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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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DD (18 on Saturday!) graduated from high school on May 15th and started college on June 27th. She has a one week break in a couple of weeks and then she has to start the fall semester on August 21st. DD(14), who is homeschooled, will start at the end of August. Since she is homeschooled, we can pretty much start when we want. The public schools in North Carolina can't start earlier than August 25th.
DS starts Kindergarten on Sept. 8th. The rest of the school starts on the 2nd.
I haven't bought anything yet since I have no idea what a kid needs for Kindergarten.
Even though we're homeschooling, we'll 'start' on Sept. 1st (just like Harry Potter.) That first week is going to be rough, because we'll be leaving for WDW the next - so not sure how much we'll actually accomplish.
The nice thing about learning at home (AND living in the south) is that I really don't have to worry about the clothes issue. We'll still be in shorts and flip flops weather all through Sept and probably into Oct a bit. So there's no mad rush to get uniforms or sweaters or anything like that.
We start back on August 7th. Which means I have exactly one week to prepare my room and they are still working on our building--carpets must be cleaned, AC not hooked up yet (very important when you live in HOT Oklahoma) and boxes not delivered back to room. UGH!!!!
Our official first day is September 2, but they have an orientation morning on the 28th. And Rachel is mentoring a freshman student on the 27th.
They wear uniforms, so we've got that under control, but it's unairconditioned, so it will be stinkin hot when they go back. We did get the new shoes already.
They got their schedules in the mail yesterday, so everyone has posted on their Facebooks so the whole class can see who has what together. Group squeal!
We still have some summer left, we are heading to Cape Cod for a long weekend on the 14th for a wedding and family visit. The girls are going to see the Jonas Brothers in Baltimore and the American Idol on tour, so they have some fun stuff to do still.
Grace is finishing up a course at a community college for high school kids with learning disabilities (hers is reading comprehension). They finish up on Friday night with an dinner banquet. I'll have to post a Proud Mom brag afterwards.
We homeschool, and while I don't have everything set yet, we'll probably start the week after labor day. So Sept 8, or something close to that, will be our start date. Public schools here start on/around Sept 3, I think.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
The girls go back on September 4th. It is strange as usually I feel that summer flies by but maybe since we did our vacation at the end of June it seems to have gone slower since we have been back....(point taken I think I like WDW in June )
I still have to go to the uniform store to pick up a couple of things, they need new shirts and the little one needs new sweaters but other than that most of their uniforms fit from last year.
Still need to do the supplies...I started but have more to go. I am hoping that this last month goes slowly as well....summer just goes so fast and then the months until the holidays just fly....
Our kids start August 25th. My DS starts 1st grade this year. I have not even begun to shop for school supplies yet. I have been so busy preparing for our vacation, I can't even think about back to school yet!
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I've been jingled! Thanks Rella!
Janet
Planning a Christmas with Mickey vacation in 2010
I go back on Monday! We are moving into a new school and my classroom is not ready yet They hope to be finished by Aug. 7 - the kids 1st day! I have not purchased many school supplies yet. Tax free holiday is this weekend so I will be out shopping early Friday morning hoping to get everything done so I can stay at home the rest of the weekend and do nothing.
The summer has gone so quickly! Monday I had a doctors appointment and instead of writing July I wrote June for every document! The nurse thought I was nuts!
We don't need much stuff as dd hasn't really grown that much since last year, only about 1/2", a nice bonus of your kids getting older. DD starts her last year of middle school then it's off to high school yikes!!!!
Haha!! My 15 yr. old is taller, and thinner, and my 10 year old is just taller! And, the 10 yr. old wears uniform shirts w/khakis.. pants or skirts, thank you. Shorts are allowed, but not happily. And, the skirts she has are now all too short - at least for me.
The 15 yr. old doesn't have a uniform, but isn't allowed "hootchie" clothes, and this year she wants to "Not just dress in jeans and t-shirts, mom" (I think she wants to attract a bit of male attention this year)
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.) That first week is going to be rough, because we'll be leaving for WDW the next - so not sure how much we'll actually accomplish.
NYC-Canada Cruise Sept 2012
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I've been jingled! Thanks Rella!
They hope to be finished by Aug. 7 - the kids 1st day! I have not purchased many school supplies yet. Tax free holiday is this weekend so I will be out shopping early Friday morning hoping to get everything done so I can stay at home the rest of the weekend and do nothing.
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