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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Well I have to pay H and R Block $200.00 dollars and the IRS $300.00 dollars not so bad this year. Especially since we are getting that stimulus package money. And that is gonna go into my savings to help pay for WDW!!! Now thats stimulus!!
My brother is a CPA so he does our taxes for us. This year he efiled and for the first time in quite a while we get a small refund from State and Federal. We just filed this week so I am hoping we have our refund in a couple of weeks.
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Last year and this year were the first times in my life that I/we didn't have to pay more to the government. I didn't know what a refund was until last year!
The past year's I've done Turbo Tax and our refunds were $200-300. This year, as my freelance (self-employed) business picked up ALOT, I gave it to an accountant just this week. I'm sure we'll owe--probably around $200.
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Michele
I'm living the dream 20 minutes from Disney! Next trip...tomorrow. Follow me on instagram at ShirtsByShell
I worked on my taxes on Wednesday and got so upset that I had to stop. I actually OWN MONEY...for the first time in 18 years of working! I need to go back and check everything. They say I have $6000 in extra taxable income...that just doesn't seem right. Last night my sister and I went through and found a few more deductions.
Does anyone know if volunteer TIME is a deduction or just milage?
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Robin Twitter name: @NKsDogwalker Find me on FB: robinkay6573@yahoo.com 38th Birthday with Mom, Dad and friends 2011
Next Trip: Cruise on Jewel of the Seas for Christmas 2012
Filed paper February 11, got our federal refund via direct deposit March 7--Already spent it on a downpayment for our new furnace ( the old one died last week).
We owe state taxes, so I won't mail them in until April 15.
I don't really mind doing them. If I have any questions on something, the IRS employee I get when I call the 800 help line has always been nice and completely thorough. I've never been audited, so I guess I'm doing okay so far!
I worked on my taxes on Wednesday and got so upset that I had to stop. I actually OWN MONEY...for the first time in 18 years of working! I need to go back and check everything. They say I have $6000 in extra taxable income...that just doesn't seem right. Last night my sister and I went through and found a few more deductions.
Does anyone know if volunteer TIME is a deduction or just milage?
I think only mileage can be deducted, not the time volunteered. I would call the IRS helpline just to doublecheck. It would be great if you could deduct your time as well.
Ours aren't done yet...on DH's hunnydo list for this weekend. He puts it off as we always owe...a hefty amount too. It's always the same amount too! Even though I have increased my withholding more than that amount on a couple of occasions, more into my TSP, other things that should have lowered it, it's always the same! We will get some State back...about enough to pay half of the Fed we owe, same as last year, and the year before and the year before.
We can never seem to gain any ground!
I think only mileage can be deducted, not the time volunteered. I would call the IRS helpline just to doublecheck. It would be great if you could deduct your time as well.
Only mileage and actual cash expenses paid or donations made can be deducted for charitable donations, never time spent.
On a lighter note, I have finished all but 1 of the 10-15 tax returns that I do for clients and family....