So you thought we canceled? (A Sept. PTR) - Page 4 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Sounds great! We are skipping LeCellier as well - last time we were there, the service was mediocre. We love Boma as well - that is our first night tradition. Paring down to a week from 14 days is hard! I'm not sure we could do it! Love the pics! All of them - such a cute, happy family!
Finally signing on to Passporter and catching up on your Trip Report! So glad you guys are going to get to take Bri to WDW for her first trip! Your dining plans have made me hungry!
Can't wait to read more!
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Check out my Pre-Trip Report for our 9/18-9/23/12 trip here:
Loved your Cast of Characters!! That picture of Briana is the sweetest thing...and I think the spit bubbles add character . Great choices for dining as well.
Chiming in here! Your daughter is just adorable and I know what you mean about trying to make ADR's but 50's primetime is one of my faves too! You have some great choices! I'm really jealous of the Be our Guest ADR, we so far havent been able to snag that one Cant wait to read more!
Alright, I'm officially getting excited! We're two paychecks away from being PIF, we're less than two months away from our happy place, and yesterday I called and made a reservation for Briana's first haircut at the Harmony Barbershop!
The first lady that I talked to on the phone got SO excited when I told her why I was calling, but then sounded disappointed when she told me that she had to pass me to someone else because she wasn't able to make that kind of reservation on her system. (Which is weird, by the way, because the automated system asked me why I was calling, and then said something about connecting me to the proper CM to help me with making a reservation at the Harmony Barbershop... Oh, well. No skin off my nose.)
Anyway, I thought it was sweet that she got so excited, and before she put me on hold to pass me to the correct person, she told me "Make sure you bring a camera, and be ready to take a ton of pictures! It's the sweetest thing ever, I'm so glad you're doing it!"
Then she came back on to tell me that she was passing me to Cameron, and Cameron came on and was very enthusiastic as well, and it just made me happy. This is why I love Disney! They make something as simple as making a reservation at a barbershop so much fun, and get you more excited in the process.
I haven't gotten my touring plans done yet...I'm a little hesitant to get started on them, because I've always been so "GO GO GO" at the parks, and I don't know how much having Bri will slow us down. I know we'll be moving much slower, I just don't want to...Hmmm...Let me slow my roll here and collect my thoughts.
Last year was good practice on going with the flow, and there were days that we diverged from our "set" touring plan. But I don't want to write an unrealistic touring plan and then be all frustrated when we don't get everything done that we want to. I am going to try to look at what we actually accomplished while I was pregnant last year, slow the touring plan down even more than we slowed it down towards the end of last years trip, and hope that's slow enough! I just like to have a general idea of what we're doing and in what order, because then I don't have to think about it. We can just go!
I'll be posting my to-do list soon, and possibly have some questions for all of you. In fact, I have two right now: what is your number one tip for traveling on a plane with a baby? Also, what is the one thing you think is most important to remember when "Doing Disney" with a baby?
Oh, I also need to come up with a countdown idea.
And on a completely random note, I already have our MouseKeeping envelopes designed and ready to print, thanks to making several designs last year and choosing between them. I liked this one best for this year:
The dimensions are off, because I had to save it in Paint to show it to you here, but you get the general idea, right? I wanted to have a Minnie Mouse one since that's Bri's favorite, but I couldn't find a picture I liked.
I am so excited! Gah! Happy dance! Talk to all of you soon!
What a great Disney phone call. I agree, there's no way really to predict how much you'll be able to do on this trip, but my guess is that it won't frustrate you much because you'll be so caught up in watching Briana's reactions to everything.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.