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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Destination: Baltimore MD
Date: June 17 - 19
Cast: Me (mom Kris) 38, dd's dad Courtney 42 and dd
who turned 10 on 6/16
Celebration: DD's 10th birthday
Well we are back from our trip to Baltimore and boy did we have fun!!!! Baltimore's Inner Harbor is a great place to visit and only 2 short hours from my home in the suburbs of Philadelphia. We left on Friday after I got off from work at noon. We couldn't leave right away because despite the fact that Courtney was home all morning we still had to go to the car wash and Wawa. Once on the road it only took a little over 2 hours until we arrived at our hotel. We decided to stay outside of the Inner Harbor due to $$ contrainst (check my countdown clock to my WDW trip and you will understand). We picked the Days Inn 8 miles outside of the Inner Harbor and while we have stayed in many hotels because Kelsey plays travel hockey and we are always going somewhere for a game or tournament I must say I was very disappointed in this hotel. I knew we weren't staying in the Ritz but this place wasn't great. It had an outdoor pool which was important to Kelsey, but the room was dirty. I knew it was an older hotel but if they would just clean the rooms better it would go a long way. We had time to kill before the Orioles game so we watched some tv (the pool wasn't open until Sat.) and Kelsey & her dad had a softball catch. Then we left for the game. Camden Yards is a great ball park. Unfortunately the Orioles lost in a low scoring game so it wasn't the most thrilling game I ever saw. Saturday morning we got up and went to get some free continental breakfast which was good. The pool was scheduled to open at 10 which is what time we went down. The pool guy (we named him Pokey the Pool Person) stated he wasn't ready. At 10:30 he stated he still wasn't ready but I informed him we were going to sit in the sun until he was. The water was cold but the pool was nice. We got cleaned up after our swim and went into the Inner Harbor. We parked by the Cirque du Soleil tent and walked to the ESPN Zone (quite a haul). We had a drink but there wasn't enough time to eat before the show so we had ckicken fingers at a stand next door. Now that wasn't my plan but I made the mistake of explaining my plan to Courtney while the tv was on so he didn't hear me. We then walked back to the Cirque du Soleil tents to see the show. Let me tell you it was fabulous. SIDE NOTE: Marnie if you can get tickets when it comes to Hartford definately do it. The show was unbelievable!!!! Words can not describe it. After the show we went to a restaurant right on the water called Victors Cafe. The prices were a little higher than I would have liked but I guess it wasn't bad for a waterfront restaurant. Courtney had the chopped salad with blackened shrimp which he said was very good. He also had the Cream of Crab soup which we all tasted and loved. Kelsey wanted crab cakes but they didn't have them on the appetizer menu and instead of ordering the regular order she picked the Grouper in a lemon butter sauce which she loved. I had the surf & turf which included a small steak cooked to perfection and a Maryland crab cake which I had been dying for all weekend and it was fabulous. Mine & Kelsey's came with mashed potatoes both regular and sweet and broccoli. Kelsey picked a piece of chocolate cake for dessert and I had brought the "10" candle that she had requested. We had a hard time finding matches since you can't smoke in the restaurant but Courtney got a lighter from the bartender. We didn't sing but she wanted to blow out her candles. The guy at the table next to us wished Kelsey a happy birthday and noticed she was wearing the shirt she had just gotten at the Cirque du Soleil show and since he had just been there too and had his lanyard from his Tapis Rouge pass he gave it to her to have. After dinner we went back to the room. Sunday was cloudy so after the continental breakfast we headed home.
I highly recommend both the Inner Harbor and Cirque du Soleil. I thought after seeing Varikai I wouldn't have a strong desire to see LaNouba but it is the exact opposite. Kelsey & I definately want to see that show too.
I'm sorry I didn't know you were here! I think that's when I had the nasty cold, so we wouldn't have driven into the city. I am wondering where that hotel is. Is it near the airport???