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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 will be at WDW late June/early July as a graduation trip present for my 18 year old DD. As one big celebration, family is going with us (total group about 10 people) and we are celebrating DD's 18th birthday, her high school graduation and our 20th wedding anniversary.
As a WDW novice (only 1 abbreviated trip in 2002), I am at a loss on celebrating these milestones at WDW. Any suggestions????? Help - please!!!!! Looking to put a smile on DW's face as all the planning fell into my lap.
Step one: Upon check in, ask for a birthday button.
Step two: Be sure to have the CM's mark that it is a birthday trip on your room reservation and your dining reservations. (you may have to call back andtell them if you didn't do so originally)
As far as the graduation and anniversary celebrations go, there aren't any buttons for those occasions, but maybe you can make a dinner reservation for just you and DW as an anniversary celebration?
If you are staying on property (or the majority of the group is staying on property), then you might want to consider the Grand Gathering options.
Bonus one is that they will link all of your reservations together under the one Grand Gathering account. This will also allow the room assigner to try and situate your rooms near each other.
On top of the benefits of planning a GG, there are the GG events themselves which are geared toward celebrating special events within your family/group.
I've done two GGs now and found the Magical Fireworks Voyage to be a terrific treat!
Eileen
If you are staying on property (or the majority of the group is staying on property), then you might want to consider the Grand Gathering options.
Bonus one is that they will link all of your reservations together under the one Grand Gathering account. This will also allow the room assigner to try and situate your rooms near each other.
On top of the benefits of planning a GG, there are the GG events themselves which are geared toward celebrating special events within your family/group.
I've done two GGs now and found the Magical Fireworks Voyage to be a terrific treat!
Eileen
Eileen and Rob have great suggestions! I agree 100%
If it were DW and me, I would get an ADR at Artist Point. V & A would be too much.
As far as the graduation and anniversary celebrations go, there aren't any buttons for those occasions, but maybe you can make a dinner reservation for just you and DW as an anniversary celebration?
I thought there was anniversary buttons. I saw people wearing them in Oct '07. Also when I made my ADR this week I was checking with the CM that we could pick 1st time and anniversary buttons when checking in at the resort and she belived it was possible. May be I have been given incorrect info
I think you've had some wonderful suggestions already - and I can definitely second the idea of the birthday and anniversary pins. They've both got us a lot of attention in the past.
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Looking to put a smile on DW's face as all the planning fell into my lap.
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