From no trip to celebrating 20 years together… planning it all in less than 100 days! COMPLETED IN THIS FORUM 7/24 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Sunday 5 March – part five: I’ve got his passport!
We headed back into the Yacht Club…
… retrieved our car from valet, and set off…
We encountered some traffic on the I-4, but thankfully nothing too bad. I think this junction is just one of those that’s always got traffic now, if that makes sense?
Soon we were on the toll road (getting pricey now, it’s $4.25! ) and the traffic was moving fine. We passed the airport…
… and soon we were getting closer to the port…
I completely failed to get my usual shot of the Disney ship in port from eight miles away. My excuse is potholes, and heck, the Wonder is smaller.
As we approached the cruise terminal, that became even more obvious. The last couple of times we’ve sailed on the Wonder, it’s been from Vancouver, bound for Alaska, and the same for Magic with the Mediterranean. We’ve only taken the Dream and the Fantasy from here in recent years, and when I thought about it, the last time we took a Magic Class ship from here was actually our inaugural cruise in 2004!
We noticed a lot less directions around as we approached the port…
Then we pulled up behind a couple of cars, as we usually do, except they must’ve spent five minutes with the guy in front. A couple of cars went past him, but I didn’t think we should. We ended up being directed straight over, and into the Disney preferred parking area to drop off our luggage, which was really weird to say the least. They kept telling us it was just as easy as where we usually drop off our luggage, but we weren’t convinced.
At least we were in the secure area, so I told Mark to go and park up in the garage, and I’d wait with the hand luggage, as at least he wouldn’t have to hike back with that. Good plan right? Well until you realise you’ve got his passport… I checked with the people on the gate if that would be a problem, and they said Phew! At least it gave me a chance to get some photos, which I never normally have…
Once Mark arrived, and I confirmed who he was, we headed into the terminal. There was a very short line to clear security, but I suspect we both added to it, as both our cases got tugged aside for some special attention, shall we say? The guy was so sweet about it. I wish all security people could be like him, I think they’d have a better reputation if they did.
Glad Mark passed inspection and you allowed him to join you!
The older ships are so much smaller but I think they'll always be my favorites. Probably because they created my love for Disney cruising!
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I am looking forward to this part of the trip as we will be sailing on the Wonder for our Alaska cruise next summer. Glad that you were able to verify that Mark was the correct Mark and he could join you on the cruise.
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Waiting for our next adventure after enjoying our Alaska cruise. Jenn
I am looking forward to this part of the trip as we will be sailing on the Wonder for our Alaska cruise next summer. Glad that you were able to verify that Mark was the correct Mark and he could join you on the cruise.
Oh my goodness you'll love cruising in Alaska and the new look Wonder.
Glad everything got sorted out and best of yet you're in port and about time to begin your cruise!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
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We've only sailed on the Wonder and the Magic, so I'm sure we would be so amazed to see the Dream or Fantasy in port. So sweet of you to confirm who Mark was.
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) and the traffic was moving fine. We passed the airport…
Phew! At least it gave me a chance to get some photos, which I never normally have… 
The guy was so sweet about it. I wish all security people could be like him, I think they’d have a better reputation if they did. 
Waiting for our next adventure after enjoying our Alaska cruise. 
Jenn
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