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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Who: Me - Melissa - 39
DH - Brent - 50
DS - Liam - 11
DM - Jean - 64
DF - John - 64
DSis - Amanda - 42
DBiL - Steve - 50
Well, it is time for our annual February trip to Disney World!
We finalized all the details over Christmas Break, while my parents were visiting from Florida.
We are hoping for wonderful, warm weather, just like we had last year at this same time. We are not running any races this year, although it will be Princess Marathon Weekend again. We had a great time running in the 5K last year!
We are taking a shorter trip this year because a week's worth of 4th grade make-up work was just too much last year. So DS will only miss two days of school this time. And we had to work around SOL testing, Standards of Learning, I know, who thought up that name! DH constantly comments that, that is not what he grew up knowing SOL meant!
Allegiant Air only flies out of our local airport two days a week. So we fly out on Saturday morning and return on Wednesday morning. I got a great rate of 39.99 per person, each way. It has only gone up since I booked in December.
I really wanted to stay at Old Key West or a moderate this year, but I just couldn't turn down the great rate of 50.00 a night at Pop Century that my Mom could get with her Cast Member discount! So that is where we are staying. Mom is going to see if she can request the 50s or 90s building, because last year when we stayed at All Star Sports it was so nice to be able to walk right out to our own private little pool. We had cocktails and dinner out by the pool several times last year! It was a nice place for us to gather and chat, since it gets crowded when we are all in one room!
My parents are going to get a room this year too. Last year they just drove back and forth from the Disney Wilderness Preserve where they are living and working again this year. My sister and her new husband (remember, they got engaged last year during our trip!) will be arriving on Friday and leaving on Monday. They are both school teachers, so they try not to miss too much work.
Some of you may remember that my Mother-in-Law began treatment for Breast Cancer at this time last year. She sailed through her lumpectomy, chemo and radiation all last year. She did fantastic! She still has to get injections of Herceptin every 3 weeks until April and she will be on Tamoxifen for the next 5 years, so she is not all clear just yet. But she has weathered the worst of it we hope. Her hair is growing back and she feels great!
On another note, my Mother broke her foot while she was at my sister’s house over Christmas. She hobbled around on it for 5 days before going to the ER when they got back to Florida. She has been in a hard cast for 2 weeks; they are going to check today to see how it is healing. If it is not healing, they will have to do surgery and put a pin in her foot. She is certainly hoping that it is healing and that she can get a walking cast. But we might just have to be pushing her around WDW and LegoLand this year!
Which bring me to the main reason we are going to Florida this year; we are going to LEGOLAND! I am very, very excited, but a little nervous too, because I don’t have all the info I need to plan properly. You know, like on the Disney planning level that I am used to! If anyone has good tips or websites let me know. I have been trying to find as much info as I can, but it still feels like it is not enough! My DS is 11, and a Lego fanatic, and he is tall, 5’ 1” already, so I’m not sure how much he can ride or will enjoy. But I figure this might be our last chance to enjoy LegoLand with him. Who knows what will happen after he goes to Middle School next year!
Up next – Our plans
__________________
Donning my Wellies to cut Peat in Scotland
Melissa
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Your plans sound great! We love Pop Century and of course would love to stay at a moderate or deluxe one year but it is hard to pass up those kind of rates!
I would love to learn about Legoland too. DD is just really getting into Legos and that might be a place she would like to go however she is very small. Still not 40 inches at age 5 so I also am not sure if it is worth it for us to go.
Hope you can get some good information here!
Enjoy your trip!
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Check out my Pre-Trip Report for our 9/18-9/23/12 trip here:
I hope that you and your family have a magical time at the world
__________________
Heather - "I'm Tinkerbell's biggest fan!"
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
Sounds like you will have a great time! We were at POP a week before you last year and the weather was perfect! Heading down a few weeks earlier this year and I hope it's not too chilly. Anyway, sounds like you got great rates on air and POP which makes the trip that much better! Have fun!
Dang, I just read this in the Allears newsletter. I was hoping that I would get to see a bit of the new FantasyLand, but now maybe not
"Dumbo the Flying Elephant in the New Fantasyland's Storybook Circus area is now scheduled to open in its new location on March 12 (it was previously expected to open on February 17). "
__________________
Donning my Wellies to cut Peat in Scotland
Melissa
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Pop and Legos on Our Annual Feb. Trip!
We are not running any races this year, although it will be Princess Marathon Weekend again. We had a great time running in the 5K last year! 
So DS will only miss two days of school this time. And we had to work around SOL testing, Standards of Learning, I know, who thought up that name! DH constantly comments that, that is not what he grew up knowing SOL meant! 
So that is where we are staying. Mom is going to see if she can request the 50s or 90s building, because last year when we stayed at All Star Sports it was so nice to be able to walk right out to our own private little pool. We had cocktails and dinner out by the pool several times last year! It was a nice place for us to gather and chat, since it gets crowded when we are all in one room! 
She hobbled around on it for 5 days before going to the ER when they got back to Florida. She has been in a hard cast for 2 weeks; they are going to check today to see how it is healing. If it is not healing, they will have to do surgery and put a pin in her foot. She is certainly hoping that it is healing and that she can get a walking cast. But we might just have to be pushing her around WDW and LegoLand this year!
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