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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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'll find the pre-trip report - along with some of the drama that unfolded while we were gone - in this thread here. If you're not already aware of the background to this trip and our nightmare journey home, it may be worth reading this first.
I'm now splitting this trip report into two parts, one of which is our actual vacation, which is what you'll find in another thread in this forum called our Egyptian Adventure. This thread is dedicated to out what happened when we tried to come home from our hotel in Luxor and covers the three and a half days from that point onwards.
It will no doubt be an interesting read for everyone, and perhaps harrowing at times, as it wasn't a pleasant time for us. This report was written almost in real time as things happened, with only the odd addition since our return home. I hope, despite the content of this, you still enjoy it....
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Our escape from Egypt – part one: Everything looked quiet enough in Luxor... until....
Saturday 29 January – c. 11am:
Before we left the Sheraton at Luxor, I checked on the Foreign Office website again and the BMI website, which is who we were flying with, and it looked as if everything was fine, with our flight due to take off, albeit a bit late. I had an email from my dad, telling me the same thing, so feeling reasonably confident that we would be OK to get home, we set off to the airport with our Virgin Holidays representative. It was to be perhaps the worst decision we’ve ever made...
When we left, all looked quiet enough for a few minutes and then we saw the first tank on the streets, which brought it home to us. Things had changed here dramatically overnight.
All looking normal so far... ... then it all changed! More glimpses of normality
As we went further through Luxor, we could see armoured personal carriers and riot police around government buildings. There were a lot more people out on the streets than we had seen so far this trip. It felt as if something was about to kick off later in the day and suddenly, I was very glad to be going to the airport. I didn’t want another night like last night. :
Soon we were at the airport, which is very modern:
We checked in easily enough and by the time we went to go through security and said goodbye to our Virgin Holidays representatives, there was no sign of any issue. Indeed, when we got into the waiting area, there was nothing to suggest that there was a problem. We still felt reasonably confident that everything was OK.
Oh my goodness, Cheryl!! Seeing the picture of the tank made the hairs rise on the back of my neck -and that's only from a photo! Can't imagine what it was like to live thru it. I'm impressed that you're turning out both TRs at the same time. When I was catching up on your PTR, I assumed that you would do this first, then the other. Off to read about the good part of your adventures now.
Oh my goodness, Cheryl!! Seeing the picture of the tank made the hairs rise on the back of my neck -and that's only from a photo! Can't imagine what it was like to live thru it.
Oh my goodness, Cheryl!! Seeing the picture of the tank made the hairs rise on the back of my neck -and that's only from a photo! Can't imagine what it was like to live thru it. I'm impressed that you're turning out both TRs at the same time. When I was catching up on your PTR, I assumed that you would do this first, then the other. Off to read about the good part of your adventures now.
Fortunately, the other rip report was all written while we were away, so all I had to do was upload photos for that. This one just needs writing up, so in essence, I'm only working on one... and gradually. I've been doing little bits since yesterday lunchtime, but for perhaps obvious reasons, I'm having to take regular breaks, as it's a lot to deal with.
OMG - when I first started hearing about things in Egypt, my first thought - literally - was thank goodness Cheryl's home. I don't know why but I thought you were home before that even started. I'm very glad that your home safe and sound now.
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The picture of the tank is just too frightening. I can't image what it felt like being there and knowing something as up but not knowing what was going to happen next.
Liz
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Wow! I can't even imagine what you went through. Seeing that tank on the street must have been really scary. It's strange how everything seemed to be going so smoothly at that point still.
Oooh...I got chills seeing that picture of the tank in the street. I can't imagine the feeling you must have had seeing it. Just so glad you're home. My friend who went in December kept asking me if you were home and I was glad to report that you finally made it.
Seeing that tank in the street on the way to the airport would have freaked me out. I was thinking about you and Mark in Egypt when I heard about the demonstations and riots. Glad you are finally home same and sound.
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Margaret and I got to see the Cubs play in October. They won!
How scary, I know that you had left Cairo at the perfect time, but know seeing the turmoil moving closer to Luxor would have had me very excited to leave as well. Seeing that tank and the people crowding in the streets definitely would have had mee happy to be on the shuttle to the airport.
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