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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Found it ! She is beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love her name is Maddy - My daughter whose nickname is the same is not African American but she was so excited that she has a name of a princess!
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Robeson143
Last edited by robeson143; 04-19-2007 at 11:49 AM..
Reason: add something
I love the name, too. It was at the top of my list when I had my little girl, but DH was a no-go. Anyway, Maddy's a beautiful princess and I'm glad for the hand-drawn animation. I can't say I dislike the computer-animated material, but I'm glad to have a mix of the two styles out & about.
I wonder if this isn't a triply-shrewd move by Disney:
A) A new princess to appeal to thosw who want more ethnic diversity among the animated characters
B) A movie celebrating American culture and set in NO, which will help increase publicity when the movie is released
C) Could some of the Song of the South characters make an appearance? Imagine if Brer Bear and Brer Rabbit were Maddy's animal friends - Disney would finally have an outlet for those wonderful characters, a ready-made movie tie-in inside the parks (Splash Mountain), and at least popular, existing one song (Zipidee Doo Da) that Randy Newman could incorporate into his new score for the film. SOTS took place in Georgia, but the Brer characters could easily make the transition to LA, perhaps with a bit more Cajun accent to their voices.
WooHoo, a new Princess! How fun! I have been waiting for another fairytail story for so long!
Suzie
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Disneyland 1969
WDW 1983-2004 Disney Village Resort,Fort Wilderness Trailer,CB, PO, Dixie Landings,ASS, ASM, ASMo, Contemporary, Polynesian,PORiverside,POP,AKL,Coronado Springs, Disney Village Resorts, Grovesnor, Lake Buena Vista Hilton, etc....
Feb.2005-AKL,Oct.2005-PopCentury,Feb.2006-
Contemporary,Aug.2006-POP,Dec.2006-POR,Feb.2007-POP,June 2007- POP,Dec. 2007- POP
Hand animated? I am so glad to see that! I was worried that Disney would go all computer animated after they picked up Pixar.
actually before they renewed their contract with Pixar they were already dropping and had dropped their hand animation stuff... after a major backlash (and firing of some at teh top) they decided to rethink their animation decision
Disney computer films stink, they are not as good as Dreamworks much less Pixar... they should stick to what they do best. JMHO
C) Could some of the Song of the South characters make an appearance? Imagine if Brer Bear and Brer Rabbit were Maddy's animal friends - Disney would finally have an outlet for those wonderful characters, a ready-made movie tie-in inside the parks (Splash Mountain), and at least popular, existing one song (Zipidee Doo Da) that Randy Newman could incorporate into his new score for the film. SOTS took place in Georgia, but the Brer characters could easily make the transition to LA, perhaps with a bit more Cajun accent to their voices.[/QUOTE]
That would be great, there is so much in Song of the South that is really good, those parts at least need to be brought back out.
I am very happy to hear this. My dd is mixed race and I didn't realize until I saw the world thru her eyes just how important it is to have someone you can relate to. It wasn't until I sent dd to school and all her classmates were blond haired and blue eyed and were named Brittany or Megan that I realized the lack of diversity in the area where I grew up. I can't wait to see Princess Maddy.
Yeah, I think that it's kind of ironic that so far the only Disney characters of African origin are animals (The Lion King). I understand that Disney's relative lack of diversity in it's characters is probably due to the fact that Disney's movies are deeply rooted in European fairy tales, not the result of racism. Having said that, diversity is still something that needs to be addressed. We've seen Disney present heroic non-European characters with Pochahantas, Aladdin and Mulan, I'm glad to see them finally present an African American fairy tale. Perhaps in the near future Disney will explore a Latin American fairy tale. Goodness knows all cultures have heroic tales that Disney can bring to life better than anyone else.
And for any that may want to roll their eyes when they read posts like this and compain of fashionable political correctness, just put yourself into the shoes of a four year old African American or Latina girl who goes to Disney World and sees almost exclusively white female characters. These little girls need someone of their own ethnicity to identify with. It may be a little thing, but little things mean a lot to little people, and seeing an African American or Latina princess would surely add to the Disney magic for these little girls and help to let them know that they can be whoever they want to be.
Wow, I seem to have gotten on to a soapbox this morning. Sorry about that.
-B
Wonderfully said and I couldn't agree more.
Plus I am very happy that we have a hand animated Disney movie to look forward to as well. It's seems like forever since we've had one with all the Pixar movies. Can't wait until 2009!!!!
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