Making Lemonade out of Mousefest **Updated 2/18** COMPLETE - Page 16 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Good morning Heather. The time on your post shows that you don't sleep much. It is Saturday morning and you are up at the crack of dawn AGAIN. But is it nice to have someone else awake with me since DS is still asleep and DD is on a sleepover and DH is at work.
I don't sleep much do I! I'll probably take a nap when I get home from work. My sleep cycle is all messed up because of all the weird shifts I've been working. I usually don't work until 3pm, but I've had a bunch of 10:30am shifts this week and then 1 5pm shift. I have a ton of time off this coming week, so hopefully I'll get back on track!
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.
Glad that you were still around to get the blanket. I won life-time to Owners Locker and a 3 night stay at Doubletree at last years MF due to all the people that left early.
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Oct '99: CSR ~ May '02: CR ~ Nov '04: SOG ~ May '06: SOG ~ Dec '07: Solo @ Pop ~ May '08: Pop w/friends ~ Oct '08: SOG ~ Dec '09: Pop w/LeAnn ~ Sept '10: Solo @ Pop ~ Spring '11: AKL ~ Jan '12: Pop for 1/2 Marathon ~ Sept '12: 1st trip for DL 1/2 Marathon? ~ Feb '13: Pop w/pals? ~ Mar '13: Tokyo Disney w/PP's?
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.
just got all caught up on your TR....i've always wanted to go to Mousefest but reading your TR makes me wanna go even more...only problem i'm a big chicken doin disney solo...so i have to admit yer my hero can't wait to hear more and see more great pictures hurry back
I popped into the end of this report to see what I'd missed and I had to backtrack until I could figure out what "HBD" was. LOL! Your lunch sounded quite yummy. And more pics with Bob & Larry. You guys just had too much fun and I'm missing it all!
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Great trip report. I too love the Cobb salad at HBD. We went one of our anniversaries and DH and I have talked about having a meal there this coming trip. Mousefest sounds so neat - as I am new to Passporters this gathering is a new thing to hear about also - but definitely something I would love to do sometime in the future. It is great to hear all your travels for this. Thanks!
Just catching up!! Great updates! Glad you arrived safely and your luggage was there waiting for you. Sounds like you're off to a magical time! Looking forward to more
After the MMM I walked back to my car at DHS and dumped everything I was carrying into it except my little CC holder that has my annual pass and FP in it. I walked right back into the Studios and right on to Toy Story Midway Mania. This ride is nowhere near as much fun by yourself. Its still fun, but with no one to compete against its only an okay ride. I'll skip this in the future if I'm flying solo. Don't worry there is another ride in my future . . . with a PP Celebrity!
PAUSE . . . i need diet coke . . .
What I did next is going to sound silly, but it made sense to me at the time. I moved my car to the MK parking lot. Was that where I was going next? No, but it was where I was going to be at the end of the day. The time is now about 1pm. I got on the tram to the TTC and boarded the Epcot monorail with gigantic bag of stuff. I realized once I got through bag check that I wouldn't be riding ANY rides with super bag. I also realized that a sweet cream pretzle DOES not count as a lunch substitute in WDW. I was starving. I headed over to Morocco to the one counter service I have been thinking about since lunch in the restaurnt in August.
Tangerine Cafe was really pretty good. It might be the best CS meal I've ever had in WDW . . . I think most of them are sub par at best.
It is also fairly expensive for a CS, especially when you consider that the Marrakesh is so cheap for a sit down. I believe you could split most of the meals between two if one of them isn't a starving park hopping monster! I had a lamb shawarma plate that came with bread, hummus, cous cous and some olives. As far as hummus goes I was not impressed, but everything else was good.
After lunch I still had some time before my Margarita Meet so I wandered from country to country listening to the storytellers. Okay, okay I had my times guide out and was actively planning my wandering to make the most out of my free hour. I started in Japan:
The woman who does this show is hysterical! I also found the history of the dolls very interesting!
Next up I went to Italy to hear the story of the Christmas witch who is still searching for the Christ child. The Strega was amazingly well cast too! Can I have this job when I retire?
Up next I went to Germany and was BORED out of my socks. After being so impressed in Japan and Italy I found the woman in Germany to be very dry. She needs to have a beer and lighten up.
Finally I caught the end of China. This little guy had amassed quite a crowd. I didn't get the best photos, but I tried.
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I won life-time to Owners Locker and a 3 night stay at Doubletree at last years MF due to all the people that left early.
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The pictures are great! 
Dora
can't wait to hear more and see more great pictures hurry back
I think it is that you did a solo trip. Can't wait to read some more!
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