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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 just returned from my first visit to WDW and wanted to share some memories.
My girlfriend and I booked our trip back in March. We decided on 8 days at the Allstar Music resort with hopper passes and the dining plan. We booked Cinderella's Royal Table Dinner, Le Cellier (sp?) in Epcot Canada, and Mama Melrose's in MGM (fantasmic dinner pack). The dining plan was great. We really got our moneys worth from just the table meals alone and it was nice not to have to worry about budgeting meals.
After we made those reservations I called Disney back (after my girlfriend went home) and made some changes to the Royal Table. (more in a moment).
We got to Orlando on Sunday around 10am and caught the magic bus to our resort, checked in (our room was already available) and then spent the day at downtown disney and disneyquest (Love the elevator in the entrance).
On Day two the magic began. After an afternoon in the Magic Kingdom and learning to really like the Fastpass (we were able to do everything we wanted because of the fastpass) we went to our dinner reservation at the Royal Table. Our pics were taken with Cinderella and we were shown to our table. It was a nice table for two next to the window on the right side of the resteraunt. We ordered and I excused myself supposedly for a trip to the restrooms. I met up with Becky, a Royal Table cast member and an incredible person to meet. I met with her to drop an item off with her. I then returned and we had our appetizers and entrees. At this point the fairygodmother and her mice helpers came in and did a little show. Afterwards, our waitress (Vicki) brought out a covered platter which my girlfriend thought was out desserts. Vicki lifted the lid which was my cue. I dropped to a knee and proposed. On the platter was the ring sitting in an engraved glass slipper on a bed of rose petals. My girlfriend accepted amid a burst of tears and happyness. After a few moments of collecting ourselves I placed the ring on her finger and the photographer (provided with the package) snapped off several more pics. He had shot pics of the whole event from when the ring came out to when we left including shots of the ring platter before it came out. All of which were out on a photopass for us. (about 30-40 shots). Our waitress brought two flutes of champagne(fake, it is the Magic Kingdom after all) to toast with. Then our desserts arrived. They were a thin square of cake with a white chocolate slipper filled with chocolate mousse. On her plate "will you marry me?" was spelled in chocolate around the outside of the plate.
To make this moment even more magical was the congrats that came from other diners. The couple next to us told us they were crying for us. We had people come up to us throught the rest of our visit during the next 6 days that were there. Even on the plane home a couple came up to us to congratulate us. My (now) fiancee told every character we met about it and even got some extra pics with Cinderella as we left the dinner. We found out that if you tell Minnie about it she gets very excited and a bit jealous. As the photographer told us, she's been waiting a long time for her ring . While picking up our lunch I heard a little girl behind me ask her dad if dreams really did come true there. I told her they do, told her that mine had come true and anyones could come true there.
It made a great vacation very special. As my fiancee put it, every time she sees Cinderella's castle in a disney film or commercial she'll always remember how special it now is for us.
EDIT: forgot to add that we were allowed to keep the glass slipper which had on names on one side, Happily ever after on the other side, and the date engraved on the bottom. We also could keep the rose petals and the champagne flutes which had Cinderella's Royal Table on them and a big batch of pixie dust. Those along with the pics they shot will mean we'll never forget the moment (like we could).
EDIT: Here's some pics of the slipper, flutes, and dessert. I'll add others of us when I get them.
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Congratulations to you and your fiance! Oh my - I cried though reading the entire post! To get engaged at Disney World certainly does have to be a dream come true!!!
Good Luck to you both!
Oh My... tears flowing heavily now... that is SO incredible. I want to get married all over again now... if DH would do it that way... What an incredible man you are! Congratulations!
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That is amazing! What an incredible memory for years to come, thanks for sharing.
Congratulations!!!!!
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Tanya
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Oh! How wonderful! I love story's like that! I will have to put that away and give my son that idea one day. I think that is wonderful! Congratulations!
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. While picking up our lunch I heard a little girl behind me ask her dad if dreams really did come true there. I told her they do, told her that mine had come true and anyones could come true there. 
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ok you got me crying to reading about it! How magical and special you made that moment for your Fiancee! 
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