Eye rolls & Sighs change to Stars in their Eyes - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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Eye rolls & Sighs change to Stars in their Eyes UPDATED
We had to drop PI since it will be closed. Guess we'll have to find something else to do...thinking maybe going to Boardwalk and visit Jellyrolls, ADH etc. All ADR's now locked into place. Daughter is starting to get a little into the trip. (still some eye rolls though). And our flight has been changed yet again!
Okay, I know this is a bit early to be making a thread on a TR, but I am so anxious to be going back to Disney for the holidays that my excitement over takes me so I will be posting this pre-tip report to help me through the waiting.
First off let me say that we are going be going as DVC members for the first time and staying at our "Home" yipppee! So we want to take certain family members with us as a gift (the rooms only) to thank them for many years of love and support and understanding. Taking our daughter is where the sighs and eye rolls come in to play...she is NOT a Disney fan, and lets us know it as often as possible, she is going, but protestingly so on this family celebration trip since we chose Disney World. The stars in her eyes is what I hope she returns home with, maybe she will be filled with the magic once there!
So who is going?:
Set A) 1: Me (Linda, aka disneygramma, will be (gads) 54 and on yet another visit to my happy place)
2. DH (Gordon, aka pawpaw who will be celebrating his 60th birthday at the world and making yet another trek with his fanatical wife)
Set B) 1. My Mother: (Ruth, aka great grandma, who will be 73 years young at time of travel and is a willing participant ((hehe co conspiritor in this adventure)
2. My father (Harold, aka "Sonny" aka Great Grandpa whoo will be celebrating his 80th birthday while at the world, is going along sort of willingly)
**Special celebration for mom and dad: their 55th wedding anniversary
Set C) 1. Our Daughter (Heather, aka the eye roller, aka sigher, age 33, 1st trip to all the magic of the whole world, travelling kicking and screaming)!
2. Our Grand Daughter (Kaitlin, aka Princess, making her 5th appearance at the world, well seasoned traveller, gets into the magic, wants her mommy Heather to get the magic too, age 8)
Our Journey: will begin on December 17th at 7:30 a.m. (we hope) on a flight from Louisville on Delta airlines. Our return will happen on December 24th in the afternoon on Delta (we hope). Upon arrival we will be met by Tiffany Towncar Co. and taken to grocery stop and then on to our resort to check in.
Lodging: We have ressies at our "home" Saratoga Springs...studio for Heather and Kaitlin, (she wants her own space), a two bedroom villa for us and my parents ( a lockoff so all can have some privacy when desired). We do hope (but aren't willing to waitlist on this particular trip)that we can find accomodations at Boardwalk Villas or Beach Club Villas for that week but they are totally booked and we are not wanting to take any chances on a waitlist for the whole group soooo, will check in periodically to see if something opens up
So anyways that is how it stands on our travel party.
Plans at this time are still sketchy but here goes with what I have been able to get them to commit to so far (I'm sure things will change)
Wednesday Dec. 17th: Morning flight, Tiffany Towncar Co. pickup, grocery stop at Publix, check in at SSR, unpack, decorate room and door, relax and then:
bus to MK then monorail to Poly for adr at Kona Cafe' and check out resort decor hop monorail and check out Contemporary and Grand Floridian resorts decor, bus back to our resort to unpack and nite nite.
Thursday Dec. 18th: breakfast in room, bus to MK, Fantasyland and Adventureland,
lunch at Pecos Bills, Tomorrowland, Mickey's toontown, and whatever else we can get in, dinner at LLT, then MVMCP back to resort to sleep
Friday Dec. 19th: breakfast in room, bus to DHS, check out shows etc., lunch at 50's Prime Time, finish checking out park attractions, lite dinner on the go (probably Toy Story Pizza), Osbourne Lights Show, then finish at park and head to resort for the night.
Sat. Dec. 20th: Breakfast in room, bus to EPCOT and check out future world, lunch at Sunshine Seasons, boat over to resorts to check out BW, Yacht and BC decor, and stroll the boardwalk to relax, boat back to EPCOT and tour W Showcase some to listen to stories, dinner is gonna be counter service today, at either EPCOT or one of the resorts we are touring. Then finish evening at World Showcase, and then take in illuminations, and finally head back to resort
Sun. Dec. 21st: Sleep in this morning, Breakfast in the room. Then catch bus to EPCOT to Wander some more in Future World then head to World Showcase and get some lunch at Yorkshire FCounty Fish House and then check out World Showcase and get in any storytellers missed on earlier visit. Dinner is at Biergarten. The we have the evening open to finish EPCOT.
Mon. Dec. 22nd:Taking a break from parks!!!! Sleep in then eat breakfast in room. Catch bus for DTD so that Kaitlin can get her BBB makeover
then photo session and head to lunch at Puck's Cafe' Express (yum) then "SHOP!", head back to resort to relax AND take the tour of the BLT villa showcase rooms (AND BUY IN!!!!!!) then catch bus to MK and hop on monorail to Grand Floridian. Dinner is at 1900 Park Fare. Check out the GF for the final time and then hop monorail to MK to catch bus back to resort ( or if anyone wants they can head to MK or a park).
Tuesday Dec. 23rd: Early rise, CALL Disney Dining to make ressies for upcoming trip, then take bus to MK and catch monorail to Contemporary, breakfast at Chef Mickey's, then on to Magic Kingdom for a second day of park fun and frolic, lunchmost likely at Cosmic Rays, more hopping around, catch monorail to EPCOT in afternoon. Head to World Showcase area and wander until dinner ressie time at La Cellier! then go enjoy the Candle Light Processional (our kiss goodbye), before heading bak to resort to pack for tomorrow.
Wed. Dec. 24th: final packing, breakfast in room, Tiffany Towncar Co. pick up to go to airport for return flight home. (will be having a layover in Atlanta and should be home in late afternoon for dinner locally before going home to unpack and crash, tomorrow is after all Christmas Day!)
So anyway this is NOW how it all stands: it could change though...I really want to convince them to try tea at GF, and DD likes to go to the gym and so she may try to sneak in a few sessions really early at the fitness center, than again, if warm enough we may decide to spend some time in evenings with a swim in a quiet pool or lounge in a hot tub....ahhhh the choices.
On return I will update with actual TR.
__________________
"My OTHER HOMES!
Last edited by disneygramma; 09-26-2008 at 10:29 PM..
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Great Start...I have been doing the same thing...getting my ducks in a row!!! Now all I have to do is make those ADR's and pray that I get what I want! We can be excited together!!!!!
I hope that you and your family have a magical time at the world
__________________
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