Florida flowers and Caribbean cruising - the trip report! THIS SECTION COMPLETED 4/12 - Page 63 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Sounds like we need a PP DVC combo so we can stay in a bungalow. Although that pool looks like a kiddie pool and for the cost of staying there it should be an actual hot tub!
That's what I was thinking, Kelly! I'm really not that impressed with the bungalows. Only two bedrooms and the price of a grand villa.
Sorry if this has been asked before but does Mark have a boat license? Or can anyone just rent one of those boats?
Nope, no boat licence needed to rent one of those.
Quote:
I love the look of the DVC Poly bungalows but there's no way we could ever afford that. Maybe if you're on an extended-family stay and split the cost between, say, four parties.
I must admit I'm thinking that's probably the only way we'd realistically be able to stay there.
Interesting about the sneakers in the tree. I know what sneakers over power lines mean in a city setting, but am truly hoping it doesn't mean the same thing at Disney!
I don't, so I'll have to Google that... Ok, interesting! And there's a reference to shoe trees on Wikipedia as well - so Disney's isn't the only one then.
More great shots from your boat ride! River Country closed not long before our first family trip in 2002, which is too bad because I'd like to have gone there at least once.
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.
Now you've got me thinking that Luke and I need to take our own boat tour of the lagoon next month. One of our boat captains from the WL took us by the shoe tree and told us the story, but I can't remember now much about it. I did find this little article on the web. The Shoe Tree on Bay Lake at Walt Disney World - Word On The Street: A Disney Travel Blog
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.
Sunday 22 February – part seven: what an amazing sunset!
We passed by Fort Wilderness…
We headed back towards the Contemporary…
… but as we had about another 15 minutes left on the hour rental, I suggested to Mark that we go around the island again, and off we went!
Mark let the boat idle, so I could capture some more of the bird life here…
With that, we made our way back.
It had been a wonderful and truly relaxing hour and we’d loved every minute of it. It cost us $67 with Annual Pass discount. Without, it would’ve been $90, but I think it was worth every penny.
We headed back to the room for some more downtime, and I took the opportunity to try out the Jacuzzi bath, so much better than the Treehouse Villas! For starters, there are jets for your feet, and it’s a bigger, and more comfortable bath, with even a place to put your elbows to relax.
When I got out of that, I settled down to work on the trip report, and we heard some bangs. We looked at each other, trying to work out what was going on. They sounded like fireworks, yet it was only about 5:30pm. Where could they be coming from? Nothing from the Magic Kingdom, and when I looked the other way, I finally worked it out – I guess it was that fireworks barge from the wedding pavilion, although sadly by the time I got the camera, I was a bit late.
We both got some photos of the amazing sunset that we were treated to a little later…
We headed out again just before 7:00pm, and picked up my present of the Olaf toy and statue from the shops on the fourth floor, then we headed up to get the monorail. I must admit at this point I was not confident at making our 7:35pm ADR at Citrico’s. It was now 7:10pm, with no monorail in sight, and I figured it would take a good 20 minutes to get over there, especially given the large numbers of people waiting here.
However, our luck was in, as there weren’t many people waiting at either the Ticket and Transportation Center or the Polynesian, so we had very quick stops there, and we made it to the Grand Floridian in about 15 minutes.
When we got off, we had time to browse some of the shops here…
We’d never even seen this one before…
Next: a hit or a miss for Citrico’s, nine years on?
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.