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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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By this point into the trip, we were getting recognized by the CMs at Ohana. Catharine, one of the greeters there, "stole" us from another greeter to escort us to our table. Boy, that made us feel special! Later that day we saw Stitch at MK again and he recognized me. We made big heart gestures at each other at the same time and I heard people in the line "awwww"ing. It was really cute.
The Ad Club show was GREAT. A large number of the cast were there, recreating their AC characters and improving their hearts out. They raised $25000 that night for charity. There were many hilarious moments, and more than a few melancholy or downright sad ones, as this is their last show as a group like this. The best part for me, though, is when Babylonia decided she needed her bodyguards and my DH was chosen as one of them. She seemed to show him a bit of favoritism, I thought, though I may be biased! So he is now Babylonia's last bodyguard. I'm so proud! (The video's on youtube, if anyone is interested.)
That same day we had our FPs for Flight of Passage. I was sure I'd enjoy it, but it had a lot more emotional punch for me than I expected. After the ride I told DH, "That's what it used to be like to ride horses." I tried to thank the CM, Brittany, who brought in my chair and started crying. I heard DH explain that I used to ride horses, before. I thought she was going to cry, too-- I thought great, I'm making a CM cry! There has to be some special karmic punishment for that. But instead, she offered to put us back on the ride. We were zoomed around to the front of the next loading group. That was super special.
The next morning, though, brought the first put-me-on-the-floor surprise, but to tell the story properly, I have to go back to a trip nine years ago. I was working on a design for a Stitch tattoo. I had Stitch himself finalized but was trying to decide between four different color schemes for the flowers at his feet. When I got a surprise whirlwind trip to WDW as a birthday present from DH and my best friend, I printed them all on one page and took them with me to an Ohana breakfast. There I asked Stitch which one I should get. He thought about it (tapping his nose while he "hmmm"ed) and then signed off on one. He hugged me and I told him he had no idea how much I love him. He rocked me back and forth and held on so long that one of the servers tried to shoo him away. He waved the server away and, when the waiter asked if he loved me, dropped to one knee in a proposal pose. I was obviously delighted. So now, this time, when Stitch came up to the table and started pointing out all the Stitch things I had (plushie, backpack, shirt, pants...), I pulled up my sleeve and showed him the tattoo.
He flipped out.
He pointed at the tattoo, then himself, then across the room to the table where I'd been sitting NINE YEARS AGO when I asked him to help me finalize the design. I couldn't believe it! Wow, there was a lot of hugging and laughing and carrying on at that point! I was absolutely amazed. It was incredible.
But gosh, that's enough for now. There's SO much more, including plenty from Proposal Stitch and innumerable CMs who helped make our trip so special, but I don't want to slam everybody with a wall of text! So more soon!
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Best Disney moment: Stitch proposed to me, recognized me years later, and tried to end a Meet & Greet by waving bye to the line & leading me away!
Great start! Love the Stitch autograph!
I'm going to have to go to the Hanger Bar and find the Adventurer's Club reference! I miss that place so much!
Oh, we miss it, too! Disney has scattered references to it all over the place, so you know THEY know it was popular; I really don't understand why they closed it only to replace it with yet another restaurant.
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Best Disney moment: Stitch proposed to me, recognized me years later, and tried to end a Meet & Greet by waving bye to the line & leading me away!
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.
That is absolutely amazing that Stitch remembered you from 9 years ago! I always assumed that character CMs didn't stay in that position or even a particular character very long. Lots of wonderful pixie dust so far!
That is absolutely amazing that Stitch remembered you from 9 years ago! I always assumed that character CMs didn't stay in that position or even a particular character very long. Lots of wonderful pixie dust so far!
I assumed so, too! I was just astounded. I think Stitch was, too.
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Best Disney moment: Stitch proposed to me, recognized me years later, and tried to end a Meet & Greet by waving bye to the line & leading me away!
Proposal Stitch was at Ohana again the next morning (by now the CMs there were confirming with us when we arrived-- "This is which visit out of how many?" ). He tried to gesture something to me but one word was eluding me, so he pointed to my autograph book. He wrote, "You know I love you," and signed it. That day at his meet & greet I joked that he was going to think I was stalking him, but he "laughed" and hugged me. At this point, I really didn't think the trip could get any better. The rest of the day we spent in the MK, and it was lovely. I really like Redd, the new addition to PotC. The historian in me wishes she were in trousers instead of a skirt, but the rest of me tells that part to shut up and is just happy she's there!
The next morning at Ohana, our server and one of the managers came to our table and handed me a shopping bag with a Stitch wallet in it. They said they felt like they had to do something for Stitch's biggest fan. I was just astounded, and so grateful. Disney is so good at making you feel welcome, but this was really amazing.
Later that day, I got to see Jack Sparrow for the first time! I told him I'd been studying the golden age of piracy for 35 years (that got me a look) and said obviously I can't offer much physically, but I can read and write; might there be a place for me on the Pearl? He said perhaps navigator, that the last one fell overboard and he didn't know where to find him. (Something that made that even more fun was that earlier on the Jungle Cruise ride our skipper said she was going to kidnap me and teach me her job so I could take over and she could take a break [my chair was strapped to the deck, so it's not like I could "escape" easily!], and that I was an honorary skipper-- I guess I had kind of a maritime theme going that day.) He thanked me for addressing him as captain and noted that people seem to forget that part for some reason. He said something (I can't remember what) and I told him he was kind, and he said, "Yes, I am." LOTS of fun! I didn't think I'd get to see him in a M&G, as the last time we were there he only came out for shows with the kids and for the Halloween parade. He's not quite the grail autograph for me that Hades, Remy, and Angel are, but he's pretty high up there!
That night we got to do MNSSHP. Everyone had been telling me that Stitch does his M&G dressed as Elvis and that I HAD to go, so of course we did. As soon as it was my turn in line, Stitch came over and gestured at my tattoo-- it was "Proposal Stitch" again! He made a bunch of heart gestures at me and dropped to one knee again and I heard either the assistant or the photographer say, "Stitch!" and I was thinking, "I swear I'm not making him do this." He really was being effusive and energetic with everyone, and I think he saw me as an opportunity to really be playful and overboard with someone who would be entertained by it. Then when toddlers would sort of eye him, deciding whether to approach, he would crouch down and get really non-threatening. That CM is REALLY great at reading guests and interacting with them!
I also loved the live interactions for the party on PotC. My stuffed Stitch got his own party wristband again, and the SotMK card for the party was Orange Bird, who is a dear, dear favorite from childhood. I was so delighted! The whole day made me feel like a giddy child. I probably looked and behaved like one, too!
I should probably leave it there for now. The trip was past the halfway mark at that point, but there was still plenty of fun coming up. I mean, it's hard not to have fun at Disney, but still....
__________________
Best Disney moment: Stitch proposed to me, recognized me years later, and tried to end a Meet & Greet by waving bye to the line & leading me away!
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.
What a wonderful and interactive trip. Amazing seeing the same stitch from years earlier - Disney is so magical and you definitely were given many magical moments that I am sure you will treasure forever...thank you for sharing these wonderful moments with us. Looking forward to hearing more.
I do love when the characters can truly read the crowd and know just how to get the best reaction possible - a true art form. And orange bird is totally a rock'n bird that I am so happy to see back.
Loving your TR! Stitch is such a special character for my DD. She was so excited to hear about your encounter with Stitch from your past. We look forward to read the rest of your adventures.
What an amazing trip you are having so far! I also was surprised that the 'best friends' stayed for such a long time!
My dream is to be 'best friends' with Fairy Godmother, because I'm just too old for a princess, and too short and round for Lady Tremaine or the stepsisters.
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So he is now Babylonia's last bodyguard. I'm so proud! (The video's on youtube, if anyone is interested.)
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