Two Chips and a Dip (The Appetizer Trip) Nov 30 thru Dec 5, 2007 - With Final Thoughts - COMPLETE - Updated 2/21 - Page 42 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Poor Calder...I felt so much for him during those final moment....I hate those last few hours when you know it is over and you just want to stretch it forever...
I also tried really hard not to make mental comparisons between the WDW and DLR versions, without much success. Disneyland’s POTC is so far superior that it’s not really even fair to compare them.
I agree. It's probably in large part because of all the treasure you pointed out on the Girls Trip!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caldercup
We headed over to Peter Pan's Flight and that’s when I remembered about my magic DVC FastPasses. I pulled them out and told Karen how I’d snagged them – to which she gave me much teasing about how I’d be even more hopeless about chatting up random strangers if there was a *chance* that I’d get prizes for doing so.
Now that I think about it, I agree with Karen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caldercup
Within a minute or two of Karen and I bobbing and weaving to see over the heads of oncoming guests, our frantic searches for sight of Sharon’s big smile were rewarded! There she was, yammering on her cell phone as she walked our way.
In my defense, my friend called me. And then I hung up on my poor friend because I like you all so much better. Also, I'm sure my poor friend will never read this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caldercup
Karen and Sharon (and Bob and Calder) primed the fuse by letting me yammer on about the misguided bagpiper in the white room and then lit me up by adding “it’s not so much the not noticing as the not caring…”
[There he is -- the bagpiper with the wrong sheet music!]
I guess if you mention it enough times, I'll start to care.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caldercup
...Just as I allowed my own ample behind to lean against the seat, I twisted slightly towards K&S and asked if either of them had an anti-bacterial wipe to wipe away what the inappropriate @$$-crack had left behind. (I think I like saying “inappropriate @$$-crack” almost as much as Karen and Sharon like to say “poopyhead!”)
Still cracks me up! Oh, and by the way, it's "poopypants."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caldercup
I watched them walk off to the buses…
You know, *in* the moment, it wasn't so sad, but looking at that photo breaks my heart. Poor Calder.
And the Photopass pictures exist! Amazing! Love them!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caldercup
So, it's time for my final thoughts on the appetizer portion of this trip. (I don't know **when** I'll ever get a chance to think final thoughts on the Mousefest/CLT portion as I have no idea when either of those ladies will get back to their TRs....)
Well, I'm plugging away (and much more slowly than usual ), but I'll have to have it done before April 2.
I'm so sorry that it's over, but at least I can look forward to your contributions to the other CLT TRs.
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
Thanks Eileen for the TR. I'm just getting caught up!! That pic of Calder & Bob has to be the saddest I've seen.
I know all about teens & wearing Disney stuff, my dd (17 in Aug trip) just had to have that yoda back pack from Star Wars gift shop, promising she'd use it. I haven't seen it in months!!
Sorry you didn't enjoy CBR as much as I did, one of my fav. things was walking over the bridge to the food court, etc.
And last, thanks for the heads up about the Cheesesteak at the Philly airport!!! If I ever fly thru again I'll be sure to give you more notice
Sue
sounds like you and your family had a magical time at the world
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Heather - "I'm Tinkerbell's biggest fan!"
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
I've just read your TR (better late than never?) and I thoroughly enjoyed all your comments/observations/and general silliness!! You guys seem like a really caring & fun family!! And that means your real family and the CLT family! Thanks for a great TR!
I'll be sure to look for the CLT trip reports to dive into next....