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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Wow, what an amazing place that is! You're right, it looks so like Animal Kingdom in so many places and what a fascinating history.
We loved the Nashville Zoo!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
That looks like a fantastic zoo! Reminds me of the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC a little. There you can walk on these paths where the kangaroos have freedom to roam (but you couldn’t pet them). You can also feed giraffes there, which was a ton of fun. And they have zip lines.
Seemed like a perfect day for the zoo, and a nice finish to this trip!
It was an amazing zoo! In case you don’t know, I am an animal freak and this was heaven!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMA
Wow! Another great day! The zoo looks amazing! And your animal print shirt was perfect for the day!
Now I'm positive that I'm going to put my foot down when it comes to visiting the Nashville Zoo. I've asked several times to go, but someone in the family doesn't want to go to a zoo. I may have to give up on a family outing and just Luke and I go. It looks incredible. And now I know what you are petting in your sig pic.
Now I'm positive that I'm going to put my foot down when it comes to visiting the Nashville Zoo. I've asked several times to go, but someone in the family doesn't want to go to a zoo. I may have to give up on a family outing and just Luke and I go. It looks incredible. And now I know what you are petting in your sig pic.
I can’t believe you haven’t been!! OH MY GOSH, YOU WOULD TOTALLY LOVE THIS PLACE!!!!!! Infact, I wish we had arranged to meet up with you guys here!! You need to go.
Part 2- The Parthenon, the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Gaylord, one last time!
Our next stop today was the Parthenon!! We are not sure if we will make it to the one in Greece or not, so we thought this would be a cool stop. I definitely wanted to know why on earth there was a replica of the Parthenon in Nashville, so I googled it and according to Nashville.gov:
“The building and the Athena statue are both full-scale replicas of the Athenian originals. Originally built for Tennessee's 1897 Centennial Exposition, this replica of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece serves as a monument to what is considered the pinnacle of classical architecture.”
All right, then!
The building is stunning and I can see why that explanation makes sense. The building is located in Centennial Park. It also serves as an art museum. Here are some pictures, which really do not do it justice:
Athena Parthenos:
Our last stop of the day was at the Country Music Hall of Fame. This is an amazing museum whether you are a country music fan or not!
We stopped at the lobby cafe and split a chicken salad croissant and a nice IPA for lunch.
The museum is on the second and third floors. The first floor is a lobby and a gift shop. We got our tickets along with an audio guide and headed up the escalator. The museum is huge and I can see how a true country music fan could spend all day here!
My favorite exhibit was the story of Shania Twain. I love her music and did not appreciate her background until I came here.
This is Shania’s story
Here are just a few of the many displays we saw:
Elvis’ favorite Caddy. He had gold wheels, a TV and a bar in the back of it.
We still had tons of time before we needed to head to the airport, so guess where we stopped?! we listened to these guys in the lobby:
Then we took one more walk around this beautiful resort before heading to the airport.
We got to the airport around 7 PM. We returned the car and before we knew it, it was time to board our flight home. Again, thankfully, it was uneventful and we landed at PHL around midnight. We picked our car up at Wally Park and were in our house by 1 AM.
I loved this trip!! I got to do tons of new stuff and eat at lots of great places!! It is my hope that we will continue to go to Chicago every September!!
That being said, it was great to be home!! While I knew she was in capable hands, I missed Lilly like crazy!! It also goes without saying that I surely missed my own bed!!
I did really enjoy it - thanks so much for sharing it with us Tara!
Oh wow, the Parthenon you saw is way more intact than the one in Greece. We saw it on a stupidly hot day in July and I must admit we were like "that's great, we've seen it, now can we get into some air conditioning?"
You packed a whole lot into your last day. I know I drove past the Parthenon one time when I was in Nashville, so now I know why it’s there, too!
It was a full day, for sure!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
I did really enjoy it - thanks so much for sharing it with us Tara!
Oh wow, the Parthenon you saw is way more intact than the one in Greece. We saw it on a stupidly hot day in July and I must admit we were like "that's great, we've seen it, now can we get into some air conditioning?"
Well, I can certainly appreciate the historic value of the real one. Honestly, it was not what I was expecting. I’m glad we went there, but it is not somewhere I need to return.
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You certainly packed a lot into your last day in Nashville! Great pictures from the zoo and the Country Music Hall of Fame! Thanks for taking us along for the ride!
I have really enjoyed the Parthenon the times we've visited. Never been to the Country Music Hall of Fame, but it looks very cool!
You should go!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
You certainly packed a lot into your last day in Nashville! Great pictures from the zoo and the Country Music Hall of Fame! Thanks for taking us along for the ride!
What a great trip you had! The Nashville Zoo looks amazing! I'm pretty sure I visited the Gaylord Opryland about 25 years ago. Was it just called the Opryland Hotel back then? If yes, then I've been there. It sure looked familiar in your pictures.
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Great time in Nashville and the Gaylord is just stunning! Some great meals and the zoo is quite something.
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
What a great trip you had! The Nashville Zoo looks amazing! I'm pretty sure I visited the Gaylord Opryland about 25 years ago. Was it just called the Opryland Hotel back then? If yes, then I've been there. It sure looked familiar in your pictures.
Thanks, Pam! Yes, it was originally the Opryland Hotel!
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
Great time in Nashville and the Gaylord is just stunning! Some great meals and the zoo is quite something.
Thanks, Dave! . We loved everything about. Nashville!
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You're right, it looks so like Animal Kingdom in so many places and what a fascinating history.
And now I know what you are petting in your sig pic. 
I can’t believe you haven’t been!! OH MY GOSH, YOU WOULD TOTALLY LOVE THIS PLACE!!!!!! Infact, I wish we had arranged to meet up with you guys here!! You need to go.
we listened to these guys in the lobby:
While I knew she was in capable hands, I missed Lilly like crazy!! 
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