Ditching the Hubbies for Mousefest - Final Thoughts COMPLETED 3/4/08 - Page 12 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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just read your TR from start to now! i it!! the yuletide fantasy tour sounds like fun! if i ever get there for the holidays, i must try the winter wonderland! looks fantastic!
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Day 3, Part 3: Spectacle of Lights, Illuminations, and the WS @ Night
Day 3, Part 3: Spectacle of Lights, Illuminations and WS at Night
After getting our drinks, we headed into the Osbourne Spectacle of Lights. We had missed the turning on ceremony since we were at dinner, but they were just amazing. The addition of the dancing lights made it even more magical. We just walked around the whole display one time taking it all in. After the first pass, we decided to take pictures. The majority of these pictures were taken one handed with a couple exceptions where we handed one another our drink. We did get a PP pic with drinks in hand first off.
We needed a refill and went for the Snoball this time around. It tasted like a Long Island Iced Tea and was quite potent. Of course, we had to memorialize the event.
We just continued walking around enjoying the lights and festivities. I loved the “snow” and the music, just everything. WE ended up in the Toy Story area again, and we thought….hey, we need a picture with the cow cart. Well, it was not meant to be. Apparently they cover up the cow cart for the lights now. (It was open in 2005). There were thoughts in my head of removing the cover but my luck is we would have gotten caught.
After the small disappointment, we headed over and parked our behinds on a ledge by The Writer’s Stop. I texted Eileen or Karen and let them know where we were sitting if they wanted to stop by before heading to dinner at 50’s Prime Time. The second round was tougher to get down for both Tiff and myself. We did however spend the time laughing at this kid playing with a straw and walking in and out of the strollers parked near by. I know we found this kid funny for a reason but I cannot remember. (Help Tiff!!) The girls dropped by after Fantasmic, and Eileen sat down with us while the others went through the Spectacle of Lights. We chatted a bit and then they needed to head to dinner. We made plans to meet up in WS for a leisurely stroll after Illuminations.
Tiff and I headed out of MGM at this point and caught the boat over to EPCOT. We didn’t wait long before embarking on a smooth, relaxing ride. We were hoping to catch Illuminations and hoping for a semi-decent spot as we were cutting it close. We made it into the park and grabbed EMH bracelets knowing we would need them after Illuminations. A bathroom stop later, we headed over towards Italy in hopes beating the crowds. We found an area that wasn’t too full but the “good spots” were all taken. Tiff saved our spots while I went on a search for something to drink sans alcohol. As luck would have it, the Candlelight Processional let out as I was looking for a drink and turned me into a salmon swimming upstream. I decided that a drink at this time was not meant to be and headed back to find Tiff. Despite the crowds that swarmed the area I left Tiff, I was able to find her pretty quick. I arrived just in time as the torches were blown out and the music started.
Due to the people in front of us, I didn’t get great pictures but managed a few halfway decent ones.
Tiff and I let the crowds dispersed and then met up with Karen, Sharon, and Lesley. We started in Mexico and took a leisurely stroll through the World Showcase taking in all the countries in their holiday finest and just enjoying chatting with one another. My camera stayed in my bag so no pictures. It was a spectacular way to end a full day. We said our good-byes and made our way to our separate buses. We both fell asleep pretty quickly and lots to look forward to the next day.
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Great night! Love the pictures of the lights. The Photopass one is especially cute, with y'all's drinks and all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DawnDenise
We did however spend the time laughing at this kid playing with a straw and walking in and out of the strollers parked near by. I know we found this kid funny for a reason but I cannot remember.
I bet it has something to do with the Winter Wonderland 2.0 and Snoball.
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It was fun hanging out with you and Tiff while the rest of the gang saw the lights. (I'd seen them a few nights prior and was tired enough to forgo seeing them this night as well.) We certainly had some snarkalicious zingers flying that night -- I blame your Winter Wonderland 2.0 and Snoballs. (I have no excuse... just that I'm mean-spirited! )
Those Winter Wonderlands (v2) look pretty yummy - can't remember now if I tried one or if I stuck to the Snowballs. I think it was the Snowballs our group kept returning to the little booth for. They were pretty strong and I kept drinking about half and then handing the rest of it off to Adam. After about our 5th trip back over the course of a few days Randy the CM bartender remembered us (he had quite a thing for Jan and kept giving her stronger drinks than the rest of us!! ) told us that you can order them without the glowcubes, knocking about $2.50 off the price. Sheesh! We'd already ordered something like 10 of them between all of us! Let's just say Bill & Jan's granddaughter Abby has enough glow cubes to keep her amused for quite a while!
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We did however spend the time laughing at this kid playing with a straw and walking in and out of the strollers parked near by. I know we found this kid funny for a reason but I cannot remember. (Help Tiff!!)
I cannot for the life of me remember what was so funny. I know he was moving people strollers around and weaving in and out of them but can't remember what was so funny.
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it!! the yuletide fantasy tour sounds like fun! if i ever get there for the holidays, i must try the winter wonderland! looks fantastic!
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Pixie Dust
As did your meal at Sci-Fi. 
More, please! 
There were thoughts in my head of removing the cover but my luck is we would have gotten caught. 
PassPorter Guide Author
Sounds like a fun night!
They were pretty strong and I kept drinking about half and then handing the rest of it off to Adam. 
After about our 5th trip back over the course of a few days 
) told us that you can order them without the glowcubes, knocking about $2.50 off the price. Sheesh! 
We'd already ordered something like 10 of them between all of us! Let's just say Bill & Jan's granddaughter Abby has enough glow cubes to keep her amused for quite a while! 
Future Imagineer? 
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