Nineteen nights of MouseFest, Disney and Christmas - THREAD 1 - UPDATED 1/11 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Cheryl - Your pictures of the castle brought back wonderful memories. I really enjoyed watching it light up and was lucky enough to see it 3 times - once from someone's balcony at the GF! It is so beautiful. I hope they bring it back for years to come.
Cheryl - I am just now catching up! As much as I've read and seen, I feel like I'm getting a very late start --- however I know the fun is just beginning! I couldn't begin to comment on all the things I loved, but I will say...
The Boardwalk looks FANTASTIC! Those are some of the best pictures of it I've seen to date. I'm dying to stay there someday now.
Maybe Mark messing with the fertility doctor is to blame for your feeling ill...you know...a taste of morning sickness. Seriously, I'm sorry you were feeling so badly. Glad it seems to have been a one-day thing, and thank goodness for Steve!
I hate that I missed the Adventurer's Club meet. After our late Candleight Processional, I had a terrible time trying to catch DTD transportation (they really should have a DTD bus from the parks) and I felt like I'd be too late for the fun. It looks like I missed out on a rollicking good time.
Your pictures from the WL and the Magic Kingdom are fantastic. Aren't the castle lights the best thing ever? I didn't get a chance to see it being lit, but just seeing it lit UP was fanstastic (actually, I guess I kind of saw it being lit during Wishes). I love all the daytime pictures of the MK, too.
Great update, I just adore the lit up castle, it looks so beautiful. How bizarre - just as I got to the POTC photos, the ride started on my iPod More please!!!!
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What beautiful photos Cheryl!!! Glad you enjoyed the Boardwalk so much and I loved the pics of the WL! We were just there in December for our stay and loved the atmosphere. It's so much fun visiting the deluxe resorts at the holidays to see all the decorations.
Wonderful updates and photos, as usual, Cheryl! Those Hathaway Brown photos that Mark took really cracked me up. That was my first visit to the AC, and I'll remember it forever, believe me! Your photo of the CLTŪ is the last one from the trip. Eileen had to catch her DME bus shortly thereafter. More, please!
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
I'm trying to get caught up on your report, I just made it through your arrival day. What a great time you all had at Spoodles! It looked and sounded like so much fun! I can hardly wait to read more, but alas I must go off and get some of my work done.
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I just got caught up again. Cheryl, I just love the pictures that you and Mark took. I get goose bumps just looking at them. I am glad you were feeling better and got to go on some rides. I can't wait to read more.
Apologies for the lateness of the update today. I'm currently off work sick with this cold bug that's doing the rounds over here. I'm over the cold, but am so bunged up and I just can't clear it. My ears are so painful with all the pressure and I can't really move around very well, as it's knocking my balance off.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tkd lisa
Great updates! Did you use a tripod for your castle pictures? I especially like the twilight ones.
No tripods at all. : It's all done just holding the camera very still.
Then it was off to Fantasyland, where we picked up a Fastpass for Winnie the Pooh (after checking that was the right thing to do with Sharon, Mrs. Fastpass Queen! ) before going on Mickey’s PhilharMagic. This is just as good as the first time we ever went on it and it was so fun to see it through Adam’s eyes, as it was his first time seeing it.
When we came out, I realised how cold it was getting. That wouldn’t have been a problem, but I left my sweatshirt in the car by accident, so it was time to head off to the Winnie the Pooh shop, where I was able to find a new embroidered Eeyore sweatshirt for $49. Perfect. I don’t mind spending money if it’s something I’ll wear again in the future and, trust me, I will be wearing this for some time to come in the future.
Showing off my new purchase a little later in the evening at the Crystal Palace
Then it was on to Winnie the Pooh. This had to be one of the longest waits I’ve had in a long time using Fastpass, probably about 10 minutes or so, but finally we were on. I tried to get some photos, but the flash unit we bought to go with the camera just wasn’t working for some reason.
When we got back, we heard that Sue and Steve were already at the Crystal Palace, so we headed off there and just about got there in one piece. The problem was that Spectromagic was due to start in about 20 minutes time and the crowds were thick, with no-one wanting to let us cross over to get to the Crystal Palace. You could tell it was going to be a busy night.
We didn’t have long to wait at the Crystal Palace once we checked in, only about five minutes, but time to get a few more photos:
There was no sign of characters when we were seated, so we headed off to the buffet. This was just as good as always, but I still didn’t feel 100%, so I missed a lot of the food that was out, because I just didn’t fancy it. Despite that, what I ate was very good.
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It is so beautiful. I hope they bring it back for years to come.
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Pixie Dust
I couldn't begin to comment on all the things I loved, but I will say...
Glad it seems to have been a one-day thing, and thank goodness for Steve! 
After our late Candleight Processional, I had a terrible time trying to catch DTD transportation (they really should have a DTD bus from the parks) and I felt like I'd be too late for the fun. It looks like I missed out on a rollicking good time. 
Aren't the castle lights the best thing ever? I didn't get a chance to see it being lit, but just seeing it lit UP was fanstastic (actually, I guess I kind of saw it being lit during Wishes). I love all the daytime pictures of the MK, too.
That was my first visit to the AC, and I'll remember it forever, believe me! 
Lisa 
PassPorter Guide Author
: It's all done just holding the camera very still.
) before going on Mickey’s PhilharMagic. This is just as good as the first time we ever went on it and it was so fun to see it through Adam’s eyes, as it was his first time seeing it. 
Dreams, Wishes, Hopes... these are the parts of childhood we should never lose.
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