Sue and the DoD trip that "Just might end up on the Internet somewhere" report!--COMPLETE 6/5/09 - Page 18 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 been here when it was a counter service meal, and we had enjoyed our lunch at that time. Would they maintain that reputation as a TS? We would see....
We arrived a bit early for our 11:30 ADR, and they were still cleaning up from breakfast. Cheryl and I wandered inside for a few pictures:
While Angie wandered around outside and did some exploring of her own:
Soon we were taken to our table.
I did not take any food pictures, but let me tell you, it was wonderful. They have a salad section, which has fruit salad, Caesar salad and green salad, along with more exotic favorites like couscous salad and curried basmati rice. They also had several varieties of bread, including pita, and dips similar to what we had gotten at Sanaa a few nights before!
Thebn it was on to the entrees. I was impressed that they had some of the more exotic tastes that I prefer, and they still had enough choices that Steve would enjoy a meal here, too! I chose the pork loin, the salmon, the saffron veggies, the couscous (first time I had ever tried it!), the orzo pasta, the mashed potatoes, and for good measure, some corn dog nuggets and mac and cheese from the kids buffet!
Dessert was bread pudding and pastries to die for. I am pretty sure Chez has a nice collection of pictures, so you are going to have to rely on her TR for this part!
I did take one photograph at lunch:
Part of the reason for my lack of pictures was that I had to leave lunch a bit early. See, my booking window with Southwest opened at noon. At about 12:15, I left Tusker House and sadly made my way to guest services. I was able to get an A boarding pass, number 57, but still in the A group. I was glad for the A, but sad that in less than 24 hours, I would be on a plane home.
We were meeting up with everyone in DinoLand for the quest, so I agreed to meet up with the rest of the group over there. On my way back from Guest Services, I saw this photo op:
These birds were so cute, and the CM feeding them was talking to them as she fed them! They took the fish right out of her hand!
Over to Dinoland:
I found everyone waiting under the Dinosaur (shade!!!) and saw a Passporter that hadn't been there before:
DAWN!! (graygables) with Angie and Heather, in the above picture.
Ann and Angie:
Ann. Lesley, Angie, Sharon and Heather:
Tina, Cheryl and Sharon:
Sara: (there's a better picture later.. )
Sara, Dawn, Tina, Cheryl:
Dave, Alexander, Dawn and Jennifer:
Now, with really hardly anybody's knowledge, Dawn (or "Gray" as she's known in these parts! ) had arranged a magical PP moment! Some of the CM's at AK joined in, music played and we all learned to "Walk the Dinosaur" I took no pictures, but, YES, there is video, and I will see what I can do about getting it posted here! At the end, we got a magical moments certificate, PERFECT for scrapbooking (although I will have to scraplift someone else's photos to do that page!)
Dawn had to go back to work, and we began the quest. Our first stop was "It's Tough to be a Bug".
No pictures allowed in the theater, but remember I promised a better picture of Sara? (Don't hurt me, girlfriend, you know I love ya!)
From there, it was back to the safari, where we once again got to ride together! I sat on the other side of the train this time, and....um.....took a few more pictures. (I know, you're shocked, right?)
Is this another butt shot?
See ya later, alligators!
After the safari, we gathered in one of the little alcoves to award the quest prizes. There were prizes for completing all the meets, all the quests, etc. Since I was not a winner, I will keep you in suspense. All I will add here is that one of the winners IS writing a trip report!
We left the area and said some goodbyes, as we wouldn't be seeing everyone later. This is always the worst part for me. Some of us were going over to EE for a final ride, and others were going to the Yak Attack meet. We were going to EE and THEN to the meet.
I may be forgetting someone here, and if I do, I apologize in advance, but I think the group was Angie, Lesley, Sharon, Tanya, Marie, Janine, Heather, Sara and me!
The first group included all except Angie and Tanya, who sat out and watched Princess Vanessa (who, if I recall, was sound asleep in her stroller!). Then Angie and Tanya rode, and the other group (or some of us) watched Vanessa. The rest went ahead to the Yak Attack meet to pre-buy our Yak Attacks, since a little bird told us that the stand closed at 4. We didn't want to make the same foolish error we made with the Margaritas! :
My sole Yak meet picture. Once again, there is video. I really need to learn how to link that here!
Soon, the meet began to wind down. We had to say a few more goodbyes. I also felt bad that I never got to say goodbye to Jennifer and Dave, as they weren't at the Yak Attack meet. This was getting harder as the moments went on. It was hard to believe that this magical time was coming to an end.
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Pixie Dust
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Dreams, Wishes, Hopes... these are the parts of childhood we should never lose.
At about 12:15, I left Tusker House and sadly made my way to guest services. I was able to get an A boarding pass, number 57, but still in the A group. I was glad for the A, but sad that in less than 24 hours, I would be on a plane home. 
)
I took no pictures, but, YES, there is video, and I will see what I can do about getting it posted here! 
:
It was hard to believe that this magical time was coming to an end.
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