Make Mine A BLT with Some MVMCP, MK, AK & More - A Short Solo Trip - Page 5 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 shots. I have to say I'm surprised to see how many people there are watching the parade. We always seem to be over by Frontierland where there's plenty of elbow room Did the snow have effect on your camera lens ? Any tips for what settings you were using for the parade shots ?
Glad you held your ground with the pushy people and the videotaping lady. Yikes.
Beautiful photos of the parade!
Ugh, I hate when people try to squeeze in at the last minute. Then you move ever so slightly and there all in your space.
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Your parade shots are so amazing! My favorite is the first one of the toy soldiers. Just a brilliantly composed shot, and the colors are wonderful.
Thank you, Laurie. I really enjoyed the parade - and the toy soldiers are my favorite too.
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great pics of the parade!
Thanks!
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Originally Posted by rlb38
Great shots. I have to say I'm surprised to see how many people there are watching the parade. We always seem to be over by Frontierland where there's plenty of elbow room Did the snow have effect on your camera lens ? Any tips for what settings you were using for the parade shots ?
Glad you held your ground with the pushy people and the videotaping lady. Yikes.
There were even more people watching the first parade - it was packed! This is the first time I have ever camped out for over an hour to watch a parade (guess I have more patience as I get older). I was concerned there wouldn't be enough light in the Frontierland area, since I wasn't using flash. Didn't have a problem with the snow/soap bubbles - they melted quickly.
As for settings - it depends on the camera and lens, but if using anything other than low-light auto settings, it helps to have high ISO and a low f-stop (wide open aperture).
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Originally Posted by MayraLR
Beautiful photos of the parade!
Ugh, I hate when people try to squeeze in at the last minute. Then you move ever so slightly and there all in your space.
Yep - but it's just something to deal with
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Originally Posted by Hugmonster
I just told my husband some day I am going to a MVMCP. Someday soon!!
I hope you get to go - I hope I can go back again.
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Originally Posted by Cam22
Your photos are impressive! I especially like the ones of the fireworks and the parade.
Thank you - I was happy with the parade shots, especially since I didn't know what to expect.
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Originally Posted by chezp
Love the parade shots! You are making me so excited about the Party - I can't wait to see the parade again next week!
Good - I hoped the pics would convey a little bit of the atmosphere for the party.
I have described the logistics of this day in my almost-live posting during the trip. It was a leisurely morning at AK, with a delightful PP Meet and Lunch with Laurie.
Here are a few of the photos from the morning. While waiting for the Safari, I checked out the Gorillas on the Pangani Trail. Lily was visible for just a second, before she bounded over the hill to play. I then watched an interesting guy on the other side of the trail, as he wandered around.
I enjoyed the Safari, but really didn't get any exciting photos - which is always a good reason to go back and take another Safari. I wanted to catch the Lion King Performance before lunch, so I walked back to that area and tried to take some photos of the show.
I was able to sit in the back row of the warthog section - I didn't want to annoy others around me as I was taking photos. While I got some OK shots, I think I really don't care for photographing live shows very much. Especially musicals - it's distracting to try to take photos, and more enjoyable just to watch the show.
This is slightly off topic, but writing about the Safari made me think of this short video we made earlier this year: Patio Safari
Your photos of the parade and fireworks from MVMCP make me wish I was there now not with 49 weeks to wait Thank you so much for posting such great pics as I showed earlier ones to my DW and she is getting excited about trip too Can't wait for her reaction to this batch over the weekend
I absolutely CANNOT wait to see WDW in all it's Holiday Splendor next year! I already can tell I'll probably have tears in my eyes upon first seeing it that way (I almost get a little misty eyed at first seeing the castle with each trip -- but at Christmas, and Main Street all decked out like that ....)