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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I would wait until closer as well because you will have been working for a little longer and then it should be easier to ask...dont you hate when bosses dont understand the importance of family time together.
It's a really tough decision, but I'll share this with you. A frind of mine has lost two jobs for this very same reason. Just starting a job and then taking the time off for vacation. Think about it...if you called in sick there's nothing they could do. But just the fact that you're taking the days off for a vacation makes it look bad in their eyes. So, I guess the moral of this story is...if you really want to keep this job I'd say don't go. But it sounds like the boss is a jerk anyway so...have fun!!!
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I would wait until closer as well because you will have been working for a little longer and then it should be easier to ask...dont you hate when bosses dont understand the importance of family time together.
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I agree with waiting a little longer to ask although not waiting to ask at the last moment. You did just start your job a few months ago and if he's giving you grief already, I can't imagine he'd be thrilled with a vacation request so soon. I also think that if this is his attitude, it doesn't sound like a great work environment Some people just don't get that there is life outside of work and that's just sad.
I agree with the others who have said to hold off on putting in the vacation request this soon. October is 5 months away. That gives you 4 more months of work time under your belt before you could put your request in if you gave him 4 weeks notice about your two days off. Also, even with vacation accrual, it would seem that you would have accrued at least 2 days vacation by then and by law you are entitled to take those days.
I sympathize with you - I have worked for companies in the past that lay the guilt trip on you for having a life outside of work. Needless to say, I am not with those companies anymore. With the boss I have now, I don't even have to ask for time off - I just add it to his calendar so he knows when I am going to be on vacation. If I have the time accrued, he has never fought with me about not taking it. If your boss now is already giving you grief, I would say the near future is not a good time to put in a vacation request. Let some more time build up and then submit it in writing.
Rachel your boss sounds like Allan's boss who owns the company. It's like getting blood out of a stone asking for time off. You need time off to be productive at work, it sounds like he should chill out a bit.
I don't know Rachel, I feel like I'm in the minority here. You seem to already know your answer, I mean, how he's going to react. You just started this job in March? I wouldn't ask for anything just yet.
I would definitely wait until about 2 weeks before - I wouldn't tell him any sooner.
I think you will be walking on eggshells with him no matter when you ask! It's his company and he expects his employees to be there. The workaholic thing is totally out of your control. My husband used to not mind if his employees took time off (paid or otherwise) as long as they got their work done. Doesn't sound like this guy is as kind.
Good luck on this one. I hope you won't be out looking for a job because of it!
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Sounds like your boss has an issue... and it's not with you. He owns the company right? So he expects people to be like him and work TONS of hours... Nope sorry.
Rachel - do you accrue vacation leave? If so - you are entitled to take it (the law says so). I would make the request in writing (as long as you have the time accrued).
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If you have the vacation time, then it's yours to use. He should not be making you feel guilty for using what is rightfully yours.
I would wait until a little closer to time too . . . and put your foot down!!! Be firm! Like Marnie said, you just say "This is when I am taking some time off. Thanks very much. Have a nice day. Buh-bye." He doesn't need to know where you are going or why either!
When I was working, I had the same problem with getting time off (and I worked at day care - in Freeport, ME in fact - which was overstaffed, so it wasn't like they were going to miss me or anything!) My boss there would ask me everytime I needed to leave early or take a day or more off "What is the purpose of this time off?" I had to tell her every time it was "personal and none of her d--n business!"
Is this grumpiness something recent with your boss or has it always been like this? If it is recent, you could just hope that it is new baby "no sleep" related and that it will blow over soon. If not, then he just sounds like he needs a punch in the nose!
Yea, it might be a good idea to wait until it gets closer. You still have a lot of time before your trip so don't worry about asking now, once it gets closer hopefully your boss will have had time to cool off a bit, and you'll have been working there longer!