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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 was thinking of taking DS to visit some of the museums/attractions in Washington DC during his Spring Break. The problem is that his spring break falls right at the time that the Cherry Blossom festival starts. Is this an insanely busy time to visit this area? Am I crazy for even considering it?
Also, DS will be 7 years old at the time. Do the museums and such hold a 7 year olds attention?
Yes, it is an insanely busy time! We've done it a number of times for our spring break, which sometimes has coincided with that area's spring break and the festival. The museums will be very crowded. Will they hold his attention...probably, but having tons of people around you will be more frustrating than anything. On days like that, we try to do one museum a day, or try to do a lot of outdoor stuff (like walk the mall and go to the monuments on the outside)!
We'll be up there April 6-8 during DD's Spring Break!
We may pop into a museum or 2, depending on the crowd levels but I have heard it is busy-busy-busy (compared to July 4th crowds!) . . . my original plan, even if we can't make it to any museums, is to go and wander around and take photos, though.
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It is very busy here, but it may be worth all the trouble to be able to visit at least once! Let us know if you have more specific plans and we can give you a little more advice. Some of the museums may not be a great choice if you have younger ones that do not read much, but most are pretty good. One of the other things about the Cherry Blossoms themselves is that sometimes they are in peak bloom for the festival, sometimes not.
Here is the website: Official Website of the National Cherry Blossom Festival - Washington, DC
also, look at my TRs for some of the museums... Marnie and Sarah have some good DC TRs as well. Being a local, there are many of the tourist things that I have not done, as yet!
I took my ds two years ago to D.C. over Spring Break. He was 10 at the time. We went to several museums and really enjoyed them. We also went to Mt. Vernon and I loved that. We also did a trolly tour to see several monument and that was nice too. I loved, loved, loved the Washington Monument! Try to get tickets in advance online. Our trip was a last minute trip and the tickets were sold out. We had to get in line REALLY early for tickets, but the tickets are FREE and being able to go in the Washington Monument was totally worth it. We got in line about 40 minutes before the ticket booth opened and had a return time for later that afternoon. Once the booth opened the line moved VERY quickly and we had our tickets within about 5 minutes. I also tried to schedule a tour of the White House, but again it was a last minute trip and we were unable to ; so I would encourage you to look into that also- I believe it's free too. The great thing about D.C. is most things are free, you just have to plan it out well!
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If you're going to have a rental car, there are some places in Northern Virginia like Mount Vernon and The Udvar-Hazy Space Museum(the addition to the National Air & Space Museum) that may interest your DS and you can still see the Cherry Blossoms here too. We haven't ventured the 45 minute drive to DC during the Cherry Blossom Festival yet, only because we have Cherry Blossom Trees in our front yard. The Childrens Museum in DC is awesome as is the National Zoo which my catch a 7 year old's attention.
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We've done it a number of times for our spring break, which sometimes has coincided with that area's spring break and the festival. The museums will be very crowded. Will they hold his attention...probably, but having tons of people around you will be more frustrating than anything. On days like that, we try to do one museum a day, or try to do a lot of outdoor stuff (like walk the mall and go to the monuments on the outside)! 
Happy New Year!
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