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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Too bad Antarctica was down. That sounds really cold though! I don't know how you managed to do the coasters. Absolutely nothing will get me on them. I am a huge baby! I love the pictures though!
Thanks - stay tuned on the ride............
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Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
Of course, it was starting to rain again ………and I was getting nervous that our dining would be ruined as we were dining with Shamu tonight!
We got checked in ~ and of course they take your photo before entering the dining pavilion, so looking like a drowned rat, we got our family photo done.
We were then lead into our table, and we were lucky to have a table right next to the viewing area ~ however, we were all the way at the end, but it was still a good view for the most part.
We each went up to the buffet to make our plates. Beer and wine were included with the cost of the meal, so Scott and I each ordered a beer!
Shortly after we sat down, they began the “events” ~ not sure what to really call it – they show you how they train the whales and their behaviors and such. Emily was in her glory – soaking all the info into her brain! It really was incredible to see these guys/gals so close!
I can curl my tongue!
and wave too!
and say AHHH....
Now I have to just add a funny tid bit we found out while enjoying watching these incredible creatures……….some things that make you go hmmmm………..
One of the whales was just swimming around doing his own thing (they had pretty much finished up with the “formal” part of the “show”) and all a sudden, he rolled over onto his back, and there was a “fountain” coming from him!!! And then he did the “stereo-typical” male shake after, and then rolled back over and continued upon his merry way. Yes, folks, I had just witnessed an Orca Whale urinate in public and do the shake it off!!! OMG!! We could not stop giggling like a couple of school kids!! And the trainer confirmed that yes, this is indeed what that orca had done!!! And we didn’t even pay extra for that entertainment!!!
Also – while the dining area was emptying out as families finished their meals, the orcas were just swimming around in the pool, and there were these birds that kept coming over to the fish bucket areas, and I was watching this one orca, and he kept going really close to one of the birds and shaking his head. Well come to find out and looking a bit closer – he was totally teasing the bird!!! He had a fish in his mouth and kept shaking it at the bird!!! It was so funny to watch! The trainer that we spoke to (and I am bummed I can’t remember his name) says that that orca does it all the time to the birds! It is amazing the personality of these guys!
and I love to tease the birds........
After saying goodbye to Shamu and friends, it was time to try to get a few more attractions in. Our Quick Que was good for the Sky Tower also, so we headed over there. The rain was very light now on and off.
uh, did I really ride that thing???
and that one too???
The view from up there was beautiful!
Emily had seen the oyster tank where you can pick an oyster for the pearl, so we went there next. She chose her oyster and got a beautiful white pearl. Scott treated her and let her have it set on a white gold orca whale charm. She’s definitely a Daddy’s girl!
one of the oyster divers:
Now it was time to head back and see if Antarctica was back up and running, so we headed that way next. And thank goodness it was – so we were able to get right in with our return passes from earlier. And here we learned that that room we had been stuck in for 20 minutes before, yeah – you’re supposed to be able to walk through there without a hold!
Once you get up through the line, you could choose Wild Side (car spins while traveling) or Easy side (stays straight) ……….of course, my crazy family had to choose the Wild side. We had so much fun, that little car thingy was going everywhere!!! I felt like I was in a giant bumper car!!!
I tried to snag a few photos along the way!!
After the ride, it was time to view that exhibit again, and gosh darn it, it was still really COLD in there!!
I managed to get a couple of photos, but not so great, as you could not use flash (would scare the penguins).
It was starting to get late in the day, so we wandered over to the Dolphin area. Of course, all the feeding of the dolphins was done for the day, so we were not able to do that, but we had done it the last time we visited, so we were okay with that. But the dolphins of course were still in there swimming around and playing………….and again, here we got another biology lesson………let’s just say that I am really glad that Emily is older now, has taken health class and understands the circle of life …………..and anyone who will visit around 12 months from then will probably see a baby dolphin!!!
So with that lesson, we headed over to the Dolphin nursery! And there was a little guy in there, born only the week before!! (must be the “right season”!). It was really special watching the baby and mom swimming around. There were a few other young ones in there as well.
that's the little baby!!
We wanted to catch the Shamu Rocks show, so we started heading in that direction again – but of course, stopping in a few shops along the way to get an idea of what we wanted to purchase on our way out!
We got to the stadium……and got almost the same exact seats we had for the first show !!!
This show was just as good as the day time one, if not better! The music and timing of the whales was fantastic!
Again, I will let the photos tell the story………….
After the show, it was time to head out of the park as it was nearing closing time and we had been going all day. We stopped in the shops again and made our purchases, sorry forgot to take photos but I know that Emily and I each got a really nice hoodie with a sea turtle on it. Emily actually had gotten quite a few things (my mother had given her money for Sea World, knowing how much she loves marine life) including another shirt, a mug, a stuffed animal, and a couple little trinkets for her friends back home (she used her own $$ for her friends gifts!)
It was finally time to say good night to Sea World.
I will add my thoughts on this park here (as I will probably forget by the time I get to the end of the TR!).
This was only our third time to visit Sea World (for all the times we have been to Disney!) and we always say we are going to go, but like I mentioned earlier, we just get so busy with Disney that we kinda forget about SeaWorld or it rains when we say we are going to go……….hmmmm…..probably should have taken note of that before! So because Emily has such a love for marine life and had been asking to visit so we wanted to make sure that we put it first during this trip so that we would get it in! The last time we had visited, it was 2008, and Emily was still not tall enough to ride the roller coaster and Manta was not even there, so this time we knew that was high on the priority list. We have seen all the other shows before, so the only important ones this time were the Shamu ones (as they were different). Like any other park, it really is hard to fit it all in, especially when you are dealing with Florida and Mother Nature. Yes, we missed quite a bit of the other exhibits, but Emily seemed happy with the day so that was all that mattered to us!
Up Next: A pit stop on the way “home”
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Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
That was a really long day, but I'm still amazed at how much you accomplished. And the photos from the tower of the thrill rides you did makes me even more in awe of your accomplishment! Emily's pearl and setting are beautiful.
What a wonderful day at SeaWorld! Ok, I think we need to do Dine with Shamu the next time we go there, as that looks like a lot of fun. I'm so glad to know that there's a non-spinning version of Antarctica, as that had been worrying me about that ride, so that's a real relief to me.
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Dinner with Shamu sounds like a lot of fun, especially with the "extra" entertainment!! Glad you got to see the penguins at last. Love the pictures from the Shamu Rocks show. Sounds like a really great day at SeaWorld!!
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Sounds like a great day, and one that Emily will remember for a long time I'm sure.
Loved the little extra entertainment you got from the male orca!
Thanks! It was! And Emily loves Sea World, so it made it worth it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
That was a really long day, but I'm still amazed at how much you accomplished. And the photos from the tower of the thrill rides you did makes me even more in awe of your accomplishment! Emily's pearl and setting are beautiful.
It was a long day, but with the rain, it made us slow down, so it didn't feel like it was so long. I still can't believe I rode those things! That necklace is a prized possession for her!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
What a wonderful day at SeaWorld! Ok, I think we need to do Dine with Shamu the next time we go there, as that looks like a lot of fun. I'm so glad to know that there's a non-spinning version of Antarctica, as that had been worrying me about that ride, so that's a real relief to me.
Thanks! It was a good day! The Dine with Shamu was a lot of fun - you would enjoy all the photos ops and the education you learn for the trainers. The food was just okay - typical buffet type but decent, the atmosphere definitely made up for it! I thought you had rode Antartica?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
What a great time you had at Sea World! Love all the pictures! Dinner looked delicious!
Thanks! It was!
Quote:
Originally Posted by xwewhisper
Dinner looked yummy and what a cool experience! The nighttime show looked like a ton of fun too!
Thanks - it was decent - the atmosphere made it good! And the Shamu Rocks show was amazing! If you have to choose between the two, I would opt for the night time one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Shamu Rocks looks awesome! Glad you enjoyed your time at Sea World.
It was!!! Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Dinner with Shamu sounds like a lot of fun, especially with the "extra" entertainment!! Glad you got to see the penguins at last. Love the pictures from the Shamu Rocks show. Sounds like a really great day at SeaWorld!!
It was a lot of fun! And it was a great day!
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMA
What a great day at SeaWorld! The Dinner with Shamu sounds fun! You really got a lot in!
It was a great day! Thanks!
__________________
Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
Okay – so we had basically closed Sea World at 10pm……….and headed back to the “bubble”…..our home away from home .
But of course, somewhere between Sea World and there, we got a bit of a second wind and I soon realized that we would be driving right past Art of Animation………..so of course I wanted to make a pit stop and check it out!!! I had heard it was beautiful at night all lit up………….
I wish my photos did it more justification!
The Cars Section:
Nemo Section:
The Lion King Section:
The Little Mermaid Section:
After our little pit stop, it was finally time to call it a night!
We arrived back in our room, and Emily found the surprise I had set up through Disney Florist for her and Scott (of course, I get the bag!!! )………..
And of course, she had to immediately check out all the contents!!! This turned out great, and it was fantastic to have those snacks available all week long!
Finally, it was lights out and la la land ………….of course, we did check out to see the animal friends and say good night to them!
Up next: A Royal Breakfast!
__________________
Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
You kids are the energizer bunnies! Still going at 10 pm and ready for more! AoA does look really cool lit up at night, especially the Cars section. That part of DCA looks amazing at night as well.
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………and I was getting nervous that our dining would be ruined as we were dining with Shamu tonight! 
We could not stop giggling like a couple of school kids!! And the trainer confirmed that yes, this is indeed what that orca had done!!! And we didn’t even pay extra for that entertainment!!! 
He had a fish in his mouth and kept shaking it at the bird!!! It was so funny to watch! The trainer that we spoke to (and I am bummed I can’t remember his name) says that that orca does it all the time to the birds! It is amazing the personality of these guys!
– so we were able to get right in with our return passes from earlier. And here we learned that that room we had been stuck in for 20 minutes before, yeah – you’re supposed to be able to walk through there without a hold! 
along the way!! 
!!! 
PassPorter Guide Author
I'm so glad to know that there's a non-spinning version of Antarctica, as that had been worrying me about that ride, so that's a real relief to me.
Great pictures of all the whales. 
. 
………….of course, we did check out to see the animal friends and say good night to them! 
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