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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I have no idea what I was thinking when planning this day!!
Saturday, November 5th- A much better plan!!
So, of course, I wound up changing just a few things around for today!! We originally had planned on heading into Epcot after breakfast but then I realized that I must have rocks for brains because not only is it the F&W half marathon morning, it is also Sunday.! So!
Meg and I will get up early and take a Lyft over to the Boardwalk for a breakfast at Trattoria al Forno. Did I mention that we are uber excited about this breakfast?!??! Our ADR is for 7:45 AM, so we will need to be up by 6 and out the door by 7. This is not a problem for me, but it may be a bit of a challenge to get Meg up and moving!
After doing breakfast with Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, Ariel and Eric, we quickly revised our plans to just spend the day at MK. We had to switch out our lunch at Teppen Edo, but we are both fine with this. We will hop on a bus to the park where we plan to spend the morning. Then we'll take the boat over to the GF for Afternoon Tea at The Garden View Tea Room. Our ADR is for 12:25 PM.
After our little Tea Party, we will do some shopping at the GF and then head back to MK for the remainder of the day. Instead of dinner at the CP, we will just grab a hot dog or something quick and then have dessert at Tomorrowland Terrace to watch Happily Ever After.
This last switch was Muffin's idea!. Muffin and I have never done a dessert party mainly because Muffin is lactose intolerant and can't eat most of what is offered. However, he won't be there and Megan definitely has a sweet tooth so he thought she would enjoy this!! I hope he is right!!. After the show, we will catch a Lyft back to the Rosen.
I actually think it will be fun to have some casual meals and just go where the day takes us today!! I will make sure that my 33 year old niece also gets plenty of character time!.
I also just realized that I haven't told you guys very much about Megan!! Meg is, as you do know, Dave and Adrienne's daughter. She is two months older than Sean and will turn 33 on this trip!! She is our godchild and for all intents and purposes, she may as well be one of my kids. She is like a sister to them all and is especially close with Sean and Katie.
Along with her parents, she has been on many, many vacations with us and has spent many nights at my house over the years from the time she was a wee little pumpkin. She claims she still has nightmares about Uncle Muffin making her rake leaves in the backyard!
The first time I took Sean and Megan to the movies, they were 4 years old and we went to see The Rescuers Down Under. It was a disaster. There was a giant Mr. Pretzel guy in the lobby and they were much more interested in him than the movie. Every 10 minutes or so, one of them claimed to have to use the bathroom and of course they didn't and only wanted to see Mr. Pretzel.
There are many stories like this over the years, most of them sweet and funny. We never lack for conversation about our memories, of which there are several different versions.
In any case, Megan has grown into a beautiful young woman and says she is lucky to have two sets of parents who love her. She just bought her own house and has a great job managing a Men's Warehouse store. She works her butt off but loves what she does!!
Meg hasn't been to WDW in 20 years and I am so happy that she has decided to join us for this adventure!!
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Last edited by Tara O'Hara; 09-18-2017 at 10:53 PM..
Sounds like great changes...definitely seems like it will work well for you and Megan. It must be so nice for her to have such a doting pair of Godparents - most do not.
Sounds like a good change Tara. It sounds like you and Megan will have a wonderful time together! I'm so jealous of you going to the dessert party!
Aww, thanks Donna! I should just do all of this stuff before I post here but things always seem to work out okay in the end. Meg and I honestly don't want to be in Epcot with all of that stuff going on. I'll be sure to let you know how the Dessert Party goes!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cattailmarsh
Sounds like great changes...definitely seems like it will work well for you and Megan. It must be so nice for her to have such a doting pair of Godparents - most do not.
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Thanks, Denise!! That girl is truly like one of our kids!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lindawdw
You truly amaze me with all your changes. It certainly sounds like you and Meg are going to have the time of your lives together.
Thanks, Linda!!. We are certainly planning on it!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
What a perfect opportunity to try out a dessert party!
So, I have been so absorbed in our Disney trip that I haven't given you guys any details about our Chicago trip!!
We leave tomorrow morning!! We are flying 1st class on American and we should be in Chitown by 1 PM tomorrow. We are still debating where to eat tomorrow night but we know it will have to be early because we have an night River Cruise booked for 8 PM. The last time we were in Chicago, we took the architecture River Cruise and loved it!!
On Sunday, it is our 34th wedding anniversary and we are going to see Hamilton and then dining at Sullivan's Steakhouse for dinner.
On Monday, Muffin has some calls to make so I am on my own and will be spending the day at the Chicago Art Institute!! I love this place and we didn't get to see much of it last time we were here. I am hoping to pick up a few new prints.
We leave Monday afternoon to drive to Joliet/Ft. Wayne and will be spending Monday, Tuesday and most of Wednesday on the road It really wont be that bad for me because I get to hang out at the hotel for some of the time and it's actually kind of relaxing to be in the car.
Wednesday evening, we fly to Nashville. Muffin has one call to make on Thursday and I am taking a tour. On Friday, our flight doesn't leave until 7 PM, so we will spend the day gallivanting around Nashville!! We are thinking we may go to the Country Music Museum.
I'll be sure to write up some kind of TR in Globetrotting when we get back!! Have a great week everyone!!!
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She just bought her own house and has a great job managing a Men's Warehouse store. She works her butt off but loves what she does!!
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