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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.

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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!

Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!

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Old 05-08-2010, 11:51 PM   #1
Tricia Davids
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The Chance of a "Lifetime"

We wanted to share with all of you the amazing thing that happened to us last night….

Roger, Katie and I went out to dinner last (Friday) night for a pre-Mother’s Day celebration. We were eating on the patio of a restaurant overlooking all the boats on the harbor. Part way through dinner, the little girl at the next table started talking about Katie. “She loves babies” her father explained to us. I picked Katie up out of her carseat so the little girl could see her better and turned around to look at the little girl. Thinking it was possible she might be adopted too, I was about to tell them that Katie was adopted when the father asked us “Did you adopt your daughter through Lifetime (the adoption agency we used to adopt Katie)?” We responded “yes”, amazed at what he was asking us. Turns out the mom recognized Katie from her pictures posted on the Lifetime Website. This couple (John and Julie) adopted their daughter (Janelle) at birth, now 4, through Lifetime also.
The amazing part of this story is that they live in a town 4 hours North of us and were just visiting here for the weekend to celebrate Mother’s Day. What are the chances of us being in the same town, at the same restaurant, at the same time, seated next to each other? By no means was it just a coincidence!
Our little discovery ended up getting the people at several tables around us involved in our story and several families came by to meet Katie on their way out. Some of them had their own stories of adoption to tell and others just wanted to say “Hi” to our precious girl after hearing her story.
What an amazing evening, even more than we had originally planned! It was so cool to share our stories with each other and be able to explain to the 4-year-old, Janelle, that Katie is adopted also, just like her. This will be a great story to tell Katie someday about our first Mother’s Day!


Myself with Katie and Julie with Janelle
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Old 05-08-2010, 11:59 PM   #2
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What a great story, and definitely a meeting of "fate". It will be a wonderful story to share with Katie one day. Enjoy a wonderful "Mother's Day" Tricia, I know you already got your gift and what a wonderful one it is.
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Old 05-09-2010, 12:01 AM   #3
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That is such a cool story! Happy Mothers Day!
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Old 05-09-2010, 12:05 AM   #4
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Wonderful story! And Happy Mother's Day!
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Old 05-09-2010, 02:43 AM   #5
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AMAZING! And they're even in the same color outfits! Happy Mother's Day!
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Old 05-09-2010, 03:04 AM   #6
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It definitely is a small world, Tricia!!
And what a wonderful pre-Mother's Day meal! I think it's so that after hearing your conversation, other guests stopped by too!!

And the picture! Katie is gorgeous as ever! And the her outfits are always the cutest!

Happy Mom's Day!!!
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Old 05-09-2010, 04:19 AM   #7
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What a wonderful story. Thanks for sharing.
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Old 05-09-2010, 06:08 AM   #8
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Oh wow, that's really cool!!!!
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Old 05-09-2010, 06:22 AM   #9
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Old 05-09-2010, 07:19 AM   #10
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Great story!!
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Old 05-09-2010, 07:49 AM   #11
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Awww, what a perfect Mother's Day story! PS, I luv the Cinco de Mayo photos, Ole!!!!
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Old 05-09-2010, 08:05 AM   #12
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What a wonderful story! Happy Mother's Day Tricia!
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Old 05-09-2010, 08:28 AM   #13
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What a wonderful story! It brought tears to my eyes. I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day.
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Old 05-09-2010, 08:32 AM   #14
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Awwwww....... Tricia, I hope your having a (long awaited) wonderful Mother's Day!!
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Old 05-09-2010, 08:33 AM   #15
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What a wonderful Mother's Day gift!
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