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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Thanks for sharing your trip with us Brandi! What an amazing trip! I'm not sure I could survive that long in a car with my family, but seeing all the sites that you saw certainly makes me want to try! Thanks for taking us along!
What a wonderful experience you gave your kids. Thank you for sharing your adventure with us and I give you lots of credit for spending that much time in a van with your family, I really don't think mine could do it but after following along on your trip, I just might try someday.
I just now caught up on your last update and final thoughts. Wow is about all I can say! That sure was one amazing trip! I don't think I would've attempted such a long car trip...for some reason I have really bad car karma!
Now I'm looking forward to your next trip up the East Coast! That sounds like it will be awesome, too! I might have missed this if you've already posted it, but how many states have you covered at this point?
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Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
Fantastic trip! I loved the wrap-up video. Over SEVEN THOUSAND miles!! WOW!
Thanks! Yes, it was a lot of miles....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Thanks for sharing your trip with us Brandi! What an amazing trip! I'm not sure I could survive that long in a car with my family, but seeing all the sites that you saw certainly makes me want to try! Thanks for taking us along!
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by valegirl5292
What a wonderful experience you gave your kids. Thank you for sharing your adventure with us and I give you lots of credit for spending that much time in a van with your family, I really don't think mine could do it but after following along on your trip, I just might try someday.
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us - what an amazing time you had.
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Great wrap up!! Thank you for sharing your amazing trip with us. I'm sure you and your kids will remember this trip for a very long time!!
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dlandmom2
I just now caught up on your last update and final thoughts. Wow is about all I can say! That sure was one amazing trip! I don't think I would've attempted such a long car trip...for some reason I have really bad car karma!
Now I'm looking forward to your next trip up the East Coast! That sounds like it will be awesome, too! I might have missed this if you've already posted it, but how many states have you covered at this point?
Thanks! I've only somewhat recently started on this goal; so I still have a long way too go... We went to Alaska last summer and had spent some time in a few states prior to that... So, I'm only up to 19 states.... So, lots more to see. (There are a handful or so more that we've technically been to, but I'm not counting them since we really only drove through them and didn't spend any signifigant time there)
I'll echo everyone else - an amazing adventure. I really appreciate you saring your journey. I bet this is one of those trips the kis will talk about years later ... "Remember when Mom took us to ..."
Someone pointed your TR out to me as I am planning a somewhat similar trip. (though will be half the time and no camping. lol) I really enjoyed reading about your trip and seeing all the photos/videos. You saw some amazing sights.
Finally got a chance to finish this wonderful TR. What amazing memories you've made for your kids! I really enjoyed the TR and videos. Thanks for sharing!