The Surviving Deployment Trip Report, Updated 10/18 COMPLETE!! - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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My hats off to you for carrying on and keeping life "normal" while your husband is deployed! My husband just left for Afghanistan this week and I'm amazed at the people around me who chose to cease life as they know it and put everything on hold. I understand why it's easy to do that...but I think it's important to have happy times for you too, especially for the kids! Hopefully your husband can join you next time!!
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Lots has been going on since I checked in! I know you don't want to hear this, but the "porta potty fell on my car" will be a great story to tell! And good luck making the costumes. Can't wait to see those! Also congrats on the weight loss! That's fantastic!
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
My hats off to you for carrying on and keeping life "normal" while your husband is deployed! My husband just left for Afghanistan this week and I'm amazed at the people around me who chose to cease life as they know it and put everything on hold. I understand why it's easy to do that...but I think it's important to have happy times for you too, especially for the kids! Hopefully your husband can join you next time!!
No way! Life goes on for us, and I love life! What kind of example is it to the children when mommie is downtrodden and depressed all of the time because her husband is gone? I want to be a positive example to my DD that life happens, and we have to make the most of it even when we are missing our DH/Daddy. We enjoy being together and doing things together, and we take Michael the Bear with us so we can include him, too. And time has just flown by!
God bless you for the sacrifice you are making with your DH gone. Enjoy that time to get to know yourself better and have fun with your kids! He'll be home before you know it.
I got Disney mail yesterday! We received our DME information and tags. It was so exciting. I saved that very special piece of mail til last as it was the best that I got. It's really becoming real that we are going in five weeks!
Congrats on the weight loss. I am trying, but it is not working. I have no discipline, plus I have knee problems and the doctor has limited some of the exercises I can do.
I am at 6 weeks and I wish it would move itself along. Hopefully it will go quickly for both of us.
I just started reading your TR and I am really excited for you. First, hats off to your man for keeping us here safe and sound, he is an angel. Second, your daughters talent is amazing, you must be soooo happy and proud of her. Wish I could draw something more than a stick figure. Third, congrats on your weight loss, that's a nice accomplishment.
Hope you have a wonderful trip and great time seeing your cousin. I'm jealous of all your ADR's. Looking forward to Teppan Edo ourselves this Dec
Oh and Michael the bear is hillarious!!!! Love it.
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