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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 looking at doing an Adventures by Disney Italy Family Vacation trip next year. We were thinking summer, but then we realized December during the kids' school vacation was the same price (at least for the ABD tour).
Does anyone have a sense of what the difference in airfare might be for mid-July compared to around December 20?
Also, does anyone know what the weather in Rome, Venice, and Tuscany might be like in December? I know it's pretty hot in the summer (which my husband wouldn't like) but I don't know how cool it gets in the winter.
We've been in March and it was very pleasant then, but I had a look at the average temperatures on the BBC weather site and it can be chilly - this are in Celsius, not Fahrenheit. 13 is 55 and 6 is 43, -3 would be 27 and 19 would be 66, so that gives you an idea.....
Personally, I would go with July. I went to Italy a few yrs ago during the first week of March. I about FROZE (although keep in mind I am from the southeast US, so I am used to very mild winters). We had highs in the 50s and lows in the 30-40s. I would think it would be quite cold in December (especially in Venice, which is the furthest north and surrounded by water).
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MNSSHP 2015: DH (Bane), Me (Batgirl), Genie, and our friends
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I would opt for July. It does get hot but it's bearable. IMO, it's nowhere near as bad as Florida in the summer as humidity isn't such an issue.
December can get rather chilly and, I don't know, that just doesn't give you a sense of what Italy is really like. This may be a personal thing (I don't like Florida in the winter either) but Italy is a fun, vibrant country and is best experienced during the warmer months.
Having just returned from Italy, I can attest that Rome in July is brutally hot, so much so that we did much touring early in the morning (by early I mean 5AM) and tried to be in our room napping by 12:30, leaving for pre-dinner tours/drinks what have you at 6ish. This is my own touring, not ABD. I've been to Disney in August and found that it feels the same. Keep in mind that Italian air conditioning is either non existant or not really cold, you won't find respite inside most buildings. In December, Rome will be similar to Washington DC, a bit damp and cold, probably no snow. Venice and Tuscany will be much more pleasant in the summer, and obviously, cooler in the winter.
Airfare this July was about $1200 a person from Detroit, and late December is about $850.
I should probably mention that we've had an unusually hot summer in Europe this year. It's been way hot here in Germany as well and we usually never get temperatures this high. Just something to keep in mind.
I would go in July as well. I've been to Italy in July and while it is warm it is not very humid and I would rather it be a little warm than very cold. Either way though you will LOVE the trip!! Have fun!
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