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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Many pixies for Lauren as she faces this first major adult decision. I have faced those what is several times but not for school - I knew where I wanted to go...to bad once I WS there I was miserable. I was determined to stick it out but in the end fate led me to transferring schools and I loved my second school. Son please remind her while she needs to give the decision great thought, if things don't work out for whatever reason she always has other options.
I think there is too much pressure on her that this is a life altering decision. She is not committed for life but at most a semester. Kids can and do transfer (one of mine did and is richer for having experienced two schools. Kids also change their majors all the time. Even if she ends up in a completely different direction, she is very young and has many, many years to decided where she wants to end up.
I do not think the decisions that one makes at 17 really put them on an irreversible track. I have known people who have gone to professional school well into their 40's and 50's. A few even had to get an undergraduate degree first.
There are few decisions that cannot be changed. I encouraged my kids not to get involved in romantic relationships too young in large part because I don't think there is much benefit to the kids, it pushed kids to be sexually active earlier and having a child is one of the few decisions that will stay with you forever.
It is early in the year. Let her visit the schools and spend time in each. Spend at least one night on campus. She will find the one which feel right. And if non of them really grab her, she can take a year off, go to one with an eye towards transferring, or go locally and look for other options. There are usually many choices.
ETA: Teresa, take a deep breath. I know this is your baby but she will be fine. nothing is set in stone. Do not make her feel anxious about the future. Kids grow up so quickly but I think they just keep getting better.
__________________
Charlie
Last edited by Huntermom; 12-09-2015 at 08:54 PM..
I think the most important thing is to allow as much of this as possible to be Lauren's decision. We all want what is best for our children, and sometimes their choices don't seem to make sense, but everything happens for a reason, I think.
My oldest received a full 4 year tuition, room and board scholarship to UNH upon graduation, and turned it down. Instead, she paid her way through a 2 year community college. Several years later - guess where she ended up - yes, at UNH, without the scholarship, and she finishes her pre-med degree this week. Neither she, nor I, would change a thing about the way she went about things. It has helped her become the wonderful woman she is.
My middle daughter applied to one school, went there all 4 years, and had a wonderful experience. She got her dream job on her graduation day, and hasn't looked back. She's now working full time, and finishing grad school.
My baby applied to 4, was accepted to all 4, and had a terrible time making her decision. Seriously, we were still weighing pros and cons at 11:00 pm on April 30th, the deadline decision date. She wanted me to tell her what to do, and I wouldn't. She finally decided upon St. John's, in NYC, far from our rural mountain home. She fully planned to do 1-2 years there, and then transfer somewhere warm, either Florida or California. Now she is a sophomore, loves it, and has no plans to attempt a transfer.
I don't think there is a wrong decision - she will learn from any choice she makes - it will either work, or it won't, and those are both valuable life lessons.
Enjoy the time with her while it lasts - it passes far too soon.
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