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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We'd love to go next month so we need some quick info? So far, my DH says the Inner Harbor looks like a good place with lots to do. What is there to do?
We're thinking about a Red Sox game vs. the Orioles. How many days do we need in Baltimore area? We have 2 kids. A boy age 20 and a daughter almost 12. Yes - it's always hard to plan a vacation! Should we include D.C.? Thanks
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We'd love to go next month so we need some quick info? So far, my DH says the Inner Harbor looks like a good place with lots to do. What is there to do?
We're thinking about a Red Sox game vs. the Orioles. How many days do we need in Baltimore area? We have 2 kids. A boy age 20 and a daughter almost 12. Yes - it's always hard to plan a vacation! Should we include D.C.? Thanks
Baltimore is GREAT! We visited two years ago on an east coast trip and it was our surprise favorite stop.
I did a neighborhood-by-neighborhood review right after that trip and it is available here if you are interested.
You are right that Inner Harbor is a fabulous place. I highly recommend doing a Duck tour!
The Inner Harbor is a great place to visit! Lots to do and see. Unless you already have tickets for the baseball game, you may have trouble finding available seats for an O's/Sox game! Anytime the O's play the Sox or the Yankees, the tickets sell out very quickly - so Good luck!
__________________
A Fairy Godmother wannabe -
Look what a little Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo can do!
it's been a few years for me, but the harbor is a great area. there are a couple of recent posts about the aquarium there. lots of shopping, outdoor entertainment. there's a children's museum there (port discovery) but that probably won't apply in your situation
The aquarium is awesome!
We're history buffs here so for us Ft McHenry is a must-see.
The only problem with "adding" DC is that there's so much to do in Washington it's a trip in itself. I'd almost recommend saving DC for another trip when you can do it justice with a week rather than a day added to Baltimore.
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Thanks everyone. As I said I've just started planning. I like the idea of the Duck Tour. The Aquarium is probably a go as well. We love history, (well myself, DH and DS at least), so I will look into Ft. McHenry. We are still undecided about DC but that's what we are trying to figure out. I wonder how many days could we fill in Maryland? Wow, we better get moving on those Red Sox tickets. We'll have to investigate ASAP.
Hi!
I live in Baltimore, so I think that it is a GREAT place! You should also consider the USS Constellation - Civil War era vessel docked in the Inner Harbor. Have a great time!
Vicki
Inner Harbor is great! I was there years ago. We parked the car at the hotel the day we arrived and didn't touch it again until we left three days later. We had tickets for the Sox series and would walk from the hotel to the ballpark and over to the Inner Harbor every day.
Have you gotten tickets for the game yet? You might want to do that sooner rather than later since a lot of Sox fans like to head down to Baltimore for the games.
I wonder how many days could we fill in Maryland? Wow, we better get moving on those Red Sox tickets. We'll have to investigate ASAP.
The Red Sox tickets go to orioles.com and see about the tickets. I know last week they still had some open.
As far as the number of days you can fill with being in the state depends on how much you would like to see. There is the inner harbor in baltimore and ft mchenry. then you have southeren MD where largo is with six flags and all. And then there is the history filled easteren shore. On the easteren shore you have the beach (ocean city), you have assateague island there you can see wild ponys, there is water parks in and around ocean city, you can go to historical Berlin where the movies Run Away Bride and some of Tuck Everlasting was filmed. If you are into the historical aspect of things there are alot of little islands on the easteren shore. One of the most noteable is Deal Island, this is the island that has the church of Rev. Joshua Thomas he is credited for bringing organized religion to the islands around the islands.
You can look on the maryland web site to find out alot of other things in MD also.
Alrighty then. My playground! I live near Annapolis, but drive my kids to school in Baltimore everyday. (30 mins each way).
I took DD Rachel to Fort McHenry for a school report back in March, and it was great. We spent several hours there on an unguided tour. Parking there was easy and we had no problem getting to it (it's off of I-95).
Inner Harbor is mostly active during the day. Restaraunts are the only things open at night, except for a few shops. The Aquarium closes around 5ish.
Little Italy has some fantastic restaraunts. Vacarro's Italian Pastries is to die for. Gelato and cannolis, mmmmmmm. We like Cesar's Den and Amicci's for dinner. Friday nights they show movies in one of the parking lots during the summer months. September has a Taste of Italy one weekend.
Lots to see and taste around Inner Harbor. Duck Tours are a lot of fun. The links already posted are accurate. Camden Yards has a Babe Ruth museum too.
Down the road a bit, south of Baltimore is Annapolis, the capital city of Maryland, a very historic city. Also home to the US Naval Academy. A great tour is available at the Visitor's Center (my BIL and SIL work there). There might be an Navy Football game going on too. You can get a tour of the city with tour guides in period costume. Some of the restaraunts are original to George Washington's days when the Continental Congress met here. October is boat show month, so it's really congested, but fun. Welcome to the Annapolis Website : Home
I work in downtown Annapolis and just love, love love this city. Can ya tell???
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Little Italy has some fantastic restaraunts. Vacarro's Italian Pastries is to die for. Gelato and cannolis, mmmmmmm. We like Cesar's Den and Amicci's for dinner. Friday nights they show movies in one of the parking lots during the summer months. September has a Taste of Italy one weekend.
MMMMM! Little Italy! Do they still have the Vacarro's in one of the Harborplace buildings? We have at least two in DC, but its not the same...