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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!

Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!

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(This is Main Street by Angie, who is working on art goals here on the blog!)


This has been a personal project to blog every day for a school year on goals and dreams. My hope was that I could find a group of people to work with me.

I was lucky enough to find a small, but sincere group of inspirational people to keep me company. We've been using Walt Disney's philosophies or creations as inspiration.

I am no longer blogging daily, but I am notified if comments are posted, and I'll be happy to keep the discussion going!

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Life: Some Assembly Required

Posted 09-17-2009 at 08:10 AM by Sandra Bostwick
Updated 09-18-2009 at 12:05 PM by Sandra Bostwick
Check out this book:
Walt Disney Imagineering-A behind the Dreams Look at Making the Magic Real by the Imagineers-published by Hyperion in 1996.

On Page 89, you'll find a photo of a construction site. On top of raw earth is a tangle of wooden pallets, construction materials and halved columns, lieing in a heap. A big piece of canvas, crudely attached to two sticks and stuck into the ground, announces ITALY PAVILLION-SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED.

Can we really know where we are headed during the assembly stage of a project?

The Imagineers commented on the preassembled ruins of Italy: "If we are to take the idea any further, we must prepare ourselves for a road never traveled. We know not of the challenges that await around all the unexpected twists and turns that lie ahead. Each step forward may mean three steps back. But three steps back reveals our true direction."

One of the most striking thoughts I get as I look at the photo is how, at a quick glance, the future Italy Pavillion looks like a city destroyed.

At a certain point of any project, deconstruction and construction appear very similar!

Some bleaders have let me know that they are presently in a phase of tearing things apart, losing something rather than gaining, destroying rather than building. How can they participate in a blog about creating something?

Well, I can't answer for everyone, but if you are one of those, I challenge you to consider that, even if you are being forced to take something apart, you can still travel with us because your three steps back will reveal your true direction, as the Imagineers said.

At a certain point, a snapshot in time will leave any observer wondering if things are being built or destroyed anyway.

As I prepare myself for, yet, another day, I'm going to hang a sign in my mind: MY LIFE: SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED.

Have a magical day!
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Total Comments 6

Comments

  1. Old
    4Disney2's Avatar
    WOW Sandy this is good and deep.
    I will be reflecting on it today.
    When I logged in I thought "where is Sandy's blog entry" ? It is the very first thing I read when I get to my computer. Wishing you a great day too and thanks for the entry!
    0 Pixie Dust
    Posted 09-17-2009 at 08:17 AM by 4Disney2 4Disney2 is offline
  2. Old
    GoofEme's Avatar
    HEhehe, I told you Sandy. I'm not alone. I told her the other day the same thing you said, 4Disney2 about logging in and checking her blog. I know Sandy always has something interesting and thought provoking to say.
    The "wave" continues
    0 Pixie Dust
    Posted 09-17-2009 at 11:25 AM by GoofEme GoofEme is offline
  3. Old
    MaryEL8775's Avatar
    OMG this totally gives me some insight that I that didn't have before. I am destructing part of my life, only to rebuild it again. I am destructing the house to find my ex's things only to clean the house and declutter or reconstruct it you might say to make it mine. Thanks so much for giving me this insight. I can't wait to see what the next insight might be.

    I am continuing the wave again.
    0 Pixie Dust
    Posted 09-17-2009 at 03:14 PM by MaryEL8775 MaryEL8775 is offline
  4. Old
    christiejay's Avatar
    Very well put! It's just not possible for any of us to always be moving forward. We all have backward steps at times. But hopefully we don't let that derail us completely, but use it as a learning experience and start moving forward once again. It's all about the attitude and looking at the big picture.
    0 Pixie Dust
    Posted 09-18-2009 at 04:59 PM by christiejay christiejay is offline
  5. Old
    BettyBeBop's Avatar
    I love this, Sandy!! So insightful! Thanks!
    0 Pixie Dust
    Posted 09-19-2009 at 10:48 AM by BettyBeBop BettyBeBop is offline
  6. Old
    Sandra Bostwick's Avatar
    You guys are really making this blog experiment so nice for me! Thank you for reading!
    0 Pixie Dust
    Posted 09-19-2009 at 12:12 PM by Sandra Bostwick Sandra Bostwick is offline
 







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