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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Ok so PA is shelved for another year due to unexpected house expenses. Back to New England for a week for us. Seven summers in North Conway means we've had our fill of that area. We've done some Boston area attractions, but looking to expand.
For sure want to do the new Boston legoland. Possibly another day into Boston for EARL OF SANDWICH!! And maybe children's museum again sinc we have a membership here and free enter into most New England children's museums. Any others highly rec'd?
Also for strong consideration are Water Country in Portsmouth, NH, Roger Williams zoo in RI, and possibly down to Lake Compounce in CT. Not far from six flags, but my kids and dh wont do thrill rides, so I tend to think it would be a waste. We love zoos if one stands out. Already did south wicks last year and have done yorks wild kingdom. Oh and we've done canonie lake park.
So where to stay? Is it worth venturing to CT. Oh and DD8 would love an outdoor climbing / zip lining type place. We'll save santasvillage village for the fall or Christmas season.
There's a children's museum in Portsmouth that my kids enjoyed (keeping in mind my youngest is 25 so I haven't been for a while) and also one in Acton with a science center right next door. Both were reciprocal memberships to the children's museum in Boston. My kids also liked Plimouth Plantation. If you belong to the Mass Audubon, you can go to Drumlin Farm in Lincoln (I think if not some where close to 128.).
My kids also enjoyed the Worcester science museum -Ecotarium and SEE (Science Enrichment Encounters) in Manchester. Both were reciprocal with the Boston Museum of Science and we would get a membership at SEE which used to be pretty cheap.
There is also a Children's museum in Pawtucket that we would go to -we would get our money's worth out of our membership.
Franklin Park Zoo used to be a fun day for us and Roger Williams park is great. If your kids are old enough to enjoy history stop by Betsey Ross' house in the park.
There's also Slater Mill in Pawtucket.
I love the outlet malls in Kittery, Merrimack and Wrentham. Merrimack also has an Anheiser Busch (sp)
the Christa MacAuliffe Planetarium in Concord is fun and inexpensive. I think there is also a planetarium in Roger Williams park.
If you like beaches, Sand Hill Cove in Rhode Island is a good place for kids and the RI coast is cheaper than the Cape. Although kids also like a ferry ride to Martha's Vineyard. Vineyard Haven, where the Ferry lands, is very cute.
Sorry for the somewhat disorganized reply. I am sure I will remember more as soon as I submit. Please remember, it's been a while since we've been.
Forgot to add, if your DD wants to try mountain climbing, Mout Kearsage and Mount Major are very easy hikes for a beginner. There's also Pack Monadnock, which is pretty easy. All will give you great views. Mount Major looks out over Winnepausaukee, where you could also spend a good deal of time.
Also forgot, if your kids like history (and/or have read the book Lyddie) Lowell National Historic Park is an interesting and inexpensive outing. It's about 45 minutes from merrimack and can be done along with Anheuser Busch for Dad and the outlet mall for Mom.
Yes we love the Merrimack outlet mall, especially for the Disney outlet : ). Not sure if we will go in that area this time or maybe try Wrentham. We enjoy kit trey, too, but tax free in NH is nice!
We suck as far as interest in historical sites. Not really into beaches either. Our beaches here n NB are pretty comparable to New England. We also don't drink, so no Anheiser Busch for us : )
Disney is our happy place because we are theme park and zoo people : )
I would not do Six Flags unless you like coasters, although the water park there may be ok for your family if you like Water Country. There's also a water park in the Deerfield, NH area although I am not sure of the name,
If you like zoos, consider the Bronx Zoo. You can stay outside of the city (or even in Ct) and save on accommodations. You could also take public transportation in and do a day trip to NYC. When my kids were young, they often enjoyed the train ride to some place as much as the entertainment.
I didn't realize you were in NB. We started vacationing there when we decided Cape Cod was too busy. I love Hopewell Rocks and would move to Grand Manan if I could. We thought NB had the nicest people.
As far as CT goes, if you're thinking of that area. On the shoreline is mystic Seaport and Mystic Aquarium. Both single day visits... On the way down is Gillette Castle, a few hours needed (great place for a picnic lunch). Essex steam train and riverboat cruise also a day event. Also for zip-lining canoeing Etc..Brownstone park in Portland sounds great. We haven't been there , but we've heard good things about it.
There are several children's museums in CT. I've been to the following; one in West Hartford The Children's Museum | in West Hartford , the Lutz Children's Museum in Manchester Lutz Children's Museum and The Children's Museum of Southeast CT in Niantic Childrens Museum of Southeastern Connecticut The museum in West Hartford is probably the biggest and best of the three, but the Lutz has a nice collection of animals. Both the Lutz and SE are small, but the Niantic Museum is pretty close to a couple of popular CT beaches (Rocky Neck and Hammonasset).
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You guys are awesome! Looks like we could be coming to your neck of the woods, Holly : ). I was just googling distances from places. Maybe staying in RI is our best bet? Could get home wood suites for $125/night n Warwick. There's the roger Williams zoo there and mystic aquarium looks less than an hour away, plus lake coo uncle about 1.5 hours? Plus Boston is just over an hour....
Hunters mom, we lve about an hour from the ferry to Grand Maņana : ). And my sil's parents own a campground beside hope well rocks.
You guys are awesome! Looks like we could be coming to your neck of the woods, Holly : ). I was just googling distances from places. Maybe staying in RI is our best bet? Could get home wood suites for $125/night n Warwick. There's the roger Williams zoo there and mystic aquarium looks less than an hour away, plus lake coo uncle about 1.5 hours? Plus Boston is just over an hour....
Hunters mom, we lve about an hour from the ferry to Grand Maņana : ). And my sil's parents own a campground beside hope well rocks.
Where to stay might be the trickiest thing to decide. All of the places I've mentioned are just about an hour (or less) from where I live. (Roger Williams is just over an hour, Lake Compounce just over an hour in the opposite direction, Mystic Aquarium also about and hour away in a third direction). Thing is, there aren't really any good hotel choices in my immediate area. Transportation between these attractions can also be confusing. Providence is particularly hard to navigate! Where ever you decide, you'll need a GPS! You might want to look into the Norwich CT area to stay....it is pretty well located and you will have easy access to highways to get to Roger Williams, Mystic and Lake Compounce. There are two casinos in the Norwich area and therefore some decent hotel choices. Be sure to check Trip Advisor. There are some duds too!
This map might help you decide where to stay. (If RI doesn't show up in the field, click the - once). RW Zoo is in Providence, RI, Lake Compounce in Bristol, CT, Mystic not labeled but close to New London on map. I usually avoid Interstate 95 whenever I can (especially in the summer). Mystic and Providence not hard to get to from Warwick, but Bristol will be a bear.
I vote for Mystic Aquarium as well!!! We live here in Mystic and have a membership! . If you are going to plan to do Mystic, Roger Williams, and Boston, the hotel you mentioned in Warwick good be a good choice - if it's the one I am thinking of, it is right off 95, making the aquarium about 45 minutes, the zoo maybe 15-20?, and you could take the train from the Providence airport (which is actually located in Warwick!).
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I vote for Mystic Aquarium as well!!! We live here in Mystic and have a membership! . If you are going to plan to do Mystic, Roger Williams, and Boston, the hotel you mentioned in Warwick good be a good choice - if it's the one I am thinking of, it is right off 95, making the aquarium about 45 minutes, the zoo maybe 15-20?, and you could take the train from the Providence airport (which is actually located in Warwick!).
Totally forgot about you wanting to visit Boston as well. I agree that staying in Rhode Island is a good choice. A visit to Lake Compounce may or may not be a good choice in that case. I would estimate at least a 2 hour commute from Warwick -there is no direct highway route to take.
I have stayed at that Homewood Suite when my DD was at Brown and it was a nice hotel in a sae, although somewhat commercial/light industrial area. It had a good breakfast and light snacks at night. If I remember, you are nutrition conscious and they used to have fruit as well as veggies (and dip) in the evenings. It's not a place where the grounds will make you gasp but they are nice and i did not mind walking the dogs. The customer service was very good.
I haven't been to Mystic since my kids were young but when they were they enjoyed it as the seaport area. I grew up in RI and did plenty a day trip to Boston but I would stay closer if you were to go into Boston for more than one day.
Also, you can take the train up from Warwick I think. You could also leave a car in Providence. The Brown campus is a nice walk around with some good and cheap restaurants and the RI School of Design has a nice little museum.
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. If you are going to plan to do Mystic, Roger Williams, and Boston, the hotel you mentioned in Warwick good be a good choice - if it's the one I am thinking of, it is right off 95, making the aquarium about 45 minutes, the zoo maybe 15-20?, and you could take the train from the Providence airport (which is actually located in Warwick!).
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