Is It Time Already?! OKW and POR, November 2013 - Page 15 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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It looks like you had a great time at 50's PTC! Cooper sounded like a hoot. One of the things that disappointed me when we ate there was that the server did not play his part. He wasn't entertaining at all. I had prepped my family on what could happen but we got nothing.
Great start to the day at DHS! I'm not a fan of 50s prime time after several mediocre experiences so it's great to hear you guys getting to experience it as it should be!
What a great time at the Studios and what a fun time you had with Cooper - now he's a real Disney star by the sounds of it!
Exactly! This is what I expect of Disney, and Cooper really delivered!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
It looks like you had a great time at 50's PTC! Cooper sounded like a hoot. One of the things that disappointed me when we ate there was that the server did not play his part. He wasn't entertaining at all. I had prepped my family on what could happen but we got nothing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by xwewhisper
Great start to the day at DHS! I'm not a fan of 50s prime time after several mediocre experiences so it's great to hear you guys getting to experience it as it should be!
That's exactly what I was worried about. It's no fun going in with great expectations and then being disappointed. I'm SO glad we got Cooper this time. Now I'm worried that no one else will live up to him!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Congrats to Evan on being the Rebel Spy!
We were all so tickled about it! Evan has worn his rebel spy t-shirt several times since we've been home!
__________________
Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
I love that Evan got chosen to be the Rebel Spy..... now I just need to find out what that means! DHS really delivered for you this day. A really fun lunch with Cooper made Sophia very happy, and then Evan's turn on Star Tours.
Glad you got some good sleep finally!
Great day at DHS! What a great meal at 50's PTC. That sampler looked delish!
How great for Evan to be the Rebel Spy, especially when you thought none of you were going to be!
Great pics, even the ones by Cooper! lol
So glad that whatever bothered you after dinner passed quickly, and I think the taxi was a great choice, I think we have done that at least once each trip, whether it was an early breakfast or just a not so fun transfer and it has always been worth it.
What a great day at DHS so far - love your lunch, we love 50s and Cooper looked like great fun.
I love that Evan got chosen to be the Rebel Spy..... now I just need to find out what that means! DHS really delivered for you this day. A really fun lunch with Cooper made Sophia very happy, and then Evan's turn on Star Tours.
Hmm, let me see if I can explain it. In the Star Wars world, Star Tours is supposed to be a private transport/tour company. So the ride is supposed to be all the guests going on a tour somewhere. Darth Vader leads the bad guys in the Star Wars world. As our vehicle tries to depart the space port, Darth Vader and his henchmen (the Stormtroopers) stop our vehicle because someone on board is a spy and he wants to catch him/her before the he/she takes vital information to the good guys. Up on the screen they flash a picture of who the "rebel spy" is, which is a picture of someone who's on the ride/vehicle. In this case, Evan was sitting in the seat where they take a secret picture of the rebel spy before the ride starts. Everyone in the vehicle sees who the rebel spy is, and we all squealed when we saw him up on the screen!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Congrats, Evan, on being chosen the Rebel Spy!
You guys are Star Wars fans, right? Have either of you been picked before? It would be so cool if Luke got picked because he's a big fan, isn't he?
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneydreamer33
Glad you got some good sleep finally!
Great day at DHS! What a great meal at 50's PTC. That sampler looked delish!
How great for Evan to be the Rebel Spy, especially when you thought none of you were going to be!
Great pics, even the ones by Cooper! lol
Everyone around us was cracking up when Cooper took my phone and went around the room taking random pictures.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcc0313
So glad that whatever bothered you after dinner passed quickly, and I think the taxi was a great choice, I think we have done that at least once each trip, whether it was an early breakfast or just a not so fun transfer and it has always been worth it.
What a great day at DHS so far - love your lunch, we love 50s and Cooper looked like great fun.
Can't think of what might have caused it. The only meals we ate that day were at 50's Prime Time Cafe and Boma. I don't remember anything tasting "bad" and I didn't really eat anything all that unusual (Boma was unusual, but I usually eat all kinds of ethnic foods at home). Anyhow, glad it left quickly!
__________________
Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
I think around this time was when our FP+ times were ripe. I was able to get Toy Story Mania, Rock n Roller Coaster, and Tower of Terror!
Toy Story was fun, and Sophia finally beat me for the first time! She was THRILLED! Hmm, I don't know if there's any evidence of it, so maybe it never happened!
Then it was off to Rock n Roller Coaster! This was Evan's first time on the ride (he was too small last time), and he LOVED it! In fact, we all loved it so much that we got a return time with Evan's DAS so we could ride again later.
After that we walked right over to Tower of Terror. Sophia prefers this version, and I think I agree with her. We like the "extra" part that moves the ride vehicle into the elevator shaft.
We still had some time before our DAS return time, so we decided to grab a bite to eat. We stayed nearby, at the Fairfax/Toluca Turkey Legs area, and grabbed a seat. I think only Fairfax was open, so I got in line. This is where my memory fails me. I can't remember what we ate, but I do remember it wasn't much because we weren't terribly hungry. I think this was the only meal where I forgot to take pictures! I'm pretty sure I got chicken nuggets and pizza (only because I can see it in the pictures below!). I love these pictures that show my kids at their innocent best!
We ate and then sat for a little while people watching. Evan of course started getting antsy, but luckily it was soon time for our return.
At first I was going to send the kids through without me, but at the last minute I decided to ride again! After making it safely to the concert, we browsed the shop looking for gifts. Sophia saw a shirt she wanted to get her dad, but unfortunately they didn't have his size. A CM offered to check for us, but she came back a few minutes later to confirm they didn't have any more.
Still, Evan had quite a bit of fun!
I need to figure out how to crop this lady out of the picture...!
Next: LIGHTS!
__________________
Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
Last edited by Dlandmom2; 12-13-2013 at 08:27 PM..
I need to fall behind more often - just so I can spend 45 minutes catching up on lots and lots of updates all at once! That was so awesome to do!!! I felt like I was there with you guys! If only that were true! I guess because I've been to DL with you, I could really easily "see" Evan and Sophia and yourself being there!!
That's crazy about the golf carts whizzing around at all hours!! Poor thing!