A Festival, Flowers, Friends, & The Fab Four - Adventures both old & new - UPDATED 4/25 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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A Festival, Flowers, Friends, & The Fab Four - Adventures both old & new - UPDATED 4/25
Alright folks, it’s that time again. Time for me to start up another pre TR that will turn into a great, gung ho, funny update after update, and then slowly begin to drag out into not so funny updates happening about once a month, if we’re lucky. But what can ya do? There’s all this pre excitement about the trip that I just have to get out of my system before my brain explodes (if Lost doesn’t cause that to happen first that is). And then there’s the post trip excitement where I just have to share all the great and funny things that happened. But then there’s the end of the trip blues that kick in and I get into this stage of not wanting to relive the dreary details of coming home……… Oh who am I kidding? I’m just lazy! There’s no other excuse than that. So no promises of quick finishes in this TR. Just hopes of a complete one in a somewhat timely manner.
So what is this trip all about? Most of you already know since my big mouth loves to talk about it on the boards So first, let me begin by introducing you to the cast (or in the case of this TR title…the Friends part)
First, if you’re reading this you probably already know me Hi, that’s me…. I’m a lover of all things Disney, especially Epcot and my beloved blue alien. My favorite Disney movie is obviously Lilo and Stitch, but I can’t watch it. Andy doesn’t understand how one can have a favorite movie yet one won’t watch it again b/c one cries like a danged fool for like a flippin’ hour after the movie’s over, blubbering about how it’s so sad to think about not having memories and yada yada yada. I am also a lover of all things Who (as in “The”) I would marry old Roger Daltrey and he’s older than my dad! (only a year though….) I have a thing for all things British, too, for some reason. I Eddie Izzard, Kim and Aggie (the How Clean is Your House ladies), Top Gear (and all 3 of those boys on that show), and Gordon Ramsey. The BBC America is my best friend. When at Disney I consume the majority of Harp found on property.
And second, you should know my DH, Andy.. Hi, that’s Andy. Andy is lover of all things Beatles. His favorite Disney characters include those from Monsters Inc. and his new fav Disney movie is Ratatouille. He also consumes a large majority of the Guinness and Heineken on property when we go to WDW.
Andy and I have been married for almost 5 years (5 years this Nov.) This is our 8th trip to the world together since our honeymoon in 2003.
Now, to introduce some people you may or may not remember. Back in the summer 2006 we went to the Outer Banks with my in-laws as well as with Kevin, Lori, and their little girl Audrey. So you have seen these folks before if you happened to read that TR a looooong time ago. And if you didn’t read it, you really shoulda, good stuff in that thing
So, without further ado…. I introduce (or re-introduce whatever the case may be) Kevin Kevin and Andy have known each other since 1996. I say known each other as opposed to have been friends because when they met Andy was apparently dating the girl of Kevin’s dreams. When said girl proved to be the mega beast that she was (a little Drop Dead Fred for you there) the friendship that shook the world began. I mean what better way to form a bond than over some crazy chick? I have known Kevin as long as I’ve known Andy, 11 years now. I met them both in 1997. We’ve been like the Three Amigos ever since. “Would you say I have a plethora of piñatas? O yes El Guapo, you have a plethora of piñatas.”
I digress….
The reason I love Kevin so much is for the same reason he loves me. Our "blunt tell you how it is, not gonna be fake about it", attitudes. He appreciates mine and the feeling is mutual. Also, you have to understand that Kevin is one of the funniest people I know. He’s a stage actor, acting in a ton of plays when he was in college. And at the same time, he’s a big ole Southern boy loving his Nascar. So it’s funny to see that he covers the whole spectrum, from end to end. The first time we all went to the Outer Banks together, back in 2001, we were serenaded by Kevin the whole way (we're talking a 2 day road trip here people) and his 2 Live Crew knowledge as well as his O Brother Where Art Thou. Talk about a music range. And of course, we have video footage of it all But the 2LC is totally inappropriate for the boards. Heck it was totally inappropriate for my young innocent ears back then
So basically what I’m saying is, when you hang out with Kevin, you have a good time And things like this tend to happen….
The next friend is Kevin’s wife. Lori Kevin and Lori got married a year after we did and we were so happy for Kevin that he finally found a gal that meant so much to him. I don’t have as much to say about Lori b/c really, I haven’t spent that much time with her. The week at the Outer Banks was about the extent of it, but I do know she can have a good time, just like the three of us So I’m hoping things will go well this trip.
Then you have their precious little girl, Audrey. Now if you read the old TR, the last time you saw Audrey she looked like this…
And now, this is the most recent pic I have her and it’s from last October. Check her out!!! She is a walking, talking, playing MACHINE! Kevin comes up every now and then and spends the night with us and brings Audrey. When he leaves, we are the most worn out we’ve ever been in our life. And I’m a teacher, I’m used to kids….what is the deal?
But needless to say, we are so very excited to take her with us to Disney and see the world through her eyes. It’s definitely going to be a different type of trip, but I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us.
So now you know who we are…. Coming up: This trip has been a looooong time a-coming…
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Melissa, here's why little Aubrey tires you out: you're used to being a teacher, and when you're a teacher, you get to wave goodbye to the little buggers as they leave your classroom! When you're a parent, you're almost always exhausted because they are so much work and they just...don't...leave...
Looking forward to hearing about this all new kind of trip for Melissa and Andy! You'll find that it is rewarding in a whole new way!
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About This Page: 
So first, let me begin by introducing you to the cast (or in the case of this TR title…the Friends part)
Eddie Izzard, Kim and Aggie (the How Clean is Your House ladies), Top Gear (and all 3 of those boys on that show), and Gordon Ramsey. The BBC America is my best friend.
But the 2LC is totally inappropriate for the boards. Heck it was totally inappropriate for my young innocent ears back then 
So I’m hoping things will go well this trip.
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
. Looking forward to the next installment
FAB!
Maybe there's hope for us this Christmas. 
More please 
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