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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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With the closing of the boards I thought it would be nice if we could share some of our favorite memories about PassPorter. Whether the memories are about people, posts, favorite trip reports, past members, in person meets, etc. They can be funny, touching, or just something you really enjoyed. Let's go out with a celebration of all PassPorter has meant to us. If you have friends who haven't been on the boards recently ask them to come back and contribute. This site has been a huge part of so many lives.
I'll miss all the wonderful members who share their stories. I feel like I know everyone even though we never met. I'll miss the trip reports and all the support we give each other.
Thank you guys. Thank you Jennifer. It's been a good time.
The support we felt from the PassPorters here when Stefanie was sick and subsequently died will never, ever be forgotten. I felt so loved and comforted by the folks here. Then Jennifer put Stefanie's photo on the cover of the next PassPorter. Stefanie would have loved that. I still remember too the hugs that a few PassPorters were able to give us in person when we made it back to WDW over the next couple of years. so much for reminding me that I was not alone and letting me cry on your shoulders. Every PassPorter I have met in person has been exactly the person I had grown to know on these boards. I will be forever grateful for all the friends I have made here and the safety you have given me to be me, a grown woman who thinks she's a kid because of Disney.
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I absolutely love this site and it can never be replaced in my heart! I cannot even begin to describe the wonderful friendships I have made here and the many people that I have met through these boards that have forever changed my life and have become real friends.
This is a pure and rare site that is full of real Disney lovers. I have received wonderful guidance and shared many life experiences here that I would never share anywhere else. I have always felt safe here and free from judgment even though I have come and gone.
I absolutely love you guys and hope that we can remain friends for life. That about sums it up. I am devastated that this message board is coming to a close.
I joined in February 2000. At first I was afraid to ask questions or answer questions. I soon got sucked in and, while I don't post often anymore, I have visited the boards everyday since Feb 23, 2000.
The PassPorter family has not only helped each other plan Disney trips, we have celebrated births, graduations, and countless other joyous occasions. We've also "held" each others hands through illnesses and deaths. Never will I forget Stefanie or Bill. Two people I never met in person, but still deeply touched my life.
I will always cherish the friendships I have made here. I will be forever grateful to Jennifer for creating the boards, the books, and our PassPorter family.
I joined in February 2000. At first I was afraid to ask questions or answer questions. I soon got sucked in and, while I don't post often anymore, I have visited the boards everyday since Feb 23, 2000.
The PassPorter family has not only helped each other plan Disney trips, we have celebrated births, graduations, and countless other joyous occasions. We've also "held" each others hands through illnesses and deaths. Never will I forget Stefanie or Bill. Two people I never met in person, but still deeply touched my life.
I will always cherish the friendships I have made here. I will be forever grateful to Jennifer for creating the boards, the books, and our PassPorter family.
What a wonderful post!! Robin, I will miss you dearly!! You had better stay in touch!! YOU have touched my heart more than once!!
Gosh, there have been so many. We've made so many amazing friendships through these boards and I feel truly honoured to have met so many of you in person over the years. As a result of these boards, we've not just met friends at Disney, we've had many people come over to the UK and we've acted as tour guides. We've even had some stay at our house and vice versa.
The two big things I will always remember are the Decade of Dreams tour in 2009, so many amazing memories from that and Bagman Days in 2016. Done for such a sad reason in the wake of losing Bill, but my goodness, seeing everyone together remembering him for a few days was a very special way to remember him. Roll on the 2021 event.
I hope we continue to see PassPorters whenever we're in the States and if people are travelling to the UK (I know I have plans in place with some of you already ) then get in touch and let's see if we can get together and meet up, so we can continue to have PassPorter fun together in real life.
I found Passporter and bought my first Passporter book while planning a trip in 2004. I was amazed at the wealth of knowledge about all things Disney and was soon drawn in to the fun!
It's been wonderful reading about the many adventures of fellow Passporters and sharing my own adventures! And I thank you for the support you’ve given me during some difficult times. I will truly miss my daily dose of Passporter!
I first found Passporter in 2000. I found a wealth of useful information for the trip DH and I took in 2002. I didn't visit much after that as I didn't have a trip to plan. Reading trip reports made me sad. I returned in 2016 but couldn't remember anything about my log in name or password. Again the information I received helped in the planning. I was so looking forward to getting help and advice for a trip I'm starting to plan for 2020.
Passporter will forever be in my heart.
Words can't express how sad I am about this. I joined the boards in 02 and became close friends with Goofymom from Canada who is no longer on the boards and unfortunately we have lost touch. We decided to meet up at WDW in 05 and through that trip I was also able to meet Tara. Oh, the memories and giggles we had at the Adventurer's Club. Donna's husband Dan dressed as Fred Flintstone was hilarious that night, and dancing with her and Tara afterwards like we had no cares in the World. Fun night! With the closing of these boards I feel like I am loosing my friends. I have come here everyday to catch up, learn, laugh, express happy feelings, and sad and answer many Questions of the Day.I have enjoyed many trip reports and getting to know fellow Passporters even though we have never met. I look forward to being able to continue in some form or another whether it is Facebook or another site. Thanks for the memories.
Like most of you, when I joined the boards in 2003, I was looking for trip planning information. Never did I dream that I would find a family. I don't look for much information now, as I've been to WDW so many times that I feel pretty confident in planning our trips. I still come on the boards every single day now just to keep up with my friends. I've cried with you and celebrated with you, as you have done with me over the years. I haven't met many of you personally, yet I still feel that you are all my good friends. The tragic loss of some of our family members way too early in their lives has touched me, and, although I never met them, I mourn them. I do enjoy the TRs and love to answer questions when I can, but what I will dearly miss is the day to day conversations with my friends. The closing of these boards feels to me much like a death in my family. I hope we can find a way to stay in touch.
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I found this wonderful place in 2006 when we were first DVC members. I've made so many friends from this site and I treasure them all!
I've spent time just lurking and time commenting. I adore reading about everyone's trips and have learned of so much I didn't know.
I ordered new Passporters every time an update came out, I had the WDW, DL and DCL versions. I devoured them all as they came in.
But what I really got was a family of like-minded people to chat with, to meet at our favorite places and to share the ups and downs of life.
Thank you Jennifer, for that place. It will be sorely missed.
I joined in 2006 when I was planning our my "first" family trip with Lenny and Abby. I didn't know how a trip would work with an Autistic Child and a mobility impaired adult and what I got from here was more than answers.
I got friends who offered whatever I needed when I needed it - friendship, support, laughter, encouragement, knowledge, ideas, conversation.
I got a safe place to talk about my family, my ups and downs in life without fear of being judged.
I got a place where I could freely talk about something I truly love - Disney -whether it be in asking questions, answering questions or writing TRs
These boards became a part of my daily life so when my computer gets turned on and my browser opened, Passporters is one of my home pages. I may not always comment (although my total posts number says differently ) but I do always come here to see what is new, how people are doing, etc. I'm going to greatly miss that.
I'm another one who feels as if the board is another home. I've been fortunate enough to meet 7 or 8 from here out in the "real" world, and had a wonderful time on each occasion.
My highlight came when Jennifer accepted my request to be co-author of the revised Disneyland PassPorter. It was a bit disappointing that it never became an actual paper book, but I greatly enjoyed doing the research and having a most excellent excuse to buy my very first annual pass.
I've really been touched by the support and love forum members show when one of our number has a problem. The board's disappearance will leave a little hole in my life, too.
I'd love to keep meeting folks from the boards--I live in Florida most of the year, so give me a holler on Facebook when you're heading this way (Ginger Holland Jabour).