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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 am looking for advice on Acadia, Baxter State Park, New Hampshire and Vermont. We are travelling in those states for a month and I would love any "must do's" or "sees" from anyone who is in the know!
Thanks!
Are you in to camping? Do you canoe or Kayak? And what time of the year are you coming? There's tons to do and of course if you are here in October, you need to spend some time driving around and admiring our foliage. In June you can do boats trips out to see Puffins from the Acadia area. In winter, skiing is popular. But our seasons are so different, when you come makes a huge difference.
The only places to stay IN Acadia are camp grounds, one a walk in sites only. They book up early (especially the non walk ins). There are lots of places to stay around Mt. Desert Island, although most are individually owned and I really don't know of any chains off the top of my head.
Baxter State Park is huge and many areas accessible only by trail.
I think if you let people know what time of year it will be easier to guide you. There is lots to do, especially nature based activities.
Acadia is a wonderful place. Be sure to make reservations for tea at the Jordan Pond house (popovers--yummmmm!). You can hike to it or drive. Also, the Rockefeller estate in Seal Harbor used to open its gardens one day a week in August--not sure if they still do, but they are spectacular and well worth a visit.
Thanks everyone, we are going Sept 15th to Oct 15th. And yes we are planning on spending most of our time car camping... Just want to make sure we catch all the highlights of the area as we have never been Northeast before! Jordan Pond House for sure one day. We have 5 nights in Acadia and 4 nights in Baxter and then 4 nights in Lafayete in Franconia Notch NH. Any more tips would be appreciated!
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Understand that the weather over those dates can either be absolutely beautiful or quite horrendous. Be prepared for cold, for hot and for wet. Bring you camera because the foliage with be beautiful.
If you are in to hiking, do a few of the Presidentials, many are not particularly hard day hikes and offer stunning views. If you don't hike you can either drive or tram up Washington, although my kids would kill me if they knew I was suggesting not hiking up. The Appalachian Mountain Club operates several "huts" in the White Mountains,which might be a nice respite from camping.
One easy and beautiful hike is Mt. Major, north of Winnipesauskee. It is a quick and easy hike and you get breathtaking views of the lake from the top-especially with fall colors.
I love Winnipesaukee and by late September it will be nice and peaceful.
My kids also loved Lake Umbagogg in Errol. They have camps that are on the small individual islands in the lake and NH's first nesting Bald Eagles live there.
If you head towards the southern parts of any of the states, apples will be ripe for picking and there's nothing nicer than an apple right off the tree.
Are you flying into Manchester or Portland or Boston? Depending on your airport, you might want to check out some things in the metropolitan areas.
I know you will love Northern New England. IMHO one of the most beautiful places, especially in the fall.
Charlie, thanks for the tips... especially the weather. We are going specifically to do photography as that is what we do. I am really looking forward to the hikes and vistas. The foliage is going to be a welcome change from all the blues and greens we have down here in the islands. I will mark down all of the spots you mentioned, they sound great. I think we will drive up Mt Washington though... that sounds like a bit more than I am up for! We are starting and ending in Boston. Also spending time in Vermont which looks lovely. I hope to visit some of the historic sites in Boston too. We are really excited about the trip, and appreciate the advice!
If you have the time, drive up the coast on route 1A into Maine. You'll go through some very picturesque towns. You can also get some nice lighthouse shots. I'll check with my second son (a grad student and ardent naturalist) about whether you can do a whale watch that late in the year. He and his GF went out a week or so ago and got some great shots of humpbacks and right whales.
On the way back to Boston from Vermont, consider heading down to the Manchester, Vermont area first and then drive across NH on Route 101, past Mt. Monadnock and Pack Monadnock (which you can drive up). Even on 101 there are some nice views of Monadnock by Dublin Lake.
Depending how you are going into Vermont, you could also do a stop in Hanover (right of 89) and walk around Dartmouth University, which is very pretty.
And if you like moose and don't get them at Baxter State Park, drive up Rte 3 in northern NH and across over in to Vermont. We have been lucky to see several right on the side of the road (and on occasion in the road) that time of year in Errol.
I am lucky to get to drive around New England quite a bit for work and am always amazed at how pretty things are.
Charlie, is there any place of note that you would recommend that we stay on our way from Boston to Acadia? We have one night open and I have been searching on Google Earth for places that look interesting, but not sure! Your recommendations are all fantastic! I did want to go on a whale watch. We get the humpbacks down here December through March , it would be sweet to see them up north too! Hoping to photograph a bull moose in Baxter!! Thanks again, you are most helpful, I can always count on this forum!
My middle son is coming in tomorrow and I'll ask him for more recommendations. He and his GF are both field biology people with a love a photography.
Are you looking for somewhere half way between Boston and Acadia?
By the way, I am Diane, Charlie is my dog, whose picture is no longer in my signature. It doesn't seem to be loading. DS will also have to address that.
Thanks Diane, that's my sisters name! DH is a professional photographer specializing in underwater and an underwater naturalist. Your son and he could have some fun conversations! He has shot some nice footage of the whales over the years...
Yes, somewhere about half way between Boston and Acadia would be great. We don't want to rush up the coast but instead, would like to take our time and take it all in. It seems like such a beautiful coastline. You are such a great source of information.. if you ever come to the islands, I will reciprocate!
I used to live in Camden on Penobscot Bay and would recommend this area highly as a stopping point. It's a 3-4 hour drive from Boston. Beautiful coastline. You can drive up Mt Battie for amazing views.
Bar Harbor and Acadia are wonderful. If you have time while in Bar Harbor, take the LuLu Lobster Boat ride. It's a hoot. The guy has been featured on the CBS morning show I think. It's an entertaining ride that takes you to see harbor seals and learn about lobstering. We really enjoyed it. Find Jeannie's Breakfast for breakfast. Great food, breakfast only. We ate there just about everyday during our week long stay. Another great little place is Ben and Bill's for ice cream. Awesome white chocolate almond bark as well. Be sure to hit a lobster pound for lobster. It's not cheap like you'd think but some of the best lobster I've ever had. There's one on the other side of the island, Thurmon's or Thurston's, something like that. It took a bit to find but was great. Enjoy your trip!
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