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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Since we are now under 30 days I thought I would try to write a pre-trip report.
The Characters:
Me: Cheryl 41. I love Disney! I collect Disney books and Disney watches. I am a professional volunteer. What is that you ask? I volunteer for everything. This year I was Vice President of PTA Council for the city, Treasurer of Ryan’s school PTA, Recording Secretary of Nick’s school, Special Education Parent Representative to the county for our school district, member of the Special Education Committee for the school district, Committee Chairman (President) of the cub scout pack, Relay for Life team member, and chairman of another dozen miscellaneous committees for the schools/scouts. I am at the school so much they gave me a staff id (on a beautiful lanyard). Although I do enjoy most/some of it I mainly do it to make sure my name is out there. I know Nick gets more services at the school because I am known. I know all of the administrators for the school and more importantly they know me.
DH: Eric, 39. Eric is an electrical engineer. He works for a NASA subcontractor and contracts for various engineering jobs on the side. Eric enjoys our trips but I know he would like to travel to other places. Luckily, he spoils me. This September we will celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary.
DS1: Nick,12. Nick will be going into the 7th grade. In our school district this means he will move to the Middle School (which I am very nervous about). When Nick was in first grade he was diagnosed with PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder), a form of autism. Nick is high functioning. Many people are familiar with Asperger’s Syndrome; Nick’s autism is similar to that. Nick is also ADHD and OCD (obsessive compulsive). Many children with PDD have co-morbid disorders, Nick hit the trifecta. Nick has really come a long way since he was first diagnosed. He used to speak very mechanically (like a robot), wouldn’t make eye contact, would not speak when spoken to, etc... He will now make eye contact, answer when spoken to, his speech is more fluid, etc. He has many sensory issues; certain odors, fabrics, sounds, bugs, and more. Some of his trigger issues have lessened over the years, some have gone away, and new ones have developed. Nick functions best with a very structured environment. It surprises me that he does so well at WDW. We have had to leave lines because of someone’s body odor, loud voice, etc.. He has a set of earplugs that he carries to use on some of the louder rides. We have to be careful when planning meals because he has many food issues. At home he will eat a variety of food, when in a restaurant or someone’s home he is more cautious. When in a strange environment we have to pick which battles we are willing to fight. Nick hated the Whispering Canyon at WL but he loves the Rainforest Café, sometimes it is hard to figure out what he will like or not like. Nick has a great sense of humor and loves video games. His favorite part of WDW is Disney Quest.
DS2: Ryan, 8. Ryan is our social guy. He loves having friends over and playing. Ryan is going into 3rd grade. He loves Stitch. He is a Cub Scout with the rank of Bear. He keeps us busy with all his planning. He hates being bored! He loves the water parks at Disney.
This is us June 2005. The signature picture is Spring Break 2006.
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But, before I tell you about this trip I will give you a not-so-brief synopsis of our Disney vacation experiences.
OUR FIRST TRIP:
Our first trip to WDW was back in 1990. Eric and I went there for our honeymoon. We did the Big Red Boat/WDW package deal. I was mainly interested in WDW and Eric was mostly interested in the cruise. This was my first time on an airplane! We got upgraded to first class given free champagne since we were on our honeymoon. I was afraid to drink it, I didn’t know what to expect from the flight. We had never taken a vacation when I was a child so I had never stayed at a hotel before that. Eric’s family took some vacations so he had hotel experience. I think it was his first plane ride also. We stayed in a garden room at the Contemporary and loved being on the monorail. I was disappointed we didn’t stay inside the main building but thought the room was gorgous. We dined upstairs in the Contemporary, they had a supper club which we thought was very fancy. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was under refurbishment but we’ll catch it next time, won’t we? We both enjoyed the cruise. Our room had a balcony and the food was great. I was intimidated by the locals in the Bahamas, they got right up on top of you to sell you various items. We loved snorkeling in the ocean. We had a great time and knew one day we would be back to WDW.
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Last edited by Nick and Ryans Mom; 07-16-2008 at 04:15 PM..
Eight years later (1998)…. We had been busy (graduating college, finding jobs, working, buying a house, fixing it up, having a baby, etc..). Nick was a pretty fussy baby (sensory issues, wouldn’t sleep especially at night, etc…) and I was exhausted. A few of my friends had babies at the same time and I felt like something was wrong with me. I must be a bad mother, Nick didn’t seem to be hitting some of his milestones and he was hard to deal with. Going from 2 incomes and no children to 1 income and a baby was a huge adjustment. Eric was offered a side job by a local company to design a component they needed. None of their in-house staff could do it and one of their people had worked with Eric and suggested him for the job. Eric was able to do the work from home in less than 2 months. WOO HOO, extra income!!! He wanted to put it toward another home project but I said no way, we need a vacation!!
Eric contacted his travel agent at work and she suggested WDW. We were surprised. Can you take a 2 year old to Disney? Absolutely. She suggested we book it ourselves. At the time I had a Magic Kingdom Club card and we did get a deal. We flew there for 4 days and stayed at POFQ. We then drove to the Gulf and spent 3 days at a resort (Eric really didn’t believe that there would be much to do at WDW with a 2 year old). We had a much better time at Disney then we did at the resort. Eric had visions of playing with Nick in the sand. Nick screamed every time we took him near the sand and hated the ocean. Nick was also going through a phase where he would only drink grape Juicy Juice. We had to bring 12 cans of concentrate for the trip; we were very concerned about him dehydrating in the Florida heat. The Buzz Lightyear ride had just opened and was the only thing Nick wanted to do (over and over and over and over). He wouldn’t ride with Daddy, only Mommy.
While we were at Epcot on our second day of vacation I experienced some health issues. When I got home my doctor told me I either had to go back on infertility drugs or another drug that would help my body supplement its hormones. Eric really wanted another child but I felt as if I couldn’t handle another child (Nick was very demanding). I did feel bad for Eric; Nick would have nothing to do with him. He would only respond to me or MIL. Plus I was still feeling the Disney magic from our trip. I agreed to go back on the infertility drugs (which I hated) for 3 months. Twelve months later Ryan was born.
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About This Page: 
What is that you ask? I volunteer for everything. This year I was Vice President of PTA Council for the city, Treasurer of Ryan’s school PTA, Recording Secretary of Nick’s school, Special Education Parent Representative to the county for our school district, member of the Special Education Committee for the school district, Committee Chairman (President) of the cub scout pack, Relay for Life team member, and chairman of another dozen miscellaneous committees for the schools/scouts. I am at the school so much they gave me a staff id (on a beautiful lanyard). 
Although I do enjoy most/some of it I mainly do it to make sure my name is out there. I know Nick gets more services at the school because I am known. I know all of the administrators for the school and more importantly they know me. 
In our school district this means he will move to the Middle School (which I am very nervous about). When Nick was in first grade he was diagnosed with PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder), a form of autism. Nick is high functioning. Many people are familiar with Asperger’s Syndrome; Nick’s autism is similar to that. Nick is also ADHD and OCD (obsessive compulsive). Many children with PDD have co-morbid disorders, Nick hit the trifecta.
Nick has really come a long way since he was first diagnosed. He used to speak very mechanically (like a robot), wouldn’t make eye contact, would not speak when spoken to, etc... He will now make eye contact, answer when spoken to, his speech is more fluid, etc. 
He has many sensory issues; certain odors, fabrics, sounds, bugs, and more. 
Some of his trigger issues have lessened over the years, some have gone away, and new ones have developed. Nick functions best with a very structured environment. It surprises me that he does so well at WDW. We have had to leave lines because of someone’s body odor, loud voice, etc.. He has a set of earplugs that he carries to use on some of the louder rides. We have to be careful when planning meals because he has many food issues. 
At home he will eat a variety of food, when in a restaurant or someone’s home he is more cautious. When in a strange environment we have to pick which battles we are willing to fight. Nick hated the Whispering Canyon at WL but he loves the Rainforest Café, sometimes it is hard to figure out what he will like or not like. Nick has a great sense of humor and loves video games. His favorite part of WDW is Disney Quest.
He loves having friends over and playing. Ryan is going into 3rd grade. He loves Stitch. He is a Cub Scout with the rank of Bear. He keeps us busy with all his planning. He hates being bored! He loves the water parks at Disney. 
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Pixie Dust
Dreams, Wishes, Hopes... these are the parts of childhood we should never lose.
I agree! I really enjoy the trip reports where you feel you "know" the people.
I was afraid to drink it, I didn’t know what to expect from the flight. We had never taken a vacation when I was a child so I had never stayed at a hotel before that. 
Eric’s family took some vacations so he had hotel experience. I think it was his first plane ride also. We stayed in a garden room at the Contemporary and loved being on the monorail. I was disappointed we didn’t stay inside the main building but thought the room was gorgous. We dined upstairs in the Contemporary, they had a supper club which we thought was very fancy. 
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was under refurbishment but we’ll catch it next time, won’t we? 
A few of my friends had babies at the same time and I felt like something was wrong with me. I must be a bad mother, Nick didn’t seem to be hitting some of his milestones and he was hard to deal with. 
Going from 2 incomes and no children to 1 income and a baby was a huge adjustment. 
we need a vacation!! 
We were surprised. Can you take a 2 year old to Disney? 
He wouldn’t ride with Daddy, only Mommy.
I did feel bad for Eric; Nick would have nothing to do with him. He would only respond to me or MIL. Plus I was still feeling the Disney magic from our trip.
I agreed to go back on the infertility drugs (which I hated) for 3 months. Twelve months later Ryan was born. 
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