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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I took my son out of school last year during his senior year. We also took our daughter out for the same reason during here senior year three years ago. We were there for a karate tournament. He got all of his assignments ahead of time, and had all his work done before we left. I think he may have even taken an exam early. We did have to file paperwork with the school district, so you may want to check on that. It worked for us, but only your son can tell you if it will put him at a disadvantage or if it will interfere with finals. So I guess I can say that he should call the shot on this one.
IN Alabama they get really upset about vacations, so I planned this vacation for the
week that has been their Fall break for the last 2 years. That way they will only miss 2 days. But, guess what? They changed Fall break this year and the kids will miss a
whole week. The last time I took my daughter for 4 days they wouldn't let her make anything up and she unexcused absences for the days, so I am really worried about it.
I wrote a letter to the Superintendent of schools explaining how the change in Fall break which I had no way of knowing last December when I made the reservations had messed it up. I sure hope they will let them make up the work or my Freshman in High School will have to stay home.
__________________
Kathie
My girls are such hams!!!
1973 off property
1978 tree houses
1979 off property
1985/1989/1994 MiL's in Orlando
March 2000 CSR
June 2004 POFQ (bought DVC when we got home)
Nov 2004 OKW
Oct 2005 OKW
Mar 2006 OKW
June 2006 Grosvenor/CBR/AKL Mom and Son
Sep 2006 BW Mom and the girls
Dec 2006 mom and dad 4 day cruise
July 2007 bw for quick weekend
Oct 2007 DCL 3 night cruise for family
Thanks for the replies. Since I have had our reservations since January, I'm pretty sure we will be going. This will be our first time staying at Carribean Beach Resort. Of course, I'm the Disney fanatic in the family. My DH and DS just humor me and go with the flow.
You should definitely check w/ your son's school attendance rules first. I know in my hometown it doesn't matter how many days an elementary student misses, but in High School there was a strict rule that if you had 7 absences in a term you failed all your classes for that term. They even changed it to a more strict 5 absences when I graduated. The only excuses were for medical reasons with a signed doctor's note. A vacation would not have been acceptable.
But that being said, if there is no such rule at your son's school and he feels ok taking the time off, I'd say go for it. You didn't mention when you are going, but (this will sound so sad) If it's after he's already been accepted to a college, it won't matter too much (as long as he keeps his grades up).
Your son needs to check the attendance requirements his school and specifically for graduating seniors.
Every school is different. My DD could not miss 5 days in a row without being ill, or miss more than 15 days total if she wanted to graduate. Of course, they had exceptions, like one day a quarter for college visits-- but then she had to have forms filled out by each college to prove it.
When we wanted to go to Marco Island for Thanksgiving last year, we scheduled a college visit during the same time in order to get one day excused.
I hope he can go! Have a great time!
__________________
poohmaine
Last edited by poohmaine; 09-19-2007 at 02:03 PM..
Reason: spelling
My Mom always planned family vacation in December, usually a week or so before C-Mas break and I never had any problems. Usually at this point, the teachers aren't teaching anything new since a long break is right around the corner. I think the most I ever had to do was write a report on my trip and my Mom had to sign off that we visited so many "educational" sites.
So I don't think he'll miss much or that it will mess anything up. Like I said, I did it every year and I still managed to graduate with a 4.0!
We just told our DS and DD teachers today that they would be missing a week of school in Dec. Neither seemed too upset, my DS 3rd Grade teacher wanted to be sure that he wouldn't miss anything too important and then my DS 1st grade teacher said great time to go and have fun. I think it depends on what everyone else is saying that you know your child and your districts policies on absences well.
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Holly
DLR and WDW, Been There, Done That, and Planning to Do it Again!!
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My girls are such hams!!!
Bobbi~Leigh
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