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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
...no, not my biological clock (anymore) but my 4.5 month std/maternity leave is coming to an end. Thankfully the "powers that be" at work are being really accomodating with my schedule---I was hoping to work Tues-Sat, but I caved when they begged me to work Monday (the busiest day ) so I won't have 2 days off in a row but the rest is exactly what I was praying for: 11-5:30 with a half hour lunch, and 20-minute "mothers room" breaks. This way I'll deal with Jimmy in the morning, Wally will cover 11-5:30, we'll have dinner together, and then he goes into work at 8 or 9pm nightly, he comes home around 2am, and then starts all over again! Both of us have Thursday off, and I also have Sunday off.
Even though I'd love to be able to be a SAHM, I'm sososososososososososo thankful that we can work our schedules so we don't have to send Jimmy to daycare---not that there's anything wrong with that. : It's just sosososososo expensive and Wally's going to take the hands-on time to introduce DS to music and instruments, etc. He's also the more domestic one, so the house will stay cleaner, longer (Bonus!! )
What schedule do you work? Technically mine is 32 hours:
Mon, Tues, Weds, Friday 11am-5:30
Saturday 8am-5pm
I'm sorry your time off is coming to an end, but that's great that your jobby-job is working with you! Jimmy's a very lucky boy
I supposedly work 8:00 - 5:00, Monday through Friday. But it's much more varied than that. I travel pretty often, and we have a lot of events that require me to work weird hours - the latest I've worked was probably 10:00 pm. I hardly ever have to work on the weekend, though. During "slow" times, I'll work 8:00 - 4:30. Busier times, I'll work 7:30 - until. If I've had a few long days in a row, I'll take off Friday. Just depends.
Congrats on getting a schedule that works for all of you. Daycare can really be expensive now a days.
Right now I'm a SAHFM (Stay at home foster mom) but once the baby is born, I will just be a SAHM. When I worked in the private sector, my hours were M-F 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and I traveled several times a month. Since my DH also travels for business, we decided that when we became foster parents, I would need to stay home so I could do the parent thing. Then when we became pregnant....I decided to continue to stay home. However I know at some point I will want to get back to work at least part time.
What schedule do you work?[/B] Technically mine is 32 hours:
Mon, Tues, Weds, Friday 11am-5:30
Saturday 8am-5pm
Ours is 4 (time flies!) but I remember being in your position what seems like only last year! At my current job (a private, residential school, but not the snobby kind, the kid for kids with disabilities) I can basically "pick" my 8 hours to work each day, as long as I'm at work by 9:00. So I work 7:00am-3:30 M-F. I have 2 hours of relative peace in which to do my paperwork (and it never ends!). Then I'm off to treat the kiddos until 2:30. During my last hour, I write my notes and re-arrange the piles on my desk. The rest of my colleagues are generally chatting/being social (which is fine....) but they don't leave until 5:30, 6:00 or later, and complain that they never have enough time to do all their paperwork! Since I'm salaried, I don't do overtime...it goes against my religion!
I chose to view going back to work as a "break" to interact with adults, and re-charge my mommy powers. My newest mommy-friend at work is buying wholeheartedly into the working mommy guilt trip. I think it's because she's Catholic.....
Jimmy is a beautiful baby, but I don't need to tell you that. I loved the first two years with our son....and then he learned to talk really well.....and he hasn't stopped since! with going back to work!
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Southwestern Florida, USA
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 39,153
Post Thanks / Like
Likes (Given): 39
Likes (Received): 114
Thanks (Given): 18
Thanks (Received): 46
Pixie Dust (Given): 1
Pixie Dust (Received): 8
I am glad you got a schedule that works for you Rachel!
Child care is very expensive - but if you think about it -you are paying for the safe keeping and good care of your child.
I am so glad that Wally is going to be a hands on dad! Little Jimmy will benefit greatly from having both of his parents there for him!
I was so very grateful that I was able to stay at home with our three sons when they were little. I went back to work once our youngest was in kindergarten. And I was very fortunate to have my mom and dad close by - as after a 1/2 day at kindergarten, the bus dropped off Nate at his grandparent's home for the afternoon!
Good luck with going back to work!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
I'm so sorry to hear that you'll have to leave your baby soon! I think it's great that your job is going to work around your scheduling needs - you are very fortunate! It's also good that Daddy will have a chance to care for baby on his own and get the hang of it... and you'll enjoy watching their bond grow. I know it is hard, but you'll be thankful to have the "adult" time soon enough... once the temper tantrums start, that is!
__________________
Boogie down!!! __________________________________________________ ______ "Life's like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing. Keep pretending." from The Muppet Movie
Glad that you were able to coordinate it all. That is a very difficult thing to do. btw, Jimmy is so cute, although in my head I sometimes wonder how you and henway are doing
Glad to hear your job is being accomodating I generally work 7-3:30 Mon and Tuesday, off Wednesday, 3pm-11:30 or when the store is finally cleaned up which could be later Fridays I go in around 8 and work till 4-4:30. I alternate weekends, one off then I work one.
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.
Rachel, so glad you could work it all out so Jimmy doesn't have to go to daycare!
Technically, I work M-F 7:45am-2:30pm, but I'm usually there by 7:30am and don't leave until 3:00-ish. I get 20 minutes for lunch, but more often than not I am stuck in my room with a student or 2 who have been sent to my classroom for misbehaving.
Glad you are able to work your schedule so it works for Jimmy. I currently work 8:00 to 4:00. I have always worked standard hours so my schedule was in sink with day care. Her father travels alot on business so I need a normal schedule so I'm always around for dd.
About This Page: 
The Clock is Ticking...
Thankfully the "powers that be" at work are being really accomodating with my schedule---I was hoping to work Tues-Sat, but I caved when they begged me to work Monday (the busiest day 
) so I won't have 2 days off in a row 
: It's just sosososososo expensive and Wally's going to take the hands-on time to introduce DS to music and instruments, etc. He's also the more domestic one, so the house will stay cleaner, longer (Bonus!! 
)
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Jimmy's a very lucky boy 
with going back to work!
Fridays I go in around 8 and work till 4-4:30. I alternate weekends, one off then I work one.
Linear Mode
