The $16,000 "Free" Disney Trip **Updated 12/11** COMPLETE - Page 31 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Well, I will have to say that I was really looking foward to this TR because i've never gotten to see much about DL. I was glad for your stories and pictures. I would love to make it there one day myself!
I'm so glad it turned out to be such a good trip to DL!
I look forward to the mousefest TR!
Awesome. Such compelling photos and reasons for us to get our butts to Disneyland!!! Thank you for sharing everything!!! Now, go get ready for Florida!!
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Finally got a chance to catch up and it was so much fun getting a bunch of posts to read through. So glad that you got to spend more time with Cheryl and Mark...looks like you had a great breakfast and Mark was on his best behavior with Tinkerbell
You packed in a lot on your last day...Disneyland is definitely on my lists of places that I would love to visit.
Off to read all about your time if SF (I feel so behind on my reading...glad you had a great time at the Fairmont as well, from what my boss says it is beautiful and very relaxing).
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Fantabulous TR! I hung on your every word. I am so glad you had a great trip. I always enjoy reading your TRs, and this did not let me down. Thanks for sharing!
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I'm just getting caught up with your report and I loved it, as always! Your pictures are fantastic! Next time we're at DLR in October, we'll definately try the Halloween Party. It looks like fun. Hope to meet up with you at some point again somewhere! Off to read the rest of the story...
Sharon - enjoyed your final thoughts about your CA visit. With so many trip reports flying around PP these days, it took me awhile to get over here.
You bring back my own memories of living in the San Francisco area for 22 years - loved the Fairmount and it's just such a gorgeous city and more like New York than any other CA city.
The Disneyland Hotel does have a great Disney feel, doesn't it? To generalize, it seems like a cross between the Yacht Club and the Contemporary where the Grand Californian is more of a cross between the Grand Floridian and Wilderness Lodge.
So glad you had such a nice time. On your next trip, let's meet up for some wine tasting in DCA.
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It's a good thing I didn't tell you before my maternal grandparents were born and raised in Transylvania, otherwise you may not have wanted to meet up at WDW!
Stunned, yes STUNNED, DTD doesn't open earlier. Sometimes I wonder if DL/DCA is neglected by the powers-that-be. What a shame! But I am so hoping to someday make a second trip to DL. Your pictures and report have me itching to go again!
I am so behind in all my Disney post reading From today, I'm making time to get a bit read each day, otherwise goodness knows when I'll get the time. I'm ashamed it has taken me this long to get my priorities in order .
So far, I've read your pre-trip entries and your first full day (as well as all the commenting in-between.) Reading them has made me so incredibly excited, as if I'm about to go on a Disney trip myself! I'm glad to see that you made the most of every second of your arrival day, and I thoroughly enjoyed the photos of your hotel room and dinner at Goofy's Kitchen - it certainly looked as if Zach added a lot of entertainment value to the festivities!
I'm looking forward to reading more (especially the Halloween themed activities!) - hopefully I'll be back tomorrow .
I so enjoyed reading about your first full day, and the photos you included were absolutely brilliant! I also can't believe how deserted the park looked, and how you didn't have to contend with crowds until later that evening. Next visit (not sure when that will be, as the savings aren't going all that well ), my brothers and I have promised each other to take advantage of the early opening hours.)
I know how you feel about going on the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters with someone who can easily kick your ass!
I just so all the Halloween touches Disney put around the park! for sharing them with us! I also loved reading about the Halloween Tour you went on - it sounded like a lot of fun (but I'm not sure if I could get my brothers to go on it, as I don't think they'd be up for the walking funny bit in public. I don't think they'd ever forgive me if I neglected to tell them of this - LOL!) I'm also a huge fan of the Twilight Zone, so are really excited to hear of its inclusion in the tour
Once again, I can't believe how much you fitted into your day (including dips in the pool!) - there really is something in this early rising on a holiday lark!
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for sharing another fabulous TR with us!! I have enjoyed reading it and can't wait to read the next one!
Wish I'd been there too.
Hope to meet up with you at some point again somewhere! Off to read the rest of the story...
From today, I'm making time to get a bit read each day, otherwise goodness knows when I'll get the time. I'm ashamed it has taken me this long to get my priorities in order 
.
I also can't believe how deserted the park looked, and how you didn't have to contend with crowds until later that evening. Next visit (not sure when that will be, as the savings aren't going all that well 
all the Halloween touches Disney put around the park! 
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