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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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So here we go again. For those of you who don't know me well, my boyfriend of a year and a half and I broke up last month. We had a Celebrity Cruise planned for Valentine's Week and it was all already booked and paid for... including the flight. Since his parents were also going, he won the cruise in the break up. That left me with a good chunk of vacation money, and flights to Puerto Rico to find something to do with.
My first thought was go to PR anyway and just spend a week on the beach relaxing at the Hilton and maybe do some rainforest trips or something. Wellll it's high season and when it was going to cost me $300 a night to fill in my cruise dates with hotel stay... I looked into other options.
Then also it's kind of short notice for a lot of people to start saving so I really don't have anyone to go on this trip with, so then my mind went to Disney! I can go there alone no problem and there are always people around to keep me company, and heck maybe some friends would even tag along eventually! Thus, a solo Disney trip was born...
This is me!
Traveler: Maci
Quarter Life Crisis
Disney Addict
Peter Pan & Aurora
Frequent Flyer
Love all the Disney food
Since it's so last minute and I'm still working on my European adventure trip report, this probably won't have too many details, but it helps me think through everything to type it all up for you Welcome along!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
I to am sorry to hear about the breakup. Disney sounds like a great trip!
I think it will be
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Sorry about the breakup Maci!
No worries, everything for a reason and all
Quote:
Originally Posted by mojjo
I'm sorry about the break up.
A solo trip sounds great especially if you can manage some meets while you are there. Wish I was going.
Meets are already planned, PPers are so wonderful!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Sorry, Maci. A WDW trip is definitely the thing to do!
Mom said I sounded so happy when I was telling her about it
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Maci, I am so sorry. A Disney trip is definitely in order!
Disney fixes everything!
And for the record, I'm really okay with the breakup - it was mutual. Of course it was hard at first but I'm getting there. Having to rearrange so many travel plans was a bummer though, the cruise was SUCH a good deal
So the initial trip was planned for Feb 13th to 22nd. I have off President's Day and of course it was a lovely way to spend Valentine's Day last year. Well, when I looked for that week at Disney it was already all booked up for DVC but I could pay cash if I wanted to and stay at a Value or Moderate. Mom told me I was nuts and I should stay on points. I tried to explain to her that we only have 100 points left for our 2015 use year and nothing was available... this was mostly my fault as I had a 1 bedroom booked the first week in May as that's when I typically like to go.
Since I had to change the flights either way, I pulled up a crowd calendar and started to look for the lowest crowd levels I could find. The first week in February jumped out but with Chicago next week and a trip to DC Jan 23rd... I just don't think I could have feasibly enjoyed myself, I would spend the whole trip sleeping!
I typically avoid March because of Spring Break, but I pulled it up and the first week wasn't too bad - levels predicting around 5 which is reasonable. Higher than Feb, but gives me a little time to recover at least. I'm sure I'll be expected to go to DC again in Feb, but at least I won't be spending a week in the frozen tundra too.
I pulled up some options with DVC - Even though it's just me I like the 1 bedroom, especially if it's just me I might actually do some cooking because that much eating alone might get to me eventually. Then I called American and asked if I could change my flight - of course, for $200 But she was super helpful and in just a few minutes my flight was moved to the exact times I wanted to MCO, with window seats, and actually with a $70ish credit because the PR flights were so expensive!
Then I had to pick a resort - I think the options were Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, and the Boardwalk. I was looking into a studio at an Epcot area, but it just wasn't available. So since I was going with a 1 bedroom but probably wanted to go again at some point in the next year, I went with the point-smart option of Old Key West! I've never stayed there before so I'm pretty excited!
And just like that in a whirlwind of phone calls and websites I had completely rearranged my vacation and "all my single ladies" rang through my head.
Since I never stayed there before... I have no pictures of OKW to share. So here's a little clue of something exciting to come
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Yeah, a breakup is never great fun even though mutual, but how great that you were able to juggle arrangements for some Disney feel-goods! Let's face it, Disney beats chocolate any day for cheering up a woman. Besides, if you plan a bit, you can have BOTH.
The 1-br. sounds like a fantastic idea to me since I love cooking. When we were considering booking a Villa stay for our next trip, people kept suggesting a studio for just the two of us because we could do some meals in the room. My immediate reaction when I read what their "kitchenette" is like was "You gotta be kidding me! If I'm going to fix food, it'll be real food requiring an actual stove not 'nuke-the-box' junk."
Yup, can really relate to your wanting a 1-br. Sounds like fun to me for sure.
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh