For the plans they are a changin’ TR - Page 3 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Cool details! I love the grass roofs, but I never noticed Remy up there before! What's he doing in Norway?
It was a scavenger hunt during F&W. We didn’t do it, but I think you had to find all the hidden Remys around WS and note where they were, and what ratatouille ingredient he had next to him. When you turned in the card you got your choice of a lenticular cup.
Then we headed to China. Robert talked outside for a few minutes and then, thankfully we headed inside and the AC.
Robert talked about the artwork of the dome inside the pavilion where the dragon and the phoenix are prevalent.
We went through the new Shanghai Disney exhibit and then outside again.
Then, continuing around WS and after crossing the drawbridge, we entered the backstage area for the second time. This time it was to see the Illuminations barges all lined up in the canal. He told us Illuminations cost $30,000 to put on every night! Another interesting fact is that there is only one of each of the barges, so if something goes down, they have to do without that particular piece until it can be repaired.
We came back out on stage, and moved along past the African Outpost to Germany where he told us the story of St. George slaying the dragon.
We really loved that, in addition to info about Disney, we learned about various types of architecture, different time periods that are represented, and some of that country’s legends. Hence the story of St. George.
We stopped for a bit to look at the train.
And then Italy. Another thing about this tour….It was so nice to be able to take photos with no one in them!
I like this photo so much, that it is currently the desktop photo on my computer.
It was in Italy when he showed us a special VIP viewing spot for Illuminations and told us that he’d put our name on the list for that evening, if we wanted to come back.
Then we moved on to the American pavilion. We found out this building is done in reverse forced perspective, because it has to house a 5 story movie theater, but buildings in that time period were not more than 3 stories tall.
Then on to Japan, where Robert talked for a bit about the Japanese arch or Torii. Then we walked back to the exhibit, and I realized we’d never been in there before! The exhibit is currently “Kawaii: Japan’s cute culture.” All the cute clothes, home décor and accessories are not for kids, but for adults. It was very interesting and there was a lot to see in this little room.
Then we moved to Morocco, again to an exhibit that we’d never seen before.
By this time I was really wilting from the heat, and the walking. Luckily, France was next and we found a spot in the shade next to the fountain where we could sit….and when we got home, I realized I didn’t take any photos!
We went backstage in France so we could see the “base” of the Eiffel Tower, which is non-existent.
From there we could see construction for the new gondolas and I realized that the track will be going right over all these backstage areas.
Then we made our way to UK and lunch! We used the restrooms and waited a bit for word that they were ready for us. Robert said the staff is used to 10-12 people and get a little flustered when there are 20. They came out to call us, one table at a time. Jeff and I ended up being in the last group which was with Robert and one other participant. It felt so good to be sitting AND in the AC! Lunch was delicious and we had some great conversations with Robert! For the meal Jeff had a Scotch egg, shepherd’s pie and sticky toffee pudding. I had a salad, chicken masala curry and fruit. Guess I didn’t get photos of all of it.
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Looks like a great tour with so much information and facts you probably never knew! Seems worth doing from yours and Cheryl's experiences. I hope to do this on my next trip. It may have been better if you had a smaller group, but otherwise all was good!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
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Seems worth doing from yours and Cheryl's experiences. I hope to do this on my next trip. It may have been better if you had a smaller group, but otherwise all was good!
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