Adventures Down Under take on the World!!!!!!!!! A Pre Trip Report Jan 2008 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
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.
What a wonderful experience for you as a CM!! I married my high school sweetheart too. We waited to be engaged until he was almost done with college (I didn't go) so we didn't have to deal with family nagging us!!
Congrats on your upcoming trip and getting all your ADR's! We'll be overlapping our holiday's a bit, I'm running the half-marathon and am arriving on Jan. 10! Here's hoping we both have good weather!!
__________________
Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
Just discovered your TR. Wonderful start. Your wedding photo is beautiful. Loved hearing about your CM experiences.
We love hearing all of the details. We're all obsessed here. Some share it with their spouses and some don't. My DH is hooked on WDW. The KTTK tour did it for him. Like me, he loves all of the details that are in the parks. He doesn't, though, appreciate all of the planning that goes into a trip. I make all of the plans and surf the PP board when he's not around.
Happy planning! And welcome to the boards!
__________________
ºOº ~*~
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?
Hi Jess! I am having such a good time reading your TR! The one non-Disney place I have always dreamed of going is Australia, so it is exciting to read about Disney from your perspective!
Your ADR's look great. We are going to be going to a lot of the same places that you are. I don't think you can go wrong, when choosing places recommended by fellow Passporters!
Your CM experiences are amazing! I would love to hear as much as you want to post! (hint, hint) . Did you make any friends from that time that you are still in touch with?
__________________
Saturday, October 9, 2014 - Kaitlyn and I before the Happy Haunted 5K at ESPN Wide World of Sports
I did make some beautiful friends when I was a CM. My three best friends now are the beautiful girls i met who all live in Austrlia. They were also doing the same CM progrram as me. It is really funny, other than one of them we all live within 20 mins of each other and it took us to go to the other side of the world to find each other. As we were so far away from home, these girls became like my family within 2 days of knowing them. See disney is a wonderful place, it allowed me to meet my lovely girls who mean the world to me.
I stayed in touch with two CM for about 5 years after i left but i eventually lost contact when they changed email addresses etc. i did meet some lovely CM when i was there and i wish i stayed in touch.
I am going t talk to a CM when i am in AK and see if i can duck back stage and just see where i used to work. I guess it cant hurt to try.
I will write some more CM experiences tomorrow. It is almost passed midnight and i am about to turn into a pumpkin.....gotta go!
sounds great Jess glad you had a better experience than I did (I ended up coming home 3 weeks into it)
glad that your plans are starting to come together
hurry back with more please
I finnally had time to sit down and read through your TR but I have to know the end of the story--
How did you and your boyfriend (now husband) reconnect? You left me with a cliffhanger... either that or I skipped something somewhere! My boyfriend and I are also high school sweethearts. We have been together for 6 years now and are working on getting our first apartment together. I think we are approaching engagement street so I love to hear stories of other people who have been togeher so long!
Your CM story was great! Its a great perspective! I would like to do the MK tour someday and check out all the tunnely extras myself. You have a great perspective!
In any case, I love your ADRs... France and OHanas are on our list for whenever we return again. (We had an ADR for OHanas that we had to cancel since it was just not working for check out day).
Can't wait to hear more!
I finnally had time to sit down and read through your TR but I have to know the end of the story--
How did you and your boyfriend (now husband) reconnect? You left me with a cliffhanger... either that or I skipped something somewhere! My boyfriend and I are also high school sweethearts. We have been together for 6 years now and are working on getting our first apartment together. I think we are approaching engagement street so I love to hear stories of other people who have been togeher so long!
Your CM story was great! Its a great perspective! I would like to do the MK tour someday and check out all the tunnely extras myself. You have a great perspective!
In any case, I love your ADRs... France and OHanas are on our list for whenever we return again. (We had an ADR for OHanas that we had to cancel since it was just not working for check out day).
Can't wait to hear more!
Hi MEl
this is just for you.... SO after nearly two years of not being together, well i still saw him everyday and were pretty much more of a couple than any of my girlfriends and their boyfriends were, i decided that enough was enough. I was pathetic just waiting for him to change his mind etc. It was time to move on! (which was kind of impossible as i was obsessed with him)
I stopped visiting and calling as muchh etc and then one day when i went over, he said i have made a terrible mistake, i cant live without you, i want you in my life...... i nearly fell over. All my friends told me to walk away, but i new deep down that he was the one and that we could work things out. We pretty much moved in together about 4 months later and got engaged with the year. We have been happily married ever since.
The ironic thing is thta during the 2 years apart, he wanted to be with other people to see if I was really the one (brain washed by his father about this) but he was never in any relationships during the time. I on the other hand had a lovely holiday fling with a CM in WDW!!!!!
ANyway so t here you have it, what nearly turned out as a tragic love story , had a happy ending after all!
About This Page: 
Alice in Downunderland
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
ºOº ~*~ 
Hi Jess! I am having such a good time reading your TR! The one non-Disney place I have always dreamed of going is Australia, so it is exciting to read about Disney from your perspective! 
We are going to be going to a lot of the same places that you are. I don't think you can go wrong, when choosing places recommended by fellow Passporters! 
Linear Mode
