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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Thought you guys would get a kick out of this. DJ (with a little help from Mommy ) has been composing his letter to Santa this evening. I'm trying to instill some letter-writing structure and ettiquet in him, so it's a pretty formal letter for a 5 year old. I told DJ the polite way to begin his letter with some small talk and personal inquiries, asked him what he'd like to ask Santa, and told him Santa would probably be interested in his answers. (Letters to Santa, IMHO, should not be 3 page-long lists of what greedy little boys want. ) DJ answered my questions as I typed it. And he DID ask for a toy.
Quote:
From the desk of Donovan Xxxxxx Bangor, PA, USA To Santa’s WorkShop The North Pole, Arctic Ocean
Dear Mr. Santa Claus,
Happy holidays! How are you and Mrs. Claus? I hope you’re both good and warm! My daddy said it’s very cold there. I hope you have a blanket and some hot cocoa! Don’t forget to share with Mrs. Claus!
I have some questions maybe you can answer. I have a list:
· What are the names of your reindeer?
· How many elves help you make toys?
· What is your favorite food?
· What are your favorite kind of cookies?
· Do you like milk?
· What’s your favorite TV show?
· I don’t have reindeer, but my kitten’s name is Phoenix.
· I don’t have any helpers, except Mommy. She helps me make pies and cookies.
· Cookies are my favorite food.
· I like Oreo cookies best — the extra white stuff ones.
· I love milk!
· My favorite TV shows are Tom & Jerry and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.
Could you and the elves build me a Mega Rig Shark Ship for Christmas? I have been good most of the year. I’ll keep trying hard to be good! Thank you very much, sir!
Merry Christmas and Happy Solstice! DJ Xxxxxx
He doesn't mean to be funny, but dang - this sounds hysterical to me! Can you imagine meeting Santa and reminding him to share with his wife?!
*** UPDATE *** I composed a reply this evening and posted it in a reply to this thread. Just page down if you'd like to read what Santa had to say to DJ.
That is the best letter I've seen to Santa, ever! I hope he gets his Mega Rig Shark Ship! I have no idea what that is, but he deserves it for such a well-thought out letter. I like the "I've been good most of the year" part best. Gotta love a kid who's honest!
__________________
-Lisa
The World is a book. Those who do not travel read only a page." - Augustine
That is too precious! I love how he answered his questions to Santa with his own answers as well. I mean, duh - of course Santa is interested in his life too!
I loved DJ's letter to Santa so much, I had to sit down and write the reply right away while I'm in the holiday spirit. Thanks so much for the idea to print it out in an Olde English font! I made an appropriately Santa-ish stationary to print it on, too. DJ will be so surprised! I had a little trouble with the elves' names, so I pilfered a few Welsh names and some from different literary sources. I hope they sound elvish-enough.
Quote:
From the desk of Kris Kringle, Santa Claus
The North Pole, Arctic Ocean
To Donovan Xxxxxx
Bangor, PA, USA, North America
My young friend, Donovan,
Mrs. Claus and I were delighted to read your letter! And what a fine letter it was! Your mother and father must be quite proud to be raising such a smart young man as you! I hope this letter finds you all well and in good health and plenty of holiday spirit! Ho, ho, ho! We’ve all got holiday spirit in good measure here at the North Pole! Please, rest assured - I’m always sure to share my hot cocoa with Mrs. Claus, though she was glad to read your reminder for me to share the blanket with her. I do have a habit of taking up a bit more than my fair share of the blanket, but my big belly is like a bowl full of jelly! It takes considerably more blanket to cover it! Ho, ho, ho! I’ve made a note to ask the elves to help me make a nice new quilt just for her for Christmas this year. I’ll be certain to tell her she has you to thank for her new quilt!
Now, young man, it seems you’re full of questions and I’ve got answers aplenty! As to my reindeer friends - there are 8 flying reindeer and the lead magical reindeer, my dear friend, Rudolph. The 8 flying reindeer are named Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, and Blitzen. Rudolph the Red-Nosed is a second-generation flying reindeer - following in his father, Donder’s, hoofprints. Chet, the apprentice flying reindeer, is improving daily and we hope to have him join the rest of the sleigh team in a few hundred years when he passes his written flying exam and earns his flying permit. The North Pole Department of Flying Transportation is quite strict - as well they should be. Flying and pulling a magical sleigh is no easy feat!
We’ve a great many elven toy specialists here in the workshop– so many, I couldn’t name them all on a single piece of paper! The North Pole is making the transition to earth-friendly manufacturing, so to save some paper, I won’t list them all - just the department heads and Dean of the Elf Academy: Angharad: Head of Greeting Cards and Name Tags, Cariad: Head of Wrapping and Ribbonry, Marvin: Head of Hobbies, Sweet Pea: Head of Scientific Games and Toys, Bevan the Impish: Head of Books and Educational Toys and Games, Cadogan: Head of Board Games and Card Games, Rhodri: Head of Transportation and Things That Go, Braith the Spotted: Head of Art Supplies and Creative Toys and Games, Cletus: Head of Outdoor Toys, Games, and Playsets, Gawain: Head of Action Figures and Dolls, Llywelyn: Head of Stuffed Animals and Plush Toys, Idwal the Sturdy: Head of Construction Toys and Blocks, Slick Willy: Head of Practical Jokes, Magic Kits, Gags, and Fake Vomit, Poo, and Gross Things, Vaughn the Unfortunate: Head of Miniature Toys and Models, Clyde: Head of Infant and Preschool Toys and Games, Colin: Head of Electronic Toys and Games, and Do-Right the Know-It-All: Dean of the Elf Academy and Apprenticeship Program. Oberon is the workshop manager, and my right-hand elf. There are 25 elves in each department - including the department heads and 42 apprentices in the Elf Academy and Apprentice Program. So, let’s see, that’s 444 elves! My, my, my! I didn’t realize how many elves we have employed here in the workshop. Why, North Pole Village hardly seems big enough to hold so many!
My favorite food is cookies, too, and I love the oatmeal chocolate chip ones best. I remember you left me a plateful of them 2 years back, and my goodness - how I enjoyed them! I do love milk, but I also very much enjoy a mug of hot cocoa or a nice, cold Coco-Cola once in a while. I remember your father often left me a can of Coco-Cola and a plate of chocolate chip cookies when he was a boy. The years do pass quickly! It seems like it was only yesterday…
There’s so little time to watch TV here at the North Pole. We’re busy year-round - getting ready for Christmas. When I have a few minutes to slip off my boots and prop up my feet, I like to watch Scooby Doo. Seems your mother mentioned you like to watch that, too. Do you have a favorite Scooby Doo cartoon?
I’ve made a note of your wish for a Mega Rig Shark Ship and Oberon has promised to see to it himself. Remember to eat your fruits and vegetables, mind your manners and your parents, and be a good boy. I hear your grades are excellent! Keep up the good work! I so look forward to seeing your Christmas decorations. I love all those little train ornaments you and your mother made. Makes me feel young again! A happy holiday season to you and your family. Enjoy your Solstice celebration and most of all - have a very merry Christmas, my young friend!
That is great!! I've sent letters to my DD from Santa. I usually type it up and have one of the guys at work sign it for me.
My DD said to me the other day "Remember when I looked out the window last year and saw reindeer tracks on the neighbors house?" We usually put some "magic" reindeer food out in the front yard for them. Too hard to climb onto the roof in the cold of winter.
I think my computer is trying to encourage me to be bilingual - the lists in DJ's letter are all Greek to me - litterally! Even though I can't read it, it looks as if DJ (with a little help from Mom) came up with a winner. And I Santa's reply!
__________________
Sharon - Kitty and me
2013 Scrapbook pages count: 631 / 350
2014 Scrapbook pages count: 60 / 250
Intelligent AND good manners! Very impressive! I like the "extra white stuff ones", too!
__________________
Boogie down!!! __________________________________________________ ______ "Life's like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing. Keep pretending." from The Muppet Movie
About This Page: 
DJ's Letter to Santa
DJ (with a little help from Mommy 
) has been composing his letter to Santa this evening. I'm trying to instill some letter-writing structure and ettiquet in him, so it's a pretty formal letter for a 5 year old. 
) DJ answered my questions as I typed it. 
Can you imagine meeting Santa and reminding him to share with his wife?! 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
I made an appropriately Santa-ish stationary to print it on, too. DJ will be so surprised! I had a little trouble with the elves' names, so I pilfered a few Welsh names and some from different literary sources. I hope they sound elvish-enough. 
PassPorter Guide Author
Santa's reply!
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