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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 love New York City! I travel alone with my now 12 year old daughter and we love it. Last trip we stayed at the Hotel Pennsylvania, across from Madison Square Garden. We did bus tours, visited South Street Seaport, saw Little Mermaid, explored Central Park & Zoo. In the past we've seen other shows, the NBC tour, Empire State Building, Ground Zero, Museum of Natural History, and so many other things.
Just a tip - a travel agent can help with all kinds of vacation planning!
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I had the opportunity to visit New York twice last year - once in the spring with DH for our 20th anniversary, and once with my 3 sisters. Both trips were short - 4 or 5 days each. We stayed in private places we found through VRBO.com - first one was not so great - look carefully at the photos! The second one was fabulous - in the Financial District, close to two subway stops. DH and I also stayed at On The Ave in the Upper West Side a couple of nights - really enjoyed that as they upgraded us to a king penthouse suite when they found out it was our anniversary!
We found we got good value in the CityPasses, the hop-on-hop off bus tours, recommend the top of the Rock over the Empire State building for the view and the experience. Sign up with Playbill for emails announcing deals on Broadway shows - they tend not to get the biggies, but great deals on new shows opening. My sisters and I loved the Wonderful Marvellettes, or the Marvelous Wonderettes - I can never remember which way it goes! It was funny and fun and great music - basically just 4 women on stage.
Have a blast - what a great gift for your daughter!
I went to NYC this past Dec. with a bus group just for overnight. We had a blast! I had never been before, so I was kindof winging it. We saw the Rockettes Christmas show, Rockefeller Center- the tree & iceskating, Top of the Rock was awesome!!! We took a guided bustour, Ground Zero, carriage ride in Central Park, shopping (Macy's!! fun!!-we did lunch there -The Cellar). Our hotel was the Skyline-it was really nice, although we didn't do anything more but sleep a few hours there. The highlight of my trip was getting up early & going out to the TODAY SHOW!!! I dvr'd at home & saw several from our group on tv! Meredith & Al were super nice & talked with us for a bit (Matt was away that day . I will def do that again if I ever get back there! Awesome trip!!!! Have fun!!
Hi, I know I'm late on this thread- I haven't been on here on awhile! I'm planning a trip to NYC right now LOL. I highly recommend staying right in Midtown if you've never been before. Its the easiest location to walk to nightlife/Times Square/Broadway and shopping 5th ave, Central Park etc. You will need to take the subway to Battery Park to see the Statue and WTC etc but its only about a 20 minute ride if that. If you are still looking for a hotel go to travelzoo.com, they always have the best rates posted. Last August I stayed at the Omni Berkshire Place (52nd and Madison, I think) for $199 a night. Gorgeous hotel in a really safe location. This time I'm taking my boyfriend and his kids too (eeek, we are a family of 5!) so we need two rooms and we'll be down near Little Italy staying at the Best Western Hanbee for $89 a night. NYC is so doable on a budget if you plan and know where to look! Happy planning! Any questions ask away!
I went to NYC twice last year, and I have to say, it's one of my favorite places on earth! In February of last year we stayed in Times Square at the Novotel. It was under $200/night and pretty close to everything (about a block or so away from "Shrek" and the Ed Sullivan Theater where Letterman is taped). We loved it. I also used Big Apple Greeters and cannot recommend them highly enough. (Welcome to Big Apple Greeter ) It's a free service, and they will show you a particular neighborhood or just take you on a general tour. They get you acclimated with your surroundings and with using the subway, but if you have a special interest, they are pretty accomodating as well (I wanted to see Chinatown, and I am also a huge fan of HBO's "Flight of the Conchords." I mentioned that when I signed up, and the greeter had a detailed tour of filming locations ready for me ! It was awesome. And did I mention free?)
Also, if you and/or your daughter enjoy "The Daily Show" or "The Colbert Report," it is quite exciting to attend a taping, and when I went last year, tickets weren't too hard to get (I checked the Comedy Central site daily waiting for my month to go up!). They are also free, but do involve some time waiting in line to assure you get in. Seeing "Colbert" was the highlight of the trip!
I went back to NY in September, but mainly to visit the Hudson Valley region. We took the train in to the city, and that was pretty enjoyable, too. Probably not what you want to do, but it was waaaaaaay cheaper!! I was with a few people who had never been to NYC, and we really got pretty much accomplished in one day, including Times Square, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, lunch, shopping for knock-off purses in Chinatown, and relaxing with some beers at a street fair in Little Italy.
I have no sense of direction whatsoever and never really got lost. The street system is pretty straight forward, and people are pretty helpful. I even led the first-timers to Strawberry Fields in Central Park although I had never been there before either. You can do it!!!!
Keep in mind that if you go to the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, that pretty much eats up most of the day. It is a must see, but you probably won't see a lot of anything else (of course, the last time I was there was in 1999 when you still go to the top of the Statue of Liberty--maybe it's quicker now?)
I also used Big Apple Greeters and cannot recommend them highly enough. (Welcome to Big Apple Greeter ) It's a free service, and they will show you a particular neighborhood or just take you on a general tour. They get you acclimated with your surroundings and with using the subway, but if you have a special interest, they are pretty accomodating as well (I wanted to see Chinatown, and I am also a huge fan of HBO's "Flight of the Conchords." I mentioned that when I signed up, and the greeter had a detailed tour of filming locations ready for me ! It was awesome. And did I mention free?
I've been lucky enough to interview the woman who started Big Apple Greeters and she's wonderful. We've also introduced the scheme over here in the area I work in and it's a great idea.
I am looking at going to the SofL and Ellis Island, Central Park, Top of the Rock, Natural History Museum and WOD store.
We are picking up a friend from Scotland at the airport in Newark, so we are thinking of staying there and taking the train into NYC for a few days. I still need to research that part!
Good Luck with the planning!
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Donning my Wellies to cut Peat in Scotland
Melissa
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. I will def do that again if I ever get back there! Awesome trip!!!!
Have fun!!
Susan
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