Nineteen nights of MouseFest, Disney and Christmas - THREAD 1 - UPDATED 1/11 - Page 14 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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The pictures were fantastic, the Boardwalk looked beautiful and I am so glad that you got to enjoy the fireworks from your room....what a perfect way to end a long day.
Sunday 9 December – part one: a close call with park passes
Well, it’s not as bad as previous trips, but 5.00 was definitely still too early to be up and about, but that’s what happened. Darned jetlag! Still, we were able to get lots done and made the worrying discovery that my contact lenses solution that I’m sure went into the suitcase had done a vanishing act. (Fortunately, after buying some more and getting Mark’s family to bring supplies over with them, I found the darned thing when we got to the Beach Club Villas. )
We went out on to the balcony to get a few photos as the sun came up. Mark’s new camera (birthday present from me) is perfect for things like that, as you can see:
Mark’s photos:
We left the room around 6.45 and walked round the resort a little and then along the BoardWalk, taking photos as we went.
A beautiful sunrise
I really thought that everywhere started to serve breakfast at 7.00 in Disney, but we made the pleasant discovery that the BoardWalk Bakery opens for business at 6.30, so we were able to get in there and get something to eat and then go on our way over to Epcot for the Segway tour.
We were there about 7.15 and had the honour of being the first guests of the day. We had a fun chat with Disney security, before Sue and Steve showed up.
We waited for someone to come to the gates, so that we could get into the parks and when they did, we were told that we’d need our Annual Pass. I explained that we had vouchers that we hadn’t had a chance to change up yet and we were sent over to guest relations.
Fortunately, they went out of their way for us over there. Despite the fact that they didn’t open for business until 8.00, we explained the situation to them and a couple of minutes later, we had our new Annual Passes in hand and were allowed into the park. Phew, crisis averted!
Of course, as we walked through the entrance plaza, we had to get a few photos on the way:
Great updates! And I know you've answered this question a million times before, but can you once again tell us what type of camera you have? I love the night pictures it takes.
Great updates! And I know you've answered this question a million times before, but can you once again tell us what type of camera you have? I love the night pictures it takes.
Thanks!!
It's a Sony DSC F828, but there's no point looking for it. It was an end of range when we bought it in October 2005 and unfortunately the replacement Sony bought out for it is nowhere as good.
All caught up! The Boardwalk looks just beautiful during the holidays. I can't wait to hear about the rest of this day! And I can't wait to see you in NYC!
Your pictures are so beautiful.....I sat pricing a trip to the Boardwalk, after seeing the pictures and the beautiful sunrise....I told the girls this one has to be on the top of our list.....
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What a fantatstic start to your trip. Your view is gorgeous and the pictures are incredible. How neat to be the first Epcot visitors of the day. Can't wait to hear more.
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Margaret
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definitely! I hope to have details of the itinerary worked out soon, but we plan on a couple of nights there over a weekend. 
) 
We had a fun chat with Disney security, before Sue and Steve showed up. 
The Boardwalk looks just beautiful during the holidays. I can't wait to hear about the rest of this day! 
And I can't wait to see you in NYC! 
Margaret
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