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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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11-11-2004, 04:11 PM
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#1
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Community Rank: Jetsetter
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Colonia, NJ
Concierge Level: 2
Posts: 2,517
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My sis found some cool old stuff!
My sis came over last night with a photo album from our WDW trip way back in June 1985 (I was only 19!! *snif* LOL). Aside from the cool pictures, she also had a brochure from MK and Epcot "Center". I had such fun comparing the old maps to the new ones in my PP!
Although I've loved all things Disney for yrs, I've only become so "detail-oriented" about my favorite place since planning our 03 trip. So I have no idea if I've ever ridden 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, for instance, but there it is on the park map - I just might have! Ditto for Horizons and World of Motion and so many other rides which have "passed on". It's also funny to look at the MK map and see that it's missing a whole park (Toon Town - although I remember it as Mickey's Birthday land in '91!), a mountain (Splash), and a bunch of rides (the bldg that now houses Mickey's PhilharMagic and once housed Legend of the LK is on the map but not marked as anything; what's that all about?). Also, seeing a "space" in the World Showcase that is just perfect for Norway and a note on the map that says it is the future site of The Living Seas in Epcot was kind of neat!
We have a pic of my sister near a sign in Epcot that says, "FUTURE SITE: Feel the Heartbeat of Africa's Heartland - Equatorial Africa, A World of Beauty and Heritage". Now would that be referring to the Africa Outpost, refreshment site area? This might make sense b/c that seems to be between Germany and China on my PP map and if my sis' pics were put in the right order, this picture is between pics of Germany and China - how funny!
Also, the Epcot map shows what appears to be a small bldg near the UK (between the UK and France) that is marked: "Renaissance Food Festival (Seasonal)". Can anyone shed light on that? Funny also to NOT see a path through that way that would lead to the BC/BW/etc - b/c none of them existed yet!! Even the Grand Floridian (plus sooo many other resorts) is missing from the whole WDW map!
I guess I also just assumed that most of the dining areas have stayed the same over the yrs; prior to 03, the last time I'd been to WDW was '91, so in those 12 yrs, while so much had changed, lots of things were the same. So it took me by surprise to see that in '85, Tony's Town Square Restaurant was just "Town Square Cafe", Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe was what looks like the "Tomorrowland Terrace"; wondering if "The Good Turn Restaurant" in The Land was what became "The Garden Grill" - they don't mention that it is a revolving restaurant but the name kind of suggests it, no? LOL
I could go on and on - I love this kind of stuff (as you can tell! LOL), but two things that are really outstanding -looking at the brochure for MK - there's no emphasis on the Castle! The front pic is Mickey in a parade, it's not even highlighted on either the Main St or Fantasyland maps! You can see the Castle but that's it - and of course it was known as King Stefan's Banquet hall then!
The other thing is there is a montage of all kinds of Disney characters as an ad for the Disney channel - how funny that there is not one princess there!!! Of course, this is before the Lil' Mermaid, B&B , etc. but no Cindi, no Sleeping Beauty or Snow White!!
Hope you enjoyed a walk down memory lane!!
Also, from the MK brochure: "The Magic Kingdom and Epcot Center are still only part of the 43 square miles of Walt Disney World fun - ...." Only "43" square miles!! I love looking at this stuff!
It lists a "Broadway-style revue" at the Contemporary, River Country is the only water park and Discovery Island is promoted as "The Vacation Kingdom's own certified zoological park." Information about dinner shows and dining talks about making same-day reservations - ha! LOL
In
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