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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Does anyone practice packing? I am this time because I would like to be able to use just a carry on suitcase and a carry on bag. I am flying AirTran and do not want to pay a bag fee.
So, I just spent my morning testing out my bag to see if I can fit everything I need. The only thing I won't be able to put in my carry-ons are my sunscreens (one for my face - dermatologist recommended - and the other for the rest of my body). I may end up with a few other things but will ship them to my cousin who is meeting me in WDW when I fly in. She lives outside of Tampa and is going to stay with me for one night!
I have three weeks to go (as of yesterday) but want to be sure that I will be ready and not packing at the last minute on the day I leave, which is what I usually do. I am going to be prepared this time and in being prepared will be able to travel with a small suitcase that I can carry on.
My plan is to ship any souvenirs back or, if need be, check the suitcase on the way back if I need to expand the bag. Thanks for listening!!!!
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Kim My son Kellan when he was three days old, already showing his love for Mickey! 4/18/16
That is such a great idea!!! I always overpack so it is very difficult for me not to check a bag. But Airtran's baggage fee increased five dollars, so just doing a carry on is a great way to save money!
We usually fly SWA and thankfully they still have 2 free bags checked. I'm such an overpacker that we'll have 2 big bags, plus a small bag for toiletries/makeup/shampoo (yes, I bring my own...don't like Disney's shampoo )...and that'll be just DH and myself on this trip
I think the day SWA starts charging for bags will be the day I start lightening my load
What a good idea! I will check a bag, but practice packing will give me a better idea of what to pack/leave behind. I am always up till all hours of the night packing before we leave in the morning.
......I just start two weeks before the trip......switch it around a few times.....and get it "right" the day before!!! (we drive from NJ to Fla......so I don't need to economize so much)
I do it all the time.
When gas prices went sooo high about 3 yrs ago, my family which has 4 people in it, took our Aveo on a 10 day trip. I packed all our clothes, diapers, 2 shoes changes and rubber books and a potty. I did a trial pack and I found out how much room I had.
I roll my clothes so they don't wrinkle and it saves ALOT of room. Saves the guess work for the last 24 hrs.
I do the same thing, matter of fact I started this week. Since the weather is getting cooler here in NY I can pack away most the summer clothes and toiletries. I prefer the carryon suitcase and personal as well even though jetblue gives you the first bag free it is much quicker than waiting for your baggage.
(yes, I bring my own...don't like Disney's shampoo
I TOTALLY understand!! Although, with doing the carry on only, I think that I will suck it up and use theirs. I doubt that I could fit enough in a bottle to last me the whole 5 nights. I tend to use probably more than I need most times (I have gotten better over the years). My biggest issue will be soap! I typically only use shower gel and that I will have to bring with me!
My other issue will be not having nail polish to touch up my toe nails while I am away! Maybe I will spring for a pedicure before I go, nail polish tends to stay on better when it is done professionally.
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Kim My son Kellan when he was three days old, already showing his love for Mickey! 4/18/16
I TOTALLY understand!! Although, with doing the carry on only, I think that I will suck it up and use theirs. I doubt that I could fit enough in a bottle to last me the whole 5 nights. I tend to use probably more than I need most times (I have gotten better over the years). My biggest issue will be soap! I typically only use shower gel and that I will have to bring with me!
My other issue will be not having nail polish to touch up my toe nails while I am away! Maybe I will spring for a pedicure before I go, nail polish tends to stay on better when it is done professionally.
.....aaarrrgh!!! Bringing OWN shampoo!!!! My wife does that!!! She packs a HUGE bottle of Pantene Shampoo...and a HUGE bottle of Pantene conditioner!!! Between the two...it must weigh as much as a small child She says she NEEDS it for her hair. I betcha' we lose at least 3-mpg carting that 1150 miles in her car!!!
Well, I don't/won't take HUGE bottles, just enough to get me through the time that I am there. . .especially when flying. If I am packing a suitcase to put in a car, the big bottles go in because I don't feel like moving shampoo/conditioner into smaller bottles when I have room for the big ones~!
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Kim My son Kellan when he was three days old, already showing his love for Mickey! 4/18/16
I TOTALLY understand!! Although, with doing the carry on only, I think that I will suck it up and use theirs. I doubt that I could fit enough in a bottle to last me the whole 5 nights. I tend to use probably more than I need most times (I have gotten better over the years). My biggest issue will be soap! I typically only use shower gel and that I will have to bring with me!
My other issue will be not having nail polish to touch up my toe nails while I am away! Maybe I will spring for a pedicure before I go, nail polish tends to stay on better when it is done professionally.
Spring for the pedicure! You're going on vacation...that's a MUST DO for me usually the day before, or as close to our trip as possible But why couldn't you bring nailpolish on a carry on? I usually pack mine in our checked 'toiletry' bag, so is that a no-no for a carry-on
Oh, and yes...I also pack my shower gel too! LOL (love and need my girly products!!)
practice packing is a great idea. i did a practice TRIP for our last trip--i took everything my husband and i needed for a weekend in a nearby metro area in a daypack backpack--a bit smaller than a kid's school backpack. it was a challenge, but it worked, and better prepared me for a month in europe with just a carry on (a kelty 2650 backpack--and no, we are not college students!) honestly, i'll never check another bag again. it saves money AND time--if you do carry on only, you'll be in the shuttle/taxi and on your way before most people's luggage even drops onto the carousel. a tip for toiletries--get a zipper top plastic bag (something sturdier than a zip lock) and airline approved containers for your shampoo etc. you are allowed 3oz containers, which honestly lasted me our entire month (but my hair is short--someone with longer hair could make it last two weeks) add this to your bag LAST, as you'll need to access it to get through security--not a big deal if it is right at the top of your bag.
I learned to pack light after a 21 day trip carrying by myself 2 luggages...so I travel with a hand lugagge (less than 10 days) or a mediun one.
I usually travell using a confortable pair of shoes so, I put only a nice sandal in the luggage. Since all those "non liquid" recomendation, I gave up bringing my own shampoo and conditioner..so I use whatever they offer in the hotel.
As we are travelling in early Oct, planned only one light jacket and a pair of jeans for each one. seven Tshirts, 2 shorts and 3 dresses, a swimming bath, socks and other small stuff. Kind of plan short plus t shirt durning the day, and a dress at night. Sun protector I usually buy one when I arrive (large, SPF 30 for use the entire week and leave the remaining there).
We´re travelling with one hand piece each - I've separate the bags and I do not fill them completelly. So with the expand zipper I'm able to bring back something home.
Sooo here's a packing idea for those of us traveling in the months with unpredictable temperatures and the need for a wide range of clothing options:
Those vacuum sucking out air Space Saver bags to compress fleeces sweatshirts and all much needed layers of clothing into the carry on bag and including an extra very light duffle for checking it on the return. I don't mind waiting for luggage in our small hometown airport sad and dejected at having left the magic.
You could have the kids suck the air back out for the return, but the mouse droppings and stale pixie dust might make them too sick to fly? Maybe mousekeeping would let you borrow a vacuum..?
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My son Kellan when he was three days old, already showing his love for Mickey! 4/18/16
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HOOKED ON DISNEY!!! 
)...and that'll be just DH and myself on this trip 
(we drive from NJ to Fla......so I don't need to economize so much)
Although, with doing the carry on only, I think that I will suck it up and use theirs. I doubt that I could fit enough in a bottle to last me the whole 5 nights. I tend to use probably more than I need most times (I have gotten better over the years). My biggest issue will be soap! I typically only use shower gel and that I will have to bring with me!
She says she NEEDS it for her hair. I betcha' we lose at least 3-mpg carting that 1150 miles in her car!!! 
But why couldn't you bring nailpolish on a carry on? I usually pack mine in our checked 'toiletry' bag, so is that a no-no for a carry-on 
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