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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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've been shopping around for some amusing travel games, and spotted some really cute ones at the Disney store. They are selling a deck of cards in a round tin with Mickey, a tic-tac-toe game with Pooh, and a checkers game with Mickey too. The cards have suits of ice cream cones, beach balls, sea shells and kites, and are round (a little tricky to shuffle)
Also--three words: Travel magic 8-ball. I got one in a bag of Baby Bell cheese rounds, and have been playing with it ever since. It will be perfect for long line waits. ("Oh, Magic 8-Ball, will we ever ride Splash Mountain!"... "All sources point to yes!")
Hope this helps others!
Hayley, have you considered small things of bubbles? I read this somewhere on this site I believe. The kids can keep them in small fanny packs for when you're standing in line, or any other place that they might be appropriate! I plan on bringing several to keep my litter happy! Also, I've heard some people bringing those pocket-size etch-a-sketches too. Ruth
Barnes and Noble carries the best car travel game out in my opinion, Rubberneckers. A card game where you try to find things on the card for points, and also try to get people in other cars to give a physical recognition of an action you perform (thumbs up, waving, etc.), plus a lot of bonuses, like the car pool card, where everyone gets to look for something on a card you drew. It made my last 4 hour car drive seem like 1 hour.
Hi Hayley! Thanks for the tips - my hubby wants to drive to WDW this time and I'm not looking forward to it. One thing my kids like is listening to books on tape - 2 summers ago we listed to the Chronicles of Narnia Series by C.S. Lewis (includes Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe). It was great and passed several hours in the car. Your public library should be a great source.
I read about this really neat site where you can print out travel bingo cards. Each time you reload the page it creates a new card to print out. I plan to print out a few and cover them with clear contact paper. The site is http://home.ici.net/~his/bingo/bingo1.html
Also, try the refill card packs from the disney trivia game.($8, available at toy strores and the Disney store). We take these and use them in lines for rides or in the car. Disney trivia helps get us in the "mood" for our vacation!
Jacquelyn
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"Everybody has a laughing place"
Contemporary Resort 7/1993
Off Site 6/1994, 12/2000
Coronado Springs 12/1999
Grand Floridian 8/1995, 7/1996, 7/1997, 7/1998, 7/1999, 6/2000, 7/2001
[This message has been edited by tigger536 (edited 04-08-2001).]