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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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DS has had an AWEFUL time lately! He has pretty much had an ear infection/sinus infection for going on 2 months now. He has failed his last 3 hearing tests and is constantly in a bad mood because he isn't getting ANY quality sleep. It's constant choking and gasping for air all night. His ENT scheduled him for surgery to have his tonsils and adnoids out and to do some other procedure on his sinuses for the 18th. Yesterday I took him for his preop and told the dr. that he definitely was not feeling well. He said not to worry about it...that he would get IV antibiotics during surgery so he would be treated then. Of course last night I was woken up by him paniced and fighting to breathe. I called the inlaws to come over and they helped keep me sane all night. He was feeling much better this morning, but his pedi wanted me to take him in to the minor care center just to get checked out. DH just call me and said after running just about every test known to mankind, his rapid strep finally came back positive. Poor DH had to hold him down through 6 xrays, an RSV swab (which is HORRIBLE) and some other tests. So the minor care dr. just called and they are giving Josh an antibiotic shot and sending him home on antibiotics. She spoke to his ENT and I have to call Monday to postpone his surgery. I am so disapointed. Josh is just STAYING sick right now. I was hopefull that we could finally get this surgery out of the way and he would get some relief before Thanksgiving. I'm sure we are going to be looking at the first part of December now for his surgery.
It sounds incredibly selfish, but I was just really looking forward to a night of decent sleep. As it is, I'm lucky if I get 2 hours of sleep at a time. I'm up with Josh every hour or two and as soon as I get him down Chloe wakes up. It REALLY stinks right now! So wish us luck with getting over this quickly and getting all of his sinus problems lined out. Mommy needs some rest!
I had a similar problem with my oldest DS when he was about the same age. His tonsils and adenoids were constantly getting inflamed. Although he could sleep at night, we could hear him gasping for breath all night long. We had to take him into the doctor's office every 3 weeks or so to get him injected with penicillin (which apparently only works for about 3 weeks...). My ex-DH finally told the doctor, "Either you take those tonsils out, or we'll find someone who will!" A few weeks later, at age 3, he had his surgery. When it was over, our doctor told us he'd never seen such large adenoids - there are 3 of them, located at the back of the throat behind the tonsils, right where the air comes from the nose and down to the lungs. Those babies were the size of 50-cent pieces (each of them). Picture this in a 3-year-old's throat....he had an opening the size of a pinhole to breathe through! It's really amazing that he didn't suffocate!
Please get this taken care of as soon as you possibly can....
Bless your heart Val. Those nasty tonsil's are probably what's keepin' him sick. The sooner they come out the better. But you've got to get rid of that strep first. That could bloom into something worse. PM me if you just need to vent.
Poor Josh - and poor his mommy!
It's so awful to have to deal with this, isn't it?
Be sure to talk to the HIS DR. on Monday, and ask how soon you can get the surgery done. Be sure to comment that NO-ONE in your house is sleeping because of Josh's difficulties. The best advocate for your son is you.
My DS had to have his tonsils removed when he was 3 years old. We had to cancel his first scheduled surgery because he was sick. Hope your poor little guy can get some relief soon, and that you can catch some sleep. Hopefully they will be able to get him in sooner than your thinking they will.
DD had constant ear infections (they would clear and come back within days of stopping the antibiotics, broke through the prophalastics ). When she was 2 she went to the ER and the ped that was covering for hers, gave her huge does of antibiotics. I can't remember what they were but after that her ear infections diminished to a reasonable frequency.
Hopefully your little one will get over the hump soon.
Oh Val - I am so sorry! For all of you!
I have a similar story as yours and Carols. The short story - Nate was plagued for months with problems, at age 4 his pedi decided that even after being on the strongest antibiotic for two weeks and he was still terribly sick, they did a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy - he had a 102 temp! Like Carol's son, Nate's adenoids were huge - the largest his ped had ever seen!
I hope they are able to take his tonsills and adenoids out very soon!
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