The Continuing Story of the Adventures of a CM! - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Glad you made it back safely. Sorry you are under the weather. Hope you get better soon.
Hopefully the dogs will work it out themselves.
Hope you find out where you will be soon. I hope to see you in September.
I have been reading your blog for the last couple of weeks and I am all caught up. Your story is so touching and I love your overall positive attitude.
I never got to meet you but I was at the Decade of Dreams magical moment at AK...you seems like such a warm, genuine and caring person.
I hope to meet you soon ...I live in Orlando now....we have to arrange a meet up.
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Last night, I did one of those Seize the Day things I neglected too much the first time around...
23yo took 13yo to see UP (10yo had seen it w/ her BFF, so they decided to have a "sister night"). 10yo was a bit bummed, so I said, what the heck, let's go for a drive. We drove over to DTD at 930 at night, went to Ghiradelli's and shared a hot fudge sundae! Very random, VERY fun. I must make a point of doing that more often the next 6 months.
I applied for another job on the Disney job site today, on the off chance that it will take them awhile to get around to the interviews/hiring process. It's in Cleveland, of all places! District Sales Manager, working with travel agencies (I'm a grad of the College of Disney Knowledge and have some TA experience). It would be nice if they could take 6 months or so to fill it, but I'm not banking on it. At least I'm getting my resume out there. Since I have no idea what my future holds here at WDW, I'm trying to go ahead and do what I can. I can't not work anymore. It's not that I WANT to leave my kiddos, but hubby just isn't a reliable provider and we need insurance. and a retirement fund. I need off the financial roller coaster and can't count on him anymore. So, pixies, please, that the right thing comes from that application, whatever it is supposed to be!
Still no location, I'm pretty sure they're waiting until Friday to tell the last of us who don't know, and at this point, I'm OK with that.
The carpet person never came yesterday and never returned my call either. I can't imagine that business is so booming in this economy that people can afford to turn down work, but maybe I'm wrong. I have someone else supposed to be coming tomorrow, so we'll see.
The dogs are not friends, but they haven't killed one another either. Lola (small one) is crate training fairly well. She still barks a lot, but it's improving somewhat. We keep one in the crate and one out, then swap them. Zoie is fine in her crate, just goes in and lays there unless Lola harrasses her and then I'm glad she's behind bars... They've been going on walks together (each DD holds one) and that's great, they both keep it moving and have little time to interact, although Lola is a lot more distracted than Zoie. There's a lot of change happening for both of them, so we're just taking it slowly.
The views and opinions expressed on this post are mine and do not necessarily represent or reflect those of The Walt Disney Company and Affiliated Companies
How DARE they keep you in suspense about where you will be???? LOL Glad to hear the crate training is going well and the dogs haven't killed each other yet. How did the house meeting with the house contract go?
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I'm glad to hear that you are doing so well. I love hearing about your need to work. As a divorce lawyer, I have always told my DD (and DS's) that she needs to be able to support herself in the lifestyle she wants and she should never count on anyone else to do it. I have seen too many women left in poverty when their husbands call it quits. I think work is a good thing. Not only can working provide us with money, it can also do wonders for our self worth and you are being a great role model for your daughters.
I was lucky that I was able to work part time until my DD finished high school. But it's not just the quantity of time. It's also the special times and the special memories-like a late night chocolate sundae. Hope you have lots more.
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Gray (I'm trying to make the name switch over :wink, how are things on the puppy potty training front? If your carpet gets switched out, that might help. And a position in OH with Disney would be great. How close is your town to Cleveland?
Gray (I'm trying to make the name switch over :wink, how are things on the puppy potty training front? If your carpet gets switched out, that might help. And a position in OH with Disney would be great. How close is your town to Cleveland?
Heck, I answer to anything...
Lola got worse right when we got back, I think it's a dominance aggression thing. She went right in front of Zoie's crate and by her food dish. However, since we're in full crate-training mode, the incidents have been fewer. She still poops sometime during the night on occasion but it's after she's been taken out and well after she's eaten anything (we are feeding on a schedule now, too, one dog is in the crate while the other is fed). I'm hoping that it's just a lot to learn right now and once they both settle in t a routine, it will be better.
Our town is just about 45 minutes away from Cleveland. I'm not sure, but it may be a home office type position, since there is some travel involved to agencies/trade shows. It would sure save on some living expenses...
Yesterday, I had to run something over to a former manager at AK, so I swung in Kidani to see if my favorite former co-CM was in (I've been trying to visit her since it opened, but we miss each other). She was there and her face just lit up when she saw me. She hadn't heard my news, so I got to tell her and she was thrilled for me. Introduced me around and then gave me the tour of the shop. That woman is passionate. She knows every detail and shared them with such joy. She exemplifies what a CM is (she was a legal secretary with the company when they were buying the land for WDW and knew Walt and his family). I definitely need to make a point of hanging out with her more so she can rub off on me.
I'm going to get a haircut today (pixies that it turns out right!) and my first manicure. Hair, nails, makeup, clothes...it's like What Not to Wear at my house!
The views and opinions expressed on this post are mine and do not necessarily represent or reflect those of The Walt Disney Company and Affiliated Companies