An Animal Kingdom State of Being with Cam and Fam COMPLETED 9/18 - Page 130 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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What a fun day at Epcot! You sure did cover a lot of territory!
That yellow bracelet... that was made out of old Disney park maps? How in the world do they look so much like beads? Are they varnished? (I'm just fascinated!)
The bracelet is coated in something shiny, but I'm not sure I'm not sure if it is varnish. I didn't think to ask about how they made them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
More absolutely beautiful photos of WS. I'm glad to hear your positive review of Via Napoli. I have an ADR there for November and have been debating whether or not to change it to Tutto Italia, which I love. I love the jewelry made from recycled paper. It's so beautiful and the creativity is fantastic. I've also seen various items made by the same women from soda cans (trays and beautiful woven bowls) and soda bottle tops (trays and boxes).
I was amazed at how beautiful the beads were coming from recycled maps. They are very creative women, indeed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by omd
I just love Epcot so I really enjoyed your pictures. I love the bracelet and hope maybe to find one when I am there in December.
I should also mention that they were selling necklaces, ankle bracelets, and earrings, too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovedisney0_0
Oooh, your yellow beaded bracelet is so pretty!
And I am SOOOOO excited about Via Napoli now! As soon as I get done posting this, I am headed to allears to check out what you ordered...
Is the Voices of Liberty schedule posted anywhere? In all of our trips to WDW, I have never stepped foot inside the American Pavilion, and this is a MUST DO for us this trip.
The times when Voices of Liberty will be singing are on the times guide as well as on a sign out front of the American Adventure.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luvsun
I have stopped more than once and looked at those beads made out of the maps! I almost purchased a necklace for a friend, but ended up telling myself to think about it and I never got back to get one!
I love all of your purchases!
And the pictures of WS are beautiful!
I am so happy to read your review of Via Napoli. It sounds delicious!!
Sorry you had to dodge the big rain and storm!
I can't believe you are packing.......
I always start packing a few days in advance so it's not a big chore right at the end. I start with me three nights before departure, then Stefanie two nights before, and then Luke the night before. So on the morning we leave there is no stress whatsoever.
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Know what you mean about NOT letting the rain stop the fun. We were in the parks for a week in August 2008 while TS Fay was running all around Orlando and WDW. Very low crowds almost no waiting for any of the rides. Replaced the ponchos several times from wear and tear. Thanks to Disney only paid for the first ones.
Know what you mean about NOT letting the rain stop the fun. We were in the parks for a week in August 2008 while TS Fay was running all around Orlando and WDW. Very low crowds almost no waiting for any of the rides. Replaced the ponchos several times from wear and tear. Thanks to Disney only paid for the first ones.
The really nice part this day was that the temperature dropped at least 15 degrees from the upper 90s to lower 80s. It really made it comfortable to do all that walking in the WS.
Great update! I'm glad your experience at Via Napoli was better than my last trip there! I checked out the beads the last time I was in Epcot and didn't buy anything because I was on a super budget, but it is on the list for October because I think they're super cool. I do believe that they cut the maps into strips and roll them up to make the beads. Awesome!
Nice update! Good to hear that you liked Via Napoli. Makes me excited to try in when we go. Tell my buddy Stefanie - hello from me & Mowgli - and Grumpy - aka Jeff.
Finally all caught up! I'm going to have to be on the lookout for those bracelets in Africa. They are really cute. I too love history, and I've never been to the Stone Warriors in China. I planned on looking for them on my upcoming trip as well. I'm also going to try to hear the Voices of Liberty since I've never seen them perform either. Who says you can't find new stuff to do when you've been there so many times before?
I loved the bracelets at the Outpost, I had read about them before we went down so it was on my list to stop there. There were so many pretty colors I could not decide so I told Jasmine I wanted to head back on our last day to pick one up and we never did definitely have to do that first thing on the next trip.
Love yours, and I love how the money is going back to help build up the communities, what a great idea.
Glad you were able to bypass the storm for the most part, I am sure everyone was extremely happy to see that bus pull up at the end of the day.
Personally I love the pictures of the chefs at Via Napoli. The one guy was really cute, lol! The food sounds good, too, though! I'll really have to try it some time!
Can't wait to read your next update... I'm intrigued!
Oh and any time you want to play Words With Friends, feel free to hit me up! I usually have something like 18 games going at once, lol!
I have been craving pizza for weeks. DH isn't crazy about it, so I'm lucky to eat it once every other month. I would love to be able to get him to eat at Via Napoli later this month when we're in WDW! I'll cross my fingers but I won't hold my breath. He's such a picky eater!
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