"Hey, Mom, Dad, get on plane and go to Disney" Trip report - "Finding shelter from the fireworks" - **Updated 11/13** - Page 26 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Another great update Nala!! How scary about that woman! That horse was MOVING once he got going!! Can't wait to hear more! (and thanks for reminding me to update mine again too! )
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Looking forward to another Christmas with The Mouse!!
I can't believe that woman was running out into the path of the headless horseman.
That CM probably gets asked about the parade all the time. What time is the 3:00 parade?
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Okay, I'm only on page 10 and I can't read fast enough!!!!!!!!!
I love your matching outfits, but poor Spidey--he's still in red and blue!
The view from your room is downright awesome!!!!!!!!!
"If I was to guess what Grumpy was saying as I took this one, it probably would have been "Hey, look at your crazy Mom so she can take yet another picture of us on the Magic Carpets to add to her collection"
I just read your TR (so far!) today and I am thrilled your trip was so magical! The Poly seems perfect for you (I just it there!) and you have had so many lovely moments. I can just imagine what is was like for you watching the fireworks from the Poly Concierge Lounge, and also riding Soarin' with Kiara. Truly wonderful!
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I love your matching outfits, but poor Spidey--he's still in red and blue!
Oh my gosh, I laughed so hard when I read that! Why? Because I actually checked to see if they had a shirt in an infant size for Spidey! True story.
In fact, I have been on a quest for the last few years to find him a Mickey Mouse T-shirt or better yet, an Incredibles one. My goofy sense of humor thinks it would be too funny if Spidey went to WDW in a Disney superhero shirt.
sounds like you had a great spot for the parade. I can't believe that woman was going to run out in front of the headless horseman. I can't wait so see picutes of the parade. I din't get to take any when I was there.
Liz
With the music of “Boo to You” filling the air, (and getting stuck in my head for hours) we began to see the parade making its way towards us.
First was a gang of random characters. Snow White and Dopey, Alice and Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Pinocchio and Geppetto and Grumpy’s personal favorite, Jasmine.
As Jasmine and the rest of the group made their way past us, I couldn’t resist asking Grumpy if he needed a tissue to wipe the drool off his chin.
Next was a float with Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy.
After that it was the Hundred Acre Woods gang.
Could Eeyore be any more cute than this?
Behind a float with Kanga, Roo and Rabit was a crew we were particularly fond of for some reason.
And behind them, who else could follow but Captain Hook?
I didn’t remember Hook being in the parade last year, and I was a bit concerned that perhaps he had replaced my favorite pirate in the parade this year. There was a moment when my heart sank as I thought perhaps Captain Jack had been removed from the Boo to You parade as he also now had a spot in the Pirates and Princess parade. But, the pirate music kept playing and soon I saw a group of pirate clad dancers and I knew who was coming!
It was clear the Captain Jack float was coming, but we saw something different that we didn’t see last year. Captain Barbosa was walking in front of the float and he came right up to Kiara and gave her an “Arrrgggh”. She loved it and I was sorry I missed taking a picture of it, but didn’t worry too much about it as the video camera was rolling to catch it.
And then there he was, in all his glory, possibly the most beloved pirate of all time, Captain Jack!
And just after I took this picture, I found myself screaming out his name and waving wildly at him. Now, I know there was no way he could see me in the crowd but he pointed in our direction, made a long sweeping bow, and I found myself positively swooning over him. I guess I have no room to give Grumpy a hard time over his Jasmine obsession as mine with Captain Jack is just as bad! Count me in as an official Captain Jack groupie!
And as a side thought, do you think there was anyone in the Disney hierarchy who had a clue as to what a phenomenon Johnny Depp would make of the character of Captain Jack?
Next was my second favorite part of the parade, the Haunted Mansion! This float was proceeded by the caretaker and his bloodhound.
I love that in this picture the hound is keeping with his nature and has his nose to the ground!
Next came the ghostly ballroom dancers. Their costumes and makeup were amazing!
And then it was the HM float itself.
And while it was quite cool, I was looking forward to seeing the grave diggers that were behind the float! They were so much fun to watch and we loved the way the sparks flew from their shovels as they scraped them across the pavement.
Next were the villains and Jafar took the place of honor on the float.
The hyenas followed the villain float and I was thrilled to once again see a nod to my favorite Disney movie.
And like Barbosa (Kiara must attract villains) one of them came right up to her and stuck its face in hers. She giggled over the attention and once again, I missed the shot! Good thing the video camera was rolling!
And as the hyenas and the float passed us, we had a great view of Ursula on the back!
After the villains passed, it was time to end the parade. Pluto came first in his Goofy Candy Company car.
And following Pluto was Goofy peddling away!
Even though we had seen this parade the year before, it was still a joy to see it again. In fact, I think of all the parades at WDW, this one is the favorite of all of ours.
With the end of this magical parade, it was time for us to make a plan of what to do with the rest of our evening. One thing I knew we had to do was avoid the fireworks. Grumpy and I were not ready to call it a night, but we were well aware that the fireworks were only forty five minutes away. If we wanted to stay in the park and continue enjoying the festivities, we had to find a place for Kiara that would buffer the sound of the big booms. But, I had a plan for that. I shared it with Grumpy, volunteered to do it with her and we both crossed our fingers that it would be successful.
Up next: A few trips on an almost sound proof Disney classic.
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