The "Shhh Don't tell the kids we're going to Disney to celebrate our first Anniversary" Trip Report -Updated 3/21 - Departure day! - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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.
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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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The "Shhh Don't tell the kids we're going to Disney to celebrate our first Anniversary" Trip Report -Updated 3/21 - Departure day!
Hello everyone!
Many of you may know Liz (Smilechaser) and myself. We actually met through Passporter years ago, got engaged and married. We have six wonderful children between us but this trip was just for the two of us in celebration of our anniversary. Actually it’s a bit early for our anniversary but it’s close enough for us. In preparation for our trip Liz got me this wonderful hoody with Cinderella airbrushed on the back of it.
She actually got me this last Summer for my birthday. The Caption "You can take me Anywhere" was actually said to me by Cinderella herself. Long Story. I knew right then and there we had to take it to Disney and get it signed by the glass-slippered one herself. This might be a good time for a little more background on myself and Liz. I am a true blue Cinderella fanatic. I have always loved the story and thought her to be beautiful, but once I met Liz my adoration for Cinderella took on a whole new meaning. See, Liz was a bit different when I met her than she is now. She was a single mom doing it all on her own and her attitude about Cinderella was: Hmmph! Look at that silly girl waiting around all day for her Prince Charming to come along. How ridiculous! I don’t need to wait on no man. I don’t need no man to tell me what to do! So of course, I had a lot of fun with this. Remarking on how beautiful Cinderella was, etc. Then after a few wonderful character interactions, I was hooked on the glass slippered one, and Liz came to like Cinderella too. You can read some of our old trip reports to hear about some of these wonderful escapades. Eventually I even had Cinderella help me propose to Liz, my real life princess. We hope to have more good times with Cinderella this trip, (and believe you me, we did!) Liz hopes to meet up with her favorite, Tinkerbell. I’m not quite looking forward to this so much. Meetings with Tink just never go well for me. (and they don’t this trip either!) So off we go!
Wednesday Jan 27:
Got up and went to work for half a day. Bags and Liz were at home all packed and ready to go! After 4 hours of work that seemed to last forever I headed home, threw the bags in the car, grabbed Liz and off we went to the Detroit Airport. Weather was great, and we made it to the airport with no trouble. Our plane was on time, so we went for a quick tour of the terminal. Here ‘s a picture of us waiting for the plane.
Note the light blue backpack and the green backpack. Cinderella and Tink Colors!
Plane landed right on time, and we secured our luggage and rental car and headed to POP. Checked in and got a great room overlooking the bowling pin pool, grabbed a bite to eat (and some Tye Dye Cheesecake! I’m not at Disney until I have Tye Dye Cheesecake) then headed to Epcot. Got myself a Dos Equis, and we just walked around the world. It was so good to be here.
Then it was back to the room for a good night’s sleep after Liz decorated the window:
We have a big day tomorrow. We’re going to the Magic Kingdom to meet Tink, my beloved Cinderella, and dinner at 1900 Park Faire, where we meet Cinderella again!! Stay tuned! Here's a sneak peek:
Why do I have that disgusted look on my face, you say? Find out next installment!
Brent
Brent
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Last edited by Disdadnmi; 03-05-2010 at 08:24 PM..
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Location: Physically stuck in Michigan while my heart and soul reside in Disney.....
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OOHhhhhh, what a wonderful hubby I have! My true Prince Charming. I wasn't at all convinced that this trip was gonna happen the day prior. All the kids had the flu the week before, I woke up with it Monday but in such anticipation I completely denied the fact that I was sick and went to work anyway! "I will not be sick, I cannot be sick, I am NOT sick" By mid day I was noteably ill! I'm not one for going to the doctor willingly but I was hopeful he could do something! ANYTHING! Some tamiflu and compazine and I was on my way .........still very very 'iffy' but on my way!
The window.....that has always been MY thing on the disney trips! Even when it was just me and the girls....they knew better than to infringe on my window decorating.....LOL. So, I am able to throw Brent alot of the planning flexibility in exchange for the window duty being all mine! LOL I know.......strange it is!
Ohh and the first night at Epcot....it was so romantic. Brent had just bought his first Dos Equis and I was taking a pic of him near the lake. Suddenly the fireworks we saw in the distance were 2 hearts in the air.....bright as ever.....2 big, red, heart fireworks!! Like they were just for us! AAwwwweeee, life is good!
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I knew right then and there we had to take it to Disney and get it signed by the glass-slippered one herself. This might be a good time for a little more background on myself and Liz. I am a true blue Cinderella fanatic. I have always loved the story and thought her to be beautiful, but once I met Liz my adoration for Cinderella took on a whole new meaning. See, Liz was a bit different when I met her than she is now. She was a single mom doing it all on her own and her attitude about Cinderella was: Hmmph! Look at that silly girl waiting around all day for her Prince Charming to come along. How ridiculous! I don’t need to wait on no man. I don’t need no man to tell me what to do! So of course, I had a lot of fun with this. Remarking on how beautiful Cinderella was, etc. Then after a few wonderful character interactions, I was hooked on the glass slippered one, and Liz came to like Cinderella too. 
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