Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
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10-03-2005, 10:45 AM
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#1
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Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: South Dakota
Posts: 3,294
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TroianRae\'s Take on the MOA Passporter Meet Weekend....Completed 10/31!!
<font color="blue"> I'm going to start this, but I'm hoping others (like Amy or Lisa or anyone else who was there) will add in details I miss (like A LOT!!  ).
We began our MOA Adventure all the way back in January when Sandy (whoSEZ) posted the dates for the 2005 MOA Passporter Meet. I knew instantly that with one being SO close to home (only 5 hours away) we HAD to go. I got a hotel and it was set!!
No worries until July or August when it became apparent that the MOA Passporter Meet weekend was ALSO the weekend for the Make A Wish Rodeo Weekend in Sioux Falls as well the Petra concert in Minneapolis. What to do!! We went through multiple versions of different plans until we hit upon what we thought was our final plan. (HAH!!) We persauded my mom to come with us to Minneapolis and watch the kids so we could go to the concert on Friday night and then to the MOA meet on Saturday.
Well, that didn't happen because we changed our plans at least 3 or 4 more times because things kept popping up (gas prices were a problem, needed to go the Make A Wish Weekend to honor Ian, etc.). Finally, we just said forget it - we're going to the MOA Passporter Meet!! But we decided to leave early (6 am) on Saturday so we could attend Friday evenings MAW thing in Sioux Falls (needless to say, the best laid plans...........). For ALL my planning this trip (back in January and then again in August) I wonder why I bothered because every plan changed MULTIPLE times!!!! 
Then we just found out this past Wed afternoon (9/28) that my husband's job was letting him off at noon on Friday (9/30) since it was Canton's Homecoming so we decided Thursday am to chuck all earlier plans and drive to Owatonna on Friday and hit Medford (that's the Outlet Malls!!) before continuing on to the MOA Meet on Saturday. Okay, that was our final plan and we were sticking to it. We did!! YAY!!!!
I told Benji's teacher on Thursday that he wouldn't be in school on Friday because we were going to Minneapolis to meet friends (I used Amy and Lisa since they flew in from the East Coast - it sounded better!!!  ). So she sent homework home for him to do (he did it Friday am before we even left!!) and he was all set to go!!
Friday, September 30th
So Nathan had to work 5 am to noon and then we were leaving. I was so excited that I was up by 7:30 ( ) and I had the bills all done and paid well before 11. We did a last minute trip to the bank and to the gas station ($2.89 a gallon  ) and we went home to wait for Nathan. Troian and Benji played outside while we waited; I figured it would burn off some energy if we were lucky (we weren't!).
Nathan got home at noon and we were on the road by 12:15 pm.
I won't bore you with the details of the drive, but I will tell you we made a pit stop in Austin, Minnesota for Baskin Robbin's. ( Now mind you, if you're driving South Dakota to Minneapolis, you DON'T go through Austin! You turn north at Albert Lea onto 35N, but we kept going the extra 18 miles to Austin because we were so close we HAD to stop!!) But imagine my shock, when we pull up to the Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins and  (gasp) it's now a Kalediscopes ice cream and some other donut place!!! I went in to find out what happened and it turns out they carry the EXACT same products they just had to change their name.  The IMPORTANT thing is that they still carried Jamoca Almond Fudge (good thing or there would have been blood spilled and it would NOT have been mine ).
COMING UP: Owatonna and Is she screaming again??
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Sponsored links
Check out the many e-books by PassPorter. The e-books are free to download if you have a PassPorter's Club pass.
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10-03-2005, 12:10 PM
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#2
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RED SOX NATION!!
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854
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Re: TroianRae\'s Take on the MOA Passporter Meet Weekend
Great start Jana  Glad you got your ice cream 
More please  |
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10-03-2005, 12:35 PM
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#3
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Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ohio Football Hall Of Fame
Posts: 42,304
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Re: TroianRae\'s Take on the MOA Passporter Meet Weekend
Great start Jana!! Can't wait to read all the details of the trip!!
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10-03-2005, 03:47 PM
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#4
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Community Rank: Globetrotter
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,651
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Re: TroianRae\'s Take on the MOA Passporter Meet Weekend
I'm glad you were able to find a way to go, sounds like you're off to a good start. Ready for more!
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10-03-2005, 03:49 PM
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#5
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PassPorter Message Board Manager
 PassPorter Guide Author
Community Rank: Legend VIP 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Maidstone, Kent, UK
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 190,285
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Re: TroianRae\'s Take on the MOA Passporter Meet Weekend
Great start Jana - I can't wait to read more! |
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10-03-2005, 04:39 PM
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#6
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Robbinsdale, MN
Posts: 7,526
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Re: TroianRae\'s Take on the MOA Passporter Meet Weekend
Jana, I knew I liked you ... driving all the way to Austin for ice cream!
Looking forward to more (from everyone)! |
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Sponsored links
Check out the many e-books by PassPorter. The e-books are free to download if you have a PassPorter's Club pass.
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10-03-2005, 05:27 PM
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#7
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Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Posts: 27,691
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Re: TroianRae\'s Take on the MOA Passporter Meet Weekend
Awesome - sorry I missed you guys. Next year  |
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10-03-2005, 06:25 PM
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#8
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Community Rank: Globetrotter
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: South Dakota
Posts: 3,294
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Re: TroianRae\'s Take on the MOA Passporter Meet Weekend
[ QUOTE ]
Jana, I knew I liked you ... driving all the way to Austin for ice cream!
[/ QUOTE ]
[b] <font color="red"> When I was pregnant with Troian and not getting carsick, it was NOT uncommon to jump in the van and travel 3+ hours for Baskin Robbins!!
After she was born we realized that we had re-discovered our  for Baskin Robbins and kept going.
I HAVE priorities!!!! |
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10-03-2005, 06:42 PM
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#9
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Community Rank: Globetrotter
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: South Dakota
Posts: 3,294
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Re: TroianRae\'s Take on the MOA Passporter Meet Weekend
[b] <font color="blue"> Friday, September 30th (continued)
We arrived at Owatonna a little before 5 pm; we felt like we had made good time considering we had made a detour to Austin for ice cream and had also stopped in Luverne for lunch. Of course, checking in became an adventure. There was a line, in fact, there was originally one guy in fact of me who then became three guys (all checking into their own rooms) . It took so long that Nathan was getting ready to come into the hotel to look for me. We got our room - main floor, no smoking, not too far from the lobby - which is what I had asked for, so that made it worth the wait!
So we took our bags and ALL of the kids' stuff to our room. got my laptop set up, and headed to the Medford Outlet Mall. We jumped back onto the interstate and it took us just a few minutes to get there. We went to the book store, Old Navy Outlet, Claires, Remember When (scrapbook store), and also Dress Barn. I bought a book at the book store plus Troian and Benji each got a puppy bookmark. I didn't find anything I liked at either Claire's or Old Navy which bit because I had giftcards for both places. But I did find a really cool tunic shirt at Dress Barn plus two pairs of earrings, as well as some multi-color envelopes from Remember When. Troian threw a tantrum (of course) in Remember When so after that little embarassing moment, I was able to shop with only Benji in tow.
We decided to go get some supper for the kids and stopped at WalMart for mac and cheese. Wouldn't you know it - the lady in front of me took the last of it??? So I had to find other food for the kids - McDonalds came to mind since it was right outside the WalMart. I'm NOT a big McDonalds person right now (I'm in a BK phase) but we found some food there and took it back to the hotel.
Back at the hotel, I logged onto Passporter (of course!!) and ate my supper. Nate and the kids ate their suppers while they watched Disney channel (of course!!). We decided to try to get some sleep, but Troian had other ideas. Troian fell asleep sometime after 1:30 am and Benji didn't fall asleep until after 3:30 am so that made for a VERY tired mommy and daddy the next morning.
COMING UP: MOA and Bubba Gumps |
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10-03-2005, 07:56 PM
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#10
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Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ohio Football Hall Of Fame
Posts: 42,304
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Re: TroianRae\'s Take on the MOA Passporter Meet Weekend
Another great update Jana!! My kids are insomniacs whenever we stay at a hotel, I think they think they are going to miss something!! Glad you got the room you wanted, can't wait to read more!!
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10-03-2005, 08:55 PM
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#11
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Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Northern NV
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 12,516
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Re: TroianRae\'s Take on the MOA Passporter Meet Weekend
Enjoying your report! Sure wish I could have been there! Maybe next time!
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10-03-2005, 09:57 PM
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#12
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PassPorter and WDW Addict
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Texas
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 12,489
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Re: TroianRae\'s Take on the MOA Passporter Meet Weekend
I am enjoying this! More please!
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10-04-2005, 01:51 AM
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#13
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Dreaming of the Future
Concierge Level: 1
Posts: 24,867
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Re: TroianRae\'s Take on the MOA Passporter Meet Weekend
Jana,
Just got home its 2 am here and had to get on and read some posts! Had a great time at the meet with all the passporters and Tell Benji and Troian that I said HI !
Its too late for me to start my trip report so y'all will have to wait until my poor eyes can stand to look at the screen more!
Jana I do want more of yours though !
Amy
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10-04-2005, 10:25 AM
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#14
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RED SOX NATION!!
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854
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Re: TroianRae\'s Take on the MOA Passporter Meet Weekend
Another great update Jana Can't wait for you to chime in too Amy |
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10-04-2005, 11:51 AM
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#15
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Community Rank: Globetrotter
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: South Dakota
Posts: 3,294
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Re: TroianRae\'s Take on the MOA Passporter Meet Weekend
[b] <font color="blue"> Please forgive me if at times I sound loopy or out of it. Yesterday at the doctor's they gave a shot of a demerol mix so that knocked me out for several hours, and then I had to start taking this Hydrocodone stuff which pretty well knocks me out as well. Last night's addition (5:42 pm) was short and sweet due to the induced exhaustion. Sorry.
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