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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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One of the most enjoyable weekend getaways I ever had was to a Hilton Garden Inn with an indoor pool only 25 miles from my home.
That was in the early 1990's when a moderately priced hotel with an indoor pool was still a novelty where I lived. It was a beastly cold winter. I was single and a teacher wondering if I'd stay even halfway sane until spring break in mid-March. I sorely needed that little getaway in early February!
I went shopping and spent money somewhat frivolously. Had a room service dinner brought to me poolside for a ridiculous amount of money. Ate mostly fast food and too much of that otherwise. Lunched one day on a fabulous ice cream soda at a place that made all their own ice cream and still looked like a turn-of-the-last-century ice cream parlor.
Just had a wonderful time!
What have you done as a "local vacation" within a short distance from your home? Would you or have you ever done something similar since?
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
I love the ocean and coastal Maine and Cape Cod are both weekend trips. There's also Newport and Narragansett, Rhode Island. Or a quick trip up to Burlington, Montreal or Quebec City. I love New England. We have it all and it is all so close.
One thing I find is that shorter vacations work better for me. I am a solo practitioner and I do have to come back. Leave things for 3-4 days (and a weekend), not so bad. A full week and Yikes!
We spent a weekend in San Antonio ( about 3 hrs) with our bikes and the National Park System in the San Antonio Missions. Love this trail and highly recommend this 15 mile paved biking trail.
We are biking more in the Texas State Parks and there are dozens within just a few hours drive. (Two are within half an hour of us.)
No matter where we have lived, we have always tried to get out and see the local sites. And now with gas at $1.45 in Texas, we can go farther...
When I lived in Alaska it was a major expense to get out of state so we would do an occasional weekend away for special occasions. I've spent a fun December weekend with friends at Alyeska (ski resort) and although I do not ski the ski lift at night was beautiful.
DH and I spent the weekend at an amazing B& B with a bath tub that a king size bed could have fit in; one anniversary we stayed at the Captain Cook Hotel (fancy) ate dinner in the Crows Nest (top floor of hotel) and then went on a carriage ride though downtown Anchorage which was very fun. We've also went on camping weekends to Seward, Homer, and Paxton Lake.
Nothing quite as close as your 25 miles. As Huntermom said, living in New England, we have a lot of great "week end get away" options within a couple of hours' drive. I've done Cape Cod, Portsmouth, NH, Portland, ME, Upstate NY, for weekend trips. We have done a few trips down to the CT coast (45 mins) just to decompress. My favorite is always to my friend's beach "shack". We sit on the beach, drink wine, enjoy some food, listen to the waves and chat. Lovely.
We have taken short overnights to just escape for a while roughly 45 min to 75 min away. Usually we always try for somewhere with close proximity to a park with some trails to explore. I always try & book a hotel with an in room jacuzzi for the luxury of it. The one place we have stayed at a few times has a wonderful buffet breakfast on the weekend included with certain overnight packages. Perfect
Out favorite close escape is 3 1/2 hours away & when we had a camp there we went every other weekend. So it is an easy drive to say the least. Truly miss that but we still get up there a few times a year to hike & bird watch.
Another New Englander here. Living in Connecticut, we can easily get to Maine, New York City, Rhode Island and Cape Cod. DH and I spend a lot of time on the Cape and also in Freeport Maine.
Another New Englander here. Living in Connecticut, we can easily get to Maine, New York City, Rhode Island and Cape Cod. DH and I spend a lot of time on the Cape and also in Freeport Maine.
Freeport? Fans of the LL Bean store maybe?
Terrific store! I still use stuff I bought there years ago.
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
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I am about two hours from Chattanooga, TN so my DH and I will spend a weekend there. Do some hiking, walk along the river, check out Rock City, TN Aquarium and the local sites are always a lot of fun, and just gets us away from home.
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Alaskan Mom aka Bonnie
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