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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Those beggars are on the trains every day. Sometimes they carry puppies, sometimes they have a small child who really should be in school with them and I even saw one with a really sick child. I'm not sure they are real beggers either though as they all have the same script. I think they are brought in by gangs who "employ" them to do this. I always wonder if they ar not followed by pickpockets who act while the beggers distrct your attention. In fact it makes me really sad that this is how some poeple and particularly some children "have" to live that I actually hate taking the trains which is why i drive to work.
You could be right about the gangs employing them. I know there have been cases of that over here.
Sounded like a smooth transition to the Metro at Gare du Nord. Aside from the beggars.
I don't know why, but I loved the Bastille area! When I was there, I didn't find it too touristy, maybe that's why.
It certainly wasn't touristy at all - I think we were about the only people taking photos!
Finally joining back in after a couple of days away-- You've made it to Paris! It's a good thing the train was running on schedule and you saved time with the Metro tickets. Wouldn't do to waste much time on a short trip like this one!
not at all! If we'd have had a couple of hours' delay, then the whole day really would've been shot to pieces.
Definitely smart getting your Metro tickets ahead of time! Seemed like an easy trip on both the train and then the Metro to the Bastille.
It was. I always find Paris easy to get around, but then again, I find London and many other cities easy to get around. I always think if you do your research beforehand (and heck, we're Disney planners, so we do, right? ) and you know where you want to go, how you're going to get there and what you're looking for, that makes things so much simpler.
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Sorry about the beggars on the train. Great pictures of the city. I didn't realize that the Bastille no longer stands, that there is only a monument. Very interesting piece of history.
Sorry about the beggars on the train. Great pictures of the city. I didn't realize that the Bastille no longer stands, that there is only a monument. Very interesting piece of history.
I must admit I didn't until I read about in my guidebook.
Love all the photos....makes me "homesick" a bit! . I think once people realize how Paris is organized spiraling out from the center, it is a pretty easy city to get around....so long as the metro isn't on strike! (At least they announce their planned strikes so people can attempt to plan accordingly)
Can't wait to see how the day progresses!
Danielle
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Nice update and glad you made it into Paris without any problems!
Good that you got your Metro tix before arriving into Paris with the lines at the machines! Although, those particular ones may may been for standard train travel (RER) and not for the Metro! When, I arrived at CDG airport back in May and had to get a train ticket into Paris in my morning arrival, I opted to go to the ticket office, where they were so helpful and got you what you wanted, instead of using a menu driven system and being not familiar with it and suffering from severe jet lag! I made the right choice!
I noticed a lot of these beggars on the Metro in my two days in Paris this year. Just out for a buck. The music can be good sometime, but just ignore them on approach as you're better off!
Nice pix of the Bastille! Visited there a number of years ago. I think in 1998. Some good ones in Place de Vosges as well. Great area of Paris here in the Marais! (Arr. 3) . Such a pretty area. Sort of equivalent in NYC to Greenwich Village or Covent Garden in London to an extent.
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Last edited by SuperDave; 12-09-2013 at 11:24 PM..
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Aside from the beggars. 
not at all! If we'd have had a couple of hours' delay, then the whole day really would've been shot to pieces.
) and you know where you want to go, how you're going to get there and what you're looking for, that makes things so much simpler.
I made the right choice! 
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