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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chapel Hill, NC USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 36,592
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Next trip to the world - when?
In October 1999, we took our son out of school four days to spend a week in WDW. We really loved the temps and crowds. We probably won't be able to take the kids out of school next year, so are debating taking a trip in the first week of June 2001. I think the only other choice would be during the week of Easter.
After a great uncrowded week in October with wonderful temps, we are afraid of what it will be like when it is more crowded or hot.
What would you choose to do? and why? Our kids will be 5 1/2 and 7 1/2 at the time. We will stay onsite somewhere and probably spend a week again.
Thanks in advance for any input you can give.
P.S. It is killing me to wait that long for our next trip
This is a tough choice. The weather will be better Easter week. If Easter comes early in the month then crowds usually are higher, as some colleges are also out for Spring Break. If it's late (like this year) crowds may not be as bad. Crowds should be moderate to low during the first week of June (and resort discounts are easier to come by), but it is beginning to get hot by Northerner's standards.
Are you sure that you can't take your kids out of school? We have taken our kids out in the early months of the year in 96, 97, 98 and this year. As long as you can show some educational value and agree that all their work will be done, I don't think you will have any problems.
You should ask the school as soon as you can. For instance, the year my oldest 2 kids were in Kindergarten and 1st grade, we were planning on going at the end of Jan. I wrote to the school in early Sept. and there wasn't any problem.
Can't hurt to ask.
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We are doing the 13 to the 19 of April this year and have done the last week of April also. Kids are in the 7th and 8th grade now, hard to take them out anymore! This year they will miss 2 days of school and then it's spring vacation here in Mass. Crowds will be tough, but the water parks will feel great! My brother & sister in law are both teachers and take the kids every June and love it also, spending the mornings in the parks and the afternoons at the water parks, returning to the parks in the evenings. Hope you have a great time either time!
debbi ºoº
Our next trip will be July 2000. I can't wait. I have 2 kids, ages 12 and 8 and they can't wait.
We camp at Fort Wilderness when we go.
The only problem is....July is toooo far away...I'm ready NOW!
Take your children out of school. We have always done WDW in Sept or Oct. If you ask for some schoolwork the teachers usually provide some to do on the plane or have them do a report on what they did and saw. One year My daughter collected a trinket from all the countries in the showcase and shared them at show and tell. Most school systems figure a vacation and family time are just as important as school.
Although the schools policy is children should not be taken out of school for "unexcussed" reasons sometimes it's worth it! We have only done this once before (1996), their teachers (although not administration)were very understanding. My older son gathered info on a report he was doing about manitees, and my youngest kept a journal on what he did. They were both thrilled to share thier experiences with their class when they returned.We will also be takeing them out this year when we go (Oct). If your children are doing well in school 5 days off will not be a large set back for them (especially in the younger grades).
Whatever time you decide to go, have a great time!!!
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chapel Hill, NC USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 36,592
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Re: Next trip to the world - when?
Thank you everyone for your input. I know that taking kids out of school for vacations can become a hot topic. For the record, we have taken my son out of his 1st grade class a total of 7 days this year for family vacations (WDW and Seattle). Daughter is in preschool. WDW trip was scheduled during a week that the had one teacher workday, so he missed only 4 days that week. The Seattle vacation was scheduled for 3 days that were originally teacher workdays and then became snow-makeup days when we had our blizzard in January (who knew that would happen ).
While his teacher has been really good about his taking those days off and has given him a journal to keep for each trip (they were great!), I can't help but feel that we are taking away really important teaching time for him. He is having some trouble learning to read and is in a reading recovery program (started this winter) that really wants him to be at school every day they are in session.
Secondly, we have only so many days of vacation that we can take from our workplaces (the grown-ups in the family) and if we take them out of school for a trip then we still have to take time for their "school vacation" and we just don't have enough days to cover it all. Ugh.
I have not completely given up on the idea of taking them out of school and likely will in the future, but in our current situation it seems better to go with the school vacation flow at this point. SO--what would you choose--first week of June or Easter week?
Okay, as a teacher I was going to stay out of this conversation. However, HiddenMickey brings up a great point and I can no longer be quiet.
Here are some points to ponder if you are thinking of taking your child out of school:
- Does your child miss a lot of days due to illness?
- When your child does miss school, is he or she usually responsible about making up missed work?
- If your child does have special needs, are you willing to not only ask the teacher what you can do to aid your child on vacation, but also actually have the child do some of the work while on vacation?
- Does your child struggle with keeping up in class? If so, are you willing to spend extra time helping him or her catch up? (Your child's teacher sould also help upon your return)
Remember, many children learn better with "hands on instruction" than from sitting in a desk. So many of Disney's attractions are not only fun, but educational as well. While you are touring the parks, make as many attractions a learning experience as possible.
Now, what do I have my students do as make-up work for my class? Two things:
1 - They have to write a paper about the music they hear and see in the parks.
2 - They have to eat a Mouseketeer bar for me!
Okay, I've had my say. Thanks for putting up with me.
Given your stance on not wanting to take your children out of school, I'd have to go with early June. There will definitely be smaller crowds than at Easter week, when many children are on vacation and many teens and young adults are on Spring Break. Good luck with your trip and have a Mickey time!
Cruella ºoº
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It all began with a father with two daughters...
You can stand the heat and crowds better if you will get there early and go back to your hotel during the heat for swimming and rest times, then go back to the parks in the evening. We also go frequently in the summer and this works for us. Have fun.
When our children were in elementary school, we would take them out of school to spend 2 weeks at WDW. They are now grown - 30,29 & 27.They are all college graduates and all successful business people. School is important, but travel is educational and the quality family time is important also in the grand scheme!
Whatever you decide, have a GREAT Disney vacation!
I can not stand the heat there in the summer. We have taken our two kids out of school now for three years in Jan or Feb. All three trips the schools have closed for snow days while we were gone. All three times there teachers were nice enough to send homeworks or assignments and they were ahead of the classes in homework on our return due to the snow days. Two years ago there were so many snow days that on a nine day trip they only missed two days of school in Jan. Of course, four days on that one were weekend days.
Don L.
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OS 4/90, BC 2/95, WL 1/97, Contemp 1/98 & 1/99, Poly 12/99, DxL 2/00
I have no qualms about taking my children out of school for a week. They're ages 6 & 11. The school that they go to allows 10 days for unexcused absences. My children are healthy so I don't have a problem with being out more than the allowed time. There is no better time than October to go to WDW.
The crowds are very managable and the weather is perfect!
To answer your question ---- I'd definitely go with June. Yes, it's hotter then Easter but not much - and it's not nearly as crowded. If I'm remembering correctly, Easter is the 2nd or 3rd most crowded time after Christmas week. It's also nice to give your son an end of school reward after the tough year he's having!! We started school so dog gone early this year my daughter gets out May 12th, but I don't like to "blow" my whole summer vacation that soon so we're going in July!!
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