very inviting - I would've loved to jump through the screen Glad your journey home was uneventful.
Glad you were able to figure out my meaning. Those buffet photos made me very hungry yesterday as I was adding them in to the update.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMA
All the breakfast choices looked delicious! Great final photos of the resort!
It was a bit bittersweet to be leaving a place that really felt like home.
I have loved reading along with this! It was so exciting to see all your pictures, and your descriptions of the different areas of both parks. You have a great style of writing, that makes the reader feel as though they are there with you!
Sad that it has now come to an end, but you still have WDW to look forward to soon, and I love that Luke has said that on your NEXT trip to Disneyland you will be flying non-stop!
Thank you for taking the time to post the report and pics, I have loved every minute.
Thank you so much. Writing so others feel included has always been my goal.
As this TR wraps up, the excitement for our May trip is growing. I also know now that we'll be heading back to DLR in a few years, and that makes me very happy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
What a great breakfast to end your trip! Love all the pictures! So sorry the trip is over! Looking forward to your final thoughts!
Writing the last update made me a bit sorry, too, as the trip was over for a second time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
That breakfast buffet looked wonderful!!
I'm so glad you loved DL so much!! I always worry when people make their first trip, especially since it is very different from WDW. I really do love it, though - in many ways more than I love WDW. It was great seeing everything through your lens! Thanks for all the work!
As I mentioned before we left, I was a little concerned that I'd compare the two and DLR would come up wanting But at the same time I was so excited to be visiting the original that I'd dreamed about for 50 years. In the end, the best analogy for my loving both parks is that my two kids were different but I loved them both. Can't wait to return now!
The breakfast buffet looked delicious! Lots of choices.
When you said Luke got a picture of an old lady on a bench I pictured a random old lady.
Sad this trip is over. But it was such a great trip.
I joke that when I'm tired, I tend to sit like a little old lady. And I was definitely tired, but we'd had lots of fun.
Quote:
Originally Posted by clio
I really enjoyed reading your trip report and seeing the differences between DL and DW. Your breakfast looked really good.
That was a long trip home and I'm glad you made it home safely.
Liz
I'm so glad we finally made our way to Walt's own park.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
You had such a great trip and I really enjoyed reading this TR in every way!
Glad the flight home was uneventful and I love those doors on the Grand Californian!
The doors are beautiful and worthy waiting outside to see them fully closed.
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.
What a great trip you two had, even with the horrible hot weather. I hate the travel home days. They always seem to drag on terribly.
As far as travel days goes, this was just so long and we were already tired.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rhinohunter
Great trip. DLR looks like a really fun place. Not sure if I will ever get there. Your TR and beautiful pix will have to be sufficient for now. The little old lady on the bench looks like she needs to have some company. You like you really need a rest.
You are so right that I needed rest. When I'm tired, I tend to slump over like old ladies often do. Of course, now I'm much closer to old than I used to be, but I've always slouched when tired.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Breakfast at Storytellers Cafe looks like a great way to end your Disneyland trip! Looking forward to your final thoughts.
In our planning we though a good breakfast before a long travel day would be a good idea, and it was. The characters were an added bonus.
Quote:
Originally Posted by benchley
I've really enjoyed reading this trip report. Thank you for reliving your holiday with us.
I enjoy writing and sharing our trips as I get to live them one more time.
You timed your photos so fell with the door closing and glad the CM waited for you!
__________________
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!
Love Storytellers Cafe! My favorite breakfast at DLR. So glad you enjoyed the meal and your time in California. We've been lucky enough to experience DLR twice now and I always feel the itch to return ��
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
.
If that's right, I never cease to be amazed by air travel in the States, given we can fly straight to LAX from Heathrow. 
It was a bit bittersweet to be leaving a place that really felt like home. 
Looking forward to your final thoughts! 
Trish
Linear Mode
