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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 haven't had a chance to do more than skim the article but what I did read I have heard from alot of people who were actually down there when the wheels were set in motion for the World way back when. Central Florida has been experiencing a MAJOR growth explosion ever since then. It has started migrating north toward us now in North Florida. At one point we were the fourth fastest growing county in the state. We have "old-timers" in our county who speak the same way about the growth here that the author does of Orange County.
This information is a part of the Disney legacy like it or not. It isnt Disney bashing. Walt was an imagineer but he was also an entrepreneur. He was in it to make money. He just wasn't as money-oriented as Eisner but, then again, that's why Eisner was hired in the first place.
I don't think the article said anything that wasn't true, and I wasn't offended by it. I didn't take it personally. It certainly reflected negatively on Orlando in general, and WDW specifically. But I can handle the criticism, I can still enjoy WDW, and I can completely understand where this view is coming from. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
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On the upside, my local radio station yesterday was talking about the major religions being Judaism, Catholicism, and Disneyism. They were saying how Disney people are a very large group and not one to be messed with. Too bad about the NG article, but seriously, if other parks were the quality of the Disney parks, they would still exist and be profitable.
When I was a kid, the "Wonderful World of Color" show was on that showed how great Disneyland was, and how great Disneyworld would be. That's why I first wanted to go to DW. To blame Walt Disney for Florida's woes is rediculous.
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Walt Disney bought a swampland, notedly too prone to frost to provide for citrus farms. And then created an industry that employed thousands. Tell me how that is bad.
Why are you people taking this so personally?! It happened. It's on the record. Yes, Walt was an imagineer but he was also a businessman. It stings and makes you flinch to read it. That's life. We have alot of people who moved up here from the Central Florida area because of the growth explosion. It happened in their backyard and left a bad taste in their mouth. How would YOU feel if that happened and people told you to get over it because it was just cheesey swampland that nobody wants anyway?
My DH and I love going down to Disney. We are fortunate that we live in fairly close proximity and make numerous trips. We love being immersed in a different world but by no stretch do we fool ourselves. That luxury came at a cost to other people.
I don't think people are taking it personally, they are just disapointed that the author focused on one half of the coin. There are good and bad aspects of all new growth and development that hits a formerly rural area. I'm in the real estate field, so I deal a lot with people's reactions to development. Sure, some of it is not hunky dorey, but it's going to happen in today's time. The creation of WDW and the underlying development that followed has brought a huge amount of revenue to that area, and residents have benefitted from that. I talked to a mom who's child used to attend Dr. Phillips high school, which is right across from Universal. She said the school system there had so much more money to spend on students than other areas of the country where they had lived. That's because of all the tax revenue generated from all the tourism. I doubt it's hard to find a job there either, so many employment options in a variety of fields.
I hope these boards is always a place where we can all discuss here and have varying opinions without making personal jabs at each other. Thanks for all of your input!!!
Currently we have 2 active threads on the same subject. I'm going to merge them into one thread so that it is easier to read everyone's thoughts and comments on this article. Thanks all!
Updated: Now merged into one thread, hope this helps!
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Michelle - with my step sisters!
Last edited by Shell_of_the_South; 03-02-2007 at 09:52 AM..
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Gee Bert and Sully your right I should have no opinion. I do not appreciate your attack on me.
I read all of the posts on this thread. I did not come across anything that was a personal attack .
There are alot of books out there that celebrate the Happiest Place on Earth. They will tell you about Walt's vision and how generations of families have come to know and love Walt Disney World.
However, there is a dark side to any business venture, which the NG article brought to light.
While I doubt the article will deter many families from visiting Central Florida, it would be foolish to assume that WDW was built with a wave of a wand, some pixie dust and everyone lived happily ever after.
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They were saying how Disney people are a very large group and not one to be messed with. Too bad about the NG article, but seriously, if other parks were the quality of the Disney parks, they would still exist and be profitable.
I have to so totaly agree!
Michelle - with my step sisters!
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Margo
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