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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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DH and I are planning a trip to Maryland to visit our daughter and grandsons for end of July/first part of August 2013. We have sent a request to our Congressman for tickets to tour the White House. Has anyone else done this? Is it a relatively simple process? Was your request granted quickly? I am not sure how this all works, and am looking for your experiences with obtaining White House Tour tickets. Thanks!
I did the tour in 1995, the summer I graduated college. My father was a Police Detective, and detailed to the Secret Service for a while, so I believe a friend of his helped us get tickets into the tour. I have no idea how easy or had they were to get...sorry. I did try again about 10 years ago. I emailed our congressman, but he responded that they were limiting it to groups of 10 or more(I was trying for just myself and my husband)...so at that time, I was unsuccessful. I don't know if they've changed that rule again...it was a while ago. He got back to me pretty quickly...withing 24 hours. I was pretty disappointed. Now that I have kids...getting 10 doesn't seem so hard. Hoping to try again with extended family in a few years. Good Luck. It is a wonderful tour. As I remember, you must be outside the white house very early, even with the reservation. We had to be there between 7 and 8 am, I believe.
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Last edited by Happymommy; 12-16-2012 at 03:58 PM..
I did the tour in 1995, the summer I graduated college. My father was a Police Detective, and detailed to the Secret Service for a while, so I believe a friend of his helped us get tickets into the tour. I have no idea how easy or had they were to get...sorry. I did try again about 10 years ago. I emailed our congressman, but he responded that they were limiting it to groups of 10 or more(I was trying for just myself and my husband)...so at that time, I was unsuccessful. I don't know if they've changed that rule again...it was a while ago. He got back to me pretty quickly...withing 24 hours. I was pretty disappointed. Now that I have kids...getting 10 doesn't seem so hard. Hoping to try again with extended family in a few years. Good Luck. It is a wonderful tour. As I remember, you must be outside the white house very early, even with the reservation. We had to be there between 7 and 8 am, I believe.
Oh dear, there are just 5 of us right now, but my other daughter, her husband and son may join us. Hope we can get a tour!
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My Brother had a chance to tour as a government employee, but chose not to and stayed with a fellow cadet at Glynco, GA to help him study. He returned back to try and tour about 4 years ago with his family, my parents, two aunts, and my little sister. When they were about 5 people away, they shut the tours down and pushed everyone back.
We were able to visit in 1999 because prior to 9/11/01, they did a certain number of public tours per day. It was just a matter then of being up before the crack of dawn in order to line up for tickets.
These days it is darn near impossible to get a tour. I believe you do have to have a group of 10 and they grant those requests on a case by case basis. We tried a couple of different times writing DH's "home of record" congressman while he was in the Navy and the request came back denied each time. The first request took just 2-3 weeks to come back and the second time it took almost 2 months before we heard a response.
Have you looked into doing one of the Capitol building tours? You'll be able to see the Rotunda, Statuary Hall and the Crypt of the Capitol and can reserve those online without having to go through a congressman.
We did this in August of this year. There was just us 3. We requested online through our congressman and we had to fill out a form, send it back and then wait. I think we found out about a month or maybe slightly longer than that before when our tour was. They also scheduled our capital tour. Definitely use the online form because they can do so much for you.
When we toured you had to have an ID for each adult, could not carry a camera, a bag or anything else such as a stroller. This is all included in the instructions that were emailed to us. You were allowed to carry a cell phone but could not use it during the tour since no pictures are allowed. We were allowed to use them outside after the tour so we took some iPhone pics of us directly in front of the White House. There are agents stationed everywhere to answer any questions as it is a self guided tour. i loved all the architecture and antiques and DS loved it when the first dog was walked out do a potty break since he was so close he could've petted the dog.
My advice is apply early and follow any instructions given. The security is intimidating but the agents were all very nice. If it is something you want to do the go for it!
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My husband and daughter did this in 2009 while I was at a conference in DC.
We got notice that the request was granted just a few weeks before our trip. They couldn't take anything with them -- no bags, purses, camera, bottled water, etc. Luckily their tour was first thing in the morning, so they went to the WH empty handed, then went back to the hotel to gear up for the day.
Your Congressperson can also get you tickets to a Bureau of Engraving and Printing tour -- beats waiting in line for those.
As to the Capitol tours -- we did one through our Senator's office. The guide was a staffer in his office. A nice enough kid, but probably not as well versed in the Capitol building as the professional guides through the visitors center. (They take you to the same places and show you the same things, it's just the experience level of the guide.) You have to go through your Representative or Senator to get gallery passes, though. Check the restrictions on Capitol tours, too. No water, not even empty bottles. No food, not even in a closed package. We saw lots of things being thrown away as people waited in line.
My husband and daughter did this in 2009 while I was at a conference in DC.
We got notice that the request was granted just a few weeks before our trip. They couldn't take anything with them -- no bags, purses, camera, bottled water, etc. Luckily their tour was first thing in the morning, so they went to the WH empty handed, then went back to the hotel to gear up for the day.
Your Congressperson can also get you tickets to a Bureau of Engraving and Printing tour -- beats waiting in line for those.
As to the Capitol tours -- we did one through our Senator's office. The guide was a staffer in his office. A nice enough kid, but probably not as well versed in the Capitol building as the professional guides through the visitors center. (They take you to the same places and show you the same things, it's just the experience level of the guide.) You have to go through your Representative or Senator to get gallery passes, though. Check the restrictions on Capitol tours, too. No water, not even empty bottles. No food, not even in a closed package. We saw lots of things being thrown away as people waited in line.
Oh I forgot about that part! We had to throw away out a lot of stuff including sunscreen! We did have a tour guide that was awesome but wish they'd have told us what we could and couldn't bring into the Capitol building. Now I know to check online but did not think about it beforehand. So best suggestion is to check beforehand and pack lightly.
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