Forever Young: A Disneyland Trip 50 Years in the Making COMPLETED 1/16/16 - Page 49 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Great update! We drew Agent P in April at WDW. My oldest nephew won the animators drawing for answering the question. Actually, he had his hand raised before the animator finished asking the question. I am going to miss the Animation Academy when I go next year.
That is so cool that he won the animator's drawing!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
The ornament is beautiful!
We've done that personality/character quiz at WDW - can't recall who I got now. Glad there were a few things to keep you out of the heat for a bit!
We weren't trying to speedy as we went through the park this day, but the heat was still a force to be reckoned with. So it was wonderful to have an hour or so inside before resuming our park exploration.
The Animation building sounds like a great way to beat the heat. The ornament for your tree is beautiful!
It definitely was! We didn't think we'd need the A/C so much, but heat waves seemed to follow us to Orlando and Anaheim this year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lindawdw
I miss the Animation Academy in WDW so it's nice that they still have one in DL! I love the 60th Anniversary ornament that you purchased
Luke reads several Disney websites every day, and he keeps telling me there is a chance the Animation Academy will return because I've mentioned to him how I miss it. Who knows with all the coming changes.
Saturday, October 10 – Finally in a character-meeting mood.
I was now on a mission to find the special area for the Disney Visa Rewards Card meet-and-greet. Tricia again knew exactly where it was and led the way. On the way there, Luke glanced to his left and noticed Olaf was also out doing a meet-and-greet. He even said when he peeked in the line was relatively short. So we decided when we finished the DVRC meet, we’d return to Olaf. The two meets weren’t that far apart in Hollywood Land, too. Just like at Epcot, guests are kept back from the staging area so we had no idea who we were meeting until we got around the corner. There were only a few families in front of us, and since we were all chatting away, the wait seemed very short. When it was our turn, we discovered we’d be meeting Stitch today. Luke and I went first for some couple photos. Stitch was cute, but his meet-and-greet is outside though it is under cover and therefore shady. So I did feel that we were being pushed through rather quickly.
When we’d had a couple of photos taken, Katie had her turn alone with Stitch. So sweet!
We followed that with a group photo of the Matthews and the Davids. I felt that as a group we were given greater attention. Who knows! Later we’d pick up our free 8 x 10 at the PhotoPass Shop. I really love the big group shots and since getting home, I’ve printed a couple to include in the scrapbook.
Now we backtracked a little ways to meet up with Olaf. There were again a few families in front of us. The area was also outside but more covered than Stitch’s place, so it didn’t feel quite as warm here. Luke and I went first again. I can’t remember now if a CM or Tricia or Roger took a photo of us with Luke’s camera. But someone did because he posted it to Facebook while the Davids were meeting Olaf. I get all tongue tied with Olaf who is my favorite Frozen character. But we had a nice, if quick, visit with my Frozen friend. I was very tempted while in line to purchase an small Olaf stuffie, but postponed it to later, and then forgot.
Oops! I closed my eyes.
Finally got my peepers opened. The next one was with Luke's cell phone, and my eyes are open.
I forgotten to mention that after breakfast while Tricia, Katie, and I leisurely walked out of Cars Land, Roger and Luke speedwalked to the FastPass machines to get a second ride for us later in the day. We still had a little time before these would be ripe, so we took off for Paradise Pier for our second ride on Toy Story Midway Mania. The wait today was much shorter than when we rode back on Thursday evening. Thank goodness as the queue as you may remember is mainly outdoors. I didn’t take many photos as I was pleased with the ones I’d gotten the other time, except for Mr. Potato Head. I did much better on him this time around. Luke nearly made it to 200,000 again and I was happy that I scored over 100,000. I really do love this arcade game.
NEXT: He had only hoped for two rides, but this will make it five. Not bad at all!
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I'm sad we didn't do the meet and greet with Olaf when we were there, but it was just too hot for us. At least we got to meet him on the Wonder in Alaska.
Cheryl, you must be REALLY sad, as I think your post is up six times!
I think this TR is getting to the dreaded point where leprechans take over and start double posting everything......Has anyone ever figured out the magic number of posts to avoid that? (clearly less than 735)
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.
OMG how cute is Olaf???? Looks like you guys had a fun time exploring the Animation building and there seems to be some fun things to do there. I was sorry they decided to close that building at WDW - we always enjoyed going in there. Great place to escape the heat and chill out, away from the hustle and bustle of the park. We met some fun characters there over the years as well.
Oh, those meet and greets look like so much fun. I can definitely see that you are glowing like a proper Southern lady while meeting Stitch. Olaf is one of my favorite characters. I will definitely have to meet him somewhere along the way.
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We didn't think we'd need the A/C so much, but heat waves seemed to follow us to Orlando and Anaheim this year. 
Great pictures! 
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