He got Alaska, I get Denmark - EBTA May 2015 - UPDATE 5/10/15 - Page 10 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Glad to hear the camera is working! I saw your bracelet on FB....beautiful!
I have my tiara packed for Prince and Princess night, so they better have one!
I just found your pre-TR and am so excited to read about this cruise! DH and I had debated going on a trans-atlantic Disney cruise a couple years ago but in the end decided against it. I get seasick easily and was too afraid to be stuck in the middle of the Atlantic feeling nauseous for days on end That said, I think your itinerary sounds amazing! Iceland is way up on my bucket list.
Ok - lets see - I am 95% packed. Tomorrow and Wednesday I have my last pre-cruise personal training sessions with trainer Seth scheduled.
Tuesday after work I need to vote, get my toenails and eyebrows done.
Thursday after work, Carrie is picking me up at work and taking me to the airport to get the SUV because a certain husband FORGOT to ask to work days on Thursday so we could carpool together and go get the vehicle.... he will get home at 1130PM - and we will be up, loaded and on the highway headed south no later than 830am Friday morning. If he is too tired, he can crawl into the back of the SUV and sleep. Carrie and I can chat...
A few more things to remember to do - write the check for the cat sitter, get lots of $1 bills for tipping (I also need to take rolled change to the credit union and put it into the vacation acct).
Write instructions for cat sitter
Survive the next 4 days at work.... without committing homicide...
Both of my suitcases are packed - one is 48 lbs, and 1 is 44 lbs - and yes I do plan on doing laundry during the trip. I figured out that on excursion days I could be wearing at least 2 outfits per day - excursion clothes and dinner clothes. On sea days - that could be 3/4 - since I've promised Seth I will do some kind of workout on sea days (hoping to drag myself to the morning yoga, pilates classes) - so that is workout clothes, then I might get breakfast (walk around the ship clothes) - then into a swimsuit for Rainforest - back into walk around the ship clothes, and then dress for dinner... And yes - I am planning on doing laundry 1/2 way through the cruise. I know there are a couple of things that I am bringing that I don't HAVE to bring - but I want them - my own mask and snorkel for our snorkeling excursion in Iceland. I have a face that is very hard to find a mask to fit - and I don't want to be fighting with a leaky mask while trying to enjoy Silfra. Also - from many of the photos I've seen, the snorkels you are provided are not dry snorkels - so I know I want mine.
Well - that's about it for now... I am getting excited, but have to get through the next 4 days of work, doctors appts, training sessions, toes, etc. Friday won't get here soon enough.
We will be getting the 1,000 MB internet package while onboard - but I will be limiting myself to checking email occasionally and not doing much on Facebook until we return, or we find an internet cafe somewhere.
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You are further along than I am!! Almost everything is SELECTED, but the suitcases remain closed. I'm doing 'the 7'....one week, laundry, and one week. So you will see the same clothes at dinner!!! I've decided three long-sleeved shirts for excursions and 5 tee shirts for 'shipboard' wear.
Two busy days.... yesterday morning was all about doctor's appts.... one at 8am and one at 1115. So I didn't head into work until about 1215pm. After my 1st appt I managed to vote, go to the bank, take the extra change and turn it into $1s for tipping onboard the ship, and get my eyebrows done all before my 1115am appt. I felt very efficient.
After work I had a training session with Seth - and he made me promise that I will do some kind of exercise (class or treadmill or elliptical) each day we are at sea. Of course, two of our excursions (kayaking and snorkeling) also count, but this was days at sea.... since I won't be seeing him for two solid weeks. We also scheduled the workouts for the week we get back (I don't want to think about that already).
Did a little rearranging of the suitcase, and added a few more medicinal type items to the bags.
Ran more errands today - got the toenails done for the cruise and bought a replacement eyeshadow - and of course the color I wanted was discontinued long ago.... had to pick a new one.
Tomorrow's to do list is simple - last workout with Seth and pick up 3 Rx from Walgreens. Then home to work on cleaning the house prior to the trip. I hate coming home to a dirty house, so I'll clean the downstairs tomorrow night, including emptying the fridge of stuff likely to go bad while we are gone. Since Chris has to work on Thursday night, I'll do the upstairs then, take my bags downstairs, write the cat sitter check and the note to her about GGs meds and new food bowl (since her last visit a few things have changed), as well as loading up the self feeder, filling the self water bowls... etc. 2 more sleeps (tonight doesn't count!!!)