The Princesses and the Dad: A Pre-Trip Report! UPDATED 4/15 - Page 5 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Congrats on being able to move your trip. I think sending the difference in money to the people of Haiti is a wonderful gesture. I too donated this morning to the Red Cross. Its the least I could do to help out.
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On another note, I was going to stay in a "water view room" at Coronado Springs. As I was doing this last night, I first heard about the Haiti disaster. So, I decided standard was good enough and sent the difference this afternoon to the Red Cross International Response Fund. I'm not trying to brag. I'm just offering a suggestion to those who also were moved by the Haitian disaster. Obviously, my little girls aren't going to care about seeing water from their room while at Disney. So why not help out? We aren't rich, but we're blessed that we can afford these trips. I'm not really the praying type but I'm sending plenty of prayers to the people in Haiti right now.
Glad you sorted out the dates and the promotion to use!
Great idea on the donation! I have a guy in my class that has a sister and nieces who live in Haiti; he can't get hold of them and is devestated- obviously worrying for the worse....
And what a super idea to help out Haiti! Some friends of ours are missionaries in Haiti and it took a little while to find out last night how they were. But thank goodness they are okay even though they are very near Port-au-Prince. They have been swamped helping the injured. So many, many for this poor little country and its people.
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Just getting caught up....glad the date change worked out! Allie will love being at Disney for her bday! Also, I think the girls will love any room at CSR!!The donation was a great thing to do.
I am all caught up and first of all Congratulations!! And what a wonderful Daddy & Daughters trip. So y'all had "taken steps" huh??? So did we...this is a bit scary to hear...for me that is .
Love that you donated your difference. My DH came home last night and the first thing he said to me was "We need to donate to the Red Cross for Haiti".
Okay, I finished talking to my TA today and officially booked Coronado Springs Resort from April 17th through April 22nd! Even better, my bonus was finally direct deposited and I went ahead and paid the trip off in full.
Ahh.. I love the sound of thousands of dollars leaving my meager checking account and entering Robert Iger's money bin. Sorta imagine it like this:
Since my trip is officially 91 days away. I better cram in my resort planning and restaurant itinerary. My girls hardly eat anything so I guess I'm leaning towards counter service meals!
Now any suggestions on a special treat for Allie on her birthday?
We did the family magic tour this last trip and it was so fun because my DH and I totally get into it along with the kids. You CERTAINLY sound like a Dad not afraig to crawl through Tomorroland . Maybe that is something to consider??