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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I TOTALLY apologize! The luau that we saw was for Sea World and not Universal! I guess there is another one for us to try out... although I am not sure how I feel about a whole pig over a pit! lol!
I did look up the TR, however, and this is the part about the Sea World luau:
Monday, December 5, 2005
Just before 6pm we headed over to the Seafire Inn restaurant for our Christmas luau. While waiting for the doors to open I sipped on a Mai Tai while Jordan and Joe enjoyed lemonade.
Our hostess placed leis around our necks and we were seated shortly thereafter at table A6 along with a young couple with a 1 year old son from North Carolina and the mans parents. Shortly after we were seated the wait staff began bringing out salad, coconut bread and drinks to the tables. During this time Jordan had a long and pleasant conversation with the woman, everything from vacationing to Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.
The entertainment was great. Jordan and I enjoyed it more than the one that we had seen at Disney’s Polynesian resort. We agreed that Disney “kidified” their version of the luau by adding a hokey storyline. Although none of us have been to an authentic luau, this one seemed more authentic. They also went into the fire dance almost immediately, followed by ukulele playing and singing while we dined on mahi-mahi in a pina colada sauce, chicken teriyaki, pulled pork, veggie stir fry and rice. For desert there was a banana lava cake with chocolate sauce, drizzled peanut butter and whipped cream.
The use of smoke machines and lights during certain parts of the show added quite a bit to the overall performance. The Christmas music was not awkward in the show at all… and the costuming was rich and vibrant. This is a must see! If a person was planning on going to Sea World for only one day, I would suggest that s/he see Christmas with Shamu and the Christmas light show on that day and book the luau on a different night as one does not need theme park tickets to participate in the luau. It is a totally separate admission. If time does not seem to allow, perhaps just keep it in mind as it is indoors so weather is not a factor, and it may be possible to get in at the last minute to cheer up an otherwise dreary day.
Following the luau we exited through the park, which was all lit up in Christmas lights, Christmas music playing through the streets and completely deserted except a handful of sporadic employees along the exit path. It was quite nice… We decided to stop for a photo op in front of the big Christmas tree.
* A further note about the luau, not to take away from the show but the table service was quite slow and sometimes intrusive. I especially disliked being handed a survey at the end, but during the performance. I felt obligated to fill it out and having her not only hand it to me but interrupt me to explain it to me during the end of the show messed with my magic, dang it! I would still rate it a must see but I would probably either not bother with the survey at all or would wait until the performance was entirely over.
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Wantilan Luau
Michelle - with my step sisters!
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