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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We're trying to whip up a 3-4 day extended family trip to Virginia over April vacation this year. What are your favorite things to do? I don't really know what area we would be in just yet. Busch Gardens does come up as one of the days activities though. What do you think? What good family activities are in Virginia?
If you like history, the "Historic Triangle" (Williamsburg, Jamestowne, Yorktown) is a good choice! I just posted some tips for another PPer in this thread: http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...liamsburg.html along with websites for Jamestowne and Yorktown.
There is a Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg not far from Busch Gardens. Being that the first full week of April is Spring Break here, though, the room rates are a little pricey (something like $280/night). For cheaper hotels, I would recommend doing a search on Hotels.com and checking the reviews and prices there.
Busch Gardens reopens for the season on March 26th and will be open every day (10am-8pm Sunday thru Friday and 10am-10pm Saturdays) until April 11th, when they will go back to being open weekends only through Memorial Day weekend (then they open daily through the summer until Labor Day weekend, when they close for the season). Ticket prices are now $61.95/day for adult . . . $51.95/day for kids age 3-10. $12 for parking, but if you buy your parking pass online, it is only $10. Busch Gardens Williamsburg :: General Park Information
There is also Kings Dominion is Doswell (just north of Richmond) . . . Kings Dominion | Virginia's Premier Themed Amusement Park (Richmond) It reopens for the season on April 2nd and will be open, like Busch Gardens, daily until April 11th then it will only be open on weekends through Memorial Day when it opens daily through the summer.
In Norfolk, we have the Hampton Roads Naval Museum and the Nauticus museum (and the USS Wisconsin battleship tour).
You can also tour the Naval Station (they put you on a bus and drive you through the whole huge base, down by the ships at the piers and all, and narrate the whole thing.) https://www.cnic.navy.mil/norfolksta...ours/index.htm
Not sure where you're going to be, but we did Luray Caverns a few years ago when we went to visit my DSisIL (she lives in Northern VA). http://www.luraycaverns.com/ Very interesting, and it wasn't crowded at all when we went (it was during our April vacation).
Thanks gang! This is some very good info to go with. I like the idea of visiting Monticello and Mount Vernon (Hopefully at least one) And I know my mom and sis (and DS for that matter!) Want to spend one day at Busch Gardens. I've also read up online about a drive through zoo? I wonder how cool that is. And a tank museum, there is no way i'm passing that one up! Also, the Luray caves look amazing...Now to try and plan this out with the rest of the fam!
Visit Mount Vernon first. Drive to Luray, overnight there. Go to Luray caverns the next day, then drive to Charlottesville, overnight there. Visit Monticello in thre AM, drive to Williameburg, overnight there. Visit Busch Gardens, overnight again and then head home
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