A Coast to Coast Christmas - Phase One WDW - Page 6 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Can't wait for CP (1 week!) and holiday Illuminations! I cry listening to the soundtrack at home, so you don't want to know what kind of blubbering mess I am in person!
Great night! And good tip about standing in the back for CP. we have the package for Christmas Eve, but maybe I'll try that another night.
It was indeed a great night at Epcot. I enjoyed the Candlelight Processional from the back. I had intended to reserve a package but just never got around to it. Too busy planning the TBSAALTA, I guess.... HAH!
One thing that I will call your attention to for CP is the person who does the Sign Language Interpretation. Amazing. Simply poetry in motion.
After I visited with the CLT and B& L at the Swingers Suite, I went back to my room at Shades of Green, put on my jimjams, made a frosty beverage in The Tiny Blender, and called it a night! I was very tired and my travel companions, my sister, her DH, my cousins Debbie and Sharon were already in for the night too. We had connecting rooms which was very nice, it seemed like we had two full bathrooms for the 5 of us.
It was indeed a great night at Epcot. I enjoyed the Candlelight Processional from the back. I had intended to reserve a package but just never got around to it. Too busy planning the TBSAALTA, I guess.... HAH!
One thing that I will call your attention to for CP is the person who does the Sign Language Interpretation. Amazing. Simply poetry in motion.
I always try to watch close to stage left so I can watch the signing person. So beautiful and expressive.
And the sight of my cell phone in that picture reminded me that I texted our lost compatriot, Lesley, to tell her how much we missed her and how much the CP reminded me of the first time we got to enjoy it together.
For the record, the hats were flocked christmas trees with a forest green tulle skirt underneath (and you could totally see up Sharon's skirt! Hoooochie!!) Karen even accessorized them with a red pipe cleaner hidden Mickey. So wonderful!
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Tom & I were so sorry we had to miss the festivities this trip, but I loved being a part of it from a distance. Getting Larry & Bob's invitation to the TBSAALTA - and Eileen's texts made me almost feel as if we were there. (And no - I can't be bribed into an early reveal - unless lots of chocolate or wine are involved )
I remember that first CP. It was a very emotional for me and all of the support I got from you guys meant a lot to me. I love to watch the deaf interpreters. They are so expressive - just beautiful!
Tom & I were so sorry we had to miss the festivities this trip, but I loved being a part of it from a distance. Getting Larry & Bob's invitation to the TBSAALTA - and Eileen's texts made me almost feel as if we were there. (And no - I can't be bribed into an early reveal - unless lots of chocolate or wine are involved )
I'm thinking two bottles of Conundrum [the official wine of the CLQ + B&L + Lesley &Tom] to start the bidding, Lesley. We can post it on eBay and see where it goes!
We would be remiss in not having a shout-out to Louise Welch, who was prevented from joining us due to work (of all things).
We had also hoped that Joan's daughter Rachel would come along and be introduced to this wild crowd, but she made the very mature decision to hang in and study for her semester final exams. You go, girl!