It's my birthday - so here's what I gave me.... - Page 3 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hi All! Well my birthday was wonderful. First, Pop Century upgraded us to a preferred room at no charge. And an added bonus - we got checked in and into the room at 11 am which was right before the major shower of rain. Then my sister showed up and gave me my birthday present - a really cool picture of Kermit drawn by a Disney artist. And my husband and daughter gave me a big bag of Muppet characters and a set of muppet pens. I collect Muppet stuff. So we hung out there for 30 min until the rain quit then hopped on a bus to HS.
At HS, I quickly got my $75 gift card.
**NOTE TO PASSHOLDERS AND PACKAGE PARTICIPANTS - My husband got his gift card at Epcot and waited 1 hour in line. I got mine at HS and waited for 5 min. If you go to MK or Epcot there will be a long line because that is where people want to use their free day. Also, you have 24 hours from the time the card is activated to use it. Seriously, spend it that day.
We then went to the Muppet Shop where I wanted to spend my gift card. I quickly figured out that everything that I wanted from the store, I got for my birthday. Oh well! So then we went to Mama Melrose for lunch. I had the Eggplant Napolean and the Tirimesu. It was awesome. Then we rode Star Tours. The park was incredibly crowded - probably because it was ESPN sport weekend. So we decided to hop to MK. There I went from shop to shop - only picking up a pair of gold Mickey earrings that I wanted and a fold up hair brush that I needed. It was windy! We did ride Jungle Cruise, Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road, Tea Cups, Space Mountain, and Buzz Lightyear. As we were leaving Buzz the cast member saw my Birthday button and immediately loaded us onto another car for a second go around - COOL!!!
Then it was off to the Polynesian for dinner at O'hanas. The line was long and we got there a little early. Since I wasn't driving for once I hit the bar They make very good mix drinks there. And by the time I got my second one it was time to sit. Since I'm allergic to pecans and walnuts, we had to skip the welcome bread. But everything was awesome. If you like BBQ shrimp - this place is for you! Then to top it off Chef TJ made me a special dessert since the bread pudding has pecans in it. It was a tower of tempura fried chocolate. YUM!!!
After we waddled back to the monorail and then to the bus, we were done for the day. We did skip the extra magic hours as we were exhausted. But I had to finish spending my gift card so off to the gift shop! I picked up a pair of pink mickey crocs and a mickey cookie cutter. And since EVERYTHING I got was on sale, I still had about $20 still left. DH then looked at me and informed me that he did not have a pair of Mickey Crocs. So he got a pair too.
This morning we got up and took our time checking out. Then off to Animal Kingdom were once again it was crowded. So we picked up some fast passes for the Safari ride then off to lunch at Tusker House. Tusker House was wonderful. We do not have a single resturant that has curry anything on the menu in my town and Tusker house is a cross between Marrakesh and Boma's. Basically, mediterrainean and african mixed together. Very tasty. I think my DH ate his breakfast, lunch, and dinner there - in one sitting.
Afterwards, we took a ride on the Safari ride where a troop of white rhino's shut down the ride for a good 15 min. We got stuck watching the elephants Then we strolled around to Everest and fast passed our way through that. We decided to bail from the parks early to avoid the traffic and got home around 5 pm
It was a great time. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and so did DH. He's a freaking photographer - I can't believe he forgot his camera!!! Oh well, the parks were extremely crowded and Sunday was very overcast and windy. Not the best time to take pictures. Now I'm tired and my feet hurt. And I don't want to go to work tomorrow! My DD has already asked if we can do it again for her birthday on to Sept 8. Hopefully, we'll have free dining for that.
But I think that is the first and last time we will do the deluxe dining. It really was way too much food. In the future we will stick to the regular dining plan.
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All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them - Walt Disney
Sounds like a wonderful birthday! I thought that they had changed the birthday gift card to not expire, so I appreciate the warning. My twins may not be able to make up their minds in 24 hours, but I'm glad they at least give you that because we arrive in the evening on their birthday.
Glad you had a great time! You did a lot in a short time.
Sounds like a wonderful birthday! I thought that they had changed the birthday gift card to not expire, so I appreciate the warning. My twins may not be able to make up their minds in 24 hours, but I'm glad they at least give you that because we arrive in the evening on their birthday.
The lady at the counter did not give me a warning - I asked just to make sure. After she said you have 24 hours, I did not feel like tempting fate! If I were you, I would give the girls fair warning so they don't try "wait and see."
__________________
All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them - Walt Disney
in the official CM booklet re: the gift cards, it clearly states no expiration...i made them look it up and show me when we were there in january for dsd's bd. unless it changed since then, and i doubt it has, then it does NOT expire. not all cm's are aware of it as originally it stated 24 hrs for expiration. hmmmm....maybe one of our cm friends here or college program peeps will help us out...(hello, dawn or jyl, you out there????)
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They make very good mix drinks there. And by the time I got my second one it was time to sit. Since I'm allergic to pecans and walnuts, we had to skip the welcome bread. But everything was awesome. If you like BBQ shrimp - this place is for you! Then to top it off Chef TJ made me a special dessert since the bread pudding has pecans in it. It was a tower of tempura fried chocolate. YUM!!!
Then we strolled around to Everest and fast passed our way through that. We decided to bail from the parks early to avoid the traffic and got home around 5 pm
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