A Coast to Coast Christmas - Phase One WDW - Page 5 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Seeing this TR made my day - I love the Princess Sharon trip reports - even more so when other Passporters chime in. I can't tell you the last time I actually read one - reading any TR for a while was kind of depressing so I avoided them. No offense to anyone but Sharon, yours are definitely my favorite. They always have lots of awesome pictures (I love the pictures in TR's) and it literally makes me laugh out loud so many times that they really put me in a good mood - and who doesn't like being put in a good mood? The only downside is I always seem to join them while they're in progress and I have to wait for each new post. They're always worth it but I hate the wait. Come back soon please
Within one hour of sleeping with my dear husband (who flops around like a fish in bed), I was missing my Sharon.
Jill, I miss you like crazy, but I have to admit once I climb into bed, I don't notice you aren't there. But that doesn't surprise you, does it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by HollyH
Loving this TR so far! Can't wait to hear all about it!
BTW, Sharon, I also went to Radio City Music Hall this past weekend to see the Christmas Spectacular (and you are right, it was SPECTACULAR!) Thinking I need to make this a Christmas Tradition -you New Yorkers know how to do Christmas!
Of course, I would also love to add your tradition of a WDW for Christmastime. But I would have to actually go at Christmas. Not sure I'm up for the crowds.
More please!
As much as I love NYC, I love it even more at Christmas! I could probably do a NYC leg of this coast to coast TR!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lindawdw
YAY!!! Another PSha TR and I'm finally going to appear in one Great start to your TR. I've had arm rest hoggers on some of my flights (not nice). Loved the pins on the pillows and the picture of the three of you together in bed Poor Karen Looking forward to your next update! It was so wonderful to finally meet up with you
It was great to finally meet you too, Linda!
Quote:
Originally Posted by LLaffinPlace
Okay, every time I read this I have to laugh. Actually, I pretty much guffaw.
I keep telling Bob he needs to check out Sharon's trip report because he is name is being bandied about....
Heh, I have to do something to get him to post!
Quote:
Originally Posted by CinderAbby
Seeing this TR made my day - I love the Princess Sharon trip reports - even more so when other Passporters chime in. I can't tell you the last time I actually read one - reading any TR for a while was kind of depressing so I avoided them. No offense to anyone but Sharon, yours are definitely my favorite. They always have lots of awesome pictures (I love the pictures in TR's) and it literally makes me laugh out loud so many times that they really put me in a good mood - and who doesn't like being put in a good mood? The only downside is I always seem to join them while they're in progress and I have to wait for each new post. They're always worth it but I hate the wait. Come back soon please
Aww, thanks! I'm about to post another update now, but after that, everyone will have to wait until I return from Disneyland!
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
Day One, Part Two Candlelight Processional, Illuminations and our first surprise meeting with lindawdw
We went to the bus stop and a bus arrived quickly. We had to wait a few minutes for a scooter to be loaded. This happened often. We stopped at Fort Wilderness to pick up more guests and then were on our way to Epcot.
We needed to head right to the theater to catch the Candlelight Processional so we didn’t dally. I did manage to get a quick photo of the tree.
As we made our way to the theater, we were stopped by PassPorter lindawdw and her DH. I believe Eileen was the only one of us who’d met Linda before. But by the end of the trip, we were old pals! We ran into them a few times. After a little chat, we got a quick picture.
We’re wearing the fabulous hats Karen made us!
I saw Santa was in his little spot next to the American Adventure, but the line had been closed. Too bad! Now I won’t know whether he got my letter until I open my presents on Christmas.
We stood at the back of the theater to watch the show. In my opinion, if you’re not going to do the dinner package, this is the way to go. Don’t stand on line for hours. We had a perfectly good view in the back.
Michael W. Smith was the narrator and was fine, if a little dry. I did appreciate him trying to insert some drama and reverence into his narrative, but it just came across as big pauses. But like I said, I appreciated the effort!
We’d planned to meet up with Amy (ilovedisneyO_O) for Illuminations, so I sent her a text that we were in Italy. They were still in FW (shopping in Mouse Gear). I decided to just enjoy the show and not take any photos. Unfortunately, we were down wind and the combination of the smoke and crowds made me a bit claustrophobic and I had to step away toward the end. I’m actually not claustrophobic, it's more the strong smells that set me off. Sometimes I think I’m the weirdest person on earth.
After Illuminations (and the incredibly awesome holiday tag at the end), we strolled out of the park, pausing occasionally for photos.
We weren’t really paying attention, so Karen, Jill and I were suddenly on our own and we had no idea where the rest of the group had gone. It turns out they’d gone into Mouse Gear to try and hunt down Amy (and they found her, which is impressive!). When we got to the bus stop (sure they were ahead of us), we were surprised to see they weren’t anywhere in sight. They showed up just before the bus did and we all rode back to the WL together.
Back at the Lodge, we said goodnight to the fellas (despite what those pillow mints might have suggested – we’re not that kind of girl ). We got those fun photos Eileen posted before going to sleep.
Up Next: A FABulous day in Epcot
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
Love the group photo Pete and I enjoyed watching the CP from the back also. I couldn't wait on that long line for a couple hours I'd be thinking the whole time about all the other things I could be doing in Epcot Have a great time in Disneyland with Karen and please tell her hi for me!
Great evening at DHS! We're big fans of Michael W. Smith and his music! He is actually Stefanie's favorite and we finally go to take her to one of his concerts this past spring. Smitty was hilarious telling stories that night, but I've always wanted to hear Gary Sinise at the Candlelight Processional as I just love his voice.
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I posted a rebuttle... uh... I mean an update at 3AM last night, but... well... it was 3AM and it seems to have flown off into lalaland.
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What a great picture of us with Linda and her husband!!
What was so funny about that meeting was that, as we strolled through Morocco, I heard someone call out "Eileen." I remember thinking that it's unusual to hear my name called out, as it's not all that common -- kind of a fun coincidence though.
Then I heard a string of names: "Eileen... and... *gasp* SHARON?!!!" Followed quickly by a few more gasps and the utterance of "Karen... Jill... BOB&LARRY?!!!"
Well... not a coincidence then, huh.
That's when I finally realized we were being hailed by someone we knew. And someone drop-dead gorgeous!! Sheeesh, Linda....! Girlfriend, you got it going on!!
We spent a lovely bit of time catching up with each other (Linda and I had met back in 2005 at Mousefest, the first vacation Karen and I had taken together.) Then we said our goodbyes, hoping we might run across each other again. (Little did we know....!!)
Then it was on to do the guerilla viewing of the CP -- and, seriously, that's the way to do it. No waiting in line. No extra expense. Just grab a piece of pavement and enjoy the show. We even got free candy from a CM passing out candy canes!!
When it was over, we hightailed it outta there before the crowds came pouring out of the theatre, and headed to my fav spot along the rail in the little piazza in front of Italy.
Eileen's Fireworks Tip #1: don't hang back. Get as close to the rail as possible, even if you make the people standing there a tad uncomfortable with your nearness when there's tons of room behind you. Not only will The Thickhead Family not be able to scootch in front of you seconds before the show starts, but you might just freak out The Rail-Gripper Family enough that they go off to find a less stalkeriffic spot somewhere else. SCORE-- you've just succeeded in freeing up the rail for yourself!
Eileen's Fireworks Tip #2: bring tissues.
If you've never seen the holiday addition to IllumiNations, just know that you'll need them. And you might want to consider bringing a big wad of them to help muffle the gulping sobs you'll be emitting when the "Let There Be Peace On Earth" finale really gets pumping.
The Rail Grippers? Not so much. Their little girl was totally bored, and she shot the globe the barest of glaces as it appeared. Which made me itch to grab her and start explaining the story behind IllumiNations. "See... it's all red, like fire and lava as the surface of the planet formed. Then blue for water... resulting in the lush greenery that can support... wait for it.... LIFE!! See? Animals! And now people. And technology, and communication, and art, and...."
Yeah. I'm kinda like that.
I was bummed that we didn't get a pre-fireworks meet-up with Amy and her daughter (and her daughter's incredibly cute and sweet boyfriend.) Turns out, she was emailing my cell phone -- and, well, it's a "bright" phone, but not a smartphone. It has issues with emails.
So, when the ganglet got close to Mousegears, I called out to the stragglers -- and, yes... Karen was being a straggler this trip. Much to my surprise and chagrin. I mean, serously! What did I do all that high-speed, high-incline training on the treadmill for?!)
I called out to the stragglers that I was heading into the store to see Amy. I even did a little waving of my arms and pointing. They didn't notice. Which resulting in them feeling ditched and me going to meet Amy and her family with only my trusty Bob &Larry for company.
And can I just say that Amy is as warm and sweet and pretty in person as she is on the boards here (and on Facebook.) I would TOTALLY have hung out with much longer if I could've!!
When we did get to the bus depot -- which is that very laaaaaaast one on the faaaaaaar corner of the "deluxe" section (!!!) -- we met up with the Straggler Trio. Which made for a cozy, snuggly bus ride home.
Which led to a cozy, snuggly night of Three To A Bed.
Loving this trip report. I can always count on just about peeing my pants when I read one written by the CLQ! It is sounded like a wonderful trip full of laughs with a lot of great friends enjoying WDW.
Can't wait for more of the CLQ's adventures!
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Just kidding! None of them are annoying. 
Well, maybe Bob a little. 
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Great start to your TR. I've had arm rest hoggers on some of my flights (not nice).
Loved the pins on the pillows and the picture of the three of you together in bed
Now I won’t know whether he got my letter until I open my presents on Christmas. 
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