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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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
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Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
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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.
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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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just a head's up if you live in new York school will start before labor day this year. they are doing this because they have moved the end of the year state test's up a week. people are not happy at all. this is really going to hurt all the campground's and beach's in new york
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Heather - "I'm Tinkerbell's biggest fan!"
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
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WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
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We've been doing that for years here where I live. It's really not too bad because we go back only a week before Labor Day although with all the days off the kids get, I really don't know why we bother. For this coming year, for example, teachers go on Monday and Tuesday, the kids come in on Wednesday and Thursday and then there is a 4 day weekend because Friday and Labor Day everyone gets off.
Darlene that's the big issue here is the kids would only be in school two day's and then have a four day weekend it's stupid. I am 25 year's old an this is the first time they are starting school before labor day.
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Heather - "I'm Tinkerbell's biggest fan!"
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
Darlene that's the big issue here is the kids would only be in school two day's and then have a four day weekend it's stupid. I am 25 year's old an this is the first time they are starting school before labor day.
Chances are then parents will do what they do here - come home on Labor Day and have their kids miss those first few days. Just based on the number of absences you would think we'd stop doing it but we don't. The end of the year is the same too. Parents make plans, we get multiple snow days and kids end up leaving on the "original" last day of school not the actual last day. The school board still doesn't change anything though.
My kids were in elementary school when the district changed to starting before Labor Day. They do the same as in Darlene's and many other districts-two days on and then a 4 day weekend. Lots of people had the same complaints. But people would also complain when the kids got out at the very end of June.
There is still no guarantee we will be out in mid June. OUr school were pretty cooperative if you had a vacation planned that was during the extended school year. Twice while she was in high school, my daughter took her finals early-once because we had planned a WDW vacation and a late spring snow storm extended the school year over the weekend (we had only planned the trip a couple of months in advance) and her junior year to attend her brother's high school graduation.
I think school understand how a vacation can be planned but the school year is unexpectedly lengthened.
We took vacation the very last week of August extending over Labor Day but then moved it up a week with the change in school start. We still had pretty low crowds and sometimes off season prices because many people don't like that week.
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In NC, we used to start school somewhere around Aug 10-17, they got the first semester over before Christmas and let out before Memorial Day. The state passed a law that said we couldn't start until Aug 25 at the earliest and had to be done by June 10. It messed up our late May/early June vacations for us and forced the end of the first semester until sometime in January.
Since we'd never gone to school after Labor Day, that weekend has always been a weekend vacation (if you took one then).
I'm sorry you have to rethink how you vacation in the summer.
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The largely rural states in the middle of the U.S. have had school schedules like this for decades.
I taught in Kansas from the early 70's to late 90's and never heard of a school system there that didn't start in mid-August and get out before Memorial Day. In that part of the country, school has to get out that early since wheat harvest starts in early June typically. There'd be almost nobody in small town schools once harvest starts. The wheat won't wait around for school to finish. When it's ready, it has to be harvested quickly or the quality won't be as good as possible.
I only recall one year that the school where I taught got out shortly after Memorial Day due to having run out of snow days.
So, the schedule you hate is one much of the country regards as normal.
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Last edited by Her Dotness; 04-01-2015 at 09:47 AM..
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This is not all schools in the state of NY. A few in Kingston are THINKING about starting before Labor day, but I can't find anything else regarding other school districts. I don't really see this as that big of a deal. Many colleges go back to school before Labor Day, and to me this really is no different.
All schools around here have been starting before Labor for decades. Quite a few of the districts now start the first week of August and end the first week of June. Yes, that's only 2 months out. A lot of them have a 'balanced schedule'. They get out 2 weeks for fall break, Christmas, Spring break. Most parents like it this way.
I am in Alaska and though I have been out of school for more years than I care to admit...we always started before Labor Day.
And now after several changes, our local district starts even earlier...Aug 19th this year with classes ending on May 19th. The students get Winter Break around Christmas and Spring Break (next year it is March 14-18).
We don't get too many snow days so the school year is rarely extended...guess we are just a bit more prepared and ready for lots of snow than some states that don't typically get more than an inch or so every 100 years Although this year, we were the ones not getting any doggone snow!!!!
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I checked DD's school calendar and the students are not getting out until the end of June next year. Well after Memorial Day. Our younger 2 children are in private school and their school does not follow the core curriculum. I checked today and they will be starting school like always, after Labor Day. It will be interesting to see if the other NY private schools will keep the old start date or go with the new?
Thanks for the heads up, I had no idea! This is maddening!!
your welcome
__________________
Heather - "I'm Tinkerbell's biggest fan!"
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
This is not all schools in the state of NY. A few in Kingston are THINKING about starting before Labor day, but I can't find anything else regarding other school districts. I don't really see this as that big of a deal. Many colleges go back to school before Labor Day, and to me this really is no different.
it's a big deal when people already have vacation's planned for that week. now I will be cutting my summer short and going back to work in aug too get my classroom ready. it's stupid and should not happen
__________________
Heather - "I'm Tinkerbell's biggest fan!"
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
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