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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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So funny. Been getting them for years, but for our first real honest to goodness trip year (2009) its late. Welcome to my life!!! Thank GOODNESS that by the time I go, the 2010 edition will be coming out!!!
At 3:51 am this morning (Thursday), our long-delayed shipment of PassPorter's Walt Disney World 2009 arrived in the Detroit rail yard! "All" that has to happen now is to have that container loaded onto a truck for final delivery to our warehouse, a distance of roughly 20 miles. We expect to start shipping most pre-orders tomorrow (Friday), or next Monday. We really appreciate your patience and understanding.
As always, we put top priority on delivering pre-orders to folks who will be traveling soon, and for the past two days we've been busy shipping "emergency" orders to folks traveling in the next week or two, thanks to a small rush shipment we received from our book distributor in Tennesee (their shipment from China did not lay around in a rail yard for 10 days, unlike the one destined for Michigan).
Note: You may see someone post here on the boards that they have their book and wonder where your order is -- don't worry, your order is shipping soon, but it isn't already on its way unless you're leaving very soon.
If you supplied your travel date to us when you placed your order (or contact us now via e-mail to orders@passporter.comor by toll-free phone - 877-929-3273 Mon-Fri, 9:00 am-6:00 pm ET), we'll take that into account. For those whose travel dates are imminent we've adjusted shipping methods at our cost, to ensure the books arrive in time. Also, if you already had a pre-order in our system, you should have received an e-mail from us with a special thank-you gift from us, in honor of your patience and forbearance. If you didn't get that e-mail, please send a note to jennifer@passporter.com and she'll forward it to you.
Who is the pres of our new support group? I am ready to join! Anyone want the job?
Someone also needs to figure out how to design the coffee spewing smiley......that is just too funny!
Looking forward to the mail service the next few days! Boards will probably be a little slow once everyone gets their little books in their hands!
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Disney Trips:
July 1977 (off property) 1 day
October 1994 (off property) 4 days with family
October 2001 (CSR) 5 days with my DH and oldest DD and her cousin
Sept. 30th 2006-- POFQ 8 days with my DH and youngest DD
OH I don't know where my manners are.......THANKS JEN AND DAVE and all the other little workers in the warehouse.....WE LOVE YOU and appreciate all the hard work!
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Disney Trips:
July 1977 (off property) 1 day
October 1994 (off property) 4 days with family
October 2001 (CSR) 5 days with my DH and oldest DD and her cousin
Sept. 30th 2006-- POFQ 8 days with my DH and youngest DD
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
WooHoo!! I'm doing the happy dance because I will have my Passporter sometime soon. (I had a really rough day at work and this news just brightened mmy day immensely.)
Thanks again for all your hard work and updates.
I have to deal with railroads everyday at work and I certainly understand the frustrations with railcars just sitting for no reason.
Yippee!!! Thanks Jennifer and Dave and the Passporter crew!!! You guys are the best!! I am soooo happy to know I'll have my new Passporter in time for our trip in two weeks!
THANKS JENNIFER AND DAVE!! AND ALL the staff at Passporter!!!
A little story: I have a picture in the new edition. It is my DD Alicia on her FIRST trip to WDW and Magic Kingdom. She is sitting outside the train station with her "little sister" (my BFF's DD!) Haley. Haley has been to WDW several times, so she was an old pro!
I am very thankful to receive the 2009 copy of passporter! I am also getting a copy for my BFF Pauline. She is taking Haley and the rest of her family sometime next year (in July I believe) for her middle child's high school graduation celebration. Sadly this year she learned she might be losing her job but they are still going to celebrate the graduation in Disney. It is something that has been long planned and paid for! I HOPE when I give her the 2009 Passporter it brightens her world a little bit. As Haley said when I called to ask if they would mind if the picture went into print "Hey anytime my picture gets published it's a good thing!" THANK You Passporter! I'll let you know how she likes the book!!