Forever Young: A Disneyland Trip 50 Years in the Making COMPLETED 1/16/16 - Page 6 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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What a nice room you have and is so spacious! The secondary bath looks a bit dated though! The rest of the villa looks so homey and comfy! Too bad you didn't get a better room from your deck!
Must just be how the bathroom looks in my photos, but it was not the least bit dated looking in real life. I think we would have had to be on a higher level to see over the trees, but we didn't mind at all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily
What a beautiful villa! I love the warm colts and the details.
The interior decor was so much like Luke and I decorate.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
I'm so glad you loved your room - we absolutely adore the Grand Californian.
We adore it now, too! It immediately felt like home.
Whoa, I logged in at the right time! Love a few things here.
First, this:
You don't get better than that, especially after you've forked over such a lot of money. Great that he still feels this way. So very nice.
I love the hard-backed cushioned chairs and desks that are in hotel rooms. They remind me of how I wish my life felt a lot of the time. Orderly, comfortable, but energizing. Sigh...
I love the little view of the death wheel, um, fun wheel. (I actually love this, but will ever think of it as the death wheel after reading other TRs here!)
Lastly, I bet that tub paid dividents after long days walking the parks. I know we tend to do 10+ miles each day, I'm sure you are no different.
Thanks for sharing your trip with us!
I just realized you'd added more comments. The DVC villas do look so orderly, and that puts me at ease. Neither of us ever used the tub, but my feet hurt much less at DLR than they usually do at WDW. For Luke and me, the standing in line is worse than walking on our feet. We didn't have many long waits, so I think that helped a lot.
Haha. I called this "Mickey's Wheel of Death" also based on a TR I read here. The 8 year old twins I was traveling with thought that was the funniest thing, and continued to call it such. And probably will from now on. (btw, I loved it too, but it could be a little longer).
Cam, I knew you would love the Grand Cali. It's such a beautiful place! Like Luke, I often think that DVC is the best investment I ever made, but especially felt so upon checking in to the Grand Californian. Glad that the camera battery has some more charge, I can't wait to see more pictures.
We both really liked the layout of the one-bedroom here. It felt so spacious and cozy all at the same time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
What a nice, spacious, bright room! The decor is very different from my room on the villas side, or maybe there's been a refurbishment since I was there. I totally agree with Luke that DVC is the best investment!
I realized when we walked through the door that I had not even looked up photos of the villas recently. So I enjoyed being wowed at first sight.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMA
Just catching up...
I'm glad the flights went well and were uneventful. The Disney Express was a good idea and sounds like it was well worth the cost. The villa is gorgeous!
I got some very good advice here on the Disneyland Express, and knew my PP friends would not lead me astray. It worked just as everyone told me. Sharon had mentioned it would have a great Disney design on it. On our print out from booking online, the bus was described as a Cars bus. I kept asking Luke if he thought it would have Cars on it. He'd tell me yes and I'd ask again in 5 minutes. I was so excited when it arrived with Cars on it.
All caught up--crazy how life gets in the way of my TR reading time!
Am anxious to see how much you like DLR (but I'm guessing you loved it!) Will be going for our first time this coming January and will only have time for one park and I'm having the hardest time deciding which one it will be!
Love you very first sunrise photo--the cloud formations were really something to appreciate.
Looking forward to more of your pictures and perspectives!
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The rest of the villa looks so homey and comfy! 
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