Pixies needed for the next chapter, please (long) - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Oldest DD lives with us. The deal was that she pay some rent, pays me a pittance for my van which I will sign over to her after 2 years, she cleans her bathroom, takes out the trash, and is here overnight for younger DDs while I'm at work. She eats our food, uses our utilities, etc. RARELY contributes to the groceries, only when I ask her to stop by the store for a gallon of milk or something like that.
The last few weeks, she's been staying out late, so I finally had to tell her I needed her home by 11pm on the nights that I work and certainly no later than midnight. We have never been "partyers", so staying out late is not in our family culture anyway. She has made "friends" with some people she was just in a play with (read: glommed onto) and has been attaching herself to their nights out. Whatev. Not my problem as long as she's home per the deal. She has NOT been doing her 2 chores around the house; younger DDs have been taking care of that as we can't stand the disgusting sink or the trash piling up.
She CALLED me on the phone last night and announced that she was moving in with these new "friends" at the end of the month, leaving me with the rent and no one to be here for DDs overnight. I outlined the consequences of that choice (which included my car keys being returned to me) and gave her 24 hours to think on it and talk to whomever she chooses to seek advice from. She texted me about an hour later telling me she'd changed her mind and was going to stay.
It was not a pretty conversation and I'm royally peeved that she chose to do it over the phone, while I was in the car w/ DDs. I am glad, however, that they got to hear what I said as they both said I handled it very well and said they really respect me for how my end was done. Life lesson.
Anyway, I have decided to write up an agreement that oldest will have to sign, taking us through the end of the lease. My dad is not behind me on that as he doesn't see it as something that "family" does, but I reminded him that she has never acted like a part of the family and I need some assurances, and yes, I will take her to small claims if she bails on it. No, not how I would LIKE to treat my own child, but seriously, she has never EVER been "part" of the family by her own choosing. 22yo has told me all along that she never felt like she had a sister, just some annoying, angry person who happened to sit across from her at the table. I've tried to be accepting of her feelings toward the rest of us subhuman creatures and I've NEVER micromanaged or tried to tell her how to run her life. Very few demands in return for quite a lot of financial support. Quid pro quo and all that.
So, I would appreciate pixies as we head into this next chapter which will surely be unpleasant, but at least have an end date of next May. Oldest carries a grudge like no other, so I know there will unpleasantness, but I'm between a rock and a hard place right now.
She truly is an alien to our whole family and everyone has pretty much given up on trying to help her.
I have a suggestion: Ask her to help you write an agreement outlining HER duties and responsibilities (paying part of rent, paying for a bit of groceries, chores, etc) and YOUR responsibilities and duties (paying rest of rent, most of groceries, utilities, etc.). We've found that this worked better with our kids when they had a say in the "contract" even if it was really just a "You'll do this or out you go" letter.
I support you whole heartedly on this, although I know that doesn't compare at all with your father's displeasure at it. I remember when she lived with you in your other home, and made life miserable for you all. You need to protect yourself and your other DDs, even if it makes this oldest one mad.
Pixies that you all get through this intact.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
Is she stable as a child care provider for the younger 2 if she is upset? I can understand your desire to lock her in, but if it makes for a miserable situation and you have to wonder about what is happening with the kids when you're not there I'm not sure its a really good arrangement.
Maybe you'll need to start looking at daytime opportunities
Is she stable as a child care provider for the younger 2 if she is upset? I can understand your desire to lock her in, but if it makes for a miserable situation and you have to wonder about what is happening with the kids when you're not there I'm not sure its a really good arrangement.
I agree; it may be best to part ways and figure out another child care arrangement....
First trip DW--Nov. 1975; Senior Class Trip DW--Oct. 1979; First trip w/kids--Oct. 1995; Halloween at DW--Oct. 2002; Spring Break at DW--April 2004; Christmas/Pop Warner Nationals-POR--Dec. 2005;Cruisin'--April 2008; Mom/Son trip-POP--March 2010;Taggin' along w/DD on DH's conference-BWI--Oct. 2011; 50th birthday with the Gartner Geeks--Adults only!--BWI--Oct. 2012; The Trip That Almost Wasn't--BWI--Oct. 2013; We climbed The Summit (National Cheer Competition)--ASMovies--May 2014
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
Linear Mode
