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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Does anyone else have a problem trying to find these little animals? In case you don't know what they are:
Small stuffed animals with a "secret code" on a card attached to them that allows the child to go to the Webkinz website and interact with other animals. It's like a sort of virtual pet. My niece got one in her Easter basket and now wants to buy another one but they're all sold out in the Indianapolis and surrounding areas. Apparently it is becoming as popular as the Beanie Babie crazy, God help us all! I spent this morning running around trying to find out without success so I bought a couple on Ebay.
They are all sold out here. One of the stores had a sign up saying that Ganz (the makers of Webkinz) told them they would be sending out the new shipments at the end of May. Apparently they haven't been able to keep up with demand - hence the price increase on them by 25%.
I have a few tucked away and just picked up a couple on ebay over the weekend.
I wanted one for my DD's Easter basket, so I went on the hunt for them. I tried several stores and there was always someone in front of me asking if the store had any. I got lucky at the mall one day because they had got a few that morning. There was only one type, a monkey, so I snatched him up quickly. My DD loves her new friend, Norbert.
I know they were sold out up at my parent's house in MA. My DSIL/DMIL got one each for the kids and put them in their Easter baskets. They got their's in VA, but not sure where. DD and DS could care less about the "web" part and frankly I'm not going to push it. They just like playing with the stuffed animal. DNiece already had one, and while we were there, spent quite a bit of time on the computer playing with/for it. I don't want to start that here :
My DS9 and DD6 love their Webkinz! We have had them since the fall, when you could still find them in the stores. Now, they are next to impossible to find. I used their website to call stores, finally finding one that had some. The next day, we walked into a Hallmark store, and there sat at least 6 different animals - of course we had to get another! We have been disappointed recently with all of their server problems, though. Often we are not able to get onto the website, or are thrown off. Try explaining that to an eager 6 year old!
We have been disappointed recently with all of their server problems, though. Often we are not able to get onto the website, or are thrown off. Try explaining that to an eager 6 year old!
I don't think their servers can keep up with the volume of kids that got their animals for Easter. You would think that they'd know if they sold all the animals they put out that more people would be on their website. Weird thing is last night I could log on Tyler but not Caroline.
My DD11 just got one from her friend this weekend. The friend's mom had to go all over town to get this critter and made several calls. One store had 13 left but when she got there someone from NY (we are in TN) had just bought them up over the phone! It is getting really crazy. When I checked Ebay earlier today I could not believe there were over 11,000 hits for these little guys. They are cute but holy cow! They are a lot more expensive than Beanie Babies so I do not think we will be getting full fledge into this particular craze.
Demand + Christmas holiday (Ganz closes) + railway strike in Canada + scalpers scooping them all up for eBay = shortage. My DDs were disappointed this Easter, but they have 6 between them...
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
There are several specialty boutiques around here that sell them. All the kids are talking about them and have been since the fall. Macy has about 25 of them and loves them. She got most of them from her friends at her birthday party and from my mom and sister.
My DD just started collecting them and is up to 5. They are very difficult to find here, too. I managed to find a bunch before Easter, and picked up 2 large ones for her basket, and 2 mini ones. I decided to hold the mini ones until she loses a tooth or some other special occasion comes up. I'm trying really hard not to get crazy like the Beany Babies--my older DD and DS have zillions of those that are now just sitting on the shelf in their rooms.
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First trip DW--Nov. 1975; Senior Class Trip DW--Oct. 1979; First trip w/kids--Oct. 1995; Halloween at DW--Oct. 2002; Spring Break at DW--April 2004; Christmas/Pop Warner Nationals-POR--Dec. 2005;Cruisin'--April 2008; Mom/Son trip-POP--March 2010;Taggin' along w/DD on DH's conference-BWI--Oct. 2011; 50th birthday with the Gartner Geeks--Adults only!--BWI--Oct. 2012; The Trip That Almost Wasn't--BWI--Oct. 2013; We climbed The Summit (National Cheer Competition)--ASMovies--May 2014
DD Jamie has 9 of them - they are very cute (and I even become addicted to the website!). They can be VERY hard to find as the Hallmark stores do not know if they will receive any in their shipment ahead of time. There's also a store on the Plymouth waterfront that has them sometimes.
Good luck finding them!