DawnDenise Does Disney: Final Thoughts **Updated 11/10** COMPLETE - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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How awesome, Dawn. I'm so excited to hear about your first solo trip. Chuck is such a sweetie to hand over his stimulus check! I'm bummed that I'll miss you by just days, though. Can't wait to hear the details!
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
How awesome to get a wonderful offer from WDW and an equally wonderful gift from Chuck....perhaps he can give some pointers to Paul!
danielle
He spoils me big time. I could have easily taken care of the cost but when he kept insisting, I didn't want to be rude.
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Originally Posted by tammyd_rn
I am thinking this trip was meant to be from the beginning.
I am looking forward to hopefully catching up with you since our trips coincide.
Looking forward to more.
I hope so too Tammy!
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Originally Posted by Caldercup
Gawd! I'm so stinkin' jealous, Dawnie! (Is there room in your luggage?!)
Eileen
Well you'll have to share with Tiff since she wants to stowaway too!
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Originally Posted by Lemap760
How awesome that you get to take a solo trip. Can that Chuck get any sweeter?
Nope, Chuck is just sweet enough for me!
Quote:
Originally Posted by I live with a 'Stitch'!
Dawn! Wow, you are so lucky. Your plans came together so perfectly, you had to go!! Can't wait to hear about your plans--I am sitting here thinking what would I do on a solo trip. Is this your first one?
Yeppers, this is my first solo trip. Extremely excited, a little nervous, and can't wait to experience the World on my own.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PrincessSharon
I'm bummed that I'll miss you by just days, though.
So am I. It seems I missing oodles of people just by days.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bfth
Darn it...you're arriving and we're leaving...bummer.
See above! I realized I am missing people by just a few days.
You know . . . when the airfare is $1.50 and hubby is waving his stimulus check in front of you just what are you supposed to do BUT book a trip! I'm so excited for you!
You are one lucky girl Pin code, $1.50 airfare and a stimulus check Can Chuck please talk to Grumpy for me I am still waiting for the day when Grumpy says to me "I have packed your bag, you have 30 minutes to get ready cuz we are going to WDW"
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You are there the same time as me (19th-28th here) I am almost doing a solo trip...if it were not for the other 15 people with me.
Excited to read more! Keep it coming.
So thanks to my wonderful and considerate hubby, the trip was actually going to happen.(Gotta keep giving the shout outs to him!) I had to figure out where and what I was going to do for these four days. I actually struggled at the idea because this trip was all about what I wanted to do. Add that I have always had a travel partner between Chuck, my mom, or fellow PP buddies, it was weird to think that I could do ANYTHING I wanted. The World is my oyster! Corny I know, but get over it! As I mentioned in my previous post, my first day was taken care of. I land at MCO at 3:00pm and hope to be at MK by 5:30-6:00 at the latest using my party ticket for MNSSHP. I’ll be either grabbing dinner at Columbia Harbor House before it closes for the night, or Casey’s Corner if I don’t make it in time. Rides are not a top priority but I’m sure I’ll partake in a few. I definitely will be watching the Boo to You Parade and Hallowishes. Then add in all characters that I can never resist. I’m sure they’ll be pushng me out of the park. Here’s the T-shirt design I have for the party. It’s simple but it works for me. Might pick up some new ears just because.
Now for days 2, 3, and 4. Remember when I said I was using a base ticket and not park hopping? Welllllllll….that lasted about a month. After chatting with some fellow PassPorters I discovered that the park hopper was going to be necessary if I wanted to meet up with them at any point. So, one call and $45 later, I upgraded to a park hopper. So, remember when I said I was going to go srictly counter service on this trip? Yeah, that lasted maybe a week.
On Satruday (20th) I’ll head to DHS in the morning and then to EPCOT in the late afternoon/ eveniing. Janine (FanofMickey) and Sheila (wheatenwalker) invited me to join them for dinner at Le Cellier to celebrate Janine’s birthday. you two! I think a margarita is on the agenda after dinner. I’m headed to DTD to pick up some guilt presents for DH and then head to my final visit to the Adventurers Club. I think Janine and Sheila are going to be there that night as well.
On Sunday (21st), I’ll head to EPCOT for the day. I made some plans to meet up with Mo (statelady01) and Conner for dinner at San Angel Inn, and maybe take Connor on the Gran Fiesta Tour. Plan on seeing some of the entertainers in EPCOT and partake in one or two (maybe three) adult frozen beverages. Gotta keep up with the standards set up by my fellow ELC members and president! After dinner with Mo and Conner, I’ll be headed over to MK for EMH.
Since I opened up the can of worms so to speak, I decided I had to have a character meal. Gotta make sure I get my fill of characters. I was able to grab an 8:05am ADR at Donald’s Breakfast Safari on Monday (22nd). Early enough to still grab some rides on EE before I have to head back to the resort to catch DME. That’s my plan at least.
There could be some other PassPorter meets in my short time. I am hoping to cross paths with Tammy (tammyd_rn). And with Amy (iamgrumpy) arriving in FL to her new home (Congrats again Amy!), I might get to meet up with her as well. If anyone else will be there, please feel free to PM me.
I had a hard time deciding whether or not to take an autograph book. I have scaled down versions with a 4x5 book, so I made one just in case. It might fit in my back pocket as I had planned to go with the basics and no park bag. I am only taking the small Kodak digital camera, my cell phone, and my Key to the World card into the parks and all that fits in my pockets. Hmmm….I’ll make that decision when I get there. Here’s a picture of it just in case I decide to take it.
That's it as far as definite plans. I have a basic plan of what park I will be in but that's about it. Gonna go with the flow and just enjoy it!!!
Dawn I love your T-Shirt. Did you design it? Your autograph book is darling--your so creative (maybe someday I'll learn to be creative). Your plans sound great......just one question---no meal with Eeyore? That I could never do.
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Can't wait to hear the details!
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Pixie Dust
Dawn! Wow, you are so lucky. Your plans came together so perfectly, you had to go!! Can't wait to hear about your plans--I am sitting here thinking what would I do on a solo trip. Is this your first one?
Can Chuck please talk to Grumpy for me
I am still waiting for the day when Grumpy says to me "I have packed your bag, you have 30 minutes to get ready cuz we are going to WDW" 
Ooooooohhhh.....I loveitloveitloveit!!!! What a stupendouly awesome treat! You arrive on the 19th and we leave on the 20th so we may just see you!
staci, mason, ian and lily 
Catierae
you two! I think a margarita is on the agenda after dinner. 
I’m headed to DTD to pick up some guilt presents for DH and then head to my final visit to the Adventurers Club. 
Plan on seeing some of the entertainers in EPCOT and partake in one or two (maybe three) adult frozen beverages. Gotta keep up with the standards set up by my fellow ELC members and president! 
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