My solo trip to the World - Booked and back in a week! COMPLETE - finally! 4/24!! - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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.
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.
I love solo trips! Good for you. Can't wait to read more.
__________________
ºOº ~*~
Oct '99: CSR ~ May '02: CR ~ Nov '04: SOG ~ May '06: SOG ~ Dec '07: Solo @ Pop ~ May '08: Pop w/friends ~ Oct '08: SOG ~ Dec '09: Pop w/LeAnn ~ Sept '10: Solo @ Pop ~ Spring '11: AKL ~ Jan '12: Pop for 1/2 Marathon ~ Sept '12: 1st trip for DL 1/2 Marathon? ~ Feb '13: Pop w/pals? ~ Mar '13: Tokyo Disney w/PP's?
What a great bday gift! I have been bouncing around the idea of a solo trip & your TR is helping me think its is a good idea . Loving the the pics & the HM's as well. Looking forward to more!
After filling up and cooling off at Yak & Yeti, I was ready for more! I don't know exactly what time I got out of there, because I didn't take my receipt with me! (Shocking, I know! I still have WDW receipts from January 2007!) I do remember that my bill came to $15 with tip, which I didn't think was too bad for a TS lunch. Of course, it wasn't a very good use of my QS Dining Plan, but I figured I'd have no trouble using up those credits so I didn't worry about it!
I wandered back toward EE, and may have even partaken in another trip up the mountain. I did ride it three more times, but am not exactly sure when. I did take a couple more photos as I wandered through Asia. (I'm really going to have to check a thesaurus for an equivalent to "wander" so this TR doesn't start to sound too repetitive!)
Can't resist a shot like this!
I have no idea what this symbolizes, but I thought it looked cool. I wonder whose hands made these?
These are to the right of the mountain; there are some on each side, so it's as if you're walking through a corridor. It looks like a tribute or a shrine; again, I have no idea but I thought it was cool. I checked my Imagineering Field Guide to AK, but there's no info there, either.
Most of the Hidden Mickeys at EE are in the queue or on the ride itself, but there is supposed to be one outside, near the Serka Zong bazaar. I thought I might have found it, but after checking Steve's website when I got home, I found that I was incorrect. I didn't feel like waiting standby for 60 minutes, just so I could find the HMs in the queue, so headed out of Asia (but you know I'll be back!)
You can see why I might have thought this was it, though, right? RIGHT?!?!?
I decided that since I was already heading that direction, I'd see if I could find any of Steve's Hidden Mickeys in Dinoland. I'd never spent much time here, for several reasons: I hate Dinosaur and have no desire to ride it ever again (sorry, Jillybean!); there was the ill-fated trip to the Boneyard where we lost Grace in 2007; Rick and I had tried out Primeval Whirl for the first and most likely only time on our trip together last Labor Day. The only redeeming quality is Dino Dumbo, which we'd ridden as a family in April 2008; it's one of AK's only h/c accessible rides! Dinoland was a mystery to me, so I decided to try to see if it was all that Lou Mongello and Jeff Pepper said it was!
I passed these guys as I walked the path from Asia to Dinoland.
They're called the Tropicals, and you can check them out here: http://www.myspace.com/thetropicals I love me some steel drums! Be sure to click on the link and have a listen; you'll feel like you're right back at AK (or in the Caribbean, whichever you choose!)
As it turned out, I was very disappointed in my HM findings in Dinoland. I only found one, and couldn't get a good photo of it. I took some fairly boring photos while I was there.
There's a HM in this trail; couldn't find it. Also, this trail is really boring.
You can see how tall this guy is by comparing him with the lamppost on the right of the photo.
This is as close as I got to Chester & Hester's!
Poor, lonely CM.
Love the "osaurus" on the end of the sign!
I think this is an American alligator, but I can't be sure. Who can tell the difference, anyway?
I really did try, but just didn't enjoy Dinoland too much. Maybe anything would have been a letdown after Maharajah Jungle Trek, since I had such a fun time there. Glad I gave it a shot, anyway!
Up next: Did I stroll, saunter or ramble toward my next destination? Whichever way I got there, I hit the HM jackpot!
__________________
Last edited by mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince; 08-27-2009 at 05:05 PM..
I think this is an American alligator, but I can't be sure. Who can tell the difference, anyway?
I hope other American Alligators...but anywhooo. I am enjoying your trip report and all the hidden Mickeys. Your meandering around AK is fun to read about
__________________
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
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.