Taking Our (PassPorter) Friendship to the Next Level - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I had a lovely night's sleep at Dawn's. And I figured out how to use the alarm on my phone for the first time and woke up to a nice sound. I could hear Dawn getting ready but laid there for a few minutes before getting up and ready myself. Dawn's boys slept through everything. Oh how I wish this would happen at my house! After I was ready I got my things ready and got out the gifts for the boys & Dawn's necklace. I figured this morning would be better to leave the goodies than last night since Jason was already so excited. I'd leave the sugar rush for Craig.
Speaking of Craig he had gotten up early, went to the grocery store, filled the car with gas, and got us breakfast! "Real" New York bagels! It was quite tasty! Then he helped us put our things in the car and we were off. I was so glad I came in early and got to spend some extra time with Dawn and meet her family. What you see in her TRs is exactly how they are. Love them!
We made a pit stop at Dunkin' Donuts for coffee and then we were off to AC. We talked, but didn't take a wrong turn this time. We had a GPS to keep us on track. I took some pictures of the drive along the way.
Soon the AC skyline came into view and we both knew we'd be there soon!
And soon we were pulling up to the Showboat (after I texted Linny from Dawn's phone; btw - I'm sure I still remember the code to unlock it )
We pulled up to valet and got the same guy Linny had gotten earlier. It was a good thing Craig washed the car and there were 2 girls getting out because the man told us he'd put us in VIP and the car would be ready whenever we were. And yes, he did have to chase Dawn inside to get her keys. More hugs exchanged with Linny and then we headed up to meet Melissa where more hugs were exchanged. Then we gawked at our awesome view! The room was spacious too which I'm pretty sure we failed to take pictures of that.
And of course there were gifts exchanged:
photo by Melissa
photo by Melissa
It was so great to finally be all together but we didn't hang out long we had plans - for lunch!
What a view! You did good, Linny!
I'm glad you made it without too much trouble, Melissa. A GPS would probably just have confused you more with the voice on, I mute mine because that English girl never wants to go the way I do!
OK! Let the fun BEGIN ... continue... !
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I agree with Kenny the GPS can be more trouble than it is worth, I sometimes argue with mine and go the way i think although i'm not often right.
What a view that beach looks lovely. Made me smile that one of the first signs you see as you enter is Trump plaza. Wonder if Aberdeen Scotland will look like AC one day now D Trump is building golf Courses and hotels etc...
Hope you had a lovely lunch. Can't imagine you managing to eat much with so much talking to do!
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I left tons of post-it notes around the house for Chad with instructions on what medications to give her, and at what time, along with all the other little things that he wouldn't remember.
Like don't lose the cat in the floor while you are away???!!!
Melissa I have to say there is a TV commericial out right now and I think of Hope each time I see it. I don't know if it is playing in your area. It is for a car and there is a little girl and her dad waiting for the school bus. She looks nervous and he says somthing to her. she Cautionsly gets on the bus and then the dad gets in the car and follows along beside the bus, he looks up and see her in the window and she is already laughing with the other kids as all her fears are gone. The little girl just reminds me of Hope. Just thought I'd tell you that.
Sounds like everyone is ready to have some fune now that you are all here.
I'm glad you made it without too much trouble, Melissa. A GPS would probably just have confused you more with the voice on, I mute mine because that English girl never wants to go the way I do!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thomhazel
I agree with Kenny the GPS can be more trouble than it is worth, I sometimes argue with mine and go the way i think although i'm not often right.
Well, I definitely didn't need anymore trouble. And I was too busy arguing with myself to even think about arguing with anyone else.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommapants
Like don't lose the cat in the floor while you are away???!!!
Melissa I have to say there is a TV commericial out right now and I think of Hope each time I see it. I don't know if it is playing in your area. It is for a car and there is a little girl and her dad waiting for the school bus. She looks nervous and he says somthing to her. she Cautionsly gets on the bus and then the dad gets in the car and follows along beside the bus, he looks up and see her in the window and she is already laughing with the other kids as all her fears are gone. The little girl just reminds me of Hope. Just thought I'd tell you that.
Sounds like everyone is ready to have some fune now that you are all here.
As soon as I read that about the cat I busted out laughing, and then immediately told Chad. He didn't think it was as funny as I did, but we can't please everyone.
And I have seen that commercial, but I guess I just didn't pay close enough attention to it. Next time I see it I'll have to check the little girl out.
We didn’t have too much time to sit & talk as our first meal was approaching fast. We went down to valet to retrieve Linny’s car aka Betty (I think – she’ll correct me if I’m wrong) and headed for the Tropicana. Inside we discovered there was a bridal show going on and the place was packed! We snaked our way through the crowds and made it to the Palms Atlantic City. This place reminded me a bit of the Brown Derby as they have caricatures all over the walls, but these are hand drawn and not framed. Some I believe are even signed by the people they portray. We were seated shortly after we checked in at a table on the corner of the dining room. The place was rather crowded but we were in our own little world. Of course the conversation hadn’t stopped yet and just continued on throughout the next few days.
We had a pretty nice selection on this menu. For restaurant week you get a 3 course meal for one price ($15.13 for lunch and $33.13 for dinner at all participating restaurants), excluding alcoholic beverages and of course we all started with a glass of wine. Out of the 3 appetizers we covered them all, we each got something different for out entrée (7 choices), but dessert was the same. The offered choice was crème brulee but they’d already run out. We were a bit disappointed in this seeing as Restaurant week had just started and this was the first meal. They made up for it with a great chocolate dessert.
my wine
Chef's soup of the day - I beleive Melissa had this so she might be able to tell you what it actually was.
Classic Caesar Salad - so good! (Linny & I both had this)
Mixed Green Salad - cucumber, carrots, radish, scallions & cherry tomoatoes tossed in garlic vinaigrette (Dawn's app choice)
Kelly - Jumbo Lump Crab Cake Sandwich - served on a Formica brioche with chipotle tartar & Fuji apple slaw. This was pretty good considering I don't eat a lot of seafood. And I will say I ventured somewhat out of my confort zone all week with my choices - or I at least tried others meals.
Dawn - Jumbo Shrimp Pomodoro - penne pasta with jumbo shrimp, asparagus, fresh & sun-dried tomatoes, white wine, olive oil & garlic
Dessert - think it was a flourless chocolate cake with a vanilla sauce - VERY RICH
After lunch we walked around the Tropicana, looked in a few shops and then decided to head back to Showboat so we had enough time to get ready for dinner – yep we’ll be eating again soon!