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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 really don’t know what caused it. It could have been anything or a combination of things. All I know is before I made our reservations, a lot of things had happened. Lenny had been laid off from the carwash (we had months of stress before hand so this action was actually very relieving) and exactly 2 weeks later he was at his new job getting his hours for his computer training and filling out all his new hire paperwork. I still can’t believe that. We had looked for months for a job and nothing, then that. In less than a week he had his interview, had his drug and background check and started the job. We also lost our insurance, but because we had been receiving premium assistance from the state, they switched us over to Mass Health instead on the day Lenny was laid off so we had no interruption in medical coverage. That too, was a huge relief.
We had also gotten some offers from Disney. We got the kids stay, play and dine for free and a room only discount while my mother got the QSDP for free offer. The first time we’ve really gotten pin codes and it was like we hit the jackpot. Only real problem with that is we couldn’t use moms offer even though it was in my email inbox. It was also at this time that mom, for whatever reason, decided she wanted to go on a cruise. But with mom’s decision, came the comments that she needed to get away from stress, she didn’t care how she paid for it, she worked hard, etc and that she deserved to do something she wanted to. And it kind of got me thinking. We work hard, we’ve had stress - and loads of it over a period of months - and we deserved something too. I really couldn’t get the thought out of my head about going to Disney this year. We all wanted to, especially me. Abby enjoys Toon town and Fantasyland and with Disney’s announcement of all the changes, I really wanted to make one more trip happen for Abby before Disney ruins (IMO) those two areas.
So the seed was planted, however it happened, and I started pricing up a vacation. It was a little higher than I expected but at that point in time, I think I would have been crushed had Lenny said no we’re not going. I mean really, he was not even 1 week into his new job and here I was wanting him to ask for 2 weeks off. But because of Lenny’s love for Disney (who would have ever thought - certainly not me) he called his boss and put all the blame on me (hey, I don’t care. I’ll take the blame). His boss was fine with it and just told Lenny to make sure and put it in the computer before anyone else did. So now I was good to go to make the reservations. First order of business: homework.
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PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
So glad you started your pre trip report! I was looking for it for SSOO long. Really hope we get to meet while we are down there. Looks like we may be at DHS on the same day. Maybe we could meet then.
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My 19 year old hero! Hurry home! (A.K.A. D_Stitch)
So glad you started this! Don't think I've forgotten about Abby's lil "delivery", just had some life happen in the meantime . She will have it in hand before you leave!
Don't think I've forgotten about Abby's lil "delivery", just had some life happen in the meantime . She will have it in hand before you leave!
I know you haven't Chantel. I'm the same way, believe me. I have an envelope sitting on my desk to mail to my Aunt up in Maine. It's been sitting there for 3 weeks. The way I'm going, it will still be sitting there when she suppose to come visit the end of this month
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.