A Disney Trip 10 Years in the Making. PTR 10/14 - 23/2011 - Page 7 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Great job saving Holly! Just think too - soon Evan will start school, so I'm assuming daycare costs will go way down. You could use what money you're used to spending on that into savings. I can't wait for our daycare bill to go down!
We only half day kindergarten so it won't go down much but once in 1st grade I'm hoping the before and afterschool program will help a lot. I don't know how you do it with 2. I had considered a second child but honestly couldn't afford day care for both (not to mention college when that comes around) Hey at least we don't a wedding to pay for.
Great job saving up! I do the change thing also and it's amazing how fast that adds up. I'm hoping to pay for my food budget on my next trip with piggy-bank savings. I also use the Disney Visa for almost everything and pay it off each month. The rewards are usually enough to buy tickets and souvenirs. We're getting a big snowstorm Friday (another April Fools day storm!). I think it's passing through NJ also?
I love the rewards points and the change - it's like free money
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
Great job saving!
You asked if it's crowded in DC for the cherry blossoms? It can be a NIGHTMARE! But if you go EARLY in the morning (like 7 am early) it is fabulous and SO beautiful!
The thing about the cherry blossoms, though, is that you can't really plan a trip around them, as you never know when they might bloom. It can be anytime from early March to late April. And then the "peak" time varies with the weather - they can look glorious for a week, or a day. But since you're in NJ, if you started watching, you could drive down (or take Amtrak) for a day to see them in all their majesty. Yesterday was the start of "peak" bloom, and it's only supposed to last 3 days this year, I think.
I have a friend that doesn't live too far from DC - looks like I'll have to head down for a visit sometime soon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shanmac
Amazing job saving money! You are so disciplined!
Thanks
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
Great job saving Holly! Just think too - soon Evan will start school, so I'm assuming daycare costs will go way down. You could use what money you're used to spending on that into savings. I can't wait for our daycare bill to go down!
Thanks Kelly
Quote:
Originally Posted by goofysdtr
Way to go on the $ saving, Holly! Great tips & very impressive!
I find if I have a little bit coming in from all different places, it makes it easier. Also having 5 years to save helps too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Great job on saving money!!
Thanks
Quote:
Originally Posted by rhinohunter
Congratulations on the large savings plan. Your report just keeps getting better. Love it.
Thank you!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Excellent job saving money!
Thanks -I try
Quote:
Originally Posted by ariel14
Great saving tips! Thx!
hopefully you can use them too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ace_Athena
What an amazing savings plan! My fiancee told me I'm in charge of saving because he would like to spend it all!
Such a great PTR!
Saving is the hard part. I too would like to spend it all.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Holly: 
Can't wait to see it. I'll let you all know how it was with an update early next week.
Linear Mode
