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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Karen, your departure from Cali could quite possibly be the funnniest story I've ever heard!!!! I'm totally cracking up here because I can picture everything perfectly with your way with words. Hilarious!!! I'm with you on the good hair, why is it that when it looks its best, nobody worthwhile will ever see it??!!! (I'm a natural curl, frizzy girl too) But Eileen says it still looked good, so at least some people got to enjoy the frizz-less hair! Thanks for the update! And now I'm so curious as to THE moment with the rental car...... tease.
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Tanya
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I'm not sure how I got roped into writing an actual "update" to this trip report. I distinctly remember that the meat of the report would be provided by Sharon and Jill (you know the responsible ones) with me being just the tertiary witty commentator (and thus with zero responsibility but all the credit for the funny bits.) But as there seems to be some expectation for an actual update, my wine doused birthday self will try her bestest.
No worries, Karen! From here on out, you can just do the fun part. And thanks for the wine doused birthday update!
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Originally Posted by Caldercup
Don't worry, my dear. From here on out, I think we can sit back and let Sha and Jilly do the heavy lifting. We can just snark our 2 cents in every once in a while. (Which, if I'm being totally honest with myself, will be a few interjections on my part each update--- as I just can't seem to keep my big trap shut!)
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Originally Posted by Jillybean
From Karen's point-of-view, it sounds like you did have the best.welcome.evah! Not that she's jealous or anything!
Well, to be quite honest, I sort of believe Karen. But I'll take Eileen's word that she shed some tears at Karen's arrival.
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Originally Posted by Jillybean
That upgrade was definitely a blessing for all of us! Just think . . . without it, we wouldn't have experienced THE moment of the trip.
I still think of that at least once a day and laugh! For the record, Eileen, DM was on your side.
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Originally Posted by Caldercup
And these poor readers will have to wait "days" of the trip to find out what THE moment was...
Eileen
Yeah, the poor PPers have to wait a while for that particular update. But the next update is coming soon (probably later today!)
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
I would like to NOMINATE HEATHER to be come a member of the CLQ thus making it the Crazy Lady Quintets instead of the Crazy Lady Quartet!!! Especially since she makes good drinks and can hold her own in the presence of Royalty... She also makes appearances in ALL of the CLQ TR's so why not???
IF YOU WANT HEATHER TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE "CLQ" THEN SAY "I"!!!
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Still, I didn't neglect the gym and managed to squeeze in an hour on the treadmill, feeling very proud of myself that I'd be able to keep up with Karen et al.
And you did a great job of it although I don't think a marathon runner could have kept up with the questors!
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Whatevs... my girlfriends would forgive the sorry state I was in...
You looked gorgeous to me!
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In case you were wondering, this is what my house looks like at o'dark thirty when viewed through my dad's windshield:
Um . . . that's dark.
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We made good time to the airport and I managed to snag the last upgrade to Business Class. Waaaahoooo! Especially as the lines for security sucked and my little boarding pass gained me entrance to the SPECIAL PEOPLE'S line.
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I love being special. .
And you do special so well. You were born to be in Business class.
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I also got to witness a mom pull a brand, spankin' new set of Mickey ears out of a bag and present them to her little girl. The LOOK on that girl's face made me start crying... and it was waaaaay too early in the morning for that. Especially as I'd only managed one coat of mascara... and it wasn't the waterproof kind!
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The little boy behind me had other ideas.
Too bad that you couldn't have him evicted out of business class.
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The kicker was when -- after we'd taxi'd out to the runway and stopped for the line of planes waiting to take-off -- he asked his dad if we were there yet.
Okay, that almost made me pee my pants.
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I think there's still a brownish, gassy cloud hanging in the skies somewhere between Jacksonville and Orlando.
They really should have found him a seat out on the wing. His er . . actions could have propelled that plane right through the turbulance.
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She claims I was more excited for the latte than her, but I've never known coffee to make me cry and want to hug it within an inch of its life.
I got home late on Wednesday night, late like after midnight late AND I wasn't packed.
And I thought I had waited until the last minute to pack!
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Now that the work was done I poured myself a glass of white wine and relaxed for a moment.
Now that's my idea of relaxing.
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DUCKS!!
Heather!!! You almost forgot the ducks???
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I asked where they were staying. Mom didn't know. She told me the were staying at one of the hotels on property. Her husband had the paperwork. Wow. Then she asked me how I was getting to Disney from the airport. Mom didn't know about Disney's Magical Express. I cringed. Then I pretended to nap because I didn't want to know how woefully unprepared this family was. I can only hope that Dad, sitting behind me, had done a little more planning.
You're right - - Eileen would have blown a gasket right then and there.
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I was awakened from my nap by the plane nearly dropping out of the sky. Just a little turbulence folks. A little? The rest of my ride into MCO was like half an hour on the Tower of Terror.
You've got me beat. Mine was more of the "bumpy" variety. No ToT drops.
But as there seems to be some expectation for an actual update, my wine doused birthday self will try her bestest.
That sounds like a wonderful way to end a birthday - - wine doused!
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Plus, since I wanted to make sure his meals did not consist of Fritos and stale pizza, I made the 9PM food run to Trader Joe's followed by a freaky encounter with the mask-laden, swine-flu-obsessed check-out girl at Walgreens for some medicine and vitamins.
Somehow I missed that story.
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But, the kid was seriously ruining my excitement level, so I chucked my "Mother of the Year" award in the trash, told Zack to stay put, and jumped into my brother's waiting car. The extra time I'd gain by not having to say goodbye at the airport just bought me wine time in the departure lounge.
Well, it was all in Zack's best interest -- the trip could have tired him out even more . . . so . . . pull that "MotY" award right back out of the trash!
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When the bottom of the glass was in sight, my server dropped off the check and told me they'd be closing up in just a few minutes. I went to grab the check when the generous pour caught up to me, and I proceeded to drop and break the glass and spill the remaining wine all over the table, my boarding pass, and the check. The wait staff was awesome and had me moved to a new table with a full new glass of wine in front of me in mere seconds. In order to make their generosity feel appreciated, I gamely drank most of the second glass of wine. To do otherwise would have been rude, after all.
And you wouldn't want to be rude. Priceless!
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I headed into the bathroom with a spring in my step, approached the sink, and then I saw it. It was glorious, stupendous, awe-inspiring. My annual good hair day had arrived. It was silky, shiny, with perfectly constructed curls.
Actually, when I met you guys at AK, the first thing I spotted was your hair! And I'm not lying!
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But, no. Mr. 1B was decidedly married, decidedly disheveled, and decidedly snoring away even before I sat down.
At least, he wasn't gassy.
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I settled into my first class seat and after a bit saw my friends in the frumpy sisterhood boarding the plane and headed for the back. Outwardly, they greeted me with a friendly wave. But their eyes? Their eyes were screaming with betrayed derision, "First class? How could you? I thought we were frumpy sisters?" I wanted to scream out, "It was just miles! I'm really one of you!"
I would like to NOMINATE HEATHER to be come a member of the CLQ thus making it the Crazy Lady Quintets instead of the Crazy Lady Quartet!!! Especially since she makes good drinks and can hold her own in the presence of Royalty... She also makes appearances in ALL of the CLQ TR's so why not???
IF YOU WANT HEATHER TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE "CLQ" THEN SAY "I"!!!
Great idea! Maybe a poll might be more organized though?
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I'm totally cracking up here because I can picture everything perfectly with your way with words. Hilarious!!! I'm with you on the good hair, why is it that when it looks its best, nobody worthwhile will ever see it??!!! (I'm a natural curl, frizzy girl too) But Eileen says it still looked good, so at least some people got to enjoy the frizz-less hair! Thanks for the update! And now I'm so curious as to THE moment with the rental car...... tease.
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Pixie Dust
Not that she's jealous or anything! 
For the record, Eileen, DM was on your side.
But the next update is coming soon (probably later today!)
Me too!
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