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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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while i was working, my husband was watching pawn stars ( a reality show about a vegas pawn shop). and there was a guy trying to sell disney frosted glass figurines that were supposedly for a proposed disneyland italy that fell through. i haven't seen it yet, but apparently it checked out.
i've never heard of this! wonder if it's true? any ideas?
I remember seeing that segment as well. I don't know if there was to be a Disney Italy, or if they ever actually cross referenced the story on the show? But they were neat figures!
DS loves Pawn Stars. I have seen several people on this show tell a "story" about the object that they are trying to sell. They usually don't turn out to be what they say.
I think Rick assumed they were going to be merchandise items there (not sure what else they could be anyway, being as small as they were). but I for one have never heard of Disneyland Italy for what it's worth.
The closest link I could even make are the marble statuettes in Snow White's Grotto at Disneyland which were imported from Italy.
I watched that episode and it was an older lady that was selling them. The Grandfather at PS said that if she could have proved it was for a Disney in Italy or had some paperwork then they would have been worth lots of money. As it was, she just had what someone had told her at the time and no paperwork to back it up. They were all in their boxes though and I think it was about 17 of them? She did get about $200 I believe for all.
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Laura
1989-off property, 2000-All Star Movies, 2008-Pop Century
2010-Caribbean Beach Resort, 2011- First Disney Cruise (Oct), May 2012-First stay at DVC Vero Beach resort. May 2013 POP & Fantasy Cruise, Oct 2015 Saratoga Springs
I will have to look for that episode. I enjoy watching Pawn Stars. However, I am thinking they probably were form Italy in Epcot. As big Disneyphiles as we have here on the boards, I'm sure SOMEBODY would know about a Disney in Italy.
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Yeah, there's a big difference between "Disney in Italy" and "Italy in Disney."
For what it's worth, I've never come across reports or rumors about a possible park in Italy. It doesn't make sense that it would have pre-dated Paris - from a standpoint of transportation from elsewhere in Europe, Italy doesn't make sense as the sole location for a European Disney park - driving there from elsewhere in Europe would be really tough, and the rail trip is fairly long (Paris, on the other hand, is one of Europe's great, central travel hubs). Italy does have a weather advantage, of course, but transportation accessibility would probably trump that.
Since Disneyland Paris opened, there's been not a word about a Disney resort anywhere else in Europe. Disney certainly wouldn't make something like a souvenir figurine for something that was that "beneath the radar" - that's one of the ways they make sure that things stay below the radar. Yeah, they'd have meetings with folks, and might give them VIP gifts, but commemorative items that are designed around the reason for the meeting? When you're as careful about things as Disney is, I'd think they'd wait until a deal has been signed, sealed, and delivered.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
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