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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I have two beautiful boys and I love them so much. I love being a mommy and staying home to spend as much time with my family as possible. After I gave birth to my youngest son I was told it wold not be safe for me to have anymore children. It would be a big risk for me and the baby. So I have been trying to decide if I am only meant to have two children or if it God's way of telling me to adopt. I would love to have another child but maybe it is just not meant to be. If anyone here has experience with adoption foreign or domestic or maybe the choice not to I would appreciate the guidance and/or support.
Well, if you are asking for opinions, mine is that you don't try to have any more children. I'm sure this is heartbreaking for you but please listen to the doctors and don't endanger your health.
Two of my friends have recently adopted internationally. From Columbia and Khazakstan (sp?) Both have BEAUTIFUL toddlers now who are happy, healthy and well adjusted. Foreign adoption was tough because it is very costly and the health of the children available was very much in doubt. My friends who went to Khazakstan had to spend 6 weeks there and it cost them $40,000.00 all in. From Columbia, my friends had to travel there for 3 days and the cost was about $20,000.00. The first step is to get to an adoption agency and have the experts tell you the pros and cons of various countries. Which countries allow foreign adoptions changes rapidly. The process will probably take about 2 years.
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I have dealt with the products of foreign adoptions when they come into court as Children in Need of Services. I am sure that my experiences are not typical and there are many foreign adopted children (like natural born children) who will never come into the juvenile justice system. What I would be very wary of is whter the child could possibly have an attachment disorder. I would carefully investigate when the child had been (many overseas orphanages are very poorly funded and staffed) and try to adopt as young a child as possible.
If you go overseas and actually meet the children, I think it must be very hard not to want to take most of them home. You need to really think about what type of child you want to adopt and not give in to pressure to take a less adoptable child.
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We have been on a very long journey to having children. We have been trying to adopt domestically for the past 4 years and are currently in the middle of another "attempt" that we pray will work out this time. You can PM me if you would like more details as we think we may have found a good avenue to adoption this time. Prayers &for your decision!
__________________
Some Day My Prince Will Come!
Katie - WDW - August 2011
I've thought about you and your question since right after you posted it. I've seen some really good, wonderful things with adoptions - both domestic (trans-racially and placed with same race parents) and foreign (Indian, Russian, Chinese, Cambodian, African, Romanian, Guatamalian, and the list goes on).
What I can tell you is this: it's a crap shoot either way. Stay away from any child, no matter where from, that is older than 1 or at the most 2 years. Be prepared for issues, no matter what. One of the biggest issues everyone I know who has adopted has had is that if the child is from over-seas, there is almost always a medical issue. Sometimes it's as simple as the child has worms or a really nasty ear infection and sometimes it's Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (only happened to one friend - kid was from Belarus).
For the most part, everyone I know who has adopted has been very happy with the results. Some of my friends have kids who are almost 30 - and they're wonderfully adjusted, normal adults. Some of them have kids who are preschoolers, and they are mostly just like everyone else, they just don't look like mommy and daddy.
The only true problem anyone I know who has adopted had was they adopted older kids (2 and 3 - brother and sister) and the kids had been so severe abused they had attachment problems and never really bonded. They also had anger issues.
So, I guess my biggest warning is simply - no matter where you adopt from, make sure they are VERY up front about the child's previous life.
I have a friend who is a surrogate mother - she's had 2 kids for other couples and is trying for another one right now. Have you investigated that avenue? Just a thought.
I've thought about you and your question since right after you posted it. I've seen some really good, wonderful things with adoptions - both domestic (trans-racially and placed with same race parents) and foreign (Indian, Russian, Chinese, Cambodian, African, Romanian, Guatamalian, and the list goes on).
What I can tell you is this: it's a crap shoot either way. Stay away from any child, no matter where from, that is older than 1 or at the most 2 years. Be prepared for issues, no matter what. One of the biggest issues everyone I know who has adopted has had is that if the child is from over-seas, there is almost always a medical issue. Sometimes it's as simple as the child has worms or a really nasty ear infection and sometimes it's Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (only happened to one friend - kid was from Belarus).
For the most part, everyone I know who has adopted has been very happy with the results. Some of my friends have kids who are almost 30 - and they're wonderfully adjusted, normal adults. Some of them have kids who are preschoolers, and they are mostly just like everyone else, they just don't look like mommy and daddy.
The only true problem anyone I know who has adopted had was they adopted older kids (2 and 3 - brother and sister) and the kids had been so severe abused they had attachment problems and never really bonded. They also had anger issues.
So, I guess my biggest warning is simply - no matter where you adopt from, make sure they are VERY up front about the child's previous life.
I have a friend who is a surrogate mother - she's had 2 kids for other couples and is trying for another one right now. Have you investigated that avenue? Just a thought.
I have heard good things about adoptions from Korea. That the children are healthier and "attached" to a foster mother during the time it takes to arrange the adoption. Maybe I am wrong?
We have not considered surrogacy at this point but it is something to think about. I really know very little about it.
Maybe I need to just move on and let the thoughts of a third go? It is so hard to know which way I am meant to be headed.
Thanks everyone so much for all of the support and pixies and advice. I love these boards!
I have dealt with the products of foreign adoptions when they come into court as Children in Need of Services. I am sure that my experiences are not typical and there are many foreign adopted children (like natural born children) who will never come into the juvenile justice system. What I would be very wary of is whter the child could possibly have an attachment disorder. I would carefully investigate when the child had been (many overseas orphanages are very poorly funded and staffed) and try to adopt as young a child as possible.
If you go overseas and actually meet the children, I think it must be very hard not to want to take most of them home. You need to really think about what type of child you want to adopt and not give in to pressure to take a less adoptable child.
Good luck.
Diane
Thank you for your kind advice. I have wanted to tell you for the longest time that we have a dog who looks so much like your Zoe! She is older and is getting white around her face but they look like sisters. My 3 year old gets so excited when he sees your posts because he thinks it is her.
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