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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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So, when we were down at WDW back in October, I was pretty much drooling over every VB purse I saw. However, because I have always been so hard on purse/bags, I was having a VERY difficult time with the idea of $75 plus to buy one!
Anyway, as the trip progressed, my DH saw that I kept going back to the purses and would pull one down off the rack, admire it, sigh and put it back. FINALLY, he says to me..."GOOD GRIEF...we are on vacation, it's WDW AND its your birthday - if you want the darn thing, then BUY IT!! Happy Birthday!!!" It is the Midnight with Mickey Hipster style purse. I LOVE IT!!!
Needless to say, I chose the one I wanted and off the register I went. I have been using it daily since we got home. I've been being much more careful with it than I am with the $20 bags I get normally.
Now...here's the rest of the story. I was at the local mall last week looking for a birthday gift for a friend of mine and I had stopped in at the Hallmark shop to get a card. And, lo and behold, but if they don't have a section of VB purses. However, I hadn't actually gotten that far, before the sales clerk greets me and says something about my purse being VB...then he stopped and said, "Oh, wait, that's got Mickey! You must have gotten that at DisneyWorld!" And then he promptly showed me their VB section. And, just my luck, they had a shelf of discounted/retired items at 30% off. Well, wouldn't you just know it, they happend to have the same purse design in a different fabric. And at ONLY $42 with the discount! I just couldn't help myself.
So I am not the proud owner of two VB purses, when I thought I would never be able to bring myself to buy even one. I have also explained to my DH and my DS that I really like this style of purse and that if they ever need gift ideas for Christmas, birthday, etc - another one would be wonderful!!
Oh, yeah, and BTW - I did find my friend a birthday gift. I got her a curling iron/flat iron cover. One of those cloth "bags" that you can put a warm/hot flat iron in when you are packing and can't wait for it to cool down. And guess what, it's Vera as well!!!!!
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Jennifer / Eeyore is my favorite!!
OMG - He's sooooo grown up!!!! And an EAGLE SCOUT!! I can still remember my cute little Tiger Cub! 2016 Reading Goal - 75 books
I too really like the VB bags but the Disney designs don't come in the style I like so there's a sale (or two) that Disney won't get from me. I too usually luck into the clearance ones at the Hallmark stores.
I couldn't resist the black cross body bag with the hidden Mickey's quilted on the outside and the Mickey silhouettes on the inside. Found it at Disneystore.com It was there one day and gone the next, so glad I ordered it when I did. So subtle. . .
Good for you. If Vera Bradley works for you, then I say go for it. Myself, I just don't like cloth bags. Furthermore, I don't like changing my purse. I buy one neutral purse, carry it with everything, and when it's worn out, I get another one. For me, a purse is just about practicality, and I don't carry any other kind of bag, so Vera won't get any of my money. I guess that's more for the rest of you.
I love my Vera's I have the Perfect petals Disney one and many more. Last week my daughter and I went to the Vera outlet sale in Fort Wayne. We were in heaven. There were many of the retired styles and colors and the price were very good. I didn't buy as much as I could have.
Liz
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Vera Bradley bags are wonderful! I have quite a few and love my Weekender and backpack best. Vera Bradley has a website, and if you give your e-mail, you'll be alerted to sales, especially for the patterns being discontinued. Some of the markdowns are quite drastic, too.
I went through a Vera stage and bought lots of Vera bags. I don't buy as many any more but I did buy one at Disney last year. I bought the mini hipster in perfect petals. Since I don't carry a purse very often that is my go to purse when I need more than a credit card.