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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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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.
I present this as further evidence that it truly is MY castle (although I don't expect Coop to accept it anytime soon ). They don’t let just anyone fly over it, you know!
I really like that photopass pic. Where did you get it taken?
About your little video clip - that is just a CGI of the castle - NOT REALLY Cinderella Castle. The actual LOGO (white castle on blue background) is Sleeping Beauty Castle. There is NOrealpicture of MY castle used in the movies. - just sayin.
We are just going to have to agree to disagree or share. (or there's always the smackdown - LOL)
We posed for the over-the-castle photo at the Journey to Imagination gift shop. I couldn't imagine why Sheri was taking me to the back end of the Imagination building, and then voila! They had a lot of cute backgrounds to choose from, but of course we had to fly over the castle.
And yes, we were really flying. And yes, we were over "my" castle. I'm just agreeing to disagree!
But we DO have a photo to share with this last story from our night at the Brown Derby. There was a family of four in the booth next to ours. All we can assume is that Mom and Dad talked us up to their boys, who kept peering around Mom’s shoulder to get better looks at us throughout the meal. As they exited, they paused at our table. Dad said, “May our son take your picture?” and we replied, “Of COURSE, and then they must scoot in here with us for another photo.” So here we are with two of our youngest and most star-struck fans!
Oh I bet the parents were talking you up, as in "don't stare at those crazy ladies" LOL!
__________________
Donning my Wellies to cut Peat in Scotland
Melissa
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.
Oh I bet the parents were talking you up, as in "don't stare at those crazy ladies" LOL!
ha ha ha, melissa, dahling....but we are so very harmless! i would dare say that lots of folks our age and older came and said "good for you" to us...ha ha ha. yep, cindy and i are certainly refusing to grow up nor will we ever grow old....
When I share our story from DHS with friends and coworkers, I often get asked, "So do -- other PEOPLE -- do that at the Hollywood Studios? I mean -- do they -- DRESS UP? Is that a THING people DO there"
To which I reply, "Heck no, that would just be !" And then I add, "But if the kids can dress up as pirates and princesses, I can sure go as an old-time Hollywood movie star!!!!!!!!!!" And then I until they edge away from me.
Life's too short! And if I can't play make-believe at WDW, life is not worth living! And I definitely believe life is worth living, so if you follow my logic. . . .
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.
And now back to our story!
Chefs de France is one of my favorite Epcot restaurants, and Sheri had never eaten there before, so I had made a ressie for noon. Menu: Chefs de France - Epcot - Lunch Menu
I had just a little bit of "Hollywood" in me and so posed rather snootily for this one:
By the way, my shirt says "Hollywood" on it.
Appetizers: I had the yummy salad and Sheri had the cheese plate. Both: tres magnifique!
I had the Mahi Mahi sandwich (first time I had a sandwich there -- liked it a lot, although the fries were just OK) and Sheri had the croque monsieur with salad (I think.)
I like their hot entrees better, but it was a warm day and lunch so we both went with sandwiches. Still good, though -- I really like Chefs de France. And of course I had a glass of wine and Sheri didn't (because I would NOT be piloting my plane and she WOULD be driving three hours).
actually, i only have to drive 2 hours but at times it SEEMS like 3...he he he. and yes, it is not the last meal of the trip but rather a preview for the next trip which will heavily involve epcot i get the feeling.....
And I had just explained to Sheri how Remy doesn’t tend to be around at lunchtime and that I had FINALLY seen him in December when I’d dined with (dw)Sandy, and guess who showed up?
We actually TALKED WITH HIM, and if a mouse can squeak in French, I swear that's what he did. And we could UNDERSTAND him. (OK, by now you know we're both , but I'm not kidding here -- honest!)
After lunch we walked around a bit -- here are some random items I want to display since I did not purchase them. Sandy from Canada, this one is for YOU:
About This Page: 
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Pixie Dust
). They don’t let just anyone fly over it, you know! 
Where did you get it taken? 
The actual LOGO (white castle on blue background) is Sleeping Beauty Castle. There is NO real picture of MY castle used in the movies. 
PassPorter Guide Author
!" And then I add, "But if the kids can dress up as pirates and princesses, I can sure go as an old-time Hollywood movie star!!!!!!!!!!" And then I 
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