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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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The kids came over Saturday night so that they would be able to drive us to the airport this am. We got up really early (about 7:15 am) after only about 4 hours of bad sleep. It wasn’t excitement in as much as it was the neighbors partying next door. Our female neighbor (wife/mother) did come to the door Sat during the afternoon and told Chuck that she was going out of town (solo) so while the cat’s away . . . they sure did play.
Someone was going to be missing us.
Anyhow, we showered and finished packing rather quickly. Michael and his GF drove us to Detroit Metro (only about 30 mins away). I did online check in and prepaid our baggage and bought our seats so we could be together - we were exit row over the wing. We printed our boarding passes at the kiosk and checked our baggage. We got in line for security but there was such a line that they sent people to go to the security through the hotel. It was very nice and a short line. I did have to get patted down because I think one of my snaps on my capris lit up the camera. After getting through security, we got a turkey sandwich to share and a bottle of water. I then took my Xanax and had a bite to eat. We were in Zone 1 and boarded right after 1st class. I was nervous but had Chuck and Duffy with me.
Chuck was fidgetting with headphones and ear planes and the like and then grabbed my hand. He slipped a ring on my finger and squeezed my hand tight.
Isn't he so sweet? Pretty soon we were off.
The flight was uneventful and soon we were landing in MCO. We stopped for a Nathans hot dog and potty stop before getting on the monorail and searching for DME. Finally found it and went through the “line” but we were the only ones there and the bus was a walk right on.
Front seats - great for a pic of the gates!
OKW was the first stop and we were the only ones to get off. Check in was super easy too. I hadn’t done online check in but they seemed to have everything ready anyway. There was some guy next to us having a fit because his room wasn’t ready. I felt bad for those CM’s
We dumped our stuff off and checked out the room.
Then we went to MK for just a bit before our ADR.
That’s our tradition. We walked up to the balcony by the train and looked at the castle - and yes, I cried. We rode the train around a complete loop and then walked out, stopping at customer service to pick up our MNSSHP tickets. We got a bus to AKL and went to BOMA for our dinner - and you would have thought that we hadn’t eaten all day. We were soooooo looking forward to this ressie. And it lived up to it’s rep. Chuck had pre-dinner Zebra domes, during dinner zebra domes and dessert zebra domes!
It was all yummy. Then after dinner we went to DTD - hit up Basin for our shampoo soaps, also got some Shea scrub. Then took the boat back to OKW. When we got back , our luggage was there! We took showers again because it was hot and muggy and we had been traveling all day. Then hit the sack - we were going to have to get up early tomorrow for CRT and we were tired. Travel day on little sleep - you’ve all been there.
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Sounds like a fun trip. We have never had zebra domes but are staying at AKV in February so we will need to correct that. Looking forward to hearing more
What a great first day! Glad you did well on the flight-- helped by Chuck, Duffy, and the surprise Mickey ring! I love the studios at OKW-- so big! The Boma food all looks fantastic-- especially that plate of fruit and salads... Oh, I'm hungry!
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