Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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08-11-2009, 04:46 PM
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#1
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Community Rank: Trekker 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 1,564
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Nov.30-Dec.5 PTR: What better place for a Redheaded Princess than Fantasyland?
Welcome to my first ever trip report! While my husband and I have visited WDW several times before, we are looking forward to our first trip since 2006! We are booked for Nov. 30-Dec. 5, 2009 - it can't come soon enough! It's waaay early, I know, but I've sorta run out of things to do for the trip, and since we're very nearly at double digits  , this seemed like a good time to start a PTR.
First things first: I am rather new to this community, so I think it best to introduce the cast for our first true "family" trip.
1. Myself, Alissa (Katara81):
I'm sarcastic, dry-humored, and scatterbrained. A few years ago, I put my dreams of being a history professor on hold to become a full-time homemaker, then graduated to being a stay-at-home mommy to DD. I also have 2 cats that pre-date DD's arrival to the family that I consider my children as well. I'm your classic nerd - I like history, movies, books, etc. I often attract weird looks in public due to my tendency to whip out the cameraphone to document random things I find funny.
2. My dear husband, John:
(John and my sister Rae at GG in 2006)
John is extremely intelligent, geeky just like myself, a great dad, a fairly hardcore online gamer, and quite the goofball as well. He has an obsession with Oakley sunglasses, which explains why the pic above is the only one I could find of him without a pair of shades on. He is also one of the people responsible for spending your tax dollars - he's an engineer, and works for the Dept. of Defense in a test facility. It is not uncommon for him to come home and tell me about how he spent $20,000 on a battery. Sorry about that, y'all.
John and I are both currently 28 years old, married for 8 years this past June. We met when we were 15, yes, *15*, in the high school marching band (see, told ya we're geeks). We took our first trip together to WDW with the band in 1998, and marched in the Magic Kingdom parades. That got us hooked on Disney, and we've been back a few times since then, including our honeymoon (which coincided with Star Wars Weekends, natch).
3. Our dear daughter, Kate, 2 years old, our Red-headed Princess:
What can I say about Kate....she's a sweetie-pooh. She's very active and very intense about things she is interested in (just like Daddy). She is very stubborn and independent, and has a fiery temper (just like Mommy). She is quite gorgeous, and gets comments wherever she goes on how cute she is. Mommy and "Gickey" (Mickey) are the loves of her life - I cannot wait till she meets that old Mouse. I also have to say, that Kate is quite a challenge to me. She is very dramatic and demanding, and is quite spoiled. So if you happen to be at WDW the week after Thanksgiving, and a tall, redheaded toddler steamrolls over your kid on her way to see her beloved "Gickey".......blame me, please.
Family photo from our June vacay - Kate was very hot and unhappy.
4. Grandma and Grandpa (John's parents-Kate calls them Gee-ma and Paw.):
Gee-ma is a retired schoolteacher, and is very much in love with Kate. She is unfailingly patient and kind-I have never seen her angry. She splits her time between keeping John's nephew while his sister works, and hunting for antiques - they bought a new house when she retired, so naturally, she has to fill it with old stuff.
Paw is a minister, and is always busy with sermons, funerals, his radio program, heavy involvment w/ patient visitation at the local hospital, etc. So, this gives a limit to how long this trip can be, as he doesn't want to miss more than one Sunday service. Thus, we are only scheduled for 5 nights (along with 2 days coming and going).
This will be the second time John and I will have been to the World with family. On our last trip (Oct. 2006), we took along my mother, sister, and the guy Mom was dating at the time. Between Mom and Rae taking 3 hours to get ready in the mornings (grrr) and Mom's BF acting like a 12 year old who thought thetrip was for his amusement only (GRRR), it was a rather irritating experience. I really hope it goes smoother this time, and I think it will. My in-laws arevery easy-going, and willing to follow whatever plan I set up for us.
Up next: Park and (tentative) ADR plans! |
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