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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Original Title: The March "Twins" Get Merry TR
Intended Participants: My dear friend Judy and me. We've called each other "Twin" ever since we discovered we have the same birthday (different years). Judy and I worked together at Western Union in the Credit Card Money Order Department from 1980-1985.
Dear -- if you were born after 1985, you need not chime in here -- oh, go ahead; I don't mind!
Where: Wilderness Lodge
When: December 5 (Walt's 110th birthday) to December 10
Why: So many reasons. Why these dates is because I could get a fabulous room rate via Schedule | Reunion 2011 and Mouse Fan Travel.
Why the March Twins: Judy lost her dear husband John this spring after years of being his caregiver. At the visitation, she introduced me to several people as a Disney nut (hey, I’ve been called worse ). At one point, Judy said, “You know, I’d like to get down to Orlando sometime to see the Harry Potter stuff at Universal.”
Me: “I would love to do that as well, but when I fly solo the metal plate in my head keeps me at Disney World the whole time. If the two of us went together, I bet we could tug me out of there for a trip to see Harry -- as long as you're willing to spend some days at WDW with me."
Judy: “You would DO that?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!”
Me:
Judy:
Me:
And so the planning began. Judy has had a few health issues over the years and doesn’t move as fast as she used to, so I listed a few attractions at each park that I thought she and I could enjoy together. We made lunch and dinner ressies for lingering over table-service meals, etc. It was going to be perfect.
What happened: Judy called me Sunday morning, the day before our scheduled flight. She was close to tears. “Cindy, I have a fever and a scratchy throat. I don’t think I can go.”
We spoke again that afternoon, and I called her the next morning. She was still feverish and now had a dreadful headache. We were both so disappointed, and she felt horrible to leave me in the lurch.
She said, “I hope you’ll still have a good time” and I said, “Judy, I don’t know how NOT to have a good time at Disney World.” I promised that we would visit Harry and Mickey together sometime in 2012, and that I certainly wouldn’t see Harry without her.
Thank goodness we had booked Southwest Airlines, so Judy can use her cancelled flight on our future trip to Orlando. So the only money she might be out would be for the 6-day Parkhopper Pass that we had prepaid via Mouse Fan Travel. I called Stephanie at Mouse Fan on my way to the airport and she said she’d see what she could do.
Now, fellow Disney and to all my dear – you can imagine how I scrambled to change our fabulous Twinny Trip to a Solo Trip. Could I do it? Well, can I spell M-I-C-K-E-Y? You bet I can!
We had scheduled an 11:20am flight for Monday, which was nice because (for once) I didn’t have to get up before dawn and rush to the airport. I’m really glad about that now – it meant I started the trip feeling pretty relaxed and rested – and it gave me a chance to throw some last-minute things into my bags.
Unfortunately, I’d had the Disney’s Magical Express (DME) luggage tags sent to Judy (because I wanted her to get that cute envelope with the characters traveling the Monorail). But as I assured Judy that morning, I knew Disney would take care of me.
On the flight, I got the second row aisle seat and enjoyed chatting with an elderly married couple – a retired principal and biology teacher who went into financial planning & real estate (respectively) after retiring from teaching. She had a stroke a few years ago but with physical therapy and a cane is able to get around pretty well. They’ve been to every continent (Antartica being her favorite!!! ) – and they visit WDW every other December and have a timeshare barely outside the parks.
2:35pm: Arrived at Orlando airport. Of course DME took my luggage tag and assured me that I’d find my suitcase in my room that night, and of course they whisked me off to Wilderness Lodge (WL) – we arrived a bit after 4:00pm.
The sky in St. Louis had been grey with the hint of snowflakes to come (no accumulation) -- it was 32 when I left at 11:20am.
Orlando was already 80 when I arrived. Disney's Magical Express was whisking me to the Happy Place!
Could this be -- yes, it's the entrance to Wilderness Lodge! Oh Judy, how I wanted you to see this!
And here is the sight I'd promised Judy as I checked us in. Sorry, Judy -- photos will have to suffice for now!
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gee, i can just imagine that sight upon entering the WL. hoping you and judy can reschedule really soon...after all, one of you now has a special pass....
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When I checked in I asked if they had a room with a view to the Contemporary Resort, since I'd enjoyed seeing the Wishes fireworks from there last December. They kindly put me in room 6032, just off the elevators and with a lovely treetop view to the Contemporary. No promises that I would see the fireworks from my balcony, since those trees grow so tall – but I appreciated the effort.
My room was ready, so I dropped off my carry-on bags. Then my stomach reminded me that I’d had no lunch, and it had been many hours since breakfast in St. Louis. So I enjoyed a good burger & fries from the Roaring Fork Snack Shop – sitting outside at an umbrella table, overlooking the geyser and pool. When I’d eaten about half my food, I felt satisfied (and too excited to wait any longer) so I sauntered to the dock for a lovely boat ride to the Magic Kingdom.
When the sun decides to set, it does so very quickly!
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Upon arriving at MK, I stopped at Guest Relations to pick up my 6-day ParkHopper and held my breath after explaining that I hoped Disney would refund Judy’s ticket (which would expire at the end of December). Turns out both our tickets had been refunded, but Disney simply charged me the same discounted rate I’d gotten originally. Hooray! and a big to Stephanie at Mouse Fan Travel Home Page
Got my Dole Whip Float (with pineapple frozen custard in pineapple juice) at the Aloha Isle, sat for awhile & then began strolling about among the crowds. And yes, it was fairly crowded – but I didn’t care. I was at the Happy Place!
You can always get into Mickey’s PhilharMagic, which I adore, so I watched it (thinking, “Judy, I wish you were experiencing this with me right now”). Then I tried to figure out where to position myself for “The Magic, the Memories and You” castle show which I had never seen before but had heard a lot about.
Main Street was a complete zoo, because families were already lined up to see the Electrical Light Parade. People were quite rude about allowing others to get into the street to the other side , and that took me awhile.
I ended up in front of the Crystal Palace and got to meet a retired couple who come every other December (no, not the same folks from the flight) -- they were delightful to talk to. By the time the electrical light parade was over, our sidewalk was crowded – and the couple insisted that I stand in front of them because they’d seen the show before. How sweet is that?
So how was the new castle show? Words cannot describe, and my photos cannot express -- but here goes.
First, here's how "my" castle looked just before the show started. That bulbous shape on the right is a Mickey balloon -- and we were all thankful when the owner of said balloon tied it down to a stroller for the show. But I think it looks kind of cool in this picture.
Then comes some amazing changes -- most of which I was unable to photograph. Here are the few that I think are worthy of your attention.
This one is my favorite:
You really do have to experience it to believe it.
My feet were hurting, so I bade the retired couple a good night and for insisting I stand in front of them for a better view.
I found myself on the boat to WL as Holiday Wishes was beginning – it was fun to see them from the boat with some young children and their extended families. We were “home” shortly after the fireworks ended.
I stopped at the WL general store to purchase bottled water and Budweiser (purely medicinal ) for the rest of my stay. Good thing I’d brought my SANTA GOOFY HAT with the light-up ears from last year, because they aren’t selling them this season. (Darn – I had planned to buy a new one for me and one for Judy, if I could persuade her to wear it) – mine still lights up (except for one bulb), but the “press” button doesn’t work anymore so I have to open the hat band to switch the lights on/off. Oh well, I would just have to suffer!
My luggage was in my room so I unpacked, ironed some badly-wrinkled shirts (I am an atrocious packer), and kicked back with a Bud and snacks from home. That took awhile. Watched the weather forecast for Tuesday – high around 80 again, so I wouldn’t be wearing that heavy Santa Goofy hat.
I called Judy, who was glad to hear I’d made it safely there and that I was having a good time. She still had a dreadful headache so knew she’d made the right decision – and we both believe everything happens for a reason, and I again insisted we would get to Orlando in 2012. Judy was happy to hear her ParkHopper Pass had been refunded, but she said she wanted to pay for my dinners. No way, Judy! We are going in 2012! Then we can haggle over who pays for what. Until then, fuggedaboudit.
And then a nice to rest up for my first full day in the parks on Tuesday.
.
Cindy, You love the Wilderness Lodge like I love the Wilderness lodge. Thanks for sharing your trip with us.
Tammy, I wish I could afford to stay there every time I go down there -- thank goodness for the special Reunion deal! I can't imagine a resort more Christmasy than WL.
About This Page: 
). At one point, Judy said, “You know, I’d like to get down to Orlando sometime to see the Harry Potter stuff at Universal.”
I promised that we would visit Harry and Mickey together sometime in 2012, and that I certainly wouldn’t see Harry without her.
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Thank
Pixie Dust
to Stephanie at 
, and that took me awhile.
so I unpacked, ironed some badly-wrinkled shirts (I am an atrocious packer), and kicked back with a Bud and snacks from home. That took awhile. Watched the weather forecast for Tuesday – high around 80 again, so I wouldn’t be wearing that heavy Santa Goofy hat.
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