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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 been thinking about this for a few days now, as obviously we're heading towards the end of 2011.
There have been a lot of bad things about this year, not least the loss of Lorie and Glenn but I thought it would be nice to finish the year on a more positive note and think about our highlights. It's very easy sometimes, I find, to think about the bad things and forget all the good things.
So what were your top five highlights of 2011?
Mine were:
1) Seeing the Queen
2) Meeting my best friend’s family for the first time and having a great time with them in WDW
3) An amazing Alaskan cruise with good friends
4) Visiting some of America’s most stunning national parks
5) Finally getting London 2012 Olympics tickets
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1. Watching oldest DD graduate high school with all of her honors.
2. Watching this same DD adapt to life away from home at college (and still managing to exel).
3. Seeing youngest DD score her personal best on the high school golf team and placing in the regional tourney.
4. DS made our school district's honor band!
5. We added a new fur baby to our family. I Buddy!
6. I had a most amazing trip to Australia this summer and actually saw some people I'd met when I was there two years ago. So fun!
7. My kids are all healthy and happy.
8. I was able to purchase a new car. Mini is so cute.
Those are in no particular order! Great topic Cheryl!
1) Getting my new position at work...
2) Taking our Alaska cruise
3) Having the "baby" start kindergarten...
hmmmm.... I'll come back w/ a 4 and 5 when I think of more....
1. Having my DH be able to go to most of my DD's cross country races.
2. Katie making the local newspaper in said cross country races.
3. My surgery...best thing ever!!
4. The Boston Bruins winning the Stanley Cup
I've had quite a few downs, but just as many ups this year - so on with the plus side of things!
1. Attending first my DD Kathryn's high school graduation - all 34 students
2. A week later attending my favorite (and only) nephew's high school graduation of 600+ students!
3. Watching those same two teens become young adults - and make their college decisions
4. Watching DD Lauren get her Black Belt in Karate
5. a wonderful Mediterranean cruise with DDs Samantha, Kathryn, Lauren and DH in July
6. A trip to WDW with DDs, a niece, and some friends in June
7. A trip to WDW with DDs Samantha and Kathryn and step-mom
8. Graduating University (after a few stumbles and almost 6 years)
9. Celebrating 22 years of truly wedded bliss with DH - and having my DDs tell us they're happy we don't really fight, we don't yell at each other, and we respect each other - unlike a lot of their friends' parents.
10 - and this is going to sound weird, but really it was probably one of the happiest moments of my year: getting the phone call that they had found my dad's body.
11. Following #10 - getting the honor of giving my dad's eulogy and then watching the honor guard fold and hand my step-mother his flag as a 21 gun salute was fired.
1. My Oldest DD getting healthy after suffering many years with Depression.
2. My DH getting a bonus that paid for our trip to Disney..
3. "Paying off" my Truck and my DH's truck 6 months apart!!
4. The Biggest of them all, the birth of my grandson!!!
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Some highlights in no particular order:
1. Seeing relatives in North Carolina due to being stranded by Hurricane Irene
2. Being able to keep my job. Here's hoping for another whole year in 2012.
3. Enjoying time with both my brother and sister who live far away
4. Watching Andrew enjoy his first major league baseball game.
5. Andrew's baseball team finishing in 2nd place for their league.
1. Getting to take 3 Disney trips this year (2 to WDW, 1 to DLR)
2. Switching DS#1 to a new school where he is thriving
3. Publishing my first article (work-related)
4. Watching DS#2 in Little League playoffs for the first time
5. Celebrating 12 years of marriaage with DH -- just 13 years to go until we renew our vows at WDW!!
1) adopting our dog, Pippy
2) getting to visit WDW 2x and having another trip to look forward to in Febuary
3) finding out that my cousin is adopting a baby from Ethiopia in a few months after years of waiting
4) buying our house
5) becoming DVC members and AP holders!