A trip of Firsts, Seconds, and Thirds PTR - Page 4 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Thank you! I'm pretty excited about all the planning going into this
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Great Plans!!! Can't wait to hear about the history with Donald! When you go to Tusker House ~ request Neil's section.............he is FANTASTIC!!! However, not sure what day your ressie is - he works Thursday - Sat.
I'll check to see if he is working that day and if he is, I'll ask for his section and mention I heard from you I am about to get to that backstory soon
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
I really like your dining plans!
Thank you! I'm pretty excited about all the dining plans. Because that is what Disney is about after all, right? lol
I feel like Dr. Doofenshmirtz getting ready to tell this backstory but here we go.
It all started back when my mom was about 7 (maybe?) and my grandparents took her and one of my other Aunts to Disneyland for the first (and only) time. My mom was having the time of her life and getting pictures with all of the characters. She was living it up being in Disneyland. So, up until this point, she had been having great character interactions. They would hug her and take a picture with her, the whole shebang. Then they get to Donald Duck. Now, before I go on with this, we all know that sometimes Disney characters at M&G's can get a little overwhelmed with little kids running all around them, all trying to get the characters attention. Sometimes, the character just doesn't see a kid right away. It happens. We all know that. MOST of us would just try to get the characters attention and get the photo and/or autograph we came for and be on our way. The character acts sorry and the kid and parents are satisfied. Now, keep in mind this is after YEARS of tweaking character interactions to get them just right so that everyone is happy.
Now, on with the story.
So, my mom and Aunt go up to Donald. Donald hugs my aunt. Doesn't see my mom. Takes a picture with my mom and aunt and the interaction is over. That's it. My mom has been ANGRY with Donald Duck for 40 YEARS because he simply forgot to hug her. I can't for the life of me figure out why she holds such a long standing grudge against a Disney Character but, she does. So, the on going joke in my house has always been if we want to get mom something from Disney, it MUST be Donald Duck related. She does not appreciate this : but it sure is funny
So for every vacation to Disney Mike and Aiden and I have been on, the first picture I give to my mom is one with all of us or just Aiden, with Donald knowing that she would hang it up just because it's a picture of us. She HATES when I do that.
So, naturally, when this trip came up and we knew she was coming, I just HAD to make sure we had Breakfast especially with Donald Duck. I am staging an intervention between she and the Duck in front of the children so nice words must be said and she will bury the hatchet with him once and for all!
Hopefully when we return in March from our trip, I will be able to report a new bond and friendship was made between my mom and Donald.
I sure hope that Mom and Donald are able work things out!!! I think you should try to alert the Character Handler ahead of Mom - so that Donald runs up to Mom to give her the BIGGEST HUG of her life!!!!
__________________
Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
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.
I sure hope that Mom and Donald are able work things out!!! I think you should try to alert the Character Handler ahead of Mom - so that Donald runs up to Mom to give her the BIGGEST HUG of her life!!!!
I LOVE everything about this idea!!! I will definitely do that!!!
My sister had a similar situation with Goofy. When she was 9, we went to MK. She got in line to get Goofy's autograph. When he was done writing in her book, he took her pen and threw it far away. She was beyond mad. It was all caught on tape and you can see her in the video looking for her pen. To this day she still holds a grudge.
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.
Sorry for my absence, but life here in my house has been crazy. I just had to have the shower in my bathroom replaced and a hole in my kitchen ceiling replaced because of a leak in the shower pan. That took over a week. And since the leak had been going on for a while, even before we moved in, all the wood needed to be placed because it had started to rot. They had to fix the giant hole in my kitchen ceiling and repaint the entire downstairs ceiling so it would match. Then they had to re-tile the shower and grout it which took all day. I still can't use my bathroom until tonight. *Sigh* Then on top of that, I've been sick for 2 weeks, and it is FINALLY starting to go away. Mike's mom had to go to get a mole removed because it was cancerous but it wasn't even stage 1 so she will be fine. Her doctors said she is lucky she got it so early and that she won't even need treatments. We helped pay for that. So, that is relief off of everyone. THEN I've been working with Aiden a lot on his taekwondo because tonight is his belt testing for his orange belt! So, if I could get some pixies for my MiL and my son, that would mean the world to me! I promise to get back and start updating on all things Disney very soon!
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.