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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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11-02-2011, 01:28 PM
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#1
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: New York
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 7,960
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Always Let Your Stomach Be Your Guide
Always Let Your Stomach Be Your Guide
Boardwalk Villas, October 14 – 18, 2011
Okay, I’ve put off starting this TR long enough.  I apologize for the delay. I don’t even have an excuse (aside from laziness).  I have set a personal goal to get this TR done by Thanksgiving weekend. And before you ask, no, I don’t have a trip planned that weekend.  Four days off with no place to go.  DM was as surprised as you are that I didn’t try to squeeze in a trip. But I did promise her that I’d use that weekend to scan a ton of old family photos and post them to her Facebook account. That is, when I’m not stuffing my face  or shopping!  So let’s get crackin’!
It’s a tradition for me to visit WDW every year in the fall to experience the Food and Wine Festival and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Generally, I like to stay at one of the Epcot resorts for convenience. I am a DVC member, but owning at AKV, I had no luck getting into one of the Epcot resorts at the 7-month window (usually because, well, I have a little trouble remembering to call on the first day ).
I would usually just pay cash, because I’d rather be close to Epcot and then, I could use my points for another trip. But last year, I decided to add on points at an Epcot resort. I purchased a contract for 100 points at the Boardwalk Villas (I like the rooms there better than at the BC). Now I’d be able to book at 11 months out and get in! 
So when my 11-month window rolled around, I… forgot to call!  Luckily, I remembered within a few days. I called to book a studio for me and DM, and was able to get one! Yay!
A few months later, I was able to book airfare. The fares were pretty cheap, except for one problem. The cheap fares for our original arrival date were late in the afternoon. I didn’t want to waste so much of the day traveling, and I didn’t want to pay the crazy early-morning fare, so I did what any insane person would do. I added another day onto the trip!  I know this ends up costing more in the long run, but you can’t talk logic to a crazy person! 
This also caused a potential problem, because some time had passed and the BWV were likely filling up. Luckily, it was before the 7-month window opened, and I was able to add on another night without a problem (just the annoyance of having 2 reservations).
A few months later, Disney announced the special events for the Food & Wine Festival. I had never done one before, but that’s mainly because my F&WF trips tend to be shorter trips and the timing never worked out. I learned that during my trip this year, there would be something called “Discovery of Chocolate.” Well, I was all over that, and I knew DM would be too! When it was time to book it (I actually set myself an alarm so I wouldn’t forget ), I was able to get tickets for DM and me.  I didn’t choose this TR title accidentally! 
Some more time went by and we found out that my DF needed to have major surgery a month before our trip, so DM sadly canceled her trip. My friend Chuck decided to go in her place, but then he got a fabulous new job and started the week of my trip, so he didn’t go either. No worries, I’ll manage just fine on my own.
Somewhere in there, I bought my ticket for MNSSHP on the Sunday night of my trip. That also happens to be the same day of the chocolate seminar, so that’ll be a sweet day indeed.
There were a lot of other PassPorters planning trips which would overlap with mine, so I did my best to come up with a schedule (I mean other than eat my way around World Showcase, note the name of the TR  ) so I could plan to meet up with as many PPers as I could. As a sneak preview, I made plans to meet up with (in order of appearance) Melanie (Principessa_di_Fata) and her DD and DM, Jill (Jillybean) and her family, Tanya (Eeyoresmom) and Scott (ZAX) and Vanessa, their DD, Heather (ilovedisney247) and Brandon, and Holly (mommapants) and her family. I also had planned to meet up with Linny (Linnynad) and her family, but I programmed her phone number into my phone incorrectly  so I sent a text to some unknown person and not Linny. Also, there’s a surprise meet thrown in there. I’ll talk about that later (unless she wants to pipe up and out herself ).
Continued…
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