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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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OK, so my friend Sue and I jointly bid on this trip at a benefit auction last November. It was for a 3-night stay at a Marriott Courtyard in midtown Manhattan, 2 house seats for "Wicked" on Broadway, and a chance to go out for drinks & theater-talk with the show's stage manager afterwards.
I have been wanting to have a gal-pals Broadway weekend in NYC ever since Rick and I visited there in 2000. But of my friends who love theater, none were willing to spend the money to go to NYC. So when Sue agreed this sounded like a fabulous opportunity, I was thrilled. Sue is an architect who used to work for my firm (she's now a principal at a smaller firm), and I've always liked her. Her boyfriend is a principal at my firm, and he thought I would drive her nuts. Well, this week he admitted he was wrong -- she loved spending 4 days with me.
But YOU aren't surprised to hear that, are you?
We arrived Thursday, March 3 and it was really, really cold and windy there. We'd brought our winter coats & gloves, but not hats. Our ears were freezing, and we knew we'd be standing in a long line at the TKTS booth to get half-price tickets for a Thursday night show. So one of the first things we did Thursday afternoon was buy animal hats from a street vendor.
Now, I must explain that my friend Kathy back at the office has a "thing" for sock monkeys, so my choice was clear. Sue decided to buy a panda hat.
Aren't we too, too chic? Hey, those hats made great conversation-starters as we stood in line with others.
We decided to get tickets for "Billy Elliot" for Thursday night, and we were able to score some good Orchestra seats for half price.
Our hotel was super-close to the NY Public Library, which is a gorgeous building. So of course we had to go in there.
Out in front of the library:
Did we go into the Times Square Disney Store? What do YOU think? By this point, I'd purchased a scarf from a street vendor. Love Minnie as the Statue of Liberty, and had to take advantage of this photo opp making me a Statue of Liberty too. I purchased a small version of that as a Christmas ornament (Rick was thrilled -- NOT ). Of course, the NY cabbie Goofy made it home with me -- he's now on top of my collectibles cabinet with all his plush Goofy brothers.
That show is amazing! Where they find an 11-year-old boy who can sing like an angel, expertly dance ballet-tap-jazz, and act so convincingly as Billy is beyond me -- and they've actually got four 11-year-old boys who alternate in the role. Plus there are touring companies -- I know one is coming to STL in a couple months.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
i am also a sock monkey fan, so i am loving your hat! hmmmm...i can't imagine you driving anyone nuts on a trip. (consider the source here, people!) looking forward to more about your trip!
Hooray! A trip report! I've been wondering where you've been - and thinking perhaps you're just not on the same threads here that I've been reading/posting.
Would love to see Billy Elliot - tried when we were in London last summer, but no tickets. I have seen Wicked three times, though, and will be seeing it again in August (a week before leaving on my Dream cruise!). Can't wait to hear what you thought.
I may need to take the cheap bus up to NYC just to shop at the Disney store!!
(there are buses running from DC to NYC for as little as $1!!!)
Late Thursday afternoon, after getting our "Billy Elliot" tickets, we walked around Rockefeller Center. Found a cute Sock Monkey card that Sue purchased so we could present the hat to Kathy back in St. Louis.
Sue had mentioned wanting to tour Radio City Music Hall, but it just never seemed to happen. Since it was so cold outside, we just explored the downstairs of the NBC studio. Sue loves this huge painting on the ceiling -- as you walk from one side of the room to the other, the man appears to shift his weight from one leg to the other.
See what I mean?
Isn't this a cool light?
We wandered over to the (30) Rock Cafe for a and enjoyed watching the ice skaters while we warmed ourselves from the inside.
We NEED to get together soon. Maybe we can go see The Little Mermaid when it comes to The Muny this summer.
Kelly, that is a brilliant idea! I seem to be doing all my traveling this spring, so I should be around all summer. Let's go to The Little Mermaid!
Hey, anybody else going to be in STL July 6-14? That's when The Little Mermaid will be playing at our enormous outdoor amphitheater. Check it out: 2011 Summer Season
And then we started thinking about dinner, and the menu there looked good -- so they gave us a table right by the window, so we could actually interact with some of the skaters. Too bad I couldn't hold the camera still -- maybe it was the Mimosa -- but this little boy kept coming around to wave at me.
It was so cold and windy outside, we couldn't believe how many kids and adults waited off to the side while the ice got cleaned -- which made it even more slippery. We at everybody trying unsuccessfully to stay vertical after that.
Like I said earlier, "Billy Elliot" was incredible. Our seats were pretty far to the left side, but about 12 rows from the stage -- we could see everybody.
It was after the show that we stopped at the Disney Store. Look, even Disney loves New York!
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). Of course, the NY cabbie Goofy made it home with me -- he's now on top of my collectibles cabinet with all his plush Goofy brothers.
Plus there are touring companies -- I know one is coming to STL in a couple months.
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Melanie
PassPorter Guide Author
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
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