From no trip to celebrating 20 years together… planning it all in less than 100 days! UPDATED 6/30 - Page 53 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Wow! Lunch looked amazing!
Can't believe the size of that sundae! Reminds me a bit of the one I had at Antoinette's, when you guys all (smartly) ordered a cone!
Oh my goodness, I'd forgotten about that - it was quite a monster thing!
I finally got caught up here too!
Your dinner view of illuminations sounds wonderful! I have never eaten there yet but if I did I would want that view as well.
Sea World looks like such a fun day. It's been about 3 years since I have been there but hope to get back someday soon.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Wednesday 1 March – part six: they need a warning on these things!
We climbed into our roasting car, switched the air conditioning on to maximum, and made our way back to the BoardWalk…
On the way, we saw the new traffic pattern they’d been promising at the entrance to Disney, but don’t worry, they’re re-surfacing, not messing with the Disney sign, as we’d first thought they might be.
We dropped off our car at valet, as we just couldn’t face the sweltering walk from self parking. Honestly, the parking situation here is pretty dire, and you are more or less forced into paying for valet parking, which at $25 a day doesn’t make me a very happy bunny, as it is a lot of money, but what else can you do?
As we made our way back to the room, we saw a housekeeper coming out of the room we thought was a Grand Villa, and we were right. We asked if we could sneak a look, and I sneaked a few photos too…. wow!
As soon as we got back to the room, the priority was to get the washing on, with as much as we could throw in. Honestly, I swear they need a five second warning on that washer. Most of the time, it’s so quiet, you didn’t know it was going, then suddenly it would thunder into life. The dryer wasn’t much better. The bleeps it let out when it finished were either the end of the world or the dryer cycle finishing we concluded… or possibly both?
As I had a bit of time, I went through and looked at the Photopass photos we’ve done so far, and yet again Disney, why not more borders? I just don’t get that. For a meet with Safari Mickey and Minnie, why not an appropriate border? There isn’t even one with the pair of them on. I’m sure it wouldn’t cost that much, would it?
We headed out just before 6:30pm, and were treated to a lovely sunset over the pool…
We lucked out, and there were boats for both the Studios and Epcot – how often does that happen?
As we made our way over to the Swan and Dolphin, we were treated to a stunning sunset…
… and I got a few more shots when we got to our destination…
Great update, Cheryl!! That Grand Villa is gorgeous!! How fun that you got to peek inside!! The sunset is lovely!! I love the peaceful views in this area so much!! Hope you enjoy your dinner!!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
It looks beautiful inside bluezoo! I was curious about what was so bad about the parking at the Boardwalk, so I pulled up a map and I see what you mean. There's no parking close to the buildings! It's all a hike away. That's a downside to that resort, for sure.
It looks beautiful inside bluezoo! I was curious about what was so bad about the parking at the Boardwalk, so I pulled up a map and I see what you mean. There's no parking close to the buildings! It's all a hike away. That's a downside to that resort, for sure.
That's one of the reasons we don't usually stay there and opt for our home resort of the Beach Club, as the parking is much more convenient for the Villas there....
I know what you mean about the lack of borders for the photopass. Also, I wish they would leave the seasonal ones up year round. Now that AP holders can access their photos for a year, it would make sense. Last winter I was having a great deal of trouble editing photos (as were many others). I just set it aside for a while waiting for Disney to get it figured out. By the time I came back to it, many of the seasonal borders that would have been appropriate were not available.
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Hope you enjoy your dinner!!
Such measly offerings!
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