Two Alices Fall Down The Rabbit Hole and Land On Their Feet in WondORLANDO. Updated 11/6 with more food - Page 8 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
I apologize for the way that this trip report goes all over the place in time, but this is WondORLANDO, and anything can happen. I have not had time to tell all the wonderful events that have passed, but this moment is so amazing that I want to tell you about it now.
I just got back from viewing Wishes from the California Grill observation deck.
I hardly know how to describe it, and only a Grown-up Disney Kid would understand, but I’ll try. Making my childhood dream of staying in The Contemporary come true was pretty easy. I had no idea, though, just how magical that would be, especially when you stick around!
I filled my refillable mug with the addictive citrus iced tea from the Contempo Cafe, and took the elevator up to the California Grill Observation Deck. You can only get this elevator from the 2nd floor, and there is always an operator.
Once there, I could see all of Magic Kingdom. As a kid, the Magic Kingdom seemed so big, yet, there it was, all in my view. I had to laugh because the kid in me was in awe, as if I’d done the impossible. Of course I know better, but still……
It was simply breathtaking to see the whole picture. I could see the top of the Spectromagic floats. I could see Disney’s Polynesian and Disney’s Grand Floridian. The boats were going back and forth and the monorails whooshed by. There is a lot going on up there!
The music is piped in with the vocals, and the view of the fireworks is so breathtaking. When the fireworks were finished, I could hear cheering from the observation deck of Bay Lake Tower and the balconies on the Castle View side of the Resort. It was a moment for a few people, it seems.
I came back up to the room to find the sheets turned down and the mints on the pillow. When I went onto the balcony, the Electrical Water Pageant was making its way across the Bayview side while a little outdoor theatre below played Sleeping Beauty Waltz.
Right now, the red safety lights of the Electrical Water Pageant have finished making their way across the lake, and I can hear children laughing in the pool 11 stories below. The Electrical Water Pageant is glowing with a dragon, animals, and flags on barges across the bay and playing music that sound like a funky Mainstreet Electrical Parade. Tara is laughing and taking film with her iphone and I am totally enchanted with this moment.
I know that not everyone can relate to this particular wish…the dream of a little kid passing through a resort on the monorail and believing that one day that monorail stop would be hers for a time.
I’m so thankful to be taking the trip of my kid-dreams.
Thanks so much for checking in. I hope I was able to pass a little bit of the magic to you!
I hardly know how to describe it, and only a Grown-up Disney Kid would understand, but I’ll try. Making my childhood dream of staying in The Contemporary come true was pretty easy. I had no idea, though, just how magical that would be, especially when you stick around!
It was simply breathtaking to see the whole picture. I could see the top of the Spectromagic floats. I could see Disney’s Polynesian and Disney’s Grand Floridian. The boats were going back and forth and the monorails whooshed by. There is a lot going on up there!
I know that not everyone can relate to this particular wish…the dream of a little kid passing through a resort on the monorail and believing that one day that monorail stop would be hers for a time.
I’m so thankful to be taking the trip of my kid-dreams.
I loved this description! I have only been to WDW one time. We did not get a good view of WISHES while at MK because crowds do not mix well with our family. However, we got to see the WISHES you described from CG observation deck. From that vantage point, WDW magic is impossible to miss! Thanks for bringing me back to my moment by sharing yours...
Love your TR! I know what you mean about being a kid and having a dream resort. I felt like that about the Polynesian...........I wanted to walk around all day in a grass skirt and coconut bra! I've made it to the Poly, but will NEVER wear the outfit of my dreams!
Please keep the photos coming too.
WOW!!!! what a way to end the day. You got to see everything magical at one time. I know pix would be difficult from that distance; but, hope you have a good camera with a long lens. Enjoy the experience, you deserve it.
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.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.