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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Here is S.A. it's been several years since they initiated DPS clearance for school volunteers. We don't have to take a training course, though. I haven't heard of that, but there were several instances here, (unfortunately) that prompted this. One incident that I remember is an elementary student's father that was helping out with some function and he somehow got a little fifth grade girl alone and fondled her. Very VERY disturbing, and I think all parents with kids in schools should welcome background checks.
Every little league has to run a background check. We have to check for sex registion, and crimnal. This takes alot of time, and I hate telling a parent that they can't help with their child's team.
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I noticed a handout pertaining to my daughter's middle school end of school field trip not to long ago.....and it said that a background check had to be made on all chaperones. That is the first that I've seen anything about that in our schools. I don't think you have to do so for purely volunteering in the schools though (yet?).
I'm sad that our society has come to this but glad that they are doing it. I know it certainly won't weed out all criminals or just people who haven't yet had the opportunity to commit a crime, but at least it's something! And I'll happily pay the fee for my own as well as other parent's peace of mind.
Our school district requires criminal and child abuse background checks for all volunteers - but the PTO reimburses parents for the associated fees.
Personally, I didn't have a problem with the background checks or the safety measures at my school -- we have doors that can be electrically locked from the front office, phones in all the rooms, all guests have to sign in at the front office and wear visitor tags at all times, and other measures as well. The staff and the other volunteers are all very aware of who is in the building and will question anyone they don't recognize and ask for ID.
While it saddens me to think that the world is a less safe place than it was when I was a child, I'd much rather jump through hoops, knowing that anyone who means to harm children or school staffmembers has to go through the same gauntlet and will be barred from entering the school.
FYI - I live in a well-to-do suburban neighborhood with mainly two-income, highly-educated parents. Finding volunteers who have time to give to the school is hard, but the security measures don't stop those who are willing or able to give of their time from coming in to help.
Eileen
Our school district requires criminal and child abuse background checks for all volunteers - but the PTO reimburses parents for the associated fees.
Personally, I didn't have a problem with the background checks or the safety measures at my school -- we have doors that can be electrically locked from the front office, phones in all the rooms, all guests have to sign in at the front office and wear visitor tags at all times, and other measures as well. The staff and the other volunteers are all very aware of who is in the building and will question anyone they don't recognize and ask for ID.
While it saddens me to think that the world is a less safe place than it was when I was a child, I'd much rather jump through hoops, knowing that anyone who means to harm children or school staffmembers has to go through the same gauntlet and will be barred from entering the school.
FYI - I live in a well-to-do suburban neighborhood with mainly two-income, highly-educated parents. Finding volunteers who have time to give to the school is hard, but the security measures don't stop those who are willing or able to give of their time from coming in to help.
Eileen
Same thing here......and I'm more than happy to jump thru the hoops if it means that my kids are that much safer.
Kentucky has done this for several years now. When Stefanie became a volunteer at two of our schools last year, she had to go through a background check and was so cute telling everyone she was not a criminal.
It's a sad state that the school's are in...our Dboys transfered from a school system that did CORI checks on everyone....the school they are in now they do them but only if they ask you to donate your time (which is not often). We are looking into another transfer next year to a better school system (or at least a better school).
To volunteer at my son's school we had to have our fingerprints taken and take a class so that we could spot any potential signs of child abuse. Thankfully it was free but it was also kinda disturbing because we live in a very small town and knowing that there could be some kind of "creep" that would do that to our children if given a chance is just scary. Especially if it turns out we know them.
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I don't have a problem witha background check... In fact I coached in our towns little league last year so I had to authorize it, but I would not have paid for it personally, that is just wrong.
I have no problem paying the PTA membership fees, and will do reasonable fundraising. I will not sell things at work, because as a manager, that is not fair to my employees, as no matter how you spin it they feel obligated. (The exception is the box of candies, like reeses, hershey bars etc. I have no problem sticking that on my desk, since people like to come and get a "snack) I bought all of MaxGoof's raffle tickets last year (of course I won, so maybe that doesn't count )
But the cost for volunteers should be born by all of the families and that should come from the budget.
In my state they are now rolling out fingerprint checks of school employees. One would have thunk they would have checked employee backgrounds thoroughly BEFORE hiring them, considering that they are working daily with kids. Guess that was too much to assume.
They are doing the CORI check at my kids schools too. We don't have to pay for it but luckily that I did one at DS's school, it also covers me for DD's school too. I had to do one just to be on the PTO, not to mention to go on DS's field trips.
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