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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Smoker encounter
Walking in front of the castle around 6 or 7 pm two weeks ago, I saw a couple people fanning the air & making faces; soon saw the reason was a woman pushing a stroller and smoking, right there on the walkway. She was kind of hunched over as if to hide the cigarette, but the smoke didn't know it was supposed to be hiding, I guess. Well, you may know that I'm not shy ().
I tapped her on the shoulder and told her politely that smoking wasn't allowed there. Well, you'd have thought I called her names or something! First she told me angrily that I should have just walked on past instead of tapping her on the shoulder, then it wouldn't have bothered me. I told her calmly that nobody there wanted to smell her smoke. She raised her voice and started ranting about how she'd paid $100 a day to be there (as had everyone else, of course) and Disney only provided one or two places to smoke and she hadn't had a cigarette in eight hours and on and on and on. I just walked away and didn't let it bother me.
Really, though, it's not as if Walt Disney World is the only place in the continental US where smoking is not allowed, so the rules couldn't have taken her by surprise. If missing her cigarette makes her this cranky, she should've planned better and made her way to a smoking zone. Some people....
WOW!! That's just rude of her. The smoking sections may be a pain to find but not impossible. In fact you can find them in MDE app easy as pie!!
My DH is a smoker (trying to get him to quit) and he ALWAYS makes his way to the designated smoking areas and would NEVER dream of smoking just anywhere in the parks or at the resorts or on the cruise ships, no matter how inconvenient it might be for him.
He has had the opposite kind of situation. On our last trip he was in the smoking area outside of EPCOT between the entrance and the bus stops. It is very much off to the side and not easily seen from the main walk. He was there minding his own business when this woman walked into the smoking section pushing a stroller and began to berate him for smoking. He politely pointed out that he was in the smoking section and she continued to berate him louder and louder. At that point he had a few choice words to say to her, finished his cigarette and walked away. It was nuts!
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Jennifer / Eeyore is my favorite!! OMG - He's sooooo grown up!!!! And an EAGLE SCOUT!! I can still remember my cute little Tiger Cub! 2016 Reading Goal - 75 books
Lenny is a smoker and while he doesn't like the lack of smoking sections (there are less each time we go it seems) we go prepared. We find out where the sections are on the map and when we come across one that's not on the map or has been moved, we make a note of it for future reference for the trip. We also go armed with nicotene gum and lozengers so he's not always at them.
What I've had to chuckle about though is sometimes (but not often) if I'm sitting on a bench or just near Lenny, someone will apologize for smoking next to me or ask if I'm okay with them lighting up. I always tell them it's okay and to go ahead.
I grew up with mom and dad smoking, then my brother started, then I met Lenny so for me, it's a normal part of life to be sitting there surrounded by smokers so it doesn't bother me. If someone has a cigarette that is really strong smelling (and on occassion it happens, even with what Lenny smokes), I might get up and walk away but it's the particular smell, not the smoking itself that bothers me.
As for you Ginger, I'm sorry to hear the lady was such a jerk. She probably gave the same attitude to the first CM that caught her doing it too.
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It takes all types. Unfortunately that includes rude and inconsiderate. As often as not I find myself thinking that kids are better behaved and more considerate than the adults around them.
If it just were the smell it wouldn't bother me, I think a little inconvenience is the price we pay for being around other humans. My issue is it is a medical consideration for some. I have two with asthma in my family and exposure to cigarette smoke can change the trajectory of our whole day. We know to avoid the smoking areas and all is well.
I'm a smoker, though only a little bit right now as I'm trying my hardest to quit, and I found that Epcot had plenty of smoking areas...I believe 4 inside the parks. I would feel weird walking around smoking there. I know this is probably weird but I hate the smell of smoke even though I smoke myself. I don't blame you for telling her what the rules are.
She was the one doing something wrong (and inconsiderate). Not you. I admire you for being polite and letting her know she shouldn't be smoking there. I hope this incident doesn't deter you from doing the same again if the opportunity arises.
If it just were the smell it wouldn't bother me, I think a little inconvenience is the price we pay for being around other humans. My issue is it is a medical consideration for some. I have two with asthma in my family and exposure to cigarette smoke can change the trajectory of our whole day. We know to avoid the smoking areas and all is well.
I have asthma and cigarette smoke can be a migraine trigger as well. I also avoid the smoking areas, but sometimes the hotels make it difficult. When we last stayed at POP the only way to the food court was through a smoking area.
I too applaud your actions...smoke is one of my migraine triggers so I avoid anyone smoking or smoking areas. To think she was just out there doing her thing. I hope someone bereted her like she did you. Thank you for trying to improve things for those around you even if it wasn't successful.
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I am extremely sensitive to cigarette smoke. And I have health issues that can be exacerbated by smoke. When my boys were young and had asthma, cigarette smoke, even old and stale, could cause them to begin coughing and need medication. Ginger, I applaud you for saying something.
I have seen people smoking outside of smoking areas at WDW and always wish CMs would say something to them.
Luke has done just like you, Ginger, on a couple of occasions. Thankfully, both times the folks were calm and receptive to moving to a designated area.
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Ginger, good for you for speaking up!
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