Nineteen nights of MouseFest, Disney and Christmas - THREAD 1 - UPDATED 1/11 - Page 11 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Great update....sorry though that you had to wait so long for takeoff. However, the extra benefits of your seats looked pretty good...lots of leg room and the meals did look really good (even for plane food...lol)
So now I will go to sleep wondering...did you make Spoodles???
Saturday 8 December – part three: are we going to make it to Spoodles in time for dinner?
Some of the views during the flight:
We think this was a jet of some sort, it was moving so quickly In Canada or the very northeast corner of America somewhere we think
And finally, coming into land:
We think the big building in the distance could be the Kennedy Space Center?
We finally landed just after 5.00, more than an hour and a quarter behind schedule. As soon as we were clear of immigration and customs (fortunately this time, as Premium Economy passengers, we were one of the first off the plane, so we only waited a few minutes), I contacted Sue to let her know that we had finally arrived. That was when the problems started…
As we had done previously, Mark went to pick up the rental car and I went to get the suitcases (Orlando’s stupid system of making international passengers pick up their luggage twice is very annoying!) The first two arrived quickly enough, but there was just no sign of the third. Mark came back with the details of the rental car and I told him to go and get it and I would catch him up. After all, it couldn’t take much longer, could it?
Well it did – another 15 minutes in total. At that point, I really thought that we would never make the second Spoodles ADR, especially when I finally got to the rental car area, only to find that there had been a problem with the first car Mark had picked up and now he was having to get another one. Could this get much worse? At that point, it didn’t feel like it. I was so glad when we finally got our car and were off.
Once we got going, we were soon on Disney property and checking in at the BoardWalk.
The sign we all love to see!
We were given our room immediately and went to drop the luggage off there before dinner. As we walked to the room, we both commented that the décor was much nicer than we had expected, a good combination of pastel blues and greens. Not what we had expected at all, I don’t know why.
When we got into the room, perhaps it was just me, but it felt a bit bigger than the studios at the Beach Club Villas, obviously nowhere near as big as Old Key West, but again another pleasant surprise.
And then there was the view. We had paid for a BoardWalk / preferred view, so I was anxious to see what we had got and it was lovely. The BoardWalk Christmas tree was right in front of us and off to the right, we could see the lobby area with the BoardWalk to the left of us and ahead of us, the BoardWalk Inn, with Epcot behind. To our left was the lake with our beloved Beach Club behind it (oh and we could see the Yacht Club as well!). We had a superb view of everything in this area. It was just perfect.
We didn’t have long to enjoy it though, the cell phone went off and it was Sue and Steve asking where we were. We told them that we’d be down in the lobby in the next couple of minutes. We raced down there and I don’t think I’ve ever had such a big hug in my life from Sue! I was so pleased to see them both. There really had been points today that I thought we would never make it in time for dinner with them and everyone else.
Oh my goodness Cheryl, when I read that your third suitcase hadn't turned up I had visions of it being out in the rain back at Gatwick! Thank goodness everything was ok in the end, your room at the Boardwalk looks lovely.
Wow, what a rough start in the airport Glad you finally made it to the Boardwalk And what a great room and view you have Can't wait to hear all about the hijinks at dinner
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.
Just caught up Cheryl, great TR. Sorry about your delay problems but so glad all the luggage showed up and you got to your happy place. Wish we'd had more time to spend with you and Marc, but looking forward to seeing how your trip turned out.
I am really enjoying your report so far! My 7 year old son just walked in and asked "Who is that lady on the plane?". I think he thought it was a family member he did not recognize! It was hard for him to understand why I am so interested in reading a "stranger's" trip! Cannot wait for more!!!
Oh Cheryl, please, please hurry up and get to Steve's medical lesson. I'm already having fits of laughter remembering it and his method of drinking sangria!
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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At that point, I really thought that we would never make the second Spoodles ADR, especially when I finally got to the rental car area, only to find that there had been a problem with the first car Mark had picked up and now he was having to get another one. Could this get much worse? At that point, it didn’t feel like it. I was so glad when we finally got our car and were off. 
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m83/kazzamcgazza/dlp-1.jpg
Glad you finally made it to the Boardwalk 
And what a great room and view you have 
Can't wait to hear all about the hijinks at dinner 
Dana
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