Have a Happy Birthday - Part Two - COMPLETE w/Final Thoughts **Updated 11/25** - Page 24 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 tried to call Thom as we were leaving Soarin’. He didn’t pick up so I tried him again outside. When he picked up this time, he said that when I called him the first time and his phone rang they were in Turtle Talk. Crush said “Dude, pick up your phone.”
A couple of pictures of Maddie from their post-Nemo fun. Notice that she's still sporting her Cheetos smutz from dinner.
He and Maddie were headed our way. As soon as I hung up with Thom, my phone rang again and it was Jill (ILiveWithAStitch). She and Shannon were in England searching out a spot for Illuminations. At that point, I thought we were heading back to the hotel, so we said our goodbyes promising to meet each other the next time.
Misti’s family was going to stay for Illuminations and Mary Devall announced that she wanted to also, so we headed backs towards WS and staked out a spot at the base of the lagoon. We had about 10 minutes before Illuminations started so I told Misti that I was going to sneak away for 5 minutes and meet someone in England. Since I was this close, I hated to miss out on a chance to meet Jill and Shannon.
While I was hot footing it through Canada, I gave Jill a call and received her voice mail. I continued to move on figuring that she would call me back which she did within a minute. By this time I was in England, but she and Shannon had moved across the bridge looking for a good spot. We stayed on the phone until we spotted each other. I chatted for a little while with this sweet couple, but I needed to get back to my family so we took a few pictures and then said our goodbyes.
I made it back to my family just in time for Illuminations. Jack couldn’t see the globe from where we were so I picked him up. After a couple of minutes, Mary Devall asked if I could hold her too. Jack, ever the gentleman, said that he would get down so that she could see. I did love holding my little girl while watching Illuminations. She said “Wow!” countless times and told me that there was nothing better than watching fireworks. I told her that there was one thing better - - holding your little girl while watching fireworks.
After they were over, we quickly headed for the exit. Maddie had picked out a light up Mickey light saber for her present and Jack and Bryce decided they wanted the same thing, so we lost Misti’s family for a bit. We waited for them on the other side of the fountain where they presented Maddie with a Pluto dog for her birthday present.
We said our goodbyes at the bus stop and then made our way to the WL stop. We waited less than 10 minutes for a bus, but we were at the back of the line so the bus was full by the time we got on. I was holding Maddie, so thankfully a kind man and his son got up from their seats and offered them to us and Mary Devall. Maddie fell asleep within 30 seconds holding her light saber in one hand and her Pluto in the other.
Once back at WL, we dropped our belongings in the room and then Mary Devall and I headed back to the lounge. I was thrilled to see almost a full dish of the berry cobbler left. Since I had skipped dinner, I helped myself to a hefty portion, a sugar cookie and a glass of wine. Mary Devall got herself a brownie and some chocolate milk.
We returned to the room and asked Thom if he wanted to run down before the lounge closed. He said that he didn’t want anything. Once he got Maddie settled, he headed out the door though. He came back a couple of minutes later just fuming. Thom rarely drinks, but said that he wanted a glass of red wine to help him sleep. It was a few minutes after closing, but a CM was wheeling out a cart with wine on it. Thom asked if she was locking up and all she replied was “We’re closed.” He said that she didn’t even ask if there was something she could do for him or anything.
He talked about it with me for a few more minutes and then he got up to leave again. This time when he returned he was holding a glass of red wine, but said that he was even hotter than before. He saw a mousekeeper and asked her if anyone was in the kitchen. She was very nice and found a CM for him who immediately told him again that they were closed. Thom said that he didn’t raise his voice (which he doesn’t - - I’m the yeller in the family and he’s the cool and collected one ). He just said “fine” and went to leave. His anger was apparently evident though because the CM actually told him to “chill out” and he would see what he could do. He came back with a glass of wine for Thom - - now how hard would it have been for him to do that in the first place? I think that Thom was especially upset since he was the one who really loved WL concierge last time and he had just told a CM the day before that it was his favorite club level accommodations at Disney.
Upon returning home, Thom immediately sent an email to WL concierge explaining the situation and his unhappiness over it. We didn’t hear anything for over a week and we were beginning to think that someone had just accidentally hit the delete key, but then he received a call from a WL concierge manager late one afternoon. The manager was very apologetic and had even tracked down the “chill out” CM. He told Thom that it is understood that club level guests can requests drinks at any time since someone is always on staff. They cannot pull out food again, but if someone wants a drink after hours then it’s no big deal since people check in at all hours of the night. He also told Thom that his email had already gone up the ladder, so it would be addressed. He asked when we were returning to Disney again and hoped that we would give WL another try. I think that Thom felt better having someone in charge confirm that he wasn’t out of line with his request. Of course, we will return to WL (which we are this summer ). We all love the atmosphere and won’t let the attitude of a few soured CM’s change our opinion of it.
All that over a glass of red wine – that’s why I mainly drink white!
This is what greeted us when we returned to our room that night.
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.
Glad you had a great rest of the go around in Epcot!! How great you go to meet up with Jill and Shannon!! Sorry about the problems with Thom and his drink.....I'm glad you got a response from them!!
Looks like everyone enjoyed the rest of their day at Epcot....glad you could fit in a little PP time, too. Sorry to hear of the rude concierge CM but I am glad Thom took the time to report it and hopefully, effect some change for the nxt guest in that situation.
danielle
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~Shoot for the moon, if you miss, you will land among the stars~
Sounds like a fun day and how wonderful that you were able to meet up with some PP's before Illuminations! Sorry about the rude CM at the Kidcot Station and the conceirge lounge at WL. It was good that Thom sent the email right away while he was feeling unhappy with the service. I'm sure they'll rectify things on your stay there next summer!!! I loved the picture of Maddie dipping her fingers in the water at the fountain in Epcot. Can't wait for more.
Oh my... was a stinker that Concierge CM was. (I just say it was a good thing that it wasnt YOU -- the ELC President -- who was being kept from her night-night glass of wine! )
Eileen
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
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.
Sorry about the rude CMs, Jill. I'm glad Thom sent an email and got some results. Other than the rude CMs, it sounds like a wonderful day (filled with FAB goodness ). Glad you got to meet Jill and her DH.
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She and Shannon were in England searching out a spot for Illuminations. At that point, I thought we were heading back to the hotel, so we said our goodbyes promising to meet each other the next time. 
Since I had skipped dinner, I helped myself to a hefty portion, a sugar cookie and a glass of wine. Mary Devall got herself a brownie and some chocolate milk. 
Thom rarely drinks, but said that he wanted a glass of red wine to help him sleep. It was a few minutes after closing, but a CM was wheeling out a cart with wine on it. Thom asked if she was locking up and all she replied was “We’re closed.” He said that she didn’t even ask if there was something she could do for him or anything. 
He came back with a glass of wine for Thom - - now how hard would it have been for him to do that in the first place? I think that Thom was especially upset since he was the one who really loved WL concierge last time and he had just told a CM the day before that it was his favorite club level accommodations at Disney. 
PassPorter Guide Author
What a shame to end such a good day like that. 
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