The Promise of Spring: F&GF 4.0 UPDATED: 5/11 - Page 30 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Congrats on the DME tags and the Magic Bands. Sorry about the weather yesterday. We had similar weather here in NY. If I didn't have to work yesterday I would have been curled up on the couch with my book.
Sorry the soreness finally caught up to you! It was a rainy, cold day here as well and I spent most of it on the couch! Hope you're feeling better today!
Sounds like we had pretty similar days yesterday. I am feeling so much better today.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lindawdw
I'm with you on feeling lethargic on these rainy, cold days. We had thunderstorms all day yesterday which made me feel like not going out or doing anything. This weekend the sun is suppose to finally come out with warmer temps!
Our weather is supposed to be greatly improved this weekend, too. Makes me happy!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roxie2006
I really love the style of the new bands. You both picked great colors. My DD loves the green (Tinker Bell) and I love the yellow (the Sunshine State). The weather here in the south has been pretty nasty down here too!! Maybe when the weather warms up the soreness will cooperate too!!!!!
I got the green for Tinker Bell, too, and because Stefanie loved Tinker Bell, it also reminds me of her. I was quite a bit less sore today, which totally improved my mood.
Congrats on the DME tags and the Magic Bands. Sorry about the weather yesterday. We had similar weather here in NY. If I didn't have to work yesterday I would have been curled up on the couch with my book.
I did curl up on the couch and finished two books, one fiction and one nonfiction. So I guess the day wasn't totally unproductive.
Today was a much sunnier day, and even though it was still cool, it felt so much better. Thank goodness, because yesterday’s winds brought down a whole lot of willow tree branches that needed to be cleaned up. We started the day slowly, but then mid-morning we vacuumed and/or mopped all the floors. Then we tackled the branches in the front yard so that Luke could mow. While he mowed, I vacuumed out both our cars. Honestly, the willow tree gets debris everywhere, including the floor boards of our cars. But it is a beautiful tree! As I was vacuuming the cars, I did wonder if I’d still need to do it once more before the trip. At least for now it is done.
The only truly Disney task taken care of today was purchasing sunscreens. I usually pick these up on the other side of town as a place over there has the cheapest prices on the brand I like (Australian Gold). So we decided our Friday night dinner out would be on that side of town and then we could head to Menard’s.
We had a willow tree when I was growing up. We left that house when I was about nine years old, so I don't remember any clearing up, but I can imagine.
We had a neighbor with a weeping willow tree near our first house we bought and they always said how they loved it's beauty but not the mess that it left behind. I just bought our suntan lotion for the trip at Costco this week!
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Another productive day! Willow trees can be be a bit of a problem but not nearly as bad as crab apple and mulberry trees, which we had in our yard when I was growing up! Eventually, my parents had them cut down, which was a good decision!
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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!
I'm glad you mentioned sunblock! I need to do an inventory of my sunblock and travel size items, and buy what I need this weekend!
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We have been walking again, and on one of the warmer days, I wore a v-neck t-shirt. Later that evening I realized that where the skin was exposed at the v-neck, I had burned. The next day I realized that we only had one bottle of sunscreen left. So glad I can pass the reminder along to purchase. I do not like to burn.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
I love the smell of Australian Gold! And thanks, that reminds me I need to pack sunscreen. We leave for New Mexico in the morning.
The scent is why I like Australian Gold so much! Definitely pack sunscreen for New Mexico, much warmer there now than here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
We had a willow tree when I was growing up. We left that house when I was about nine years old, so I don't remember any clearing up, but I can imagine.
Willows are such beautiful and shady trees, but they like to make you work for it.
We had a neighbor with a weeping willow tree near our first house we bought and they always said how they loved it's beauty but not the mess that it left behind. I just bought our suntan lotion for the trip at Costco this week!
Luke will trim ours probably monthly this summer because it makes it impossible otherwise to walk or mow in the front. It also obstruct the sidewalk where our neighbors (and we) like to walk. Totally wears out his arms and shoulders, but folks always tell us how pretty it looks when he is done.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
A very productive day!!
It was!
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
Another productive day! Willow trees can be be a bit of a problem but not nearly as bad as crab apple and mulberry trees, which we had in our yard when I was growing up! Eventually, my parents had them cut down, which was a good decision!
Funny you mentioned crab apple trees and mulberry trees. We had a crab apple at our first house that we never removed, but hated. When we bought this house the front yard had a crab apple. As soon as spring arrived, we removed it and planted the weeping willow. One of the trails we walk frequently has mulberry trees through a large section. When the berries are dropping it is a huge mess and stains our shoes, so we avoid it all costs during that time. The first time we experienced it a guy on a bike showed us how it had stained his bike as well. Not fun! We'll stick with a willow.
[Note: I just figured out today how to turn my own photos into Memes on Photobucket. Actually, I'd never looked for it, but I was tired of searching for countdown photos. So I went in search of a way to create my own countdown photos. From here on out you get to see my own meme photos. This one was taken in May 2015 when we drove down.]
Finally, I had time this morning to peruse the Disney Food Blog site and create my list.
Flower & Garden Outdoor Kitchens 2017 Wish List
My list includes numerous dishes I’d love to try, but I’ve never in all our trips to both the F&GF and the F&WF been able to sample every single item on my wish list. In this update I’ve included the cost per item, which is one of the reasons I don’t taste everything. As we make our circuit around the Outdoor Kitchens, we’ll prioritize what we MOST want to eat and drink, meaning some items and booths are not touched. We will have at least four opportunities to sample the Outdoor Kitchens, 3 lunches and 1 dinner so that might increase our chances of eating at more kitchens. We typically share most dishes and drinks, which also increases our chances of trying more tapas.
** All items are listed as described on the Disney Food Blog website. They usually list items according to the posted menus at each Outdoor Kitchen.
The Berry Basket (NEW)
· Warm Wild Berry Buckle with Pepperberry Sorbet $4.25
· Island Grove Buleberry Moscato $5.25
Northern Bloom (NEW)
· Seared Scallops with French Green Beans, Butter Potatoes, Brown Butter Vinaigrette and Apple-Smoked Bacon $6.25
· Beef Tenderloin Tips, Mushroom Bordelaise Sauce, Whipped Potatoes with Garden Vegetables $6.50
La Isla Fresca
· Jamaican-braised Beef with Pigeon Pea Rice and Micro-Cilantro $6.00
· Sugar Cane Shrimp Skewer with Steamed Rice and Coconut Lime Sauce $6.50
Cider House
· Nothing strikes me as something I’d want to try.
Urban Farm East
· Seared Pork Tenderloin with Mushroom Ragout, Spring Vegetables and Fingerling Potatoes $6.25
Jardin de Fiestas
· Brocheta de Pollo con Salsa Morita: Grilled Chicken with Red and Green Bell Peppers served with Salsa Chile Morita and Garnished with Micro-Cilantro and Edible Flowers $6.00
· Hibiscus $10.25 or Elderflower Pineapple Margarita $11.25
Lotus House
· Vegetable Spring Rolls $4.50
Bauernmarkt: Farmer’s Market
· Potato Pancakes with Caramelized Ham, Onions, and Herb Sour Cream $4.25
· Warm Cheese Strudel with Mixed Berries $4.00
Primavera Ktichen
· Moscato $8.00
The Smokehouse: Barbecue and Brews
· Warm Chocolate Cake with Bourbon-Salted Caramel Sauce and Spiced Pecans $3.75
Hanami
· Beef Teriyaki Udon: Thin-sliced Beef, Onions, and Noodles Tossed on the Grill with Soy and Ginger $6.00
Taste of Marrakesh
· Desert Rose: Sparkling Wine topped with Pomegranate Liquer $8.00
Florida Fresh
· Carne Asada with Black Bean Cake and Cilantro Lime Sour Cream $6.50
· Key Lime Tart with Toasted Meringue $4.25
· Key Lime Sparkling Wine $11.75 (one of my favorites from previous years and a must do)
Fleur de Lys
· Poulet aux Ecrevisses, Riz Pilaf: Baked Chicken with Crawfish served with Rice Pilaf $5.75
· Macaron Chocolat Framboise: Large Raspberry Macaron with Chocolate Fudge and Raspberry Jam, $4.75
· Kir Pomegranate Sparkling Wine $7.50 (another favorite from previous trips and a must do)
Looks like some nice food and beverage choices lined up for the booths to sample at the festival!
Going back to the mulberry trees, you should have seen our kitchen floor and even the carpeting in our house my brothers and I would track them in! My mom was not happy with this! We always wiped our feet, but only so much we could do and then told to take our shoes off before coming in the house.
__________________
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!