Making Lemonade out of Mousefest **Updated 2/18** COMPLETE - Page 2 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
He's going to love it there!!! My parents own a condo in Cabrita Point, which is just across the road from the Ritz. My mom does babysitting for the members of the Ritz Club (timeshare thing) as a side job. We stayed there in a ginormous 2 bedroom unit for my dad's birthday last year. St. Thomas is a beautiful island, and the people are pretty friendly, for the most part. Where is he going to live?
Hey everybody! I've been really busy at work for the last two days. The cardiologists are in town so my hotel is full! I'm working on an update right now!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Chapter 3: Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse!
Hey what do you mean no mouse? No MOUSE . . . of course Mouse . . . something must be wrong with this dang poem . . . there's ALWAYS a Mouse! Lets rewrite for the purpose of correcting the obviously confused author.
“Every creature was stirring, BECAUSE of a mouse.”
For those of you who have come along on my previous trips . . . you know that I love character breakfasts . . . because I love characters!
I don't have ANY character meals booked for this trip at all. Minnie, and Donald, and Stitch are all having a fit . . . I believe stirring would be an understatement. Why just yesterday the phone rang and Chip and Dale were . . .
Okay okay I'm kidding about the phone calls . . . I am perhaps a little crazy about Disney, I haven't quite made it to delusional yet.
We're going to subtitle this chapter: The Great Photopass Debate. (There is another Great Debate coming in a future chapter . . . its purple)
Brandon is NOT a fan of waiting in line to see characters, so in order to facilitate my addiction I've booked meals, to which he can't say no. (Everybody knows that saying about men and their stomachs!) I have no such problem this trip and can wait in line to see ALL of the characters if I want to.
The problem? I won't have anyone to take my picture. I believe I have read that the photopass photogs will take pictures using your camera, but I'm considering pre-ordering the Photopass CD so that I won't have to worry about it.
On the other hand if I am busy running from meet to meet, am I going to have time to stop to make enough use of PP to make it worthwhile. I know you can get a refund if you decide not to order the CD? My dilemma then becomes: would the money be better spent during the trip. I can think of a lot of things to do at Disney with $100.
I do kind of like the idea of special Christmas borders and such, but it will be just me in most of the photos and how much fun is that?
Weigh in . . . your advice will be taken into consideration.
Coming up next . . . its something about stockings isn't it? Perhaps hung by a chimney?
The whole first part of your update had my roaring at your slaphappiness! Then....more conflicted feelings! I don't know what to tell you! I think I'd be going back & forth myself with the same dilema. You could end up getting some great PhotoPass photos with other PassPorters, so maybe it would be worth it. I'd have the PhotoPass photographer (or the handler) take a photo with your camera, regardless. You never know when a photo might get lost in cyberspace. Wish I could be more of a help!
Congratulations on Brandon's new position...I know that it must be hard becuase you are so happy for him but you will miss having him around...but it will make your trips together so much more special which brings me to your "solo" trip...
Sounds like your plans are almost all in order...the wonderful savings of the pre-paid photopass is always a great pull but I can understand your being skeptical about how many pictures you will probably take. If it was me I would probably just use my own camera and let the photopass people take a picture with my camera as well and then order a few off the photopass when I get home...
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
Well, I didn't know that you could get your money back if you decided not to use the Photopass option! Dang!
First of all (well, second of all ), congrats to Brandon! I know that you will miss him, but I have a feeling that this friendship will last despite the miles (especially since you have a DVC baby together! ).
I love this update -- especially the "Mouse" ponderings!
Well, let's start with congrats to Brandon and to both of you on your DVC purchase! My family also fell in love with AKL, and then AKV. It is a fabulous resort and I'm sure you will love it there! We've yet to stay at SSR, but it is beautiful, though admittedly big. I have no doubt that you will enjoy your stay there!
How exciting to be going to Mousefest! I'm also going this year (for my first one ever), so hopefully we'll meet at the World! This is a solo trip for me too... kind of... I found a Passporter roomie and we decided to plan a trip together!
Anyhow, I would probably stick with your own camera. The PP people will gladly snap shots with your camera!
The Stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
PACKING!
There are several different types of packing that are about to start in my house. One of course involves this trip and one that involves a St who isn't Nicholas, but rather a Caribbean island's name and then there is the packing of the Great Trash Can (Similar to the Great Pumpkin, only different) when someone moves out.
Let me begin with my trip packing. I call this section . . . Is your stocking purple?
About two months ago I mentioned the idea of Owner's Locker to Brandon. I kind of like the idea of not having to pack much of anything. Just get on a plane and have everything waiting for you when you get there. I'm traveling at least 3 times in the next 12 months. Probably four if Brandon cannot take off in May. Brandon's response was . . . why spend the extra money on something you don't really need. So I put it on the shelf. Then I noticed a really good deal on a website that decreased the initial payment and increased the number of "free " visits.
I bought an Owner's Locker.
I told Brandon about it the other day. His response . . . well I do believe he had forgotten about the initial conversation and has now decided that its a really cool idea. Especially since he will now be paying for his own airfare from the Virgin Islands and Southwest does NOT fly to St Thomas, which means he would have to pay for checked bags.
My stockings ar purple! I'm working on what things I need to take to WDW to put in the box and I have to be forward thinking because I may not need them this trip, but I might want them in the future. The Disney Box is growing!
Regular packing? Haven't started. Very unusual for me, but honestly I'm waiting for a ten day weather forcast for Orlando. I won't start packing clothing until right before I am about to leave.
I have to get ready for work, but I'll be back with part 2 of the stockings update after work or tomorrow.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Congratulations to Brandon! I know how much he has been wanting to do this. 
The whole first part of your update had my roaring at your slaphappiness! Then....more conflicted feelings! I don't know what to tell you! I think I'd be going back & forth myself with the same dilema. You could end up getting some great PhotoPass photos with other PassPorters, so maybe it would be worth it. I'd have the PhotoPass photographer (or the handler) take a photo with your camera, regardless. You never know when a photo might get lost in cyberspace. Wish I could be more of a help! 
PassPorter Guide Author
), congrats to Brandon! I know that you will miss him, but I have a feeling that this friendship will last despite the miles (especially since you have a DVC baby together! 
). 
Aimee
Linear Mode
