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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I know, that's nowhere near enough time! But that's about what we'll have. DH wants to see the "memorials". He has specifically mentioned "the Lincoln Memorial and those types of things. A quick little walk around or drive by of free things, that kind of stuff" I know, that really narrows things down.
So is there a place that is quick and cheap to eat at near the Lincoln Memorial and "those types of things"? Where can we park? Or can we even park near there? And what are "those types of things". We know absolutely nothing about DC.
I know we won't have time for museums or the Zoo. And I know we won't be doing it justice by only being there for a few hours. But if anybody can I would sure appreciate it!
You can park many places. One that comes to mind is over by the Spy Museum. There is still a food court at the Old Post Office Pavillion. There is also parking in West Potomac Park, which closer to the Lincoln, and FDR and WWII and not too far from the Monument.
We will likely be there midday on Oct 1st. I'm assuming our GPS will have directions on getting to the memorials. I've google mapped it and it looks easy enough to get there from I-95. If we have 3 hours or less, is the White House within walking distance of the Lincoln Memorial? And would we have time to eat? Or would we be better off looking for a hotdog vendor or something on the corner?
Which way are coming in? The traffic can be pretty annoying, but if you plan to be here mid-day, that is better as far as that goes, but bad for parking! It does not look very far, but as you get closer to the Mall, it usually gets slower and slower....That would be great if one of us Passporters could meet you and show you around if you REALLY don't have much time. There are always McDonalds and also some very good sandwich places around. There is parking on the streets around the national mall, but not usually where you want it to be, so you can see what you want. The Canadian Embassy is in a VERY prime loaction around 5th and Pennsylvania, by the way...
We will likely be there midday on Oct 1st. I'm assuming our GPS will have directions on getting to the memorials. I've google mapped it and it looks easy enough to get there from I-95. If we have 3 hours or less, is the White House within walking distance of the Lincoln Memorial? And would we have time to eat? Or would we be better off looking for a hotdog vendor or something on the corner?
Oh, and I think the WH is in walking distance of the Lincoln, but others might disagree... How are YOU doing? are you all healed?
We'll be coming in from the south. If Google is right, we should be able to get to DC by 11:30. But we have a tight schedule and we'll need to leave by 2:30 at the latest to get us to our PA destination at a decent time that night. My biggest concern is actually finding parking. I am hoping to be near 100% healed by then, although right now I'd say I'm only around 50%. I'm able to walk 1½ miles now but I won't break any speed records!
And yes, if it's possible, it would be very nice to have a personal PassPorter Tour Guide!
We'll be coming in from the south. If Google is right, we should be able to get to DC by 11:30. But we have a tight schedule and we'll need to leave by 2:30 at the latest to get us to our PA destination at a decent time that night. My biggest concern is actually finding parking. I am hoping to be near 100% healed by then, although right now I'd say I'm only around 50%. I'm able to walk 1½ miles now but I won't break any speed records!
And yes, if it's possible, it would be very nice to have a personal PassPorter Tour Guide!
If you don't have to worry about parking, that's not a bad time to arrive. Do you have a list of highlights that you would like to see on a driving tour? ie: not parking anywhere? That might be managable, esp. with personal guide...
If there is one memorial I think you have to stop and see it's the Vietnam Memorial. I think it's very moving.
We have driven around on the "Memorial Tour" but we've done it at night, when the masses have left the city. We've also stopped and parked. If I only had three hours though, I would probably just drive around or pick one destination and spend my time there. I am a huge fan of the Zoo, and like all the Smithsonian museums, it's free.
Three hours? You may want to look at one of the tourmobiles or trolley tours. They will take you around so you can see the sights but you can have on-and-off privileges for the places you want to walk around or see up close.
If you are in town on a weekday, there's a little cafe in the Red Cross building (Between D&E I think and 17th and 18th -- all I know is that it's across from the DAR Building!). The restaurant in the Corcoran Gallery is nice, too.
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Donna, I don't think there is any way to walk around the Mall to all the Monuments and see the White House and eat in 3 hours. We did an evening walk to Washington, Lincoln, Vietnam, WWII, Korea monuments and it took us several hours. That didn't even include Jefferson and FDR. It's a long walk from Lincoln to Washington, it will fool you.
DC just isn't a place that you can drive from place to place. You will do a lot of walking.
The Spy Museum is out of the way if you want to just see the monuments, it's near Chinatown.
You can' get very close to the White House anyway without having a pre-approved tour.
There is some parking at the Jefferson. You could park there and then take a cab to Lincoln and walk to Jefferson, or you could catch the Old Town Trolley - you buy a one day ticket for that, not sure how much. There was also some parking at West Potomac park, kind of between FDR and Lincoln. I remember walking by it as we walked from FDR to the mall.
You can get some nice views of the White House from several areas. The Jefferson has some lovely views, and from the Washington you can see it as well.
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Michelle - with my step sisters!
Last edited by Shell_of_the_South; 08-06-2008 at 03:25 PM..
Unfortunately, I dont think you'll be able to see much in three hours. We went to DC in April and we DID walk between the Lincoln monument and the White House, its a further walk than it looks, but tolerable. If your able to set up a tour of some sort , that would be ideal with your limited time. I think it would probably take three hours just to eat, see the Lincoln monument, and see the Whitehouse. So I would pick exactly what you want to see ahead of time.