The Holi-Canoli! Whirlwind Trip That Wasn't Supposed to Be - Page 20 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Laura, I think that first new post might need a tissues needed warning. I was so teary-eyed as I read about your family's reunion. So precious! And I am so glad that all three of you are together and doing well! The RPDE looks like it was great fun for Michael. I'm thinking of doing this for Luke this summer as an early 50th birthday celebration.
I'm glad to see you back! And glad your absence was from spending time with your dh! I agree with others- tissues needed for this post! Glad he enjoyed the race car driving- looking forward to more-
Saw this TR as I was scanning all of them, started reading, and now I'm hooked. I just read about you picking up your DH at the airport and surprising your DD. I'm crying like a fool here. How wonderful! I'll be back to read more soon!
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Stacey
Why do these kids look so pathetic?
Find out in: A New Grade, A New House, and A Surprise!Final Thoughts 01/30
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How wonderful to have your DH home! Count me in as being teary eye while reading that first post. Great update. Looks like Michael had a wonderful time driving that race car!
Well, I think that's a pretty good excuse to be away. I would have taken your excuse by itself, but a few updates to boot! So glad he's home - thank you for sharing the welcome home ceremony - I too had tears and chills as I read about it.
So glad you are back. We were worried! So glad your husband is home. As a father of girls, I know my daughters would feel the same as yours. So glad he's home with ya'll again!
We left the race track, and Michael was on Cloud Nine! We needed to get our military tickets so we went straight to Shades of Green. What a beautiful resort! We have never stayed here, but it is lovely. Michael got his FREE 5-day Military Salute ticket that included five days at the water parks/Disney Quest. Victoria and I got the same tickets for such a nominal fee it isn't worth mentioning.
We looked around SoG and snapped a couple of photos. The lobby...
And in the lobby was this wonderful Mickey...
We then headed back to the resort to change into our swimwear because we were going to Typhoon Lagoon for the first time! Victoria was ecstatic!
I'm sure we must have had lunch at some point, but I have no idea when or where. Maybe we ate something at the resort. I can't remember.
We drove to Typhoon Lagoon. I am so sad at how few pictures I took. We used an underwater camera, and I have yet to get those pictures developed. So, here are the very few pictures I have of TL.
I any slide that has a raft, and I the lazy river so I really enjoyed those. I can't stand cold water, but Michael and Victoria can handle it. They swam with the sharks and sting rays three different times in really cold water. They really enjoyed it. Michael took pictures with the waterproof camera. I need to get them developed.
I can't believe I didn't care for the wave pool. The wave was so hard it knocked me over. My goodness! I didn't like it. That wasn't fun to me, but it was fun to watch the "surfers" riding the wave as far as they could.
We left TL worn out and happy. I haven't the foggiest what we did for dinner. That is so sad. I didn't take any notes. My honey was with me! I'm pretty sure we went back to the resort, showered, and I cooked dinner. I'm also pretty sure that we played Toy Story Mania on the Wii. What a fun game!
We were in bed at a decent hour and excited about the next day at DHS!
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And add me to the list of people bawling as I read that.
i am soo gllad your hubby has returned safe and sound. what great return experience for micheal
Heather B
Welcome back!
So glad he's home - thank you for sharing the welcome home ceremony - I too had tears and chills as I read about it.
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Dreams, Wishes, Hopes... these are the parts of childhood we should never lose.
any slide that has a raft, and I 
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