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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Since learning that Spring Break is applicable in DLR as well as WDW, I had a thought...(insert evil laughter here).
We normally zip down to WDW right before Christmas to enjoy all the holiday offerings. I thought maybe we should head west, instead, as we have never been to DLR for the holiday overlay.
Airfare, hopefully, will be neglible thanks to DH's free tix.
I am trying to ascertain whether there will be any appreciable room discounts or AP rate....for dates of 12/18-12/22.
As of now, I have a 40% bounceback at WDW which will make it awfully hard to switch to DLR unless there is some sort of discount or promotion. Do any of you DLR vets have any insight into what December will hold? (I realize no one really knows what Disney will do but past history is still helpful)
Thanks,
Danielle
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~Shoot for the moon, if you miss, you will land among the stars~
DLR is usually pretty busy during the Christmas break time, including the dates you've mentioned. You get a lot of locals, as well as vacationers. It's always seemed busier at DLR than WDW during that time, probably b/c WDW can spread everyone out a little better.
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Looking forward to another Christmas with The Mouse!!
The only discounts I've seen have been pin codes. Also, you need to reserve a room ASAP. We are going Dec 4-8 and got a pin code for discounts. The only resort with ANY availability was Grand Californian. Paradise Pier and DLH were both sold out. And it just gets busier as the month goes on. We already have reservations at our standard Best Western Park Place Inn, so no worries for us....
Since I doubt we will get any form of a pin code; we would have to rely on AP discount, which, from what I understand is not usually much at that time of year. I did check hotels and all three resorts had multiple room types with seemingly wide open availability....at full rack rates, of course. Decisions, decisions....I really want this to work as this is the only year we will be premier passholders.
danielle
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~Shoot for the moon, if you miss, you will land among the stars~
Since I doubt we will get any form of a pin code; we would have to rely on AP discount, which, from what I understand is not usually much at that time of year. I did check hotels and all three resorts had multiple room types with seemingly wide open availability....at full rack rates, of course. Decisions, decisions....I really want this to work as this is the only year we will be premier passholders.
danielle
Our local schools will be out that same week you are going, it will be VERY crowded. I doubt there will any discounts offered, they can fill those rooms easily without one.
Our local schools will be out that same week you are going, it will be VERY crowded. I doubt there will any discounts offered, they can fill those rooms easily without one.
Well, looks like we will be back to plan "A"....Spring Break.....
danielle
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~Shoot for the moon, if you miss, you will land among the stars~
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Well, Spring break is also extremely busy. If I were going to have to put up with the crowds, I think I'd pick December just for the atmosphere/decorations/overlays. For some reason, Spring Break really is awful here. Like someone said, there just isn't as much space to spread out.