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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 finance and I are going to WDW in September and than in June of 2006 we are taking a family honeymoon there. I want to suprise my fiance with something when we go in Sept becasue he has never been there. For the same price I can either get a gift basket with chips, candy dried fuit &nuts with pressed penny collector or i get him a Pal Micket.
I was happy with the idea of renting one, but i read that you can no longer rent them.
I, personally, would go with the gift basket. Pal Mickey is really cute, but I know I would be annoyed with carrying him around the parks all day. For a lot cheaper I got a big Mickey stuffed animal at the Disney store 2 or 3 years ago which I keep in my room I would like the variety of a gift basket... and what is the Pressed Penny collector?? That sounds cool since I love pressed pennies. It really depends on his likes and what he would want to carry around the parks. If you think he'll like Pal Mickey than go for it... if you don't think he'll want to carry him around the parks I'd go for the basket
While I agree that Pal Mickey can be annoying to carry around the park, I think if it's his first trip to WDW, it would really be neat. Mickey does tell lots of interesting facts about attractions, etc. Would he carry it around or would the kids end up with it?
I think the Pal Mickey would be a great idea because he can learn all about the parks and the attractions and still have a "friend" to take home from his trip. If you are looking for gift basket ideas, check out: www.giftsofalifetime.com or www.disneyflorist.com.
But isn't the second trip a family vacation with kids? Your fiance should be charmed by PM for your couples trip and then the kids will get to enjoy him too for the family trip.
I'm one of those people that like the things that "last" as opposed to things that can be "consumed" and are gone.
Our Pal Mickey is the best money we've spent -- but... he's attached to my son's hip and I have "selective hearing" for the corny jokes
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and what is the Pressed Penny collector?? That sounds cool since I love pressed pennies.
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There is an album available to store pressed pennies in... It's a hardshell folder that opens up to expose a bunch of clear plastic sleeves that you can slip your pressed pennies into. The front cover has a bunch of characters on it.
I'd probably go with the Pal Mickey.. but I, too, am more interested in long-term value instead of something that'll be gone in a day or two. If he's not the stuffed animal type the gift basket might be the better way to go.
I would say a Pal Mickey, I just don't see as much Disney magic in a gift basket (unless it's centered specifically around Disney), but that's just me!
Add me to the list of folks who would prefer a Pal Mickey. Ours has made three trips with us now and still we never tire of his helpful hints and trivia bits. Plus, if you're stuck in a line-up, playing one of his games with him is a great time-passer, even for adults.
Ditto on the Pal Mickey! We got one this past Nov - I could have bought one on our 1st trip in May 03 but I thought that DH would think it was just a really expensive stuffed animal LOL However, when the girls get tired of holding Mickey with them in the stroller, DH is usually the one who clips him on his belt. He and Mickey have become fast friends, especially in AK where Mickey pointed out off-the-beaten paths with lots of animals to view and photograph!
I've done various gift baskets too for bdys and recently our annv - which have been nice, but Pal Mickey will last a lot longer and is useful too.
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I would like the variety of a gift basket... and what is the Pressed Penny collector?? That sounds cool since I love pressed pennies. It really depends on his likes and what he would want to carry around the parks. If you think he'll like Pal Mickey than go for it... if you don't think he'll want to carry him around the parks I'd go for the basket 
. I find the voice quite irritating after a while
If he's not the stuffed animal type the gift basket might be the better way to go. 
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