From no trip to celebrating 20 years together… planning it all in less than 100 days! UPDATED 6/30 - Page 91 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
That boat ride sounds scary. I probably would have been laughing (in between a few yelps) the whole time. Poor guy. I hope he has gotten better over time.
That boat ride sounds scary. I probably would have been laughing (in between a few yelps) the whole time. Poor guy. I hope he has gotten better over time.
I hope so too... if they let him continue after that night...
When we got to the table at the California Grill, we thought this was a lovely touch. We had the Mickey confetti, as we’d told them when we checked in that we were celebrating 20 years together… remember this for later.
It was here we met our absolutely wonderful server for the evening Jenny, who was just so happy and enthusiastic. She was literally the perfect Disney server. I loved the way she’d call me “Miss Cheryl” as my name was on the reservation and Mark “Mr. Pendry”. It was such a lovely touch. She clearly knew her way around the menu, which is no surprise, as I’d expect every server here to be like that, but she just oozed happiness, which is lovely to see in someone. She was exceptionally attentive, and the water was being filled literally the second after we had one sip. If only all servers could be like her!
It was quite funny, because before Mark made it over with the drinks, another couple was seated next to us, and my goodness, they raced through their meal. I heard some of their conversation, and I figured from what I heard, all they were there for was to see Wishes, and I was right. They got their appetiser and entrée before it, watched it, settled the check and left. Talk about racing through a superb meal. As for us, we took our time…
First, the bread arrived, and my goodness the focaccia was just amazing…
We first debated what to get on the menu. It’s good that there don’t really seem to be any exclusions with the Deluxe Dining Plan any longer. Usually, that’s my first question, as sometimes there are one or two items, but not any longer.
We decided we’d both go for the sushi, as it’s so delicious here, and we could sample each other’s. After debating about it, and agreeing with Jenny that the fireball sauce could go on the side, I went for the lobster roll, made up of Maine lobster, avocado, crispy noodles, fireball and Yuzu truffle sauce. This was absolutely delicious and I’m so glad I got it.
Mark had the California combination roll, made up of jumbo lump crab, avocado, cucumber, and shrimp tempura. He said mine was better, and having sampled his, I’d agree with that assessment. Don’t get me wrong, there was nothing awful about it, it’s just mine was much more tasty.
Now by this time, the couple next to us had had their entrée, and we’d just finished our appetisers, and it was time for Wishes. Honestly, about 95% of the restaurant emptied out on to the walkways to go and see it, but personally my eyes were peeled for fireworks from Epcot, and I soon saw them. Mark suggested I use this time to get up and photograph the restaurant, so I did!
Then I went outside and get some photos… of IllumiNations! It was classic. Everyone else was watching Wishes, and there was me facing completely the other direction. Don’t get me wrong, I like Wishes, but heck, nothing was going to compare to the view we’d had the night before from the boat. I was very pleased with the shots I snagged – when I looked back at them, you could even make out the American Adventure and Italy!
Now I also definitively know that IllumiNations is about a minute longer than Wishes. They both started at the same time, and IllumiNations was still going when Wishes finished. It was so funny, as people turned around from their viewing spots, saw me photographing the other direction and were like “oh there are other fireworks”…. Yes there are and I just captured them!
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.
It looks so funny - all those abandoned tables! If you didn't know why, and you came in at that point, you'd really wonder what had driven everyone away.
I'm so glad that you're back to writing your TR as I missed your updates. I laughed out loud with your thoughts on Mark with the whole drink situation. It's funny how some people rush through a meal at a place where you're suppose to take in the ambiance along with the food. We tend to go to the California Grill for a drink and appetizer and grab a little table by the window facing MK and the resorts and just take it all in for a while. It's one of the most relaxing things for us to do at WDW. Glad you were able to capture some nice pictures of Illuminations while most of the diners were watching Wishes.
All those empty tables look funny.
Great pictures of Iluminations. It is my favorite of the firework show at Disney. There's nothing wrong with Wishes. I just like Illuminations better.
Your meal looks very good. It's funny that the people next to you just rushed through they meal. To me, that's just wrong good food is meant to be enjoyed, not rushed through.
I know this is off subject, but what did you think of Dr. Who last night?
Liz
It looks so funny - all those abandoned tables! If you didn't know why, and you came in at that point, you'd really wonder what had driven everyone away.
I'm so glad that you're back to writing your TR as I missed your updates.
Aw thanks...
Quote:
I laughed out loud with your thoughts on Mark with the whole drink situation. It's funny how some people rush through a meal at a place where you're suppose to take in the ambiance along with the food.
To me, that's a good portion of the meal. I think during our Scotland trip, we spent at least an hour and a half at each dinner, just chatting with our friends and taking in the ambience of each place.
Quote:
We tend to go to the California Grill for a drink and appetizer and grab a little table by the window facing MK and the resorts and just take it all in for a while. It's one of the most relaxing things for us to do at WDW. Glad you were able to capture some nice pictures of Illuminations while most of the diners were watching Wishes.
All those empty tables look funny.
Great pictures of Iluminations. It is my favorite of the firework show at Disney. There's nothing wrong with Wishes. I just like Illuminations better.
Oh me too! I read something a couple of days ago that said IllumiNations will probably go in the next couple of years, as apparently it's the longest running fireworks show at any Disney show. I get that, but can you imagine how heartbroken I'll be if that happens?
Quote:
Your meal looks very good. It's funny that the people next to you just rushed through they meal. To me, that's just wrong good food is meant to be enjoyed, not rushed through.
I know this is off subject, but what did you think of Dr. Who last night?
Liz
Oh my goodness! I thought it was amazing. In fact, I loved it so much, I watched it twice again this morning. Each time, it just flew by, which is a good sign. I just hope next week's is as good, as sadly all too often, the first part of a two parter is amazing, and then the second part doesn't live up to expectations.
I thought nit was amazing, too. My problems that when I recorded it, it cut off the last few minutes. Luckily I also recorded the show after it and It was the beginning of that or I would have really been upset. I hope next week's is as good.
Liz
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.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
It's funny how some people rush through a meal at a place where you're suppose to take in the ambiance along with the food. We tend to go to the California Grill for a drink and appetizer and grab a little table by the window facing MK and the resorts and just take it all in for a while. It's one of the most relaxing things for us to do at WDW.
Linear Mode
