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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 had planned to skip Disney this year and do a cruise, but after many months of thinking about it we have finally come to the conclusion that we can't go a year without visiting Disney. So, we cancelled the cruise and are in the process of booking a Disney vacation. We're using a travel agent because (a) she's our neighbor and (b) we booked the cruise through her and I felt bad cancelling. She's causing me a little stress though because I would have had Disney booked 2 days ago and I still haven't heard back from her. I don't want to book our air fare until I *know* that we are booked for Disney and if she doesn't call me today I think we're going to lose Southwests Click to Save sale. I have a call into her but I haven't heard from her yet. This kind of stuff makes me stress out a wee bit.
Anyhoo, we are trying to decide on where we want to eat and we're thinking of trying some places we've never eaten before. I thought I'd get opinions from the experts on some of these places.
Hollywood & Vine
Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano
The Garden Grill
Coral Reef
Rose and Crown
Via Napoli
Tusker House
Shutter's
Of the 4 in Epcot we could probably only do 2 of them, maybe just 1 because we're hoping to do Le Cellier. We spend a lot of time in Epcot but not that much time. And we'd probably only be able to do one of them in Hollywood Studios, that's probably the park we spend the least amount of time in.
Thanks for your input! I'm so excited that we are going to Disney and I am so happy to be scrambling to make reservations and plans!
__________________
Me ~ Christina; DH ~ '92; DD ~ '99; DS ~ '06
My reasons for breathing!!! MGM Studios October 2007
We had planned to skip Disney this year and do a cruise, but after many months of thinking about it we have finally come to the conclusion that we can't go a year without visiting Disney. So, we cancelled the cruise and are in the process of booking a Disney vacation. We're using a travel agent because (a) she's our neighbor and (b) we booked the cruise through her and I felt bad cancelling. She's causing me a little stress though because I would have had Disney booked 2 days ago and I still haven't heard back from her. I don't want to book our air fare until I *know* that we are booked for Disney and if she doesn't call me today I think we're going to lose Southwests Click to Save sale. I have a call into her but I haven't heard from her yet. This kind of stuff makes me stress out a wee bit.
Anyhoo, we are trying to decide on where we want to eat and we're thinking of trying some places we've never eaten before. I thought I'd get opinions from the experts on some of these places.
Hollywood & Vine
Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano
The Garden Grill
Coral Reef
Rose and Crown
Via Napoli
Tusker House
Shutter's
Of the 4 in Epcot we could probably only do 2 of them, maybe just 1 because we're hoping to do Le Cellier. We spend a lot of time in Epcot but not that much time. And we'd probably only be able to do one of them in Hollywood Studios, that's probably the park we spend the least amount of time in.
Thanks for your input! I'm so excited that we are going to Disney and I am so happy to be scrambling to make reservations and plans!
Welcome back!
Out of you're choices, I've only been to H&V- didn't like it, & Rose & Crown- good meal. Time it for Illuminations.
I've heard good things about the new Via Napoli.
Haven't tried Tusker House, but love Boma, yummy, and Y&Y.
Hope you get things sorted out with you're TA. I'd phone again, and let her know you need to know asap or you'll loose out on your seat sale!
Of your choices, here are our thoughts:
Hollywood & Vine - since it went to characters, we've only done the breakfast, but we were pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it.
Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano - we haven't eaten here in a few years, but had good meals back then. We're trying it again in April.
The Garden Grill - it's been a long time since we've eaten here. We used to love the breakfast and lunch here, but obviously they don't do either any longer.
Coral Reef - we didn't have a good experience here a few years ago, but as a lot of people love this place, we're giving it another go in April.
Rose and Crown - not one of our favourites, but that's partially because we're Brits and we don't like the American twist they put on traditional British food.
Via Napoli - haven't tried it yet
Tusker House - one of our favourites with a wonderful variety of food on the buffet.
Shutter's - haven't tried it yet
Rose and Crown - not one of our favourites, but that's partially because we're Brits and we don't like the American twist they put on traditional British food.
HeHe ~ That's funny! We have a British friend who recommend Rose and Crown! I wonder if it's partially a regional thing with the way the food tastes?
__________________
Me ~ Christina; DH ~ '92; DD ~ '99; DS ~ '06
My reasons for breathing!!! MGM Studios October 2007