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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We heard repeatedly that she had 16 children, 11 of them girls and, of those, she had a favourite, as there was only one that she allowed to marry for love. The rest were told who to marry. This was the Habsburg’s way. They didn’t wage war on other countries, they ensured that marriages helped to unite them with other dynasties, giving them power over other countries. There were some very bitter extracts from memos and letters from the women who were forced to marry for power, rather than love, which made you think.
I'm glad she wasn't my mother. That's just horrible. I can't even imagine being stuck in a marriage that I didn't want to be in, and then having her favorite daughter allowed to marry for love...so not fair!
Too bad you couldn't take pictures inside. I'd love to see the fresco you described! Sounds like this was a good choice of where to spend some of your limited time!
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Saturday 19 March – part four: oh boy, this is cold!
We headed back out of the palace, intending to go and have a look at the gardens. It must’ve been fate, as there was a horse drawn carriage waiting outside, with four people already in it. It was only €10 (about $14.10), so for half an hour’s drive around the grounds, we decided that we’d take it. It certainly saved our feet, as the gardens are huge.
As we set off, we wondered if it was such a good idea, as one of the other guys on board was smoking, but thankfully he soon stubbed it out once we started. The next problem was the wind, which was absolutely freezing and completely cut you to the bone. I was very relieved when we finally turned the corner and moved out of it.
The first thing we saw was a church....
... then the Palm House, home to a collection of exotic plants. I will apologise here for the quality of some of the photos, as they were taken through the plastic covering we had around us. If it had been raining, then we’d have been grateful of it, I’m sure...
We rounded the corner and rode alongside the Schonbrunn Zoo, which we’d seen advertised as we’d come into the property. We hadn’t expected to see some of the animals as we rode along. I didn’t catch the pony ride or the buffalo, but I did just about get the lion. How cool is that? And can you imagine how annoyed you’d be if you’d paid good money to go into the zoo, only for the lion to be lying, as far away as possible from his public, looking the other way?
We next got some good views of both the palace and the Neptune Fountain, as we rode right in front of it. Because of how close to it we were and being at the base of the hill, we couldn’t see the Gloriette above, which was a shame.
We carried on through the landscaped gardens and, as Mark later said, they must be a riot of colour in the summer and maybe worth coming back for.
This fountain doesn’t seem to be looked after and is falling into disrepair...
Finally we made our way back to where we’d started from, passing the Orangerie on the way that hosts nightly recitals of Mozart’s and Strauss’ work.
By the time we got back, we were absolutely freezing. I did suggest walking round to get some more shots of the Gloriette, but it wasn’t just a case of walking round the corner of the palace. There was a huge area fenced off, all part of the gardens, and we just couldn’t face the walk. It was too cold, so with a few final photos, we headed out.
Fortunately as we walked back to the subway station, I could gradually feel the circulation coming back to me! I was so glad to get on board the subway train. We ran for it and I’m glad we did, as we didn’t have to sit in the cold to wait for it and it was lovely and warm on board, so we were able to get our feeling in our legs and hands back a little.
Glad you didn't spend more time out in the cold wind and made it onto the train! I saw the palace in the summer and the gardens were very formal, but beautiful.
Saturday 19 March – part five: like stepping into Paris
When we got to the Karlsplatz station, Mark suggested getting a hot chocolate to warm ourselves up a bit more. At first, we looked at Starbucks, but then decided that McDonald’s would be cheaper, so we headed in there. As soon as I saw that they had shrimp on the menu, that was it, I was sold – I had to try that. I don’t often eat in places like McDonald’s when we’re away from home and only when there’s something on the menu that I can’t get at home, like shrimp. Very good it was too – why they don’t have it in the UK, I do not know. :
Once we’d eaten and had our hot chocolate and felt warm again, it was back out into the cold. We were here to see Karlskirche, but on the way over there, which was only a couple of minutes’ walk away, we saw so much more. First on the list were the Karlsplatz pavilions, essentially just like our subway station by our hotel, with the Musikverein or the headquarters of the Society of the Friends of Music behind it.
We then saw the Technical University....
... before heading towards Karlskirche. This is a truly stunning church and really dominates the landscape. The second we emerged from the U-bahn station, we spotted it. The closer we got, the more detail we could see on it. It was apparently promised to the people of Vienna during the 1713 plague and is classified as Vienna’s finest baroque church.
Outside it, surreally, were two accordion players, making us feel as if we were in the middle of Paris, as that’s where we’re used to hearing that.
I was particularly taken with the two columns, which are decorated with spiralling scenes of St. Charles Borromeo’s life. If you’re wondering who St. Charles Borromeo is, he’s the patron saint of this church and he’s also depicted over the top of the entrance.
At the bottom of the stairs to the main entrance are these two amazing angels, one representing the Old Testament and the other representing the New Testament. I’ve never seen expressions like these before. The whole thing has so much emotion and energy in it.
We looked at going in, but at €6 ($8.50) each, we opted not to bother. There was a group ahead of us and we thought they were having the same debate as well.
We wandered back to the subway and, on the way back, we saw the wonderfully bizarre Secession Building:
Great photos! You've made Vienna a "must do" place for us now. It's just lovely! I'm amazed - shrimp at McD's? I can't imagine that here, but it sounds good to me!
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And can you imagine how annoyed you’d be if you’d paid good money to go into the zoo, only for the lion to be lying, as far away as possible from his public, looking the other way? 
I was so glad to get on board the subway train. We ran for it and I’m glad we did, as we didn’t have to sit in the cold to wait for it and it was lovely and warm on board, so we were able to get our feeling in our legs and hands back a little. 
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