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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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So my DD has decided to go to Hofstra University in Hempstead Long Island. Her orientation is July 8-10. She has to stay in the dorms. I am MORE FREAKED OUT about that than her moving in for the semester in September. The plan is supposed to be me dropping her off on the 8th and me going to parent orientation (UGH!). Then driving home and returning on the 10th to pick her up. We live about 3 1/2 hours away. (For the two trips we have taken so far it took 4 hours to get there and 3 hours to get home). I am considering just staying down there in a hotel, but I will be alone. I really don't want to do the drive home and back again alone, but it would be silly for me to sit in a hotel room alone for 3 days.
Any one have any suggestions for what a freaked out mom can do to pass the time? I know the sensible thing would be for me to learn to let go a little bit now, and just go home. BUT I am not really being sensible. I don't really understand why this orientation stay over is freaking me out so much!
There is lots of stuff on LI. There are wineries, the seaport. Parks out at Montauk. Beaches, lighthouses, etc.
You could stay at a B&B and go to a spa... They probably have special programs for parents.
All that EJ mentioned above applies. Montauk is probably a good 90-120 minutes from Hempsted. The wineries are great as well (we've been to a few). There's an outlet mall in Riverhead. You could take the train into NYC.....should be less than an hour train ride
Hempstead is in a good location to travel west into NYC or travel east out to Montauk. Take the Long Island Railroad either way for both trips. If you stay locally, there is Roosevelt Field Mall nearby as well as the Fortunoff Source Mall with plenty of restaurants in the area. Be warned that there is lots of traffic especially on weekends. Depending on what you like to do there are plenty of options. I used to live in the area so if you have any more questions, just ask.
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There's a lot to do around LI. I would use your car. Don't take a train out of Hempstead. The area that Hofstra is in is fine but west of there is not. I have lived within 10 minutes of Hofstra all my life and the neighborhood where the train station and buses are is BAD.
South shore beaches are great. Shopping is great. Roosevelt Field is beautiful, an easy 45 minutes drive east on the LIE until the end finds you with some great otulet shopping at Tanger. 20 minutes further then that are the wineries.
PM me and I'll be glad to meet you and we can do something. There's lots to do.
Depending where you're traveling from in Mass., you might consider taking the ferry. I've had very enjoyable times on the North Fork of Long Island visiting the wineries, etc. It's a whole lot more low key than the Hamptons. From there, you'd catch the Orient Point ferry to New London.
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