WIZARDS, REAL AND AMAZING, CHRISTMAS PARTIES AND CANDLELIGHT- PTR - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Jiko - The Cooking Place Dinner
Date: Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Time: 5:35 PM
DHS/MK
Flying Fish Dinner
Date: Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Time: 5:45 PM
E/MK
Liberty Tree Tavern Dinner
Date: Thursday, December 8, 2016
Time: 3:40 PM
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party - December 8, 2016
Age: 10 and older
Event Date: Thursday, December 8, 2016
AK/Epcot
Chefs de France Candlelight Dinner (8:15PM Show)
Date: Friday, December 9, 2016
Time: 4:50 PM
?/Disney Springs
Morimoto Asia Dinner
Date: Saturday, December 10, 2016
Time: 6:00 PM
MK
Boma
Date: Sunday, December 11, 2016
Time: 7:45AM
I am so proud of us because we really did stick close to our last plans. The only thing we changed is breakfast the last day because it will just be more efficient to have an early breakfast and then head off to MK.
The Sad Bus will probably arrive around 1PM, so we will need to leave MK around noon. Our flight home is at 4:45 PM.
I will update you guys when we are able to make more plans for the first part of the trip!
Love your plans! We have to try Jiko! You are doing MVMCP on our 38th anniversary! We were originally going to be on a cruise, but our plans changed significantly (namely another trip in January with the other two grandkids) so we will be at home...and more significantly, working, so have a hot cocoa and make a wish for me!
Love your plans! We have to try Jiko! You are doing MVMCP on our 38th anniversary! We were originally going to be on a cruise, but our plans changed significantly (namely another trip in January with the other two grandkids) so we will be at home...and more significantly, working, so have a hot cocoa and make a wish for me!
Thanks!! You dohave to try Jiko!! It's wonderful!! Taking your grandkids on a trip is the best!!! It will be well worth the trade off!! I will definitely have a hot cocoa in your honor!! Happy Anniversary !
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Great dining plans!
Thanks, Cheryl!
Quote:
Originally Posted by SharonK0527
Plans look great - can't wait to hear more!
Thanks, Sharon!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Plans look great!
Thanks, Mayra!!
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Last edited by Tara O'Hara; 08-25-2016 at 06:41 PM..
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!
In Islands of adventure, The Grinch is there along with the Who's. They put on a musical show that sounds like great fun!!
At Universal Studios, there os a parade with floats from the Macy's Day parade! I grew up with this parade being a New Yorker, so I am especially looking forward to this!!
There are now five resorts at USF and they are all supposed to be decked out for the holidays! This sounds like a fun evening activity. From the website:
UNDER THE STARS
* The on-site hotels of Universal Orlando® Resort go all-out for the holidays, with special meals, decorations and activities for everyone. At Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, enjoy an evening in seaside Italy with live holiday music, wine tasting and the grand illumination of the Christmas tree.
* Mannheim Steamroller, the best-selling holiday artist of all time returns to Universal Studios Florida for live performances on select Saturday and Sunday nights in December.
The seaside Italian holiday music wine tasting really appeals to us so I hope it's there when we go!!
We also love Mannheim Steamroller and have lots of their music, so I hope that's there too!!
I also did some research on Porotfino Bay since we haven't stayed there. We have seen it from the outside and it sure does look lovely ! From the website:
This luxurious hotel re-creates the charm and romance of the famous Italian seaside village. Themed pools, a world-class spa, and exquisite dining make it easy to live la dolce vita.
Loews Portofino Bay Hotel
Escape to the Italian Riviera in this elegant European-style resort featuring three uniquely themed pools, a luxurious day spa, and more.
* FREE^ Universal Express℠ Unlimited ride access to SKIP THE REGULAR LINES in both theme parks all day, a benefit worth up to $89** per person, per day (valid theme park admission required).
* Early Park Admission† to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ one hour before the theme park opens (valid theme park admission required).
* Complimentary transportation and walking paths to both theme parks and Universal CityWalk
The dining also looks amazing! Here is a list of restaurants from the website:
Take a culinary tour of Italy and dine at one of nine exceptional restaurants & lounges:
* Mama Della's RistoranteSM authentic Italian cuisine
* Bice Ristorante - an exquisite culinary voyage
* Trattoria del Porto® - offering breakfast and dinner
* Sal's Market Deli - brick oven pizzas, antipasto and more
* The Thirsty Fish® - harborside Italian wine bar
* Bar American - specialty drinks and Italy's treasured Grappas
* Splendido Bar & Grill - poolside eatery
* Starbucks - features the exquisite Starbucks Reserve® coffees
* Room service - available 24 hours a day
* Hotel dining shuttle - free transportation to and from our on-site hotel restaurants
I am so happy that there is a Starbucks!! It also sounds like we will have plenty of choices for dinner!!
We don't arrive at MCO until around 4:00 PM on December 3rd. It looks like both parks are open until 8:00 PM so we will most likely go to Universal Studios the first night. We figure we can just stroll around and enjoy the atmosphere even if only for a couple of hours.
We will then spend the whole day on Monday December 5th at both parks. We are most looking forward to Harry Potter World and I need a butter beer!! Those things are so delicious!!
I am keeping a close eye on the website to see if anything else pops up between then and now, but at least this gives us a loose plan.
Mannheim Steamroller!!!! We them! I hope you get to see them!
One of the things I found enchanting about Portofino Bay, the hallways on the Lobby floor look like you are walking down old Italian streets! Having lived in Italy for 3 years, I adored that little touch!
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Mannheim Steamroller!!!! We them! I hope you get to see them!
One of the things I found enchanting about Portofino Bay, the hallways on the Lobby floor look like you are walking down old Italian streets! Having lived in Italy for 3 years, I adored that little touch!
Me too, Stephanie on the Mannheim Steamroller!! I can't wait to experience Portofino Bay!!
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Originally Posted by MayraLR
It's been years since I've gone to US/IoA. It's really not my thing. Someday I'll go back, I bet my kids would enjoy the parks.
Your kids would love the parks!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
I remember going to Universal in the holidays before and they do put on a great show!
We can't wait!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Sounds like USF does some fun stuff for Christmas! I really like Mannheim Steamroller and have a couple of their Christmas CDs.
It sure does, Cam!! We really hope we get to see them!!:
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