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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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07-23-2011, 12:48 AM
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#1
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Community Rank: Sightseer 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Gulf Breeze, Florida
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 84
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I Thought Florida Was Supposed to be Warm! Dec 9th-17th 2010
Hi there! This is my first trip report so if it's a bit lame, please forgive me. First let's start with the basics:
Dates: Dec 12/09/10 to12/17/10
Who: me(Angela) and DH(Brian)
Background: We live in North Alabama. DH is prior USMC, and I'm a nerdy scientist with Fibromyalgia. We don't have kids yet, but we act like kids! This was our 3rd Disney trip together. However, this was the first time we have been in December, and the first time staying at Wilderness Lodge. In May 2009 we stayed in a Savannah view room at AKL, and in October 2005 we stayed at Shades of Green (our 2nd wedding anniversary). This was also our first trip as civilians, not being able to use any military discounts 
Our Route: From Huntsville Alabama we took I65 south to Birmingham, then AL-280 into Georgia where it becomes GA-520. We took GA-520 to I75 (around Tifton GA) and then took I75 to Orlando.
Day One: On the road...
December 9th, 2010: When the day finally came for us to leave, things started to get stressful. I was supposed to get my braces off my teeth the morning we were leaving, but the orthodontist said the lower teeth weren't ready yet, so only the uppers came off. Then I had to wait a few hours to pick up the temporary retainer. After we picked it up we were on the road (~2:30pm Central Time). Normally we leave in the early a.m. and drive all day to Orlando, but for this trip I was hoping to break up the drive. Things were going good, and DH and I were excited. It was around 4:30pm when we got snagged trying to get out of Birmingham during rush hour. I was hoping we would miss the traffic, but DH drives EXACTLY the speed limit(old habit from living on a military base). So we were snagged for ~1hr. We had a new GPS to guide us along, so once we cleared the traffic we were off into the night. We had not taken this route during previous trips, so I was a bit nervous, but all in all it was OK, but DESOLATED. We went through a lot of small towns and we enjoyed seeing all the Christmas displays.
Note: I HATE fast food but that's life on the highway, so we stopped at a lonely Burger King. This part of the trip was uneventful, but LONG. GA-520 is a very long stretch until you get to the interstate. I could not find the "big map" of our route on the GPS, and at nearly every intersection it would indicate we only had ~5miles to go. Except that 5 miles was just to the nearest intersection, where we were told to "go straight". I was getting nervous, as it was getting late into the night. Nothing scary happened, I was just relieved that we found our way to Albany.
By now my Fibro was starting to set my neck and shoulders on FIRE, and it was impossible to relax (my Fibro is the worst in cold weather). We didn't have room reservations anywhere, and I was hoping to stop somewhere around Albany, but DH is a night owl and he just wanted to keep pushing onward, so we did. Finally we got into Florida, and I was asking if he was ready to stop, but no he wanted to keep pushing on. Finally around 1:30 am we stopped at a Hampton Inn in Ocala and stayed the night. Much to our dismay, it was just as cold as North Alabama! The frigid temperatures were following us!!!
Coming Up...Meeting "Chilly Willie"
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