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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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This is what DH & I want to do for our 8 year old DS. He somewhat knows we are going to California, but no idea about DLR. He's a smart kid who loves mysteries, treasure hunts, Rube Goldberg machines, etc. I want to do a scavenger hunt or something like that to let him know where we are headed. We'll be going just after Thanksgiving & want to make the vacation an early Christmas gift for him. I just need help on ideas/clues that aren't easy to solve. Any creative help is much appreciated!
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~Joby/Lil~Me stealing Capt. Jack Sparrow's treasure!
He has been there before (twice) and the longer he takes to solve, the better he likes it. I have been coming up with clues slowly. (I have until Thanksgiving.) So, when rhyming inspiration hits, I jot it down. I'm currently at work, so don't have my notes, but I'll share 1 of my clues later.
I did see a video in which a trio of kids follow clues around their house that leads to a big box. When they open the box, a Disney balloon floats out with homemade tickets tied to it. He loves balloons & never gets them because I have a fear of them. So, I'm thinking something like that might be an extra special treat.
The other idea I had was to have Mickey call him up. At one point, for a small fee, you could have a Disney character call your house. I don't know if that's still offered though.
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~Joby/Lil~Me stealing Capt. Jack Sparrow's treasure!
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I love all those ideas. But you are thinking he will solve the mystery at home, correct?
Internet-searchable documents like poetry where you take the first letters of certain lines or words...? That spells it out in a mixed-up way? You could also do common words but in another language.
IE 3rd letter of "chair" in spanish would be L (silla). This could be the L in Disneyland.
If he knows you are going to LA you could make it searchable LA trivia that he has to look up.
Thanks for the ideas!
BTW...I said he had been twice. I went back & looked at the dates we've gone & he's been 3 times. Can't keep it all straight! LOL
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~Joby/Lil~Me stealing Capt. Jack Sparrow's treasure!
All the clues are done. I'll have to post them later.
I'm currently working on Disney BINGO cards. (Will post a pic of the cards later as well.) We will now have two 8 year old boys with us and I'm hoping this will keep them busy in line, etc. I bought Disney stickers for them to put on the spaces. What I'm struggling with is ideas for small gifts to give them when they get a BINGO. I need items that are small enough to fit in a backpack and about 6 of them. I don't want all of them to be food related either. I had thought about Disney pins (can buy pretty cheap off eBay, but need them by Thanksgiving) or bigger stickers they can put on their clothing as a BINGO badge.
Maybe someone as done this before? I would love any thoughts/suggestions.
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~Joby/Lil~Me stealing Capt. Jack Sparrow's treasure!
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I decided to go with the Disney pins. Hubby thought it was the better idea as well. I just order a lot of 20 from eBay & should have them by next week.
If I did the attachment correctly, the BINGO card I made should be attached. I grabbed the idea from other BINGO cards & scavenger hunt ideas I saw online. I've got a few more cards to do, but I think the boys will have fun.
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~Joby/Lil~Me stealing Capt. Jack Sparrow's treasure!
Attached should be the scavenger hunt clues Nick (age 8) will get the day before our CA trip. I tried to make them Disney related one way or another. At the box clue, he'll get a Disney shirt & the last clue will be followed by Disney's Enchanted Call.
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~Joby/Lil~Me stealing Capt. Jack Sparrow's treasure!
Those look super cute! Can't wait to hear how he likes it! At first I thought...oh, he'll figure it out so fast with that Disney font. But it won't matter if he suspects right away, will it? You can just keep quiet and let his suspicion grow. How fun!
I have a 6 yo, and I've never done a big surprise for him yet. Can't wait to hear how your son likes it!
How soon after you reveal the surprise will you leave?
KimmyAnn-We leave the next day after he finds out for CA, but won't be at DLR for 2 days. Even without the Disney font, my hubby thinks DS will figure it out right away. But, like you said...even if he does, we'll just keep stringing him along.
Ginger J-I always take lots of pictures! So many I don't know what to do with them! LOL!
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~Joby/Lil~Me stealing Capt. Jack Sparrow's treasure!
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