A tale of two cities… and a few other places… COMPLETED - Page 30 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Awww, corgis! Our family had one when I was a little kid. Not the pembroke though, the cardigan. So the black one with white and brown markings.
Oh gosh, shows how much I know... I didn't know there was more than one type of corgi!
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I suppose even Big Ben and parliament need sprucing up from time to time. A bummer it happened to be when Jan was there. The clock itself is still looking good though!
Yes, it's a major overhaul that's being done, but they say it should keep Parliament going for the next couple of hundred of years...
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So will Big Ben not chime for the next four years? That's going to be disappointing if I make it to London during that time.
Only on special occasions, so Remembrance Day (11 November) and Remembrance Sunday (the Sunday nearest to 11 November) and New Year's Eve and that's about it.
Too bad with Big Ben's chimes not in service with the restoration as I loved hearing that when I visited London! Great, that Mark was able to hail a black cab to ride in. I love those as the seating is so spacious and comfortable! The shop at Buckingham Palace looks very good and very high end with the fancy liquors for sale. Glad you are taking Jan to all the necessary sights in London.
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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!
Love the displays in the shop! Charming! That is some extensive work on Parliament. When I read that Big Ben was being silenced for four years, I thought that would have to weird for those who were accustomed to the sound.
Too bad with Big Ben's chimes not in service with the restoration as I loved hearing that when I visited London! Great, that Mark was able to hail a black cab to ride in. I love those as the seating is so spacious and comfortable! The shop at Buckingham Palace looks very good and very high end with the fancy liquors for sale. Glad you are taking Jan to all the necessary sights in London.
Love the displays in the shop! Charming! That is some extensive work on Parliament. When I read that Big Ben was being silenced for four years, I thought that would have to weird for those who were accustomed to the sound.
Oh it is. It is just so peculiar, although I guess people will get used to it. You'll probably find people are shocked to hear Big Ben again at the end of the four years!
Tuesday 19 September – part eleven: cruising along the Thames…
We headed down towards Westminster Pier, purchased our tickets for the river boat, and made our way down there…
We boarded, and Jan and I spent most of our time on our feet, getting photos of everything we saw as we cruised along…
Cruising under Blackfriars Bridge
Cruising past Tate Modern
The Millennium bridge, a pedestrian bridge over the Thames with the Shard in the background
Going under the Millennium Bridge and catching a glimpse of St. Paul’s Cathedral
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, a recreation of the theatre from his era
The Golden Hinde, a recreation of Sir Francis Drake’s famous ship
When we got off at London Bridge, we were surprised to see a cruise ship moored up alongside HMS Belfast. Wow, I bet that would’ve been a sight when that went under Tower Bridge. If only Disney did that…
I didn't realize any cruise ships could go on the Thames with all the bridges. I mean I know some open, but most don't.... wow, very cool! Nice views from the river!
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Tanya
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I love cruising down the Thames!
That would be cool is Disney cruised right into London! Sign me up!
I suspect their ships are too big. I'm sure I remember reading somewhere that the cruise ships that come up the Thames are much smaller. Maybe Disney need to build a smaller ship so they can do this?