Gastronomical Adventures at the Grand (Feb 8-12, 2015) - Page 8 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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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.

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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!

Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!

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Old 03-14-2015, 05:25 PM   #106
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Getting caught up. Your pictures of the Grand Floridian are beautiful! So sorry about all the flooding and the mess that followed. That sounds like a nightmare!
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Old 03-14-2015, 06:00 PM   #107
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So sorry about the flooding!
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Old 03-14-2015, 06:52 PM   #108
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We dined in the Queen Victoria Room in June and had many of these same dishes. Your photos bring back lots of yummy memories! I love that you did catch the wisps of smoke from the lamb dish. The Reisling that it was paired with was a perfect choice, and quite frankly, was one of the few times I actually "got" what sommeliers mean when they make their suggestions.
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Old 03-14-2015, 10:35 PM   #109
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We dined in the Queen Victoria Room in June and had many of these same dishes. Your photos bring back lots of yummy memories! I love that you did catch the wisps of smoke from the lamb dish. The Reisling that it was paired with was a perfect choice, and quite frankly, was one of the few times I actually "got" what sommeliers mean when they make their suggestions.
That was definitely one of the highlights of my experience there back on April Fools Day, when I dined in the same room. Between the wine pairing, presentation and experience of this course was phenomenal! I had this course on one other occasion in QVR (this is my 3rd time in this room). They change the menu quite often, which is good for a venue as such!
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Orlando Trifecta TR
-Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!





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Old 03-31-2015, 10:51 AM   #110
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Hi everyone. Thanks for the kind words of sympathy for our flood . It wasn't fun, but after almost a month, we are back to normal. We have had contractors in the house almost every day, but we now have new water heaters, new carpet in the guest rooms, drywall repaired, new baseboards, and a fresh coat of paint.

We have good insurance coverage, but the deductible is still quite high. A good reminder of the importance to keep savings in an emergency house repair fund.

Now, on to better news. We have company arriving from Indonesia this week to visit for a month - our niece, her husband, and their adorable 16 month old son (who just happens to be named "Louie."). We will be taking them to Disney World Apr 20-24th. With that said, I should get this TR back on track later today!

Edit: Oops, forgot to add one other trip. Since we couldn't manage to get to Disney during the flood debacle, Lou suggested I get a couple of days for May. We will now stop at Disney for a 2 night stay at the Wilderness Lodge May 20-22. The pups are booked at Best Friends, and we will continue to Maine after our short Disney Holiday.

Thanks for your patience.

Last edited by shazza; 03-31-2015 at 11:04 AM..
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Old 03-31-2015, 12:37 PM   #111
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Glad to hear things are looking up for you guys now!
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Old 03-31-2015, 02:34 PM   #112
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Glad the work on the house is finally done, and just in time for your guests! Have a wonderful time with them at home and at WDW! It still seems very much like winter here, so I forgot you'd be heading to Maine soon! Good idea to fit in another short trip before heading north.
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Old 03-31-2015, 07:58 PM   #113
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Sounds exciting that you have family coming in and can take them to WDW, especially when one of them is a little kid. Our May trip ends on May 20 just as you all arrive.
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Old 03-31-2015, 09:51 PM   #114
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Glad things have gotten better for you, even with the hefty expense! I couldn't believe those rains when watching the PGA golf tournament from Palm Beach Gardens nearby you! Unfortunately, water can be your best friends at times or worst enemy at others! Looking forward to more of the TR!
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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!





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My Previous Trips1995-2000, 2006-Various in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, France, England, Holland, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Lichtenstein, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Morocco; 1998-U.S. National Parks (California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada) 1999-Las Vegas, 2001-Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii, 2005-Memphis, 2011-Austin, TX: ACL Festival and Orlando: Bay Hill Lodge; 2013-Paris and Eastern France's Wine Country, 2015-Memphis for 7 WDW: 2002-WL, 2003-CSR, 2004-AKL, 2005-BWI, 2007-POR, BC, 2008-Offsite Championsgate Omni & CBR, 2009-Poly, POR (Decade of Dreams), 2010-POFQ, GF, 2011-POFQ, 2012-CSR,WL, 2014-POR, 2015-DCL Magic in Western Caribbean, 2016-B Resort in DS, 2017-USF: Royal Pacific /WDW: Dolphin
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Old 03-31-2015, 10:34 PM   #115
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Sounds like you have some things to look forward to!
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Old 03-31-2015, 10:54 PM   #116
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Just joining the ride - thanks for having us along! Your trip sounds wonderful so far, and your photos are amazing! I especially love the early morning shots, and hope I have the energy to borrow that idea on our trip this summer.
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Old 04-01-2015, 08:57 AM   #117
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Glad everything is working out! Congrats on the trips!
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Old 04-01-2015, 09:01 AM   #118
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Glad everything is pretty much settled now!!! Bummer that we will miss you in Disney!

But if you stop in CT along your way to Maine - let me know!
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Old 04-01-2015, 09:09 AM   #119
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Glad to hear things are looking up for you guys now!
Thanks, Cheryl!

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Originally Posted by lauriep View Post
Glad the work on the house is finally done, and just in time for your guests! Have a wonderful time with them at home and at WDW! It still seems very much like winter here, so I forgot you'd be heading to Maine soon! Good idea to fit in another short trip before heading north.
Yes, hard to believe we will head North soon. This has not been the relaxing winter break we envisioned

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Sounds exciting that you have family coming in and can take them to WDW, especially when one of them is a little kid. Our May trip ends on May 20 just as you all arrive.
Looks like we will just miss you on the May trip, and just missing Lisa in April

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Glad things have gotten better for you, even with the hefty expense! I couldn't believe those rains when watching the PGA golf tournament from Palm Beach Gardens nearby you! Unfortunately, water can be your best friends at times or worst enemy at others! Looking forward to more of the TR!
Thanks, Dave. Fortunately, we've not had much damage at the house in the past decade, even going through a few hurricanes safely.

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Sounds like you have some things to look forward to!
Yep - things are looking up.

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Just joining the ride - thanks for having us along! Your trip sounds wonderful so far, and your photos are amazing! I especially love the early morning shots, and hope I have the energy to borrow that idea on our trip this summer.
Thanks for joining in.

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Glad everything is working out! Congrats on the trips!
Thanks!

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Originally Posted by lfredsbo View Post
Glad everything is pretty much settled now!!! Bummer that we will miss you in Disney!

But if you stop in CT along your way to Maine - let me know!
Someday, we will get together!


I planned an update yesterday, but couldn't find my camera to download the last pics - the guys did too good of a job putting the house back together. But, just found it!
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Old 04-01-2015, 10:03 PM   #120
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Glad everything is pretty much settled now!!! Bummer that we will miss you in Disney!

But if you stop in CT along your way to Maine - let me know!
And myself as well!
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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!





My PassPorter Bookshelf
My Previous Trips1995-2000, 2006-Various in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, France, England, Holland, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Lichtenstein, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Morocco; 1998-U.S. National Parks (California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada) 1999-Las Vegas, 2001-Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii, 2005-Memphis, 2011-Austin, TX: ACL Festival and Orlando: Bay Hill Lodge; 2013-Paris and Eastern France's Wine Country, 2015-Memphis for 7 WDW: 2002-WL, 2003-CSR, 2004-AKL, 2005-BWI, 2007-POR, BC, 2008-Offsite Championsgate Omni & CBR, 2009-Poly, POR (Decade of Dreams), 2010-POFQ, GF, 2011-POFQ, 2012-CSR,WL, 2014-POR, 2015-DCL Magic in Western Caribbean, 2016-B Resort in DS, 2017-USF: Royal Pacific /WDW: Dolphin
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