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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We aren't even sure we will do any childcare, but I'm just trying to explore my options.
Our kids will be 6yo (Beth) and 2yo (Ben) during our trip in December. In fact Ben's Birthday is while we are there.
We are tossing around childcare ideas and trying to figure out if it is worth it to split the kids up... send Beth to one of the "clubs" and get an in room sitter for Ben, or just keep them together w/ an in room sitter.
Beth would definitely have a lot of fun at a club. She's a Disney freak, into crafts and the clubs sound right up her alley.
When dh and I were talking about this last night, my reply to him is that we would really just have to wait and see how Ben is doing w/ strangers when the time comes... which I basically think is my answer, just wanted to see if anyone else had any ideas?
Oh and I have mentioned before that my MIL lives 20min away... it really isn't an option w/ Ben being so young. Even though I shouldn't, I trust a babysitter through disney or one of the services over MIL to take care of our energetic son!
Oh and I have mentioned before that my MIL lives 20min away... it really isn't an option w/ Ben being so young. Even though I shouldn't, I trust a babysitter through disney or one of the services over MIL to take care of our energetic son!
If you've had previous experience(s) where your mil has demonstrated that she shouldn't be trusted to care for your kids or she was abusive (in any fashion) to you dh when was a child; I totally understand and agree with not wanting/allowing her to watch them. On a personal note if I had kids there is no way that I would allow my father to be alone with them. He was abusive to me and my stepsister (stepmom's daughter) and has anger management problems. So, I would trust a sitter through Disney over my father any day.
If you've had previous experience(s) where your mil has demonstrated that she shouldn't be trusted to care for your kids or she was abusive (in any fashion) to you dh when was a child; I totally understand and agree with not wanting/allowing her to watch them. On a personal note if I had kids there is no way that I would allow my father to be alone with them. He was abusive to me and my stepsister (stepmom's daughter) and has anger management problems. So, I would trust a sitter through Disney over my father any day.
Nope, she's not abusive, just hmm ... nice way to put this... dim. If it was just dd, who will be 6.5yo when we are there, I would feel fine if MIL came and hung out w/ her at the resort for dh and I to go out. But I don't think she could handle our son who will turn 2yo while we are there. All I can think about is Ben getting loose on the grounds and ending up in a pool!
Are you talking a mid-day thing or at nite for a couples dinner out?
DD loves the Neverland Club -- it may have been her favorite part of our trip when she was 5. But with two kids and only one able to do a kids club, I think I would opt for leaving both with the in-room sitter. Especially for a dinner/evening out time frame. Definately easier, and cheaper, too. We left DD at NC and went to dinner at Artist Point -- it did take a bit of logistical arranging to get the times lined up. To add in a sitter arriving before we could leave would have driven me nuts.
But if you think your daughter would enjoy the club things, maybe you could sign her up for a daytime activity like the Pirate Adventure or Tea with Alice. It would give her the "big kids" time without her brother.