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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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've been toying with the idea of a trip to DC for awhile now. This past week, Jet Blue offered some crazy cheap fares from our home airport to Reagan so we took the plunge and booked a long weekend trip for July (we'll celebrate our 15th anniversary and DS's 13 birthday with this trip). We know we can't see it all but we have a couple of ideas of our "must do"s. I'm looking for advice on a reasonably priced, well-located hotel and also advice on how to structure our days to make the most of our time.
Traveling party: Me, DH, DS 12 turning 13
Transportation: Flight arrives in DCA on Sat at 8:00 am, leaves Tuesday at 7:25 pm
Won't have a rental car, plan on using public transportation.
Tentative Plans: Evening trolley tour of monuments, a few of the Smithsonian museums (Natural History and American History for sure), maybe the National Zoo. Wondering about a hop-on-hop-off trolley.
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We've stayed at the Embassy Suites Washington D.C. twice and really liked it there. The location was great, we took a taxi from the airport and walked or used public transportation while we were there. It's not a budget hotel, but I felt it was reasonable with a full breakfast and evening snacks and drinks included.
Your plans look great, we did exactly what you are thinking as well as a HOHO one day, I recommend it because some of the sites are spread out and with the HOHO you can cut down on some walking and see a lot of the area. The evening monument tour is a must, we did it on both visits!
Is this your son's first visit to DC? I think if it is, I would try to get to the White House and Capitol. While my kids loved the zoo and have been many, many times, I am not sure it is a must do on a short, one time (or more if you catch the bug) trip. It is a nice zoo, but not something that can only be done in DC like the White House.
MY kids also loved the Holocaust Museum when they were you son's age and a little younger. They really connected it to things they had learned in school. It is not a full day and can be combined with another museum. I think it is quite close to the Air and Space Museum but it's been a few years.
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We've stayed at the Embassy Suites Washington D.C. twice and really liked it there. The location was great, we took a taxi from the airport and walked or used public transportation while we were there. It's not a budget hotel, but I felt it was reasonable with a full breakfast and evening snacks and drinks included.
Your plans look great, we did exactly what you are thinking as well as a HOHO one day, I recommend it because some of the sites are spread out and with the HOHO you can cut down on some walking and see a lot of the area. The evening monument tour is a must, we did it on both visits!
Thanks for this. I would like to stay in the Hilton family of hotels (I am a Hilton Honors Member) but none were coming up in my searches. Going to Hilton's site I see why.....there's no availability for my dates Maybe I'll try calling the hotel(s) directly and see if I have better luck. Depending on the location of our hotel, I might get 2 days of the HOHO. We've had good luck with HOHO trolleys in other cities, getting a good overview and our bearings and then using it to cut down on our walking as we explore. Do you mind telling me which trolley company you used?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Huntermom
Is this your son's first visit to DC? I think if it is, I would try to get to the White House and Capitol. While my kids loved the zoo and have been many, many times, I am not sure it is a must do on a short, one time (or more if you catch the bug) trip. It is a nice zoo, but not something that can only be done in DC like the White House.
MY kids also loved the Holocaust Museum when they were you son's age and a little younger. They really connected it to things they had learned in school. It is not a full day and can be combined with another museum. I think it is quite close to the Air and Space Museum but it's been a few years.
This will be my son's first visit to DC (DH and I each went in high school). DS will be going on a class trip to DC next year. I'm going to try and see what that itinerary will be like so I can try not to repeat too much. Thanks for the tip on the Zoo. You confirmed what I was wondering about. We like zoos, but we've been to some really good ones, including the San Diego Zoo, so not sure if we'll want to do it or not. Thanks, too, for your opinion on the Holocaust Museum. I was wondering how appropriate it would be for him. Going to do some more research on the different museums and other attractions.
The Metro (subway) goes to Reagan National so that may be an option for getting to your hotel. I don't know specific Hilton hotels in the area (we use Marriott most frequently), but finding a hotel within walking to distance to a Metro stop would be ideal. Try Kayak.com to search hotels in the Hilton brand for the area. The Metro has a stop near the Natural History museum. The Metro goes near the Zoo but it is a bit of a walk uphill (not sure of the distance).
The Metro (subway) goes to Reagan National so that may be an option for getting to your hotel. I don't know specific Hilton hotels in the area (we use Marriott most frequently), but finding a hotel within walking to distance to a Metro stop would be ideal. Try Kayak.com to search hotels in the Hilton brand for the area. The Metro has a stop near the Natural History museum. The Metro goes near the Zoo but it is a bit of a walk uphill (not sure of the distance).
Thanks for the tip on the metro. I did a search on Hilton brand hotels.....there are quite a few (Hilton, Embassy Suites, etc) but the problem is there isn't any availability for our dates. I'm wondering if there is some convention or something in town. I did find a hotel that is close to a metro station and we plan on taking the metro from the airport.
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Maybe I'll try calling the hotel(s) directly and see if I have better luck. Depending on the location of our hotel, I might get 2 days of the HOHO. We've had good luck with HOHO trolleys in other cities, getting a good overview and our bearings and then using it to cut down on our walking as we explore. Do you mind telling me which trolley company you used?
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