A 40th celebration to end the world! THREAD 1 COMPLETED 2/16 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Thursday 6 December – part five: where’s my veggie burger gone?
We headed inside, and just as we found our room, 128, literally right off the entrance, bell services was already there with our luggage.
The room was very nice. It’s a handicapped room, but that’s Ok. We’ve had one of those before and have managed just fine with it.
The view outside was lovely…
We noticed there was a message waiting for us and it was a birthday message from Mickey and Minnie – how cool!
Our first priority was to grab a shower, as we were very hot and sticky from the weather, so I texted Heather to suggest she came over to us at around 5:45pm and gave her our room number. By the time she arrived, we were both feeling more human again. It was so good to see her again and she looked really good. We’d bought her some ducks, including a Wimbledon duck from London 2012 and some we’d found when we checked in last night at the Hilton. She’d got Mark a very cool hat…
… while I got a Thomas Kinkade calendar. I love his work, so I was really pleased with that.
It wasn’t long before we headed off towards Beaches and Cream, although we kept getting side tracked on the way. The first side track was to get our photos in front of the Christmas tree in the lobby of the Villas…
Then we stopped a few times on the way over to the main building to get some more shots….
Finally we made it to the main lobby with that all pervading smell of cinnamon again, and we all loved what they’ve done this year with the place. This is a new addition….
… and even the carousel has some new additions as well.
Finally, we were on our way to get food. I know Mark was standing there saying “you’ve got days to photograph this” and he’s right, but I just had to get a few shots…
We made it to Beaches and Cream around 6:00pm, and we were told we could be seated immediately, which surprised Heather. Quick as a flash, the Cast Member turned round and said “well I can tell you it’s 45 minutes to an hour’s wait if that would help”. thanks! I asked about Delores, but it turned out she’d literally finished her shift a few minutes earlier, which was a shame, but they thought she was in tomorrow, so hopefully we’ll catch up with her then.
We were seated by the door, and this turned out to be a nightmare, as we were right underneath the air conditioning, and we froze during our meal. We had Brian as our server, who’s been there for years as well and is always good whenever we get him.
We got a shock when we got the menu. Not only does it have a new look to it, but it also has new items on it, and of course the prices have gone up too. Most have gone up by 50c or $1, but the Kitchen Sink has gone up by $3! While we were there, two of them were served up, so obviously the price increase hasn’t stopped people getting it.
Mark and Heather both went for the Angus beef burger, and interestingly, there is another item on the menu that’s called the bacon Angus beef burger. As you can imagine, that comes with bacon. Well, so did their burgers, which was a bit odd.
When I first looked at the menu, I couldn’t see my beloved veggie burger anywhere, and I must admit I had a moment of panic. Surely they couldn’t have got rid of it? Fortunately, Brian was on hand to reassure me, and no, it was still available, but the fact it’s not on the menu any longer does worry me. It makes me wonder how much longer it will be available for. It still tasted pretty good though, so I hope it sticks around…
Although we were all fairly full after that and were freezing, we had to get a dessert here. After all, you can’t come to Beaches and Cream and not enjoy a dessert, can you? Heather went for the No Way Jose, while I went for my old favourite, the Fudge Mud Slide… It was lovely as always, but I barely made a dent in the thing.
Mark tried the cranberry-apple pie, which didn’t seem to have much fruit in it, so I don’t think he was overly impressed, and it didn’t look that good to me, I have to confess.
Heather very kindly bought dinner for us so much for that.
With dinner done, we headed back towards the room. Heather did ask if we wanted to get a drink, and on most other nights, I think we’d have happily said but the jetlag was starting to hit, so we figured it wasn’t a good idea.
We stopped off at the Beach Club Marketplace, as we needed to get some snacks for breakfast the next morning, as we’d be leaving before it even opened for our Segway tour. We had a quick look around at what else was on offer in there, but made no other purchases. We were pleased to see the Disney cutlery set we bought last time was still on sale, as we’re thinking of getting another one. There were some other lovely displays in here too:
Heather came back to the room to collect her bits and pieces and we said our farewells, before heading to bed. I think we were both asleep before 8:30pm.
The weather today was cold and dry with temperatures in the 30s when we left the UK, but hot and in the 70s when we got to Orlando. The best thing today was dinner at Beaches and Cream with Heather. The worst thing today was the lunch on the plane. The funniest thing today was the Virgin Atlantic ground staff posing for their photo when we landed! Today we tried renting a car from Dollar And the result was it wasn’t too bad. The most magical moment today was seeing Heather again.
Next: the problem’s at our end and we’ll have to reboot
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he’s right, but I just had to get a few shots… 
thanks! I asked about Delores, but it turned out she’d literally finished her shift a few minutes earlier, which was a shame, but they thought she was in tomorrow, so hopefully we’ll catch up with her then. 
Most have gone up by 50c or $1, but the Kitchen Sink has gone up by $3! 
While we were there, two of them were served up, so obviously the price increase hasn’t stopped people getting it. 
Surely they couldn’t have got rid of it? Fortunately, Brian was on hand to reassure me, and no, it was still available, but the fact it’s not on the menu any longer does worry me. It makes me wonder how much longer it will be available for. 
It still tasted pretty good though, so I hope it sticks around… 
Heather went for the No Way Jose, while I went for my old favourite, the Fudge Mud Slide… It was lovely as always, but I barely made a dent in the thing. 
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