A Maria and Ben “Mousefest” TR: The Greatest Gift of All Update Finished 5/3 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I introduced my DH to Disney at Christmas alnost 15 years ago - and it's been that long since we were back. I know... what the...
So I know what ya mean...why in the heck did it take so long to experience it again? Thankfully we'll be back there in a little over a week like you and Ben!
I really want to hear all the storytellers at Epcot -- some day! But for now I'm going to enjoy it all through yours and Ben's stories.
Well you got to experience Disney in all its Halloween/Fall glory...next up should definitely be a Holiday trip. Stefanie would just love the storytellers and all the characters in their Christmas outfits.
I've actually been praying to find a way to be there for "mousefest" since all the great TR from last year. Who am I kidding I wanna spend more time with my PP frinds & hide from the anniversary : ( I'm saving every penny to be there next year!!!
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
I've actually been praying to find a way to be there for "mousefest" since all the great TR from last year. Who am I kidding I wanna spend more time with my PP frinds & hide from the anniversary : ( I'm saving every penny to be there next year!!!
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
mojitos, margaritas, maybe some maduros thrown in, makers mark, and much more are awaiting you, my dear! (brought to you by the letter "M")
oh and i am lovin the HS pic of you as well...i forgot completely to comment on it...no wonder you grew into such a lovely lady. and the HS story of the headache and wanting to talk to the BF on the phone.....ha ha ha....priceless...thanks for sharing it. speaking of which, i hope lil sis is doing ok....
Wow, you guys really need a vacation with everything you've got coming up before you go!
I am so ready for it all to be done.
Quote:
Originally Posted by skateycat
mojitos, margaritas, maybe some maduros thrown in, makers mark, and much more are awaiting you, my dear! (brought to you by the letter "M") oh and i am lovin the HS pic of you as well...i forgot completely to comment on it...no wonder you grew into such a lovely lady. and the HS story of the headache and wanting to talk to the BF on the phone.....ha ha ha....priceless...thanks for sharing it. speaking of which, i hope lil sis is doing ok....
My little sister is mending her broken heart…down with loser high school boyfriends. Oh and I love M words …merry making
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great update Maria! I hope it all goes well!
Thanks.
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Originally Posted by MattUGA
The Christmas storytellers in EPCOT are my favorite part of Christmas at Disney!
Me too we love the nutcracker in Germany it sooo magical!
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheUV74
Enjoy your Holly Jolly Christmas!!! I love lurking around and reading your TR's
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Sweet and wholesome...I think that just about summs me up in a nutshell! You know me so well!
I can't wait for milk and cookies. I'm having milk and cookies right now! (even though it's only 9:30 am!) They're my favorite! I also exclamation points!!!!
So, I might still be a little...full...from last night's milk and cookies, but I can't wait to see you guys in a week! We're going to have so much fun in our ginormous OKW 2 BR. Maybe we can eat lots of milk and cookies, and then play hide and seek!
I also want you to know that Joey talks about you and Ben incessantly, and not an hour of fun goes by here without one of us wondering, "What are Maria and Ben doing?!" Thank GAWD for Facebook!
See you soon, new besties!
PS. Why am I not surprised at ALL that Ben hearts the Kwanzaa lady. She is a sassy one!
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