Cindybelle's DoD Trip Report, May 2009 WDW--Updated 6/19 - COMPLETE! - Page 4 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Some more memorable moments from the trip - from my favorite park.
Cindy & Laurie as rockers:
I mentioned that my night shots are usually bad. Well, here's a pretty good one I took as evening was falling:
Heather's Margarita Meet was fun -- and she gave each participant a little memento.
HEATHER, I'm planning to take mine down to the Arch one fine day and will post a photo of me holding it up. I hope other participants will do likewise. PassPorters, show your Disney and Home Pride Spirit!
Did Cindy get her Dole Whip? Heck yeah, she did! That Saturday morning, I woke up early and headed for a few solo hours at the MK before finally meeting some PPs at my Crystal Palace lunch meet (more on that later). I was delighted with how many attractions I took in (10) in those first few hours, and of course the morning air was nice and cool. Around 10:30, I thought, "Hmm, I'm feeling a bit peckish. Time for a Dole Whip Float." And yes, I ate every-single-sinful-spoonful. (And since I got a float, I was drinking pineapple juice -- quite healthful, you know. LOL.)
I rode Pirates by myself and had a CM snap this photo of me in my Pirate Goofy hat under the rousing words from everybody's favorite pirate song. Rode it again later that afternoon with the PP group. Love the addition of Captain Jack Sparrow -- really, really, fun. Looks and moves just like Johnny Depp.
I did the Haunted Mansion solo, and got this pic of Leota with her eyes open -- I pointed her out to several people in line who had no idea that the face on this tombstone moved. They all watched breathlessly and then laughed in delight when they saw her eyes pop open like this!
The last thing I did "solo" that morning was ride Walt's train around the park a couple of times. I'm rather proud of the "inside peak" behind Splash Mountain:
While I was on the train, I got messages from Ann and Sheri, who said they looked forward to meeting me at CP. I felt nervous about being a newbie to the whole "meet" experience, but I was also excited. Everyone was a stranger to me at first, but I soon was having a great time with all.
Several PPs noted that "considering this is your first time, you really jump in" with setting up meets. That's me, all right -- I'm either all in or all out. And with PP, I am definitely IN. The first thing I did upon deciding to participate in the WDW DoD was to post a thread asking other PPs if they'd want to meet at CP for a late lunch. That would give some of us a chance to get to know a small number of people before heading to the first "official" PP quest meet. WendyIsMyName was kind enough to join my volunteers with a table of folks she had already gotten ADRs for CP. THANK YOU ALL FOR WELCOMING ME.
I'm looking forward to getting the CD with PhotoPass so I can post some of the "WDW official" photos of the lunch group, but in the meantime here are some pics taken with my camera:
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
As I prepared to go on this trip, all my friends, relatives, and co-workers said the same thing: "Be sure to let me know if 'these people' you meet down there are as crazy about Disney as you are." Several added, "Nobody will get as excited as you do about the Disney characters, will they?"
Hah! Now I have proof! There are OTHERS LIKE ME. PassPorters, unite!
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