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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Thanks for checking in. I am thinking about your trip all the time. I went to the web site for the state park and "wow." I'll have to recommend we go to it when we have a trip to Texas without a major event. My older son lives in Houston, but the next trip will be for his wedding with no side trips.
Glad to hear the state park was so good - looking forward to seeing the photos!
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Originally Posted by lauriep
Thanks for checking in! Glad you're all still having a great time and seeing great sights!
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Originally Posted by KMB733
Glad you enjoyed the park!!
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Originally Posted by Huntermom
Thanks for checking in. I am thinking about your trip all the time. I went to the web site for the state park and "wow." I'll have to recommend we go to it when we have a trip to Texas without a major event. My older son lives in Houston, but the next trip will be for his wedding with no side trips.
We left Oklahoma and headed for Texas. While we mostly took to the interstate this leg of the trip, we mostly ran parallel to more sections of route 66, so we did make a few detours and some shops.... We first went to Amarillo where we ate a late lunch at Sonic and stopped to check out the famous Cadillac Ranch. The wind was kicking! Seriously, this was the strongest wind I've ever experienced in my life! The wind was "throwing" the dirt causing it to feel like we were being shot in the legs with bb's. But, it was fun all the same.... We spotted a book store and stopped to pick up a few more books before heading to our destination for the night- Palo Duro Canyon State Park. This is the second largest canyon in the (world or US?- I think world); second to the Grand Canyon of course. This canyon is HUGE. I can't imagine how big the actual Grand Canyon is going to seem when we make it there.... This park was wonderful and the scenery was amazing! I knew going into it (and one of the main things I was excited about) is unlike the Grand Canyon you can actually DRIVE down to the bottom of the canyon. What I didn't know is that the campgrounds are at the bottom of the canyon-- so we camped at the bottom and the views from our campsite were amazing! This is one of the best parks I've ever been too! We walked some trails and everyone except me and Winston(6) went horseback riding on some additional trails.... Winston was old enough, but he had to ride the horse by himself, not with anyone and he was hesitant, so we just hit up a playground while they rode.... The wildlife was abundant here as well with wild turkey and deer running through the campgrounds.... We were a bit over run with ants, but even though we seen them every where we were able to keep them out of the food and no one was bitten.... so no real harm.... The wind was pretty extreme here as well, but not near as bad as Cadillac Ranch. and during the heat of the day, the wind was a very welcome relief! I really just can't say enough about this park, I hope to return some day..... Here are the pics- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9MdNHLKcm8
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Day 9) We left Texas for Roswell, New Mexico. I was surprised how rural the area was up until you actually got into Roswell. There were signs letting you know "last stop for fuel/food for 45 miles". But the roads in NM were soooo much better; as TX and OK had pretty rough roads (atleast in the area we drove)- so the smooth roads were welcoming. We didn't do much except go to Alien Zone, but it was fun- the kids especially enjoyed it... Here are the pics: Road Trip Day 9 - YouTube
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Day 10) Guadalupe Mountains National Park
The one word I would use to describe this park is DIFFERENT! The scenery was sooo different than anything I'd seen before.... I really, really, really enjoyed this place! We were able to camp at the foot of the mountains and the campgrounds were set up different than any I'd ever been too.... the trees, bushes, cacti, were like none I'd ever seen before.... we had to be very careful not to get pricked.... Three of the kids did the Junior Ranger program and got sworn in, they also recieved a badge and patch.... They really enjoyed this! The visitor center had a nice orientation video along with some other great things to check out.... The weather was really nice.... during the heat of the day we tried to stay in the shade, but the nights were perfect... there was a good bit of wind, but it was wierd because it was a warm wind- it didn't make you cold.... One of the original ranches had caught fire a few days prior- struck by lightning, and because it's so dry in the area they were still trying to get the fire under control; so that was closed off to the public obviously.... The night sky was amazingly clear and the stars were abundant. I got a few pics of the sunset, but the night sky was breath taking and I hate to say I didn't think to pull out my camera and get a pic. This is a great park; it is very isolated and very few people were there.... this seems to be one of the lesser known national parks, but I would highly recommend it! The park rangers are super friendly here as well....
Here are the pics: Road Trip Day 10 - YouTube
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It's so great that your kids are experiencing so many different landscapes and can really envision how vast and beautiful this country is. This is something I never appreciated until I was an adult.
I thought I had replied early on in your TR, but I guess I didn't! I'm all caught up now, and it's all looking like so much fun! I like the pictures of your kids playing together, reading, just keeping themselves amused. I also loved the alien pics!
You sure are having an adventure! I can't wait to see what's next!
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. This is a great park; it is very isolated and very few people were there.... this seems to be one of the lesser known national parks, but I would highly recommend it! The park rangers are super friendly here as well....
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