Passing through the Panama Canal - a Passporter's Tale **Updated 8/21** - Page 12 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Sorry about your sore butt, Terri! Hope the heated loungers helped!
I'm glad to hear about the zip lining...we thought it would be fun but were worried that the climbing might be too much for my knee, and it looks like we made the right decision! So I guess that will remain on my bucket list.
Sounds like this cruise has been a blast! I too can't wait for the full report with pictures! Thanks for sharing!
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Today is another chilly day - high so far of 66 degrees and it is 1230pm. I started the morning late - Lesley and I had breakfast at Parrot Cay, met another passporter - dsnydoc and her husband. Then Lesley headed out to the spa (I think) while I saw a behind the scenes presentation, and then headed to the rainforest. Now I am trying to decide about lunch, as well as this afternoon before our 3pm gallery tour...
tonight is Disney Dream - and the reality of leaving the ship has started to set in - Brent (the cruise director) started the debarkation discussions this morning (boo hoo!!!)
Brent (the cruise director) started the debarkation discussions this morning (boo hoo!!!)
BRENT!!!!!!!!!! I was wondering where he was. He was our cruise director last cruise and was great. We had a newbie this cruise. Clayton. He was great though. I know what it's like to not want to leave the ship. I wish I was still on it. Enjoy your last days.
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Waht a great cruise you all have had! I can't believe it's actually almost over. It seems like just yesterday you all were leaving!
Thanks for sharing, Terri, and am anxiously awaiting a FULL report with pictures!
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I can't believe that the cruise is almost over . However, it sounds like you had an amazing time...your Cabo adventure sounded exhilerating. Zip lining, repelling (you got your days workout and then some).
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Last day and I am royal depressed... it has gone by much too fast!! Didn't we just leave Castaway Cay?? It is chilly and breezy again with overcast skies. I've just returned from a morning in the gym, etc - in fact my morning looked like - sleep until 8am, on the elliptical for 30-minutes, treadmill for 20 (with a couple of running intervals) Saw Carol in the gym too - it is weird to walk on a treadmill in swells - it feels like you are walking up and down hills the whole time... After my morning of cardio - I headed to the dry sauna for about 20 minutes (it felt so good I almost fell asleep). Then I took a shower in that wonderful shower in the ladies changing room - and then I was off to the rainforest for about an hour. It is 1130 am now - I skipped breakfast - so I am thinking through lunch options - but I have to be near a computer at 1220 to check Lesley in for her flight and at 1250 to check me in for my flight. Then I have to begin the sad task of packing for tomorrow's LONG trip home... In reality - it is 6 hours of airplane time - all on one plane (with 2 ups and downs if I remember correctly - Phoenix and Nashville) - but we have to start the morning very early. Disney has determined that we are in the group that has to leave early for the airport since our flights are before 1pm. We can have breakfast at the buffet between 630-730am - which means we don't get to see our tablemates and servers again after tonight (boo hoo) - and have to be in the Walt Disney Theatre at 730am with all bags ready to go to be one of the first off the ship in the morning to make the 1220 and 1250pm flights.
Now for me to figure out the clothing situation for this evening and tomorrow morning - what I am wearing, toiletries, etc. Of course I will have access to my bags at the airport - so I can stuff all my stuff (no pun intended) into one of the bags. I will have a pretty large amount of carry on stuff - since I have all my treasures (fragile treasure) to bring home.
Ok - Lesley is back - we are off to lunch before her wine tasting and me having to come back to check us in.
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