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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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This has been a great week. Sunday was Grace's birthday, Tuesday was mine. Yesterday my new bedroom furniture finally arrived. and today my new Disney Dooney & Burke purse arrived. I have been doing the happy dance all day long. LOL
I did take a little time to visit my mom's crafts room and I made this:
(Please excuse the messy laundry room in the back. It was to only place I could hang the fish extender up to let the paint dry on the names.)
So now I just have to finish packing. Only 10 days until we are on the Dream!
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What a great deal on the bag, love it and free shipping makes it even better. Happy Birthday to Grace....love her blue car, I would have done something like that as well. My oldest tells me she wants a BMW - black, SUV, need to find a toy model and stick it in her stocking for Christmas....lol
Congratulations on Disney mail....I love when I see that logo in the mailbox. Love the gift bag ideas for B - I am sure he is going to love them.
I don't know how I missed this little milestone, but as of yesterday we are officially doing the single digit dance ! So this weekend will be spent finalizing our packing and getting ready to enjoy some Disney magic!
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Well today is 10 days from our AKL stay, so this morning I did online check-in. IT is getting so close. Other than a short list of "last minute" items, we are all packed. Since the weekends are really the only time we have to get major things done, I had Grace help me clean out the van today so we could load all the luggage on Saturday.
I also booked a hotel in Austin for Saturday night. This was a great relief to Grace because she didn't want to wake up super early to drive to Austin. LOL
As of now this is the plan:
Saturday morning - take Tigger to the vet to stay for the week and take Merlin for his veterinary certificate of health.
Saturday afternoon - drive to Austin and check in at the Super 8. Get a decent night's rest. (I won't say "good" because I know I will be too anxious and excited to sleep.)
Sunday morning - wake up before the sun is up and head to the airport for the two hour wait prior to our 6:55 AM flight
Sunday afternoon - check in on the Disney Dream
Sunday Night - Sail Away Party!!!!
Monday and Tuesday - Enjoy all the Disney Dream has to offer (or at least everything that I can fit in). Take in some sights and have fun with my family
Wednesday morning - wake up early to leave the Dream and catch a DME bus to AKL
Wednesday noonish - lunch at Sanaa, possibly with an old friend of mine from my Baylor days.
Wednesday afternoon - Magic Kingdom with dinner at CRT
Thursday morning - breakfast at 1900 Park Fair then to Epcot where we have a Behind the Seeds Tour scheduled
Thursday evening - dinner at The Fort
Friday morning - Animal Kingdom
Friday afternoon - DHS with a scheduled dinner at Sci Fi
Friday night - Epcot EMH
Friday evening - Epcot
Saturday morning - wake up and have breakfast at O'Hana before we leave for the airport and head home.
Saturday afternoon - drive home from Austin.
We may be meeting up with one of Ramoan's childhood friends that now lives in Orlando. I am still waiting to see what his schedule is like for those days.