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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I totally understand about the worrying about your son traveling! It seems one of my three sons is always traveling and I don't care how old they get, I am still their mom and I just want to know they are safe!
I hope your son has a safe trip and a great time!
As for your Disney excitement.....it is there, just tempered a bit!
Just wanted to send (((hugs))) and chime in that you're not alone. I have a trip coming up in 6 short weeks, feel like I should be bouncing off the wall (and, some days I am, but not as often as I feel I should be....). But I am dealing with the recent news that my mother, who is in the declining stages of Alzheimer's, has had some major health issues going on. It's really like dealing with the "first" death of that disease; the person I knew is gone. So, while this is not something sudden by any means, it's still difficult to deal with and certainly does put a damper on what would otherwise be a ridiculously giddy time for me.
We have had so many trips planned and booked that we have had to cancel that I'm trying to not even think about getting excited for our next one until we are on the way there. It is still over a year away, but I'm usually already in super planning mode by now. I don't want to jinx it this time!!
Darlene: I understand from what you said... but I won't be able to get Excited until his plane lands on May 10th at 9:30pm. Then of course my Excitement will be all about hearing about his trip. In fact that whole weekend is going to be crazy, because the next day he leaves to go back to Pittsburgh, for summer classes. That I can handle, because he did this last summer.
Legomom: Wow...but she is still your Mom! And of course you want the best for her. I am so feeling for you! ((((hugs)))) right back to you! And as like me, you too will get your Disney Excitement back! I so Wish you Hope and Strength too!
Ann: Thank you for understanding! I know that too- no matter how old my kids get I am still their mother.... even when they roll their eyes at me! lol!
I am superstitious too! Knock on wood for you, Aprild!
You have plenty of time to save, Pixieedusty! Don't rush your trip and enjoy it!
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Kate in PA All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them- Walt Disney
Can't relate in some ways, as my DS is just 5 now... but I can imagine what that would be like.
I have the same experience as Darlene. I kinda go into excitement fatigue the last month or so of a trip (or my wedding, actually!) I think this is healthy, so that we can get realistic. Really, we will just be ourselves on our trips, with all of our baggage and issues and needs, and it's good to get a bit realistic before the event. Then we can glide through the experience without major disappointments and can start remembering how amazing it was!
Yes, three weeks before our February 2013 trip, my uncle and dads only sibling died suddenly while skiing. We thought for sure we wouldn't be able to enjoy ourselves, but we definitely did. Then in December our basement flooded 4 days before our trip and it was a write-off. Instead of spending the weekend befor the trip getting ready, we were cleaning up from the flood and dh was ripping up the floor and walls. Still, once we got on the plane, it was the last thing n our minds until we got home.