Our First Christmas in the World - COMPLETED 3/26 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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It was EMH at the Studios and we were going to see the Osborne Lights! I realized on the way that I had my AP on me, but not my KTTW card. Oh dear! I was hoping we would not be turned away. Jeff had his though, and when we asked at the turnstiles the CM said I could get in the park, but would not be able to go on any attractions. That was ok, since we just wanted to see the lights. We stopped for a photopass pic
and then made our way over to the Streets of America. I was just blown away by it all. We were both speechless!
We were just in utter amazement! Each time the musc started and the lights started dancing, we just stood there with mouths gaping! And the snow was so fun!
We did a few of the photopass picture as well:
We walked up and down the street which wasn’t too crowded that time of night. I’d heard that during the more crowded times the foot traffic only goes one way, but that wasn’t the case when we were there.
On the way out we bought some spiced pecans which were yummy! Then we headed for the bus, stopping on the way out for photopass pictures on Hollywood Blvd. and then again at the Christmas tree.
Weather today was: sunny and warm
The best thing today was: our spontaneity – deciding to go to Morocco for lunch, trying out the pool, visiting the Top of the World Lounge
The worst thing today was: Realizing I’d forgotten my KTTW card.
The funniest thing today was: World Showcase Players and the antics at Whispering Canyon
Today we tried: lots of new things – Sanaa, Whispering Canyon, Marrakesh, the pool and Top of the World Lounge
And the result was: A great day!
The most magical moment today was: Osborne Spectacle of Lights
Looks like a great night!!! I just love the lights!!! Good thing that was all you were going to do - would have stressed me out too forgetting my card
You guys really tried alot of new things today!!!
__________________
Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
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.
Looks like a great night!!! I just love the lights!!! Good thing that was all you were going to do - would have stressed me out too forgetting my card
You guys really tried alot of new things today!!!
I know! I was afraid they were going to turn us away!
We did try so many new things! It's funny, when you think of how many times we've done WDW that there are still lots of new things to try!
I remember thinking before we say the Osborne Lights ourselves that I knew what they were like from photos here on the boards. But there is nothing like the amazement when you see them live for yourself.
I remember thinking before we say the Osborne Lights ourselves that I knew what they were like from photos here on the boards. But there is nothing like the amazement when you see them live for yourself.
Pictures are great, but you're right, there is just no comparison to standing right in the middle of she show!
I'm so glad you were still able to get into the park without your KTTW card! Good thing you were only going for the lights anyway.
Aren't they amazing?!? Especially that first time you walk into the Streets of America to see them, they are just beautiful and pictures don't do them justice at all.
I'm so glad you were still able to get into the park without your KTTW card! Good thing you were only going for the lights anyway.
Aren't they amazing?!? Especially that first time you walk into the Streets of America to see them, they are just beautiful and pictures don't do them justice at all.
Definitely one of those "tourist" moments where you're standing there looking all around in awe!
Our wake-up call was for 6:15 today. We showered, had breakfast in the room (no bugs, yay!) and headed for the bus stop at 8:10. We only waited 10 minutes for a bus to DHS.
DHS Christmas Tree:
Once inside the park, we headed straight for TSM. We first got FPs and then stood in the stand-by line. The wait time was listed as 45 minutes and I had to coax Jeff to get in line, telling him it would not be that long (then crossing my fingers that I was right!) There were no FP riders at the time so the line moved along pretty fast. It took about 30 minutes. We’d never ridden stand-by before, so I used the opportunity to take some pictures of the queue.
After our ride we headed over to Streets of America for a bit.
And then a stop at the Muppet Theater which is one of our favorites.
At some point we stopped for a picture with Lightning McQueen
Then we went to Writer’s Stop. We split a carrot cake cookie and had coffee and hot chocolate. Yum! Total for our snack was $8.49
After our break we headed for Star Tours and were able to walk right on. Then we made our way down Sunset Blvd, got FPs for RnRC and then back again to ride GMR, and use our FPs for TSM. Then it was back to RnRC to use our FPs there! And on the way out we saw that ToT was only a 10 minute wait, so we hopped in line for that. Whew!
Some pictures of Sunset Blvd.
With all the major attractions under our belt we slowed down a bit and watched some of the street performers on Sunset Blvd.
Then it was time for a break! Our plan was to eat lunch at Beaches and Cream, and we wanted to take the opportunity to do some resort hopping. So, we headed out of the park and made our way to BW.
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.
You all got quite a bit done in short order! I'm impressed. Can't wait to see your pictures of the resorts. They are all so pretty decorated for Christmas.
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