An Animal Kingdom State of Being with Cam and Fam COMPLETED 9/18 - Page 152 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Seriously loved this trip report. You spin the finest yarn!!! Can't believe it's going to be a while...before you start your next PTR. Well...you'll be hearing from me often...especially once a day for the next few days...as I update my TR!
Welcome back...hope the new school year is treating you well!
__________________
Cheeser. Maleficent of the Vacation Villians!!!
Partying with the Parrs December 5, 2015:
I am always sad to see your TR end. It is always fun to follow along with all of you. Seeing all the wonderful pictures of Stefanie always make me smile. She is such a special girl. I felt bad when I read that she was not ready to leave "the bubble". I think we can all relate to that feeling. Hopefully it will not be long before you can be there again.
Thank you for sharing your magical trip and I look forward to the next one.
If I didn't have to keep my chin up for Stefanie, I'd probably be pouting and weepy as we leave, too. for following along!
Quote:
Originally Posted by PrincessSharon
What a wonderful end to your trip. Character bonanza! And I love that Suzy and Perla showed Stefanie so much attention. And I agree with Stefanie, we need to see Gus and Jaq! Your trip was just as wonderful as ever and I thank you for allowing us to share it with you!
for reading! You all keep me from giving up before it's finished.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommapants
Oh Cam, I was away for too long and missed the end of the trip. Sounds like you all had a great last couple of days. That Surprise Character meet sounded awesome - very cool. Sorry about the flight delay but at least you made it home safely.
I so enjoy your reports and sorry this one is coming to a close.
Good luck with the rest of the school year - I know it is keeping you busy.
The past two weeks, I think I've finally gotten into a rhythm to some degree with work. So I'm bringing a more normal work load home at night. Thanks goodness!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MickeyD
Cam, Thank you so very much for sharing your trip in such detail. I truly felt like I was there with you every step of the way. So sad to see your TR come to an end. I am glad that you scrapbook your memories for them to last a lifetime! Can't wait for your next PTR to begin, but time travels so fast that you'll be starting it before you know it. And I'll be traveling along! Thank You!
Right now 258 days sounds like a long time away, but I've got a feeling it'll be here before we know it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by goofysdtr
What a great ending to your trip! Well, the characters. The storm, not so much. We try to take the last flight out on our return trip, too. Definitely worth a few extra hours in my happy place! Stephanie sounds like me on our last day. I always put on my best pouty face & tell my DH, "I'm not going!" Somehow he always manages to get me on that ME bus. Gotta pay for the next trip, you know.
Thanks again for sharing your trips with us, Cam! I'll be looking forward to the next one!
for following along! Come spring I'll be ready to fire up the PTR!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cheeser
Seriously loved this trip report. You spin the finest yarn!!! Can't believe it's going to be a while...before you start your next PTR. Well...you'll be hearing from me often...especially once a day for the next few days...as I update my TR!
Welcome back...hope the new school year is treating you well!
Finally snagged a chance to finish this - and I guessed right about your surprise I only thought of it because we saw the character bonanza there once too. We got there too late though, so we only got to glimpse them from afar.
What an eventful finish to your trip! Sad to see it end though - tell Stefanie she's not alone in her tears. We're all sad we have no more to read!
__________________
Stacey
Why do these kids look so pathetic?
Find out in: A New Grade, A New House, and A Surprise!Final Thoughts 01/30
Finally snagged a chance to finish this - and I guessed right about your surprise I only thought of it because we saw the character bonanza there once too. We got there too late though, so we only got to glimpse them from afar.
What an eventful finish to your trip! Sad to see it end though - tell Stefanie she's not alone in her tears. We're all sad we have no more to read!
Great guess! I was just telling Stefanie what you said. Her reply was, "I don't want to read about Disney; I want to be there!"
What a great ending to the trip--I can't imagine how excited Stefanie was to see all those characters at once! Three cheers for Donald and his reaction to Stefanie! Glad you made it home safe and sound--that was some storm! You'll have to let me know when you plan your June trip and I'll see if we can squeeze some days in this year.
Count me as another reader sad to see the end of your trip.
Ramoan wanted me to tell him a story last night so he could go to sleep (LOL), but I couldn't think of a bedtime story for a grown man. So he says, "Just tell me a trip report that you are reading." So I told him about your trip and afterward he told me that he really liked that story. This morning he said that he'd had some really nice dreams last night, and that he dreamed about our upcoming trip.
What a great ending to the trip--I can't imagine how excited Stefanie was to see all those characters at once! Three cheers for Donald and his reaction to Stefanie! Glad you made it home safe and sound--that was some storm! You'll have to let me know when you plan your June trip and I'll see if we can squeeze some days in this year.
I will definitely let you know once we have our dates set because I'd love to see you again and Stefanie wants to meet the lady who gave her the rubber ducky every time we go.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PamelaK
Count me as another reader sad to see the end of your trip.
Ramoan wanted me to tell him a story last night so he could go to sleep (LOL), but I couldn't think of a bedtime story for a grown man. So he says, "Just tell me a trip report that you are reading." So I told him about your trip and afterward he told me that he really liked that story. This morning he said that he'd had some really nice dreams last night, and that he dreamed about our upcoming trip.
That may be the first time my TR has been used as a bedtime story! Glad it gave Ramoan sweet Disney dreams.
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Tell Stefanie that I am counting on more fun times with the Matthews family next June!
I just wish we could find a way to get together sooner!
With Stefanie's dental work, pretty much any hope went out the door for an earlier trip. But her mouth is already looking better so it is well worth it.
Thanks for sharing your awesome adventures. Is Stephanie going to stack out a spot outside those magic doors in EOCOT next June for another magical encounter with her friends??
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Pixie Dust
for following along!
Your trip was just as wonderful as ever and I thank you for allowing us to share it with you!
So he says, "Just tell me a trip report that you are reading." So I told him about your trip and afterward he told me that he really liked that story. This morning he said that he'd had some really nice dreams last night, and that he dreamed about our upcoming trip. 
ANGIE
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