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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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01-25-2010, 07:38 PM
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#1
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PassPorter Guide
 Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,041
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Feature Article: Viva Italia! Part 2 - Adventures by Disney
Viva Italia! Part 2 - Adventures by Disney
by Dotti Saroufim
Day Five: Tuscan Holiday
Our Daily Viva for today says that breakfast will be served at 7:30 a.m., that we'd be leaving for our pasta making class and lunch at Castello Vicchiomaggio at 8:45 a.m., and our word of the day is “pasta.” I'm Italian -- that's my word of the day every day. That may be why I look like I do... Castello Vicchiomaggio is located not far from Florence, and has been producing wine for centuries. It's situated on top of a hill overlooking the Greve Valley, affording beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. The castle itself houses wine cellars, which extend under the castle, and also guest rooms, dining areas and meeting rooms. Our pasta making class was set up in one of the private dining rooms, and our teacher, a feisty little woman of Italian and Scottish descent with lots of energy and a wonderful sense of humor, easily got us all in the pasta-making mood. In our aprons and hairnets, covered in flour and eggs, we truly were a sight to behold. I do have to admit, however, that we were much more interested in lunch once we found out that we really didn't have to eat what we created in the class!
Lunch consisted of three types of pasta and a salad, followed by very tasty biscotti and a wonderful dessert wine. We were then treated to a guided tour of the wine cellars and were free to explore the grounds for a bit before boarding the bus for our trip to Siena.
Upon arrival in Siena, we were met by our local guide, Nicoletta, who was prompted to tell us about the rivalry between Siena and Florence, and why we should never mention the name Florence in her presence. Nicoletta was a very informative, humorous, and passionate guide, and to have someone lead this tour that actually lives, works in, and loves her hometown, made it immensely enjoyable.
In Siena, we toured the Piazza del Campo, where the famous Palio, a bareback horse race first recorded in 1283, is held twice each summer. Jockeys from each of Siena's contrade (neighborhoods) compete for this highest honor, with festivals that last for weeks afterwards. A visit to one of the contrade museums, and a video of the actual race, made this event much more imaginable. Our visit to Siena also included a wine tasting at the Grand Hotel Continental, which included a nice assortment of appetizers -- likely provided so that we could navigate back to the bus later in the day. Dinner was on our own that night, and Tony and I opted for a pizza at one of the cafes lining the piazza. Heading back on the motor coach, we watched "Roman Holiday,” an old favorite of mine with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, and were able to relive some of our own Roman holiday!
Day Six: Romance and Renaissance
Another early start, today to board the motor coach to Florence. On the way, we made a surprise stop at what Walt Disney World would call a "Kodak Picture Spot," but what Adventures by Disney has given over to Hewlett Packard, based on the "HP Photo Tips" on the back of the Daily Viva. The view from this area of Ponte Vecchio, the Arno, and Florence in the distance was just magnificent! We arrived in Florence and made the long (but scenic!) trek from the motor coach parking area to the actual city. Elena was our local guide, and again with headphones and lanyards attached, we covered a lot of space in a little bit of time. One highlight was the Piazza della Signoria, where Michelangelo's David stood until 1873, and where a copy now resides. Another highlight, of course, was seeing the real thing in the Galleria dell' Accademia! The Duomo, Europe's fourth largest church and one of Florence's oldest buildings (and the tallest), was even more magnificent than how I imagined it to be.
After a nice lunch of pizza and lasagna with two of our, by now, quite good friends, we explored the city's shopping areas -- the leather is quite beautiful, and the silk scarves are stunning -- but my most exciting find was the Disney Store, where I bought a Firenze sweatshirt and T-shirt! And with this group of travelers, you know that this purchase was a big hit on the way back! At the straw market, we kept running into others from our group at every turn ("Hey! I know you!") and many of us brought multiple shopping bags back with us.
We boarded the motor coach for our last night at the Borgo, and watched the remainder of "Roman Holiday" on the way back. Our dinner on this final night was a "Tuscan BBQ" and we all agreed to bring our collective bottles of wine and Limoncello to share -- and share we did! It's probably a good thing that we took up most of the rooms at this beautiful hotel because sitting on the outside patio of the restaurant, we weren't the quietest of guests...
(Read the final installment of Dotti and Tony's adventures in Italy in the next issue of PassPorter News!)
View the full article and download a free formatted PDF of it here!
Added to PassPorter's Article Collection on 11-05-2009 03:41 PM
What do you think? Please add your own comments, experiences, or news related to this article in this thread! Reader feedback is welcomed and encouraged.
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