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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Is this a bad Christmas gift idea??
I will start by saying my kids(2yo ds and 12yo dd) have everything they need and want. My ds will be sharing a bedroom soon as I am due to have a little boy in Feb. Both rooms are smallish kid size bedrooms. So my thought was to get Ds his own toddler bed set toy story themed and Dd a loft style bed. To me this sounds like its something a parent should just buy for the kids anyway not so much as a gift but its routine items that kids need. We have a playroom FULL of toys for ds and dd has all the new gadgets available with the exception of the new ipad but she has the itouch and a laptop so I don't feel it necessary to buy the ipad for a 12 yo. Dd has a bed already so its not like I really need to buy a new one, I just know she would like the extra floor space and can put her desk under her bed and free up a good amount of room. Am I being silly to think that these are good Christmas gifts or am I being (as always) overly critical of my parenting? I know the 4 sets of grandparents as well as the 4 sets of aunts/uncles will get the kids toys and stuff and we will get a few additional items, toys movies wii games etc. so its not like this would be it for them it would just be what would qualify as the "big" item for each of them. My other thing is that I have gotten a little out of control over the last 6 years when it comes to Christmas and dd would get what should probably been more appropriate for a family with 3 or 4 kids. I would like to try and bring things back to a more normal level. Sorry for the length of this just need a little feedback on what you think.
You're being overly critical. Must be those hormones.
Tell me what parent DOESN'T manage to slip something kids NEED (pajamas, socks, clothes, etc.) under the tree?! Just because yours won't fit under the tree doesn't make it any less special or any less of a gift. As parents, we buy our kids stuff they need and want. It's our choice in what paper, if any, we wrap it in. Besides, kids tend to cherish and appreciate stuff more when it's given as a gift instead of just handed to them.
You know what you kids need and what you can do for them. I think, unfortunately, so many gifts get "forgotten" but a bedroom set is something that will be kept for a long time and remembered!
My son has wanted bunk beds forever, he is 6 now. They are so expensive that I can't just buy them any old time. So I have considered the same thing, getting them for Christmas. Plus, we are having a baby in Dec. so in a few years our new baby can take the bottom bunk....2 birds with one stone!
I think the bed sounds like a great idea.
If it were the mattress -- I'd agree with you that it's pretty utilitarian and probably "not a Christmas gift"
But a fun Toy Story bed? Or a cool loft that makes your DD's room "more grown-up" ? I think those are the makings of a fun and memorable holiday.
And since you're analyzing -- what is wrong with us as parents teaching our kids that anything, when given with love, is "a gift"?
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I like the idea as well but at first I was trying to figure out how you could pull it off being from Santa but then I saw the kids ages so I don't think that should matter? Or is it from you guys?
I haven't a clue how to do the santa thing yet but since DD is only 18 months I think I have another year to figure it out
The girls were in kindergarten, their aunt & uncle gave them twin size beds for christmas. My mom then got them comforters and sheets to got with the bed. they LOVED it!. They didn't feel cheated by Santa or anything. In fact, the more I think about it, they got the toddler beds for christmas when they were 2. Again, loved it because they were no longer in a crib and in a 'big girl' bed.
Two christmas's ago, DD#2 got a whole new bed set - comforter, sheets, pillow, body pillow for christmas, last christmas DD#1 got the same thing. Neither daughter felt cheated out of any of the lastest gadgets for christmas.
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Thanks everyone! DD knows that all gifts are really from us but we mark it from Santa anyway. I think the biggest lesson will be that things don't happen instantly and we really need to wait for Christmas(dd really wants her room done now). AND that you may not get everything on the list. I really have lost sight of that in the last few years getting the kids whatever they wanted(need or not) at any time of year and having a really over the top Christmas as well. I always wanted the best for my kids but have come to realize that I may not have been setting a realistic example of life. So its bed sets for them and I can do it without feeling as if I am slighting either of them.
While my kids were never into decorating, my older son did get a futon one year for his birthday. I had a couple of friends whose teenaged DD's always asked for linens, furniture and room accessories for Christmas. My neice got a new bedroom set from her grandmother for her bat mitzvah.
I think its a great idea. My brother and SIL did the same thing for my nieces two Christmases ago.
Thanks to the extended family, they still had plenty to open on Christmas morning.
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When I was around your DD's age, my parents bought me a loft bed for my birthday. I it!!! My room was small and the bed was a perfect fit and made me feel grown up. I think new bedroom sets are perfect gifts for the kids.
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it!!! My room was small and the bed was a perfect fit and made me feel grown up. I think new bedroom sets are perfect gifts for the kids.
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