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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We have a new AP for our current jrs (he beat me for the job, but I like him, so its okay), anyway, one of his ideas, that I fully support, is a senior trip. I talked with hime about it and we both agree that while our school is outstanding academically, we have no spirit, no sense of reward, no comaraderie among our students. We thought that a senior trip might help foster this, you know, give them something to work toward beyond grades, maybe influence some borderline students to work a little harder, convince seniors that they have to keep working (we won't allow anyone who is failing, on academic probation, or a discipline problem to attend).
We talked about a few choices and we both really like Disney, its sort of a closed campus, so to speak, we could do a thursday to sunday trip in jan or feb for a good price, and we both love Disney.
Does anyone have any experience with this, either that your kids went or that you helped organize a trip or anything? I'm not sure if I should contact grand gatherings or a travel agent or what. Are there deals for groups of this size. Our senior class is 340 kids, but I would bet that we would only get about 150 to participate the first year, perhaps less due to money and academic standing and the numbers we would lose because they would rather go to Cancun and get plowed for spring break.
Our middle school just came back from a trip to Disney. My kids aren't middle school yet, so I don't know too many specifics. I know their trip was part educational/part just plain fun. They had a class on the science of light, then went behind the scenes at the Haunted Mansion to see how the science was applied there. They had another class that was a special tour of World Showcase. This was all done through the Disney "Yes" (Youth Education Series)program. They also have programs without the classroom aspect.
With a group that large, I'd rather go through Disney's school group program than try and do it as a Grand Gathering or through a travel agent. Disny hosts school gropus all the time and I'm sure they have it down pretty well by now.
I went my sophomore year in high school, it was open to everyone, we went during spring break, took a Coach bus down from NY and had a great time. Did Wet & Wild, Daytona Beach and Disney. I guess the big thing would be the approval from the school, and get some teachers/advisers (sr class advisor) to help chaperone.
I went to Disney for my Junior High School senior trip. My Junior High had a LOT of seniors (about 1000, it's a big school) and they're broken up into different academic groups. I was in CIG which only had about 70 kids (we were the top program lmao) so we went on our own, while the rest of the seniors went together. It was great!
We went in March for 5 days, Monday-Friday (March 12 - 16). We stayed off-site (at the Best Western Eastgate) since it drove down the cost A LOT, and there were several other school groups there, as well. My SS teacher, Ms. Lovett, was in charge of the entire trip as my school had been going to Disney as the senior trip for years and she was always in charge of taking the CIG program. My English and my science teacher went as well, as well as several parents.
Money had to be in by January to ensure exactly who was going so Ms. Lovett could get everything together. Then 3 weeks before the trip we all had a meeting in the cafeteria. We got a packing list, our itinerary, important information and phone numbers for the parents and budget information (how much money she suggested we should all bring). 2 weeks before the trip we created our room assignments - each room would be a room of 4 with one room of 5 (of course I got the room of 5, lmao).
The day of the trip we all met at school really early and met in my SS room. Parents had to wait outsde with luggage since we were all just inside to take attendance and make sure everyone was where they were supposed to be. We rented a big motor coach bus to take us to the airport (La Guardia) and everything went off smoothly.
When it came to the hotel we were not allowed to go in the pool, most likely for insurance reasons. The other school groups at the hotel were in the pool at all hours of the night, though, so something like that would be up to you. We also had a piece of tape put on the outside of our door each night which would be ripped if the door was open, to make sure none of us were sneaking out of the room When it came to touring the parks we were put into groups of about 10 - a girls room and a guys room put together, with a chaperone or two.
On our arrival day we checked into the hotel and then went over the the Magic Kingdom. We broke up into our groups and were allowed to tour for a few hours. We were given a meeting time and all met on Main Street at 10:00. The next day we went to Epcot and did an education tour. It was called the YES Program (we had shirts made with the logo for the program and everything so everyone knew we were a school group, lol) and was a lot of fun. I think it's just for school groups so I would get some information on it. We arrived at Epcot before it even opened and were broken up into our groups and each group had a tour guide. First we were shown the Leave a Legacy tiles and told about the Millenium Celebration (it was still generally new). Then we were brought onto Spaceship Earth (no lines!) and afterwards, as we were walking around, we had a discussion on communications. Then we were brought into the World Showcase and had a complete tour. By this time it was only around 9:30 so it was completely empty. We went into each and every country and did a special activity in each one - in Japan we got to see a special Japanese show in the pavilion, we sampled food in Morocco, we did a project on architecture in the UK, we played games in France, etc. It was a lot of fun and we really got to learn about each country due to the fact that we got one-on-one time with the CMs, we sampled food and we got to explore without any crowds. This was a great tour and it lasted about 4 hours. Afterwards we were ableto go off on our own for the rest of the day, until we were all told to meet in France at 8:30 for Illuminations.
On Wednesday we went to Island's of Adventure which was awesome, we had so much fun there! Again we were able to go off on our own all day until we all had to meet at NBA City in CityWalk for dinner at around 5:00.
On Thursday we went to MGM and were able to go off on our own. We had to meet for dinner at 5:00, though, at Hollywood & Vine. My teacher called WDW Group Dining and got us all the Fantasmic Dinner package. Afterwards everyone went to see Fantasmic, but me and a group of my guy friends decided to go off and do the Backlot Tour and Star Tours instead, and then we hung out by the Muppets fountain (I wish I would have seen that show but we had a great time!). That night there was extra money left over so my teacher ordered a pizza and bottle of soda for each room. We were back to the hotel pretty early, around 9:30, so we all left the doors to our room open and had a big party, it was great! We all went into each other's rooms and watched Friends and Will & Grace and had pizza, we all took walks to the gift shop and played on the tennis court and we hung out on the balconies. It was one of the most fun nights on our vacation, so if you're able to do something like that I would reccommend it.
On our last day, Friday, we went to Sea World. When we first arrived we all had to go as a group to see the Clyde and Seamoure show, it was really cute and sooo funny! The rest of the time we went offon our own, until we met up at around 2:00 to had over to the airport. We arrived back in NY at around 11:00 PM.
The whole trip was amazing and something I'll never forget. However, when you're dealing with a large group of kids things are bound to go wrong. As soon as we got off the bus at the airport in NY on our first day a girl got really sick and started throwing up (it was gross lmao). She must have had a stomach virus that set the tone for the whole trip. By the end of the week 4 other people had caught the stomach virus, a kid somehow managed to fall out of bed in themiddle of the night and hit his head on the end-table, 6 or 7 people got really run-down from the extreme weather changes (85 during the day, 45 at night) and had fevers, 5 or 6 kids were in wheelchairs by Thursday, and a girl in my room threatened to kill me and had to be moved to another room It was definitely ineresting, lmao! However, things weren't as bad as it sounds and we had a great time.
As a matter of fact, I have TONS of pictures from this trip and while I don't remember every single thing we did, I think I'm going to start a trip report tonight! After all, this was the trip that really made me LOVE all things Disney and Orlando, lol! If you have any questions let me know since we really did do a lot of great "group" things.
Sounds like a great time. Bet you wouldn't have a hard time getting caparones. With our middle and/or high school would do it. And I think WDW is a MUCH better option than Cancun because of the reduced opportunity to alcohol and/or drugs.
Thanks for the info! I went to the website, got lots of info, now the AP and I just need to sell it to the Board of Education. Disney requires at least one chaperone for every 15 kids, so if we get even half the senior class to go we will need 12.
The other HS in our district did a senior trip for the first time last year and it was much cheaper than this would be and many kids just opted out. To a degree I hope this would happen for us, for the first year I'd like to have a group that really wants to be there, that we can trust and set a good tone.
Because they are seniors I think we would allow more free time, with established check in times, and allow kids to make their own itinerary to a degree. SOrt of we pick the park, they get to do what they want while there and check in at lunch, dinner and bed check.
The costs don't look to bad either. A four day park hopper with one waterpark and one YES program included is $123, if they stay at a value resort during value season I would project that each kid would only pay about $250 for the hotel and tickets, plus airfare and food. You can get airfare from Rochester or Buffalo for under $200 roundtrip, so that $450 plus food. Frankly, in our community, that's not asking too much, the number of kids who got new cars for their birthdays tell me we might have a lot of parents who would pay, although we would like some fundraising too.
I really hope we can convince the district to do this. The Asst Principal and I are convinced that this could work, especially if we make the requirements to attend pretty strict (based on grades, attendance, and disciplinary referrals).
Hi Kim...I am currently planning a senior trip, we are leaving June 3. I only have a group of 18 seniors, and 4 parents (senior class only has 50 total). I would be more than willing to send you the itinerary I put together and share how I structured check-ins. We found enough money in the budget after some of our costs dropped (airfare, etc.) to pay for 3 meals for them (WCC, HDDR, and FDP at H&V) and we are also doing an Illuminations viewing party dessert buffet.
I helped plan a high school band trip to WDW last year for 100 students. Little different since they had parade and performance times, however the overall planning is the same. Let me know if you'd like a copy of our checklists (planning and for the kids), pay schedule agreement, fund raising activities, etc.
Since it was all high school kids, we did the same thing you mentioned regarding checking in on days with no performances.
We went as Seniors in High School, it has been tradition there for MANY years, I graduated in 1995 and they still do it. It was an amazing experience, great fun and I heartily recomend organizing it, however it is probably too late for this years class. Our class fundraisers all through high school were banked to help defray the cost of our trip. The more we raised as a class, the less we would have to contribute out of pocket. As far as planning it I am not sure where to direct you. We contracted out with a tour company, we had a flight out of Newark, NJ to ourselves, we stayed off site and had busses to transport us to and from the park. I would contact Disney to find out how they handle groups like that, I'm sure they will point you in the right direction. BTW my graduating class was 425 so it is doable for the size you are trying to accomodate, but be prepared I think only 1/2-3/4 of the kids went. PM me with any questions that I can help with.
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lmao) so we went on our own, while the rest of the seniors went together. It was great! 
It was definitely ineresting, lmao! However, things weren't as bad as it sounds and we had a great time. 
Kim!
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