Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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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.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
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04-07-2004, 10:03 AM
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#1
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Kissimmee, FL
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 10,481
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My DS is closing!!!
Last night we had a CM meeting where we were informed that our store will be closing in May. 
I am very sad yet not surprised. We have two DS in our area, one on each side of town. I am surprised we stayed around this long. Hopefully some of us will be transfered to the other store. We should all be hired on as holiday help though come August.
Now I will just have to find another job to help pay off my student loans and Disney vancations. |
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04-07-2004, 10:30 AM
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#2
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Community Rank: Adventurer 
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: IL
Posts: 760
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Re: My DS is closing!!!
I'm sorry to hear that. 
Our local DS just closed without notice. I heard that the CMs were told the day they were to close and stayed late after closing to pack everything up. |
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04-07-2004, 10:36 AM
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#3
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RED SOX NATION!!
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854
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Re: My DS is closing!!!
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04-07-2004, 10:52 AM
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#4
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Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Edmonton, KY
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 17,823
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Re: My DS is closing!!!
I'm so sorry to hear that!! I really hate the thought of any DS store closing!  that you'll get transferred! |
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04-07-2004, 10:57 AM
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#5
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Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 3,968
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Re: My DS is closing!!!
<font color="blue"> I'm so sorry. Hope you find another job quickly.
I'm sorry to hear the stores are closing. </font>
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04-07-2004, 11:10 AM
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#6
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Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chapel Hill, NC USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 36,592
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Re: My DS is closing!!!
I'm so sorry for you. It must be a blow.
We haven't had a DS in our area for ages now. I sure miss the fun windows.
-HiddenMickey |
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*
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Sponsored links
Check out the many e-books by PassPorter. The e-books are free to download if you have a PassPorter's Club pass.
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04-07-2004, 12:21 PM
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#7
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Community Rank: Traveler 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Cass City, Michigan
Posts: 212
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Re: My DS is closing!!!
Robin,
Which one is closing Robin? The one in Meridian? Is there one at the Lansing mall? I used to work at the Meridian Mall location when I was going to MSU!
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04-07-2004, 01:01 PM
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#8
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Kissimmee, FL
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 10,481
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Re: My DS is closing!!!
[ QUOTE ]
Robin,
Which one is closing Robin? The one in Meridian? Is there one at the Lansing mall? I used to work at the Meridian Mall location when I was going to MSU!
[/ QUOTE ]
The Meridian Mall store is closing. The Lansing Mall store is fairly new (I thought it had just been remodled but I guess it is new). Very sad....I am not looking forward to telling guests. I am going to try not to burst out in tears...but with me that is going to be tough. |
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04-07-2004, 02:24 PM
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#9
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Community Rank: Trailblazer 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 5,064
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Re: My DS is closing!!!
Robin, I'm sorry to hear that about your store. Here's some and  to help you through.   |
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04-07-2004, 03:17 PM
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#10
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Community Rank: Traveler
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: East Lansing, MI
Posts: 373
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Re: My DS is closing!!!
Robin-
I am so sorry to hear that our store is closing! I have always liked the Okemos store better then the Lansing store. The CM's at your store were always more knowledgeable and friendly.
The best of luck and more pixie dust that a transfer to the Lansing store will happen for you!!
I will now have no reason to go to the mall!!
Laurie |
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04-07-2004, 03:50 PM
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#11
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PassPorter Message Board Manager
 PassPorter Guide Author
Community Rank: Legend VIP 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Maidstone, Kent, UK
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 190,285
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Re: My DS is closing!!!
I'm sorry to hear that Robin. |
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04-07-2004, 10:15 PM
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#12
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Community Rank: Traveler
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Virginia
Posts: 434
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Re: My DS is closing!!!
What's with all the closings? We've had two stores in the last year close (Springfield Mall and Pentagon City Mall)! The only ones still open are at National Airport (!) and Tyson's Corner....what's up with this???!!!
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04-07-2004, 10:22 PM
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#13
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Kissimmee, Fl
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 25,061
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Re: My DS is closing!!!
Sorry to hear about your store closing, it is sad to see them all closing down one by one. I am always afraid when I go shop at the one closest to me that it is going to be closed.
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04-08-2004, 02:21 PM
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#14
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Community Rank: Traveler
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Poquoson, VA, USA
Posts: 367
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Re: My DS is closing!!!
The Disney Store portion of the company is a big money loser ($50 million/year?) so all of the stores are systematically being shut down when their leases expire, and the remaining stores are on the auction block. An announcement concerning their sale will probably be made sometime in May, but rumor has it that there is only one buyer for the North American stores. Several of the stores, like the one on Fifth Ave. in NYC are to be converted to a World of Disney store. The European stores look like they have a better chance of being bought and remaining open, albeit under a different banner. The Japanese Disney Stores were bought by Oriental Land Co. several years ago, and are doing quite well under the name of Mickey & Pals.
It's sad, but it's the nature of retail business right now. People do not shop at specialty mall stores like they used to. Add to that Disney is licensing their merchandise to the Wal-marts and J.C. Penneys, and you have the end of the Disney Stores! |
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04-09-2004, 03:50 PM
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#15
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Community Rank: Globetrotter
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Milledgeville, Georgia
Concierge Level: 8
Posts: 3,054
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Re: My DS is closing!!!
So sorry to hear it. Its like a little piece of us dies with every closing isn't it? I've been expecting the one closest to me to close for some time now. It's just the way my luck is. Then I'll have to drive a few hours to get to one!
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