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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Today really was the first “work” day. Even though we had events last night, they were all more just welcoming us and though mandatory, not hard work.
I was up early to get my day started. We needed to have breakfast before we met in the lobby. I got dressed and showered….the heat was really bad and you could really shower about every hour if allowed…. And I headed outside to get wifi and I believe I contacted my husband via facebook.
I took this picture of the trash can/ ashtray with a nice flower placed on it for the day.
Lenora asked me to take a picture of her….and to be sure I got the bird in the background. I totally laughed!!! We had this beautiful ocean behind her, yet she wanted a picture with the bird. I joked about this the rest of the trip.
We then met in the lobby and found Ellen and Marianne. We were told to divide ourselves into groups…(I really liked that we could choose who we wanted to be in a group with as many other training events assign you to a group and you are not always in with your friends or co-workers). Each group then set off in different directions. We were going to be touring Sandals Negril this morning…the resort we were staying at….which included different room categories and other areas of the property.
I’ll be honest and tell you right now I am not going to post what category or type of room each is as I would have to pull out all my notes and it would be tedious.
Rooms are refurbished quite a bit at Sandals and they are constantly updating areas and furnishings. I found that even some of the nicest rooms had what I would consider some dated styles, but then other rooms were super modern. It’s hard to keep up when styles change so often, but Sandals tries to redo them as often as possible.
We stopped to talk about some of the water activities included with your stay and also about the Padi Scuba certification that you can pay for.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
The thing about doing these room tours is that you really have a hard time getting pictures without other people in them, so I no longer even really try. Also they really rush you through each room as you have a schedule to keep to.
I liked the style of this room better, but I believe it was actually a step down in category and price.
We moved on. Jermaine, the business development manager (BDM) who was in our group kept tell us to pick it up and go faster so we could stay on schedule. At one point he said for us to “make ourselves smaller” so we could all fit in a room together….Oh Jermaine…not the right thing to say to a bunch of ladies. Hahahaha.
We then came up to a setup of what a beach dinner would be like. This is something extra you can pay for and have a sunset dinner with your own server right on the beach.
Nice tour of the resort with the best thing being the snacks!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
These pictures helped sell my oldest daughter Paige on booking her wedding at Sandals. And because I am a Mom….I will take a moment to post some lovely pictures of her.
She gave me a framed version of that picture for my birthday and when Gracie (their daughter) was over last time she saw it and said “That’s my Mommy and Daddy on vacation at the beach!” She’s just so cute!
And they got this cake (a second cake) delivered to their room later that day.
They had one of those swim out rooms at Sandals Grand Bahamian and they also had a butler. She wanted the room, but not the butler when she booked it and I told her she could use the butler as much or as little as she wanted. She came home saying she didn’t know how she could ever vacation without one again. Hahahaha..
Congrats to Paige on her wedding! I love her approach of just having the two of them. I think it's very difficult for most people to do that. I know we talked about it, but it would never have worked out because of family and friends wanting to be there, but it was very tempting, as it would've been a lot less stressful to organise.
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PassPorter Guide Author
Alaskan Mom aka Bonnie
I love her approach of just having the two of them. I think it's very difficult for most people to do that. I know we talked about it, but it would never have worked out because of family and friends wanting to be there, but it was very tempting, as it would've been a lot less stressful to organise. 
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