The trip of many changes... TRIP REPORT UPDATED 4/25 - Page 9 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Glad you were finally able to get into your room. It looks quite nice and some good views of San Juan from your veranda. Nice welcoming gifts from the Platinum Club and Sara. What exactly did you get as some of these are still wrapped in the photo?
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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!
Glad you were finally able to get into your room. It looks quite nice and some good views of San Juan from your veranda. Nice welcoming gifts from the Platinum Club and Sara. What exactly did you get as some of these are still wrapped in the photo?
Here's what's in the cruise adventure bundle that Sara got for us:
Included in this package is a DCL backpack, a DCL black cap, a water bottle and a silicone wallet card holder with 3M adhesive and kickstand. Headphone cords wraps around the kickstand. The perfect accessories for your cruise!
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.
Here's what's in the cruise adventure bundle that Sara got for us:
Included in this package is a DCL backpack, a DCL black cap, a water bottle and a silicone wallet card holder with 3M adhesive and kickstand. Headphone cords wraps around the kickstand. The perfect accessories for your cruise!
Very nice and Sara is not an "evil travel agent" this time around!
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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!
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 14 January – part five: a very pleasant interruption
I suggested going up to sit in the hot tub and we headed that way. We had it to ourselves and, although it was hot, it was nice and relaxing too.
While we were in there, a barman came round and asked if we wanted drinks. I said we were fine, then he showed us the list of them. I opted for a pina colava, but changed my mind when Mark went for the esquire – made with rum, white zinfandel, midori melon and pineapple juice and my goodness, it was lovely. It was also a tad bit lethal, as we’ll discover shortly…
We headed back to the room after drinking those on the loungers and admiring and commenting on some of our fellow passengers and their attire – people watching can be so much fun!
When we got back to the room, Mark was feeling the effects of the cocktail and ended up flat out asleep on the bed. I discovered two of our cases had turned up, so I quickly woke him up, as there was no way I was dealing with those on my own. Soon everything was put away with one of us (not me!) moaning about how much the drink had affected him. Oh please!
I grabbed a quick shower and hair wash (only two conditionings, rather than four – that’s an improvement! ) and then we were ready for the mandatory safety drill.
Luckily enough our third case made it before the safety drill, so we were able to get completely unpacked. I don’t remember the last time that’s happened to us. They certainly turned the cases around promptly.
We headed out on to the deck at about 3:30pm and were amazed to see that they were checking out the lifeboats, just 45 minutes before the drill. They were still doing maintenance work about 20 minutes before! I’ve never seen that before.
I got some photos and when these guys went past…
… you could actually feel the spray from them on deck four where we were standing.
This is a more sedate way to travel…
When the staff eventually turned up (quite late, we thought), we explained the situation and they were fine about me staying seated through the whole thing. I have to be honest, this is one of the quickest safety drills we’ve ever had. Normally we’re out there ages, but we were done in just 15 minutes.
They released us before anyone else and we made our way back to the room, only to be greeted by Captain Robert, telling us we wouldn’t actually be sailing away until around 5:45pm – 6:00pm. Oh well, very few people will see that then, given it’s either main dining (us) or the show at that time.
We settled down to watch another episode of the drama Hard Sun that we downloaded before we left home, but didn’t get episode one finished, as we were interrupted, but a very pleasant interruption – look!
Now we got a call a little earlier about when we wanted our platinum gift of a bottle of sparkling wine, chocolates or a fruit plate. The fruit plate was out due to my allergies and I figured sparkling wine was probably the safest bet. I will be honest, either I didn’t know or I’d forgotten they did this for platinum Castaway Club members. Either way, it was a very nice surprise to get the call. Now the next question they asked was when we wanted it. I couldn’t think straight. I had no idea of all our plans off the top of my head – I know, terrible right? Mark suggested straight after the safety drill, which I think surprised the woman on the end of the phone, but now’s as good a time as any, so why not?
I think it’s fair to say I proceeded to demolish most of the rest of the bottle before dinner, as I didn’t want it to go to waste. I figured I could also take a full glass down to the dining room with me – just not a bottle, so I made sure to do that as well.
Mark is such a lightweight! Just kidding....
You sure made the best of your time on board before sailing. Love it! Hot tub and a cocktail sounds perfect. So glad the safety drill went so smoothly for you too, that's awesome!
And yes, that is indeed a wonderful interruption! But it's hilarious you couldn't think of your itinerary and a good time for them to deliver it! All the details, all the hard work, but without the notes in front of you.... or me! I would do the same thing.
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Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
Oh no, he is - something to do with not drinking that much usually.
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You sure made the best of your time on board before sailing. Love it! Hot tub and a cocktail sounds perfect. So glad the safety drill went so smoothly for you too, that's awesome!
And yes, that is indeed a wonderful interruption! But it's hilarious you couldn't think of your itinerary and a good time for them to deliver it! All the details, all the hard work, but without the notes in front of you.... or me! I would do the same thing.
It was just so unexpected, I was caught completely off balance by that call! Next time, I'll know...
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.
You two really got a lot accomplished before the safety drill. I'm glad it was quick and easy, as they can really become a necessary pain.
I think it was Celebrity where it went on and on and on and on to the point where we'd heard the same thing three or four times. We all know it's needed, but there is such a thing sometimes as too much...
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Nice welcoming gifts from the Platinum Club and Sara. 
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Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
What sweet gifts, too! 
We must do...
It was also a tad bit lethal, as we’ll discover shortly… 
Soon everything was put away with one of us (not me!) moaning about how much the drink had affected him. Oh please! 
) and then we were ready for the mandatory safety drill. 
Mark is such a lightweight! 
You must keep an eye on him. 
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