Walking in a Disney Wonderland, December 8-15, 2009 - COMPLETE!! 5/7 - Page 36 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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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.
I cannot believe I missed the update Work has been so crazy!
Too bad about the rain but sounds like you guys were troopers and still had a great time.
Love the pic of your son eating cookies...hahahaha sooooo cute!
Too bad about TSMM...seems like its always like that
I cannot wait to hear about the party
I cannot believe I missed the update Work has been so crazy!
Too bad about the rain but sounds like you guys were troopers and still had a great time.
Love the pic of your son eating cookies...hahahaha sooooo cute!
Too bad about TSMM...seems like its always like that
I cannot wait to hear about the party
Dylan loves himself some cookies!! Or anything he can eat really.
We still have yet to ride TSMM, but I'm thinking on our 'adult-only' bday trip we'll finally get to do it Here's hoping at least!!
Sounds like you guys had a great time! It rained when I went to DHS in December too, and it's not such a bad park for that, there's so many places to duck out of the weather.
Can't wait to hear more!
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My son gets tired of photos too (I even have a video of him saying "no pictures, no pictures").
Wish I could get mine to be ok with characters, but he's just not. Face characters (like the ladies at Akershus) he's fine with, but otherwise he's just NOT going to go for it!
My son gets tired of photos too (I even have a video of him saying "no pictures, no pictures").
Wish I could get mine to be ok with characters, but he's just not. Face characters (like the ladies at Akershus) he's fine with, but otherwise he's just NOT going to go for it!
I'm not really sure why he did so much better with the 'head' characters this time, but it was a nice surprise and we got some really good pics from his encounters with the characters - lots of those to come!
Once we got back to the room to drop everything off, Mike & I decided to check out the DVC Merry Member Mixer that was near the International Gateway. We left Dylan with the in-laws in hopes they’d be able to get him to take a nap. We didn’t stay long at the mixer – it was rather crowded though. We got our complimentary rice krispy treats and some hot apple cider, then entered a drawing and checked out the special merchandise (which was just pins I believe) and then decided to go back. We got an ornament on our way out the door. I was glad we went, but it’s not something that I’d necessarily have to do again.
On the way back to the room we stopped in the marketplace to look around. We got some more Diet Coke and I got a DVC magnet for my car, which doesn’t really stay on that well. Once back in the room I was hoping Dylan would be napping, but of course he wasn’t. I did get him to lay down and the rest of us just hung out while he napped. I finally woke him up at 6:15pm as we had to get going to MVMCP!!
[And here ends my more detailed notes, so we’ll see how the rest of this goes.]
I think all the people that had been there earlier in the day (and not attending the party) were still hanging out which is why it was so packed!!
The first thing we did when we got to the party was figure out where to eat – we headed to Cosmic Ray’s. Terry & Vicki both had the rotisserie chicken, Mike & Dylan ate chicken nuggets & fries, I had the cheese steak, and Mike also ate the chicken noodle soup that was intended for Dylan. After we ate and checked out a bit of the dance party we headed out to grab a spot for the first parade (I didn’t think Dylan would make it for the second). We grabbed a spot in Frontierland, I think across from LTT. We had a good spot up front. Dylan & I sat on the ground and watched the parade while everyone else kind of stood behind and around us. I think Mike videotaped the parade and my FiL grabbed some pictures. Waiting for the parade to start! My festive party head wear!Which a CM later said she liked!
"Hi Dylan!"
Dylan was really eager to see everything!
The BEST part of the Christmas parade!!
After the parade we took a ride on Pirates and then grabbed some cookies & hot chocolate before finding a spot for the fireworks. We grabbed a spot in front of Crystal palace and it was a pretty good spot. I videotaped this time. I so think the parades and fireworks are worth the extra admission to these parties (MVMCP & MNSSHP).
This was in Adventureland where we got our cookies & hot chocolate.
After the fireworks we went on Small World, Snow White, and then Mike & I hit the teacups and Space Mountain (a first since the refurb). After our flight on SM we found Dylan and his grandparents watching the show in Tomorrowland. It was cute – I got out the video camera for some of it too. After the show we took the bridge from Tomorrowland back near the castle stopping to get a PP pics on the way – our only one of the night!!!
We stopped in the Emporium and then tried to get some pics where Santa normally is, but Dylan was melting. We were on a bus headed back to BCV at 11:45pm and 15 minutes later we were getting off that bus. I’m pretty sure we crashed when we got in the room. All in all, I’m really glad we did this as it’s a whole different experience – and a good one at that!
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