An Animal Kingdom State of Being with Cam and Fam COMPLETED 9/18 - Page 93 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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You guys had an absolutely magical day at Animal Kingdom! I love all the parade photos! You guys also sampled some of my favorite dishes at Sanaa! I love the Durban dishes and the short ribs. We always do the bread sampler and I love it! Hmm, now I'm hungry!
Best WDW day evah!! I actually had tears in my eyes, I was so happy for you guys. What an experience! (I'm at work so I'll have to wait to get home to watch the video...)
I love the giraffes!! Super cute gifts!!! It sounds like you all had a really great time together!!!
We did an a great time!
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Originally Posted by stubekis
Wow, what a perfect day at AK (and evening at dinner!) Classic meltdown...hmm, I can't wait to hear who melts down and why! In our family it could be any of us, even me at times! Hope it won't spoil the day!
A little spoiler -- Luke never has meltdowns, so you can count him out. And it actually was more funny and than annoying.
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Originally Posted by lauriep
I cannot imagine a more perfect Disney day!
I can't either!
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Originally Posted by MikeL
Sounds like this day was the ying to the check in yang. Okay no bait, How about cat food?
Not cat food either!
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Originally Posted by mandy1627
Oh what a great close to a magical day with great friends! It's so wonderful you got to spend the day with Ann and Carly, it's so cool that this community brings people together like that. I'm sure you will treasure the memories of today forever! Can't wait to hear what comes next!
PassPorter has created so many friendship, which is part of the reason I love this place!
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Originally Posted by jbd
What a lovely end to a perfect day!
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Originally Posted by islandgirl
I your giraffe collection!! What a great day w/friends @ Disney!!!
Friends made the day perfect!
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Originally Posted by WeRDisneyFanatics
Love the picture of you guys in the hidden Mickey booth. You look so very happy!
I was so excited when I saw the booth we were getting!
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Originally Posted by mojjo
All caught up. You're right, it really was the best day evah.
I love your giraffe collection.
And I have to admit, knowing Stef...would have checked the gift shop first...lol.
I don't know why it took me so long to think gift shop, other than that it had been a long day.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shnewell
What a wonderful end to a perfectly magical day! I love the photo of all 5 of you at Sanaa -- everyone looks so happy! We have only eaten there once, but we loved it. My DH likes spicy, so I'll have to make a note about Luke's dish.
We all five were still on cloud nine from the parade! For people who don't eat spicy food Luke said it would be a 9 out of 10, but for people who like spicy, it is not the hottest thing they'll probably ever eat.
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Originally Posted by luvnwdwgal
I love your giraffe display shelves! Your dinner sounds pretty good too!
One of my favorite meals of the trip for food and service!
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Originally Posted by lazanya
Great end to the day! So sweet of Ann to give you those gifts!
Ann's gifts were so wonderful and thoughtful!
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Originally Posted by Roxie2006
What a great way to end a very Magical DAY!!!!! I am a giraffe figurine nut too!! The wooden figurines you have are awesome and I like the wooden cup too!!!
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Originally Posted by omd
What an awesome day for your family . Stefanie looked abolutely thrilled on the float. I am so glad that you had such a magical experience. The pictures are great as usual
She had to tell all our family about the parade again this weekend!
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Originally Posted by DyanKJ130
WOW! What a fabulous day! your giraffe collection. Looking forward to more
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Originally Posted by tdhc
What wonderful magical day! I hope the meltdown isn't too bad!!!
Not too bad! Thank goodness!
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Originally Posted by materstater
Beautiful Beautiful pictures-so happy you got to ride-love that someone got it on video even though they didn't know it was for you!!
I love You Tube as you can find almost anything there and even yourself!
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Originally Posted by KMB733
What a great evening with Ann and Carly!
It was!
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Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
Boy, miss getting on the boards for two days, and I was five pages behind! But all that was forgotten when I read about the parade (and saw the pictures!). WHAT A DAY!!
I would imagine you still are grinning ear to ear from that one! You looked like a natural up there waving away.
And Stefanie's comment to Mickey was so cute!
Dinner sounded delish, and how did you not think to check the gift shop!?
LOVE the giraffe cup Ann gave you - VERY cool!
We all three still get so excited talking about it!
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Originally Posted by doccoc2002
What a magical day! I'd be tired and ready for bed too. Love the giraffe collection.
Can't wait to read more, of course when you start to slow down things can get a little bumpy...
Here is a little bonus: When I was creating the scrapbook pages for the parade, I wanted to preserve the memory of how the magic came about. So below is the story that I wrote, so that when I read it to Stefanie she can still remember and understand.
Once upon a time, a little group of five Disney folks headed off to the magical land of Camp Minnie-Mickey. The five Disney folks were Cam, Luke, Stefanie, Ann, and Carly. On their travels through Camp Minnie-Mickey, they spotted Chip and Dale, two rambunctious chipmunks whom they all call friends. Lots of other folks were excited to see Chip and Dale, too, so a long line quickly formed in front of them. But our travelers were not discouraged. Instead they began a friendly conversation with a mother and her daughter. The daughter was on her first ever Disney adventure and proudly showed us the excellent autograph book her mom had designed. Finally, Stefanie, Cam, and Luke were ushered over to visit with Chip and Dale. Stefanie squealed with delight at meeting her friends again after not having seen either of them for over six months. That is just too long to be away from very good friends. She loved on Chip and she loved on Dale and then she started all over again. She loves those boys! She kissed the nose on Dale and then she kissed the nose on Chip, and hugged them tight for all her dear life. They really are so cuddly! Chip and Dale even pretended to fight over her as she is so dear to them, too. But eventually, the visit had to end as Ann and Carly were so patiently waiting to see their friends as well. While Cam, Luke, and Stefanie waited for Ann and Carly, a very kind and knowing cast member by the name of Judith struck up a conversation with the little trio. “Your friends say you all will probably be here for the afternoon parade?” Judith politely asked. Cam replied, “If Ann says so, then we will!” And then in a very secretive voice, Judith asked, “How would you all like some great seats to the parade?” Now Cam was thinking a shady front row seat would provide a wonderful view and permit her many photo opportunities, but Luke who is wiser by far, quickly realized the import of Judith’s words. Together they answered, “We’d definitely like good seats! Then Judith burst out, “Want to ride on a float in the parade!” Fight back tears of joy and excitement, Cam immediately responded, “Absolutely, we do.” You see little Stefanie has always wanted to be in a parade at her beloved Disney World. As soon as Ann and Carly had rejoined the trio and heard the news, four little Disney folk began jumping and squealing and laughing and crying, chanting, “We’re going to be in a parade.” Luke in all his calmness refrained from the jumping and squealing and laughing and crying, but the others all knew he was just as happy as they. And that is how the magic began on this most lovely traveling day for the five Disney folk friends.
Bahaha that's what I was thinking as I was reading along...
I know I must have been brained tired at that point!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovedisney247
You guys had an absolutely magical day at Animal Kingdom! I love all the parade photos! You guys also sampled some of my favorite dishes at Sanaa! I love the Durban dishes and the short ribs. We always do the bread sampler and I love it! Hmm, now I'm hungry!
I'm hungry every time I re-read what we had!
Quote:
Originally Posted by goofyboysmama
Best WDW day evah!! I actually had tears in my eyes, I was so happy for you guys. What an experience! (I'm at work so I'll have to wait to get home to watch the video...)