It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 think it's great that you had the courage to make the career change even though it didn't work out. Sending lots of pixies that you can find work that is fulfilling to you and your bank account!
If you were a bit closer, I would bring my little Scottie to you for grooming! Gotta get her in, she needs a bath and a haircut!
Thinking of you and sending you lots of
__________________
Jennifer / Eeyore is my favorite!! OMG - He's sooooo grown up!!!! And an EAGLE SCOUT!! I can still remember my cute little Tiger Cub! 2016 Reading Goal - 75 books
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You really should try to do some grooming out of your house. Before we lost our beloved grandpuppy, DD and I had problems finding a groomer in our area. We wanted someone who cared about the dogs. Sounds like that is you! Also how about pet sitting? That is a very good business down here also. Lots of people with cats and other pets like to use them when they go away instead of boarding. Just an idea! Sounds like there are several of us PP's that are in the "out of work" boat. I got laid off last Jan. Trying to figure out how to just stay at home. I was a stay home mom for 10 yrs when the kids were young but now my baby is a senior. I also wanted to say that your posts almost always make me laugh. You sound like a you would be a blast to be around!
I didn't get to talk to the doc today. He usually does surgeries in the mornings and he looked pretty busy so I didn't want to bother him. Everyone else was nice about it. I just said we got hit with some financial things and I needed to find something full-time. One of the "techs" didn't say much, but she's always a bit, ahem, aloof toward me. I had everything boxed up by lunchtime and Doc had gone to lunch so I left him a letter thanking him for his support and understanding, and hoping to talk to him tomorrow. It rained all morning so I figured I'd wait til tomorrow to load up the car and bring stuff home.
Mary - I might do a bit of grooming from home. The problem with a lot of people around here is they expect something for nothing. For example, one person wanted the eyebrows on her dog cut shorter than I cut them. (Her husband had told me something different when he dropped the dog off.) So I said, "okay" and five minutes later had them cut the way she wanted. She thought she shouldn't have to pay for the groom b/c she had to wait for me to fix it. I can understand if it's something I can't fix, but come on! Maybe once the bad taste has left my mouth I'll try again. And thank you for the compliment. Even when things are bad it's hard for me to be completely serious.
Sue - I hadn't thought about selling the house "as is." It's something to consider. I would still probably make money on it - it's in a good location and it's not in hideous shape. As for the cruise, we don't have much interest in spa treatments, excursions, or duty free. We only had a few pictures we liked last year and we drink wine by the glass with dinner so that shouldn't be too bad. We do enjoy a "boat drink" or two, although we are bringing some of our own. We also have two $50 gift cards from our DVC tour last trip and I cashed in all my Visa Reward points, which gives us a nice little sum for the cruise and snacking our way around F&WF.
I talked with DH about cutting back a bit on our trip. We're only doing a couple of TS meals, but we're also going to Palo, and taking my parents to 1900 Park Fare for our anniversary dinner. He said it's our first anniversary and we need to celebrate. He has some money in the bank and I know we'll be okay - for now. I just hate feeling like I'm draining his account. I know, we're a team, but I'm used to taking care of my own debts.
Thanks, again, for all the pixies and encouragement. You are all so kind!
__________________
Pat (a.k.a., PFlamingo) "We are the people our parents warned us about."
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Pat, is the short term, can you put an ad up to do petting sitting-either at their house or yours. At one time we had a great family that would take our dog when we went away. It was so much better than having someone come in.
I would love a good behavioral consultant right now (dog with separation anxiety). I would gladly pay by the hour for a consult-even over the phone.
You should also look into subbing in the suburbs? My kids went through public school and I think if you are not in the inner city, you should be fine. I would argue that my kids got a much better education at our public high school than any of the local Catholic ones would have provided.
The other thing you should look into is whether you can get a VISA/Mastercard account on your checking account through your bank. It is relatively inexpensive and then you will make sure you get paid and not have to worry about insufficient funds.
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Mary - not enough trips!
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