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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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 am looking at the Oct 16,2010 7 day cruise,if I book this it would mean taking the kids out of school for a whole week. They will be in the nineth and seventh grade. What is your opinion on this? I will say that it is a lot cheaper to go during this time. Deanna
Well, we're going on a cruise on October 3 of this year and I'm taking the kids out of school for 7 days (we're going 2 days early to see Kennedy Space Center). We're lucky in that our district allows a certain number of pre-arranged absences. But, when I think about what my child will learn:
- Space Exploration, at the location where man left earth for the moon
- Stops in 2 foreign countries and a new US city (we're doing Western, so Key West is a stop).
- There is a simulator of the bridge where the kids can "practice" and see what it's like to steer the ship.
- Meeting people of other cultures/countries/etc (it's rare to have an American employee on a cruise)
I will agree that it gets a bit harder when the kids get older, so only you can make that decision. I would consider the following:
- Are the kids good students who don't have trouble keeping up in class?
- Will the children enjoy and learn on the trip?
- Will this enhance your family time more than what is available during school holidays?
- Will the children be willing to work hard prior to the trip to get ahead on work, so that there is less "catch up" (if the teacher is willing to pre-assign)?
There have been several large discussions over in the WDW forum about taking kids out. Parents have talked about difficult districts (make sure you research your school's policy!), difficult teachers. They've talked about not being able to go on vacation otherwise. And while there are a few who simply won't do it, most have agreed that if you are able to, then it is a value to the family and kids to get these family experiences.
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I personally wouldn't do it with kids that age either because it is just so hard for them to catch up on what they missed. We pulled my daughter out for a whole week a couple years ago when she was in 4th grade and it was very hard on her. I won't do that again. Maybe a day or two is the most I would do at this point and I am sure that will come to an end also once she hits high school.
I'm taking my daughter out this October for six days and likely next October for 6 days. However, she is only 8 and will be just entering 3rd grade this year. I wish I did not have to, but it is the only time of year my husband can take vacation.
You may want to also check your district's calendar to make sure your kids would not miss anything very important, like standardized testing dates, open school night or sign ups for extra curricular activities, etc. You can usually guess what next year will look like by looking at this years calendar.
The last time I took my DS10 and DS6 out was in September 2007. DS10 was in 4th grade and had a difficult time - not school-work wise, he is a straight A student - but he got nervous about what he thought might happen as far as falling behind, etc. Of course he was fine, but we decided not to do it again, for the sake of his nerves.
Well, fast forward to now. My parents want the whole family to go on a cruise for their 40th anniversary, and picked a cruise on Sunday, November 29th. I told DS10 that we could skip it, but he wants to go. He will be in middle school and 3 of his 6 classes should be band, gym, and keyboarding. So he will only have makeup work for 3 "real" classes, and since we are leaving the Saturday after Thanksgiving, he will have a few days to do the work before we leave. Since we wouldn't be home until Thursday afternoon anyway, we decided to skip Friday and do a few days at Universal.
It is a tough decision to make, and like Heather said, it depends on your child. Our school district allows 15 unexcused absences, and I have never gotten a clear answer on if vacations are excused (I have a feeling they are, though). If your school doesn't have a problem with it, and if your kids are okay with it, I say go for it. I hate vacationing at the busier times of the year, but I work with it the best I can. We can travel in late August which is usually slower, since many kids are back in school by then (ours go back after Labor Day).
Sorry for the long response, but good luck with your decision!
As a high school teacher, I can tell you that students usually have a difficult time catching up when they miss a whole week. I always work with my students and try to give them work ahead of time and such. Even so, it's not the same as hearing the presentation and learning with the class. I know most of our teachers are not especially cooperative. I would say most students grades drop for several weeks after they are out, because they are just behind. I teach math, by the way, a subject that builds and grows.
We've been considering the same thing (Our DS's will be in 9th, 3rd and 1st grades this year)......and we decided that early in the 9th grade year was not a good time to do this. At the beginning of October, he'll really just be getting into the groove of high school, and making new friends, and we don't feel like it's a great idea to pull him out then. He's an honor roll student, and I don't think catching up with the work will be an issue, it's more of a comfort level thing with just getting used to high school. by October.
We would take the younger guys out in a heartbeat though.......and have taken our oldest out most every year up until now......
We're going to shoot for February or next fall instead.
Anyway, I'd say it's up to you, and really depends on the student. Good luck deciding!
Thank you so much for the help. I will have to check our school policy about excused and unexcused absents.At our school, my nineth grader will be in jr. high and my seventh grader will start his first year in jr high. Every year since my kids have started school, in Oct would be parent teacher conference and they would have a half day off on thursday and the full day on Friday, but this year it has changed. It will only be friday off. I also could do the summer, but I really don't want to go to Europe and I want a 7 day disney cruise. So maybe I just need to wait until the 2011 cruise come out. But I would love to hear anyone else's opinion on school. Thanks, Deanna
I didn't realize that the 9th grade was still in the middle school where you are........I'd do it!
We used to have this. 9th graders are with the middle school (called Jr. High, in this case), but they are still doing 9th grade work. Middle school/High school is just location.
Though, when I was in 9th grade (at a jr. high), a lot of my peers didn't seem to catch on that these grades and class choices counted on their records.
It really is dependant on the child/ren. I have found that if you give the school and the teachers a lot of notice it helps. most of my high schoolers' teachers gave them their work early.
Just check with the school calendar and make sure that you don't go testing days (MEAP, finals, etc...)
My now 16 year old DD has been on 2 cruises and 3 trips to WDW, all during the fall. Prior to our vacations, she gathers as much work as the teachers will give her, and completes it all during the week of vacation at some point. When she returns, if there is any further make up work, she finishes that up as well, and really has never fallen behind because of it.
If you plan accordingly, and stay on top of the child in terms of making sure the work gets done, it's really not that problematic.
I pulled my boys out last fall for our cruise and they missed 5 school days. They were in the 2nd and 5th grade then. My 2nd grader got all of his work in advance and had it all done prior to leaving. My 5th grader didn't get his work until about 5 days before but still had plenty of time to do it but didn't get it all done. I let him go on the cruise and he worked on it when we got back. His grades did slip some that 9 weeks. He was still able to pull out straight A's the other 9 weeks. We are going again in September and due to Labor Day, they will only miss 4 school days this time. I have warned them that all the work must be done prior to going this time. I will let his teachers know as soon as school starts. Our school district is fine with it as long as they know in advance. The superintendant told me that some parents just could not get off work in the summer to go on vacations and they will work with you.
I have twice done this for Sept-Oct cruises with Disney as the price is right! No problems so far as they are younger (10yrs), but I do not believe that we will do this again as they get older and the school work gets more difficult. Its very tempting though, but at some point it becomes a BIG issue with the school.
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