A 40th celebration to end the world! THREAD 1 COMPLETED 2/16 - Page 96 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 agree with Dutch pics of The Castle and Fireworks are fantastic. Making me feel better about considering going to party on 2 nights.
Although we've never done it, we've considering going twice before in one trip...
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How nice of you to take get Laurie on POC twice in one day Especially after Mark tried to get his homey Grumpy to give her a lap dance Thank heavens she has more class than that.
First of all, congratulations on the cruise! I thought about you when the new itineraries were announced. That one sounds great and I'd be right there with you if I thought I'd be able to do any of the excursions.
I still find it amazing (and horrifying as well) that Disney don't seem equipped to offer more for anyone with mobility issues... it's like stepping back in time.
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So great to re-live this party night! I remember I was just happily scooting along behind you on the way to the tip board when you took a turn into the Pirates forecourt. I think I said something like, "We're doing Pirates again? Wheee!" The icing on the cake!
I think you did!
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It was wonderful to meet Regina and I hope I get to meet up with her again sometime. The castle pre-fireworks show was amazing, as are your photos. We had a great spot, too. And the parade is still to come!
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My apologies again for not making the meet. My family time was not going so smoothly that night. Sounds like a wonderful time and my big regret of the trip is not meeting all of you.
I'm so sorry we didn't get to meet up with you.
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Magic in the med sounds wonderful
It was great in 2007 on its very first outing here, so hopefully this time around will be just as good!
I want to be you when I grow up. All the trips you get to take! The cruise sounds amazing! I've always wanted to visit Turkey. Cool!
Thank you! We are very lucky, as we don't have kids, so a lot of our disposable income can go on travelling, which we both love. I also tend to shop around for deals (Ok, not so much for the cruise... ) and use loyalty schemes wherever I can, which is why we can often afford to do so much.
Congratulations on your new cruise and trip!!! How exciting!! Love all the pictures of the castle. Truly amazing!! That is so cool that you guys took Laurie on POTC a second time!! You are truly a great person and friend to have around!!
Thank you. I'd like to think if I was in the same position, someone would do that for me as well... do as you would be done by!
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Whew! Well, it took me an entire day yesterday while home with an ill DD, but I did it...I read your entire trip report to date...and I'm exhausted! I love your trip report so far!
Congrats on getting up to date - I hope your DD is better soon.
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I agree with a previous poster...I wanna be you! I would love to be able to travel as much as you. Maybe one day we'll get there. Congratulations on booking your cruise!
We are also so lucky to live in Europe and easily get to other countries. I always think other countries are more glamorous sounding than other states...
The new show on the Castle is fantastic! I was pretty amazed by the first one--but this is ten times better! I thought of all of you when I rode Pirates on Monday!
Ok I get seriously jealous when you say things like that! I wish I could just pop over and ride some of my favourite Disney rides...
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As I was standing next to you during the fireworks, I realized I had the wrong speed on my camera, so my fireworks pictures turned out pretty blurry. But your pictures are simply beautiful and it brings back good memories of that night.
I was so afraid ya'll had could not make it that night because when I got to the tip board around 9:00, I didn't see you or Mark. But when I finally did see ya'll it was like seeing celebrities.
I hope to meet up again with ya'll and Laurie soon. I would love to spend more time with all of you!
As I was standing next to you during the fireworks, I realized I had the wrong speed on my camera, so my fireworks pictures turned out pretty blurry. But your pictures are simply beautiful and it brings back good memories of that night.
I'm so sorry your photos didn't come out great and glad I could share mine with you.
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I was so afraid ya'll had could not make it that night because when I got to the tip board around 9:00, I didn't see you or Mark. But when I finally did see ya'll it was like seeing celebrities.
Oh gosh no! We're just ordinary people - I'm so sorry we were late and I'm glad you hung around and we got to meet you.
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I hope to meet up again with ya'll and Laurie soon. I would love to spend more time with all of you!
We're next back at Disney at the end of October for a few days.... then hopefully a couple more days in early November, depending on our flights to Hawaii. We'll know full details in early April....
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Tuesday 11 December – part ten: a Christmas parade to enjoy!
Mark and I got some Photopass shots…
… and I got him to take a photo of myself, Laurie and Regina. It was so lovely to meet Regina, and I’m really sorry that we didn’t get to meet anyone else, that was a real shame, and I’m sorry we were late to the meeting point.
The parade was absolutely wonderful, as it always is, but it did feel a lot shorter than in previous years. Usually we’re standing there, thinking “how much more of this?” but after the first few floats, it became apparent that we had actually seen most of the first parade as it passed by. I liked the fact that nearly every single float had changed, some of them quite radically, since we were last here for a party in 2009. At least you’re getting something new for your money.
Reindeer butt!
We said our goodbyes to Laurie and Regina, and headed up to the castle to get a few photos of our own…
We also found a Photopass photographer there too.
We headed over to the rose garden to get some Photopass shots done there too.
Then we slowly made our way out of the park, with me taking lots of photos on the way.
I love this shot at the entrance. I think it’s one of my all time favourites.
Then we walked back to the Contemporary, getting a few final photos on the way.
When we got back to the room, that was it, I pretty much collapsed into bed. It had been a very long, but a very fun day.
The weather today was humid with temperatures in the low 80s and some rain during the early evening. The best thing today was the Christmas Party The worst thing today was not being able to see Enchanted Tales with Belle. The funniest thing today was the seven dwarves. Today we tried going on Ariel’s Undersea Adventure And the result was the line and the building is much better themed than at the California Adventure, but the ride is exactly the same. The most magical moment today was the interaction we got with the seven dwarves.
So good that you found Regina
GREAT pics of Castle and Parade How did you manage to keep MArk from joining and running off with his 7 man Possee or off to off poor Piglet
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My apologies again for not making the meet. My family time was not going so smoothly that night. Sounds like a wonderful time and my big regret of the trip is not meeting all of you.
All the trips you get to take! The cruise sounds amazing! I've always wanted to visit Turkey. Cool!
We are very lucky, as we don't have kids, so a lot of our disposable income can go on travelling, which we both love. I also tend to shop around for deals (Ok, not so much for the cruise... 
) and use loyalty schemes wherever I can, which is why we can often afford to do so much.
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