The Graduate, the Gadget Girls, and the Groovy Grown-ups - Page 21 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Once we made it to Cosmic Ray's, I wasn’t too hungry, so I had a cup of chili which was perfect. Thankfully the rain stopped for good while we were eating , so we crossed the park and rode PotC and BTMRR before stopping for ice cream.
The girls had the standard fare from an ice cream cart (Dibs and an Itzakadoozie) but I veered off to Sunshine Tree Terrace for one of my all time favorite Disney snacks, the espresso float! After our snack, the girls had a blast in the standby line at Pooh (I doubt if we’ll ever FP this ride again) before we rode the ride itself.
We finished up our afternoon with Thom and Mary Devall riding SM while Maddie and I took the tamer route of Buzz. Maddie and I finished first so we headed to Main Street where I looked for a new purse that would be convenient for carrying in the parks. I had no luck, but we did end up with a great spot for the parade.
Afterwards, Thom and Mary Devall found us before Mary Devall took off to her favorite little shop and bought the second Kingdom Keepers book.
Despite two wash outs, we had accomplished a lot in MK today. By the time that we hopped on a bus and made it to BCV, Karen and Zack met us at the bus stop having just returned from their day at Universal and checking us in.
We found our room which was only a few doors from the end of the hall , but had a beautiful view of Epcot. After we called for our luggage and had unpacked, we decided to go on a “no ADR” adventure and find some dinner.
Zack passed on food, so the rest of us tried Beaches & Cream with no luck and then ventured over to Captain’s Grill which was a first for everyone. We weren’t too surprised when the hostess said that they could take us, but we were surprised when they made us wait about 15 minutes since only about 5 or 6 tables were full.
Zack’s absence at dinner may have been a result of a premonition that this was going to turn into “Whacky Thom” night . . . because it did. Thom seems to have one night every trip where he gets a little “woo hoo” and it usually happens near the middle of the trip. The site of last year’s “fun” was The Plaza when Thom wouldn’t stop texting Eileen. This year’s “fun” began when we were waiting on our table and he decided to visit the bar. He returned with a Jack and coke and I knew we were in store for a crazy night.
We were seated at a great round table, but I can’t say that our server was exactly “great.” Here poor Thom was trying to get all wild and crazy and she was so milktoast.
The food was pretty tasty, but Karen made a good point that even the middle tier of resort restaurants are so expensive now. Most of the entrees seem to hover around the $25 to $30 mark and, while the food isn’t bad by any stretch, it’s just not worth that amount. We still managed to be fairly thrifty with Karen having the chicken entrée and Thom and I having appetizers of soup, salad and crab cakes. Mary Devall had soup and Maddie had a pizza. My big extravagance was a glass of Conundrum!
Despite our blah server and overpriced food, we did have a very entertaining evening although I lost count at how many times Karen rolled her eyes at Thom. Everyone decided to stop for dessert at B&C, but I was pretty full and continued on to The Marketplace for milk and orange juice.
The rest of the gang showed back up at the villa not too long after I did and we spent the rest of the evening chatting and watching Zack and Maddie play with the Wolverine figure that he had bought for her at Universal. He knows her well.
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Sometimes words aren't needed . . .
Last edited by Jillybean; 08-17-2011 at 10:12 AM..
Despite our blah server and overpriced food, we did have a very entertaining evening although I lost count at how many times Karen rolled her eyes at Thom. Everyone decided to stop for dessert at B&C, but I was pretty full and continued on to The Marketplace for milk and orange juice.
I do hope Karen didn't pull a muscle with all that eye rolling
Sorry your meal wasn't that great! I can't wait to have some B&C for dessert while we stay at YC!!
Can't wait to read more...only wish Karen would start writing again...
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Glad the rain finally stopped and that you got to see the parade.
Wacky Thom night sounds like fun! The glass of conundrum sounds like the perfect accompaniment. I went through several bottles of it on our cruise - I am so glad Disney keeps it in stock for us . Sorry about your waitress and the prices at Captain's Grill - they must have made some major changes there since the last time we went. We've only eaten there 3 or 4 times but it was always very reasonably priced and the service was really good (similar to Grand Floridian Cafe).
Love the pics of the girls at the MK! And I so remember wacky Thom night last year. Poor, poor Flat LeeNee. Makes me glad I didn't send a Flat Shashi to hang with y'all this time.
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
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Great updates! First, love the grandma story... I will definitely remember her line about having to be boring to be bored... and am sure to use it on my kids some time soon! Sorry to hear about all that rain, but it sure didn't seem to slow you down much. Dinner sounds like fun... especially with wacky Thom! Looking forward to hearing more.