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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Has anyone ever used one of the two ferries going from Michigan over to Wisconsin or visa versa? I'm going over to my brother's the end of July and this would cut off a lot of miles on my vehicle. Right now I'm leaning toward the S.S. Badger out of Ludington.
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I personally have not, but have heard from 2 others who have gone from Milwaukee to Muskegon round trip. They both happened to travel on days when the water was extremely choppy and said that was a bit scary. In both cases, they said there were multiple people who got sick! Other than that, they both agreed it was much faster than driving (obviously!) and might consider it again. Although, it was pretty expensive. Not sure how much the Manitowoc run is compared to Milwaukee, it may be less $$.
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We did the Badger from Ludington to Manitowac a couple of years ago. It was pretty spendy as I recall -- we did it mostly because the ferry schedule let us spend another full day with DH's family in MI.
Price wise, the Badger is better than the ferry to Milwaukee (a high speed boat as I recall). But Manitowac is rather out of the way, so unless you're going to Green Bay, it can take a while to get back to the interstate you want.
The beltways around Chicago have improved in the last couple of years so avoiding that route isn't the advantage it used to be. The ferry was a nice change of pace, but I don't know that I'd do it again.
Feel free to PM me if you have specific q's.
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Carolyn
Last edited by Carousel96; 04-28-2009 at 08:08 PM..
We did the Badger from Ludington to Manitowac a couple of years ago. It was pretty spendy as I recall -- we did it mostly because the ferry schedule let us spend another full day with DH's family in MI.
Price wise, the Badger is better than the ferry to Milwaukee (a high speed boat as I recall). But Manitowac is rather out of the way, so unless you're going to Green Bay, it can take a while to get back to the interstate you want.
The beltways around Chicago have improved in the last couple of years so avoiding that route isn't the advantage it used to be. The ferry was a nice change of pace, but I don't know that I'd do it again.
Feel free to PM me if you have specific q's.
Thanks for the information. My brother's place is west of Green Bay/Appleton so it would be better to take the Badger. What I was thinking is that we might take the boat over and drive back home. It's would actually be 10 hours both way if we take the boat verses driving. I would also go through the UP as we would bypass Chicago (my brother actually lives in NW area of Chicago and I hate driving through Chicago area). We are going to his summer home in WI. The reason too for driving through the UP is it's actually a little less driving too. So we shall see.
Thanks everyone for the advice. I never thought about rough seas, but that can happen. So we shall see.
Ah yes, the infamous Borman expressway through Gary, IN (I-94/I-80) has finally had construction completed and it's almost a pleasant drive. That construction took forever to complete. Here's to hoping there won't be any new construction for the next few years!
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