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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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More great plans! I hear ya on packing...It's pretty challenging especially since the clothes you need for the trip are the ones they are wearing now!
The last day is always the worst...not looking forward to that day either.
I'm off to clean house too!
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i know what you mean about packing. My boys start school on Wednesday so i took that day off work. that puts me 2 weeks out from my trip so i plan on getting myself mostly packed that day. The boys I will pack the following week again while they are at school
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How fun, good luck with the packing! I surprised my DD with flying last time and the only reason she didn't catch on is because she wasn't paying attention, I slip up all the time.
Love your plans!
On our last trip DD 7 and I stayed at MK so late that she slept on the bus and on the plane and after we got home. She hardly knew we were traveling.
Some of you wanted to hear about how we surprised the girls so here it is.
DH and I told DD8 & DD5 that Daddy was taking Saturday off so we could go to Canobie Lake Park (it is an amusement park one state away from us). We told them they would have to get up a little early so we sent them to bed early. While they slept we moved their clocks ahead 1 1/2 hours. I was afraid if DD8 saw the time when we woke her up she would figure out something was going on. I was already thinking she might be suspicious if she had noticed things were missing. So I woke the girls up Saturday at 5:30. DD8 commented on how dark it was. I told her it was a dreary day and maybe the park wouldn't be crowded. Then I led them to the kitchen.
What was waiting for them there? Daddy, my sister and brother-n-law (they wanted to see us tell them about Disney) and the video camera. The breakfast counter was set up Disney style! It looked so cute if I may say so myself. We had fancy breakfast trays with Mickey confetti spread all over, Disney silly bandz lined up, the Mickey plates we got from a previous trip, Mickey pancakes and scrolls telling them a little bit about our plans. We also had a picture of Mickey, a picture of each of the girls from our last trip 2 years ago and princess gift bags filled with some small Disney goodies.
So what did they do? Not much! I couldn't believe it. There was so little reaction it actually made me laugh. I was expecting them to know right away what was happening and start screaming. I had really thought my oldest might have been on to us. I even commented, "Wow, what a nice breakfast Daddy made for you." Still nothing. DD8 starts eating her pancakes and DD5 starts casually looking at all the Disney stuff on her tray. She finally hands me the scroll and says, "Look."
Yeah, now we're getting somewhere!! So I begin reading . . . "Do you want to fly to Orlando today?" DD8 says no (quite groggily I might add). By the way, just the day before she asked me when we were going to Disney. I had responded with a quick I don't know. DD5 says yes. Phew! So I continue reading. By now I'm getting teary eyed because I'm so happy to be surprising them. DD5 is getting a little happy and DD8 says, "I don't believe you." I assured her we would never tease her about that and showed her the plane tickets. I'm sure she knew I wasn't teasing her, but for whatever reason she was questioning it. Now the girls decided it is time to look in the gift bags. They found Disney tatoos, park maps and more silly bands. (I had more stuff for gift bags they would be getting in the hotel room.)
I definitely expected things to go differently but it was still a memorable moment. They were happy and finished up breakfast and got ready. They did say they were glad we surprised them!! We wore matching shirts to the airport. I love doing that. The girls wore their pin lanyards too. Many people noticed us and commented to us at the airport. That just adds to the fun.
Your surprise was adorable! My kids would probably react the same way if I woke them up that early without them knowing why - they are NOT morning people Now, on the other hand, when they knew we were going to Disney and I woke them at 4am, they were crazy hyper
__________________
Stacey
Why do these kids look so pathetic?
Find out in: A New Grade, A New House, and A Surprise!Final Thoughts 01/30
I'm wondering if our surprise will go the same way...my girls aren't really morning people until they wake up...I was thinking about changing the clocks but on the afternoon before so they will go to bed a few hours earlier than normal...plus we are leaving on a school day!
I am sure they will remember it forever...I can't wait for my big reveal!!! Only about 6 days left plus a few hours.
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we moved their clocks ahead 1 1/2 hours. 
I was afraid if DD8 saw the time when we woke her up she would figure out something was going on. I was already thinking she might be suspicious if she had noticed things were missing. So I woke the girls up Saturday at 5:30. DD8 commented on how dark it was. I told her it was a dreary day and maybe the park wouldn't be crowded. 
We had fancy breakfast trays with Mickey confetti spread all over, Disney silly bandz lined up, the Mickey plates we got from a previous trip, Mickey pancakes and scrolls telling them a little bit about our plans. We also had a picture of Mickey, a picture of each of the girls from our last trip 2 years ago and princess gift bags filled with some small Disney goodies. 
I couldn't believe it. There was so little reaction it actually made me laugh. 
(quite groggily I might add). By the way, just the day before she asked me when we were going to Disney. I had responded with a quick I don't know. DD5 says yes. 
Phew! So I continue reading. By now I'm getting teary eyed because I'm so happy to be surprising them. DD5 is getting a little happy and DD8 says, "I don't believe you." I assured her we would never tease her about that and showed her the plane tickets. I'm sure she knew I wasn't teasing her, but for whatever reason she was questioning it. 
Now the girls decided it is time to look in the gift bags. They found Disney tatoos, park maps and more silly bands. (I had more stuff for gift bags they would be getting in the hotel room.) 
The girls wore their pin lanyards too. Many people noticed us and commented to us at the airport. That just adds to the fun. 
Now, on the other hand, when they knew we were going to Disney and I woke them at 4am, they were crazy hyper 
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