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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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My ds 9 hates the stretching room. In fact, it terrifies him. Last time he panicked and had to exit the ride with dh while I rode with dd 5. I don't know why it scares him so much, but it does. So I am so glad to know we can skip it! We might have a chance of riding HM as a family this time around! Good luck trying to convince your dd to ride, but remember, if she doesn't it isn't the end of the world. There will always be another trip and chances are her fear won't last forever!
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15 total family trips with stays at the Poly, AKL, Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club, Swan, Dolphin, POFQ, Pop Century, All Star Music, Movies & Sports, and Coronado Springs.
I think the beginning, entering room, is the scariest. Anyone else agree and have any ideas to help her with that?
She says it's the hitchhiking ghosts that scare her. But I don't know -- she rode at 2 1/2 and had no problems, but at 5 she refused to ride again and every trip she digs in deeper about refusing to ride. I really think she thinks she's "supposed" to be scared and the idea is scarier than the reality.
Your letter is wonderful and very inventive. All you can do is give it a try, if she refuses then don't take her on the ride. She will be ready when she is ready. I would let her watch it on You tube. We skip the stretching room each time with our DS, it would put him into sensory overload. Perhaps if you find a way to explain the mechanics of the hitch hiking ghosts that they are not real just images. I am not sure where to find info on how it is done. Then she might reconsider. You can only do what you can and then just leave it up to her. She is not the only child to fear the HM, so don't stress too much over it. I hope it all works out for you.
great letter! our DD was 3 1/2 when we went last year, and all we had to do was tell her that belle left her a doll on the ride, and she had to go on it to get it! then, when we were on the doom buggy, i discreetly pulled one out of my bag and gave it to her. she's totally fine with the ride now, and loves to sing the song "grim grinning ghosts".
I love the letter-and the idea. Plus I love how parts of the song were used. If she is 9 1/2 and sharp, I think it would be great to quiz her on some of the words in the song. They are funny if you really know the definitions: daft disguise, knell of a requiem bell, harmonize, jamboree, etherialize.
She may be scared because she thinks some words are different from what they actually are. My daughter around that age thought that in Pirates of the Carribean when they say, "Dead men tell no tales" She though it said, "come and step into terror!" I think the song for the Haunted Mansion shows how 'silly' the ride is, more so than being scary. Good Luck-let us know how it worked out
Great letter. Print it on beige parchment and "burn" the edges, so it will look old. If it doesn't work, just let her skip the ride, there will be more chances later.
UPDATE:
The letter worked.
She rode the ride, but still doesn't like it. She wouldn't show us the letter after she got it (said it was "secret"). She rode in a doombuggy with my niece, who's 25. DN reported that for most of the ride, DD had her own little mantra: "I have the pin. I have the pin."
We also made a deal with DSIL, who dislikes IASWA. DD agreed to ride HM with her aunt (HM is SIL's fave) if SIL would ride IASWA with DD. At dinner, DD wrote DSIL a "letter" from the children inviting her to visit.
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I am glad she was able to ride HM. It took my DD many years to conquer that ride. I think she was 9 or 10 before she was "ok" with the stretching room. How cute that Dsis got a letter of her own
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