The Continuing Story of the Adventures of a CM! - Page 29 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Wow, it sounds like you've jumped right in with both feet! I'm so glad you've started this thread so we can all be kept up-to-date with your progress! Enjoy your weekend off, you've certainly earned it.
How wonderful that you ahve your schedule for all of July. Yeah! Very interesting about the CM calling you Dawn. Wonder if he is a PP
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Oct '99: CSR ~ May '02: CR ~ Nov '04: SOG ~ May '06: SOG ~ Dec '07: Solo @ Pop ~ May '08: Pop w/friends ~ Oct '08: SOG ~ Dec '09: Pop w/LeAnn ~ Sept '10: Solo @ Pop ~ Spring '11: AKL ~ Jan '12: Pop for 1/2 Marathon ~ Sept '12: 1st trip for DL 1/2 Marathon? ~ Feb '13: Pop w/pals? ~ Mar '13: Tokyo Disney w/PP's?
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So Happy for you that everything is coming together for you. Sounds like the DD's like mom's schedule too. Maybe since you have the weekend off you can take the girls over to AK to see if there's any thing special going on at Rafik. Didn't the DD's miss the Tiger exam awhile back?? LouigiAnne
Gray, how in the heck did that gentleman know that your name was Dawn? Doesn't your nametag say Gray? Glad things are working out. Sounds like your job is great. I know that the guests will benefit from interacting with you and your crew.
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Dawn, my DD just reminded me that on our arrival day in 2007, we stopped into the gift shop at CSR before hopping on the bus to MK. When we were done looking around and had purchased our Pal Mickey, we chatted with the CM for a bit. Then as we were getting ready to leave, he told us to come back the next morning at opening and she could open the store for him. The next morning, we showed up at the appointed time, he handed her the keyand some maracas, she unlocked the outside door, went in and started shaking the maracas to open the store for the day. That was one of the first Magical Moments we had on our trip. I'm sure your stores already have something similar, but I thought I would share that. Her face lit up as she was remembering the Moment. It wasn't a big thing, but it was enough to make her smile this morning, 2 years after the fact.
Just got back from the world last night, didn't want to leave having way too much fun. I'm glad that you are happy over at the All-Stars and I do know how hot it has been in Orlando as of late. Good luck and looking forward to hearing more about your adventures.
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How did he know your name was Dawn? I am so glad that you are enjoying where you are at for your intership. It sounds like you ended up in the right place. Glad you schedule has worked out great too. Sounds like things are right on track. Enjoy your weekend off and hopefully it won't be too hot for you.
Whoa, what a day! I was supposed to go in at 4pm to hang out with a CM and observe the function of the store in the afternoon/closing. Best laid plans...
First, my schedule said Sports, but the CM was at Movies. I moved and it wound up being a good thing b/c we had no coordinators for some reason! There was a manager at both Music and Sports, but I was *IT* for Movies (the biggest of the 3 shops, too!). I jumped right in and did the best I could, even though my authorization hasn't been set up for several things. We "winged" it and made it work for the guests. I made several managerial decisions and one of the other managers walked me through the closing paperwork/template. I was also able to help our money room person since I was familiar with the basics of that already. I even had a Cast meeting after close tonight.
Let's just say that we rocked at Movies tonight and everyone had fun. One of the CMs said, "We'll work really hard for someone we like and we like you!" THE. BEST. FEELING. EVER. I'm still verklempt (and exhausted).
I'm off this weekend, then have leader shadows all next week (although after today, give me my authorizations and let me at 'em! )
The views and opinions expressed on this post are mine and do not necessarily represent or reflect those of The Walt Disney Company and Affiliated Companies
The views and opinions expressed on this post are mine and do not necessarily represent or reflect those of The Walt Disney Company and Affiliated Companies
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.