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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Great final thoughts! I was happy to hear that you were pleased with the DAS, as we only used it for two days on our last trip and we thought it worked well. It is good to know that someone else feels the same way.
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Our first day plans. Our first day I had everything planned almost down to the minute and I have to say, this year it worked out really well for a change. Even though I had times planned for things, other than the rental scooter and rental car, we didn't have to stick to them and could switch things up. Without going back and re-reading my TR, I don't know if we did switch things up and the only thing I remember skipping was the surrey rental but that's it. Otherwise the plans I made worked so I'll do the same thing for next time.
Making breakfast before leaving for Disney. This plan was pure genius. If I remember correctly, Lenny made the suggestion of doing it but I did the actual work of making the sandwiches. Not only did it save us a ton of money at the airport, it kept Lenny happy. We all know sometimes people get cranky when they're hungry and Lenny is no different so to have him with a full belly and happy? It was worth the effort - and since I work in a kitchen for a living, it didn't seem like much effort truthfully. This is one plan that is a keeper and will definitely be repeated on future trips.
Getting to the parks early in the morning for a change. This worked really well for us. We got lots done it seemed before the parks got busy. The only "downside" to doing this was the days we stayed at the parks late. It made for long days and by the end of the vacation, even I was getting exhausted. Would we make an effort to get to the parks early next time? I hope so because I like getting up and out.
Our ADR's. Hand in hand with getting to the parks early, our breakfast ADR's worked out well - until the end of the trip that is. Having those meals did help us to get up and out but I didn't plan on us getting so tired and wanting to cancel them. Next time we go, we'll still do breakfast meals but not so many of them. Right now, I think the best way to work it might be have an ADR breakfast every other day early and the non ADR breakfast days as sleep in days, even if it's for an hour. The few dinners we did were fine but I'm really thinking for next time, very minimal late day ADR's. Garden Grill is fun and seems to work into our schedule well but nothing else has ever seemed to work as well. Some restaurants just seem to take too much time for my liking now so I'm thinking if we do a QS (a 30 minute or so meal) instead of an ADR (easily a 90 minute meal minimum) for dinner then we'd gain at least an hour and possibly be able to leave the parks earlier at night. That then leads to an earlier bed time and maybe not getting as tired as we were this year.
Disney Magic. We experience it every trip - sometimes just a little bit, sometimes a lot. This year falls under a lot. Seeing the Frozen fireworks from our hotel room at night (despite there being a tree in the way). Abby wanting to take part in Enchanted Tales with Belle and actually getting picked. Abby getting to ask Crush a question again. Abby being picked to be the Lion in FOLK. Dancing with the Incredibles at the dance party (I didn't see them dancing with anyone else like they did with Abby). Dancing with Ralph and Vanellope again. Abby's interactions with the characters like Woody and Jessie. Lenny getting his glasses back two weeks after we got home. And that's just all the "big" stuff that we remember without trying. Disney Magic is the reason why we keep going back.
All of the magic we experienced (remembered or not), all of the positive things that happened, everything we enjoyed results in one thing - us wanting to go back again sooner rather than later. The next time won't be soon enough for us but we are in the process of saving so it's a start. When we do finally get back, a whole new trip report will follow but until then, thank you to all that joined us and for having patience with me when I didn't post things quicker or when I promised I would. I hope you enjoyed reading my TR and my final thoughts.
Thanks for including your final thoughts. I am glad AS Music worked out, as I was a bit concerned about the food court situation. And ... The glasses!! A highlight of your report for me, and I am glad Lenny got his back
Thank you, Darlene, for another entertaining and informative TR and wrap-up. You obviously put a lot of thought into writing your updates and they're fun to read. I enjoyed all your magical moments and even the unmagical ones.
Thanks for sharing with us. I like that you tell it like it is, good and bad. Of course, WDW is mostly good, but there are always a few snags. That's life...and you have to go with the flow. I think your family does that very well.
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Pixie Dust
Waiting for our next adventure after enjoying our Alaska cruise. 
Jenn
for bringing us all along on another of your family's WDW adventures.
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