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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hey everyone!! I have a question? I'm thinking of making some homemade Christmas gifts this year because 1) they are cheaper, and 2) I have tons of free time now and I like to make things
The problem is that I don't have a sewing machine and I'm not too handy with free-hand sewing, so I need some ideas that DO NOT involve sewing.
Any ideas?? I would appreciate ANY and ALL ideas T.I.A!
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FELT....no sewing but crafty just the same.
You can make advent calendars by glueing felt pieces together and adding decorations from $2 shop. Handmade with love!
What about making chocolates with some cheap moulds (re-usable next year) from $2 shop? Decorate with coloured icing tubes. Time consuming but definately well received.
Card making, pre-made scrapbook pages, homemade soaps or bath salts, your own jams or chutneys with cute homemade labels too...Gosh I have so many ideas but it's been ages since I made stuff as gifts - Thanks for your question - I'm off to start!
I've got a few ideas for you: one year we made personalized small Teddy Bears for each relative--we bought small add ons like fishing rods and oven mitts for each family member and hot glued the items on. Another year we did a similar thing with small Christmas trees.
Fudge and candies....put into decorated canning jars with the recipe attached as the gift tag. Ornaments, the "Mickey heads", of course, but this year I'm also, making "glitter balls".
I always make cookies for the neighbors, the people at work and my hairstylist. I usually make seven to ten different kinds. I have also done jewelry-beaded earings and bracelets. Very easy to learn. Handmade ornaments are something I would like to do this year.
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Michele
I'm living the dream 20 minutes from Disney! Next trip...tomorrow. Follow me on instagram at ShirtsByShell
There are books you can get to make "cookies in a jar", "soup in a jar" etc. My DD did cider mulling spices in individual packets from a drinks in a jar one and her co-workers really liked them.
I have seen fleece blankets made by knotting two pieces together, which is cute and warm.
I am knitting hats this winter.
I also have always done plates/tins of cookies and have gotten good feedback and requests for them every year.
Flaff has a really good and easy recipe for fudge. I add thinks like peppermint to the top to "Christmas it up"
We make Christmas ornaments. Here a site for the way to make them. They are really easy to do. Our DD who is 4 now was able to make them last year with us. Christmas Dough Ornament Craft - Dough Christmas Ornaments - Kaboose.com
If you want other ideas for the saltdough just google "saltdough"
Years ago I went though all the slide photos (over 100 carouselts of them and my mom had photo disks made of the photos I picked out). I have had them all these years... printed out a few but never did much with them (except add them to an online photo storage site). In 2009 I decided to make prints, enlarge them and frame them. I found two wonderful photos of my sister and I when we were just little girls and enlarge them to 11 x 13 and framed them. For my dad I found a sweet photo of him holding me when i was maybe 3 or 4 and matted and framed that one as well. For my mom I found two photos... one of my sister and one of me on the beach in Maine (to go in her "beached themed" den) and got those framed and matted as well. I did all the work myself. Micheals always has good deals on frames and matts are inexpensive to have cut and made to fit the frame (or you could buy pre-cut mats).
Last year I made a scrapbook with photos of growing up in Vermont. She loved it.
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Robin Twitter name: @NKsDogwalker Find me on FB: robinkay6573@yahoo.com 38th Birthday with Mom, Dad and friends 2011
Next Trip: Cruise on Jewel of the Seas for Christmas 2012
For many years, we made christmas ornaments for people and would give homemade cookies to go with them.
I made placements one year for one of my sisters when she had young kids. I hand sewed them together. She loved them. But I see you don't want to sew.
How about something with pictures? Can you make your own homemade calendar? I wonder if there are free templates out there on the internet.
I make jewelry. For each of the women in the family one year I made a necklace and bracelet set. I made earrings for those with pierced ears too. It wasn't expensive since I got the beads, findings and stringing wire on sale.
I made fleece blankets for all the kids one year. There was no sewing involved, just cutting and knotting.
I was visiting one of my sisters last summer and her son still had his in his room and my sister said he still cuddles up with it. He was 5 when I made it and is 13 now! I got all the fleece on sale at half off so maybe you could find some too.
When I was growing up, I learned how to crotchet. One year I made everyone a small rug for the floor in front of their beds (we lived in MN and had wood floors that were cold in the winter) and my Aunt who was in a wheelchair, a lap blanket.
It's not really homemade, but it's fairly cheap. You could upload pics to a site like Shutterfly, Snapfish, etc and have calendars made for people. Google coupon codes and you can get really good deals on the calendars.