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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We will be in Maine again this summer for an ice hockey tournament. DD team is playing in Portland I think but we are staying in Old Orchard Beach right on the beach. Anything we should do since we will have an entire day before the tournament starts? We will be heading up on July 4th hopefully arriving around 3:00 pm and we will have all of July 5th free because the tournament doesn't start until the 6th.
If you aren't staying with a group, I would look into staying in Portland itself, which is a lovely small city, or one of the surrounding towns other than Old Orchard Beach unless you really like a midway atmosphere. Maine has so many beautiful, relaxing beaches. I would plan on a nice, relaxing day on the beach. One other option if you haven't already done it would be a whale watch.
Keep in mind you are going to be running into lots of traffic arriving on the 4th. You'll be able to catch the fireworks that night down near the pier.
For your free day you could drive down to Ogunquit and walk around the little shops. There's a great general store that has a big Ben and Jerry's ice cream store. There's a fantastic restaurant in Wells (next to Ogunquit). The Steakhouse Restaurant, Best Steak House in Maine Get there for 4:30 - you won't have to wait too long.
You could also take a drive up to Portland and check out LL Bean and all the little shops around there.
You might PM simbarel and see what she recommends!
I would check out Portland a bit and take a drive up to Freeport (about 20 minutes) and do a bit of shopping. Definitely check out LL Bean That weekend is their 95th Anniversary celebration week, so they may have some good sales going on! There are also a bunch of specialty shops for things made in Maine, Maine souvenirs, etc.
The shops in Freeport and Gritty McDuff's restaurant in Freeport got an AWFUL lot of my money when we lived in Brunswick (30 minutes north of Portland -- 10 minutes north of Freeport) a few years ago!
I second that! Every summer my family would visit Maine when I was a kid. We would stay in Wells Beach and ALWAYS eat at The Steakhouse!
You also HAVE to go visit the Nubble Light (Cape Naddick lighthouse). It is kind of off the beaten path but it is well worth the short drive out there. You can't visit the little island but you can get some great photos of the light from the mainland.
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Robin Twitter name: @NKsDogwalker Find me on FB: robinkay6573@yahoo.com 38th Birthday with Mom, Dad and friends 2011 Next Trip: Cruise on Jewel of the Seas for Christmas 2012
Just remember that you are going on the most crowded weekend of the year here in Maine. OOB is a ZOO, so have patience wherever you go . . . and wherever you go, go EARLY in the day and plan to spend the day there.
IMO, the best fireworks in Maine are off the Eastern Prom in Portland.
IMO, the best fireworks in Maine are off the Eastern Prom in Portland.
That's where I'll be! I'm no Ogunquit expert, mainly because every time I've been there it's been wall-to-wall traffic (slooooooooooooooooow, almost non-existent motion) and the holiday would only add to that, I imagine. I always send people to the Eastern Prom or Two Lights at Cape Elizabeth, where the Lobster Shack is. Your DD might enjoy OOB, it can be fun. Are you going to the Portland Ice Arena? Deering Oaks is close by for a relaxing picnic/wade in the wading pool. There's also the Old Port and cruises around Casco Bay.
the Well's Steakhouse IS amazing! However, the Wells / Ogunquit area will be extrememly busy that week, and there is only one main road throught the towns that gets backed up at the best of times. If you do go there, park your car somewhere and take the trolleys. They are replicas of old fashioned trolley cars, cheap, and convenient.
HOpe you have a great time whatever you decide to do!
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That weekend is their 95th Anniversary celebration week, so they may have some good sales going on! There are also a bunch of specialty shops for things made in Maine, Maine souvenirs, etc.
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