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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 just read that the Avatar land may have stalled. It seems that James Cameron and Disney have "frozen the project due to creative differences". But my question is - does that mean that FotLK is no longer in jeopardy? Will it remain open? That would be such good news!
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I'm really hoping this is true, I was never fond of the idea to begin with and I think that money can be put to MUCH better use elsewhere!!! I can do without blue creatures running around the Animal Kingdom thank you very much! My vote is to expand the Pixar portion of DHS!
I am seriously hoping this becomes true and not just a rumor... As far as I am concerned, avatar land (or whatever they were going to call it ) was a bad choice for our family!
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I hope it is true too. I love FOTLK I really could care less about Avatar land. I wish Disney would just come up with their own idea....they have enough creativity and imagination. Was Avatar really that much of a hit to make a whole entire land about it? I could see if it was as big as Harry Potter, but most of the people I know that saw it didn't think it was that great. Just my thoughts.
I've wondered if the Avatar idea is in response to Universal. Avatar *was* a very popular movie, and Avatarland might garner some attention from teens and adults who might otherwise choose Universal (Harry Potter, etc) over Disney World, a park they may see as being for kids. I can also see why Avatar would be seen as relating to Animal Kingdom. It was all about taking care of and appreciating the land; the lifestyle of the blue people (I've forgotten their name) is sort of along the lines of our Native Americans back before we stole their space and ran them off.
I'm not sure how I feel about an Avatar-themed area, but I can see why Disney would want to pursue it...
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DD and DS, May 2008
"I am purple today; Bright and happy like a butterfly in the air." -Kira Willey
Most people on this board, including me are not too upset with this news. Maybe Disney figured this out early in the planning stages and are going to make changes. We can always hope.
I never liked the idea from day one... I think they would be better off doing what they planned on doing in the beginning... making a land with fictional creatures such as unicorns and dragons. It might take some of the traffic away from Fantacyland in MK. Sadly most people think AK is a "half day" park.
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Robin Twitter name: @NKsDogwalker Find me on FB: robinkay6573@yahoo.com 38th Birthday with Mom, Dad and friends 2011
Next Trip: Cruise on Jewel of the Seas for Christmas 2012
I have the movie and there are some great scenes in it, but also a lot of killing. I get the part about the land being interconnected to the people of that world but maybe not that great of an idea for Disney park. How about some rides that little ones as well as adults could enjoy. I think more family rides would be a good thing where you wouldnt have to be a certain height to ride. Walt Disney to me was all about the family enjoying themselves and there are a lot of rides that kids have to be bigger to ride.
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Love the Magic of Disney Thanks Dad for our first 5 trips.