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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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But my tears are a mix of happy & sad!! As I said in Rusty Alexanders post I cry for anything, happy, sad, mad.. I even tell the kids at school when they're crying that one of my 'rules' are if they're crying, I have to cry too.. It usually works & they stop. (gotta love working in an elementary school )
This morning I cried tears of joy & sadness... Today is the first day of school & Jamie started HIGH SCHOOL!!!!! I can't believe my baby is all grown up...
When I was little my Mom would wake me up on special days by singing "Teddy Bear Picnic" .."Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic!" (Okay, My Mom was sappy too, that's where I get it from!) I have followed her tradition & sang the same line for my kids on big days..
Today was no exception.. Jamie had to endure me singing while tears streamed down my face. I told him how when he was 2-3 years old, we would drive past New England Elementary school (just down the street from my house) & Jamie would tell anyone in the car "That my cool"(school). He couldn't wait to go there!
Another tradition I have done for my kids is to take a picture of them holding a sign on the first day of a new school...
Today was no exception.. We HAVE to get a pic by the tree in our front yard ..
Yes, I even put a sad face on Jamie's sign this year... It was still dark so you really can't see the tree..
I can't believe this little pip-squeak is in high school..
4YO pre-school ( yep by the tree!!)
& the fam.. Shelby was merely a thought at this point Check out all of the toys in the yard!!
& then 5YO pre-school (myst have been raining.. no tree shots!!)
Love the knee socks
& with Brendan & I
Shelby is on the way here..I'm 7+ months pregnant.. I also noticed the Buzz Lightyear gun beside us.. guess he thought he needed to fight off the evil Zurg in Pre-school..
and yes, I took a picture when he entered middle school
another from today...
do you think he'll let me take a picture of him with a sign when he goes to college?
THanks for letting me share my tears with you guys!! This is going to be a crazy school year.. I will have a kid in each of the schools.. Jamie is in high school, Brendan is in the middle school & Shelby is in elementary.. Yikes!! I can't wait to see all of the paperwork they bring home today!!
Awww - he'll be fine! It is a big day for him and you both, though, so I can understand the tears! I still remember exactly what I wore on my first day of high school (kakki shorts, white shirt, brown sandals - I was thinking "neutrals" for the hope the seniors wouldn't notice/pick on me )...you and he both will remember this day forever! Especially with the pictures - what a good idea!
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Gosh, I almost got tears in MY eyes when I scrolled down and saw Jamie's pre-school picture! He is a cute kid and will have a great time in High School.
I went through that last year when Matthew started High School. Now it's "old hat" and he dreads the homework but likes to be around his friends. I also have a middle schooler and an elementary schooler so know how you feel!
Hope they all have great days!!
Oh! And I also take pictures on the first day of school each year, on our front porch. (these are the older two from 2005 and each of the 3 from 2006. I don't have my new ones on the computer yet.)
I Jamie's shirt! Those are the shirts DS#2 buys too. They are hilarious!
What a great remembrance though! I love it! And , I can see him standing with his sign for college. You won't give him a choice, will you?! And after so many years of standing for a photo - he'll want to, too!
for Jamie as he has new high school experiences.
And for mom as she continues watching him grow up!
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I'm right there with you...my "baby" is starting high school next week. I can't believe how time flies. This morning we are clothes shopping and then this afternoon is orientation at the school.
Aaahhh...so cute. We had "the" tree in our yard at my parent's house.
"the tree" died a couple of years ago and had to be cut down....it makes me smile to remember all milestones photos taken in front of that tree!
Very nice memories!! Thank you so much for sharing.
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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
Wow, that is such a neat tradition!! I wish I would have thought of that! Too late for me now, though...my DD started 10th grade this year! I swear, it feels like she was just born!
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Saturday, October 9, 2014 - Kaitlyn and I before the Happy Haunted 5K at ESPN Wide World of Sports
Awww. I got tears in my eyes seeing all those first day of school pictures. He has grown to be a handsome young man. Maybe he will humor you and let you take his picture the first day of college.
Ann, I can picture the future now - you waking him with Teddy Bear Picnic and later Jamie in front of the tree in a tux, holding a sign that says "Breaking my poor mother's heart." And asking. "Do we really have to do this now? I'm getting married in an hour, Mom."
My dad has continued an annual tradition he began the day I was born - he still buys the newspaper on my birthday and saves it. I also have the newspapers he bought on the day I graduated highschool and on my wedding day. Even during the years after my step-dad adopted me and my dad gave up parental rights/visits, he kept buying and saving my birthday newspapers. He and my mom eventually worked it out and he was able to have me for occasional visits. It meant so much to me to know my dad still thought of me on my birthday even though he wasn't allowed to send me birthday cards during those years.
Nice pictures, Ann! At our house I always took a photo of DD in front of the plant stand in our dining room. It was fun to see how much she grew and changed from preschool all the way through high school. I was lamenting the fact to her this year that there was no first day of school photo. Of course she just started her third year of college and is living in Arizona. I tried to talk her into having her roommate take a first day of school photo for me, but DD wouldn't go for it!
As a mom whose son is starting his first year in preschool, all I can say is =sniff sniff= because I'm too busy blubbering all over the place!!!
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Boogie down!!! __________________________________________________ ______ "Life's like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing. Keep pretending." from The Muppet Movie
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I'm sure he'll be fine 
It is a big day for him and you both, though, so I can understand the tears! I still remember exactly what I wore on my first day of high school (kakki shorts, white shirt, brown sandals - I was thinking "neutrals" for the hope the seniors wouldn't notice/pick on me 
Jamie's shirt! Those are the shirts DS#2 buys too. They are hilarious!
Judy and Kenzie
"the tree" died a couple of years ago and had to be cut down....it makes me smile to remember all milestones photos taken in front of that tree! 
Too late for me now, though...my DD started 10th grade this year! 
I swear, it feels like she was just born!
Even during the years after my step-dad adopted me and my dad gave up parental rights/visits, he kept buying and saving my birthday newspapers. 
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