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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 always feel bad for the little animals that had to die to make those exhibits. I hope they all died of natural causes. We have a Natural History museum in Washington, DC and since it's part of the Smithsonian it's free admission inside...pretty nice if you ask me.
Great finish to your report...it looks like it was a wonderful weekend.
The pictures from the museum reminded me a lot of the Natural History museum here in DC, as well as in NYC. But I guess dead stuffed animals all do look pretty similar!
Well, with the time difference, you may be close to finishing up work now - it's about 4 pm in England. Great weekend trip report - makes me long for the days of being child-free (and dog-free!) when we used to sneak away for weekend trips. Sigh.
Have a great time in WDW - and on the Dream!
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I found the displays of penguins, walrus, sea turtles and blue whales interesting, since Austria is a land locked country without an ocean. I figured the Natural History Museum would focus only on the native natural history. Guess not.
You got a lot done on your short trip! I guess you're flying to WDW tomorrow-- Have a great trip! The temps will be a bit higher than they were in Vienna.
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I love your TRs, Cheryl! They are always so fascinating! Vienna looks beautiful. I was intrigued with how expressive the statues in your photos were, as you stated you were too! I used to live in Germany, and we did quite a bit of touring in Europe. I remember the great detail of the statues, but the ones you saw looked almost life-like in their expressions!
I was absolutely fascinated by your story of Empress Elizabeth, so I did some reading on my own about her. She seemed a little bit crazy! Her husband loved her so much, and it just seemed like she fought that love her whole life. Very sad. But thank you for telling us about her!
Amazing weekend you both had!
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Saturday, October 9, 2014 - Kaitlyn and I before the Happy Haunted 5K at ESPN Wide World of Sports
Just finished up, what always amazes me about you and Mark is how you can pack a weeks adventures into a weekend and yet your trips always seem so relaxing. What a wonderful weekend!!! Thanks for sharing.
Just got all caught up with your TR and I thoroughly enjoyed it!!! The architecture throughout Vienna is so beautiful. Being a horse lover I know I would have enjoyed the horse show. I'm not sure if you've visited the Museum of Natural History in New York City but after seeing the one in Vienna, I think you would really enjoy this one! I've been to it several times on class trips when my daughters were younger and found it very interesting. Thank you for sharing this quick weekend getaway! I'm going to check out your posting for today's Disney World trip. I'm so enjoying that one also.
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We have a Natural History museum in Washington, DC and since it's part of the Smithsonian it's free admission inside...pretty nice if you ask me.
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