Forever Young: A Disneyland Trip 50 Years in the Making COMPLETED 1/16/16 - Page 22 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 have to say that your sandwich and Luke's chicken dish at Café Orleans looked so delicious! Your evening at the Mickey's Halloween Party was sure chock full of fun things! How wonderful that you ran into Heather and got to spend time together. The parade pictures were great and so glad that you enjoyed the fireworks. It sounds like it lived up to your expectations. You almost had me in tears talking about your reflections of how perfect DL was to you and Walt's description on the World of Color. I felt Walt's presence in the park when we were there too. It's hard not to!
Sounds like the Halloween Party was a lot of fun! I truly hope to see the Haunted Mansion overlay some year. You got some great pictures from Paint the Night!! I had the music going in my head while looking at the pictures. Did they just add a Halloween portion to the beginning of it?
The party looks so fun! I love all the parade pics. I have to agree with you on the MSEP music. It drives me insane!! I wish they'd bring back Spectromagic!
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Shelly
Disney Destinations Specialist
Magical Vacations Travel
What a long, but fun day!! I loved the Halloween Party at Disneyland. Glad you enjoyed the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay. Its amazing!! Great pictures from the parade. It looks like such a fun parade. So glad to hear that you feel in love with Disneyland!!
Oh wow, the party looks like so much fun! The last time we did it was back in 2008, when it was still in the California Adventure, and it looked like they've really plussed the experience since then. I love all your photos of the Electrical Parade - I can definitely see some similarities to the regular Paint the Night parade.
I thought DL did very well with the party. The similarities aren't really similarities as it is the regular Paint the Night parade. Due the 60th Anniversary the Halloween parade was cancelled and replaced by Paint the Night. So it was exactly what we'd have seen on any other night.
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Originally Posted by wheezie
Beautiful pictures! The Halloween party sounds like so much fun-though I'm sorry your feet were hurting so badly.
At least the feet felt much better after I had sat for over an hour.
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Originally Posted by MayraLR
Looks like you enjoyed your time at the party! Lots of great pictures!
Spectromagic holds a special spot in my heart. I remember my first visit to MK, I was so fascinated with this beautiful parade and its wonderful music. So magical! Then I was able to watch this parade a couple of more times in the coming years, even with my husband and kids.
Don't get me started on MSEP. I don't like this parade at all. It's not the floats that I dislike but the music. Reminds me of an ice cream truck. And the introduction of the parade sounds so robotic. Sorry MSEP lovers. I'll be starting a petition for a new nighttime parade at MK.
I will sign your petition. I love your description that the music is like an ice cream truck. For me, it's the music, too. It really gets on my nerves.
The Halloween Party looks amazing!! Your pictures are gorgeous and I really love the parade ones!! What a wonderful evening!!
I'm pretty sure I got enough good ones of the parade for a scrapbook layout.
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great pictures of the parade! Glad you had a great time at the party even though it was so crowded!
I was very glad we hadn't intended to ride much or we'd have spent all our time in lines.
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Originally Posted by lindawdw
I have to say that your sandwich and Luke's chicken dish at Café Orleans looked so delicious! Your evening at the Mickey's Halloween Party was sure chock full of fun things! How wonderful that you ran into Heather and got to spend time together. The parade pictures were great and so glad that you enjoyed the fireworks. It sounds like it lived up to your expectations. You almost had me in tears talking about your reflections of how perfect DL was to you and Walt's description on the World of Color. I felt Walt's presence in the park when we were there too. It's hard not to!
After just one day, I was a huge fan of Disneyland. The rides, the party, the parade, and so much more made it magical. I got teary eyed quite a bit throughout our stay, but it was all joy.
Love your recap of your first day at DL. It sure is a special place.
I totally agree -- special place!
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Originally Posted by pamcarey
Sounds like the Halloween Party was a lot of fun! I truly hope to see the Haunted Mansion overlay some year. You got some great pictures from Paint the Night!! I had the music going in my head while looking at the pictures. Did they just add a Halloween portion to the beginning of it?
Nothing Halloween was part of the parade. Before we left, we read on the Disneyland site that the parade would be Paint the Night for the 60th Anniversary this year. It was also listed on all the party night literature. This parade was so awesome I didn't care that we weren't seeing a Halloween one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Momof2Disneyboys
The party looks so fun! I love all the parade pics. I have to agree with you on the MSEP music. It drives me insane!! I wish they'd bring back Spectromagic!
I wish they could bring Spectromagic back, but unfortunately, all the floats were dismantled. I have a couple of the trading pins that have a piece of a float in them.
What a long, but fun day!! I loved the Halloween Party at Disneyland. Glad you enjoyed the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay. Its amazing!! Great pictures from the parade. It looks like such a fun parade. So glad to hear that you feel in love with Disneyland!!
Disney seems to make long days fun. I really felt I'd love DL, but I was also a little apprehensive that it might not meet my expectations. I knew the moment we were dropped off at the resort that there would be no disappointment.
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Originally Posted by SharonK0527
Wonderful update! Loved all the photos of the parade! Sounds like you & Luke did pretty well on the treat trails
We did so well on the treat trails that we shared with our neighborhood kids on Halloween.
I am just getting caught up again, but oh, how I love that parade!!! We watched it on YouTube and while I know it isn't the same as watching it in person, we still loved it! Your pictures were great! What a fun ending to your day. I thought it was so perfect that you ran into Heather in New Orleans Square of all places!