Ditching the Hubbies for Mousefest - Final Thoughts COMPLETED 3/4/08 - Page 8 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Glad to see you've been busy while I was sick, Dawn! And I'm staying out of the picture war, EXCEPT, I need to say that the look on Karen's face in these photos
Quote:
Originally Posted by DawnDenise
Well, all I can do is laugh! But I know Karen was making faces on purpose, so it's not like she'll get mad or anything.
Also, Dawn, I am always amazed at how many characters you manage to run into. And you always get great pictures with them (that pic of Tiff and Stitch is HILARIOUS! )
More, more, more!
__________________
Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
Day 2, Part 2: Welcome to Mousefest, a DVC Merry Mixer, and Finally Resort Hopping
After leaving the line for Peter and Wendy, we boogied our behinds over to the Tomorrowland Noodle Terrace Station where we would join our first Mousefest activity., The Welcome to Mousefest Kick-Off. We got there right at 2:00pm but Dave was already up there talking to this huge group. We rounded the corner and saw a whole bunch of PassPorters. We first spotted Terri (DrDolphin), Lesley, and Sara (Belle*). We made our way and ended up beside them and listened to the rest of the speakers. Once they were finished, we just mulled around and visited with more and more PassPorters arriving, along with all of the other online communities. For some reason, we didn’t take a lot of pictures but I did manage some group shots and one of our fearless leaders!
We mingled for a little while longer. At some point, Sara provided Tiff and I with a little surprise from Dave, Jennifer, and Sara. It was a sun visor with PassPorter Guide embroidered on it with some smilies. Very cool!!! guys!! We then said our good-byes until later that evening at MVMCP. Tiff and I were meeting the CLT at the DVC Merry Mixer to see what it was all about. We decided to grab a bus to one of the EPCOT resorts and then walk on over through the International gateway since the tent was set up right there. We didn’t wait very long for a bus to the Yacht/ Beach Club. Once we arrived, we decided to take a few moments and look at the Christmas decorations since we both have never seen them.
After getting our noses filled with the sweet smells of chocolate and gingerbread, we made our way over to the Merry Mixer. Tiff showed them her DVC member card and we were allowed in the huge tent. Wow, they really do things big!! We found the CLT in line for their picture with Mickey and Minnie. We stood off to the side gabbing with them. First, Eileen went and had her moment with Minnie and let the Photopass guy capture the moment. I am sure you’ll see those pictures in Sharon/ Karen’s report. The girls asked Tiff and I to join them for the group photo, and we happily obliged.
After our picture, we proceeded to get in line for some cookies and cider/water. We found our way out to a less crowded area and asked to share a table with some other members. As we munched on our cookies, our other tablemates starting asking about Mousefest and PassPorter. Eileen did a terrific job at explaining what it was all about and I believe Tiff gave her one of her business cards with the PP board info on it.
At some point, Goofy came over and Sharon got some hugs and pictures with her favorite character. We saw Donald and Daisy come out, as well as Pluto at some point, all of them wearing their Christmas finest. We chatted some more and eventually parted ways with the CLT. I believe they were headed back to their room to freshen up before MVMCP. Tiff and I decided to just head on back over to the MK. As we were walking back to the Friendship boat, we decided to make one more stop on our way to the MK, the Boardwalk.
As we were waiting for the boat to arrive to the dock, a wife and her husband started talking to us. She stated that she was on the PP boards a lot, but mostly read tips and ideas. We explained who we were and then she asked about Mousefest and the different activities. Now why go into detail about this particular meeting as we had many discussions with strangers or fellow PPs. I gave her my card and told her to say hi on the boards and encouraged her to post. She then said, “Oh you’re from Louisville, KY? So are we.” I told her I had recently moved there about 6 months ago and asked what side of town she was on. When she told me the eastside, I had to ask more as that is side I live on. We narrowed down and found out that we literally live a mile from one another. Definitely one of those small world moments but very cool.
The boat finally arrived and we made it to the Boardwalk. Having stayed there last year, I knew the entrance where the elevator was at as I couldn’t bear the stairs at that moment. We made it into the lobby and reveled in some more Christmas decorations.
After admiring all the decorations, we headed down to the bus stop and waited for a bus to the MK.
Great update! Glad you guys had a great time at the Mousefest meet, and at the DVC mixer And how cool to run into someone who lives a mile away from you More please
Glad you enjoyed the Kickoff meet, Dawn. And I agree the DVC Merry Mixer was a lot of fun. How funny that you ran into practically your neighbor at WDW!
__________________
Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
OMG, are DH and I the ONLY ones not invited back to the CLT's sactuary!!! Oh well, maybe next time.
Well... golly, m'darling! You and your DH were heading *into* the MK when we saw you and the CLT only had another 30 minutes left in our fantabulous room. I guess we figured that you wouldn't want to race over to the GF just to see us drag our bags out of the room...
Well... golly, m'darling! You and your DH were heading *into* the MK when we saw you and the CLT only had another 30 minutes left in our fantabulous room. I guess we figured that you wouldn't want to race over to the GF just to see us drag our bags out of the room...
Eileen
Sure, sure, I understand! It's ok, really I'm almost over it. Don't worry about it, I will survive. ( You know I'm just teasing, right??)
Sounds like the DVC was a lot of fun! Don't you just love the decorations at the Epcot Resorts!!! It's definitely one of the things that keeps bringing me back to WDW at the holidays!
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And I'm staying out of the picture war, EXCEPT, I need to say that the look on Karen's face in these photos
guys!! We then said our good-byes until later that evening at MVMCP. Tiff and I were meeting the CLT at the DVC Merry Mixer to see what it was all about. We decided to grab a bus to one of the EPCOT resorts and then walk on over through the International gateway since the tent was set up right there. We didn’t wait very long for a bus to the Yacht/ Beach Club. Once we arrived, we decided to take a few moments and look at the Christmas decorations since we both have never seen them.
MVMCP PassPorter Style
And how cool to run into someone who lives a mile away from you 
I'm almost over it. 
Don't worry about it, I will survive. (
You know I'm just teasing, right??)
PassPorter Guide Author
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