Feature Article: Summer at Disney vs. Winter in Michigan - A Disney Diversion - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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Feature Article: Summer at Disney vs. Winter in Michigan - A Disney Diversion
Summer at Disney vs. Winter in Michigan - A Disney Diversion by Rebecca Pearson
As I sit here in Michigan, where yesterday it was 14 degrees farenheit, I'm DESPERATE for a trip to Walt Disney World.
I'm lucky to be counting down to a trip presently, but with this weather, it can't come soon enough! So while I try to escape to the internet, reading articles and participating on the PassPorter forums, I can't help but think of Walt Disney World multiple times a day. Then, about a week ago, I began to convince myself that being in Michigan, or any northern state for that matter, during the holidays and in the winter, is exactly like being at Walt Disney World in the summer. While the holidays may be over, winter is unfortunately not, and hopefully you can still relate to these!
1. You spend a lot of time hurrying quickly from one building to another. In Disney during the summer, this is either to escape the scorching heat or rain, or to make your FastPass window or dining reservation. "Up north" during the winter, it's to escape the sub-zero temperatures and wind chill!
2. You're waist deep in water upon occasion. Yep, this one obviously refers to pool or water park time at Disney. Just this morning, it was while digging my car out of my driveway, but the water I was in was frozen. And yes, it was waist deep. 3. There are happy children (and adults) everywhere! Obviously at Walt Disney World, you can see enough delighted children interacting with characters, riding rides, or watching parades that even the biggest scrooge might smile, even if they aren't your children. Likewise, nothing is better than watching smiling children playing outside in the snow or opening gifts during the holidays.
4. On the flip side -- somebody may have a breakdown. Whether it's your children or you, the stress of a vacation at Disney, the hectic schedule, or the lack of a nap may cause you or your children to have a mini-breakdown. At home, the stress and demands of the holidays, the wintery weather, or a roadside slide-off may cause a slight breakdown!
5. You can get a turkey leg! Only an avid theme park fan would think of Disney when they stare at the giant turkey leg on the table at Christmas, but that's exactly what I did. The holidays are a great time to get turkey legs and pretend for just a few minutes that you're in the Happiest Place on Earth, whether you like turkey legs or not.
6. You're wringing out your wet socks. Again, this can be fun at Disney. Think Kali River Rapids, Splash Mountain, even Pirates of the Caribbean in the front row. But during the winter in the Northern States, it's probably because you were trekking through a winter wonderland or took a misstep into a frozen puddle. Definitely not as fun.
7. You stand in a lot of lines. Yes, the Holidays are over, but picture yourself on Black Friday, standing in that 60-minute "queue" for the register. Not the same as Disney? Okay maybe not, but still a thrill for some, and I often find myself making friends in the line I'm on, regardless of whether it's Black Friday or at Disney.
8. Your kids get much needed time off of school, and you get time off of work! Obviously a trip at Walt Disney World may occur on a school break, and some may even occur during a school week, offering not only you, but your children a break from the "real world." Up north in the winter, snow days offer the kids some much-needed (according to the kids), time off of school, and as adults, hopefully you'll get time off at the holidays and if you're extremely "lucky," the occasional blizzard warning may give you a day off of work!
9. You can people-watch. Disney is a great place to people-watch, especially if you're sitting down, trying to rest and escape the heat at the park. During the holidays at home, any holiday or Black Friday shopping at a department store can offer an amazing array of great people-watching opportunities!
10. You spend a lot of money. I know; this is a no-brainer comparison: holidays at home, and away at Disney. Wallet empty. Ouch!
11. You have to plan your travel. Whether it's from a resort to a park, or resort to resort, or even to a destination outside of Walt Disney World; planning your travel while on vacation is a must. Similarly, during the winter, whether you're planning travel to visit family during the holidays, or just planning to leave earlier to traverse the winter roads, planning travel time and routes is a must.
12. You eat. A lot. I don't consider myself much of a dessert person, however, nothing makes me eat more desserts than the holidays at home, or a vacation to Walt Disney World. Who can resist Mom's cookie bars or a Mickey Bar?!
13. You often check the weather forecast. While in Walt Disney World in the summer, I find myself checking the forecast or looking at the sky hourly, trying to determine when the afternoon downpour will come. At home in the north, I find myself looking at the forecast, desperately trying to determine when the temperature will be above 0, or the snow will stop.
14. You spend a lot of time with a huge cast of characters. At Walt Disney World, you obviously get to see Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and any other character that you track down or stand in line for. If you want to, you can even get an autograph and if you're lucky, a hug! At the holidays, and probably with your own family, you can spend time with your own cast of characters! Whether it's Goofy, Uncle Scrooge, multiple Princesses and Princes, Anastasia or Drizella, or maybe even your own Evil Stepmother, you'll have many opportunities to visit with them. I dare you to ask for an autograph!
15. You can't wait for next time, and may even start planning well in advance! I know that for me, even during our vacations, I'm already thinking of when we'll go again, where we'll stay, and what type of tours or attractions I may want to see next time. During the holidays, I already start thinking forward to the next year, trying to plan what I'll do differently for dinners at my home, or how I'll decorate. And for the winter in general, I keep promising myself that I'll plan ahead next year and hire someone to plow my driveway, or buy a better snowblower, and if my dreams really come true… I'll win the lottery and move to FLORIDA!
So whether you're planning your next trip to Florida, counting-down to one, or just dreaming during this long winter, remember, if you look at it with your Disney Ears on, you can come up with almost any comparison to how your day at home is just like a day at Walt Disney World. And if not, just walk outside, slide down a snow bank in your bathing suit, and pretend like you're at Blizzard Beach!
What do you think? Please add your own comments, experiences, or news related to this article in this thread! Reader feedback is welcomed and encouraged.
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