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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 love hearing about your adventure and so happy to see you living your dream. But you seem to work a tremendous number of hours or at least some very long days. How many hours to CP participants usually work each week?
Diane
That's a great question. As CPs, we are guaranteed 30 hours per week (which happens to be just enough to cover the Disney rent for students who live there, food, and a little extra). We have to have "full availability" which is one of the reasons I was very glad to get AK, since it rarely stays open late. If you are taking Disney or distance learning classes, they are supposed to block out 4 hours those days from your schedule. Because I'm at AK, it gives me those days off, but if I were at MK, I might have to go in for a shift from 6pm-2am on a class day. Any time off blows out the window during "labor exception" periods (holidays, Spring Break, etc) My days off mesh with my older DDs' days off and once my Disney class starts, it is scheduled before my oldest goes to work, so the younger ones have adult supervision most of the time. DD3 is nearly 13 and is old enough to babysit, so they don't really NEED adult supervision all the time, but it's worked out that way.
Anything over an 8hr day/40 hr week is overtime, so they try not to do that, at least in my area, but I've heard of some CPs (MK quick service) who really rack up the hours/$$$. The program is designed for single college students who have nothing else to do but work and play, so showing it can work for non-traditional CPs is one of my goals while I'm here, as well as helping the CP leadership see that it's to their benefit to have more non-traditional CPs around, so some flexibility with scheduling could be a good thing.
I read your whole story this morning and have totally loved hearing about your days. You have inspired a lot of people. I can't wait to go to WDW in May for my first time!
"Career Opportunities at WDW" That really says a lot. You keep up what you are doing and they won't let you leave. I realize that could create a problem with DH and the business in Tulsa but, if nothing else, it sure looks good on your resume.
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.
Ahhhhhhhh, a day off. Two, actually, but yesterday was not spent as wisely as it could have been. We slept in (b/c we stayed up late Wed night, I didn't get home until 1030pm), then I had to take 10yo to order her new glasses, go grocery shopping, and try to get the kitchen in some semblance of order after older DDs mowed through. Don't get me started on those two right now... I also realized that I had spent several hours researching the WRONG THING for my paper that is due this week, so I was very discouraged. I finally plopped on the couch and watched Donald in Mathmagic Land with DDs.
Today was a good day. I got up before DDs and got some serious research done for my paper (the RIGHT kind...), got the laundry going, and made several phone calls I've been needing to do. I took DDs down to the pool this afternoon. It's a beautiful pool, but I don't think it's heated (at least not to Disney standards), so I spent most of the time knitting while DDs swam. We came back and did their schoolwork. Area of trapezoids was a piece of CAKE for them and they flew through 3 lessons in a snap. Kitchen's clean, laundry is almost done, my paper is coming along, their schoolwork is caught up, older DDs are both gone, so it's quiet ...oh, and I have a 96% so far in my class! It's been a fabulous day. We're doing our Valentine's dinner tonight since I have to work until 8pm tomorrow, so that's fun. We're also going to bake some cupcakes later for them to decorate.
Tomorrow is back to Dinorama games for me. I also have some kind of training tomorrow, so that could be interesting. I don't have another day off until Thursday, BUT I don't work until 5pm on Wed and they are supposed to do another tiger physical! I'm going to take DDs again to give it a try, hopefully I'll be able to prevent 10yo from having another panic attack. I wish there were a way to help preserve her "bubble", since people pressing in on her is what starts it. Our dog had been training as a service dog and to "come close" which helped provide a barrier, but we didn't bring her along since my older 2 have a badly behaved chihuahua and we were afraid they wouldn't get along very well. I've been thinking of renting her a wheelchair for the tiger thing since she does better in a seat for some reason (something to do with the pressure on her back, according to the doctor...)
Good luck with the "Career Opportunities" meeting. Everything sounds so exciting. I graduated last year with my degree in accounting (at age 34) I would love to find some accounting job with Disney. I am constantly on the lookout on their website. You have definitely inspired me to apply if one becomes available.
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Any time off blows out the window during "labor exception" periods (holidays, Spring Break, etc) My days off mesh with my older DDs' days off and once my Disney class starts, it is scheduled before my oldest goes to work, so the younger ones have adult supervision most of the time. DD3 is nearly 13 and is old enough to babysit, so they don't really NEED adult supervision all the time, but it's worked out that way. 
Dreams, Wishes, Hopes... these are the parts of childhood we should never lose.
Claytrgtshooter (Minnie Lor's Hubbie)
PassPorter Guide Author
We slept in (b/c we stayed up late Wed night, I didn't get home until 1030pm), then I had to take 10yo to order her new glasses, go grocery shopping, and try to get the kitchen in some semblance of order after older DDs mowed through. Don't get me started on those two right now...
I also realized that I had spent several hours researching the WRONG THING for my paper that is due this week, so I was very discouraged. I finally plopped on the couch and watched Donald in Mathmagic Land with DDs. 
I've been thinking of renting her a wheelchair for the tiger thing since she does better in a seat for some reason (something to do with the pressure on her back, according to the doctor...)
Liz 
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