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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 reservations for Disney on October 23rd. It's a birthday trip for our 7 year old son. I have a question about the birthday pins and such. Although we will be celebrating his birthday down there, it is really on the 15th of October. Is it still acceptable to get him a pin and let everyone know it's his birthday or would this be unacceptable ??
Yes....all you do is tell guest relations that you need a birthday pin--they ask no questions. Be sure to tell any resturant you eat at that you are celebrating your sons birthday. We seldom ever celebrate birthdays at our house on the actual day--we usually pick a day that is close and celebrate. We are going to celebrate my birthday in August when we are at DW even though it's not until September---
All the characters will give him special attention when they see the pin, as will the cast members. He might also get a special dessert at the restaurants. If you are staying on-site mention it when you make the reservations, I hear that sometimes they will put a card signed by their favorite character with a balloon!!
Be sure to have him wear the birthday button wherever he goes... here are some things that happened to DS5 on his 5th birthday last year....
-We walked in to Town Hall at the MK to get the birthday button.
-walking down Main Street, the trolley had the Barbershop Quartet riding on the back as we were getting our picture taken. They walked back up Main Street, pulled him aside, and sang Happy Birthday to him in the middle of Main Street.... QUITE A SCENE!
-When we were in Adventureland, the banjo band standing near The Country Bears sang Happy Birthday to him.
-We got to go in the Fastpass line for POOH's Wild Ride (my name for the ride) without Fastpasses because the Cast Member saw his button.
-We got to ride Splash Mountain twice in a row... as we were pulling in to the loading/unloading zone, one of the CMs saw the Birthday Button and asked him if he wanted to ride again, he naturally said YES so we stayed on the boat and went back to visit Brer Rabbit....
It's absolutely fine! My daughter received lots of magic when celebrating her fourth birthday. Several cast members sang to her, characters in the parade waved at her and blew her kisses, and she got special birthday cupcakes at CRT and O'hana. If you're staying at a Disney resort, be sure to tell the front desk. We stayed at AKL, where my daughter recieved a card signed by her favorite princess and a little gift.
The very best moment happened the next day when my daughter told the hostess at Boma that it was her birthday. (She had trouble understanding that a birthday is only one day!) As we were eating, the hostess came to our table and asked if the birthday girl and her big brother would like to help the Chef in the kitchen. The kids got special aprons and hats, while the Chef helped them make chocolate covered strawberries and decorate a special birthday cake! They even took pictures and gave us a special certificate. It was the most magical moment of our entire trip... and all because Carly said "Guess what? It's my birthday!"
Hope you son gets a good dose of Disney birthday magic during your trip!
Hi,
I am curious if anyone has experience with the birthday pin and an adult wearing it? We're going from November 7-11, me, my husband, and an adult couple, and my husband's B-day is November 13, so I'm just wondering if we should get a pin for him? Thanks for your thoughts.
I got b-day buttons from each park and wore them every day of our trip last Nov for my 40th b-day. It was a blast. Got lots of yummy desserts, had a CM play "Happy Birthday" on a harmonica outside Beauty and the Beast, had a CM at Buzz sing a really funny rap, got b-day cards from various places, talked to Goofy on the phone I don't remember how many times. It was truly a magical experience and made turning 40 quite painless!
Back in September I celebrated my 23rd birthday at Disney! Unfortunately we were stuck in our hotel room on my actual birthday, September 5th, due to Hurricane Frances, so we celebrated a little later in the week when we went to MK. I had a TON of people say Happy Birthday to me, which was really neat! Not only cast members, too, but other guests were coming up to me and wishing me a happy birthday. A pirate at Pirates of the Caribbean told me a special birthday poem, and at a shop near Aladdin's Magic Carpets I talked to Goofy on the phone and one of the CMs gave me a Goofy pin - not a trade, just a gift! I thought that was especially sweet, it was very unexpected!
I say - go for it. Just the people saying "Happy Birthday" made it worth it!
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Just the people saying "Happy Birthday" made it worth it!
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