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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I'm home and back to work today after a typically great MouseFest.
A fun time was had by most, including me, except for my buddy, Ray Sharpton, who was tragically struck by some horrible bug and spent all of MouseFest laid up sick in his resort. MouseFest was certainly the poorer for his absense.
Most people seemed to enjoy the new diggs at the Contemporary and the Yacht Club convention centers. The biggest differences I saw were having MF101 indoors, so the presenters didn't have to shout over the castle forecourt shows, and it was nice to have snacks and drinks at the Chairman's Kickoff.
I enjoyed all of the traditional meets like MF101, the Dole Whip Meet, the MegaMouseMeet, TriviaFest, PodFest, and MouuuussseeeFest, as well as a few new meets.
And most importantly, MouseFest provided many with an opportunity to see friends whom we only see once a year, and to make lots of new friends. I seem to come home every year with at least a half-dozen new faces in my mind - whose names I usually forget until I encounter them again on one of the message board communities (I have a terrible memory for associating names with faces). Any of you whom I met for the first time - Hello! And forgive me if I don't recognize you on the boards.
I spent several hours yesterday post-processing my pics while I unpacked, and they are uploading now, so within the next 20 minutes you'll be able to see them all here: Will's MouseFest Pics - Wednesday
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Awesome pictures. Thanks for sharing!! Looks like so much fun.
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Tanya
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It was great meeting you, Will, and I had a wonderful time meeting everyone! Although I've attended MouseFest before, this is the first one I registered for, and the first one I made a concerted effort to attend as many meets as possible, and meet as many people as I can. I was not disappointed. Exhausted, but not disappointed! The organizers did a wonderful job (although...a suggestion for next year? WATER, please, at the Kickoff Party!), and I was thrilled to meet everyone.
DH and I saw Ray one morning as he was switching from Pop to the Boardwalk (or Beach Club, I can't remember which). He'd been laid up with a bad case of flu and just couldn't leave his room until that morning. I'm not sure if he got out after that or not, as he still wasn't feeling well.
DH and I saw Ray one morning as he was switching from Pop to the Boardwalk (or Beach Club, I can't remember which). He'd been laid up with a bad case of flu and just couldn't leave his room until that morning. I'm not sure if he got out after that or not, as he still wasn't feeling well.
HI Carole! I did not know you were here too! Glad to see you! I usually lurk here, but I am trying to post more!
I'm glad you had fun, but sorry for your friend. It's no fun being sick, but being sick at Disney is doubly awful because of all of the fun you KNOW you're missing out on.
Just sos you know, Will . . . I laughed out loud on Maelstrom after hearing your "You are not the first to pass this way . . . " in the Norwegian accent.
It was fun seeing you at the meet at the fish place . . . and hearing your appropriately placed plethora of Disney songs coming from your phone.
Just sos you know, Will . . . I laughed out loud on Maelstrom after hearing your "You are not the first to pass this way . . . " in the Norwegian accent.
It was fun seeing you at the meet at the fish place . . . and hearing your appropriately placed plethora of Disney songs coming from your phone.
It wasn't the "You are not de first to pass dis vey..." that made you laugh, it was my reply, "No kidding, another boat just went up there about 5 seconds ago!"
My WDW park music collection is quite extensive. My current ringtone is El Rio del Tiempe.
Thanks for sharing these photos Will... broke my heart having to have to cancel out on the MF at last minute. Next year if DH decides to do something stupid, I'm going to.............. him (you can fill in the blank) Needless to say, I wasn't a happy camper but family does come first. (he fell out of a tree and shattered the L3 in his spine on 12/2)
So your photos have been greatly appreciated by me Thanks!