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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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ok so i HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THIS WITH SOMEONE. and that someone is going to be all of you. thanks, all of you!
so hi. it's me AGAIN. i just finished the TR for our week-long food and wine fest/mom's birthday/halloween trip. and here i am again starting yet another PTR. here's what happened....
i spent a week in WDW with my husband and sort of with my mom; we were at the boardwalk and she was at the floridian, and we met up in the mornings to do park things and then went our separate ways. last thursday--november 2nd--mom ended up going back to the MK in the afternoon to do some shopping on her own. when she got there, she realized they had decorated for christmas over night. and she like...lost her mind. she was like OH MY GOD IT IS CHRISTMAS IN DISNEY WORLD. she's never been to disney during the holiday season, despite the fact that we go to disney A LOT. we keep saying we are going to plan a christmas in disney trip, but we never get around to it.
***
i need to interrupt this PTR with a thing you need to know to understand why i did this. it's kinda sad, so sorry. ahem...two years ago she had stage 3 breast cancer. she's still recovering from treatment; she likely always will be still recovering. since then, all of our priorities have shifted. so if my mom wants to do a thing, we DO THAT THING.
***
so the other day i was scrolling through facebook and i saw a fare sale on frontier. and i clicked on it. and i looked at dates. and i booked two round trip flights from trenton to orlando. we will only be there for two nights and one full day, but for $88 TOTAL, we will land at MCO at 9am on monday, december 11th and depart for home at 10am on wednesday, december 13th--giving us most of the day on monday and all day on tuesday to enjoy christmas in disney.
for $88.
now, you may be asking yourself: why monday through wednesday? because mickey's very merry christmas party is happening on tuesday night, and that was my whole purpose for the trip. i figure if my mom was excited because they put up some random wreaths over night in early november, she will LOSE HER MIND at the christmas party.
i still have a few things i need to iron out for this very short trip, and some decisions need to be made. i'm hoping you all will be willing to help me. who's in?
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
What a great surprise for your mom!
We were there the same week and were excited to see the Christmas decorations on Friday. What an amazing transition from Halloween to Christmas!
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Hooray! She will love this!!! We’ve spent 2 Christmases at WDW, and there is nothing like it. She can see it snow on Main Street! And the Epcot Storytellers are fun!
What a great surprise for your mom!
We were there the same week and were excited to see the Christmas decorations on Friday. What an amazing transition from Halloween to Christmas!
right? it happened over night! i saw a time lapse video of them doing it. it was crazy!
Quote:
Originally Posted by gremlinkid73
What a wonderful surprise for your Mom! The decorations are amazing. Enjoy your trip.
i'm super excited!
Quote:
Originally Posted by patclairesmom
What a great surprise for you Mom!
yeah so about the surprise thing--it's so hard to keep it a secret!
Heck for $88, I'd be there too! What a great surprise! Can't wait to hear all about both trips!
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
Can't beat this for $88!
RIGHT? $88! TOTAL! i mean, i'll have to buy tickets to the party. but i can stay on points and i have free rental car days. i think i can make this a SUPER budget trip!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
I'm excited to read all about this! I will be there a few days after you for my very first visit at Christmas time. So excited!
it's SO AWESOME at christmas time! i went to MVMCP two years ago and it was incredible. can't wait!
Fun! Are you planning to check out the decorations at the resorts?
YES! for sure the monorail resorts before the party. i'm not sure about any of the others; i'd like to take mom to AKL to see the tree and the giraffes, but i'm not sure if that's possible at this point. more on planning soon!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
Hooray! She will love this!!! We’ve spent 2 Christmases at WDW, and there is nothing like it. She can see it snow on Main Street! And the Epcot Storytellers are fun!
tell me more about epcot storytellers. i'm trying to decide how to spend monday (arrival day, of which we have most of the day) and epcot is one option. assuming i buy a one day park ticket. or like...renew my AP?
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
tell me more about epcot storytellers. i'm trying to decide how to spend monday (arrival day, of which we have most of the day) and epcot is one option. assuming i buy a one day park ticket. or like...renew my AP?
The countries have storytellers - sometimes their version of Santa - that talk about holiday traditions in that country. Hard to describe. But we enjoyed them. I assume they’re still there? We haven’t been back for Christmas in a few years.
I love love love the Epcot storytellers. They have about a dozen Holiday Kitchens, which I look forward to trying on our next trip. Some of my families favorite storytellers are La Befana (Italy), Father Christmas (UK) and of course Santa and Ms. Clause (America). Those are just a few as I truly try to see them all, but I have not be able to do that especially in one day.