Nineteen nights of MouseFest, Disney and Christmas - THREAD 1 - UPDATED 1/11 - Page 15 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Morning looks so serene. I haven't been able to read any TRs lately so this is the first pics of SE w/o the hand that I've seen....I feel so 1982! It looks so retro to me. You took breathtaking photos of it. Glad you averted that AP crisis!
You were missed at the Illuminations meet, but it was totally understandable. Having experienced a dinner with Mark/Steve I KNOW you guys had a great time!!!
Well, it’s not as bad as previous trips, but 5.00 was definitely still too early to be up and about, but that’s what happened. Darned jetlag!
We waited for someone to come to the gates, so that we could get into the parks and when they did, we were told that we’d need our Annual Pass. I explained that we had vouchers that we hadn’t had a chance to change up yet and we were sent over to guest relations.
Fortunately, they went out of their way for us over there. Despite the fact that they didn’t open for business until 8.00, we explained the situation to them and a couple of minutes later, we had our new Annual Passes in hand and were allowed into the park. Phew, crisis averted!
It's so strange to read your trip report - it mirrors our experiences in so many ways!
We always fly Virgin Premium Economy, and waking up at 4 - 5 am is unavoidable isn't it? We usually go swimming and watch the sunrise, but I think it might be chilly when we get out when we go in a couple of weeks
Strangely I have just posted a question about what happens if you can't get your passes and you have an early entry into the parks. I think Mike & I will have to make a quick trip to the Studios and collect our passes on the way from the airport
Just loving your trip report - your photos are lovely.
Hi Cheryl! I love your TRs because you describe in such great detail! And your pics of your hotel and food are so fantastic! It sounds like you had a fabulous time at Spoodles. Steve was sure enjoying that sangria!!
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Saturday, October 9, 2014 - Kaitlyn and I before the Happy Haunted 5K at ESPN Wide World of Sports
Your photos are amazing! How awesome that guest relations was able to help you out! Was it a little eerie being in a near empty Epcot? Can't wait to hear about the Segway tour. We are planning to take DS next Christmas, as he'll have reached his 16th birthday by then.
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Cheryl - We missed you at the Illuminations meet, but I think Mark did well just to make it through dinner. Your pictures of Illuminations from your balcony look amazing. I can't wait to try out BWV in May!
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We definitely missed you at the Illuminations meet - but I can completely understand why you opted for bed. Sorry about the stress of the APs - but so glad you were able to get them. I loved my Segway tour - can't wait to read about yours.
Absolutely beautiful pics Cheryl! I love the tranquility of WDW at that hour of the day. It's the most peaceful feeling and what a great way to start your day! Looking forward to reading about your segway tour!
Enjoying the report, except that it's made me soooo homesick for the Boardwalk. From the balcony views I think I had the same studio, but one floor down on my last trip. Absolutely beautiful at dawn.
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Glad you averted that AP crisis! 
the before sunrise shots! How beautiful! Can't wait to see more! Thanks for sharing!
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