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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Place des Vosges is beautiful even in the winter. I have to agree with Laurie that I find the symmetry of it visually appealing as well as calming. It would be such a treat to live here and look at the square in all season.
I hope we get to go back there one day and see it at a different time of the year to see what it looks like.
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Hotel de Sully was also beautiful. I sometimes wonder what the original architects and builders would think about their work all these years later. I'm one who is glad they have been preserved and restored.
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I would hope they'd be very proud that it's still there albeit in a restored state. I'm so glad they created something so beautiful for us to enjoy all these years later.
Thursday 5 December – part five: now how are we going to find Hazel?
Once we were done in there, we headed back to the main road again and walked along it.
that is graffiti on the van you can see to the right!
We found St. Paul St. Louis church next, which is a Jesuit church and has an impressive façade.
At this point, we crossed over the road and walked along the wider pavement area, admiring both the architecture around here and the Christmas trees they had out here.
By now, Hazel was texting me and let me know that she was on her way. I kept her updated with where we were, as we walked along Rue de Rivoli, one of the main streets in this part of Paris. I said to Hazel later that I felt that this was a more real part of Paris with less tourists. I know she wasn’t 100% convinced by that statement, as she told me there were a lot of designer stores around here that attract tourists, which is fair comment.
We carried on walking and, before we knew it, we were at the Hotel de Ville. I was very impressed as it looked like a long way on the map, but it really hadn’t felt like that at all. I checked later and it turned out that it was 1.25 miles.
The Hotel de Ville is a 19th century reconstruction of the original 17th century building that burnt down in 1871. The square was in the process of being turned into an ice rink, which meant that there wasn’t much of it to enjoy now, but once upon a time, this was the home to much more barbaric acts, like hangings, burnings and executions. Nice… There was certainly a lot of security around it today. I don’t know if that’s usual or not.
After we got photos, I suggested to Mark that we sit and wait for Hazel, as I had told her that we had made it here. I kept checking my phone for any messages, but there was nothing, so I assumed she was still on the Metro. Then just after I checked my phone, we saw her coming out of the Metro. Now how about that for managing to arrange a good meeting spot without really knowing what we were doing?
The Hotel de Ville is my favorite building in the whole of Paris, especially at night in the spring as it is all lit up and the fountains which you were sitting just in front of are flowing. It is also beautiful at Christmas time in just a weeks or so when the Ice rink is finsihed and the market and decorations are there but it is a really beautiful building in its own right. Rue de Rivoli is also one of my favorite streets as it has so much history on it.
As for wanting to live in Paris, what we have found is a lot of the sights are really hard to see. We have never seen the Sacre Coeur church properly as it is even on the off season so busy you cannot move. Tourists in paris put the MK on a shutdown day to shame and they do not seem to have an off season. The only option really is mid week mornings or sometimes early Sunday mornings.
That is a beautiful hotel. I have to tell you though, Caden was looking over my shoulder as I was reading it. When it came to the naked statue pics his eyes got big. Tim asked where the statues were and I told him. Caden said, "There is a lot of that in Paris." I am not sure what he is basing this statement on, but it certainly is more than our little IL town, lol! It was funny!
That is an impressive building. Every little detail is thought of. Very cool that you ended up in just the right meeting place!
Hazel, try visiting Sacre Coeur on Tuesday morning in early March. We didn't have any crowds whatsoever!! Of course, this was 12 years ago.
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The Hotel de Ville is my favorite building in the whole of Paris, especially at night in the spring as it is all lit up and the fountains which you were sitting just in front of are flowing.
Ok, that's a must-do for our spring visit then...
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It is also beautiful at Christmas time in just a weeks or so when the Ice rink is finsihed and the market and decorations are there but it is a really beautiful building in its own right.
I only glanced at the notice on the fencing there, but I think it said that the ice rink wouldn't be open until 20 December. I certainly remember seeing that date - that seems very late to me. Over here, the ice rinks open in early December.
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Rue de Rivoli is also one of my favorite streets as it has so much history on it.
As for wanting to live in Paris, what we have found is a lot of the sights are really hard to see. We have never seen the Sacre Coeur church properly as it is even on the off season so busy you cannot move.
No way! I remember going there a few years ago - I don't remember exactly when, but I think it was spring or autumn (it certainly wasn't summer) and on a weekday and it wasn't too packed. I guess things have changed a bit since then...
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Tourists in paris put the MK on a shutdown day to shame and they do not seem to have an off season. The only option really is mid week mornings or sometimes early Sunday mornings.
In my experience, the whole of France is pretty dead on a Sunday morning...
That is a beautiful hotel. I have to tell you though, Caden was looking over my shoulder as I was reading it. When it came to the naked statue pics his eyes got big. Tim asked where the statues were and I told him. Caden said, "There is a lot of that in Paris." I am not sure what he is basing this statement on, but it certainly is more than our little IL town, lol! It was funny!
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Gorgeous shots...I love the grandeur of Hotel de Ville and we have seen some great free exhibits there as well. This summer, we were treated to an impromptu overhead "fly-by" of various jets and military planes in practice for the Bastille Day celebration....it was quite an amazing sight!
So glad you were able rendezvous with Hazel...looking forward to hearing how the day progressed.
Danielle
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that is graffiti on the van you can see to the right! 
There was certainly a lot of security around it today. I don’t know if that’s usual or not. 
We didn't have any crowds whatsoever!! Of course, this was 12 years ago. 
I remember going there a few years ago - I don't remember exactly when, but I think it was spring or autumn (it certainly wasn't summer) and on a weekday and it wasn't too packed. I guess things have changed a bit since then... 
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