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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 think you and my best friend drove past each other at some point. She and her husband just got back last week having driven from Philadelphia through to Sacramento. I know she stopped at St. Louis!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
What a variety of experiences over the last days. I love that your kids get real excitement and enjoyment out of the learning experiences as well as the pure entertainment ones. Glad you had a/c and water parks to help you through the heat wave!
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Originally Posted by chezp
What a great few days you've had - you've seen so much and driven a fair way I would guess....
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Looks like more great adventures as you wind you way back home!
Day 44) Mammoth Cave, Kentucky)
We got up early this morning and headed for Mammoth Cave. I had originally planned to just leave Illinois when we got ready, set up camp at Mammoth Cave, and just wait and explore the caves the next morning before heading home.
But instead I ended up booking us a 9am cave tour for our Kentucky arrival day and this meant we had to get up and get moving. We really enjoyed the cave tour and this one was much more difficult to navigate than the self guided tour we had done in Carlsbad Caverns. I liked going through the narrow passages, entering the historic/original cave entrance, and having an opportunity to be it total blackness; but even with all that I still think I’d have to say I like Carlsbad Caverns better… but I truly loved this one as well and it was a unique experience. Given that we only live 5 hours away from Mammoth Cave, I expect to be going back to this cave in the near future to explore it some more as I truly love going in these caves!
Once we were done with the cave tour and the kids got their junior ranger badges I sprung a surprise on everyone and told them I was ready to just head home… I had pre paid for our campsite, but was willing to call it a loss and just get going… We had explored Mammoth Cave and I couldn’t see staying another night at camp, especially with this heat wave going on… So, we loaded up in the van and had a long, 5 hour drive home….
Here are the pics from the last day:
Great pics from the cave! It must have felt so nice in there after all the heat! Glad you finally made it home after all your adventures! Such an amazing trip!
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Wow, it must be weird to be home now, after having been away so long. The caves sound interesting, but for me, total blackness is not something that appeals to me..
Can't believe your trip is all over with!! What a great adventure you and your family have had!!
It was a great adventure!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great pics from the cave! It must have felt so nice in there after all the heat! Glad you finally made it home after all your adventures! Such an amazing trip!
The cave felt sooo good! It was actually a little chilly in the cave, but felt just about perfect
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Wow, it must be weird to be home now, after having been away so long. The caves sound interesting, but for me, total blackness is not something that appeals to me..
It was really cool to see how the cave tours were led back in the day; this was the first cave to have tours back in the early 1800's. The ranger told us the cave tours were led by slaves at the time and the only light they had was a lantern and if it went out there was no backup! It was very interesting.... He also showed us where people had written on the cave walls back then; they would give the slave guide some money in exchange for being able to sign their names
What a memorable trip! Must be nice to be home after all that time, but it did seem to go by very quickly. Did everyone have a different favorite place?
What a memorable trip! Must be nice to be home after all that time, but it did seem to go by very quickly. Did everyone have a different favorite place?
My favories tied with Carlsbad Caverns and Mesa Verde! Madilyn proclaimed Arches as her favorite, and several of the kids claimed it a close second....
Wesley, Austin, and Winston's favorite were Six Flags St. Louis.
Final Thoughts)
It was a great trip! I feel we were truly blessed on the trip! The van did great, no mechanical problems… it did leak a little oil toward the end of the trip, but it was minor and likely/hopefully due to just the heat wave and driving a lot of miles… There were no major illnesses! Austin got sick twice; first with strep then with a virus- but both were short lived and we were able to proceed with the trip as planned… No major meltdowns either! Yes, there were meltdowns- but they were minor and short lived…. It really was an amazing adventure! Next summer, I hope that we will be able to drive up the East Coast and knock out several more states and a few more national parks on the way to my goal of getting Wesley to all 50 states before graduation… Thanks for following along everyone! I’ve really appreciated the comments along the way and I’ve enjoyed sharing my trip with everyoneJ!
Here is the final video:
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Glad you finally made it home after all your adventures! 
Such an amazing trip! 
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