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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Glad you have another trip to look forward to after that hard period at work. And more coming up, I'm sure.
Your NYC trip sounds fantastic! I used to manage the Capezio store in Boston and it was always fun when young dancers would come in all excited to look around and shop.
I know you must be looking forward to your next trip so much, you deserve it after being so busy at work lately! I'm glad you and Emily had such a great time in NYC, it sounded like a wonderful time.
Hope your 'wing-man' gets better soon to help you out at work!
Sounds like you've had a good few past weekends! I feel you on life - I need to update my own TR, but find just reading everything takes up all my time.
Wow - you're so busy you are making me tired. Glad the trip to NYC was a success, and thanks for all the hard work you do to bring some happiness to those in need.
I'm all caught up FINALLY! I can't wait to read your TR, but I know it will take a bit to get it going - I fully understand being busy! I feel like I don't have time to breathe anymore! Tis the season, right? LOL! Hang in there, lady! It sounds like life is crazy and fun in the mean time!
I woke at 2:45 a.m. to shower, then got Scott & Emily up and we headed out by 3:45 to head to the Hartford airport for our 6:05 a.m.! We made good timing……..didn’t really expect much traffic at this hour, but you never know!
At the airport, we had a little bit of time before boarding, so we grabbed some breakfast items to eat –
Scott: Boiled eggs and yogurt
Emily: Boiled eggs and Silk soy milk
Lisa: Bagel with cream cheese
We boarded the flight, then we all passed out and slept the entire flight!!!
We landed at MCO on time – about 9:10 a.m. ~ found our luggage and then our rental car (more on this later….) and headed straight for the bubble!!!
We checked into SSR at 10:30 a.m. and they had a room available for us (we had done on-line check-in ) in the Grandstand section (new for us! We usually stay in the Springs). We quickly got unpacked and settled into the room.
We then headed for Downtown Disney to Guest Services to get our Premium Annual Passes (thank you very much DVC discount!), our tickets for MNSSHP, and our Photopass + card!
After all our goods in hand, we were hungry – so headed straight for Earl of Sandwich!!! Emily and I shared the Hawaiin BBQ , Scott had the Italian, we all shared a bag of chips, and Emily had strawberry shortcake.
Apparently - Scott dug right into his sandwich, therefore no pic ~ sorry!
After some full bellies, we went into the Christmas shop to purchase our Christmas ornaments – plus I had to get one for a friend back home at her request!
Now…….it was time to head to Magic Kingdom!!!!
As soon as we walked in the park, of course, we stopped for some Photopass photos in front of the train station.
Then we noticed that Aurora was out next to City Hall. Emily thought it was fantastic that we were meeting Aurora while I was wearing my Sleeping Beauty tee!
Next up was a ride on Space Mountain (photo included in Photopass+), I seriously don’t know why I go on this ride, it truly freaks me out every time!!! But I am a good sport….and go for the ride!
Then we relaxed on the people mover to take in the sights of Tomorrowland.
Next we headed for Storybook Circus – this was new for us, as it just recently opened. We really enjoyed all the new touches into this area!
We also took a flight on Dumbo! We found out that we were on the “new” one! The original Dumbo is to the right if you are facing the ride!
Then we strolled through Fantasyland to see some of the new constuction, making our way toward Frontierland…..
Emily was on the hunt for a Mickey Pretzel………..and we found one, so we stopped for a snack break and people watched!
It was now time for us to start heading back to the resort to get ready for dinner, so we took the train from Frontierland to the front of the park and made our way to the rental car.
Up next: that rental car……
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Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
Glad you've found the time to get started! Your first day is already packed full, especially after such an early start. The room looks wonderful and you all look so happy to be there. You even look happy on Space Mountain. Guess you're a good actress! Smile for the camera!