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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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A few weeks ago I found a fantastic deal for a quick New York getaway so I booked it. Now that it has gotten cold (even here in south Louisiana) I'm wondering how we'll manage without freezing to death! Has anyone tried sightseeing during the winter? I love museums but hubby can only take so much of that sort of thing. We'll be there 4 days.
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I've been to New York before in November and January and the January I went was 1996, the winter that was on a par with what they're experiencing this year. To be honest, the cold wasn't too bad, as the only time I was out in it, I was usually walking and I just walked a bit faster to keep the blood circulating and to minimise the time I spent outside. I visited lots of attractions, such as the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty etc. and at least the cold helped to keep visitor numbers down.
I know this sounds silly but I'm really worried about my shoes! It almost never snows (although it did last December!) here and I'm not sure if I should try to buy something for the snow or even what I would need.
We've been before but in May and July and during one very warm (70 degrees!) January. My husband loves to just walk in the different neighborhoods but, to tell the truth, I don't think I would enjoy that if it's freezing out. I've done a little research and I've found the Brooklyn Museum which looks like it might be fun. I was thinking too about doing a studio tour. Any suggestions?
Hi Jennilynn! It's freezing here now so be sure to bundle up! It's also snowed a lot these past few days so I'd pick up a pair of boots if you can, even though everyone's good at getting the streets shoveled ASAP.
The Brooklyn Museum's gorgeous, but if you only have 4-days I'd go to the MET. It's huge and a really beautiful place. Also, the best studio tour to do in NBC since there's the most going on. We did the ABC tour once and didn't see much!
I'm a history and art history major and worked as a curator so I love the Met! We went there on our last two trips (latest was May '08) and hubby wants something different. I thought the exhibit on period interiors at Brooklyn looked interesting. I'm going to look up the NBC tour now!
If you don't mind taking the train over then the Brooklyn Museum's great! We go every few months. It's huge and less crowded than the Manhattan museums. They have an especially good Egyptian exhibit. Keep us updated in your plans!
Just returned Sunday night and the temps really dipped on Saturday and Sunday. I layered and did fine- I was a little nervous about this as my previous trip was in April.
The wind tunnel that can be Manhattan was the only thing I got really uncomfortable with- I found that wrapping my scarf around my face as well helped at times. Most of my friends wore very comfy boots and their feet were nice and warm. I wore trendy boots and changed in to my Nike's within hours. It wasn't snowing so that didn't become an issue.
It wasn't near as difficult touring as I thought it would be despite the cold. Part of this was due to the fact that in Manhattan, that there was a Starbucks on every corner- the peppermint mocha went a long way in helping to warm me up when I really needed it!
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We went earlier this month, and while we did have some chillier days -- the layers kept us warm. We are originally from the North (Ohio), but we have been in the south for going on two years now. And during that time, we have grown accustomed to NOT dealing with winter! LOL.
Definitely dress in layers. Most days I wore a long sleeved top with a sweater over that and then a wool pea coat from LL Bean. I also had a warm scarf, gloves, and a hat. I only wore the hat one nite -- when we rode the Staten Island Ferry out to view Lady Liberty at nite. That nite it was sooooooo cold! BRRR! I also wore my riding boots with knee socks.
We did a great deal of walking, so I think that really helped to keep us "warm." And a cup of hot tea/coffee/or hot chocolate certainly helps on a particularly brisk day. But with going in/out of shops, museums, and restaurants -- it helped to give us a chance to "warm" up if we were feeling cold.
Happy travels! What an amazing city.
Thanks for the reports! I did a bit of on-line shopping and bought a pair of water-proof, insulated boots. They kind of look like regular boots without the heels so I'm pretty happy. I also got a new wool dressy coat. We're going to the theater a couple of times. I got out my old one and it's about three sizes too big! I had a receipt in the pocket from 1997. That's how often I wear something like that!
I have long undies from ski trips but I think I still need a nicer scarf and gloves. I only have those ugly nylon ski mittens.