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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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When my DD, Grace, turned 13 in 2008 she told me that she didn't want anymore birthday parties. I asked her what about a Quinceanera or a Sweet Sixteen party, and she said "I want to go to Walt Disney World for my 16th birthday. So I would rather you save the money from my birthday parties to do that instead." And so, this trip planning began.
What started out as a trip for the two of us, then became a trip for the two of us and her dad. Since her dad and I separated in 2005, I wasn't thrilled with this idea, but she wanted her whole family to be together for her 16th birthday celebration. I would do whatever I can for my baby girl, so I will suck it up and invite her dad along. He agreed to go and he told me that when the time comes to find out all the information that he would need to book the trip.
In 2009 we decided that we needed a trip to WDW before her 16th birthday (which will be this year, 2011). It just so happened that by that time, I was dating a wonderful man named Ramoan. He went along with us for his first trip to WDW and had a blast. On our second day there, he asked when we were coming back. LOL (Hook, line, and sinker! I got him addicted, sort of, to Disney!)
Fast forward to November 2010, Grace has decided to ask my parents and my brother and his family to join us on our trip to WDW. Well, they all felt that they had been there and done that. (None of them have ever stayed on property and every time they have gone, they have spent huge amounts of money on food, lodging, and parking in addition to the tickets.) Dad swears that he only enjoys Epcot, but whenever I have tried to get them to tour my way, he refuses. ~sigh~ Instead, Mom and Dad talk Grace into doing a Disney cruise! I was really excited about WDW since we had planned to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge. What to do???
The answer my friends is simple DO THEM BOTH!!!! You read it right, we are doing both a cruise and a stay at WDW. (However, I am only going to do the trip report here because I would just confuse myself trying to post in two forums. LOL)
Up next: The cast of characters and the when and where.
So this trip started out as just Grace and me........
Here we are with our awesome Harmony Barbershop hairdos in 2007.
Then we added Ramoan, my sweetie
The three of us in 2009.
(We are up to three.)
Next (in order of their deposit payments):
My parents:
Fred and Maria
My brother, my wonderful sister-in-law, and my favorite nephew (ok, right nwo, he is my only nephew):
From Carlos and Amanda's wedding.
And Brysen, or B. He is the coolest nephew in the world!! LOL
And finally, my ex-husband Geoff, and his girlfriend, Karen:
I could only find a pic of Geoff. He doesn't have a pic of Karen on his Facebook profile, and she is not on my list of FB friends.
So there are all the characters. This should be one VERY interesting vacation since no one in my family has much love for my ex, but we all love Grace and so we get along.
Everyone will be on the "big ship" as B calls it. We will be cruising to Nassau and Castaway Cay on the Disney Dream from November 20 - 23, 2011. Then when we dock back in Port Canaveral, some of us will be riding the Disney bus to Walt Disney World!!!
While Mom, Dad, Carlos, Amanda, and B take a jet plane back to Texas, Geoff, Karen, Ramoan, Grace, and I will be taking a Disney bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge
Geoff and Karen are booked into a standard room, but Ramoan, Grace, and I are booked into a Club Level room.
So WHY are we taking this fabulous trip?? Well, to celebrate Grace's 16th birthday, and my 38th, and Ramoan's 35th. Ramoan will actually turn 35 on the second day of our cruise. Oh yeah, and one more character that just joined our party will celebrate his 2nd birthday the day after Ramoan:
Merlin, Ramoan's service dog.
I have already made some calls to Disney Cruise Lines, regarding Merlin, but I still need to call the Bahamian Consulate to speak with them regarding the rules for service dogs in Nassau and Castaway Cay.
What an amazing trip you have planned, I think Grace had the right idea in mind, we ended up doing the same thing for my oldest, she took her two cousins and had a ball and never regretted her decision, said she had a week full of wonderful memories over a night that would be hectic and over before she knew it.
Love that you added the cruise in there as well...can't wait to hear all your plans.
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Wow, what a great cast of characters for an amazing trip!
It should be a very interesting mix. LOL Thank goodness the ship is so big.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcc0313
What an amazing trip you have planned, I think Grace had the right idea in mind, we ended up doing the same thing for my oldest, she took her two cousins and had a ball and never regretted her decision, said she had a week full of wonderful memories over a night that would be hectic and over before she knew it.
Love that you added the cruise in there as well...can't wait to hear all your plans.
Yes, she has been looking forward to this for a long time. You know, the trip is actually CHEAPER than a quineanera or sweet sixteen in this area. This is helping my wallet enormously.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great start Pamela!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Sounds like an amazing trip!
Quote:
Originally Posted by B.M.
Great start!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by CinderAbby
Great start. I can't wait to hear more
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Originally Posted by JKnott17
Can't wait to hear the rest of your plans! What a great birthday celebration for your DD!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lazanya
Great start Pam! Sounds like an amazing trip!
Thanks everyone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Great start, Pam! You have the cast of characters that just kept growing!
Yes. It really did grow. There is some shrinkage in the size of the party though. I'll put that in my next update, tomorrow.
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Off to a great start Pam! I'll be really interested to see how DCL deals with a service dog, as that isn't something I've heard anyone talk about before!
In our last update, we saw the ever expanding party for our cruise and WDW vacation. Let me say that I absolutely ADORE B. He is my favorite nephew (ok, my ONLY nephew), but he is the most adorable kid in the world, IMHO. He has been asking for a baby sister for a while now. Carlos and Amanda had been talking about having another baby sometime in the fairly near future. (Can you guess where I am going with this?)
Well, a couple of months ago, Amanda wasn't feeling well, and being the nurse that she is decided to figure out what was wrong. The wonderful news is that I am going to be an aunt again!!! The not so wonderful news is that she is due the first week of January. She won't be able to travel that late in her pregnancy. So this began the discussion of what to do about their cruise reservation.
Since we had been talking to B about the "big ship" and getting him all excited about it, there was talk of him traveling with my parents or with Ramoan, Grace and I. In the end it was decided that while Amanda stayed home, Carlos and B would travel with us on the cruise. Their TA got right on it and called DCL to take Amanda off the reservation. One phone call later, the reservation was all fixed and Carlos and B were set to enjoy the cruise with the rest of us.
While we all feel bad that Amanda won't be able to join us, we are all super excited about having another baby around here.
Also, a while back, I went ahead and made autograph books for Grace and B. Here they are:
I need to find my paper with all our ADRs written on it and then I can update with that info too.
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