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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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My MiL died 3 weeks before Kathryn was born. She was the one who held the family together - and she was a GREAT grandma to the kids who were alive then, including any children brought in to the family through marriage (my DD Samantha is one of them - Barb loved her from the second DH and I became serious).
FiL remarried 18 months later, and his new wife has not been welcoming. My girls spent one night at their house - it was supposed to be the weekend, but they called us (from 3 states away), and told us they just couldn't keep the girls. The next day when we got there to pick up the girls, FiL's wife's REAL grandchildren were there - their parents had suddenly decided to go out of town and were dropping off the kids (this is the real reason they didn't want our kids there).
FiL and wife tell us all of the time about the ball games, dance recitals, school events, parties, etc. they go to for HER grandkids, who live about an hour away. They live less than 5 minutes from us, and yet rarely attend anything for our kids. About every 2 years, FiL whines to me about how he doesn't know my girls and he wishes he knew them as well as he knows his wife's grandkids (whom they take to Disney, and camping, and to all sorts of other vacations, too). Every time he does this, I tell him all he has to do is actually be there for the girls and show them he cares. And maybe come to their performances, etc.
This weekend has been "All Kathryn, All Day" - Friday was graduation, and Saturday was her Open House/Birthday Celebration.
I had to threaten FiL with NEVER seeing my kids again if he didn't show for those two things.
We live a county over from Indy - the Indy 500 is NOT broadcast here. So, FiL and his wife always leave for the race - even though that means they have NEVER been to one of Kathryn's parties (can't help it if she was born on Memorial Day Weekend)!
Well - they showed for the graduation, but didn't stay for the reception afterward - so, while I photos of Kathryn with my family (who stayed), I have none with DH's family (since FiL was the only one who came, even though DH's 4 siblings were invited).
Then, at the party, FiL and wife showed up, hugged DD, talked to a couple of people, looked at the pictures of DD in school plays ( and stated they didn't know she acted, and when told she sings very well were surprised - even though we've invited them to EVERY single play and band recital) and announced they needed to get out of town so they could see the race - bye. At least DH's siblings did show for the party, that was 2pm to 5pm. One of his sisters didn't leave until almost 9!! I was exhausted.
It is about Kathryn, and she doesn't seem to have been upset by it, but it makes me so mad that they just ignore my kids.
I've just had it with DH's dad and his wife!! I'm ready to tell DH we're done with his family, period!
Welcome to my world of inlaws. Abby just turned 11 and my inlaws see Abby all of 2, maybe 3 times a year. When Lenny's parents come back from wintering in FL (where the rest of the family gets invited to go visit them) a dinner is given for them that we get invited to and we get invited over at Christmas. Once in a while, we'll be invited over for Easter dinner. They don't know Abby, they obviously don't care about Abby and I don't really care to have it any other way. It's their loss and I'm not going to waste time getting upset. And BTW - there are 4 other kids in the family that get lots of attention, etc. For example at Christmas, they all get gifts, Abby only gets money and it always come up - we went here with this one, we went there for that one but nobody ever goes anywhere for Abby. When I had a first birthday party for her, none of them could even RSVP to me.
Some people are like that and that's fine. The people who really care - me, Lenny and my mother - are enough IMO for Abby. She knows we're there for her and she actually never even asks about Lenny's family. In her world, they don't exist and therefore she doesn't miss them (nor do I for that matter). And because of that, on the rare occasion that we go to dinner over there for some odd reason (i.e. a nephews b-day and he wasn't even there ), I've been finding excuses to leave Abby home with mom instead.
It is too bad that they choose to miss out on their grandchildren's lives, but it is their choice. You can't change them. I'm sure it doesn't bother Kathryn as she's never known them to be any other way towards her.
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Michele
I'm living the dream 20 minutes from Disney! Next trip...tomorrow. Follow me on instagram at ShirtsByShell
It is too bad that they choose to miss out on their grandchildren's lives, but it is their choice. You can't change them. I'm sure it doesn't bother Kathryn as she's never known them to be any other way towards her.
It is very sad. I grew up slightly similar, but not until I was older did I learned that there was a family dynamic that I was too young to realize was going on. My grandparents didn't come out for just about anything when I was a kid, and it hurt to watch the videos my grandfather would take and show off of celebrations for the other four kids.
But I'm older now, and while yes I wish that they were there more often, I'm kinda glad they weren't. I don't like my cousins much, they fight too much. In fact, this past year I had Thanksgiving at my house just to avoid going to my Dad's family's place. And my parents came down to my place - it was the first year that we (me, my brother and my parents) had a real, open conversation about my cousins and their parents and how much we did not enjoy spending time with them. We had a wonderful thanksgiving and I hope that we've started a new tradition.
So yes, she may be sad, and she may feel hurt. But she knows that there is something else going on, she's too old not to notice these things. And right now, it hurts a heck of a lot. Hopefully, as she gets older, she'll learn from this and make her own family from what she has of those who actually care and make her own traditions.
I'm sorry you were hurt by your in-laws. At least they showed up, even if it wasn't for very long. I can understand your DMIL wanting to be there for her kids and her grandkids, it' just too bad that she doesn't see that your DFIL might want to be there for his grandkids as well. I would just accept the situation as it is and let it roll of your back. You know, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change...etc.
I'm sorry you were hurt by your in-laws. At least they showed up, even if it wasn't for very long. I can understand your DMIL wanting to be there for her kids and her grandkids, it' just too bad that she doesn't see that your DFIL might want to be there for his grandkids as well. I would just accept the situation as it is and let it roll of your back. You know, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change...etc.
It usually doesn't really bother me - it was just that this was a big day in DD's life, and they acted like it was a bother to be there.
FiL has even mentioned that if DMiL were still alive, they'd be closer to the girls!
For the most part, we accept things the way they are and are never really upset that they don't come to performances, etc. I've even stopped asking them. No reason to have the kids get upset because they knew I asked Grandpa and Grandma and they didn't come. I'd prefer they be upset with me because for the 12th time, I "forgot" to invite them!
Thank you all for letting me vent! That's really all I needed.
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Sorry you're going through this, but I agree that they aren't going to change. And as the kids get older there are less and less activities of theirs to attend. Let her be close to the family that chooses to be part of her life. For the others, well it's their loss they didn't get to know her better.
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