Nineteen nights of MouseFest, Disney and Christmas - THREAD 2 - UPDATED 2/1 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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Tuesday 11 December – part one: a great breakfast and a sad goodbye
It was up early again, as we had to say goodbye to Sue and Steve, something I so did not want to do, as I felt like we had barely seen them this vacation, having only arrived ourselves a couple of days ago. We finished the rest of our packing quickly enough, as we were leaving the BoardWalk today to check into the Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas. We left the BoardWalk with everything ready to check into AKLV as soon as we had finished our breakfast.
We were the first ones to arrive at Coronado Springs for breakfast at the Maya Grill, so we took the opportunity to get some photos of the resort.
Now, while the Maya Grill had become a bit of a tradition for the others as Sue and Steve’s last meal on Disney property, it was new to us and I have to say I can see why they keep going back there. It’s got a great selection of food and the quality of that food is much better than most of the standard buffet fare you get at Disney for breakfast. Amongst the standout items were a nice selection of pastries and some unusual hot items, including the famous grits that Steve loves so much. I just couldn’t bring myself to try any though. :
During the meal, Angie also handed out her Christmas presents and let me tell you, she really comes up with some great presents that are perfect for the person receiving them. Mine was a pair of Eeyore slippers (as I write this up, I’m wearing them – I love them! ) and a couple of beanies, one of which I’m ashamed to admit was the one I had bought a couple of days ago at the BoardWalk, but in my defence, I never realised that World of Disney in New York sells Disney park merchandise. Bad me.
[b]Steve, once again, in familiar mode…
… and I was very honoured – he put the video camera down, so I could take a photo of him without it!
It’s either love – or Jan’s trying to strangle him. I’m not sure which…
All too soon the meal was over and we headed out towards the parking lot.
Then it was time to bid farewell to Sue and Steve. How I managed not to bawl my eyes out, I have no idea, but I was very close to that. At least we’ll get to see them in May when they come over here - I can’t wait for that!
That farewell breakfast at Maya Grill is always so bittersweet. This was our third time and it has definitely become a tradition. I love the breakfast there, but the "see you next time" in the parking lot is very difficult. I guarantee you weren't the only one struggling to not bawl your eyes out. Sue and Steve are always such a blast to hang out with and it's not so much fun when we have to part.
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I've eaten at the Maya Grille when I stayed at CS for a work conference and I really enjoyed the breakfast options. Sorry you had to say good bye to Sue and Steve - that is such a hard thing to do - even when you know you will see them again.
Sounds like a wonderful breakfast and a great send-off. How lucky to be seeing your PP buddies on your side of the Atlantic!
Love the gifts from Angie!
danielle
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We finished the rest of our packing quickly enough, as we were leaving the BoardWalk today to check into the Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas. We left the BoardWalk with everything ready to check into AKLV as soon as we had finished our breakfast. 
: 
) and a couple of beanies, one of which I’m ashamed to admit was the one I had bought a couple of days ago at the BoardWalk, but in my defence, I never realised that World of Disney in New York sells Disney park merchandise. Bad me. 
- I can’t wait for that! 
Sue and Steve are always such a blast to hang out with and it's not so much fun when we have to part.
.
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m83/kazzamcgazza/dlp-1.jpg
the photo w/Angie peeking behind you. Bye Sue and Steve. 
I love grits, too!
How cool Sue & Steve are visiting this year 
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