PTR: Thingamabobs, Zebras, & Giraffes, Oh My! - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Wonderful plans. We love AKL Kidani! Stayed there two visits in a row. My youngest DD wants to try AOA but being DVC, it probably won't happen. Too funny how you made that a reality for your DD!
Congrats on getting the rooms all sorted out, and glad that Em is happy to be staying at AoA! I hope you guys had a great time in the city for Scott's birthday! Can't wait to see all of Em's dance outfits!
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Happy Birthday to Scott! How fun to see SNL!!! Have a wonderful time!
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Thanks! We had a great time!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Happy Birthday to Scott! I'll have to watch SNL tonight and maybe will see you in the audience.
Thanks! No luck seeing us on tv! lol!
Quote:
Originally Posted by num1DVCfan
Happy Birthday Scott! I think it's awesome that your friend got you into SNL tonight. I hope I catch a glimpse of you! Your plans sound great. Now that Sean is starting kindergarten this year, we'll going to be doing the summer trips going forward. I'll have to try to get one scheduled for 4th of July when you're there!
Thanks! Would love to meet up with you over a 4th of July trip!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Happy Birthday, Scott!!! Hope you guys are having a great time in the city. How cool to get to see SNL tonight!!
Thanks! We did have a great time!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
, Scott! So cool that you all get to sit in for Saturday Night Live!
Thanks! It was fun!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Irenaroo
Wonderful plans. We love AKL Kidani! Stayed there two visits in a row. My youngest DD wants to try AOA but being DVC, it probably won't happen. Too funny how you made that a reality for your DD!
Thanks! We can't wait to stay in each of the resorts!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Congrats on getting the rooms all sorted out, and glad that Em is happy to be staying at AoA! I hope you guys had a great time in the city for Scott's birthday! Can't wait to see all of Em's dance outfits!
Thanks! Posted a link to the dance photos!
Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily
Your plans are shaping up to be a fantastic vacation! I can't wait to read all about it! How was the birthday weekend?
Thanks! It was great! We had a lot of fun!
__________________
Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes for Scott! We had a great time in NYC, even though we got in a bit later than we expected and it was raining on and off. But we had dinner at Ruby Foo's - had some dim sum and sushi - then they brought us each a glass of champagne to celebrate his birthday, as he had turned down dessert! After dinner, we walked over to Cake Boss Cafe and shared a slice of carrot cake! . Then we just walked around Times Square a bit, slowly making our way towards Rockefeller Center. We took full advantage of quality adult time and popped into an Irish Pub for a couple of drinks before SNL. Our friend was able to take a quick break and meet us for a quick snack/beverage. Then we headed over to the studio. We had been to SNL a couple times before, so we had seen the offices/studios where many of the NBC shows are filmed, but they have been doing a lot of renovations in the building so it was interesting to see it all - some of it looked so different! Our friend went from having a nice private office to sharing a space with about 20 other people! although he said it actually is much nicer than they thought it would be! SNL was great! Andrew Garfield was the host - and he is just ADORABLE!!! Emma Stone made a surprise entrance! And Coldplay was the music guest - and can I just say Chris Martin is not so bad to look at :roll eyes:
After the show, we had to head back on the train to our hotel - as I had a very long day the next day - Emily had studio rehearsal for dance from 12-6:30, and of course I am a volunteer! Let's just say that by 4:00 when I had a chance to sit for a minute.....I was ready to crash!! But I survived and we had a great time!
Now onto Disney plans! I had told you all that we would have some "guests" in this trip. If you have been following my TR's for awhile now, you might remember the LisaX3 TR? (If you would like to read it, you can here: http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post3671807) Well, Lisa #1 and her family will be in Orlando a few days before us, and through the 6th of July (as of right now.......although she just sent me a message earlier that they may have to head home on the 5th ). They are staying off property (RCI property only a mile or so from AK) and they are only doing WDW 4 of their days. But as of right now, we have plans to meet up with them a few of our days (which I will go into more detail when I speak of our park days).
So give them a better introduction, they are:
Lisa (yeah, she might be listed as #1 (I am #2) but ONLY because she is older than me! - we have been friends since middle school, and love each other like sisters! She is truly my bestest friend!!! She LOVES all Disney! Especially Mary Poppins and Ariel! (in case you missed the LisaX3 TR, we celebrated turning 40 with another Lisa together back in 2011!). She has run 2 Disney half marathons, and also the 10K and 5K at Disney!
Paul ~ Lisa's DH. I think he puts up with Disney for Lisa & I :roll eyes: but that's why he loves us! He and Lisa have been together since high school - they have been married for 21 years this summer! He doesn't really have a favorite character. But he is also an AVID runner!!! He runs all the time, and completed the Dopey Challenge this past January, and also completed the half marathon the previous year! He has done several more major runs in the DC area.
Chris ~ their 17 yo son. He is an avid sports kiddo - plays soccer, refs for the younger ones, is involved with his HS chorus and drama - he was just in the school production of Tarzan! Chris' favorite character is probably Goofy!
Bethany ~ their 14 yo daughter (her and Emily are only 5 months apart!.....no we didn't plan it that way! ). She is a spitting image of her mom - and LOVES Disney as well! Her favorite character is Grumpy! She plays basketball and softball and loves Drama as well.
Matthew ~ the youngest son - age 11 - he is the cutest little red head kid you will ever meet! He loves to play soccer as well. He loves to visit WDW and is looking forward to this vacation!!! And Matthew's favorite character is Donald Duck!
Here they are on their last trip to WDW this past November:
We also plan to spend some time with Emily's friend (Graygables daughter) hopefully a couple times again. She and Emily started as pen pals, and quickly became great friends and when they meet up in WDW you would think they have known each other forever!
I am also hoping to meet up with some Passporters while we are there as well!
__________________
Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
Finally - I'm here and caught up.
1-I feel the same way about BLT (and we OWN there!).
2- you were a little stinker keeping that secret from Em! I love it!
3- Happy Birthday to Scott - hope his shoulder is doing better. NYC sounded like a blast
4- great pics of Em in her dance costumes. I love that her Company is a Community Service. That's really cool.
Ok - now you may proceed. .
BTW - to meet totally cool PP's you'd have to go at the end of Oct. just sayin.
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I hope you guys had a great time in the city for Scott's birthday! 
Can't wait to see all of Em's dance outfits! 
. Then we just walked around Times Square a bit, slowly making our way towards Rockefeller Center. We took full advantage of quality adult time and popped into an Irish Pub for a couple of drinks before SNL. Our friend was able to take a quick break and meet us for a quick snack/beverage. Then we headed over to the studio. We had been to SNL a couple times before, so we had seen the offices/studios where many of the NBC shows are filmed, but they have been doing a lot of renovations in the building so it was interesting to see it all - some of it looked so different! Our friend went from having a nice private office to sharing a space with about 20 other people! 
although he said it actually is much nicer than they thought it would be! 
). They are staying off property (RCI property only a mile or so from AK) and they are only doing WDW 4 of their days. But as of right now, we have plans to meet up with them a few of our days (which I will go into more detail when I speak of our park days).
Liz 
PassPorter Guide Author
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