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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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've done it twice (and the friend who came with me last trip did it, as well). The first time I did it (early 1990s) I just took the pearl home and got it set several years later at a local jeweler's (I didn't like any of the settings Disney had then).
This past time, I did two oysters - one for myself, one for my dog, LOL. Our trip theme was Princesses and, hey, she's a princess, too!! Okay, plus I knew I'd have a better chance at getting a good color. And it worked, too, 'cause my dog's pearl is a regular ol' champagne color (similar to what I got the first time) but mine is a gorgeous silvery blue, one of the colors I was really hoping for!! (And if I recall correctly, that blue one came out of my second oyster! So my plan worked!! )
I've posted a photo of my pearl on here before. Not sure if I ever posted a pic of my ring or not (I got mine set into a ring, by the way, LOL). I got a white gold ring for myself. My dog got a sterling silver flower-shaped pin (so can wear it when she wears a bandanna). My only complaint is the glue didn't hold on my dog's pin and the pearl fell off! Thankfully, it fell off as soon as we walked in the door at home (not in the restaurant or car or store[s] we'd just been in) so I was able to find it after a short search! I still need to glue it back on one of these days (not sure what type of glue to use - don't know if Gorilla Glue would hurt the pearl or not, though I know for sure it'd keep it on the pin until the end of time!).
My friend, by the way, got a pink pearl and she got it put on a yellow gold ring (same design as mine).
It is hard to get a photo of my pearl's true color, but the photo of it in the salt is pretty close. The ones of it on my finger didn't come out as well with the color. (In the salt pic, mine is the rightmost pearl. My dog's champagne pearl is the middle one. My friend's pink one is the leftmost.)
I am definitely doing this when I go - this will be my birthday present!! I LOVE the color of your pearl - wish me luck that I'll get a blue or black one!!!
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Thanks very much everyone for your advice - I've read through all the pages on the link to the DISboard and am quite excited now! Pearl happens to be my birthstone too, so it will have an extra significance as well as being my Disney valentine's gift
Fingers crossed for a black one now!!
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This is awesome. I think that I am going to have my DS do this for my mother for Christmas. He's a gem lover as it is, and will love to get G-Ma a "real live pearl" I am sure.
This thread and the link to the one on the DIS boards has me so excited. I think I'll treat my 2 older DD's in April. They are 15 and 11. What do you think about little girls aged 5 and 6. Too young for a pearl? I do love that butterfly setting!
We did this at Japan in EPCOT. The cost to pick the pearl was about $15. I got an 8mm pearl but I haven't had it set yet! It's alot of fun to check out everyone's pick!
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I'm not sure if it's still there but they had this in the CBR gift shop in 1999. Does anyone who's done this know what the silver tone jewelry is made of? I would love to get a ring next time. I already have a gorgeous pearl pendant with a small diamond on top passed down to me from an aunt - it was the first anniversary gift my uncle gave her. I'm curious because I'm allergic to any jewelry with nickel in it and I've found even a lot of jewelry labeled for sensitive wearers I can't wear without breaking out. Keeping my fingers crossed it's made from something I can wear!
They have a booth in the Animal Kingdom as well- at least they did last summer!
My friend got a pearl there for her grandaughter and while we were there the lady told us a lot of stuff including that the oysters that they use are dead already and kept cold until they are put out for sale. Live oysters are kept at farms and used over and over again (they take the pearls out with a little tool that doesn't kill the oyster and then reseed them with a new matrix.) When they die, as oysters have a lifespan, they harvest them for these kinds of operations. That's what she said anyway. It made me feel a little better as I didn't want to kill something just to get a pearl.
My DS did it for me and got twins in one oyster and a really large pearl in the other one. He had them made into earrings and a pendant that I still have.
Suzie
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You might want to rethink the Gorilla glue to reset your pearl. Take it to a jeweller to reset. They may have to drill it to put in a pin to hold it securely.
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And it worked, too, 'cause my dog's pearl is a regular ol' champagne color (similar to what I got the first time) but mine is a gorgeous silvery blue, one of the colors I was really hoping for!! (And if I recall correctly, that blue one came out of my second oyster! So my plan worked!! 
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