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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Who:
Me, Eileen, 50 years old. Teacher, chauffeur, Disney lover, 3 trips to the World (1976, 1994, 2004)
DH, David, 50 years old. Industrial Sales, Volunteer EMT,
3 trips to the World (1971, 1994, 2004)
DD, Doodlebug, 12 years old, Student, dancer, actor, singer 1 trip to the World (2004)
When: August 21st-28th
Why: It’s time! After our 2004 trip, I was aiming for a trip every other year, but when DH was laid off shortly after we returned home, we had to put those dreams off. He has finally been in a stable job for 3 years, and has the vacationtime, so we are doing it! It helped make the decision easy when the 40% off room discounts for my dream resort came out for the times we want to go. I also plan on celebrating our DDs 13th Birthday (a month early) there.
What next?: So many decisions to make. How to get there, where to stay, what tickets, dining plan or not? Stay tuned for these answers and more.
__________________
Eileen in South Jersey
Trips to WDW: 1994 POFQ; 2004 POP and POFQ; 2011 POP and Beach Club
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I hope that you and your family have a magical time at the world
__________________
Heather - "I'm Tinkerbell's biggest fan!"
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
First up: When to go...... I would love to go to Disney in the fall, December or late winter. However, since I am a teacher, those dates are not possible. So the next best choice...late August. I know-it is hot, humid and hurricane season, but we learned lots of good survival tips for that kind of weather. When we went in 2004, we had good luck going early, leaving in the middle of the day and going back at night. This was before the night EMH-they were only offering morning EMH. We stayed hydrated and had a misting fan. Late August is better crowd-wise than early August-students are back in school in the south so not as many from the local area there. Also, the big groups that are often there in July are gone. I was hoping to go the last week of Aug. into Labor Day weekend, but I have to be back in school on September 1. So...we are leaving August 20 and returning August 28.
Next: Mode of travel. We live in southern NJ not too far from Delaware. Last time, we drove. It takes 2 days-we left at 7 am and stopped for the night in Santee, SC. Arrived at POP Century 6 pm the second day. Hit some heavy weather between Jacksonville and Orlando-Hurricane Jeanne had just blown through the area the day before we left. Anyway-we (I) did not want to drive this time. Flying is a 2 hour trip, but DH refuses to fly, so that is not an option. So that leaves the train. We are about 20 minutes from an Amtrak station. It is about a 20-22 hour trip to Orlando, but at least we can sleep. We are 3 hours from the Auto Train station-that is another option. It would be nice but not mandatory to have the car. We were going to do that but I waited too long to make reservations, so now the cost is 2x what taking the passenger train would be. So, we are going to take Amtrak from Wilmington, DE to Orlando, FL and hire a car service to take us to and from the station.
Up next: Where to stay, what tickets to get.
__________________
Eileen in South Jersey
Trips to WDW: 1994 POFQ; 2004 POP and POFQ; 2011 POP and Beach Club
Now, Where to stay?? The 2 times we have stayed on property, we have stayed at (the original) Port Orleans/POFQ with one night at POP. We liked POP a lot-enough to consider it for a longer time. And, with the discount being offered, we could spring for a split stay with time in my dream resort, Beach Club. So we have 4 nights at POP, then 3 nights at BC. I also justified the stay at BC because they have Stormalong Bay and we can skip a water park (we only do the lazy river and milder slides in a water park anyway). Our rooms are booked (thanks to our travel agent Judi!).
Our tickets: We opted not to get the Dining Plan (we missed out on free dining)-we would have had to get 2 separate base tickets and would end up costing more than what we would probably spend on meals-DD is considered adult, but does not eat adult portions most of the time. We will probably end up sharing meals, so we will pay as we go. We are also foregoing the park hopper tickets-we had them before and it does give you flexibility, but I think we can do 1 park/day and still get in everything we want to do. I will be getting our tickets from Undercover Tourist (they had the best prices).
Next up: Dining and Park plans.....
__________________
Eileen in South Jersey
Trips to WDW: 1994 POFQ; 2004 POP and POFQ; 2011 POP and Beach Club
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-Hurricane Jeanne had just blown through the area the day before we left. Anyway-we (I) did not want to drive this time. Flying is a 2 hour trip, but DH refuses to fly, so that is not an option. So that leaves the train. We are about 20 minutes from an Amtrak station. It is about a 20-22 hour trip to Orlando, but at least we can sleep. We are 3 hours from the Auto Train station-that is another option. It would be nice but not mandatory to have the car. We were going to do that but I waited too long to make reservations, so now the cost is 2x what taking the passenger train would be. 
So, we are going to take Amtrak from Wilmington, DE to Orlando, FL and hire a car service to take us to and from the station. 
PassPorter Guide Author
So we have 4 nights at POP, then 3 nights at BC. I also justified the stay at BC because they have Stormalong Bay and we can skip a water park (we only do the lazy river and milder slides in a water park anyway). 
Our rooms are booked (thanks to our travel agent Judi!).
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