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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 forgot to mention this, But on my trip home from Disneyland I was "lucky enough" to get the pat-down.. I was on my scooter & was asked to come through to the other side of the scanner on my scooter. I was informed I was going to get a pat-down & that thy would check over & chemical test the scooter. OK, always wondered if it was as horrible as some people have said, the people on the news in tears saying they felt like they were "molested"
It was no big deal at all.. The female screener told me exactly what she was going to do every step of the way. quick & not too personal (if you know what I mean) I think the people I have seen on the news crying & saying horrible things were really exaggerating and that silliness makes it difficult and scary for others that are going to fly.
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Glad that the experience was easy for you and that you were well informed. From reading different posts here (especially one by Will) I wondered the same thing - if the people on the news were blowing things way out of proportion. On our way to Florida, I saw a couple of people getting pat downs at TF Green and it really looked like no big deal so it certainly made me think those who go on the news merely want 15 minutes of fame.
I seem to be "randomly" picked for the Radiogragh screening every time I fly and I refuse (VERYPOLITELY) to go through it! I respectfully request the pat down. Now I am NOT found of the pat down, but the TSA agents have always been very professional, respectful and polite, and explain EVERYTHING they are going to do. For me, because of the radiology exposure I get at work and the fact that they can not tell me exactly how much I am being exposed to in the machine, I will opt for the pat down every time. My THYROID (what little working bit of it that is left) THANKS me for it!
I also was singled out on my last trip and I agree, no big deal. The agent told me what she was going to do and went through the procedures quickly and with no fuss while another agent frisked the scooter.
I have to agree. I've been patted down on three continents! No big deal...for some reason, I (or some child I'm with) is always selected for random screening.
My youngest daughter can't walk or stand, so she has had pat downs since she was a toddler.
In usually 2 round trips a year, we have never gotten a screener who was disrespecting her, rough or groping. It has always been a female agent and they have always explained everything before doing it.
We do let them know that she can understand, but can't speak. We also tell the screener that if they tell her what they need her to do, she will try to help them. She does move slowly because she has CP, but she will try to lean forward or whatever they want her to do.
Thanks for letting us know about your experience, Deb.
We will be flying in November and Grace will have her wheelchair. If need be was can fold it up and put it on the x-ray belt, but it is good to know that the screeners are informing you of everything as it happens.