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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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My DH and I have been married 4 years. When we started planning our wedding we wanted a small wedding in WDW with our families, only one problem, we were the first to get married in both our large catholic family. Needless to say we did not get our wedding. We got the traditional Hispanic Catholic wedding where 300 invitations went out. We had 2 MOH, 2 BM, and 7 Bridesmaids. We fed close to 1,000 people at our reception. Anyway, we have been going to Disney every year since we met, so Disney is a big part of our lives. We just became DVC members on our last trip to WDW. So, next summer will mark our 5 year anniversary and DH has suggested we renew our vows on our yearly trip. "Have the wedding we wanted" he said. I think it is great and would love it. Now the problem once again, our families don't approve of renewing our vows on our 5th year outside of the church. We don't have any kids and thought "why not?".
We have decided to go for it anyway. We looked at DFTW, but after reading it doesn't seem personalized, enough. Now we are looking into the Swan, but cannot find any info on it. It is not a matter of $ for us, just the wedding we wanted all along the way we want it.
I guess what I am asking is for some advice from all you Disney fans. We know at the Swan you can still have characters so that way it is still Disney.
Does anyone have Swan price lists from Justmarry.com? The woman who does intimate ceremonies is on vacation. Who knows when she will return my call.
FIRST THING I WOULD START OFF BY SAYING CONGRADULATION AND WELCOME TO THE BOARDS .
AS PER THE WEDDING I AGREE WITH YOU ALL THE WAY . MY WIFE AND I ARE LOOKING TO DO THE SAME THING FOR OUR 15 TH . AS PER FAMILY YOU DID THE RIGHT THING BY YOUR WEDDING AND THEY HAVE TO REALIZE THIS IS YOUR DREM TOO . AS PER THE WEDDING WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME SO I'M NOT IN A RUSH TO PUT IT TOGETHER JUST LOOKING INTO IT RIGHT NOW . WE HAVE A TRIP IN THIS DEC WHEN I'M HOPING TO GO OVER AND BE ABLE TO TALK WITH ONE OF THE PLANNERS . WE GOT THERE DVD I THOUGHT IT WAS USELESS BECAUSE IT DOSE NOT GO INTO MUCH AND THEN AT THE END IT TELLS YOU TO CALL DISNEY ANY WAY. I WENT ONTO DISNEY WEDDINGS.COM IT HAD ALOT MORE IT HAD PRICES AND EMENTIES OF WHAT YOU CAN GET . I JUST WANT TO SAY REALLY GOOD LUCK ON YOUR RENEWAL AND YOUR FAMILIES.
Congrats! My SIL was just married at Sea Breeze Pointe in May. I think with the right planning, a DFTW can be as personal as you make it. What kinds of things are you looking at to make your renewal more personal?
__________________
Denise
Counting down to....
May 2017 - Poly (Grandma's 1st Trip to WDW)
Sept 2017 - DH's bday celebration
Aug 2018 - DCL Family cruise on the Dream
So we have decided to do the Swan. We have stayed at the Dolphin a few times and liked the intimacy. Swan has a courtyard that is beautiful so my DH wants to do it there. We got the price listing from the gentleman at Swan and it seems like you can have a pkg that includes site, chairs, officiant, bouquet, cake, champagne for $2800.00 It can be more personalized if you wish. The photographer through justmarry.com is a little pricey for what you get so we have contacted Randy Chapman. His basic pkg. starts at $575. We are still not sure on exactly what we want. We were thinking a character dinner at Gullivers/Garden Grove. We were also thinking of a Wishes boat ride. I am not too sure what exactly it is called. We will only have like 5 guests, as SIL refuses to attend, my parents will be out of the country with military stuff. So it is small. My mom actually thinks it is a good idea, she is a romantic.
My DH is really excited and even planned a trip to WDW next month.
Thanks for the help.
Any other ideas you guys can think of will be of great help.
I'm so jealous! Next year will also be our 5th, but we're definitely not in the position to do a Disney vow renewal. We had a small wedding the first time around - in Jamaica. His parents were the only people who attended. We'd considered Disney, but it was out of our price range then too.
I have no advice. I just wish you the best time ever! Enjoy it and try not to allow negative people to take away from your fun and enjoyment!
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Thanks everyone for your support- we will keep you posted on everything.
We are definately getting Randy Chapman. We decided on the character dinner, actually we chose our day around what characters will be available for dinner. So far only about 3 or 4 people are going, but that is okay. SIL can be stubborn.