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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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The latest update from Melanie in Houston...just before 7pm Los Angeles time: they are on the flight! However, boarding has been delayed so they can clean the carpets (Melanie is guessing someone got sick). So, they're on the flight...the question is when are they actually going to get on the plane?!
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Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
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Well, they are on board and in the air, but there's still some potential nail-biting. Because they are flying into John Wayne/Orange County Airport(SNA) , they are subject to a noise curfew. They departed 20 minutes late, and they are estimated to arrive at 10:44pm (they were supposed to arrive at 10:30pm). I believe the curfew is 11pm. I don't know the exact details, but basically you can't land after the curfew...or else you're subject to a ridiculously huge fine, or something like that.
One of Melanie's last texts to me before she turned off her phone was to tell me that if they can't meet curfew, they're going to be redirected to LAX and be put on a bus to SNA. Please send her lots and lots of flight pixies, because that would just be an unbelievable ending to her already exhausting travel day!
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Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
This is just the worst! I couldn't sleep and logged on hoping to have an update that they were about to land in LA. Just crazy about the noise curfew-- at least they didn't cancel the flight because of it, which is what I'd expect them to do.
Oh my goodness - that is one heck of a day! I am so glad you finally made it - and I hope that you did Melanie, as the last update was that Jeannie was on her way to get you? I can imagine you're both absolutely exhausted after that. I hope you're too exhausted to enjoy California.
Melanie and Meri are here! I left the house thinking their flight was arriving at 10:44, and I had pulled up the United flight status page on my phone so Sophia could check it during the drive to the airport. Of course a few minutes after we left, the flight status changed to a 10:31 arrival...and I wasn't going to arrive until 11! So, Sophia and Melanie were texting each other with updates. Melanie ended up having to wait a while for Meri's gate-checked booster seat to come out, so the timing ended up pretty good after all!
Now, Melanie and Meri are downstairs asleep. Before going to sleep, Melanie made a comment that she had mentioned earlier in the TR she would update everyone when she got to California, but now she was too exhausted! I told her not to worry...I HAD to come on to update everyone! She said to say hi from her to everyone!
I hope they both sleep well tonight. It's 2am for them, and they've been up since 4am yesterday!
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Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
Hey all! Greetings from California!! What a day yesterday, huh?
Sometimes you have to wonder if a free flight is worth a 22 hour hassle... lol. Typically flying standby hasn't been THAT bad for me... I've certainly had days where flights were tight, but that was also my own fault for trying to fly during peak times or into peak cities, so that's understandable. Usually, though, I don't have THIS much trouble - it's been a bit worse in the past year since the merger with Continental, since there have been so many changes, including a lower seniority level due to revised calculations, and then mom and I discovered yesterday that my boarding priority dropped significantly! That's why we had SO much trouble with getting to Orlando and Houston recently. I couldn't figure out why we were at the bottom of every standby list, when we have such high seniority (even our lowered seniority has been reasonably high, all things given). I always used to have mom's seniority level, even if I flew alone... but now it's recently changed to where if we aren't with mom, we have a far lower seniority level! I was floored to realize this yesterday! But it explained so much about why we were having such massive difficulties getting on a flight.
Anyway, so now you have some more boring history about how standby works! LOL! I know it's fair to wonder if flying for free is worth the hassle, but honestly, I still think it is (though if you'd asked me yesterday at around 9pm, I might have had a different opinion, lol).
Jeannie found us at 11pm, and we had a wonderful ride to her house. I spent a fair bit of time going on about how huge LA is. When we were on approach, there was nothing but a sea of lights for about 20 minutes. It's just so sprawling!!! When we got to Jeannie's house, Meri immediately went straight to bed, and so did Sophia and Evan. Jeannie and I stayed up and talked for about 20 minutes before I had to just give in and go to sleep. I think I was asleep the second my head hit the very comfortable pillow!
This morning, Meri was up at 530am... this kid... I swear. It doesn't matter what time she goes to bed, she's up at 7 or 730am our time. *sigh* I handed her a fruit roll up and water and told her to be quiet and entertain herself until people woke up. Jeannie got somewhere around 7am I think, and Meri went out and chatted her up and they had breakfast together.
I got up around 730am I guess, and went into the kitchen and got some coffee... and Jeannie and I have been yapping and yapping ever since! Meri has been upstairs with Sophia and Evan, playing Wii and legos and whatever else. It's been glorious to have someone else entertain Meri so I can have a nice relaxing grown-up conversation!
Now we're going to start getting ready for our beach day today. Meri is eating some Cocoa Puffs, and playing on a toy piano and running around like a lunatic. LOL! Funny kid.
Jeannie and I are having the best time, though. She's awesome.
Ok, I guess I should go get ready for the beach! I'm on VACATION!!!
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Please send her lots and lots of flight pixies, because that would just be an unbelievable ending to her already exhausting travel day!
PassPorter Guide Author
I am so glad you finally made it - and I hope that you did Melanie, as the last update was that Jeannie was on her way to get you? I can imagine you're both absolutely exhausted after that. I hope you're too exhausted to enjoy California. 
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