Reconstructing the Magic with Cam and Luke UPDATED: 12/23 Christmas Present and Our Final Day - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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What a wonderful way to enjoy breakfast. I was thinking about doing that one when we went, but I changed my mind, and now I'm wishing I would have stuck with it. It looks like you all really enjoyed yourselves.
Ol my gosh, I finally got all caught up before you finished!!! So glad that you and Luke got to get back before your June trip. I have really ejoyed reading and gettin caught up on this TR, yall are having a great time and took lots of great pics!
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Me and Cole in the Sears Tower Skydeck, 103 floors up, in a glass box hanging off the side!
Ol my gosh, I finally got all caught up before you finished!!! So glad that you and Luke got to get back before your June trip. I have really ejoyed reading and gettin caught up on this TR, yall are having a great time and took lots of great pics!
Thanks for reading! This was a trip that Luke and I really needed.
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We arrived at MK to a very long bag check line, but the right side seemed to be moving somewhat faster. It still seemed to take quite a bit of time, but eventually we were pushing the turnstiles and walking through the tunnel. I had had Luke get some photos of the Halloween decorations along the way.
We progressed slowly up Main Street, checking out the entire atmosphere, even stopping for the Autumn Song done by the singers with the trolley.
Then we opted to get Jungle Cruise FastPasses. The Tips board had shown PotC was temporarily closed, but we decided to check for ourselves. We discovered it was open again with a 5 minute wait. Soon we were exploring pirate adventures. From there we entered Frontierland where we first stopped to check out the Pin Post. I got a 2012 MNSHHP limited pin, a limited edition Monorail pin, and a large limited edition Jack pin for Luke’s birthday. Next we chose to ride BTMRR, which had only a 20 minute wait. Not everyone had chosen to ride, so we regrouped at Haunted Mansion for a spooky ride with the grim grinning ghosts. After Haunted Mansion our FPs for Jungle Cruise were ripe. Our skipper was excellent in his delivery of the tried and true corny jokes, making for a fun cruise.
The Disney Divas decided at this point to return to the resort while Luke and I went off on new adventures. We chose Fantasyland first, getting Peter Pan FastPasses, and then backtracking to ride it’s a small world. Mickey’s Philharmagic was next. Then we moved through the new entry to the expansion that directs you to Storybrook Circus and Tomorrowland. Luke and I both took turns taking lots of pictures of this new section.
We checked out the Big Top Souvenirs first – Stefanie would have approved.
Our first ride was the Dumbo, and we got a ride on the new one.
From there we moved into the line for the Barnstormer, which was only a 10 – 15 minute wait.
Afterwards we were a bit hungry and a lot thirsty. I bought us a Mickey pretzel (a first for us) and a coke each. We sat at a shady table and leisurely ate our light lunch outside Pete’s Silly Sideshow. The only noise here was Pete’s spiel playing over and over.
Our FastPasses to Peter Pan were ready so we backtracked again.
After the ride I wanted to check out Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe where I found a Haunted Mansion Mickey ornament with the date already personalized to add to our trip collection of ornaments. Next was the Emporium to check on MNSSHP merchandise, and after talking to two friendly CMs, we knew where to be right at 7:00. Since it was now after 4:00, we headed to the front gate to scan our tickets and get those necessary wrist bands.
Now heading back up Main Street, we stopped in Uptown Jewelers to browse. Then ice cream seemed like a good idea; the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor was calling our names. Luke got an All-American Sundae while I got a double scoop of chocolate. We found a table outside The Plaza and sat to eat our quickly melting ice cream with the Move It Shake It Celebrate parade as background music.
Next: A Hauntingly Good Time with Ann and Carly and the Divas
Great day so far at MK! No purchases at Uptown Jewelers?? I thought that it seemed on our last trip that they had a few new charms but I didn't stop to look.
Yay!!! Another great update! That was such a good afternoon too. You got a lot done in the new Fantasyland! Can't wait for more - especially b/c of the certain Tomorrowland w/Crystal!
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great update!!! I Loved the new Storybook Circus area!!! it was a lot of fun! And those Mickey pretzels......YUM!!! Especially with cheese dipping sauce!
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Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
Great pictures! You had a perfect blue sky as back-drop!
Good idea to check on the location of the MNSSHP merchandise beforehand! I'm making note of that!
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Beautiful photos! I loved how everything was "aged" with rust and stuff. Dh kept trying to explain to his mother why things looked liked they've been there for years, but I think she really didn't notice. So many new details to explore. I love all the pumpkins - the white pumpkin snowman made me chuckle
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