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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 are celebrating our 25th anniversary next March. After several discussions, we decided to take a 2 week road trip from Houston - KeyWest, FL. Since DH wants to be in Key West on our anniversary, we will leave here on 2/27 and make a pretty straight forward trip to Key West then leave there on 3/3 and go up the west coast of Florida. I plan on staying off any interstates or even major highways so that we can see lots of cool stuff. If anyone has any suggestions, throw them at me.
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Loved Key West. We stayed at a B&B at the far end of Duval St that we really liked (free parking). Avalon B&B.
We also did a sunset kayak tour while we were there that was well worth our time though Blue Planet. Highly recommend.
On your way down or back up, stop at Mrs. Mac's Kitchen for a great Key Lime pie (and lunch/dinner) which is on the south side of Key Largo.
Not sure how far up the coast you are planning but Sanibel & Captiva Islands are AMAZING. There are bunches of B&B's there as well as some cool extremely cheap sightseeing including sunset pontoon rides (thru park service), biking, shelling, phenomenal sunsets and of course the Ding Darling National Wildlife Reserve. There are self guided tours as well as guided ones. This is an awesome nature preserve and we highly recommend it.
I was going to recommend the same as Cottontailmarsh-Sanibel and Captiva and Ding Darling. We took at Wildlife Refuge tour around Din Darling that was great and if I remember correctly free or extremely low cost ( like $.50).
My kids also enjoyed Tarpon Springs (they sell lots of sponge at shops on the main drag and Homosassa (sp) Springs for going on a manatee swim. I am not a beach person, but the West Coast has lots of great beaches.
I would look at the National Wildlife REfuges and see if their are any National parks on your trip route. Both to me are excellent uses of out tax dollars.
We also went to a beach on the keys that was on a TV show as one of the top ten beaches (can't remember the name) And I believe it is Pine Key that has little tiny deer. I can check with my kids on the name.
I know you are from Houston so have done hot and humid but to me Everglades National Park is a must do. Even if it can be a sauna,
Love the suggestions. We are planning on driving thru the Everglades then all along the coast hopefully to New Orleans. I have been looking at Weeki Wachi and Homesassas. Really like the idea of the Sanibel area. I ordered the map and stuff from the state of FLorida so then we can do some real planning.
Location: Panhandle of Florida - The Emerald Coast
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Well, since you're heading along the western side of us, you could stop in Tampa and hit Busch Gardens. It's a really pretty park, great coasters. Then continuing along the coast you can discover what we call our "hidden coast" and take in Port St. Joe, Mexico Beach, Appalachicola. They offer Beautiful beaches, small fishing village appeal, lovely B&Bs or gulf front cottages, lighthouses. Stay along the coast on up to the Emerald Coast and visit Seaside and the 30A area. It's where the movie, The Truman Show, with Jim Carrey was filmed. Be on the lookout for celebs. A lot have made their get-away homes From 30A thru to SanDestin. (Emeril is a favorite here). From there you can stay along Hwy 98 all the way thru to Destin, Ft. Walton Beach and Pensacola and all of those have handy routes back to I-10.
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Mary - not enough trips!
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