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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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okay we are leaving may 30.....and kayla has NO clue. in fact...ive all but told her we couldnt afford a trip this year....so she suspects NOTHING!!!! Barry wants to wake her up the morning of....and put her in the car Im not sure if i can hold out that long....but am willing to try.
Don't tell!!!!!! Wait till in the car or at the airport!!!!!! I know its hard...we're doing it too and we don't leave till early July. Kids know we are going, but don't know Nonna and Poppa and Cousin are meeting us there...Nonna and cousin don't know either. That surprise will remain with her (and you...and probably anyone that is around if you do it at the airport) for the rest of her life...and it will be a wonderful warm memory.
Its hard to keep such a fun secret...but worth it in the end. Don't lie...just be vague.
Definitely keep it a secret as long as you can! The closer it is when she finds out, the better! My sister sent her two kids down to visit me and go to Disney (I live in the area) and we waited as long as possible to surprise them. They were 11 and 13 and we told them about 2 weeks ahead because they had to pack and get things together. But they were completely floored, neither one could speak after, and they both still talk about it, two years later.
My other sister also keeps it a secret from her kids until a day or two before, partly because they would bug her to death waiting for it and partly because it is just too much fun watching kids find out like that. I think surprising her the morning of would be great! You should have a video camera or something to capture her reaction!
You have to keep it a secret. We are gonna try to keep it from Tyler until we get to "Mickey's House." He LOVES Mickey and I can't wait to see his face when he sees him for the first time.
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I love the "wake up, we're going to Disney World" stories!
I made a shirt for a fellow PassPorter that she put out for her son to wear after he went to bed (the night before they left.) It said, "My parents surprised me with a trip to Disney World" and had a picture of Mickey jumping for joy!
I would say keep the secret as long as you can....my kids know about our June trip and I wish that they could have been surprised (especially the 7 year old), it would have just added to the memories so much to catch her when we first said we are going...(instead I have her ask me each day how many days until Disney...lol)
We are going to surpise her in December though...just recently we found out that we are going to do a fast trip in December with my sister, nephew and parents. The oldest one knows but I am not telling the little one at all....I can't wait to see her go downstairs thinking she is going to school and to find out we are going to Disney instead....
Good luck in keeping the secret....think positive...May is just around the corner.
I kept it from my 9 yr old,, we told her we were going to GA, to visit my brother.. she didn't catch on until we landed in orlando and ask why people were wearing big white gloves(mickey hands) I told her to look out the window towards the buses. than she yelled you tricked me!!!! boy was she happy...
We're taking the dgs's in Sept, they know were going, just not when, I told them that I wasnt telling them, that one weekend that they come to spend with us and I wake them at 1:00 am and tell them to get in the car, then thats when they will know. I LOVE torturing little kids, makes life worthwhile!!!
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how to suprise the 10 yr old.....
Im not sure if i can hold out that long....but am willing to try.
GEAUX SAINTS!!
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Danielle Harmon
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