What you did way back when- you can't do that now! - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 still have a little one, age 8, he's my only kid. He's also not as much of a fan as I am. Here's a little of both...
Gone are the days when....
I could carry him around everywhere, and didn't have to think about feeding him, just whip out a boob! (OK, I never took him to Disney as a baby, but we traveled to lots of other places.)
I could put him to sleep in a stroller and tour the parks "alone" at night.
Right now I love:
Matching shirts!
Character meets are special!
He still loves iasw!
"Mom, this is the BEST!"
Looking forward to:
Going on thrill rides, finally. Will this day ever come?
"Mom, let me carry that for you."
"Have fun tonight mom, I'm fine to stay in the hotel by myself"
"I don't want to go to Disney, mom. But you have a good time!" OR
"Only 5 days? Why don't we plan for a time when we can stay for 2 weeks?"
Here's something you can think about doing in 2019 that you didn't do last time: pay for every...single...thing...! Take advantage of your good fortune, and that you have 2 years to plan and save.
Maybe you can look forward to the conversation:
"Hey...now that you're an adult, do you think you would be able to help contribute to our vacation with a few extra bucks?"
I know that money is tight, especially for new adults just out of college. And WDW vacations are expensive. Even if they can only put away a few dollars a week, by 2019 that could add up to an extra day or two in the parks! Just $5/week = $260/year...that would definitely take care of a CBR resort cost for a night with a little left over for a snack!
Not only would it take some of the pressure off of you, but it would help your kids feel personally invested in the success of the trip. And a little proud that they "own" it too and aren't just guests!
Here's something you can think about doing in 2019 that you didn't do last time: pay for every...single...thing...! Take advantage of your good fortune, and that you have 2 years to plan and save.
Maybe you can look forward to the conversation:
"Hey...now that you're an adult, do you think you would be able to help contribute to our vacation with a few extra bucks?"
I know that money is tight, especially for new adults just out of college. And WDW vacations are expensive. Even if they can only put away a few dollars a week, by 2019 that could add up to an extra day or two in the parks! Just $5/week = $260/year...that would definitely take care of a CBR resort cost for a night with a little left over for a snack!
Not only would it take some of the pressure off of you, but it would help your kids feel personally invested in the success of the trip. And a little proud that they "own" it too and aren't just guests!
just a thought
Thank you for the thought...but this would be my Graduation Gift to my youngest son. But I am not quite sure if my oldest will want to go...And if he did I would ask him to contribute because he does have a full-time job!
But I could not ask my college-graduate son to help pay for his Gift! Maybe he might offer to pay for a few meals, but I couldn't flat out ask him. Doesn't feel right....and I want him to save his money for other reasons, like moving out & living on his own!
Maybe his trip to Disney might be him & me.... I think that would be Special...since I read from another Passporter member did that with her daughter and it was memorable.
__________________
Kate in PA All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them- Walt Disney
Planning a trip THEN: choose a date. Done.
Planning a trip NOW: choose dates, try to get discount deals, design entire trip around advanced dining reservations and fast passes, whether it's rain or shine, whether you're tired or not, not knowing how the crowds will be - keep to the itinerary!!!
you're looking at it the wrong way. you should be asking: what can i do NOW that i could not do back then?
the answers (i'm assuming) are things like:
-yes, you can book two rooms at a moderate (or even at a value) and have so much more room (and two bathrooms!) rather than spending the money on a deluxe. because they are old enough to be alone.
-you can pack less!
-you can enjoy the meal plan with adult children, who get the full meal experience.
-you can go on the scary rides!
-you can buy them a drink and cheers to your vacation!
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