the EIGHTEEN years, TEARS, CHEERS & Hurricane FEARS TR - Page 13 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Glad your evening at Epcot ended well...seems like you made the perfect choice and that everyone loved dinner in Morroco.
Looks like everyone was glad to sleep in (except you and I will admit I am the same way - heck we are on vacation get up and let's go have fun) but I am glad you finally got some company with Alicia.
We love 50's PT but you are right that those plates are more than filling...I did not want to get "repremanded" for not clearing my plate but I just could not finish...I ended up messing up the plate so it looked like I ate everyting.
Can'wa wait to hear all about TSMM...hope that the problem on the stairs did not put a damper on the day...
Just catching up!! Sorry to hear Grumpy decided not to join you, but it was probably for the best the way teenagers go I cannot believe you got the Cowboy version on your first run through of GMR!! We're one of those people who haven't been able to catch it after dozens of rides!! Can't wait to hear what happens next
Great update. So glad you enjoyed your meal at Marrakesh. We haven't tried that one yet. Sounds like a great meal at 50's Prime Time. Hope you get to ride TSMM. Hurry back with more.
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I've had a busy few days... Went to Long Island to visit Alicia on Saturday and watch her first "performance" with the dance team (Homecoming for Hofstra - and they WON!) Then work work work... Today I spent the day getting my online scrapbook done as my pictures are "about to expire" YESTERDAY ! More work the next few days, but I should be back to the TR soon!
I do feel bad about leaving you hanging though... so just a quick update about the rest of our TSMWM ride:
Jeff was NOT happy that the CM was letting "single riders" come through and go up the regular stairway. (We are rule followers) The other stairway was moving right along, and our stairway was not moving at all! Apparantly the stairway we were on was also the FP line?!? Well I'd be a little more than MIFFED if I had a FP and I wasn't moving. There were only 2 people behind us and after waiting about 10 minutes and NOT moving, Jeff decides to go down and talk to the CM. Apparantly she didn't give a beavers behind what the people were doing because "someone called out sick and she was stuck doing this job alone and there were supposed to be two of them down there and what could she do about it anyway"
Jeff suggested she use her walkie talkie to TALKIE to a manager and get some help but she turned her back to him and just kept letting people through. Now mind you my husband was VERY POLITE to her the entire time. He didn't lose his cool until AFTER he came back into the line (by the way still only those other 2 people behind us!). I suggested we bail and go in the other way, but he wouldn't hear of it. HE was DETERMINED to SPEAK to a manager once we were done!!! Of course my attitude was "don't sweat the small stuff" and I tried to get him to let it go. Soon enough, the line started moving and we were queued up to ride! Alicia and I on one side, Jeff and Evan on the other.
Scores and Jeff's attitude after the ride coming soon....
Ohhh wow. I would've ALMOST lost my cool when she gave her little sob story about having to work alone, but I DEFINITELY would have when she turned her back to me. I usually have the attitude of don't sweat the small stuff too, but I sincerely hope something was done about the situation.
Ok where was I… Oh yes… our first TSMWM scores… I whipped them all!! Now I say this with extreme gloat in my tone because I STINK at video games. Total El Stinko here, and I WHIPPED them all!! (Well those in my group anyway!) I got a lovely beaver with a score of 111,600 WOO HOO! I took a picture, but unfortunately, my camera was still not fixed and the screen was all blurry so you can’t see it. You’ll just have to trust me. Alicia got 74,500 and a Bunny. Of course she says she still beat be because her “accuracy” percentage was better. Pooh! I say!! Let the NUMBERS speak for themselves! I don’t remember what the boys got, but it was right around Alicia’s score. When we came out of TSM, we wondered out the back side of Pixar Place. I tried to get the boys to go on another attraction… Star Tours… Nope. Lights Motor Action… Nope. Indy…. Nope. MUPPETS?????? Nope. SIGH… Ok, IT’s HOT today. Enough. There’s no point in even asking them to go on RnR or ToT because they won’t. At that point we are back near the hat and decide to split up again. Those darn boys just don’t know how to have any fun!! The Block Party parade was going through, but I wasn’t in the mood to stop and watch, so Alicia and I ducked through just in time and snagged a Mickey Bar (ahh my first and only of the trip) and (I forget the name) one of those long skinny popsicle things. Alicia and I decided to head back to the hotel and swim or nap (She LOVES her naps!) guess which one we did? We left the boys at the Studios and headed back to the hotel. Sometime while we were together we got this pic:
Yup, Alicia opted for nap. I pretty much won’t go in the pool by myself so I plopped down in front of the computer and did a live update then rested for a while. Grumpy was still keeping to himself, but the mom in me was getting worried so I went to check on him and he was napping too! I think he pretty much slept ALL day! He was feeling better and decided to join us for dinner. We headed over to Epcot a little after 7pm for our dinner ressie at Tutto Italia. Corey Alicia and I were meeting Evan and Jeff, who I thought spent the rest of the day at the Studios, but they pulled a fast one on me! They actually left DHS and jumped on the monorail (not sure where) and went over to MK to check out the barber shop. Evan wanted to get a haircut the day before we left home, but the barber was closed by the time he got there. He was all set to have a trim at The Harmony Barber shop until he saw the three people in front of him get Mickey shaved into the back of their heads and decided to walk away hair intact. I guess at least one of the men was older so that freaked him out just a little! I told him they wouldn't do that if you asked them to just do a plain cut but he wasn't taking any chances! The boys made their way back over to Epcot on the monorail and met up with us in “Italy”. It was pretty crowed when we first arrived for a dinner ressie at 8pm, but we only had to wait a short time after Jeff and Evan got there before they seated us. I got a few shots outside while we waited: