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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Welcome to my TR! We just got back from the World on the 8th. We had a great trip - with a few child meltdowns sprinkled in for fun. We came home exhausted and sick, but some of us want to go back already. Especially since it's cold and snowy here in Minnesota.
For those of you who followed along with my PTR you know that the cast for this trip was kind of in flux for quite a while. My sister and her family were going to come with. And my parents. Then it was just going to be our little family of four. Then my parents did decide to join us, but they only spent part of the trip with us. Here's the cast:
Me - Missy. I'm a 31 year old mother of 2 and a computer programmer with the MN State Legislature. Work and the kids keep me busy, but in my free time I like to pretend to be crafty. I say pretend because I've tried to recreate stuff I've found on Pinterest and have failed miserably. If you've ever come across pictures online of "pinterest fails" (google it if you haven't some are funny) they're probably all mine. My favorite princess is Belle (and DD of course) and my favorite ride is Pirates!
DH - Nate. 30 (almost 31) years old. Wonderful husband and father. He quit his job at Target after 10 years of employment. He now works as a Technical Support Specialist for a cloud computing company. He's a kid at heart and spends our trips trying to find as many stupid things to put on his head as possible. He's not really all that into princesses, but I'm pretty sure his favorite is DD. He likes the Pirates movies and his favorite ride is any ride where he doesn't get wet.
DS - Cameron. A 3 1/2 year old trouble maker. Kid gets into EVERYTHING. His profession is driving his parents crazy. Deep down he is a super sweet boy who is always giving you extra hugs if you're not feeling well. On our last trip he loved Donald, but lately he's been into Buzz and Mater. He still likes Mickey and gang, but I think he's getting over the "Clubhouse". When we last went he LOVED the Finding Nemo ride (at the time he called it Ma-mo). You'll have to stay tuned to find out if that changed!
DD - Mallory. 16 months old. She's a determined little girl. Going through her "I can do it myself, but really can't" phase. So that's fun. She's also excellent at the tantrums. Her favorite is throwing whatever she is given if she's the tiniest bit angry. Even if it is the thing that she wants. That was fun to deal with on the trip. She loves to DANCE and is the funniest little person - when she's in a good mood. She loves Donald Duck - and managed to gain some new favorites on the trip. Including her favorite ride.
DM - Lisa. My mother who doesn't care for her age being disclosed, but she was 24 when she had me so... She's the best mom there is. She takes care of my kids so they don't have to go to daycare. She's always there for you when you're in a bind. She stayed at home and took care of me and my sisters when we were little. Started a career in the Ophthalmology field when we were older and then became a grandma and went back to caring for her family. Her favorite characters are Chip and Dale and her favorite ride is Haunted Mansion or Pirates.
DF - Mel. My dad. Disney isn't really his thing. He's going because my mom wanted to go. And Cameron told him he had to. He loves his buddy boy and pretty girl (Cam and Mal) so he had a good time hanging out with them. He doesn't really have a favorite character as he doesn't really watch the movies. He liked the Honey I Shrunk the Audience ride and was sad to learn of it's closure. I think he liked it because his wife and 3 daughters screamed like little girls when the rats were let loose. He found that funny. We did not.
So that's the who. As for the rest of the W's...
What: Our bi-annual Disney trip!
Why: It's our family tradition to go to Disney every other year. And Mallory needed a first haircut.
When: February 1st-8th
Where: WDW of course! Staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani. This was a surprise for DH - he thought we were staying at POR. If you want to know how the surprise unfolded check out my PTR (http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...l?#post4095787). My parents did stay at POR in a royal room.
So that's the low down on the trip. We had our ups and downs, but all in all the trip was a good time. It's just a lot harder to tote around 2 small children than it ever was when we were flying solo. You never know what you're going to get with small people.
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