A 40th celebration to end the world! THREAD 2 COMPLETE AGAIN 4/27 - Page 45 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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The pictures of the Yacht Club are great! We did not make it over there at Christmastime, and now, seeing your pictures, I wish we would have made the time to stop in. Actually, we've never been inside the Yacht Club! We will rectify that this September when we stay at BCV. We have dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse and breakfast at Captain's Grille. Looking forward to both!
Glad you're back at the Beach Club. The decorations are beautiful. It looks like you have the YC all to yourself. I had no idea that they had such an elaborate Christmas village display.: We will have to venture over there the next time we go during the holidays.
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Disney Trips: BLT & Poly Bungalow 2016, VGF 2015, Fantasy 2015, Saratoga Springs Resort 2014, Grand Villa at VGF 2013, Fantasy 2013, BWV and Kidani Village 2011, BWV and Kidani Village 2010, BWV and Saratoga Springs Resort 2008,Beach Club Villas 2008,Villas at Wilderness Lodge 2006, BWV 2006, BCV 2005, HHI 2004,Polynesian 2003,Grand Floridian 2000/concierge, Honeymoon at Polynesian 1994,Polynesian 1980,Polynesian 1978
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Sue
Glad you're back at the Beach Club. The decorations are beautiful. It looks like you have the YC all to yourself. I had no idea that they had such an elaborate Christmas village display.: We will have to venture over there the next time we go during the holidays.
Saturday 22 December – part three: where is everyone?
We headed outside, and it was absolutely deserted. Driving here, there had been a massive line of cars to get into the Studios, and the Beach Club lobby had been mobbed, but out here, there was just no-one to see anywhere. As a result, we got some amazing photos. I bet you’ve never seen shots like this with nobody else around…
We wandered out towards the boat dock, and I suggested perhaps grabbing a Friendship over to the Swan and Dolphin, and there was one just coming into the dock, so we got on it.
It was cold when we got over there – Ok, so it wasn’t really colder than at the Beach Club, it was just a lot more noticeable in the shadows over there. We got some photos outside…
… then we headed inside. I always find it weird the way you have to go up the escalators to get to the actual lobby.
When we did get to the lobby, Mark said “they’ve got a small tree” – not! Wow, this is quite something!
I wasn’t too sure about the train doing the rounds beneath the tree though, although I did like its cargo.
The rest of the lobby was pretty and unusual:
Once we’d had a look around, we headed back downstairs, and I took the opportunity to have a look at Bluezoo – we still have very fond memories of our meal there a few years ago… We ate there with Elaine and Keith, and as a footnote, Elaine lost her brave fight against cancer in March.
I'm always interested in everyone's views of the S/D as I turned down several job opportunities there in favor of my current position. I always feel like there is a little something missing there.
I'm always interested in everyone's views of the S/D as I turned down several job opportunities there in favor of my current position. I always feel like there is a little something missing there.
I know exactly what you mean - it feels a bit clinical there, as if its missing the magic...
Stunning photos of the YC - especially with the clear blue sky in the background! I can't believe that it's cold, it looks like the perfect summer day
I'm sorry about your friend, Chez
Thanks - even though I knew it was coming, it still hit me hard, as I was hoping we'd see her again in October, but sadly that wasn't to be. I knew she was deteriorating, but she'd always been so strong, I guess I expected her to just battle back again. Sadly, it was one fight too many.
When I stay at BWV I'm often awake way too early to go to a park or have breakfast, so I sometimes scoot around the lake. I love seeing the resorts empty like that-- so peaceful.
I would never imagine any Resort being that empty. You really were able to get very nice photos. We have never be able to get to the Swan/Dolphin, but the place is really beautiful.
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Wow, this is quite something! 
We ate there with Elaine and Keith, and as a footnote, Elaine lost her brave fight against cancer in March. 
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