Going north, south, east and west! **Updated 1/25** - Page 4 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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More great pictures! Glad you got on Nemo! And how fun to meet up with Karen, Zack and Sharon!! Love the pictures of the pumpkin carvings!! More please!!
Great pics and update. The carved pumpkins are something to behold. I think I liked the "Lady and the Tramp" one the best. Looks like Mark was having his usual good time.
Awesome photos of Nemo. Thank you for the 'grand' pix of the Grand Californian! That is one of our favorite places to go and just sit and enjoy. We both really appreciate the design of the Craftsman period. Wonderful pix of the beginning of your DL day. As far as the heat at the end of Mr. Toad's ride, that is some imagineer's theory on he&l. Personally, I think it prepares you for going back out in the Ca sun and WARM fall days!!!
All I have to say is, thank goodness we live 20 min from DL.....and I go as often as I possibly can...that is my 'therapy' from 'real' life!
All I have to say is, thank goodness we live 20 min from DL.....and I go as often as I possibly can...that is my 'therapy' from 'real' life!
Mari
Mari - I know what you mean - I grew up near DL and then we lived just a couple of miles from WDW and went at least once a week for therapy. And while we're just 4 hours away in LV, we really miss the ability to go so frequently. Might have to move back to the OC.
Cheryl's pics really do capture the feeling of being there.
Great update! I'm glad to hear your great review of the Nemo Submarines! I went on that ride 20 years ago when it was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and I was not impressed.
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Wonderful pix of the beginning of your DL day. As far as the heat at the end of Mr. Toad's ride, that is some imagineer's theory on he&l. Personally, I think it prepares you for going back out in the Ca sun and WARM fall days!!!
You're certainly right about those warm fall days!
Great couple of updates! I loved your pics of the resort, it's amazing how much you can see from your room, and I love that the monorail comes through the resort. Great pics of DL, I think the new monorails are very snazzy looking. The Finding Nemo ride sounds like fun, if only they hadn't done away with the subs at WDW they could have done the same thing there. Of course they have Nemo at Epcot and I love that attraction, but I think the whole submarine experience seems to fits more into the theme. I never knew the storybook canal boats had a guide on them! Looking forward to what comes next!
Monday 27 October – part three: the Haunted Mansion will never be the same again! :
We walked through the rest of Frontierland and into New Orleans Square.
We were the first to make it to the Blue Bayou out of everyone, which made a pleasant change, as usually we seem to be the last ones to meets. Soon enough, we saw Rebecca and her friend Cheryl and then Sharon arrived, telling us that Karen would be on her way shortly. Sadly Zack had opted not to dine with us, but I can understand him wanting to get some more rides under his belt before they had to leave.
Almost immediately, we were called to our table and had a great meal. I went for the salmon with potatoes and sautéed spinach, while Mark had the jambalaya, which I know he found extremely hot and spicy. Mine was also a little warm, which meant I couldn’t quite finish it. What I didn’t realise is that you also get a choice of salad or soup with it. We both went for the salad and it was very good, although fortunately Mark pointed out in time that the croutons were bacon, so he removed them all for me.
We were probably in there about an hour and a half, all chatting away. I love the way we all do that, even with people we’ve never met before and of course, there were the obligatory PassPorter pics as well.
We had fun when the bill came – it’s always entertaining working that out and Karen got to work on it... we also had some treasure to devour as she did the maths!
Blue Bayou:
Appetiser 9 8½
Entrée 8 8½
Service 8½ 9
Atmosphere 9½ 9
Value for money 8½ 8½
Average score: 8.70
We all went our separate ways after lunch, with Karen and Zack leaving immediately and Rebecca and Cheryl due to leave later in the day. We carried on walking through New Orleans Square and came to the Haunted Mansion in its holiday make-over and had to go and see that. This was just amazing and I’m sorry, but I don’t think the existing Haunted Mansion will ever be the same again for me. I can see why they have to close it down for so long to create this version every year, as there’s a lot of work that goes into it, more than I ever imagined. It’s almost like a whole new attraction and it’s a lot more fun and less scary. Again, if you are in Disneyland during this time of the year, this is another one not to miss.
Mark got a few photos inside:
We headed towards Critter Country and, again, pretty much walked on to Winnie the Pooh. There really were no crowds in sight anywhere. We had picked a great first day here. This ride is pretty different to Walt Disney World. All the same elements are there, but in a different order.
There was no sign of my donkey doing greetings when we came out, so we walked back through New Orleans Square.
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Awesome pictures, Cheryl! I just love all the jack-o-lanterns! And the holiday version of the Haunted Mansion looks fabulous. The Winnie the Pooh ride is one of my all-time favorites, and the one in DL Anaheim is actually the first one I went on! Looks like around Halloween is a great time to visit DL!
Glad you had a great meal with fellow PPers!! Really love those photos of Haunted Mansion. My kids love Nightmare Before Christmas and would adore it!!
Great updates. Love all the pic's from the sub's. I would so love to see those. Your meals at the Blue Bayou looked really good with fun conversation.
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Thank you for the 'grand' pix of the Grand Californian! That is one of our favorite places to go and just sit and enjoy. We both really appreciate the design of the Craftsman period. Wonderful pix of the beginning of your DL day. As far as the heat at the end of Mr. Toad's ride, that is some imagineer's theory on he&l. Personally, I think it prepares you for going back out in the Ca sun and WARM fall days!!! 
PassPorter Guide Author
Looking forward to what comes next!
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