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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 did two trips - 2008 & 2009, and had a nearly perfect trip each time. Really, there's nothing I'd change. So we're done, right? Time to move on to the hundreds of other vacations in the world.
Then two months ago, DH & I look at each other and say, "uh, duh, why do we still both have Disney Visa cards if we're done with WDW for a while?" Looking at our cards, we have over 1000 points. Gotta use them, right?
So - where to stay? The first year we stayed at in a family suite at ASMu, the second trip was a bunkbed room at WL. Great room in a cheap hotel, followed by a tiny room in a great hotel. DH & I had stayed at CSR, POR, and POFQ before. So what's next? We're not continuing up the ladder to a higher deluxe, but don't want to go "backwards." So we're staying (gasp!) offsite. A couple groups of friends have stayed at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek, right between DHS and DD and loved it. I booked it. For $120/night, we get two real bedrooms (king in one, 2 doubles in the other), two bathrooms (one with a jet tub), full kitchen (we probably won't use), full living room, balcony, and (wait for it...) a washer/dryer. Multiple saltwater pools (one with a water slide), mini golf, and several eating options. And you can see the Epcot fireworks from your balcony - it's closer to the middle of things than half the Disney hotels! We rent a car anyway (though I need to budget an extra $100 for parking), and are actually venturing to IOA for Harry Potter. We don't take advantage of EMH, and only used Disney Transportation to get our luggage to and from the airport. And we're past character breakfasts and I'm done being tied down to ADRs, so wouldn't be doing the dining plan. This so totally works for us!
So - when to go? We'd love to go the week before Thanksgiving, but it's kinda early this year, and we can't squeeze in a week without hitting Veterans Day or Thanksgiving week. So we're going to brave the 2 degree drop in temperature and go the week after Thanksgiving. The crowd calendar predicts a great week. I know we need to avoid MK on 12/3 for the parade, and we shouldn't see any action from Pop Warner. Other than that, it seems to be a very quiet time.
So - how to break it to the kids? We've had lots of friends surprise their kids on the departure day, and DD10 is all over that (DS8 is ambivalent - he loves both anticipation and surprise). But we've got a dog and various small pets that we need to deal with, so I'm not sure how to surprise the kids and deal with the logistics - if we even get into the Fall without them figuring it out! Stay tuned!
For me, I'm just happy to be planning another vacation. It's 1/2 the fun!
Sounds like a great trip to me! We have friends that own @ bonnet creek @ love it! Happy planning!
__________________
First trip DW--Nov. 1975; Senior Class Trip DW--Oct. 1979; First trip w/kids--Oct. 1995; Halloween at DW--Oct. 2002; Spring Break at DW--April 2004; Christmas/Pop Warner Nationals-POR--Dec. 2005;Cruisin'--April 2008; Mom/Son trip-POP--March 2010;Taggin' along w/DD on DH's conference-BWI--Oct. 2011; 50th birthday with the Gartner Geeks--Adults only!--BWI--Oct. 2012; The Trip That Almost Wasn't--BWI--Oct. 2013; We climbed The Summit (National Cheer Competition)--ASMovies--May 2014
You could tell them you are going on vacation and when (so you can figure out pet logistics) but not tell them where you are going until you get to the airport.
You could tell them you are going on vacation and when (so you can figure out pet logistics) but not tell them where you are going until you get to the airport.
Congrats and happy planning!!!! I didn't tell my boys this time but they figures it out. I think my MIL said something to them about the dogs coming over for a visit in May and thats a dead give away for them. They are also older and is a lot harder to surprise them. Good Luck let us know what you decide to do....
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Our last WDW trip as a family 
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