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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Ok, so maybe it is kind of a trip report. For those that don’t know me, I travel to WDW a lot and have written a lot of TRs. It got to a point where I just didn’t have the time or the urge to write TRs, so I retired from TR writing. I made peace with myself about it by promising myself I’d still write TRs of my non-WDW trips (two of those for me this year). Anyway, that’s why you haven’t seen TRs for my last 4 WDW trips. Because let’s be honest, I wasn’t going to take fewer trips!
But during my most recent trip, a few unique things happened that I wanted to share with you, my PassPorter friends. So I bring you this not TR. This isn’t a real P-Sha TR. It’s more of a photo journal with a few snarky comments thrown in. Anyway, that explains it, so let’s get started…
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
I realized I’d forgotten to bring the new SD card I’d bought for my this trip, so there are no photos of my flight (which was on SWA and uneventful) or my trip on DME (also uneventful). After checking in at POFQ, my first stop was the gift shop. They didn’t have any SD cards. But I did make a purchase, which I’ll talk about in a bit. I went to my ready room (nice at 11:00 am) and threw my stuff down. I then headed right out to Epcot. First stop there (after buying a new SD card ) was to visit my little cottage.
Home sweet home
I was taking it easy, so I just strolled around without doing much. I wanted lunch, so I went to France.
I didn’t take a photo, but I had some kind of bacon/cheese roll (bacon and cheese baked into a roll, not on a roll). It was tasty.
I wanted to spend some time in Canada ahead of my then upcoming trip (a real TR for that trip is coming soon).
I watched the film and did a bit of window shopping. I wanted to be somewhat well-rested before the big day tomorrow (with a wickedly early start), so I headed back to my resort.
Fountain selfie
I took some pictures of the room. It’s been refurbished since my last stay and I liked the look of it.
My apologies for the blurry picture
Resort room selfie
Not being a coffee drinker, I don’t buy the resort mugs anymore. But I was thrilled to find this in the gift shop…
Tervis tumbler – yay!
I love Tervis tumblers (and they can be used for coffee or other hot beverages if you are so inclined ).
My plan was to go to Downtown Disney to check out the progress of Disney Springs and to get some dinner. My room was a short walk from the boat dock.
The Boathouse was newly-opened
The Amphicars were very cool – a CM has to drive you
The recently-opened boat dock
There were a couple of huge cranes, but it didn’t feel as much like a construction zone as my last visit to DTD last December.
After docking, I walked around. There is some construction near the OUAT shop for what looks like a parking garage entrance.
It was fun to explore. There seemed to be new (since my last visit, at least) stuff everywhere.
New shops
Fleet of Amphicars
There was more evident construction going on in this section.
I checked out the food trucks, figuring I’d get dinner there.
The Epcot truck had one of my favorite F&WF items, the pierogies and kielbasa. That was an easy decision.
They also had a favorite among some PassPorters I know…
So yummy!
I will say that it would’ve been better to have the pierogies on top of the kielbasa. I wanted the sour cream with the pierogies. But a minor nitpick.
After dinner, I did a bit more looking around.
I took the shuttle boat back over to the Marketplace area.
Back at POFQ, I unpacked and got ready for bed. I set an alarm for 4:15 a.m. I wanted to be at the 24-hour event at the MK right when it started! I was able to get to sleep at about 8:15.
I thought some of you might be interested in my steps each day, so I’m adding my Fitbit stats at the end of each day.
This is what a “down day” at Disney looks like
Up Next: Just how many hours will I spend in the MK?
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
So nice to see you back on the Boards Sharon Beautiful pictures and I especially loved the one of the gardens in Canada. Looking forward to reading the Canada TR to see if you went to Buchert Gardens! I visited there two years ago and absolutely loved it!
You've been at DTD/DS so very recently that what you can tell us about conditions you experienced and the fab new things you saw will be a great startup report on the thread.
Thank you most kindly, Your Highness.
Following here to catch more of these terrific photos! Wowers!
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
Yay Sharon is back!! You've been missed. I love your pictures - such clear photos! Looking forward to hearing about all your adventures - WDW and non.
Are you on Instagram by chance? I'd love to follow your adventures there too.
LOVE it Sharon!!! You have given me an idea to possibly steal from my April trip...........no real ambition to finish that TR (as my August trip will be WAY MORE exciting)............AND I am so HAPPY to see your smiling face here!!!
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Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
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About This Page: 
I made peace with myself about it by promising myself I’d still write TRs of my non-WDW trips (two of those for me this year). Anyway, that’s why you haven’t seen TRs for my last 4 WDW trips. Because let’s be honest, I wasn’t going to take fewer trips! 
Anyway, that explains it, so let’s get started…
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
) was to visit my little cottage.
).
I wanted to be at the 24-hour event at the MK right when it started! I was able to get to sleep at about 8:15. 
Beautiful pictures and I especially loved the one of the gardens in Canada. Looking forward to reading the Canada TR to see if you went to Buchert Gardens! I visited there two years ago and absolutely loved it!
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
*Melissa
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