Four Days of Magic in February - We Survived Magic Bands & More - Page 5 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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What beautiful bird shots! I'm so glad you got to surprise Laurie.
We had plans to see Laurie later, but it was fun to pop in to the Vet Window.
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Originally Posted by lauriep
Wonderful shots of the birds! I'm always trying to get a shot of the Taveta Golden Weaver, but they flit around so fast I never catch one. I saw lots of these birds in Africa and never got one there, either. Thanks for stopping by to see me at Rafiki's! It was fun to see you all there. I intended to get a shot of all of us at dinner, but forgot then as well.
It was great to see you again, Laurie!
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
So glad you got to see Laurie in her element!
Love the pictures as usual but especially the Finding Nemo ones as I just love that show.
I love Finding Nemo too. The puppeteers are so good.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
What beautiful shots around AK! Especially the ones of the Safari and the Finding Nemo Show.
Glad you got to meet up with Laurie! I am so looking forward to visiting Animal Kingdom after reading so many reports. I just love your pictures. Really love the one of the bald eagle as that is my husband's favorite bird!
The bald eagle was very majestic - a character, too. He wanted his treats for performing!
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Originally Posted by melduckie
Great updates! Can't wait to hear more!
Thanks!
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Originally Posted by stardust190
Just found your TR. I've been wondering if Club Level is "worth it" I tend to think I would agree with you on the matter. I suppose I will never know unless I try though. You have some stunning pictures from your trip. I'm stupid when it comes to cameras. I'm lucky if I can even get a picture of what I'm attempting to photograph. Of course my subjects are usually two very active children.
Capturing photos of moving kids is always an adventure!
Quote:
Originally Posted by nanajoyx2
Sharon, your pictures are amazing and make me feel that I am there. I know you have expensive equipment, but the way you compose your shots is sheer talent. Professional photographers could take lessons from you.
. Thank you, Elaine.
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Originally Posted by llgmommy2
All caught up. Love the all the pictures, You have true talent.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed the photos.
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Originally Posted by Cam22
I love all the bird pictures, but the one of Laurie at the vet window is a classic!
It was fun to find Laurie in "her" spot
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Just getting caught up! Great pictures from AK! Glad you were able to meet up with Laurie!
After a great day at Animal Kingdom, we returned to the Beach Club. We rested and cleaned up for a special dinner. Tonight we were going to be dining at Artist Point at The Wilderness Lodge, and LaurieP would be joining us. Our home resort is the VWL, and Artist Point is Lou's favorite restaurant.
(photo from last year's visit to The Wilderness Lodge)
We picked Laurie up at the Boardwalk, and had a lovely dinner and visit. I didn't take many photos this evening, so I'll have to make up for that on our next trip to the Lodge. I noticed I wasn't hungry at dinner. I felt a little puny at the very end of dinner, and, sorry to say - felt much worse once we returned to the Beach Club. This was unusual for me, but either I'd picked up a bug or something I'd eaten earlier didn't agree with me. My biggest concern was being a Typhoid Mary and getting everyone else sick ... as far as I know, that didn't happen...
Wednesday, Feb 12th: This was Hollywood Studios day. I sent Kathy & Steve off with instructions on their FP+ attractions and lunch reservations for the day, figuring I was better off staying close to the resort. They had a great day, so I was happy. Lou and I just hung out at the Villa, I sat outside and read for awhile, and we got lots of rest.
We had dinner plans at Tokyo Dining - a first for us. But, the rains came loud and strong, and we decided we weren't going to walk to Epcot. Instead, we ordered pizza from room service - and it was surprisingly good! We enjoyed our pizza and also caught up on the Winter Olympics. An evening like this made us appreciate staying in the Villa.
Thursday, Feb 13th - Time to Go Home
We took it easy on Thursday morning, and were on the road back home by 10am. I did get up before sunrise to take some more photos around Crescent Lake, this time concentrating on the Boardwalk side. So, even though the last part of our trip was not perfect, I do have photos to share:
Up Next: Wrap-Up & Thoughts on Magic Bands, FP+, and My Disney Experience, and WDW Plans for the rest of 2014
So sorry you got to feeling ill, but thanks for the great pictures. We'll be trying Artist Point for the first time this May. Luke hasn't been interested in the signature restaurants until we ate at Jiko last October for his birthday. Now he's excited about trying some of the others. So I figured that staying at VWL meant we needed to book Artist Point, too.
Such a shame you weren't feeling so well at dinner. You ate hardly anything. I enjoyed it so much and had a lovely time getting to know Lou a bit and also Kathy and Steve. It had been too long since I'd been to WL and Artist Point. That resort is just beautiful. The early-morning photos of the Crescent Lake area are so gorgeous. Thanks for so many of the Boardwalk. Sunrise and just after are my favorite times in Florida. There's something special about the quality of the light and air in those hours.
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So sorry you got to feeling ill, but thanks for the great pictures. We'll be trying Artist Point for the first time this May. Luke hasn't been interested in the signature restaurants until we ate at Jiko last October for his birthday. Now he's excited about trying some of the others. So I figured that staying at VWL meant we needed to book Artist Point, too.
I hope you like Artist Point. We also enjoy having a quiet drink in the Territory Lounge before dinner.
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Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Sorry you weren't feeling well, but certainly sounds like you made the best of it!
Great photos as usual!
Thanks, Lisa.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Such a shame you weren't feeling so well at dinner. You ate hardly anything. I enjoyed it so much and had a lovely time getting to know Lou a bit and also Kathy and Steve. It had been too long since I'd been to WL and Artist Point. That resort is just beautiful. The early-morning photos of the Crescent Lake area are so gorgeous. Thanks for so many of the Boardwalk. Sunrise and just after are my favorite times in Florida. There's something special about the quality of the light and air in those hours.
I just thought I wasn't hungry ... Until later that evening. But, at least we had a chance to visit. I included more Boardwalk Photos than I normally would, since I figured you would enjoy seeing your home.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Sorry you weren't well but as you say that's where the bonus of staying at the Villas comes in. Beautiful photos from around the BoardWalk!
Yep - staying in the Villa was comfy and cosy, compared to a regular hotel room.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Sorry you weren't feeing the best! Great shots from the Crescent Lake area! Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us!
Thanks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by stardust190
Sorry you weren't feeling well, but it seems like you had a nice trip. And have beautiful pictures!
It was a good trip
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Originally Posted by JKnott17
I'm sorry you weren't feeling well there at the end of your trip I love the early morning pics of Crescent Lake, they are stunning.
Thanks, Jenn.
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Originally Posted by Russi01
Sorry that you were not feeling very well. Looks like you made the best out of it. Beautiful picutures as always!
Thanks - I probably could have gone out for a few hours on Wednesday, but hanging around the Villa wasn't a hardship.
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Pixie Dust
Glad you were able to meet up with Laurie! 
I'm so glad you got to surprise Laurie.
PassPorter Guide Author
but as you say that's where the bonus of staying at the Villas comes in. Beautiful photos from around the BoardWalk! 
Deb
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