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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
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I read that alligators can actually climb fences, but I'm not sure if this is true or not. So depending on the size of an alligator, this solution wouldn't be of much help.
It is actually very true that they can climb fences with ease.. Long fingers & toes have no trouble grabbing on to a fence & climbing over just like a person would.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Qp_bUYPrTg
I just wanted to include this Facebook post I came across this morning. For those of you questioning responsibility or common sense, this is how it happens. I know many of us on these boards have visited these resorts and have lounged on the beaches during the day or night. We've watched the kids, and even adults, frolic at the waters edge because who would ever think? I've been there...I'll admit it. It was just my daughter's toes. I obeyed the "please no swimming" signs. I was lucky. Please just remember this family could've been a part of our family here. They know what their responsibilities are...trust me. No debating, just wanting to show how it can easily happen to anyone.
Thank you for sharing that post. It really does put things into perspective. I know I have walked along the edge at the Poly on numerous occasions never thinking an alligator would just come out of the water even though I have seen them on property. I just continue to pray for the family.
Last edited by cattailmarsh; 06-16-2016 at 03:02 PM..
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I just wrote this and posted it on my Facebook page:
Ever since I saw the first critical post about the parents of the precious child who was killed, I wondered: What would cause normally compassionate, loving people to blame and shame these grieving parents?
And I’ve finally come up with a reason: it’s fear. Since the earliest human mothers clutched their babies fearfully to their chests as they heard wild animals roar around them, we’ve known down deep in our hearts and souls that the world can be a grim, scary, and deadly place, and that there’s no way we can keep our beloved children safe from everything that can kill or hurt them.
We know this, but we can’t really accept it. And so we do what we can, according to our level of comfort: We make them wear helmets, or prevent them from playing contact sports. We sterilize their bottles and wash their little hands. We put bandaids on boo-boos and take broken limbs to the doctor.
All this, while knowing that all our lives are hostage to fortune and misfortune, to accidents and evils. We tell ourselves that we are doing the right things by our children; other parents are either over-protective or reckless.
And when a precious life is taken far too early, we try to find some reason other than merciless nature and cruel chance: The parents were careless; the children misbehaved; some authority was negligent in not foreseeing and preventing this horrible accident.
But we know, deep in our hearts, that bad things happen with no rhyme or reason, despite careful attention and devoted watchfulness. And we’re scared.
Ultimately, that’s what it means to be a parent: to know that this small life we’ve created is infinitely fragile and that life is dangerous. All we can do is be the best parents we know how to be, try to find the sympathy and compassion parents deserve when the unthinkable happens to them, and pray that it never happens to our own loved ones.
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I just wrote this and posted it on my Facebook page:
Ultimately, that’s what it means to be a parent: to know that this small life we’ve created is infinitely fragile and that life is dangerous. All we can do is be the best parents we know how to be, try to find the sympathy and compassion parents deserve when the unthinkable happens to them, and pray that it never happens to our own loved ones.
Thoughtful post.
May I point out that your definition of a parent is narrow here; one doesn't need to create the life to be its parent and appreciate its fragility. However one becomes entrusted with a child's life; the worries and the weight of the responsibility are heavy indeed.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SheLovesAriel
Thoughtful post.
May I point out that your definition of a parent is narrow here; one doesn't need to create the life to be its parent and appreciate its fragility. However one becomes entrusted with a child's life; the worries and the weight of the responsibility are heavy indeed.
You're right....no disrespect intended to families built by ties of love, not blood. How about this:
Ultimately, that’s what it means to be a parent: to know that this small life entrusted to our care is infinitely fragile and that life is dangerous. All we can do is be the best parents we know how to be, try to find the sympathy and compassion parents deserve when the unthinkable happens to them, and pray that it never happens to our own loved ones.
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for the FB link, Melissa! Well written, Ginger! You've expressed so many thoughts that have been running through my head since I first heard. 
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