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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We were planning on going to Caladesi Island on our trip in 2 weeks, but we changed our minds Did you hear about that shark attack in Destin?? An 11-foot shark bit a 14-year old girls thigh off, and killed her. That's horrible! There are over 30 shark attacks in Florida a year, and we know the odds of anything happening are slim, but we decided to just stick to Orlando and go in the pool, lmao! We may still go to Daytona Beach one night to see the sunset (I LOVE sunsets over the beach!) but we won't be going in the water haha! Now we have an extra free day so I'm going to switch some stuff around.. 13 days!!
Melissa,
You will have a bit of a problem watching the sunset from Daytona Beach as it is on the east coast. Last time we were in Florida the sun was setting on the west coast. I am quite sure that is still the case.
Yeah, it was all over the news. Scary. I'm already afraid of sharks, so this doesn't help. My brother leaves on the west coast and practically lives at the beach...so I'll be warning him too.
Yes we also heard the sad news. I know its frightening but
also remember it is rare. I really feel so sad for the
family. It such a tragedy.
Well, you have that extra day now I'm sure you'll find
something fun to do. You're such a good planner..get busy!
By the way~~ Congratulations on your Graduation!!
I know you know that the chances of being bitten by a shark are slim, but I still feel the need to try to be reassuring!
I grew up here (about an hour from Destin) and have been swimming at the beach a thousand times or so (maybe more!) and while I've been within touching distance of sharks a few times (and have touched one once!) I've never had any even approach me! (Although I've been VERY close to dolphins MANY times!)
From the Article 'Five Things That Can Ruin Your Summer' by Mitch Post
[ QUOTE ]
1. Sharks
As with all shark-related stories, I'll start you out with a little perspective. During 1996, the most recent year for which these ridiculous statistics have been compiled, there were no fewer than 491,402 injuries attributed to home-improvement equipment (including a shocking 43,687 toilet injuries. Toilet injuries?). During the same year, there were only 20 confirmed shark attacks in the United States, none of them fatal.
Yes, I am well aware of the fact that you are 30 times more likely to be killed by a lightning strike than by a shark attack. And yes, your chances of being bitten by a shark are about the same as your chances of being bitten by an ocelot, whatever the hell that is. But the bottom line is that almost everyone has an inherent fear of sharks, and it's not completely unfounded. While the odds of it actually happening are miniscule, a shark bite can make your day way, way below average.
Consider the three basic types of shark attacks: the "hit and run," "bump and bite," and the "sneak attack." These are actual scientific classifications; I couldn't make this stuff up if I wanted to! The most common, by far, is the hit and run attack. In this case, a shark simply mistakes you for its normal prey, usually in low-visibility situations, and takes a single small bite out of you. Once the shark realizes that you're not a seal, it leaves. (Apparently, human flesh tastes worse than Taco Bell food.)
While the hit and run shark attack is definitely no picnic, it's downright fun compared to the other two types. The bump and bite, typically seen in the movies, involves the shark bumping you with its nose to determine whether or not you are a tasty shark snack. Then, after bumping you, the shark is either too hungry or too stupid to care that you're not actually a seal, and chomps you in half anyway. You not only get devoured by the shark, but you get to watch! The sneak attack sucks almost as badly, but is much more merciful in that there is no investigative bump beforehand. In either case, I can personally think of at least 1,000 better ways to die.
All that being said, there are a few basic things you can do to make sure you're not the next star of Fox's You Gotta See This! When venturing into the water, try to stay near other people. Sharks are opportunists, looking for stray individuals. Don't go into the water if you're bleeding from an open wound. Use extra caution when the water is extremely murky, because sharks rely on sight to identify prey. And try to avoid the areas between sandbars or near steep dropoffs. Sharks like to cruise these areas at low tide. And for crying out loud, if someone has sighted a shark in the area, stay the hell out of the water.
As long as you keep your head out of your hiney, I personally guarantee that a shark will never, ever bite you. In fact, I will even give you $20 out of my own pocket if you are attacked. Just send me a videotape of the event, and I'll mail you a check!
I swim in the ocean everyday and will "Just keep swimming"! Stay in shallow areas where sharks are not sited and especially stay away from areas where they are feeding!
I hate to hear about shark attacks but I also hate to hear about car accidents... we don't hesitate to get back in our cars, let's not let this keep us out of the ocean!
True, true... but I'd rather have the extra day to just hang out, anyway, lol! Next year we're planning on a week-long beach vacation so we'll go to the bach then And about the sun setting in the West... that's true, too, haha! you can still see the sky changing colors and everything, though. In Rocky Point we're on the East oast but we can still watch the sunset over the beach and it's gorgeous !
I grew up in Florida and swam many many times in water over my head. I look back now and realize how stupid that was. I'm sure there were sharks all over the place, but I never knew it (newscast helicopters will often see the sharks swimming just a few yards from the beach crowd).
Having said that, I think that swimming in the ocean is fine as long as you aren't venturing out further than waist deep, or swimming at feeding times.
The biggest mistake this swimmer made was the fact that she was almost 250 yards out - extremely far - and past the second sand bar (where the water becomes deep and the shelf area/sand bar area drops down from there). That is just too far, plus the fact that she probably did look like prey from the shark's point of view.
Melissa, I wouldn't hesitate to go to the beach at all, just stay closer in. Once you are out in their territory, you have to play by their rules and use your head a little. I'm so sorry for this poor child and her parents; it's just very sad, and unfortunately, avoidable.
I haven't heard about the shark attack, my friend and her family left Fri. night to go spend a week in Destin. Am curious if they closed any beaches etc? Anyone know?
[ QUOTE ]
I haven't heard about the shark attack, my friend and her family left Fri. night to go spend a week in Destin. Am curious if they closed any beaches etc? Anyone know?
[/ QUOTE ]
The beach where the attack happened was double red flagged (closed to swimming) after the attack. This attack happened in south Walton county (called Sandestin). The conditions were not the "usual" conditions for a shark attack. The water was clear and the girls were about 250 yards off shore. They noticed a dark shadow near them and the shark attacked one of the girls, biting her leg and dragging her under. The other girl swam to shore for help. A surfer and another male went to the aid of the girl and had to fight the shark off, it kept trying to get to them. They finally got the girl to shore where emergency life support treatment was started and she was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounce dead.
Would anyone have predicted this attack, not based on the time of day and water conditions. Could this attack have been prevented, maybe if the girls had noticed the shark sooner. But when you're in the water, that's hard to do. And the waters in this area are always full of sharks, anyone flying at a low altitude over the water just off the coast is amazed at the number of sharks swimming all the time and how close they are to the shore. After all, it is their home...
My condilences to the girls friends she was visiting with and her family...
For those who would like more information about sharks, here's a few links...
Man, I couldn't agree with everyone more. I am so scared of sharks. I always worry about that when swimming in the ocean and with all the recent shark attacks lately, I get worried as well. Fortunately, for our upcoming honeymoon trip, we won't have much time to spare to go to the beach. Although, I could live in the ocean if someone let me. I absolutely love it. We swam in hte ocean at Vero Beach for hours last trip in 2003 with my fiance now. My parents were saying that I better be careful because he was so bored and about to leave me Haha! J/K So, anyway, I'm surprised I didn't think about that back then.
Good Luck and have a wonderful trip! Wish ours was comin' up that fast. But, I have a while before our honeymoon.
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Did you hear about that shark attack in Destin?? An 11-foot shark bit a 14-year old girls thigh off, and killed her. That's horrible! There are over 30 shark attacks in Florida a year, and we know the odds of anything happening are slim, but we decided to just stick to Orlando and go in the pool, lmao! We may still go to Daytona Beach one night to see the sunset (I LOVE sunsets over the beach!) but we won't be going in the water 
haha! Now we have an extra free day so I'm going to switch some stuff around.. 13 days!! 
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Pixie Dust
I am quite sure that is still the case. 
And about the sun setting in the West... that's true, too, haha! you can still see the sky changing colors and everything, though. In Rocky Point we're on the East oast but we can still watch the sunset over the beach and it's gorgeous 
But, I have a while before our honeymoon.
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