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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!

Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!

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(This is Main Street by Angie, who is working on art goals here on the blog!)


This has been a personal project to blog every day for a school year on goals and dreams. My hope was that I could find a group of people to work with me.

I was lucky enough to find a small, but sincere group of inspirational people to keep me company. We've been using Walt Disney's philosophies or creations as inspiration.

I am no longer blogging daily, but I am notified if comments are posted, and I'll be happy to keep the discussion going!

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Two_Alices_fall_down_a_rabbit_hole_and_land_on_the ir_feet_in_WondORLANDO!

art by A.Daley






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People still need people

Posted 10-03-2009 at 11:42 AM by Sandra Bostwick
Updated 10-03-2009 at 12:28 PM by Sandra Bostwick
You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it requires people to make the dream a reality.
Walt Disney

The internet creates all sorts of social options, but sometimes you have to wonder if they are meaningful or just community flavored chewing gum...passing the time but becoming more and more pointless with every chew. Sandra Bostwick just a few minutes ago responding to Angie Daley

HE HE HE! It made me giggle to write my own quote for a few reasons. First of all, it really is a silly thing to do. Second, I REALLY do think Angie is going to be a famous artist some day. Another reason is simply that a person can, as Walt said, dream, create, and design the most wonderful place in the world here on the internet and here, in my blog, I can quote myself and pretend that someone is listening!

You really can create and modify all sorts of situations here on the internet and, if you do a good job you can attract all sorts of people.

Walt was speaking of the various projects that were produced to attract people. He created everything from cartoons to a spacious, meticulously crafted theme park, but what is it that made people visit?

I've heard alot of people comment that Disney theme parks are fantasy. Well, OK, yeah. But if people go there and feel entertained, inspired, or even just distracted from daily drudgery, isn't that real?

I know lots of people who still think that the internet is not real. I have to wonder about that myself sometimes. I hear all that internet connections don't count in the real world. Well, I suppose that depends on where you are visiting, what you do when you get there, and if that has any redeeming value in your life once you sign off.

I think the biggest point to be made when considering if an internet connection is real is this...are the people involved being who they really are? Is one or both trying to be someone different from who they truly are? In my book, that would make the connection fall into the "not real" category. Others might disagree.

Different people will also gravitate towards different internet places. Let me give an example. I enjoy popping into Facebook from time to time to check in on my page, but I don't get it. I feel lost. The page is confusing, maybe because I've set it up that way, I'm not sure.

I can't seem to track a linear conversation. I have hundreds of messages backed up that need to be clicked on and I finally get so confused that I log off and hope no one feels ignored.

I'm not big on internet games, either. I know there are entire communities built around these games and, the funny thing about that is that most of those people would think that a community of people obsessed with Disney would be nuts.

The internet is such an amazing place where anyone at all can create anything from a virtual universe to a topic oriented blog.

I've been looking at book discussions, trip reports, threads, blogs, profile pages, private messages and all sorts of internet social options. What it is all about?

The fact of the matter seems to be that if something is not clickworthy, it is much less of a reality. I don't think it is the number of clicks that matters, though. Some click have more meaning than others.

When I think of this, I think of the trip reports here. Some of the trip reports are so beautiful. The photos take me to places through someone else's eyes and it is fascinating. I've spent an hour on some trip reports.

That is a click that matters!

I have to run out to a festival now and I don't have time to edit this, so please consider it a ramble. This will be a real place with real people. How about that?

Maybe I'll come to a point later. Can you help me make my point?
0 Pixie Dust
Posted in Walt's Wave
Views 3011 Comments 3 Email Blog Entry
Total Comments 3

Comments

  1. Old
    A.Daley's Avatar
    I find the point is that each individual decides what is reality and what is fantasy... and anyone can choose to be a part of of it or as far from it as possible.
    I am convinced that there is a large percentage of Passporters on here that get a smirk, eye roll, or a "whatever" because that Passporter has just brought up Disney again! GOD NOT AGAIN!!!
    But I find that planning, making lists, painting the pictures, saving the pennies, making fun little countdowns keeps me standing on Main St. looking up at the Castle in amazement! And it doesn't cost anyone in my family one penny to just plan... but I make it my everyday reality. And the biggest piece that makes it reality is that I quit smoking after 18 years, for my Alice, for Disney, and so that every year I can take her back there with the money from smoking. I chose life over death and Disney World, Walt, Mickey and Alice were the only things that could make that happen...
    0 Pixie Dust
    Posted 10-03-2009 at 05:53 PM by A.Daley A.Daley is offline
  2. Old
    christiejay's Avatar
    I think there comes a point with anything, online or off, where you can devote so much time to it that it's best to take some time off. The fantasy part starts to get a little too large, especially when "life happens". But we have to remember all the people we're connected to through the internet. Reminds me of your entry about whether online-only friendships are real friendships.
    0 Pixie Dust
    Posted 10-06-2009 at 01:29 PM by christiejay christiejay is offline
  3. Old
    Sandra Bostwick's Avatar
    Great points, both of you.

    I think the real problem with the "fantasy" aspect of internet, as you put it Christie, is when people dig themselves into a hole by not being who they are. Then, in all honesty, nothing they create on the internet can be valid. I think that is similar when people, in real life, get stuck in lies and deceptions.

    I suppose the fantasy part also relates to games that begin to take on a life of their own.

    The sites I seem to prefer are the ones where the members discuss the real people, places and things that interest them. They make plans or help others to make plans.

    It is like reality once removed, but at least there is some real-world application SOMEPLACE!
    0 Pixie Dust
    Posted 10-06-2009 at 03:42 PM by Sandra Bostwick Sandra Bostwick is offline
 







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