Just Keep Swimming - Our First Disney Trip TR - COMPLETE 3/21!! - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Part 12: This is what happens when I get the camera... (September 14th)
We woke up fairly early on Friday because we had to pack and check out of our room. I was mostly packed already but spent time trying to fit all my souvenirs in my two suitcases. They barely fit and I had to leave behind my CRT wand and take my new Disney Fairies figurines out of the package and keep them loose. We did at least two checks of the room before we left to check out. The check out process was very simple and we decided to leave our bags in storage until it was time to get on the Magical Express.
We hopped a bus to the Magic Kingdom and then got on the monorail to head for Poly. We had an ADR at 'Ohana, our last meal in Disney. We were seated fairly quickly after our photo with Stitch. The food was excellent. My favorites were the potatoes and the juice. I wish I could have taken some home! Since I requested a vegetarian meal, instead of the meats we got this vegetable tofu stir fry. It was super yummy and I recommend it to veggies and meat eaters alike.
The characters were very slow to get to us and seemed rushed, especially Pluto. But I got a really nice interaction with Lilo and I was so happy to see Mickey. When we were done eating I could feel my cold coming back I was pretty woozy. I decided to take it easy for a short while before we went to Animal Kingdom. We decided to resort hop and we took the monorail to the Grand Floridian. We spent some time in the shops and I picked up cough drops and Robitussin DM so that I could keep my ears decongested on the plane ride.
At this point I was feeling well enough to go to AK so we hopped a bus over. It stopped at Blizzard Beach first but we were at AK in no time. On the way in a cast member saw my Princess Ears and said "Congratulations". It took me a minute to figure out he thought they were the bride ears. I felt a bit crushed but I knew there was no way he could have known.
When we got in the park we headed for the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch since I wanted to go to the petting zoo. On the way we picked up Fast Passes for the safari. I enjoyed the train ride and see the backstage of the park. The petting zoo was fun too but there weren't that many animals close enough to pet. On the way out I got a t-shirt that had Winnie the Pooh and a tiger on it and it said "Tigger, Is That You?"
Next we decided to go on the Kilimanjaro Safari since our passes were ready. I was very glad that we got the passes because the standby line was horrendous. We still had to wait 15 minutes to get on but I managed to grab a window seat when we did get on. Our guide was very good and pointed out a lot of things. I made sure to take control of the camera so that I'd get actual pictures of animals and not just myself in front of them. :3 I think I took at least 20 pictures on the safari. We weren't really sure what to do after the safari. We wanted to see FotLK but there were no more show times that would leave enough time before we had to head back to the resort and catch our bus.
We wandered around and went in some shops to keep cool. I got a new purse because I needed a bigger one that the small one I had. I really liked it because it resembled a messenger bag, was plaid with patent leather, and on the inside had the Mickey/Minnie "I Love Nerds" pattern.
We caught a bus back to the French Quarter and I quickly dashed into the gift shop to spend the rest of my snack credits. We had not used them wisely. I got a few packages of shortbread cookies, two packs of gummies, a package of Goldfish like crackers, and I think I also got a chocolate.
We got our luggage from the storage and tipped the people who got it for us. I managed to fit all the snacks on my carry on suit case. We boarded the bus for the airport and made a stop at Coronado Springs first. There was a kid on the bus who kept crying that he didn't want to go home. I totally agreed with him. I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew we were pulling up at the airport with plenty of time to spare.
We looked around in the Harry Potter store and eyed all the things we wanted but couldn't fit in our already stuffed luggage. We also looked around the Sanrio store and the Build a Bear store. Finally we went to a bookstore and I picked out a book to read on the plane. It was called "The Mysterious Benedict Society". I ended up finishing it at home and it's a really good book.
We went through the very short line in security and made our way to our gate. I took my cough medicine and called Mom to tell her we had made it to the gate and I would call when we landed. The flight itself was uneventful except for a rowdy two year old who kept climbing on the seats and being noisy. I think the parents had figured he would sleep on the plane and didn't bring anything for him to do. He ended up falling asleep as the plane landed. Go figure.
I called home again once we touched down and then we made our way to baggage claim. We called for a rapid rover and then got our luggage. While we were waiting Zac told me he was going to take me home and then go right back to the airport to go home himself. Originally he was going to stay until Monday. I didn't argue. But we had a long talk about what happened. That conversation lasted until we got home about an hour later. He walked me to the door, helped me get all my things inside, and he was gone.
I went upstairs, deciding that I'd unpack in the morning when I was more awake. Mom welcomed me home and I sat with her for a little while before going to bed.
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Holly: 
I got a few packages of shortbread cookies, two packs of gummies, a package of Goldfish like crackers, and I think I also got a chocolate.
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