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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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As far as cost goes, the UK is a great bet right now, as the dollar has sunk against the pound in recent weeks. London is a wonderful place to visit and other great destinations over here include Stonehenge, Canterbury, Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare's birthplace), Cambridge and Oxford (home to our two most famous universities). Of course, you won't have a language problem over here either.
Other popular places to visit in Europe include France, particularly Paris, but there is a lot of beautiful countryside in France and we've also enjoyed our trips to Italy in the past, home to such stunning cities as Rome, Florence and Venice and with beautiful historical sites such as Pompeii.
Have you any family connection with any European country? I`m just thinking its such a diverse place it might narrow down the options for you!
Have you considered the Disney cruises in 2010, they are based in the Med or Northern Europe, including Russia - that will be great.
Internel flights are cheap with a bit of advance planning and you could sample alot of Europe in a reasonably short time.
As Cheryl says the £/$ rate is in your favour at the moment which is good for a trip to the UK.
I agree that a cruise would be a wonderful way to experience Europe for the first time. As far as interesting places to visit go, here's what I'd consider:
1. France: Paris (and, of course, Disneyland Paris ), Nice
2. UK: London
3. Italy: Rome, Venice
4. Germany: Berlin, Munich
Cost... Well, it ain't cheap, that's for sure. You have a long distance flight to budget in, as well as either a rental car for the entire trip or a tour of some sort. Lodging options come in a broad price range. Right now, the $/€ exchange rate is a lot better for you guys than it used to be about a year ago (it dropped from about 1.50$/€ to about 1.25$/€) but that might change again.
Hope this helps a bit. Anything in particular you'd like to know?
Apart the places that Cheryl, Sabine and Julie have mentioned, I would add
England - Lake District, Lincoln, Windsor
Scotland - Edinburgh
Ireland - Dublin
Hungary - Budapest
France - the south i.e Nice, Juan Les Pin
Denmark - Copenhagen
Sweden - Visby, Gotland ( this is Swedish island)
Austria - Vienna
I think I would try and pick a base and then do trips out from there i.e London then have flights/ coach tours to other places.
One place noone has mentioned is Spain!! Madrid can be lovely, but for the best Spanish experience, I'd recommend Barcelona. The buildings are incredible, the food delicious and the marina beautiful.
I'd avoid Stonehenge, as it's expensive and isolated, and you can't get anywhere near the stones any more. A good alternative is a village called Avebury - it has a wonderful ancient stone circle, a beautiful manor and a choice of eateries. It is also convenient for nearby Bath, which is unmissable.
In terms of looking for hotels, I recommend the Ibis chain. They are usually very reasonable and well-located. However, in France, Ibis has a cheaper brand in the family of hotels called Formule 1 - very basic, but clean and cheap and ideal for when you're not planning on sitting in a hotel room all day!
My personal unmissable in France is Cognac. The distillery tours are great, and you are well-situated to visit vineyards in the Bordeaux region.
Do PM me if you'd like to chat, I'm quite well-travelled in Europe and would be happy to help, but it might require some tailoring, otherwise I'll just be blithering on randomly!!
Ooh yes Barcelona is lovely (I've been wanting to go back there for years) and of course as a Brit I would have to join in with the recommendations for the UK.
Another option to consider would be combining Belgium, France and the UK - you could do Brussels, Paris and London along with some pretty and interesting towns in between quite easily.
Is it just going to just be you and your husband or are you planning to bring your kids? That could have a big impact on your plans.
I'm also available to be PMd if you'd like to chat about ideas some more.
What a question! I could spend months in nearly every country I've visited, and weeks in every city, and there are still so many places and activities on my To Do list that it could easily take the rest of my life. And then there are the other continents....
What's your passion? Food, drink, art, music, the outdoors, history, religion, architecture, culture, shopping, warm places, cold places... some hints, please!
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In addition to all the great suggestions above I can just add one word! TRAINS!!! They got them cheap. They got them expensive. And they go just about everywhere. Including under the English Channel(the Chunnel) from London to Paris. I loved most European Capitals, but Paris just blew me away. Once you've had a glass of wine in Paris you can't go home again!!!
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London is a wonderful place to visit and other great destinations over here include Stonehenge, Canterbury, Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare's birthplace), Cambridge and Oxford (home to our two most famous universities). Of course, you won't have a language problem over here either. 
), Nice
Previous trips: POFQ 2005 & 2007, Boardwalk 2008, BCV & AKLV 2009 (our honeymoon) & 2012, BCV & BLT 2011, BCV 2013, AKLV 2014
Also, Paris, and my DH used to live in England has been all over. 
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