The Life of a VIP - Adventures By Disney Backstage Magic - Page 28 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hmmmm I wonder.....could part of your love for the Disneyland Hotel be that Goofy walks around the lobby?
I love to hear you talk about DLR with such fondness!! I have only read your WDW TR so this one is a treat for me, being a DLR lover. Can't wait to read more
And the day keeps going what a great room and wonderful view. Loved the pics of your tourmates all enjoying their balconies. What a nice surprise going to Steakhouse 55, even if your steak was a little overcooked the meal looked delicious (I also eat my steak medium well and to this day my family berates me saying I am ruining the steak...LOL I tell them I rather my steak not moo at me )
Glad you were able to enjoy some rides before your day finally ended, love the Space Mountain photo, how I wish WDW has the cars where you sat side by side instead of sitting alone. Glad you made it through your submarine voyage without having to swim...looking forward to hearing all about your breakfast.
What a great day!! The tour has been amazing so far and if I wasn't so gawsh darn pregnant I'd be flying to CA as soon as possible to enjoy it myself! But, I'll just have to live through you. Can't wait to hear about Club 33!!
So glad to see another update!!! Seeing your night at DL makes me want to go see it for myself My uncle lives out there, so maybe the year after next, we'll have to head on out there! The ABD tour will have to wait for us until the kids are older...
__________________
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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Sharon, your day and tour keeps getting better and better. Your room looks awesome at GCH, however I do have to agree with you on DLH seeming more magical(my dream resort for a DLR trip is DLH). Your dinner at Steakhouse 55 looked delicicious, however so sorry to hear they overcooked your steak. How fun to get HM to the group. Glad you got to ride Nemo, how awful it was packed though. Glad to hear you didn't get stuck on the bottom of the lagoon or having to swim back to shore. Space Mountain in DLR looks like so much fun. How sweet of your guides to print out post cards for everone in the group and how sweet of your tour mate to bring thr custom M & Ms for everyone too. More please Sharon.
Oh wow Sharon - what wonderful updates. This tour just gets better and better and, with every installment I read, I think that it's not possible for it to get any better, but it does.
Amazing. You guys are just getting the star treatment! Private dinner, private doombuggy's, private sinking submarine!!! What a fantastic night! Really can't wait to hear about tomorrow's adventures!
BTW, completely jealous of your little souvenir doombuggy! I've never seen that before. It's adorable!
__________________
Tanya
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A woman came by and noticed. That’s being polite. She stared with a look on her face like “what the #*$@ are these nuts doing?” And as she was staring at us, she continued walking, right into the drive-thru lane. She was nearly hit by a car! Don’t hurt yourself, there, while you’re judging us, lady!
Oh.Mah.Gawd. I nearly choked on a pretzel when I read that. Luckily, my boss walked by and was able to thump me on the back to dislodge it.
Thanks, Shashi -- not only did I get to enjoy a near-death experience, but my boss got to catch me reading a TR... at work. (Although, I was technically on my lunch break, but still...)
Not that I've forgiven you yet for sending me taunting pics of your Henson Studios tour while you were there. I went as green as Kermit -- and it's not easy being green.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PrincessSharon
My besties will get to see some of that merchandise first hand this weekend (), because I bought them all gifts. Yay!
Um... what? That makes TWO things I'll be missing out on this weekend. I think I better go buy a big box of wine to console myself.
Loving the double updates....gotta keep whipping them out befoe you jet off on your next adventure, huh?
AJ and I just spent the past half hour totally geeking out at all the fabulous ABD experiences of your second day.
danielle
So why haven't you booked already?
Quote:
Originally Posted by MinnieJen
Hmmmm I wonder.....could part of your love for the Disneyland Hotel be that Goofy walks around the lobby?
I love to hear you talk about DLR with such fondness!! I have only read your WDW TR so this one is a treat for me, being a DLR lover. Can't wait to read more
Yes, I loved bumping into Goofy in the lobby! I even saw him walking around downstairs while I was relaxing on my balcony.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcc0313
And the day keeps going what a great room and wonderful view. Loved the pics of your tourmates all enjoying their balconies. What a nice surprise going to Steakhouse 55, even if your steak was a little overcooked the meal looked delicious (I also eat my steak medium well and to this day my family berates me saying I am ruining the steak...LOL I tell them I rather my steak not moo at me )
Glad you were able to enjoy some rides before your day finally ended, love the Space Mountain photo, how I wish WDW has the cars where you sat side by side instead of sitting alone. Glad you made it through your submarine voyage without having to swim...looking forward to hearing all about your breakfast.
It's funny how judge-y people get about how you want your steak! I never complain when people eat it all underdone and bloody and junk.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tootogether
Just wanted to say that I've absolutely loved each and every one of your TR's. You are a great storyteller!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caldercup
Um... what? That makes TWO things I'll be missing out on this weekend. I think I better go buy a big box of wine to console myself.
E
Not to worry, my dear! I have something special for you that I'll be mailing soon. And don't tell the others, but your presents (you get multiples, they only get one thing) are way better than theirs! Also, I'm cooking up another surprise for you, which I'll be revealing hopefully tomorrow (or, possibly, tonight).
__________________
Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
Not to worry, my dear! I have something special for you that I'll be mailing soon. And don't tell the others, but your presents (you get multiples, they only get one thing) are way better than theirs! Also, I'm cooking up another surprise for you, which I'll be revealing hopefully tomorrow (or, possibly, tonight).
I'll keep your secrets -- and your gifts!
And another surprise for lil' ol' me? I'm all a-tingle!
I love you Sharon. Have I told you that lately? And that you look fabulous. And that I love your momma. And that you're my favorite!
Three things (which would have been better if I could have figured out how to
break up your post and put individual responses...but oh, well )
1. Love that you posted the photo of the GC lobby I just finished the Jack Spence quiz on Allears "Which picture doesn't belong" (I swear I was on my lunch hour) and I was able to pick out that this was NOT from the WL lobby. (yay for me)
2. Who was the private party for? You guys or a bunch of infants who double parked all of their strollers??
3. Which of you was the first to knock over the Jenga tower of bread??
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Great update!!! I was a little nervous for you when you were telling the story about the Nemo sub. I probably would have freaked out! Glad to see you could all laugh about it afterward. Can't wait for the next update!!
Not to worry, my dear! I have something special for you that I'll be mailing soon. And don't tell the others, but your presents (you get multiples, they only get one thing) are way better than theirs! Also, I'm cooking up another surprise for you, which I'll be revealing hopefully tomorrow (or, possibly, tonight).
Ok, so that's the story we're telling her? Just want to make sure we're all on the same page with Ms. Fragile Ego. And she complains about me! Sheesh!
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Karen, aka Zack's Mom - Lover of all Things Disney and the San Francisco Giants!
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Waiting to eat with Goofy - DLR May 2010
)
My uncle lives out there, so maybe the year after next, we'll have to head on out there! The ABD tour will have to wait for us until the kids are older...
PassPorter Guide Author
And as she was staring at us, she continued walking, right into the drive-thru lane. 
She was nearly hit by a car! Don’t hurt yourself, there, while you’re judging us, lady! 
), because I bought them all gifts. 
Yay!
) and I was able to pick out that this was NOT from the WL lobby. (yay for me)
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