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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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've got 3 must cheer for people this year - Mitch Seavey, and then his son and daughter-in-law Dallas and Jen Seavey. Dallas is the youngest musher to ever finish (he turned 18 the day before the start of the race in 2005) and this is Jen's rookie year. Dallas will be semi-competitive (first time for him) and Jen is running Mitch's puppy team. Mitch, the 2004 Iditarod Champion, will -of course- but running the A team
Buser, King, and Mackey are also on the roster - not that we'd expect anything different.
It's gonna be a GREAT race... I'm considering attending the real start as well as the ceremonial start Can't wait!
Must be awesome being in Alaska for this. We have only been able to watch on tv and since it is so far away we do not get the updates we would like. Are any of the sports channels broadcasting all???
no, though The Official Site of the Iditarod® has a web channel that gets rave reviews - though it's a subscription based program... not sure how much they're charging this year, but if you sign up you get a free copy of the Emmy award winning DVD of the 2008 Iditarod. And considering I watched it over and over and over and over and over and over and over all summer long (I work for 2004 Iditarod Champion Mitch Seavey and we show it in the gift shop at the Wildride Sled Dog Rodeo) I can confidently say it's a good DVD.
ESPN *might* do a nightly update, but that's about it.
Discovery Channel had a special on this fall about the 2008 race, but they won't be doing that again... which is sad. This race should get more coverage than it does in the US (it's huge in Northern Europe)
Looks like the race entries are down from last year. Is this the final entry list or is it still open? That's cool that you get the chance to see the ceremonial start plus maybe the real one. My sentimental favorite has been Charlie Boulding, but I understand that he had to stay away because of medical problems. Anyone know anything about how he is doing?
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Judi - if you want I will I was planning on it anyway, but glad to know it's appreciated!
Clay - Charlie retired from the sport in.......... I Want to say 2006. He's battled cancer several times and the wear and tear on his body just couldn't hold up out on the trail anymore (Dallas Seavey beat him at one of the qualifying races in the 04/05 season and Charlie's take on that story is hilarious). He's definitely one of the crowd favorites (he had a fan group that would meet him along the trail called Charlie's fairies, they're now the Iditarod Dog Fairies or something like that). AFAIK he's doing fine.
The list is set in stone at this point. if 6 hadn't already withdrawn we'd have had 79 mushers - that would be the average number for this period... last year with over 90 was WAY high, and it got people complaining because of the mess it made on the trails and at the checkpoints. The Iditarod Committee set a limit on entries this year to 100 teams.
Top it off with a raise in the entry fee (it is now $4000 to enter) and the rising cost of fuel in the villages, and it gets pretty dang expensive to run (though from what I understand this is not the REAL reason for the hike in the entry fee... my "inside sources" wanted to have the entry fee raised for other reasons.)
I didn't know that you did report of the Iditarod or that you were involved in it. BTW, loved the Christmas card!! We're huge Iditarod fans. Have been for years. We listen to internet radio when it's going on. It's on DH (Claytrgetshooter) bucket list to be there at the start, work a half way point, and then be there in Nome for the first in. Mine is to see the Northern Lights.
I'm going now to check out the links.
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Iditarod set at 73 Mushers!
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Pixie Dust
Claytrgtshooter (Minnie Lor's Hubbie)
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