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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Last year, my husband’s brother Andrew moved to Alaska with his wife and 3 kids. We’ve always wanted to go there, and now we have a really good reason. So we’re going! How do I feel?
I’m extremely excited!!
I’m a little nervous about spending every last dime in our travel account to do so.
Typically, we spend part of the money we have saved for travel, but never all of it. But this is pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime trip, so I guess it’s OK to go a little crazy. Right?
Who: Chris, Me (Michele) and Peter, plus other family members who will already be in Alaska…
We are a family of 3. My husband Chris and I have been married for 20 years, and we have a 10 year old son, Peter. Peter still talks to us and doesn’t mind being around us, so this is probably a good time to take a huge trip like this. We could wait a few years, but who wants to travel across the continent with a sullen, 13 year old?
We love hiking and climbing, so Alaska seems like a great destination. Andrew (Chris’s brother) is really cool, and I’ve always loved being around him. He works at Denali, and his job has something to do with facilities usage and environmental planning. He has degrees in these areas. Andrew is also an outdoors kind of guy, so I’m sure he will be able to tell us where to hike, and will find us a few smaller mountains to climb.
Andrew’s wife is nice. We met her about 6 years ago when we met them in the Tetons. Kira was a baby then, and since then they have produced Emma and Wil. I can’t wait to meet them!
Chris’s dad and step mom live in New Hampshire, but they are planning to visit Alaska for a month, and their trip will overlap with ours.
When: June 14-June 28, 2010
We live in rural Ohio, but I’m originally from the Detroit area. On June 12, Peter is going to be in a kids’ triathlon in Detroit, and on June 13, Chris will compete in the adult version. This will be Peter’s first, but I think Chris has been in 4 or 5 triathlons.
Since flights are cheaper from Detroit, and we can avoid airport parking fees by making my parents shuttle us to and from the airport, we decided to piggy back the Alaska trip onto the triathlon weekend.
The Plan: June 14: We will fly to Fairbanks on June 14, where I think Chris’s dad meet us and drive us to Denali, which is about 2 hours away. I think we are splitting the rental car cost with him. June 15-18: We will visit with family, see the National Park, and do some hiking. June 18-19: We will drive to the Anchorage area with Chris’s dad and step mom, and do some hiking. June 19: We will drive to Whittier, say good bye to the in-laws and board the Coral Princess! The 3 of us will cruise from Whittier to Vancouver on a 7 night cruise!!
This is almost as fun as planning a Disney vacation!!
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Great start!! We may have the chance to move to Alaska, so I'll definitely be tuned into your trip report to see what you think. Can't wait to hear more!
__________________
Stephanie
Riding the Magic Carpets with Jasmine and Aladdin
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Thanks, everyone! We put a deposit on the cruise this afternoon, and we booked our flights a few minutes ago. I'm a little dizzy from the amount of cash that just flowed out of our account!
My husband totally gets me. About the cost of the trip, he remarked "You're just worried that we won't be able to save enough to go back to Disney in 4 years!" I wanted to deny it, but he was so dead on, all I could do was laugh.
Lodging Update #1: We reserved our lodging for the first 3 nights of the trip! We will be staying in tent cabins at Denali Park Salmon Bake and Cabins. The cabins are quite rustic and small, but since we will be hanging out with family elsewhere, we just needed a place to sleep. Most hotels, motels, inns, and B&B's near Denali National Park are pretty expensive. This is only $69 each night. I hope it doesn't smell like fish!!
Lodging Update #2: The next 2 nights will be spent in Seward, with Chris's dad and step-mom. I looked long and hard for a hotel/motel/inn that:
1. is affordable
2.is clean
3.is big enough for our party of 5
4.doesn't allow pets (I'm super allergic to cats!)
5. looks like it has been updated since the 1950's.
I found nothing, until I ran across a Seward tourism site. I found lots of cabins for rent, and 3fit the checklist above. I sent the links to my FIL, and I'm letting him choose. He is a frugal man, and since we are splitting the cost of this lodging with him, I don't want to face criticism for my choice.
Here are the links to the Salmon Bake Cabins, and the Seward Destination Guide.
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About This Page: 
I’m extremely excited!!
I’m a little nervous about spending every last dime in our travel account to do so. 
and board the Coral Princess! The 3 of us will cruise from Whittier to Vancouver on a 7 night cruise!! 
This is almost as fun as planning a Disney vacation!!
Like
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Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
. Alaska is on our to do list for sure.
Deb
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
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