From no trip to celebrating 20 years together… planning it all in less than 100 days! UPDATED 6/30 - Page 83 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I truly wish I could talk Muffin into joining DVC but sadly, I don't think that will happen. . The Geyser Point Grill is lovely and the food looks delicious!!
And just think... if you'd bought in 10 or maybe 15 years ago, like we did (15 years for us in December), it would have paid for itself many, many times over by now!
I've been away quite a while working 2 jobs but I am back and catching up.
Welcome back!
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So glad to hear your positive experience at GP as I've plans to breakfast there on my birthday next year.
I think you'll really enjoy it.
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I'm disappointed too that the Membership Magic event wasn't more enjoyable. On one hand these events are relatively new so I know planners are still getting used to them, but ok the other Disney has been managing crowd control for decades , so you'd hope it'd run more smoothly.
And in fairness, the DVC have been doing the Membership Magic events for over a year now, so I would expect better...
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Really looking forward to hearing about DC as I've just found out I may be able to visit there in august.
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It sounded like the Moonlight DVC Party was a madhouse getting into the park and the lines pretty long at most places. I'm glad you spoke with the DVC executives about your thoughts on the event's entrance process although the answer was quite surprising since DVC is such a money maker for Disney.
Yes, but I guess it's a money maker and that's the point isn't it? They want to make money out of us and not give us anything for free.
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It was nice that you were able to get your picture taken with Abu and Genie! Your breakfast looked delicious at Geyser Point! It is a bit confusing the whole ordering process and we have found both times that we visited that it's quite the popular place already as it was difficult to get seating right away.
I guess the secret is out - that didn't take long....
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The birds were certainly loving all the food scraps on the ground and on the tables where people walked away and their leftovers were sitting there until a server cleared it away. They said that they were having a tough time with the birds.
Doesn't look like hash browns to me either! But sure looks tasty.
It'll be interesting to see how Geyser Pt. does in the busy summer months, after all the construction is due to be finished. It's a great concept, but I was confused by the seating. It doesn't seem to be enough! Glad you enjoyed it though, as it mostly has gotten good reviews from what I've read.
I suspect it'll be packed out, especially if it's getting generally good reviews.
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Sorry that trying to get into the DVC event was a nightmare. Sounds like you made the right decision to skip the fireworks. Sounds like you had a nice relaxing morning without having to rush anywhere. Breakfast looked delicious.
Saturday 4 March – part two: I thought this area was for Cast Members…
When we were done eating at Geysir Point, we headed out to the lakefront to get some more photos of the bar…
… and then we realised we could walk a bit further along. We found this, which I assume will be the DVC community hall. If so, it’s about time. The more I think about it, the more this work was desperately needed, as the resort is lacking so much that the other DVC resorts already have.
Sadly, the marina isn’t operating yet, but when it does, that will be something else that will be easily accessible from the villas…
We made our way back to the room…
We chilled for a bit, then decided we’d better make our way out, otherwise we might not leave at all, we were so enjoying doing nothing… but that’s what the cruise is for. As we headed out, we saw Mickey being given a good soaking…
As we drove out, the level of cars coming in was frankly just terrifying, and this is just the lane to head for the Magic Kingdom resorts.
And look at them all streaming into the parking lot – all the booths were open!
I didn’t get a shot of it, but the line to get into Fort Wilderness was absolutely insane, and almost back to the main road!
We went past the Golden Oak development…
… and then usually we’d turn so we’d pass Port Orleans, but our GPS told us to go straight on. Ok then… I thought this area was for Cast Members…
… and not long after I was proved right, when I saw this:
The sign at the next junction said that straight on (the direction our GPS was taking us) was only for authorised vehicles, but no-one else appeared to be taking any notice of the signs either, so we carried on, and this is what we saw:
Eventually this brings you out on the Central Florida Parkway, which I had heard people talk about as the “back way” into Disney, and it’s certainly much more pleasant to go along than the I-4. It’s a bit weird, as you go through a totally undeveloped section, then you’re back into more hotels. I always find it surreal that there are still areas to develop so close to Disney.
Even with all the times that I've been to Disney, I am still confused by the roadways! I guess mostly because my DH always drives, so I'm not paying attention as much as if I was the driver, but there seems to be a lot of changes to the roadways lately! I enjoyed seeing the behind the scenes area.
We have gone that way many times. My husband is very good at finding back ways to things. We drive down and we come in a back way to Disney to totally avoid I-4. We avoid I-4 if at all possible!
WL will be so very nice once it's all completed. I've visited numerous times but have yet to actually stay there! Some day...
Add me to the list of having driven that back way many, many times! Before and during the DTD construction, I went that way a LOT to avoid Buena Vista Rd - especially when staying at POR, POFQ or SSR. I've also stayed at that Sheraton Lake Buena Vista a few times, so it's super convenient for that hotel too.
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. The Geyser Point Grill is lovely and the food looks delicious!!
I thought this area was for Cast Members… 
We've taken that road before as well- I think by accident!!
I guess mostly because my DH always drives, so I'm not paying attention as much as if I was the driver, but there seems to be a lot of changes to the roadways lately! I enjoyed seeing the behind the scenes area.
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