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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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'm glad you came back to fill us in on your move! Quite an undertaking, sorting and deciding what will travel with you. It's amazing how much you can accumulate over the years and it's an emotional process getting rid of things. Must have been quite a feeling as you pulled out of your driveway.
I'm glad you're glad. Very true about accumulation and I'm a collector of books, craft stuff, records and pictures (photo albums) it's very hard to get rid of things. The morning we left, I was excited and scared all at once.
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The original plan to make it through Canada...
Day 1, Sunday - Drive 177 miles to Gakona, AK 3.5 hours to visit my grandma (94 years old) and Aunt, then visit and spend the night with parents. They live less than 5 minutes away from each other and only a few minutes from Tok cut-off (the road that leads to the Canadian border).
Day 2, Monday - Leave parents house, drive 504 miles to Whitehorse YT. Camp out.
Day 3, Tuesday - Drive 533 mile down the Deese/Cassiar to Bell II
Camp out
Day 4, Wednesday - Drive 454 miles to Prince George, BC camp out
Day 5, Thursday - Drive 489 miles to Vancouver, BC Stay in Hotel.
Day 6, Friday - visit where Once Upon a Time TV show is filmed. (Why DD agreed we could drive) Have lunch then drive 3 hours to where DD (adult) lives in Kent, WA.
What can I say? I have a supermom or superwoman complex.
Actually, I knew it would be 10-12 hour days but thought doable because our family drove from AK to Idaho in 3 days, my mom drove the whole way (dad was working). And when we drove out 4 years later, dad drove and we made it from AK across Canada to New York in 5 or 6 days. My aunt drove from AK to California in 4, However they were driving regular vechiles, not a 32 foot truck that was loaded to the gills. Now to see what happened to my plans, ha ha.
Day 1 Sunday, Beautiful sunny day - on the hot side like it had been all week. Landlord never showed up for inspection and so after talking to them got the ok to leave. Got cats into truck, that was not fun and we had to be careful whenever opened the door to make sure Patches (oldest cat who loves being outside) get out. Bro came and picked up DH and his suitcase who was flying later that day to IL. I pulled out at 11AM. Would have liked to get going sooner but was waiting for landlord. Was trying to be positive because DD (14)) was bummed about moving and leaving all her friends and home for her entire life.
My last picture of Bear Mountain (right by our house.
Leaving our neighborhood.
DD took this as we got rolling on the highway, only 10-15 minutes into trip .
Arriving in Palmer (30 minutes from home) needed to stop at grocery store and top of gas tank. I miss mountains!
Getting gas in Palmer, my co-pilot and her helper, Patches.
Now you can see why I said sort of, after we're really moving!
Up Next, saying goodbye to Alaska as we drive along.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
After getting gas and the few items at the grocery store we headed onto the Glenn Highway. We had one break on the way to my parents house just to stretch our legs, let the cats out, Beauty refused, Patches came out on her lease but didn't like the cars driving by us on the road and of course I had to take some pictures.
Beautiful isn't it?
Smiling DD.
I had DD stand by trucks just to remember how long it was.
Sleeping already? Well to be fair, the last couple of weeks before we left were extremely busy especially the previous 3 or 4 days. We were packing, cleaning, and visiting with family and friends from the time we got up until long after we should have been in bed.
Mt. Sandford, we're about 45 minutes from my parents house on the Glenn Hwy.
We got to parents house and took the cats inside, along with their cat box, food etc and Beauty promptly hid while Patches explored. Talked with mom & dad a bit then borrowed their car to go visit Grandma. At this time she was 94 and had been bed-ridden for about 4 years and loved company. She had a little red journal for us to record our move in that she wanted to give me. I told her I would mail it back so she could read it. We had a good visit for a couple of hours, I told her I'd see her at Christmas as I hugged her goodbye. I glad I didn't know then that I'd never see her again on earth or I wouldn't have left.
Went back to my folks and mom and I made dinner. I also prepped extra burritos for me and food for DD and wrapped them in foil packets for easy dinners for the next two nights. Had a good visit with my parents and played cards for a bit with my mom. Spent some time at the truck rearranging some things and it was still hot out, I was sweating which was attracting more mosquitos.
After washing up, finally went to bed but it was too hot to get a good
nights sleep and I hadn't been sleeping well before we left not only because we were on the floor but just doing to much and not allowing enough time for sleep. It didn't help that there were a couple of mosquitos flying around in the room and DD and I were having trouble catching them.
What absolutely beautiful shots of the bright green landscape and snowy mountains! Glad you got to visit your Grandma, and also glad you didn't realize you were saying goodbye....
Alaska is the most beautiful state, scenery wise I've ever seen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
What absolutely beautiful shots of the bright green landscape and snowy mountains! Glad you got to visit your Grandma, and also glad you didn't realize you were saying goodbye....
Me too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great pictures!
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Beautiful scenery for your travels! Glad you got one last visit in with your grandmother.
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. Very true about accumulation and I'm a collector of books, craft stuff, records and pictures (photo albums) it's very hard to get rid of things. The morning we left, I was excited and scared all at once. 
Alaskan Mom aka Bonnie
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