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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Not counting people who live nearby, and can drop in at a moment's notice, what's the shortest amount of time between when you've decided to go to WDW, and you actually get there?
DH is dealing with some issues right now, and being in WDW always cheers him up. So I planned a last minute trip. I made the reservations Sept 5 and we leave Sept 13 I'm a little discombobulated because I've always planned far in advance, so I can control all the minor details. For example, this is the first time I've never made ADRs. Because we're only going for a long weekend, I didn't want to waste any time with TS, even though that has always been one of my favorite parts of our trips. What do you think? Am I as crazy as I think I am, or just a loving wife trying to ease my DH's stress level??
It was about a year and a half ago that I was in the middle of planning our WDW trip. We were getting close to Memorial Day weekend -- it was truly about a week away -- and I found a great last minute package to include room/airfare to Disneyland (this was from Utah). I called DH at work and said "What do you think about going to Disneyland for Memorial Day?" He paused and then was like "Let's do it!" We'd never been, had never really done much research into it, but I put my WDW planning on hold and got us ready for our trip to Disneyland. We went, ate at mostly counter services and maybe 1 table service, but just had the best time. It is, after all, the happiest place on earth.
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chapel Hill, NC USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 36,592
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Two days. We decided on a Friday and drove down on Sunday a few years ago.
This summer, DD and I decided about a week before we went. Made the reservation four days before we arrived.
You'll be just fine. You don't need ADRs for a short trip by any means. There are plenty of great CS places to eat. Have fun!
Eleven years ago I made a reservation on Monday for Thursday departure. It was the last week of August. Called daughter from work and said, "we're going to Disneyworld on Thursday, put Daddy on the phone!" It was the first of many mother/daughter trips.
It's hard for us to be spontaneous, as we need to book international flights and it's not worth us going for less than a week or so, so probably the closest we've ever cut it is about nine months maybe.
If I was able to though, I'd definitely go for it and I'm sure you'll have a magical time!
Saw an ad on TV for a great Disney deal once and went the next week. It was a fun trip for Hubby and I. The TS sometimes have available tables for 2 so we didnt have trouble getting some of thoes. I was surprised we got good airfare as well but that was quite a few years ago. Now it isnt fun to go with out having Grandkids with us.
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Love the Magic of Disney Thanks Dad for our first 5 trips.
I'd LOVE to have hubby surprise me with a long weekend. I guess I came close last spring when DH had a speaking engagement in Anaheim. Planning was 1 month.
Last Feb we decided to take a trip about 2 weeks before we headed down. DH's bonus was a little higher this year then last so I got to spend the extra on Disney.
It's hard for us to be spontaneous, as we need to book international flights and it's not worth us going for less than a week or so, so probably the closest we've ever cut it is about nine months maybe.
The shortest we booked was 3 months - DH had several air miles to expire, and when he checked a flight to MIA was available....so he booked 2 tickets and sent me a SMS to make hotel reservations!!!! We had a magical, 5-day totally unexpected vacation!!!
Usually we plan around 12 months in advance (our Dec vacation was booked in feb, and we already got our air tickets for Hawaii for july 2013!)
I'm leaving for the World tomorrow.
I booked this trip three weeks ago thinkng that I would be going on a solo trip. Two weeks ago, youngest DD decides she wants to go, so I added her to the trip. We will be attending MNSSHHP. As much as I enjoy planning trips, I think that spur-of-the-moment trips are the BEST?!!!
I'm leaving for the World tomorrow.
I booked this trip three weeks ago thinkng that I would be going on a solo trip. Two weeks ago, youngest DD decides she wants to go, so I added her to the trip. We will be attending MNSSHHP. As much as I enjoy planning trips, I think that spur-of-the-moment trips are the BEST?!!!
We're going to MNSSHP on Friday! Is that when you'll be there too? Maybe we'll run into each other!
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I'm a little discombobulated because I've always planned far in advance, so I can control all the minor details. For example, this is the first time I've never made ADRs. Because we're only going for a long weekend, I didn't want to waste any time with TS, even though that has always been one of my favorite parts of our trips. What do you think? Am I as crazy as I think I am, or just a loving wife trying to ease my DH's stress level??
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Pixie Dust
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Our last WDW trip as a family 
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