An Animal Kingdom State of Being with Cam and Fam COMPLETED 9/18 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Up Next: What has Ann never done that we remedy? And how does this course lead to even more exciting adventures?
June 9 Part 6
Carly had informed us during breakfast that Ann had never done the character meets at Camp Minnie-Mickey. We assured her Stefanie was a pro at this, a fact Ann was already familiar having read my previous trip reports.
Luke directed us out the quickest way from Pizzafari to Camp Minnie-Mickey. But Ann had to turn around to get an autograph book as she’d forgotten hers. The rest of us marched ahead until we caught sight of Meeko with a short line. For some reason the two families in front of us at one point did not move forward. The CM asked Stefanie if she wanted Meeko’s autograph. She said, “Yes, ma’am!” The CM waved her over and she quickly went to Meeko, chatting the poor raccoon’s ears off.
While Stefanie loved on Meeko, the CM came over and whispered to stay put as Meeko was going in and Stef would be first in line for Pocahontas. It pays not to snub any character as I’m sure the other two families were only waiting for Pocahontas.
Very soon Pocahontas arrived and Stefanie showed her Meeko’s autograph and then Pocahontas added her own. The magic of this day just kept coming.
From there we rejoined Ann who’d had a little issue when paying as she was charged twice for one book. Stefanie spotted Chip and Dale, and we entered a fast growing line, but one that was going to pay off in the long run. While waiting, we chatted with a lady and her daughter; it was the daughter’s first WDW visit. The mom had designed and made a beautiful autograph book for her.
Finally, it was our turn for some wonderful interaction with our favorite chipmunks. Love those boys!
It’s like they recognize that she is one of their biggest fans. That is a big chipmunk hug!
Love Stefanie nose kisses!
Luke and I even got in some chipmunk fun!
While we waited for Ann and Carly to each have their turns, CM Judith began talking to Luke and me. Judith: “Your friends say you’ll probably be here for the afternoon parade.” Cam: “If Ann says so, then we will be here for the parade.” Judith: “How would you all like some great seats to it?” Cam and Luke: “We’d definitely like good seats.” Now I’m thinking roped off front row section in the shade, but Luke had already figured out where this conversation was leading. Judith: “Want to ride on a float in the parade?” Cam: “ABSOLUTELY!” I’m pretty sure I half yelled that, but I was containing a monstrous swell of excitement because Stefanie has always wanted to be in a parade since watching Full House. Judith: “Will the Mickey float be okay?” Cam: “Of course!” Judith began explaining the finer details and then left to get us a map. Ann and Carly came over and we explained to them what was happening. First, Ann’s eyes got really big, and then she and I and Carly and Stefanie were hugging and squealing. Monstrous excitement was no longer contained. By now Judith was back, noticing our boisterous excitement and Luke’s calm demeanor. He was excited, too; he just didn’t need to jump up and down to express it. Judith circled a point on the map and wrote 3:10, so we’d know when and where to be. And we thanked her profusely. Nicole who would be our Mickey float driver was also introduced to us.
PhotoPass Pictures
Up Next: What happened to being in character? What happened to the show as I know it?
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