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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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My oldest is starting middle school in three days and I'm a nervous wreck!! He is still very much a kid- so innocent. He is also very responsible and smart- the best 12 year old I know! I'm so scared of all the influences he's going to be exposed to going to school with teenagers. I remember my middle school years- and that really makes me scared that that is what he is going into! Ugh! So- parents of middle schoolers- did your kids change a lot once they started middle school?? I don't want to lose my little boy! The positive note- is my prayer life has increased lately ...... lol
My youngest is starting middle school this year and all I can say is hug him tight! Mine is also still a kid, yet responsible and smart. My older two didn't so much "change" due to the influences in middle school as much as test out their wings as a natural part of growing up. Middle school definitely coincides with a lot of physical and emotional changes. If you have a great relationship with your son (and it sounds like you do!) and he's willing to share with you, he'll be fine. It is a big step, I agree! (now I'm going to go cry in the corner about my baby going to middle school....)
My sons started middle school last year and they are also very innocent and that's a good thing. How sad would it be to be street smart at 12? My boys gravitate toward kids like them and like your son, will know better than to hang out with a bad element. You taught him well, he'll remember.
Our daughter is going into her last year of middle school and she is a good kid...always has been. BUT...She is a 13 1/2 year old girl that is testing her limits and pushing towards independence. Is she the same kid that started middle school? No. But she is wiser and more independent and is gaining common sense. Are all of her decisions good ones? NO...but she is learning...but knows right from wrong. Just keep them close, be open to ideas, and always invite the friends to your house and get to know them, offer to drive and attend as many acrtivities you can. It is truley amazing what you learn driving these kids to activities.
I think the hardest part of middle school was all the new friends. Friends that we hadn't known for years and didn't know the families. Just keep tabs on the friends and keep talking.
Everyone else has some great advice.
This is a growing period for your DS. He will never be the same, but the kids who have a great background/foundation usually grow well, and become the most amazing young men and women.
NOW is the time they REALLY need you. Yeah, it's important to be there and engaged when they are babies - but this is IT.
Pay attention to who his friends are, what he does, where he goes. BUT at the same time, give him the freedom to grow up. I know it's hard, but I always start thinking when the kids are about 12 or 13 - I only have 5 or so years to take this kid from little girl/little boy to Adult (or a reasonable facsimile).
Let him stretch his wings. Give in on the little stuff, but be firm on the big stuff that really matters. you can cut/shave/dye your hair, (because it grows out) - but holes and tattoos aren't okay.
If you've given your son a good start, and it sounds like you have, then he'll be fine. Good kids make good choices.
OH - big thing: realize that middle school teachers are NOT as into talking to you about your kid as elementary teachers are - but they DO want to know you care and are interested in what your child is doing. I usually e-mail each teacher once a month, asking if my child is doing okay - and reassuring the teacher that I'm open to suggestions to help my child solve a problem.
I'm right there with you, sobbing in the corner. My son starts Junior high this year. He also is 12, and also quite innocent. This point was really driven home to me when I chaperoned the sixth grade trip to DC. Yikes! It was a great trip, but it did cause me some concerns for this year. I am like you praying that he will grow and still keep his kind heart. I am praying that he will not be bullied or made to harden his heart. I encouraged him to be in the band last year. That will help I think. There are a lot of nice kids in the band, including several of his good friends. Hang in there, and know that you are not alone.
Ok, I must be on the brink of ladies days because this thread is making me soooo sad. You are all good mammas for raising "young" 12-year-olds, I hope to do the same.
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My boys gravitate toward kids like them and like your son, will know better than to hang out with a bad element. You taught him well, he'll remember.
Same experience here -- my smart, kind, outgoing son found his niche in middle school and has surrounded himself with smart, kind, outgoing boys like him.
Yes, there have been some bad moments, but most of it has been great.
In our case, having him involved with martial arts was a big key to his self-confidence and self-reliance in school. Not to mention that other kids are well aware of who has MA training and the bullies keep a good distance from them (what fun is there for bullies if the kid will defend themselves well....? )
Chet's going into 7th grade and so he says to tell your son to not try and stick with the in-crowd, just be yourself, and be smart (don't do anything stupid).
One other warning I'll give you is about school work. Chet didn't fall prey to this, but his older sister Lizzie did (maybe Chet learned by watching her). For some reason many middle schoolers totally lose focus and / or drive for their school work. Lizzie had been a straight A student, always conscientious, and always worked to do her best. But in 6th and 7th grade, she could have cared less about school. Not that she was really interested in anything else, but she just didn't put the effort into her school work. Consequently, her grades dropped to low A's and B's. We were at our wits end. Nothing we did seemed to work - not grounding, not offering a reward - nothing. We met with her teachers, and they really didn't have a lot to offer in the way of help, just suggested extra help sessions and the like but not anything that would fix the problem. And some how during the summer between 7th and 8th grade she had some sort of epiphany and our old child was back. It was SO weird. Now it may be that that was the first time she went away for chruch camp, or it may not. But we've never had that type of trouble since then. So don't ignore any type of grade dip, but don't sweat it too much either. You're not the only parent experiencing it.
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I'm right there with you, sobbing in the corner. My son starts Junior high this year. He also is 12, and also quite innocent. This point was really driven home to me when I chaperoned the sixth grade trip to DC. Yikes! It was a great trip, but it did cause me some concerns for this year. I am like you praying that he will grow and still keep his kind heart. I am praying that he will not be bullied or made to harden his heart. 
You are all good mammas for raising "young" 12-year-olds, I hope to do the same.
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