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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 have to be in Williamsburg on DDs 12th birthday. She's never been away from home and isn't too excited about it (although she JUST said she'd like to go back to WmBurg ) I was looking for a restaurant and stumbled across the Great Wolf Lodge website. If we stayed ON her b-day, it would be $259 for the 4 of us (including water park tickets). We couldn't access the park until 1pm and we have to leave very early the next morning to head to our next destination. I looked at staying the night before her b-day (giving us from 1pm-11pm, then 8am-10pm ON her b-day), but they wanted $459 for one night. Sheesh, you'd think they were Disney!!!
Anyhow, is it worth it for one night/10 hours of play time? this would be her ONLY birthday gift from everyone in the family, so I'd need it to be WOW.
The views and opinions expressed on this post are mine and do not necessarily represent or reflect those of The Walt Disney Company and Affiliated Companies
I looked at the Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos for Andrew's birthday. It looks like a lot to do in one day. I'm sure it would be worth it. I agree it is a bit pricey. The only reason I didn't book a weekend there is because it looked like a place Andrew would get easily lost in and I'm not about to go climbing through all those areas in my swimsuit with him.
Why can't you access the place till one? Is that because you won't be available?
To me it would be worth the $259. Figure taking out what you would spend on a hotel room anyway - maybe $100. Then the fun is costing $159 for four for 10 hours. Not bad, in my opinion.
We were at the GWL in Niagra Falls in 2006, and loved it. We stayed 2 nights. I even went on all the slides, something I never expected. It was a lot of fun.
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According to the website, check in is at 4, but guests are allowed to use the facility beginning at 1pm on the day of check-in. I may call and explain that we have to leave early the next day, it's DD's birthday and PLEASE can we come earlier if we promise to spend money on lunch!
The views and opinions expressed on this post are mine and do not necessarily represent or reflect those of The Walt Disney Company and Affiliated Companies
According to the website, check in is at 4, but guests are allowed to use the facility beginning at 1pm on the day of check-in.
We stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge in Wisconsin Dells last month. We got there at 11am and had no problem checking in and getting our wristbands for the water park.
We have to be in Williamsburg on DDs 12th birthday. She's never been away from home and isn't too excited about it (although she JUST said she'd like to go back to WmBurg ) I was looking for a restaurant and stumbled across the Great Wolf Lodge website. If we stayed ON her b-day, it would be $259 for the 4 of us (including water park tickets). We couldn't access the park until 1pm and we have to leave very early the next morning to head to our next destination. I looked at staying the night before her b-day (giving us from 1pm-11pm, then 8am-10pm ON her b-day), but they wanted $459 for one night. Sheesh, you'd think they were Disney!!!
Anyhow, is it worth it for one night/10 hours of play time? this would be her ONLY birthday gift from everyone in the family, so I'd need it to be WOW.
It's funny that you say they think they were Disney, because that is where AbyD stays when they are in W-burg!
Can't comment about Williamsburg, but Dsis's family spent a week at the one in Cincinatti (near Kings Island) and loved it. Even my usually quiet BiL was impressed and went on and on about how much he liked it. (although he did say that the restaurant was pretty high priced, the food was good)