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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 were thinking of spending a week or 2 somewhere in the Outerbanks, NC next July. I really don't know much about which areas/towns are the best for a family with 2 nine year olds. If anyone can tell me which areas are the best and why, I'd really appreciated it.
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Hi! I'm very familiar with the Outer Banks area - my family has vacationed there every summer for as far as I could remember. Next to WDW, it's my favorite place in the world!
Anyway, for a family with kids, I would recommend the Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills/Southern Shores area. That's near where all the action is going on. Lots of shopping, restaurants, mini-golf, and of course, great beaches! It's also where the Wright Brothers/First Flight Memorial is, Jockey's Ridge (largest natural sand dune on the east coast - you can ride horses down it and fly kites on it and it's awesome!), and other educational/fun things. Nags Head is probably the biggest town on the Outer Banks, and it's quite close to the areas I listed - but it's gotten a little too touristy and "Myrtle Beach" for my taste (I LOVE Myrtle Beach - but if I wanted MB, I'd go to MB, know what I mean?). The areas I listed are a little less developed without being in the middle of nowhere. We actually stay in Duck, which is just north of Southern Shores, and I it there - great shopping and restaurants - but with kids and maybe wanting to be a bit more central, I'd recommend being a little bit more south. Also, one of my favorite restaurants is in Kitty Hawk - The Black Pelican (is in an old life-saving station and is where the Wright Brothers telegraphed the news of their first flight from) - check it out! Their wood fired pizza is AWESOME and they also have great seafood and steaks and stuff.
Those areas are also near Manteo, which has terrific shopping and more historical stuff - The Elizabethean Gardens (gorgeous), The Lost Colony (an amazing outdoor drama - try and get tickets!), and the Elizabeth II (replica of a sailing ship of Sir Walter Raleigh), the NC Aquarium, etc. A lot of people go to OBX to see all the lighthouses, but they are all spread out over the islands, so it's nice to be central if you're trying to check those off (and just FYI, there are a couple that you can't get to except by boat).
If you look at a map of OBX, you'll see that one highway (NC 12) runs up and down the barrier islands. The Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills area is kind of central to the action, which is nice - it can take a little while to drive to the northern most and southern most points, and there are no "shortcuts." We love to go to Corolla (north) and see the wild horses, but we also love to go to Cape Hatteras (probably the most famous of the lighthouses) and Okracoke (both south), which is only accessible by a ferry and is just the cutest place you'll ever see (if you're ever planning a romantic getaway for two, I'd recommend there - my sister and her hubby did it for their anniversary and stayed in a inn on the beach with a hammock on their balcony - how cute! But kids might be bored).
Please feel free to ask more questions here or PM me...I hope you have a great time planning a trip to my other fave place!
My FIL has a house in Avon, but I've only been there in November (big family get together for Turkey day... over multiple houses).
So I haven't been during "tourist" season, but the lower portion of the Outer Banks is lovely and we had a great time taking the ferry to Okracoke for the day as well.
We just got back from our first OBX vacation (we're usually a Myrtle Beach family!). It was great! We stayed in South Nag's Head because we needed to be near Manteo to be close to a dialysis center for my DH. I think anywhere along that area from Kill Devil Hills to South Nag's Head would be great with kids. We were with my DBIL and his family (2 kids ages 9 & 4). Everyone had plenty to do and the beach is great! That Jockey's Ridge park is awesome and the views from there are beautiful! Lots of great places to eat (but nothing too commercial) and some cool gift shops and kite stores too. Have a great vacation!
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A Fairy Godmother wannabe -
Look what a little Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo can do!
We've gone the past two years and love it! We first stayed in South Nags Head which I really liked because of all there is to do and everything is close to each other. Jockey's Ridge, the Wright Brothers Memorial, etc. Last year we stayed in Avon and that was just as nice.
I used Coldwell Bankers real estate to rent a house and Sun Reality. They usually have books that they can send you.
Good luck and you will absolutely love it!
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Gina Nov. 2000 - CBR
September 2003 - Fort Wilderness Cabins
August 2008 - Pop Century for Gracie's 7th b-day!
June 2009 - POP Century Family Vacation!
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Hi! I'm very familiar with the Outer Banks area - my family has vacationed there every summer for as far as I could remember. Next to WDW, it's my favorite place in the world! 
it there - great shopping and restaurants - but with kids and maybe wanting to be a bit more central, I'd recommend being a little bit more south. Also, one of my favorite restaurants is in Kitty Hawk - The Black Pelican (is in an old life-saving station and is where the Wright Brothers telegraphed the news of their first flight from) - check it out! Their wood fired pizza is AWESOME and they also have great seafood and steaks and stuff.
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