Friends and Flowers April 2011 Complete Updated 5/4 - Page 10 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
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That is so awesome that your tips are going to cover all your meals! My Mickey Pepper Grinder needs replacing, too, but mine has just starting cracking for no known reason. It's on my shopping list for June.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
I love TP's and love that now email changes to park hours. I'm not anticipating too much of a change since we're going at a much slower time. Still, I feel like trashing my plans and ADR's to start over.
Yay! for the cash. I try to always tip my hairdresser, etc. in cash but we rarely do for wait staff, etc. I should think about doing that more often.
__________________
ºOº ~*~
Oct '99: CSR ~ May '02: CR ~ Nov '04: SOG ~ May '06: SOG ~ Dec '07: Solo @ Pop ~ May '08: Pop w/friends ~ Oct '08: SOG ~ Dec '09: Pop w/LeAnn ~ Sept '10: Solo @ Pop ~ Spring '11: AKL ~ Jan '12: Pop for 1/2 Marathon ~ Sept '12: 1st trip for DL 1/2 Marathon? ~ Feb '13: Pop w/pals? ~ Mar '13: Tokyo Disney w/PP's?
Woohoo for extra $! I've started doing online tutoring several evenings a week and that extra paycheck will cover all of our spending and tips on our cruise - so nice to have things covered ahead of time Oh, and now you have me wanting a Mickey Pepper Grinder....
__________________
Stacey
Why do these kids look so pathetic?
Find out in: A New Grade, A New House, and A Surprise!Final Thoughts 01/30
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Congrats on the cash! That's the one thing I miss about working in the restaurant industry (I did it part time for a bit here and there) - the cash at the end of the night. The things I don't miss - aching feet, legs, and dealing with rude, entitled people.
A tip for all tippers - even if you put it on your charge card, if you tip in cash it helps your server out =).
It's now Monday afternoon. My count has us at 11 days to go! I don't count today . . . its already half over, and I don't count departure day because we arrive before noon! (I refuse to purchase airfare that has an afternoon arrival or a morning departure. Sometimes it means I spend a little more money, but when you are only taking 5 days off, that little bit of time is a big deal!)
I have now looked at all the times that have changed for our trip. Amazing what I can get done from my iPhone at work when its slow! The biggest changes appear to be the times for MK opening, which I don't think will affect us, we're not doing a morning at MK. They are also now running MSEP twice a night. This is actually a big pain. There is one showing at 9, Wishes at 10 and another showing at 11. This causes massive gridlock throughout the entire Main Street area for 3+ hours during busy season. We definitely experienced it in July. We'll just have to wait and see how it works out. It may cause us to be up a little later than expected on Saturday or Sunday night. We're still not planning on using any EMH. I don't want to push too hard this trip, we're both worn out from work. (I'm in the middle of another 6 days 8 shifts week--maybe I'll get two days off next week . . . right before vacation . . . sounds kind of unlikely doesn't it)
I also think they've added more Fantasmic showings on Sunday and Tuesday. Doesn't really matter to us, we've seen it and don't like waiting around on those hard benches!
And now . . . favorite things to do outside the parks
Visit the spa . . . get a massage--sadly not planned for this trip
One surprise is now underway. I requested a quote this morning from Memories by Betsy. I know I've been giving my bestie a really hard time lately, so I thought it would be nice to have a basket delivered to our room. Animal Kingdom is Brandon's favorite park and AKL is his favorite place to stay. I put together a basket of stuff mostly for him. I asked for 1 men's T shirt, 1 hat, 2 key chains, 2 refillable mugs, 1 women's fitted T shirt (yes for me) and a small resort themed plush. I'm waiting for a quote now! I also asked if there was anything else adult themed that she would recommend adding. I know it's going to cost a small fortune, but we aren't having groceries delivered this trip--because of the lounge access. I just put the money I would have used for that towards the basket.
I made my food budget last night and will use the rest of this week's cash tips (remember most of mine are NOT cash--they go on my check) to pay for the basket.
I think he'll really appreciate the surprise! Just to add . . . I looked at the Disney Florist and didn't see anything AT all that I thought was masculine enough--besides the beer tub . . . and then we'd have to haul the beer tub home! Betsy appears to be willing to put just about anything together!
The gift basket sounds wonderful! I'm not crazy about the Disney Florist gift offerings--there's always something included I don't want. Getting it made-to-order is much better!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
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