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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Just thought I'd post up a really great opportunity that has just been created by the team that I'm running Boston with this weekend. They've created a website to be able to link visually impaired runners with able-visioned guides to help them in their running goals.
Completely free to sign up, and is a great way to connect like-minded individuals. Don't worry about skills and ability levels, as there will be a chance for all kinds to get linked up with partners.
"I am a runner because I run. Not because I run fast. Not because I run far. I am a runner because I say I am. And no one can tell me I'm not."-- John Bingham
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Very cool. I don't think it's something I could ever do, unless someone's pace was slow like a turtle....
Enjoy Boston Tim!
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Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
Very cool. I don't think it's something I could ever do, unless someone's pace was slow like a turtle....
Enjoy Boston Tim!
I've thought about being a guide or pulling the raft of a participant for the swim portion of a tri before. However, I think the same person has to do all three disciplines to be a guide. Turtles pass me on the bike and run so I wouldn't want to mess up anyone's race.
I posted the link here not just to raise awareness, but o also encourage everyone here to sign up. It doesn't matter how fast/slow you are, there are runners and walkers that are VI that can use guides at several paces AND distances. You never know what help someone needs, so if you want to do it, I really encourage you to sign up!
As far as only guiding a portion of the race, there are very few races that do not allow disabled athletes to swap out guides during races (ironically, runDisney is one of the few races that do NOT allow an athlete to have a relay team of guides). Boston, for example, allows me up to 4 guides (only one on course at a time) and most others are pretty flexible with that too, so if you think you could only do a portion, please do sign up as well...the more the merrier!
Tim
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Hey, check out my blog all about being active with a disability -> activeandblind.com
How does it work? Would they call you on a moment's notice? Or you would you know a couple months in advance? I'm not always in proper form to just go run a Half next Saturday, if you know what I mean!
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Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
So basically the way the website will work (to the best of my understanding) is that it is simply a directory of who is willing to guide runners, so that a couple things might happen.
1. There could be someone visually impaired in your area that is looking for a regular guide, and you could be that amazing person that can link up and form the partnership that will help that visually impaired person get out and run.
2. There could be a VI runner that might be visiting your city/area, and is looking to get a run (or a few) in, this way they can see who is located where, that would be willing to guide them for a run
3. There could be a VI runner who is looking for a destination race in your area, and can see who is available to guide them in that area.
It really depends on the scenario. If it is someone just looking to get out for a run, it could be short notice, could be weeks, or months even. No real timeframes, or even requirements to sign up.
For some of the longer distances, yes, I can totally relate that not everyone is ready to bang off distance at the drop of a hat...that's where someone looking to pre-plan a race would be able to look you up...so say I knew I was going to be in Wisconsin this fall, and wanted to possibly get a race in. I could look on the website, see that Tanya is a willing guide, see your profile to see if we'd be a match speed wise, then contact you behind the scenes to see if you'd be up for it.
There's a lot of great buzz that has been created over the weekend, and the organizers of the website have been blown away by just how many people have already signed up for it.
I invited all you to sign up, please don't feel like you have to of course, nor do you have to bee a speed demon out there to be able to fulfil the duties of a guide. Many visually impaired runners have human paces like the rest of us!
Tim
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Hey, check out my blog all about being active with a disability -> activeandblind.com
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
Great information Tim, thanks. I'm intrigued by this. It's simply a cool thing to do. I'll let you know if I sign up for it.
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Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
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Good luck on Monday, have a great race!!! 
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