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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I noticed this morning that I'm only 18 days away from our Girls Only--Dad's Coming Along trip to DLR. I has been a stressful 8 months, so I am really looking forward to this trip.
The players--DD--my 26 year old who loves Disney as much as I do, DH--coming along because he secretly loves Disney almost as much as I do, and ME--Disney is my stress-reliever. And I have totally needed one this last year. I'm surprised I didn't sneak away earlier!
So, what do we have planned...
DD & I leave @ 6AM on 10/5 for the beautiful Villas at the Grand Californian. Oh yes, I should mention this will be our first trip HOME!!!! (That's why DH decided he had to come along-who could blame him? He wants to check out our investment in fun!) Our flight allows us to step on Disney property by 11AM--almost an entire day to play without DH. In the past we've dropped our luggage at the hotel across the street and walked anxiously across the street, feeling the joy start in our toes and end by screaming out our mouths on our first ride--Space Mountain!
This trip, however, is different! We'll be "Welcomed Home" by CM's and will ask the bell services to take care of our possessions while we go and get out tickets. Then we'll walk into the magic feeling like we own just a speck of pixie dust!
This will be Mary's and my third trip to DLR, so we're planning on doing things a little differently. Our last trip had some unpleasant undertones, (one of her friends came along and became, shall we say, "bossy"?) so this trip we've put everything back on an even keel and and are wanting to look at DLR as a first time experience.
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DD- Mary has a friend who will NEVER, and I mean NEVER experience Disney (or the real world for that matter). I'll call her Alice. She lives in her own "Wonderland". Alice is mentally ill and resides in a facility. She doesn't have the mind of a child, she is an adult. Her reality is structured days. This will always be her reality. Alice, however, loves anything Disney! And Alice has a birthday shortly after we return from DLR.
We are going to go to DLR as though we were seeing it for the first time, through Alice's eyes. Pictures and video and little things we can pick up on the way. When we get home, we'll make a DVD and send it in a box with all of the little goodies for her to unwrap as she watches the video on her birthday. We have to be careful what we choose to send her as she is not able to have items she could use to hurt herself or others. And items with great monetary worth often "disappear" when her things are returned to her.
So my trip planning is focused around what Alice would do. Well, what would you do, knowing what you know, if you had never been to Disneyland before? Where would you go first, what would you want to eat first? Let's see if you think the way I'm thinking...the way Alice might think?
I'm in the process of making a list of pictures we want to take, places we want to see and items we might want to purchase or otherwise obtain for Alice. For example, I want to get her a birthday button, but will have to remove the pin and replace it with a magnet, so she could wear it and not injure herself. See, this may be challenging. (No pin trading here, but is there something else we could trade on her behalf?)
I have two weeks to finish the preparations. You are invited to join the game. And yes, if we are successful with this game, we will play it again and again. Did I tell you that Alice is my friend also? She is alone in this world and we have grown to love her even from the distance there must be...
So join us in Alice's new Wonderland...take the trip with us and share in her amazement when she receives her birthday surprise.
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Beautiful Mother
Last edited by Beautiful Mother; 09-16-2011 at 08:32 PM..
Farley is a musician at Frontierland and he gives out stickers with his name. Duffy the bear gave Mom a sticker. There are lots of stickers and other kid friendly items in the stores. If you have an AP that gets you a discount.
Popcorn bucket washed out and reused to store lots of goodies. It is cheap and she can use it to store things.
The first place I would go is train ride to get a feel of the place. City Hall is a nice place. I would do Fantasyland as that is my favorite spot. Get some napkins for free and you can ask for free kid sized drink cups as a set of those would be nice for her to have for her party. Big Thunder Ranch petting zoo for sure and it will be Autumn decorated. Autograph books are fun or make your own autograph book with picture of the character and signature. Can she have treats like candy and baked goods as there is a ton of those? Got to do Casey Jr. and you can watch the submarines from the observation room which would allow you to take the whole ride in private.
As you enter the castle you see Peter Pan on the right, carrousel in front. Make a hard right turn twice and you will be in the disabled viewing area for the upstairs castle dioramas. This will allow you all to rest and video tape scenes from upstairs without climbing the stairs. SMALL WORLD, must do and do the parade.
Toontown has lots of eye candy, got to do that. Also talk to cast members for help on your project like finding characters. Check out the wishing well for characters, it is so cute.
Let me think, bit under the weather literally. Very nice of you to help your friend.
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Mom calls to check on me and reminded me to pay the gardener. I love her so much.
Disneyland was fun with flag retreat and pickles. I have a home here, thank you. GAC is NOT a "front of the line pass".
She is gone but keeping signature. Laundry is getting done. My purpose in life is to help poor people in FL. Farewell, will miss you.
Wow! Great ideas! I'll pull my old maps out tonight and start marking these places. I hadn't thought of popcorn bucket, cups and napkins... so ideal!!!! Is Duffy at Disneyland? I thought he was Epcot only? We've never done the petting zoo, but I"ll definitely add it to the list.
BUTTONS
Not pins but buttons, she would love them.
Break of the pin part of the button before gifting. You could make a magnetic board on a wall to put her buttons or a shadowbox if that is allowed. I will let the crafty people come up with ideas. Buttons are big and bright souvenirs. Trust me them pin backs do come off.
Duffy is by Ariel's Grotto at the Pier in DCA in theory.
Ask at City Hall if they have Mickey balloons that are not inflated.
If you see something you want like paper boats for fries or cups just ask the Cast Members. CMs usually will give you one for free.
Crafty idea would be to make her a t-shirt with her favorite Disney character using an image from the parks. A really crafty person could do a montage of images. Does she read much? There are foreign language brochures, DVC brochures, and the disabled guide. Keep an eye out for free pamphlets.
Disney Travel company has brochures. Go to Compass Rose. Face that store. Walk to your right and around the corner, keep going, there you are. Hotels sometimes have brochures. Rainforest Cafe is not Disney but cute. In downtown Disney there is Marcelines candy shop with a ton of Disney candy and jelly bellies.
Cast Members do magic as they are magical beings so check with them.
__________________
Mom calls to check on me and reminded me to pay the gardener. I love her so much.
Disneyland was fun with flag retreat and pickles. I have a home here, thank you. GAC is NOT a "front of the line pass".
She is gone but keeping signature. Laundry is getting done. My purpose in life is to help poor people in FL. Farewell, will miss you.
Great start and what a lovely idea for Alice! The first thing that came to mind for me was the penny arcade. You can video Esmerelda telling Alice's fortune and then bring her the card that Esmerelda gives you (if you think this wouldn't freak her out).
We stayed at the Villas at GC last year and loved it! Even though our home resort is BC, our trip to DLR was our first time using our points. The villas are gorgeous and DH should be very pleased with his investment!
There used to be a character in the Bazaar across from Jungle Cruise. How about pressed pennies? Postcards are cheap but mail from DLR is stamped with Anaheim if I recall. In theory the artists can use a photo to draw your friend along with some Disney stuff. Get photopass card then go online. Cannot tell you how to steal from them, can I, lol. How about Fastpasses? Ariel's Grotto has a crown and coloring page, ask them for one free. Blue Bayou used to give a pirate hat free for kids, again asking never hurts.
Jumgle Cruise used to give out a free map of the ride. World of Color picnic includes a tote bag. Monorail used to give out a pilot card when you sat up front. Autopia used to give out driver's licenses to all guests, cute little card. Buzz Lightyear lets you email your photo which you could print out for your friend. Some restaurants will give you a printed menu, I have one from Napa Rose. Bars offer free coasters.
__________________
Mom calls to check on me and reminded me to pay the gardener. I love her so much.
Disneyland was fun with flag retreat and pickles. I have a home here, thank you. GAC is NOT a "front of the line pass".
She is gone but keeping signature. Laundry is getting done. My purpose in life is to help poor people in FL. Farewell, will miss you.
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