Jeffrey made me do it, but it’s almost free for our three!! **Updated 5/19** - Page 22 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
I love your trip report and your photos are amazing.
Joy!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kenny
Another fabulous update, Dyan! Love the Mad Hatter pictures and the pictures of the Aladin show are really great!
Kenny! It was definitely one of those shows I wish we had time enough to watch multiple times!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kristen C.
I love it....The Mad Hatter is amazing! I just reailized that Kyle makes the same face in almost every picture....
I think it might have something to do with the age and trying to be a kewl teenager as much as possible!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MyRapunzal
Great update!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MyRapunzal
Im not sure if you are as huge a muppet fan (as I am) BUT I saw a commercial for an ALL NEW Muppet Christmas Special coming on Wednesday night! Muppets + Christmas = 1 of my favorite things!
Melissa! Oh my gosh! I the Muppets! I used to watching that show! Another tidbit of info you might enjoy…..my brother wrote a musical that played Off Off Broadway. He won the Jim Henson award for the puppetry in his play! We were both big fans of the show when we were growing up, so the award was such a thrill!! I haven’t heard of the new Christmas special. What time & channel is it on?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
What a great day!! Love the pictures!! Glad you got to see Aladdin!! More please
Marnie!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Meggera
Wonderful updates! I haven't been on in a few days and look at everything I have missed. I like the layout of DTD in CA better, too. It is cozier and more compact and very nicely situated. I'm glad you liked Aladdin. We loved it when we went. I videoed the entire thing, and we watched it a few months ago. More please!!!
Laura! How awesome to be able to pull that video out every now and again!
Quote:
Originally Posted by TNTWheels
Some CM really can have fun doing their Characters and you can tell. I was wondering if the Monsters INC and the Muppet's shows are the same at WDW?
I agree!! It sure does make the experience all the more fun when the CMs really get into character! Monsters INC is different; it’s a ride at DCA and a comedy show at MK in WDW. The Muppets is basically the same in both parks – other than the queue. We really enjoyed the outdoor queue in DCA.
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneydani
Glad the Mad Hatter put a little pizazz into your visit! Glad you enjoyed Monsters and Aladdin.
Danielle! We like pizazz!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by TNTWheels
By the way yes the sun thing will be gone as well.
for the info. What a shame!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
What a great morning - the Mad Hatter looks like a lot of fun. I wish we'd seen Aladdin. It looks like such a great show. Ah well, next time...
Oh no!! You missed it again?!?! You MUST see it next time, Cheryl!! It was amazing!! Definitely Broadway caliber.
We’re closing in on our WDW Holiday vacation! I am really hoping to get this done, but I don’t know how likely that will be I promise…..if I don’t finish before we leave, I won’t even think about starting a WDW TR until this one is complete!! Yikes! Thanks for understanding if I just can't get it done.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Now playing:Who is brave enough to be terrorized on the Tower of Terror?
Thursday, February 21, 2008 – Day 7/Part 4
So, who exactly agreed to be terrorized?!? That would be only Jeffrey. He ventured into the queue, while Kyle & I hung around. First we went into the gift shop, then we sat near the Tower of Terror sign, then we decided to venture off and do something. We called Jeffrey and let him know that we would be in the Disney Animation building hanging out, while he finished up.
We walked into the most incredible display celebrating Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. They had original story boards, drawings, animation cells, etc. It was very interesting to look at. I took just short of 100 photographs, while Kyle chilled out on the floor listening to his iPod and solving his Rubik’s Cube.
Jeffrey joined us around 15 minutes later and then we got in line for the next Animation Academy.
The area is a lot larger than at WDW. There are no desks; you are given large clipboards to use. Our class didn’t fill the room, but the class size could have been probably double than what they allow at WDW.
We had a lot of fun, while we learned how to draw Donald – new for us!
Man, was I sporting some circles under my eyes. Maybe it was just the lighting…..yeah, that’s it…..it was the lighting!
We came out of there and saw this really cool Toy Story ‘spinny thing.’ At least, that is what I was referring to it as until I saw Sharon’s report. It’s actually a zoetrope! We were mesmerized by it and stood there to watch it through several cycles. I even videotaped it and added it to YouTube: Toy Story zoetrope! (The high quality video is better, but it's still kind of choppy due to the flashing lights)
The only thing that dragged us out of there was an announcement that the next show for Turtle Talk with Crush would be starting. So, we ran over there and were able to get some seats in the back of the room. The show was cute, but it was in a much larger space than in WDW and found it to not be as personal. Still good, just different.
From there we headed into the Sorcerer’s Workshop. This was another AMAZING place!
In here was a series of rooms themed to different things relating to animation.
The first room was the Sorcerer’s Workshop, where they demonstrated how the different drawings/cells are put together to create animation. The walls were decorated with some tremendous artwork. I actually would love to have a Disney room, with an accent wall like some of this.
The Sorcerer’s Workshop led into the Beast’s library. It was like walking right into a scene right out of Beauty & the Beast. I just remember being in awe.
We each took a turn sitting down in the library to find out which character we were most like. (I liked the setup of this much better than the way it is setup in WDW.) Kyle & Jeffrey went first.
Kyle was found to be most like Jiminy Cricket, which I found to be pretty accurate.
Jeffrey was found to be most like Hopper, which I found to be absolutely HYSTERICAL!!
Then it was my turn and I actually handed over the camera to Jeffrey!
I was found to be most like Mulan, which we pretty much felt was spot on.
Then Jeffrey decided he needed to try again! He insisted that Kyle answered one of his questions for him, which I thought was odd because they were taking the ‘personality test’ at nearly the same time, but then again – Kyle doesn’t always let his conscience be his guide when dealing with Jeffrey…and me being of Mulan-personality, I very well could have missed it! So, Jeffrey tested his personality again…
Kyle gave his 2 cents about the whole process
And, his second personality... Mushu! Ummm…no…
At the time, I thought my schizophrenic husband, was just that…..schizo! I actually think both assigned personalities were incorrect – I would have appointed him…
My two knuckleheads and I wandered through the rest of the library…
And made our way into Ursula’s Grotto.
These pictures really don’t do the area any justice. It was like walking into an area under the sea, with all sorts of seaweedy like stuff hanging all around.
There were little alcove like areas set up where you could go in and animate voices. I believe there was a choice between singing a song or acting out a very small scene from an animated film. Kyle wanted no part of it and walked away, leaving me and Jeffrey to decide what we wanted to do. It really was a no brainer as neither of us can nor were willing to sing. We acted out a scene from the Lion King and then were able to watch it on a screen in front of us. It was pretty neat, but we won’t be leaving our current professions any time soon!
This is a picture of the area. You can kind of see the screen in the front where you make your selections. The screen at the rear is where Ursula would bark orders at you and where you viewed your scene when it was complete. It was an interesting activity.
Once we finished taking orders from Ursula, we had experienced everything in the Disney Animation building. We exited into the Hollywood Pictures Backlot area after living in an animated world for one and a half hours! We were off in search of something small.
Beautiful pictures from the animation building Dyan! It's been so long since we took our time exploring in there. On our last trip to DCA for Mickey's ToT party, we practically just ran though the building looking for all the candy stations. I had forgotten how amazing those rooms are decorated.
__________________
Countdown to April/May 2014 Boardwalk Inn.....3 Generations trip with my mom (first trip) and DS9 (fourth trip). DS's gonna show his Gramma the world!
Dyan - Don't know how I missed so many updates...but it was fun getting to read through a bunch of them at once...your breakfast was a hoot! I would have been hysterical...loved how all the characters just got so into Kyle and his Rubik's Cube, he must have been the center of attention. Great photos from the breakfast...
Your day over at DCA soulds like great fun so far...Aladdin looks like it would be a great show - it always suprised me that they never put that on Broadway. They just opened the new Shrek on Broadway - got some good reviews so we will hqave to see how it balances out against the likes of the Little Mermaid and The Lion King...(I still miss Beauty and the Beast )
Can't wait to hear more about your DCA adventure...
"I agree!! It sure does make the experience all the more fun when the CMs really get into character! Monsters INC is different; it’s a ride at DCA and a comedy show at MK in WDW. The Muppets is basically the same in both parks – other than the queue. We really enjoyed the outdoor queue in DCA."
Then I will make the time to see them. About the animated building, where is it at WDW? I'm thinking HS but where?
I loved that Snow White display - sadly that was gone by the time of our trip. And how on earth did we miss the Sorceror's Workshop? That looks like so much fun!
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
What a great time Dyan!! You guys did some great drawings of DD!! The animation building looks really cool! Too funny with the personality tests!! More please
OMG! I am SOOOO mad that my school blocks photobucket right now! I want to see the pics of this update soooo badly! lol! Beast's library... snow white cells... the spinny thing... lol! I can't wait to go home and check it out! This sounds like such a fun part of your day! We have never even done the animation academy at WDW-- I honestly dont even know where in MGM it is! lol!
Oh and the Muppet Special is on tonight on I believe ABC... but part of that is a guess since Disney owns the muppets and that channel. Either way its on at 8 and I tivoed it since I am supposed to have class (although I am hoping for cancelation since we have a winter weather advisory here that starts at like 2 and goes through tomorrow morning). If I get home early I will let you know the time when I come check out your pics!
Well, folks, my intention was to bang the rest of the TR out over the weekend. Unfortunately, our internet did not want to cooperate and was taking approximately 5 minutes to load each page! We finally called our internet provider this morning and they had to reset the signal to our house. She felt it probably had to do with the storm and the cold weather we've been experiencing since Friday. Anyway, it's fixed and everyone in our household is relieved of internet frustration! In any event, I will finish this once we return from WDW - even if it's mostly photo installments. (I promise not to start a WDW report until this is finished!)
Happy Holidays everyone!! 'See' you when we return!!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Great update! I don't know how we missed the Sorcerer's Workshop. It looks like so much fun! I enjoyed seeing the Snow White exhibit, too. Very . Have fun in Disney and Merry Christmas!
So glad Laura posted because I just realized that I had to look at the pictures of Beast's library! SOOOO AWESOME!!!!!! I made Rob look at them too! I cant wait until one day when we get to visit Cali!!
BTW, no worries about the internet-- it happens to us all-- glad its fixed!
About This Page: 
Joy!
I think it might have something to do with the age and trying to be a kewl teenager as much as possible! 
the Muppets! I used to 
I am really hoping to get this done, but I don’t know how likely that will be 
I promise…..if I don’t finish before we leave, I won’t even think about starting a WDW TR until this one is complete!! Yikes! 
Thanks for understanding if I just can't get it done.
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
At Disney World I can visit Japan. Please check-out my web site for wheelchair travel, 
PassPorter Guide Author
The animation building looks really cool! Too funny with the personality tests!! 
Anyway, it's fixed and everyone in our household is relieved of internet frustration! 
. Have fun in Disney and Merry Christmas!
Linear Mode
