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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hi Everyone, My oldest DD has been invited to participate with the Student Ambassador program, to tour Europe for 19 days next summer. Does anyone know anything about this program? Do you know anyone that has participated? Costs? Any advice/info is very welcome. Are there selection requirements? She is very excited and about ready to start packing!! ha We have a info meeting in about 6 weeks, but I wanted to find out anything that I could ahead of time.
TIA
S
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My bags are packed.....when do we leave??
planning the next trip...
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my friends son did it two yrs ago.. he raised the money himself,, he loved it he was gone about two weeks and was only 14 yrs old,,very well chaporoned, he had a great time,, personally I couldn't let one of my kids go out of the country without me but..that's just me a worry wart.. LOL..
My DD was "selected to participate" every year of high school. We actually went to one of the meetings and the average cost is $7,000, depending on where you go. They encourage you to do fundraising, but we were not comfortable with asking for money for a non-charitable trip. We were also not satisfied with the security (or lack thereof) of the program.
Thanks for the insight, that is a TON of money! wow... IT is good to hear the thoughts on the security issue, that really sets me back. From what their website says, 'security is of utmost.....' type of thing I will go to the meeting and see what they have to say/not say and see if they address certian issues.... If I may ask, what type of academic credit did your dd receive? For high school or college?
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My bags are packed.....when do we leave??
planning the next trip...
All three of my kids were "carefully selected" for this and several other travel and enrichment programs. All three received multiple invitations each year based on their" outstanding academic and extra-curricular acheivements. " Quite honestly, my kids were wonderful, but no more exceptional than most of their honors classmates, most of whom also received the same invitations.
One of my oldest son's friends got a trip as a bar mitzvah present. He was not happy with the trip and did not feel that they did everything that was promised-especiallu in regard to meeting other students from other countries..
I talked to the college counselor provided by my ex husband's university and he felt that they did not boost a student's application. The schools know what programs are paid and how much they are.
For the price of the program, you can probably do your own trip. I, like Poohmaine, have a ahrd time with the suggestion that the studdents "fund raise."
Thanks for the info, I agree about being able to do your own trip for that chunk of change..... The only 'extra' was the idea that they would recieve academic credit, I will check with the college advisor at work and see what he says (I just thought of that idea!) I think the trips the school puts together are a much better value, it is just the way that this was presented that made it 'seem' like some big deal, in reality it doesn't come across that way! I really appreciate the insight.
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My bags are packed.....when do we leave??
planning the next trip...
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Sara,
I just PM'd you but am posting this here for any other folks who may be following this thread.
There are apparently a number of "student ambassador" programs out there (my friend who's daughter went on one knows of seven!), so you need to find people with experience in the same program. Otherwise, you're comparing apples to oranges.
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